AN- so. Another six months. Gone in a blink of an eye. Hot damn.

I'm not going to try and apologise too much. Plain and simply, I burned out. Real Life has a had a tonne of stuff on my plate, and a multitude of reasons occurred for why I didn't work on it. A bit of RL, a bit of writers block, a lack of disinterest.

For me at least, this fic was at its best when I didn't care about it. When it was purely for my amusement, with no real long term goals or plans. Just one SI, 7 Waifus and wherever the story wanted to go. Then I actually saw how many people liked this, decided I wanted to actually treat this as a proper story I wanted to finish, and properly plotted it out.

And then I got bogged down by making sure everything worked, was polished, made sense and had appropriate conclusions and resolutions. So now I've decided fuck it. I'm going to try to go back to just writing what is fun and I enjoy, because at least that way this might finish.

To make up for the long wait, enjoy a 7K chapter. Where a lot of planned and anticipated events occur.

Last time: James used to be a Master like you. Then he took a Zabaniya to the heart.

Chapter 22

Scathach suspected something was wrong the moment that the Archer of Red faded away in a flash of light signalling the usage of a Command Seal.

She knew when she felt her Master's heart stop: the connection of mana between them snap then rapidly reattach itself far weaker than before, as her own contingencies kicked in. She felt the resuscitation Runes she secretly planted on him before the battle activate – and fail.

His heart was gone.

Then the preservation and stasis runes kicked in, this time successfully.

"He isn't lost then. Not yet." She had a little bit of time before the absence of Prana would start causing her body to return to the Land of Shadows. There was no time to lose. She charged towards where she knew the boy was, rapidly accelerating to try and reach him as quickly as possible. To let him die was unacceptable, both to her reputation and to that of her student.

Clang! A heavy strike from her left, one she was intimately familiar with. That was a thrust she knew well, seeing as she was the one to teach it.

"Long time no see, Teach." Cu Chulain grinned, already dodging the counter attack and launching several swift attacks of his own. "I must admit, I almost shit myself when I saw you earlier. After all, just my luck that you showed up. Surprised you even can be summoned, really. Didn't want to end this war too early, y'know, and while I definitely wanted to fight you..."

"Not yet." Scathach agreed softly. "I will definitely agree to fight you later, but for now, another student needs me."

"So you've taken on another brat, eh? Your Master? He didn't look like much, but you've worked wonders before." A rune enhanced strike straight to her face, again, countered. Scathach leapt back to make some distance. "Alas, my own Master has ordered me. Fight her until you die. You won't be allowed to help him, I'm afraid. Not so long as I'm here."

"Then I will cut you down." she concluded. It was a shame, but she still had plenty of tricks she hadn't taught him, and she'd earned her title of 'God Killer'.

"You won't need to!" a new voice entered the fray, and the effeminate Chevalier D'eon lunged straight for Lancer of Blue's back, and was naturally parried. "Go on ahead! When Caster of Red fled, our Caster went ahead! I'll hold him here!"

"Thank you." Lancer smiled, already rushing away. There was no time to waste.

Left behind, Saber of Grey and Lancer of Blue clashed. "D'you really think you can hold me off, pretty boy?"

They shrugged. "In combat, you should keep your eyes on the prize, on the enemy in front of you." yes, this stance, hold the blade just like so, adjust the feet by just a few angles... "and my dance will be so captivating, that I will make you rightfully focus on me."

This may well be their last blade dance this War. If so, so be it. They have done their duty to their Master. May Medea make it there in time...

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, this is unfortunate." Caesar mused, looking down at the body. After all, it was very much a shame to see her like this.

Toshaka Rin had been a woman with spunk, and the kind of Master he wouldn't have minded being summoned by. She reminded him of his beloved Cleopatra.

And now she was dead, a knife planted into her torso, and her Servant nowhere to be seen.

"Perhaps I might sit this fight out." he said with some distaste, turning away from the corpse to look towards the sounds of fighting occurring by the lake.

He knew what his 'Master' had done, and it didn't settle right with him. For someone who died like he did, stabbed in the back, betrayal seemed like the worst kind of fate.

"Well, like the good Servant I am, I should go try to reinforce the others. Yes, I had best circle around to prevent them fleeing." Caesar had been ordered by Medea to come quickly and help clean up the remaining Grey Servants, but it wasn't like it had been a Command Seal order. And if he decided to take the long way around at a quite sedate and cautious pace...

Well, that would be quite unfortunate for the Caster of Blue, wouldn't it?

XXXXXXXXXX

Once James fell, that was when the tides turned. There was only Medea the Elder, Hassan of the Cursed Arm and the master Kozuki to contend with, but that didn't change how what was suddenly a very strong position was suddenly not.

Side by side, Berserker of Grey and Rider of Grey worked quietly and efficiently to safeguard the body, while Waver acted to support them as best he could. At the moment, that included feeding the body some alchemical potion that he carried upon his person and firing an occasional pot shot at any skeletons the Servants missed.

"Sword of Boudica: Sword Without Promised Victory!" announced Boudica, abandoning the pretence of safeguarding her identity. A barrage of magical pellets was released at the wall of skeletons Medea the Elder had erected and was using to safeguard her Master hidden amongst them, seeking to close the distance.

"Hyah!" Berseker followed up, swinging an arm and releasing fire so intense it was almost blue. Souichirou Kuzuki was once more forced to slip back. This was the third wave of attacks against them, wearing them down more and more each time. And yet, Medea the Elder was still content to hover in the air and wait.

Boudica knew what that treacherous witch wanted to do. She'd been warned of Rule Breaker, and had no wish to open herself up to being controlled by the Greek witch, even with the truth of the Command Seal order she'd seen.

"There is a slim chance for us making it through this if the younger Medea appears." Considered Rider. "Slim. But even if she doesn't make it to us, even if James can't be healed, I refuse to bow to HER."

Boudica would rather fail here, than obtain victory by the traitors side. She knew that Berserker felt the same, and would rather burn up here and now before she'd accept the murderer of her Master.

"Give up." Medea finally stated. "The rest of the Blue Team will be here soon to finish you off. None of us are bound by the Geass signed before. We weren't the moment that you fought back. There will be no reinforcements for you. Surrender now-"

"And join you?" Kiyohime snarled. "Never. You tried to hurt Anchin. If I only had enough Prana..." then a Dragon would certainly have sought to render this whole land into a hellscape worthy of being absent of Anchin.

"But you don't." Medea shrugged. "Fight as long as you like, then. But it is fruitless." with that, Medea held aloft her staff, and dozens of spinning purple mandela's appeared behind her. Now she would enter the fray.

"Αερο!" the rain of light was prematurely ended as what seemed to be a compressed cone of wind struck at her defences from the left. A magical shield flared to life... and was blown through with sheer compressive force. With a look of surprise at her mangled arm, Medea began to fall.

"Stay away, you... you BITCH!" Medea the younger was here, and her normally peacefully features were racked with emotions she normally never embodied. Fear, and hate. Then, she followed up her attack with her own rain of light spells, forcing her elder self to block.

It unfortunately wasn't an offensive she could keep up on her own. Her Mana score was weaker than her older form, while her own magically offensive abilities were weaker. Factoring in the absent mana from her Master...

That didn't matter though. All she needed was an opening. Then she was through, past Medea and surging right for her Masters body.

She spotted them out of the corner of her eyes. Daggers flying straight for her vital areas. With a flood of her will, she blew them away. She didn't recognise the weapons, but she recognised that they weren't from any of the Servant's she knew.

"Another Assassin!" Boudica shouted, leaping forwards and striking at the now manifesting form of the Hassan of the Cursed Arm.

Medea the younger nodded her head in acknowledgement and went to fill in for Rider.

"Fool! Like I'll let you!" the witch of betrayal turned her attention on her younger self. Caster of Grey felt the familiar effects of the 'Atlas' spell seeking to weigh her down, and saw a flood of thunder chasing after her – Celaeno.

She had no choice but to throw up a shield of her own, which broke under the force of the attack, but which let her finally reach her goal. Her Master.

"Protect us!" she snapped at Waver and Berserker, then brought her staff to James' torso – immediately identifying the problem.

He was dead. But not quite, at the same time. She noticed the handicraft of Scathach glowing softly on his back. She couldn't even recall seeing the god slayer ever cast them. And she felt an alchemical compound in his body, seeking to preserve homeostasis. These efforts were working. Barely.

But it still wasn't enough. Medea knew this, as inherently as she knew her own Noble Phantasm. Pain Breaker reverts all wounds and burdens to before they were attained, but can do nothing to those that are 'dead', and lacking a heart is unfortunately too dead for it to work.

She tuned out the sounds of battle. She tuned it all out and focused on her craft, that which she was taught by Circe: the healing she could perform even without the Noble Phantasm she gained in death.

All she needed to do was return the semblance of life. Then, maybe, she could fix this.

She purified toxins. She replenished blood, and forced newly formed oxygen to go to the brain to stave off brain death, and sent exact currents of thunder into the body to stimulate synapses. She drew out the curse clotting the wound, formed by whatever attack caused this. Nothing. Not yet.

"Come on!" she grit her teeth, and then through sorcery alone she forced blood to flow. Yes. Her power was undeniably based upon Greek principles, and in Greek medicine, the four humours were key. Phlegm. Yellow bile. Black bile. And blood. If he did not qualify for life due to lacking a heart with which to beat, then she would do the job for him.

Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. She forced blood to circulate and seeded oxygen to the necessary blood stream, and through will alone forced his body to operate even without any heart or drive moving it.

"Please! Please work!" with trembling hands, she pressed Pain Breaker to the wound once more, and sent a silent prayer to gods she no longer believed in. "PAIN BREAKER!"

Mana entered the wound, then slowly but surely, she felt it accepted by the body. Before her very eyes, a heart started to form from nothing, and flesh manifested around it to fill in the wound. And like it was a cascade, the heart led to everything else reverting. Cuts were mended, bruises tended, fatigue cast aside.

Inside herself, she felt a tether to him that had previously snapped and re-tethered incorrectly rebind itself, and a fresh new surge of desperate Prana flood across her connection.

James, the Master of the Grey Team, opened his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

I didn't think I was going to wake up. Not after seeing Hassan of the Cursed Arm touch my torso and crush my heart.

So it was with great surprise than I found my eyes opening. The first thing I felt was wetness, as I could see that my head was resting on Medea's lap, and she was crying tears of relief. Ever old reliable Medea, no doubt single handedly being the MVP healer again and bailing my stupid ass out of trouble... (Because of course Zouken had to be a cheating cheater and summon Assassin, of course Sasaki 'dying' wasn't proof of an absence of Hassan, of course I had to miss the obvious and not take this into account!)

The second thing I felt was fire.

"Samadhi Through Transforming Flames!" a blazing fire raged all around us, hot enough to instantly leave me feeling as though I was in a sauna, instantly drying off any tears. Myself, Medea Lily and Waver (almost forgot about him) were all protected by the serpentine form of a Dragon.

I was feeling empty and drained. I was still getting over the fact that holy shit, I'd almost died then, and would have undeniably fallen without Medea. But I still had a job to do. We needed to get out of here.

"Berserker, burn Caster of Blue." she was the problem here now. With all the fighting going off now, we'd likely broken the 'non-aggression' clause of our Geass contract. After all, Hassan hadn't been a apart of our contract. He'd been free to attack us at his leisure, but doing so wouldn't impact the contract. But my Servants attempts at self defence likely did.

Then, the protective warmth was gone as the delicate flower that had now revealed her true form set to the task of nuking the fuck out of my enemies.

Like a river of flame, the dragon lunged right for Caster of Blue, chasing her through the sky as she flew away.

"Are you okay?" Whispered Medea, whose lap I was still resting on.

"No." I said simply, forcing myself off and to my feet. "What's the situation?"

"Rider is fighting the Assassin. I don't know what Lancer is doing. Saber isn't here either. The contract is definitely broken now. The Red Team is definitely gone."

I tried to digest the information. "Do we need to worry about Rule Breaker?"

"Maybe. Her denial of its use isn't tied to the contract, but the Command Seal. But contracts can always be broken..."

"Command Seals an do many things." Waver chipped in this time, a serious look on his face. "Even reinforce other Seals. Perhaps a Command Seal could override another Seal, if what I presume is the topic of this 'Rule Breaker'?"

"But she should be out of them now in that case..."

He shook his head. "Command Seals can be transferred. Are you absolutely certain that she didn't 'borrow' a Seal from an ally beforehand."

Fuck. I can't prove that one of the other Masters didn't give her an extra Seal to play with. With Zouken in play, I can't even guarantee that the two haven't worked together to make new Seals, or something like that. Then there is Kotomine Kirei's excess of Seals from the previous wars...

"Considering the bounty though, she probably felt it was a worthy cost."

"... Waver. Hold the fucking phone. What bounty?"

The head of the El-Meloi gave me a look of confused befuddlement. "The promise of Ruler to offer Command Seals to any that slay one of your Servants?"

She promised what!?

"Ah. You didn't know. My apologies." Waver shrugged. "Well, now you do. Caster of Blue likely assumed that in her betrayal she could kill enough of your Servants to offset her losses."

If I got out of this unscathed, me and Joan of Arc were going to have quite an unpleasant conversation indeed...

BOOM! To say that Kiyohime was coming down on Medea the Elder like a bombing run was an understatement of just how pissed off the Yandere looked. Half of the remaining temple was already on fire again, not even getting into the blackened grass everywhere but where I was.

"Caster, will you support?" I asked.

She frowned. "No. We left you alone for five minutes and your heart was crushed. Rider is fighting Assassin, but all he needs is one opening. Not even getting into what happens if she gets you." Add in Souichirou the actual assassin too...

"Okay." I said. Instead I looked at the now bare flesh of my arm, where the single remaining Command Seal associated with Kiyohime rested. I wondered if it was worth spending it now, if it was worth the contract effectively breaking, just to make sure Medea the Elder went down.

I hated that my Magecraft was so weak, and that as a Master I had so little I could do. I couldn't even use either of the Runic spells I made either! Hell, considering how quickly I'd been burning through my Seals, it wasn't like I could summon Saber to aid me, while Assassin was just a liability...

I slapped a palm against my head. Right. Runes. Dumb me. "I really hope she forgives me. Lancer, to my side." The construct of Mana on my shoulder burned up, signifying the first Seal from Lancer's set being exhausted.

Then, from the air in front of me manifested Lancer, spear poised to strike. She stopped, and instead turned to look at me with a look I scrutinise.

"I'm sorry." I said, plain and simply. I'd promised to never use a Command Seal, and that was an order I broke. I fully expected to suffer her wrath for that. She approached me firmly, and I fully expected at least a punch to the face.

Instead, I received a hug. I could feel the coldness of her spear against my back, but more than that, I felt the warmth of Lancer around me. She felt strong, sturdy, reliable. Then the moment was gone and she pulled away, face as stoic as ever.

"Student, this isn't your fault. Under the circumstances, you have acted as best you can. No - we will analyse your performance later. I am glad that you are relatively unharmed. Now, leave this to me." With that said, crimson particles flickered around her and she drew out a second copy of Gae Bolg.

"Hot damn it she a badass." I thought with a good amount of admiration.

From behind, a horde of Dragon Tooth Warriors had regathered and were shambling towards us. I could spot Kuzuki in the crowd, waiting for his own chance. Lancer moved like lightning, thrusting through one enemy and immediately afterwards tearing apart several dozen more in an increasingly deadly game of death.

Within seconds, there were no guards surrounding Souichirou Kuzuki, whom had taken up a defensive stance. Lancer made sure to capitalise on her success, aiming right for the throat of Caster of Blue's Master.

So when I saw a crimson blur and blood spilling I full expected to see a corpse on the ground, but much to my surprise that was too much to hope. Somehow, probably through the broken as hell Reinforcement of Caster able to let him fight Saber on equal footing in some circumstances and the inherent skill of a stupidly competent assassin.

It was enough for him to escape with his life, but little more. His arm was hanging wrong and a great red gash went from shoulder to opposing waste.

Even Lancer looked a little amazed, pausing her assault. And that, was definitely a mistake.

"Lancer! Finish it!"

"Too late." Kozuki raised his hand, a reolute look on his face. I knew that look. It was that of someone who knew he wasn't going to win the next bout, but wasn't going to let that stop him. "Ignore your last Command Seal order."

With that said, I knew that the shit had hit the fan. All bets were off. Scathach corrected her mistake. She raised her hands, and this time she thrust not with two spears but with seven. Kozuki was able to bat aside the first. I think he dodged the second. The third hit not lethally. By the fourth, he was dashing forwards into the attack (perhaps aiming for a mutual KO), actively slapping the spear away with an open palm. But the others were all lethal. All of them struck as intended before he could even clear half the distance between himself and Scathach.

Kozuki Soucihirou, Master of Caster, was undeniably dead. But the damage was done.

"MASTER!" what could only be described as a wail of horror surged across the battlefield. I looked back to where Medea had been having an aerial dogfight with Kiyohime. I could see her still flying away from the Dragon, somehow being able to manoeuvrer around the fantastical beast. She was horror struck. She was open.

If ever there was a proper opening for Kiyohime to get her target, it would be now. But if ever there was a time where the reverse was true, it was also now.

["Kiyohime! Retreat!"] I ordered mentally through the tool Medea made for me. I wasn't even going to try and get her to hear my shouts.

But Kiyohime ignored me. No, she listened to me, but I just knew what she was thinking. 'Anchin is too nice. Too lenient. Bitch has gotta burn'.

["FUCKS SAKE! RETREAT!"]Perhaps this order got through to her. Maybe, because while I couldn't read dragon body language, but it looks like she hesitated.

It was too late. She'd committed. Jaws of fire closed down around Medea the Elder, and it should have been the end of it. I gripped my arm, scrutinising the field, watching, waiting. If she didn't dodge, then with fire like that there should be nothing left. But if she didn't...

THERE! A flare of purple energy. Kiyohime roared, and something glowing burst from within her stomach. The dragon flailed, and I saw something akin to a circle. I gripped my Command Seal. One left. Did I need to-

Like paper in a breeze, something dark whirled through the air, manifesting from Shadows. A cloak! Caster, still down an arm, blade raised. Blade raised!

"Kiyohime,"

The blade has already pierced into her fiery hide. Upon plunging into Kiyohime, the Noble Phantasm exploded into ominous light, and I could feel it cut.

"Rule Breaker." Caster intoned loudly enough for all to hear.

And then that connection between us, that tether of mana running between me and her

Snapped.

The Dragon roared out in pain, in horror, then feel silent.

"Oh no." Medea the younger whispered. The worst possible outcome had just occurred. "We need to run."

"Rider, to me!" I was like a broken record at this point, chanting the same fucking orders over and over. But I needed her, and so my first Servant appeared before me. She didn't need to say anything, nor did I. My expression said all that she needed to know, and she immediately manifested her chariot, all but tossing me onto it in her haste. I felt the wind leave me as another body hit me – Waver. It felt a little bad to admit, but I just kept forgetting about the mind controlled Magus.

Even as I fell, all I could do was look up at the sky where the blazing Dragon was horribly silent, its skin writhing and flickering, before the blaze returned. Then, the Dragon looked at Caster of Blue, and finally turned its eyes upon me.

Never before had I known what it felt like to be so small. What it felt like to be before a hungry tiger and covered in steaks. And then the Dragon's mouth opened and a remarkably feminine (if distorted) voice spoke words that cut through my heart like hot iron across butter. "YoU ArEn'T mY AnCHiN."

"Berserker," caster of Blue said with voice like honey and poison. "Kill them all for me."

The Dragon roared, and it was as if the raging fire that was Kiyohime had been doused in gasoline. Her new Master certainly had no comeuppance in fuelling her, that was for sure.

"This has gone on long enough!" I realised that while Medea had joined me in the chariot, Lancer still hadn't. No. She stood between us and the raging Phantasmal Beast, spears still wet with the blood of an enemy Master, which she planted defiantly into the ground. Unspoken, I felt her draw on a massive amount of Prana from me. It was the most any Servant had ever tried to taken at once. More than Saber's Noble Phantasm, more still than Berserker's. If they had taken buckets out of me, then Lancer was aiming for the entire freakin' well.

The air itself seemed to become heavy and cold as a wide ring of red mana exploded from where Lancer stood, and I realised that a light fog was leaving my mouth whenever I exhaled. The sky itself was twisting too, as if a storm was kicking off and this was the eye itself. Above us, facing the ground, manifested a stone slab.

No, it was a doorway. A gate. Intricately carved, I could even recognise what looked like Runes running across its frame. The doors trembled, as if being pushed with great force. "Beyond these gates lie only your deaths. Gate of Skye: to the Magical Realm Brimming with Death!"

The stone doors slid open now, effortlessly. I caught a glimpse of mountain tops and snow, cold winds and white skies, before the gateway started to pull. A wind so strong that I felt like the storm analogy wasn't too inaccurate. The force of it was so strong that I had to look away and grip the floor of the chariot tightly. Even then it felt like I was going to be pulled away.

"Watch. We're safe." Whispered Medea. I opened my eyes and looked back to the battlefield and saw that if I felt bad, our enemies were fucked.

The gate was positioned overhead, and it was effecting everyone in the battle. Leftover Dragon Tooth Warriors were being sucked up into the gate like spiders going down a drain, while what almost looked like wings were flaring up around Caster of Blue. She wasn't being pulled in, but nor was she making any distance away form it. To the edge of the lake, I saw Assassin glow and all but ignore the pull, taking this chance to slip away towards the open treeline that was only partially on-fire. Clearly, he didn't have any intention of remaining in a fight like this once all the Bullshit started to fly.

Then there was Kiyohime whom was being tugged slowly closer, but was visibly struggling against it. Movement was slow, and I knew Kiyohime. As long as her anchin was in trouble, she'd never give up until the bitter, very bloody end.

The pit in my stomach was just because I was pissed that such behaviour was in the hands of the enemy, and nothing else, thank you (what self delusion, eh?).

"For fucks sake, E-Ranked Luck!" I only had a moment to blink in surprise as I heard Irish Hercules curse, before then I saw a body from further up hill be dragged kicking and screaming up into the sky.

I mentally pressed F for the Lancer of Blue. Poor bastard.

He gave one last valiant attempt to escape. He was drawing Runes in the air. They glowed briefly and the winds abated and he plunged towards the ground, carving more with his lance as he fell. It almost looked like he was going to succeed... before the winds picked up once more, and with a second tug the Lancer was pulled back even harder.

There might have been a look of resignation on his face as he finally fell through the gate and out of sight.

"How much longer is this going to last!?" Shouted Rider, visibly trying to keep the chariot anchored to the ground.

"I don't know!" I shouted back. Looking to Lancer, she seemed to be concentrating intently. There was sweat upon her brow, her face was scrunched up and her eyes shut. The draw of mana from her was as strong as ever – she showed no signs of stopping.

I had a sudden horrifying thought. She would keep this up until either Medea the Elder was dragged through, the Dragon which was now our enemy was sucked in, or until she was forced to stop. "We're at a stalemate." It was just a matter of which of us broke first.

But was there anything we could do to tip the odds in our favour? If Lancer stopped her Gate, then Kiyohime would fall upon us before we could flee and burn me alive (even if the other Servants could get away). But nobody could do anything to interfere with this and tip the scales: Saber was away and had no ranged capabilities, Mata Hari's Noble Phantasm likely undeployable considering the conditions, Medea and Boudica focused on protecting me and making sure that nothing unexpected happened to me.

So nobody could tip the balance... at the moment.

"LANCER!" I shouted, and the god-slayer briefly opened one eye to look at me. She was paying attention. "I'm gonna do something dumb! Don't target them!"

A look of understanding before she grinned ferally and nodded her head.

"Rider, your sword." I ordered.

With some confusion she drew her blade. "Master, my projectiles won't-"

I didn't bother to explain myself. Instead, I reached out and drew my palm across it, letting crimson life essence bleed from the wound. I held my hand out over the edge of the chariot and squeezed, letting blood flow. It hurt like a bitch but I ignored it, trying to pour as much energy as I could out of the wound while still maintaining Lancer. I could feel the drain as the spell started – this may very well lead to me running on fumes for the first time since this war began.

There was no circle. I didn't have time to complete the full chant. That didn't matter. All that mattered was my will and my power.

"In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer." I spoke firmly, voice resolute. I poured out the power, and ignored the visible crimson light dripping to the ground and not flying right into the eye of the storm. I focused on my need right now. I focused on the burning rage I felt. At the horror of almost dying today, of actually dying today. I focused on all that I wanted to do, all that I could lose.

I focused on the goddamn cucking Caster who stole my Berserker, because FUCK THAT BITCH, she was a pain in the ass but she was MY stalking pain in the ass!

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead!" I poured it all out. All that I had. All my hopes and all my fears. All the magic I could afford and more. My body was burning up. My newly healed heart ached. The wind turbines that I used to visualise my powers activating were spinning so fast they were smoking.

It didn't matter. None of it. The magic was working. There was a circle, I could feel it. Large and vast, and bigger than any other I'd manifested. I needed to break the stalemate. I needed power. I needed something new. And what better answer was there than to attempt to summon my final Servant, even if it was too early, even if I was ill prepared, even if I was dead on my feet?

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――!" my cry rung out into the open air, loud and clear. It was a cry for aid. As simple as that.

My neck burned, and I felt something tug and answer.

For a moment I blacked out. I was on the floor, and Medea was worrying over me in her normally adorable manner.

"Did it work?" I asked.

"I don't think so." she said, looking out. "My bitchy older self tried to hit you once the circle started up, but we stopped her. Nothing has shown up though."

"Then my gamble failed. Get ready to grab Lancer. We're gonna have to run."

"I'm ready." Rider said simply.

["Get ready to jump on so we can flee."] I sent to Lancer. Once again, she acknowledged my words. We couldn't keep this up. My gamble hadn't paid off. We needed to leave. ["Saber, everything is fucked up. We're fleeing. Try to join us, but if you can't, escape yourself."]

["I'm glad to hear from you."] They replied. ["My questions can wait. I shall endeavour to flee once this blasted wind has stopped."]

That should take care of all the loose endings. "NOW!"

With a final, terrible groan the gates slid shut and faded away. It was a great relief to finally feel the tug of mana for maintaining that Noble Phantasm cease. I saw Lancer leap onto the chariot, and then we were off.

The chase was on.

"Don't let them get away!" Ordered a panicked Caster of Blue, firing great rays of light at us. Kiyohime was happy to comply, and the Dragon happily pursued us.

We passed the edge of the hill, went over the completely destroyed temple. All we needed to do was get past the gate and we were home free!

But Kiyohime was fast, and her Stalking skill was immense. She had no desire let us flee, and she was right behind us. Close enough to be uncomfortable. Close enough for Medea to cast a flame resistance spell on me just so my clothing wouldn't set alight.

"My, oh my!" a loud voice rung across the battlefield. Was that... Rin? I turn away from Kiyohime towards Rin to see her... standing atop the Temple gate!? But why was Rin blonde, dressed in a dark coat and wielding what looks like a fuck-tonne big bow made out of stone?

"These circumstances are certainly unusual," continued Rin. "While normally one such as I would never get involved in matters like this, for one time only, this Servant 'Archer' will interfere!" She pulled her arm back upon the bow and crimson energy formed along it. Then she released it and several crimson red spears were fired, striking Kiyohime in her side.

The Dragon fell, and amongst the ruins below I saw the fires fading away and a human body emerging once more. Kiyohime had likely overused her Noble Phantasm. She was out. But weren't done just yet. Caster of Blue was still coming for us.

"Get in or we'll leave you behind!" I yelled at Rin, or rather, Archer, as she was now announcing herself as. I had a brief glimpse of Rin floundering, her face going through several instances of embarrassment, outrage, annoyance and finally acceptance. She stepped off the edge of the edge of the temple and landed on our chariot as we passed underneath.

["Saber, are you out?"] I quickly asked. We'd breached the gate, but had they?

["Yes. I escaped while you were drawing the attention of the Dragon. I'm watching from the treeline, and will catch up with you later."]

I let out a sigh of relief. They'd got out. We'd only lost Kiyohime. I looked back towards the temple. Caster had stopped chasing us at the gate. She knew her odds were now a lot lower against us. Assassin had noped out, Lancer had been sucked up, her new asset was exhausted and out of fuel and she was without an arm.

Our eyes briefly met and something passed between us like a grudge. Unfinished business. She vowed to kill me. I'd taken her beloved Souichirou away from her. Meanwhile, she'd stabbed me in the back, albeit expectedly. More than that, she'd taken Kiyohime away. I'd vowed to leave the war with no casualties, and I didn't intend to break my word.

I would be back.

"S-so, this may be a little late to say so..." Rin was standing away from me at the back of the chariot, desperately trying to appear aloof and regal even while she was desperately gripping onto the side of the vehicle for stability. "but I am the goddess Ereshikgal, the Mistress of the Nether World! Based upon circumstances, I must ask you: are you my Master?"

… hang on. Goddess? Ereshikgal? From Mesopotamian legend? From the same circle that Gilgamesh and Enkidu and their ilk come from. How the fuck did I summon a Goddess? And why does she look like Tohsaka Rin? I mean, I know Saber-faces are a thing and there is no reason why Nero and Arthur should look the same, but even so!

"O-oi! Say something already!" The self proclaimed goddess said indignantly. "Here I am answering a mere mortals prayers, and yet I get the silent treatment?"

… Right. Contract with a goddess to form. Postulate later. "Sorry, it's been a terrible day." I admitted. "I was overwhelmed by summoning a Goddess as beautiful as yourself."

Critical hit! The Rin-face acted as if she'd been nailed with a dozen arrows. Was that a flush of Tsundere I saw there upon her cheeks.

"D-don't think complimenting me will make me go easy on you, m-mortal." she sternly noted, looking away. "So?"

"Yes. I am your Master." I reaffirmed. "Welcome to the team. I have a load of questions, and I bet you have lots too, but can this wait until we get back to the base?"

"Let it not be said that I am not a benevolent goddess." she decided, and that was that.

Rider took us down to the ground level, and we awkwardly waited for awhile until Saber could catch up with us, looking better than most of us did. "Hello all," they said, approaching us. "I see that we have a new member amongst us. An unexpected summoning?"

"Something like that." I muttered.

"I recommend that we all return to your home base." Suggested Waver. "It would be tactically sound for you to rest and replan. Likewise, you'll want to do something with me so that I can be controlled once again when sunrise arrives."

"No. I really don't think that will be necessary." And so once again, someone else comes from the fucking woodworks to screw up this night even further.

Earlier, I had wondered if things could possibly go worse today. Clearly, the universe still had several hand grenades to throw my way.

"Y-you!" Rin- no, Ereshikgal pointed at the new individual as he casually walked towards us, hands in his pockets, as if he was only having a casual stroll in the cool winters night.

"Gilgamesh." I croaked, finally meeting the demigod from the Fourth War that I had been so reluctant to encounter.

"It really is a shame." he explained casually, stopping some 15 meters away from us. "You were quite an interesting figure to watch, Master of Grey. Tonight was quite a bloody show after all! It almost returned my hopes for an entertaining event."

"H-happy that it met your expectations, your majesty." I bowed my head, respectfully. Because I knew when to shut the fuck up, and that time was now. At full power, we'd be hard pressed to face off against this Servant. And we were NOT at our best.

Every encounter had to be treated as if it could end in disaster. We couldn't afford to make an enemy of him.

"Unfortunately, you just had to push your luck with those summons of yours." He shrugged his shoulders in a 'eh, what can you do?' sort of meaning. Behind him, dozens of golden portals manifested one after the other. "Alas, if there is one thing I can suffer less in my garden than the pitiful humans that now occupy it... it is the Divine."

I gave Ereshikgal a look that clearly screamed 'what the fuck did you do!?', while she returned my look with a face of 'don't look at me!'.

["Everyone, prepare for combat."] I mentally ordered. Gates of Babylon was a statement. The King saw fit to descend from his spot as a spectator and take to the stands. He wouldn't do this half heartedly. ["If he does anything too dramatic, if he draws a key, then love of god, KILL HIM DEAD. I don't care if it kills you! If he pulls out Ea, then everything is over!"]

"I once promised to kill Ishtar, if ever she showed her face to me again." announced Gilgamesh.

"Your majesty, this is Ereshikgal, not Ishtar." Sure, the latter apparently killed his best friend in mythology, but what had the former done to him? I didn't even really know of her legends besides the domain she apparently ruled over!

"Indeed," he replied rather pleasantly, nodding his head. "but she is almost as bad. The Queen of the Great Below and the Heavenly Mistress Ishtar are sibling deities, are they not – two sides of the same coin, to use a modern expression. Where one goes, so too does the others influence stretch."

Countless blades poked their sharp pointy ends through the various portals leading to his vast treasury. "I am afraid to say this, foolish child, but your your Fate was sealed the moment that goddess breathed the same air as myself. Your war ends here. Now. With me."

AN- so yeah. Lancer is out of the count, Rin died off screen, Caster of Blue's Master is dead, the elusive Archer has been finally summoned, the 'James dying' plot thread has been reasonably sorted out, Gilgamesh is entering the fray and Kiyohime has NSFW'd by Caster. So lots of fun.

As for Archer, I was originally going to go with Ishtar, but Eresh is best goddess. Fight me. (Forgive me my first 5 star, Big Sis Wrestling Goddess, but look into your heart! You know it to be true!). So this Eresh is rather different to her FGO counterpart, and is in a different Class to match. I will likely reveal her stats at some point in the future, but let's just say she is an anti-Divinity Servant.

So until next time (which should hopefully be much sooner!), Undying Soul out.