I did want to get this one out a bit quicker than the last one I did as an apology for how long the last one took. So this one is going to be a little fun chapter. Because if you remember in Orleans...we meet an old friend of Artoria's! It uh...does not exactly mean that that meeting is going to be a happy one. So, without further ado (and yes I did take a tiny bit from a certain fight before you ask...) I'll let you read this new chapter of this madness (because ngl...I so pictured this fight between those two when I was going through it!)

Orleans: Search for the Dragonslayer

Cira sat underneath a tree trying to regain what energy she had lost in the previous engagement while Lily and Marie both went into the town. Mainly because of their naturally sweet dispositions. Artoria had elected to stay behind to guard Cira as did Cu Chulainn and Mash. Jeanne decided to stay behind due to the fact that there was likely to be a panic should she have entered the town.

"Master!" Lily's voice chirped within Cira's skull, "Marie and I will be returning soon...I suggested we get some food and other supplies while we are here in town. I don't doubt my hunting abilities...nor that of Artoria or Cu, but having bread might be lovely sometimes!"

"Sounds good, thank you Lily," Cira returned with a slight nod.

"Master," Artoria's voice called, making Cira reopen her eyes, "Lily and Queen Marie are returning from the town, they will be here within half an hour."

"I know, she just told me too," Cira smiled, "Uh, Artoria...can I talk to you a bit?"

The King's head tilted slightly and Cira patted the ground next to her. Artoria nodded and gracefully sat down next to her Master.

"Why haven't you told Lily about you and Camlann?" Cira asked, "It's her future too...she has a right to know,"

Artoria's face darkened slightly and her hands twisted in the fabric of her skirt. She refused to meet Cira's gaze and was silent for a long while.

"I...do not want to take that innocence from her," Artoria finally said, "Seeing her...so full of hope and light...how could I tell her that she, so loved by everyone and who loves everyone around her, dies alone and hated on a sword strewn hill,"

Her voice trembled a little and Cira's heart sank.

"Master, I am begging you," Artoria whispered, "And I do not do that lightly...I beg of you, do not tell Lily the fate that awaits her in the future. She has a frozen existence in which she does not know what she is going to experience. She will not know the loss and heartache that came with my reign. She will still have her brother, her best friend, her mentor...I have none of them. I ended up alone...I cannot bear to tell her how our story ends and I will not let anyone tell her that until the time is right,"

"But that's not fair to her!" Cira protested, "Yeah I don't want to see her dread the future either, but Artoria...she has a right to know,"

"I cannot tell her," Artoria hissed, "I will not see her light die from the hopeless existence that I had!"

Cira opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by the sound of Lily's laughter on the breeze.

"This isn't over, Artoria, we're going to keep talking about this," Cira warned.

"And my answer shall remain the same, Master," Artoria stated as she got to her feet and helped Cira to hers.

Cira sighed but the two of them made their way over to Marie and Lily who both carried baskets filled to the brim with fruits, vegetables, breads and blankets.

"It's not much, but we got what we could," Lily beamed.

"It turns out that Miss Lily is quite the performer!" Marie smiled, "Certainly the phrase 'sing for your supper' is apt!"

Lily's face turned red.

"I just told a few stories and people were entertained," she admitted, "It wasn't anything special...just stories my teacher told me,"

"Did you guys learn anything?" Cira asked.

"Well, it turns out Lyon was destroyed not too long ago," Marie frowned, "The refugees all made their way here,"

"It's full of monsters now," Lily added, leaning on Caliburn as her hands folded over the sapphire in it's hilt, "But before that happened...they said Lyon had a protector,"

"So someone who fought the monsters?" Cu Chulainn asked.

Lily nodded.

"They said he was a knight with a large sword," she said, "And he defeated all sorts of wyverns and skeletons…"

"He has to be the Servant that Martha talked about," Cira nodded.

"I don't know of any dragonslayers," Lily admitted, looking up at Artoria, "Does this sound familiar to you?"

"I could name a few," Artoria admitted, "Ourselves for one, Lily, our brother Sir Kay, our nephew Sir Gawain, Sir Tristan, Sir Lancelot...of those that wielded a great sword? Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot come to mind,"

"So maybe they are one of ours?"

"Perhaps...however, there are many dragonslayers within the world," Artoria told her, "Saint Georgios, Siegfried, Sigurd...they could be any of them,"

"Guess there's one way to find out," Cira said, "But that's the thing...if Lyon is destroyed...then...what happened to the hero?"

"The people of Lyon said that some 'scary people' showed up," Marie said, "Likely the Servants we all ran into at La Charite,"

"They must have taken him away so that Lyon would fall," Jeanne reasoned, "We should still go there...Saint Martha may have gave us the clue of him being held there,"

"Oh! There was one more thing, Jeanne…" Marie put a hand on Jeanne's shoulder, "The people said that a certain General Gilles de Rais marshalled the routed soldiers of Lyon,"

"Gilles?" Jeanne whispered, her violet eyes rekindling with hope, "My Gilles?"

Marie beamed, nodding, "They said he is rallying to soldiers to retake Lyon! We might run into him!"

Jeanne's happy light dimmed as her shoulders sagged and she shook her head.

"He will just see me as the Dragon Witch," she admitted, "He will never accept me like that,"

Marie's cobalt gaze narrowed and she closed an eye.

"I don't think that's quite right, but I do understand if you don't want to see him," she said.

"However," Jeanne started, "I do not think those soldiers can retake Lyon by themselves. So, we should go and assist them,"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Cira nodded, "Let's do it!"

"Oh her enthusiasm is so sweet," Marie cooed, standing on her tiptoes and giving Cira a chaste kiss on both cheeks.

"W-What!?" Cira sputtered, "Um...Marie that was not necessary,"

Cu Chulainn laughed, Mozart snorted and Mash started sputtering, fretting over Cira who was rubbing the lipstick mark Marie left off her cheek.

"Oh I had to," Marie grinned, "Call me an imp if you must,"

"I plan to," Cira groused.

Fortunately the trip to Lyon was uneventful. No wyverns dared attack them for some reason, though Cira wondered if it was because of the slightly hostile aura that both Lily and Artoria were giving off. Hostile to her? No. But there was a feeling of unease that entered her heart whenever she looked at the two and she wasn't sure why it was.

The smoking ruins above them were eerily silent, not even the screech of wyverns accompanied the wind that moaned quietly through the shattered stonework.

"It doesn't look like anyone is here," Mash started, "Doctor, are there any lifesigns?"

"Ma...do...be…" Romani's voice crackled before it cut out completely.

"...Looks like we're on our own?" Cira asked, getting a nod from Mash.

"Doesn't look like the reception is very good here," she admitted.

"We should split up and see if we can find this dragon slayer," Jeanne said, "There are Seven of us Servants, so we could go in groups of three and four with Cira accompanying the group of three,"

"Amadeus and I will go on the west side," Marie said.

"I'll go with you!" Lily nodded.

"And I'll go protect little Miss Lily," Cu Chulainn said, "So you three make sure Master stays safe, got it?"

"As if I would do anything else," Artoria stated, "But please be safe,"

"Agreed," Cira nodded, "I don't anything to happen to you guys. If there's trouble, get out as fast as you can and let me know, ok?"

"No sweat, Master," Cu Chulainn grinned, "Shouldn't be do problematic...besides, Lily's scaring off the wyverns just by being here...same with Artoria,"

"Eh!?" Cira blinked, "What you mean?"

"Oh I don't think that's something I've got the right to tell," Cu Chulainn chuckled.

"Cu!" Cira protested as he gave a wave and jogged off to catch up with Lily, Marie and Mozart, "...I swear to God I'm going to shake that Lancer…"

She turned to Artoria, but the King was already wandering towards the Castle with Jeanne, leaving Mash with Cira.

"Oh come on!" Cira huffed, "I will get that answer! Artoriaaaaaa!"

She started jogging to catch up with the Saber and Ruler servants, Mash following close behind her as they entered the castle.

"Artoria, what was Cu…" Cira started, only to get cut off by Artoria putting a finger to her lips.

"We are not alone," Artoria warned, "I do not know what is here, but we are not alone,"

"Maybe the dragonslayer?"

"Perhaps,"

Whumph!

The party of four froze.

"...What was that…?" Cira asked.

She saw Jeanne's grip on her spear tighten and saw the faint, writhing wind of Excalibur enter Artoria's hands as both Frenchwoman and Briton looked at each other and nodded.

"Cira, please stand behind us," Jeanne ordered, "This could be bad,"

Cira's communicator beeped and Romani's voice piped up.

"FINALLY I GOT A HOLD OF YOU!" he yelled, "Cira, you need to get out of there! Something's coming, a much...much greater magical signal than a Servant! The scanners say something about an 'ultra-size lifeform! And it is coming really fast towards your location."

Cira's face went pale and she turned towards Artoria, who seemed extremely tense and the aura that Cira had been feeling seemed even stronger than ever.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" Romani groaned, "AND ON TOP OF THIS THERE ARE THREE SERVANTS COMING YOUR WAY!"

"Master!" Cu Chulainn's voice rang, "We are gonna want to get outta here. I can see things comin' and none of them are good. I'd say we could handle the Servants but uh...it...it's not just them. It's something big and I don't think we're equipped to take it on!"

"I agree…" Lily's voice added, oddly serious, "This is bad...really bad…"

"...Cu and Lily say we should get out of here," Cira relayed to Jeanne, "The problem is if we leave...that Dragonslayer might get killed if he's here…"

"What are you suggesting?" Jeanne asked.

"Lily, Mozart, Cu, and Marie hold them off for a bit or annoy them while we find the Dragonslayer?" Cira suggested, "If it gets bad, we all bolt. But I have the feeling if we don't find him, we're doomed."

Artoria nodded.

"Lily may be young, but she still has the training I do," Artoria said, "The difference is experience, age and weaponry. Caliburn is weaker than Excalibur, it always has been. She will be able to last a little while, but more than a few minutes is pushing the limit,"

"Lily, Cu, I want you and the other two to try and harass the newcomers," Cira said, "We're gonna try to find this dragonslayer. If it gets bad...or you two can't handle it...get out. We'll be right behind you, ok?"

"Gotcha," Cu said.

"You can count on us, Master!" Lily agreed.

"They're up for it, now we need to hurry," Cira said, "Let's find this guy and get out. Doctor Roman, do the scanners pick up any other servants?"

"...Other than the seven of you guys and the three incoming?" Romani paused for a moment before letting out an 'aha!' "Right ahead of you guys...but it's super faint, barely there…"

"Alright we got him, let's go!" Cira ordered, pointing ahead towards the main keep of the castle.

The group of four charged forwards, coming to some gates that were seemingly locked shut. Artoria held her blade horizontally before her, something Cira had seen once before. She grabbed Jeanne's shoulder and gently tugged her back while Mash stood before them with her shield raised. The wind magic concealing Artoria's blade suddenly surged forward in a razor sharp whipping motion, exposing the golden blade for a split second and shattering the doors off their hinges with a loud crack while splinters pinged off Mash's shield.

The three Servants and Master all charged into the room, expecting a fight...but found instead a man chained to the wall. He was heavily beaten and bruised, blood seeping from multiple lacerations on his person. His hair was grayed prematurely, as he seemed no older than thirty at most. His armor was black for the most part with silver accents, Cira noticed that the front was mostly exposed, leaving a long and jagged mark that glowed a pale green white. A massive greatsword lay to the side, plain and undecorated save for the cross at it's hilt.

"Is he one of yours?" Cira asked, kneeling before the man and checking for a pulse, "Oh thank God he's alive,"

"...He is not one of mine," Artoria stated...thought Cira detected what seemed to be unease in her voice.

"Artoria?" Cira asked, looking at the King...who was a very good distance away from him, "Are you ok?"

"No but I will be fine," came the curt response, "Master, please, free him from his bonds and we shall retreat with Lily and Cu Chulainn,"

"What has gotten into you," Cira blinked as Jeanne knelt and broke the chains easily, "You are not normally like this,"

Artoria did not answer, though she seemed to tense when he began to stir. Light flashed into his eyes and the Dragonslayer seemed to come alive. His hand grabbed his sword and Cira yelped as she felt Artoria's gauntleted hand suddenly grab the collar of her shirt and yank her and Mash backwards. The King put herself between the Dragonslayer and her Master and Cira could have sworn she heard Artoria growl.

"One...after...another…" he hissed, swinging his sword, which Mash blocked with her shield.

"E-Easy!" Cira tried, putting a hand on her shorter Saber's shoulder, "Look, we don't want to hurt you...we came to help!"

The man blinked once, twice, three times before shaking his head.

"Ugh...Forgive me...I'm so sorry," he apologized, "I thought you were…"

"It's an honest mistake," Jeanne said, "Please...you are the Dragonslayer, yes?"

He gave a slow nod.

"Thank heaven," Jeanne whispered, "There is a dragon heading this way, we need you to help us stop it,"

The man frowned, his eyes flicking to Artoria for a split moment and she shifted on her feet, though her grip on her sword did not waver.

"...Show me," he finally said.

"MASTER WE NEED YOU OUT HERE NOW!" Cu Chulainn roared, "OH SH-!"

He was cut off as a shrieking roar caught Cira's ear and made the castle shake in its foundations. Cira bolted, fear clutching at her heart as she dove out the front door to see the four Servants staring up at the sky as fire blazed around the courtyard of the castle. Cira's gaze followed them...and her heart nearly stopped.

She saw the Darkened Jeanne astride a massive black dragon. Much bigger than Tarasque, much bigger than any wyvern. She saw Lily gripping her sword in both hands, she looked pissed for one matter. Artoria held the same expression on her face, both Britons looked...almost territorial if Cira had to put a name to it. Like it was infringing on something they had claim on.

"I was wondering what you found!" the Dark Jeanne called down, "Just another dying Servant it looks like! Very well, you can all die together."

She pointed her spear at the group and the dragon reared back his head, fire gathering in his maw.

"Maria, get back!" Mozart yelled, stepping in front of Marie while Cu Chulainn quickly drew a rune in the air, hoping for some protection.

Mash stepped in front of Cira, shield raised, though her arms shook heavily. Cira put a hand on her friend's shoulder and closed her eyes, waiting for the flames…

"The evil dragon shall fall, and the world will reach its sunset. I will bring you down!" a male voice roared, "BALMUNG!"

Cira opened her eyes just to see a blaze of cool blue green light shoot past her. The Dragon shrieked in...terror?! She watched, wide eyed as it seemed to climb higher into the sky, far away from them.

"It has been a while, old enemy of mine!" the man shouted, "Fafnir! Did that witch awaken you from your slumber? Hear me! One who rules the Great Blue Sky! My True Name is Siegfried! He who once defeated you!"

The dragon, Fafnir, shrieked in a mix of terror and hatred and flew even higher, eventually turning tail and running. The man, Siegfried, gave a soft laugh before falling to a knee, digging his blade into the dirt, the golden light from it dying and dimming back to silver.

"You...stopped it," Mozart started, "You must be that Dragonslayer Saint Martha spoke of,"

"Thank you," Cira breathed, "Not going to lie...I thought we were all toast there,"

"I am glad I was able to help you," Siegfried smiled, "However...I'm sorry, but I think that is all I can do…"

He pitched forwards and Jeanne caught him before he hit the ground.

"He needs to rest and heal," Jeanne said, "We need to get out of here,"

"I agree," Artoria said as Cu Chulainn offered to take Siegfried, which Jeanne obliged him to, "This is no place for a man to heal from his wounds. He needs a healer."

"Let's head back to the town, the people of Lyon would be happy to heal their savior," Marie suggested, to which she met no resistance.

"Alright, so what is you two's problem with Siegfried," Cira started, looking at the two Britons as they kept shifting their gaze to Cu Chulainn and Mozart who were carrying said dragonslayer, "Lily, you are the most openly friendly person I know besides Mash. And you seem effing terrified of him. Artoria, you're just as bad. You two don't hate him do you?"

"Hate!?" Lily squawked, "No! Nonono! I don't hate him! I don't hate anyone! I just…"

"Feel uneasy about him," Artoria finished, making Lily nod fervently, "Master, you know our title, yes? Particularly our Surname,"

"Pendragon, yeah...but that's just a name. I highly doubt he's tried to kill your line," Cira pointed out.

"...We're...also kinda...the Red Dragon of Briton," Lily mumbled, "And it's ah...well…"

"Master the title is not a random one, nor is it one that just describes my battle prowess," Artoria pointed out, "Lily and I are the last dragon of Albion."

"...Oh…" Cira blinked, "That...makes a lot of sense now...that aura you two have and how the wyverns seem terrified of you when you get close…"

"What is a wyvern to a dragon?" Artoria asked with a slight smile, "Lily and I have a dragon's heart, we were created as the Savior of Briton and the reincarnation of the Red Dragon. So while yes, we do trust Siegfried and believe he is invaluable…"

"Doesn't change the fact that there's still a part of us that is scared of him," Lily admitted, tugging on a bit of her ponytail that came undone in the fight, "He seems nice though…"

"You think this might be a problem?" Cira asked.

"I do not believe so," Artoria said, "So long as we stay away from his blade should he use it again,"

"Yeah because I don't want to lose either of you," Cira nodded, "I can talk to him about it...you think he knows?"

"He knows," the Pendragons nodded.

"He can sense it much like we can sense him," Artoria explained, "An-"

She froze and Cira nearly ran into her.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked.

"Servants," Artoria growled, as Cu Chulainn also froze and seemed to perk up much like a hunting dog who smelled his quarry, "Lancer, you sense them as well?"

"Yeah, they're the two that were with Miss French Toast back at Lyon," he said, "I didn't get a look at 'em then...one's a silver-haired guy and the other's this...black...thing. I couldn't get a read on 'im."

"Are you sure?" Cira asked.

"It's...weird," Cu Chulainn admitted, "It's like he's covered in smoke or mist…"

"Well, that is quite rude," a male voice said, making Cira turn towards the sound and suddenly yep as she was pushed backwards by Mash.

"Mash!?" Cira demanded, only to be met with a silence as the Shielder's golden gaze locked onto the newcomers.

As Cu Chulainn had said, one was a silver-haired man with piercing blue eyes dressed in black and wielding a sword with a blade that looked scarily like a guillotine's blade. The other...Cira couldn't get a clear look at him. Black mist and smoke seemed to curl around him, dripping to the ground and writhing about him, obscuring anything identifying from view save for a few details. He was dressed completely in armor, including helm to hide his face, the slits in his visor shone with scarlet light.

Cira frowned, narrowing her vision to the first man and checking his stats.

"Assassin," she clarified to her Servants as well as the three uncontracted ones, "His stats are low...lot of D ranks with an A in his Luck though."

"And the other?" Artoria asked.

Cira shook her head as her vision swam.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Cu Chulainn demanded, "you're a Master, you should be able to see what his stats are!"

"I can't, Lancer!" Cira protested, "That mist...whatever it is...I can't see through it. It's hiding everything,"

"This is bad," Lily whispered.

"...We shouldn't be here," Mash finally said, not taking her eyes off the knight in black armor, "Something feels wrong. Very wrong. I don't know what it is,"

The black knight's helm cocked slightly as he heard her voice, a choked whispering hum emanating from him as the two seemed to lock eyes, making Mash tense even more as her body seemed to shake...though it wasn't from fear.

"I don't know why...but I feel...anger. Lots of anger," she hissed, "That knight...should not be here. I don't like it,"

Cira opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Marie.

"Oh! Well, fancy seeing you here you lazy artisan!" she laughed, "I could never forget that face!"

"Nor I forget yours," the assassin grinned back, "Not your face nor your pale white neck. At the same time, I feel like it is destiny, you and I meeting once more. Don't we? The executioner killing the same person twice...seems a bit poetic,"

"Not only in life but even now all you want to do is execute her?" Mozart hissed, "Charles Henri-Sanson, could it be you are truly mad?"

The assassin, Sanson, rolled his eyes and sighed.

"It is never a pleasant feeling conversing with you, musician," he growled, "You claim all human lives are filthy, Amadeus...no. No human lives are sacred, precious things. Which is why we executioners treat them as such. You and I will never get along,"

"Damn right we will not!" Mozart snapped.

"Trash who wouldn't love humans, who couldn't understand them, who has no right to be standing next to her!" Sanson snapped, getting Lily to move away from him as he started to move towards Mozart.

The movement of the young King did not go unnoticed.

The knight in black armor seemed to shake, his armor rattling. Cira looked at him just in time to see him throw back his head and howl. Tendrils seemed to explode from his armor and with an even louder shriek he bolted towards Lily.

"LILY!" Artoria roared, ramming into her younger self and sending her to the ground as the knight's weapon slashed over their heads.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

Artoria was up on her feet in a flash, parrying the strike he threw at her. Invisible blade and smoking thing clanging off each other and throwing scarlet sparks with every strike. Artoria raised her armored boot and kicked him in the chest, sending him staggering. Artoria darted forwards through the dust kicked up by their battle, sword in two hands as she charged. The knight lowered his head, letting the blade screech off his helm before kicking her back.

"Are you ok?" Cira asked, kneeling down to Lily and helping her sit up.

"I'm ok," she said, "My head hurts though…"

"Any idea why he went for you?"

"No…" Lily blinked, "I've never seen him before in my life."

She shuddered, holding her arms as she brought her legs closer to her.

"He is a powerful knight though…"

Artoria rebounded from him kicking her, leaping high and holding her blade in a two handed chop that would have cleaved his helm in two. He dropped the weapon and clasped his hands around the smoky blade, ignoring the crimson blood that started to seep through it.

The King's eyes widened in astonishment, yanking the blade back to her side, crimson blood streaking the blade from where he had caught it. She leaped backwards a safe ways away, pointing her blade at him.

"From your skill, I assume you to be a knight of some renown, and so I ask you this," she started, her voice shaking slightly, "If you know me to be Artoria Pendragon, King of Briton, name yourself, as a knight's pride demands! Challenging me with your identity concealed is tantamount to attacking using deceit!"

The black knight gave a horrible, choked sound...and then it transformed into a strangled laugh. The smoky haze around the knight seemed to blow away and a sword appeared in his hand.

And then something happened that Cira had never expected.

Artoria dropped her sword in shock...and there was an expression on her face that made Cira's heart drop.

Fear.

"...No...no...nonono, you can't be…" Artoria cried, taking a step back, "Why!? Why you!? Why have you appeared like this?!"

"...Saber?" Cira asked, "Do you know him…?"

Artoria's face was still frozen in fear and shock...though there was great sorrow on her face.

"Why...old friend…" she whispered, "Lancelot...how did this happen…"

"Wait what!?" Cira demanded, "No way!"

"AAAAAAARTHUUUUUUUUURRRRR!" Lancelot shrieked, bolting forwards and swinging his sword at Artoria, forcing the King to take multiple steps back as she was put immediately on the defensive.

This...this was not going to end well.

Master: Cira Albion

Servant: Shielder- Mash Kyrielight

Servant: Saber-Artoria Pendragon

Servant: Lancer/Caster-Cu Chulainn

Servant: Saber- Saber Lily