"Damn it, are you trying to take me with you?" Shirou grunted as he struggled to maintain his footing as the golden chain that Gilgamesh had wrapped around his arm threatened to drag him into the dark hole that the Grail had created to swallow the Servant up.

"Fool! I have no intention of dying! Stay where you are!" Gilgamesh shouted back as he struggled to pull himself along the chain with only his singular arm. Blood gushing from his wounds as he focused all his still considerable strength into the task of survival.

Nothing but survival mattered to Gilgamesh. To that narcissist, the world only existed for him. Self-sacrifice was an unthinkable thing.

He could care less if Shirou lived or died if he himself was going to die.

Shirou understood this, and that was why he had to laugh. "Sorry, but it's over, Gilgamesh." He said, getting wide eyes from the King of Heroes as his body started to loosen.

"Don't you dare!" Gilgamesh raved, but it was no use.

The Unlimited Blade Works had taken every last drop of Shirou's magical power, leaving him without even enough to strengthen his body against the pull of the vortex. Shirou couldn't fight back, even if he wanted to.

"Sorry, Rin." Shirou mumbled to himself as his body gave way and he and the screaming Gilgamesh were pulled into the Grail through the dark hole.


Darkness. It was all around Shirou, trying to worm its way inside of him.

He felt it, just like all those years ago, in the fire which made up his first memory and one of his most defining moments. It was trying to burn him away. To consume everything that he was. He felt its hatred for him, as it wished to curse him out of existence.

But as it reached into him, attempting to get at the core of his being, it struck something, something else that had once been buried deep within him. Another key element which had defined what it meant to be Shirou Emiya.

Avalon.

Golden light spread from Shirou's chest, pushing away at the darkness, healing the wounds from where the Grail had attempted to rip Shirou apart.

Avalon struggled against the corrupted Grail, a battle between Protection and Destruction, with Shirou being caught in the middle of it.

Then, in order to save Shirou's life, Avalon performed its true mystery, temporarily dragging Shirou out of the world.

Only when it returned him, it was not to the place he had left, and, unfortunately, he had not been taken alone.


"Oh yeah. Just like that." Ishtar let out a long moan as she lay down on her stomach with Lena working the knots out of her back.

The bronze goddess had had a rough day of deflecting the multitude of complaints made about her Familia, making false promises about disciplining her rowdy children and even having to fork over actual compensation money. And after it all, it was just nice to let her long purple hair down, lay flat on her bed surrounded by the lovely smell of a hundred scented candles, and have one of her favorite little pets rub oils ALL over her body.

"Mm… You're really getting good at this." Ishtar said, biting her lip softly as Lena reached around and worked at the goddess's ample breasts.

"Thanks to your teachings, Ishtar-sama!" Lena said cheerfully. "Now I just need to find a strong man to fight with so that I can get pregnant!"

Ishtar chuckled at the girl's bubbling innocents, knowing that when told that in order to become pregnant she would have to get 'physical' with a man, she thought it had to do with fighting them. It was amazing how the girl had lived in the redlight district for over a year and not have a clear understanding of where babies come from. But that personality of hers was part of her charm, so Ishtar was in no hurry to correct the girl.

Besides, even if Ishtar's Familia made up 40% of the prostitutes in the city, there were still rules. No intercourse until the girl was 18. While massages, dances and escort services were fine for the 16-year-old Amazonian girl, she wasn't to go to bed with a man quite yet.

Ishtar didn't actually enforce this rule, but it always disappointed her when one of her girls thought that they had 'found the one' only to find out that the guy wasn't as great as they thought he was.

She personally blamed their sheltered upbringing. Most of the girl's under her care were Amazons who had left their village in search of a lover, and many of them had never even seen a male before coming to Orario. Each and every one of them was looking for that big, strong male specimen, with competition being ferrous and the ladies often not taking 'no' for an answer. One of the many MANY reasons that Ishtar had to constantly field complaints about her girls.

Ishtar supplied them all with birth control potions and told them all to be sure they found the male they wanted before skipping out on them, but some girls just didn't listen. There were more often than not hearts broken as the men claimed to love them only to dismiss them the moment things got awkward.

Ishtar didn't blame them. How many times in the past had she been in the exact same position, back when she was young and naive about love? She'd provide them with a shoulder to cry on and wouldn't stop them from trying to exact their vengeance, so long as they didn't go TOO far. After all, Ishtar was the one who had to answer the Guild's questions when her kids went nuts.

But she didn't mind.

They might have been a bunch of stupid kids, but they were her stupid kids, and so long as they choice to remain loyal to her, she would continue to protect them.

"Ishtar-sama, may I come in?" Tammuz's voice came in through Ishtar's bedroom door.

"Please do." Ishtar said with a smile, gesturing for Lena to stop so that she could sit up.

As Tammuz entered the room, the man's eyes immediately came to rest on his goddess as she was half sprawled on the bed, with her hair down, her top missing and her eyes clouded with a relaxed pleasure. She took some pleasure as she watched Tammuz swallow at her undeniable beauty.

While he was used to seeing her in such a state, the man never stopped being infatuated with her, even though Ishtar never used her 'charms' as a goddess of love on him. The dark skinned man who happened to share the same name as her first lover had been raised by her since she first descended from Heaven, and was her third in command and her closest confidant.

Odd, considering how poorly things ended between her and the original Tammuz, with her managing to escape and return home after being dragged off to the Underworld to find every single person who had once served her grieving the loss of their compassionate goddess, and her husband sitting happily on HER throne with a prostitute in both arms and a third one working his cock.

She hadn't even been gone for a week, the heartless bastard!

...Even so, she had never exactly gotten over Tammuz and felt guilty about not helping him as the demons dragged him away.

"What is the matter? Is it time for updating people's falnas already?" Ishtar asked as she made a show of stretching her arms upwards.

Since her Familia had grown so large, she had to update a few hundred of her divine blessings every single day in order to keep up with the number of children who needed them.

The burden of success.

"Not quite… I'm afraid that it is Phryne again." Tammuz said.

"...I see. Lena, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call it here for today." Ishtar said, her face falling as her mood was ruined. She got up and put on the thin scarf-like clothe that she used instead of a standard top before making to leave the room. "Come on, let's go."

She hated having to deal with Phryne, as while she never minded defending those who were loyal to her, Phryne was most certainly NOT loyal. The arrogant and objectively ugly woman believed herself to be above Ishtar and viewed the goddess as nothing more than a tool. Not only that, while many of the Amazonesses who followed Ishtar did so because, despite their own love of combat, they didn't like the way Kali would have them fight each other to the death in coliseums, Phryne never thought twice about seriously injuring any other Amazon who got between her and what she wanted.

Honestly, if she wasn't so repulsively ugly, Ishtar would have used her 'charm' on the woman and stripped her of her free will a long time ago.

"I don't understand why you put up with her in the first place. She is nothing more than a wild animal and deserves to be sacked." Tammuz said gruffly. While no one in Ishtar's Familia could be said to like Phryne, Tammuz was especially loyal to his goddess and couldn't stand Phryne's presence.

"We've been over this before. A pain she might be, but she is still the strongest fighter we have. Getting rid of her would hurt the Familia more than her presence does." Ishtar said as she stopped by a window, looking out over the surrounding buildings which housed the thousands of children who made up her Familia. "She also remains as a reminder to me, so I don't forget how some people see me."

While Phryne was one of few who was so open about their disloyalty, Ishtar had no delusions about her being the only one. Even during her limited time on Earth, she had seen it happen to other gods again and again.

Gods who had spent years building up their Familias, and who treated their children like real family, only for them to be abandoned by those same children the moment things stopped looking so good. She had watched as benevolent and compassionate gods sacrificed everything for their children, only for them to be left to crawl around in one of the city's many slums by the heartless individuals who didn't appreciate their sacrifice.

While Ishtar had used the power of money to become the third most influential goddess in the entire city, she knew that it could all fall down like a house of cards. The knowledge that many of those she called her children could easily betray her weighed heavily on her heart.

Ishtar never asked much. She would protect any who served her of their own free will. But she had never gotten used to being betrayed.

"I wouldn't worry too much. So long as we continue to be a financial powerhouse, we don't have anything to worry about." Ishtar said, more to herself than to Tammuz.

Not that she didn't believe it.

While only having a single level 5 and one level 4 adventurer, her Familia was considered the third most important in the city, all through the power of money. By controlling 40% of the entertainment district and taking over much of the black market after 'Evilus' was nearly purged from the city 5 years prior, the Ishtar Familia was swimming in money. And unlike the Dionysus and Soma Familias, she actually used it and used it properly. Not just hoarding it.

Though, it would take more than just money to help her reach the top and fulfill her goal of dethroning Freya. For that, combat strength was needed. She just needed to figure out how to get enough of it.

"So, what are the damages like this time?" Ishtar asked, moving in more of a hurry towards the stairs to make up for the time she had spent at the window.

"The girl who was with the young boy Phryne had her eyes on was put into critical condition, along with two others who assisted in the boy's escape." Tammuz reported. Ishtar twitched angrily. How dare that disgusting toad hurt her loyal subjects! "As per your instructions all three were given the best care we could provide and will have made a full recovery by tomorrow. Though the damage to the brothel they were in will take significantly more time to repair, and I don't think the Familia's insurance is going to cover it this time."

"What Familia was the boy from?" Ishtar asked, worried about the response.

"The Ikelos Familia."

"...The black market traders? Well, I suppose it could have been worse." Ishtar said with a sigh.

The Ikelos Familia were one of those small Familia's that were both useful to be in a good relationship with, and one that was constantly desperate for money. A small donation would be enough to hush this up and they might even be able to call in a favour about it later, if they play their cards right.

...This was such a pain in the ass.

"Sometimes I wish that the sky would just fall down and end it all so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore." Ishtar said as she started to walk out of her mansion and out into the streets.

She then stopped as she felt a surge of power coming from above the brothel they were supposed to be heading towards before there was a nearly blinding flash of light and a loud crash as 'something' smashed through the roof of the brothel.

Screams could be heard coming from the building as people started to pour out of it.

"What the hell?" Tammuz said before noticing his goddess rushing towards the building. "Wait, Ishtar-sama! It's too dangerous!"

Ishtar ignored his shouts as he moved closer to the building, hoping that none of her loyal subjects were harmed. However, as she got closer to the sight, she started to feel a presence… one she hadn't felt for a long time.

The goddess's dark skin began to pale and her steps became slower as she approached the open gate of the brothel, were people were still pouring out.

"Ishtar-sama, please return to the mansion until we get a good grasp of the situation!" Tammuz shouted as he caught up to his goddess, but Ishtar didn't answer. She was too busy shaking in fear as she looked through the crowd of people and the smoke. "Ishtar-sama?"

"It can't be him… It can't." Ishtar said, shaking her head in hopes that what she was seeing, what she was sensing, wasn't real.

It couldn't have been him. She and her sister had been sure to lock his soul away in the deepest parts of the Underworld, where it could never ever escape. It couldn't be him. ...And yet...

In the rubble of the building a man with golden blond hair who appeared to have fallen through the roof was starting to stand back up.

The man was a mess, worse than a mess, he looked like he had one or even both feet already in the grave. His clothes were in tatters, his right arm was missing just above the elbow, there was a large wound in the center of his chest that looked as though it definitely SHOULD have been fatal, and his entire body was covered in cursed burns.

But even if he was in such a horrible state, the man stood easily. Not only that, he started to laugh. "Your resourcefulness has surprised me yet again, Faker. I would thank you for your assistance, if you weren't such a damned pest." His familiar voice sent chills up Ishtar's spine as she knew that she was not wrong.

"Ishtar-sama, what is wrong? Who is that?" Tammuz asked.

Ishtar felt sick as the name escaped from between her lips. "Gilgamesh."


I wrote this after having read a bit more about the legends of Inanna/Ishtar and feeling that Ishtar was given an unfair bad rep.

In most of her legends, she is a LOT more benevolent than most gods are, even risking her own wellbeing for servants who show loyalty towards her.

While she is cruel towards some, they usually did a lot to deserve it. ESPECIALLY Gilgamesh.

Inanna/Ishtar was Gilgamesh's mother's aunt (or half sister, depending on the story), and had supported him in most of his early adventurers with blessings, praise and gifts. She had treated him EXTREMELY well and when she came forward to admit she had feeling for him and offered to make him immortal if he would accept her feelings, he didn't just say no, he publicly insulted and humiliated her until she ran away in tears to cry to her mother.

It's no wonder her father thought that releasing the boar was a reasonable response. If you treated a girl like that in Texas, you could be sure that her father would show up on your doorstep with a shotgun.

Gilgamesh was a giant asshole who was asking for trouble.


It should be noted that in Danmachi canon, Ishtar was actually compassionate towards people who were loyal to her of their own free will. This just didn't extend to those who betrayed her or slaves who didn't follow her of their own free will.