Anti-Army Noble Phantasm of Assassin:

Uraeus Astrape - The Snake Who Ended the Dawn of Time

RANK: A

A Cobra-type Divine Beast that conceptualizes the end of one of the world's greatest empires, as well as the Pharaoh's right to rule. Assassin is normally unable to control it due to not possessing a legitimate Riding Skill, so it can only rampage through its surroundings. Servants with aspects of Divinity are less vulnerable to its aura of destruction.

"Archer.. We can't beat that."

"No.. No, we can't, Saber," Holmes agreed. He splayed his hand and all of his mirrors detached from his back and flew towards the ankh portal that Cleopatra was summoning her Noble Phantasm from. They coalesced around the Divine Cobra's exposed head and hardened, temporarily sealing it.

"We have 15 seconds, Saber. Think fast."

"You're asking me? You're the smart one!"

"That is true, but I may need you sooner than you think. The mana flow from my Master has been muted. I suspect she's been seriously injured. My continued existence isn't a concern, but my battle capabilities, on the other hand.."

Frankenstein clipped her sword on the ground. "We defeat Assassin, then. Before she can do much damage. Can you use your Noble Phantasm?"

"Just once. Maybe. Why?"

"You need to stun her. Just for a moment."

"I'll do my best. And you?"

Frankenstein tapped Holmes on the head. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to stab her with my sword."

"Deceptively simple, yet effective. Perhaps it's even effective enough to work. Though there still is the issue of getting close to it without Divinity.. Hmm.."

Holmes massaged his temples for a moment, then looked up. "Oh. We're out of time."

Cleopatra stabbed her kophesh into Astrape's head. The snake reared its golden head and roared yet again, thrashing about. Cleopatra gritted her teeth, stabbing her sword in further.

"I don't care if I need the Riding Skill or not. You will obey your Pharaoh!" she ordered through gritted teeth.

Blood flowed freely from its head and coalesced on the ground, hardening into smaller snakes.

"Of course it spawns smaller snakes. Saber, get moving. I'll keep the minions inside the park boundaries and away from the residential areas."

"Got it!" Frankenstein took a deep breath, and in a flash of green lightning, she climbed the highest tree she could find and jumped off, sword raised at Cleopatra. She didn't get so lucky. Just by being in proximity with the Divine Snake, Frankenstein started to burn, so she had to retreat.

"I- I need time to recover from earlier! It's too hot!" Frankenstein exclaimed.

"Tch. Fall back for now. We need more Servants. This is a clear breach of the Statute of Secrecy, so maybe some of the Mage's Association's Masters will help."

'Pfft. I doubt it.'

Holmes' ears perked up. "Master?"

'The one and only,' Akira replied telepathically. 'We just got out of Assassin's lair. I take it she's not going down easy?'

"She is rather stubborn. Do you have any suggestions?"

'I don't have suggestions, but I do have answers. Tell Saber that help isn't coming, Archer. Assassin's Master.. Well. The person who summoned her, was Georgios Anaklaja. Head of Spiritual Evocations in the Clock Tower. He's got the rest of them convinced that London can burn for all it matters, as long as the leyline is eventually repaired.'

"So care for collateral damage is but a suggestion?" Holmes asked. Frankenstein gave him a wary look, to which he smiled benignly.

'Essentially. We're coming on foot, but we'll still be another five minutes. Ask Saber to get her Master to work on his stamina more after this is all over.'

"Saber?" Holmes called.

"Yes?"

"My Master would like to ask you to ask your Master to work on his stamina when this is all over."

"His stamina… Is that an indecent joke?" Frankenstein asked, covering her mouth with a gloved hand.

"I believe so. Anything else, Master?"

'Just.. Try to keep the civilian casualties to a minimum. I own property around that area.'

"Of course you do. It's just the buildings you care for, then?"

'Of course! It's not like I give a damn about those dim-witted mortals!'

Holmes chuckled. "Certainly, Master."

Frankenstein sighed, watching the Divine Snake circle the city overhead. She wasn't sure what it was doing, but it wasn't destroying anything, so it was a plus for now. "We're still doomed. Unless our Masters are close and have any ideas."

"Oh, they're.. Probably.. Somewhere.." Holmes shrugged.

"Archer!"

As if on cue, the Masters of Archer and Saber pulled up, both of them covered in blood. Akira's fingers were colored every hue of the rainbow, and Charles had his pockets full of headless snakes.

"Oh, hey, Saber."

"Master. Should I ask why you have snakes in your pockets?"

Charles shrugged. "They're valuable ingredients. It's not every day you get access to Age of Gods-tier materials."

Frankenstein held a hand up. "Forget I asked. Do you have a plan for us?"

Charles looked up at the Snake, whistling appreciatively.

"It looks like Assassin had to implement a manual bypass to steer that thing without a Riding skill."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Japanese, please?"

Charles sighed. "She stuck her sword in its head to steer it like a boat's rudder. It's crude, but effective. I think Mongolian chimera riders did a similar thing in-"

"Charlie!" everyone assembled yelled at once.

"Right, right, sorry. Anyway, point is, that thing's a Divine Beast, and its hide is no joke. Probably impossible for all of us combined to get through, especially since Saber's Noble Phantasm is a C Rank at best without killing herself. But, if Assassin's already broken the skin.."

"All we need to do is get to that thing's head and fire away?" Frankenstein asked.

Charles patted her head, to which she made an appreciative noise. "That's my Saber. You'll be the death of her yet."

"Save the platitudes for later! Right now, SCATTER!" Akira yelled. Before the order had left her mouth, both Servants moved to protect their Masters. Frankenstein hoisted Charles up by the waist and dashed away in a burst of green lightning, and Holmes pushed Akira away with one of his mirrors, then turned them all upward. The Divine Snake Astrape clashed with Holmes' mirrors, and the ground cracked beneath his feet as he struggled to keep it at bay.

"Elementary.. My.. GAH!" Holmes was sent flying off to the side. He soon struggled to his feet, but one of his arms was at an unnatural angle. The invocation of his Noble Phantasm had failed.

The Divine Snake smashed into the ground, its momentum taking it underground. Everyone assembled could feel the ground rumbling beneath them. "Saber! As it reemerges, jump!" Charles yelled over the rumbling.

"Got it, Master. Charging my Noble Phantasm now!"

The Divine Snake emerged from the ground beneath her, mouth open.

"Saber! Go!" Charles ordered.

"Got it!" Frankenstein dashed away and running up the side of the tree, she flung herself onto the rapidly ascending snake. Driving her sword into one of the spaces between Astrape's scales, Frankenstein was jerked upwards as the Divine Snake rose into the air. Not even properly on the Snake yet, Frankenstein could already feel her dress start to smoke and blacken.

'My Magic Resistance will buy me time, but.. I need to finish this quickly.'

Waiting for the snake to start fly horizontally, Frankenstein eventually clambered to her feet and started running down the back of the snake, lodging her sword between its scales whenever she needed to ready her footing. Eventually, she arrived at the nape of the snake's head, where Cleopatra was ready to greet her.

"Astropes annihilates anything not of the Gods of Egypt, Saber," she laughed. "You've done well to not be burned to a crisp. You must be a top-class Servant, truly."

"Not.. hagh… Top Class.. Just.. Stubborn.." Frankenstein panted. "You gonna give up, or.. Should I beat a concession out of you..?"

"You'll try." Cleopatra said. She held out her hand, and a sword materialized in it. "Have at you, Saber."

The two clashed blades, trying to get an advantage. Astrape's head suddenly dipped, and Frankenstein was left in freefall as the surface she was standing on suddenly wasn't there.

"Ha!' she grunted, trying to dive as fast as possible.

'Master, this is my chance! We can end this right now if you use your Command Spell!'

'Command Spell? But..'

'Master, I have a clear shot to the wound on the snake's head! My Noble Phantasm isn't powerful enough otherwise! It's now or never!'

Frankenstein could feel the familiar sting as Astrape's Divine aura started to singe her. 'MASTER!'

Charles clenched his fist. "Fine! By the Command Seals of Charles Yarenes III! Saber! Release 65% of your internal limiters! Use your Noble Phantasm to defeat Assassin!"

Charles' Magic Circuits burned as he channeled all of his energy in to the set of Command Seals on his back. Frankenstein grinned, twisting the hilt of her sword to activate her Noble Phantasm.

"Lightning, ready! Charging complete! My soul, my light! Blasted.. Tree!"

Instantly, Frankenstein's Bridal Blade grew to three.. ten… fifteen times its original size, until it was a towering behemoth that rivaled the size of Astrape itself. Frankenstein braced herself for impact as she was wrapped in a swirling green corona. Lightning branched from her like the branches of a tree, hurtling towards the earth to take root.

Below, Cleopatra crossed her arms in front of her face, gritting her teeth as she too braced for impact.
"Try all you want Saber- No, Frankenstein's monster! If your soul can break past my guard, I wouldn't be worthy of being Egypt's final queen! Have at thee!"

She pulsed purple one last time, though the aura shattered, and Cleopatra doubled over, clutching her chest in pain.

With only a second until the tip of Frankenstein's Bridal Blade made contact with Cleopatra, the Saber Servant briefly weighed up her options. 'If she's channeling a skill that can block it.. Oh.. But.. Damn it!"

"HyaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" With an animalistic roar of effort, Frankenstein forced her already-stiffening arms to move, swinging herself around. In that brief millisecond, she was face to face with Cleopatra. Despite herself, she couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback by the Assassin's beauty.

'Some other time, Your Highness.'

Frankenstein kicked Cleopatra square in the chest, and she was sent flying off of the snake. With another roar, Frankenstein brought the still-active Noble Phantasm down on Astrape's still-gaping wound, the momentum of the gigantic blade alone slicing it cleanly in two from the face down.

The Divine Snake Astrape didn't even have time to utter a death cry. When it came crashing down to the ground, Frankenstein's Noble Phantasm detonated, sending lightning crashing into the snake over and over.
Each time lightning struck Frankenstein's battered body, she winced, but she stayed firm until she was sure that Astrape had thrashed its last.

Charles ran over just in time to cushion her body with his own as she fell from Astrape's corpse. "Woah, there. Nice job."

Frankenstein looked up at her Master's face. "Did.. I get it..?"

Charles resisted the urge to pinch his nose from the smell of sizzled snake meat. "Yeah. You got it."

With the tired Saber-Class Servant out of commission from using her Noble Phantasm the second time that night, Akira looked the remains of Astrape up and down. "It's not disappearing. Tch. This'll be one hell of a clean up. But hey, at least we killed it before it did any real damage."

Charles set Frankenstein down against the remains of the Divine Snake, which had thankfully lost its anti-Mortal property. "The Clock Tower will appreciate this. If it's not being rejected by the world.. Well, Assassin must've summoned a true Divine Beast from.. Somewhere. There's still so much about this world that we don't know."

Akira suddenly tensed. "Charlie, watch out!" With a deft kick, she swept his legs out from under him, and a beam of light consumed the space where his head was. Akira's head swiveled to the source of the light and sure enough, it was an extremely beat-up Cleopatra.

Charles instantly jumped to his feet, using Reinforcement magecraft on a nearby piece of debris to make a makeshift club. Holmes materialized in front of Akira, mirrors at the ready.

"Miss Cleopatra. Aren't you persistent," Holmes smiled. "Though, to be holding on after all this time.. Well, it defies all calculations."

"As long as I draw breath.." Cleopatra rasped. "Egypt.. Will not.. Fall.."

"If I had to guess.. I would say that even the corpse of her Noble Phantasm is 'proof' enough to the World that she exists. But.. to tie your own existence to something ultimately temporary.. Well, only a Servant could do something so harebrained. Shall I finish her off, Master?"

"Wait!" Charles exclaimed, moving between the two. "Lancer is still beyond both of our capabilities in a completely different way, and that's not even counting for Rider and Berserker. We can.. We can use her, right?"

Akira thought for a moment, then held her hand up, motioning for the Archer to wait. She walked forward slowly, coming face to face with the disappearing Servant.
"All that effort would go to waste if it came to an end now, Assassin. If you contract with me, and work with me for now, I'll give you one last chance for the Grail. Maybe that way, Egypt can live on eternally. What do you say?"

Cleopatra stared at Akira for a few moments. Her hand lit up, slowly pulsating with yellow light. The light then faded. "You're sparing me, correct?"

Akira nodded. "I am."

Cleopatra retracted her hand, and then placed it against her own forehead, as if to blow her own brains out. "I refuse. Being a mortal's lackie is beneath me. I would rather return to the Throne."

Charles put a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on. What if you don't have to work for either of us?"

Cleopatra paused. 'What do you mean?"

"Me and Tohsaka.. If we defeat everyone else, we'll have a duel, just the two of us, to decide who gets the Grail. If you work with us up to that point, well.. You can consider yourself part of that match. What about it?"

"So I'd have to contract with one of you until then and assume that I can trust you?" the Assassin asked.

"Yup."

She threw back her head and laughed. Cleopatra laughed long and hard, until she coughed up blood, and then chuckled some more. "You're joking? Surely, right? Surely you don't expect me to take your word for it?"

Charles sighed. "You're right. Archer, do your thing."

Cleopatra jumped. "No, no, wait! Hold on, hold on!" she exclaimed, waving her hands.

"I have considered your offer, and.. Well.. This is a little selfish of me, but I quite like being alive. Fine, I'll agree to join your little pact. But on one condition."

Charles raised an eyebrow. "We'll try to meet it."

"I'll only contract with you."

Charles stepped back. "Wait, hold on a moment-"

"I agree! You're royalty, right? You'd contract yourself to a common family like his? That's- That's just absurd!" Akira protested. "He hasn't even got the capacity to provide for two Servants with those average Magic Circuits."

"Hey! Who're you calling average?'

"I give myself fifteen seconds until I disappear, you two. Tick, tock." Cleopatra said, a bemused smile now etched on her face.

Charles put a hand on Akira's shoulder. "Let me. Fra- Saber provides for herself with her Galvanism anyway. I can take the load if I play conservative. Besides.. Getting her to change her mind? When we're so close?"

Akira sighed. "Tch. Fine. But you better not make me regret this."

Charles grinned. "You won't. Hey, Assassin!"

Cleopatra bowed slightly, extending her right hand, which bore her own Command Seals, to Charles. "If you'd do the honors.. Master."

Charles cleared his throat. Looking back to Akira nervously, he steeled himself and stared Cleopatra down. "Let's do this quick, then. Assassin! If your will aligns with my own, if your search for the Grail is as just as my own, and if you swear to me in turn that you'll lend me all of your power and then some, answer my call, O' Balancer of the Scales!"

Cleopatra took Charles' right hand in her own, holding him tightly. Charles couldn't tear himself away from her emerald-green eyes, but if he could, he would see that her hands were almost completely see-through. She had seconds left.

"I, Queen Cleopatra, daughter of Isis and Last Pharaoh of Egypt, and Assassin of this war for the Holy Grail, accept you as my Master. Charlie."

Charles suddenly felt his Magic Circuits start to burn with effort, but as quickly as the pain had started, it was over. He soon noticed yet another bond within himself- mana had started to flow into Assassin. She was almost nothing but a ghost by then, but soon enough she gained mass, then color, and then the Assassin of the Londinium Grail War was standing before him yet again.

The hasty contract was a success.

In less than a second, she had materialized a dagger and pulled him tight, holding the dagger to his throat.

"Treat me well, and I may pay you a small amount of my favor.. Master."

Cleopatra released him, and gave a small wave to Akira, Holmes, and the unconscious Frankenstein. Already, her wounds had disappeared, and the simple white dress she wore was restored to a pristine status.
"I'm off, then. You've successfully destroyed my home, so I'll have to find new accommodations. And- no, don't even bother trying to offer me your paltry abodes. I'll find a nice penthouse. Something modern."

"Wait!" Akira exclaimed.

Cleopatra raised an eyebrow. "What is it, girl?"

Akira swallowed and almost took a step back. That terrifying aura from before had returned. Eventually, she steeled her resolve. "Why didn't you want to contract with me? By every metric, I'm the optimal Master."

Cleopatra smiled. "You're right. In every sense of the term, you are a superior magus and maybe even a superior tactician. However.."

"However?"

"You would've ordered me to kill myself with a Command Spell straight away, wouldn't you have?"

Akira opened her mouth, then closed it. "You know me that well already, huh?"

Cleopatra nodded. "For better or worse- probably worse, you're honest, Charlie. I look forward to seeing if that can pay off for you, or if you'll end up acting like a real magus."

Charles didn't respond.

"Ta-ta, then, Master." Cleopatra smiled her catlike smile one last time, and then melted into the shadows. In front of their very eyes, the Assassin had disappeared.

SERVANT: CLEOPATRA

CLASS: ASSASSIN

STR - B

END - C

AGI - A

MAN - D

LUK - D

NP - A

CLASS SKILLS

PRESENCE CONCEAL. - B

DIVINITY - C

PERSONAL SKILLS

IMPERIAL PRIVILEGE - A

GOLDEN RULE (WEALTH/BODY) - A

PROTECTION OF THE GODDESS - C

NOBLE PHANTASM

URAEUS ASTRAPE - A