Interlude: Hoes Mad

Slamming his fist down on a windowsill, Darnic Yggdmillenia fought against his own muscles as he tried to keep them from contorting into a rictus of hatred. Not only was Blackmore defiant and independant, but his antics had leeched into and infected Fiore. The girl had been the sole diamond in the rough amongst the rabble that he'd gathered under the Yggdmillenia, both talented and gifted with good magic circuits. The sole downside to having her amongst them was that she was accompanied by the trash that clung to her, and even that was mitigated by the fact that the trash was of some use.

Now, the two had fled Castle Yggdmillenia, taking their Servants with them, leaving them during their time of need, with Caster's Noble Phantasm incomplete.

To pile even more failures up, Gordes had failed to reclaim the homunculus that they needed for Caster's endeavour, despite having a Servant as powerful as Siegfried on his side. He'd cited Blackmore as getting in the way, in the form of a humanoid crow of all things.

Darnic could deal with a lot of things, but the level of utter buffoonery that he was surrounded by was driving him spare.

There was nothing he could really add about Celenike. She and her Servant had been the opposite of useful from day one, and had really only been kept around to help fill out numbers. The fact that she was one of the few pieces he had left was utterly galling.

The Grail War should have been his from day one, but every single factor seemed to be going against him. Those he was magnanimous enough to give shelter to bore their fangs against him, while the one he reached out to had decided to spit on his hand.

A firm, gloved hand laid itself on his shoulder. "Compose yourself, Darnic," Vlad Tepes III, Prince of Wallachia directed, his face impassive. "This is nothing more than a minor setback, a delay in our plans. The Forvedges' betrayal will not be forgiven or forgotten, but ultimately, it is immaterial. It simply means they will fall as well, in time."

"My king, you know as well as I do that our forces are in disarray. While Caster and Roche are able to produce quality golems to supplement the homunculus army, we've lost a valuable asset in the form of Archer," the magus argued, trying to pull his face back into an estimation of humility. "While you and Saber are both incredibly powerful, we can't rely on two Servants alone, especially given the lack of use that Rider provides."

Vlad inclined his head. "Your words have merit, Darnic, but our forces being in disarray is precisely why you must remain composed. I may be king, but your people look to you for leadership, guidance. You must appear to be unshaken, confident, unassailable. Even in the face of disaster you must show no doubt, for your strength, act or not, shall become their strength."

The blue-haired Nazi shook his head, turning it down to hide the disgusted scowl on his face. "I understand, my king." Despite saying those words, Darnic was seething internally, that a familiar of all things would dare to tell him how to deal with the Yggdmillenia. "For now though, I believe we must plan our next step, to take the situation back from our foes."

Vlad nodded. "Indeed. Gather your subordinates and their Servants, and we shall plot our counteroffensive."

"Of course, my king," Darnic said as he bowed to the Lancer, his face obscured by the angle and hiding the loathing on his face. His hand pulled into a fist, the leather of his glove creaking from how tightly he'd balled his hand.

-x-x-x-

Shirou Amakusa Tokisada sat at the fore of the church, elbows resting on his knees as he had his hands steepled in front of his face. The church itself was shadowed by the lack of light, night steeping it in shades of blue and black. All of it making the fake priest appear incredibly somber.

"Honestly, this is quite a terrible turn of events," he declared, not looking up at Karna and Achilles. "While I was unsure as to what she was doing running off like that, by the time I'd caught up to her, Archer had already died in Black territory."

The son of Surya tilted his head to one side, his heterochromic eyes narrowing slightly at the priest's words. "That...is regrettable. What Servant took her life? The Chaste Huntress was far from weak, after all."

"Regrettable? That's all you gotta say, Lancer?" the son of Peleus interjected, his face pulled into a fierce scowl. "Sis is dead, and all we know is that she ran off for some unknown reason! The hell're we supposed to do with this? Especially considering the fact that the Black team seem to just be picking us off!"

Karna turned to face Achilles, his face blank. "I should think that what we must do is obvious, Rider. We will strike down any and every enemy without fail. The Black faction may have the advantage in numbers, but my spear's flame is as peerless an offense as your shield is a defense." His words were absent of conceit or ego; he merely spoke the truth as he knew it.

"Feh, I get that, the two of us are some of the most powerful Servants in the war," Rider agreed as he leaned back against a wall. "My issue is the fact that Sis got taken out and we don't even have a clue as to why she left base!"

"For that matter…" Amakusa stated as he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from within his cassock, holding it out for the two to see. "I found this in her room, along with an arrow that was launched through her window. From what I can tell, it was meant to goad her into attacking Caster of Black."

Snatching the letter from the priest's hands, Achilles's eyes narrowed as he considered the facts and read through the letter. He didn't quite understand it. Why would his teacher set up Atalante for death? Hell, even as he looked through the letter… "…They were hoping she'd kill Caster of Black. How the hell'd Sis lose to a Caster?"

"I can only surmise that it was due to her challenging a Caster within their workshop," the false priest hedged, closing his eyes as he brought his hands back up in front of his face. "Indeed, look at what would have happened had Assassin completed the construction of her Noble Phantasm."

Karna pursed his lips slightly, but made no comment.

Achilles crumpled the letter in his own fist, trying to figure out just what exactly was happening. The note itself seemed to be little more than a cry for help, to have someone save another Master from being preyed upon. The blond shook his head, still trying to put the puzzle together.

Keeping an eye on the two Servants, Amakusa began, "As it stands, our goals are quite simple. We need to find a way to bring Saber and Berserker back to the fold, while striking at the members of the Black Faction. At this point, our best bets would be either Assassin and their Master, or Rider, as they seem to be the most vulnerable of the opposition."

It was at that point that the doors of the church opened, moonlight streaming in and silhouetting the figure who had entered. The faint light gave her an ethereal air despite the armour she wore, her blonde hair done in a long braid that trailed down her back. Jeanne d'Arc stared at the apocryphal saint, her blue eyes seeing through him as she declared, "Shirou Kotomine… No, Ruler of the third Fuyuki Holy Grail War, Shirou Tokisada Amakusa. You've made a mockery of this Grail War through your actions, and I can find nothing but cruelty behind your having Atalante sacrifice herself to offer her Spirit Core to Caster of Black."

Karna's eyes widened in realization even as Achilles rounded on Amakusa with fire burning in his eyes. Not even bothering to summon his weapon, the Rider lunged at the fake priest, his right arm reared back to unleash a haymaker. "Bastard!"

Before the blow could connect, however, he found his arm seized in Karna's gloved grasp. With no visible effort, the son of Surya tossed Achilles away from Amakusa, the irate Rider landing on a bench and breaking it in twain.

"What the Hell. Lancer!" Achilles snarled as he flipped out of the wreckage. "That asshole lied to us and ordered Sis to her death!"

Ignoring the Greek's outburst, Amakusa stood up and declared, "Dispose of the Ruler of this war. Rider, if you do not wish to, I'll use a Command Seal to ensure compliance."

Karna nodded, his face blank. In the next instant, his spear had materialized in a flash of mana and he had crossed half the distance between himself and Jeanne, weapon in line with her heart.

Before he could stab her, Achilles appeared between the two of them in a flash of green, his own spear slapping the son of Surya's away with a harsh clang. Undeterred and unsurprised, Karna renewed his assault, though this time his spear burned with the solar flame of his heritage. Large swathes of fire trailed after each strike, making it harder to defend against and altogether making the front of the church more dangerous, as it was now aflame.

The Maiden of Orleans stood firm as she kept her eyes locked on Amakusa, her voice ringing clear as she summoned her standard into her hand. "Not only do you profane this Holy Grail War, but you are perfidious and traitorous to your allies. And more than that, your orders to the son of Surya could even bring about the destruction of these holy grounds…"

She shook her head as she jammed the butt of her standard into the ground. "Have you nothing to say, Shirou Tokisada Amakusa?"

"Regrettable. By the order of the Command Seal, Achilles, I order you to assist Karna in killing Jeanne d'Arc," the apocryphal saint declared as he revealed his forearm, the Command Seal disappearing in a flash of red light.

Before the light had even faded, Jeanne retorted, "Achilles, by the order of the Ruler's Command Seal, I sever your contract with Amakusa and transfer it to my Seals!"

With that command ringing through the air, Achilles and Karna redoubled their battle, even as Amakusa's face twisted in anger. "Do you not understand, Maiden of Orleans? I seek only to bring salvation to this world! Your opposition is but a farce in the face of the Lord's miracles!"

"No Amakusa, it is you who does not understand," Jeanne replied, sadness brimming behind her blue eyes. "The state of the world is no business of the dead, and even moreso…it is not our place to question the Lord's works and miracles, but you seem to have lost sight of that."

"No, my sight has never been clearer!" Amakusa roared as he flung his arm out. "With the miracles that the Lord imparted upon my hands, I alone am qualified to shepherd humanity to Eden!"

-x-x-x-

At that moment, Trent, Johan, Fiore, Caules, and Jekyll were all getting spanked at Go Fish by Fran, the Berserker letting out cute cooing sounds as she celebrated.

Unwilling to ruin Fran's good mood, they quickly rebuilt and shuffled the cards out, while Kairi watched from the side beneath a gentle smokestack and soaked in the atmosphere.

"Surprising how quiet it's been tonight…"