Something Lost, Something Found

by Avenger013

This is a story of a new beginning and a growing bond...and it all started with a chin scratch. Advance Warning: There will be spoilers for Fairy Round Table Realm: Avalon Le Fae in this story. If you'd rather not be spoilt then refrain from reading.

9. Test Run: Part 2

Chapter 9: Test Run, Part 2

Hi all, just a little explanation and some thanks before the chapter starts. I thought you all deserved to know why this took so long to write, so here we go.

This chapter wasn't supposed to be this long originally, just a short opener to give a brief introduction to a future opponent, but it wound up spiralling out into this the more I thought about it.

The scenario I came up with and wanted to write was VERY much outside my typical wheelhouse, and that really bogged me down in the long run.

I've been second-guessing myself just about every other sentence, fretting over whether everyone's in character, whether the plot makes sense, whether the foreshadowing is subtle enough but not too much, etc.

And once I'd passed the first month and was well into the second...that didn't help either. I felt like a bit of a failure, in all honesty, being so slow with this chapter, which just made sure I fretted over it more and was even slower in the end.

All that said, I hope that what I eventually came up with is good enough to be worth the wait.

Some thanks to those great gents, or ladies, who helped me out with this chapter:

- KhaosKhan and Flameaceso, for helping me come up with a proper antagonist. All I had before was some vague outline in my head, but these guys suggested a face that wound up fitting quite well with the role.

- Vlaid Mordrenyn, for having a better time Googling than I did and actually coming up with some of my antagonist's canon powers and abilities, to help keep them closer to the text.

- TheImmortalWanderer, for being willing to proofread this chapter for me and help iron out some kinks.

Now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy what I wrote, and thanks for being willing to come back and read it after 4 months of silence from me.

---

"...iss…-ngale!….-king up!"

Blearily, Morgan opened her eyes, blinking a few times to ward away the fatigue and get her blurry vision to focus.

She was aware someone was talking, a young girl judging from the pitch of her voice.

Who is that?

"So, the patient has regained consciousness? Let me check her over."

A more mature woman's voice reached her ears…a few moments before Morgan had her head grabbed by two gloved hands and roughly jerked to the side.

Before she had a chance to adjust, a bright light shone in her eyes, then around her cheeks.

"Hmmm. Pupils are equal, round, reactive to light, and accommodating."

"There's no trace of that sleeping spell left on her, Miss Nightingale! I made sure to check very thoroughly!"

"Good, good. Now then-"

Just as Morgan was finally getting used to the light of the room, which she could now recognise as a hospital ward, Florence Nightingale's visage filled her vision, a stern look on her face.

"-my name is Nightingale, I am your attending nurse. Do you remember who you are and where you are?"

"My name is Morgan and, unless I am very much mistaken, this is the hospital ward of Chaldea in the Wandering Sea. Correct?"

"Correct. Mental faculties seem to be intact, that is a good sign."

"If you still feel tired, then I've got a spell ready to go right here! It'll perk you right back up!" Morgan looked over in time to see Medea Lily come bounding over, warm blue light in her free hand and Pain Breaker in the other.

"Thank you, but I feel alright. However, I would like to know what happened. After all, I distinctly remember being on a Rayshift when I collapsed. Do either of you know what happened after that?"

"Well, I wasn't there myself, but everyone looked A-Okay when they brought you back, so I assume it all worked out well in the end, right? I was so happy that I made everyone pancakes to celebrate!" Medea Lily gushed, hopping up and down.

"I…I see. Are you quite sure?"

After all, there was a whole cult to deal with, wasn't there? Not to mention their leader, the remaining dragons and demonic beasts. Yes, our party had quite a few sources of healing magic on hand…but was it really that easy? Did no one else sustain injuries?

"Yes. I distinctly remember them coming back almost completely unharmed, and what a relief that was. That was the first time that the post-Rayshift medical aid took less than a quarter of an hour to administer." Asclepius cut in, the Caster striding over from his workstation to examine Morgan closely.

"Now then, Master should probably be notified that you've regained consciousness."

"I'll do it!" Before anyone else could answer, Medea Lily dashed for the door. Her fellow medical staff watched her go all the while.

"Well, now that that duty is taken care of, I suppose you're going to be waiting for just a little while. Is there anything you would like to know?" Asclepius re-focused on Morgan, smiling kindly down at her.

Wait…smiling?

"Erm, yes. How long was I unconscious for?" She asked.

"A few days, I'm afraid." Asclepius admitted. "Apologies we couldn't rouse you sooner than that, but our team did all they could. The sleep spell you were under was very powerful indeed, I've not seen anything like it before. Even with both the Medeas, Circe and I all working together, we couldn't overcome it. "

"I…th-there's no need to apologise, I am up now." Morgan stuttered, rather unused to the God of Medicine being so…blasé about her aberrant condition.

"So…a sleep spell powerful enough to withstand the combined efforts of some of the finest mages and medical professionals in history, you say? That is…quite an interesting phenomenon."

"Mmmmm." Asclepius grunted, turning back and striding over to his workbench.

"I do hope I slept long enough for your tastes." Morgan said.

"Of course you didn't, but…well, I suppose there's always next time, isn't there?" The God of Medicine shrugged, bending over his workstation again.

Eh?

A sleep spell of unusual potency, and he wasn't complaining about her waking up too soon for him to study it? Or even trying to put her back under himself to get more time for research?

That was…odd.

"We're back!" Medea Lily's call brought her attention over to the medical ward door, where the Caster was skipping back in, Ritsuka himself hot on her heels.

"I'm so glad you're up!" Before Morgan could react or speak up, Ritsuka grabbed her into a hug, squeezing her tight.

E-eh? This…

"Th…thank you for your concern, Master." She mumbled, thoroughly thrown by how openly affectionate he was…and how comfortably warm he was.

Of course she was appreciative at being treated like this, yes, but it felt…just a little bit sudden. This didn't strike her as something that Ritsuka did for just any Servant that woke up in the medical ward.

Does he really think so highly of me after a couple of demonstrations of my talent? Is that all it took?

That was…quite encouraging to think about.

"Ah, and since you're awake, we better start getting everyone together to celebrate!" Ritsuka continued, a bright smile on his face as he let go and stood back, letting Morgan see him fully.

"Celebrate?"

"You waking up, of course! That's really great news, everyone will want to hear about it, I'm sure!"

Eh? Why would that be?

Perhaps I might be of some interest to them as a newcomer, but even then…ALL of Chaldea will want to hear of this?

Before she could think more deeply on it, Morgan found her hand clasped by Ritsuka, who began pulling her along behind him as he marched off out of the medical wing.

"Ah, um…I feel fine enough to walk on my own, Master." Morgan mumbled, feeling her cheeks flaring up at the feeling of the teen's hand clasping her own. It was…quite firm and rough. Firmer than she'd thought.

And warm too. Safe feeling…

"Ah, sorry about that." Ritsuka grinned, rubbing at his head with his free hand while releasing Morgan's from his other. "I just like holding your hand, is all."

Is…is that so?

Did he ever mention this before? In fact, had he ever done this before?

She didn't think he had.

When did this fascination come in?

"Do return if you feel any drowsiness or lingering fatigue!" Nightingale called, snapping the Fae Queen's attention back to her. "We must make sure the illness is eradicated completely!"

"I…I will be sure to!" Morgan managed to reply, still a little thrown by Ritsuka and Asclepius' behaviour.

However, she barely even had enough time to think about that before Artoria Avalon, Habetrot and Baobhan Sith all dashed around the corner and beelined right for them both. Morgan flinched a little at their gait. She understood Baobhan Sith's enthusiasm, but the other two weren't typically that energised when approaching her, were they?

Perhaps they really were just that pleased to see her back up and about? Well, that was…certainly quite pleasant to think about. But still…

"Mother! You're up! You're finally up again!" As expected, Baobhan Sith was the first to greet her properly, practically body-slamming into her and squeezing Morgan into a tight hug.

"Ah! I am happy to see you too, Baobhan Sith." Morgan replied, reaching up to pet the Archer on the head and hug her back.

"I was so worried that you'd be asleep forever! I was ready to go and kill that horrible pest!"

She squeezed tighter, to the point that Morgan started feeling just a tad uncomfortable.

"Hrk, B-Baobhan Sith, that is a little too tight…"

"But you're up now, so everything's okay!"

And she squeezed even tighter.

Now it was actually starting to hurt.

"Baobhan Sith-"

"I missed you sooooo much, mothe-"

"I am happy to see you too, but please loosen your grip, Baobhan Sith!" Morgan's yell cut the Archer off, a pained grimace on the woman's face as she tried forcefully prying her daughter's arms off her.

Baobhan didn't just relax her grip, she practically recoiled from Morgan, a look of shock on her face as she realised she'd been hurting her recently-returned parent.

"Thank you, and before you start with the apologies-" she held up her hand just in time to silence Baobhan, who'd been opening her mouth to do just that, "-there is no need for any apology. You were happy to see me again and overreacted. There's no serious harm done. Understand?"

Baobhan simply nodded, still looking a little morose.

"Good, now then-" Morgan held her arms out again, "-perhaps we can try that again, with a little more restraint this time?"

…at which she perked right back up, once more nearly tackling Morgan with her hug, though she took her mother's words to heart and her grip was looser this time.

"It's great to see you up and about, nya!" Habetrot decided to join in, flying her zeppelin right up to Morgan's eye level so she could give her friend a supportive pat on the head. "Are you feeling okay? You gave us all a big scare with that long nap you took! I thought you were hibernating or something!"

"I am perfectly fine now, but thank you for being concerned about me." Morgan ruffled the Rider's head in turn, smiling softly. "How has everything been while I was out?"

"Everything's been mostly a-okay, just more of the usual expeditions for supplies and materials! I mean really, most of it was just to pass the time until you woke back up. The only bad thing was that Master's been in a real funk the whole time!" Habetrot said.

Eh?

"But…why was that?" Morgan asked, eyes narrowing in confusion now, rapidly darting about as she wracked her brain.

"Well, how would you feel if Miss Baobhan here got put to sleep?"

"I would certainly be concerned and upset, of course, and would work as hard as I needed to to wake her up." Morgan said, slightly tightening her grip around her daughter as she spoke.

"Well, that's how Master felt when you stayed sleeping! All our best healers did everything they could, even ol' Habenyan tried her best for you, but you just wouldn't wake up! He felt real bad about it, didn't ya, Master?"

Ritsuka just shrugged and nodded.

"I…I felt like I should've been doing more for you, to repay everything you've done for me."

Everything I've done…?

"W-Well, I'm certainly flattered that I'm being given such recognition, but have I really done quite so much to earn it all? After all, I've not been here that long…"

This sort of treatment had best not be out of pity. If he was only doing this out of sympathy for her past…

"I know that but, well…I guess you being so willing to improve yourself all on your own kinda resonated with me, you know?" Ritsuka admitted, rubbing at his head. "That's kinda…what first drew me to you, in hindsight."

Why does he seem so embarrassed? Surely it's natural to admire a willingness to improve onesel-

Wait, why is he blushing and…averting his…ey-?

Glancing intently at her suddenly bashful Master, a similar memory from her past chose that particular moment to force itself into Morgan's mind.

"Thanks again for today, Uther! I know it's not easy supporting me like this."

Where would I have been without you?

"Perhaps not, but certainly far easier than lending my aid to anyone else. None of the other contenders for the throne care about humans the way you do, after all."

"I'm serious, Uther! You've been through a lot for my sake, a lot more than most of my fairy followers even…except for Ector and Totorot, anyway. But still, I want to offer you a proper thanks for your hard work, so what would you like?"

"A-Ah. Well, if you insist, then I certainly wouldn't object to a…a kiss from the fair lady."

Uther had made that request with the same blush. The same aversion of the gaze.

And he had turned out to care for her as…quite a bit more than a good friend.

"D-Drew you to me, y-you say…?" Morgan mumbled, a blush staining her cheeks, suddenly much less sure of how she should proceed.

Fujimaru perhaps…likes me in that manner?

That was certainly a surprise. She would have been okay with respect and a friendly rapport, but this?

Well, it's…it's certainly not unappealing as a possibility.

"Eeeeee! I hear wedding bells in the future!" Habetrot squealed, practically hopping up and down in excitement, sending fresh rushes of blood to both the Master and Berserker's cheeks.

"Come on, the feast should be ready quite soon, let's go to the cafeteria." Artoria Avalon said, grabbing the still-frozen Morgan and Ritsuka by the arms and pulling them gently along. "There will be time for you to discuss romance later on."

R-R-R-Romance!?

"You better treat mother right, Master!" Baobhan stabbed her finger in the boy's direction, waggling it in his face. "Treat her like a queen! Ah, wait no, treat her BETTER than that, okay! Even better than that!"

"I…I'll certainly try. If she's willing, of course." Ritsuka cast a shy glance at Morgan.

What is HAPPENING here?! Isn't this moving quite a bit too fast!?

For what seemed like the first time since the Caterpillar Wars, Morgan was panicking internally, thoroughly unsure as to what to do.

Wasn't this too sudden!? They'd not even talked about either one displaying interest in the other, by her reckoning! What was with this sudden interest in this sort of close relationship?!

As much as she hated to admit it, surely there were other, more personally appealing Servants for Fujimaru to pursue? Even…even those Artorias had known him for longer than her, would most likely be more familiar with him than her.

As much as she liked this development, Morgan couldn't ignore the small voice in her mind…telling her that seemed just a wee bit too convenient.

"Because you just don't stand out."

As if drawn by her doubts, that filthy demon's words returned to her thoughts. They only made that doubt, that fear that this might just be too good to be true, worse.

After all, this was (if she was honest with herself) quite close to what she wanted, wasn't it? She wanted Fujimaru to notice her skill and appreciate her power, perhaps even…appreciate her as well, to tell her that he appreciated her, and he'd surely do that plenty if they were…in that sort of relationship.

As the group continued down the hall, those doubts and worries began gnawing harder at Morgan's mind. As for why…

"Ah, good morning your majesty!"

"Welcome back, Queen Morgan!"

"It's wonderful to see you up, your highness!"

"Wonderful to have you back at last!"

"Excuse me, I was wondering if I couldn't discuss some magical theories with you later on? There's so much your unique knowledge might be able to do for the field of alchemy."

"Oh my, that face of yours! I'd never considered-! Ahem, excuse me your majesty, but would you consider perhaps being a model for a figurine? You'd be rewarded very handsomely for your time!"

"Ah, what a wonderful development this is! The prodigal queen returns to the fold at last! I daresay that it was getting a mite boring around here without you…why, had you not woken up when you did, this cursed hand of mine might have wriggled its way onto my folio all over again!"

Servant after Servant, just wandering up to her and greeting her with a hearty welcome. Or a request.

And she couldn't. Understand. WHY.

W-was this sort of thing normal when it came to Servants who got better from some illness or incapacitation or other? Morgan hadn't been a part of Chaldea for too long, certainly not long enough to see any other Servant fall ill, so she simply couldn't say for certain.

And on the topic itself, well…she was of two minds.

On the one hand, it was about time that her unrivalled power and skill were given the recognition and praise they deserved. That her efforts here to improve herself and show off that skill were being recognised and rewarded.

On the other hand, well, this also felt a little too swift for her liking.

In the Fae Kingdom, it had taken time for news of her exploits to spread among the Fae Clans and the Fae population in general. Whether she intended to act as a saviour or a tyrant, it had taken her quite a while to build the reputation she'd needed to take the throne, by popular vote or by force.

Of course, Chaldea was a far smaller environment than Fae Britain, so it was reasonable to expect that news of her exploits would travel much faster, but still…

ALL of these Servants showing up to praise her like this? It felt…strangely convenient for some reason.

There was a memory at the back of her mind, dancing beyond her grasp. It was very familiar to her, but what was i-

"...ther. Mother!" Baobhan's voice cut off her train of thought, leaving Morgan to focus on the Archer and her expression of concern.

"A-ah, hmmm? What was that, Baobhan Sith?" She asked.

"I asked if you were okay, you're spacing out a lot." Baobhan said, peering into her mother's blue eyes. "Did something happen while you were asleep?"

"I simply…have quite a few things on my mind, is all. After all, the last thing I remember was collapsing while participating in a Singularity expedition. To jump from that to being back at Chaldea so suddenly, especially since I've apparently been asleep for quite a while, it's a little startling to say the least." Morgan admitted.

"Oh, I see! You're feeling a bit out of place, right mother?" Baobhan asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Yes, I suppose that's a good way to put it. After all, there seems to have been a rather…dramatic shift in opinions about me, if all of these greetings I've received is any indication."

"I'd say that everyone is finally coming to recognise just how awesome you are, and it's about time too! You're finally getting the respect you deserve, so don't worry about it too much, mother! We'll get you settled in in no time at all!" The Archer cheered, giving Morgan another supportive hug.

"Thank you for the show of support, Baobhan Sith. I…perhaps I do just need some time to adjust, is all." Morgan gave her daughter a reassuring smile, patting her on the head a few times.

I suppose having my talents recognised at last, even if it IS a little sudden, isn't that ba-

"Magic mommy, you're up! See! I told you mommy would be really happy about it!" Morgan found her legs tackle-hugged from behind, causing her to stagger a bit. Turning around, she found that she'd been accosted by what looked to be one of Chaldea's child Servants.

Had they met before? She did look familiar. Had she been one of the group that had tried to make Mordred meet with her? Yes, that sounded about righ-

Wait, hold on…who DRESSED her like THAT? She wasn't wearing anything on her lower half besides a pair of panties!

Had no one thought to give this girl some proper trousers!?

"Hey there Jackie, and yeah, I'm absolutely happy!" Ritsuka leant down to ruffle the new arrival's hair. "My favourite Servant's back!"

…favourite Servant? W-when did he decide that!?

"Because you just don't stand out."

AWAY with you!

Before Morgan could try and think about that statement further, her mind sent reeling once again, she was accosted by another young girl.

"Hello there! It's absolutely wondrous to see that you've recovered! In celebration of this wonderful occasion, please tell me what you'd like as a present!" This one was dressed in some vaguely Santa-esque attire.

"I…a present? Th-thank you, but that is rather unnecessary-" She began stuttering out, still feeling a tad overwhelmed.

"Welcome back, woof! Your welcome home feast's almost done, just leave it to cat and co!" A fox girl, dressed as a maid of all things, bounded up to and hugged her, leaving a flustered Morgan thoroughly confused for a moment at how familiar she was before the woman released her and moved on. The two youngsters skipped off with her, waving merrily at Morgan all the while until they were out of sight.

A feast? Well, I-I suppose that WOULD be appropriate as a royal celebration, wouldn't it?

"Your majesty! I heard that you'd awakened!" Turning, Morgan found Barghest striding towards her, a relieved smile on her face.

"Y-Yes, I have. And it seems that…q-quite a lot has changed in my brief absence."

That's probably putting it quite mildly, at this point.

"Ah, I see. I imagine that all of this sudden attention is a little bit startling for you, yes?" Barghest asked, offering a sympathetic and understanding smile. "I must say, I was a little bit shocked, myself."

"Hmmm? What do you mean by that?"

"At how quick the rest of Chaldea were to offer respect and praise for your great feats, your majesty. The news certainly spread far more quickly than even I'd anticipated."

"My…great feats, you say? What sort of feats do you mean?" Morgan tilted her head, her previous nerves temporarily forgotten as her curiosity got the better of her.

"I've certainly achieved at least a few successes here at Chaldea, but I fail to see how that leads to, well…all of this." She gestured up and down the corridor, at the Servants who had been greeting and those who seemed to be waiting to greet her as she passed by.

"Because you just don't stand out."

"Well, it was more of a…I believe it's called the "snowball effect". It started with news of your deeds here at Chaldea, then eventually spread to tales of your successes within the Fae Kingdom. Apparently there's a sort of precedent for that, as the other Lostbelt rulers were willing to share their stories."

"I see. So that's where most of this 'respect' comes from, then?" Morgan murmured, scratching at her chin.

Well, that DOES make a little more sense, I suppose.

"Especially with how vocal my colleague here was in talking about everything you did." Barghest chuckled.

"Hey, I didn't see you stepping up to tell everyone about how great a job mother did ruling her kingdom!" Baobhan cried, pointing accusingly at the Saber. "That's why it fell to ME to tell EVERYONE about how awesome a ruler she was, especially since nobody knows mother better than me!

"And just as I thought, once they'd heard one story, they kept wanting more, so of course I obliged! Mother's story was just that interesting for them!

"And as I told more stories about everything my mother did for our world, they gave her more and more of the respect that she's deserved all this time! By the time I'd told them everything I knew about you, mother, they were practically venerating you as the strongest!"

"I…I see, so I have you to thank for my popularity then." Morgan mumbled.

Despite the explanation she'd just gotten, a part of her still felt uneasy.

Had it REALLY been quite that easy to win over the Servants here? Many of the newest arrivals hailed from Lostbelts like her, and most of the other Lostbelt rulers were here too…were Servants like them that easy to impress?

I suppose Chaldea IS the sort of outlandish place where one could acquire this sort of respect quickly…certainly more quickly than in the Fae Kingdom. After all, everyone practically venerates that Fengxian character.

But STILL, I'm now Fujimaru's "favourite Servant" am I? Hmmmm, that seems…

"Because you just don't stand out."

Shut UP! SHUT UP!

Leave me be, demon…

"No need to thank me, mother! I'm just doing my part to help you, since you've given me so much already!" Baobhan beamed.

Even as Morgan ruffled her daughter's hair, widening her bright grin even more, there was still that creeping doubt gnawing at her.

Baobhan I understand, she would be the one to try and make sure everyone thinks highly of me, but everyone else? Have they accosted any of my fellow Lostbelt rulers in this manner? I don't recall Ivan mentioning that happening to him.

I…this is all very nice, but something doesn't feel right…

Might this be some sort of large-scale practical joke? I can just SEE that BUG coming up with something like that for a sick laugh.

No, I don't think that's the case…there's no way my knights would go along with his wishes.

Then again, perhaps it was proposed by some of those child Servants? Melusine learnt about that 'prank' she played on Baobhan Sith from them, didn't she? If it were them asking, perhaps they would go along with it.

Perhaps I need some time to adjust? It certainly took me a while to even get used to the changes I implemented as queen, after all.

Yes, perhaps I'm just being a little overly cautious. I've had to be on guard for so long around those traitorous, backstabbing filth that I…I suppose it's simply become an ingrained instinct at this point.

Hmmm, yes. As I told Baobhan Sith, Chaldea is not the Fae Kingdom. Perhaps I should…I should try to relax a little. Enjoy this new appreciation.

Mmmmm, but still-

"Hey, Morgan." This time, it was Ritsuka who cut across her circular thoughts, the teen staring at her in concern. "You okay? You're looking a bit confused."

"A-Ah, Master. My apologies for spacing out." Morgan mumbled out, suddenly feeling her cheeks heat up and her breath shorten at the sight of Ritsuka being so close.

It probably had something to do with that rather sudden confession of his earlier. About her apparently now being his 'favourite Servant'.

"Feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the changes?" His gaze was knowing and understanding.

"I…yes, I believe I am. How did you…?"

"This isn't the first time a Servant's been out of commission for a while and come back to a different Chaldea, though most of the time those were re-summons." Ritsuka explained, placing a reassuring hand on Morgan's shoulder and squeezing it, sending fresh blood rushing to her cheeks at the touch.

"If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the new attention, don't worry, from what I've seen it's normal for a re-summoned Servant to feel a bit out of place. We're all here to help you get settled back in. I'm sure that after a few days, you'll feel right at home all over again."

"That is…that is quite the nice sentiment, Master, but there is a question that's been…on my mind for a little bit. I-it's probably just a silly little thing, but-"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Whatever it is, if it's bothering you, then it can't be silly. Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll do my best to help, yeah?" Ritsuka assured her, flashing her a small smile and squeezing her shoulder again.

Was…was he always this 'touchy feely' with me?

Not that I dislike it, but…

"Because you just don't stand out."

If I have to LOBOTOMISE myself to quiet your voice, I WILL! NOW BE QUIET-

"A-ahem, all right then, here it is. I'm simply feeling a little worried that all of this-" Morgan crushed the arguing voices in her head and swept her hands around "-is just a little bit…too good to be true."

"Hmmm? How so?" Ritsuka looked confused.

"W-well, it's just that, all of this attention. All of this recognition and adoration I've been getting…it feels just a tad too sudden to me, as if this is some sort of practical joke! This might be a presumptuous question, but…did the bug put you all up to this?"

"Bug? You mean Oberon-Vortigern?"

"Yes. Is this some sort of elaborate ruse of his to 'prank' me, or perhaps the children here put you all up to this? Melusine recently pulled one of these on Baobhan Sith, and I was told that she learnt that sort of behaviour from exposure to the child Servants of Chaldea. It's just that…so much has changed so drastically, it…it doesn't feel normal or natural to me." Morgan explained, fidgeting on the spot, feeling strangely shy.

She'd never been afraid to speak her mind to Ritsuka before. Why was she feeling so nervous now?

"No, I promise that it's not a prank, none of the kids would want to pull anything like this. Besides, it's not like he'd have the opportunity to get anyone to do anything. Well, not any more." A look of frustration and exasperation passed across the Master's face, prompting a look of confusion from Morgan…along with just a small hint of hope.

Could this be? Did he FINALLY put his foot down and punish that bug properly?

"And…why do you say that?"

"You don't know?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "Didn't anyone tell you already?"

"Apparently not. What is this news that I've missed?"

"Ah, well, guess there's no easy way to say this, so…" Ritsuka scratched at his head, sighing.

"Oberon-Vortigern was why you were in a coma. He used his third skill on you when you were clearing out that final wave of enemies. It's a very powerful enhancement, with the caveat that once it wears off, whoever he used it on falls into a deep sleep."

So…it was HIS doing, was it?

OF COURSE.

Her prior nerves were drowned out under a boiling wave of red-hot anger and fury. Her jaw clenched tight, her hands started trying to snap her spear and a faint growling snarl came from her throat.

Oh I'm sure you THINK I don't need to worry about him, but I'm afraid you're quite wrong.

Whatever punishment you've handed out to him, it isn't enough. But I'm sure I can remedy that, yes, it will only take a few moments.

First, I'll pluck his wings. Then, I'll take his legs. Then, I'll take his arms. I'll nail that hideous INSECT to the wall in my quarters and turn him into a cautionary tale. A warning about what happens when one gets in my way.

"And, uh, before you go storming off to try and punish him yourself, you don't need to worry about that." Ritsuka assured her.

"And why not?" Morgan asked, a hard edge to her voice.

"Because he's not here any more. I dismissed him for that stunt he pulled." The teen said, rather bluntly.

Wha-…hmmm?!

"D...did you indeed?" She asked, her anger halted in its tracks.

"Yeah. I can put up with him being an asshole when we're at base. I can put up with him trying to pick fights with everyone. I can even put up with his snide remarks on a mission…but he crossed a line with the last Rayshift. He endangered the mission when he made you fall unconscious, I can't overlook that." Ritsuka said.

"So…th-the bug really is…gone, then?" She asked, a rare sense of excitement filling her at the prospect.

"Yeah. He's gone. If the…jeez, I think we were up to a dozen or so warnings weren't getting through to him, then I don't think anything was going to. I hated to do it…but I wasn't going to let him screw up Rayshifts like that, especially if it's my favourite Servant he's screwing with."

"I…I-I see. Th-that is…that is good news indeed." Morgan couldn't keep a pleased smile from her face at the news.

Inwardly, she gave into that childish urge and shook her fist a few times in triumph.

At LAST, the bug is GONE!

Perhaps I can adjust to this after all…if Master was willing to get rid of him, then perhaps he will finally start getting rid of some other 'problem' Servants.

"Absolutely! It's really great news, mother!" Baobhan decided to force her way back into the conversation, (gently) tackling the Fae Queen from behind and hugging her happily.

"I'm glad you're happy." Ritsuka chuckled. "I thought you'd be pleased to hear the news."

"Come, your majesty!" Barghest beckoned from down the hall, as she turned away from a familiar looking fox girl dressed in a maid costume. "I've just been informed that your welcoming feast has been prepared!"

"About time! I bet you're famished after sleeping for so long, eh mother?" Baobhan asked.

"I'm certainly ready for a hearty meal, myself." Artoria Avalon admitted, having been silently observing up to that point.

"Save some for Habenyan, too!"

"I'll admit that I'm quite hungry." Morgan touched her stomach, feeling it growl slightly.

"Well then, let's make haste."

"Come on, mother! We need to get you the best seat at the table!" Baobhan insisted, gently pushing her along.

"Yep, and you need lots of energy for the dress fitting you'll be going on later today!" Habetrot cheered.

"Eh? Dress fitting? Why would I need that?"

Habetrot simply glanced at Ritsuka. Then back to her. Then back to him again. A very knowing and, dare she say it, teasing look on her face, eyebrows bouncing up and down repeatedly.

"Now Habetrot, I-I understand your…enthusiasm when it comes to all things wedding related, b-but please…isn't this just a little too fast? There's a process to these matters." Morgan huffed, folding her arms as she tried to suppress the reddening of her cheeks.

Fujimaru's sudden interest in me is QUITE enough for now, I think. My Panhuman self's memories have shown me that there is a…certain 'dating' process that must be followed for proper courtship.

"Nyat at all! You two are plenty close already!" Habetrot cheered, giving both of them a wink. "Just trust in Habenyan, okay? I've got an eye for this kind of thing, and I predict wedding bells in the future for sure!

"Well, i-if you say so…" Morgan mumbled, her blush intensifying as she noticed that Ritsuka was blushing as well.

Good grief! What happened while I was unconscious that he'd get those kinds of feelings for me?!

"Because you just don't stand out."

Her teeth ground together and her jaw grew saw from how tight the Fae Queen clenched it, trying to block out that poisonous damnation.

Don't think about it, ignore it. Ignore it ignoreitignoreitignoreitignoreit-

Fortunately, the doorway to the cafeteria soon moved into view. Wistfully ignorant of her internal conflict, everyone in the group was all too happy to practically push her towards it, so eager were they to get the 'welcome feast' under way.

As soon as she was over the threshold, Morgan's ears were assaulted by a cacophony of cries, to the point that she winced in pain before applying a dampening spell to her ears. As the raucous yells were dulled down to much gentler cheers, Morgan focused enough to look around the room.

Oh good LORD.

There looked to be HUNDREDS of people here! The vast majority of them were Servants, but all of the remaining Chaldea staff members looked to be present too, along with the director and that new technical expert of theirs…

I don't care HOW often you say that you are simply "cut off from history." A Phantasmal KNOWS another Phantasmal, young lady. I WILL find out what you are, one day…

Almost all of them were clapping and grinning, with as many as possible clustered under a large banner reading "Welcome Back Morgan".

Noticing Ivan in the crowd (not that it was difficult, considering his bulk) she gave him a small wave, relieved to see another familiar face.

The usual floor had been covered over with lush embroidered carpets, all of which had her emblem stitched into them dozens of times. The metallic chairs and tables had all been replaced by oakwood constructs, and from the smell in the air, they were practically freshly carved! The tables themselves were expertly covered in white clothes which, much like the carpets, had Morgan's emblem emblazoned on them.

Splendid golden lamps were spread across the tables, with neatly folded napkins, ornate cutlery and even floral baskets hanging off the tables…and the walls too, now that she took a second look around.

"Is all of this…really for me? This is…this must have taken an incredible amount of effort to set up, especially in so little time. I-I've barely been up for half an hour." She mumbled, feeling quite thoroughly overwhelmed by the splendour.

I'm no stranger to opulence, but I've never had anything like this planned FOR me. At least, by anyone who wasn't plotting against me all the while…

"Absolutely!" Melusine said, as the Lancer stepped forward from the closest group of Servants to greet her queen properly.

"Why wouldn't it be? Your return is a very important event, after all." Barghest said.

"That's what we've been saying!" Habetrot said.

"To be honest, we had everything prepared in advance, for when we originally thought you'd wake up. After all you're right, it did take quite a while to get all this together, but everyone was willing to give it their all." Ritsuka rubbed at his neck. "After all, it's worth it if it's for you."

"Because you just don't stand out."

I…I can't take this anymore. I need to know.

"Why is that?"

It was a light whisper, but from Ritsuka's reaction, he heard it loud and clear.

"Hmmm?"

"Why? Why go to these lengths for me?" Morgan gestured around the room, at all of the assembled Servants and staff members.

"I'm aware that I've been putting in effort to be more useful recently, and that I am quite unique as a Lostbelt ruler. But…what is it about me that's prompted your favour? For you to give me all of this attention and put all of this effort into my welcome back?

"I…I'm not the only Lostbelt ruler here. I'm not the only Berserker, nor am I the only magic user. And of course I'm far from the only Servant here. As impressive as my feats are…am I really worth going to all of this effort for?"

Her gaze was to the floor, her heart and stomach heavy with dread at the answer she might be getting. She shouldn't have been so nervous but…she simply couldn't help it. After all the effort she'd gone to to improve herself, to prove herself reliable, she hoped that her Master would have only good things to say about her performance.

W-well, he should, shouldn't he? After all, I am his so-called 'favourite' now, aren't I? There should be no reason to worry at all!

So why, why do I feel this chill in my bones? Why do I feel…afraid?

A hand landed on her shoulder. As gentle as it was and as hard as she tried, Morgan found herself flinching, just a little.

"Of course you are."

Ritsuka's warm, kind voice cut through all the cold, sending shocks up her spine. Looking up to meet his gaze, she saw that he was smiling at her.

"You know what? You're right, you're not really that unique in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't matter to me. What you've done is less important than who you are, that's what I think.

"And when I look at you, well…I guess you can say I see a lot of myself there."

Eh?

"And…what do you mean by that?" Morgan asked, even though she already suspected his answer. She just needed to hear it from him.

"Well, I-I know it might seem a bit strange, but after I heard about everything you went through…" Ritsuka shrugged and sighed. "I couldn't help remembering my journey up to now. Couldn't help relating to you."

"But, how did you…?"

"Because of me." Hearing a large thump and turning, Morgan found Ivan had taken a step forward.

"Our Master came by, asking if any of us had heard stories about you or your past. He said that he wanted to get to know you better. I decided to share what I knew with him, I thought it would be for the best in the long run…for the both of you.

"Our talks have certainly been helping you, you carry a lighter burden on your shoulders now, but I believed that our Master's understanding would be of a lot more help to you."

"I, um…I told Senpai about you too. About Tonelico." Mash spoke up from beside her fellow Knights of the Round, shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

"I couldn't help but think about how similar Senpai is with the person you used to be, the person that I adventured with all that time ago. I thought that maybe…maybe telling Senpai about you and letting him understand you would help both of you support one another a lot more."

"I contributed everything I knew as well." Artoria Avalon smiled. "My knowledge of you isn't quite as complete as the others' is, but I was at least able to spread word of your deeds to other Servants, to give you a little more recognition."

"And I'd say they've been right so far."

Turning back, she found Ritsuka, now smiling at her again.

"You've been helping me a lot since you got here, even if it's just with the regular expeditions and material gathering. If it weren't for you, then I don't think that expedition to Connacht would have ended as well as it did, considering who showed up…

"You've been trying to improve yourself all on your own. I know a lot of Servants train regularly, but you've been going a bit further than that, trying your best to make your magic as strong as it can be. Since you've been doing your best to be reliable for me, I decided that I needed to do my best to repay you for your hard work. And besides that…"

Ritsuka looked around at the Fae Knights, Habetrot, Mash and Ivan for a moment, sucking in a breath through his nose before continuing on.

"From what I've been told, you've not gotten many rewards for all the hard work you put in before. That…well, I couldn't help but remember what happened with the Mages Association. How little everyone here got in exchange for saving the world. I can't do anything for them now…but I can do something when it comes to you.

"So, I know this right now isn't much, but you can think of it as a starting point. From now on, I want to do more for you, to make sure that you're properly praised and rewarded for the effort you've already put in and your work in the future. Whether it's getting you the materials you need for ascension or strengthening, getting you a room better suited to you or even just spending some time with you, if that's what you want."

Ritsuka squeezed the stunned Berserker on the shoulder, his small smile becoming a wider, warmer grin.

"So don't hesitate to come and ask me if you need anything, okay? Even if you just want a thank you, that's perfectly fine. More than fine, really. I'll thank you every day if that's what you want, because you've earnt that much at least."

Morgan stared intently into his eyes, trying to find any indication that this was a trick. That he was lying to her about his intent to support her as much as he said he wanted to.

She found none.

"You…you would really be willing to do that? For my sake?" She murmured, swallowing hard and feeling a lump form in her throat.

"Yeah, because…well, because I think you're worth it."

"You-...I…"

For perhaps the first time in all her life, Morgan was lost for words. She glanced at the floor, eyes darting this way and that, trying to think of a reply.

"I…I…I-I-I…"

Thank you. Thank you for giving me all of this. Thank you for…for recognising me.

There were so many things she wanted to say, but every time she tried, she felt herself choke up all over again.

"This is probably a lot to take in. You want a moment, maybe?" Ritsuka asked, noticing her silence. On her nod, he gently ushered her out the cafe door, then turned to address the assembled crowd.

"Well, I can't say that was unexpected. Let's give her some time. In the meantime, why not get everything ready for when she gets back?"

Nodding, the Servants all began busying themselves with retrieving the various dishes that had been prepared, as well as choosing seats for themselves. Da Vinci, Ritsuka, Mash and Goredolf supervised everything from the safety of the central counter.

However, in all the hustle and bustle, no one noticed the lone figure slipping out the door.

---

A minute or so of aimless walking later, Morgan found herself sitting in one of the spacious windowsill cubbyholes, legs drawn up to her stomach, spear laid at her side and face pressed into her knees.

A light fluttering had started resonating in her stomach, one that had quickly grown into a very unfamiliar, though not entirely unpleasant, warmth as she'd been walking.

She'd been able to keep her expression neutral in the cafeteria. But now, her mouth twitched upward at the corners and her vision started to blur. Taking in a shaky breath, Morgan dipped her head, feeling hot tears start to trail down her cheeks.

Th-this…this is really…this is really happening. I…I never…

She thought she'd feel a lot more conflicted, a lot more confused. But instead, she felt…happy? Was that it?

The feeling had been beyond her for so long, ever since Baobhan Sith had started internalising her lessons on what was necessary to survive in the Fae Kingdom, ever since she'd adopted cruelty.

And now that it was finally coming back to her…needless to say, it was all a bit overwhelming.

She'd not wanted to believe that this was all really happening, not wanted to believe that she really was getting this much of a 'lucky break'. After all, her luck had never been anywhere near this good in the past, where she'd earned everything she had through hard work and effort. Where it had taken blood, sweat and tears aplenty to scrape together even the most ragtag band of followers willing to support her crusade for the throne.

W-Well…I suppose there has been effort on my part to get all of this. It just happens to be my efforts from the distant past as well as the present that have given me all this recognition.

Yes, that was right. That made sense. She'd still worked hard enough for all of this, of course she had! It had simply…taken quite a lot longer than expected for her to reap the rewards, is all.

Thus, the sensible conclusion was that…that this was really happening.

She'd been so worried that it was a dream. Some cruel joke played by her own subconscious, or perhaps the insect messing with her head for sick laughs. But perhaps, just perhaps, she'd finally managed to get something back for all of her toil.

Perhaps the universe is not quite so cruel after all…

A shaky yet happy smile grew on her face, even as the tears kept flowing. Morgan stuffed a hand in her mouth, choking back a half-sob at just how absurdly quickly karma had decided to come back around for her.

She'd been expecting so much more work ahead. An uphill battle for her Master's attention and, if the fates had permitted, perhaps even…affection? But apparently all of that was unnecessary now.

She felt…quite the heavy sense of relief. For once she could just rest, and bask in the fruits of her old labours. For just this once, she wouldn't have to work herself raw to earn even the most measly of rewards.

She wouldn't need to lose anything else…

"But can you really be sure about that?"

…you've moved on from the twisted nun's voice, but you're not giving up, hmmm?

Even after all her progress. All of this reassurance and familiarity…

Apparently 'that' side of herself was just as stubborn as she could be.

Yes. I am as sure as I can possibly be. She snapped back. Now leave me be. Can't you let me enjoy ANYTH-?

"You seem to be feeling a little better." A soft voice said, cutting through her internal debate.

Jolting up and sucking in a sharp breath, Morgan whipped her head around to see Artoria Avalon strolling up to her, a gentle smile on her face. Hurriedly, she wiped away the tears and tried to stabilise her expression, not wanting her moment of weakness to be seen even by her successor.

The Caster approached and settled down on the opposite side of the same windowsill the Fae Queen had made her hideaway, even casting what Morgan recognised as a perception-altering Bounded Field to give them some privacy.

"So, have you managed to take this all in yet? I understand the changes in opinion from the others are quite sudden from your perspective, they were rather swift for me too honestly, but I can assure you that everyone means what they've said."

"So everyone wants me to know."

"Will you accept it?"

"I…" Morgan sucked in a steadying breath. "I am trying to, I really am. But there's a part of me that wonders about all of this. A memory that's just out of reach, all of this seems so familiar somehow…"

"A part of you that worries about how true this all is? A part of you that's refusing to believe you can be as fortunate as you are right now?" Artoria Avalon smiled knowingly.

"I take it from that look that you know the struggle well, my successor?"

"...her life was not easy. Far from it, in fact. She was born to fulfil a task that seemed impossible, fated to clash against someone so much more powerful than her, all for the sake of a race that didn't care for her in the slightest. A race that looked down on her her whole life, treated her more like a pet than a person.

"Especially since she saw how they really felt about her. Behind the kind smiles and surface cheer, her eyes showed her the hatred and contempt that few of them would voice out loud, and their offence at the idea that they needed her to 'save' them. Day in and day out, all the time, the same lies and deceit.

"And what was to be her reward for enduring all of this? For rising to the occasion and overcoming these odds? Death. To give her life, her very memories and experiences, as fuel to forge the Holy Sword. To do what the great Clan Founders had failed to do all those millennia ago." The Caster laughed mirthlessly.

"That's not what either of us would call much of a destiny."

"I…had no idea your early life was quite THAT bad."

"Yours was better?"

"I had the fortune of being taken in by the Rain Clan as a child. They sheltered me, gave me an education and care…gave me hope. Hope that perhaps, just perhaps, it might be okay to shirk my duties if I could give everyone the happiness that I had. That was why I tried for the throne the first time. With all of that authority, I could make the changes needed to improve everyone's quality of life, humans and Fae alike."

"I suppose it goes without saying that your efforts were rather wasted?"

"Oh yes…especially since I tried again, like a fool. I spent so long, just repeating that same mistake. So long blinding myself to just how terrible my subjects truly were."

Morgan let her head slump into her left palm, letting out a slow breath as a fatigue seemed to overtake her. As she was grimly reminded of just how old she was.

"She tried that too…beaten down over and over again, with no reason to push forward and try to face her fate, that girl wanted to end it all." Avalon said, letting out a slow breath.

"'That girl?' You no longer see yourself as her, then?" Morgan had not missed her successor's change in address for her former self.

"Not any more, I suppose." She shrugged. "I might have been born from her, but I've grown enough that I feel like a…different person from the girl that slumbers in Avalon. Anyway…

"She tried the Nameless Forest, you know, hoping it would take away her memories and let her start fresh, build a new life for herself, but unfortunately…well, she discovered that we Avalon Le Fae have certain 'privileges' when it comes to that sort of thing.

"But she pretended that it worked. Pretended that she was someone new. And when the opportunity to make the lie a reality came along, she took it quite gladly."

"What opportunity?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"She wasn't the only one to find the Nameless Forest that day, the Chaldea expedition team stumbled into it as well."

Ah, I remember how Mash acted when she was first brought to me, so innocent and ignorant. I remember Barghest proposing that as one of the reasons for her behaviour.

She DID take to the name of Fairy Knight Galahad very easily indeed, as I recall. I expected more resistance to the new identity.

"I see."

"She saw a chance with them, a chance to be someone else after Master mistook her for Mashu. She was quite content to play along at first, happy for the chance to finally be someone else, but then…well, she grew to crave the kindness and support she got from him."

…I can certainly understand why. It's…very pleasing to have your efforts appreciated.

"I'll spare you the rest of the story, but my point is, sometimes one's life really can be changed by a moment or two of very good luck. I understand that you've not got much reason to believe that, considering your life up to this point, but if you can just have a little faith now, then I promise you'll have a much happier time here from this moment on."

"...do you really think so?" Morgan whispered, so quietly that Artoria Avalon almost missed it. "Is it really quite that…that easy?"

"It really is. The sooner you can recognise that, the sooner you can begin a much better life here." With that, the Caster got up and walked slowly away.

Mmmmm, we've gotten along quite cordially thus far, so she has no reason to lie to me. In fact, my successor has been rather helpful to me, all things considered

Perhaps if it's her assuring me, it wouldn't be so bad to put some faith in them…

After all, it isn't as if I have MORE to lose, is it? On the contrary, I have everything to gain if faith wins out.

I've been so used to preparing and planning for everything that might come my way these past millennia, but perhaps, just this once…I can take this blind leap into the unknown.

Yes. I…I might just do that.

I mean, haven't I earnt this chance at happiness, after all this time? I'd certainly say that I have, and I'm sure my knights would say the same, especially Baobhan Sith. Totorot would surely want me to be happy too, if she were here. Goodness, I'm sure she'd have a wedding dress ready by now.

And the changes aren't really that major, in the grand scheme of things. At least they've got a half decent reason to think differently of me, the Fae leaders barely even bothered to hide their motives for fawning over me in public while denouncing me in private where they thought I couldn't see.

It was all baseless platitudes with them, attempts at currying favour for their own gain. Here…the support seems far more genuine. Accepting it shouldn't be too bad. I'm sure I'll adjust to the changes with time, too.

Yes, that should be what will happen. I will…have faith that it will.

With that assurance came a slight lifting of the weight from her shoulders, an easing of the tension Morgan had been carrying about with her.

Mmmm…perhaps it really IS that easy to feel better about one's future prospects. What a pleasant surprise.

Right then, I'd best be getting back.

Letting out a steady breath and rising to her feet, Morgan straightened out her dress, gathered her spear and set off with a spring in her step. Almost unnoticed by the queen herself, a slight smile tugged more and more at her lips the longer she walked, her spirits feeling lifted already.

Let today be the beginning of a new life here.

"You're blinding yourself, fool."

And you are too quick to find fault, I think. We've gotten…reasonable explanations for the changes that have happened while we were asleep.

"...then why the hesitation just then?"

Shut up.

Setting her jaw, Morgan pushed the darker voice out of her mind and kept on walking.

She was worrying for nothing, yes. It was just leftover paranoia. Nothing wrong with a little caution, but she was taking it too far here, she was sure of it.

She just needed to step back into this situation with an open mind. Yes, an open mind to look at all these changes and…aberrant behaviours with a fairer, more accepting eye.

Yes, that was what she would do. Starting now.

No more commenting on strange behaviour. No more trying to find fault in every little thing that had been changed. She would just overlook it and-

"Mother! Are you alri-?!"

The familiar voice was accompanied by running footsteps, approaching rapidly.

Thankfully, with the burst of fresh energy that had come with her new acceptance, Morgan turned and caught Baobhan mid-jump, squeezing her gently into a hug. The Archer cried out in surprise, not expecting her mother to be quite so quick to react.

"Wah! M-mother!?"

"My, what is the matter, Baobhan Sith? Aren't I allowed to embrace you out of nowhere? You surprise me with these sorts of hugs all the time, don't you?" Morgan teased, reaching up to tousle her hair.

"N-no, it's not that, and I don't mind this at all! It's just that…i-it's a bit sudden for you, t-that's all!" Baobhan stuttered, rather caught off guard at the sudden display of affection. "A-anyway, I came here to see if you were okay!"

"I'm…I'm actually doing all right. This situation is still…strange to me, but now I see that I will adjust with time. I'm simply a 'fish out of water' so to speak. May I count on your help with that?" Morgan asked as she let her daughter go.

"Of course mother! Anything you need!" Baobhan grinned, bouncing in place.

"Thank you, I knew I could count on you." Morgan ruffled Baobhan's hair again, then kissed her on the forehead. She practically melted into the affection, whimpering happily.

"Come now, let's get back."

The walk back to the cafeteria was relatively short and uninteresting, but Morgan managed to keep herself occupied by absentmindedly petting her daughter's head a little more. Though the Archer was happy to accept her mother's sudden open displays of affection, she was not quite so distracted as to miss the small improvements in her mood.

The small spring in her step, the faint sparks of light in her eyes, that small smile at the very edges of her mouth. She seemed…lighter than before.

She couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"Uh…hey mother?" She asked.

"Hmmm?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at her daughter, but her free hand didn't stop ruffling her hair.

"You um…you seem a lot happier than before. It's just…it's, um…it's nice to see." Baobhan found her train of thought derailing very quickly under Morgan's patting. Thankfully, she picked up on the unsaid question.

"You want to know why my mood has improved?"

Baobhan nodded.

"I'll admit I had some lingering doubts about all of this that were eating away at me, is all, until I was given some advice by my successor. She reminded me that, no matter how terrible your luck has been, there is always the chance that fortune can smile on you once in a blue moon. This might just be fate smiling on me."

"Well I think it's about time for you to get a break for once, mother! Especially after everything that's happened to you, it would be completely unfair for you to not get rewarded a lot!"

Yes, of course. That was what she'd been thinking as well. It WAS about time for the world to give a little back. And this was just the way for it to start, with her fortunes at Chaldea finally turning around!

Suddenly, she felt quite a lot better about her new situation, even more so than she had after her successor had offered that advice of hers.

A pleased hum sounded from her mouth, with Morgan ruffling Baobhan Sith's hair a little more and even trying her hand at skipping, just a little bit. Such a childish activity was not something she would be caught dead doing anywhere or anytime else but, well…she considered it a little private celebration. There was no way Baobhan would tell anyone about what she did, after all.

At the small whimper of surprise and happiness from the Archer, she simply ruffled her hair harder, even including some scritches. Baobhan had always liked those when she was younger, had made similar noises too, so Morgan figured it would be a nice reward for her for cheering her mother up.

Soon, they were within sight of the cafeteria door. However, Morgan stopped short of entering, instead standing in place and continuing to pet her daughter. Baobhan wanted to speak up and ask why her mother had stopped but, not only was she enjoying the attention and affection too much, noticing the look of calm happiness on the ex-queen's face had her reconsidering.

It had been a while since she'd seen Morgan so happy and peaceful. She'd make the most of it while she could.

For a few moments, they simply stood as they were, with Morgan lavishing affection onto her daughter.

It's been far too long since I've had the opportunity, or indeed the drive, to give out praise and affection like this. I should start doing that more often from now on.

"Nnnn, u-um…mother?" Finally, Baobhan couldn't keep her curiosity contained anymore.

"Hmmm?"

"A…are you going to go in any time soon? N-not that I'd mind standing out here a little longer…" She mumbled, shuffling from foot to foot and glancing at Morgan.

"Ah, my apologies. It's just that…seeing you acting like this takes me back a long way. It's a pity we stopped spending time together this way, but I had my duties and you…took well to your role as a Fairy Knight."

A role I trained you for as best I could.

"So I hope you can forgive this old witch for trying to recapture some of the innocence there was in her youth, and even at the start of her reign."

"I-it's no problem at all, mother! We can stay here as long as you and you can keep petting me if you want!" Baobhan cried, waving her hands hurriedly. "Especially if it makes you so happy! I don't think I've seen you looking like that in ages!"

"Hmmm? Really?"

I certainly found it quite nice, but was I enjoying it that much?

"Yeah! You were really happy just then! Not that I wouldn't be if I were you! After all, if I was getting everything I wanted, I'd be over the moon too!" Baobhan cheered.

…

"Could you…say that last part again please, Baobhan Sith?" Morgan asked, licking at her lips to whet her suddenly dry mouth, her breaths coming quick and shallow.

Why do I feel so…so uneasy?

"Um, I'd be over the moon if I was getting everything I wanted." Baobhan said, confused.

…

It was as if a switch had been flipped. A connection was made, and a memory that had been floating just out of reach now came into sharp focus in her mind.

The breath was knocked from her lungs, as if she'd taken a sledgehammer to the stomach. Her heart dropped into her stomach, despite it starting to beat far faster than it had done it a long while, and her body grew very cold indeed.

No…no no no nononononononono-

"I TOLD you so~"

This…this can't be happening again. Not here. Not NOW. NO! I was…I WAS SO CLOSE TO-

She needed to get away…she couldn't stay here.

"Are you okay, mother? You look a little…" Baobhan asked, looking concerned at her mother's sudden shift in mood.

"Thank you for that. Why don't you go on ahead and enjoy yourself, Baobhan Sith? I…would like to freshen myself up a little, to look as presentable as possible for this celebration." Morgan suggested, trying her hardest to keep her expression neutral. To keep the inward panic off her face.

"Um…okay then. I'll see you in a bit then, mother." Baobhan didn't sound wholly convinced, but thankfully she accepted Morgan's justification.

Moving towards the cafeteria door, Baobahn gave one last wave before stepping inside. The noises of conversation exploded instantly in Morgan's ears, though they were muffled by the door closing and the cafe walls, no doubt relating to her not having returned yet.

Checking around to make sure there was no one else here, Morgan nodded to herself once.

Then she took off at a sprint.

Morgan ran aimlessly through the corridors. Until her lungs burned and her legs ached. Until she was sure she wouldn't be interrupted by anyone else.

Slumping down in a cold corridor after several minutes of blind flight, Morgan buried her head in her hands, breathing deeply and gritting her teeth as her fingernails dug hard into her temples.

Stupid. STUPID. STUPID.

Why didn't she see it before!? Why did she let herself be blinded so easily!?

She should have noticed sooner. Should have REMEMBERED sooner.

No. No. Try to calm yourself, it's understandable…you've had other duties for millennia now. You've…you've worked hard to move on from 'that' part of your life.

"But is that REALLY an excuse for obliviousness, hmmm?"

No. Not really.

Yes, this had only happened just once to her before…but it was not an experience she was likely to forget, as much of an utter wreck as she'd been back then.

She'd been just a youngster, fresh from the slaughter of her compatriots on what should have been their day of triumph, crying up a storm down by the first river she'd stumbled across, even taking heavy gulps of the available water so she could keep on bawling and screaming her eyes out well into the night and the next day.

It had been some last minute venting, before Rayshifting her memories back one last time, both something she'd sorely needed and a required step before the Rayshift. After all, she couldn't have that heartbreak and grief distracting her past self as strongly as it would if she didn't get her grieving out of the way now. She needed to have as cool a head as possible for her campaign.

She couldn't remember ever crying so hard, or so loud, before or since. And unfortunately for her, the volume and intensity of those wails and screams had attracted the attention of a creature that had made the river its home.

A Dracae. And not just any Dracae, a Nightcall Dracae.

The Rain Clan had taught her child self well the dangers of such Fae, much of which came from their vast magical power compared to others of their template, power that came from an inability to fulfiltheir chosen purpose, despite retaining their sense of it completely and trying oh so hard. The rest of their threat, of course, rose from the violent insanity that was the all-but inevitable result of a Fairy accumulating so much magical power for themselves.

Fortunately, such Fae were few and far between…except when it came to the Dracae, that is.

The nurturers of Fae-kind, Dracae existed to care for and raise offspring, typically those of other species. Rare indeed was the purpose that was shared across a whole subspecies of Fairy, but the Dracae were an exception to that rule.

But of course, in their cursed and blighted home, there was no such thing as 'birth.' Of the two remaining species present in the British Lostbelt, the Fae came into the world in matured forms, ready to seek out and fulfil their given purposes, and the human population was not born but cloned. The concept of child rearing, of childhood itself, had been all but forgotten.

Such a cursed and warped place had no need for nurturers, and thus the Dracae were left to degrade into uselessness, desperation…and finally insanity, their shared purpose meaningless.

Of course, as the desperation had set in for them, so too had their attempts to fulfil their purpose grown more and more bold. Even before the Nightcall transformation and resulting insanity had set in, there had been little they wouldn't do to find something, anything, to nurture.

Morgan was privately a little ashamed to admit that she'd done nothing to stop the semi-regular kidnappings. Not of the odd Fae, but of freshly cloned humans, the closest thing they could find to children in need of care and raising.

After she'd taken the throne, well…she would surely have been able to overwhelm even the strongest of fallen Dracae with raw power, assuming she deigned to take care of the renegade Fae herself, rather than delegate the task to one of her knights or armies. Even before she'd taken the throne, the extra mystic knowledge and skill she'd inherited from her Proper Human History self would surely have given her old self the edge against a Nightcall, not to mention the aid of Ector, Totorot and Uther and his followers.

Perhaps if she had taken action sooner, she wouldn't have been ambushed the way she was.

She'd been caught quite thoroughly off guard and unprepared. Not to mention that she'd been so stuck wallowing in despair and grief that she'd forgotten the number one rule of dealing with a Dracae.

You couldn't trust your senses.

The falsehood it offered to lure her in had been so very tempting. It had felt so real…

And what else would it have been, what else in that moment would have swayed her heart more easily, but to be back at that hall? To be back with Uther, Totorot, Ector and all of their supporters. To not only have her coronation happen uninterrupted, but for Uther to…

"You'd always dreamed of hearing those words from him, didn't you?"

…yes. And the dress was so very lovely too, Totorot was over the moon when I asked for it.

"That creature's FALSEHOOD of Totorot, you mean?"

Yes.

"The same falsehood-"

Shut up. Shut up! Shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP! I…w-we cannot be SURE that's what's happeni-

"Oh? But you were so quick to find fault earlier…don't tell me that you're beingdrawn in now, hmmm?"

I am SIMPLY looking for just that last, little bit more PROOF.

"Just stop lying to yourself, you and I both know what's going on here. History is repeating itself."

I NEED to be SURE.

"...have it your way, then. You'll see that I'm right."

With that, the dark voice slunk away to the recesses of her mind once more, leaving the tormented ex-queen alone to bury her head in her hands even further. A small whine of frustration and rage slipped through her lips as Morgan repeatedly bumping her head against her knees.

It took four long minutes to force the worst of her roiling anger and creeping despair back down. Afterwards, Morgan hauled herself back up, her legs and feet feeling immensely weighed down while the rest of her body felt like it was stuck in treacle.

Clenching her shaking hands around her spear to stop from slumping to the ground, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm herself, so that she wouldn't just tear into the first person she came across in the name of venting her bubbling fury.

In…out…in…out…

Eventually, the shaking in her limbs stopped, her stomach was no longer churning as violently as it had been and her expression had returned to its usual neutral frown, as opposed to the spiteful scowl that had taken over her face.

She needed to find someone. Someone whose behaviour would truly confirm the nature of her situation.

But who would be the best fit?

Well, there was ONE person that came to mind.

Ordinarily one of the last people she would want to see…but right now, exactly what Morgan needed.

"Up at last, then?" A cold voice reached her ears, coming from behind her.

Speak of the devil.

Turning, Morgan saw Saber Alter standing a few feet from her, arms folded, frown on her face and a questioning eyebrow raised.

"And you can't even be bothered to show up to your own homecoming celebration, after all the effort the staff and Master went to to prepare it? Is the best Chaldea can offer not luxurious enough for her majesty's tastes?"

In ANY other circumstance, Morgan would have already snapped back a reply…but now, she was far too busy sweeping her gaze over the newly arrived Servant.

Where was her dismissive scowl? Where was the scorn in her tone?

"You might not have noticed, but a lot has changed here since I was put to sleep by that bug. I'm simply taking some time to myself to get used to it, is that so offensive to you?" Morgan sneered, putting as much hostility as she could into her tone.

Inwardly, however, was a different story.

For the love of all things, tainted Artoria…insult me.

Demean me. Act condescending to me. Scorn me for perceived 'weakness' for being unable to adjust to this place instantly. ANYTHING. Just ACT as you NORMALLY do!

Seconds ticked by with no reply from the Alter. It was quiet enough that Morgan could hear her heart thumping in her chest and her shaky breathing, despite her efforts to control herself and keep calm.

But she couldn't, there was too much at stake here.

"...if you must take time, then do so. Even if you don't show up at all, then at least the work put into your celebration won't go to waste, we can enjoy it without you after all." Saber Alter sighed, gaze softening as she turned to leave.

Oh…no. No, no, no, nononononononononono-

"Why are you saying that?"

"Hmm?" The corrupted monarch turned back…only to find Morgan inches from her face, eyes shrunk and a look of disbelieving shock plastered on her face. To her credit, Saber Alter didn't recoil, merely raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you acting like this? Why are you not berating me?! You have NEVER shown sympathy for my struggles up to this point! Why NOW? WHAT HAPPENED to you, tainted Artoria!?" Morgan practically snarled in her face, veins popping out on her forehead.

But even as she spoke, she already knew the answer.

…because I despised her constant defiance. I despised her attitude. I despised her dismissal of my struggles.

And here she is, acting like this.

Before Saber Alter could reply, Morgan began stumbling away from her, eyes going wide and face turning white.

"Are you al-"

Morgan didn't give her a chance to finish, turning and breaking into a sprint again, desperate to get as far away from her as possible.

This time, she didn't get too far before she collided with someone else.

"Gah!"

"Kyah!"

Fortunately, Morgan managed to stay upright, while the oncoming Servant was knocked to the ground.

Rubbing at her head with her free hand, Morgan shook her head left and right to try and clear away the pain and spots that had exploded in her vision from the impact. After a few moments, it had cleared enough that she could make out who it was she'd collided with.

…just as Kiyohime shoved her face right into Morgan's and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"There you are!"

Before Morgan could protest, Kiyohime dragged her off…well, she started to. Her attempt lasted about as long as it took Morgan to get over her surprise, then start trying to pull her arm free of the other Berserker's grip.

"What are you doing!?" She barked, levelling her spear at the girl after tearing her arm free of Kiyohime's hands.

"I'm taking you to Master of course! You shouldn't have kept him waiting as long as you did! You said you were only going to take a minute to freshen up and yet you're still here! If Master didn't want to see you so badly, I'd burn you to a crisp for that UNFORGIVABLE lie!" Kiyohime lectured, re-taking Morgan's primary arm and once more trying to move the ex-queen, only succeeding in the contact because Morgan was too busy being frozen stiff to move her arm out of Kiyohime's grip.

"...wh-what did you say?" She whispered, her heart having plummeted into her chest all over again, her body getting even cold as a shiver ran up her spine.

"I said that you shouldn't have kept Master waiting!"

"...it's meant to be Anchin."

"Eh?" Morgan had been so quiet that Kiyohime almost missed it.

"You…are supposed…to call him…Anchin." Morgan growled at her, grabbing the other girl right back with her free hand and turning to look her in the eyes, her ice cold blues glaring holes into Kiyohime's yellow orbs.

"But why would I do that?"

It was a perfectly genuine question, no mockery at all, only innocent curiosity.

And yet it set the other Berserker's blood ablaze with incredulous frustration, pushing aside her previous fears.

"Because that. Is what. You call him." Morgan hissed into Kiyohime's ear, eyes shrunk to pinpricks and teeth clenched tight.

"It hasn't mattered how many times I've told you to stop. It hasn't mattered how many times other Servants have told you to stop. It hasn't even mattered when Fujimaru himself has asked you to call him 'Master' like almost everyone else does, you go RIGHT on with calling him Anchin because that is how your twisted, DERANGED mind sees him.

"So why…why…why have you changed your mind n-"

Her words died in her throat, her frustration replaced with a fresh wave of dread, as she remembered why exactly she'd been fleeing in the first place.

She changed her mind because I wanted her to.

"Was there really any other answer, hmmm?"

Releasing the other Berserker, Morgan began stepping backward, shoulders shaking as she tried and failed to control her breathing. Her eyes darted this way and that, trying to find something, anything, that obviously didn't belong. A weak point that could let her end this nightmare.

From what she remembered, the Dracae's illusion had had clumps of reeds and water lilies stuck throughout the false castle, a symptom of the reality that Morgan was still by the riverside intruding into the lie. All she'd needed to do was attack those enough times and the illusion had collapsed.

Of course, just like back then, the inhabitants of this illusory world likely not take too kindly to her attempting to escape.

That had almost broken her, having to cut down her comrades in arms and dear friends all over again, practically fresh off of losing them the first time. It had been hard enough on her to have them stolen away by Fae treachery, but to have to put them to the sword herself…

That won't happen here. I know what this is. They will all be there waiting when I return to reality. These are false imitations, I…I will put them down, if the need arises.

She didn't know who or what was doing this just yet, so best to try what had worked in the past and go from there. Better than just waiting it out or trying to find the mastermind.

But what to look for?

I fell asleep on a Rayshift expedition to a damaged city, didn't I? I should still be there, so looking for pieces of broken masonry, wreckage and flames will be my best bet. Best keep an eye out for that strange cult's graffiti as well.

With that goal in mind, she set off, casting some enhancement spells on her eyes just to make sure she didn't miss anything.

After a quite thorough search, she found none in the immediate area.

Undaunted, she expanded the search.

Room by room, corridor by corridor she went, barging in and out without regard for privacy.

No matter how many times she turned up empty, Morgan refused to stop. Even when a few roaming Servants, apparently sent out to find her, tried to call out to her or flag her down, the Berserker pressed on. The only room she refused to go to was the cafeteria. It was where almost all the illusory Servants and staff had gathered after all, and there was no way she'd be able to fight them all off at once if her actions turned them hostile.

And eventually…nothing.

No disparities. No oddities. No strange out of place environments creeping into Chaldea. Nothing.

This illusion, and the mastermind behind it, seems to be stronger than I thought.

Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, trying to stop the shaking in her hand at the frustration that had steadily built up over the course of repeated failures, Morgan came to a grim conclusion.

If there wasn't any existing weak point…she'd just have to make one herself. Once she caused enough damage, the mastermind would surely reveal themselves in their attempts to stabilise the illusion or confront her directly, as the Dracae had done.

…and if I'm wrong?

Then she'd be destroying the home of the Master who'd taken her in. Who'd given her a second chance. Repaying his kindness with wanton destruction and slaughter out of paranoia.

She'd be no different from the rest of those Fae scum she so despised, wouldn't she?

A shaky breath slipped through her lips, shivers crawling up her spine and her stomach churning all over again.

She'd tried so hard to not fall to their level. To be truthful with her intentions when possible, and properly reward loyal subordinates for their willingness to serve her. She'd sworn that she would not forget someone else's kindness or take advantage of it.

And here she was, ready to potentially throw Fujimaru's generosity back in his face by wrecking his home.

She'd been so sure before, but now…

Everything has fallen into place. I am as certain as can be that this is all a trick, but still…could I be wrong?

"You are not wrong. You know what's going on here. This might be painful to do…and that's likely what the mastermind is counting on. You need to push past that pain and free yourself from this falsehood."

If there is even the slightest chance-

"And have you considered that that line of thought, that doubt, is what this illusionist is counting on, hmm? Do you remember how real all of your old friends seemed before you pulled at the metaphorical thread and unravelled the fantasy? How close you came to accepting the lie and letting the Dracae take you forever?"

If I had been seconds slower…

"Precisely, do NOT make that same mistake here and act NOW. It will hurt, but you didn't let that stop you back then, and you can't let that stop you now."

…yes. You're…I'm quite right.

No hesitation. Not this time.

Bolstered by the words of that other side of herself, Morgan gathered herself and readied her spear, charging it full of the most destructive dark magic she knew.

All right, let's start with a few walls and go from ther-

"There you are! Everything okay, Morgan? Everyone's waiting for you, you know?"

"I told you she was probably further away, peasant Master! Mother, are you all right? What are you doing here?"

"You don't look so good, did something happen? Want to talk about it? I'll make some of Habenyan's special tea, just for you!"

She almost froze up at the sound of the new voices. Almost.

Of course…

She spared a glance at the trio, letting out a heavy sigh and smiling a thoroughly broken smile.

"M-mmother?" Baobhan whispered, shocked and confused.

"I hoped that this was true. That I was finally reaping some reward for my efforts…"

A lone tear slipped down the Berserker's cheek.

"...how foolish I was, to forget that such fortune is not my fate. Not back then, and not now."

"Hey, come on, we're here for you. What's wrong? Just talk to us." Ritsuka practically begged, eying Morgan's charged spear with a wary eye.

"I am sorry, but I must leave this falsehood behind."

Before any of them could protest, Morgan's spear erupted into blasts of dark energy and beams of power, piercing through the surrounding walls and shattering the floor in large chunks.

Even as rubble began to fly everywhere, propelled by the force of her magic bolts' impacts, even as the cries, pleadings and protests of Fujimaru, Baobhan and Habetrot reached her ears, Morgan kept up the barrage. She stood stock still, clutching her spear tight and channelling more and more power into it to finish this faster.

Though her eyes were closed tight, a few more tears still managed to force their way out, sliding down her cheeks and dripping to the floor, in spite of the chaos raging around her.

I'm sorry…but I won't be fooled again.

"PLEASE STOP, MOTHER!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

After several long, agonising minutes, she finally cut off the Mana flow. Opening her eyes and lowering her spear, Morgan surveyed the surrounding devastation. Alarms blared in her ears,but she paid them no mind.

Very few things remained that could be recognised as a part of Chaldea. What few intact walls there still were had been scorched and scarred beyond recognition, while the remainder had been reduced to rubble. Her magic blasts had been so wide and far reaching that they'd levelled dozens of rooms alongside the walls, with wrecked and shattered equipment joining the detritus on the floor…well, what remained of the floor.

She couldn't tell if she'd reached the cafeteria from here, though perhaps that was for the best.

Sighing, she closed her eyes again. Waiting for the inevitable.

This should be enough damage to secure her release, one way or the other. Either the illusion would collapse on its own, or the creator would need to take a direct hand to try and fix it. And when they DID try to interfere…she'd have the ticket to her freedom right in front of her.

There were more than enough 'persuasion' techniques in her arsenal, both developed on her own initiative and inherited from her Panhuman self's pool of mystic knowledge, for her to be confident that she could convince them to let her leave.

Any moment now…

A moment passed. Then several more.

Confusion welled in her mind.

Then a full minute.

Why is…why is nothing happening?

The confusion was slowly replaced by a creeping cold. A shivering in her limbs.

After another few minutes, her breathing deepened as a boiling panic rose in her mind.

Why isn't anything happening!?

Had she…had she really been wrong after all?

Her free hand went to her mouth, eyes going wide.

No. I…I was sure! No no no nononononononoNONONONONO-

"M…mother…"

Whipping her head around, Morgan's gaze came to rest on the prone form of Baobhan Sith.

Her mutilated, nearly limbless form, with her arms and legs so badly damaged that they were hanging by small threads of muscle and sinew. Her torso was a mess of gore and blood, crushed and eviscerated by debris, with the torn remnants of her dress practically disappearing under a lake of red.

A cold sweat broke out on the ex-queen's forehead and palms immediately. Her breathing quickened all over again, growing heavy as a lump began to clog her throat.

And when she started trying to move…

It's happening again. It's happening again and it's my fault. I did this. I did this I hurt her I-

It took a great deal of effort to choke back the scream trying to force its way out of her mouth, followed by the bile rising up her throat. She gagged for a moment before shoving it back down, transfixed on the sight before her all the while.

"W-why, mother?" Baobhan whispered.

"I…I-I-I'm-"

"We just…wanted to help." Came Habetrot's weak voice.

Wiping at her eyes to try and stem a fresh wave of tears, Morgan found the linen spinner lying in a pool of her own blood, cuts and bruises littering every exposed part of her body. Much like Baobhan, her clothes had been shredded by the collapsing walls and uprooted floor. One particularly sharp piece had even found her left eye.

No. NO…

"I'm sorry. I-"

She stopped, choking up too much to speak any more, vision fully clouded by a steady stream of tears. However, she still saw enough to notice both Habetrot and Baobhan go limp, heads lolling to the side.

Stretching out her hand, Morgan summoned every last ounce of Mana left and poured it into healing spells.

She tried until she felt sluggish. Tried until she could barely lift her shaky arms.

Even after exhausting her strength…nothing.

How could I have…?

Her spear slipped from her right hand and clattered to the floor. Slowly, Morgan lowered her head, simply letting the tears keep rolling down her face, an expression of tortured shock carved onto her face.

I was…I was so sure. What do I do now?

How did she-

"Well, that was a little more violent a response than I'd expected."

That voice.

Whirling around, blue eyes going wide and mouth falling open all over again, Morgan saw Fujimaru casually pushing a piece of debris off of himself, slowly sitting up and dusting himself off, despite his shirt and part of his trousers being thoroughly torn.

There wasn't a scratch on him personally.

He didn't look fazed at all. As a matter of fact…was he smiling!?

What is going ON HERE!?

Past and present feelings of confusion, heartbreak, shock and regret all blended together into a whirling maelstrom of emotions inside Morgan's mind, rooting her in place as she tried to process just how rapidly this situation had spiralled.

How could this-? How could HE-

"Still, I suppose this had to come to an end eventually."

…come to an en-

Ah.

…I see.

The maelstrom of emotion in her mind dispersed, to be replaced by a boiling well of rage.

This was a lie, then. All of this.

Wordlessly, Morgan summoned her spear back to her hand and pointed it at the teen charging it with a spell, not even bothering to clean away the residual teardrops still trailing her face and chin first.

"Perhaps offering you everything from your dream all at once was a little hasty, in hindsight…" Ritsuka continued, eyes closed as he rubbed at his chin.

"So, you admit it." Morgan hissed. "Explain yourself."

"Of course."

…that was NOT Fujimaru's voice she was hearing.

And when he finally decided to match her gaze with his own, she could quite plainly see that those weren't his eyes either, unless of course her Master had suddenly replaced his blue eyes with a pair of glowing silver orbs with blackened sclera.

"...what are you? I demand your name."

"And you shall have it, and more, in due time. But first, let me get rid of all this mess. Then you and I can have a wonderful little chat, my dear." 'Ritsuka' smiled, snapping his fingers.

Almost immediately, glowing cracks began spreading outward from his feet.

Even as Morgan stumbled back from them, summoning a protective shield around herself, the cracks crawled from on under and past her, sprawling both down the corridors and up the walls and ceiling.

Then,after they'd completely saturated the surrounding area, they began to widen. The bright white glow of the cracks was replaced by the view of a starry expanse…a view that steadily grew as the widening breaches consumed the surroundings.

"This might be a little distracting…a simpler background should do just fine."

At the sound of another finger snap, the remnants of Chaldea rapidly dissolved away, followed by the starry sky before Morgan exploding as the stars were wiped away, bathing her vision in blinding white.

---

After far too long a wait for her liking, her vision finally started to return.

All that greeted her was darkness. Suffocating and all-consuming darkness from all sides, with no landmasses in sight. Morgan stomped her foot experimentally a few times, even lighting up her spear and aiming it at the 'ground' just to check what it was she was standing on.

Nothing that she could see and yet she wasn't falling, or if she was, she couldn't feel it.

Then again, considering that she'd found out she'd been trapped in an illusion up to this point…she couldn't really trust her senses right now.

So, if her surroundings could be manipulated so easily by that creature (being able to disassemble a whole environment, even an artificial one, with just a snap of a finger was no small feat, after all), the one who'd taken Fujimaru's form, what could she trust?

Not a whole lot.

Then what to do? Fighting seems rather pointless…all of those magic blasts barely scratched her when she was transformed into Master. I was promised answers as well, wasn't I?

Perhaps I should just wait, at least for a while.

If I get nothing after a few minutes, then I will start trying to free myself again.

"Now now…there's no need for that, my dear." A familiar voice, this time far more distorted and echoing, cut in, sending Morgan jumping and whirling in place.

Did…did she-!?

"Please don't be alarmed, it is simply one of my gifts to sense the wants of others."

"...is that why my desires influenced your illusion?" She felt a little silly calling out to an empty void but, well, if that was the only way…

"Yes."

"And why trap me there in the first place? What is it you want?" Morgan narrowed her eyes.

"'Trap' you? Oh no no no, my dear, that was not intended as a trap, I heartily apologise if it came off that way. Think of it more as…an offering."

"Offering? You have a strange way of presenting an offering. And why call it that, unless…" Morgan furrowed her brows, thinking it over for a moment.

"Is this your attempt at convincing me to work with you, creature?"

"You're half right, my dear. Treat that illusion of mine as simply the first step. A taster, if you will, of what I can do for you if you help me. I have an offer for you, if you'll hear it. What do you say, my dear?"

Closing her eyes and blowing out a breath, Morgan glanced around and tightened her grip on her spear.

"I will hear your proposal, creature, but I ask that you show yourself and tell me what you want first. I cannot negotiate in good faith with someone who refuses to show themselves in the flesh." She insisted.

It reminds me FAR too much of Fae trickery.

"Of course. It is the least I can do. However, I should warn you that my form can be quite…unsettling."

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"I have seen a great many horrors and abominations in my lifetime, I'm sure I will be fine. Besides, as long as you aren't like that disgusting insect, I'm sure I can tolerate your form, no matter how unsettling it might be."

"Very well then."

A source of light to the left of her caught Morgan's attention. As she turned to face it, the light began to expand and unfurl. Slowly but surely, it morphed and twisted into a humanoid shape, followed by the bright light in its form fading and being replaced by solid features.

All seemed relatively normal in the Berserker's eyes…until the lower third of the newcomer's form split apart, ending in at least four separate tendrils. At the same time, what looked to be wings began sprouting from the head area, at least two sets all in all, while twelve thick growths began protruding from the lower torso.

Despite the dimming, the newcomer's body still glinted faintly, especially obvious in the otherwise pitch black environment…and perhaps because her skin was a very pale white. Well, except for the greyish pink tentacles that formed her lower body, the red coloured skin of her hands and the yellowish black of the wings on her head, partially hidden by jet black locks of hair.

Even with mystic enhancements to improve her reactions and perception, Morgan had barely finished taking in all of the being's features before she was forced to look away, being buffeted backward and raising a barrier for protection.

Even with that shield, she still found it unbearable.

There's so much power…

The sheer level of magical energy in the air was suffocating, almost like she was stuck in a heatwave. Every breath hurt her throat, and the Berserker choked down the urge to cough or take short and shallow breaths out of panic.

She could feel the waves of magic rolling off of the newcomer in such vast quantities that Morgan's first instinct was to trash around, convinced that she was drowning in a thick sea.

Just looking at her was difficult, with a painful pressure building behind Morgan's eyelids whenever she tried. She felt…wrong somehow, as if she did not belong.

Not even the mightiest of the Fae Nightcalls, or even the King of Mors, had come anywhere close to this sort of mystic might.

The only being that could ever compare was the Beast God, Cernunnos. Even then, his curse-saturated corpse had still been slumbering when she, Totorot and Mashu had investigated the Great Pit, his Divine Core not yet restarted.

And since this is a dream environment, then surely this is just a lesser avatar.

If that was the case…then just how strong was this creature in the flesh?

She shivered at the thought.

"I see. My form is unsightly after all…" The creature murmured, sounding quite upset and even shrinking in on herself, tentacles coiling around her upper body and hands crossing over her torso. "Curse you, abyss dweller."

Abyss Dweller?

"N…no, that isn't…the case." Morgan managed to say, eyes now watering and throat burning as the yet more Mana filled the air around her. "It's just…your power…is rather overwhelming."

"My power? Ah, I see, please wait a moment."

The creature held out a hand, through which she quickly began drawing in the magic that suffused the air.

Morgan took a deep, greedy breath of air as the pressure on her eyes and throat was released, the burning sensation in the air departing along with the excess Mana. Wiping at her eyes, she released her protective barrier.

"Is that better, my dear?"

"Yes, thank you."

"It's the least I can do. I sometimes forget that the residents of this plane have difficulty interacting with my kind." The creature said, lowering her head in seeming embarrassment. "I do hope you can look past that."

"Well, there's no permanent harm done, so very well. Now then, as you agreed, please tell me your name. I would like to know who it is that I'm negotiating with here."

"My name is Apep, a refugee from another plane."

"A refugee,you say?"

Focusing her energy, Morgan narrowed her eyes and studied 'Apep' closely.

I've heard FAR too many false claims of asylum before, from far too many opportunistic Fae trying to get close to me without rousing my suspicion, for me to take you at your word.

Her blue eyes began to glow softly, searching for any sign of deception in the creature's words or body language. For any sign of malicious intent.

…nothing.

Well, apart from some sort of shimmering around her, like a reflection in water.

She is indeed a refugee, trying to flee.

The thought sent another shiver down her spine.

What could something this powerful possibly be FLEEING?

"You seem to be telling the truth, but that prompts another question. Why are you a refugee? What are you running from?"

"Another of my kind." Apep's features darkened, a scornful scowl crossing her face. "A loathsome monstrosity who has hounded me across the whole of our home dimension, over and over again.

"I thought that he would simply give up if I left him alone and put enough distance between us. If anything, the distance only enraged him even further.

"Years passed. Then centuries. Then millennia. Even after all that time, he refused to give in, rallying more and more of our kind to support his hunt for me.

"I used to be able to evade him on my own well enough. But now, I can barely stay ahead of him. His reach is long and his agents are everywhere in our plane. I am…I am so tired of running."

Apep seemed to shrink and wilt, her whole body sagging as if fatigue was setting in.

That undying persistence…the Fae Clan leaders were much the same way after the coronation. I ran for such a long time before I resolved to try just one last time.

"Why does he despise you so much?" Morgan asked.

"Because I am…I was different."

"In what way?"

"The beings of my home plane are…typically born with forms your people would consider monstrous and twisted, while I was born more closely resembling a human." Apep explained, gesturing to her upper body.

This reminds me of Barghest…and yet her fellow Fang Clansmen were quick to accept her anyway.

"I didn't mind my form. In fact, I took pride in the fact that I was different. In fact, I strove to stand out as much as I could. After all, I had this form, so I might as well make the most of it. I strove to be…wonderful. I even tried to set an example for my peers, to give them an example to follow, should they so desire."

Apep smiled wistfully, though the smile swiftly crumpled into a sour frown.

"But to the abyss dweller, my determination was an offence to him. In fact, my mere existence was an affront. The fact that one of our kind could be born with such an aberrant appearance…it was repulsive to him. That is why he hunts me so relentlessly.

"When I last tried to fight back, he almost killed me. He tore my lower half to pieces, and before I could heal, he cursed me. Cursed me to reconstitute like this. Cursed me to have this form…to be more like him. " Apep spat, frown twisting into an angry scowl.

That sounds familiar…a little too familiar, in all honesty.

Turning her Fae eyes on Apep once more, Morgan searched the eldritch being for any sign of a lie. Any ill intent whatsoever.

Nothing. She seems to still be truthful…and there's that shimmer again.

That was certainly surprising.

Have I found a kindred spirit in her? She certainly would understand how it feels to be persecuted.

Then again, even if Apep was telling the truth about her origins and plight, that shouldn't be a reason to put blind faith in her.

Perhaps she should leave out the precise details of her own past and just give a summary of what she endured? That would be enough to build common ground with a potential ally, surely?

"I can certainly understand how you feel. I too was persecuted and, in the worst of times, hunted by my fellow Fae. Our homeland was cursed you see, cursed from being born from a foundation of betrayal and senseless murder, and all Fae born of it inherited that curse…inherited that inevitable loss of purpose and transformation into a Mors.

"I, on the other hand, was born of Avalon, pure and untainted, and sent as their saviour to redeem their sins. But Fairies as a race despise being looked down upon, and saw my very existence as a mockery. As confirmation that they weren't considered good enough to atone on their own, and needed an outsider to help them."

She tried to stay matter-of-fact, tried to keep her expression even, but couldn't help the venom that seeped into her voice, or the tightening of her hand around her staff and grinding of her teeth.

"I tried my best to help them, even when they certainly didn't deserve it, and what did I get for it in return? Scorn and betrayal. Even when I was trying to be kind, to unite them peacefully, they still saw fit to turn on me, just for daring to try and tell them what to do.

"They would have driven themselves to extinction without me there to impose order, to force them to behave, and THIS is the thanks I get?"

If there exists a more ungrateful species out there, I've yet to find it.

"They refused your generous assistance and attempts to keep them alive? Hmph, after everything you did for them, they should have showered you with praise and rewards for your efforts." Apep insisted.

"On that, you and I most certainly agr-" Morgan began, only to pause.

She said "after everything you did for them", didn't she? That almost sounds like…

Apep, noticing the Berserker's stare turning questioning, bordering on accusing, held up her hands and offered what she hoped was a pacifying smile.

"I should have mentioned this sooner, but I…investigated your past dreams and nightmares a little before contacting you. I wanted to see for myself just what sort of person you were." Apep admitted. "I didn't see many specifics, my powers aren't what they used to be, but I saw enough. You've…suffered through a lot, haven't you? Far more than, if I may say so, almost anyone else in your circumstances has."

Pain, loss, betrayal, despair, rage…yours was a journey filled with hardship."

She got all of that from just my dreams and nightmares?

Another shiver ran up her spine.

How far back does her vision reach, even handicapped the way she seems to be?

"Yes…it certainly was." Morgan muttered, letting her gaze fall to the 'floor' and a tired sigh slip through her lips.

Her journey really had been very long indeed. If Apep's words were any indication, and there was still no hint of a lie in them that Morgan's eyes could see, then her journey had been just as long…most likely far longer.

There's that shimmering again, what IS that?

"With nothing left to show for it in the end, even after all that time." Her face curled into a bitter scowl, just for a moment, a flare of anger welling up in her mind as she thought back.

"Deepest sympathies, my dear. Hard work and honest effort really should be rewarded…and it still can."

"Mmmm?" Looking back up, Morgan found Apep gazing kindly at her, a hopeful smile on her face. "Ah, I suppose we should discuss your offer at some point."

"My proposal, yes. One that I certainly hope will be thoroughly beneficial for us both."

"We shall see, so what do you propose?"

"I have been searching for a refuge, a refuge from the abyss dweller and his followers, and nowhere in my plane is safe from his reach. However, your world seems to be a different story, he cannot breach your plane without being let through, though the same is true for me and others of our kind.

"That is why I implore you…please grant me refuge in your world. There is a ritual I can teach you that will allow you to bridge a path between my plane and yours to let me through, so that I can finally escape the reach of my enemy."

Well, that sounds simple enough on its own…let's see what I get out of this offer in exchange.

"I see, and what can you offer me in turn?" Morgan asked.

"I will gladly take care of that interloper you and your friends are so desperately struggling against, once my strength returns." Apep smiled, tenting her fingers together in front of her chest.

"Interloper?" Morgan already had an idea of just who Apep was referring to, but she needed to confirm for herself. "Do you mean…"

"The entity from the stars that wiped this planet clean, the one that brought your world and others back into existence..the one your Master refers to as the "Foreign God"."

Mmmmm?

Now THAT was quite the tempting offer.

Though she'd not heard any first hand accounts of the entity's power, Morgan had heard a few stories through the 'Servant grapevine', passed down and around from those who did ask Fujimaru, Mash or the other Chaldea staff what had happened in Greece.

And what she'd heard had been…troubling to say the least.

Extinguishing her Rhongomyniad's flames with a mere gesture. Consuming the entire Lostbelt with a singularity (the gravity distortion, not the historical deviation). Managing to survive an attack from the Crypter leader, a man who had previously brought those Machine Gods to heel with nothing more than his own magical strength.

Granted, she'd apparently been pushed out of the Lostbelt and was currently recuperating, but still…

She was also one of those 'Beasts', wasn't she? She'd heard one of the staff talking about it on the way to a training session a few days ago, that they had a scanner of some sort that had pointed the Foreign God out as one of them.

One of the 'ultimate enemies' of mankind and among the strongest entities in the world, the invader was certainly not someone to take lightly.

"The enemy we fight is powerful indeed. Powerful enough to have masterminded all of this and brought seven whole timelines back into existence. Do you truly believe you can take her on?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.

To her surprise, Apep's response was to chuckle, a rather sinister smirk spreading across her face.

"She will be no match for me, my dear. A short while to recuperate and gather some strength is all I'll need to crush the interloper. She fears my kind, you see…why do you think those Disciples of hers were created the way they were?"

"Disciples…you know of her servants?"

"Oh yes. I've been watching her. It's so cute, don't you think? The way she cowers away, hiding behind her little trees, the worlds they hold and the pawns she recruits. Oh, and those servants of hers! Fufufu, she really is oh so terrified of any of my kind's vessels interfering, isn't she…which is precisely why she'll be no match for the real me.

"Perhaps I'll show her just how right she was to fear my kind. Yes…first, I'll tear her limb from limb, but keep her alive, just to see how she tastes. Then I might sample those lovely little saplings of hers, so full of energy! Ufufufu, a few rounds of torment should be more than enough to teach that fool just how wrong she was to presume she could steal my world."

Though Apep had started whispering to herself halfway through, Morgan's rune-enhanced ears picked up what she was saying…and a sickly unease bubbled up inside her upon hearing it.

They hadn't even finalised a deal of any sort yet, and yet here she was calling Earth "my world"? And the threats she was making…

Call it Fae intuition (as much as she loathed to do so), but this was not the temperament of a mere refugee seeking asylum. Despite that, her claims of being one seemed to be genuine.

It wasn't like Morgan had ignored her better instincts before. In fact, she'd done it a few minutes ago, allowing that illusory successor of hers to sway her into giving the dream world a chance.

What sort of 'mere' refugee introduced themselves in that manner anyway, with tricks and illusions plucked right from one's desires? That did not exactly present a trustworthy image.

On the one hand, if Apep really could deal with her, and all she asked for in exchange was a small ritual and a refuge, then surely her deal was worth taking?

On the other hand, the deal in question seemed far too one-sided.

Ordinarily, she would gladly take a deal that benefitted her so greatly, but right now…she was feeling a little wary. She needed to know more.

There must be something more to this deal.

"That is quite the generous deal you offer. However, I have the suspicion that there is a little more to it. I will need full details of the ritual you want me to perform." Morgan insisted.

"Ah. The ritual. Of course, my dear."

Why was she wringing her hands like that?

And did she look nervous?

A quick glance of her Fae Eyes confirmed that yes, she was indeed nervous about continuing.

There was more to this after all, then. Morgan just needed to find out what.

"Why the hesitation and the nerves?" She asked. "Is this ritual a tad more…unpleasant than I've been led to believe? What aren't you telling me about it?"

Letting out a tired and lacing her fingers together, Apep offered her a resigned look.

"You're right, my dear. I'm afraid the ritual to summon me requires a certain price. A blood price."

And there it is.

"I understand why you might have been hesitant to approach anyone else on the Rayshift team with this offer, assuming you could at all…but why come to me?"

"Because, and do forgive the presumption, when I look at you, I see someone that knows the price of progress. Someone who understands that sometimes, spilling blood, even innocent blood, is necessary to reach an ideal solution."

Morgan winced internally, glancing at the ground.

I do wish I could tell her that she is mistaken, but…

She'd allowed the Fae to continue butchering humans under her rule. Allowed them to continue being used like cattle. After all, she'd needed the vast amounts of extra magical power the Existence Tax provided, and for that she needed a healthy Fae population. That, in turn, needed the Mors curse kept at bay…which itself needed regular human consumption.

She'd barely spared the human population of the Lostbelt a second thought. Barely felt guilty for betraying the oath she'd once sworn for their sake.

After all, that was the old her, Tonelico the Saviour. Her current self had no reason to abide by such promises.

Or so she'd told herself.

In truth, and after some introspection, she'd found it all too easy to grow embittered with them as well. In disassociating with her former identity as Tonelico, Morgan had also found herself gradually forgetting and brushing aside the memories of the kindness and support she'd always received from the majority of the Lostbelt's humans.

All too soon, her disillusioned mind and hardened, rage-filled heart had begun focusing only on the minority of humans that had supported the Fairy Clans against her and her supporters. Had tunnel-visioned into believing that the humans were simply part of the problem, that they weren't grateful enough to receive her help.

After all, if they really wanted freedom so badly, why didn't they overthrow their slave masters in the Clans and join her faction instead? Why did they just let themselves be taken advantage of like that? Why JOIN their masters' efforts to exterminate the faction campaigning for their release?

I tried SO hard to save you, but you didn't try to save ME once.

They were a lost cause, so she'd come to believe, too brainwashed, browbeaten and blindly subservient to ever be saved...to be worth saving at all. Easier to let them burn along with the Fae and hope that the new generation of humans, born into the new world she would have created after the Great Calamities had all been weathered and the ritual had been prepared, would be better and less subservient.

She'd had no issue with sacrificing innocent humans then…so what about now?

…I could do it. I could do it and not bat an eye, if my hand were truly forced.

"Yes. You are…quite right." She whispered.

As if sensing her hesitation, Apep spoke up again.

"You can, of course, use the twisted fanatics instead. I'm sure your allies would find that a tad more palatable. Unfortunately, the way the abyss dweller set up his curse, I fear that they alone will not be enough." She explained, sighing sadly.

"I understand that accepting my offer might not be easy for your new comrades to stomach, or for you to carry out given the circumstances. But please, all I ask for is one last effort…in exchange, I will gladly do everything in my power to make sure you're given what you deserve."

More generosity from her?

"You offer even more without asking for anything else? Why would you do that?"

What is her angle here? Why offer so much?

"Because…well, I see a lot of myself in you, my dear. After all, we've suffered under quite similar circumstances, even with all of our differences. I suppose you could say that I see you as a chance. A chance to help someone else reach their desires, as I never could."

Apep rubbed at her neck and shoulders with her hands, seeming to shrink away.

"And, it might be a tad embarrassing to say, but…kindness from your plane is almost unheard of, so of course I would work hard to repay any that I receive."

Ordinarily, that would have had Morgan raising an eyebrow, perhaps even snorting and rolling her eyes, in incredulity, but she refrained and reconsidered.

After all, if she were being honest with herself, wasn't that her motive too?

After millennia of scorn, dismissal and hatred from the Fae, no matter her efforts or her means, being given some actual praise for her work from Fujimaru had been…highly invigorating indeed.

And there she'd been, trying to show off her new invention to Fujimaru on a Rayshift, in hopes of getting more of that praise.

I wouldn't take it as far as she does, but yes, I can certainly understand her reasons.

"I see. And…what else is it that you would offer me?" She asked.

"Easier to show you, my dear." Apep smiled, snapping her fingers.

Immediately, the blackness of the void began to give way to light, coming from behind the alien being. With it came large swathes of grass and lush fields of flowers and trees.

Morgan was forced to look away and squeeze her eyes shut, just as the outline of a city began to form in her peripheral vision.

…

Fortunately, her vision returned to her much more quickly than last time.

Her breath, however, took quite a bit longer to come back.

"There you are!"

Especially when she heard that frighteningly familiar voice.

It…could that truly be…?

Wiping at her eyes with reckless abandon, Morgan whirled around to find the source.

She couldn't hold back the sharp exhale at the sight that greeted her.

There was her castle. There were her followers and knights, all of them.

No, not just them…was that Artoria and her Round Table there too!?

What were they doing here? Why w-...wait, were they kneeling alongside her own Fairy Knights?!

Now that she looked more closely…was that Mashu and Fujimaru over there? Plus the rest of the Chaldea staff too, all dressed in the uniforms of her royal council.

And at the very front, kneeling just as the others were, were Ector, Habetrot and Uther.

For just a moment, Morgan forgot where she was. Forgot what exactly was going on and how they'd come to be there. All that mattered was that her old friends were here, in front of her, as if they'd never left.

Baobhan Sith. My friends. You…you should not be bowing to me like this.

If anything, it is I who should bow to you. For staying with me until the end.

She swallowed hard as they waved to her, as carefree as they'd ever been in the rare moments of peace and quiet that long journey had offered them all. For a few moments, she even waved back, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

They all looked so content, and the land looked so peaceful.

Yes, it's me….I'm home. Was what that small part of her wanted to say.

Unfortunately, a glimpse of the guest in her mind was all it took to get reality to come crashing down on her, like a bucket of cold water to the head, followed by a sharp spike of anger at the realisation that this was simply another illusion.

"...what is this?" She practically hissed, glaring up at Apep.

"This is what I offer you, my dear. Think of it as a second chance. An opportunity to live the life you deserve, with your dear friends and companions at your side, in a land that appreciates and respects your efforts. A land whose people will welcome you with open arms. A new home, just for you and yours." She smiled.

"And…you could deliver this?"

"With time enough to recover my strength, even the wildest and most intricate of fantasies can become your new reality."

At a gesture, the environment around them warped and twisted. All too quickly, the brown, yellow and green of the flora transformed into the stark grey, white and blue of a castle interior.

While almost all of the knights present were dressed the same, the auxiliary Chaldea staff, Baobhan Sith, Habetrot, Fujimaru, Mashu, Ector and Uther were now dressed in rather smart looking suits and dresses, the sort worn by…bridesmaids and groomsmen?

Hold on a moment, her clothes had changed too?

Her usual robes were gone, replaced by a flowing white, blue and black dress with her emblem sewn into the hem, complete with a black veil.

This…I'm sure this vaguely resembles the garments I was promised back then, doesn't it?

"Y-You're not allowed to die until after...after I've walked you down the aisle t-to your wedding in th-the best dress I can make!"

She'd wanted to present the finished product after the coronation, just in time for the wedding she'd insisted on planning out.

She swallowed hard, a shaky, sad smile wobbling its way onto her face at the thought.

"I'm sure your handiwork would have far surpassed this falsehood, old friend. I…would have liked to wear that dress, just once."

"And you still can, my dear, as long as you help me." Apep smiled. "As I said, think of this as the second chance you deserve after all this struggle.

"And for your fellows, tell them they can think of this as a safety net of sorts. A healing balm for their blighted world, to restore the life it once had. A guaranteed path to their salvation, one not drenched with the blood of the innocent."

Path to salvation, hmmmm….?

She…she still seems to be telling the tr- ugh, what IS that distortion around her!? I've never seen anything like it before.

Well, despite her enormous power, this is merely a projected avatar. Perhaps this is simply how my Fae Eyes cope with a being of this calibre?

Now that I think of it, something like this…there's an eerie resemblance to entities I've been told about by others in Chaldea. What were they?

"My allies have their own plans to combat the Foreign God and restore the world…I doubt they would take kindly to your interference. After all, no matter how sympathetic your circumstances or past are, they will be wary of assistance from beings of another plane."

"Oh, I would certainly imagine so, my dear…so what are they?"

"Hmmm?"

"The plans of your friends, dear, what are they?" Apep was smiling curiously, but there was something…off about it.

It didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yes, well…at first, they were interested in obtaining one of my lances to use against her, that is why they tried to negotiate with me after the Norwich Calamity was defeated. Unfortunately, all of them were lost in the battle against the Beast God, so they are currently placing their hopes on the Holy Sword my successor wound up forging near the end of her journey." Morgan explained.

"Mmmm, I see. Well, it's as good a plan as any…but what about after that?"

"After?"

"I mean restoring the world, my dear. As I'm sure you've noticed by now, it's been all but wiped clean."

For a moment, a disappointed frown appeared on Apep's face as she all but whispered to herself, which Morgan's enhanced hearing just barely picked up fragments of.

"Aft-...blig-...-rly as…tast-"

What?

But before she could dwell on it, Apep spoke up again.

"Defeating the interloper is all well and good, of course, but it won't really mean all that much if there's no plan to reverse all the damage she did, is there? Do your friends happen to have a plan in mind?"

"Of course. They…they…"

Actually, what was their plan?

I'm sure they must have mentioned it somewhen…right?

Multiple proposed plans for using the Holy Sword against the Foreign God had reached her ear through other Servants. As a matter of fact, hadn't her successor been called away to talk with Fujimaru about that after that first fateful Rayshift?

With that being the case, surely Chaldea's plan for reversing the Human Order Revision would have spread through the Servant population by now? They would naturally want to keep their Heroic Spirit army as well informed as possible for when the time came to implement that plan, wouldn't they? Knowing was half the battle, and all that.

Since nothing had reached her yet, or indeed anyone else she was acquainted with, that had to mean that…there was nothing coming.

Do they…have they really been moving forward WITHOUT a plan of action to undo the world's bleaching?

A hot spike of disbelieving anger shot up her spine, followed by bile rising in her throat before a hard swallow forced it back down.

Her fellow rulers all had their Fantasy Trees to anchor their worlds to the bleached Earth, while Morgan herself had managed to go beyond needing hers, turning her kingdom into a wholly self-sufficient timeline. A true equal to Pan-History with borders that could cover the globe all on its own as long as the land itself survived.

But what did Chaldea have? Seemingly nothing. No magical ritual. No Fantasy Tree of their own. They didn't even have one of those "Sirius Light" type Command Spells at their disposal.

Were they…were they actually just charging into this mess completely blind!? Just waiting and hoping that a solution would fall into their laps, while erasing all of their possible competition?!

All of her other Lostbelt rulers had at least had plans of their own, directions they aimed to take their homes after the primary threat to them was eliminated and it was safe to grow their borders. Even Morgan herself had planned ahead of the Great Calamities, mapped out a way to save her Lostbelt after they were all beaten, even if almost all life in it was lost during the fight.

All of them had contingencies, had assurances that they could still be victorious in the end, but what did Chaldea have?

Not much, as far as she knew.

They said they were fighting for the restoration of Pan-Human History, yes, but could they truly say that with no feasible plan to bring it back? All they could do was fight for the annihilation of every competing timeline at this point.

Of course, she couldn't quite say for certain that they had no way to reverse the bleaching, but just on the mere chance that they didn't…

Could she really afford to pass up Apep's offer of help and support?

After all, it was very appealing…and looking more so by the second right now.

It was, as she said, just one last effort, with everything to gain on top of that.

A proper path to safety and salvation. Some proper fruits for all their labour and suffering!

Something to…to make everything they went through mean something. To make it truly worthwhile.

A safe and stable environment, populated by grateful inhabitants who could understand and respect the sacrifices they all made to create that home, offering daily thanks, and perhaps even tribute, to repay them.

It could be a truly peaceful and equal home too, with humans and Fae living side by side. A home where no one needed to fear the predations of the Fae of old. A home where kindness and loyalty were repaid with kindness and loyalty, rather than a knife in the back as soon as it was more 'fun'.

A home where…where helpful, kindly young Fae could prosper and thrive, rather than…rather than being broken apart time and again just for being a blood drinker.

Yes, where was the harm in taking up the offer?

Of course, there was the nature of the sacrifice that was involved…but if the rewards really were as Apep promised, then she could live with it. It was…just one last step. One final hurdle, yes.

I can live with it…but can they?

Even ignoring the likely protests from the more moral and upright Servants on the roster (the saints, the more benevolent rulers among the monarchs, Artoria and her knights), there was very little chance Chaldea themselves would be willing to go along with any sort of proposal that involved spilling blood.

She'd seen how they operated in her own Lostbelt and heard quite a bit from Beryl about how they'd conducted themselves in Greece. She'd not heard much about their work in the other Lostbelts, but wouldn't be surprised if they befriended the locals there.

Madness. Utter madness, especially with how far they went for those people. An alliance of convenience she could understand well, having forged many of them herself on her path to the throne, but they actually strove to get along with the inhabitants (where they could), to the point of teaching the Chinese Lostbelt's inhabitants a few songs when there was no reason to do so and befriending the children of Scandinavia.

Why did Fujimaru and the others go through the trouble of befriending or bonding with those people, when they were just going to be wiped out anyway? Was it to try and preserve some sort of moral integrity by treating their victims kindly before slaughtering them?

Regardless of the reason, she doubted that Fujimaru or the other Chaldea staff would approve of the ritual, or the cost it would demand. No, they would certainly raise objections. Too many unknowns. Too high a price.

But really, what other choice was there? They hadn't been leaping forward to speak up before now, alternative plans at the ready, had they?

Yes, this was the best option. And if Fujimaru and Chaldea couldn't see that, well…she'd just have to convince them.

It wouldn't be too hard, and it wasn't as if there was some sort of deadline for Apep's ritual, right?

Yes, a few low level persuasion charms for the staff members here, a rune of compulsion or two there for the Caster Servants that might pick up on what I'm doing, and they'll see that what I'm doing is for the best in the long run.

Master is sure to be watched around the clock, well…I can always disguise the charms behind some Reinforcement runes for him. He does have a habit of staying far too close to any combat than would be safe for a modern Magus, after all.

Besides, I've made myself helpful and at his service beforehand. I'm sure he won't suspect anything if I approach him with my offer…in his eyes, it'll just be another way that I'm helping out and proving my worth.

Yes, that should work just fine.

Morgan smiled softly to herself, quite pleased with her plan of action.

"Well? Have you made a decision, my dear?" Apep asked, smiling down at her.

"Yes, I believe I have." Morgan began, lifting her free hand. "I…"

I-

…

I promise that I won't ever lie to you! That's my pledge, right here and right now! For all of you willing to follow me, to believe in me, to help reach that brighter tomorrow all of you have been dreaming about…stand with me, and I promise no lies and no tricks! I won't use you like the Clan leaders, because you're not nourishment or slaves, you're so much more than that to me! You're all my dear followers, my friends, and together we can change this land's fate!

…

I will not permit lies in these walls. If not from those wretches from the Clans, then from myself. I stand above them, in every sense of the word. I must be…better than them. Why, you ask? Call it nostalgia, or the remnants of an old promise, but I will not stain these halls with deceit and treachery. I will not succumb to that temptation. If you can believe in that, believe that I will always be open and honest with you, then you are one step closer to serving as a fine knight of the realm, Melusine of the Wind Clan.

…

"...your majesty?"

Yes?

"Why did…why did you save me?"

Because you were kind to me when almost no one else was. Kindness like that deserves to be repaid, does it not?

"Really? That's…that's really why?"

Lies are beneath me, as is the practice of deception. I promise that I will always tell you the truth, to the best of my ability. I will also do my best to strengthen you, to ensure that you can survive in this world. To make sure that you are never exploited by those scum again…do you believe me?

"I…I do."

Thank you, Baobhan Sith, and if it would please you…then you may refer to me as 'mother'.

…

Her smile evaporated, replaced by shock as her breathing grew shallow.

Her blood ran cold, and a great pit opened in her stomach, widened by the sharp feelings of shame and disgust that pierced their way into her heart.

Bile was bubbling up in her throat, forcing her to swallow repeatedly lest she throw up on the spot.

…what was I thinking?

Lies, betrayal, mistrust and ungratefulness were a part of life in Fairy Britain. She'd learned that far too late and at far too great a cost. All her life, she'd had to watch for the next knife in the back, had to see the festering hatred and disgust in the half-smiles and stiff bodies of every Fae around her.

After such a long journey, such a wretched life, she'd had her fill of deceit and treachery. She'd experienced more than enough of it by now, enough for several lifetimes.

It was why, in spite of everything she'd cast off in her transformation from Tonelico the Saviour to Morgan the Winter Queen, every principle she'd thrown aside and every promise she'd broken, there was one she'd held fast to all this time.

She wouldn't be like those cowardly schemers in the shadows, like those filthy lying traitors that prostrated themselves before her, lavishing her with platitudes when there was a crowd to hear them, while sharpening their knives in private. In this, she stood above them. She'd done so to the very end of her reign.

Her new Master had been a breath of fresh air in that regard. There was no dishonesty or manipulation from him. What he said was what he thought. It had…it had been a very welcome relief for her, to feel like she could relax a little around him, to not need to watch for any signs of oncoming treachery.

She'd honestly expected him to be quite guarded around her, wary of any signs that she might try to wriggle out from their contract out of bitterness at him and Chaldea helping to dethrone her, but much to her surprise and confusion, he'd welcomed her and her knights with open arms, no ill will at all.

It had been a long time since she'd received any sort of praise for her actions, honest praise, thanks that weren't given solely to curry favour with her, or out of terror at what she'd do otherwise. Even if the delivery method, that 'chin scratch', had been a little odd, it was still…

It was very nice, very nice indeed, to feel as if her efforts mattered. To feel as if she'd made a lasting impact on someone or something.

Yes, he was a very pleasant and interesting Master to have, all in all. Especially since he'd already put some faith in her, trusting that her self-improvement project would benefit his cause.

…and here she was, ready to use that faith against him. Ready to manipulate him. To lie to him so that he'd let his guard down and happily accept the rune she presented as a boon, then twist his mind, and the minds of his fellow Chaldea staff, with the poisonous curses hidden within until he went along with her whims.

That was something "she" would do, something a fairy would do, if they had the power and the means. Certainly something those Clan scum would utterly adore having the means to do themselves.

But not her. She couldn't. Not now.

Fujimaru had given her nothing but support, faith, favours and acceptance…and she was considering turning on him, just like all the Fae she'd once welcomed into her adventuring party in the old days.

I have lost a great many things to get where I am today. I've compromised and bargained away almost everything about that naive little girl of the past…but I will not lose this.

Perhaps it was out of pride. Perhaps it was a sense of obligation. Perhaps it was both.

And maybe, just maybe, it was a small sense of…admiration?

After all, she saw quite a bit of her own early journey in Fujimaru's struggles.

A seemingly impossible goal, almost the whole world against him, vastly outclassed by all of his opponents and with comparably few allies at his side…and yet still, he and his friends had managed to triumph at least five times before. A dozen or so more, if she included his original work against the King of Demon Gods and the problems his defeat caused.

He'd succeeded against impossible odds before, there was no reason to think that he couldn't do so again.

Especially with her knights' strength and her own expertise on hand for him to call on. She'd managed to devise a path towards a new beginning for her Lostbelt, and were it not for those backstabbers rallying the commoners against her with their lies, it would have worked.

Fujimaru had put faith in her, so it was only fair to put faith in him, right?

Whatever the reason, Morgan was growing increasingly uneasy at her potential 'partner's' offer. The deal just felt too…too perfect to be genuine.

That, and…call it a gut instinct, but, independent of all of her other reasons, taking the deal just felt wrong.

It was a feeling she'd only had once before, when she was debating whether or not to revive her Lostbelt's assigned 'Crypter', the Magus Beryl Gut.

At the time, she'd ignored it, dismissing the feeling as the more paranoid part of herself jumping immediately to a very exaggerated form of the worst case scenario. After all, what could a mere Mage from Pan-Human History do to threaten her rule? So, she'd gone ahead with the revival, reasoning that she technically owed him a debt for summoning "her" to the Lostbelt to begin with.

As she'd learnt too late, that had been quite the grave mistake.

She'd underestimated his capacity for cruelty and enthrallment with slaughter and suffering, underestimated exactly how much sway he would come to hold over Baobhan Sith, just how unrestrained and depraved a person he truly was.

A spike of anger shot up her spine as she thought about her daughter following that man around, hanging on his every word, trying so very hard to earn his approval…all while he kept eyeing up Mash, kept talking about her like she was his prize when he thought he was alone.

And there was what he'd had Baobhan Sith do to Woodwose, her sole true ally among the Clan leaders, revealed in a tearful confession from her daughter shortly after they were both summoned.

I should never have given him a second life.

She'd ignored her instincts once before, despite how much it would cost her this time, Morgan couldn't afford to risk ignoring them again.

"I-"

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid…I must decline your offer." Morgan said.

"...really? Why is that?" Apep raised an eyebrow.

"There are too many risk factors involved. While you might have the best of intentions, I worry that your presence here will do more harm than good.

"After all, this "abyss dweller" you speak of will surely try to follow you here, if he is as persistent in his hunt for you as you say he is. He already overpowered you once, and now he has an army of followers at his beck and call… neither I nor Chaldea can risk him invading our plane and devastating our world, simply to get at you.

"And while my allies might not have a concrete plan for restoring the world yet, they have triumphed in the face of such impossible-seeming tasks before, I see no reason to believe that they cannot do so here. Besides, my Master has placed his faith in me as his Servant to protect and support him, so I should do the same when it comes to him finding a solution to the world's current state." Morgan explained.

Noticing just how saddened, almost betrayed, Apep was looking, she sighed and continued on.

Best to offer consolation of some sort, she would rather not have a being with all that power angry at her if she could avoid it.

"I understand and… can certainly sympathise with your situation, but it's simply too dangerous to bring you over. Everything that has happened thus far will be meaningless if our world becomes mere collateral damage in your cat and mouse game with the abyss dweller… I cannot risk that, and I am certain that very few of my fellow Heroic Spirits would do so either.

"However, I will do what I can to scry for another refuge for you. I think it is the least I can do in exchange for your generous offer. It might take quite some time, but I promise to try and find a realm or plane beyond the watch of your enemy, where you can rest and try to rebuild your life in peace."

"...are you quite certain about this, my dear?" Apep asked, concern in her voice that seemed to be…masking something else?

What was that?

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, but with the current state of the world…the last thing we need is it being turned into a battleground for your kind."

"I see. What a pity."

"Indeed. Now then, I must return to my allies. Would it be too much to ask for you to dispel that bug's sleep curse and let me wake up?" Morgan asked.

"No."

"Thank you. I promise that I will try to find you a refuge as soon as I-" She started, only for Apep to cut her off.

"Oh that's not what I meant, my dear…I meant that you aren't leaving just yet."

Before Morgan could react, a new landscape began to form around them…before the ground beneath her feet began to twist and swing upwards.

Before she could try and anchor herself, gravity took over and ripped the soil from beneath her feet, sending Morgan tumbling through the air.

"In fact, you aren't leaving at all." Apep whispered in her ears, her once warm tone turned icy, voice piercing though the onrushing air.

The breath was knocked from her lungs and soil filled her mouth as she slammed into and rolled across the dirt. Barely a second later, the ground beneath her dissolved into nothingness, sending the ex-queen hurtling downwards through the void.

A woodland environment materialised at the snap of a finger, leaving Morgan with mere seconds to brace herself and summon barriers for protection before she slammed into the nearest tree.

Even with the mystic protection, dozens of sharp branches and jagged wood spikes tore into her skin and dress, one after another, filling her vision and shattering her concentration to pieces.

Morgan tasted dirt again before long, rolling and bouncing along the mud and grass for a few seconds before she managed to anchor herself, launching a few spiked tendrils of energy that dug into the ground and brought her to a sharp halt, a sharp pain lancing through her body and free arm at the sudden stop.

Despite that she pushed herself up quickly, flinging all of the dirt off of her and turning to face Apep, eyes narrowing and expression curdling.

"I'd truly hoped that you would accept me on your own, dear. But alas, it seems you lack the wisdom to appreciate my offer."

"I saw no lies in the explanation you gave to me, but your actions just now…how did you manage to lie to me, Apep, if that is indeed your name?" Morgan hissed, raising her spear and readying her spells.

Apep simply laughed, a cold and cruel cackle, condescension clear on her face.

"Did you honestly expect those frail little eyes of yours to be able to pierce my illusions, dear? You saw the honesty and sympathy that I wanted you to see. That I needed you to see."

"To manipulate and deceive me into joining you, hmm? Well then, if putting on a friendly facade couldn't get me to accept your offer, then what makes you think tormenting me will make me any more receptive?" Morgan snarled.

"Oh, I don't need you to be receptive, dear. Oh, no no no. It's just that playing the poor, downtrodden victim like this has been so terriblydull. And since you won't be a good, willing little partner…let's see how you do as a plaything.

"Yes, yes…it'll be quite interesting to see how many of your companions you can slaughter before they finally stop you. Well, if they stop you. After all, I give generously to all of my servants." Apep smiled thinly down at her, eyes shining with malevolence.

The ensuing volley of javelins, curses, magic bolts and elemental blasts barely even reached her before fizzling out, Apep merely raising an eyebrow and giggling to herself.

"Oh I wouldn't waste your energy like that, my dear." She chided, now looming over Morgan as her tendrils began to descend.

Her strongest protective barriers folded like soggy paper before the eldritch being's might and the few swings of her blade that Morgan managed to make barely left a dent in the wet, slimy flesh. She tried to flee, but didn't get far before Apep's tendrils caught up to her.

Morgan couldn't suppress a violent shudder of disgust as they wrapped around her arms and legs, quickly immobilising her, but she did manage to choke back a shout. She would not show that sort of weakness to her enemy, even as her heart began thundering in her chest.

No matter how hard she struggled, no matter the spells she managed to cast, she was dragged up and up, pulled ever closer to the eldritch being invading her mind.

"Shhhh. Don't struggle, my dear. There's no point in resisting anymore." Apep whispered, almost mockingly, as if she wanted Morgan to keep on flailing.

Just calm down. Calm down for a moment and think.

Direct confrontation is worthless, this threat would be far beyond even my original body's abilities. No help is coming either, I doubt even that incubus would dare to tread on the toes of a being like this, and that French mandman only bothers to protect our Master.

But perhaps…the Foreigner Class deals with the eldritch, as I recall.

It's a stab in the dark, but there's no other option here.

"Mmmm? No more struggle? How wonderful, you've finally accepted-" Apep began.

"You are not the first outer-dimensional force that Chaldea has come into contact with, there have been others before you, and many of them have imbued their powers into Servants that currently reside in Chaldea. Turning me into your puppet will only alert them that something is wrong when my body wakes back up. They will surely sense your power lingering around me."

Apep's smile began to drop into a questioning frown.

"Even assuming I manage to defeat the team that is investigating the Singularity, Chaldea will send emergency teams to make sure that Master is protected, and they will crush your supporters and stop your ritual. After all, those cultists could barely handle more than a dozen Servants, there is no way they can stop the collective force chaldea has at their disposal at once."

Now her expression had become a sour scowl.

"And as for you, whatever those empowered Servants learn, their patrons will also learn. Many of them have, according to their hosts, attempted to cross over to Earth before, or have at least laid claim to it. I'm sure you can imagine how well they'll take your invasion attempt…and I also imagine that you won't last long should they all decide to come after you."

The stare had become a rather hostile glare now, the scowl teetering on the verge of becoming a frustrated snarl.

"You offer me a deal? Then I offer you one in return. Release me now and convince your cultists to stop their ritual, and I will keep your identity secret from the Foreigner Servants at Chaldea, so that their benefactors don't come after you. In exchange for my freedom, I offer you your life. What say you?"

For a brief few moments, Apep said nothing, Morgan glaring up at her all the while.

Just as she thought that Apep might seriously be considering her offer, the eldritch being began to laugh.

First a giggle, which quickly turned into a chuckle, then a full-on uncontrollable screeching cackle that grated on Morgan's ears and drilled its way into her skull, forcing her eyes shut and her teeth together.

What…?

"Oh my…I've not laughed like that in quite some time." Apep said, wiped at her eyes.

"The threat of other eldritch beings hunting you down and tearing you apart is funny to you?" Morgan asked.

Without warning, Apep yanked Morgan right up to her face, matching her glare with one of her own as her voice dropped to a deathly low hiss.

"Of course it's funny to me, my dear, because the chance of any of what you threaten actually happening is just. So. Laughable.

"The abyss dweller did almost kill me, that part was true. And you see, none of my kind cared about a half-dead outcast like me. They had far more important worries to occupy their attention, like competing with each other for influence, servants and territory.

"They allowed me to limp away and flee their plane, I was no threat to them after he was finished with me. I still am, or so they believe, so why would they waste time and energy in hunting me down?

"And that ritual I wanted your help with? I'm afraid that it's just a little bit closer to completion than I let on. Ufufufu, I can just feel the borders steadily wearing away as more and more blood is spilled, oh yes. Those little friends of yours haven't been very successful in your absence, you know."

The smile she let out dripped with malice.

"And that threat of all those conduits coming to try and stop me, well…it just makes me want to subjugate you more."

"You…you want to invite challenges to your plans?" Morgan breathed, eyes widening.

"Of course, my dear. What better way to announce my grand return than by butchering their chosen vessels and claiming Earth as mine? Just imagining the looks on their faces as I snatch that pretty little blue planet right from under their noses…oh yes, it'll make all this waiting worth it.

"And no matter how much they exert themselves, how much they scrabble about and how hard they search, there'll be nothing they can do about it! No one will even listen to them, let alone pave a path through the planes in blood for them, when they have me to worship! All they'll be able to do is watch, and seethe, as I take what is rightfully mine."

"Now then, where were we?"

As Apep lowered Morgan back down to her lower half, the flesh of her lower chest tore open repeatedly to reveal a half dozen gnashing, drooling mouths.

"I can't promise the process will be wholly painless…" Apep smirked down at her. "But I promise, it will all be worth it once you are reborn. No more worry. No more responsibility. Just eternal, blissful devotion…all to me."

Morgan began to struggle in earnest now, firing off every single offensive spell that came to mind in a desperate effort to save herself. But to no avail, the tentacle holding her shrugged her assault off, drawing her closer and closer.

This…this cannot be the end!

DAMN you, worthless insect! This is all YOUR doing!

Even with my kingdom destroyed and your purpose fulfilled, you still find ways to destroy what I try to build.

She was almost inside the gaping maw now, the fetid stench and humidity making her gag even as she kept struggling.

Baobhan Sith. Habetrot. Mash…Master, I should have been more wary of this place.

I'm sorry.

The heat was unbearable at this point. Morgan felt as if she was burning up.

She realised that was because, thanks to a split-second look down, the tentacle holding her captive had begun to heat up itself.

…what? Why would she- ?

A loud screech of pain and anger cut through her thoughts, with Apep uncoiling her tentacle from Morgan and snatching it back, the flesh and muscle boiling and searing with the heat it was under.

"You dare to- ?" Apep began, face contorted into a furious snarl as she practically lunged towards the fallen Morgan, still sprawled on the ground.

Only to stop mid-pounce, her eyes going wide for a few moments and short, hot breaths being blown out of her nose. Slowly, she began to turn to the north away from Morgan, instead facing off towards the darkness of the void surrounding them.

"You…"

Scrambling upwards, Morgan retrieved her spear and began to back away from her tormentor…at least until she began to choke and hack as the environment was filled with eldritch power all over again.

It was worse this time. Far worse. Not only was Apep saturating the area with her power, it was now itself being smothered by overwhelming tides of eldritch magic, with Morgan caught right in the middle of the clashing influences.

It was a struggle to even stay upright, her eyes watered and her throat was growing clogged, despite summoning multiple layers of protection.

What is this?

Or rather…

Who is this?

"You're too late." Apep hissed, prompting Morgan to look up at her just to try and find out who it was she was addressing, only for her eyes to widen at the sight.

Even through her streaming eyes, Morgan could see that Apep's whole form was now boiling, bubbling and searing with heat, rather than just one tentacle. Despite the full-body immolation, she kept on staring and sneering into the darkness.

"Kill this form, it won't mean anything. My ritual is too far along to be stopped now." Even with the skin of her face almost fully burnt away, exposing the viscera, muscle and bone beneath, Apep fashioned her cracked lips into a wicked smile.

"You should have finished me off when you had the chance, old fool."

As if in reply, the heat intensified, so much that Morgan could now feel it herself.

A few seconds later, Apep exploded apart in a shower of boiled gore, blackened, glittering blood and charred bone. Morgan's barriers strained and sparked as chunks of her corpse bounced off of them.

Before she could even process the sudden demise of her tormentor, or at least her mental projection, the Berserker found herself violently snatched off her feet, her barriers shattering apart in the same moment, and yanked forward into the darkness…and towards the second source of eldritch power.

By the time she came to a halt, it was a colossal effort just gasping for air, her vision almost permanently blurred from tears as her eyes burned in their sockets. She tried to speak, tried to call out to the presence in front of her, but to no avail. She simply didn't have the breath.

For perhaps the first time since her early years, since the day she, Habetrot and Mash had descended the Great Pit and come face to face with the Beast God's corpse, her heart was thundering in her chest and her blood ran very, very cold.

All she could do was wait. Wait and hope.

And pray that the entity in front of her deigned to show mercy.

For a few nerve-wracking moments, nothing, then…

Two great red eyes, with blazing yellow pools for pupils, opened in the blackness. They regarded the helpless Fae for what must have been a mere few seconds in reality but felt like an age to Morgan herself.

I am no threat to you. Plea-

Her internal plea was cut off.

"You are useful, you will serve."

The deep, echoing voice, masculine this time, reverberated so violently that it rattled her bones. Morgan shrank in on herself instinctively, cowed by the absolute authority in its tone.

Desperate to be free, to be away from this overwhelming mental presence, she did nothing more than nod weakly.

"Wait for my vessel."

Vessel? He has an avatar in our world?

Before she could question anything further, the new arrival's red eyes flashed again. For a split second, Morgan felt an incredible pressure drilling into her skull, saw the environment violently shudder and distort and collapse into itself around her, before her vision cut out entirely.