Chapter 73: Argo-not.

The Golden Hind limped its way towards the island, the area long since becoming clear.

David blinked as he stared at the small dock section on the side.

"Huh...That wasn't there when I left."

"It wasn't?" Ritsuka tilted his head, then turned back to it and frowned "So someone built it?"

"Apparently so." David hummed "I guess they were expecting visitors at some point and decided to prepare the red carpet." he shrugged afterwards, turning to the Master "Not that I feel we should complain, this turn of events means that we are still welcome here."

"Is that really what it means?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Of course." David smiled "Why build a port if you aren't planning on receiving guests." he paused, then continued on "Also, it beats having to try and anchor the ship in the middle of the ocean and rowing out to the island, or trying to beach it on the sand and then pushing it back out when we want to leave again."

Ritsuka opened his mouth to reply before he slowly closed it again "...Good point." it wouldn't make sense to build a port on an island if you weren't planning on receiving guests, and considering they had already gotten a message from whoever David had stationed on the island, it made sense that they would try and welcome the man back.

"I'll try and dock at the port." Drake stated as she twirled the wheel of the ship, then grimaced "Although we're probably going to need to get a bit more work done...we only just got it fixed and all."

"Considering who we were fighting on the ship…" Ritsuka trailed off meaningfully, Drake snorted and shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah. Could have been worse." She sighed "...So this treasure-"

"Touching the Ark will kill you." David cheerfully remarked "Even I would die if I didn't have the correct permission at the time." he shrugged "It's just how things go. Also I would like to point out that-"

"Stealing is a Sin, yeah, yeah." Drake pouted, then gave an uncaring shrug "Even I know that there are some treasures that are better left untouched."

She got disbelieving stares in return.

"What?" Drake frowned, looking around at the incredulous expression "I've just been told that touching the thing will cause me to flat out die. What kind of idiot do you all take me for to actively try and steal something as cursed as that?"

David's smile strained slightly "...I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you calling an artefact of God cursed."

"It kills people if they so much as touch it." Drake flatly replied "That's cursed no matter how you look at it."

"Again it wouldn't be like that if people didn't touch it." David pointed out "All you need to do is not touch it. It's technically God's so we shouldn't really be touching it anyway."

"Isn't this Jason brat gonna touch it?"

"No, Jason is going to try and get her-" He pointed to Euryale "-to touch it." he waved his hand "That's much worse. If he was the only one planning to touch it, then his stupidity would only get himself killed. Which, while still unfortunate, is not world ending for the rest of us."

"And getting Euryale to touch it is bad?" Boudica tilted her head in confusion "How so? You have yet to explain."

"Have I?" David blinked in surprise "Oh, how silly of me." he chuckled, waving his hand "If she touches it, it will be world ending."

Ritsuka blinked at the man slowly "...Beg pardon?"

"World ending." David reiterated, the Master gave a second – much slower – blink in response to the sentence.

"Heh…" Ritsuka reached up and scratched the back of his neck "Ah, that's what I thought you said...what?"

"Well, Gods are referred to as the Avatars of the World, right?" David looked around the ship at the numerous faces now staring at him "So obviously if you were to sacrifice one of them to the Ark, it means that you seek to sacrifice the world." the man gave a shrug "Therefore, the Ark would seek to wipe out everything in this singularity in accordance with the wishes of the presumed sacrifice."

"...Why are you telling us this now?" Romani's voice was strangled as he desperately tried to keep his volume in check "This sounds like the sort of thing we should be informed of immediately."

"Well, I didn't want to cause any undue panic." David raised his hands "You would have freaked out if I told you that sacrificing Euryale to the Ark would have killed everything in this Singularity."

"With good reason." Romani nodded his head rapidly "Because that is something to be very worried about...and we should probably have been informed about ahead of time." he gestured through the monitor "Especially considering we currently have a Divine Spirit with us!"

"Hello!" Artemis waved her hand at being pointed to "What are we talking about?"

"End of the world." Ritsuka mutely voiced back "...No biggy."

"Alright!" The Goddess smiled, nodding her head and going back to humming to herself.

"This is a very big biggy." Ritsuka hissed at David with obvious irritation on his face "We're bringing the actual sacrifices to the Ark!"

"All you need to do is just not let them touch it." David shrugged "I'm not seeing the issue...unless you were hoping they would?"

"No. David." Ritsuka gave him a bland look "No one is hoping that."

"Then we have nothing to worry about!" The King helpfully replied, spreading his arms wide and smiling "All we need to do is fight very hard to not let them get the Ark or to sacrifice anyone to it." he paused. "Also we can't move it either, I should point out."

"Because we'd die if we touched it?"

"Yes." David nodded his head "We would die."

"Fantastic!" Ritsuka's smile stretched from ear to ear and showed far too many teeth for it to be natural, the Master spun on his heel "Mash!"

"Yes, Senpai!?" The Shielder jolted to attention "Do you need something?"

"No." Ritsuka replied with a perfectly calm voice "...Just gonna stand over there and stare out at the ocean." he pointed off to the bow of the ship "Probably until we land and disembark."

Mash opened her mouth to respond before she slowly closed it, mutely nodding her head in affirmation while giving David a moderately disappointed expression. The Archer was still standing in the middle of a large group of Servants who were staring at him with poorly concealed irritation at his sudden reveal of quite how dire the situation truly was.

"I mean, does it really change anything?" David voiced aloud, still looking moderately puzzled. "We always intended to stop the Argonauts from getting the Ark so really this should just make us more motivated to stop them."

"That aside." Mash politely interrupted, then frowned in thought "Why would anyone want to sacrifice a Divine Spirit to the Ark if that is the result? It does not make sense for someone to do that."

David shrugged "Who knows? I can't say for certain why anyone would do that...it doesn't make sense unless they were the type to seek mass destruction and death." he frowned "And the Argonauts don't seem like a bunch to be honest."

Ritsuka remained silent the whole time before a thoughtful frown came to his face, the boy turned around to face the group "...That's true enough. The Argonauts went on a quest for the Golden Fleece for Jason, right?"

"That's true." Romani agreed "The Argo's quest for the Golden Fleece was part of Jason's quest to reclaim the Throne of Iolcus after it was usurped by Pelias. While they did succeed in retrieving the Fleece, the quest itself-"

"Ended very terribly." Ritsuka nodded his head, then frowned "Wait...the manner in which Jason and Medea parted in the tale of the Argonauts would imply they wouldn't get along all that well as Servants."

Romani opened his mouth to reply, then closed his mouth. His eyes widened in realisation "You're right...With Medea killing Jason's new wife and children, it wouldn't make sense for them to be working together as allies. More than that, everything Jason strove towards in the Tales of the Argonauts was for himself to become King of his promised country."

"He might have been bitter he never got it...but he didn't act like it, did he?"

"No...he didn't." Romani nodded his head "Something isn't adding up here."

"No, it isn't." Olga commented, the woman perched behind Romani with a thoughtful expression "Perhaps there is something else at work here, however we can better think of our enemies motives after we have set up defences around the Ark."

"Hey!" Drake shouted out from behind the steering wheel "We're coming in to dock now!" the woman twirled the wheel to line the ship up along-side the makeshift dock made of strung together logs and branches. The ship slowed to a halt "Lower sails and drop anchor." the Captain ordered as she stepped away from the wheel.

What remained of the crew complied with her commands as they worked about the ship, the woman strode down the steps and onto the deck with a grimace, running her hand along the wood as she did so "...Not gonna be sailing anywhere anytime soon, are ya?"

Sighing, the woman placed her hands on her hips and moved to the side of the ship "Get the boarding ramp down, we'll see what there is to see."

"Quite so." David grinned as he jogged up to stand next to her "Hopefully our resident guardian is still here!"

"And if she ain't?"

"Well, the Ark is still here." David shrugged "So there is that."

Drake rolled her eyes, moving across the deck of the ship at the assembled Servants – and the rather sorry state they were in – before they turned back to the island itself. The crewmembers behind her moved past with the boarding plank to be in position for the ship to disembark.

"Let's go then everyone!" David enthusiastically cried out as he was one of the first onto the panel "We've got precious little time as is."

"Hmph." Archer was the next one to follow after him, the tanned man kept his face blank as he descended down the ramp and onto the makeshift peer, the Servant stared down at it before tapping his foot rather firmly twice to check its construction. After giving a satisfied nod, he turned back to the other Servants and gave a single nod before shifting his attention away from them and moving across the dock.

"Certainly high stakes now, isn't it?" Boudica commented as she followed after Ash, the unkindled Saber frowned slightly – not that the Rider could see his expression – as he debated her words before answering.

"Not really." He shrugged, "These are rather common stakes for me." he turned around and raised an eyebrow "And they do not differ that much from our goal at large."

Boudica blinked at him before nodding her head "I suppose that's true enough, but there's still nerves to consider. Especially when accounting for who we're fighting."

"I'm certain we shall pull through." Ash replied back without losing step "From what I understand, Heracles advantage lies in the hope his adversary is not as well armed as me." he shrugged "Lothric has a habit of teaching you to carry a great many differing weapons with you at all times. That and despite his strength and acclaim, I am certain that I have felled tougher foes."

"That sounds a little overconfident." Boudica wryly pointed out as she followed after him, the Saber gave a hum in response.

"Perhaps...however from what I have seen he is pure strength with very little skill to account for it." He frowned "Perhaps in his current state, he is no different from a Hollow. In which case, I have killed such beings before." he sighed "Besides, the ability to instantly return to life is not unusual for me to have encountered."

Boudica titled her head "It isn't?"

"No." Ash shook his head "The watchers of Farron performed a similar feat, as did the Twin Princes of Lothric. All I need to do is continue to kill him until he stops reviving." The unkindled looked over his shoulder at the Rider "The principle of combat remains very much the same, all I need to do is change my weapon after every mortal wound I deal him."

Despite herself, Boudica couldn't help but chuckle "I wish I had your level of optimism, considering this is considered one of the strongest Heroes in History."

Ash paused "Really?" then shrugged "The Lords of Cinder all had the strength to light the Fire Flame itself, in that respect they could also be considered the strongest of their respective Era's. The concept remains much the same."

"...You're just confident from experience, aren't you?" Boudica realised, crossing her arms and speeding up slightly until she walked alongside Ash "I suppose if we all had your track record of defeated opponents, we wouldn't be quite so worried about someone like Heracles."

"I will approach them as I will any other new foe I face." Ash reassured her "With the full belief that if they land so much as a single hit on me, I will die."

"...That seems morbid but a very good motivator to not get hit."

"Having experienced it myself multiple times, I can assure you that it is quite a good motivator." Ash frowned "And I apparently no longer have the luxury of being able to rise again to continue my efforts of wearing down this Heracles."

"We'll all be there though." Boudica assured him "Besides, technically you'll need to fight Caeneus first. Although if you have killed...what did you call them again? Lords of Cinder?" she crossed her arms and nodded to herself "That's it, I'm sure you'll be able to manage against her, right?"

"I will most certainly try." Ash nodded his head "Her manner of fighting was brutal and eerily similar to that of Gundyr, which means I need only employ similar enough tactics to face her." he turned around to face the others as the pair stepped off the pseudo-peer and onto the beach. His arms crossed themselves in front of his chest as he waited.

"Just be careful." Boudica reminded him "You're a Servant now, so you've got to worry about how your death would affect Master." he turned to stare in her direction, her eyes holding a subtle meaning to them "You aren't alone in this anymore."

"...Hmph." Ash hummed in response, Boudica frowned as he clearly missed the not so subtle message but that might have been her fault for expecting more from someone with limited interactions with other Servants – or anyone – to be frank.

The others were swiftly disembarking the ship and onto the peer, moving across the deck in the direction of the growing number of Servants waiting on the beach of the island.

Ritsuka moved to the front of the group and placed his hands on his hips, the boy frowned in thought for a few moments "...So...do we just explore the island now?"

"Yes." David nodded his head, walking past the Master "This way." he punctuated the sentence by pointing into the thickest part of the tree-line "She'll probably be waiting for us, or she might meet us there." he shrugged "Whichever comes first, just so you're all aware not to instantly try and fight her!" He reminded everyone.

"O-of course!" Sanura shouted back, the woman winced and clutched her side as pain briefly flashed across her features "I...I would never dream of striking an ally." she managed to get out through gritted teeth. Her discomfort was rather obvious to the extent that Boudica paused in her walking and turned to the Lancer with a worried expression.

"Do you need help walking?" She offered, Sanura stared at her for a few moments before she mutely nodded her head, her expression a mix between gratitude and embarrassment as the Lancer hooked her arm over Boudica's shoulder and allowed the woman to steady her.

"...Thank you...Milady." Sanura muttered under her breath "It's...shameful for a Knight to be forced into this position…"

Boudica gave her a raised eyebrow "I wouldn't call it shameful to receive help from your allies." she chuckled "Besides, I am a Warrior Queen, I'm used to this sort of thing."

Sanura stared at her in open surprise "E-eh? You are?"

"Did I not mention it?" Boudica blinked in surprise "Huh...I suppose it might not have come up before." she realised, nodding her head even as Sanura now looked downright horrified at the reveal that she was leaning on the shoulder of actual Royalty.

"T-this-I-you-"

"Stop that." The Rider politely interrupted her with an amused smile, looking out of the corner of her eye to her fellow red-head "I'm not that much of a Queen, so don't feel the need to treat me all that differently now." her smile turned amused "Although if my status means that much to you...I could always command that you accept the shoulder to lean on." she chuckled to herself at the expression Sanura made.

The woman was experiencing what could only be described as a 'blue screen' moment.

"What can we expect from the individual here?" Archer asked as he walked behind David "Are you aware of all that much of them?"

"Hm?" David looked over his shoulder at the expectant faces and gave a calming smile "What to expect? She's a very noble soul. I can tell, it's a gift for these sorts of things...although she wasn't as comfortable with physical contact."

"Probably...just...you…" Havel pointed out, David stared at the man in surprise before he allowed an incredulous smile to grace his lips.

"Was that an attempt at a joke?"

Havel just shrugged in response, prompting mild looks of amusement from all who heard.

The King chuckled lightly before he composed himself "As for whether you believe we can trust her? That's entirely up to you." he replied before gesturing to himself "But keep in mind that I believed she was trustworthy enough to guard the Ark and protect it until we returned, so I hope that should at least give her some leeway."

"It does." Ritsuka assured the man with a smile of his own "If you trust her David, then I don't see a reason not to."

"That sounds rather naive." Archer bluntly stated, looking down at his Master with a raised eyebrow "Not all Servants are quite as morally upstanding as you seem to believe."

"I'm not expecting everyone we meet to be a golden goose." Ritsuka replied back without shifting his expression "But if you go out of your way to distrust everyone you meet, you're not going to make many allies in life. I'm not saying that I would instantly trust the first words out of every Servant I encounter, but I should at least give them the benefit of the doubt."

Archer didn't have a rebuttal, instead he just stared at the Master for a few moments before he shrugged and looked back at David.

"That's a very nice sentiment, Senpai." Mash praised, looking genuinely pleased by the announcement.

"I mean...Its a kind of goofy dumb." Drake bluntly stated, staring at Ritsuka with a lopsided smile "But its a sort of goofy dumb that is hard to hate...although people will probably try to take advantage of that."

"Then it will be a good thing he has friends to prevent that." David piped up as he pushed through the shrubbery "I – for one – find that position to be a very good one to take. Trust is earned, but so is distrust and hoping for the best of everyone you meet is nothing to dismiss. I would say it takes a greater strength to trust someone than to not."

"Back to the topic at hand." Archer cut through the comments "Are you at least aware of her class?"

"Well...that seems obvious, right?" David blinked "She shot an arrow at the boat."

"And our resident Saber over there-" He pointed at Ash "Owns a rather large bow and throws fireballs." he then paused and looked at the Saber "Do you have weapons aside from swords?"

"Dozens." Ash admitted easily "Spears, axes, bows, halberds-"

"Alright, alright." David raised his hands in surrender "Fair enough."

"It does raise an interesting point though." Romani chose that moment to comment "What is the point of the Class system if none of the Servants are actually using the weapons they're supposed to."

"I mean...Arash uses a bow?" Ritsuka pointed out "He still uses the weapons he's supposed to."

"I know, but it makes it a little difficult, right?" Romani continued on "Like if Ash hadn't introduced himself as a Saber and his first conflict, he had used a spear, you'd have thought he was a Lancer."

Ritsuka blinked and shrugged "Fair enough...I suppose it does make things a little confusing."

"Not even talking about the mystery class that the servant in the Previous Singularity was summoned under." Romani frowned "Lucien...A foreigner class Servant. Usually you only have the seven major Classes with only an extra class being allocated for Ruler."

"But Lucien was a Foreigner class." Ritsuka realised "And it doesn't tell us what we would expect from him at all."

"Exactly...just feels a little weird to be misled so easily." The man sighed "Sorry, I distracted you all there."

"No, it's fine." Ritsuka shook his head, turning to David "So she's an Archer?"

"Yes." David agreed "She's also very at home in this sort of place…" he chuckled as if he was let in on an inside joke "I dare say that he and our resident Lancer have a few things in common?"

"Good looks?" Orion shouted out from the back of the queue, his next words were nothing more than panicked cries.

"Yes." David nodded sagely "That and-"

"I can hear you perfectly well." A feminine voice cut through the tree-line, the Servants all paused in their movements and looked about the forest as the voice seemingly echoed around them "Still, I can see you got my message."

"You almost struck someone with an arrow, but yes, we got it." David called back, placing his hands on his hips "Are you going to come and greet us, or are you more comfortable in the woods?"

A sigh echoed through the woods, soon followed by a blur moving amongst the trees before a rustle heralded the appearance of the woman.

Ritsuka's eyes were instantly drawn to the top of her head.

As were the eyes of everyone else.

The woman wearing a green and black dress stared at the group with frown, her arms crossed in front of her chest and eyes slightly narrowed. Her hair at the front had a slight tinge of green to it which tapered out into messy blonde locks, although what was more stand out were the pair of feline ears she had protruding from the top of her head.

It was only next that the Servants became aware of the flickering cat tail coming from behind her.

Ash stared blankly at the display before he turned around to stare at Sanura, the Lancer was similarly dumbfounded by the appearance before he looked down at the lion shaped helmet in her grasp and then back at the woman in front of them.

"Ooooh." He nodded his head, turning to David "I see what you meant."

"Not quite yet you do." He replied with a smile as he turned to the Archer "Hello, you're looking-"

"Save it." She cut him off, raising an eyebrow and looking over the group "I assume these are some friends you've found to help you with the Ark?"

"Yes." He nodded his head "Everyone, this is-"

"Atalanta!" Atalanta jolted as the woman with long white hair and glowing blue eyes broke past the group and towards her, smiling wildly while the bear – that earned a double take from the feline Archer – stared at her with pity. "Look Darling! It's Atalanta!"

"W-what?" Blinking, the woman stared at the floating individual before them and then at the bear and then towards David, obviously demanding an explanation.

"Atalanta…" Mash whispered out, then blinked "Wait...as in the Huntress?"

"You know of me?" The Feline Archer turned her attention towards Mash, her expression softened slightly at the sight of the shielder.

"Yes." Mash nodded her head, tensing slightly and flashing David a confused expression "You...are also one of the Argonauts."

Atalanta flinched "Ah...so you have met them, have you?"

"...Yeah." Ritsuka mutely nodded his head "Charming bunch...Jason's a great motivational speaker."

Atalanta's lip twitched upwards slightly "You've never had to spend long periods of time with him." she replied, then sighed "Considering your state of wariness, I assume you have come to blows with them?"

She got nods from the group "I have long since split off from the Argonauts, I did so upon being summoned."

"Convenient." Archer mumbled under his breath, still looking at Atalanta with poorly veiled suspicion. Atalanta – for her part – only looked mildly irritated at the comment, however it quickly gave way to one of hesitant understanding.

"I would like to point out that the Argonauts are not currently here, before we begin to start suspecting people." David idly commented from the sidelines, then turned to Atalanta "However, I am curious as to how he was aware of it…"

"Medea told him." Atalanta answered immediately, then shifted her expression into one of troubled concern "As for how she knew...She and Heracles had already been summoned when I was, after which Jason then explained his entire scheme to us and I decided that it was foolish and departed."

Mash nodded her head in understanding "That must have been why they summoned Caeneus and Rendal to fill in their numbers."

Atalanta jolted in surprise, her eyes widening in shock "Caenis!?" she gaped "Caenis is with them?"

The Shielder rapidly nodded her head.

"That...she could stand Jason even less than I could!" The Archer gaped, then shook her head "Still...I did not think she would even answer a summoning at all, the second name is not familiar to me though."

"Different Servant." The bear commented, Atalanta turned to it with a perturbed expression "Think of him as an out of towner."

"I...see." Atalanta nodded her head, then shifted her eyes up to see the floating Servant still smiling widely at her. "And...Your name is?"

"Eh?" The woman blinked, then her lip quivered as if she was going to cry "Darling!" she whined loudly, clutching the bear tight to her chest "She doesn't recognise me!"

"You talked to her through bears!" Orion managed to get out "Bears!"

"Bears?" Atalanta blinked "What do…" she trailed off, her eyes widening and slowly turning to the woman, her arms uncrossing themselves and going slack by her side "...eh?"

Ash watched the reaction with a raised eyebrow, then leaned towards Mash "What is the issue here?"

"Atalanta is a legendary Huntress and fervent follower of the Goddess Artemis." Mash helpfully explained.

"Ah, so she was in the Artemis Covenant of Hunters." Ash realised, leaning back to his full height. "...Oh." then winced. Meeting the Patron Deity of one's covenant was never something easily done and Artemis was perhaps the strangest God he had ever met in his life.

"She's making quite the amusing face, isn't she?" Euryale commented, smirking at Atalanta continued to stare at Artemis with a full glaze in her eyes "Still, I don't suppose I could blame her all that much. Finding out the Goddess you served all your life was like that is almost too horrible to comprehend."

"Hey!" Artemis turned around to the group and pouted "I'm a very good Patron Goddess!" she spun back around to the feline eared Archer "Aren't I, Atalanta? Tell them how good I am?"

"H-huh?" The woman froze up, Ritsuka idly noted her tail did the exact same thing – much like a spooked cat – and let out a small grunt in response. "W-what...t-this is a joke, right?" she looked around at the others, all of whom kept their faces perfectly blank.

"Right?"

"Ah!" Her eyes fell on the bloodied red-head in dark grey armour as they unlatched themselves from their fellow red-heads shoulder, the young woman manifested a cross-spear and planted the butt of the weapon into the ground, using it as a walking stick as they hobbled towards the Archer with a welcoming smile on her face. "So...you are a member of Lady Artemis Covenant of Hunters?" she stopped a foot from Atalanta and bowed her head slightly "An honour to meet-" she drew in a sharp intake of breath, hissing loudly through her teeth.

"Sanura?" Ritsuka called out to her "You good?"

"A-absolutely!"

"You sure?"

"...No." The Lancer quietly replied, still hunched over "...My injuries from the brute still hurt."

Atalanta stared at her with new understanding – and was slightly thankful for the distraction – as it became clear what occurred "You challenged Heracles, did you not?"

"...Yes." Sanura nodded her head "And Caenis."

"Hmm." Atalanta grunted in response.

Orion stared at Atalanta for a few moments, then looked down at Sanura's armour design and then back towards Artemis before he frowned in thought. "Hey?"

"Hm?" Artemis looked down at him "Yes, Darling?"

"...Have you got a cat fetish?" He asked aloud and with a dead serious expression.

Silence spread across the forest as Atalanta slowly turned her head to stare at Orion with a horrifyingly blank expression.

Ritsuka bit his lip and looked down at his shoes, suddenly finding them much more interesting than they had been moments earlier.

Ash furrowed his brow, then raised his hand "What's a fetish?"

"Not important." Ritsuka coughed into his hand, trying his level best to appear composed. Then turned around and noticed Ash with his hand raised in the air and stared at him "What are you doing?"

Ash returned the gaze with one of confusion "What do you mean?"

"Why is your hand in the air?"

Ash stared at the limb and then back at Ritsuka, slowly lowering it. "Astolfo said that one should raise their hand when asking a question...was that incorrect?"

"Um…" Ritsuka wasn't sure how to react "Technically no...but-"

"He was making a joke about your age." Boudica helpfully smiled, although she didn't even attempt to hide her mirth. "Sorry."

"Oh…" Ash grumbled "I see…" then shrugged "...It is most vexing to have my age frequently commented upon."

"You can complain about it later." Boudica offered, smiling at the Saber "But it doesn't make it any less true, you know."

Ash frowned, looking down "I am beginning to feel as though this is reflecting on how you view my competence as a warrior." he grumbled, crossing his arms "Just because I am barely three months old-"

"You're what?" Ash jolted, turning his attention to the feline Archer to find her staring at him with an expression a mix between surprise and horror. Quite what had spawned this new look was a mystery to him. Her lip curled into a snarl and then looked around the group "He's what?"

Ritsuka and Mash exchanged glances before they both turned back to the Archer, who looked as though she was ready to start firing laser beams from her eyes.

"I...feel like this needs a proper explanation-" Ritsuka stepped forwards, trying his best to be civil. He then froze when Atalanta's eyes fell on him with what could only be described as righteous fury.

"Then by all means." She growled, her ears flickered back and her tail standing up straight "Explain."

Ritsuka gulped.

"Which leaves me with three months of accumulated time." Ash finished, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed as Atalanta patiently waited in front of him, the other Servants had long since dispersed throughout the woods in order to set up a defence around the entrance to the area which contained the Ark.

The entrance to the chamber was easily discovered, an intricate doorway carved into the rock face of a nearby rocky hill led into a passage within only a single hallway towards a main chamber. It was easy to defend in theory, less so in practice when the opponents were Heracles.

Atalanta continued to stare at him with an unreadable expression for a few moments. "And this new life...you have no memories at all of your previous life?"

"None." Ash shook his head "It was disconcerting at first, but I believe I have been able to adjust myself…" he paused, his lips pursing "...I believed, I had been able to adjust myself to interaction but...it seems as though there is much I am not used to."

Atalanta hummed in response, slowly nodding her head "...Mind of a child in the body of a man." she concluded, her expression very clearly showing her disgust with the predicament.

"...I feel as though it would be a wasted effort to state I am not a child." Ash shrugged "So I will no longer bother. If that is how people feel comfortable viewing me, then that is what I shall be."

Atalanta stared at him incredulously. "And do you know the first thing about being a child?"

Ash remained silent "...Does it matter?" he asked, tilting his head "My age changes nothing about my duty." he sighed, leaning back and resting his head against the bark of the tree "This fascination of age concerns me greatly, I have already lived my life-"

"No you haven't." Atalanta cut him off sharply, Ash blinked and looked down at her "Not even close. You began a second life without even the chance to live as a child. That is no life at all and that it was taken from you so soon is an injustice I cannot stand."

"...Huh?"

Ritsuka scratched his cheek as he stared out across the woods towards the direction that Ash and Atalanta had ventured off in.

"Are you alright, Senpai?" Mash asked as she came to a stop next to him, Ritsuka turned to the shielder and gave a 'so-so' gesture.

"Depends. Did Atalanta seem off to you when we mentioned Ash's age?" He asked, Mash frowned but then nodded her head.

"Perhaps it is the matter of Ash-san's age."

Ritsuka grunted, soon giving a noise of affirmation "Yeah...I suppose it's kind of easy to forget he's younger than both of us, isn't he?"

"Very." Mash agreed "...He does not act is, does he?" she wondered aloud, then frowned. "But perhaps I did not act like that as well...I don't know how children are supposed to act."

"...Probably not like Ash." Ritsuka admitted "That's for sure…"

"My Liege." Ritsuka looked down to see Verndari moving up the hill towards them, the Shielder came to a halt a few feet from the pair and stood to attention "I have surveyed the land as instructed."

"Good." Ritsuka nodded "And?"

"...The level of defences I can craft will very much depend on how much time we have available to us." The Servant admitted "Apologise, My Liege. I am not as skilled at this manner of strategy as Ser Raime."

Romani's face popped up next to the Master "We still aren't picking up the Argo within your immediate vicinity." the Doctor reported "Given the speed we witnessed last time with the fog...I can safely say that the moment they appear on our scanners, you'll have at least five hours."

Ritsuka turned to Verndari, the Shielder's expression was hidden behind his helmet as he released a thoughtful hum.

"...We can set up some pitfall traps." He nodded his head "It won't stop a Servant for long, and from what I have heard will do little to this 'Heracles', but it should be adequate enough to delay any of the more reasonably sized Servants for a few seconds."

Ritsuka nodded "Get on that."

"Very well." Verndari nodded his head "We shall also get a shipment of spears down from Smith Andre to line the traps. I should also feel it necessary to warn our fellow Servants to avoid falling into the traps as well."

"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head "That would be best. Thanks for the help, Verndari."

Verndari bowed his head "Do not trouble yourself with thanks, My Liege. I only wish I had the ability to help you more physically on the front-lines."

"This is more than enough." Ritsuka assured him "If anything goes wrong, we can always use that other summoning system, I imagine Da Vinci probably wants to give it another try as well."

"Most definitely." Verndari chuckled in response, turning around and walking back down the hill while shouting out commands and gesturing in different directions.

"...Do you think Ash-san will be alright?" Mash asked, looking more than a little concerned about her fellow Servant. Ritsuka frowned and turned to her.

"If this Singularity is anything to go by…" He shrugged "...I don't think he'll care." he honestly replied "I don't think half the words Atalanta told him about are going to make a bit of sense to him in the least."

"Really?"

"Ash…" Ritsuka sighed "I think its just dawned on me just how different Ash's life is from mine...I knew that but, I don't know...he just…"

"Feels as though he was doing whatever he wanted to make us more comfortable around him?" Mash suggested, Ritsuka nodded his head in response.

"Yeah...Like, he said the words but I don't think he actually understands what they mean at all." The Master rubbed his forehead "Feel as though we'll have to worry about that when we get back though...maybe we should try and get him a hobby."

"A...hobby?" Mash blinked.

"Yeah...when he's not with us, he's in the simulator, being dragged about by Cu or...just doing nothing." He frowned "...I don't know if it would feel like I'm pushing too hard if I tried to get him into something."

"Hand him off to Da Vinci for a day." The pair jolted as Olga's voice came through the communicator "That would give him something to do."

Mash giggled "I think that would give him too much to do, and Ash-san isn't used to Da Vinci's antics. I think he struggles around her."

Olga grunted in response "I suppose that much is true. Although does it truly matter that much? He obeys your orders and has no complaints towards them." she pointed out with a frown "He has already demonstrated an unwillingness to engage or even entertain acts which could be considered wasteful. I doubt you could convince him to get a hobby." she sighed "But I suppose it would get him out of my office."

Ritsuka and Mash blinked at her, the two exchanged glances and then turned back to the Director ""You're office?"" the pair asked in surprise.

"Hmm." She nodded her head, frowning as she did so "He just walks in like he owns the place, sits down and then just does nothing. He'll only ever speak when I do otherwise he'll just act like a glorified piece of furniture. He's like Stahl at times."

"...Who's Stahl?" Ritsuka tilted his head at the woman.

The Director froze and coughed into her hand "Given our growing number of Servants of the same class, I felt it best to avoid confusion. Hence I have given my Berserker the designation Stahl."

"Nice." Ritsuka nodded his head at her.

"Isn't Stahl the German word for steel?" Mash inquired, staring at Olga in surprise. The Director flushed slightly and looked away.

"Possibly….but it is a very accurate name!"

"He's your Servant." Ritsuka raised his hand in surrender. "You can name him whatever you want."

"If it helps, I think it's a good name." Romani offered his two cents to the conversation, the Director briefly glanced in his direction before she sighed, shaking her head and turning herself back to the Master.

"Stahl aside, given the former allegiances of your most recent addition, how certain are you that she can be trusted?" Olga asked, her face awash with suspicion "If we are to be believed, she immediately abandoned her former comrades and sought refuge on the island which contains the very Ark that the Argonauts currently seek."

"Well...She had plenty of opportunities to kill me." Ritsuka pointed out "She could have waited in the tree's and just sniped me with a bow."

"He does have a point." Romani admitted "Atalanta is a famed huntress and you did casually walk through the jungle she was living in at the time. It wouldn't have been too difficult to for her to take out Fujimaru-kun in a surprise attack."

Mash's expression faltered slightly, which caused Romani to instantly back peddle "Nothing against you Mash!" he hastily added in an attempt to comfort her "You're very good but even the best Servants would be taken by surprise in an ambush. It's just a bad location for you to try and protect Fujimaru-kun."

The Shielder didn't look as comforted by the remark as the Doctor had hoped.

Ritsuka patted her on the shoulder, then looked back at the screen "As far as trusting her goes...I'd say she's earned the benefit of the doubt, like I said earlier. She could have killed me but didn't."

"The enemy Saber could also have killed you, but didn't." Olga countered, Ritsuka gave a begrudging nod before he offered his rebuttal.

"True, but he's a knight. Atalanta isn't." Ritsuka smiled in triumph "So I think she would be less inclined to spare my life."

"…"

"...That is a horrible sentence I just said." Ritsuka realised with an expression of growing disturbance "I think I'm becoming too accustomed to threats against my life."

"You're a Master." Olga flatly responded "Everything you do is almost guaranteed to be a threat against your life."

Ritsuka stared at her, then looked to Mash and leaned in to whisper to her "Is that supposed to be reassuring or not?"

"I don't know, Senpai." Mash whispered back "I won't let anything happen to you though!" she assured him with a confident nod of her head.

"I can hear you, you know." Olga pointed out with a tinge of annoyance "These communicators were designed to work even in instances where all you were capable of was whispering."

"...Sorry."

"Good."

Archer watched with a raised eyebrow as their newest 'ally' – he was personally still sceptical – marched out of the woods where she had dragged the Saber off to. She emerged with a heavy scowl on her face and completely ignored his being entirely, striding past him and further up the hill towards where his Master was.

The tanned Servant continued to stare at her retreating figure before he turned his head back to the direction of the woods as their resident Saber emerged. Archer wasn't certain what manner of conversation they had, but it must have been something considering the Saber looked more confused than anything else.

He could just let it pass, he wasn't especially interested in whatever conversation they had but considering it likely related to their newest add-on, it would be more prudent to ask the Saber about it to determine what had upset their newest ally.

"Interesting talk?" He voiced out as the Saber made to walk past him, Ash paused and turned to the Archer. His look of confusion not shifting in the least – the Saber did indeed wear his emotions on his sleeve – as he stared at the Archer and then back towards Atalanta.

"I...am not certain." Ash admitted with a shrug "She had me explain my entire circumstances to her and whether or not I would regard my rising as a second life or not."

"And?"

"Well...Considering I had no memories of my previous life at all, I considered it simply my first life." Ash replied, then frowned "At which point she proceeded to discuss my age and whether or not I would consider myself a child."

"You've made that clear."

Ash nodded "That is what I believed…apparently she regards me as having a 'stolen childhood' and then began to complain rather heavily about my circumstances and the fact I was a child forced into the body of a young adult. I told her I had no complaints about my current situation...which seemed to make the entire conversation worse."

Archer could imagine, there was certainly a lot to unpack here and frankly, he wasn't the one to do it.

"To end the conversation, she called it a great injustice and how it highlighted the importance of her wish and then simply left." He stared at her before looking back at Archer. "Many of the words she used have no meaning for me so I will admit I was quite puzzled for much of her rant."

"I imagine you would be." Archer huffed, then threw a projected shovel towards the Saber who caught it rather easily in one hand "You should take that and start digging. We're setting up pitfall traps for the Argonauts."

Ash nodded his head, his confusion vanishing instantly when presented with a new task. Archer could appreciate the need to separate his personal feelings for the more pressing concerns. However, there was something about the Saber which just irked him. Perhaps it was the fact that he had no complaints about his role as a slave.

Just a passive acceptance of his life – which was nothing more than a tool to be used and then discarded – without having ever considered the option of anything else and then virtually spitting upon a type of life which didn't revolve around being used didn't sit right with him in the least.

Still, the Iceni Queen had apparently taken it upon herself to try and educate him.

Although he wasn't one for fighting lost causes. Whether or not the Saber was one...that was something that only time would be able to tell.

"Where are we digging them?" Ash asked, Archer threw a thumb over his shoulder to where Verndari's silver armour shone in the sun. The Saber nodded his head and trudged past him at a hurried pace. Archer watched him leave with a blank expression.

Even if he could be taught a better way of life than a tool, they all existed as Servants to begin with. The moment he was summoned again, all that information would be lost. Whether it was better to learn how to live for however short a life he would have or better to remain as he was and never have to worry about the fear of losing anything...That was a cruel thing to consider on either account.

He was glad he wasn't the one having to worry about it.

In the end, the pair of them were nothing but dogs to someone else's will.

"The tanned Servant is another risk." Rendal informed the group as he leaned against the mast of the Argo "The weapon he had intended to use on Heracles was of better quality than the short-swords he used against myself earlier. I believe him to be the holder of some manner of Item Box."

Medea nodded along "I concur with Lord Rendal, while he is undoubtedly a physically weaker Servant than Lord Heracles, I believe he might pose a risk through versatility." she frowned "He appeared to use Gradiation Air to create the sword, however it was far superior to the items that can normally be grafted through the art."

Jason stared at the two with a frown and narrowed eyes "You think some punk with a mildly better sword can suddenly take down Heracles?"

"It is not just the tanned Servant." Rendal pointed out "My concern also lies with the 'Unkindled'. During my time with Edward, one of the Servants – Halfight – made repeated comments as to how the Servant had invaded and brought the Ringed City to ruin-"

"Finally!" Jason grinned "An actual villain to slay. It makes for a better story when you have accredited deeds to the great foes of your songs, doesn't it?"

"...Indeed." Rendal blandly responded "As I was saying, the Ringed City itself was guarded by a Dragon-"

"A Dragon Slayer as well?" Jason raised an eyebrow, frowning "Hmm...Not bad, I suppose. But I doubt it poses much danger to Heracles-"

"There was also the issue of his Item Box." Rendal continued on, his face showing mild straining from the continued interruptions "He utilised multiple Noble Phantasms during the fight, one of which was able to damage Teach's ship, while it was the home of half a dozen Servants, one of which was an Angel."

"...As in actual Angel?" Caeneus piped up, looking more bemused than anything else "Wings and all? I only know about these things from the Grail and from what I heard they play harps and shit."

"...No." Rendal shook his head "The type which can clone themselves, teleport and throw balls of fire."

The Lancer shrugged.

Jason rolled his eyes "I certainly hope you aren't underestimating Heracles, he can deal with a few fools easily enough."

"They killed him twice."

"No, he was killed by a Goddess and a...whatever that budget Heracles was." Jason dismissed "Their monster is dead and Artemis has already been deployed. Heracles can deal with the Servants, take back Euryale and then we can sacrifice her to the Ark." he crossed his arms "Done."

"I feel as though you place too much confidence in Heracles-"

"Of course I do." Jason cut him off "He's Heracles. The greatest Hero in history and it doesn't matter what manner of no-name or pitiful Servants they field against him are. He is Heracles and will always win." the Servant crossed his arms and nodded confidently "He could achieve my dream all by himself."

Caeneus snorted, shaking her head "How he puts up with your pathetic ass, I don't know." she grunted, earning a brief scowl from the blonde "Doesn't matter. I owe that fire-spewing prick a slow death anyway. He's mine and tell that big lug to keep clear of him." she warned with a snarl, "Understood?"

Jason gave her an unimpressed look "You want to fight the Servant who so clearly beat you like a common dog?"

Caeneus bristled, rising to her feet "You wanna say that shit again you fuckin-"

"Please." Medea raised her hands "There is no need for conflict here. We all have the same objective." she gave a beautific smile as her eyes swept across the entire ship "Whatever grievances we have may be settled after we have achieved our objective." her eyes fell on Caeneus "Can they not?"

The Lancer stared at the Caster with an indiscernible expression for a few moments before her lip curled into a shark-like grin "Well, doesn't matter. I'm sure it will all be funny in the end." she leaned back, the grin she gave the Caster turned knowing "Won't it?"

Medea continued to stare at the Lancer with a calm expression, not giving away anything.

She looked around "But that fucking bear and Goddess are also mine as well!" she announced, snarling at her fellow Servants "Right?"

"Fine, fine." Jason waved his hand, completely uncaring as to her brash nature "Act as you will, just don't get in Heracles way."

"You tell him to keep out of my way-" She paused, looking behind herself to the Servant in question "In fact, you stay the fuck out of my way!" she levelled a finger at him "You got it, dumbass?"

Heracles stared at her without so much as shifting his expression in the least. Caeneus clicked her tongue and looked away.

"Like talking to a fucking rock."

"They've entered the range of detection." Romani informed the Servants through the communicator "Looking at their speed...You've got a little under five hours. They might have been restricted by the speed of the fog but that's how long you've got."

"Alright...Planning time." Ritsuka announced, clapping his hands together "We know that Caenis has a personal grudge against you two." he pointed towards Artemis and Orion "So we're going to have to get her to pursue the both of you." his finger turned towards Euryale "And Heracles is going to go for you...we'll assume Rendal will as well."

He exhaled "...The issue is getting them to attack us on our terms."

"Jason is a coward." Atalanta revealed immediately – the Archer stood next to Ash, who seemed more surprised about her sudden proximity but made no comment on it – the eyes of the Servants fell on her "The moment he's threatened in any way, he's going to order Heracles to defend him."

"So...the moment we see the Argo, we just shoot at it." Ritsuka nodded, then turned to the three Archers "How accurate are you all?"

The three servants stared at him in silence.

"...That was a dumb question." He admitted "So, can you all target Jason then?"

The three nodded.

He then looked at Euryale "...You're going to be with me." he revealed, the entire audience stared at him "We're going to need to keep Heracles behind us but not far enough that we lose him completely...which means I'm the obvious choice."

"Fujimaru-kun!?" Romani sputtered "That's obviously stupid! You can just as easily have one of the Servants take her-"

"We're going to need all of them to try and delay him until Ash can kill Caenis, not to mention there is also Rendal to consider." The Master pointed out with a grimace, his breathing slightly shaky "...It means that I am the best choice."

"Senpai! That's-" Mash tried to argue against, only for a voice to cut through the crowd of complaints.

"Alright." Havel nodded to him "...Will...keep...safe." he affirmed to the Master, then looked around at the other servants "Keep...big...one...distr...acted."

David stared at the man in silence before he moved towards him and studied the larger Berserker, then gave a nod of his head "I'm with him." he spoke as he gestured to the Bishop "We'll keep Heracles at bay while you protect Euryale." he smiled at Ritsuka "It's a pretty difficult task, you sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head "...Makes sense, right?" he looked around with a shaky expression "Me and Euryale aren't really frontline troops and you need all the help you can get for fighting Heracles and Rendal, we can't really lost anyone to protect Euryale so...I'll do it."

Euryale stared at him, then slowly nodded her head "Alright then." she smiled "I will grant you the honour of protecting this Goddess. I don't expect you to do as well as Asterios...but I'm certain you'll manage in your own way."

"That's an endorsement if ever I've heard one." He muttered under his breath, then looked towards Mash, the Shielder still looking unsure about the plan "Mash...you know its the best plan we have. We need to delay Heracles and take out Rendal, we're already losing and Artemis to deal with Caenis, this isn't the time to be short-staffed."

"That's…" Mash bit her lip, remaining silent for a few moments before she exhaled, raising her shield up and then thumping it back into the ground and slamming her right hand onto her chest "As you command, Master. I will give my all to protecting you with the power I have obtained from Oscar-san."

Ritsuka cracked a smile, nodding at her "I'm counting on you then."

"This plan is batshit crazy." Drake pointed out, placing her hands on her hips "I can tell you all that right now...I'm in." her lips split into a wide grin "I ain't drunk enough to say yes to it, but hell if I'm going to miss out on it."

"That's Drake for you." Ritsuka rolled his eyes, then looked around. "Everyone understand the plan then?"

"Yes." Ash nodded his head "Once I have dealt with Caeneus, I will inform you via the link and you can summon me with a command seal."

"We're counting on you Ash." He spoke in a serious tone, then looked around "We've got five hours left...Let's get these traps finished up." he paused, then spoke again "Also, we're going to have to work out a path for me to take so I don't accidentally trigger them."

"We can work on that as we build them." Sanura informed him, the Lancer was no longer limping heavily; however, there were still signs of damage on her person. "I admit to not being as skilled at trapping as some of the others here, but I will give it my all!"

"It's alright, Sanny!" Artemis assured her, then floated around and placed a hand on Atalanta's back and pushed her forwards slightly "Me and Atalanta will help you! Darling is also really good at it!"

"Wha-?" Atalanta turned around to face the Goddess, her mouth flapping as it struggled to form a sentence before her lips pulled themselves into a thin line. Her eyes turned downwards slightly. "...Yes, Lady Artemis."

Ritsuka stared at the Huntress before he called out to her "If it makes you feel better, Gwyndolin reacted very similarly to Artemis."

"Who?" Atalanta stared at him with obvious confusion.

"God of the Moon." Ritsuka informed with a nod "...He...didn't take it well."

Atalanta stared at him with a blank expression, then turned back to Artemis as she cuddled the stuffed bear close to her chest and then turned back to Ritsuka. She gave a groan of what was either annoyance or exasperation. Either way, she was still struggling to determine how she felt about meeting Artemis and finding out what her personality was.

Jason moved to the front of the Argo as the island came into greater view, the blonde haired man kept his confident grin on his face as the distant image grew in size.

The smile remained on his face, even as Medea abruptly shifted her expression into a more concerned one as she looked up at the sky and widened her eyes.

Heracles moved, a large hand instantly wrapping itself around Jason's collar and yanking him backwards at the same time he threw his body around the front of the blonde man and used his entire body as a shield.

Caeneus looked up and raised an eyebrow, her lips remaining in a thin line as the sky suddenly split open. Flickering lights spread across the horizon and grew in intensity as they closed in on the boat.

Medea chanted rapidly under her breath and raised her hand upwards, a thin barrier forming in front of herself and Rendal while Caeneus stood in the open.

Thousands of glowing arrows instantly descended upon the Argo, the glowing shafts struck the ship at rapid speeds and began to split holes in the deck of the ship, all the while Jason continued to let out a panicked scream as the bombardment continued.

Caeneus stood in the open as the arrows rained down upon them, the glowing shafts struck her body and ricocheted off, causing her to barely move even as they struck her face, when the barrage began to die down, there was a perfect outline of Caeneus body in the deck of the ship behind where she had stood.

The Lancer looked over her shoulder at the small clearing in the ship and then looked about the arrow-filled deck before she shrugged. "Huh...Guess we found where the little hunter went."

"Coward!" Jason cried out "Loosing arrows at someone instead of coming in close and attacking them directly!" he peeked his head out from behind Heracles "Go and get them!" he ordered, pointing towards the island.

Heracles slowly rose to his full height, turning around and glaring out across the horizon towards the island. His body tensed as he crouched low in preparation to launch himself.

He kicked off the Argo with enough force to rock the ship slightly, his form disappearing into a blur moving across the sky as he rocketed towards the island.

Caeneus strode past Jason and Medea, resting her boot upon the railings of the ship and then jumping off, diving into the ocean and jetting through the water towards the island.

Rendal remained stationary, turning his head towards Jason and Medea.

"...We're going to need to move the ship closer if I am to join them." He pointed out "I can neither jump that far, nor can I swim that fast."

Jason sighed "Heracles doesn't need any help." He pointed out, levelling a finger at the King "You're going to stay here and wait until Heracles comes back."

Rendal stared at him, then to Medea, then back at him. "...I can only hope your overconfidence in your friend does not spell disaster for us." he took several steps backwards, then looked at Medea "Is this truly alright?" he whispered to her "My being there offers a greater chance for success."

"Lord Jason has spoken." Medea replied confidently, smiling up at the King "Besides, there are other options available if Lord Heracles fails." her eyes flickered back to Jason, drawing a suspicious glance from the King before a shrug.

"As you wish, Master."

AN: Fight begins next Chapter. Ash and Artemis vs Caenis and everyone vs Heracles.

In truth, I had hoped to begin the fight in this Chapter but then I noticed the size of the chapter and realised all the character interaction had gotten big. But I don't mind, I'd rather people care more about the characters than anything else.

Sorry again, but I figured it would be weird if we instantly jumped into fighting without first the characters all interacting and all that.

Also, they had enough time to set up traps and it gives Verndari a chance to shine with his skill and the other Hunter type Servants. Get used to everyone and all that.