Author note: once again, I apologize for not answering your questions individually. There will be no fight between Shirou and Gilgamesh... not right away anyway. I have another opponent prepared for him. In any case, I don't see the point of repeating what has already been done elsewhere and several times.

Lancelot du Lac

Las Vegas, Nevada

There was a real panic on the streets of Vegas. People would run in all directions shouting and talking about the 'end of the world' or 'divine punishment'. Some improvised preachers recalled the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible, These twenty-third-hour converts had spent their days in the casinos and if they proclaimed louder than the others their repentance was only because they were afraid of punishment. Nevertheless, the comparison was more than adequate when we were talking about Sin City.

Difficult to prove them wrong, after all, this explosion in the desert was indeed a divine punishment, but not that of the jealous God of the Bible. Although Ishtar was a Goddess of Vengeance, she was not the type to be offended by a city of vice... After all, in Babylon, her temple was also... a brothel! In addition, she was notoriously stingy, hot-tempered, a liar, and manipulative... so gambling had nothing to displease her.

Away from the Strip casinos on the outskirts of Vegas, between a cheap motel and a drugstore, two people watched the ocean of flame that had replaced the desert. They were worried, but unlike the other witness, they understood what had happened.

The young man swallowed, impressed by the spectacle.

He had red hair with a white lock and amber eyes. He was dressed in black armor made of Kevlar-like material, with heavy metal-reinforced boots. The muscular arms were bare, and he had fingerless combat gloves in his hands. With his arms beside his body, his fingers were twitching, as if he were about to grab a weapon to defend himself.

"What kind of Noble Phantasm is this, Ereshkigal?"

He was addressing a young woman who was standing beside him. Dressed rather lightly in a very tight black outfit adorned with jewels in the shape of bones or skulls, she had a large red brocade cape. Her eyes were red, her pigtailed hair was blond, and she had a black tiara. In her hand, she held a black spear wrapped in an aura of red light like steam.

"An Gal Tā Kigal Shē is an A++ Rank Anti-Mountain Noble Phantasm."

The young redhead had a joyless laugh.

"Except there's no mountain."

Ereshkigal shrugged her shoulders.

"Thankfully, Shirou... When Ishtar first used this attack, she vaporized the Jabal Hamrin mountain range. If Gilgamesh had stood in the Sierra Nevada rather than the Mojave, there would be nothing left of this landscape mark that a huge crater filled with lava"

Shirou Emiya flinched and nodded with an expression of retrospective dread.

"I see... well, Ishtar certainly defeated Gilgamesh, so it's all over."

But Ereshkigal did not seem to share her sister's friend (boyfriend?)'s enthusiasm.

"You know, Shirou, this isn't the first time Gilgamesh and Ishtar have fought."

"And who won?"

"Have you ever read the Epic of Gilgamesh?"

"Uh... no..."

Ere sighed while shaking her head.

"And since the title of this story is not 'The Epic of Ishtar' you should easily deduce who was the winner."

Certainly, Gilgamesh had fought alongside Enkidu and without the help of his friend the Golden King was much less powerful. But Ishtar couldn't count on the Bull of Heaven's help either... In short, there was no reason for the fight to end in favor of the Goddess of Venus.

Focusing on her telepathic connection with the Sovereign of the Moon, the Queen of the Afterlife asked a question to young teen.

"Hakuno, was Gilgamesh defeated?"

Tokyo, Japan

Hearing her friend's mental voice, the expressionless doll-like Japanese girl manipulated the virtual windows floating around her, increasing the size of one of the translucent windows and shrinking the others. On the map that Hakuno had selected a red dot flashed near the blue dot representing Ishtar, and she sighed.

[I'm sorry, Gilgamesh is still here.]

Ereshkigal's voice was tinged with worry.

[Please make sure my sister is okay]

Selecting a window showing a direct view, Hakuno Kishinami used it to look in the center of the destroyed area.

The king in gold armor and Ishtar were facing each other. She could not hear their words, but the Mistress of Heaven seemed both shocked and furious. Gilgamesh smiled ironically, speaking continuously with gestures of the hand. Though bleak with rage and fists clenched in a gesture of helplessness, Ishtar did not seem hurt... just like Gilgamesh, by the way. However, the two Heroes turned their heads towards a huge wounded dragon approaching them. Even without the sound, Hakuno realized that the monster was mad with rage.

[Ishtar is fine, she is speaking with Gilgamesh, but I think you should hurry because...]

Hakuno stopped because the Servant's sensor had beeped.

[Wait, something is happening]

Quickly, the Sovereign set the detector and...

[A second Servant has just appeared south of your position. He is heading towards you at high speed. ]

'He' had the appearance of a knight in white full plate armor with a winged helmet topped by a red horsehair feather.

'He' was called Lancelot du Lac, paragon of chivalry, member of the Knights of the Round, and... lover of Queen Guinevere. This thought made a smile appear on 'his' lips. Guinevere has the appearance of a twelve-year-old girl, this had obviously never happened... But, over the centuries, to maintain the popularity of King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot invented many stories to delight the interest of various audiences. And 'his' status as 'Guinevere paramour' was among those fictional stories.

In fact, Lancelot loved Guinevere very much... but not that kind of love. In fact, 'he' considered the Witch Queen more like an adorable little sister whom he outrageously spoiled, to the point of obeying the slightest of her whims. They formed a rather unique duo, a full-fledged Heretic God who played the knight in shining armor for a 'mere' Divine Ancestor.

The knight shook 'his' head with annoyance. Normally, 'he' was an individual focused on the present and - let's be honest - a fairly straightforward individual. 'He' was only interested in what 'he' could see with 'his' eyes, touch with 'hi's hands. And war and love were 'his' only focus. 'He' was no dreamer, no philosopher...

Except that the situation was not normal. A Heretic God was either asleep in his legend, or awake in the real world. But Lancelot du Lac was neither... One of 'his' authorities allowed 'him' to be summoned from any flat surface of water the size of a lake or pond... or the Davis Dams reservoir, in the present case.

Summoned by Guinevere, Lancelot was neither really awake nor really asleep. 'He' had trouble concentrating. Everything seemed hazy, unreal... like in a dream. In addition, the 'sleepwalker' Lancelot had only a fraction of 'his' full power.

Nevertheless, this Divine Authority did not have only disadvantages. As god of Steel, the embodiment of war, Lancelot was obsessed with violence, combat, war and 'his' mere presence was enough to fuel conflict between mortals... at least when 'he' was fully awake. But half asleep, 'his' impulses were only a weak voice unable to make 'him' lose sight of 'his' goals. More importantly, even if 'he' were killed in this form, it would have no consequences. The real Lancelot would not be hurt and Guinevere would only have to invoke 'him' again.

Lancelot du Lac looked around 'him', 'he' was in an ancient war wagon pulled by a couple of oxen and 'his' neighbor was a colossus in bronze armor with a red cape lined with fur.

The man with the red beard and hair burst out laughing.

"So how does it feel to fly?"

"This knight humbly thanks you for accepting his presence, King Alexander. Nevertheless, he apologizes, but his mount is capable of running among the clouds. So he already knows the pleasure to fly."

"Oh, I see."

Lancelot looked at 'his' ally with some interest.

"You are a demigod, is that correct, Your Majesty?"

Iskandar flinched with a disgusted look.

"My mother said she got pregnant by Zeus."

Queen Olympias was crazy and the King of Conquerors had always hated his mother. With a pensive gesture of the hand, the colossus caressed the war chariot.

"But since this wagon belongs to Zeus and I am able to drive it, there must be some truth..."

"Anyway, this knight is honored to fight alongside a great conqueror like you," replied Lancelot.

Gordeus Wheel was heading north of Nevada at high speed towards the huge explosion that had just occurred.

Gilgamesh looked with contempt and disgust at the immense dragon who called herself Leviathan.

He hated dragons and hydras because they looked like snakes... and the King of Heroes had a major stage fright of snakes.

He had already resolved to kill her while she was under the guise of Ashera and the king disgust for her true nature made this desire for murder irresistible. As Leviathan dared to threaten the true king, Gilgamesh had an excuse to act. However, before the Golden King could bombard the dragon with weapons stored in his treasure, John Pluto Smith reappeared in his jaguar form. But, the Godslayer resumed his humanoid form to speak to the incompetent goddess that the one and the only king had just ridiculed.

The Campione was wounded in his left arm. The blood soaked his sleeve. Nevertheless, he spoke with a loud voice, without weakness.

"Leviathan is my responsibility. Mighty Ishtar, could you take care of Gilgamesh while I take charge of his ally?"

The King of Heroes had a scowl. His... ally? How could a snake be the king's ally? Initially furious, the Golden King calmed down as the divine wisdom of his mother Rimat-Ninsun allowed him to uncover Smith's intentions. It was... heroic, almost worthy of his praise. But the king still needed this pathetic 'Devil King' alive.

By killing the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, Smith had acquired the ability to change form. But the Campione had never used one of them. Indeed, the Flames of Annihilation would first consume his mortal body... Not being a god, he wouldn't survive. But this ultimate attack would allow him to destroy Leviathan in one fell swoop before she could self-destruct. It was the only way to save the people of Vegas.

[It's the right thing to do, John] confirmed Annie Charlton in a sad voice [I'm very proud of you!]

Under his mask, John P. Smith smiles. He had always hoped that his end would be as flamboyant as his life, sacrificing himself to save others by becoming the Flames of Judgment satisfied him.

Waving his cape in a theatrical gesture, the Campione shouted to the sky:

"For annihilation, I count the number of my great works — I am the axe of the night that summons termination, lowering the final curtain for the world's destruction, the messenger from hell!"

Except that nothing happened, John looked around him in disbelief.

Gilgamesh put the Curtain of Night back in his treasure. Gilgamesh immediately understood that Smith was about to use a sun-bound Divine Authorithy. And the Oldest King had used a Noble Phantasm capable of creating the night in broad daylight, denying any power of solar origin (1).

Having prevented Smith from committing suicide, the King of Heroes looked at Leviathan with contempt and disgust before snapping his fingers. The last events had made him furious, Gilgamesh no longer wanted to play.

About a hundred golden circular tears appeared behind the Golden King forming a sort of wall. In each opening appeared a legendary weapon, Noble Phantasm of rank A or B.

"Goodbye, you stupid lizard."

Pierced with swords, spears, axes, and halberds, Leviathan collapsed to the ground but Gilgamesh ruthlessly continued to bombard her until she was reduced to a bloody mush.

Stunned, Smith turned to Gilgamesh.

"Why... why did you save me?"

"Oh? I did that? I did?" He laughed. "Why would the king save a mongrel? I just decided to kill Leviathan because she disrespected me. The whole world exists only for my amusement and the whims of the king are the only law."

Gilgamesh smiled ironically without hiding his contempt for the bastard child of Epimetheus.

Worse, the Golden King seemed to have completely forgotten the presence of Ishtar. As if it were less important than the ash that covered the ground. And even though the goddess hated not being in the first place, the Mistress of Heaven was so shocked by recent events that she didn't even notice.

Turning her head, she looked at an object coming towards them, a flying chariot pulled by two oxen.

Iskandar burst out with a burst of thundering laughter as he watched the end of Leviathan.

"Well, there was no reason to worry about Goldy, though..."

The king of Conquerors turned his eyes to the two silhouettes running through the ashes, leaping over the slime-filled cracks.

"... on the other hand, I doubt that Goldy appreciates that other 'mongrels' come to disturb him in his amusement. We should introduce ourselves to these new guests."

"Shirou, stop!"

With her spear in hand, Ereshkigal leaped in front of the redhead teen. Tense, she looked up at the sky and frowned as she discovered the Hero heading toward them. The Queen of the Netherworld had sometimes met another version of him in Chaldea.

Iskandar.

He was a brute with big muscles that saw the world in a simplistic way with on one side his allies and the people who recognized him as their king, and on the other the enemies he could trample under the wheels of his war wagon.

Bringing Gordeus Wheel down to the ground, Iskandar stopped about 20 meters from them and Ereshkigal realized that the Macedonian king was not alone on his wagon. A knight in white armor accompanied him.

The King of Conquerors looked alternately at Ereshkigal -on the defensive- and Shirou, hands down, ready to Trace a Noble Phantasm.

"Greeting, I am the great king Iskandar, King of Macedonia conqueror of Persia, liberator of Egypt and Mesopotamia, victor of the Indian kings" barked the Rider-class Servant while gloating with pride.

Shirou winked really surprised that a Servant came to them giving his True Name! It was contrary to the most elementary rules of the Grail Wars. But the reaction of the Queen of the Afterlife surprised him even more.

With a large theatrical cape waving, she raised her chin, proud and haughty.

"I am the great goddess of Netherworld, Ereshkigal, queen of Kur! My temples are in Assur, Uma, and Kutha. Although relegated to the Underworld, and unable to attend the annual banquet of the Sumerian gods, they put a knee on the ground in front of the messenger who came to get my share. For this is their respect for my power and my gloomy glory."

The redhead wanted to speak, to ask her if she was feeling well, but Iskandar was ahead of him. Fists on his hips, he burst out with a Homeric laugh.

"That's it! That's the way to introduce yourself!"

And Ereshkigal laughs in response.

Caught between the two Heroes, Shirou stared at them in turn, finding that they reacted in a strangely similar manner.

Then Iskandar raised his hand, one palm forward while rubbing his nose.

"But first, let me ask you a question, Ereshkigal. Would you like to join..."

The Sumerian goddess of the underworld interrupted him before he could finish his catchphrase. It must be said that she knew it by heart. The version of Iskandar that Ereshkigal had met in Chaldea had sought to recruit each Servant at least once.

"No, I don't want to join your army."

Iskandar seemed embarrassed, rubbing his neck vigorously with a hand as wide as a pizza shovel.

'Wait, you didn't even listen to my proposal. My motto is 'conquer without humiliating'. I consider those who rally to my cause as my companions, my friends, and my heroes. It's a good proposition."

"I am a goddess and a queen, I have my pride!"

In fact, the idea of joining an army of soldiers with rippling muscles, with vulgar language, that smelled like leather and sweat did not really suit Ereshkigal's taste.

Iskandar inflated his cheeks and sighed, disappointed.

"I see... I understand... "

While Iskandar was mopping silently like a scolded child, the knight stepped forward and bowed his hand over his heart. He was rather tall and his helmet was adorned with a plume of red hair and wings of birds. His plate armor was made of white metal, like his tabard. The man in armor was the very image of purity never soiled, impossible to tarnish.

"Beautiful goddess Ereshkigal, I am Lancelot du Lac. On my exploits, there would be much to say. So much so that this humble knight is known by all. Also, I would simply confirm that my legend is not usurped. The best knight of the King who Manifests at the World's End is before you. I hope that this fight will conform to the rules of chivalry and I hope that the best wins."

Iskandar, Lancelot, and even Ereshkigal turned toward Shirou.

The redhead blushes after understanding that they were waiting for him to show up.

Embarrassed, he scratched his cheek, looking to the right and left as if looking for someone who could help him.

"Um... my name is Emiya Shirou... uh... I mean Emiya is my name and Shirou is my name... it's in Japanese order. I was a Master in the Fifth Fuyuki Grail War, I summoned Arthur Pendragon... uh the version of my universe of course... not your king, Sir Lancelot... I faced and defeated Heracles and prevented the resurrection of Angra Mainyu. I also helped Medusa Gorgon fight Saber... I mean King Arthur... because she was corrupted by Angra Mainyu. But it's not a good memory, Saber was my friend."

While the part of him that was 'Archer' sighed in shame at this clumsy presentation, Iskandar looked at him with a frank surprise.

"Di you say you defeated the Mighty Heracles, son of the Zeus the Treasure of the Sky?"

"Uh... under special circumstances. Let's say... Let's say I cheated... so it wasn't really a fair fight." Shirou winced. "But I didn't really have another choice..."

Lancelot was surprised by something else.

"Her? Sir Shirou, the Arthur Pendragon of your universe is a woman?

"Um... yeah, actually her name is Artoria Pendragon, she was impersonating a man because the lords of her time would not have agreed to obey a woman, but she was a woman."

Lancelot du Lac burst out laughing.

" I think we'd get along just fine, I would love to meet her!"

Of course, Shirou could not have known that the Campioneverse's Arthur Pendragon had recruited some Heretics Gods to make up his Round Table and that the version of Lancelot that was laughing was in fact... an Amazon queen, the very daughter of the god Ares (2).

She pretended to be a man... for the same reasons as Artoria.

There were strange coincidences from one universe to the other.

Lancelot looked at Shirou with interest, if he had become a friend of King Arthur... even if it was another version of her King... Shirou Emiya had to be a person worthy of respect. And if he had really defeated Heracles (whom she had fought in the past... at least his Campioneverse's version) Shirou would make a good partner... and, thinking that, Lancelot didn't really make the difference between a partner for a duel or... in bed... for an Amazon a man capable of defeating her was worthy of making her a child.

Lancelot turned to Iskandar.

"It is right that the King of Conquerors faces the Queen of the Netherworld." Under her helmet, the Queen of the Amazons had a carnivorous smile." I do not complain, for Sir Shirou seems worthy to break a few spears with this humble knight."

While the presentations ended on the ground, in the sky a breathtaking dogfight was raging for several minutes.

Two flying objects, Gilgamesh's Vimana and Ishtar bow-boat, described spirals above the Mojave faster than modern fighter planes, turning very tight, accelerating brutally, passing sometimes in front, sometimes behind the other.

At times, the Goddess of Venus shot an arrow that Gilgamesh was dodging in a maneuver that would turn upside down the stomach of an experienced warbird pilot. The Golden King responded by opening several golden tears toward his treasure vault. Sometimes spears, axes, swords or halberds came out. At other times, Gilgamesh used mage's staffs that spewed lightning bolts, flashes of fire, or even rays able to track their target and pursue it despite any dodging efforts.

Yet until then, Gilgmesh's arsenal of Noble Phantasm had not allowed him to injure Ishtar once.

Maanna was very maneuverable and the Mistress of Heaven avoided most attacks. What she couldn't dodge, she stopped with shields resembling huge emeralds. And if the goddess could not dodge or block... she simply disappeared.

Maanna, the bow-boat, was a Noble Phantasm capable of using Displacement Magecraft, opening a 'door' to another place. Disappearing in one place to reappear in another, Ishtar managed to lose even the homing device that Gilgamesh used against her.

John Pluto Smith watched the fight from the devastated desert and, under his mask, he clenched his teeth.

[Gilgamesh just seems to play with Ishtar, it's disgusting. There is no doubt that Ishtar will eventually tire and then she will have no chance.]

Smith nodded without saying a word. But Annie Charlton insisted.

[You must intervene!]

"I know, Justice is telling me to help my ally," replied the superhero.

He focused on a certain feeling, the trace of a power stolen from a god and the ground began to shake more and more strongly around him, lifting the lava that was bubbling in the craters, widening the cracks in the ground. He was invoking one of his Authorities.

"The ruler of the underworld commands, offer to me the black wings that penetrate the heavens! O Sky, thou existest only for me to display the breadth of my magnanimity!"

Where Smith had stood a huge black-feathered bird was now lying. The supernatural creature - the incarnation of a god- flapped its wings and flew away, leaving in its wake a black mist.

As she dodged a flock of swords from Gate of Babylon, Ishtar shuddered, filled with an inexplicable sense of jealousy.

Gritting her teeth, the Mistress of Heaven began to spout slurs in a low voice.

"I bet Shirou has managed to attract the interest of a girl again... and worse, he doesn't even do it on purpose! How can a moron, a stubborn muscle head, and also asocial be so interesting to girls?! And always the cutest! I'd end up believing that he is the main protagonist of an Eroge! His real Noble Phantasm must be called Unlimited Harem Work!"

The Golden King was going to be useful for once, the unbearable Tsundere goddess needed to spend her frustration on something. She reloaded Maanna at full speed shooting new flights of arrows one after the other. Gilgamesh's Vimana dodged the first attacks by making an Immelman at full speed and then slammed to go behind Ishtar's bow-boat and retaliate.

But already the Goddess of Venus had disappeared. Her flying bow rematerialized behind the Flying Throne.

"Rhaaaa! Stop dodging, Gilgamesh!"

"If it's what you want, moronic goddess, the only king agrees to that."

She uttered a cry of victory when she saw the magnificent UFO disappear in a series of explosions, but her enthusiasm suddenly died out.

The Vimana came out of the smoke cloud completely intact. Behind it floated a dozen legendary shields...

The First Hero was smiling sardonically.

"I felt like a warm draft, Ishtar, did you do something?"

(1) It's a Noble Phantasm that Gilgamesh uses to counter Gawain's Numeral of the Saint Skill in Fate/ Extra CCC.

(2) The goddess of Steel known as Lancelot du Lac was originally one of the three queens of the Amazons; Antiope, Hippolyta, or Melanippe, although it is not known with certainty which of the three. After she manifested in the World of the Living, Lancelot traveled the world, eventually becoming allied to the King of the End, and the Earth Goddess Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere's precedent incarnation) to the point of becoming the Champion of the queen.