Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond. I shall begin this chapter with something of my creation, simply because to this day, none actually bothered explaining what exactly happened to Shirou in Archer's timeline for him to accept Alaya's contract. The descriptions from UBW were quite vague, so I guess there's room for creativity. Also, about the singularity, I had decided to make some changes to the story as well as some of the servant's role in this singularity.

Okay, here is the chapter.


Avalon Bond

Part II – Fate Grand Order

Chapter 28 – Okeanos Part III

Beta: Axel Emiya


Once everything was in order. The Golden Hind set sail once more, everyone went aboard the vessel. The huge white sails went loose as Drake took control of the ship's control wheel.

In no time, Drake had studied the Viking map and found an island to the northwest of their position. Of course, those who weren't accustomed to traveling by sailboat, were surprised when the pirate announced that they would take close to ten hours to reach the next island. At least, Mash and Ritsuka found themselves occupied in helping Drake decipher the glyphs together with Drake and the crew from Chaldea. Meanwhile, the servants were left to their accords, mainly Shirou and Archer, while Arturia was busy admiring her Excalibur, though her eyes were fixed on the pair.

"Archer…" Shirou started asking, as he approached the red-coat servant. Archer, for his part, looked at the strange mirror reflection and couldn't help but snarl for a second.

He didn't know if it was possible, but Archer still saw Shirou's eyes as the same ones from their Grail War and it sickened him. Sure, they were denser now, more experienced, but still the same somewhat.

"I became curious, just now. I've caught glimpses of your memories when we crossed swords back then, but just what happened that triggered you into accepting the deal with Alaya?" Considering the absurdity of the question, he just sneered.

"Considering how weak you were at our Grail War and our mentality, that is a rather stupid question, stupider than I believed you are."

Shirou merely chuckled at that and Archer now had a strange sense of thinking that he was talking to someone else.

"No, young man…I do understand the motivations that drove and still drive my landlord, to which I respect and even envy, my question lies merely in wanting to better understand your circumstances." It took Archer a couple of seconds to understand what was going on.

"Ah, Senji Muramasa I presume..." Muramasa in Shirou's body merely hummed, this time sounding more an old man.

"I did request young Shirou's permission to be the one and ask you this, personally." Archer then crossed his arms and looked away, in memory. Though as Muramasa expected, going down the memory lane is an insurmountable task, and seeing Archer's eyes, he understood. The depth of this young man's regrets…the depth of despair that he must have felt once upon a time and finally the realization that something must have happened at one point in life where he got lost…and was still lost…

"I don't see why my life history would be relevant to you…" Shirou Muramasa broke Archer's clear reluctance with experience.

"Please indulge this old man." Shirou Muramasa merely smiled at Archer's sigh in dismay. Even today, Archer's mind is fragmented. He's been to so many different dimensions, he's been through so many wars, he has killed so many of those who attempted to go against Alaya's wishes, that some events were still a blur to him. But, that day…that day would be forever etched in his brain. It was the one time that he felt hopeless…bereft of the one purpose for which he set out to become a hero of justice. Thousands of voices screamed for his help and he couldn't do anything to stop it…just like…just like when he was an infant and saw with his own eyes, the destruction caused by the Grail after the Fourth War.

Shirou Muramasa was nothing if not patient as he just stood there, mesmerized by the desperate fire that appeared in Archer's eyes.

"Even after my trials in my Grail War and even after my years learning at the Clock Tower, I was still hopeless as a magus." Archer initiated, this time turning to look at his old image. "Even so, with the skills I had, I became a freelance magus and did everything in my power to help…to keep others from suffering. Not so dissimilar from your host, I believe." Shirou Muramasa nodded curtly as Arturia approached them silently. She realized the sudden quietness and noticed the different eyes from her beloved looking back at her. As a constant companion into Shirou's Reality Marble, her beloved had allowed her to touch the Muramasa blade and see for herself, the image of Shirou's predecessor.

As such, she was not surprised to see different eyes in his body and neither did Archer feel like stopping his explanation, because of her arrival.

"I had a few companions throughout my life, but eventually they had chosen different paths for their lives….my path was decided for me a long time ago." Arturia couldn't help but think of Rin since technically, the Tohsaka heir would have stayed by Shirou's side, but Archer continued. "One time, in London, in my twenties, I was following a group of rogue magus, who were using the city's leylines and even a large amount of captured citizens to amass enough prana to create a bomb that would kill everyone nearby. I attempted to stop them before it was too late, but they were using the citizens as shields, making me powerless to stop them, at least without endangering the civilians. At one point, I just didn't have the strength and the stamina to keep up. My will was leaving me back then…I felt like I was failing my mission. He just kept on attacking the citizens, draining them of their life energy to gather more prana…and the screams were just echoing…I just couldn't help them…"

Both Arturia and Shirou Muramasa just paid attention and this time, Arturia could see traces of how Shirou was when their war started.

Deep with the desire of saving everyone, but powerless to do so.

"When Alaya first appeared, I didn't know what it was. It was talking to me, offering to give me the strength to save everyone and stop the magus, in exchange for me to become a Counter-Guardian." The image of a Shirou bleeding to death in military uniform, looking up at what he knew to be Alaya was still vivid in Archer's mind. "At that time, I just couldn't think of anything else…my life didn't matter…my will didn't matter…the only thing that mattered was for me to save everyone. At the time, I didn't think of the consequences of accepting the deal offered. Once with the power Alaya granted, I was able to stop the magus and save everyone, but still today, after everything I did afterward, it was better if Emiya Shirou never existed in the first place."

They were now back in the ship, by the soothing noises of the Golden Hind's wood crashing the waves. Archer then turned to Shirou Muramasa and Saber, only to see different reactions in their eyes.

Arturia already knew that beneath all that sarcasm, all the negativity, that Archer did more good than harm in the long run, but she was at least glad to understand him a little better. After all, Archer is a version of her Shirou, but it is how Shirou might have turned out without either her, Rin, or Sakura around. Shirou Muramasa, though, just placed a thinking hand below his chin and observed Archer more closely. Archer's mouth told him a story, a good one, indeed, but while his mouth told him a story, Shirou Muramasa could see it through another lens, so to speak. Hearing the story, through the sword that is Archer, Shirou Muramasa could see the looks of elation from the saved citizens after the act of heroism.

"Humm, like I told my landlord, indeed your story is quite interesting and I can feel your regret as I too have a list of my own." Archer nodded, feeling at least satisfied that Muramasa wouldn't bother sugarcoating things.

"I kindly appreciate you telling your story. Truly, you are of Muramasa descent, indeed. Though, in my eyes, focusing on regret because you had chosen a specific and noble path in life is quite foolish." Archer had snarled at the snide comment and Arturia smiled, acknowledging the wisdom in Muramasa's words. She above all else learned that as well…her path…her choices…everything that happened in her life was for a specific purpose…a specific path that led her to her beloved in the end.

"Now, I shall let these old bones get some rest and let the young ones take over."

When Shirou, the real Shirou, blinked and looked around, he saw an irate-looking Archer, sulking on the corner of the boat and a smirking Arturia, caressing his arms affectionately.

"Arturia, what happened? All I remember is Muramasa appearing to me and asking to take over for a second…" The King of Knights just negated and even held Shirou's arm.

"Just Archer being Archer, Shirou." The redhead blinked a few times and looked back to the sulking white-haired servant.

Meanwhile, the Golden Hind navigated through the unknown waters of the singularity, while Drake vomited orders left and right to her crew. After the conversation between Muramasa and Archer, the servants were left with their own accord with Shirou and Arturia conversing quietly, while Archer simply stood in front of the ship, quiet in his endeavors. The white-haired servant did remember his promise made to Rin once their war was finished. His promise to find a new way...however, that was easier said than done in his opinion. The problem with being a Counter-Guardian was that he could be easily sent to a bunch of different timelines to act in Alaya's employ. And even now, since he ended up lying in a dimension when he became a servant, only to be controlled by a turned dark version of Saber.

Frankly, Archer wondered if his life was his own, anymore. His actions were controlled ever since that day when he accepted the contract with the World.

He also wondered if even his thoughts and memories were controlled, somehow.

Sadly, as he looked up to the scorching sun in a cloudless sky, the white-haired servant couldn't do more in his life, other than deal with the situations that the World presents him with.


====xxxx====

With Drake, she was turning the ship wheel left and right while observing the Viking chart. If what she was looking at was the real deal, then the next island should be within sight pretty soon. A smile appeared in the pirate captain's visage as one of her pirates yelled about land in sight. Mash and Ritsuka smiled as well, with Mash wanting to establish a better communication link with Chaldea. So far, communications with Romani had been on and off and they all surmised the necessity of establishing a new connection every chance they got. As soon as the crew anchored the ship, Drake and the group from Chaldea dropped off. Mash and Ritsuka worked in establishing the communication link as soon as they stepped onto the island beach.

"Well done, Mash…it seems the communication link is stronger now. However, due be careful, I'm sensing multiple life presences nearby." The shielder servant looked around, but they could only see water and sand everywhere.

"Doctor, can you clarify the presence you're seeing…there is nothing here, but sand."

"Indeed, it appears that these presences are located further north from your position, should be okay to check it out, Mash." Looking at Ritsuka and the others, Mash nodded and started walking, followed by the servants and Drake.

As they left the beach, the group was surprised to realize that this so-called island was quite extensive. They continued walking and still weren't close to seeing the other side.

"Mash, prepare…the presences are nearby…" The battle servants got into position soon after they heard Romani's words. No sooner had they done so, an army of skeleton warriors emerged from the ground and attacked the group. Only this time, Archer didn't venture on his own, which was surprising to both Arturia and Shirou. As such, Arturia paired up with Archer, while Shirou assisted Mash in both protecting Ritsuka and dealing with her fair share of skeleton warriors. Drake's, though, were being shot left and right as the pirate appeared to be having an orgasm at each squeeze of the trigger.

Once every skeleton was dealt with, the group huddled back together, while looking around for more threats.

The group had only taken one step to further explore this place when the entire island started shaking like in an earthquake. It didn't last long, nor was it strong, but it was suspicious. Still, none of the group was seriously hurt, except for the regular-looking Ritsuka, who fell down his butt the second the land started shaking. Shirou had quickly helped him get up and Mash approached frantic, to see if he was alright.

"I'm alright, Mash, nothing to worry about." Mash didn't look convinced, but she nodded at her master.

"Okay, Ritsuka, how about you, Drake?" The pirate in question smirked at the little girl shielder.

"I have faced torrential storms in endless oceans, Mash, this is nothing to be concerned about." The shielder smiled at that, though Drake continued, this time with a more concerned expression. "Though, I have to go back and check on my ship. A tremor like that could have damaged some of the structures." Arturia felt good at seeing the captain's concern.

"Indeed, making sure your crew and vessel is alright, shows your skills as a leader, Captain Drake. Let us go back."

Once they returned, Drake took one good look at her ship from afar and already realized that something was off. Turning briefly to the group from Chaldea, Drake said that she would check to see what was going on.

When she returned fifteen minutes later, her look was enough for everyone to deduce that she had bad news to report.

"Well, there are good news and shitty news…good news is that my crew and the Golden Hind weren't harmed by the Earthquake. Shitty news is that for some reason, the vessel won't move." The group from Chaldea looked at Drake, wanting more explanation. "There is nothing wrong with the ship, it just won't move. It's like something is anchoring it real tight. I don't know what's happening, right now. Do any of you Chaldeans have any clue?" Archer simply huffed and looked around.

"This appears to be a bounded field holding the ship at bay…it's rather weak for us servants, but the ship won't leave unless we deal with this." Mash looked at the white-haired servant.

"Then we need to search whoever is doing this, then." Archer nodded and everyone turned to Drake. The pirate then quickly turned to her second in command and said for them to guard the ship.

After that, the group left the beach once more and deep within the island in search of the culprit behind the bounded field. However, it rather struck as odd to everyone as they walked. In this land, they walked to similar forests from the other singularities. The oddest part, though, was that they had found a castle that looked exactly like the ones found in Orleans and Rome before, though after a thorough search, the building was unoccupied and has been so for ages.

The search has been going on for a long time until the team got fed up…when it says the team, it means Drake.


===Inside a Dungeon===

"Okay, this is no longer fun…quite the contrary." Though no one voiced it out loud, it was hard not to agree. Right now, they were in the middle of nowhere, a desert by the looks of it, though no one could tell. This island had a lot of different terrains to it that even Da Vinci couldn't understand what was going on. If she was honest with herself, this so-called island was more like a continent with how much the group from Chaldea walked and still found no end in sight.

They were walking for quite some time until Shirou observed a different pattern in one of the mountains in the desert.

As they approached to check, surprisingly enough, there was a hidden door to what appeared to be a dungeon. Mash was surprised as she reported to Romani and Chaldea.

"Doctor, how come…first, the other structures we encountered in this singularity and now this…it appeared to be human-made, with brick walls, historian design and even some sculptures from history."

Romani and Da Vinci were busy observing the Dungeon's structures through Mash's eyes and frowned.

"Strange, indeed, Mash…do be careful. I am running the design of this dungeon through the computer. Some of its drawings resemble Greek in nature, though I can't give you more." At this, Shirou, Arturia, and Archer all looked at one another, knowingly. Not to say that they knew most Greek servants, but those that they had encountered in their Grail War were quite fearsome. Caster, Rider, and Berserker, or by their actual names, Medea of Colchis, Medusa, and Heracles. Facing either one of them in this Singularity would be quite troublesome, with Heracles easily topping the list.

Drake caught on to the other three servant's sudden change of behavior and smirked, getting more and more excited.

"Well, finally, we shall get some action…let us proceed." Mash, though, once more voiced her disagreement.

"Wait, we don't have no idea what the scope of this place is, I suggest we retreat for now…" Mash was surprised when Drake appeared behind her and placed both hands on her shoulder, pushing her forward.

"Come on, little girl, where is your sense of adventure…let us move forward, how about it, Ritsuka?" Suddenly, all eyes turned to the only master, who gulped at having to make a decision right now and Archer wasn't much of a fan of seeing yet another useless master, but before he could say something insulting, Arturia took the initiative and commanded with a sigh. Taking a step forward from the group, taking leadership with her arms crossed and stern visage.

"Let's go already Mash…we have to find whoever used the bounded field and it can't be a coincidence that Shirou found this place. For sure, our target is here."

Drake smirked and praised her King, to which Arturia rolled her eyes and Mash complained.

"Ah…but Arturia-taichou, we don't know our way around. We can get lost, easily." This time, Shirou placed a comforting hand on Mash's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mash, as we walk, I will place a sword trace, leading towards the exit for us to follow back, in case we get lost." Everyone then observed as Shirou traced a regular sword and pierced the ground behind them.

Ritsuka looked at the others and then at Mash, showing a confident smile at Mash.

"Fine, let's go then." The shielder servant relented, as she was outvoted by everyone. Drake was the most excited of the group as she walked ahead of Arturia.

The group then walked together in different paths, with Shirou and Archer doing the same thing to help them get back if needed. Sometime later, Drake stopped walking and frowned.

"Hmmm…hang on a moment, I smell something." Arturia, Shirou, and Archer all knew it instantly as well and got ready, while Mash turned to Drake.

"What is it, Drake?"

"Blood…" Mash turned to Shirou's ominous voice. Drake nodded as she turned to the group.

"Judging from the trail, it´s a flesh wound. I guess we should follow it and see where it leads." As they walked, the ominous feeling came back and everyone could feel that an enemy could attack them at any moment right now.

After some time walking, the group stopped walking when the trail stopped. However, before Ritsuka could ponder out loud what to do now, the group was surprised to hear a loud grunt, reverberating throughout the walls. After that, they heard heavy steps charge at them and the grunt as well, until the creature responsible for it appeared in all its glory. Shirou, Arturia, and Archer had seen plenty of tall servants in their lives. Both Heracles and Darius III were of the same height at this beast, which looked close to a hybrid between man and a bull. Animalistic traits, with dark horns, a mane of wild white hair, and inhuman eyes, Romani voiced out loud that they were in front of a servant.

Drake was forever less blunt about it.

"Wow, it's huge. What on earth is this thing?"

"Me…Asterios…Kill…all of you!" Mash immediately placed her shield in front of Ritsuka.

"Romani did say this dungeon had Greek designs…Asterios is his lesser-known original name…history more commonly knows him as the minotaur! This labyrinth is his territory. We have to face and defeat him".

The Greek beast immediately set its eyes on Mash who spoke the last words and lunged for her with both his axes arched backward. The shielder servant was scared by the sudden movement and placed the shield in front of her almost by reflex. Still, the attack made her legs wobble and the echo of the two weapons reverberate throughout the maze. Arturia and Archer had a moment of looking at each other from the briefest second. Arturia was wondering if Archer would move by himself one more time just like with Eric Bloodaxe. However, she narrowed her eyebrows, once she saw the condescending smirk from his mouth, with the white-haired servant possibly knowing what she was thinking about.

"Tsk…Shirou, let's go." Shirou had simply nodded in tandem with her lover and partner, before projecting Muramasa's katana.

Archer merely observed the show as Shirou and Arturia moved in tandem together to both protect Mash and attack the Berserker servant. Like Archer predicted, this was not a fight for him. Arturia and Shirou, well, this Shirou carried more punch than the servant cared to use. Asterios' Axes were rather formidable despite his berserker status and humongous size. Mash would defend, while Shirou and Arturia attacked. The King of Knights' sword delivered the most damage as it was more resilient than a Japanese katana. Still, with Shirou surging prana through his sword, it became a weapon just as fierce as Arturia's Excalibur. One look at Shirou's projected sword and Archer's mind had traveled to their shared reality marble.

The second he did so, Archer saw the same Shirou, but with heavy wrinkles on his face and a tired eye, looking back at him with a smile, making Archer snarl at the comment Muramasa made earlier.

When Archer's eyes returned to the fight at hand, Asterios' body was filled with bruises and cuts but wasn't much bothered by wounds.

However, when Mash slammed her shield on his face, the creature was thrown straight towards the nearby wall, making a hole in it as bricks fell freely.

"Good move, Mash." Shirou praised the lilac girl, before he and Arturia moved in for the kill, while Ritsuka stood by with Archer and Drake, just observing the show. The English Pirate was drooling quite literally from the action she was marveling at right now. Before this fight, she was teasing both her king and her king's lover, but now, she just couldn't decide if she wanted to join in the fray or be possessed by these two, ardently. So much that she was even licking her lips while looking at Shirou's contracting muscles and Arturia's beautiful anger in her swings of valor.

When it became clear that the beast was on the ground panting from pain, Drake grabbed both her pistols and Archer traced his bow and arrow to deliver the final act of mercy…

Shirou, Arturia, and Mash had only seconds to get out of the way as the projectiles bombarded Asterios, who could only whimper very few words.

Kill…

Kil...

Though, Shirou flinched as he then heard another word, though this time with much pain.

…protect.

The Greek Minotaur, after Drake and Archer's combined onslaught, was more like a pool of blood than flesh at this point, which by the way was quite mangled, sliced, and bruised by Mash, Shirou, and Arturia's combined assault.

The creature grunted in pain, as a pool of blood filled the walls and floors of the labyrinth. The projectiles ended up hitting Asterios's core and the Berserker's body turned into golden dust of prana, soon afterward. From Chaldea, Olga was smirking at the level of manpower they had now with the addition of Archer as one of the servants. Though, Da Vinci and Romani gave most of the credit to the three already existing servants before Archer, who, by the way, was responsible for defeating the mighty Minotaur.

Just as this occurred, the walls and floors of the labyrinth slowly began to fade.

However, before Asterios could vanish completely, the group from Chaldea was surprised to see a little girl with blue hair and wearing a white dress appear and kneel close to the dying Asterios.

"Oh, my friend…you wanted to cause a rampage, didn't you? You didn't have to die here, idiot." The little girl smiled as if this wasn't her problem and then turned to the group, who was eyeing her like a threat.

"We should leave this place quickly. Since he's going to die, this labyrinth is going to collapse on all of us." No one knew what this girl was saying, but the walls then trembled and the ceiling began collapsing in their heads. The little girl servant urged everyone to follow her out of the labyrinth. Mash quickly grabbed Ritsuka, while Shirou grabbed Drake, much to the captain's devious smirk, much to Arturia's ire, though now was not the time for that. Once everyone was back in the desert, the group then turned to the little girl servant, while Mash noticed something.

"It looks like Asterios was responsible for the bounded field that held the Golden Hind. I can't sense its magic anymore." Shirou stood by Ritsuka, Mash, and Drake as everyone was eyeing the new servant

In the meantime, Arturia approached Archer, with her arms crossed and a not so thrilled expression. The look on her face was just as priceless as when Archer used to tease her in the Fifth Grail War.

"What now, your highness! You seemed upset yet again by this commoner's actions." However, this time, Arturia was done playing nice…this was no longer the Grail War where she needed to mind Shirou's partnership with Rin.

Archer was crossing his arms and smirking at her in the beginning, but the man flinched in surprise as he immediately felt an invisible blade tip just inches from his throat. One fake swallow and his neck would be cut.

"You know, Archer, I had knights under me to whom I needed to command respect more than the others." The image of Mordred and Agravain came to mind. "This time, I won't bother having this conversation a third time."

Despite the threat being legit, Archer still managed to smirk at the King of Knights and Shirou was already approaching, since he knew how aggravating his servant self could be.

"Should I have done differently, then, Saber?"

"You should learn how to coordinate with all of us, Archer…not deal with everything by yourself and certainly not just let the rest deal with it, while you just observe." Arturia sensed Shirou's hand on her shoulder and turned to see the serious Shirou behind her. She just swung her sword backward, removing the threat from Archer's neck, and backed off, leaving Shirou to deal with him. The redhead swordsman just looked at his beloved's back for a while, before turning to Archer as he spoke.

"Didn't realize that she was the boss in all of this…" Shirou narrowed his eyes at the taunt, but he never took his eyes away from Archer.

"Does the concept of fighting in a group offend you?" the white-haired servant just tsked at the question.

Even though they're the same person, Shirou's choices differed from Archer's, hence he wasn't aware of what it meant to be a Counter-Guardian.

"Huh…" Though, this time, it lacked the usual taunt in his tone. "Fighting in a group is as foreign to me as us worrying about ourselves instead of others." To anyone, that sentence wouldn't make sense, but Shirou understood.

"I see…well, perhaps you could aid us from a distance, just like at the last fight we had at the Fifth Grail War, with your arrows." Archer turned to eye Shirou and saw his idiot self smirking back at him. "At least, this way, it will show that you have our backs when you fight, and you can continue to remain at a cold distance if you so wish." After saying, Shirou was already showing his back to Archer, since he didn't believe he would hear a reply from the white-haired servant and indeed no answer was given, so Shirou merely concluded. "Think about it." Archer snorted as he watched Shirou's back. Back then, he was acting more as Rin's support against the mud of the Grail. The arrow he used against Gilgamesh that ended up saving Shirou was more for Archer's enjoyment at hitting that smug imbecile in the face.

Still, at least Shirou's idea had more merit to him, than Saber's, wishing for him to play as part of the team.

Meanwhile, another argument was heating up, this time, between Drake and the new servant.

"Hey, brat, who do you think you are, talking to us like that?" Drake was with both her hands on each side of her waist while inclining her humongous breasts forward. Mash, for her part, was still wondering about this strange servant and the fact that she had used the word 'lame' to describe her and her shield. Such foul language was considered way too modern for a historical figure of legend to use. Ritsuka was sweat-dropping the entire time as he was listening to this kid with an attitude.

"Whatever…it's not like I asked to be in this mess, to begin with, now you really should pay me more respect, after all, I am a…"

"Huh, asking a pirate for respect, little girl…" Drake interrupted before the servant could properly introduce herself. "

"Oi, who are you calling little girl, I'm a grown woman…" To that, everyone looked at that dubiously and she continued. "Not only that, but I am the goddess, Euryale." The name did ring a bell to Mash and the people from Chaldea. "Now, I wonder why you people are so interested in me in the first place and what's with that perverted Servant anyway? You can't find something that disgusting, even in Greece!" At this point, Shirou, Arturia, and Archer arrived and they took a look at Euryale.

Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other, wondering what Euryale meant just now. Ritsuka, then, took the initiative and Mash followed.

"Ah Euryale, I believe you may be mistaken…we didn't know that you were here."

"Yeah, it's not like we were chasing you, we arrived on this island, and then the boat got stuck inside a bounded field. Because of that, we had to investigate…that's when we got inside this labyrinth and Asterios attacked us."

Euryale looked at both Ritsuka and Mash, incredulously and with a bratty smirk on her face, quite unlike a 'grown woman' like attitude.

"Yeah, like I would believe in anything you're saying…the moment I lower down my guard, you capture me and take me to that pervert…" There she goes again, mentioning another servant…a pervert servant.

"Just who are you talking about…this pervert servant?" Euryale, though, frowned and crossed her arms.

"Hell if I know…I don't know why but he is out for me, ever since I arrived in this place." It now dawned on the Greek goddess. "Wait, so you aren't associated with him." Mash, at least, was glad that it didn't take long for that.

"No, we are members of the Chaldea Organization, we came here to fix this singularity. We had met Captain Francis Drake here who is helping us in this mission." Euryale didn't understand much, but at least she now knew that she wasn't amongst enemies in here. Now that she focused on this strange group, the Greek goddess looked at the blonde woman wearing knight armor and two men with strange-looking clothes. All three of them were servants just like she was.

Drake, for her part, approached Euryale.

"Ok now miss Euryale, I guess it's high time you came with us…with your bodyguard now dead, I take it you'll need protection for whoever this pervert servant is. I can gladly provide that service for you."

Euryale wanted to oppose, but she sighed, making Drake smile.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have no choice. Unlike Asterios, I'm not much suited for combat. My class is Archer, just so you all know."

"Wonderful, then let's take a move on…I'd like to return to my ship as soon as possible."

The pirate then turned and walked towards the path back to the ship, while Euryale joined with Mash and Ritsuka, followed by Shirou and Arturia with Archer, keeping a safe distance.


===At the Golden Hind===

With everyone back on the Golden Hind, the pirate crew celebrated the return of their captain and the fact that this so-called 'Bounded Field' no longer held them at bay. Of course, the more lecherous pirates looked at the innocent-looking new addition to the team and some even whistled in appreciation, but before Euryale could stand her ground, Drake made some shots of her pistol to the air in defiance.

"Quit it! Anyone who dares touch her, or even think of doing something, will have the balls removed! Now, move your asses, and let's get out of this island!"

The crew scrambled quickly and went to their respective posts.

Soon, the boat picked up speed as Drake took them to the next destination. The crew was diligently following Drake's orders as the ship picked up speed. Meanwhile, Mash and Ritsuka were enjoying the experience of exploring the never-ending seas. In this case, both were having the time of their lives. Shirou and Arturia were busy, chatting with Drake about the history of England that Drake lived in. Archer was busy by himself in front of the ship, just doing nothing, but crossing his arms. The other occupant of the ship was busy just seating in plain boredom on top of a barrel, swinging her legs. Euryale was not used to being ignored…she was a goddess for cry's sake, but neither seemed to care much about her, and looking around, it seemed that there was another one who was by himself just like her.

So, with nothing better to do, she approached Archer, while happily singing a tune and gently swinging her ice color dress. When Archer looked down, he saw the Greek servant approach him with a coy smile.

However, Archer wasn't much in the mood to share a conversation, right now and Euryale pouted yet again for being ignored.

"You know, back in my days, men would give everything for the honor of protecting me." Still, Archer didn't respond, but she continued. "Yes, unlike my loser younger sister, I was worshipped by everyone. Poor Asterios wanted that honor of protecting me…and he did for a while, but since it was your arrow who killed him, I believe it's only natural that you can have the honor of being my protector…ah, I didn't catch your name." Archer at this point smirked and turned to look down at the petite servant.

"I don't have a name, just my servant class Archer…and quite frankly, I couldn't simply care less about what happened to you." Seeing the hurtful expression on her face, Archer had simply snorted and looked forward once more.

The hurtful look on her face turned mischievous in a minute, quite like the white-haired servant expected.

"I know you don't mean that…no man can resist me, after all. I am cute, every men would love to protect me. Even if you're not forward with your desires, I shall bestow upon you the honor of being my protector."

Archer lifted an eyebrow upon seeing the weird girl servant leave the conversation the same way she came about, singing her tune and swinging her dress. For some reason, Euryale remembered Archer of Ilyasviel.

A few hours later, one of the members of the crew screamed for his captain.

"Boss, Boss, an enemy ship up nearby!" The female captain smirked deviously at the notion and only asked for one confirmation.

"Oh my blood is already pumping, please tell me it's a pirate ship!" The pirate also felt his blood boil upon seeing the woman's behavior.

"Aye boss, it's one indeed."

"Excellent, alright, your scoundrels, prepare to your stations this instant…we're getting into battle maneuvers." The group from Chaldea checked the pirate ship as Mash checked up the black flag held by the enemy ship's mast.

"Doctor, can you tell us about the flag…I recognize it somewhat." Romani was almost sleeping on his chair, considering the lack of action whatsoever. The scientist barely opened his eyes when Mash screamed through the intercom.

"Alright, Mash, easy there! I will take a look, just a minute." Mash heard the computer's noise before Romani's voice came back. "Right…oh dear, that flag is a legendary Jolly Roger. Belonging to the most infamous pirate in history! Blackbeard…true name is Edward Teach!" Mash was surprised to hear the name before she turned to Euryale, who was looked absolutely disgusted at the name and the appearance of this servant.

Meanwhile, Drake was already screaming orders to her troops as her boat aligned with the other one. Arturia, Shirou, and Euryale looked on ahead at their new opponent, but they could only see a black-bearded man wearing an oversized black coat with his chest open and wearing what appeared to be a small sword hook on his left arm. The enemy ship was packed with pirates and all servants could detect a high level of magic presence. Still, Drake followed the rules of combat and decided to at least initiate some level of conversation before the hostility started. There was no such thing between pirates, but she still had some manners.

"Oi…you there! Are you listening, you hairy oaf….I shall blast your ship into nothing and sink it!"

"Huh…" The gruff response echoed throughout the calm waves of the ocean as Blackbeard took a good look at Drake's. "Sorry, but my ears don't pick up old had noises!"

"…Say that again, you no good swine!" It was clear that in only one sentence, the enemy had gotten into Drake's skin, but the man continued and Mash got the image that Euryale was describing earlier.

"I just said, I care nothing for old hags! Those huge knockers…what's up with that anyway!?" Drake was fuming at this point and Blackbeard only smirked as he took another look to provoke. "Guess blade scars are okay, they turn me on, you know! But, the age, yeah, the age is a deep problem." This time, Blackbeard smiled lecherously and spoke with a drool. "If you were half your age, then yeah, I'd nail you in my chambers for real. Oh yeah, I would indeed. Ohhhh." Mash, Ritsuka, Shirou, Arturia, and everyone else just saw the captain Drake petrified where she stood. And everyone understood, instantly and Euryale was pretty much wondering how the hell did she survive hearing this trash talk.

It was then that Blackbeard's eyes landed on her and he started swooning, like an old pervert.

"Oh, you came for me my Euryale-chan! Ah, so cute, really cute indeed. I want to lick and be licked…in all the right places, yes, indeed. I want you to step all over me barefoot!"

At this point, even Arturia was finding it difficult to not activate Excalibur and slash that ship in two. However, at least, she was confident that if this good-for-nothing pirate found Drake old, then he would look at her and dismiss her as well. When she felt his eyes dress her up and down and dismiss it in favor of looking at Euryale, Arturia felt the need to breathe normally once more. Just hearing what the man said about what he wanted to do with Eurayle was disgusting enough.

"Destroy it…" Everyone turned to see Drake as the woman was on fire, whispering it over and over again until she screamed to the heavens. "I want that ship destroyed! You all hear me! Fire everything we have and sink that ship!"

The crew all yelled at the same time and Blackbeard saw the Golden Hind's canons emerge from its holding places.

The pirate merely smirked as he saw the canons firing, but no projectile managed to even land a dent on his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge.

"Hey, old lady…what's the matter…those canons are just like your sorry old ass knockers. What can you expect anyway…" Drake was once more fuming and ordered one more round of projectiles, but once more, it did nothing.

"Just how…is his ship made of steel or something!?"

"Perhaps, it works as similar to the Golden Hind, Captain Drake. That ship could be his Noble Phantasm." Drake turned to Mash, who was expecting Blackbeard's ship when Chaldea's servants approached them.

"If that's true, then, there is no use with regular projectiles…please call off your men, Captain Drake."

The pirate captain listened to the King of Knights and nodded, despite wanting nothing more than to use every arsenal at her disposal to get rid of that man.

Before they could come with a suitable strategy, however, they all heard Blackbeard shout for his men to shoot the Golden Hind. Instantly, Shirou and Archer aligned themselves and projected their bow and arrow. Fighting fire with fire, Blackbeard's cannonballs met Shirou and Archer's arrows and both exploded in mid-air. Both were magical weapons by nature, so they nullified each other. The bearded pirate didn't appreciate this meddling in a pirate fight and screamed, outraged.

"Hey, you two! What's the deal, thinking you can stop the Queen Anne's cannons. Men, keep on firing!" This time, Arturia joined in the fray, using her airstrikes to destroy the projectiles that Archer and Shirou couldn't defend.

This time, however, Arturia caught Blackbeard's attention.

"Wow, blondie! Normally, I wouldn't go for an older woman, but just seeing you with that sword, makes me want to dream all sorts of obscenities."

Arturia and even Shirou snarled at that before he even projected swords aimed at the Blackbeard. The pirate only smirked when the projected swords were blasted by what appeared to be a rain of bullets.

"Wow, phew, I thought I was a goner, I'm touched that you would save me, Anne Bonny." Everyone from Chaldea was surprised when four servants appeared by Blackbeard's side. The one who took a shot at Shirou's swords was a tall busty blonde woman carrying a musket under her arms. There was also a small lady, all covered by a gray cloth, a man carrying a lance and surprisingly so, Eric Bloodaxe yet again. Anne Bonny looked at their contractor and snarled in disgust at having to do his bidding.

"Ah, could you please order us to commit suicide, Teach!? I care not about your little adventure here." To this, Blackbeard deflated comically.

"Oh, you hate being my subordinate that much, miss Anne." At his question, both she and the small girl next to Anne responded 'yep' at the same time, forcing fake tears from the pirate servant.

Back at the Golden Hind, Arturia was watching the servants and realized that this battle wouldn't be won so easily.

"Shirou, we need to go there and face them. Mash, come along." Arturia then looked at Archer and Euryale who were side by side. Shirou noticed this and urged Arturia to go now, though he nodded at Archer to cover them.

The King of Knights trusted Shirou enough to let go of yet another argument with Archer. As she, Shirou, and Mash jumped towards Teach's ship, Archer and Euryale took care of any projectiles that Teach and his servants used to blast them off the air. Drake was still ordering her men to keep on firing, this time, focusing on ridding the Queen Anne's cannons, but once more to no avail, and Blackbeard this time became serious while observing the servants square off on his ship.

"Boss, it's no use…their ship is just too strong, not even the cannons…" Drake snarled at this, before hearing the insufferable noise of Teach's voice, only this time, he had said something that made everyone pause.

"Hey, old hag! Don't overexert yourself. If you behave and hand over the Holy Grail, we'll let you go, okay." To hear Teach say about the Holy Grail meant that he knew what Chaldea was searching for.

"What are you talking about, you big buffoon. There's simply no way we'll hand you the Grail." However, that only served to make him want to spite her even more.

Meanwhile, Archer and Euryale still kept protecting Drake's ship with their arrows, while Chaldea's force jumped aboard Teach's ship to face the enemy servants. What was strange, though, was that all of them saw four servants before boarding the ship and now the one with the lance was missing from the scene. Still, they were three against three and Arturia instructed Mash to face Eric Bloodaxe while she and Shirou faced the two woman servants.

"Mash, by the power of this command seal, defeat Eric Bloodaxe!" Ritsuka's hand glowed as he used one of his command seals to give Mash strength, just as Eric advanced on her with his huge ax.

"Hai senpai…" The ax slammed on Mash's shield and it was repelled instantly, though Eric wasn't deterred and kept on slamming his weapon on Mash's shield relentlessly.

The shielder servant just kept on defending as she couldn't see a way to shift from defense to offense. Against Berserker servants, there was simply no backing away, so she had to force her way through.

Memories from her spars with Shirou back at Chaldea resurfaced. Back then, Mash couldn't do anything but block Shirou's assaults on her shield. Their pace shifted once Shirou instructed her to use reinforcement on her limbs. Back at the fight, Mash did as instructed by her senior servant as her shield glowed white just as Eric slammed his ax once more. The Viking snarled as his ax was reflected backward, more than he was comfortable with, forcing him to lose his footing. That was the cue for Mash to shift from defensive towards offensive, much to Shirou's and Arturia's applause.

"Take this!" Mash screamed fiercely as she slammed her shield on Eric relentlessly, keeping up the attack endlessly. The Berserker Viking turned on defensive, but he simply lacked any strategy in that regard.

Vikings never retreated…they just moved forward, without worrying about injuries. Mash then moved in for the final blow as she shifted the shield relic to the part where she can use it to slice enemies.

With both her hands, she used agility in her legs to evade Eric's last attack and slammed the offensive part of her shield to pierce Eric's heart, until the part came out of Eric's back in a shower of blood. The Berserker servant was no more, before he could fall on the ground, at least for good this time. The shielder servant was eyeing her win, while dazed.

"Nicely done, Mash, now use your shield to help protect Drake's ship. We shall finish this!" The lilac demi-servant eyed Arturia and Shirou as both were facing the woman servants.

She nodded and jumped back to Drake's ship as she used her incomplete Noble Phantasm to form a barrier in front of the Queen Anne's cannonballs, blocking them all.

"Oh, a shielder servant and quite at the age I like it…oh yes." Mash worked hard not to lose concentration in her technique as she tried to ignore the pervert pirate. Meanwhile, Arturia was engaging in a heated sword exchange with Mary Read. Despite her short stature, the woman pirate was proving quite a skilled opponent in sword fighting. Meanwhile, Shirou was using his two katana style fighting to try and block Anne Bonny's long-range shooting. He just couldn't move freely, as Anne Bonny was also targeting Arturia's back. One or two shots even grazed his arm, as he moved to divert a bullet that would have pierced Arturia's back.

"Well, well, it's not every day you see a man as protective of a woman, even becoming a human shield for her. She must be quite special to you, huh Red." Shirou crossed both katanas and blocked the strong musket bullet.

"Oh, she is, though I can say the same for you. You're trying to protect your partner, there, very admirable as well." Anne Bonny smirked and accelerated her shots.

"Quite right you are Red. Me and Mary Read go way back, you know. Back then, we were the only ones worth calling ourselves pirates! The rest of the crew were just cowards, the lots of them!" Shirou felt the shots getting faster and faster, forcing him to project a great number of swords in front of him and Arturia there were shattered by the musket bullets. Right now, Shirou and Anne Bonny were at a standstill. He couldn't leave step away from his position in fear of Anne targeting Arturia. And while his sword was never-ending projections, it appeared that her ammunition was also endless, meaning that unless Arturia dealt with her opponent, Shirou, and Anne Bonny would remain in this Mexican standoff.

Meanwhile, Arturia and Mary Read were going at it sword-wise. However, as much as Mary Read was considered a good fighter, her style tended more in favor of the pirate ways.

Filled with fake moves, hoping to catch the opponent off guard. Arturia had plenty of experience in sword fighting and her sword was many times stronger than Mary Read's. Arturia heard Anne Bonny's shots, but one look behind her showed that Shirou had her back. So, she focused on her fight and her fight alone, confident that Shirou wouldn't let any bullet pass by him. As such, despite Mary Read's attempts, Arturia had already caused the petite pirate many cuts and bruises. And because of it, her opponent just couldn't fight as furiously as she began. Mary Read, then, used her sword to simply stand, as she recovered her breath, while Arturia stood with her sword upward, held close to her elegant visage.

"You fought with courage, pirate…but this is the end for you." Mary Read then saw as the sword glowed yellow and became mesmerized by its beauty.

Anne Bonny screamed, calling for her comrade, but Mary Read just knew when she was beaten. With a simple and elegant dash, Arturia swung her sword and appeared behind the petite servant.

The shooting behind Arturia stopped as soon as her strike landed on Mary Read as the King of Knights observed the two servants glowing at the same time, turning into sands of prana, just as Shirou approached her.

"It seemed that the moment you killed one, the other suffered the same fate." The King of Knights acquiesced to Shirou's reasonings.

"Now, only Blackbeard remains, though where is the servant with the lance, I wonder?" Shirou and Arturia didn't wait to see and returned to Drake's ship.

Strangely so, this time, Drake's cannons were making damage to Blackbeard's ship. The female pirate captain attributed to guts and glory, but Romani and Mash had different theories. What changed before and now was that both Blackbeard's crew and the number of servants on board the Queen Anne's Revenge was much less than before and Romani, with Da Vinci's help, was able to detect a severe decrease in the magical energy of Teach's ship. However, the mad and pervert pirate was nothing if not tenacious in his standing, despite no longer carrying the same advantages as before.

"Mmph! Then, Blackbeard's began shining like gold or silver or burning red, and he rose like a phoenix!" Teach was rising his fist in a fake sense of triumph, but frankly, he was more like making a fool of himself.

"Ah…are we supposed to feel bad, right now, Mash?" The shielder servant turned to the sweat-dropping Ritsuka and shrugged it off.

"Normally, yes, senpai, but not to him…not to him." Mash was still remembering the words that came out of Teach's mouth and wanted nothing but to slam her shield and sink his boat with the man in it.

Drake, this time, felt more alive, knowing that now this fight returned to being amongst pirates once more. Her ship then bombarded the Queen Anne's Revenge and Teach felt the loss of pretty much all his crew by now.

"Give it up Teach, I know you wanted the Holy Grail," Drake screamed proudly, feeling the praise from her crew as she continued, now unimpeded. "That's my treasure now. Treasures at sea have no rightful owners. It's a first-come, first-served rule." Despite losing this battle and despite losing almost all of his crew, Teach listened to Drake's words…words from a fellow pirate, from someone who was born one century before him and most certainly set up the ground for future pirates such as himself.

"Ai…ai…that's right…feels good. What a feel-good conclusion. That's how a pirate should be…"

He was about to focus on the Grail in his possession when a lance suddenly pierced his chest, surprising everyone at seeing the last servant, the one with the lance, turning on the pirate.

What's worse was that he had captured Euryale as well, without none being any wiser as Archer was focused on aiming Teach's crew with his arrows and Euryale was behind him.

"Ugh!" Teach felt the lance pierce his back and come out of his chest as he looked at the last servant in his crew.

Despite feeling the steel of Hector's spear, Teach couldn't let go of the irony of a pirate being betrayed, when it's usually the other way around. All of the Chaldeans and Drake then took a good look at the missing servant. White pants, green long shirt strapped by a black belt, his left arm protected by armor and his lance held in his right hand, Hector held himself quite aloof, despite openly betraying Teach. Euryale was trying in vain to let go of the ropes tying her up.

"Well, it took some time, but you let your guard down, Captain." The Trojan hero was smiling the entire time, as he and Blackbeard eyed each other, despite Teach's blood running down Hector's lance. "You act carefree, but wherever you are, you're gripping your gun warily. This old man is impressed. After all, a genius who acts like a moron is more trouble than a moron calling himself a genius." Teach, despite already seeing himself leaving this plane of existence, commented.

"…I see, so that's why…I couldn't read your true thoughts…but you believe you have me at the mercy of your spear, mister Hector….think again!" Romani and Mash reacted at the mention of the name as Blackbeard attempted to attack Hector with his sword gauntlet, but Hector merely smirked and evaded the strike, before retrieving the Grail artifact from Teach's possession. No sooner had he done so, Hector jumped towards a new boat that was next to the sinking Queen Anne's Revenge before Shirou attempted the element of surprise to attack Hector.

"Hey, let me go this instant!" Euryale was attempting to free herself, but to no avail and Hector had simply smirked at her, before turning to eye the group from Chaldea.

"So, that means you were betraying Teach even before you boarded his ship?" Hector heard Drake's question and laughed.

"Yes, indeed, I guess you could call me a Trojan Horse, then, huh…farewell, then, with my objective now completed, I shall be on my w-" Hector was about to set sail when he saw a gigantic rain of red arrows bombard the very boat he was in, targeting both him and Euryale as well. Lancer servants are normally resistant to arrows, as Hector spun his lance and blocked most projectiles. Hector, then, smirked in triumph as he looked at the Golden Hind and saw the one who shoot the arrows, however, Hector snarled once he saw his target being safely held protectively in Archer's hands. The white-haired servant, for his part, smiled at Hector, quietly adding a victory over a lancer servant in his mind.

"You were focusing too much on Teach and the others, it seemed. So, I took advantage, that's all." The Greek lancer narrowed his eyes at the elusive servant for a while and then smirked once more, before letting loose the sails.

"Too true, forgive this old man for his inadequacy. I shall keep my eye on you next time, Archer." Everyone observed as Hector's boat escaped while Teach's ship sank with the pirate vanishing as well into goblets of prana.

"See, I knew you'd protect me, Mr. Archer, my protector! No man can resist me, after all. "

Archer just snorted at that and dropped Euryale from his holding arms, much to everyone's humor at seeing Euryale comically complain, while Drake urged her crew to follow Hector's boat to recover the Second Grail and finally fix this singularity.


Author Note

Ok, that's it for now. I had chosen to shorten the singularity, simply because it just wasn't credible that with four servants onboard, Blackbeard would be victorious against Chaldea. As such, I had jumped immediately to the final battle with the pervert pirate servant. Plus, they were a couple of useless servants in my opinion, so I had made a few changes to this singularity, which so far is quite sufferable to read, unfortunately. My sympathies for those who liked Asterios, but I didn't. Oh and Orion being a plushy bear? He could have been a major servant with tremendous skills, but no...they turned a greek god into a plushy bear.

Anyway, I plan to finish this singularity in 1-2 more chapters.

Please tell me your thoughts.

Next update: Nidaime no Sairin