Nitocris III

The air was dry, the sun hot, and the breeze non-existent.

Yet she felt none of it. Not the air, the sun or the lack of wind. All she could feel was the constant motion of the rowing of the barge beneath her.

'Wait,' Nitocris looked around, and recognized the world around her. She was on the barge again, the one that led to the scales among the stars and the weighing of her heart. She reached out, and pinched herself, not wanting to have to go any further in this…she'd already had enough of the demon frightening her, especially with the terror in her heart that was born from that monster holding her a slave.

"Urgh," she squeezed the skin of her left arm between her right fingers, hard enough to cause real pain. Yet the instant she felt it, she looked around, and realized she hadn't woken up. She'd managed to wake herself up in a few other dreams in this way, and one piece of advice her brother had given her as a way to maintain control of her mind while asleep, 'That should have woken me from this damned nightmare.'

She reached down again, and pinched once more.

And yet again, she stayed on the barge, and could not return to the waking world. And as she realized it, she felt her belly begin to bubble with apprehension. She shook her head, and she then forced her way along the side of the barge, turning her eyes down into the sides of the ship, towards where the oarmen should have been. And like in her previous trips down this river, there were no oarmen, as the oars rowed on their own. She swirled her head forward and back, all to try and see if she could find anyone, just to ask about turning around.

'Perhaps if I were to-' she looked over the edge of the barge, and saw dozens of massive crocodiles swimming alongside the wooden ship. She pulled her head back, and recognized, 'Yes, that would also be a bad idea.'

"Is anyone here!" she finally shouted, frustration taking her over. She had only been expecting silence in return, or perhaps the deep sounds of the demon she knew waited at the end of the trip, but for the first time on this barge, she heard something familiar.

"Hello! Yes, I am here!"

The sound of another human's voice.

It had come from the front of the barge. So excited was Nitcoris to finally have someone else to speak to and possibly use to help plan an escape from this barge, that she took off from her position near the back of the barge toward the front. She sprinted across the narrow wood, her eyes focused on a figure that was mostly obscured by the awnings and sails of the barge. Before she even realized it, she had turned swiftly as she made it to the front, and smiled as she knew she was about to speak with the first human she'd seen with her on this barge.

Her smile then fell as she saw which human it was.

"Nitocris," Yemsaf stood in front of her, his eyes turning to her in confusion. He reached out and grabbed her up in a hug, and her arms wrapped around his waist. Nitoris felt tears pour from her eyes, and she heard slight sobs coming from her brother above her. For a moment, they just stood there. Finally, Yemsaf let go, and stepped back, looking at her in the face, his eyes now somewhat focused, "What are we doing on this barge? Do you have any possible idea why we are on here, with only ghosts to row the oars?" he waved his hand back, at the empty seats behind them.

Nitocris looked back, and considered the rows for a moment. She then returned her view to Yemsaf, and shook her head to him, "I do not know. I…I feel as though I have been here before…before you die-"

Yemsaf blinked at her, and she blinked back. For a moment, they stood there, staring at one another, the barge continuing its way down the great river. Nitocris felt her heart sink, and felt tears trickle down the sides of her face. Slowly, Yemsaf reached his hands up, and placed them around his neck. She watched his face as he began to comprehend what had happened, as his hands fell from his neck, and she could see a rough line of stitches having reattached his head to his shoulders.

"I…I died," she did her best to continue to look him in the eye. After all her brother had given her, she owed him that much, even if it ripped her heart out to see the complete helplessness in his eyes, "I was, inspecting the throne. There was a strange jewel on top of it, much like the one I and the other had been given," Nitocris's mind went back to the harpy shaped jewel, "It seemed to have the same strange energies within it…but then, the man in the cloak, he appeared, and they tied me down…and," his hands returned to his neck, to the cut that had ended his life.

Nitocris looked down the river once more. She could see the sun setting, and it would not be long now. Soon, the barge would intersect with the sun, and it would begin to row among the stars. Once that occurred…well, she felt her bones chill. There was a demon, likely waiting at the end of the voyage for them. Waiting to devour their hearts.

"Nitocris," Yemsaf's words pulled Nitocris from her considerations, "Have you ever experienced anything like this?" he just shook his head, "Even with all my times with magics and alchemy, I have never experienced a place like this."

"I have been here before," Nitocris said, her mind trying to take all that had been occurring in, "I told you that I have been having strange dreams for a while now, yes?" Yemsaf nodded, "Well, this is where all my dreams occur. I start on this boat, and then take it to the stars, where some creatures measure the weight of your heart, and decide if a demon should be allowed to devour it."

"A demon," Yemsaf was clearly a bit off put, and she could not blame him, though he shook his head, "That sounds like nothing I had ever heard of in the trials of the dea-" he stopped, and looked over at Nitocris, "If I am dead, and this seems to be some judgment…then why are you here?"

Nitocris paused, and for a moment she just stared out along the river itself, her mind trying to catch up to the implication. It took merely a moment for her to recognize what he was considering, and she felt sweat begin to develop on her brow.

"I'm probably just here for my dreams," she laughed, though she could tell from Yemsaf's eyes that her attempt at levity was a complete failure. She gripped her left arm with her right and attempted to squeeze it again, trying to see if some pain might wake her up once more. As her nails dug into the flesh of her bicep, she felt a hand on her right shoulder, and turned back to Yemsaf, who had tears developing underneath his eyes.

"What happened?"

The light from beyond the door to her room finally caught her eye, as her mind fittered between the wakings world and sleep. Nitocris could not remember when she had fallen asleep, but sometime during the night, the exhaustion had finally overcome her. She had spent hours weeping over her dead brother's head, which had combined with the many tasks she had completed during the day to drain her of all of her strength.

She twisted herself from atop the sheets, she had not the time or strength to cover herself, and she again saw the head of Yemsaf, though mercifully she had managed to twist the head so she no longer had to see the terror on his face. She laid there for a moment, looking at the head on the platter, before turning back in the bed, and staring at the wall.

'I truly have lost everything,' she thought, 'My brother, my pride, my freedom…and tonight, I shall lose my maidenhood," she felt her fingers dig into the palm of her hand and her teeth bite into one another in her rage, 'to the man who stole all the rest of that from me,' she remembered the cruel smile of the man as he hinted at the Yemsaf's death.

She grabbed up a pillow, and began to squeeze it. She was now above Grazdan, the image of his sweating body beneath her. She imagined that the pillow in her hands was his neck, unprotected in the moment of coitus. She squeezed, and squeezed, and in her mind, she saw the same face from Yemsaf on Grazdan's face, terror mixing with the undeniable loss of life beneath her. The thought of squeezing the life from this monster allowed her a momentary reprieve, but it took only a moment for the rational part of her mind to retake the reins of her active thought.

'It wouldn't work,' she thought of the power he'd shown, 'I probably couldn't even wrap my hands around his fat neck,' she looked down at her hands, which seemed so tiny, 'and I am not strong. I don't think any woman might be strong enough to crush his throat. No woman has that kind of streng-'

Her mind wandered to the previous day.

'Xuan…,' she thought. The monk had managed to take Grazdan's arm in her hand and hold him still. Grazdan had been unable to break free from her grasp on his own, and had only gotten away from it when she had allowed it, 'Yet she did not kill him then, was ther-' her mind snapped to the chain, 'Of course, just like her comrades, she likely would be less capable of killing him herself, while chained. Even if she did manage to kill him, the guards could have come in and thrown enough spears to kill her while locked away.'

She looked down at her hands, and then over at the mirror hanging above the desk she had been provided. Staring back, she saw nothing but a weak little child, begging for her brother to come and save her. And for a moment, she saw in that reflection where, Xuanzang would have been sitting had this been the Yi Ti woman's room instead of her own.

'Grazdan will manage to kill the men,' she knew that "Cu" and "Emiya", which were names that she thought seemed so strange, would be chained, and unable to defend themselves from the mob, 'But when he comes for her tomorrow night…she will kill him. There is no weakness in her.'

…

"THEN ARE YOU!" she screamed at her reflection. Her reflection continued to cower beneath her voice, "You dare shakes like a spoiled child! That woman has none of your status, none of your pride, and yet she will do what you dream of despite the chains placed upon her. She has chains of steel, and you only of air, yet she is the free woman, and you the prisoner."

Nitocris picked up the nearest heavy things he could reach, and she chucked it forward. The purple harpy jewel struck the mirror dead center, right where her reflection wept. It shattered, cracks cutting through the image all across the great oval, until the pieces of glass fell onto the desk and floor. She stared at the now empty frame, the image of her cowering figure gone. Instead, the frame encircled one of the mosaics on that side of the room. It had been a scene of many wild beasts being lead to the arena for games, and there was only one animal framed.

A Jackal.

She looked at the dark beast. It wasn't looking straight forward towards the arena, like the other beasts, but instead directly at her. For a moment, she could swear that the dog-like creature was staring her directly in the ey-

"Consort Nitocris!"

A man in officer's armor rushed into the room. He had the archetypal Harpy Helmet, with two might wings displayed on both sides of it. He rushed forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, and asked, "Are you well?"

"...," Nitocris took a second to look back at the jackal, which was no longer looking at her, but instead up at the arena like the rest of the beasts. She shook her head, and sighed, "I am not. I was frustrated, and I th-"

"My Lady," the officer sighed, bending down to look at the shattered mirror, "I understand your sadness at the loss of your brother. But he was a traito-"

Nitocris stopped listening to the man. He continued to prattle on about the needs of Ghis under Grazdan, but her eyes had been pulled away by the presence of a ring of keys along the back of his belt. She bent down next to the man, who was in the process of picking up pieces of the mirror, placing them in a pile. Nitocris picked up one of the many long jagged shards, and stared at it for a moment.

"HRRGGHKKK!"

Before she had realized she had done it, the shard's pointy end was impaled into the side of the guard's neck. Using all her strength, Nitocris drove it in further, as quickly as she could, all to make sure he could not call for aid. It took only half a moment, but soon she was staring down at the body of the first man she had ever killed.

"If my brother died a traitor," she said as quietly as possible, reaching down and grabbing the key ring, "Then I suppose that is not a bad way to die."

Xuan was still there sitting in the exact same spot, when Nitocris barged into the room, with one quick look to see if there were any more guards. She held the key ring beneath her armpit, and had been lucky to not have it fall out in her near sprint here. She had left the glass, though she had managed to pick up the harpy jewel once more, if for no other reason than it had belonged to her brother. One of the monk's closed eyes opened, and her serene smile was also in the same space it had been when she had last departed the room.

"Good to see you again, Nitocris," Xuan said, her tone still as collected as ever, "Do you remember yourself?"

"Would you please stop being cryptic," Nitocris bent down, and began to work with the keys on the chain around Xuan's arm. As the keys proved to be ineffective, she cursed to herself, "This must be the key ring. Why would a guard on this floor not have keys to your chain?"

"Calm yourself, you shall find it," the monk's voice was measured, clearly trying to lower the amount of shaking that Nitocris's arm showed. It took until the fifth key for the metal to enter the clamp, "Well done," she said, as Nitocris turned the key, and unlocked the monk from the wall.

"Come," Nitocris couldn't help but sputter as she looked around, trying to see if any more guards were on their way. She had already killed a high ranking officer, likely commander of the floor, and she'd really rather get Xuanzang to a position where the woman from Yi Ti could smash Grazdan into the ground before they were surrounded by legionnaires. She didn't see any of them, most likely being called away for guarding the games or loading up for the invasion, "we must hurry. Grazdan is likely in the GreatPit. If you are to deal with him, you must strike quickly before he can prepare."

Xuan suddenly hopped into the air, and her legs hit the ground. She took a second, stretching her arms to the sky before sticking them out in front of her, and squatting for a moment, before returning to a standing position. She twisted her neck for a second, and Nitocris felt her shoulders jump when there was an audible pop. She then showed a much larger, deeper smile to Nitocris.

"We will deal with him, and we will strike," she declared, before marching from the room.

Nitocris stared at Xuan's advancing form, and blinked. She then charged after the woman desperately trying to make sure she wasn't left alone.

"No, you will deal with him," Nitocris stated flatly, having managed to run up to Xuan and was, with some effort, managing to keep pace with the monk, "I have already had enough blood on my hands for a day," she thought of the guard she had just killed, and desperately desired to not looked down at her hands, for the thought of seeing his blood again made her feel slightly ill.

"These men have chosen their path," the woman of Yi Ti continued, not even bothering to look back at her, "They stand between us and righteous justice. We shall not be stopped from bringing that creature to heel," she then placed her right hand within her left, and cracked her knuckles so loudly that it caused Nitocris to jump, "And I will not be denied my right to break that monster's nose."

They were soon descending the stairs to the main floor, and the corridor to the GreatPit on it. They had run into a pair of guards on the way down, though Xuan had dispatched them with a pair of strikes which left smears of blood across the walls of the stairway. There advance was remarkably unimpeded, though the fate of those guards had made it seem that it really wouldn't have been much of an issue had there been more guards.

After finally hitting the ground floor, they arrived in the main room of the palace. The room was, as Nitocris had guessed, empty besides the great throne that Grazdan had been sitting in. While Xuanzang continued forward, Nitocris stopped, and stared at the throne, and in particular, the massive purple jewel in the shape of a harpy on top of it. She blinked.

'My brother died while investigating the throne,' She considered, and for a second, pulled up the small jewel that Yemsaf had given to her, and held it up in front of the jewel on top of the massive throne. It was the same color and same shape as the one in her hand. Not only that, but the strange light moving about inside them was identical. They moved in the same pattern, with the same speed.

"Nitocris?"

Nitocris walked over towards the throne, and stepped up onto it, so she was now able to reach the jewel. She continued to stare at it, while also gripping her own smaller version in her hand. She stared at the thing, and her teeth began to grind together. Acting only on pure instinct, she reared her arm back, the jewel still in the hand, and slammed it into the larger gem. A crack suddenly formed in the larger of the two harpies, and Nitocris could feel the edges of her lips curl upward.

"Nitocris!" she could hear in the background Xuanzang's voice, but she no longer cared.

"This is the source of your magic, isn't it!" she slammed into the larger gem again, and again cracks formed. Now, along the cracks, sparks began to shoot out, and the light was no longer swirling in the same pattern. She smiled, as she imagined Grazdan being here, staring at her impotently, "This is what allows you to show such power!"

She slammed her smaller jewel into the larger one once more, and the cracks seemed to splinter out like a spider's web. She looked down at the jewel in her hand, and Yemsaf's scarred visage filled her mind's eye. She felt tears form once more beneath her eyes.

"Give him back!"

She slammed the jewels together once more, sparks of light now constantly flowing from the massive ornament.

"Give him BACK!"

She slammed it into the harpy again. Now, it looked as though the whole of the harpy was about to bust, barely restraining the energy inside.

"GIVE HI-AH!" she felt herself pulled by the waist. She looked, and saw Xuanzang, who was looking at her in fear.

"You aren't a servant yet," she declared, "We can't let you take too much damage or el-"

Nitocris didn't care. She threw her arm back, the jewel her brother gave her still in her hands, and she aimed it directly at the largest crack above the throne. She shot it forward, using all the strength in her arms, and felt herself smile as the smaller harpy broke the larger one.

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

'Somehow,' Nitocris tried to ignor the massive sea of stars around her as she looked over at her brother, 'I did get him back.'

She looked down at herself, realizing the explosion must have killed her.

'For all the good that will do me.'

Yemsaf was actually quite engrossed in everything happening around their barge. A naturally curious mind, he was taking in all the sights and sounds of their trip to the judgment. It was also likely more interesting to him, because he hadn't seen it so many times as she had. It was all new, and he was trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

'For all the good it will do,' the crocodile demon sat in her mind, 'I'm about to be eaten like the foolish little sister I am. In the end, I likely didn't help my brother at all.'

It was but a moment before the scales came into view. Yemsaf, Nitocris having told him about the pattern of this judgment, seemed to grow small as the barge approached the great brass weights. The oars began to slow their pace, and then finally stop, allowing the ship to glide into place.

The bird man and the chimeric demon were where they had always been, with a piece of parchment in hand and haunched behind the scales. Nitocris, for the first time, saw that the demon wasn't looking at her, but rather, at Yemsaf. She could see the sweat run down his face as he looked into the creature's eyes.

Please remove you-not you.

The bird pointed at Nitocris, who had made to remove her heart from her chest like in her dreams. Nitocris blinked, and made to open her mouth.

Nitocris of Mereen, you have not yet left the realm of the living.

She blinked, and was about to ask

It is merely a shock from your damage to the magical jewel tying you to your brother's soul. Now please, allow the judgment of Yemsaf of Mereen to proceed.

Nitocris looked over, and stared at her brother, who was only now removing his no longer beating heart from his chest. He seemed to be shocked by the movement, and yet as she had told him, he placed his heart on the scale. The Bird man then pulled out a feather, and placed it on the opposite scale.

And then the dance between the scales began once more. The brass instrument rocked back and forth quickly, violently shaking. Nitocris couldn't help but have her eyes drawn to the demon of three beasts on the opposite side of the scales from her.

I will eat you.

Yemsaf seemed to step back at the thing's voice, but Nitocris knew it wasn't speaking to him. It hungered for her, as though the creature had some kind of special design on her. Perhaps she had come here in her dreams, and this thing had been insulted by her constant escapes from its jaws. Perhaps it sensed the same thing that Grazdan and Xuanzang had sensed in her, and thought she would be a more appetizing meal.

Finally, the scales came to a stop, with the heart slightly heavier than the feather. It didn't take much for Nitocris to see that this was the worst case scenario, as the demon stood up higher and higher, its eyes now focused on Yemsaf's heart. The bird seemed to write something down.

Unfortunately, it has been determined that you do not have a clear enough heart to be allowed into the afterlife. You will be given to Ammi-

"WAIT!" the bird stared at her, it's eyes narrowing, "Wait, please don't let it eat him."

He has been judged wanting. Ammit must be given her fill.

"Then," Nitocris looked back at her brother, whose eyes widened in shock. He shook his head, but as he made to speak, his clutched at his throat. He seemed to attempt to scream, though Nitocris guessed that the judgment robbed him of his voice. She gave him a sad smile, "Then take my heart instead."

She felt her arms suddenly shake as Yemsaf grabbed at her. She looked up in his face as he shook his head, the fear of his fate having disappeared as she offered to take his place. She quickly pulled away from her brother, who seemed to become immobile as she moved towards the scales. She reached into her chest, and pulled out her own heart, and placed it where Yemsaf's had been.

"My brother spent his whole life protecting me," she said, taking up her brother's heart. The bird man looked down at her, though its head betrayed no emotion. The beast was salivating as it looked at the heart, moving its head back and forth towards the bird man as it seemed to contemplate devouring her heart, "It is now time," she handed Yemsaf's heart back to him, "For me to protect him."

The demon could seem to no longer contain itself, as it lunched, and snapped its jaws around her heart. She stared at it for a moment, as the smell and saliva seemed to spray all around it as it devoured the heart. She knew that this was likely the end, that soon it would come for her as well, but she did not care.

'I finally ruled my own fate,' she allowed herself a small smile, 'I am finally free.'

CRACK

REEAAAAAAHHHHHH

Ammit's jaws snapped open, and Nitocris felt her eyes widen as she saw that her heart fell out from the beast's jaws. She stared at the organ, which seemed to have transformed from earlier. Instead of the muscle and sinew she had laid out…her heart was now gold and solid. She took a moment to just look at it, wondering what sort of strange thing had occurred.

YOU

She looked up, and saw the demon, blood pouring from it's mouth staring at her with rage in its inhuman eyes.

YOU DARE STEAL MY MEAL! I'LL EAT ALL OF YOU NO-

And then a massive black furred foot kicked the demon and slammed into it so hard that it flew into the stars. The beast let out a scream that swiftly disappeared as it traveled, and was soon beyond the pinpricks of light that covered this place.

Nitocris felt her jaw come undone, and from the corner of her eye, she could see that Yemsaf's jaw was hanging from its hinge as well. She turned around, and her eyes began to climb upward, as when she looked directly behind her, all she saw was another massive foot. As her eyes shot upward, she saw a human body, except it was covered in black fur, and on top of the shoulders was the head of a jackal, and not a man.

I Told You I Was With You.

"You…you are the voice in my head?" Nitocris stammered. The massive jackal man bent down so much that it was like he was laying on his stomach, with his head directly in front of both Nitcoris and her brother, "You are the one who was promising to protect me."

Yes, little Pharaoh. It is good for you to know me once more. I am Anubis, guide of the dead of Egypt.

"Egyp…why does that sound?" Nitocris raised her hands to her head. For a second, the world seemed to spin, and she felt Yemsaf's hands around her shoulders. There was pain in her head, and yet…it was like she was feeling something so close.

Little Pharaoh, you have endured much in both your lives. But you must endure more still. We must leave this place and return to your comrades.

"Comrades," her mind first focused on Xuanzang, as by this point she had to accept the monk had known more about her than she had been willing to accept. But soon, that image was joined by the two men who had been in chains, though now, they stood in front of her with clothes on, both smiling. Before long, another man, tall with dark skin and golden eyes, a long white scarf and golden armor only barely covering himself stood there as well, an infectious smile on his face. On the side of him appeared a very luscious woman with skin even deeper in color than hers and another man with even darker skin and a massive hammer resting on his back. Both also smiled at her, and Nitocris couldn't help but remember the familiarity.

They started appearing more and more. She saw other figures. Some tall, some short. Some men, some women. They wore all sorts of different clothing, from ornate armor to barely anything at all. They were staring at her, when suddenly, one final figure walked to the front. A young man with pale skin, a white shirt over black trousers, and deep brown hair walked in front of her. He smiled at her, and held out his free hand, which she noticed had a long red tattoo along the outside of it. She stared at it for but a moment, before reaching out her own hand, and taking his.

A Flash of light.

She was back with Yemsaf, who was looking at the massive creature. She looked over at him…her third brother. She'd lost the last two already, both murdered by those looking to gain power. Just like Grazdan.

"I remember," she said, standing up, and making sure to lift Yemsaf with her. Her brother stared at her stunned, as she had likely used more strength than she had needed to. She looked at her brother, and smiled, "I remember who I am now, Yemsaf. I regained my memories."

"...What?"

Nitocris blinked, before she raised her hands to her face. She then blushed slightly realizing that while she may have just regained her true identity…she still was going to have to explain this to her brother. He had no frame of reference for who she was, or why she was going to have to do what she was about to do.

"Yemsaf," Nitocris said, "I do not know how to explain this," she rubbed the back of her head."

"What are those?" he asked aloud, pointing at the top of her head. She blinked, before realizing what he must be talking about.

"Jackal ears."

"Why do you have jackal ears on your head."

Yemsaf

Her brother ended his line of questioning to look back up at Anubis. Nitocris felt her smile widen. She remembered her god's name. The sight of the massive divine was enough to have her heart soar. If the guide of the dead was here, then she would be more than capable of returning her for the next conflict.

You have provided a great service to the gods of Egypt. As reward, it has been decided to allow you to pass for your protection of one of our favorite daughters, to join your brothers from history in peaceful eternity.

"I…wha-" Nitocris wrapped her arms around her brother, who turned to her, and finally asked, "I have no idea what is happening."

"You shall join my other brothers in the heavenly field of reeds," she confessed, "It is a good place, a paradise among the heavens," she looked him in the eye, "They shall know your kindness to me, and allow you to join as their brother as well."

Yemsaf seemed to be prepared to question this once more, before shaking his head. He engulfed her in a hug as well, and they stood there for a moment, the world seeming to pass without incidence. After a moment, Nitocris's brother let go, and seemed to begin to glow. He nodded at her before finally, he disappeared in a flash of light. She looked back at the massive head of a jackal, before smiling, and petting it along its snout.

"Thank you for trying to protect me as well, Lord Anubis," she said, as she heard the cackle of the jackal next to her. He must be very happy to see her back to normal.

We must return to the plane of Planetos as quickly as possible. The lives of your comrades are still at risk. And the beast known as Grazdan must be put down.

"Of course," Nitocris nodded, before smiling again at the massive being. Slowly, the stars seemed to morph and twist around them. The pressure and magics were combining to cause a shift in reality itself, and Nitocris could remember her fight with another winged ruler who had threatened her comrades' lives.

"Let's go avenge my brother."

The most recent set of guards had been rendered a pile of limbs by her twin khopesh with nary a second thought. The corridor to the GreatPit from the pyramid had been filled with guards, likely over fifty in total. Yet they were all behind her now, a mix of lumps of flesh dotting the floor and thin red mists of blood covering the walls. They had done their duty, and for that duty, they had paid with their lives.

'At least they were granted the kindness of swift deaths,' she thought her feet continuing to march forward, all the while trying to flick off some of the blood from one of her blades, 'Many of their foes were not so lucky when facing them.'

She was finally at the end of the corridor, and she saw at the end four doors. Two lead to each side, likely on the ground floor, while the other pair were for one opening, and seemed by the angle to point up the stairs. She raised her blade and slashed through the wooden gates, sending the splinters flying upward in a storm of ruined detritus. As she had suspected, behind these doors were a set of stairs, ones she soon allowed herself to ascend. Staring up into the bright light that led to the inside of the arena.

"Halt!" Six men formed a shield wall at the top of the stairs, spears at the ready to throw at her. The commander, continued with his orders, "If you take one more step forward, I shall order my men to-"

Nitocris was behind them in an instant. She felt a rain of blood over her back, as she knew that her slice directly through the shields and torsos of the six men had been extremely successful. She did not have to look back to know that every single man in that line was now dead, their upper halves having been disconnected from their bottom halves. She continued to march forward, until finally the object of her ire stood out from his throne, and stared at her as she readied herself for battle.

"My my," the tyrant laughed, trying to disguise his building worry with bravado as men are want to do, "This is certainly a surprise," he held out his hand, as though there were a crowd around him, "I thought the foreigner might reject the magnificent offering I provided for her, but to see you do so," she saw a deep undying rage in his eyes, "It seems as though betrayal is in the character of you servants after all."

NItocris simply stared at the man who had once filled her with fear. Her eyes, now open once more to her name and purpose, found that he no longer cut so intimidating a figure. He was calling his wings together once more, but now she could see the mystic nerves holding the appendages together. Where once he had seemed to physically tower over her, she now saw a man at her own height, one she could look dead in the eye without the need to crane her neck. Even his bravado no longer seemed as great, with a thin film of sweat covering his forehead, betraying the anxiety that his smile attempted to hide.

"You have been so ungrateful," his hand gestured towards her, "you have thrown away the fine clothes I provided, you, and you now wear nothing but thin rags," Nitocris didn't have to look down at the wrappings covering her body alongside her pauldrons, "And your hair, did you think that dyeing it would allow you to slip away from your obligations?" the reference to her now shock white hair almost made her raise an eyebrow, but she thought better of it.

"I am here for your head Grazdan," she said simply flicking her khopesh so the excess blood from the guards splattered along the marble floor of the box. His smile became a scowl but only for an instant, as he leaned forward, his wings beginning to shudder with magic flowing to them.

"It seems I must finish breaking in this mar-ah!" She could almost admire how he managed to dodge from the full strike, only taking a glancing wound to his left pectoral from her khopesh. The wings pulled him back, and his hand rose up to cover the sudden opening along his chest. He then turned his head and glared at her, "You bitc-jah!"

He dodged the full strike a second time, and now his right hand was resting on that wound too. Grazdan's eyes became inflamed with rage as Nitocris advanced towards him, all the while she twirled the twin khopesh, eyes locked on the object of her vengeance. Seeing her now advancing in such a manner, he seemed to shake for a moment, before the wings on his back exploded. Hundreds of the bronze and brass feathers were flung towards the woman attacking him. She responded by spinning the khopesh so quickly, along with a surge of her own magic, that allowed her to catch and block the coming swarm of metal. Then with a gust of power and fire, she caught and held the wings out to her sides.

She blinked when she saw Grazdan jump forward, a sword in his hand. Nitocris twisted her arms, and was able to drop one of the khopesh into the angle of his sword strike. He pulled back and attempted to stab her again, and she pulled the other sword, while pushing out the original to maintain the magical push that kept the feathers away from her. She easily blocked the next strike, and also kept the featherstorm at bay.

"I have you now," Grazdan laughed, striking forward once more, requiring another block, "This is my homeland. That fool wizard informed me that creatures such as us on their home soil gain greater power for conflicts such as this," his sword shot forward again, and again she adjusted her blade to block it away, "You are far away from your home little pup. I have the advantage."

Suddenly, the feathers rose up high above them, and hung above Nitocris's head. Then, as they hung in the air, they suddenly pointed downwards, and fell like a monsoon. Nitocris jumped backward, twisting her blades to block as much of the feather attack as she could, and then releasing an explosion of mana to disrupt the falling attack further. As she regained her feet, Grazdan lunged at her, his blade suddenly closer than before. She brought her blades up to catch it, and it hung a few inches away from her sternum.

"Ha, you see," Grazdan laughed, and Nitocris could see the feather storm forming again behind him, "You cannot beat me. I am stronger than you are," she could see the reforming feather storm begin to point directly at her, "In any fight in this arena, I am the strongest."

"Perhaps you are," she admitted, hearing the sound of sandaled feet from behind her, and glad that her body was taking up all of Grazdan's view, "Though that means tis a very good that I did not come fight you alone."

She then ducked. For a second, she saw the look of confusion on Grazdan's face, as his eyes seemed to follow her falling body. Then the eyes widened in a mix of shock and horror as they looked straight ahead. The answer to why there was shock and horror was when a long muscular leg appeared across Nitocris's vision, as a sandal wearing foot was flying directly into Grazdan's exposed face.

Right onto his nose.

CRRRACCCCCKKKKK

Grazdan didn't have time to scream or moan as he shot backward. He flew through the cloud of feathers, which hung uselessly in the air as he passed through them. He was out of the box within a second, within two he was already halfway across the arena, before finally at the third second, he landed into the GreatPit, a dustcloud of smoke billowing out from the impact.

"Told him I'd break his nose," Xuanzang smiled, wiping her hands as she looked over her handy work. The cloud of feathers, which had still been floating uselessly where Grazdan had been standing, flew out of the box and into the cloud, likely where Grazdan himself was. Xuanzang looked down, her hand covering her eyes so she could avoid the bright mid-day sun, "Ah, I think I see the others."

Nitocris walked up beside her, and did her best to look down and observe the dissipating smoke. What she saw in the middle of the arena was carnage, as dozens of bodies in legionary armor were strewn all over the GreatPit's sand bottom. They had been felled by arrows, stabs and slashes, and they were piled, many as high as four deep. In a circle were four individuals, and Nitocris couldn't help but smile as she recognized…three of them, though she had a guess on the fourth from what she remembered from her time in the pyramid.

"Hey!" Xuanzang shouted, waving down to the four. The four looked up, and had different reactions. Emiya, ever overly stressed from his obligations, seemed to have his shoulders sag in relief. Cu's shoulders did the opposite, as was his natural reaction, though this was likely an example of him developing a second wind. Arash was shaking a bit, though she could tell from his open mouth and massive smile he was chuckling. The fourth, and one she did not recognize, was a small boy whose eyes got so big that they nearly became saucer plates as he looked up, and waved frantically at Xuanzang. Nitocris took one look over at her overly muscled monk comrade, who was waving frantically at the quartet, and shook her head slightly.

Nitocris turned her attention to the cloud of smoke that was still flowing out of the ground where Grazdan had landed. She could see the cloud of feathers beginning to reform, so she nodded, grabbed the edge of the box, and hopped down. Landing on the sand, and marching past the broken bodies of the dead legionnaires.

"Nitocris?" she heard Emiya ask, as he quickly walked up next to her as she moved towards where Grazdan had been laying. He looked slightly nervous again, though that might have just been his usual agitation, "What happened? Why are you an Avenger again? Do you nee-"

"No," Nitocris began to twirl her khopesh, her eyes locking on what appeared to be a suddenly moving form of Grazdan, who appeared to have crushed a few soldiers in his collision with the ground, "Just keep his minions off of me, I can finish him off now."

And then she set her feet, and bent her knees. Grazdan finally stepped out of the crater that he had just formed, his eyes enraged, his face covered in blood, and with his left arm hanging to his side, broken from the impact most likely. He stared directly at her, and then, with his one remaining good arm, lifted a spear he had likely stolen from one of the soldiers he had crushed, and hurled it.

"DIEEEE!"

Nitocris surged forward. First, she twisted around the javelin, passing uselessly away from any more use. Then came the feathers, though they no longer formed an invincible cloud. They were spaced far away from one another, barely offering any kind of protection, and Nitocris slashed them away with her blades, sending them cluttering uselessly to the ground. She had moved so quickly, that only when she had begun to move had Grazdan recognized her assault. Without any more weapons or shields to use, his arm began to retract, as he curled on himself to try and protect his body. That actually was able to save him, as instead of hitting any vital organs, as she had intended, her blades were caught into Grazdan's arm. As his eyes looked into her with terror, Nitocris let out a scream days in the making, and with both her swords, sliced off Grazdan's right arm.

The arm fell twitching into the sand. Tears began to form on Grazdan's face, as he sputtered and cried, looking down at his removed appendage. He turned on his heels, and began to stumble and run away, animal fear overcoming the pride that had defined him. She looked over at his retreating form and felt…disappointment.

"This is why I can never hold this form for too long," she sighed, before lunging once more, and with both her blades, catching Grazdan beneath his kneecaps, and cutting both his lower legs off. Grazdan then fell face forward onto the floor of the arena, the blood, snot and tears of his face mixing in a strange ooze beneath his head. She then rested her khopesh on her shoulders as she looked down at the shaking body of the dying Tyrant, "There's no real satisfaction in killing someone as unworthy as you."

"So then," Nitocris looked back, and saw that Arash was now standing in the middle of the crowd, arms out wide. For the first time she looked into the boxes. The Masters of Slaver's Bay were all still, most gawking at the carnage of the arena. That six warriors were capable of not only killing Grazdan but wiping out an entire cohort of the Tyrant's personal guard was likely deeply intimidating, "Masters of Ghis. Does this look like a man who can turn back the sands of time, to return you to lost glories of millenia ago?"

His hand was out towards Grazdan. The crowd was silent for a moment. But…then she could hear what sounded like laughing. She looked up and saw a Wise Master of Yunkai pointing down at the shaking body of Grazdan.

"Oh, you are Grazdan the Great," the man laughed, his tokar coming loose as the arm that he wasn't pointing with was hanging on a railing, "You who are defeated by two slave girls?"

His cackling was soon followed by other fits of laughter. Then those fits became a deluge of mockery and japes. The Masters may have been willing to bow when they thought Grazdan was invincible, but their pride had returned quickly now that he was beaten and pathetic. Honestly, though there was now a part of her that clung to Mereen as her home, she would be glad to be gone from here. The way they lied down so easily made her lose any respect she had had for her class. After all, only Yemsaf had truly died for what they had claimed to believe in.

"Nitocris," she turned, the massive cacophony of laughter momentarily in the background, to Emiya, "Have you been brought up to speed on everything?"

"Xuanzang informed me enough of the general idea," she nodded, before adding, "Though I think we should move quickly, they may be willing to let us leave now, but we might have to fight our way ou-"

"SILENCE!"

The order was fulfilled, as the broken form of Grazdan turned over. He was no longer blubbering on the ground, and in fact, it seemed as though he was no longer bleeding. Nitocris could see his eyes, and the rage and hate filling them was greater than ever before. He then opened his mouth, and screamed.

"WIZARD! ASCEND ME!"

The silence returned, but to Nitocris's ears, heightened by the power of Anubis, she could hear what sounded like sparks. She could feel a sudden increase of magic in the air, and she swiftly turned her head back to the marble box they just had sent Grazdan flying from. The robed figure, now with hood off with a relatively handsome tanned face, was glaring down, holding up another one of the Harpy Jewels, chanting something.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

She turned, and saw the same Yunkai Master from earlier convulse. The man became engulfed in purple lighting, the same color as the jewel. Suddenly, another master next to him began to convulse in the same manner. And then another, and then another.

Within ten seconds, everyone on the boxes of the GreatPit was shaking and covered in the purple lighting. Suddenly, the lighting shot towards the man with the harpy in his hand, and a great purple energy formed around his jewel. All of the master's bodies fell to the ground, and didn't stir.

"What's going on?" the boy asked, looking up at the swirling power, as the rest of the arena began to cascade away, screaming at the sudden strange magics appearing, throngs of citizens fleeing the GreatPit, "What kind of magic is this?"

"He's having his mage rip out the souls of the masters who had the jewel," Emiya looked at it, "He likely fed them something to more pliably allow the mystic energy to be pulled from them," the boy's eyes widened, "And now, he's going to give it to Grazdan, and likely power him beyond what we fought before."

"Shit," Cu held Gae Bolg forward, towards the body of Grazdan, before he stopped, and looked at the man that was still basically only a torso, "Wait, why isn't he ascending right now?"

"With that much mana," Emiya looked back at the huge load of purple energy hanging around the jewel, "the mage likely needs a powerful enough anchor to keep it from overwhelming him," Nitocris could see the mage struggling, like he was barely containing the massive power above his head, "More than likely, there is a big jewel he is trying to locate, it, and use it to complete the ascension in a controlled manner so he doesn't overload Grazdan's heroic spirit."

"A big…I think I may have broken that," Nitocris remembered waking to see the massive jewel above the throne, nothing more than splinters of purple. Emiya's eyes widened for a second as he looked back at her, then turned his attention back up to the Mage, who seemed to be losing control.

"Okay team, good news…bad news…"

"What's the good news?" Cu's son was carefully trying to put himself in the middle of all the servants, which, at least in comparison to her easily kidnapped master, was the sort of self preservation Nitocris could get behind.

"When that magic releases, it's going to be too much," the mage lost control of the magic just as he said this, and suddenly what appeared to be a comet of mana shot into Grazdan's broken form. Suddenly the body was convulsing, shaking up and down in such a manner that she could barely contain her shock at the rapidity of it, "And it's going to completely fry his mind and spirit."

"And what is the bad news?" Xuanzang got into a fighting stance, somehow knowing this wasn't going to go well. Nitocris joined her, her khopesh in hand.

"That much mana is going to do something to him, and it's going to be ugly."

And ugly it was, as suddenly, massive bulges appeared on the stumps where Grazdan's legs were. They seemed to bulge and pulsate, before suddenly, the flesh burst, and two long clawed talons shot out. Then, where his arm used to be, there was another pulsating mass, which soon burst and revealed another massive hawklike claw. The body seemed to sit up, but the man's eyes were gone, replaced with raptor-like slits staring directly at them.

The body then stood up on it's clawed legs, and shambled towards them. All the while, the hairs seemed to begin to grow at an incredible rate. Those hairs soon plumed out, and revealed themselves to not be hair at all, but feathers. The man's mouth and nose seemed to pulsate just like where his former limbs were, and suddenly his mouth and nose popped off, in their place a massive sharp beak in their place. On his one remaining arm, where there was a break, another talloned claw shot out, giving him an arm with two ending appendages, one still a human hand, and the other a claw identical to the others. Then, finally, two massive wings burst from the man's back, finally popping off the armor he'd once worn, and replacing him as a truly birdlike beast.

And throughout all of this, he'd been growing. Once the six foot tall man was now replaced with a creature at least two stories high, staring down at them. There wasn't hate anymore in it's eyes, just hunger.

For live prey.

"Emiya," Cu held his spear out, preparing to fight the beast, though even he was feeling fear at the sudden appearance of a harpy like Chimera towering over them, "You have any ideas for our next move?"

"Yup," Kanshou and Bakuya were suddenly flying forward, and while the beast was able to dodge the first, the second found home in one of it's eyes. The beast that had once been a tyrant reared back, screaming in pain, as Nitocris saw Emiya turn on his heels, "WE RUN!"