The Triumvirate Chapter 13:

The Triumvirate: The First of the Empire

The sun started to rise. The man merely basked in it, his naked body feeling the warmth of the air surrounding him. He turned back, and saw the woman in their bed, smiling in her sleep. The man smiled at seeing her peaceful expression. He then looked out the balcony once more, and stared at the sky. The man sighed to himself, he knew that he shouldn't be thinking about it now, but it had to be done. A contented sigh caused him to look back, and saw the woman wake up slowly. The moment her eyes fully opened, she smiled at him.

"Good morning, darling."

The man smiled. "I didn't want to disturb you."

The woman giggled. "Always so considerate. Then again, that's one thing I love about you."

The woman slowly got up, removing the blanket covering her, allowing the man to see her naked form as she walked closer to him. She then noticed the conflicted look in his eyes, and stared at him in concern. "Is everything alright, love?"

The man turned away and looked from the balcony. "I have to leave today. There's something I have to do."

"I see." The woman said. The woman smiled as she continued to walk up to the man she loved. The man turned to look at her apologetically.

"S-"

The woman put a finger to his lips and smiled. "It's okay. I'm not mad."

The woman then proceeded to wrap her arms around his waist, and pressed her naked body upon his back. "Do you promise that you will come back?"

The man did not answer. Instead, he simply slipped from her grasp, and turned to face her. He then cupped her cheek tenderly, and stroked it with a gentle smile. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"I do." The woman said. "No matter what happens, I'll always love you."

The man closed his eyes for a moment, leaned in and touched his forehead to hers. The woman smiled, and leaned up to his ear.

"Come back safely. I don't know what will happen if I ever lost you…."

The two of them broke away for a moment, before the man leaned in, and kissed the woman on the lips tenderly. The woman returned the kiss happily, and wrapped her arms around his neck. The two of them stayed like this for quite some time, but they eventually had to break the kiss, and get ready for the day. A couple of hours later, they were both dressed, and the woman watched as the man left for his destination. The moment he was out of sight, the woman's smile faded out of loneliness and went back inside.

She had no idea that that would be the last time she would see him alive…

(Present day)

Day 28

The Chaldeans and the others continued their trek along the countryside of Rome. Nero wanted to bask in the beauty of her empire, instead of returning to the capital right away. While the majority was okay with this, Boudicca had to keep her annoyance hidden. She would have preferred staying in Gaul so she wouldn't have to be in Rome, but sacrifices had to be made…

"You seem a little quiet."

Boudicca turned around to see Nobunaga walking behind her. "Care to chat for a bit?"

"Sure." Boudicca said. "What would you like to talk about?"

"I'm going to be perfectly blunt." Nobunaga said. "Why did you even agree to help Nero?"

"That's an easy one to answer." Boudicca said. "I hate Nero. I really do. But I'm not going to let humanity die out over my hatred for her."

Nobunaga chuckled. "That was too predictable."

Boudicca scowled at the black haired Servant. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Oh I'm not saying you are. In fact I know you're telling the truth." Nobunaga said. "But you're not being entirely honest with yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Boudicca asked.

"You're willingly holding yourself back."

"Oh I'm not criticizing." Nobunaga said. "In fact, if my suspicions are correct, if you ever decided to stop doing so, we'd all be in trouble right now."

"What's this all about?" Boudicca asked. "If there is a point to this, just say it."

"You and I? We're two sides of the same beast." Nobunaga answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Boudicca asked.

"I mean that I look forward to the day when you finally unleash the beast within you."

Boudicca's eyes widened. Nobunaga looked at the Rider with a reassuring gaze. "I know what I said right now isn't something you want to hear, but I had to let you know. But if it makes you feel better, I hope that when it happens, that you won't get swallowed up by it. I like the person in front of me now, and I respect how you're trying to be better."

Boudicca sighed. "Thank you, Nobunaga."

As that was happening, Siegfried looked at the sky. The Saber exhaled sharply until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Cleopatra and Astolfo right behind him.

"You look incredibly sullen." Cleopatra said. "It's not a good look for you."

"Sumanai…."

"Aww don't apologize!" Astolfo said as he climbed onto Siegfried, and started to play with his hair. Cleopatra raised an eyebrow, but then saw the amused look on Siegfried's face, and decided to let the matter drop.

"Were you and Cleopatra talking to each other before coming to see me?" Siegfried asked.

"No. Jeanne and I got into another argument, so Mashu had to break us up." Astolfo answered. Siegfried raised an eyebrow at the statement, and turned to look at Mashu, who was speaking to Liz, Leonidas and Jeanne.

"I am surprised she took the initiative there." Siegfried said.

"I am too." Cleopatra said.

"So, which group did you come from, Lady Cleopatra?" Siegfried asked.

"I was originally with the Masters and Nero, when I felt like I had to leave…." Cleopatra said.

Siegfried turned his head slightly, and saw the two Masters and Nero speaking to each other, but it was clear whatever it was, there was great reluctance on both sides. "What has made them act like this?"

Cleopatra's face expressed reluctance.

"If you do not wish to speak of it, then-"

"We have to keep this between us." Cleopatra said. "The four of us were just talking about Rome, when Tatsuko brought up the subject of Boudicca, and her reasons for rebelling….."

"That's incredibly insensitive!" Astolfo said. "Why would she do that?"

"Oh Ritsuka already chastised her for that, considering his little stunt with talking about it, he wasn't wanting to revisit it." Cleopatra said. "But we did learn something important."

"What was it?" Astolfo asked.

"Nero never ordered the atrocities committed against Boudicca, nor her daughters. Her generals did that without her knowledge, and went behind her back."

A chill ran up their spines. Siegfried turned to Cleopatra with an uncertain gaze. "Does Boudicca know this?"

"No, she doesn't." Cleopatra said. "But in the end, it doesn't matter. Boudicca will never forgive her for sending those men who would hurt her people, and Nero will never forgive her for killing her subjects in Britannia."

Astolfo looked back at them, and immediately grinned. "Turn around. I think things are going to get better."

Siegfried and Cleopatra did so, and sighed in relief as they saw Mashu and her group join up with Ritsuka, Tatsuko and Nero. The group then smiled and laughed, barring Mashu, who merely blushed, causing the three of them to feel a wave of relief to wash over them. Astolfo got off of Siegfried, and the three of them walked to the others.

"Do you mind if we join the party?" Cleopatra asked.

"Of course." Mashu said.

"So, what were you all laughing about?" Astolfo asked.

"Oh it was just a joke Ritsuka made." Tatsuko said. "He was talking about his friend in Rome, Biggus Dickus."

The three of them raised an eyebrow, causing Ritsuka to chuckle. "I'll explain it later."

"I understand how vulgar it is." Cleopatra said in an amused tone.

"Hey, jokes like this are common where I'm from." Ritsuka said.

"I'm surprised that you would tell jokes like this at all, considering you never watched any porn before." Tatsuko countered.

"I have been meaning to ask about that." Siegfried said. "Ritsuka, have you really never watched porn before?"

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "Have you, Siegfried? Because I'm surprised you'd be asking me this."

"No, I have not."

"Well I haven't…..no wait, hang on a moment….."

Everyone turned to the male Master in shock. Mashu's expression changed from shock, to sadness and disappointment. "Senpai…..?"

"Mashu, it was by accident." Ritsuka said.

Roman and Davinci appeared on the communicator with shocked expressions.

"I'm sorry, but how does one watch porn by accident?!" Roman asked.

Ritsuka chuckled. "It's actually a funny story. One day when I was seven, I hopped onto the computer for some studying. Doc always had this nameless folder on the monitor, and I got a little curious, and decided to open it, and the first thing I saw was a man and woman in the missionary position."

Everyone stared at him with widened eyes. They could not believe what they were hearing.

"What did Doctor Williams do when she saw this?" Davinci asked.

"She screamed for a moment, turned off the computer, and stared at me bashfully." Ritsuka answered.

"How mad was she towards you?" Liz asked.

"Oh, she wasn't even mad." Ritsuka answered. "She was incredibly embarrassed, and asked me to not say anything about it."

"Well, at least it couldn't get any worse, right?" Jeanne asked.

Ritsuka gave a weak smile. "I'm afraid it did…"

Tatsuko tried stifling her laughter. "Oh no….please tell me it's what I think it is."

"Yeah, I was still a little kid so I had no idea what I just saw, and I asked Doc about it." Ritsuka said. "She tried to come up with something, but she was such a blushing and blubbering mess, she couldn't help but stutter. Needless to say, I learned where babies came from that day, and that they weren't delivered by a stork…"

Tatsuko could no longer hold in her laughter, and held her sides. Mashu couldn't help but giggle as well. The thought of Ritsuka being so innocent as a child made her feel much closer to him.

"Careful, Tatsuko" Liz said. "We might have Davinci check your computer history for suspicious sites otherwise…."

"Incognito Tab." Tatsuko countered. "You have no power over me!"

The group continued to discuss and laugh as they walked through the countryside.

Three hours had passed, and the group was starting to get tired. Nero could feel her feet starting to blister. The emperor decided to gently get onto Mr. Mittens' back to ride him. The lion did not even flinch or react, for he and Linus were the only ones, aside from the Servants, who were not getting tired in the slightest.

"Okay, how much longer until we find a town?" Tatsuko asked.

"Shouldn't be long. Once we're there we can rest and re-supply." Jeanne answered.

"I hope you're right, otherwise I'm gonna need a change of legs!"

"Oh don't be such a drama queen, it wasn't that long of a walk" Cleopatra taunted her from behind.

"You're a Servant, you don't even get tired!"

"Your impatience is going to oppress you." Spartacus said. "You must find a way to resist it."

"Okay, you have a point." Tatsuko said. The female Master took deep breaths to calm her nerves when Mashu handed her a canteen of water. The orange haired teen thanked the Shielder as she took a sip.

"Excuse me everyone." Siegfried said. "I just found a town."

"Where?" Sanson asked.

"Just down the road." Siegfried answered. The group walked up to where the Saber was, and saw the town in question. It was a beautiful port town, with the sparkling sea merely illuminating its beauty.

"I'm not sensing any signs of life in there." Roman said. "Be careful."

"I don't think we have anything to worry about." Jing Ke said. "In fact if we are attacked, we have the advantage."

Everyone took that as their cue to walk towards the port town. As soon as they entered, they looked around and were taken aback at what they saw.

It was completely abandoned.

Everyone merely shrugged, and continued their trek into the town until they found a nice bench in the shade for Ritsuka, Tatsuko and Nero to sit and rest. Something caught Mashu's attention from the corner of her eye, and she decided to investigate. The Shielder went towards an alleyway, and knelt down to look at what she saw.

It was a simple wooden horse.

Mashu picked it up and took a closer look. It was a little worn, but it was clearly a cherished item. No child would have left it where it was unless they accidentally dropped it….or if they were in a great hurry. Mashu looked down and saw a child's footprints leading away from the alleyway. She followed the trail until she reached one of the town's exits. She looked around, and saw the stables empty, and no carriages were around.

That was, until she looked down and saw the hoof prints and tracks of the carriages leaving town. Mashu's eyes widened as she felt a familiar presence coming from the opposite side of town. She rushed as fast as she could back to the others, and saw them just as alert as her.

"I know what you're thinking." Cleopatra said. "It's definitely him."

"We need to meet him by the entrance." Jing Ke said. "If worst comes to worst, we simply retreat in here and bottleneck them."

Everyone nodded and rushed back towards the entrance, only to find Julius Caesar standing upon a hill quite a distance away.

"Julius….." Cleopatra said. "Even when we are on opposite sides, you are as handsome and gallant as ever…."

Caesar's eyes widened. "Cleopatra?"

The Rider clenched his fists tightly on the reigns of his horse as he glared at Ritsuka and Tatsuko. "So you have shown your true colors….."

"Lord Caesar, we had no idea that Miss Cleopatra would answer our summons." Mashu said.

"Oh really?" Caesar asked. The Rider pointed at Tatsuko with extreme coldness. "Then explain why she has only two Command Seals? Did she use one to force Cleopatra to obey?!"

"That's not what happened!" Nero said. "She used it on-"

"Enough!" Caesar said. "The time for talking is over."

The Rider drew his sword, and gave a small salute.

"Veni, Vidi. Vici. I came, I saw, I conquered."

Hundreds of pillars of lights shimmered around Caesar. They soon took form, and revealed hundreds of Roman soldiers, from regular infantry, to archers and cavalry. Caesar raised his sword, and pointed it at the Chaldeans and their allies.

"Now the die has been thrown; Legions of Rome!"

The Roman archers knocked their arrows, and then let them loose upon the Chaldeans. Boudicca and Mashu immediately sprang into action and stood at the front.

"I will protect you all! Chariot of Boudicca!"

"Lord Chaldeas!"

Everyone watched as numerous wheels took form and spun around them, forming a dome of magical energy. A second, even larger dome appeared thanks to Mashu, blocking all the arrows fired upon them.

"Legions? If I am not mistaken, the number of soldiers he has now cannot even make up one legion." Leonidas said.

"Something isn't right….." Cleopatra said.

"No worries, I can simply take them out with my muskets." Nobunaga said.

"Unfortunately that will not be enough." Jeanne said. "With the little space we have you won't be able to summon as many as required."

"I know that." Nobunaga said. "I was merely saying I could provide covering fire."

"We're going to need to draw the infantry here, and have Nobunaga focus on the cavalry and archers." Jing Ke said.

"We're going to need a lot more help if that is the case." Malgus said. "Unfortunately I don't see how we can get that in time."

"Why not just make a portal and bring some of the soldiers back in Rome here?" Vlad asked.

"That could help," Ritsuka said. "But I'm guessing that these soldiers of his are familiars. And they're supposed to be stronger than regular humans."

"Ritsuka's right." Malgus said. "Besides, we have more than enough people here to stop him."

"Malgus is right." Leonidas said with a smirk. "I can draw them in and keep them busy."

The arrows stopped firing. Leonidas put on his helm, and brought his shield and spear to his defensive stance.

"This. Is. Spartaaa! Thermopylae Enomotia!"

Everyone watched in surprise as three hundred Spartan soldiers formed battle formations in front of them. The army proceeded to perform a phalanx formation. Caesar's archer familiars fired upon them again, causing Tatsuko to click her tongue in annoyance.

"Great, those arrows are going to make it hard to see if they block out the sun." She said.

Leonidas chuckled. "If that happens, then we'll simply fight in the shade."

Leonidas and his familiars raised their shields, and blocked the upcoming volley of arrows. Leonidas then turned to look at the others with a confident smile. "I can keep them at bay, so you all need to find a way to beat him!"

"I'll handle that." Cleopatra said.

"Are you sure?" Siegfried asked. "I can do it if you-"

"I can do this." Cleopatra said. "I just need to get close enough to knock some sense into him!"

"I'll give you a ride!" Astolfo said.

"I shall aid you in stopping him." Spartacus said. "He has allowed his emotions to compromise him. A good slap to the face should free him!"

"Then allow me to accompany you." Siegfried said. "If you need back-up then I'm the only one capable of dealing with him alongside you."

Cleopatra nodded as Astolfo summoned his hippogriff. The pink haired Rider helped her up onto the saddle and took the reins.

"Don't take flight." Cleopatra said. "One good shot from one of those arrows would send us spiraling down."

"Got it." Astolfo said. The four of them ran to one side of the town as Caesar increased the number of soldier familiars of his Noble Phantasm. Caesar pointed his sword at the Chaldeans, causing the Roman familiars to stand in formation, and charge at their enemies. It didn't take long for the first of the familiars to make contact with the Spartans. The Roman familiars attacked first, pushing the Spartan soldiers back a few inches, forcing the Chaldeans to step back a bit. This continued on for a few moments before Vlad saw more soldiers coming towards them.

"Perhaps Malgus, Jing Ke and I should launch our own attack with Liz and Sanson." Vlad said. "Boudicca, Mashu and Jeanne will be the last line of defense while you and Nobunaga-"

"That won't be necessary yet." Leonidas said.

"Oh? And why is that?" Jing Ke asked in amusement.

"Yeah, Rome's equipment and tactics are more advanced than yours." Ritsuka said.

"Oh I know what happened to my people and kingdom when Rome started to rise." Leonidas said. "However, I'm not like the other Spartans, for I actually understood how to adapt, and how to utilize newer ways of fighting. Rome disarmed my kingdom, and now it's time to remind them what Sparta can do!"

Once more the Roman familiars pushed them back. But unlike the previous attempts, the Spartans barely moved, for they and Leonidas dug their heels in, and pushed back. The shove was powerful enough to send the familiars back a few feet, staggering the Roman spirits. Leonidas looked at the others and grinned.

"NOW!"

In that moment, all the Chaldeans Servants and Nero leapt over the shield wall, and attacked the Roman familiars. Nero was the first to make contact, flourishing her blade like water. Mashu was not far behind, using her shield to knock some of the familiars away, allowing Vlad and Liz to take them out with their spears. Boudicca slammed her shield into one familiar while stabbing the one behind her with her blade. Jing Ke ducked as Nobunaga fired her muskets at the incoming familiars, then proceeded to stab one in the shins, then slit their throat before throwing one to Sanson, who cut down the incoming Roman familiar with ease.

Leonidas watched them fight, but kept his eyes on Mashu. The Shielder blocked an incoming strike meant for Nero, who remained oblivious to her own safety, and retaliated by slamming her shield into the familiars in front of her. The Lancer smirked as he continued to watch her fight against the familiars.

She had a good foundation, but she still has room to grow.

"You're as radiant as ever, Cleopatra." Caesar said.

"And you are still as handsome as I remember." Cleopatra replied. The plan to get the Assassin to the Rider hit a few snags after Caesar summoned more of his legion. Spartacus had to break away and deal with them, using his Noble Phantasm to take as many of them down. Thankfully, the Berserker got back up, and continued to fight. Astolfo managed to use his hippogriff to break through the shield walls, letting Cleopatra to get closer, he had to break off and deal with the encroaching soldiers to buy her some time. Siegfried had to take her the rest of the way, flying and dodging enemy arrows before throwing her to Caesar before flying back to help Astolfo.

"I hope you are ready, Caesar. Because I'm going to knock some sense into you!" Cleopatra shouted.

"I guess this is what I get for dying on you." Caesar said.

"Don't think about that right now." Cleopatra said. "Yes, I mourned you, but I had to look after our son, so I at least had him to remember you."

"I know." Caesar said. "I just wish things could have been-"

The Rider could not finish his sentence before dodging a kick from Cleopatra. The Assassin stared at him sternly. "You should be paying attention."

Caesar was quick to retaliate, lunging at her with his sword, leaving a shallow cut upon her waist. "I hate to do this to you, but I already was paying attention."

Cleo was quick to retaliate, launching a fast barrage of kicks against Caesar, giving little time for the Rider to counter any hit even when blocking them. Using this, the Assassin quickly did a leg sweep, throwing Caesar off balance before jumping over him and delivering a powerful kick to the face, sending him crashing down and creating a crater.

Caesar got up almost immediately to dodge another hit from Cleopatra and slashed at her with a speed that she was barely able to dodge, only to be hit with his shield shortly after and launched towards a rock nearby.

As she was getting up, she noticed something about her beloved. She had seen his strength in the past, she remembered it well, and yet…

"He's not… Going all out."

Her thoughts were cut short as another slash came from above her, barely giving her time to move out the way. She had to focus, even if he was holding back, one good hit would still do serious damage.

Caesar launched another attack with his shield aiming straight at Cleopatra's head, the Assassin dodging barely at the last moment and jumping behind the Rider, launching a powerful kick against him, which was blocked by his shield. But she didn't stop, her barrage continued without a break and only increasing in ferocity. Caesar's eyes widened as he saw his shield slowly shatter from the attacks of his enemy.

Her advantage was in her superior acrobatic abilities, and she had to play to that advantage. Caesar put all of his strength into a push with his shield to get Cleopatra away from him, attacking with his sword and slashing her stomach and staggering her, leaving her open for another attack.

As Caesar prepared another slash coming from above, the Assassin attacked with her light beams to stun him for a moment before charging her legs with the same light and delivering a powerful kick to his chest, leaving him open to another attack. With this, she used her chance to put him on chokehold with her legs, slamming him behind her.

"After all this time, you still remember how I fight…" Caesar whispered to himself as he got up from the ground. He couldn't help but imagine a more peaceful reunion between him and his beloved, but alas, such a thing would have to wait.

Cleopatra watched over him with the same sadness. She knew such a confrontation would come to pass eventually, and though she prepared herself as best she could, she was still filled with anguish over attacking Caesar. She closed her eyes for a moment, telling herself that it had to be done to protect everyone.

"I'm sorry for this, my darling. I hope you'll find the heart to forgive me"

Her snake appeared around her in a golden light and slowly crept towards the downed Caesar as it lit itself on fire. It began to constrict around his body. The Rider felt the heat rise and his body burn, as he wrestled with Cleopatra's Noble Phantasm to try and break free, but to no avail.

"May we meet again, in another time and place, my dear Caesar. Uraeus Astrape!"

A huge fire pillar erupted from the location, drawing everyone's attention towards it. Both Chaldeans and the Roman familiars rushed to the location, seeing Cleopatra with her eyes filled with tears, looking at where Caesar used to be.

"Well, it seems that I wasn't the only one holding back."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they looked at the smoke cloud dissipate. Only slightly singed from the attack was none other than Caesar. His shirt was in tatters, but the clothes along his waist were completely intact. The Rider simply dusted himself off before staring at Cleopatra apologetically. "Why didn't you finish me?"

Cleopatra turned to look back at the Chaldeans and the Chaldean Trio, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't do it."

"Do not apologize, Miss Cleopatra." Mashu said with a smile. "Compared to when we last fought him, Caesar was holding back by a large margin."

"You are quite the observant one." Caesar said. The Rider looked at the Masters and smiled. "You have quite the fine Servant."

"Mashu's a friend. Not a Servant." Tatsuko countered. "In fact everyone here is a friend."

Caesar raised an eyebrow before looking at Nero. "And what has this failure of an emperor done to warrant that?"

"Hey, she might not be as capable as you are, but she's done a good job so far!" Cleopatra said.

"Cleopatra, darling, I love you, but I have a hard time believing that after seeing her charge headfirst into the battle the way she did."

"And deny you the chance to see how I have improved and to look upon my splendor?" Nero asked. "I believe I did the right thing. Besides, this is probably what the Great Founder wanted me to do."

"Still as arrogant as ever." Caesar muttered.

"Okay, it seems like I'm gonna have to step in." Jing Ke said.

"And who are you?" Caesar asked.

"Jing Ke. And I'm also someone who tried to kill Nero at some point during the war."

"And what can you possibly say to change my opinion of her?"

"Well you're right in that she can be arrogant," Jing Ke said. "But she's also observant, where she recounted how I must have planned her assassination in great detail, and recruited me in order to help defeat your fellow Triumvirate member, Caligula. And she is also resilient enough to have not given up so far."

"Well, that certainly is impressive, but she still risked Rome's safety by attacking Caligula." Caesar said.

"That's where you're wrong."

Everyone turned in shock as Boudicca walked up to the Rider. "She actually ordered all the soldiers to return home while we dealt with him. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but she made a smart choice…"

Caesar took a deep breath and exhaled. "It would seem that you are not as foolish as I thought….."

"There's something else you should know." Ritsuka said. "Lev Lainur used up the rest of his Command Spells a few nights ago."

Caesar stared at the male Master in shock. "Then that means….he cannot order me around."

"It is true." Spartacus said. "You no longer have to worry about him oppressing you. You are now free."

Caesar smiled as the Roman familiars were de-summoned. "Well, it seems like I can safely say this is your win. I surrender."

"Really? Just like that?" Tatsuko asked.

Caesar nodded. "To be perfectly honest, I was hoping that I would be free of that man's control at some point. So this gives me the chance to finally atone for attacking Rome."

Before anyone could celebrate, the sky started to darken. Caesar's eyes widened and turned to Boudicca and Mashu. "Use your Noble Phantasms to protect everyone now!"

The Rider and Mashu immediately activated their Noble Phantasms, erecting a double layered barrier, covering everyone barring Caesar and Cleopatra, who were not close enough to get to safety. No sooner did they do so did a great big vortex envelope them all. Caesar and Cleopatra were forced to cover their faces for a few moments from the wind, before it started to die down.

"Julius, what's happening?" Cleopatra asked.

"I am merely taking care of business."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they heard Lev's voice ring across the vortex. A chill ran up their spines as they soon witnessed a giant red eye open before them.

"I knew you would eventually side with the enemy, Caesar." Lev said. "Did you really think I would not notice?"

"I was never on your side to begin with." Caesar countered.

"Of course you weren't." Lev said. "This not only makes you a traitor to the United Empire, but to your empress….."

Caesar raised an eyebrow. "Empress? Since when did we have one? And who?"

"Me."

Everyone felt a chill up their spine as they heard a familiar voice ring through their ears. Caesar and Cleopatra felt something hit their faces, and wiped whatever hit them off. They looked down and raised their eyebrows at the red liquid, until their eyes widened.

It was blood.

"Well, it would seem our empress decided to take matters into her own hands." Lev said. "Consider our contract over."

Blood began to rain down upon them. The metallic scent wormed its way into everyone's noses.

"Julius Caesar," The voice rang out. "You have betrayed the United Empire, and me. For the crimes of desertion and disloyalty, you shall pay…in blood!"

Roman appeared on the communicator with a frightened gaze. "Guys, I'm sensing two Servant signatures coming from the vortex!"

"But how come none of us can sense them?!" Jeanne asked.

"I don't know." Roman said. "It has to be whatever's happening over there!"

Everyone looked around for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Caesar drew his blade while Cleopatra resumed a fighting stance to prepare for a fight.

"Well well, aren't you the beautiful one? I think I'll start with you."

SCHLICK!

The Chaldeans, Nero's and Caesar's eyes widened in shock as a jagged blade protruded from Cleopatra's chest. The Assassin gasped in shock as she turned to look at Caesar.

"Cae….."

"CLEOPATRA!" Caesar cried out. The Rider ran towards the Assassin and whoever stabbed her. The Rider raised his blade to strike and-

SCHLICK!

Everyone's eyes widened as a smoother blade protruded from Caesar's chest. The blade retreated from the Rider's body, allowing him to slump to the ground. Time slowed down as the assailant came into view.

A beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair and pale skin. She wore a long, elaborate black dress with billowing sleeves, and a black hat to complete the ensemble. However, the thing that drew everyone's attention was the black sword in her hands. Large, black with a red jewel like centerpiece, the blade looked too heavy for her. Siegfried's eyes became like saucers as he saw the blood drip from the sword, and the woman holding it as she turned to face him.

"Come back safely. I don't know what will happen if I ever lost you…."

"Kriemhild….." He muttered.

"Hello, husband." She said coldly.

"Well well, isn't this the touching reunion then."

Everyone watched as Cleopatra fell to the ground, shocking everyone further as they saw who stabbed her. It was a woman, who looked exactly like Nero, but where the Roman emperor wore red, white and gold, she wore purple, gold and silver, and with red eyes, instead of Nero's green. She turned to face the Chaldeans and Nero, and smiled sinisterly. "Ah, I was hoping you and I would meet eventually."

"You…..just who are you?" Nero muttered.

Lev appeared before Kriemhild and the woman and grinned. "I think you know the answer to that."

Nero's eyes widened in horror. "No….no, you can't be!"

The woman laughed. "Oh but it is! I am the Empress of the United Empire."

The woman turned to face the Chaldeans more directly and grinned before pointing at Nero.

"I am the Whore of Babylon. I. Am. You."

Nero sank to her knees in despair, causing Lev to chuckle. The traitor turned to the Whore of Babylon with a smile. "We did what we needed to do. What do you wish for us to do with the rest of them?"

The Whore of Babylon smirked. "Leave them be. I want them to wallow like my human self is right now."

Lev nodded and turned to the Chaldeans with a smirk. "You should count your blessings! The empress has decided to spare you for today!"

Nobunaga took aim with her musket and fired at Lev. The traitor grunted in pain as the projectile cut into his cheek, forcing him to hold it. "That actually hurt!"

Everyone watched in shock as the blood seeped out from his fingers. It wasn't red, but black.

"I believe it's time for us to go now." Kriemhild said.

"You make a fair point." The Whore of Babylon said. "Court Mage, we shall deal with them later."

Lev looked at the two women and grunted with a nod. He looked down and chuckled in amusement as Caesar, still clinging to life, dragged himself towards Cleopatra. He then grinned back at the Chaldeans. "I have no use for that piece of trash crawling around. If you want to save him and his lover, then be my guest."

The two Servants got close to Lev, and began to teleport as Lev waved at the group.

"Ta-ta now!"

Soon, the trio vanished, and the vortex and raining blood with them. Ritsuka, Sanson and Malgus immediately rushed towards Caesar's and Cleopatra's aid. Ritsuka and Malgus knelt down before Caesar, and performed the best healing spells they could muster while Sanson helped Cleopatra. As that was happening, Tatsuko turned to Siegfried with a frightened stare.

"Siegfried, was that who I think it was?"

Siegfried could only nod with a blank, soulless expression. "That was my wife."

A chill ran up her spine until she looked at Nero, her eyes just as soulless and blank. The female Master ran to check on her, but recoiled as she saw the emperor in such a sorry state.

"That can't be me….." Nero muttered. "I'm not evil…I'm…I'm…."

Tatsuko could only wrap her arms around her friend as the emperor remained catatonic. The only sounds that could be heard were the spells and mutterings of the healers trying so desperately to save their charges.

OC: Well well well, this has been quite the upheaval! It was bombshell after bomb…..Hey Vlad, are you okay?

CV: I know that when Kriem first appeared in Traum, I said that we should include her earlier to begin her development with Siegfried early. I just wasn't expecting Septem levels of early!

OC: Hehehehehe, never underestimate my mind. I have been planning this since before we even wrote Septem, and the reason I wanted Siegfried here was to make this moment even MORE heartbreaking. I had this be a secret for so many months, and seeing your reaction was worth it.

CV: Well I was pleasantly surprised. After the initial dialogue I was a bit confused as to why we included it, but after the end of the chapter, it all makes sense.

OC: The beauty of foreshadowing. Though there is another bombshell in this chapter, and it is none other than the Whore of Babylon herself! For our readers, her inclusion in Septem was ALL VLAD, and something we had planned since before Chronicles was published. However, her introduction in the story here is a little different from what we originally planned. The original draft was her killing Lev in the final battle and then becoming the main antagonist, but then we realized that we needed to get a move on in ending this arc, so we bumped it up to here.

CV: When Mother Harlot first appeared in Arcade, I thought that a weakened version of her would be a cooler villain for the revised Septem plotline that we were planning, given that she's basically evil Nero. Right now she's in the beginning of her Larval stage, nowhere near the level of power of an actual Beast, but still a threat.

OC: Yup, this one is NOT a Beast. She's still a regular Servant, but she still has nasty surprises of her own. And oh boy we are excited to show them soon.

CV: She'll show just what she's capable of in the near future, and some of her attacks might seem… Familiar.

OC: Looks like someone is cooking up a storm. Though onto other things. We finally had the fight with Cleopatra and Caesar, and while they both held back considerably, it did not disappoint. Then again that entire fight was made by Vlad, and we all know how good he is at that (Cough cough, the three way fight of Heracles and Medea vs. Atalante was awesome!)

CV: My take is that Cleopatra knew she couldn't take on Caesar on a direct 1 v 1, so she relied on her superior acrobatic skills and agility to gain an advantage. If her feelings didn't betray her at the last second, Caesar wouldn't have survived her Noble Phantasm.

OC: Well in her defense she did pretty well. Though her grabbing him with her legs was an….interesting choice. I wonder if that was a kink of theirs when alive.

CV: God I wish that was me…

OC: Can't blame you there. But speaking of that, I found it hilarious that Ritsuka admitted the only time he watched porn was by accident, and that he revealed that before then, he thought babies were delivered by storks. That was oddly wholesome, but hilarious.

CV: He got the illusion shattered quite fast.

OC: Well in Doc's defense, she did try to keep that illusion going until she couldn't. She at least didn't get mad at him, and it seemed that she acknowledged that it was on her. Still this is the first time we hear him say anything about her expressing emotions that much, and it was so fun to discuss lol.

CV: Well she can't be an emotionless woman forever. I wish we could bring her sooner but the boss would kill us if we tried to interfere directly.

OC: Oh we actually can, IF she deems it necessary, but thankfully that won't be necessary in the foreseeable future. So we can just watch and enjoy the show.

CV: It's what she does best after all. And with the number of changes from the original timeline, I'm sure she's more than entertained.

Mini Nobu: Nobu Nobu!

OC: Yeah, I know. She definitely had a good laugh at that one. But that's not something we can talk about yet.

CV: She wants us to keep the surprise for just a bit longer. And I agree, the payoff will be better.

OC: Indeed. But there is one thing I'm pleasantly surprised about, and that's Boudicca actually defending Nero here. You have to admit, even when she hates her, she has to admit that Nero isn't as dumb as she thought.

CV: They're slowly learning to work together and that's endearing.

OC: She's standing up for the one who caused her so much pain. Or rather the woman who had no direct involvement in that. I know some people will be confused as to why Nero didn't order all this against Boudicca, but in the Nasuverse, Nero really wasn't involved. It was her generals going behind her back and did those…unspeakable things to her daughters, and when she found out, she rightfully punished them for making the situation worse. But we also decided to make Nero's hatred for Boudicca stem from the fact that Boudicca slaughtered innocent civilians in her rampage, and so Nero ALSO has a reason to not forgive Boudicca. It gives a more morally gray area to their feud. It was something I wished they had implemented in the game to show some drama in the early game to show that things aren't going to be all sunshine and rainbows, but instead, they just had Nero be praised for everything.

CV: That's the issue with early FGO writing, but I'm glad we're finally past those days.

OC: I think there is one story chapter that disagrees with you.

CV: Well we're much better now than before, that's for sure.

OC: Yeah, that is true.

CV: Well, would you look at that? Our time's done for the week. We hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Chronicles (2 more until chapter 50!). CosmicVlad and Owenchaser signing off, have a good night everyone.