The Triumvirate Chapter 11:

Howl of the Moon

Silence filled the air around the three of them. Nero could only continue to stare blankly at the man before her with tears streaming down her face. Sanson slowly turned to her, struggling to move through the pain, and stared at her in curiosity.

"You said uncle…..does that mean this man before us is Caligula himself?"

"Emperor Caligula…." Mashu muttered. "I read about him from SHEBA, he was the emperor of Rome before Claudius, who was then succeeded by-"

"NEEEEERRRROOOOOOO!"

Everyone returned their attention back to Caligula as he charged at Nero in a maddened frenzy. Nero could only stand there in a petrified daze as her uncle raised his fist at her. Sanson was quicker though, and managed to cut into Caligula's leg to knock him down. The Assassin proceeded to heal himself, and stared at Mashu.

"We're going to have to work together to keep him at bay." He said.

Mashu nodded and readied her shield as Caligula started getting up. The emperor snarled as he got up and glared at the Assassin. Caligula let out a mighty roar before charging at Sanson, but Mashu dove in and blocked the attack with her shield. The impact knocked her back for a moment, but Nero immediately jumped in and braced the lilac haired girl's shoulders. Sanson took the opportunity to attack Caligula, but the mad emperor conjured red lightning upon his foot, and kicked the Assassin back, knocking him to the ground.

As that was happening, Simon stared at Lev in shock and disbelief. Both of them were bruised and panting heavily. The cliff was now filled with craters from their battle. However, Simon was still wanting to know what it was he heard. "Answer me, what did you do?!"

Lev grinned. "Oh I did nothing. I just brought one of my Servants into the fold."

Simon hurled shards of stone at the Chaldean traitor, but Lev conjured forth a barrier, and used it to knock Simon back a few feet. The Court Mage was not one to give up, and teleported behind Lev, and shot a ball of fire straight into his back. The traitor got back up and shot a magic orb at the Court Mage, but Simon summoned an ice shard, and shot it at the orb. Lev conjured a black smoky substance around them, limiting Simon's vision.

"You are indeed someone equal to myself." Lev said. "However, I DO have something that can stem the tide here."

"And yet you will still lose." Simon said.

"I doubt that." Lev said. "It's you who's going to die here."

Simon smirked. "You are indeed a fool. I never said I was going to be the victor…"

Ritsuka and Tatsuko continued to fire spell after spell against the undead that slipped through the cracks of the Roman formation. Thankfully the soldiers of Rome were holding their own, and with the help of the Servants, they were able to keep the number of undead slipping through to a minimum.

"How much longer do you think we can keep this up?" Ritsuka asked.

"I can keep going." Tatsuko said.

"Same here!" Nobunaga shouted. "But something feels off."

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka asked.

"It has to do with that roar earlier." Nobunaga said. "Whoever that belonged to might be one of Lev's trump cards."

Roman appeared on the communicator with a frantic expression. "Mashu and Sanson are protecting Nero but they're struggling!"

"Then let's back them up!" Tatsuko said. Ritsuka and Nobunaga nodded and immediately made their way towards Mashu and Nero.

"Do you think they'll be fine until we get there?" Nobunaga asked.

"Oh I highly doubt that."

The two Masters and Nobunaga stopped in their tracks as Lev teleported right in front of them. Their eyes widened in horror as they looked upon the blood on his face, and lowered their gazes downward, causing their blood to freeze.

In Lev's left hand was none other than Simon's severed head.

"He truly gave me a tough fight, but I still have enough energy to take you all on." Lev said.

"Tatsuko, get going." Ritsuka said. "Nobunaga and I will keep him busy."

Tatsuko nodded and immediately ran towards the others. Lev attempted to stop the female Master by activating a spell, but Nobunaga was quicker, shooting at the Chaldean traitor, who simply vanished and reappeared with an irritated look on his face as Tatsuko escaped.

"That was very rude of you." Lev said. The traitor's eyes widened as Ritsuka fired a Gandr at him. Lev dodged it, but he was surprised at the quickness of Ritsuka's attack.

"You should be keeping your eyes on us." Ritsuka said.

"My my, aren't we the cold one." Lev said. "And here I thought you were averse to conflict."

"Oh I do hate it." Ritsuka said. "I hate the very idea of conflict, the blood that has been spilled, the pain it causes, all of it. But right now, I have to focus on making sure you don't kill me."

Lev raised an eyebrow. "Well well, aren't you full of surprises tonight. First I learn the quality of your Magic Circuits have improved, and now you're-"

Ritsuka stared at him in disbelief. "There's no way my Circuits improved. Those things are set since day one."

"Normally you would be correct." Lev said. "But here you are, your circuits improved from piss poor, to slightly below average."

"That changes nothing." Ritsuka said. "All that matters is keeping you right here."

(Meanwhile)

Tatsuko finally arrived at her destination, and saw Mashu and Sanson still standing, but struggling with Caligula. She found Nero and ran to her. "Nero, you have to get out of here."

Nero shook her head. "I am no coward. I have been supporting them with the aid of some spells."

Caligula roared as he charged at the female Master and the blonde emperor, but Mashu managed to get to them in time, and used her shield to block the maddened emperor's punch. The Shielder felt herself get pushed back as Caligula continued his assault. Sanson attacked him from behind, but Caligula kicked him once more with a lightning infused kick.

"Don't worry Mashu, I got your back!" Tatsuko shouted. The female Master raised her hand, and activated one of her Command Spells, reinvigorating Mashu to the point she pushed Caligula back, knocking the purple haired man onto his back. Caligula saw Sanson leap into the air and bring his blade down, hoping to end him. Caligula rolled away and got back up. Mashu was upon him immediately, her foot ready to connect with his ribcage, but the maddened emperor grabbed her leg, and threw her at Sanson, knocking them both to the ground. Nero and Tatsuko each used a healing spell on the two combatants, allowing them to get back up and resume their attack on the maddened emperor.

(Meanwhile)

Lev conjured another field of smoke, hoping to disorient the male Master and black haired Servant before him. Nobunaga concentrated her muskets at a single point, and fired them all at Lev. The Chaldean traitor simply teleported right behind them, his arms raised to strike Ritsuka, but Ritsuka turned around, and fired a Gandr at Lev's face. The traitor was stunned for a short moment before vanishing in a smoky cloud. The traitor rematerialized out in the open, the light of the full moon illuminating him.

"You know, for a pathetic Mage such as yourself, you are doing quite well for yourself."

"Cut the act, you rat." Ritsuka growled. "You're hiding something."

Lev grinned. "I was about to show you anyway. So I might as well reveal something else. Do you know why I chose tonight to attack?"

"Simple, you wanted to catch us off guard." Nobunaga said.

"Well yes, but that was only part of it." Lev said. "You see, I wanted to sow chaos in the camp, to demoralize and break you all."

"Too bad for you then that we prepared ourselves." Ritsuka countered.

"Oh this was just a small setback." Lev said. "My plan will work regardless."

Ritsuka's and Nobunaga's eyes widened in shock as Lev raised his right hand, and trembled at what they saw.

Lev had two Command Seals, in the shape of demonic eyes.

"Oh no….." Ritsuka said.

Lev chuckled. "That's right my boy, I still have my Command Spells. Well two of them anyway. I had to use one on the first Servant I summoned. They were being so uncooperative that I had to use it to make them obey me."

Ritsuka's eyes widened. "Mashu and Sanson are fighting one of your Servants!"

"Correct!" Lev replied. "Caligula was the second one I summoned, and I put him in charge of this theater. All for this one moment."

Ritsuka and Nobunaga could not react in time as Lev activated one of his Command Seals, the traitor grinning all the while. "Berserker, by my Command Spell, activate your Noble Phantasm!"

A mighty roar rang out through the encampment. It was soon followed by the screams of everyone fighting as if they had gone mad. Ritsuka heard something click, and turned in shock to see Nobunaga aiming a musket at him, albeit with a shaky hand. The black haired Servant snarled as she tried fighting back the madness that took hold.

"What did you do to her?!" Ritsuka asked.

"I merely told my Berserker to activate his Noble Phantasm." Lev answered. The traitor chuckled menacingly. "It's over."

"Not as long as I draw breath!"

A loud crash separated Ritsuka and the maddened Nobunaga. As soon as the dust settled, Ritsuka stared in surprise as Spartacus stood in between them, sword in hand.

Lev could only raise an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you haven't fallen prey to the madness."

Spartacus shook his head. "I'm a rebel, so I must resist oppression in whatever form it takes. And thankfully, whatever happened helped clear my head a bit."

"Do you have some sort of connection to the moon?" Lev asked.

Spartacus grinned. "So that is what happened. Your Servant's Noble Phantasm has ties to the moon, and spreads his madness to others."

"For a brute, you are quite the analytical one." Lev replied.

"I escaped from the coliseum, organized a rebel army, led them into battle, and kept Rome on its toes for quite some time." Spartacus countered. "One does not manage to do all that without some sort of drive."

Nobunaga could not hold it in anymore, and fired upon Spartacus. The Berserker was not phased, however, and punched her away, giving him and Ritsuka some breathing room.

"Do not worry about Mashu and the others." Spartacus said. "They are about to get the best help they could ask for. In the meantime, we should focus on keeping Nobunaga from escaping our clutches."

Lev's eyes widened. The traitor clicked his tongue in frustration and teleported out away quickly. He had to be sure Caligula survived the battle. Nobunaga slowly got up, with Spartacus taking a stance to hold off the black haired Servant.

"Do not worry, I will not kill you." He said. "I'm just going to hold you here until the battle is done."

(Meanwhile)

"Sanson, please snap out of it!" Mashu shouted. The Assassin did not heed her words, and continued his attack on her, with Caligula by his side. Nero and Tatsuko tried to fire some spells to aid the Shielder, but their concentration was hindered. Ever since Caligula activated his Noble Phantasm, Sanson went on a rampage, making Mashu their sole source of defense and protection. Somehow she was resistant to whatever was happening, but she still had to deal with the Assassin and Berserker working together.

Caligula tripped Mashu, causing her to stumble a bit. Sanson tried to capitalize on the opening and attacked, but Mashu was able to block it in time, and pushed him away with her shield. However, Caligula took the opportunity to slam his fist into her back, knocking her down.

Tatsuko finally used a spell that hit Caligula in the back of the head, causing him to turn to her with a nasty glare. He was about to charge at her when Mashu got up, slammed her shield at an attacking Sanson, and wound it back to strike the back of Caligula's head. The Berserker was knocked down, just as Lev teleported to him.

"I finally managed to get away from that Berserker and Fujimaru. And yet you all keep surprising me. I would have thought you would have succumbed to the madness Mashu."

"You will pay for all you have done today!" Nero shouted.

"I do not think so." Lev said. "This was my plan all along! For you to die here by your uncles Noble Phantasm. Granted small complications have occurred, but I still won!"

"I don't think so!"

Everyone turned in shock as Astolfo appeared in the sky riding his hippogriff. Sanson got up and attempted a mad dash towards Tatsuko and Nero, but Astolfo leapt off his hippogriff, and summoned a large white lance.

"Trap of Argalia!"

The lance slammed into Sanson, knocking him down to the ground, with the Assassin paralyzed on the ground. Caligula immediately went on the offensive, but Astolfo used the lance to pin him down as well.

"How are you unaffected by this?!" Lev asked.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Astolfo asked. "I'm not saying anything."

The Rider turned his attention to Tatsuko, Nero and Mashu and smiled. "Sorry for being late. I was busy curing everyone from this madness."

The Rider turned to Sanson, and brought out a strange book. Astolfo knelt down and muttered quietly, and a warm golden light enveloped the Assassin, before dissipating. Sanson groaned until he saw Astolfo and the three women.

"I'm….sorry." He muttered.

"It's okay." Mashu said.

"Looks like you lost once again, Lev." Tatsuko said.

Lev grinned. "Oh this isn't a loss. In fact, I believe we entered a stalemate. And I already had a plan B thought out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tatsuko asked.

"This was but a simple vanguard." Lev answered.

Mashu's eyes widened in horror. "We won't be able to hold back the main force…"

"Correct!" Lev said. The traitor turned to Caligula, and raised his hand. "By my last Command Spell. Stand up."

The spell activated, allowing the Berserker to stand up, albeit with some struggle. The Chaldean traitor turned to the others and gave a mock wave. The Chaldeans and Nero could do nothing but watch as Lev and Caligula teleported away.

The sounds of battle ended, but there were no cheers this night. The three Chaldeans, Astolfo and Nero turned to each other with unease.

It was only now that they realized just how bad their situation became….

Day 17

"The enemy forces are decimated, but in turn, we took a moderate amount of casualties thanks to the haze everyone was hit with." The soldier said. "Thankfully these…..Chaldeans, and the other Generals did not attack us, but we still attacked our own and killed our own brothers in arms."

Boudicca nodded. "Thank you for the report. You are dismissed."

The soldier nodded, gave a small salute and walked off. The Rider sighed and slid into her chair. It was true that while they did hold off the United Empire's soldiers, they were not prepared enough to consider that the enemy could induce madness and cause them to fight each other. With the casualties they suffered, and with Simon's death, they might not be able to hold off the main force….

Boudicca then turned her attention to Mashu, who was by her side, helping her all morning.

"Ms. Boudicca, is it okay if I ask you something?" Mashu asked.

"Of course." Boudicca answered.

"I was wondering where emperor Nero went…" Mashu said. "Have you seen her?"

Boudicca sighed and shook her head. "No, and I do not think right now is a good time to see her."

"Why not?" Mashu asked.

"Nero's uncle is now our enemy, Simon has been killed, and we would have lost the battle without Spartacus and Astolfo's quick response. She needs time to process all this."

"I see…." Mashu muttered. "I cannot help but feel bad for her….."

"I pity her." Boudicca said. "It would be one thing to face a legendary figure of one's history, but her own uncle? That is too much for someone to handle."

Mashu raised an eyebrow. "I have another question: why was Astolfo immune to the madness when almost everyone was affected?"

Boudicca grinned. "Well that's an easy one. Caligula's Noble Phantasm induces madness because of his ties to Diana, the Goddess of the moon. He's able to summon the full moon at any time because of that. Anyone who doesn't have a connection to the moon will be affected. However, those that DO have a connection, are unaffected."

"What was Astolfo's connection to the moon?" Mashu asked.

"That's where his reasoning is." Boudicca answered. "He once journeyed there to find it, but he lost it when he came back from the moon. And when the full moon shines, that is when he gains his reasoning again."

Mashu's eyes widened. "So that means Astolfo is the perfect counter to Caligula!"

"It's certainly possible." Boudicca said. "But Spartacus was partially resistant to the madness as well. So we have…..hang on a moment…we need everyone to come here now. There's a lot we need to discuss!"

(Sometime later)

After everyone was gathered, Ritsuka and Tatsuko turned on their communicators and allowed Roman and the forces they left in the capital to appear on the screens. Lucia appeared next to Jeanne and smiled at Nero.

"I'm so glad you're okay, my love." She said.

Nero smiled weakly. "I missed you so much my dear Lucia."

Boudicca cleared her throat and stared at Nero with an unamused expression. "If we may proceed with this meeting, we have much to discuss."

"I agree." Roman said. "Oh and Johan is back in the room so we can get his opinion on this as well."

The acting director moved slightly, allowing Johan to stand alongside him. "Hello everyone, I understand that for you all it's been some time."

"Good to see you back here Johan." Ritsuka said.

"Okay, it is time to get this meeting underway." Burrus said as he and Seneca stepped into the frame next to Jeanne and Lucia. "What is the situation?"

"Things aren't looking good." Liz answered. "We managed to hold against the United Empire last night, but it was only the vanguard. Simon is dead, and to make matters worse, Caligula is the general here, and he has a Noble Phantasm that makes almost everyone crazy."

"This…all this is most unfortunate…." Seneca muttered. "My emperor, I am so sorry that you have to go through this…."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the statement. For someone to express sympathy to Nero was not surprising, but to be saddened for a mad man? That was odd, unless….

"Hey Nero, were you and your uncle close?" Nobunaga asked.

"We were when I was a child," Nero said. "Before the Moon Goddess drove him to madness."

"Well in any case, we have three emperors now that fill in as Lev's generals." Astolfo said. "We have Caesar, Caligula, and according to Tatsuko, Darius III."

Mashu stared at Astolfo curiously for a moment. Something felt off with that statement. She shook her head, and decided to keep quiet.

Cleopatra saw this, and looked at Mashu with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something you want to say?"

Mashu blushed and shook her head. "N-no, I was just thinking…."

"Mashu, it's okay." Ritsuka said. "You have a voice in this, so please tell us what's on your mind."

Mashu looked at everyone and took a deep breath. "I would like to make a correction about Caesar. He was never named emperor. So the idea that three Roman emperors are generals is not right."

"You are absolutely correct!" Cleopatra said. "Caesar was named dictator for life, but it was someone else who became emperor."

"Octavian!" Johan said. "Oh of course, how could I have missed that! Thank you for correcting us, Mashu. That was a huge oversight on my part."

"Way to go Mashu!" Tatsuko chimed. Mashu blushed under the compliments. Ritsuka turned to look at Cleopatra, and saw her smile and wink at him. The male Master raised an eyebrow, only to stop himself from grinning after realizing what just happened.

Cleopatra knew all this already.

"I would also like to make a correction." Ritsuka said. "Darius III isn't actually an emperor either. He had the power of one and ruled over an empire, but he was still a king."

"Correct again." Cleopatra said.

"Well to be perfectly honest he doesn't seem to be one of the main three anyway." Tatsuko said. "I mean two of the three generals Lev mentioned are Roman, so the third may also be one."

"I do not think that is accurate either." Siegfried said. "It is true that Caesar and Caligula are Roman, but I think the qualification could be for any Heroic Spirit that is connected to the HISTORY of Rome."

"You make an excellent point." Vlad said. "Now that we know two of the key generals of the United Empire, we now have to figure out how to take out the one here in Gaul."

"Why don't we just march and take them by surprise?" Liz asked.

"We can't do that with Caligula's Noble Phantasm to worry about." Boudicca said. "We also won't have enough men for this, nor the time to prepare in case they attack again."

"Then Gaul may be lost….." Jeanne said. The group started to talk amongst themselves over what to do. On one end, if they attacked now, they COULD defeat Caligula if they were careful, but the risks were too great. If they abandoned Gaul, then they could increase the defenses in the capital, but they would most certainly run out of food and other necessities. Either way, they didn't have much breathing room. Nero closed her eyes as they discussed what to do, when Lucia stared at her lover with curious intent.

"My dear emperor, are you okay?" Lucia asked. Nero opened her eyes and exhaled sharply.

"I have a plan." She said. "We pull everyone out of Gaul, and send them back to Rome."

Everyone stared at the blonde emperor in shock. If they did that, then how would they be able to defend Gaul?

"I knew you were a fool, Nero," Boudicca said. "But I didn't think you were this big of an idiot! If all of us leave Gaul, then the United Empire can just march right up to Rome and we'll be sitting ducks!"

"I never said all of us." Nero said. "Only the soldiers go home. The Chaldeans, you, me, my lions, Astolfo and Spartacus will stay here and finish the campaign here."

"I do not think this is wise." Seneca said. "My emperor, maybe you should just let us handle the planning, and you can-"

"No, this is my decision." Nero said. "And we're going to do it."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the declaration as Nero exhaled sharply.

"This is the test the great founder has given me." She said. "It was to be able to make my own decisions, and not let others speak for me."

Boudicca sighed in resignation. "If we're going to do this, we need a way to get the soldiers back to the capital immediately."

"What about Malgus?" Ritsuka asked. "Simon teleported us all the way to Gaul, so it should be possible for him to teleport the soldiers back home, right?"

"I can do it."

Everyone watched as Malgus appeared next to Vlad.

"Malgus, I'm sorry about your father." Ritsuka said.

"It's okay." Malgus said. "Tatsuko told me last night over your device here. I miss him, but from what I heard he gave this Lev Lainur quite the fight. So I need to keep my head clear and honor his memory."

"You are definitely going to make your father proud." Seneca said.

"If I may make a suggestion," Jeanne said. "Why don't Vlad, Malgus and I come over there personally and help out in dealing with the mission?"

"I don't know." Roman said. "If we do that, then you guys could fall victim to Caligula's Noble Phantasm."

"Thankfully, we have a solution for that." Boudicca said. "Astolfo and Spartacus. Both of them are the perfect counter to Caligula, so if he activates his Noble Phantasm, Astolfo can free us from the madness while Spartacus keeps him busy."

"That is quite the bold plan." Spartacus said. "But it is also the best one we can afford."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, do we have any objections?" Nero asked. No one said a word. Instead everyone nodded in silent agreement. Nero took this as a sign that everyone was on board. "Then it is settled. We attack the United Empire when they least expect it."

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to bring the lions as well my emperor?" Malgus asked.

"Umu, they have a great sense of smell." Nero said. "They'll be able to pick up my uncle's scent and lead us to him."

An hour had already passed since the meeting. As soon as the decisions were made, Malgus immediately prepared the teleportation spell to bring all the soldiers back to Rome, while he and the two Chaldean Servants came over to the remaining members of the Gaul expedition to destroy the United Empire's forces here before they could advance. Along the way, Tatsuko noticed Ritsuka reading something, and became a little curious.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

"Oh this? This is just my notebook." Ritsuka answered. "It just has all the spells Doc taught me or told me about. After what Lev told me last night, I'm just wondering what spells I'm finally able to cast."

"I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around that." Tatsuko said. "I'm happy for you, but at the same time I just wonder just how this is possible."

"I have a theory." Sanson said. "First, there is your diet to consider. You're starting to eat properly now, so that probably gave you an extra boost. The second part is in your genetic makeup."

"Genetic makeup?"

Sanson nodded. "My Human Study Skill might be high, but I am still not able to understand most of the human body. But through this I was able to also notice something incredibly peculiar about your body."

"Really?" Leonidas asked. "What did you discover?"

"Ritsuka's body temperature is higher than a normal human being." Sanson answered.

"Does…..does that mean Senpai is sick?" Mashu asked.

"He cannot get sick that easily." Jeanne said. "Your contract with him boosted his and Tatsuko's immune system."

"Well this also explains why I'm not affected by the cold so much." Ritsuka said.

"It also explains why his hands are so warm…." Mashu muttered to herself.

"Did you say something, Mashu?" Boudicca asked.

Mashu blushed. "N-n-no, I was just thinking to myself."

"Hey Ritsuka, feel free to say no, but can I take a look at your notebook?" Tatsuko asked.

"Sure." Ritsuka answered. The male Master shifted the notebook at an angle so both he and the orange haired teen could read off it. The female Master read through the first page, and her eyes widened in amazement.

"Holy shit, that's quite the list!" She said.

"Those spells there may be a little too much for me to try and do." Ritsuka said. "I only wrote them down because Doc wanted me to know what they were, instead of actually practicing them."

"What about Gandr?" Tatsuko asked. "You seem to be pretty proficient at it."

"That's actually one of the few spells I'm GOOD at." Ritsuka said. "It might not be powerful when I use it, but it can still pack a punch. Lev learned that the hard way last night."

Nobunaga laughed. "I remember seeing the look on that guy's face! He got shot in the face, yet he didn't even look phased, but he sure as hell got knocked on his ass!"

Tatsuko's eyes widened. "You shot him in the face?! What happened to not killing people?"

"Oh my Gandr will never be powerful for that." Ritsuka said. "But the target is still going to feel the pain of it."

"Considering that his opponent was Lev, I think Ritsuka did well." Vlad replied.

"Fair enough." Tatsuko said. The female Master looked back at the notebook and read it alongside Ritsuka in silence for a few minutes, until she raised an eyebrow as she saw a peculiar name in the notebook.

"Hey Ritsuka, are you sure this notebook is just for spells?" She asked. "Because I see something here that might be something you were meant to do with Sora."

"Really? What is it?"

"It says Fetch." She answered.

"Oh that's actually a Magecraft." Ritsuka said.

"Have you ever tried using it?" Tatsuko asked.

Ritsuka stared at the female Master in shock and offense. "No! Why would you think I would ever use such a thing?!"

Everyone stared at the male Master in shock. They've seen Ritsuka upset quite a few times, but they have never seen him so genuinely offended by a question.

"What does it do?" Tatsuko asked.

"It's a curse, and a nasty one at that." Ritsuka said. "It creates a body double of the person you want to inflict it on…..and when you kill the double, it curses the target to death, anywhere, at any time. It doesn't matter where the target is, they will die if you kill the double."

"That is terrible…." Mashu muttered.

"It gets worse." Ritsuka said. "It will eventually rot the user's soul after continuous use."

"Why would anyone use that if it will kill them?!" Astolfo asked.

"There is a way around that…." Ritsuka said. "Teach it to someone, and get them to use it."

"That's awful!" Nero said.

"Did your caretaker ever teach you this?" Cleopatra asked.

Ritsuka shook his head. "She doesn't know how to use it, but she read about it somewhere years ago, and it disgusted her so much she vowed to never learn it. She told me about it as a warning of the dangers of Magecraft."

"It is indeed a good cautionary tale." Malgus said.

Mr. Mittens and Linus started to growl, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, and were immediately put on edge. They all began to look around for a potential ambush. Soon they heard a rustling sound, and saw the bushes not far ahead move slightly. Suddenly, a group of six goblins came out of the bushes, and charged at them with a loud battle cry. Roman appeared on the communicator with a concerned look.

"Guys, there are six signatures-"

"We know already." Tatsuko said. "And its goblins too."

"Oh no, it's going to end up like those porn videos where the goblins beat the men and take the girls back to their layer and do things to them!" Gary said from his seat in the Command Room.

Everyone looked at the man through the screen with extreme disgust and annoyance from the statement. Roman turned to glare at Gary and folded his arms across his chest. "Henry, get him out of here."

"With pleasure." The security chief said. Henry came over to Gary's cubicle and dragged him by the ear.

"It was just a joke!" Gary said.

Ritsuka grunted. "Shut up Gary!"

"They're getting closer." Nero said as she held her lions back.

"I'll deal with them." Jeanne said. The Ruler slowly walked in front of the group and stood against the incoming assailants. The first goblin raised a club to strike, but Jeanne deflected the blow and hit him on the head. The second goblin didn't even have time to react as Jeanne used her standard and hit him upside the head. The third and fourth goblins tried to coordinate their attacks, but Jeanne saw this, and hit them upside the heads with her flag in rapid succession. The fifth goblin tried to attack her feet, but Jeanne simply hit him on the head with her hand. The last goblin The final goblin leapt at Jeanne in order to strike her head, only for the Ruler to hit him on his head, sending him crashing down to the ground.

The Chaldean forces stared at the defeated assailants as they groaned and struggled to get back up. Nobunaga stepped up and aimed her rifles at the goblins, making the green skinned men nervous as soon as they saw them.

"What should we do with them?" Tatsuko asked.

"I'd say get rid of them." Nobunaga stated. "We don't know what they're capable of."

Ritsuka got in between her and the goblins. "Hang on a moment, let's not be hasty here. They might have some information."

Tatsuko raised an eyebrow. "You think these guys would know something?"

Ritsuka shrugged. "It can't hurt to try."

"I don't see why not." Siegfried said. "They could have seen something we missed."

Nobunaga chuckled as she dematerialized her rifles. "Well I guess it can't be helped!"

Ritsuka nodded at the archer, and then walked up to the goblins. The green skinned men stared at the human in surprise as he knelt down and smiled at them.

"Hi there." Ritsuka said gently. "Sorry about that, but I hope we can talk for a bit."

The goblins looked at each other, and nodded. They could tell he was being genuine, so they might as well take it. Their leader got up and stared at Ritsuka right in the eyes.

"Whaddya want to know string bean?"

Everyone stared at the goblins in shock. They did NOT expect the goblins to sound like that. Ritsuka regained his composure and narrowed his eyes. "Okay, first off, rude. Secondly, I was hoping you could tell us if you saw some other people running around here the past few days."

"We could have." The lead goblin said. "But then again all ya humans look the same to me, so it's gonna be hard to tell ya if you ain't specific."

"We're looking for the United Empire's camp that is stationed here." Tatsuko answered. "With any luck we can drive them out of Gaul."

The goblins eyes widened and wide smiles formed on their faces.

"Well why didn't ya just say so!" The lead goblin shouted. "We thought you guys were with 'em!"

"Seriously?" Nobunaga asked in disbelief. "Do we LOOK like we belong with them?"

"Hey how're we supposed to know huh?" The lead goblin asked. "We've been hidin' from them every time they come here, so when we saw more Roman soldiers come in our turf, we had enough and decided to attack ya."

The Chaldean forces sighed in disbelief. It was just one big misunderstanding.

"So, can you help us?" Mashu asked.

"Hey, ya scratch our back, we scratch yers." The lead goblin said.

Ritsuka nodded. "Thanks mr….."

"Ah, call me Moe, kid." The lead goblin asked. "This here is Curly, Bert, Fred, Rob and Wag."

Tatsuko raised an eyebrow. "Those are…pretty human names."

"Have ya ever met goblins before girlie?" Fred asked.

"No?" Tatsuko responded in a confused tone.

"Then don't be judging' our names!" Bert said.

"Well sorry for being curious!" Tatsuko said.

"Okay okay, how about we all just calm down a bit." Rob said. "We all have an enemy in common, so we should try and work together here."

"I agree." Nero said. "In fact, we could probably use some extra hands, just in case."

"How's about we take ya to our hideout." Fred said. "And we can talk more on the way."

"Then please, lead the way." Ritsuka said.

"Then follow us into the woods!" Moe said. The group nodded as they followed the six goblins into the woods, and towards their camp.

With any luck, they will be able to have more allies in ending the campaign in Gaul for good.

OC: Well, this was quite an interesting experience.

CV: And a rather sad one. But hey, suffering builds character.

OC: True. Then there's just crazy shit going on. Like the fact that we literally took four days to finish scene one.

CV: The first crazy week of the year!

OC: Yup, but hey the first scene was crazy on its own already. We had Simon's death, Caligula using his Noble Phantasm, Astolfo and Spartacus saving the day, which we will explain soon, and Lev Lainur having Command Seals!

CV: Simon should've had more care with his head, but hey, now he and Lhutel can be friends.

OC: True. And now for what I said earlier. I know some people will be wondering about Caligula's Noble Phantasm and why some weren't affected. Well for starters regarding Astolfo, I was talking to a friend on Reddit not too long ago about the last chapter and he pointed out that Astolfo gains his reasoning back when it's the full moon. So Vlad and I decided to make that a plot point and have him save the day, kind of. As for his book we don't know IF it could do what we made it do, but we decided to go with that to show Astolfo's full potential when he's rational. So I have to say this; Thanks Yatsu! You gave us the best idea ever! As for the Chaldean Trio? We just went with the idea that Mashu's magic resistance made them highly resistant to the madness, but not entirely immune. And Spartacus? We just thought it would be funny and awesome to see him rebel against the tyranny of Caligula's madness.

CV: Chaldea got good luck with their allies to counter Caligula's unpredictable NP.

OC: Yeah I wouldn't want to be in the same room as that…..LUNATIC.

CV: Moving on from that, some may wonder why we decided to have Mashu be the one who corrected the others about Caesar in the second scene. Well, Mashu is… How should I put it… Girl's starting to become more independent from early chapters, and we wanted to show it in that scene. That, and the fact that dear Mashu has a pretty good memory, so she'd remember.

OC: Then we also had Cleopatra already knowing Caesar was never an emperor and was waiting to see if anyone would say something, and when she saw Mashu hesitating, she decided to give a helping hand to let Mashu speak up and take that important step.

CV: She didn't want to take the spotlight from the cute eggplant lol.

OC: I sure wouldn't either. Then we have quite the lore dump for Ritsuka in the third scene. Yes, we know magic circuits are not meant to improve naturally or increase like this, but we decided to break the rules anyway because having him and Tatsuko stay at the same level as they started out is ABSOLUTELY BORING. It's incredibly formulaic at this point to have them always be "average", which doesn't really translate well in a written medium that will be an incredibly long and we wanted to give him and Tatsuko a bit of an edge now so they don't have to worry about running out of mana. And then there's his notebook which I found incredibly interesting to write in.

CV: Those that know FGO lore up to LB6 will already be familiar with the Fetch curse, but for those who aren't, we gave a small explanation in the story.

OC: And it gives us a chance to see Ritsuka knowing what kinds of spells can do what, and the consequences. He's not some person who was thrusted into the magic world, instead, he's pretty knowledgeable on certain subjects. And why did we choose Fetch of all things? Let's just say we are setting up a particularly nasty rivalry between two characters, and we wanted to show that here.

CV: We're setting things up from the very start. Which is good because knowing me, I'd probably forget if not reminded usually lol.

OC: True. And speaking of reminding, I was impressed with how Boudicca was reminded of Astolfo's and Spartacus's resistance to Caligula's Noble Phantasm, and called the meeting. Honestly it makes me wish she had an interlude.

CV: Sad that DW left a character like her with no further expansion, but hey, we can do it instead.

OC: Yup, and if they ever do decide to give her one, let's just hope they don't include goblins and rape jokes. That would just be terrible.

CV: No they would never!

OC: One can only hope! Though speaking of GAWWWWWBLINS, those of you who played a…..particular part of Lostbelt 6 will recognize a couple names here. Let's just say that we're making that particular Lostbelt even more tragic….and you can all thank me later for it hehehehe.

CV: I'll keep it well in mind, just in case.

OC: And I know people will be asking why the goblins are talking like this. And my only answer is because I had a scene that was similar to the one shown here and I thought it would be funny if the goblins spoke in a rough and tumble kind of dialect just for laughs. It was on my mind for two years, and I wanted to use it!

CV: Glad you can finally put it to use buddy. Well, that ends the first author notes of 2023, we hope you all enjoyed this chapter. CosmicVlad and Owenchaser signing off, have a good night everyone.