A Ghost in a Strange Land - God of War/Fate Grand Order crossover (2024)

A GHOST IN A STRANGE LAND

CHAPTER 29

HISPANIA

UNITED ROMAN EMPIRE CAPITAL

Lev Lainur Flauros was staring at the map spread out over one of his tables while he waited for the filth to be delivered to him. It was the same map the heads of the United Roman military forces, and their puppet of a God-Emperor were staring at right now, in the heart of the palace.

The human trash were likely bleating like the upjumped sheep that they were, suddenly seeing a war that had been nothing but a string of victories hitting a stumbling block. Their minds were limited by their mortal perspective - only the chained deity at the table could possibly see the board the way he could.

That they had lost Caligula was of no concern - the Berserker had been barely controllable, to the point where using him as a disposable assassin against his niece had been considered the most value they could get out of him. And they'd planned to retrieve him, and the officers they'd sent to mind him, even if the operation had ended up failing, as it had. That wires had gotten crossed with the locations had been an inevitable casualty of the primitive times they were stuck in - and humanity's inability to manage the perfection of the shared consciousness he and his brothers were blessed with.

What degenerate monkeys humans were.

Their enemies had honestly done them a favor in removing the Servant who had been such a nuisance to them on the high seas. It saved them from having to divert resources - namely a Servant - from more important battles to essentially swat an annoying fly. It allowed them to keep the powerful pair that were, even now, driving their forces to meet Nero's forces, on the front lines.

And it allowed him more time to decide just how he'd use the Servant he'd recalled to the capital for maximum damage against Kratos. The possibilities were endless - he was having difficulty deciding on just one.

If things hadn't changed at sea, he might have had to risk sending that Archer, which was a questionable proposition at best. Defiance still smoldered in the eyes of that Servant - oh, he was servile enough, at least on the surface, and the Command Seal they'd chosen to use on him kept him obedient, as far as they could tell. But his voice dripped with sarcasm whenever he spoke to his betters, and his body language spoke of one who wasn't broken, not by any metric. And, as they were loath to use a Command Seal to determine who exactly he was, they couldn't subject him to the same treatment Caesar got. So in that, Chaldea had actually done him two favors, removing an enemy, and not forcing them into a situation where that Archer could potentially cause trouble out of the eyes of his Masters.

He might have to make their upcoming deaths a fraction less painful, as a reward. Maybe. Though he likely would not. He OWED them, after all.

Caesar's loss, however, stung, and was a cause for concern, though only a mild one. Oh, it had shattered the morale of the farthest reaches of the armies in the field, and likely would until they linked up with the Legions that had been dispatched to absorb them and teach them the consequences of failure. But Caesar had been a reluctant follower - in breaking him to their leash, they had taken some of the spirit from him as well. Lev couldn't discount the possibility that Caesar had chosen to die by the hands of the true Romans to escape the hell he was trapped in.

No, things were still proceeding apace. This war had never once left the palm of his hand.

A heavy, booming knock sounded at his door, and he sent his consciousness out to the Homunculi who had been chosen to watch his doors. None too gently, but what did he care - Homunculi were even more disposable than humans, and it soothed his irritation to do so.

The door creaked open, and the cause of his current irritation hesitantly shuffled in.

It was a young man - though 'boy' would be a more appropriate title for this mortal whelp. Too young to be conscripted, and, still being in the early throes of puberty, not yet strong enough of body to truly aid the United Roman Empire's efforts in any meaningful way. Completely and utterly useless…

Except for the fact that this human rubbish had Master potential. So, for that reason alone, he had value.

As the brat stood before him, shuffling nervously, Lev was pleased that at least this one knew better than to meet his eyes. But the blood and ashes of the last one to do that was still scored into the floor - as a warning to the other human scum of what happened to insolent trash that forgot their place.

Lev peered down at the boy, wondering if he would be foolish enough to speak first - his ire was such that he would enjoy erasing this ape from existence, potential Master or not. But the sandy-haired youth kept his mouth shut, and his head down, so Lev supposed he would have to get on with it and make nice with the thing, much as he didn't wish to. He hated having to converse with humans, to lower himself to their insignificant level.

"Do you know why you have been summoned, boy?" Try as he might - and he wasn't trying hard - Lev wasn't able to keep the contempt from his voice when addressing mortal garbage these days. Fortunately, the peasantry of this time were used to that from the nobility, so it didn't seem out of place.

The boy, wisely, kept his head, and eyes down. "No, Consul. I was merely told that I was summoned to do a great service to the Empire. Nothing more." No tremor in his voice, that was good. The last one had soiled himself when Lev had first spoken.

"You are correct in that, boy." Lev didn't ask for their names. Lev didn't care what their names were. Only that they served. "You ARE here to serve the Empire, in a way only you can. The Emperor requires it of you."

The boy's head jerked up, but he caught himself, and didn't look Lev in the eyes, something that likely saved his worthless life. When he spoke, his voice was an awed whisper. "The….Holy Progenitor. What could a person like me…"

Lev was growing tired of this - no, he'd been tired of it before the waste had come to his door. "It takes much for such as the Holy Progenitor to walk this world, and to create the city you live in. And, as such, he requires a….connection. A human one. A select few humans are capable of this connection. You just so happen to be one of these."

The boy's face flushed, pleased. So his next words were unsurprising. "What must I do, Consul?"

Ah, blind devotion to a god-figure. So useful here, but just another reason humanity deserved to be wiped out to a man. They could not even commune with their beloved deity as he and his brothers could with their Lord, but they still bent the knee, assuming their gods cared (they did not). The sooner this was over, the better. "Simply say the words 'I accept the contract.' As this entire city is of great Romulus' making, he will hear it, and, if he judges you worthy, will accept it."

Lev was especially fond of that lie - Romulus was under so many spells to confound his immense power that he'd agree to a contract with the foulest wretch - possibly he would have even without the bindings, for they were all his 'beloved' children of Roma.

Disgusting.

The boy was shouting the words even before Lev had finished speaking. "I accept the contract!" The words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush, and then the boy yelped as three precious Command Seals burned their way into existence on his hand. As with all the others, it took the form of the Imperial Eagle of Rome - possibly some peculiarity of Contracting with a Divine Spirit as potent as Romulus. His will overriding that of the Grail's to put his stamp on his Master, rather than the Command Seal taking a form that represented the Master themselves.

Whatever the reason, he did not care. All that mattered was that the Contract was made, and they had three new Command Seals to use to keep their figurehead bound for a while longer.

"Good," said Lev, turning away from the child. "You and your family will be given quarters in the palace, as a reward for your service. In time, you will be asked to use those marks on your hand in a manner that will benefit the Holy Progenitor. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Consul." The boy sounded beside himself, probably lost in dreams of what his new life would be like from henceforth. He'd likely never seen such luxury before as he was led through the palace, and now, he was being informed he would live in it? His life was turning around, he must be thinking.

Lev wanted to laugh. But he had to maintain the fiction for a bit more. "Good. Then leave me. I have much work to do still."

The boy was led from the room, unable to see that his face was already looking a bit more hollow, and his sandy brown hair had become a touch lighter in the few moments since he'd made the contract. Romulus had an appetite for mana that was quite insatiable, after all.

The doors slammed shut, and Lev considered. What task to now address?

"ARE YOU CERTAIN THIS IS WISE, BROTHER? YOU GIVE MUCH POWER TO THE HUMANS."

Lev felt what passed for his gut in this flesh-sack curdle. Amon. Always Amon. Always second guessing him, always harassing him. Were they not emotionless by their very nature and creation, he would almost think his brother derived some twisted pleasure from this.

"The humans are well accustomed to the leash - without us even having to break them as we did Caesar. The sight of their 'Holy Progenitor' and they line up to put their necks in the yoke, out of 'love' ." The scorn dripped from his voice. "This one will burn up his life to feed Romulus, and expend his Command Seals as we ask, all unknowing that it keeps his beloved god chained to OUR will, in the end. I can only imagine their faces if they knew what we were truly asking of them. Though, when we have finally killed Kratos and Chaldea, and burnt Rome to the ground, I will treasure seeing these worthless humans scream as their god slaughters them, at OUR command."

"ALL WHILE YOU KEEP YOUR SERVANTS CHAINED BY FEAR. TRUE, IT IS HOW I WOULD PROCEED." Amon was quiet for a moment. "BUT BE WARY OF THESE HUMANS. IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR GODS, THERE IS LITTLE THEY WILL NOT DO. They will even betray a beloved brother if commanded to by a God they love and worship. THERE IS A FALL WAITING FOR YOU, FLAUROS, ONE YOU MAY NOT EVEN SEE. DO NOT LET YOUR PRIDE BLIND YOU TO THIS DANGER."

Amon's presence receded, and Lev scoffed. Betrayal by these mewling cattle would require more intelligence and initiative than any of them had. No, all was under control. His Servants served - willingly or not, and they had power enough to finally kill Kratos. Amon was worrying over nothing.

His nose curled, as it caught a whiff of the boy's remaining odor.

Human filth. Too many of them.

But not for much longer.

NORTH OF FLORENTIA​

It had been two days after the victory in Florentia before the Legions could move on.

One day had been inevitably lost due to the United Roman Empire having attacked at night. By the time they had been properly routed, and the other side of the river had been secured to the officers' satisfaction, it was nearly daylight, and the men weren't in any condition to be marching anywhere anytime soon. And the wounded had to be attended to, which included, in no specific order, both Jing Ke and Fujimaru herself, though the last Master of Chaldea was more exhausted than anything. She spent most of the next day asleep in her cot, while Jing Ke snoozed in the cot that had been provided for Chiron, a half-empty bottle of wine clutched to her chest, a happy smile on her face.

The second day had been lost to one long meeting of the top brass all asking one question 'What next?'. They'd been pushed back into the Italian peninsula for so long that they were pretty much blind to whatever else had been happening while their backs had been to the walls. And Kratos and Medusa hadn't uncovered anything of value in Sardinia - and he was unlikely to be able to provide any new information before a decision was made here. Like them, they had rested for a day in Calaris before setting back out onto the seas.

Nero, of course, was determined to head straight for Mediolanum, the nearest major city, and one the Romans had been forced to completely bypass on their frantic retreat south, leaving it to the tender mercies of the United Roman Empire.

Valerius eagerly supported this plan, both out of hot blooded desire for battle, and to maintain the momentum they had gained by routing an United Roman Empire army.

In the face of a coalition of the Emperor and the ranking Legate of the combined Legions, Fujimaru would have thought the rest of the officer corps would have rolled over and showed their bellies, but they had fought them on the decision. Most of them favored sending feelers into the Eastern provinces of Rome - seeing if they had been turned, and if they had not, replenishing their Legions from there. It was a plan that Nero found far too conservative, by her arguments.

Fujimaru honestly preferred the more conservative approach, herself. They'd torn a pretty good strip out of Caesar's Legions, but a good percentage of them had been able to escape. The Homunculi - well, Fujimaru wasn't sure if they'd just keep running until they dropped, or if they had some rudimentary survival instincts programmed in. But SOME officers had survived, and not all of them had been cowards, she felt, just ones who were savvy enough to see how Chiron had been taking out any that had tried to rally the troops, and had kept their mouths shut. A handful of them and they could restore some form of order to the remaining soldiers, and either link up with another big army at a major city, or lay low and turn them into a big problem in the Roman army's flank, just waiting for the right moment.

But Nero had been, well, not weird, because she was already kind of quirky. But there was a frantic edge to her that, while it had already been present in the woman, had been amplified ever since she'd heard Caesar's dying confession. But she supposed hearing that the founding deity of your civilization was opposing you would do that.

She hadn't understood until she'd asked Da Vinci for some background - she had a decent grounding in the Greek/Roman pantheon (Roman - planets, went her mnemonic that, while it didn't keep them completely straight, at least worked for most of the major gods), Romulus didn't usually show up in the mythology, so she was fairly ignorant there. A quick Da Vinci tutorial session and she was up to speed, and properly terrified. This was a guy that could probably stand toe to toe with Kratos and not flinch back even a little.

(Cu, of course, was beyond excited. He wanted to fight Romulus in the worst possible way, to the point Avenger was worrying to Fujimaru that she might end up tied in a locked closet somewhere when her turn to switch in came up. Possibly on the moon.)

In the end, Nero had won by the virtue of being the Emperor, and they had set out to Mediolanum the next day. They were leaving about a half of a Legion behind just in case the stragglers from the battle decided to try to take the city once they'd left. In total, that left them down about one whole Legion, half to invest Florentia, and half lost in casualties, both the wounded and dead.

It was a massive number, to Fujimaru, but all the officers were praising her for her plans, insisting they'd gotten off light. Her status in the camp had taken a massive jump in just two days - to the point she'd already been asked about her family's status back in the lands of Chaldea, and if her parents would possibly be open to a Roman match.

(And here her mother had despaired of her ever being seen as a worthwhile catch by anyone of quality and breeding. Mind, she halfway thought the Musiks would have taken her if offered - ignoring that she and Gordy both would have openly revolted at that.)

Needless to say, it had made the next few days interesting, if a bit awkward. She was still being chosen to ride with Nero, so that meant a steady stream of officers throughout the day, some of whom had been there to talk with her as much as the Emperor. She'd dredged up years of etiquette training that had lain fallow, and had largely comported herself as something within spitting distance of a, if not well-bred young lady, at least not a complete bumpkin.

Though she was about to ask Da Vinci to send her a handful of cards with 'I'm sorry, I'll have to ask my parents about any potential plans for my hand.' printed on them in Latin so she could just hand them out, and not keep repeating that phrase. By the time she was done here, she was probably going to have a dossier of potential Roman suitors to take home and let her parents browse through.

(Thinking about it, she MIGHT just do that. Be a hell of a thing to drop on them when she first saw them after putting the world back to rights.)

She didn't talk about it during the days, while they could be overheard, but at nights, the Chaldean contingent was a frequent visitor to Nero's tent, both for meals, as she seemed to be trying to apologize for that bit of ugliness at the end of the battle, in her own Nero-ish way, by lavishing them with the best food she could manage.

As it was camp food, it wasn't much in the way of lavishing. But the thought counted for something, at least in Fujimaru's book.

But it wasn't just wining and dining them that was Nero's aim - though she was very eager to be appreciated (or loved) by them. But once they had full bellies, the conversation always turned to Romulus, and what to do about him.

"It's going to get out, one way or another, Emperor," said Jing Ke, taking a long swig from her goblet. "You'd best get ahead of it, before it blows up in your face. Because you can't control when and what your enemies are going to do with that information." Another long swing, then she snatched the bottle to refill her glass. "But it's stupid of them to hide it like this. If it was me, I'd have been trumpting that from every tower from the moment we started fighting. I saw how bad morale was - it'd have been WORSE if you'd have been backed up like you were, with the knowledge that your Holy Progenitor still hadn't taken the field yet."

Nero, who had barely touched her food, and HADN'T touched her wine, sighed heavily. "I know. I know that well, Auxiliary Jing Ke." She picked up her goblet and swirled the wine in it around for a few moments, before setting it down again. "But it is the scale, the MAGNITUDE of it all that I am struggling with. Romans grow up hearing tales of our Founder from the time we are in the cradle. To hear that he stands against us - and worse, has been enslaved….I do not know which is worse. To think of raising one's hands to him is inconceivable. To think of such a being being subjugated by another….there are no words in the tongues of Rome, any of its provinces, or the uncivilized barbarian lands to describe such."

Sighing, she seized her goblet again and drained it in a single motion. "I find myself missing the usual politics of Rome."

Fujimaru (who was being served fruit juice - Chiron, Romani, and Da Vinci had all been adamant that she WAS underage for HER time period and thus would not be indulging any more than Mash would be - and Cu and Avenger had been NO help at all on this front, as their agreement with Fujimaru had just hardened the voices against her) pushed her plate back, her belly doing a happy dance at being fed something other than Chaldean rations, and settled back into the chair. "So, what then? We just kick the can down the road and hope?"

Nero sighed, eying the bottle in Jing Ke's hands, possibly thinking of fighting the woman for it, then thought better of it. "I need more time."

In the end, nothing had been decided on that front. All of them, from Romani to Da Vinci, to all the Servants capable of human speech (and Jing Ke was adamant that Lu Bu was on their side in this) were agreed, the information about Romulus was a ticking time bomb that was primed to blow the Roman forces' morale six ways from Sunday. But Nero was dragging her feet.

Flatly, she was scared. From what Fujimaru could tell, she'd been scared since the United Roman Empire had first reared their ugly head and began their winning streak. The appearance of the Emperors of yore only amplified that fear - and now, the news about Romulus was the straw that broke the camel's back. And she'd been holding to a mask - that of the untouchable Emperor who fought at the front lines yet still shone like Venus, uninjured, unflappable, indefatigable, that she was pulling something of a Ritsuka Fujimaru special - running and hiding from the truth, hoping it would resolve itself.

Fujimaru rested an arm across her face as she shifted in her cot. She was probably going to have to have a talk with Nero sooner rather than later. Hopefully the fondness the tiny woman felt for her would allow her the leeway as she gave her a blow-by-blow of how she'd screwed up years of her life with that kind of thinking. Hell, she was still having to suppress her instincts on that now, and the stakes were much higher than the mediocre life that had been looming ahead of her before she signed up to join Chaldea.

Maybe after they got to Mediolanum. Rooms were much more secure for those kinds of talks - though they usually came with things, like vases full of flowers (Nero LOVED her roses, after all) that could be thrown at people.

Least she'd gotten reasonably good at dodging things - she was up to the second level of Sensei's dodgeball training.

They drew up to Mediolanum the next day, prepared for a fight, as it was the logical fallback point from Florentia. Which explains their surprise when they looked upon it.

"Impossible," muttered Nero, peering through Fujimaru's binoculars (which had been quickly 'appropriated' to let the Emperor look upon the walls of Mediolanum). "But….there is no sign of the enemy. The standard of Rome, not that bastard replica of the United Roman Empire, flies above the gates. And the walls…"

"No sign of recent damage - and with walls that high and thick, if the United Roman Empire took this city, it would have had to have been through siege," commented Chrion.

"Or, you know, treachery," interjected Jing Ke, from where she was riding on Lu Bu's shoulder. No bottle of alcohol was present, and her eyes were chips of obsidian. "But they're flying the wrong flag for that. Unless this is a big old trap. But the gate being open feels off for that."

"Even with whatever troops are garrisoning the city, we without question have more accompanying us," said Valerius, his eyes only slightly softer than Jing Ke's. "Possibly they could be thinking of assassinating you once you are within the city's walls. But if that is not their plan, I can't see what advantage they can gain by allowing us the shelter of the walls. Far better to take us in the plains around the city, before we can invest it. The walls would negate their advantage in numbers."

Chiron was scanning the flat ground around Mediolanum. "And while the grounds do show signs of many men having crossed through here somewhat recently - there is no place to hide them. The forests are too far for them to ambush us before we could gain entry - assuming the gates stay open."

"Hammer and anvil if they don't," said Fujimaru. "But if we send a small party, we could be there and back again if they won't open up - the hill we're on is decent enough to deter them for a time if they run straight at us." She licked her lips. "Maybe….they did surround the city, but never got around to trying to take the walls. And then when they heard we killed Caesar, they fell back to somewhere else, worried that they'd be the ones being trapped between the old rock and a hard place?"

Everyone was quiet for a bit, thinking it over. Finally, Jing Ke broke the silence.

"If there's a trap here - short of every citizen drawing a knife and rushing you once you're inside, I'm not seeing it," she said, dropping from Lu Bu's shoulder. "Want me to go take a peek before you lot march through the gates?"

Nero nodded. "Go. We shall draw up to the gates and see what kind of welcome we receive."

Jing Ke skipped off, fading from sight as she passed by a large chunk of rock.

Nero turned back to the rest of them. "Valerius, you will remain here. You I trust the most to hold the Legions together should our enemies appear - whether we choose to stand our ground or fall back. My Praetorians and the Chaldeans will come with me, along with my standard bearer. Should we be permitted entrance, he will give the appropriate signal."

Valerius nodded. "Do not think of entering that city one footstep before I get there, my Emperor. This still may be some bizarre trap that we have not seen the truth of yet."

Nero gave him a sly smile. "Please, my Legate. My mother, for all her failings, raised me better than that. I will remain outside, while the Chaldeans ensure we control the gate - so there will be no chance we are kept out should the enemy appear. Any one of them can easily hold the gatehouse by themselves - so this many will be overkill, should circ*mstances force our hand."

And that, apparently, was that, and how Fujimaru found herself holding onto the reins of the chariot as Nero bellowed up to the walls, her personal standard clearly visible - not that the Praetorian Guard and their distinctive armor wasn't a dead giveaway as to who was standing in front of the gates to Mediolanum.

Truthfully, it turned out to be a bit of a letdown. The gates were quickly opened, and Chiron and Lu Bu quickly slipped in in Spirit Form and watched carefully to make sure they weren't about to be slammed shut anytime soon. But from what Jing Ke was saying in Fujimaru's head, the citizens didn't seem overly agitated - in truth, they seemed like they were over the moon to see some signs of life from Rome. And to have the Emperor of Roses herself being the one at the gates? Jubilation.

It still felt way too easy to her, but she wasn't the one calling the shots here - and much as she stared at this puzzle, she couldn't see where the trap was hiding.

So she fingered the hilts of her knives and kept her head on a swivel.

'From what I can gather, the United Romans really were besieging the city until recently. Then they apparently pulled back during the night - the citizens of the town went to sleep with the army still encircling the city, then woke up to empty plains this morning. Best I can tell, they really pulled back when we got close.' Jing Ke's mental voice sounded as skeptical as Fujimaru herself felt about the whole thing, but she still couldn't fit the square peg of 'trap' into the round hole that was their current situation.

What wasn't she - and everyone else - not seeing?

'It is possible what we have here is exactly what it appears to be, my student,' said Chiron, though there was skepticism in his voice too. 'Tactically, I do agree, however. I cannot see the logic in just handing us this city - with strong walls, granaries that we can resupply from, and a fresh infusion of troops. And the city itself is an excellent place to strike out from, whether we decide to drive further into occupied territory, or attempt to bolster our numbers from the East.' Fujimaru received a brain-to-brain shrug from her Sensei and they both admitted to being stumped.

Nero, for her part, looked to be on Cloud Nine. The cheering crowds, the mass adulation - they were showering her with rose petals, of COURSE - the hero's welcome, Fujimaru could only imagine it was a soothing balm for a very battered psyche. Her expression was reaching new and potentially terrifying levels of smug with every step she took through the city, right up until they reached the Governor's mansion, and an older man who everyone was taking their cues from bowed his head, and said, simply, "I'm sorry, Emperor Nero."

And there was the crack of thunder, despite the skies being completely clear.

'Fuuuuuu….Ritsy? You're going to want to get to the walls RIGHT NOW!' If Jing Ke's voice when she was on her game was the cold steel of her favorite dagger, right now it was a cat trapped in a room with a gang of hungry wolves, with no high place to jump to.

The old governor looked like he was dying by inches as Nero whirled on him, her face livid. "Governor Sergius! You WILL explain yourself!"

The old man fell to his knees. "We never bent our heads to them. Our walls never fell, and our gates never opened. But then, last evening, he flew in, and told us what would happen. Some of my men tried to object." His face twisted in sorrow. "They died - quickly, despite being some of the finest warriors from the nearby Imperial Provinces. In the face of that overwhelming power…..there was nothing we could do but agree, what with the blade to our necks….to our families' necks like that."

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "You should go to the walls, Emperor Nero. He wishes to speak with you."

There was fury in Nero's eyes (and, maybe she was imagining it, but Fujimaru thought she smelled that stink again, very, VERY faintly) as she rushed from the Governor's palace, Fujimaru and Mash hot on her heels.

If nothing else, their mad dash through the city streets confirmed that the people of the city had been completely in the dark - all of them were staring at the sky and pointing at the object that was circling around the city, lightning trailing behind it. Those who weren't outright panicking, at least. Fujimaru bit down on her lip and focused Reinforcement into her eyes, zooming in on the thing above them, but it was moving too fast for her to get a good look at it.

Then they were climbing the walls.

By the time they reached the top of the walls, the Unidentified Flying Object was circling lower and lower, and Fujimaru could finally make it out - it was a chariot, being pulled by two, frankly, MASSIVE bulls, lightning crackling around its wheels. But Fujimaru didn't have eyes only for that - for she could see on the fields surrounding the city that there was suddenly a massive army where there had been none not moments before, moving to fully encircle the city.

"That's……that's a Servant signature in the sky. And an ENORMOUS one, at that," muttered Romani into her ear.

As the chariot neared, they could hear it, over the lowing of the bulls, and the snapping sound of the lightning, a raucous, booming laughter.

Finally, the flying chariot landed a respectable distance away from them - still far too close for Fujimaru's comfort (and her hair, which was frizzing up like she'd stuck her finger into a live electrical socket), and a man dismounted.

He was every bit as big as his ride. He'd have a head, at least on Kratos, and was easily as broad as the Spartan was. Skin, a dark olive, and fiery red hair sprouted from his head and face in a shaggy mane, with an equally impressive beard framing his weathered face. His clothes were a brown skirt and cuirass, trimmed with gold. At his hip was a short sword - though the blade itself was likely larger than both of Fujimaru's arms put together.

All together, it was a friendlier face than Fujimaru had been expecting when he'd descended from the sky. Or it would have been, if the pressure emanating off of him wasn't screaming at her to do one thing, and one thing only.

(KNEEL.)

He looked at them and grinned, though there was curiosity in his eyes as he looked them over. "Boy? Where did you get yourself to?" He looked over his shoulder, then shrugged. "Hopefully you didn't fall off. You've still never really taken to the Gordius Wheel, even after all this time. But you can take care of yourself, I suppose. I do think you were here when we took off, but it is possible you're still in the camp, putting together your many plans."

Shaking his head fondly, the man boldly walked right up to Emperor Nero and stopped, towering over her.

Nero, for her part, wasn't backing down an inch in the face of the giant man. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her chin was tilted up. "You do not look like any of the busts of my famed ancestors. To whom do I address?"

The Servant grinned down at her. "You're a tiny thing, aren't you? Even smaller than that Saber I once spoke of Kingship with. But I can see it. Just like her, you are fierce." He laughed, and Fujimaru swore that if the situation wasn't so tense, he might have patted the Emperor on her head. And possibly gotten bitten for his trouble.

He raised his arms to the side, and thunder BOOMED. "I….am ISKANDAR! The King of Conquerors!" He looked at all of them, his grin only growing bigger as their eyes widened. "I see Emperor Nero, and the Mage Fujimaru - and her two Servants. But where is this 'Kratos' that my master has spoken of? I wished to lay my eyes upon a genuine Spartan and see if he matched the stories I have been told of him."

Fujimaru felt a trickle of sweat run down her back as Nero turned narrowing eyes on her. Well that's just great, the cat's at least partially out of the bag now. At least the big guy hadn't said the 'g' word yet. Distract, distract!

"Kratos isn't here," she said. "He's off to the south, dealing with the ships you and yours have infesting the waters down there." They were, in fact, drawing pretty close to Corsica as of this morning. Depending on how things shook out, they might have already seen battle. But she couldn't well ask Romani about that right at this instant, as she had bigger (literally) things to worry about right now.

Iskandar's arms dropped to his side, and his wide grin morphed into a frown. "A shame. He would have been a worthy adversary, if what I hear of him is true." A hint of red flickered in the man's eyes. "The victories I have earned so far have been beneath me - no challenge to them. Even had my advisor not been doing everything in his power to keep casualties low - at my behest, mind, there has been no one to face me as an equal, no Darius to force the best out of me."

Nero's hands were on her hips - if she was at all intimidated by being face to face with Alexander the Great, she wasn't showing it, but Fujimaru supposed that after facing down her uncle and Caesar in quick succession, the legendary Macedonian king was just business as usual for how weird Nero's life was becoming. "Let me see if I understand this. You claim you are trying to keep casualties….low?"

Iskandar gave a dismissive sniff that somehow managed to not seem insulting. "Of course I am! We could have had this city in a heartbeat, had we so desired it. But it is a lovely city. To take it by force would have been to despoil it so that it held only a fraction of its worth. That is not how I lived my life. Victory without elimination, ruling without humiliation - THAT is true conquest!"

A sheepish expression crossed his face. "And, well…..we may have believed Caesar was close to victory, and I thought, 'Well, once that is done, these holdout cities like Mediolanum will see the light and surrender, and that would work out best for all concerned.' So I held off from taking it, thinking the war was a few short days from being over." He shrugged, then grinned at the Emperor. "Though it has complicated things for us, I must offer my praise, little Emperor of Roses. To overcome the odds that were stacked against you is a feat worthy of praise!"

Nero looked, in a word, gobsmacked. Iskandar continued. "But now, well, with Caesar sent back to the Throne, I find myself leading the armies of the United Roman Empire. And I can no longer be as merciful as I wish - while I would yearn to take this city peacefully, conquest has an ugly side, and a King cannot shy away from such. Ugliness that I will be forced to unleash upon you if you do not surrender."

He gestured at the plains around the city. "For surrender is the only option left to you. You are surrounded - penned in. If we so wished it, we could easily march to Florentia and finish what Caesar started there, all while you could do nothing but watch - if you quit the safety that these walls provide you, you will be cut to ribbons by the numbers I command."

"Why allow us to enter, then?" asked Chiron. "As you say, you outnumber us greatly - you could have taken us on the fields and scattered us easily. Why do this, instead?"

Iskandar laughed. "For the challenge of it, of course! My advisor may constantly be looking for ways to turn the battlefield on its head, but I prefer an honest, straight up fight. I have been bored with these easy victories. And this way, I am given the chance to offer you terms. His way would have seen us strike before you even knew we were there. It would have been a slaughter. I would avoid that, if at all possible." He huffed a laugh. "He is a good boy, for all that he gripes incessantly, and has a mind of wheels and schemes. But he has not yet grasped that his ways are not always the best, where I am concerned. Not fully, at least." He smiled, fondly. "But he is devoted, and a loyal follower, so I am glad to have him by my side for this war."

He looked down at Nero, at the fury simmering in her eyes, and shook his head. "Though I think I can guess what your answer to my next question will be, based on the stories I have heard from those who saw what happened when Caesar treated with you. Will you bend the knee, Emperor Nero?"

Nero gave a haughty laugh. "Never! Whether you are Alexander the Great or not, I WILL defeat you. The sun has set upon Macedonia's day - it now resides as one of the provinces of Rome!" She jabbed the point of her blade into the stone of Mediolanum's walls, her feet set and defiant.

Iskandar barked a laugh, and began walking back to his chariot. "EXACTLY what a king should say, Tiny Emperor! It is almost a waste to have to kill you. After my victory, maybe I shall keep you around as a trophy - though not in THAT fashion." He gave her a grin that just managed to not be a leer. "I demand my lovers to be willing - and I feel you would be quite the prize in that regard, were you to come to me of your own accord. Otherwise, you would serve just as well as a part of my court. I feel I would enjoy your repartee as much as your beauty."

He turned back to the chariot, and stepped back into the carriage. "Brace yourselves, for the full might of the United Roman Empire is about to descend upon you!"

Fujimaru's mind was racing. Before she could think better of it, her mouth was moving. "You said Darius? Big guy, wears a lot of gold, pitch black skin, rolls with a bunch of skeletons?"

Iskandar, who had been taking up the reins of his vehicle, paused. "Yes? Why?"

Everyone's eyes were on Fujimaru, and she just wanted to curl up onto a ball and glitch through the world. But she didn't do that, and somehow kept talking. "He was hanging around in the sea to the south of here - waiting for you on a ship of bones." She swallowed, and looked up (and UP) and met the King's eyes. "Kratos beat him."

You could hear that metaphorical pin drop for what seemed like an age. Then Iskandar burst into laughter - big, loud belly laughs that dwarfed the laughs he'd graced them with before. Slapping the edge of his chariot (or the rumps of the bulls when he missed), bent over, grin so wide it could split his face. Finally, he regained some control of himself, though chuckles still escaped his lips. "DID he now? While that is very interesting, what of it?"

"You were saying you were looking for a real challenge. How does the guy who beat your biggest rival sound?" Iskandar set the reins back on the edge of his carriage, and she knew her bait was working, at least. Now to get him on the line. "We could get him here, so you could have that glorious fight you want so badly."

"From the seas to the south?" The Servant scoffed. "Not in any reasonable time - and while I am granted some leeway in how I prosecute this war, my Masters will not allow me to sit for weeks while the Emperor of Rome lies in my grasp."

"Wouldn't be weeks," said Fujimaru, desperately trying to keep his interest. "There's a Servant with him - yeah, he's a Master too, like me, only one who can slug it out with you Servants a lot better. But she could have him up here in…." She calculated. "Five days. Be enough time to get him and her here in a decent condition - enough to give you a really good fight."

The big man's fingers drummed on the lip of his carriage, while Fujimaru crossed her fingers and prayed. Finally, he held up his hand, four fingers raised. "Four days, Fiery Mage. That is all the time I can allow you. On my word as King, there will be no hostilities until dawn, four days from now." Red flickered in his eyes once more. "But on that morning, we attack, whether Kratos is here or not. Do you agree to this?"

Fujimaru turned to Nero and begged her with her eyes to say yes. "Very well," said the Emperor. "We accept your offer of clemency, temporary though it is. No hostilities until the sun rises for the fifth time from when we last spoke."

Iskandar shook his head. "No, not from when last we spoke - if we are to wait, I would hope to see you, all of you again. To speak with another King is a rare treat for me - I may return to this spot in the time between, seeking your company, Little Emperor of Roses." He grinned. "If you would be amenable to humoring a fool such as I, that is."

Nero rolled her eyes. "As you wish it, King of Conquerors. Five sunrises from now. As to your other proposal?" She shrugged. "We shall see."

Iskandar beamed. "Then there is some hope! I shall see you before long, then!" He cracked the reins, and his bulls took off, his laughter trailing behind him, leaving a scorched patch of stone atop the walls.

Nero turned to her, the Emperor's green eyes calculating. "Now, Lady Fujimaru, I have questions for you. Starting with what exactly that man meant by calling Kratos a 'Spartan'."

Fujimaru gulped.

MEDIOLANUM

LATER THAT EVENING

Fujimaru pushed the door to her room closed, and halfway thought about dragging the table against it to make a barricade. Not that it would stop the Servants from getting in, but it might keep pushy Emperors out.

Fujimaru had learned new and varied ways to say 'I can't say, these are Kratos' secrets, not mine, and I'm not about to betray the confidence of a man who can rip a Servant in two with his bare hands' over the past two hours. Nero hadn't been mad - well, she HAD been mad, but not really - more frustrated than anything at Fujimaru's continued refusals to talk. Eventually, she had been talked down by Chiron (thank you, Sensei) and had left to handle some of the dozens of other things that needed the Emperor's attention - like issuing a sternly worded set of orders to everyone in the city that there wouldn't be even the hint of hostilities until the set date.

She'd probably doomed Kratos to an interrogation session of his own when he got here. She was dreading the furrowed brow she was going to get from him.

But they were on their way, now, Pegasus flying across the oceans in a direct beeline to Mediolanum. While she'd been face to face with Alexander the Great, they'd been sinking a few ships they'd stumbled across while creeping around Corsica, and had sent them to the briny deep. No one of what was being called the Southern Expedition was happy about having to detach and rush to join them, but all agreed it was a necessary evil. The ships, lacking Medusa and Kratos, were pulling back and looking to harass any smaller groups they could ambush - and would fall back to Calaris in the face of a larger force.

Fujimaru was ready to fall into her bed and just be DONE with the day, and would have, if it wasn't for one thing.

Another damned scroll.

She didn't even bother calling for Jing Ke, just tore the seal off it and rolled it open.

Much more to the point this time. A simple 'Tonight, midnight. Bring only your Assassin, the others will likely be unable to slip out of the city without drawing notice.', and a drawing of the surrounding countryside - with a cave outlined with an 'X' over it.

Wonderful.

She tossed her communicator onto the table and activated it, while jabbing at the part of her brain that felt like Jing Ke - thankfully it didn't feel like she'd gotten too far into the city's supply of booze. Give the woman credit, she was climbing into Fujimaru's window about at the same time that Romani and Da Vinci were starting to outline how many ways this could go bad.

"Do we have another choice here, though?" she asked. "This guy, whoever he is, has given us good intel once already, and it seems like he's the one who stranded Caligula's forces to boot, so if he's got another rabbit that he can pull out of his hat to help us with this situation, I want it. Plus, a face-to-face with him lets us ask questions, which I know everyone has. I mean, I certainly do!"

Romani looked to be working himself up to protest, then he deflated like a balloon when Da Vinci patted him on the shoulder. "She's right, Roman. Mysterious informants are nice for mystery novels, but we need to suss this guy out better than we can from a few terse letters. And if he is setting us up for a fall, better we find out now rather than when our position is more precarious."

Da Vinci turned a smile on Jing Ke, one that didn't touch her eyes. "Because I'm sure Jing Ke would never dare to let something happen to our Master here, would she?"

Jing Ke laughed, though there was a nervous edge to it - when Aunt Da Vinci got scary, she got SCARY. "They'll have to step over my dead body to do so. It may only be a temporary Contract, but I take those things seriously. I'll bring her back, or I won't come back at all."

Mash wasn't happy about being left behind, however. "Senpai…" Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs, Fou nervously clutched on her lap.

Fujimaru leaned in and gave her Kohai the best hug she knew how to give. "Hey, Mashie, it'll be ok. Don't get me wrong, I wish you were coming with me for this - your shield's great to hide behind. But there's going to be times on this crazy journey we're on that we're going to get separated. I'll be fine, trust me."

Mash sighed, her face still turned up in a worried pout. "I do. I just worry. If you don't come back…"

"Mashie, you're currently being trained by Kratos and the Irish Heracles. Anyone who tries to hurt me has no idea of the world of hurt they'd be in for from you. There might not be enough left for those two after you get done with whoever lays a finger on me."

Mash's pout turned a fraction less worried, and more cute. "I don't think I would be quite that violent, Senpai."

Fujimaru laughed and gave Mash another squeeze, then pulled away from her and turned to Jing Ke. "I'm guessing we're doing this piggyback?"

Jing Ke nodded. "I'll absolutely want my hands free for this, so yeah. Best hold on tight, Ritsy."

"I will keep a respectable distance away - but I should be able to see this cave without too much trouble. The night is clear, after all." Chiron was smiling, but there was an edge to it. "Just say the word, my Master, and I will provide whatever you need - be that covering fire, or a precise shot."

"Thanks Sensei. I'll be careful - and I'll yell at the first sign of trouble." One hair-ruffling later, and she was mounted on Jing Ke's back.

"You good back there, Ritsy? No time to do this gently, I'm afraid." Fujimaru nodded, trying to decide which of Jing Ke's bony shoulders was less likely to choke her if she rested her head on them - wiry didn't do the woman justice.

"Then here we go!" And the madwoman just leapt out of the window like she did it every day.

Which, in fairness - Servant. She probably did do it on a semi-regular basis.

In her short lifetime, Fujimaru had developed a habit of trying to stay out from under her parents' (or Susumu's) notice once she'd stopped living up to their expectations of what a mage of their bloodline was supposed to be capable of. She'd gotten, she felt, passably good at creeping through the house without making much noise (easier to sneak out of the stifling place), fading into a crowd (easier to avoid Susumu's attention when her sister was looking for her, either at one of her regular hangout spots or just if she didn't feel like dealing with her at the moment), or just being forgettable during big family dinners (easier to have the adults' eyes ghost over you and not get another lecture about what a disappointment you were). So she had a reasonable idea of how difficult sneaking about was.

Jing Ke didn't make so much as a whisper as she skipped from roof to roof, then up the wall, and then down to the ground.

Assassin Class Servants - capable of making real life ninjas look like bumbling toddlers, apparently.

They were at the location outlined in the note in what felt like a flash. Fujimaru felt Chiron's (comforting) presence settle down a distance away as she dropped from Jing Ke's back. She took a deep breath, and cracked her knuckles. "Guess we should get on with this."

She made to enter the cave, but Jing Ke's arm stopped her. "I lead, Ritsy. Just in case. Call it enlightened 'I don't want that woman to do whatever she'd do to me if I bring you back with so much as a hair out of place' self-interest."

Fujimaru nodded, and followed the woman into the cave.

It wasn't terribly deep. And it wasn't dark, or dank, either, surprisingly. As she stepped into the room, Fujimaru felt the familiar sensation of a Bounded Field washing across her skin, and suddenly, the empty chamber wasn't so empty.

It had actually been set up as a rather pleasant sort of room - some tapestries covered the walls and a ring of braziers crackled merrily around a pair of chairs that faced each other, ones that Fujimaru would definitely classify as 'fancy'. And a handful of other decorations were scattered around the room - one was a big Ying Yang symbol that rested between a pair of tapestries. There was also a table in the room, upon which rested some wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and a fan.

There was a man standing before the table, a cigar in his hands. Blinking almost owlishly at them. "Earlier than I expected you."

Tall - just a touch over 6 feet, if she was any judge. She couldn't tell his age - his face had the lines she would expect of an older man, but his hair (which was long, shiny, and jet black - man had some NICE hair - she suppressed an urge to run her fingers through it) didn't show a single hint of gray. Oddly enough, he was wearing a modern black suit and red tie. Seeing that, of all things, in the middle of the Roman Empire left her feeling a bit off-kilter. The suit worked for him, though - even if he was a beanpole, he pulled the look off well.

She'd also watched enough Sherlock - in the original language, having an American father meant she'd been raised bi-lingual - to recognize a British accent when she heard one. Which didn't help her at all in placing this man, to be fair, but it was something she noticed.

Jing Ke, on the other hand, was staring at the tapestries on the walls. "I recognize those things - saw at least one of them in the Imperial Palace on the day I was supposed to assassinate the Emperor. But you…" Her eyes narrowed. "You don't look Chinese. Trying to put me at ease?"

The man took a puff of his cigar, and shook his head. "No. They make the cave more tolerable. I know Servants don't really feel the cold, but always preferred the warm - ironic considering how miserable England gets in the winters. But without my assistant, I have to do what I can to warm the place up. She was always better at taking care of myself than I was."

Fujimaru decided to cut right to the chase. "Are you the one who's been helping us, and leaving me these scrolls - like the one that told me to come here?"

He nodded. "I am. Lord El-Melloi II. Your co-conspirator."

There was a twin pair of strangled gasps. One from her, and one from her suddenly active communicator. Romani managed to find his voice first, simply because Fujimaru's mind had gone blank. "A Lord of the Clock Tower? Here? But, I mean…how? You're not just a modern Servant, you're pretty much current-day?"

The man frowned. "It's a bit of a long story. Shall we sit?"

Fujimaru happily took him up on the offer, as her legs were feeling just a touch wobbly. Clock Tower Lords had been described to her by her parents (and the Musiks) with the same reverence - and FEAR - that little kids had used for kaiju, back when they were still young enough to believe there was a very real possibility that Gojira was going to stomp through Tokyo at some point in the nebulous future. And there was one now, sitting across from her…one who looked like he forgot to eat two meals out of three, and had stress lines that made him look a good decade older than he probably was.

Fujimaru felt her stomach settle just a little. He's a Servant - just like the two that throw tennis balls and really loud bubbles at me, or like the chunnibyou best friend I've made. And I share a table with an actual physical god. I can do this.

She still was tensed to move at the slightest twitch from him, whatever she told herself.

Jing Ke was looming over her shoulder like a very pointy attack dog (only two chairs in the room), as the Lord took his seat with at least some of the elegance she would expect from someone in the upper crust of the Mage aristocracy. He took one last drag on his cigar, then stubbed it out. "You are, of course, correct. Lord El-Melloi II never achieved enough in life to qualify for the Throne of Heroes. I'm what's known as a Pseudo-Servant."

"Pseudo-Servant?" Romani sounded about as confused as she was.

"Essentially, a Servant using a compatible human body as a vessel." The Lord leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "It allows a Servant who, ordinarily, could not be summoned by the usual mechanisms to be summoned - either because they are too weak, or too powerful." A small smirk graced his face. "Such as in the case of a powerful Divine Spirit. Or because the Heroic Spirit in question refuses to fully manifest."

This time, there were three gasps, with Da Vinci joining her and Romani. "You mean to say..?"

"No," Lord El-Melloi II shook his head. "My partner isn't quite that potent. I was more thinking of what might happen if that god you have on your side should manage to get inscribed upon the Throne, and what might be necessary for him to be summoned to this world as a Servant."

And THERE was the 'g' word. The part of her brain that had been given over to Jing Ke suddenly got very, very cold and focused.

Heedless of the bombshell he'd dropped on the dynamic Fujimaru had possessed with Jing Ke, the man continued. "But in the interests of full disclosure - as I suspect you still have misgiving about me, given all the cloak and dagger I've been forced to engage in to this point with you, the Servant I'm bonded with is Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming."

Fujimaru hadn't been the biggest of Three Kingdoms fans, but even she'd heard that name. And Jing Ke had gone from suspicious to something approaching respectful. "How does that work, anyways?" asked Fujimaru, once she found her voice. "Are you some sort of combination of him and you, or do you each have your own separate consciousnesses? We have a Demi-Servant with us, and she's kind of on her own."

The man's full attention turned to her, and she flushed, despite herself. "And….do I need to call you 'Your Lordship' or something? Sorry if I've been rude, but my parents thought the odds of any of us meeting a Clock Tower Lord was this side of never, so they never went over the protocols." With her, at least. She vaguely suspected Susumu had gotten them.

"Lord El-Melloi II is fine, though 'Sir' will do as well. It's what my assistant used most often, and it sufficed." He tilted his head slightly. "Also, Demi-Servant? That isn't something either myself or Kongming have heard of before."

"It's…..something of a proprietary secret of Lord Animusphere's," said Romani, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Obviously, your Lordship, you being a Lord will understand there are things we cannot fully disclose, even with another Lord - at least at this time."

The Servant sighed, but nodded. "Clock Tower paranoia. I suppose I was being overly optimistic to think the end of Humanity would put an end to it, but we can table that for now. To answer your question, Kongming and I each have our own minds. He's there, in a corner of my mine, but largely leaves me in control. I have access to his accumulated knowledge, however, and he does chime in when something takes his interest, or the situation calls for it." He blinked. "Or he has something to say about the Japanese music industry. He's…..surprisingly well informed and opinionated on that subject, for some reason."

The corner of his mouth turned up in a fraction of a smile. "It's that tactical knowledge that I've been using to stymie the United Roman advance in what ways I could - and when Lev Lainur informed us that Chaldea had arrived, we saw our chance, and took it."

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but, why?" asked Jing Ke.

The Lord stared up at her. "Because I am a loyal follower of the King of Conquerors. And it APPALLS me to see him enslaved like this."

The sudden burst of emotion from a man who had shown little to this point made everyone flinch, to some degree. He sighed, again, and reached up to press fingers into the bridge of his nose. "Apologies. When I was younger….long before I bore the name of Lord El-Melloi II, I fought in the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. My Servant there was Iskandar. We lost, in the end, but the events….HE…they shaped me into the man I have become."

"Wait, what?" Romani was frowning, and Da Vinci didn't look much happier. " 'Fourth' Holy Grail War of Fuyuki? But, by our records, there's only been one."

Another sigh, and Fujimaru started thinking about charging the man for them - assuming she could get over the hurdle of shaking down a Clock Tower Lord for his lunch money. "And that brings me to my next point, one I suspected as soon as I was summoned - and that your mention of only a single Holy Grail War confirms. This isn't my original timeline - or universe, if you want to think of it that way, given you have on your roster a living god from another universe."

Jing Ke was starting to stare at her like the cat that had just cornered the canary, and was deciding just how to pounce on it. Fujimaru ignored it, and asked her question. "What first raised your suspicions, Sir?"

"Lev Lainur," he said. "By my memories, he died several years ago. And, to boot, Chaldea had long been a dream of Lord Animusphere, but he never managed to acquire the funding to make it a reality. Two major inconsistencies, both of them staring me right in the face - because Lev Lainur was not quiet about his hatred for your organization. I assume Lord Marisbury won the singular Holy Grail War of your timeline and used the wish to create Chaldea in some fashion."

Romani nodded. "That would be correct, yes. It's no secret, really - while the Clock Tower may look down on the Holy Grail War as a ritual from a backwater country, they still take note of the winners and losers from it."

The Lord's brow furrowed. "Actually, why is Lord Marisbury not overseeing this operation? Something as big as the wholesale extinction of Humanity, one would imagine he would be personally leading this - from Chaldea, if not in the field itself."

There was a look exchanged between Da Vinci and Romani. "Lord Marisbury is dead. A few years now." Romani swallowed. "Suicide."

"Suci…" Lord El-Melloi II bit the word off, and visibly had to regain control of himself. "That does not fit the man I knew - while we weren't especially close, I had at least a tolerable working relationship with him. Better than most of the other Lords, at least." He grimaced. "His daughter, the Heir, and my…." His face twitched. "Sister also were fairly close. Does that mean that Chaldea then passed to Olga Marie Animusphere?"

"She's…..indisposed would be the term, I believe," said Da Vinci. "Lev Lainur sabotaged what would have been our first mission - and Olga Marie died in the explosion, but her soul was caught in the Rayshift. Kratos and the Caster we met there managed to store her soul in a relic from his world, and I've been working on creating a suitable vessel for her to inhabit." Her shoulders slumped. "But I haven't had much success so far with what little time I've been able to devote to it. There's just too many critical things demanding my attention with how short-staffed we are. At this rate, we really might have to track down The Red once Humanity is restored."

The Servant flinched. "I would recommend avoiding that woman if at all possible, but this is the life of one of the heads of the Clock Tower we are talking about here." He swept his eyes across all of them. "You do realize what a disaster this is for you, even without taking into account that you have a living god walking your halls?"

"It's frequently the subject of my nightmares," said Romani, his voice dead. "Replacing Magi*Mari announcing her retirement. We at least had everyone in Chaldea sign a Geass Scroll to prevent them from talking about what Kratos is to the Clock Tower. But the number of Heirs we've lost, and a prospective Lord as well." He bowed his head. "We're aware it's going to be bad, but that's a bridge we'll cross if we manage to restore Humanity."

"Very well. We've gotten off-topic in any event." He pulled out another cigar, sliced the tip off, and lit it. After a deep inhalation of smoke, he resumed speaking. "Iskandar, my King, is little more than a puppet, or tool of Lev Lainur. They didn't have to do much - just a single Command Seal to amplify his lust for battle and conquest, and they could point him at their enemies without much fear. They considered him powerful enough that a Command Seal was the only way they could control him, even when most of their resources are devoted to keeping Romulus in check. And in this, they are correct. Iskandar is a much more powerful Heroic Spirit than the various Roman Emperors they summoned, or the Spartan King they have under their thumb."

Fujimaru felt her blood run cold. "Spartan….King? Please tell me you don't mean…"

He nodded. "Leonidas himself. He was originally accompanying Caesar, but Lev Lainur called him back to the capital for some reason both myself and Kongming have failed to discern."

"Kratos knew Leonidas - his version, at least. He could have been with him at Thermopylae, to hear him tell it, though he wasn't chosen for that duty, in the end," said Da Vinci, concern written all over her face. "I don't know how he's going to react to this news, but I can't imagine it will be good."

Lord El-Melloi II frowned. "Not my intent in giving you that information, but it does dovetail nicely into the point I was slowly getting to. As a condition for my further help, I want you to free both myself and my King from our bondage. And if you are capable of that, then freeing Leonidas should also be possible."

A silver head of hair butted into the picture. "And just how the hell do you expect Red to do that, nerd?"

Lord El-Melloi II quirked an eyebrow up, and Da Vinci placed her hand on Avenger's head and shoved her out of the picture, none too gently. "Apologies, this is one of the two Servants on standby at Chaldea. Avenger, behave yourself in front of the Clock Tower Lord, or I'm disabling your arm."

The blood seemed to drain from the Lord's face. "Avenger?" he sputtered. "Like that THING that was in the Fuyuki grail, corrupting it? HOW do you have something like that walking around Chaldea?"

"Corrupting the….," Romani shook his head. "That must be another difference in the universes. There was nothing wrong with the Fuyuki Grail. And while Avenger's a bit difficult to deal with, she aided us in resolving the last Singularity we dealt with."

Avenger's hand returned to the image, a single digit raised. "Screw you, doc. I'm a JOY to have around. And the pencil-neck still hasn't answered my question, either."

His smirk had a sense of almost familiarity to it. "Another problem child, or student, then. I'm well acquainted with her type." Avenger bristled, which he promptly ignored. "To answer your question, Kongming and I have been doing some scrying and soothsaying on that very subject. Are you aware of an island that seems to have sprung into being in the sea to the south?"

"Yeah," said Fujimaru. "Kratos and his Servant found some messages talking about it when they took Calaris. Something about no ship that's ventured to it having ever come back. Let me guess, that's where you want the two of them to go?"

"If it is an island where Men do not go, then a living god and the Medusa seem like they would be well-equipped to survive such a journey." He met their stares. "After the Fifth and final Holy Grail War, I taught the Tohsaka Heir for a time. Both her and her then-estranged sister fought in the war, and her sister's Servant was the same one that accompanies your god. I needed to only hear a description of her to know who she was."

"But every augury we've received points to SOMETHING of value to our combined goals being there. Best case scenario, there's a relic or Mystic Code or something that can free my King and myself, and that you can use to free Leonidas as well." He shrugged. "Worst case, you gain a powerful weapon or ally that will allow you to kill Lev Lainur and free us. Not my preferred scenario, but slaves cannot be too picky of how they break their chains."

"What if we can't find something on that island to free you immediately?" asked Romani. "What then?"

"I'll still aid you. I might have been summoned by someone in league with whomever, or whatever wiped out Humanity, but I am a Heroic Spirit, even if I'm not a particularly impressive one. I can hinder the army's efforts enough and can probably convince my King to fall back should you manage to best him in the field. He listens to me, for the most part." He raised a finger. "But Iskandar must live, at least until Lev Lainur is dead. Once he is back in his right mind, I expect he will want to take revenge on the Mage who bound him thus - and may wish to accompany you back to Chaldea after, as well."

He shifted uncomfortably. "If need be, Kongming's Noble Phantasm can contain him, for a time. But to use that on my King would…not sit well with me. But I will do so if I must, to protect him from being used and abused by such as Lev Lainur." He looked up, meeting Romani's eyes. "That would probably burn out my Spirit Core to do so, but it would be in service of a worthwhile cause. Should that happen, I ask you to tell my King why I did what I did."

Romani nodded. "We can do that, your Lordship."

Lord El-Melloi II held out a hand. "Do we have an agreement, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Last Master of Chaldea?"

Fujimaru found her mouth suddenly dry. She took his hand and shook, inwardly panicking about how sweaty her palms were, and wishing she'd wiped them off before shaking his hand. "Deal," she said, her voice only quavering a bit. "Think you can get us an extra day, though, if we're going to have Kratos detour back down south after he's already started flying this way?"

Lord El-Melloi II snorted a sort of laugh. "That shouldn't be too hard. My King is fairly taken with your Emperor Nero. So long as she manages to hold his interest, I should be able to convince him to give you one more day."

"What was with the heart, anyways?" Fujimaru blinked, not sure who was talking, then she recognized her own voice - oh gods, it was happening again. Well, too late to stop. "Putting that around the Chaldea logo made it look more like you were trying to woo us or something."

The Lord blinked. "Is that not what the youth of today do to show they're trustworthy? Flat mentioned it was the current trend?"

Everyone shook their heads, and the Servant's hands reached up to rub at his temples. "Flaaaaaat…….and I checked with Svin and Gray as well, just to be certain." He groaned aloud. "This is my own fault. I should have asked Caules. He has a better head on his shoulders than those two. I cannot blame Gray overmuch, given how sheltered she was. But those two…." One of his hands twitched, grasping at the air like a claw. "When I next see them…."

MARE INTERNUM

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING

The sea rushed beneath them as they flew to the south, Pegasus cutting through the sky.

They had been almost within sight of land when Kratos' communicator had sounded. They'd been forced to find a bit of rock to settle on to hear Tanya - the rushing air as they'd flown had made that almost impossible, at the speeds they had been going.

What he had heard had made fury want to explode from his very skin. King Leonidas. A slave to Lev Lainur.

The next thing he knew, Medusa had been shaking him, her hair almost hissing as it moved about with a life of its own, as she'd shouted at him to snap out of it.

Once he'd managed to come back to himself, he'd readily agreed to head back south, even though it would delay them.

To save King Leonidas, even though it was not the King he had known in his life, he would tear this island down to its roots, if need be.

'We're getting close to where the island is supposed to be,' Medusa's voice brought him from his thoughts. 'Kratos - are you going to be ok? What I felt from you when you heard what they'd done to Leonidas……it frightened me.''A legacy of my past - I try to keep it chained…controlled, save when it is needed. I am sorry you had to feel such.'

'Kratos,'

Don't become a monster like me, she wanted to say, but didn't.

Kratos made a noise, and pointed. 'Below.'

Wrecked ships littered the ocean waters, some far enough beneath the waves that only their masts felt the salt air, while others listed aimlessly, still retaining enough structure and wholeness to remain afloat, though barely. There was no sign of their crews - either they had swam for the island itself, had been dragged beneath the waves, or had fallen victim to the sharks.

But there was no sign of any humans in this ship graveyard.

And there were more broken ships upon the shore of the island they were rapidly drawing near to.

"Guess that explains what happened to them. Partially, at least." Pegasus had slowed as they'd approached the island, wary of any surprises. But as with the waters surrounding it, neither of them could see any sign of habitation, or life on the island.

"I suppose one landing spot is as good, or as bad as any other," muttered Medusa. She tugged at the reins, and Pegasus began to descend to the shores.

Something felt different from the moment Kratos' feet touched the sands. It was almost familiar.

(ALkeiacv;efiejiaci;eeGEkdaidaicikmv;av;eRkdaidaiveafjdjafeicaeNE)

Kratos blinked. "What?"

Medusa's face was pale, her mouth hanging open. "This place….it's impossible, but this," She turned to look straight at him, terror in her posture. "It's the Shapeless Isle. I'd know it anywhere, even through Breaker Gorgon."

She inhaled deeply from the brine soaked winds. "The smell, the air, the sound of the waves. Everything. This is the place that was once my…..OUR home."

Kratos felt the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to stand up, though he did not yet reach for any of his weapons. "How?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. It shouldn't be possible - I can only think it's something to do with the Singularity itself." Her shoulders slumped. "And I don't see how there can be something that would aid us in freeing those Servants would be here. I know every rock of this place, every plant, all the hidden places. There was nothing like that here."

"And yet, the Mage was convinced we would find something here," Kratos grunted. "We will search."

He set off down the beach, Medusa following behind, unease leaking from her like a sieve. After a short time, she held up her hand and paused. "Do you hear that?"

Kratos tilted his head and closed his eyes. It was faint, but he could hear it over the sound of the ocean. Short, hard blows - metal against wood, he thought.

Medusa now leading, they followed the sounds down the beach, eventually coming to their source.

It was a house - or the beginnings of one. Cobbled together from wreckage salvaged from the ships, it at least had four walls and the beginnings of a roof. A man was halfway up a similarly ramshackle ladder, pounding a nail into a board on the roof of the shack when they arrived.

As they drew near, he looked up and caught sight of them, and gave a weary sigh. Shaking his head, he descended the ladder, moving to stand before the door to what they assumed was his home.

"Well, whattya want?" He wore a hooded cloak that hid most of his body - though they could see flashes underneath it. He seemed to be dressed largely in clothes that seemed to fit the age - a simple red robe, secured at his shoulder, and sandals. He wore a mustache, and a beard that pointed out in three places, hair dark, but beginning to sprout gray in some places, a man leaving the prime of his life, but not yet fully into the twilight of his days. A narrow, suspicious eye peered at them, the other hidden behind a simple leather eyepatch. "And where is that woman? Damnably useless goddess, never here when she's needed."

His accent was strange, but familiar. In his voice, there was a hint of the same twang Cu Chulainn (or Mimir) spoke with.

He grumbled, then looked at them again. "So, what's your business here? What does a Servant and…hmmm." He peered at Kratos, then reached up and pulled his eyepatch away, revealing an empty socket, lividly scarred - if Kratos was any judge of it, it looked as though the wound had been cauterized after the fact, though the damage almost looked too clean to have been done in the heat of battle.

"Well now, a god. Been awhile." He lowered the eyepatch down, hiding his wound once more. "You two don't seem to be Roman - either of them. You don't reek like the cankers that erupted from that cesspool of a city, or the new one that's appeared in Hispania. So, again, what is your purpose here on this gods forsaken island?"

"Who are you, old one?" asked Kratos. "You are a Servant?" The question was partially directed at the man, partially at his companion.

Medusa nodded, surreptitiously, and the man laughed. "Who I am is none of your damn business, and WHAT I am is retired!" He walked to a pile of nails that were resting on a salvaged drum, and picked one up. "Quite happy here building my home, except people keep coming to bother me. First it was all those United Roman soldiers, looking for treasure, or whatever it was they thought they'd find here other than death. After awhile, it seemed like they'd gotten the message, or all the ships breaking apart off shore was good enough of a 'Go Away' sign."

He turned his back to them and began climbing the ladder again. "Then the two of you show up here. Not Roman, either of you, but I can smell a bit of a stench of that sewer on you, though I can't tell which sewer it is, the original, or the new one."

He placed the nail against one of the boards on the roof, and picking up a hammer, pounded it in. "So, for the third and FINAL time, I'll ask you. What is your purpose here?"

"You are correct. We are currently allied with Rome, to defeat the United Roman Empire."

The old man scoffed. "Allying with Rome. What is the world coming to, I ask?"

"It's to resolve this Singularity - the United Roman Empire is an aberration, a change to the past that has pushed History off course - and resulted in the incineration of all Humanity many centuries in the future," said Medusa, cautiously. "Rome has to survive, so we are here - as I expect you were summoned by the land for the same reason."

"Might be," he admitted. "But I'm still retired. I fought for most of my life, and I'm tired of it. The lad there gets it, he's got the look of one who's fought more than their fair share, and is well and truly sick of it. So I laid my sword down, and I'm quite pleased with the decision, thank you very much. Not looking to get dragged into the middle of a pissing match between Empires, much less two Romes."

He pushed at the board, and finding it to be within his expectations, descended the ladder again. "So what can I do to get the two of you to leave this island, and to leave me alone?"

He blinked, then looked at something over their shoulders. "Or, I suppose I should just let the proper welcome wagon deal with you two. It's part of our deal, after all. I only handle unwelcome guests until she gets here."

A voice sounded from behind Kratos and Medusa, one that made Medusa want to sink into the sands and hide.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. My monstrous sister, come home at last…."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: And so things begin to spin off course.

The God-Emperor of Mankind needing to consume so many psykers a day to maintain the Astronomicon was absolutely in my head when writing how Lev was using people to keep Romulus restrained. So any parallels you see there are intentional.

If you're looking for a facial model for the grumpy old man of the island, think Tamiya Gantetsusai from Hell's Paradise, but more lined and turning gray. His beard, at least, was the model for the Old Grump's beard and face.

A new reader to this fic described themselves as a massive Iskandar glazer, and to be fair, I'm also guilty of that. Since I'm not sure if Fate/Accel will be a thing that happens here, I'm using my authorial fiat to have the King of Bros appear here instead of the shouta, since it gives Waver an even stronger reason to revolt, and because I want to use Broskandar instead of the kid.

Seriously, since I got Gramps (and promptly spoiled him to level 100) over New Year's, I'm almost 100% trying for Iskandar on this year's GSSR. Already have Ivan - got him on the New Year's GSSR, but a second one isn't bad since Ivan's good. And if I get Maid Alter, I will appreciate that for entirely 100% red-blooded male reasons that are only SOME of the reasons my Scathach never switches out of her bunny suit. The other reasons being that outfit terrifies Cu, and I do love to make the Hound suffer.

You thought the mole was EMIYA, but it was me, Waver, all along!

Something I found out while writing this, adult Waver is 6'1". He's as tall as Barghest. I feel my world collapsing around me.

I figure Zhuge Liang would be fine with the person he's sharing headspace with using his courtesy name, hence Waver calling him 'Kongming' all the time.

I know Waver eventually teaches Rin, and I know Shirou is accompanying her when she goes to the Clock Tower, but I've never been entirely certain which route it's from - they don't seem to be in a relationship (going by Rin's comments where she seems to be wishing they were) so it's probably not Unlimited Blade Works (my preferred, because Rin superiority). And I don't think he'd be accompanying her if it was the Heaven's Feel route (both because he'd be with Sakura and he's kind of dead/bodiless at the end of that, though they're working to fix it in the epilogue), so it's PROBABLY Fate route.

The old man is ENTIRELY knolden's fault, who convinced me to try my hand at something I've been leery of doing, making an original Servant. So blame them.

I still don't know where this pace of updates is coming from, or how long it can be sustained. I didn't even HAVE the original Servant planned until last weekend, when it sprang fully-formed into my brain - so he got added into Septem and I've been adjusting plans to take his presence into account.