=== Semiramis ===
“What a fool.”
Semiramis watched the battlefield through the magical projection with a dismissive scoff, resting one elbow against the arm of her throne as the Juggernaut threw Ruler clear of Spartacus’ Noble Phantasm instead of escaping himself.
To her, it was the act of an idiot.
He had willingly stepped into certain death to save someone who, as far as she knew, was little more than an impartial observer.
“He should have gotten out of the way,” she said coldly.
“No matter. One more obstacle removed from the board.”
Shirou, the master of Red, had only recently returned, remained silent for several moments as he studied the image before him.
Unlike Semiramis, his eyes never left the towering knight.
He replayed the final moments in his mind, watching the Juggernaut’s movements again and again until something about them finally stood out.
“…No,” he murmured.
Semiramis glanced toward him.
“What do you mean, Master?”
“He only moved once Ruler started running toward him. Before that, he had more than enough time to retreat or evade the attack entirely. Yet the instant she entered the Noble Phantasm’s path…” Shirou folded his arms thoughtfully.
“…he acted without hesitation. He didn’t protect himself. He protected her.”
The projection suddenly became engulfed in an ocean of purple light as Spartacus’ Noble Phantasm reached its climax.
Even Semiramis leaned forward, expecting to see nothing left when the brilliance finally faded.
She stared at the magical screen in utter disbelief at what she saw.
“Impossible!”
=== Jeanne ===
Fear seized Jeanne’s heart the moment she saw the swelling sphere of violet energy forming within Spartacus’ monstrous body.
Every instinct screamed that the Noble Phantasm was about to be unleashed, and without thinking she sprinted toward Godrick, her banner already beginning to unfurl behind her.
If she could only reach him in time, she could shield them both.
But she never made it.
Instead, his strong hands suddenly caught her beneath one arm and around one leg before effortlessly lifting her from the ground.
For the briefest instant she met the glowing blue eyes hidden behind Godrick’s visor before the world spun violently around her.
He hurled her backward with all the care he could muster, throwing her completely out of the beam’s path while placing himself directly in front of it.
Then, the sphere burst.
A pillar of blinding purple light swallowed him, and the valley whole.
“Godrick!”
She hit the ground hard, rolling several times before scrambling back onto her feet.
The shockwave nearly knocked her over again, yet she ignored it, her eyes desperately searching through the impossible brightness.
She could no longer feel him clearly through their spiritual connection.
His presence was fading.
“No!” She shouted before she tried to run towards the Juggernaut.
Before she had taken more than a few steps, Astolfo tackled her from the side.
“Don’t!” he shouted, wrapping both arms around her.
“You’ll die!”
“Get off me!”
She struggled violently against him, panic overtaking every rational thought.
When he refused to release her, she drove her elbow backward into his face.
He grunted but held on.
She struck him again, harder this time, finally forcing him to loosen his grip enough for her to wrench herself free, but by then the beam had begun to disappear.
Jeanne sprinted toward the impact, the once peaceful valley had been carved open, replaced by a canyon of molten earth stretching for hundreds of meters.
“No… no… no…”
Her voice grew quieter with every step until she finally reached the edge.
Far below, kneeling at the very center of the devastation… was Godrick.
His armor had become a brilliant white, so intensely heated that the air shimmered around him.
Thin cracks spread across every plate like fractures in cooling glass, while waves of heat rolled from his body strongly enough that even Jeanne could feel them from several meters away.
He remained motionless for several long seconds before slowly planting his halberd into the ground and forcing himself upright through sheer determination alone.
He had survived.
Relief washed over Jeanne so completely that her knees nearly gave way beneath her.
Godrick swayed where he stood, taking one slow breath before another as his body continued absorbing the remnants of the Noble Phantasm.
His armor gradually dimmed from brilliant white to glowing orange, then to dull crimson as he continued to suck the energy into himself.
The spiderweb cracks slowly knit themselves back together until no trace of the damage remained.
Only then did Jeanne descend into the crater.
She approached carefully, stopping just outside the waves of lingering heat before hesitantly extending a single finger toward the center of his breastplate.
It was still warm, but no longer hot enough to burn.
Only after convincing herself he truly was safe did she place her entire palm against his chest.
“I’m so glad you’re alright…”
The words escaped in little more than a whisper.
Godrick leaned heavily on his halberd before reaching up and removing his helmet.
It slipped from his fingers and dissolved into spirit particles as it struck the ground.
Sweat poured from his face, his breathing remained ragged, and strands of damp blond hair clung to his forehead, but despite everything…
he smiled faintly.
THWACK.
The shaft of Jeanne’s banner bounced squarely off the top of his head.
“Don’t you ever do something like that again!” she shouted, glaring up at him despite the tears still threatening to fall.
“Do you understand me?”
Godrick instinctively reached up to rub the top of his head before exaggerating the injury, crouching down dramatically as though the playful strike had somehow succeeded where Spartacus’ Noble Phantasm had failed.
Jeanne folded her arms.
“…Idiot.”
Even she couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Their brief moment ended as brilliant green lightning erupted over the distant hills.
Both of them turned as another battle had already begun.
“We should go,” Jeanne said quietly.
Godrick nodded, his strength fully restored as he redirected the energy to healing himself.
Together they raced across the valley, leaving Astolfo behind.
They reached a ridge overlooking the battlefield below.
The moment Godrick saw the combatants… he froze.
A woman clad in battered silver armor struggled desperately against another Servant dressed in a tattered white wedding gown.
The armored knight had been forced to one knee, blood staining her armor as the Berserker wrapped one arm around her throat while raising a massive mace crackling with emerald lightning.
He knew that armor, and that sword.
Without even thinking, he drew upon the energy stored within his Noble Phantasm, sacrificing an enormous portion of it in a single instant.
White lightning exploded across his body as every ounce of stored power was redirected into his Agility stat alone.
His Agility surged beyond its normal limits, and the world around him blurred.
To Jeanne, the Juggernaut simply vanished.
He reappeared in front of the two Servants before either of them realized he had moved, his halberd already completing its swing.
The hammer struck Berserker of Black squarely in the chest, launching her across the battlefield and deep into the mountainside.
Her Noble Phantasm immediately lost its momentum, the spinning mace tumbling harmlessly to the earth.
The borrowed speed disappeared just as quickly as it had come, and agony flooded every muscle in Godrick’s body, forcing him to grit his teeth as the backlash rippled through him, but he ignored it completely.
He looked at the woman standing before him.
He took in her silver armor and the horned helmet with crimson accents.
His halberd slipped from his hand and dematerialized into blue particles, and before he could stop himself, he crossed the remaining distance in two hurried steps before wrapping both arms around Mordred in a crushing embrace.
She stiffened.
“…Um…” She blinked several times, completely caught off guard.
“Excuse me?”
Godrick trembled uncontrollably.
Tears welled in his eyes as years of grief, guilt, and longing came crashing down all at once.
He had found her.
After everything… He had finally found her in an unfamiliar place, during an unfamiliar time.
But he had found her.
“…What’s happening?” Mordred asked, thoroughly bewildered.
Only then did Godrick realize that she didn’t recognize him.
To her, he was simply an enormous armored knight who had appeared from nowhere, saved her life…
and immediately hugged her.
Slowly releasing her, he stepped back, only for Mordred to immediately raise Clarent.
“I don’t know who you are,” she said cautiously, “but you don’t just get to hug the rightful King of Camelot.” She said as she leveled her sword toward him.
He reached up, and practically tore his helmet off, dropping it.
It disappeared into spirit particles as it struck the ground
The instant Mordred saw his face… her own helmet retracted into the armor behind her neck.
“…Godrick?” The name barely escaped her lips.
“No…” She said, her voice cracking.
She took a stumbling step backward.
“No… It… it can’t be you.”
All of the arrogance, confidence, and bravado she wore like armor simply collapsed.
Standing before him was no king, no knight, no proud Heroic Spirit.
Only a frightened young woman.
Tears began to stream freely down her cheeks As Godrick took a cautious step toward her.
She retreated again.
“No!” she cried, panic overtaking her.
As he instinctively reached out, she lashed out with Clarent, the blade scraping harmlessly across his hand.
“Don’t touch me!”
Godrick stopped immediately.
His eyes drifted to the shallow mark on his gauntlet before lifting back to her face, confusion and heartbreak mixing together.
Seeing that expression shattered what little resolve Mordred still possessed.
“I’m…”
She lowered her sword.
“I’m so sorry…”
Her voice became little more than a whisper as her body dissolved into shimmering particles.
“…I’m sorry.” She said as she vanished.
Godrick remained exactly where he stood, staring at the empty space where Mordred had vanished.
The battlefield still echoed with clashing steel and distant explosions, servants continued to trade blows across the valley, and the Holy Grail War raged on around him as though nothing had happened.
Yet to him, every sound had become strangely muted, as if the world itself had drifted somewhere impossibly far away.
His sister…
he had finally found her after believing for so long that she was gone forever, only for her to disappear from his arms almost as quickly as she had returned.
He couldn’t understand it.
He had imagined this reunion a thousand different ways during the years he had searched for her, but never had he pictured her looking at him with such fear before fading away without another word.
Slowly, almost absentmindedly, he looked down at the hand Clarent had struck.
The blade had barely scratched the gauntlet, leaving no real damage behind, yet that insignificant blow hurt more than any Noble Phantasm he had endured since arriving in this world.
He turned his hand over, opening and closing his fingers as though trying to understand why that single swing had cut so deeply.
He had wanted nothing more than to hold his sister again, to reassure himself that she was truly alive, yet all he had managed to do was frighten her?
Jeanne approached without making a sound.
She didn’t ask questions the moment she reached him, nor did she try to force him to explain himself.
Instead, she simply stopped beside him, following his gaze toward the place where Mordred had disappeared.
After a long moment she reached out and rested one hand lightly against his forearm, offering nothing but quiet companionship.
When he finally turned his head to look down at her, concern was written plainly across her face.
“You alright, big guy?”
As always, no words came.
All he could do was slowly shake his head.
Jeanne’s expression softened even further.
She didn’t press him for answers, because she could already see enough written across his face.
A few moments later Astolfo wandered over, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward smile.
“Looks like everything settled down over here,” he said sheepishly before glancing between the two of them.
“And… um… sorry for tackling you earlier, Ruler. I wasn’t really thinking. I just didn’t want you running into that Noble Phantasm.”
Jeanne smiled warmly and shook her head.
“You saved my life, Astolfo. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me for elbowing you in the face.”
He laughed nervously while rubbing his cheek.
“It still kinda hurts.”
“I imagine it does.”
They shared a small laugh that quickly faded as both of them glanced toward the silent giant standing beside Jeanne.
Understanding that this wasn’t the time to linger, Astolfo gave a small wave before returning to the battlefield, leaving the two of them alone once more.
The silence that followed was comfortable rather than awkward.
Jeanne let it linger, content to simply stand beside him while the evening breeze drifted across the valley.
After several quiet minutes she leaned slightly against his armored shoulder, her voice barely louder than the wind.
“She was someone precious to you.”
Godrick nodded.
“…Your wife?”
He immediately shook his head.
Jeanne’s lips curved into the faintest smile before she looked back toward the horizon.
“A sister?”
This time his nod came without hesitation.
“I thought so.”
She didn’t ask why Mordred had reacted the way she had.
Whatever story lay between them was clearly painful enough already, and she had no intention of forcing him to relive it before he was ready.
Instead, she reached over and gently patted the back of his gauntleted hand.
“We don’t have to go anywhere just yet,” she said quietly.
“The others can manage for a little while. We can stay here for as long as you need.”
Godrick looked down at her for several seconds.
Though he still couldn’t find the words to express what he was feeling, the gratitude in his eyes said more than his voice ever could.
He gave one slow nod before turning his gaze back toward the fading moon, and together they stood in silence, watching the war continue below while, for just a little while, neither of them felt any need to move. New chapters come out on g.com first.
=== Mordred ===
“I’m so sorry…” Mordred whispered as her body dissolved into spirit form.
She lingered there for several long moments, unable to tear her eyes away from the giant knight standing before her.
Godrick still watched the place where she had disappeared, confusion and hope written plainly across his face.
The sight twisted something deep inside her chest.
For years she had mourned him, hated herself because of him, and built her life around the guilt of his sacrifice.
Now he stood before her once again, reaching for her with the same warmth he always had.
Her mind struggled to accept what her eyes were telling her.
Is he…
a Servant too?
she wondered, but the thought was immediately swallowed by another.
No…
no, no, no…
Panic rose through her body like ice water.
She had faced dragons, kings, and legendary heroes without fear, yet now her hands trembled uncontrollably.
She had to leave.
She couldn’t face him.
Not yet.
“Whoa, kid, calm down,” Kairi Sisigou’s voice echoed through their mental connection, immediately sensing the violent storm of emotions pouring through their bond.
“Your emotions are completely out of whack. What the hell happened?”
“No!” Mordred shouted back, her thoughts spiraling further.
“You don’t understand… he’s here!”
She fled across the battlefield and materialized inside the passenger seat of Kairi’s battered little car so abruptly that he instinctively reached for one of the pistols beside him.
The moment he looked over however, every trace of surprise vanished from his face.
Mordred sat rigidly in the seat, staring blankly through the windshield as though she wasn’t seeing the road at all.
Her breathing had become shallow and uneven, tears pooled in her eyes despite every effort to hold them back, and her entire body shook with a fear Kairi had never imagined seeing from the proud Knight of Treachery.
Without asking another question, he quietly put the car into gear and drove away from the battlefield, allowing the sounds of clashing Servants to fade into the distance before speaking again.
“Talk to me,” he said calmly, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Slow your breathing first. Deep breaths. Whatever happened back there, we’ll figure it out, but I need you to tell me what’s going on.”
Mordred swallowed hard, forcing herself to inhale before wiping uselessly at the tears running down her face.
“That giant knight… the one fighting beside the Ruler…” Her voice cracked before she could finish.
“…he’s my brother.”
Kairi’s eyebrows rose, though he wisely kept his attention on driving.
“Your brother?”
She nodded weakly.
“If he ever learns the truth…” she whispered, “…he’ll hate me.”
“Hold on,” Kairi replied, glancing at her for only a moment.
“You’re skipping half the story. Start from the beginning, because right now none of this is making any sense.”
“I… I don’t know where to begin…” she admitted before finally breaking.
She buried her face in her hands as the tears she had been desperately holding back poured freely down her cheeks.
Great shuddering breaths escaped her chest as years of guilt, anger, and grief finally came crashing down all at once.
Kairi could only watch in stunned silence.
Ever since summoning Mordred she had been loud, arrogant, reckless, and endlessly confident.
She had laughed in the face of Servants far stronger than herself, argued with him over almost everything, and carried herself with enough pride to rival any king.
Seeing her reduced to a frightened young woman crying in the passenger seat left him feeling strangely helpless, so he simply let her cry until the worst of it had passed.
Several minutes slipped by before Mordred finally lowered her hands and found the strength to speak again.
“When I was younger…” she began quietly, “…I wanted my mother’s throne. No… that’s not true. I believed I deserved it. I was convinced I should have been the one to rule Camelot. Mother refused me every time, though I always called her Father just to irritate her.” A faint, humorless smile crossed her lips before disappearing just as quickly.
“At the time Britain was at war with someone known only as the Warlord. She was powerful enough that even Mother struggled to stop her, and as the years dragged on I grew more bitter over being denied what I believed was mine. Eventually my resentment consumed me, and I betrayed Camelot.”
Kairi remained silent, allowing her to continue.
“I defected to the Warlord’s side.” The words tasted bitter even now.
“Godrick refused to accept it. He chased after me, trying to convince me to come home, until eventually he challenged the Warlord herself. He lost.” Mordred lowered her head.
Her voice trembled again.
“I stayed with the Warlord, believing I’d made the right choice, but eventually she betrayed me too.
She locked me inside a fortress in the far north and left me there.
Days became months, months became years…
I don’t even know how long I was imprisoned.
There was no sunlight, no hope, and no one came for me.
I convinced myself that Mother had abandoned me…
and that Godrick had died.
She paused, tears once again filling her eyes.
“What I didn’t know was that Godrick had spent all those years searching for me. Every battle he fought against the Warlord was another attempt to reach me. He never gave up… not once.” Her breathing hitched.
“In the end he finally defeated her, but the wounds he suffered were too great. He died in Mother’s arms before he ever had the chance to see me again.”
Kairi’s eyes widened.
“Wait…” He looked over at her in disbelief.
“You’re telling me your brother is the Knight of Ruin?”
Mordred closed her eyes and slowly nodded.
“…Yes.”
Silence settled over the car before she continued.
“When Mother finally found me, I didn’t know any of that. I thought she’d left me there to rot. I hated her for it, and when I eventually learned that Godrick had died because he never stopped trying to save me…”
She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“I hated her even more. I convinced myself that if I had been king instead, none of it would have happened. Godrick wouldn’t have died. Camelot wouldn’t have suffered. So I gathered those who would follow me and raised my banner against my own mother.”
She laughed bitterly.
“In the end we mortally wounded one another. I died believing I had been right… never realizing until it was too late that I had become the very thing Godrick sacrificed everything to prevent. He gave his life trying to save me. He died so Camelot could survive…” Her voice finally broke beneath the weight of it all.
“…and I’m the one who destroyed it.”
The car continued down the lonely road in silence before Mordred finally spoke again, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
“How am I supposed to face him now? How do I look him in the eyes knowing he sacrificed everything for me, only for me to throw it all away? If he learns what happened after he died… if he learns that Mother and I killed each other, and that Camelot fell because of my rebellion… how could he ever forgive me?”
Kairi rested one arm through the open window as he considered her words.
He wasn’t a king, nor a knight, and he certainly wasn’t the right man to judge the sins of Britain’s royal family.
Even so, there was one thing he felt certain about.
“I can’t tell you how he’s going to react,” he admitted honestly.
“Maybe he’ll be angry. Maybe he’ll hate you for a while. Maybe he’ll surprise both of us. That’s his decision to make, not ours.”
He glanced toward her before returning his attention to the road.
“What I do know is that he deserves the truth, and sooner or later he’s going to learn it. If I were you, I’d rather he hear it from his sister than from somebody else.”
Mordred lowered her head once more, fresh tears falling into her lap.
“I know…”
“And whatever happens after that,” Kairi continued quietly, “you face it. That’s all anyone can do. We live with our choices, good or bad, and we deal with the consequences when they finally catch up to us.”
Neither of them spoke again after that.
The battered old car continued toward their base beneath the darkening sky, while Mordred stared silently out the window, wondering how she would ever find the courage to stand before her brother again.
===
I promise I’ll take good care of them:)