A/N: SOD IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!

Power's out as I'm writing this author's note; using battery power to pen this one out. Here I was hoping to give ya'll an update before work, but now it seems that'll have to wait until later this evening. Needless to say I'm not a happy camper right now...not to mention the fact that I had to be up early. And of course, I come back to find everything dark...!

As ever, "Fragments of Chaldea by GhostXavier" is a masterful story and fills with me with inspiration and determination.

Give his stuff a read, you'll love it! He's got loads of good stuff~!

Now then where was I...?

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE~!

Feels good to get back to one of my crown jewels, even if I updated it only four months ago. My health hasn't been the best as of late, but my morale's improved...even with the soul-crushing events of Endgame and Game of Thrones. Holy crap those were some spirit breakers; I'd be lying if I said I was wholly prepared for them. Speaking of movies, whose excited for John Wick?! Or better yet Godzilla?!

*dances happily*

FORWARD~!

We've got a lot of ground to cover, but someone suggested I try a more character-focused chapter. So here we are; a brief little interlude/chapter to grease the gears while I head off to work. I do apologize for the delay; this isn't the first time I've worked multiple jobs before and I doubt it'll be the last. But we all have to make ends meet one way or another and as writing is still very much a hobby for me-soon to be a profession hopefully-I have to keep the lights on and food on the table.

Right then, I think I've rambled enough.

Worry not, Chaldea will be springing to life quite soon.

Once more, the disclaimer; I own no references nor quotes and the like...

It is my firm belief that Elizabeth and Mata Hari are terribly entertaining and no one can tell me otherwise~!

"Humanity can be many things. Selfish, cruel, spiteful...

...but at the end of the day, we can also be good.

Trust in that goodness. Believe in it."

~?

When in Doubt (Interlude)

Rayshifting was a...novel experience.

Being deconstructed at the cellular level and re-manifested in another era was disconcerting to begin with. Even the most stalwart of souls found themselves nauseous upon their first shift. But for Olga Marie Animusphere, who had never before experienced it-indeed, for one who had lacked the ability to shift until recently-the sudden stress of such unorthodox travel initially proved too much for her to bear. Her keen intellect was more than willing to endure the strain of it, but the rest betrayed her. To quote, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.

Needless to say, her body disagreed.

Rather violently at that.

"Bleeergh!"

No sooner had they arrived than Olga shamefully doubled over and lost the last remnants of breakfast. Harsh Color flooded her cheeks as she fought to bring herself back under control, but her queasy stomach stubbornly countermanded that order and defied her yet again in another heave. Oh gods, this was horrible. She wanted to die. With each passing second she felt her pride as a magus wilt away into nothing. Everyone could see her making a complete and utter ass of herself yet there was simply nothing she could do to stop it.

"Yuck!" Distantly, she was aware of Elizabeth's strangled yelp. "Why on my dreeesss~?!"

'Shut up, Lancer! I'm not trying to ohnohereitcomesagain!'

Naruto's hand held back the snow-white curtain of Olga's hair as her stomach declared malicious mutiny once more. The other massaged the small of her back in slow easy circles, bringing with it a momentary pall of relief as she gagged anew. Mercifully, the Servant didn't disparage her this moment of weakness and for that, the aspiring heiress was eternally grateful. It was only when he finally dared to speak his mind that she found herself able to recover.

"Make it stop," she croaked, cursing her sore throat.

"Didn't know you'd get sick. Here." the self-proclaimed deity hummed. "One anti-nausea spell coming right up."

A faint green glow suffused the corners of her vision, lending her the strength to stand. In a rare show of character Naruto actually helped her to her feet and steadied her until she waved him off. He demurred happily and turned to escort a distraught Elizabeth as she fussed over her dress.

Steadying herself, she found anxious gazes waiting for her when she arose.

Indeed, a certain dragon girl was hiding behind Naruto and glaring at her as though she were a poisonous snake. It likely had something to do with her ruined dress.

"You're feeling better, right?" the little songstress scowled, her tail thrashing with scarcely concealed concern. "You're not going to get sick on me again, right? I mean, you kind ruined my-OW!"

Her babbling died a swift death as Naruto delivered a swift chop to the back of the head with a taut hand. The pitiful cry she gave almost made Olga feel bad for the younger Servant. Almost. Poor thing. She almost looked like a kicked puppy. Somehow she suspected Naruto had wounded Elizabeth's pride, rather than her body.

"What was that for, Manager?!" she cried, rubbing her aching skull.

Assassin sighed with a rueful smile. "I think you know."

"Not you too! Mashu! Back me up here!"

The Shielder offered a small shrug.

"Sorry, I'm with Senpai on this."

"Traitors, the lot of you~!"

With these, they were already fielding several Servants-including the recently empowered Mashu-which hopefully put them at something of an advantage. Unfortunately by her own account, Mata Hari simply wasn't suited for physical combat. Despite her minimal drain on Fujimaru's circuits, she wouldn't be of any real use in this singularity. Still, she'd tagged along, if only because her poor Master looked positively crushed at the thought of traversing her first Singularity alone.

Speaking of Ritsuka, she'd been awfully silent for awhile now...

Sure enough, she found the flame-haired magus not far from her chosen Servant. She stood with her back to them, her shoulders rigid beneath her jumpsuit. Distracted as she was by the unlikely quartet, Olga didn't notice the blank expression etched into her fellow Master's face until it was far too late.

...this can't be real." she murmured.

"What can't? All I see are a few burning...buildings...

Only then did the proud Master finally see the hell they'd fallen into.

Yes, that was an apt word for it, all things considered. Hell. A desolate wasteland. The sky itself was red with flames and the sun had long since hidden its face behind crimson clouds. The streets themselves were utterly devoid of life, the pavement upturned and cracked as though an incredible force had been brought to bear upon it. Ruined buildings stood scorched and pitted, all but devoid of life. Fires raged in the distance, the choking, cloying scent of burnt flesh mingling with strange statues scattered about-

Olga planted a hand over her mouth as she reached the same conclusion Gudako had.

These were not statues as she'd first surmised; these were people, beings frozen in the last instants of their life, many of them ghastly indeed. Hand stretched out imploringly in search of help that would never come, their faces wracked with horror as they fled from someone. Or something. Some were rendered into stone. Others, little more than charred husks, like their surroundings. As if the whole world had been branded by flame, the embers of which even now still smoldered in the sundered streets, waiting to spring to life at any given moment.

This was the fate of humanity.

This was a world gone terribly, horribly wrong.

She'd thought to approach her first Singularity from a rational angle; to distance herself emotionally from the trials that would come. Only now did she realize just how impossible that was. You couldn't gaze at this many corpses and not feel something. To do so would be inhuman, and for all her faults and

"I think I'm going to be sick again...

Here she glimpsed a mother clutching a babe to her breast, shielding her from some unknown horror. There she spied a father reaching to snatch up a fallen child. There, a woman flinging herself in front of another. All frozen in time, in stone, in ash and death and broken flesh. Where had they gone wrong? How many people had died here? How many innocents were given to the flames? Was anyone left alive? Anyone at all? Surely they couldn't all be dead...?

No, something was moving, stirring amongst the rubble.

A survivor?

Olga's first thought was to scamper forward-again her empathy betrayed her-despite Naruto's shout. Why was he telling her to stay back? Was he truly that heartless? Her hands tore at the burning debris, pulling aside a shattered stone heedless of the shouting at her back, thinking only to help, only to aid whomever was trapped beneath.

Only when she reached the "survivor" did Olga realize her error.

It wasn't human.

Empty eyes of a hollow skeleton gazed back at her mere moments before the knife bit into her cheek Without thinking she snapped off a gandr at the creature, the cursed bullet blasting through its spindly frame. Another arose beside her, clad in the ruined rags of what might've been clothes, once. With a yelp Olga skittered backwards on her hands like a drunken crab-

"Pay attention little squirrel!"

Lancer bounded forward and brought her weapon down on the creature before it could reach her, effortlessly bisecting those yellowed nails before they could reach her.

The rest fell in short order, be it to fist or sound or spell.

For all their ghastly appearance they were barely armed at all and night but unarmored; no matter for heroic spirits. Least of all the two beside her. Even Fujimaru and Mata Hari proved themselves capable of dispatching these weak undead with relative ease despite their numbers. As quickly as the shortlived assault had begun, so too did it end.

Naruto's firm hand settled upon her shoulder, followed by a familiar voice.

"Take a moment if you need it," Naruto murmured. "if something like this didn't affect you, I wouldn't consider you a worthy Master. Seeing it through a screen's one thing, but to witness it in person...

Olga wasn't at all surprised to find her troublesome Servant once more at her side, but she did frown at his less-than-pleasant tone. Something about this Singularity was irking him, though she knew not what. For all his claims of divinity and nigh-on-omnipotence, he still revealed startling flashes of humanity from time to time. Somewhat discontent with the sudden diatribe, Olga risked a glance up at Naruto and frowned.

"You know something don't you, Naruto?" when he didn't deny her, she pressed the point home. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Seems he was a bit sturdier than I thought." came the recalcitrant reply.

Olga wrinkled her nose as they moved deeper into the city.

"Who?"

Her Servant didn't deign to answer at first, but she recognized his posture all too well. There was a loose, regal grace in his movements, but his eyes betrayed him. They flitted from one building to the next, searching for targets. Much to her chagrin Elizabeth stubbornly placed herself at her side, neither in front of nor behind her. Even Mata Hari moved closer, pulling a sullen Fujimaru after. Perhaps they sensed the sudden change in the air, the dread silence that fallen over the sundered city.

Naruto inhaled deeply, scenting the air.

"Lev." the word emerged as a growl. "He's here. I can smell him."

Olga hissed out a squeak of a breath. "Excuse me?! I'm sorry, what did you just say-

A finger found her lips, silencing the startled magus even as she glowered impotently at him and blond brow rose in response. "We have to take his survival into account of course," he spoke into the subsequent stillness, "This singularity probably won't be what we expected-not if he knows we're coming. He'll likely throw everything he has at us from the start. Those mobs we encountered a few minutes ago? They're going to be the least of our worries in a minute.

The last Animusphere found herself floored by this revelation, so much so that it briefly stole her words away. She couldn't find it in herself to shout, to rage, or even denounce him for taking the lead from her and making a judgement call of his own. Going by his faint smile she suspected he'd already laid his own plans to prevent it. Hadn't he? For all his claims and her "order" Naruto had prove himself treacherously hard to read. She had no fear of him betraying her of course, rather, her concerns stemmed from the actions he'd take to protect her...but that remained to be seen.

Steeling herself, the Master rounded on her Servant. "Can you kill him this time?"

...possibly?" the blond shrugged. "Won't know unless I really give it my all. Could work. We good to go, then?"

"But what about my clothes?!" Lancer whined as Olga reluctantly came back to herself. "These stains will never come out!"

"Oh, hush." Naruto clicked his tongue. "I'll fix it right now."

From this angle Olga didn't see whatever odd magic her Servant worked, but by the time she turned Elizabeth sported a pristine, vomit-free dress. With a delighted twirl the little songstress spun proudly in place, her tail sashaying behind her like some eager beast. A stray skeleton arose from the rubble and she swatted it down with a demented giggle.

"Oooh~!" the pinkette preened, giving herself a once-over. "Nice! That's handy!"

Mata Hari beamed as he performed a similar service on her part. "Remind me to find you if I ever stain my dress!"

"Well!" Naruto rolled his eyes in mild consternation, "I'm glad you lovely ladies are enjoying those clean clothes, because they're about to get dirty again...

Elizabeth stiffened. "Hweh?"

A lone finger indicated a distant point on the horizon.

...it memory serves, and it does, the attack will come in three, two, one...!"

Gudako turned her head. "Wait, what is that?!"

As if waiting for that very statement a crimson star rocketed up in the distance from a nearby building. All eyes turned toward that brilliant burst of light from afar, watching as it soared ever upward into the heavens like a brilliant firework. A vicious shot, loosed with murderous intent. But rather than detonate in a short-lived burst of light as some might expect, it completed its graceful arc and grew larger still, swooping down towards then as a falling star...

Assassin realized what was about to transpire a heartbeat before the Masters. "Incoming! Move move MOVE!"

...and descended on the Chaldeans in the form of a thousand twisted arrows.

Naruto merely grinned.

"Mashu!"

With a harsh clang the young Shielder interposed her stern bulwark between the Masters and the deadly rain. Not a moment too soon. Olga had half an instant to glimpse Naruto beneath the deluge as Elizabeth and Mata Hari into the rubble dove for cover. Rather than tuck his head and hide, the stubborn blond simply spread his arms and roared in defiance.

"Over here, EMIYA!"

The enemy showed him no mercy.

No sooner had he spoken than the enemy Archer riddled him with arrows from head to toe, rendering the stubborn Servant little more than an inhuman pincushion as he was driven to his knees. Naruto staggered, spun in place and nearly off his feet. As quickly as the assault began, so too did it cease. That was death, surely. Nothing could possibly survive a barrage like that, not even a Servant, surely...

"Nice try, Archer! Next time bring your A-game!"

...thus it came as quite the horrific surprise when her Servant simply shook himself like a wet dog and dislodged the iron steel from his body. Though his body bled from countless wounds, he rolled his shoulders and stood without care. His body swayed in place like a broken puppet severed from its strings. Rather than the scowl she'd expected, she found only maddened mirth awaiting her. Ruined flesh molded itself back together in spite of his grievous wounds; indeed, by the time he'd taken his third step, he wasn't even limping anymore.

"There you are, bastard!" the Alter Ego crowed exultantly, planting a hand to his forehead as he peered at a sundered building. "Found you!"

He paused just long enough to snap off a salute. "Lizzie! You're in charge until I get back! Keep the little squirrel safe! Gudako, too!"

"That nickname is not going to stick, do you hear me?!"

Olga could feel the glee radiating off him in waves; like an eager dog ready to leap off its leash and run wild. She supposed she couldn't blame him. He finally had a chance to show her what he was capable of. Naturally, he wasn't about to waste it. Ordering him otherwise would simply be a waste of a Command Spell...and frankly she doubted one would even slow him at this point. Sure enough, the whiskered warrior spun in place, his gaze snapping to a distant point on the burning horizon.

"Oh, Aaaaaaaaaaarcher!"

Naruto didn't leap.

He lunged.

With a piercing war cry that rattled the very heavens themselves, he gathered his legs beneath him and leaped; hurtling towards the archer's position with sound and aplomb, cackling like a mad god all the while. Olga didn't have it in her to stop him; rather she couldn't, because the sheer force behind said leap had just knocked her and everyone else firmly on their rears. Of Naruto there remained naught but a distant amber speck on the skyline, one that smashed headlong through several buildings as the sniper unleashed a fresh barrage. In that, they were fortunate that their adversary didn't think to target them.

The enemy Archer was...less so.

CRUNCH.

A deafening crack resonated in Emiya's tainted ears as his once pristine scenario began to crumble underfoot. True to form he dispelled his bow and drew his blades as the enemy Servant landed in a pointed crouch before him. They availed him not. It should've been easy. They'd been warned by that man about Chaldea; about what-who!-was coming for them. Yet even then Saber hadn't taken the threat seriously. Of course she hadn't. All she cared about was the Grail; of maintaining this timeline.

Reinforced steel should've bit deep into exposed flesh; instead his deadly blades shattered like brittle glass as he brought them down on the young man's back. Those eerie, mismatching eyes rounded on him in response and twin fists smashed into his abdomen to crater his armor and hurl him backwards into sundered scaffolding.

"Ohoho, that was just precious." a voice purred as he fought to climb upright from his tomb of tortured steel. "Now then, Emiya-kun...I'm going to give you one chance. Surrender. Now."

When he tried to rise, he saw it.

Belatedly he realized the blond had drawn a weapon of his own; a massive, ghastly cleaver nearly as large as he was tall. With the merest of ease the horned Servant slung the weapon over his shoulder and waited for his eventual recovery. Despite his plight, a rare note of discord plucked at the archer's visage.

"Big sword. Compensating for something?"

"And there's that Emiya wit!" the young man hummed. "To answer you, no, Zabuza's blade just felt...appropriate. A final send off for you."

"Sorry." he drew anew as the blond hurricane descended upon him. "I've never been one to die easily."

"Pity." that gaze grew hard. "I would've liked to work with you, rather than against you for once."

What in blazes did that mean? The horned Servant had spoken just now as if he knew him. Impossible. He would've recalled a monster like this. Yet the faintest sense of nostalgia plucked at his heart-strings still and he couldn't help but feel as though this had happened before. In another time. Another place. Another life. How many times had they crossed blades? How many times had he fallen to someone wearing that same face that-was-not-his-face? The memory tickled the back of his brain but refused to emerge despite Emiya's prodding.

...why do I always have the worst luck these days?" he exhaled in a long-suffering sigh as he tumbled out of the way of a deceptively agile swing.

"Don't be like that." the newcomer laughed and stormed after him. "Cu usually has it worse than you."

In the distance, he thought he heard a shout. Probably his imagination.

Three clashes settled their ill-fated dispute.

Three swings of the sword.

Three strikes.

The first crashed through his guard like an avalanche, obliterating both his right sword and the arm holding it in one smooth stroke. Grimacing against the pain and the laughter that chased it down, Archer spun and struck out erratically with his remaining left, only for that massive wall of metal to once more interpose itself between him and the blond's throat, denying him his kill. Then came the second, ripping through his collarbone like sandpaper. Dark arterial blood burst before his vision and he staggered, stumbling forward into the blade in spite of what he knew to be a fatal wound, knowing if he could just get close enough-

When the third found his torso and cut him in half-casting him to the floor-he was still clinging to that ill-fated hope.

Shadow Servant though he was, Emiya still possessed some awareness of his self and thus, a keen sense of self-preservation. Even so he fought on. Even tainted by the Grail he wasn't some mindless fop would throw himself headlong into the fray just for the hell of it. He knew at once that fighting this Servant-this thing!-would be suicide. He'd have better luck dashing his skull against the mountainside to make it crumble. Archer swallowed thickly at the sight; it was akin to staring a Beast in the face; a creature built solely for destruction, one that all but had him by the throat. He could only lay prone and watch that towering cleaver rise, ready to fall upon his head.

'Well. I've blundered.' he realized.

...better clench your teeth."

Emiya did not die well.

A/N: Aaaaaaaaaand there we go.

I can EASILY see Naruto trying to recruit the Dark Lancer variant of Medusa. You'll know who I'm talking about if you've watched a certain movie. In this case he might well succeed, given his track record of making enemies into allies.

Saber Alter fight (and subsequent recruitment) will be next chapter!

In a sense, this story will be competing with my other Chaldean story "A Most Unlikely Avenger", though each story will be following a different route. I do hope you enjoyed the interlude and I look forward to reading what you all have to say once I return from work later this evening. Thank you for being patient with me and my erratic updating schedule, I'm trying to nail down a better one as we speak, but life's rearing its ugly head at the moment.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And enjoy these previews!

Small though they are~!

(Previews!)

"How wounded you are," Still, the Shadow Servant sneered. "Why not stay down?"

...never been one to listen to a pretty face."

"Is that so? Being too fresh can grate on the nerves, I suppose." slender fingers beckoned as she swayed, crooning at him. "Come here, boy. I will entangle you with my hair like the rest. Doesn't that sound nice~?"

To her mild dismay, Olga watched her Servant step past her. He wasn't smiling. No, for the first time since they'd met, those ice blue eyes had lost all hint of charm. There was no rage lurking in his gaze. He wasn't angry, nor could this new emotion be called sorrow, but...just disappointment. Almost profoundly so. A clawed hand arose, brushing fresh flecks of blood from his sleeve. As she looked on he slid into a strange stance, a clenched fist extended towards the enemy, even as he braced his legs apart.

"Seeing really is believing these days." he gazed back at her in quiet disdain. "What a pitiful creature you've become, Lancer...or should I say Medusa? How sad."

That serene visage twitched murderously. "You mock me? You'll die slowly for that."

...is he...riding that Berserker?!"

"Forward, my friend! To victory! Charge!"

"Have you no honor?! This is a duelareyouevenlistening?!"

"EX~!"

Blue eyes bulged wide.

"Ohfuckmesidewaysiknowthatlook-

Her blade rose and descended in a single fluid movement. The blast that followed could not truly be called light in the traditional sense of the word; rather, it was the stark absence of the word. An utter bastardization of the purity that golden blade had once housed. Wrathful golden eyes blazed back at him, seething with untold fury.

-CALIBUR!"

She dropped it in a writhing column of shadow and flame and he knew no more.

R&R~!

=D