The City in Flames

"Artoria, better head for cover." She dropped the piece of metal onto the shield and began chanting. Once the incantation was over and the lights had faded, Mordred stood before them.

"I am Saber. Are you my Master?" They startled and barely caught the notebook Mari threw at them.

"We know who you are, Artoria's here, Servants don't get wishes granted, it's time to get over your daddy issues." Mordred growled at Mari and drew their sword before paging through the notebook. Clarent was slowly lowered and sheathed, a slightly smug look on Mari's face.

"I don't like your tone, but it seems you are correct. Know this: should this be a forgery, I'll have your head." The horned helmet shimmered away as they tucked the notebook behind their breastplate. Mari nodded.

"'S fair. Now let's get a move on before doom keeps raining down on our asses."

Artoria came back into sight. "One moment. There's something I need to address before we go any further."

She turned to Sir Mordred. "I know there's much to talk about, and that will have to wait. However, something's been bothering me since we arrived here." She nodded at Mashu. "That shield. Does it look familiar to you?"

"Fath-!" They stopped short and looked over the shield.

"By God, you're right...! You there! How did you get that shield? I don't recognize you as a Knight."

"On that note, you weren't a Servant before, yet now you are. What's going on?"

Mashu looked bashful, shifting behind the shield a little bit.

"When that explosion happened, I got buried by rubble. I was horribly injured and I couldn't get out. As I was dying, a Heroic Spirit appeared to me. He offered me his powers to save my life. After passing on his abilities to me, he disappeared, just before the Rayshift happened. It changed me into..."

As she hesitated, Olga finished her thought. "A Demi-Servant. Human and Heroic Spirit fused together."

"That shield was made from the Round Table. That Servant must have been one of my knights. Do you know which one?"

Mashu shook her head. "I don't know his name. The Heroic Spirit is gone now; he only passed on his abilities to me."

Mordred folded their arms and nodded. "Either way, that makes you an ally to us, and seeing the state of things..." They looked around. It was like the battlefield on their final dawn, Britain in flames and ruin. Their heart fluttered with remorse.

"We need all the help we can get."

"Let's go ahead and get moving." Avalon prodded. The group made their way to the theater, looking for clues along the way.

The group headed northeast carefully, toward the bridge, which would take them across the river. As they approached, though, Artoria stopped them with a raised hand.

"Servants. Two of them."

Having sensed each other, the two Servants started coming in fast.

"Get ready. We have no idea what to expect."

In short order, two figures appeared at the end of the street, one a tall, muscular warrior, and the other a robed magician.

Something was seriously wrong with them. Though they were indeed two Servants they were familiar with, they gave off a strange, dark aura. There were black cracks in their skin and a red glow in their eyes.

"Ahh, so someone was still alive?" Medea said, giggling under her breath. "And not a scratch on them!"

"Nah, can't you see?" Iskandar said. "These guys look too old to be our Masters. Ah, well, no time to debate it. Sorry," he said, drawing his sword. "But orders are orders. We gotta kill ya."

"Wait wait!" Avalon pleaded, "What orders are you talking about?"

"Sorry!" Iskandar said. "Time for talking is over!" He charged forward with his spatha in hand.

Artoria and Darius both took a stance. "Master! Orders!"

Turn 1

Servant Initiative

A:
B: Mordred, Darius
C: Paracelsus, Medea, Artoria
D: Iskander

Darius smirked, what luck. Aaron shared a smile with him and took off the bracelet that supressed his power. "Go for it big guy!" With a roar, Darius rushed at his sworn rival, brandishing his axes.

Kittenboxxing carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

Avalon cursed, "Just take 'em down! But if they ask for mercy give them a chance!" She began to put a rank B barrier of wind around herself and  the other masters.

Iskandar deflected the axe deftly with his sword.

Mordred glanced at Mari, who nodded. "Remember your notes. You know what to do."

The Saber charged forward, Clarent in hand. With a quick feint, they pivoted away from Iskander and swung at Medea.

fuyumin carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

Medea was surprised at the sudden feint, and tried to move back out of the way, but couldn't quite make it.

Shadow Medea
HP: 60/100

Medea jumped back, bleeding, but quickly raised an arm and directed it toward Mordred. "Hecatia!"

Ten magic circles appeared in the air behind her, and she fired ten massive beams of light. Instantly, though, Artoria was there, taking the hits head on.

[[Skill: Magic Resistance A]]

She shrugged them off like water, coming in fast with a Mana Burst to try and quickly finish the mage off.

[[Skill: Mana Burst A]]

Artoria: Damascus carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

Medea: Damascus carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

Medea barely managed to dodge the slash in time, chuckling quietly.

Mordred took up a defensive position at Artoria's back. "Thank you."

Phillipus quickly studied the battlefield. Assuming that this Medea and Iskander had the same strengths and skills... He dashed away from the Masters and raised a quick barrier [RANK C] before beginning to chant, lightning gathering at the tip of the Azoth. [CHAIN LIGHTNING, RANK A]

Iskandar charged back at Darius, swinging hard with his sword

Damascus carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

Darius
HP: 980/1,000

Despite taking the hit, Darius can tell it was a weak strike for Iskandar. He wasn't nearly at his full strength.

Then, as Darius jumped back, a sudden green mist appeared around Iskandar and Medea. Before they could get out in time, barbed chains appeared in the air, rooted to the buildings around them and wrapped around the two enemy Servants.

"Sikera Ušum. That's enough, King of Conqueres, Princess of Colchis. Time to sleep."

Semiramis appeared behind the two. Unlike Iskandar and Medea, she appeared uncorrupted by darkness.

Medea gasped, her body unable to withstand the poison seeping into her body. Her form cracked, and abruptly shattered into shards of what seemed to be glass and ash. Iskandar struggled against his bindings, but still appeared to be barely holding on.

Shadow Iskandar
HP: 90/250

"Now's your chance!" Semiramis called out to the party.

Mordred didn't waste a moment, using Mana Burst to lunge into Iskandar. Clarent sliced into the Rider, biting deep like a monster's fang. "Darius! Finish him!"

With Iskandar restrained, Darius and Mordred both leapt forward and smashed their weapons into him. In short order, he met the same fate as Medea.

As soon as they were gone, Semiramis dropped her Noble Phantasm, then fell to her knees. Already, she was shaking and sweating.

"I need... mana. Can someone contract with me? I'm not going to last much longer."

Aaron rushed over and grabbed her hand, contracting with her. He then promptly passed out.

"I - Aaron!!" Phillipus rushed to his side and checked his vitals. He sighed, moving Aaron's upper body into his lap.

"He's already contracted with me, and Darius through me. He can absorb more mana quickly, but I'm not sure he'll be able to maintain so many contracts at once. Assassin, can you fill us in on what's happening here?"

"Guess that's what happens when you're overtaxed."

She panted as she felt mana steadily flowing back into her. She looked up at Mari and Avalon. "I want to say I'm amazed you're still alive, but after everything that's happened, very little is surprising me anymore."

She then noticed Mordred as if for the first time, and her skin went white. A dagger appeared in her hand, and she held it defensively. "S-stay back! I'm not gonna go down like the others!" She backed away a few paces, but tried to calm herself as she looked Mordred up and down. "Wait... you're... you're not... the same Saber are you? The one that killed the others?"