The Herc-Buster

"Can't this thing go any faster, Birdbrain?!"

"Not if you want him to chuck you off...!" Astolfo replied to his distressed passenger. Both he and Mordred were flying on Astolfo's Hippogriff, moving through the skies over late 17th century America at considerable speed. "I'm going as fast as Snowball can manage, Mordred."

"We've got no time to lose!" Mordred said with urgency. "That damn brat, Abigail-whatshername just made Heracles go berserk! We got to reign the Meathead in before he ends up destroying a colony!"

Astolfo was well aware of the urgency of their situation. Chaldea was dealing with a singularity occurring during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. While investigating the potential appearance of a demon pillar, its envoy; Foreigner Abigail Williams, caught the team completely off-guard by making one of their teammates go out of control.

And it just so happened to be one of Chaldea's strongest Servants: The Berserker, Heracles.

With the Masters and other Servants already having their hands full in Salem, Mordred and Astolfo were the only two Servants close enough to catch up to the rogue Berserker. They both understood the importance of pacifying Heracles before he did irreparable damage to the timeline...

But there was an obvious problem.

"I'm all for helping the big guy, but..." Astolfo expressed this grave concern. "Something tells me he's not gonna come down to Earth quietly, and he happens to be our team's strongest Berserker..."

"I might be able to help with that, Astolfo..."

Both Mordred and Astolfo get briefly startled when a disembodied feminine voice rang through their minds, courtesy of the Masters' mental link with their Servants.

"Wha-? Da Vinci?" Astolfo asked, yelling over the rush of air as they were flying. Sure enough, it was Caster Leonardo Da Vinci speaking to both him and Mordred.

"Master just filled me in; Abby overridden his Command Seals, and now Heracles is on a crazed warpath. He's heading south of Salem to the most populated area in the region, Boston."

"We know, Tinkerer," Mordred responded impatiently. "Me and Birdbrain are moving to intercept him. We could use a plan to wrangle Herc', 'cause I doubt we can take him on ourselves..."

Mordred was determined to do whatever she needed to in order to prevent Heracles from hurting anyone, but secretly, she was trepidatious. From what she knew of the Berserker based on Arturia's account from her time in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Mordred knew this was going to be a hectic fight. Perhaps not one that she will be walking away from...

But then-

"Lucky for you, Illya is in a process of rayshifting," Da Vinci revealed. "She can pacify him, so just keep the big-man focused on you guys until she arrives."

That was of cold comfort to the two Servants, who both knew what exactly they were throwing themselves into.

"How are we going to do that, by the way?" Astolfo asked. "Herc' is a freight train on legs, and we're just two Servants!"

"You'd probably get pummeled to a pulp, Birdbrain," Mordred said somewhat apologetically to the Rider. She was willing to put herself in harm's way so that her friend did not have to. "I'm better equipped to take him on..."

"True, Mordred, but not without my help..."

Mordred was surprised by Da Vinci's offer, considering that the Caster was not much of a melee fighter herself, but the Saber knew that Da Vinci would fare badly in a fight with Heracles, more so than even Astolfo. Mordred could not burden herself with two Servants who would no doubt get themselves hurt very badly.

The Saber thought she was more expendable than they were...

"No offence, Ms. so-called Super-genius," Mordred starts. "But you'll probably get your ass handed to you as well. Besides, you're too far away to help."

Mordred became confused when Da Vinci chuckled suggestively over the mental link.

"I've already sent my help..."

Just then, Mordred and Astolfo turned to see a mechanical mass flying beside the Rider's Hippogriff. It looked enormous compared to the beast they rode on, and neither of them could make out exactly what Da Vinci's contraption is supposed to be. The two Servants could only respond with:

"What the...?"

"I'll explain soon," Da Vinci tells them. "Just locate Herc first!"

With time being of the essence, Astolfo continued guiding his Hippogriff, carrying him and Mordred to Heracles' location. It was not long until they came over a dense settlement that was the new city of Boston. Astolfo circles his Hippogriff overhead, and he and Mordred scan for any sign of the berserk- well, Berserker...

"We're up and over Boston now, Tinks, and so far-" Mordred starts before then yelling, "There! I see him!"

Mordred points down for Astolfo to see too. To their horror, Heracles was causing havoc in the town square, and the local populace were scattering in fear.

"This looks terrible!" Astolfo said aloud, and Mordred could not disagree. The situation was even worse than they thought; Heracles lost all sense and was destroying everything in sight. Boston was going to be wiped off the map at this rate, and the Servants could not imagine how that would affect America's history.

They needed to stop this... fast.

"'Vinci," Mordred said desperately. "So what's this big plan of yours?"

"I've thought ahead and suspected that one our Berserkers going off-rails would happen," Da Vinci reveals. "So I built a contingency for this exact scenario. You're going to be my test-pilot, Mordred."

"For what?!" Mordred asked, still having no clue what this contingency was. She had no time to be playing any of Da Vinci's cryptic games. The Caster did her best to alleviate her concerns.

"You'll see... I've made this augment for someone like you in mind. You're gonna love this!"

"Okay... if you say so..." Mordred replied anxiously before turning to the Rider, "Astolfo, drop me off and go help the Masters. This could get messy..."

Astolfo looked back and could tell that Mordred was being serious. As much as he wanted to much instead help, the Rider did what Mordred wanted.

"Be careful, Mo'. Don't die on me..."

"I don't plan on it..." Mordred remarked before jumping off the Hippogriff without a second of hesitation. Astolfo watched as Mordred went into the freefall, then at Da Vinci's contraption, which went down after her.

As she fell, Mordred thought about maybe it was unwise to refuse Astolfo's help. Her reasoning was that she was protecting him, but in actuality, Mordred felt that she needed to do this by herself... as a Knight of the Round Table.

Flashback:

Mordred made her way to through the halls of Chaldea, seeking the quarters that belonged to her "father," Arturia Pendragon. She was looking forward to it, as she and Arturia have built up a good relationship again after months of working together in Chaldea and saving human history; quite a long way to come after Mordred, enraged by King Arthur's rejection, rebelled and caused the fall of Camelot.

When Mordred was first summoned, resentment hung between her and Arturia, preventing them from acting as teammates let alone family. Mordred was a lone wolf, taking any opportunity she could to upstage her king on the battlefield. Arturia was always quick to scold and lecture her for acting out of line, and this dynamic was a poison that hurt Chaldea's efforts to save humanity. Something needed to change...

So after an unthinkable heart-to-heart between them, they decided to shoot for that change...

In that time, Mordred and Arturia began to understand each other on a level neither thought possible. Mordred no longer saw Arturia as the heartless king who rejected her because of infidelity, and Arturia started seeing Mordred as family, just as the knight wanted all along...

With this new bond, the two of them were now a force to be reckoned with, working together in perfect harmony. Mordred's efforts did not go unnoticed by Arturia, who saw the formerly disgraced knight doing all she could, putting her life on the line for innocents and the other Servants of Chaldea. Not a word was uttered about Mordred's treachery, for the knight knew that she was now forgiven in Arturia's eyes.

But as it would turn out, that was not the case when it came to Mordred's fellow knights.

Mordred neared Arturia's personal quarters, hoping for a relaxing day off together, but stopped when she noticed two individuals guarding the door.

Gawain and Lancelot...

They saw her and they glared disapprovingly...

More of Mordred's fellow knights were summoned to Chaldea in recent days, and although Arturia told them all that she and Mordred were on good terms, they all still had their own reservations regarding the treacherous knight.

They all know what she did... and they were quick to remind her that none of them trusted her...

Mordred however would not argue, so instead she turned around and left. As she past other Servants, all heroes of great renown, Mordred was painfully reminded that she was not like any of them.

She was a villain... the villain of King Arthur's legend. Mordred deceived her allies, killed in cold blood, and stained her honor as a knight. No amount of reconciling with Arturia could change all of that... unless she took drastic measures.

So Mordred buried herself further in what she did best... fighting; taking any assignment by herself regardless of how dangerous it was, working herself beyond the point of exhaustion, even injury... hoping her efforts would convince her knights that she was still worthy of that distinction.

And maybe convince herself of that too...

Present:

Through the deafening rush of air, Mordred snaps back to reality upon hearing Da Vinci's instructions.

"Are you listening?! Mordred, summon your armor!"

"Now?!"

"Yes! Trust me!"

Mordred obeyed, and over her revealing red outfit materialized sections of her armor, followed by her sword, Clarent. The object following Mordred down separated and began attaching itself over Mordred's armor, as if bulking it up... considerably.

The pieces linked together, until the last one; a helmet over what Mordred already wore, folded over her head, with eyes that lit up red. Mordred's sword fitted into a slot into the giant suit's back, causing circuits to light up over Mordred's entire body. The Saber was stunned as a HUD appeared before her eyes, along with a readout of her new, bulky form.

"It's a mech-suit!" Mordred said in amazement.

"Not bad, huh?" Da Vinci remarked proudly as Mordred continued admiring the suit that more than tripled her current size.

"This is beyond cool!" the Saber expressed her excitement, which soon drained when Mordred realized that she was STILL falling. "Wait... how do I land this thing?!"

"You have a Riding skill, figure it out..."

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!" Mordred exclaimed in panic as the ground rapidly came closer. She was about to crash into the Earth with over three tons of enchanted steel. With a sigh, Da Vinci instructs:

"Activate your thrusters. It runs off your Noble Phantasm."

Desperate, Mordred sees on her HUD that her thrusters were in the mech's hands, feet, and back.

"Here it goes-!" Mordred yelled before activating what she hoped would save her from a brutal fall. Almost instantly, red flames shot out of the mech, slowing Mordred's descent as she oriented upright, before-

(CRASH!)

Mordred lands on her feet, kicking up a tremendous dust cloud on impact with the ground. Mordred's mech suit rises to a stance as the dust settled, using its robust hands to lift its upper body up. The suit matched the aesthetics of Mordred's armor almost perfectly, down to the luster of the metal pauldrons, red accents, and intimidating visage. The mech even had the signature horns on the helm, albeit smaller in relation to the suit's size and being more aerodynamic.

Taking deep breaths, Mordred carefully compels the suit to start walking; clockwork and pistons coming to life, animating the mech's armored limbs.

"Okay... right foot... left foot... right foot, left foot..."

Mordred soon achieved a consistent stride; the mech making mechanical "thuds" with each heavy step footstep. Looking through her visor, Mordred felt very tall in this suit, looking down at the carriages, crates and the buildings beside her as well as the citizens staying well out of her way. Just then, Da Vinci's voice came through.

"Glad you're getting the hang of your new toy, Mordred!"

Indeed, once Mordred got over her initial shock of the Caster's invention, the Saber found herself enjoying this mech-suit, feeling that it just might give her the edge over Heracles. That was when a worrying thought crossed Mordred's mind as she made her way to the town square.

"Tinks, have you tested this thing?"

"Only in simulation with a volunteer opponent," Da Vinci admitted rather reluctantly. "I have no idea how well it will hold up in an actual combat scenario. You're pretty much my guinea pig, Mordred. Try not to wreck it..."

"▂▂▃▃▅▅ーーー!"

(CRASH!)

Just as Da Vinci finished saying that, Mordred came up to the square and saw that the place looked as though a bomb went off, with Heracles in the center, laying waste to several stalls.

"Can't guarantee that..." Mordred remarked, scanning her HUD for any weapon available to her in the mech suit. "I gotta get Herc's attention, let's see-"

(ZAP!)

Mordred accidently fires an orb of lightning out of her hand that soared and struck Heracles in the torso.

"Whoa!"

The Berserker quickly turned to see the offending intruder who had just injured him.

"▂▂▃▃▅▅ーーー?!"

Mordred was stunned as Heracles was staring her down from the other side of the square.

"That was quick..."

"You did it, Mordred!" Da Vinci said. "Keep him fixed on you!"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅ー!"

Heracles roared, prepared to launch himself and fight this new opponent. Mordred was sure that in his deranged state that he had no idea it was even one of his allies in this mech suit. Mordred put herself on speaker, hoping to get through to Heracles.

"Hey, big guy! Listen..." Mordred's voice rang and filled the town square. "That little witch is messin' with your head. You're stronger than her... you're smarter that her... You're Heracles, the son of Zeus-"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅!"

When Heracles roared and thrashed angrily, Mordred realized her mistake.

"Oh shoot, daddy issues. I feel ya... that's my bad-"

(WHAM!)

Mordred was cut off when Heracles leapt forward a great distance and tackled her, sending her suit crashing backwards.

"Ngh!" Mordred strained as she struggled to get her suit back on its feet. All the while, Da Vinci lightly chastised her.

"First mistake, Mordred... DON'T try and reason with a crazed Berserker. Good news is the suit's showing minimal damage so far..."

"You're more worried about the suit?!" Mordred said angrily as she stands up, revealing a dent on the suit's chest plate.

"It's my first prototype!"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Mordred looks ahead and sees Heracles preparing to rush at her again. She readies herself and activates the thrusters throughout the mech suit.

"Then I'm about to give it a crash course..."

Heracles starts running at her at breakneck speed, and Mordred commands the suit to fly directly towards him. They quickly close the distance on each other until-

(WHAM!)

The two masses collide, and immediately, Mordred's suit overpowers Heracles, launching him off his feet as Mordred sends him crashing through a brick building and into a courtyard. The Berserker slides before swiftly getting back on his feet, just before Mordred grabs his arms pins Heracles to the ground.

"If I can't talk Herc down, I'll have to knock him out!" Mordred said before letting go of one arm to punch Heracles in the face with a resounding metal thud. Despite having the force to punch a hole through a locomotive, Heracles shrugged it off and seized Mordred's arm before she could ready another. Mordred found herself stuck as Heracles kicked her away, sending her suit crashing backwards. Before she could recover, Heracles got up and grabbed Mordred's leg, spinning and throwing her through a house.

Mordred's suit crash-lands inside. She had just enough time to recover and see a frightened family inside. The crash threatened to make the roof of the house collapse on them, so Mordred quickly stands up and uses the bulk of the mech to support it.

"Run!" She tells the family. They hurried out just as the rest of the house crumbled around Mordred's suit. She turns and sees the crazed Heracles threatening to throw a carriage he picked up in the family's direction.

"Oh no you don't!" Mordred yelled before flying directly at Heracles, tackling him down before he got the chance to throw the carriage. With him down, Mordred grabbed and lifted the carriage before smashing it down on Heracles. The carriage shatters into splinters before Mordred then stomps on the Berseker's chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Stay down!" Mordred's demand went unheeded as Heracles thrashed, trying to free himself under the suit's massive weight. Mordred pressed her foot down harder, which only seemed to aggravate the Berserker further. Heracles then grabbed Mordred's leg with both hands and pushed until Mordred fell over. Getting up, Mordred looks over to Heracles and sees, to her horror, that he had summoned his bone-axe. Heracles reeled up to pummel Mordred before she could get to her feet.

(CLANG!)

The axe contacts Mordred's head and sends her suit rolling backwards, eventually to a stop.

"Ow!" Mordred winced. "I'm starting to see how you gave Father so much trouble!"

Heracles closes the gap, reading to swing his axe down at Mordred once she got to her knees. She raises her arms to shield herself from his flurry of hits. Mordred catches the weapon through her gauntlets before sliding her arms apart and grabbing the axe with both hands. With Heracles struggling to free it, Mordred rises to her feet and kicks him away, forcing him to let go of his axe. Mordred then orients the weapon in her hands before using the suit's thrusters to spin and swing the axe at Heracles before he could recover. With great force, Heracles gets hit, sending him off his feet and landing backwards with a crash.

With that break in the fight, Mordred smashes the bone-axe against the mech's knee, splitting the weapon in half so Heracles could not use it anymore. She throws the two halves away and sees Heracles getting up, reeling from the blow. Even with the punishment he took so far, it seemed Heracles could still fight.

"I'm not knocking him hard enough!" Mordred said to Da Vinci, who then replies:

"Try the sedative canisters!"

"One sec," Mordred said before activating her thrusters, flying towards Heracles and grabbing him by the throat before pinning him against a wall. The Berserker thrashes wildly, lifted off his feet by the strength of Mordred's mech. As per Da Vinci's instruction, Mordred triggered the release of sedative gas, causing a cloud to jet out of Mordred's wrist where she had Heracles held. He seemed to be breathing the gas in, but after several seconds, it became clear that it did not slow him down one bit.

"Tch!" Mordred grunts in frustration. "It's not working!"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Heracles suddenly raised his hands and sent them down on Mordred's outstretched arm, causing it to buckle. Heracles lands on feet before kneeing Mordred in the gut then picking her up overhead and crashing her head against the wall. Heracles then spun on the spot before diving backwards and sending Mordred's suit crashing down to the ground in a suplex.

Mordred groaned from the impact, but no time to recover as before she knew it, Heracles leapt on top of her and started clawing and punching at her wildly. Pinned down with the Berserker's weight on top of her, Mordred could not do much besides try to block his blows. The ones where he did connect were leaving scratches and dents on Mordred's mech. Now she was in trouble...

"I'm getting incredible readings!" Da Vinci said through the mental link. "The suit's integrity is holding up better than expected!"

Mordred grits through Heracles assault to say to her:

"Glad you're nerding out, Tinks, but I sure could use a hand-!" Just then, Heracles ripped off the arm she was using to block a pile-driver punch. "Literally!"

"Activate your self-defense precepts!"

Mordred selected the indicated command on her HUD. She saw the mech's body glow red accompanied by a whirring sound. A second later-

(ZAP!)

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Mordred's suit was suddenly enveloped with red electricity. The burst of voltage electrocuted Heracles and launched him off Mordred.

(CRASH!)

Heracles lands a great distance away, convulsing as he struggled to get up. Mordred herself was having a hard time getting back on her feet without one of her arms.

"Hold tight, Mordred!" Da Vinci said to her. "Sending a spare!"

Above the city, Da Vinci's mechanical rig released a replacement arm that flew down towards Mordred, who had just got on her knee and saw that Heracles had recovered from the initial electric shock.

"Hurry... he's gettin' back up!" Mordred said with urgency as Heracles roared in frustration, now back on his feet and charging at her.

"The suit's got ranged weapons," Da Vinci tells her. "That should hold him off..."

Mordred raised her suit's remaining arm and began rapidly firing electrified bolts at Heracles. The Berserker roars as he was forced to shield himself from the barrage, slowing him down.

Just then, Mordred got an audible warning as well an indicator on her HUD:

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 50%"

"'Vinci, what is that?" Mordred asks worriedly as she continued firing at Heracles.

"That's the suit's power level," Da Vinci tells her. "When it hits zero, it'll still start taking from YOUR mana."

"Shouldn't you have told me that before?!" Mordred exclaims in disbelief. Heracles was putting up a hell of a fight against her, and if Mordred were to run out of juice, she would be a sitting duck. In fact, her keeping the Berserker at bay with her lightning projectiles was draining her power.

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 45%"

"We just need to end this quickly before the suit tires you out!" Da Vinci assures Mordred, only for the Saber to answer back with:

"Easy for YOU to say!"

Just then, the mech's spare arm finally arrived and began attaching itself to Mordred's torso. It was an agonizingly slow process as Heracles was slowly closing the distance on Mordred despite the repeating barrage of lightning bolts.

"Come on, come on..." Mordred lets out impatiently as her arm was still being attached. Her still firing at Heracles was taking a toll on her suit's mana.

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 40%," Mordred's HUD was flashing red until it suddenly changed green. "ARM INSTALLED AND FUNCTIONAL."

"Yes!"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Heracles was running at her now. Mordred ceased her lightning barrage and reeled her new arm back in a fist just as the Berserker was doing the same.

"Hyah!" Mordred yells before sending her fist to meet Herc's as they contact and create a pressure wave from the tremendous force.

(BOOM!)

The shockwave shook the buildings around them and shattered glass, forcing fleeing people to shield themselves. The supposed stalemate ended up briefly stunning Heracles. Mordred took advantage by grappling him and throwing him down over her suit's shoulder. Mordred gripped the Berserker's arm as she slammed him down and pinned him into an awkward angle.

"Sorry in advance, Herc..." Mordred said to him before sending her elbow down and dislocating Heracles' arm.

(CRACK!)

Heracles roars in pain as his arm suddenly became useless. Mordred felt bad for doing that, but knew such injury for a Servant will heal with time. She had the mad Berserker immobilized for the moment even though Heracles continued to struggle.

"Bind him!" Da Vinci's instruction came loud and clear as Mordred proceeded to bind Heracles' one good arm by the hand. Mordred's hand then formed a claw that proceeded to clamp around the Herc's lower arm tightly. Heracles pulled vainly to free himself, but Mordred activated her mech's thrusters, taking flight and carrying the Berserker with her.

"We need to get him away from the city..." Da Vinci tells Mordred, who replied:

"On it." Mordred looks down at the still struggling Heracles and decided to book it back to Salem. "Hang on, big guy. I'm getting you to help..."

Mordred thought the fight was over until she heard Heracles' arm snap back in place, followed by-

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Looking down at her unwilling passenger, Mordred saw to her horror the Berserker's body turning red and suddenly becoming much heavier.

"Oh crap!" Mordred let out just before Heracles pulls himself up and punches her mech in the side, sending her off course."Gyah-!"

Mordred's flying mech veers off and dives back down towards the city. She and Heracles end up over a shipyard...

(CRASH!)

The people in the harbor ran for their lives as the crash caused Mordred to release Heracles and they land several feet away from each other. The enraged Berserker quickly got to his feet and roared. Mordred's mech slowly risen to its feet as the Saber said to Da Vinci desperately:

"Tinks... Herc is done playing around! He just activated his Noble Phantasm!"

"Oh, that's not good..."

Both of them knew Mordred was in serious trouble now. Her mech had taken a beating and now Heracles was faster, stronger, and angrier than ever. The Berserker seized and an anchor with a chain and threw it forcefully at Mordred. She attempted to grab it, but the impact knocked her down. Heracles then pulled and Mordred's mech flew towards him. He then seized Mordred and slammed her down on the dock before wrapping the chain around the neck of the suit. Mordred struggled as with Heracles' strength, he could pull the chain and rip the helmet right off. Desperate, Mordred activated her thrusters, lifting her and Heracles in the air until his sheer weight caused her to divert downwards, causing her and the Berserker to crash through the dock and sink deep into the water.

Submerged, Mordred electrified her suit again, causing Heracles to briefly let go long enough to free herself from the anchor. She attempted to escape, using her mech's thrusters to rise back up to the surface. But unfortunately, Heracles caught up and grappled with Mordred. They crash against the underside of the dock, demolishing it as they came closer to shore. The two emerged and flew a considerable distance uncontrollably until they crashed into a cathedral. People scattered as Heracles got up first, trapping Mordred in a choke hold and threatening to crush her mech like a tin can. Mordred strained as another warning came up on her HUD:

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 25%"

"Screw you!" Mordred blurts out, activating her thrusters again and spiraling out, crashing her and Heracles through the cathedral's stone pillars and even elbowing him in the side until he was forced to let go. Mordred's mech lands flat on the ground and she looks back to see Heracles already getting back up. Her body having sustained some injuries in that last exchange, and short on breath, Mordred seeing Heracles standing like he can fight forever was making her start to think that she cannot win this fight; not with the Berserker powered up like this.

Still, Mordred could not just back down. Not only would Heracles level Boston at this rate, but failing would mean that she did not deserve to be a Knight of the Round Table...

"Now what?!"

"This suit has a trick up its sleeve," Da Vinci revealed. "Just hang in there, Mordred!"

Mordred had hardly got her knee when she saw Heracles' body turn an even brighter red, indicating that he was about to go all out.

"That might be a problem..."

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

Heracles charged at her. Mordred only got off a few shots of lighting at him until the Berserker collided with her mech. Knocked down, Mordred got hoisted by her leg and smashed against the wall of the church. Heracles threw her down and jumped on her, going back to his tried-and-true technique of wildly throwing punches at Mordred. With the mech's metal exoskeleton being battered, Mordred fell back on her last resort.

"Okay... you asked for it!"

(ZAP!)

Mordred's mech lit up with electricity again, but instead of shocking Heracles like the first time, it seemed to only annoy him, and if anything, intensify his assault.

"Damn! Didn't do a thing...!"

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 10%"

Frustrated and desperate, Mordred frantically blocked and countered a punch from Heracles before yanking him off her. She barely sat up when Heracles leapt and wrapped his arm around Mordred's neck and chest plate.

"Oof!" Mordred lets out as she was forced down on the floor again by the weight of Heracles colliding with her. "Get off!"

As Mordred thrashed to try and free herself while at the same time Heracles strangled her, crushing the mech with his strength. Metal groaned and compressed as it threatened to get crush Mordred inside the suit. Alarms rang in Mordred's ears as she searched for ANYTHING left in the suit's arsenal that she can use to keep her alive.

But her options looked bleak...

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 5%... SUIT INTEGRITY FAILING... ELECTRIFY OFFLINE... LIGHTNING BARRAGE OFFLINE."

"Dammit, what ISN'T offline?!" Mordred yelled at the A.I, and that was when she saw a symbol appear on screen...

"PHANTASMAL PROTOCOL: CLARENT OVERDRIVE READY."

Mordred had no idea what that would do but considering that she was about to get crushed to death, she decided to take her chances.

"Here goes nothing...!"

She activates this mystery ability, and before her eyes, Mordred saw her entire suit light up bright red with a whirring sound. Lightning built up along the mech's exoskeleton until it burst outwards, sending Heracles flying.

(CRASH!)

Heracles lands several feet away and quickly gets to feet, seeing Mordred's mech slowly rise on its feet and arcing with red electricity. Mordred watches in awe as indicated on her HUD, the power level of her mech shot off the scale.

"SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 20% - 50%, 100%, 200%, 500, 750,1000,2000,5000... OVER 9000."

"Hell yeah!" Mordred cheered as the briefly stunned Heracles suddenly charged at Mordred at great speed. The Berserker jumped at her, ready to break her-

(GRAB)

At blinding speed, Mordred's mech reached its hand out and grabbed Heracles by the fist, foiling his charge to a dead stop. With the protocol engaged, Mordred's mech was faster and tougher than ever.

"Nice try!"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-?!"

Heracles frustratingly clawed at Mordred, unable to do anything else as Mordred held him off his feet and just out of reach, all while he was continuously getting electric shocked. Mordred engages her thrusters, launching her and Heracles upwards. She holds the trapped Berserker above her as they tore through the roof of the cathedral.

Now in the air above, Mordred continued holding Heracles by the throat and sending punch after electrified punch across his face until they were high up over the city. Mordred lets go and sends an uppercut that connects with Heracles' chin, causing him to turn in mid-air. She then raises her fists above her head and smashes down on the Berserker's exposed back, sending him plummeting back down to Earth. Mordred flies down after him, landing fists-first against Heracles' falling form and using her thrusters to speed up his fall even further until he crashes like a meteor on the ground.

A massive dust cloud forms on impact, and when it settled, the dazed and battered form of Heracles laid back-first in a deep crater. He comes to just as Mordred lands on him and pins him down, still arcing with red lightning. Heracles tries to free himself, but Mordred was not done with him yet...

The power in Mordred's mech surging, she hits Heracles repeatedly in the face with everything she has got, almost going feral in her drive to knock the rogue Berserker unconscious. Mordred could have been under Madness Enhancement herself with how brutal she was laying into Heracles, determined to stop this fight by any means short of killing her teammate.

"WHY" (punch*) "WON'T" (punch*) "YOU" (punch*) "JUST" (punch*) "GO" (punch*) "TO (punch*) "SLEEP" (punch*) "AL-" (punch*) "-READY?!"

Each and every blow connected with resounding force and discharging a lightning strike's worth of voltage. Yet despite the beating, Heracles just refused to get knocked out. Fed up, Mordred gripped Heracles' collar and channeled all the power in her suit to electrocute him until his heart stopped. The Berserker's body convulses as his grip on Mordred gradually grew weaker. Mordred seized her chance...

"GyaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH...!" Mordred yells as she raised her electrified fists together above her head and sent them down with all her might. They crashed against the forehead of Heracles, causing a discharge that made a loud, resounding crack. His arms release Mordred and go limp beside the Berserker's body, and Heracles went motionless as Mordred stood over him with her fists still against his head. All went quiet save for Mordred breathing heavily from inside her suit, waiting several seconds in case Heracles showed signs of life.

When he did not move again, Mordred forced herself to calm down, and the arcs of electricity on her mech settled.

"(pant*) (pant*) Finally..."

Mordred got on her feet and stood over the unconscious form of Heracles inside the crater they created, and Da Vinci's bewildered voice came through on the mental link.

"Mordred... you- you did it! I'm detecting no casualties either!"

Injured and in pain inside the suit, Mordred was about her express her relief when her HUD flashed red.

"WARNING: SUIT MANA RESERVE AT 100% - 70%, 20%, 8%, 1%, 0%. MANA DEPLETED."

Mordred was surprised when her mech powered down, and moving her limbs took tremendous effort. She could even feel her own energy waning when she tried to move.

"I gotta get out of this thing..." Mordred said, looking for the switch that will allow her to exit the mech, but it was hard with how dark it had gotten inside without power. "Is Herc out for the count?"

"You pumped him with enough electricity to light up Tokyo," Da Vinci affirms." That for sure stopped his heart. We can resuscitate him after Illya returns him to his senses... what little he had before..."

"Good," Mordred replied, taking a moment to look around at the carnage she and Heracles caused. "Wow, I really messed up that church. Jeanne ain't gonna be happy with me for THAT one-"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-!"

"WATCH OUT!"

Da Vinci's warning came too late as Heracles suddenly sprang to life and picked up Mordred before she could react. Without power, Mordred was helpless as Heracles slammed her down and proceeded to brutally tear off sections of Mordred's suit piece by piece. The armored mech was compromised as soon enough, Mordred's body became exposed for Heracles to pick her up and grip her by the throat.

Held up off her feet and vainly trying to pry the fingers away from her upper body, Mordred gagged, starving for air as Heracles was slowly crushing her shoulders and ribcage with just one hand. Mordred grew weaker, her badly injured body and strength failing her as she was unable to even summon her sword lest swiftly bringing her imminent death. Her body soon went limp as Heracles continued choking her...

Until Mordred felt his grip slackening... and the Berserker's arm dropping her slowly.

"▂▂▃▃▅▅- , ▂▂▃▃▅▅_..."

Even the Berserker's grunts sounded lulled. Something was happening to Heracles that Mordred could not see until she was set down gently, gasping for air. The legs of the Berserker buckled, and Heracles fell beside her, soon making a sound that made it seem like he was snoring. With great effort, Mordred lifted her head and saw a short, white-haired magical girl holding a red wand emblazoned with a star standing where Heracles just was.

"Looks like we got here just in time!" the girl said, running over to Mordred and crouching beside her. "You think she's gonna make it, Ruby?"

Mordred saw the wand float out of the girl's hand and "talk" to her.

"The delinquent looks pretty rough to me, Illya... I don't even have eyes, and I can tell she looks BAD."

"We'll get her to Nightingale in a jiffy..." Illya said as Mordred could not keep her head up anymore and collapsed. She heard both the girl and wand gasp as Mordred slipped into unconsciousness, hearing one more desperate voice that called out to her. Mordred thought she heard an oh so familiar voice of worry as she passed out.

"MORDRED!"

...

_____

"(groan)..."

Her vision black, Mordred could hear the beeping of a heart monitor, along with several disembodied voices. The ground she was lying on felt soft like a bed. Her eyelids heavy, Mordred slowly forced her eyes open, immediately blinded by the artificial light peeking through, and could see nothing but a red blur floating around above her.

"Yoo hoo! Hello in there! Feeling alive yet, sunshine?"

Mordred had no idea where she was or who was speaking to her. She wanted to reach out to crush the offending interloper, but her arm was too heavy to lift. Mordred could not even move her legs either.

"Keep your voice down, Ruby," Mordred heard the voice of a young girl, coming from just out of view. "Do you seriously want to disturb her?"

"I'd do as Illya says, wand. Mordred's known to get aggravated when woken up rudely. She'd want to break the first thing she sees..."

Mordred groaned again, and the flying red blur went:

"Oh... I'm in danger!"

Mordred tried turning her head, slowly becoming aware of the pain all over her body. She turned just enough to see the red mass fly back beside two other blurs that she could not make out. Not aware of her surroundings, Mordred felt like lashing out in a panic despite her body not cooperating with her.

But that was when she heard another familiar voice, putting her at ease.

"Wait, she's coming through..." There was no mistaking it. Mordred turns her head even further in the direction of that voice, seeing the blurred outline of a blonde girl clad in white and blue. Said person leaned towards her closer as she came into focus. "Mordred? Mordred! Can you hear me?"

"F- Father?" Mordred strenuously replied, her mouth as dry as a desert and hurting her throat to speak. Still, her vision cleared to see Arturia Pendragon looking down at her with a relieved look on her face.

"It's alright... I'm here."

Mordred blinked a bit more, allowing more of the room to come into view. She saw that Arturia was not the only one here with her, as Mordred saw Leonardo Da Vinci standing nearby, along with the white-haired magical girl, Illyasviel von Einzbern, accompanied by her floating, talking wand, Ruby.

Mordred was somewhat relieved herself knowing she was with familiar company, but her mind had not yet caught up to her as she struggled to recall how she got here.

"Wha... what happened?" Mordred said before it suddenly all came back to her with a gasp. "Herc! I've gotta- Argh!"

Mordred tried getting up but was hit immediately with a wave of pain; in her arm, her leg, her face... pretty much all over. Arturia was there to stop her from trying again.

"Try not to move," she gently instructs. Mordred was still not used to receiving this level of concern from the King of Knights. "You're back at Chaldea, in the infirmary. Nightingale has been treating you."

Mordred decided to heed Arturia's words, and stopped to see just how injured she was after battling Heracles in Da Vinci's mech. Mordred looked down at herself, aside from realizing that she was in a hospital gown, her arm and leg were in a cast and felt enormous swelling on her face, and countless bruises on her abdomen. Mordred suspected that she had to have been in this hospital room for quite some time.

Some bones were also definitely broken.

"How long exactly...?" Mordred started to ask, but Da Vinci readily informs her:

"A few days. It was quite a beating you took, but I'll admit you're not looking nearly as bad as the mech suit."

Mordred was left confused, having no idea what happened after she had passed out, if even Heracles had been... rescued.

"But what about-?"

"Heracles is back to his senses," Arturia tells her before then gesturing to the little white-haired girl. "Illya lifted Abigail's influence off him..."

Illya then stepped forward humbly with Ruby floating and peeking behind her shoulder.

"I felt we should wait until you woke up to tell you, Mordred... Berserker says he's very sorry and he hopes you would forgive him."

Mordred stared blankly at the girl, before letting out a sigh, relieved that their teammate was back on their side. Mordred felt gratified in the fact she had done her job and ensured that Heracles, in his frenzied state, did not hurt anyone else.

Mordred off course did not hold any injury on herself against the Berserker, who had been acting against his will.

"Thanks pipsqueak," she said to Illya. "Tell the big guy they're no hard feelings..."

Illya beamed at Mordred, and even Ruby remarked:

"Wow, and everybody says the Knight of Treachery is such a hard-a – mmph!"

Before it could finish, Illya grabbed and held tight to Ruby as the wand struggled beneath the girl's grip.

"Ruby..." Illya scolded under her breath. Da Vinci held back laughter as just then, another person walked in. This woman had pink hair, red eyes, and wore a red military uniform sporting a black skirt.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are almost up," she said to everyone standing beside Mordred. "I need all of you to leave soon so Mordred here can rest."

"Oh, me and Ruby were just leaving, Dr. Nightingale," Illya calmly said to her while still holding on to the disgruntled sentient wand. The girl then turned to Arturia and said to her, "See you around, Saber."

"Thank you, Illyasviel," Arturia replied as Illya and Ruby left Mordred's room. Nightingale's stern gaze soon fell on Da Vinci, who responded:

"I won't be too long myself, Flo'. Just a few more minutes..."

"Hey nurse?" Mordred manages to let out before asking, "Just out of curiosity, how beaten up am I?"

"Well, let's see..." Nightingale said while producing a clipboard and a medical report seemingly out of thin air and reads aloud, "Eight broken ribs, a broken leg, broken arm, diaphragm hemorrhaged, perforated lung, at least two dozen bruises, including one over your eye, cracked sternum, and a frontal concussion. You were breathing out of a tube for the first day, as your throat had gotten crushed... thank your Battle Continuation skill for keeping you alive until we hooked you up."

"Damn..." the words escape Mordred's lips as she puts her only working hand on her forehead. "Well, that explains my monster of a headache, among other things..."

The red Saber's half-hearted attempt at humor was only met with Florence Nightingale putting a hand on her hip, unamused.

"You find yourself in my ward more than any other Servant," she remarks. "If this were America, I could make a living off you, Mordred."

"Oh, shove it..." Mordred scoffs.

"Mordred..." Arturia lightly scolds her, but Mordred remained unapologetic.

"What? Serves her right..."

"Sounds like you're due for another dose of sedatives," said the exasperated Nightingale, having not yet known a more difficult patient than the rowdy red Saber. The healer Berserker then politely took her leave, telling the girls, "But if you would all excuse me... I must attend to the other patients."

When Nightingale left, Arturia looked at Mordred sternly. If she were honest, the King of Knights should have expected Mordred's rude antics to fester, but did not think she would have the energy for it considering her injuries.

"Did you have to antagonize the doctor, Mordred?" Arturia asked rhetorically, making Mordred huff and cross her arms* (arm rather...).

"Hmph! Making a living off me..." Mordred mocked. "Nurse is lucky I'm too banged up to move."

Arturia just let out a defeated sigh.

"Even seriously injured, you still pick fights..."

"As beaten as Mordred is," Da Vinci cuts in. "That's still nothing compared to how damaged the suit was when I recovered it. Unlike you, rowdy knight, it was in a million tiny pieces."

At first it sounded to the Sabers that the Caster did not care for Mordred's wellbeing, at least until-

"But considering how you are alive and well," she starts, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "The suit did a good job protecting you from the most berserk of Berserkers. I've got a heck of a lot of repairs to do on it, as well as some kinks to work out... but I'm glad you're okay, Mordred."

Mordred manages a weak smile.

"Then I'd call that a successful test, Tinkerer. Wouldn't 'cha say?"

Da Vinci returns the smile with an affirming nod.

"I say next time; we'll be ready if some bad guy turns one of our comrades against us."

Arturia manages a smile herself in the fact that Da Vinci's invention kept Mordred safe long enough for her an Illya to intervene. She then saw Mordred's eyes widen like she had just remembered something.

"That reminds me... what happened to the Singularity?"

"We resolved it," Arturia revealed. "Turns out Abigail Williams was being manipulated by the demon pillar. Her actions were not her own. Thanks to you and Da Vinci's efforts, nobody perished that day. Normal human history is still intact."

Mordred relaxes back in her bed upon hearing that.

"Great..." she said contently before asking, "Where is everyone?"

"Flo' only allows three visitors to see you at a time," Da Vinci said before pointing to the opposite side of the hospital room. "Astolfo, Mr. Jekyll, everybody was worried about you..."

Mordred turned her head, following Da Vinci's directions. The red Saber saw a table full of "Get well, soon!" cards, even bouquets of flowers. There were so many from different Servants than Mordred thought she could ever get. Aside from Astolfo, Henry Jekyll, Jeanne, Emiya, and Arturia herself, Mordred had no idea this number of her fellow Chaldean Servants cared for her.

"I'd be damned," Mordred could not help but utter, touched by the gesture of the many Servants that she had hardly ever spoken to during her time in Chaldea. Arturia was quick to admonish her, albeit gently.

"Language, Mordred..." Arturia's remark did not come off as serious, but nonetheless Mordred felt the need to apologize, with embarrassment.

"Sorry..."

Arturia just continued smiling at Mordred, not holding that little slip-up in manners against the Knight of Rebellion.

"Hey Tinks?" Mordred then addressed Da Vinci.

"Yes, Mordred?"

"When you fix the suit... how about we call it the Herc-Buster?"

Da Vinci thought about it before replying:

"I like it. Patent pending..." she joked before deciding to give the Sabers time for themselves. "I should probably get to improving the specs. I'll leave you two alone..."

"Farewell, Da Vinci," Arturia said graciously, and Mordred weakly waved at the Caster before she left the room. Now alone with Arturia, Mordred fell silent, adjusting herself on the bed while wincing. Arturia notices and says:

"You're probably hurting a lot..."

"Nah, I'm fine..." Mordred denied. It was a little bit awkward for the knight whenever she was left alone with her king and "father." The two of them have made strides in reconciling with each other after their tumultuous history, but that did not mean that their relationship was an easy one.

Silence hung in the air, until Mordred said to Arturia:

"Aren't you going too? I'm sure the knights are more worried for you than they are for me..."

Arturia's gaze fell somberly. There was an issue that she wanted her and Mordred to address, as much as both girls wanted to pretend that there was not anything wrong. Arturia was never sure about how to approach Mordred in such manner, considering the knight had the mind of an eight-year-old child in a teen's body.

"They... can wait," she said hesitantly. "Right now, we need to talk."

Mordred's expression turned apprehensive.

"What's there to talk about?" Mordred asked, watching the blue Saber's actions intently. Arturia contemplated how best to explain her concerns to the girl who looked so much like herself, and one whom she had bad history with.

There were personal hurdles that both girls had to overcome to be where they are now; not contesting and arguing with each other like when Mordred was first summoned to Chaldea. Even after the two of them collectively agreed to "bury the hatchet," they still occasionally disagreed on important matters. The real obstacles came in the form of both Arturia and Mordred's personal flaws. Arturia was always diplomatic and rarely showed emotion, which usually led to Mordred misreading her intentions. Mordred was brash and usually ranted without putting much thought in how to properly articulate her feelings. On top of that, Mordred was in the unfortunate position as being perceived as a villain in King Arthur's legend, and that meant that she needed to prove her worth as a hero more so than anybody else.

Arturia was slowly becoming aware of Mordred's actions over the past few weeks; taking on dangerous assignments by herself and without hesitation. Hearing what Florence Nightingale said moments ago is what caused Arturia to want to address this concern she has Mordred now while she was bedridden and recovering. If there was one thing that the King of Knights had learned in maintaining this relationship with Mordred, it is that problematic matters cannot be ignored lest they become worse later.

Arturia lets out a sigh before proceeding.

"You know, Mordred... this is the third time in a row you've been seriously injured on assignment... as well as the third time you took on a crisis by yourself..."

Mordred's gaze drops, and she shifts uncomfortably.

"It's part of our job..." she said firmly, downplaying Arturia's concern. "It's what knights are supposed to do..."

"I know that, but-" the blue Saber hesitates momentarily. "I've told the knights that you and I are back on mutual ground, but I have reason to believe that you think they are having difficulty trusting you... as I did..."

When Mordred's slowly turned away, perhaps out of shame, Arturia came closer, lowering herself to meet the red Saber at eye level.

"I'm not wrong, am I?"

The rare presence of care and empathy in Arturia's voice was enough for Mordred to turn back and meet her in the eye; Brilliant emerald-green exactly like hers. Mordred did not have in her to lie to her king, so she solemnly answered:

"No."

Arturia slowly nods in understanding. She musters the courage to reveal what was ultimately plaguing her regarding Mordred herself.

"I think you're more adamantly putting yourself in harm's way just to prove something to them. Every time you find yourself in here... I can't help but feel responsible."

Mordred's face turns to one of astonishment. Mordred knew she was poor at hiding her feelings, but did not think Arturia, the distant but perfect king, could ever pick up on them. Maybe the blue Saber could read people better than Mordred initially thought.

But the thing that pained Mordred was what Arturia had just told her.

"It's not your fault," Mordred tells her "father." "I'm just doing what I can as part of Chaldea. All of humanity is depending on us, and I'm just pulling my weight out there..."

Mordred cast her head down again. She did not believe Arturia should be showing concern for her for just doing what a knight like herself is supposed to be doing. Knights serve their King, and they put themselves in harm's way for the good of the kingdom; for both the king and their subjects. That was the mantra Mordred adopted when she became a Knight of the Round Table.

Although, Mordred would be a liar if that was the only motivation behind her actions as of late. She could not bear to allow her king to know the real reason why Mordred kept throwing herself headfirst into the fray whenever Chaldea encountered a threat.

Mordred fought hard to get back in Arturia's good graces, and they trusted each other on the battlefield as more singularities popped up. She had friends in Chaldea that she could confide in despite not believing a villain like her could even have friends at all.

Still, being surrounded by heroes of great renown made Mordred feel a bit of imposter syndrome. She was a knight who betrayed her kingdom and ruined King Arthur's reign. Mordred had no honor when she died in Camlann, yet miraculously, the Throne of Heroes found her fit to become a Heroic Spirit. Mordred had no clue why, nor did she even care much at the time. All that mattered was her wish to earn King Arthur's acknowledgement by pulling the Sword from the Stone.

But having patched things up with Arturia since her summoning, Mordred's wish was rendered redundant. Mordred felt content and happy.

Until more of her fellow Knights showed up to Chaldea...

Mordred found herself feeling that same imposter syndrome. Her relationship with her fellow Knights are as fractured as her and Arturia's was. Mordred felt them silently judging her, even their burrowing gazes of distrust whenever she was around the King with her back turned. She felt the only way to make it stop was by showing them how much she was willing to risk her life for Chaldea's sake and succeeding at any task given to her, even if it endangered her beyond a slim chance of survival.

Mordred made herself expendable... and it seemed her efforts were not paying off. It was a constant uphill battle to earn back the trust of the knights, hence why she did not make a second thought when she stepped up to confront Heracles. Mordred did not care if Da Vinci's untested invention would keep her safe or not.

Mordred was content with keeping this to herself when she felt a hand placed on top of hers, snapping her attention back to Arturia.

"Mordred," said the blue Saber, looking like she was struggling to hold herself together. "I will admit that I have not realized this at first. Every day, since you've been summoned, you have done nothing but prove that you belong here, among heroes and fighting to save humanity's past and future. You did not let what happened between us back then stop you from risking your life for another's, be it our Masters, your fellow Servants... or innocents. You are a knight, through-and-through."

Mordred's astonishment came back in full force seeing Arturia trying vainly to hold back tears while staying composed.

"When me and Illya finally caught up, I..." she voice was cracking. "I thought I lost you..."

Mordred felt a stake going through her heart upon hearing that. Now as she thought about it, Mordred believed it a miracle that she lived through this ordeal, and to see Arturia care for her wellbeing. She could not imagine what grief she would bring to her king if Mordred did end up dying back in Salem. Now the red Saber felt ashamed of herself for being so quick to throw her life away. When silence fell again, Mordred's expression faltered imagining Arturia crying for her if she had died stopping Heracles. Never considering this before affirmed to Mordred that she was just being selfish this whole time.

She did not hallucinate Arturia calling out to her... and now Mordred felt ashamed of herself by causing her this grief that she was seeing from the very human King of Knights. Arturia pulled herself together before she continued.

"I know despite us "seeing eye-to-eye" that it has not been an easy relationship for you and me. Shirou saw your resolve to rise above how history painted you well before I did, and he constantly tells me that I should be mindful of your feelings. You know you can tell me what is on your mind, Mordred. We do not need to keep anything from each other."

Mordred felt lost for words. After all this time, it still astounded her that Arturia could be this open with her. The King of Knights was acting like family to Mordred, just as the red Saber had always wanted, yet she found herself hesitating confiding in Arturia, mainly due to Mordred's own sense of pride and shame and not for her unwillingness to. Eventually, Mordred decides not to hide her shame any longer and confesses to Arturia:

"The knights cling to you whenever I'm around. Lancelot wants nothing to do with me, and Gareth is too afraid to confront me herself. As for Gawain... he doesn't exactly make his disdain for me a secret; not surprising considering I killed him. As for Tristan, I can never tell anything with that guy. None of them aside from maybe Bedivere seem to be as accepting as you are with me..."

Mordred lets out a tired sigh.

"No matter how much I do for Chaldea... they won't ever trust me."

Mordred shut her eye and curtly turned away, but not before Arturia saw a tear running down the red Saber's cheek.

"I think you would be surprised, Mordred," she said to her, hoping to cheer Mordred up. "Look..."

Mordred heard rustling, and due to curiosity, she looked back at Arturia and saw that she pulled out more cards, each signed by the other Knights of the Round Table.

"We had to make space for the others, but I saved these," Arturia revealed to Mordred's confusion. "They were the first to visit while you were unconscious. They were horrified by the dire state you were in. Gareth was especially worried sick about you."

She handed Mordred the cards by placing them on the red Saber's lap. With one hand, Mordred opened each one and read them, her face morphing between disbelief and astonishment as she read each one; all being heartfelt words of affection, as well as the Knights expressing shame at the fact that they have not been fair to Mordred. They humbly asked for acceptance of forgiveness and wish her back to good health. When Mordred came to a card that had a castle drawn on it, she could tell it had to have come from Gareth and saw dark spots on the card that looked like tear stains. Mordred was beginning to feel choked up upon seeing a photo of all the knights holding up a "Get well soon!" banner just for her and promising to accept her back with open arms.

Mordred did not know what to say. Words failed her as she started crying and laughing, and Arturia just watched as joy returned to the knight's face. Every day, Mordred fought her hardest to earn everyone's respect; fighting alongside Humanity's greatest heroes to protect its future. She deserved to regain her honor as a Knight of the Round Table.

Now Mordred finally had it... and Arturia felt proud of her.

"I can't-! I can't believe those idiots!" Mordred said while trying to hold back her laughter. "Did you put them up to this?"

Arturia shook her head without hesitation.

"I did not need to tell the knights," She replied sincerely. "This was all on them. You can thank them when they come to visit, because I doubt Nightingale will be discharging you anytime soon."

Mordred's laughter died down, but her beaming smile did not disappear until Arturia grabbed her hand again.

"There is nothing for you to prove anymore, Mordred," the blue Saber said. "You are a hero to Humanity and a great asset to Chaldea. But above all, you are part of a family..."

Mordred was utterly speechless, her mind hung on the word "family," the thing she had always wanted.

"All I ask of you now," Arturia continued. "Is to consider your wellbeing as well as others. You can always ask for help; your fellow Servants will risk themselves for you as you would do for them. If worse comes worse, you can always talk to me and Shirou."

"Right... my new Mom," Mordred joked, earning a rare giggle from Arturia.

"I'd say you should not let Shirou hear you calling him that, but somehow, I believe he'll put up with it... whether he likes it or not."

"I'll make sure he never stops hearing it," Mordred remarked before then asking. "By the way... how long do you plan on staying?"

Arturia stood up in response, continuing to look down at Mordred with pride.

"As long as you like," she answers, adding, "If you want me to stay all night, then Nightingale will have to throw me out..."

Hearing that, Mordred suddenly reached out and pulled Arturia closer in. Arturia yelped in surprise as Mordred wrapped her one good arm around the King of Knights in a hug, who returned it in full as she heard:

"Ow...!"

"You are in a lot of pain, aren't you?" Arturia asked as Mordred continued to hug her, to which the red Saber admitted:

"Yeah..."

Still, Mordred was too happy to care about the pain she was in now that she and Arturia were having this moment. The girls stayed in each other's embrace contently and without a care in the World.

Meanwhile, from outside the room, Nightingale had overheard everything, feeling the satisfaction of an alive-and-recovering patient reunited and embraced by a loved one. Looking at the clock, and seeing visiting hours over, Nightingale looked through her medical notes on Mordred, and read the "special considerations" section that said at the very bottom:

Only Arturia gets to stay past hours. Masters' orders...

END