FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 114: For This Reason

In a World of Lies, A Dark Garden of Falsehoods and Hatred

Athena and Saber broke off in a run in unison, just as the zombies were getting their feet on the dark and wet soil. Each pushed off towards the far hedges of his own side with such a force that they both were sending clumps of dirt and false grass behind them, cutting tears into the pristine landscape Caster had created.

Athena reached the entrance of the labyrinth, meeting a wall of hedges immediately past the trussed gate, and turning down a pathway to the right. She met another wall and turned left. Right again. Left again. Dead end. She turned around and went right. Then left. Then right again. It was a maze, and she never had any intention of keeping track of her direction. No, she only needed to go through. Considering the flood of undead which would soon be on her tail, she couldn't worry about the optimal path, she only needed to get away.

Over one of the hedges, she spotted another vine-covered gate. It led, she reasoned, into some sort of garden, the kind of secret hideaway one so often places at the center of a labyrinth such as this. She understood that this place didn't operate by normal rules, and was willing to bet that going through a gateway- of any kind- would lead to somewhere new, some new room in this strange hall of dreams. Either that, or it was just a garden, and a true dead end. Of course, if it was a dead end, then she had no reason to think there was an exit to begin with.

It was, in other words, her only hope. And, with the sound of shambling undead becoming steadily louder from whence she had come, she had neither the time nor patience to deliberate on the issue further.

She fought desperately to find the path, meeting more dead ends than she had before, each one sinking her heart just a little deeper into her chest, and her fear rising just that little bit more. She found herself walking around the garden, knowing it was on the other side of the hedge, but unable to get in until finally- there!- she found the white-truss gate and charged through.

-

She found herself in a place she recognized. It was her dining room- or, more accurately, her parent's dining room, up in the manor where she was raised. One one side of the table was a veritable mountain of food, and there was Pigsy, Lancer, in his normal, almost-childlike form, sitting on top of the table and digging in. Next to him was his Master, wearing an elegant yellow blouse and eating her own plate. Her wounds were healed, and not only that, but she seemed to not even be scarred. On the other side was Echo, who had hardly touched her food. She wore a beautiful white sweater with a low collar that exposed her sculpted collarbone, around which was a black choker. She greeted Athena with a smile. Next to her was Monika, wearing a quaint denim skirt, giving a timid smile and wave.

"What?" She took a step back; it was becoming harder to breathe, "What are you all doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

A voice from behind her. Her throat closed off completely, leaving just enough room for her blood to flee from her face.

It couldn't be.

A woman crossed into her vision, stepping into view. She had long, dark hair, sharp yet gentle features, and brown eyes filled with light and darkness in equal portions. She wore a simple flannel shirt, greeting her friend with an awkward smile and a worried tilt of the head.

"Athena? What's wrong?"

"Rhiannon?"

...

Chrysaor charged into the labyrinth, moving with full determination. He would rush through this maze as fast as possible, reaching the end with Godspeed, making sure he would arrive at the end with enough time to double back into his Master's maze and seize her from whatever jaws of disaster would rise to take her. It was not a lack of trust that pushed him on, but a pure and unadulterated devotion that would not tolerate missing any possibility of an opportunity to be useful to her.