"Thank God that wasn't me, now that iv'e fooled those folk, thee and me needeth to has't a talk about how to receiveth both me and thee home, shalt we?"

 Who did this man think he was!? How dare he toy with my emotions. Impostor. "Go home!? I don't know who you are, or who you think you are, but I don't think you deserve my help now!" The man gave a frown, waving his hand around dramatically. What was this mans deal? What made him think after what he just did, I'd just help him? "Ho now, don't beest rude. I just needeth holp, this is not mine world, the evil in London hath traded me ov'r to the evil in Greece, please, thou has't to holp. thou has't been marked by the Centaur." Someone who didn't belong in Greece was in....Greece. That hurt, I could see it, he was indeed scared, he just seemed to cover that fear with flare and facades, like I had in my past. "Okay.....look, what you did...don't you ever do that to me again, or else, you'll be that knifes next victim." 

 He nodded, lowered his head. "My most humble apology, I hadst to trick those evil doers out thither, this wont last long, that Caster of magecraft wilt breaketh in hither soon, so we must plan fast. We needeth to bethink of a way to receiveth both thee and me, something that wilt defeat the evils.... thou has't been marked..." The second time he said that, that iv'e been marked. What did that even mean? I sighed, gripping my knife, he did make a good point, we needed something, and fast. "Look, we should start with names, you got everything wrong about me in that little...whatever that was..." "Ah, I see now, well know, thou mayest refer to me as William Shakespeare!" Thee William Shakespeare....the one guy that I dreamed to be like, he was my model for my writing. "Oh......William Shakespeare....like...the play writer and....poet...nice, my name is Alice Kotomine, nice to meet you." He gave a nod, standing on the stage, looking out at the seats. "I wilt maketh a labyrinth, and thee wilt runneth from hath said Caster. The Minotaur wilt beest of holp to thee."

What in the hell. Wasn't that a Theseus thing? Killing a huge Minotaur was a Theseus thing for sure. Shakespeare did say that uh, it would be of help, soooo....not a dangerous Minotaur? Wouldn't that be counter productive to the enemy mage chick? I didn't get time to deject or ask questions, I was already in that of a Labyrinth. "Great....as a kid I did a lot of corn mazes, but this uh....damp and gross..." "Worry not, The Minotaur wilt not attack thee unless provoked, so don't scream or runneth hence at which hour thee findeth that gent well enow? On that note, I leaveth thee to the dangerous game of Hide and Seek." His voce seemed to echo through the maze, I see, a sick game to see if I could out play a mage that clearly had magic on her side, but it seemed I had a Minotaur on my side as long as I didn't run. "Tthhaannkkss Shakespeare, I hope you write a story about me and how I get destroyed in this maze..." Nothing but my own words and the sounds of the Labyrinth, which scared me quite a bit. "Well, lets get playing shall we? Don't want to become a mages fresh kill quite yet...."

So, I decided it was time I put that military combat to use, I didn't have much in my bag, but I had a laser pointer, some fishing line, and a baseball. That didn't seem useful, but I had already thought of some stuff to do with it. I pulled my combat knife free from it sheath and sliced the ball open, pulling the leather covering off of it, I knew from experience that the inside of a baseball was made of yarn, so, I started to unravel. I'd use this to track my way, the laser pointer could be used to distract the Minotaur or make him engage with the mage. As for the fishing line, if it became drastic, I could use it to strangle said mage. This wasn't going to be easy, then again, I was in a world where stuff wasn't easy. As I walked along the walls, I let the ball of yarn slowly unwind, if I needed, I had two more in my bag I'd be able to pull apart for this. You'd think finding that Minotaur would be easy, but man, he was more illusive than Bigfoot himself. Didn't he have a name in Theseus's story?

 "Asterios?" I didn't know if that was correct or not, I loved Mythology as a kid, but I didn't really study it religiously. I paused, the ground rumbled, was that the Minotaur, or something a lot more sinister? I turned, That guy, the green haired one, the one with the douchey hair cut, why was he here? Wasn't it the mage I had to be worried about. He didn't seem to see me, and riding around on that Chariot probably wasn't a good idea, he was bound to attract to Minotaur. A rawr, off in the distance, the Minotaur, I had to assume. I turned on my heels once more, I had to either follow the sound, or continue to stalk to chariot man, now that I noted it, he seemed to know Chiron, he got angry when I brought his name up, and so, that gave me my answer. I'd have to catch his attention, which wouldn't be a problem. I pulled the laser pointer from my pocket, flashing the beam over the blade of my knife, catching the man in the eye, this would probably end poorly. 

 "Hey! You, Chariot guy, over here!" He seemed rather dazed but swiftly he caught his barrings, bringing his chariot right at me. "You! You were the one that brought Chiron up!" He sped right up on me, stopping the chariot to my right, he glared down at me, holding his hand out. "Yeah....that was me, and uh, no thanks, I like my feet on the ground thank you...thanks though." He grabbed my arm, lifting me off the ground, placing me roughly at his side. "That wasn't an offer, rather a demand. Now, we are to find and slay the Minotaur." Hey, I didn't want to slay the Minotaur! That would be horrifically cruel to the creature. "Look, as much as I'd love too, I uh....don't want to slay the Minotaur, this ain't none of my business, not to mention, this is just an Illusion I'm sure, and there are ways to break this correct?" "Girl, this is First Folio, he won't let you go till hes done with you." Sounded a little wrong, there had to be ways, no? "How about we start out with names? Hi, nice too meet you, my name is Alice Kotomine."

 "What type of cheeky introduction is that? What are you trying to do, win some stupid election to become a royal or something? The names Achilles, I won't be much of your friend after this." Oh, great. I'm sitting next to man that can't be killed by normal weapons. This is rather bothersome, now that I think about it, not even divine weapons would work properly. When your only weakness is your heel, you'd think you'd guard it well, and based on my observations, he's wearing steel toed boots, so yeah, he's protected. Better start sucking up now before it's too late. "Achilles, as in the great warrior of Greece? That one? The one and only?" "....Yeah, that's me, look kid, be honest with me." He stopped the Chariot, looking over at me, I could tell it was going to be one of those deep moments, and I didn't want to deal with that. "Chiron, he came to you...helped you escape the Trojan walls, then what? Where is my teacher? I need him now more than ever." I gulped, oh boy, how do I tell him? Would he hurt me if I told him the truth? 

 "I uh......look, I need you to uh....not hu-" "He didn't make it did he? You allowed this to happen!" I froze up, I knew it, he was going to hurt me. "Listen to me pl-" "Your here to SAVE PEOPLE! YOU FAILED HIM!!" Yeah, I know that. "Let me finish my damn sentence will you. I need him too, your not special. Listen to me for Gods sake, I tried, I went back in after him, I wanted to save him, I have no reason to lie to you." It paused, gripped the reigns to the horses tightly. "I see....my outburst was uncalled for, apologies..." I nodded, reaching out, lightly patting his back. "We need to get out of here, I need you to focus, I don't have much yarn from these balls left, sooo, we're just going to have to wing it after I run out, this place is huge and all." "You were not very prepared were you? Then again, how prepared could you have been?" We both chuckled, I leaned back, watching the ground move quickly below us, it made me feel kinda sick, but I'd have to suck it up for just a little bit longer. "Right right, I just want out of here....this place is kinda sickening..." 

 "Yeah, no kidding. I believe were getting closer, there seems to be more bones, plus a lot of blood splattered about." Yep, that was indeed sickening, but oh well, what were we to do about it?" There it was again, that deep heavy rawr from the center of the labyrinth. "I believe that would be the Minotaur that were seeking. Onward invincible warrior!!" With a crack of his reigns we were charging down the corridors of the labyrinth, swiftly closing in on the rawrs of the creature that awaited us. Upon reaching the center, there he sat, he was huge, much larger than me standing, and this was just him sitting. I felt bad, his olive skin was scarred up, his beautiful white mane matted and dirty from this stingy place. "Asterios. The Minotaur." "Correct girly, that would be the Minotaur." I nodded, hopping from his chariot, pulling my only baseball I had left out from my bag. "Hey there buddy....hey....." The Minotaur slowly turned his head, his eyes were solid black except for the red rings, the only colour in his eyes. 

 "Hey....I'm not here to hurt you, look, I have a ball." I held it out in hopes that would catch his attention enough. He slowly stood, he was much much taller than me, his red horns scratched at the tops of the labyrinth ceiling, his red eyes staring down at me. "Here.....you can play with it." I smiled, waving it in front of him, it seemed to catch his attention, for his eyes followed the ball. "Yeah? You like it? Go get it!" I threw it, it soared on right past his head, he immediately turned on his heels, running after the small ball. "That'll distract him..." I turned to look back at Achilles, only to find that he was gone, and that the mage was there instead, clapping her hands slowly. "Foolish child, that old play writer told you what to do, yet you defied that, and you've led me to my newest recruit, I wont be needing you anymore." I only hoped the Minotaur would return, for I definitely needed help. "Why didn't you just....I don't know....ask the play write to lead him to you...or I don't know...use magic to summon him to you? Would have made this exchange much easier." 

 "You dare mock me child? Why go the easy route with you still around? If I get rid of you, that's the fastest death to a Centaur kin ever, and that would be delightful." I see, distracting the women wasn't hard. "Well, think about it, I'm bound to most likely die from natural causes than anything. Maybe even poisoning, I'm not very bright, just thought I'd let you know." The mage gave a laugh, floating around me, she seemed like such an evil lady, I'm sure there's nothing good about her. "You aren't bright at a-!!" Just then, the Minotaur cut her off with a rawr that shook the walls, she turned, his horns slamming into her chest, sending her back first into a wall, where he held her there. "Thanks buddy, that was a real save, Shakespeare, you got enough to tell a story?Cause you know, I think I found myself a new recruit." The mage hissed, disappearing from the scene, probably embarrassed for falling for the easiest trick in the book. 

 "Ah, forsooth she hath fled, thou has't wonneth, thee may taketh the Minotaur with thee, as I may join thee as well." "Oh? You want to come too? Makes sense, you are in need of going home, and you, Asterios right?" The Minotaur bent down, lowering his head till we were face to face. He blew a hot stream of steam from his nose onto my face, blowing my hair back. "Me.......Asterios........you.......?" I smiled, running my hands along the whites of his mane, there was so much, it made him look like a fluff ball. "My name is Alice Kotomine. You can just call me Alice, Shakespeare, get us out of here please?" With that, a snap of his fingers, and we were back out on the dirt road, yet there was no mage or Chariot. "Oh? Did they run away while we were gone?" "Lady.......she was.......mean to you?" Hm? I slowly looked up at the Minotaur, he was honestly the sweetest thing out there. "Yeah, buddy, she was mean to me." "Asterios crush her........no one mess........with mommy." Mommy? That was going to be different, that's for sure. 

 "shalt we headeth back to Troy and regroup? The Greeks wilt beest attacking, and the three us aren't in any condition to square hath said Greeks. The Trojans wilt allow thee back inside right?" Yeah, probably not, I technically ran away, no, I totally ran away, I hold no shame in that, sometimes you have to run away to get better, just as long as you come back to it. I paused my train of thought, iv'e never held thoughts like that before, oh well. "Going back to Troy is iffy....they might not let me in...." "Oh, they'll let you in lovely, don't think I forgot you already!" I slowly turned, the green haired douche, he was alone this time, Chariot and all. "Oh? Achilles, where'd you little mage friend go, and don't think I forgot that blonde in your chariot as well." We both gave a smug smile, bursting into a fit of laughter. Asterios gave a growl, stepping forward, I chuckled, Achilles was new to him. "Oi, Asterios, he's okay, I promise he's okay, shall we get a move on then?" 

 "Yeah, sorry that monster isn't fitting in my chariot." I frowned, sticking out my tongue. "Don't call him that!" "thee art a very rude sir, taking me from mine home, insulting creatures, killing innocent people, thou has't a problem sir!" I knew these things about him already, but maybe now that I'm here, maybe just maybe things will change. "There are soldiers in Troy, they can definitely help us, we just have to explain what's going on, iv'e been told that I have to kill somebody in this era and that will reset the Singularity." Achilles gave a frown, but nodded slowly. "Makes sense, but think about it, nothing bad is happening here, like, some stuff here and there, but that's life. People die, get over it." It was a bit different, Shakespeare doesn't even belong here, yet here he was. "Achilles, your opinions are like grains of salt to me, you must know that right now, I don't care. The plan is to get to Troy, get Hektor.....get him....is he alive?" Asterios bent down, whining softly, nudging my arm slightly. "Hold on buddy....Mommies thinking."

 ".....Achilles, is Anteris Snipe deadly?" "Hm? Well, depends on how far in advance he set it up. It can get deadly depending on how long the fight has been going, I'm assuming he used it while you were there?" I nodded, I was about to respond when I felt the Minotaur's hand wrap around my tiny frame, lifting me off  the ground, resting me right into his fluffy back. "Well, I can see quite the distance...and I'm starting the see the issue." "Mommy.......is she in........danger? I crush the danger........for mommy." I smiled, holding onto his horns, peering over the horizon, I could see the city of Troy, interesting. "So, what seems to be the issue up there Princess?" "I'm not a princess, get it right. Seems we have some Trojan warriors on there way." "Oh? That seems great, you just attract problems wherever you go huh?" "Yeah, pretty much, its my bad luck haunting me, we'll be fine, I'm sure of it." "Mommy.......they have come......stay put?" I nodded, clambering my way down his back, finally making it down, rather surprised to find the Prince himself right before me. 

 "Oi, if it ain't the Trojan prince, Hektor was it? Yeah, that's correct, you see, Princess here needs to tell the Soldiers something, and well, you need to let us in." I turned to Achilles, giving a sour glare, then turned to Hektor. "Look, there are things going on here, and I want to fix it, can you put it behind you and help me?" You better believe I was salty about Chiron, but now was not the time for revenge, now was the time for trucing and putting it behind us. "Hmm, for now, since it seems you have a beast of danger at your side, I will allow you back in, come now." He held his hand out, it was clear he wanted me to join him on his horse, which made me a little sick, but oh well. Refusing would show that I wasn't mature enough to let go, but I didn't want to ride with the man. "Thank you Prince, I am humbled..." He chuckled at my sarcasm, pulling me up onto his horse, settling me right on behind him. 

 "Don't get to handsy there Prince of Troy, you've got quite the Minotaur watching you sir." Hektor and Achilles gave each other stank faces, Shakespeare and Asterios watching from the side of the dirt road. "Oi, you two, ride with Achilles, follow us to Troy......actually, Achilles, I have an inside job. Take Shakespeare and Asterios to the mage, tell them you killed me, make it seem believable, then....take out the blonde, someone take out the blonde, that's gotta be the anchor." Achilles nodded, motioning Shakespeare to the cart while Asterios lingered behind it, and with that, I was alone with Hektor. It didn't take long for us to make it back indoors, back to the safety of Troy, but indoors, I just didn't feel all to good. The feeling got worse when Lieutenant Yojiro grabbed my arm, pulling me to a private room. His glare was stone cold, yep, this wasn't going to end well for me. 

 "What is your deal, we are here for captives! Running off and endangering yourself, defying command, you are here to write." No, this was a lie that you are still trying to feed into my head, how dare you. This guy didn't seem to get it, time to chew him out. "Sir, if I may. There are no captives here. I don't know what your talking about. You lied to me. I don't like getting lied to, get that through your thick skull." He stared blankly, I could tell the panic set in. "I.....where'd you learn that?" "Oh, now your worried, shut up. I know what's going on here, or at least, I kinda get the gist, why am I here, and what is going on!?" "Lieutenant Alice Kotomine, or should I call you formally, Alice Walker, we need to sit down and have a discussion about....your past, and what it means, and why your here, and what this all means in general." No one called me Walker, I didn't like that. It was my original name, then a nice couple from Japan adopted me from an orphanage, changing my last name. 

 "What about my past...." "Let us start with General Kiriswuga, that is not his name, he has lied to you. He has lied to all of us, we were hoping that this Gate would lead to the London sector, but it didn't, and so, we asked for the only person he seemed to trust. Now that your here, he's magically not at the base, and he's nowhere to be found. It's like he went off the radar, and he definitely didn't want to be found." I stared blankly, what was happening, I understood that he didn't want to be found, but.....what was his name!? "His name.....what is his name? He's been lying to me, I want to at least know his name, please....tell me his name..." The Lieutenant gave a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, unsure how to respond, I knew he didn't, just tell me already, I need to know. 

 "Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya. That has been your General, hes also fooled you with a false appearance."