A/N: EDIT: Added more stuff.

Would You Kindly Read This Author's Note? Please?

DOUBLE EDIT: BEGONE FLAMERS! BEGONE TROLLS! THE POWER OF PRINT COMPELS YOU! THE POWER OF PRINT COMPELS YOU!

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing got...very mixed reviews, so the muse pushed me to write this one out instead. Sorry.

Embers and Berserker are still being worked on, this chapter just came out faster than the others, is all.

This is more of a character focused chapter that expands upon the groundwork I've laid thus far.

So lets clarify a few things quickly; there ARE rogue Servants in this story. For those of you familiar with the term...well. Its going to be fun. I've also finally gotten around to watching Babylonia, and well...you all know why; so my muse kinda stole the show. As always, I own no quotes are references to any relevant media. I'm just a humble author.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way...

Remember, this story the potential to evolve into a triple crossover. It MAY happen. Nothing is set in stone. I'm waiting to hear back from you, the readers. You got your hint in the final preview of last chapter. So speak up! Review! Make yourselves heard! You can do it! I believe in you all! On an FGO related note...what the hell. Since the last chapter I now have Avicebron, Salieri, Drake, Ozymandias, Scheherazade and Atalanta Alter. All of them spooks. The only one I actually wanted out of that bunch was Avicebron!

The votes for someone else have been tallied via PM and review alike; you've all spoken.

So, in lieu of a long explanation...HERE SHE COMES.

Ocean of Memories shall be her new theme.

As ever, I own no quotes, jokes, laughs...

...references ,memes, or themes.

Now then, onto the story~!

"Was my love mistaken?"

...nah. Can't say if it was, or wasn't. I wasn't there. Who can say?"

"I see. Many a life has loved me. However, my children have used me as a ladder, and they always head to places so far away.

I wanted to love them forever. I wanted to be at their side forever. But not like this. I'm alone. And it hurts. It hurts it hurts it hurtshurthurts! I don't like it! Make it stop!"

~a sad discussion.

Why Do We Love? (Calm Before the Storm)

Gato knew his business.

Shinobi? They were bad for business.

He'd clawed his way to the top by any means necessary; done terrible, horrible things in the name of wealth, fame and power. Murder meant nothing to him. Money was meant to be used, flung at the authorities to keep them silent...or silence any fool who dared speak against him. Oh, hiring out Missing Ninja had its uses on occasion, but more often than not it was a hassle. An expensive hassle. Necessary, but annoying as all hell. They were powerful pawns, so long as you paid them, but the moment you didn't...just the thought made him shudder.

He hadn't paid Zabuza in nearly a week now. He simply didn't have the money. And the demon was getting restless.

Because someone or something else had laid claim to Wave in the last week. And when Gato said claim? It meant someone had taken it upon themselves to disrupt his operation, burn his shipments, steal all of money, kill half his men and protect the people. Some said it was a man. Others claimed it was a woman. Still more insisted it was a group. No one ever got a look at them; those that did never returned.

Their heads did.

Zabuza wouldn't find or fight the bastards, because Zabuza wasn't getting paid!

Worse, somewhere along the way, Gato had made something of an error. He'd given the people of Wave hope. That damn Tazuna and his blasted bridge! It was all his fault! He should have been dead by now! Instead he'd hired guards, good ones at that! Guards that were coming here! He wouldn't have known about them at all if one of the Demon Brothers had come limping back. He'd been half dead, gibbering something about poison and snakes and demons appearing from nowhere. Nonsense, the lot of it. He'd killed the fool for his failure. It also meant he didn't have to worry about paying him. No skin off his nose.

Still, he'd supplied them with one useful nugget of information before he perished.

Those shinobi were headed here. To him. Good. Made things easier.

Zabuza and that brat of his would take came of them...right?

Or perhaps those leaf ninja would kill them in turn.

If they somehow manged to kill each other...

...well! Less people for him to pay, then.

He wasn't finished. Not yet. Not yet...

(.0.0.0.)

"Kid, you're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"Not telling me anything I don't already know myself, Anko."

"Oho!" the jonin flung up her arms. "He speaks! And here I thought you'd gone mute!"

Naruto didn't deign to look up at the thinly veiled barb; rather, he let her words washed over him like so much water off a duck's back. In another life he would have angrily risen to the bait and pushed her right out of the boat. Ah, he could see it now! Her hazel eyes widening, arms pinwheeling in surprise as she toppled backward into the water with a yelp!. Of course, that was his imagination talking. Chances were she'd simply water-walk her way back to the boat and thrash him upside the head.

"I mean, I couuuuuuld give her a shove, if you want." Mordred prodded in the back of his mind. "Just a little?"

As though reading his mind, his teacher scowled. "You push me? You die."

"Oh shit, did she hear me?!"

"Wasn't thinking of it." Naruto chose to ignore his fellow blond's yelp and favored the latter with a cherubic smile as she sat beside him. "Not a bit."

'We'll get her later, Saber.' he added as an aside.

The Knight of Rebellion beamed. "Best. Master. Ever."

"Please don't encourage her, Master. She's bad enough as is."

"Bah! Shut up, stupid Father!" He didn't need to see Mordred to her hear blow a raspberry.

No matter how cathartic humiliating Anko might have been -nor the idea of seeing her sopping wet- he chose to refrain from the argument bantering back and forth in his skull and focus on the journey ahead, if not his meditations. If the ferryman had anything to say about so many being crammed into such a small boat, a pouch of gold held his tongue. Just as well too; Naruto hadn't been happy about forfeiting that much money to buy the man's silence. He wasn't keen on this boat, either.

Because Tazuna had lied.

It hadn't come as a surprise to Naruto of course; he'd had the naivete beaten out of him long ago. Everyone lied about something in this day and age. Shinobi, civilians, everyone. Small lies, big lies, white lies, black lies, grey lies. Tazuna's unique brand of deception just so happened to have a good reason behind it. He'd fed them a sob story about not being able to feed his family. That none of them could afford the ludicrous expense of a higher rank mission; they were being oppressed by a cruel tyrant, that the bridge he was building would be the sole lifeline to peace and prosperity for his people, so on and so forth. In the end they'd chosen to accept the task at hand...though not without a bit of chewing out on Anko's part.

"We ARE going to kill the oppressor, yes?"

Naruto felt his lips quirk into the smallest of smiles as a gentle waved lapped against the dingy. "You'll have first crack at him Spartacus, I swear."

"Talking to your friends again, kid?"

Narut calmly flipped Anko off as he returned to his meditations. "Just the voices in my head."

Medea hummed softly at his elbow. "I could curse her, if you wish."

His minder laughed. "Ha! I like you! Just try it!"

Naruto almost considered letting her; say what you would, Medea could be vicious when pushed. Once again, he chose to err on the side of caution. Entertaining as it might be, he didn't relish seeing anyone face the sheer horror what was Rule Breaker. There was a reason he'd worked so hard to win bring Medea to his side in the beginning. She could easily upend his plans and steal his allies; there was a real threat of that when his training first began. Thankfully he had managed to win her favor. And he aimed to keep it!

With that in mind, he decided to indulge her. "Maybe later, focus on your patient for now. I'm sure this will be no problem for you...?"

Caster preened. "Of course not, Master. Leave the girl to me."

Yakumo hadn't spoken a word since the slaughter; not out of fear or any such emotion, but because she simply wasn't conscious to do so. Medea had taken the girl's little "problem" as something of a personal affront and dedicated her every waking moment to eradicating the damn demon in her mind. Naruto approved. Unlike some of the stronger Servants, she didn't cost much of his energy to field and she was outright thrifty about her spells. Better for him to conserve his energy for when he needed it. In the beginning, he'd barely been able to field Heracles without his lungs locking up. Now? He barely even noticed it.

If only he could fend off Anko's suspicions so easily...

"We have a problem."

"Hmm?" the jinchuuriki cracked an eye open as a familiar voice plucked at the strings of his heart. "Ishtar? What's wrong?"

A beat of silenced passed. The another. Another still. Finally, she spoke. "Someone...may have woken up."

"Who? Ivan? I thought Anastasia had an agreement with him...

A pause.

...not Ivan. Worse."

He didn't like her tone. "What did you do?"

"You mean what didn't this useless goddess do." Enkidu chimed helpfully.

"Shut up shut up shut up! I was just poking around! How was to know THAT was in here?! It shouldn't be possible!"

Naruto grit his teeth and tried to ignore the migraine that followed. He loved his Servants. He really, truly did. They were his friends. His family. With the exception of a few absolute abominations and those who outright refused to speak to him, he got on with nearly everyone these days. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Servants themselves. From petty rivalries to bitter grudges or longstanding feuds, each had their own quirks and he had to be careful to manage them accordingly. Summon too many at once and he risked his already poor health taking a turn for the worse.

For instance, he couldn't bring Mozart out in the presence of Salieri or a bloodbath would ensue.

The same could be said of Ishtar and Enkidu, or a Berserk Lancelot and Artoria.

As their Master, it fell to him to maintain the delicate balance between all parties, lest one of them see fit to break their contract and go their own way. Seven had already gone that route over his chosen direction when he'd first started out, and who knew where they'd ended up? After all, these Cards were merely a medium by which to contain his allies. Their choices and motives were entirely their own, but they needed a tether to this world to exist...just as he needed them to survive. Gilgamesh wasn't just going to sit around forever. Sooner or later he'd come for them. All of them.

And didn't that just make Naruto shudder?

So he asked again. "Ishtar. What. Did. You. Do."

"Alright, but you can't be mad at me. I mean it! You can't! This is totally not my fault!" he knew that note of panic in her voice all too well and accepted it with a long suffering sigh of his own. "There's nothing to do down here in your inner world, so I thought I'd look around a bit. Meet the other Servants, redecorate, or something." she flinched at the subsequent hiss. "Not like that! I stayed away from the fox like you told me to, but how was I supposed to know that was in here?! It was just a piece! I didn't think anything would happen! I'm sorrrrrry!

"Fine. I'll find more gems for you later, alright?" Naruto bit out. "Just stop crying and tell me what you did."

He never got an answer; because a woman's song slipped through the back of his mind.

"No, no, no!" the goddess wailed. "She's awake!"

"Who, Ishtar?!"

Something deep inside of him pulled and his vision went white. There could be no other word for it. One moment he'd been squatting in the boat, knees tucked into his chest as he tried to ignore all the odd looks everyone was giving him. The next? Everything turned pure as driven snow. No. Not his vision. His world. He flung up an arm without thinking, but no attack came.

"Ishtar? Enkidu?" he called out into the abyss. "Hello? Guys?" the arm lowered, but no response came. "Anyone?"

Someone sniffled behind him, and without thinking, he rounded on the sound.

Mistakes were made.

A weeping woman clad in blue awaited him in the beyond, her slender shoulders shaking with every breath. Another anguished sound escaped her as he looked on; a high, keening whine that tore at him. Despite his best efforts, the blond felt heat crawl up the back of his neck. His next instinct was embarrassment; as though he'd walked in on something he shouldn't have. As if he had a choice! Something had pulled him here!

Then came curiosity, and so he gazed upon her.

Terrible horns curled away from pointed ears framed by pale aqua hair that flowed past her feet to pool against a swaying tail at her back. Clawed hands cradled her face, shielding it from view, as though to hide her gaze from the world. He knew the feeling. It was a childish way of thinking; if you couldn't see someone, then they surely they couldn't see you. He steeped back without thinking, and the sound echoed awfully in the void. Sure enough, it was able to reach the woman's ears. Upon hearing him, realizing she wasn't alone, the weeping woman raised her gaze.

Vibrant violet orbs blinked back at him, framed by deep purple lashes.

A blazing white x stood etched in place of her pupils, even now widening in confusion.

He felt as if he should know this woman; after all, he knew nearly every other Servant in the Cards, from Angra Mainyu to Rasputin himself. Yet when he reached now for that knowledge, he felt only an empty void..and a vague sense of dread. This woman was an unknown. When she opened her mouth to speak, he glimpsed what might have been fangs.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa?" a long, mournful note echoed between them.

...I'm sorry?" his shoulders rose in a helpless shrug. "I can't understand you."

Her lips pursed in a thin line of displeasure. It might have been sorrow. It could have been anger. "Aaaaaaaah~!"

"Like I said, that was lost in translation-ouch!"

Pressure pushed against the back of his head, briefly causing him to clutch at his temples. It vanished in the next instant, leaving his ears ringing. He hazarded a glare at the bluenette, not trusting himself to speak lest he snap at her. What the hell was that about? When next the mysterious femme fatale spoke however, he found he could understand her.

...you should not be here, Master of the Cards." the words sounded awkward and stilted as though she were unused to speaking. "Go. Go back." a small, sad smile plucked at her lips. "Go back to your boat."

"I would if I could," Naruto sighed, scratching his wrist and glowering at the ever present Command Spells flowing up his arm. Bloody things itched. "You brought me here."

"That was...not my intent." she grimaced aside. "I was sleeping. Something woke me. I am awake." a pause, and she glowered at him. "Why am I awake?"

"You're asking me?" the blond nearly guffawed when she pouted at him. "I'm just as lost here as you. I think Ishtar had something to do with it."

"She did?" The mysterious beauty perked up, considering him anew. "Tell me then, Master of the Cards. Was my love mistaken?"

Naruto considered her words for a moment, and folded both arms behind his head. "Dunno. Can't say if it was, or wasn't. I wasn't there. Who can say? Who did you love?"

"My children." the entity hung her head in sullen shame, and, when he didn't press her, dared to speak anew. "Many a life has loved me. However, my children have used me as a ladder, and they always head to places so far away." a small, longing note weaved its way into her words. "I wanted to love them forever. I wanted to be at their side forever. But not like this." she shook her head, horns swaying against her hair as she clutched a clawed hand to her breast. "It hurts." much to his dismay, that fretful gaze found his once more. "How do I make it stop hurting?"

For a moment, just a moment her shadow writhed behind her, becoming monstrous.

Like a beast. No. No no no no no. That was absurd. Right? Wasn't it? She couldn't be here. No way.

"I think," Naruto began slowly, his throat suddenly gone dry from that ugly thought, "That you need to calm down."

"I can't." A small, hysterical sob burst from her as those wild orbs snapped to him again. "I was asleep, but now I'm awake. I want to go back to sleep." a pale limb rose to her forehead, clutchingly. "I...it hurts. It hurts it hurts it hurtshurthurts! I don't like it! I hate this! Make it stop!"

Without thinking, he took a step forward.

"No! Stay away!" she skittered backward with a shriek when he tried to approach. "Please leave me behind, Young Master of the Cards. Please, never love me. Please forget about me."

The way she'd phrased those words just now, coupled with that she'd said earlier...that wasn't possible. It shouldn't be possible. He should have felt dread when he approached her. Tried to escape at the very least as she told him to. He knew who she was now. Her words aligned with what he'd been told. And it terrified him.

Tiamat. Mother of All.

A breath hitched in his throat; because this was a Beast, or at least a sentient piece of one. Immortal. Eternal. Destruction incarnate, a force Grand Servants struggled against. He wasn't ready for a fight like this. Not at all. In this space he had no power beyond his own strength, and even his new skills paled in comparison to this eldritch abominations. He should've fled. Screamed for help. Begged for mercy. Thrown himself into despair. Any one of those responses would've been perfectly sane.

Naruto had thrown away his sanity long ago.

When faced with someone so pitiful, he couldn't help himself.

So, in spite of her cries, in spite of her pain, he marched right up to her and...

"Nope."

Tiamat blinked as his palms closed around hers, cries going quiet. "I...do not understand."

Naruto didn't give her a chance to fight back; when she pulled away he stepped forward and grabbed her hands again.

"I said nope." he repeated the words firmly, fully prepared to chase her down if she tried to escape. "Everyone deserves a chance, you know? I've befriended monsters and madmen, murderers and aliens alike. Why not you? If anything, you look like you need a hug." Why not indeed? So he did what came naturally.

Tiamat flinched as if she'd been struck when his arms closed around her.

"No! You mustn't love me." her head shook frantically, words taking on a desperate pitch. "Do you not understand?" She struggled in his grasp, to no avail. Everyone will hate you if you love me." when he didn't bat an eyelash, she began to tremble in his grasp like a leaf. "Your friends will curse you if you love me." Tears swam in her eyes as she weakened, body betraying her. "Your family will despise you if you love me. All the World will become your enemy if you love me." her words trailed off into a tiny sob. "Please, leave me behind. Please, never love me."

What a miserable existence this must be.

"And who decided that?!" With that thought, anger reared its ugly head in Naruto's heart and he let go of her, if only to tell her just what he thought of that. "My friends are my Servants!" his fingers shot out and flicked her in the forehead when she made to protest. "My family? Also my Servants!" Another flick, another pitiful whine as her protests withered. "They'd never betray me now." Another flick. I have no one else to care about." Was this bullying? This felt an awful lot like bulling. "I don't give a spit about my image or my village, hell, I'm probably going to run the first chance I get. What about you?!"

Tiamat whimpered weakly, rubbing her forehead. "Me...?"

Oh, for the love of...!

Sure enough, the goddess startled like a frightened kitten when he offered her his hand.

"I shouldn't." she looked away, though her arm twitched. "I'll ruin everything."

"My life's already pretty shitty." Naruto laughed. "Now take. My hand."

Slowly, tentatively, her fingers curled around his. Poor thing. She looked fit to bolt at the slightest provocation; even from here he could feel her tension. Naruto felt his heart twitch traitorously again. He'd told something of a white lie; not everyone would accept this. Ishtar and the others might well be furious with him. One or two might even try to breach their contracts over this mess. The thought...didn't please him, but he accepted it as a necessary evil nonetheless. You couldn't please everyone. He'd given up on that fallacy long ago.

...you won't leave?" her words were a whisper. "You'll stay?"

"Yup!" He wholeheartedly meant that.

When the tears came, Naruto thought himself prepared for them. He wasn't. Not at all. Not in the least. It started as a sniffle; a lone tear trailing down Tiama's cheek. Her lower lip trembled as a tiny hiccup fled from her lips, one that soon rose into a great heaving sob. She didn't surge forward, that would have implied movement; instead her arms crushed around around him as she buried her head into his shoulder.

Tiamat didn't cry. She wept. Her very being flickered.

And the world snapped back like a rubber-band.

"Not another one?!"

Those were Tazuna's words, not his; because Tazuna toppled backward into the sea -accidentally dragging a startled Anko and the ferryman with him!- as the form of a very tall woman manifested in a swirl of golden light and summarily landed on Naruto with a delighted squeal. Less so when said woman nearly upended the bloody boat and pitched the rest of them into the sea.

"Aaaaaaah~!"

Medea didn't even bother to save either from their plight; she was too busy gaping at the horned deity currently trying to suffocate her Master beneath their bosom, cuddling him as though he were the most precious child in all the world. She didn't even deign to notice her or anyone else, such was her glee. A delighted, happy note fled from the newcomer's lips as she looked on, and it took the Witch of Betrayal a moment to place it. She was singing the witch realized; humming a happy lullaby to herself that Medea couldn't make heads or tails of. What in the world? Who was this?!

Throughout it all, Naruto heard but a single word, sung over and over.

It utterly sealed his fate, and the world with him.

"Mine." Tiamat cooed. "Mineminemine...

A/N: TIIIIIIIIIIIRED!

To clarify, Naruto is the only one who can understand Tiamat. Others...not so much.

That's going to cause some delicious chaos and hilarity in the future. Look forwaaaaaaard to it~!

Folks have been claiming Gilgamesh is the true villain of this story...nope! He certainly instigated events, but he's not the big bad. Cookie for you if you guess who!

Work hasn't been going so well thanks to the madness going around, and at this point, I'm honestly wondering if its worth it. Really don't want to catch the virus...must...avoid!

Once more, this story the potential to evolve into a triple crossover. It MAY happen. Nothing is set in stone. I'm waiting to hear back from you, the readers. You got your hint in the final preview of last chapter. So speak up! Review! Make yourselves heard! You can do it! I believe in you all!

Oh, Naruto. You poor, poor fool.

You just went and won over TIAMAT. A weakened form of her perhaps, one that has the potential to become a Beast all over again, but still very much weakened at the moment nonetheless. Gods know when we'll actually get her as a Servant in FGO. Hopefully by the next Lostbelt, whenever that comes around.

As ever, reviews keep me writing. If a chapter doesn't get any...my inspiration dries up.

Soooooo in the Immortal Words of Atlas......Review...Would You Kindly?

Now then...have some potential previews in the meantime.

Nothing concrete yet, just what to see what folks think.

Oh, and one of them's REAL BLOODY OBVIOUS.

Who knows what might happen next?

I await your opinion and feedback.

Sooooooo...which do you like?

(Potential reviews!)

...you dare? Move! That THING must be destroyed!"

"Is that any way to address yourself?" Caster Gilgamesh clicked his tongue at the golden figure before him and raised an ax. "My, my, seeing you now...it reminds me how unsightly I was in my youth. Begone, Archer! He isn't ready for you yet. If you take another step, you will have to contend with me."

"And me." Ishtar snapped a finger at him.

"I as well." Scathach stepped forward.

Jeanne raised her flag. "And me."

"Wahahaha! Might as well!"

"You can't have him!

"Go back already!"

"Begone, boy."

Much to his annoyance, the list kept growing. "Mongrels...

"Oh. Its you." the rogue servant frowned. "Come to make more trouble for me, have you?"

"I win."

Naruto smiled. "No. You fucked up."

"Eh?" Zabuza blinked. "Whaddya mean-

That was all he managed before Penthesila burst from the lake and barreled into him.

"So lets not fight, eh? If we did, I'd have to kill you. That'd be a waste. You have potential."

Haku stared at his hand as if it were a poisonous snake.

"Just what are you?" she whispered.

Naruto beamed. "I am me."

She had her senbon to his throat. For all intensive purposes her ambush had been successful, the boy -more a young man, really- was disarmed, lying harmlessly in a field of flowers. She'd gotten the drop on him. Victory was hers and hers alone. This boy was a monster. He commanded creatures of incomprehensible strength...and somehow, she'd managed to corner him. Was that it, then? Was this all a part of his plan? It must be! Why else would he be smiling as though he'd won the day? This was no clone; she could clearly see the thin rivulets of blood trailing down the nape of his neck as he pricked his skin. If he thought he'd a chance, he was sorely mistaken; the slightest movement would cut his throat and end his-

A cold arm locked around her neck from behind and the poor girl squeaked.

"Making moves on my darling, are we~?" Anastasia hummed in her ear. "Lets have a little chat~!"

"Bwahahaha! Death to the oppressors! Long live the bridge!"

Ishtar groaned. "YOU LET SPARTACUS OUT?!

"He'll run out of bodies...eventually."

R&R~!

~Nz.