Fate/Writer's Dream

Chapter Twenty Two, Escape

Liz took in a shaky breath and exhaled. Her eyes were half-closed; asleep, but conscious. She barely had the strength to move, even breathing was a hard task for her, but her will to live was strong.

Her skin was as pale as snow and her lips were cracked and dry. Strands of hair were falling out of her scalp one by one. Blood slowly dripped from her nose, drop by drop. It stained her clothes and the floor.

She's been trying to use her Command Seals to call Enkidu to her, but it hasn't been working at all. The room she was in seemed to stop it from working. It was now only a matter of minutes before her body would be fully transformed into the key for the Grail.

"Do you want me to help?" a voice called within her mind. It was a gentle voice from a female with a unique accent Liz hasn't heard so often.

Liz gave a weak nod as a response. "... please... do..." she muttered. She couldn't even cough with her dry throat. Every second was torture for her.

Her shirt moved and contorted until the head of her cat, Johnny, popped out and meowed at her. He purred and rubbed his head against her neck.

"...Johnny...?" Liz asked as she rubbed her chin against his head.

The cat meowed and wiggled his way out of her shirt and landed on the ground. He stretched and yawned. Once finished, he turned his head and looked over at Liz. "You've taken care of me for a while. I guess it's only courtesy for me to do the same for you," the voice said once more. Johnny's body transformed into smoke and grew in size until it was the shape of a humanoid.

The smoke cleared and a lady stood where Johnny once was. She had dark skin and short black hair with one black and one brown cat ears that popped out of her head. She had bright golden eyes that stared deep into Liz's soul. Her body was draped by a black dress with a see-through black skirt. Her chest was covered by a golden breastplate and three golden necklaces draped her neck. Single golden threads were connected to her hair and a golden crown laid upon her forehead. Her arms and collarbones were covered in red markings of Command Seals, dozens upon dozens of Command Seals.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself," she said while bowing to her. "I am Johnny, or if you would prefer my real name, I am the cat goddess Bastet, at your service." She regained her composure and walked over to Liz to remove the cuffs on her body. Right after, she picked Liz up and laid her down on the ground. "Can you walk, my child?"

Liz shook her head while still staring up at her in aw. "... Are you a Servant?" she asked.

Bastet placed her hand on Liz's forehead and her hand glowed. The golden aura around her surrounded Liz and filled her with some kind of energy. Her skin became less pale and her throat was no longer dry. She could feel her legs again and the bags under her eyes disappeared.

Liz felt her face and her body. "What did you do to me?" she asked.

"Before you ask anymore questions, I am a Servant... but not the kind of Servants you've seen so far," Bastet answered. "My class is Ruler, but I am not only a Ruler-type Servant, I am also a Guardian, just like your Archer 'friend' outside." She retracted her hand and stood back up while offering to help Liz up. "As for what I did, I merely rejuvenated your vitality."

Liz took her hand and stood up with her support. "I'm sorry, but you left me with even more questions," Liz apologized.

"That's fine, but we can answer all of your inquiries once we leave this room. It's quite stuffy," Bastet replied. She walked over to the door and placed her hand on it. The door glowed with a bright gold aura and exploded outward, leaving an opening for them to escape through. An alarm blared through the building and red lights flooded the outside. "We should hurry before someone comes."