"I hate this place," Rin muttered to herself as they descended the long stone passage to the underworld. It was dark, and gloomy, and still managed to be interminably dry. Which would have simply been annoying if it weren't for the fact that whoever had taken over thought it was funny to shave a couple of inches off her height every time they went deeper. "I really, really do." Her voice came out slightly squeaky from her new size, just adding to the frustration.
Ritsuka was doing her best, but by now even she was giggling at her mother's predicament. "Don't worry mama," the red-head said with a smile. "You'll be taller than me again once we get King Gil back."
Rin felt the veins in her forehead bulge, but forced herself to take several deep breaths and not snap. Where was EMIYA when she needed to relieve some stress? "I know, honey. You don't need to worry about me."
"This place isn't all that bad actually," Olga Marie said as they rounded the next corner. "It feels… kind of homey actually."
Everyone stared at her for a couple of seconds. "I guess that Ereshkigal coming through," Rin said after the long moment of silence. "Ugh, even when we have the goddess of the underworld on our side, this is still a pain in the rear."
"It does make sense," Mash said as she helped Ritsuka over a large rock. "Having Ereshkigal in the Director instead of here probably made one of the Three Goddesses taking over her domain much easier than it normally would have been."
"Don't remind me," Olga Marie muttered. She did not like making mistakes, especially when the mistakes made things harder for everyone else too. "Let's just find this new goddess and deal with her so we can get King Gilgamesh back and get out of here."
"I hope she's as nice as Miss Quetz," Ritsuka said brightly as she skipped ahead.
There was a round of sweat drops from everyone. "I don't know if 'nice' is the word I would use," Rin muttered.
"She was so much fun!" Ritsuka said, either oblivious or simply ignoring her mother's annoyance. "And she promised to teach me how to do a proper suplex once we fixed the Singularity."
Rin once again took several deep breaths. "We'll discuss that later, sweetie," she said firmly.
"I think what we're looking for should be just up ahead," Olga Marie interrupted. "I can… feel it, for lack of a better term." She felt her skin tingling slightly and Ereshkigal was rising up inside her mind, the goddess's power growing stronger as they neared the heart of her domain. But something was interfering with the flow of power, like the river had been dammed up. "And I think our uninvited guest is there too."
"Fantastic," Rin said. "Let's get her and go home already." They pressed ahead, crossing the endless dark sands of the underworld as they approached the palace at the heart. The group finally came to a stop at the final gateway, looking up at the center of the land of the dead. "Alright! Show yourself so we can do this already!"
"O~hohohoho!" Rin felt her blood run cold as she heard a very familiar voice. "My my, the former owner of this abode and her airhead sister, come to see me? I'm afraid I haven't had much time to set up for company."
Rin gritted her teeth so hard she could hear them grinding together. "We're in a temporal Singularity, in a different reality, thousands of years in the past, and all of human history has been incinerated," she growled. "And I still can't get away from you. I must be cursed."
The figure stepped forward, giving them a good look at her for the first time. A golden mask, intricately shaped to look like a woman's face was pressed tight against the right side of her face, while a matching gauntlet covered her hand and wrist, with a black sleeve tucked inside to make sure it didn't come free. Her armored boots did much the same, though her right pant leg was longer, disappeared into her boot completely while her left was far shorter and left her exposed from below her knee up to the hemline of her shorts. Even her hair was split, with the right side and the large drill-like pony tail so pale blonde it was nearly white while the left was its usual golden blonde.
"Hi Auntie Luvia!" Ritsuka said, waving at the goddess.
The goddess sharing the body of Luvia Edelfeldt laughed again. "Oh, I see. You must have been familiar with my host. But you seem to misunderstand. I am currently the one in control of this body. You may call me Hel, the great and powerful queen of the dead."
Rin twitched slightly. "Fantastic. Now how about you give the underworld back to the actual goddess of the underworld and we can be on our way?"
Hel smirked. "Well, she was off neglecting her duties and someone had to step in. And now that I've moved in, I don't really feel like stepping out again." She flipped her hair back with a sly smile. "So why don't you just head back home… useless goddess."
Rin felt something snap inside her and her bow manifested. "I was looking for some stress relief anyway. Looks like I'll get to take it out on your stupid face, Edelfeldt!"
Hel's smile turned absolutely savage. "Come and get me then, Goddess of Venus!" A black metal spear manifested in her hand and Mash had to drag Ritsuka back before she could be caught in the crossfire as the two goddesses attacked.