A/N: Not much to say.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
CH.10: Offensive Blitz
Two blue-gray eyes opened to look at the door when it opened gently. The owner of said eyes watched as the girl walked into the bedroom, concentrating on holding the trey in her possession straight and balanced. Her teal eyes seemed to glow with determination as she walked in, her tom-boyish gracefulness, if such a thing existed, seemed almost comical to him. He continued to watch silently as she set the trey down next to him, "You didn't have to Rin; I'm feeling a lot better now."
"Archer," Rin said his name with exasperation, "Kat suggested at least one more day of bed rest, and I'm making sure you stay in that bed." Her eyes changed from determination, to scolding. For the past two days, Rin had been caring for her injured ex-Servant, ignoring his protests.
Archer sat up, closing his eyes so he could roll them without being caught. He glanced over the warm breakfast Sakura had made and started. In the past, he was slightly uncomfortable when Rin watched him eat, not wanting him to skip out on any of it. However, he had gotten used to it.
"Archer," Rin warned when she saw an untouched bowl of porridge.
"Rin," Archer returned the tone, his face becoming stubborn, 'I'm not eating that… stuff, even if Sakura made it,' Archer glanced at it to sea the porridge move, 'at least… I think she made it.'
"Eat it Archer, it's good for you." Rin was tapping the chair she was sitting on impatiently, her eye twitching.
Archer glanced at Rin and then the porridge, "I don't think I will. It winked at me." He continued to watch the unappetizing dish as it continued to scare him.
Rin felt her face heat up, "Fine, then don't eat it, jerk." Rin sharply turned away, embarrassed, 'I worked hard on it too.' She ignored Archer's observing eyes, trying not to pout like most girls would.
"Alright, alright, you win." Archer took the spoon and the porridge. Building his resolve, Archer quickly downed the lumpy mass of, what was supposed to be, porridge. He forced the final swallow and put all his power into not puking at the taste, 'I already loathe this slop, but putting how horrible Rin cooked it on top…' Archer's mind didn't have the balls to continue.
"W-Well, how was it?" Rin looked at him with only one eye, her face still warm. When she saw him force a smile, she glared at him, "You don't have to fake it if you don't like it."
"Rin, I hate porridge in the first place, it's disgusting." Archer set the bowl down as if it were a bomb, 'In a way, it kind of is.'
Rin shrugged, "Well now I know. Gallium called a meeting, think you can get downstairs?" Rin walked over beside him and helped him to his feet. Though Archer's injuries were now far from fatal, the nurse had suggested them to do the final healing itself. Though understandable, this left the Crimson Servant hurting like he had been hit by Excalibur on Arturia's period.
'You know,' Archer's eyes opened, 'I never thought of how Arturia acts on her period,' A sudden sharp shiver shot down his spine, 'maybe it's best not to think about that.' Archer tossed the subject out, deeming it taboo.
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The dining room was cold silent. The main chatter-boxes were silent in the absence of the one who starts it in the first place. The knowledge of Taiga's vegetable like body simply lying in her room was enough to silence the group all through breakfast. Everyone shot Shirou uncertain glances every now and then, not really knowing what was going through his head.
"Well," Gallium caught everyone's attention when Archer and Rin sat down at the table, "now that we're all here, it's time we discuss our counter-attack." Everyone's eyes shot up to him. The tone of his voice was stoic and cold, like a war-torn General who no longer cared for the stresses of war.
"So what's the plan?" Bazett glanced at Archer, receiving a nod from him.
Gallium took out a folder and slapped it on the table, "We know more than enough about the temple to break in. On top of that, most of us have already been in a similar type of situation, giving us the edge of experience."
"So we're just going to barge in through thousands of Anubis Warriors and Heroes?" Rider was more than skeptical. Not only was this not her type of thing, but it was also insane.
"Just focus on this task: Get inside and destroy the one controlling the Anubis Warriors, as well as destroying the Grail." Gallium's eyes sharpened, "All else is of no importance."
Everyone nodded leaving the floor open for questions, "So am I staying or going?" Archer voiced his question. Normally he would've gone anyway, but when Gallium was like this, it was best to not cross him.
"You're staying on the outskirts; you're going to be our fall-back man on this one Archer." Gallium was now leaning on the table, his chin rested on both hands.
A slam shifted everyone's focus to Shirou, "When are we going to save Taiga!?" Shirou glared at the angel. Sure, he had gotten his answer before, but if he gets more on his side, then maybe he'd…
"I already told you, we don't." Gallium leaned back and looked at everyone, "Listen, I have no jurisdiction to do such a thing, nor do I even know where Lucifer is," His eyes closed, "it's like looking for a needle in a hay-stack."
Once again, silence flooded the room. Fortunately, it remained quiet and devoid of further argument as everyone made final preparations. Arturia and Shirou got up and walked outside, the blonde following the red-head closely. Her emerald eyes focused on his posture, recognizing it immediately, "Shirou, if you're going to try and search for Taiga, wait until after we destroy the Grail."
The distraught Emiya leaned against one of the statues and slid to the ground, "I know I should," He gritted his teeth, "but it's so hard to focus knowing that I can help her." A hand rested on his shoulder as Arturia sat beside him.
"I know Shirou, but a warrior must be able to control those urges to do what is logical." Arturia leaned against him, allowing silence to overtake them. It remained quiet until she broke the silence, "Shirou, we should make sure we're ready, Gallium wants to attack tonight."
"The sooner the better in my opinion." Shirou watched Arturia get up, following soon after. Both began inside, not knowing that a pair of ice-blue eyes was watching.
"You know," Gallium broke his gaze and looked behind him, "spying is unbecoming of a General such as yourself." Kat walked up beside Gallium and peered at the pair until they were out of sight, "Worried?"
Gallium silently nodded. He quickly looked around the Einsbern property to see what everyone was doing, or at least see who was outside. Assassin was meditating as always, Rider was reading against a tree, Archer and Rin were out for fresh air, and Ilya was picking flowers for the still recovering Leysritt and Sella, 'It's about to come to an end, we can finally return home after tonight.' Gallium rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Gallium, is something up? You seem quiet today." Kat leaned against the railing of the balcony they were on and watched him. The cold General simply glanced at her, shrugged, stretched, and walked back inside. Kat pouted at his attempt to avoid the question, 'I swear,'
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"Inspector, you need to see this," A police-officer approached the lounging Inspector. Ignoring the smoke that filled the investigator's office, the policeman entered and placed a pile of photos on the desk.
The Inspector raised his hat off of his face and looked lazily at the photos, "What, did you find something on the recent coma incidents?" Without an answer he sifted through the photos, "What's so special about these photos, they're nothing but a broken-down church."
The policeman smiled, "I know, that's what I thought too, but look closer." He offered a magnifying glass.
The Inspector took the observation item, eyeing the policeman the entire time. As told, he looked through the magnifying glass, his dark-brown eyes widening, "That's weird, there are distortions all around the church!" The Inspector looked up at the policeman.
"I know, and on top of that, the church in those photos was perfectly spick and span just a few days ago. It looked practically brand-new." The policeman took out a file and placed it on the desk.
The Inspector looked at the photo and the files that were inside, "Caren Ortensia huh, says here that she was placed in that church just after those strange incidents ended a few months ago." The Inspector examined every detail of Caren's face, "We need to find her; she might know something."
---
"Achoo," A small squeak like sneeze caught the attention of the tattooed Avenger. Caren sniffed, "Someone must be talking about me."
"Right, it's a surprise since you flounce around in that outfit of yours." Avenger pointed to the skirtless uniform Caren wore.
She looked down at herself and back at her companion, "Like it Avenger, God punishes those with perverted thoughts." She kept a calm face throughout her joke, secretly enjoying Avenger's glare.
"For a priestess, you're a pretty loose looking woman." Avenger growled when he didn't get a reaction from the white-haired woman. He was about to close his eyes when a crimson cloth tied him to a nearby pole, hanging him above the ground, "Caren, what the heck are you doing?"
"Punishing you for your perverted thoughts," She calmly took out a steaming cup of ramen, "I will have to starve the demon out of you."
"YOU CRAZY B----, I OUGHTA SHOVE THIS POLE RIGHT UP YOUR-!" Avenger was silenced by the cloth as he heard Caren slurping her noodles.
"Demons sure do have dirty mouths, worry not Avenger, I think I have almost starved it back into Hell." Caren continued to sit below Avenger, slurping her noodles with a neutral expression. A sudden burst of power and a change in her surroundings brought Caren back to reality, "A fog has set in Avenger."
The tattoo covered warrior got his mouth free and looked around the rooftop they were on. Before he responded, Avenger looked down towards the street, "It's pretty thick," His eyes sharpened, "it's also not normal."
Caren nodded, "Yes, it seems the final attack has begun, this city will be lit aflame without anyone's knowledge."
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The day had gone by quickly. The moon was already hanging high, casting its silver light down onto Fuyuki that slept below. A sudden fog had set in, causing some weather experts to scratch their heads in confusion. The air was crisp and cool, the weather seeming to be normally unpredictable.
"Guard duty, what a trivial thing to be assigned to." The hero in samurai armor sat on the top step of the stairs leading to the large temple. Though voicing his disdain of his task, his senses still remained sharp. His ears registered the rustling of the trees as the cool wind swept over them, the chirping of the humble cricket, everything, 'Hold on,' His ears perked up when the tune of a pipe reached his ears, 'what's that?' The samurai got to his feet and put his hand on his katana.
Here
our soldiers stand from all around the world
Waiting in a line to
hear the battle cry
All are gathered here, victory is near
The
sound will fill the hall, bringing power to us all
The tune grew louder as a white figure stepped out from the fog, a pipe held to its lips. Smoothly, he lowered the pipe and held it out, a blue flame engulfing the slender instrument. The blue flame seemed to come to life as it grew to cover the figure's arm. With one thrust to the ground, the sky seemed to light on fire and burn away, thousands of lights falling behind the white-clad warrior, "LEGIONS, FORM UP!" The figure removed his hood to reveal his ice-blue eyes. As the massive army of angels stepped forward, a group of shadows jumped down from the nearby shrubbery, gathering a few feet away from the stairs.
We alone are
fighting for metal that is true
We own the right to live the
fight, we're here for all of you
Now swear the blood upon your
steel will never dry
Stand and fight together beneath the battle
sky
"Anubis," The samurai's eyes were wide, "we have a problem." He knew the dog-god had heard him, for an equally massive army of Anubis Warriors either jumped out of the ground below him, or flooded out the front gate. Eyeing the group of Heroes that opposed him, the samurai slipped into the temple and into the shadows.
Brothers everywhere
- raise your hands into the air
We're warriors, warriors of the
world
Like thunder from the sky - sworn to fight and die
We're
warriors, warriors of the world
Shirou was more than blown away by what met his eyes. Through Arturia's dreams, he had seen the armies of England fight many foes, but this trumped everything. Angels clad in gold and black armor pointed their heavy-spears forward, taking the front position. The ones in white stayed just behind them, swords and javelins drawn, "T-There can't be any less than ten-thousand angels here."
Gallium simply grunted and looked around him. Beside him were Shirou, Arturia, Assassin, and Jason. To his other side was Rider, Lancer, Kat, Bazett and Berserker, "Listen, we'll go through it one more time," Gallium to see if he had everyone's attention, "all of us will form a triangle formation, cutting through the Anubis Warriors to get to the temple."
"General Gallium," A voice cut through the conversation as an archer ran up to said angel, a squad of archers behind her, "where do you want us General?"
When Shirou saw the angel's face, he nearly jumped out of his skin, "A-Ayako, what the heck are you doing here!?" Shirou couldn't believe that the hazel-eyed girl was an angel.
Ayako winked at Shirou, "You don't think I'm good at archery because I practice on idol targets do you?" She snickered at Shirou's huge eyes and looked around, "Where's Rin, I expected her to be here." When her eyes met Gallium's she immediately straightened up, "I-I mean, where did you want us G-General?"
"Ayako is one of my best sharp-shooters. I want you and the rest of your squad to tag along until we reach the temple, from there I'll give further orders." Gallium took the point position, raising his sword.
Many stand against
us, but they will never win
We said we would return and here we
are again
To bring them all destruction, suffering and pain
We
are the hammer of the gods, we are thunder, wind and rain.
When Gallium signaled for his army to begin the assault, they did so with a mighty war cry. Like a stampede of bulls, both armies clashed with a thunderous sound of metal on metal. Crunches filled the first few seconds of battle, Anubis Warrior and angel a like getting either injured or killed.
From a bird's-eye view, one would see a triangular formation pushing its way through the Anubis ranks, streams of gold and white following. In mere seconds, the mass of dog-warriors were divided, the tip of the triangle mere feet from the stairs. Gallium halted the advance when two mighty growls reached their ears.
There they wait in
fear with swords in feeble hands
With dreams to be a king, first
one should be a man
I call about and charge them all with a life
that is a lie
And in their final hour they shall confess before
they die
"Split up, we have incoming!" A golden-clad angel yelled and rolled to the side, a large paw barely missing him. The entire triangle disbanded, two huge Doberman barreling through the ranks. Angels who were caught by their jaws were thrown to the side, bones crushed to dust.
"Shirou, cover me!" Ayako helped him up and shoved Shirou to the side, the blade of an Anubis Warrior missing him. She readied her arrow and shot it, point-blank into the warrior's head, killing it. Ayako and Shirou nodded at eachother and dashed off, the latter keeping their foe from Ayako's vulnerable back. Ayako dashed into the forest, a few archers following her example, "Alright Shirou, tell the others to draw those things into the open!"
"Alright!" Shirou swiveled and slid between the legs of another enemy, cutting its legs out from under it as he went. When he got to his feet, the young Emiya looked around for Arturia, "Wow, she's good at this." Shirou said when he saw her hanging onto the leg of one of the huge Doberman.
Brothers everywhere
- raise your hands into the air
We're warriors, warriors of the
world
Like thunder from the sky - sworn to fight and die
We're
warriors, warriors of the world
Gallium peered through the battle field, shielding Rider from incoming arrow fire. He growled when one hit his shoulder, leering at the foes shooting at them from atop the stairs, "Rider, we need to drive those Doberman away, any ideas?" He blocked the blade of a dog-fighter and stomped its head into the dirt, crushing it.
"One, but you know this kind of stuff isn't my thing." Rider ducked and swept a warrior off its feet. Skillfully, she threw one of her nails into one of the injured Anubis Warriors, "Duck Gallium!" Rider didn't wait for him to hesitate as she spun the warrior around, using the dog-demon to clear the enemies encircling them.
"That'll work," Gallium was a bit impressed, "I thought you didn't do well in this situation." Both nodded and ran to take down the second huge dog. When they were close enough, Gallium gave Rider a boost, catapulting her onto the back of the over-grown dog.
"GRRRAW!" Rider looked over the bucking dog's head to see Berserker grab its head, holding still. She flinched when she saw the dog's fangs embedded in Berserker's arm, obviously trying to rip it off, "Rider, move!" The swift gorgon did as she was told, rolling off the dog and drop-kicking a dog-warrior. When she was a safe distance away, Berserker hoisted the large beast off its feet, gripping the top of its mouth, "I'll rip you in two." His deep voice growled as he pried it mouth off of his arm and grabbed its jaw. Both Gallium and Rider tried not to let the sight of Berserker ripping the dog in two by its mouth get to them.
"Glad he's on my side." Rider snickered at one of the angels' comment, his dumbfounded look hidden by his hood.
If I should fall in
battle, my brothers who fight by my side
Gather my horse and
weapons, tell my family how I died
Until then I will be strong, I
will fight for all that is real
All who stand in my way will die
by steel
"Just whistle if you need help Bazett." Lancer snickered when said woman elbowed him in his side. All three warriors were back to back, the third warrior being none other than Assassin.
"Shut it Cu, it's definitely not the time for that!" Bazett fought back a red face as Lancer caught her using his name.
"Hah, see, I'm starting to get through to ya babe." Lancer yelped when he was silenced by Assassin's hilt. He had struck the spot just a few inches away from his groin, "Only sissies aim there."
"Shut your mouth and focus." Assassin pointed his katana at one of the snarling Anubis warriors encircling them. When they moved in for the kill, he used his Tsubame Gaeshi, cutting down a chunk of the attackers. He glanced to his right to see Lancer dispel more than his own share of the foes, obviously trying to keep Bazett from being overwhelmed.
Speaking of the purple-haired suit-wearing woman, she was doing better than many would, "Back… off!" Bazett back-handed the Anubis Warrior that had latched onto her, back-flipping to escape the clutches of another. The experienced fighter round-housed her way to Lancer, seeing that the stairs were in his direction, "Lancer, Assassin, head for the stairs!"
Brothers everywhere
- raise your hands into the air
We're warriors, warriors of the
world
"Arturia!" Shirou ran up beside the angels looking up at the remaining Doberman. He quickly looked around for anything he could use, but found nothing, "F---," He looked back up to see Arturia barely holding on, 'Trace on,' Shirou felt two familiar blades form in his hands, "Hang on a bit longer!"
"Emiya," An angel in golden armor stopped him, "we can help; just give us a second." The angel signaled for the others in gold to follow him, their heavy-spears in hand. In perfect sync, the group of ten got on one side of the dog and thrust their spears into the air, the head shooting off into the air, a chain connecting it to the pole end, "Do it now!" With that order, another ten angels appeared in the path of the rocket-like spear-heads, catching them. Displaying their strength, they all drove the spear-heads into the ground, tying the bucking Doberman to the ground.
"Alright, thanks!" Shirou jumped onto the dog's back and helped Arturia to her feet, "Are you alright?"
She sighed in relief and nodded, "Yes, thanks to you and those angels." Arturia nodded towards the spear wielders, signaling her thanks. The golden-haired woman was brought back to reality when Shirou picked her up and hopped down from the struggling dog's back, "S-Shirou, what are you doing?"
"Ayako and a few others are going to handle it, we need to get up those stairs!" Shirou didn't waste the time to set her down, instead he ran up the stairs. Arturia was distracted from her situation when a mass of arrows shot out from the trees and towards the tied dog, killing it.
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"Glad you two could make it," Lancer tapped his lance against his shoulder, smirking at Arturia as Shirou set her down. A fist punished Lancer's teasing, a glaring Bazett demanding his silence.
"Where's Gallium?" Everyone turned to the trees when Kat stepped out, flinging a dead Anubis Warrior off her sword. As if on cue, Gallium and Rider dropped into the courtyard, the angel's armor covered in black fluid.
"Worst part of fighting:" Rider examined her long lavender locks and scoffed, "blood in your hair."
"Amen to that one," Gallium removed a glob of an organ from his head and flung it to the ground, "of course I probably shouldn't have stuck to Berserker." He glanced to the stairs when the towering giant stepped into the courtyard, "Jason should still be fighting, but we need to go on ahead. Atako, you and your squad give support from the higher ground!"
"Gotcha General!" The captain of the archery-team popped out of the tree-line and towards the group of Anubis Warriors wielding bows. The archer-squad took down the mass of enemies with ease, taking the position with little hesitation.
"Alright, let's move in." Shirou walked into the temple, Arturia following close behind. She didn't tell anyone, but she could feel something strange inside. Her emerald were constantly glancing from side to side, watching the dim temple's insides carefully.
"I think that's the entrance there." Bazett pointed to a strange symbol that illuminated one of the far walls, ancient writing surrounding the circular image. In order of strength, the warriors walked through the symbol, a portal taking them deeper under the holy structure.
"Now I remember why I hated this place." Shirou looked at the extensive ruins that lay before them. Unlike last time, the ruins were in an Egyptian/ Arabian type style, a golden hue making it resemble a desert location. However, this did not hide the electricity dancing around the figure in front of them.
"I see, you are all warriors worthy of Valhalla," The ripped man standing in front of them slammed his hammer into the ground, lightning crashing down around him, "however, Thor will end your campaign here."
Song: "Warriors of the World" by Man-O-War
A/N: I hope this cliffhanger satisfies those who hate them heh. Expect many legendary heroes next chapter, as we enter the meat of this story. Until next time, please read and review!