Disclaimer: I don't own anything… well, maybe I do own a Zhuge Liang, Emiya, Elizabeth, and Heracles in Fate Grand Order. Other than that though, nothing.

XxX

He ducked and weaved as he approached the giant mechanical dragon that vaguely resembled a bulky man. He had long since disregarded trying to strike back, since his attacks left only superficial wounds at best, and nicks and small gashes at worst. He wasn't doing any damage to it as is, so he needed to find a moment where he could make the most of his strike.

He ducked under the giant stump of an arm that threatened to split him from waist down. He managed to avoid getting his head and the top half of his torso sawn off by ducking, but even then, it was a close call. He felt the metallic arm's backwind whip into him, and he was forced to the side due to the sheer force behind it.

Damn, never mind dividing him, that attack would have blown off his entire upper side and turned it into mush by sheer force alone.

He steadied himself, before he was forced to roll out of the way from an impending foot. Damn, dodging and weaving wasn't getting him anywhere.

He managed to avoid getting squashed, before he turned the momentum from rolling into a run. He circled around the mechanical dragon. Maybe there was something behind-

He heard a whoosh, before he turned around just to see a giant mechanical tail heading straight for him, ready to sweep him and probably crush his ribs in the process. He cursed, he wouldn't be fast enough to duck, to roll away, or do anything that might save him pain and broken bones. So instead of dodging, he raised both Kanshou and Bakuya to his chest in an intersecting manner, before he turned around and readied himself to block the tail.

The tail collided with Kanshou and Bakuya, and immediately, he gave way to it.

"Gah!" He managed to shout in alarm as the tail pushed both swords close to his body. He felt himself getting lifted, havin been literally swept off his feet. He soared through the air with the weight of a giant mechanical dragon's tail crashing onto him, and then he felt his head start swimming from the sudden lack of air.

Finally, he stopped feeling the weight on his chest, but that only meant that the tail had left. He was still flying, still soaring, and if he didn't correct himself soon, he'd land badly while rolling throu-

He didn't finish the thought as he felt his back impact on something solid, something hard. He felt the immense pressure from sudden stoppage as he slid down on what could only be a wall. As he landed on the ground, he coughed, and immediately spit out a glob of blood that had come up from his lungs. Damn, if that was any indication, his lungs were probably pierced, probably by a piece of bone, a rib that had separated maybe.

He took a second to rest, before he stood up on wobbly legs. He felt his head swimming, probably concussed, then he forced himself to remain still, before he felt his innate healing factor take charge of healing. Immediately, he found himself breathing more calmly, and he wasn't wobbling anymore. Good, the swords in his body had probably stitched over the open area in his lungs. But still, after all this was over, it would be amazing if he was still alive. Too much was getting repaired in too little time. He needed to end this before he keeled over and just die without being able to help.

He looked up, and saw Knightwalker still ducking and weaving around the Dorma Anim. He had at first, tried to get to her, but that proved difficult what with the giant mechanical dragon trying to squash him for every step he took. No, getting to her would come later. So far, the Dorma Anim didn't look like it had any sort of healing property, so its wounds would stay there until they were fixed manually. So he resolved to open up a wound that Knightwalker could use to try and shut down the Dorma Anim in one blow.

This is what fighting usually resolved to really. No talking in between fights, in between rests. A kill usually amounted to nothing more than exploiting a wound that the opponent suffered due to previous fights that he had been in.

He knew Knightwalker was smart, and he also knew that Knightwalker would no doubt understand what to do if he managed to get a shot in and open a wound. Heck, if it were even a complete stranger fighting beside him that would have also been the case. Yes, to fight an opponent, especially if the battlefield was large, one had to understand their surroundings and know where and when to strike.

The problem was the fact that he couldn't even create an opening. Couldn't even create some sort of wound that Knightwalker could exploit. The Dorma Anim was too swift in retaliation, too quick in its movements even for something as bulky as it was. This was no ordinary opponent, no ordinary dragon. This was a dragon knight, a being that was built to have the strength and raw power of a dragon, with all the flexibility and adaptive-ness of a human.

But...

He dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya. Letting both swords dissipate into motes of light as he closed his eyes and focused on his inner world. He needed two weapons, one for shooting, and one to be shot.

"Trace On." He muttered his aria as the hammer in his head fell down. Fifteen circuits flared, much more than usual, but it was to be expected. He wasn't Tracing a sword. He was Tracing a bow.

A black bow appeared in his hands, sleek and slender. The material that it was composed of was an alloy of both steel and tungsten. It was supposed to be Archer's bow, but he had no idea what it was made of, and hadn't had the time to properly Trace it in any of the three wars he had been in. So he did the next best thing, an alloy. After that, he did his best to recreate the shape and size of it, he needed to make this right, if he didn't, he risked vaporization through misfiring the arrow.

The bow was in his hand, and he took a second to look it over. After plucking the thin metallic string that would launch the arrow, he nodded his head. It would do. The make was solid and so was the image. All that was left was to just believe it to be strong enough to hold.

He closed his eyes again, this time, holding out his right hand. "Trace On."

Another hammer fell in his head as six Circuits flared. This time, he called something he was much more used to Tracing. A sword. Its blade twisted and spiraled and gave it an edge that could pierce things unlike any other. The blue handle was decorated with a few gold engravings, but the most eye catching detail to it was the fact that the handle's top portion was seemingly part of the blade of the sword itself.

Caladbolg II, the Fake Spiral Sword. An altered sword that was designed to be fired from a bow.

As he placed the sword into the bow, he thought of the reason why he hadn't done this from the get go. Simply put, he hadn't had the prana for it, not before, and not even now. Even discounting breaking the thing and just activating it, he would be left with barely enough prana to sustain four swords. He wasn't a Servant, and he wasn't contracted with a mage that could help him sustain the prana necessary. In fact, the only Noble Phantasms that he could use without getting winded or denting his reserves were Gae Bolg and Caliburn… maybe.

Regardless of his prana problems however, he hadn't the time to think of anything else. Caliburn would cause too much damage and it would spread too wide. The only reason they - he and Saber - had managed to kill Berserker was the fact that they had pierced through his skin and activated the thing inside the monster, killing him six times over. He hadn't a doubt in his mind that if he did the same here, he probably wouldn't manage to get close enough to do it again, and if he activated it before he pierced the dragon, he'd probably kill Knightwalker as well as destroy the observatory behind them.

So, Caladbolg it was. He focused and let the sword alter to properly fit the bow. He notched the bow, and immediately he felt the bow strain. Steel and tungsten weren't the most flexible materials, but they were flexible enough for this one shot. He didn't need to repeatedly fire arrow after arrow, all he needed was this one.

As he notched the bow, he looked towards the Dorma Anim. He saw Knightwalker deflect an armored paw that came towards her, before she rolled out of the way of the other. He was amazed she was properly fighting, what with the opponent being several stories taller than her. She had even managed to deflect a blow from it, just how strong was she?

He shook his head to clear away those thoughts. He needed to focus, he needed to look for an opening. Caladbolg had a habit of causing collateral damage from just passing by things, and he couldn't really fire with Knightwalker so close to the thing. The vortex that'd the sword would cause would suck her in as well. So he needed to look for an-

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He blinked as he saw a jet of red hot fire fly at the Dorma Anim from his peripheral vision. Before he could even turn to look at who had attacked the thing's back, another shout came.

"Fly my swords!" Another voice, this time female. Swords flew from the same side where the stream of fire had come from. He watched as the swords entered the stream of fire, before they collided with the exposed back of the Dorma Anim, only to have the swords bounce from its metallic scales. Even the flames the licked its back didn't seem to affect it besides giving it a red glow.

Just… what the hell was that thing made of?

He turned towards the area where the attacks had come from, and saw Natsu and the other Erza rapidly approaching the Dorma Anim. They were both shouting an intelligible war cry as they charged the exposed back. Erza had on white armor that looked like it came from a mouth of a shark with all the sharp edges to it, while Natsu charged with flaming fists ready to pummel into the dragon's back.

He followed their movement, and winced as the Dorma Anim's tail swept towards them and hit Natsu. Erza had managed to evade the swipe, but the pink-haired man wasn't so lucky and had been hit the very same way he had been earlier.

The tail swept forward, bringing Natsu with it, before it launched the man with an abrupt flick. Yup, exactly like he had been subjected to.

Another shout, this time he turned to the left side. He saw Gajeel, followed closely by Gray. Both were shouting something in tandem, before he saw Gray shoot out his palm. A flash of light, and then Gray was suddenly holding a hammer made of ice.

He watched Gray swing it in an arc, intending to hit the dragon in the side. The blow connected and he felt the vibrations that came from the hit travel through the air. That was solid, that was strong, but like all the other strikes before, it barely scratched the surface of the mechanical dragon.

That was when he noticed Gajeel, he had jumped over Gray's shoulder and shouted something. He hadn't heard what he had shouted, but he did see Gajeel throw out his right hand, before a pillar made of iron stretched out from it and collided with the hammer of ice, adding some force to it, before the ice hammer shattered under the strain of having been hit with an object much stronger and denser than it.

The pillar flowed through the crushed hammer, before it collided in the same area where the hammer had just been. This time, a louder bang echoed as iron met the steel scales of the Dorma Anim. And this time, a noticeable dent appeared.

But even still, it wasn't enough. A mechanical paw swooped towards them in retaliation, and both Gray and Gajeel barely managed to dodge as the paw swooped over their heads, but even then it was a close call. Both men backed off as soon as the paw passed them, not intent on having to dodge another strike that would no doubt come if they stayed near it.

He let out a sigh as he relaxed himself. He stared at his bow and arrow, before he shook his head. There was no way he could fire this now, not with so much people around his target. But he couldn't really dismiss it either. By nature, he wasn't one to waste anything. Food, water, energy, anything really. So he'd have to be smart about this, he'd need another vantage point, somewhere he could fire the sword without hitting anyone other than the Dorma Anim.

So he'd wait, he'd look for an opening. He let out a breath, before he collapsed on the wall behind him. Okay, now that he got a bit of respite, he realized just how screwed up he was right now.

Breathing was hard, not to mention the fact that his swords were still holding his body together, grinding against each other as he moved. The sound was unpleasant, but not something he wasn't used to. In all honesty, he should be dead. But by sheer luck (he really should thank his lucky stars he was this lucky) most of his wounds hadn't hit any sort of vital spot. Arteries may have been ripped, his lungs may have been punctured, and his entire body ached as multiple broken bones littered it, but he could still move with the swords holding him up. And that would be enough. Really, the only time he'd ever stay down is if his body gets ripped in half, or if he's pierced in any sort of vital organ, like his heart or his brain.

He let loose a deep breath, before he steadied himself and pushed himself standing. Right, he had rested enough, now he had to find a good place to fire this bow.

"Sir Shirou!" He heard a familiar voice call his name. He looked towards his right, towards where the voice came from, and saw both Wendy and Ellen approaching him in a jog. Both women were accompanied by the two Exceeds Carla and Happy, who were both floating right above the women's heads.

He nodded towards them, but even this act caused him to wince and lean back into the wall. Damn it, he just nodded his head.

He saw Wendy begin running faster, with her hand at the ready, before he shook his head and held up his right hand to stop her. "No," His voice was half-demanding and half-asking. He didn't need to be healed, he couldn't be healed. Not with his body like this. The swords that was holding up his body were too intermingled with his organs, if he was healed right now, the renewed tissues would only heal over the swords. And that… that would be appalling to have.

"But!" Wendy had finally arrived by him and was about to argue, but he just shook his head at the girl.

"Not now." He managed to ground out. He then turned towards Ellen, who was giving him a slightly perturbed look. He nodded at her, before he asked a question. "You think you can lead me up this building?" He asked her as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder and towards the building whose wall he had landed on just a while ago.

Ellen was surprised at the sudden question, before she nodded her head. "Yeah, but don't you want to-"

He shook his head, already answering her question. "If I go in there now, with those guys." He gestured towards the fighting Fairy Tail members as well as Knightwalker. They were all weaving past and taking in potshots at the Dorma Anim, their agility making them a blur as they struck and pulled back before the Dorma Anim could retaliate. It was amazing really, nowhere near Servant level, not yet. But it was close. "I'd probably get in the way as I am now. I'll support them from the rear with this." He raised his left hand, and showed them the bow he had.

He also didn't like admitting that he would get in the way. But honestly, he really would. Saber had drilled it into his head that repeatedly jumping into dangerous situations would most likely get him and his allies killed without the proper planning. And though he was content enough to stay out of the main fighting, especially here since he wasn't the only one fighting for their beliefs, that didn't mean he would just sit idly by. He could help too.

Ellen regarded him for a second, before she nodded her head again. "Alright, follow- no wait." She stopped as she looked up. Her face brightened slightly, before she nodded her head, seemingly agreeing with whatever it was she was thinking. "I've got a better idea."

He regarded her with his own confused face, before he looked up at what Ellen was looking at, and saw just what she was staring at. He smirked, well, that was also one way to get up there.

"U-uhm," He turned towards Wendy, who fidgeted slightly in her place. "E-Erza and the others told me to tell you that you should know better than to underestimate Fairy Tail…" Wendy's voice seemed to lower as she continued that sentence. But he understood the basic gist of it. Those Fairy Tail members didn't seem like the type of people that would take a fight lying down. And not only that, they seemed like a stubborn lot.

He smiled a little. "I never did." His answer seemed to confuse the blue-haired girl. "I just wanted them to know that I would have fought, regardless if they were there or not."

Wendy seemed to understand what he was saying. She nodded her head at him, a bright smile on her face as she did so. Her smile slacked however, when she saw the weapon in his hands. "What are you going to do with that bow?"

He raised the bow, before he regarded Wendy with a serious eye. "I'm going to shoot a sword from it." He then raised his right hand, where Caladbolg was resting in his hands.

Wendy saw the sword, and immediately an uneasy look appeared on her face. "But swords don't seem to affect it. Erza's swords barely managed to scratch it with Natsu's fire." Wendy's voice was quivering, but the look on her face told him that she was merely stating what she saw. She wasn't admonishing his plan; she was just trying to reason with him.

Cute really, but this wasn't just any other sword. He had seen those swords that Erza had thrown at the Dorma Anim, and while some of them had magical properties that they could be counted as Mystic Codes in his world. Caladbolg was an entirely different thing altogether.

He placed Caladbolg down on the ground, before he raised his hand and ruffled Wendy's hair with his right hand. He couldn't help it, she reminded him so much of Illya. But with Wendy, it was just innocence with her, with Illya, she genuinely liked seeing you squirm as she pointed out the faults in your plans. Rin was most aggrieved when Illya had stayed for awhile in their home and the white-haired albino woman had criticized almost everything Rin did.

"Don't worry," He gave Wendy a small smile. He noticed her red face, but didn't pay it any mind. "This isn't just another sword. Just make sure you're far from the dragon when I fire okay?" He let go of Wendy's head before he picked up the sword. He then stood up and looked at both Exceeds floating up above their heads with their wings out.

"You think you can fly me high up?" He asked, to either Happy or Carla. Really, whoever was willing was enough. He didn't necessarily need it to be as high as the building that was behind them, but he did need to get to a higher vantage point.

"I'd rather not." Unsurprisingly, that answer came from the white furred one. From Carla. "I'd rather stay with Wendy down here. Someone has to look out for her." The words were sincere, and the Exceed genuinely looked like she wanted to look out for Wendy. So he didn't put up a fight.

"I'll go then," Happy floated forward. He gave the Exceed a nod, before he stepped forward. But before the Exceed grabbed onto him, a hand circled his wrist. He turned towards the owner, and saw Ellen looking straight at him with a grim look on her face.

"The king…" She spoke, her voice soft at first, but gradually, she seemed to gain strength. "The king used to be someone I looked up to. I vowed myself to. I never believed for a second that he could turn into someone like this." Ellen gestured towards the Dorma Anim, a deep frown etched onto her face. "So, I ask you. Please stop this madness. The king's intentions are good, his methods are the one that is evil." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, 'Blame the sin' huh? Truth be told, he agreed. But an act that was evil that hurt people wasn't something he could stand. Another king had tried something like that before; believing his intentions pure and righteous, but the way he would do it was genocide. He knew that human's sought an end to things, that they were very dark creatures when in their most primal state. But… even though he accepted that fact, had used that fact to survive the Fire, had used that fact to justify leaving so many people behind. He believed that they were good as well. Inherently so even.

A contradiction, but what was he if not one himself?

So the king may look at his people with benevolence, and believe that his actions are pure, but in the end, he couldn't agree with it. He wouldn't agree with it. If that was the only way he could save his people, than he'd take the burden of looking for another way to do it for them, he wouldn't sacrifice one to save the many, not ever. If the world looked upon him as someone that was naïve and a dreamer, someone who was foolish for trying to save everyone, then so be it. But he wouldn't stop looking for a way, a way to save everyone.

He nodded his head at Ellen. Understanding her words, but not letting that stop him. "I've met people like him before." He said as he looked towards the Dorma Anim. He watched as the Fairy Tail wizards struck and smote the steel scales of the giant mechanical dragon. "And even though they are correct in their intentions, even righteous. That doesn't necessarily mean they are right." He smiled at his words. Not that long ago, he had said the same words to a man that threatened to destroy his 'self'.

He saw Ellen nod from his peripheral vision. Before he turned back towards Happy and nodded at the blue Exceed. He saw Happy fly behind him, before he felt the cat sink his paws into his shoulders and begin floating up with him. Surprisingly, the Exceed wasn't using his claws to latch onto him.

But before he could ponder on the strange way of carrying him, he heard Ellen tell him something else. "And Captain Sugarboy and Captain Hughes are still alive." Now that was alarming. He had honestly forgotten about them both. But he remembered Sugarboy being encased in ice. "I don't know about Captain Sugarboy since the last time I saw him, he was in ince, but Captain Hughes is most likely waiting for a chance to strike. The last I saw him was on the balcony with the king inside the observatory. He also had the Exceed queen as a hostage along with her servants." Hmm, so Hughes might just be lurking the shadows waiting to strike? That was troubling. No, wait, if anything, Hughes was an unknown force. It was Sugarboy who he had to worry about.

He nodded his head at Ellen in thanks for the warning. Before he suddenly felt his feet leave the ground. He looked behind him, and saw the blue Exceed carrying him with a look that could only be described as pure concentration on his face. Now he felt slightly guilty. He wasn't pushing the poor thing was he?

He let the thought simmer in his head for a second, before he pushed it aside. He'd apologize later, now though, he needed to look for the right opportunity to strike.

As Happy carried him above the battlefield to give him a better view, he realized just how much damage the fighting was causing.

Explosions rocketed the immediate area of the Dorma Anim, no doubt due to the fire that Natsu was spewing around. But though they looked destructive and ready to maim things, they were controlled. He knew this because every time an explosion would occur near one of Natsu's allies. He saw that for each explosion occurring, there was one particular explosion that didn't seem up to par with the others. Almost controlled even. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw Natsu throw a particularly large fireball from his hands, and it exploded near the Earthland Erza. The explosion was subdued, but not out of protection.

As the explosion rocked the Dorma Anim, making it slightly off kilter, Erza struck. Having approached the Dorma Anim while the explosion occurred. Her armor had changed, and she was now sporting something black with a heavy buster type sword. She had waited for the explosion to die, before she raised her sword and struck the buster sword at the spot where Natsu's fireball struck. Making the dragon backtrack slightly from the follow-up.

A distraction was what Natsu was doing. His explosions were there not just to try and maim the Dorma Anim, but it was also there to distract it and allow his allies to strike in the shadow of his own attacks.

On the other side of the dragon, both Gajeel and Gray had taken turns trying to create the most blunt force that they could to strike the dragon. At one point, he had seen Gray create a cannon made of ice, before said cannon had launched an icicle cannonball. He had no idea how he made that with the mechanisms working and without gunpowder, but it worked. The icicle cannonball having struck the Dorma Anim's backside and exploding into a thousand pieces, sending the mechanical dragon tumbling forward slightly.

Gajeel had taken that opportunity and raised both hands above his head. He shouted something he couldn't quite hear, before another hammer, similar to the previous one he had conjured, appeared. He watched as Gajeel seemed to shout, before he dropped the hammer down onto the Dorma Anim's bent form.

A shockwave flew past him from the sheer force of the hit. This shockwave had also disoriented Happy somewhat, as he felt the cat shift slightly, trying to properly get a grip onto his back.

"Whoa!" He heard Happy shout from behind him as they got higher into the air. "That was really strong!" For some reason, the blue Exceed seemed exceedingly happy about that.

He refocused on the fight. The attack patterns of the Fairy Tail mages could only be described as complimenting. When one struck, the other would follow. And while the Dorma Anim was trying its best to keep up with the Fairy Tail members, it couldn't quite meet the mark it was previously having with him and Knightwalker. Not because the Fairy Tail mages were more skilled then them. But because the Mages had something they didn't. Teamwork.

When one struck, they would immediately break away, before allowing their partner to strike in the same area. This caused the Dorma Anim to try and hit a target that had already left, and getting replaced by another one altogether. If he had to describe the attack patterns of the Fairy Tail members, he'd have to say they were like bees. Buzzing around and striking one after another to try and take down a much larger target. Not allowing the Dorma Anim to strike back as they engaged and disengaged in a dangerous game of tag the mechanical dragon.

But as he saw the Fairy Tail mages strike and weave, he also saw Knightwalker, who was circling around the dragon. Ascalon still in her hands as she searched for a place to strike.

"This is high enough Happy." He spoke up as he readied the bow. They were in a slanted viewpoint of the Dorma Anim's back. The dragon having restarted its attempts to try and strike down the mages that struck its metallic scales. Knightwalker was directly behind the Dorma Anim, looking ready to pounce as she waited for the chance to.

"Good! 'Cause I don't know if I can hold on much longer!" He heard Happy shout from behind his ear. But didn't pay it any mind. He notched Caladbolg into the bastardized Bow of Archer, before he went through the steps of Kyudo that he was so accustomed to.

But before he could even get to the first step, a rush of wind flew past both him and Happy, causing him to lose his concentration. But to his dismay, he wasn't the only one that lost their concentration. Happy had let go of him, and now he was freefalling. Again.

"Wahh!" He heard Happy shout as he heard the frantic flapping of wings. He lurched slightly as tiny paws clasped onto his foot and pulled him upwards. He looked up and saw Happy desperately clinging onto his foot, trying to pull him up as he flapped his wings hastily and frantically.

"I got you!" Happy shouted as pulled. But another gust of wind swept past him, and this time, Happy was sent tumbling away, letting him go in the process.

As he was freefalling, he looked up and towards where the gust of wind flew past them. There, he saw a rollercoaster. It was on the tail end of a turn, and he saw who was on top of it. A man with dark purple hair with a white trench coat, and even from here, he could see a manic grin on his face. Knight Captain Hughes. Ellen was right, he was in waiting.

"Wahh! Shirou!" He heard Happy shout. He turned slightly to the voice, and saw Happy frantically chasing after him. He sighed as he realized that the blue cat wouldn't make it. He was too far away, and now he was falling much to fast.

Fortunately for him, he felt another pair of paws clasp onto his back, before he felt a pair of wings flapping and sending him into a turn that turned him right-side up. He let out a small breath of relief; he wasn't in any condition to land with his current injuries.

He looked behind him, and saw white fur as well as a majestic pair of angel wings. He recognized the clothes, and he raised an eyebrow in question. "I thought you wanted to stay with Wendy?" It wasn't accusing, but curious. She had said that she didn't want to carry him up, so why was she here now?

"Wendy asked me to come and help." Was Carla's hasty reply as she continued to float upwards. He smiled a little. That girl was too nice.

He then remembered something else. "Carla, you think you can fly as I fight?" It wasn't something he had planned on doing. But with Hughes on coming down on them, he had little choice on the matter. He then looked up, towards where he last saw Hughes and his rollercoaster, and decided he couldn't wait for a reply.

"On three let go of me." He hastily said as he readied the altered Caladbolg into his hand. He dismissed the bow in the other, simply because it would be useless at this range.

"Are you out of your min-" Carla began to say, but as they passed Happy, his mental countdown had finally finished.

"Three!" He shook off Carla, who at first, tried to cling on, but then her grip slackened and soon, he was flying upwards without a winged cat gripping onto his back, right towards Hughes and his rollercoaster.

He saw Hughes' grin grow, and for a second, he wondered if this was a good idea. But then logic got thrown out the window as he just let his instincts take over, he shot his right arm forward with Caladbolg gripped into his right hand, before he shouted. "Caladbolg!"

The air started to distort around him, and he could literally see the image of Hughes and the rollercoaster begin to spiral as Caladbolg was thrust forward. He then let go of the sword, allowing its power to surge into the weapon. The Fake Spiral Sword began to twist in the air, taking with it the space around it. It wasn't on the same scale if he shot it from the bow, but it was enough to cause a distortion in space and allow the air to twist into nothingness.

The sword spiraled away from him and towards Hughes. He watched as the sword hit the front of the rollercoaster, before it ripped straight through it like it was paper. The sword began to split the rollercoaster in half, the coaster having getting separated as the sword touched it. And for a second, he wondered if he could take Hughes by surprise like he did Byro.

But he knew his luck, and so he wasn't surprised when he saw Hughes jump away from the coaster before it reached him. But although Hughes had managed to dodge the brunt force of the Fake Spiral Sword, that didn't mean he was unscathed.

Even Medea, who had the near sorcerer level of magic that was teleportation, hadn't managed to completely avoid Caladbolg even as it just rushed past her. True, Medea was under attack by Archer, who had used his bow and his superior Tracing skills to launch it, but that didn't mean the Caladbolg he had now was just some cheap knockoff. It was still a Noble Phantasm with immense power, and even though he had used Carla' momentum and his own arm power to propel it forward, that didn't mean the effects were diminished. Space still warped as it continued its flight, and even the coaster that was split in half had suffered under the immense power of space bending, as evident to the multiple pieces that were getting sucked into the spiral of Caladbolg itself.

So Hughes, though wasn't subjected to Archer level Tracing skills and bow firing, had still suffered a broken leg. He had seen his leg brush against the invisible spiral of the Caladbolg, and almost cringed as he saw it start to twist into the invisible vortex. And for a second, he wondered if it would get ripped off by the sheer pressure. Fortunately for Hughes, he had managed to clear enough distance to actually make his jump worth something, and so had survived with just a broken and mangled leg that twisted in completely uncomfortable places.

He watched as Caladbolg soared through the air, before he felt himself become weightless for a second. He realized that he had reached the apex of his impromptu launch via Carla, and was soon going to plummet to the ground… again.

But before he did, he watched as Hughes fell past him. And for a split-second, their eyes met. Hughes was upside down to him, but he could detect the scant traces of craziness and a manic induced frenzy. As Hughes' eyes passed him by, he watched as Hughes' mouth opened before he said one word to him.

"Amazing."

And then Hughes soared past him. Leaving him suspended in the air as he waited for gravity to do its job and send him plummeting down alongside Hughes.

Fortunately for him, that didn't happen. As soon as he started to fall, he felt a pair of soft paws on his back before he felt himself get pulled upwards. He looked towards his back, only to see Carla as his savior.

He felt relieved. He didn't want to go landing on the cement again, not after last time.

He smiled at the cat. "Thanks." He said to Carla.

Carla only huffed, before she flew them towards the nearby building. Interestingly enough, the debris from the split coaster hadn't been much. Most of the coaster itself had been sucked into Caladbolg's spiral, and Caladbolg itself had skyrocketed past the cloud's already. Really, that sword was designed to be the most aerodynamically powerful arrow in Archer's arsenal. And if used right, it would have also blown past the atmosphere. That is, if the connection with Gaia wasn't severed that is. But that would also raise the question, how was he able to Project when he clearly wasn't on Gaia anymore?

Before he could ponder on that question some more, he had landed on the roof of the building where he initially asked Ellen to take him to. He felt the paws on his back detach, before Carla appeared in front of him, her arms crossed and giving him a look that could only be described as perplexed.

"What was that?" Carla asked him. He shrugged his shoulders in response.

"A Noble Phantasm." He began. "And something I should have used on the Dorma Anim instead of Hughes." He could Trace another one, yes. But doing so would put him on his last dregs of energy. Tracing one and activating it took a toll on him already, Tracing another one after that would be the equivalent of him breaking one. Still though, he couldn't say it was a bad call. Hughes was there and he threatened to actually hurt Wendy and Ellen below him. Hopefully, a broken leg and a fall from this height would prevent him from doing anything rash to either. Or kill him, whatever was best.

Carla fidgeted in the air, almost looking unsure of what to make of his explanation. "That was quite…" Carla paused, as if looking for the right words to say. "Powerful. I've never seen anything like that before."

Again he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't surprised. "That was an altered version of the sword actually. It was meant for a bow." He further explained as he turned around and walked to the edge of the building. He then looked down, towards the ground, and frowned. He saw Wendy and Ellen. He could even see Happy making his way towards him and Carla. What – or rather who – he didn't see was Hughes.

That was troubling.

He shook his head. Unless Hughes possessed a magical item that could heal his leg or some magical property like his that could set broken bones, than most likely he'll be out of commission for the rest of this fight. So now he would be free to snipe out the Dorma Anim and look for the best chance to strike.

He frowned however, when he realized he would have to Trace another Caladbolg. The Tracing process itself wasn't the problem here. The problem was activating the Noble Phantasm itself. He wasn't Rin, he didn't have a nearly as much Prana as she did, and god knows how low his reserves are compared to Illya. Still, he had to continue. He didn't like people fighting a battle he was a part of and watching them get hurt.

So he closed his eyes again and focused. This time, there would be no distractions and he would hit the target.

A Magi's Tale

XxX

"This thing is tougher than it looks." He commented as Erza flew past him in her Flame Empress Armor. She had forgone using her Heaven's Wheel armor when it became apparent that even if her weapons were supported by his flames, it barely caused scratches on the hide of the mechanical dragon. So she had opted instead, to fly into his flames and strike while inside them. If he were any smarter, he would have said that was a suicidal and stupid way of attacking. But he wasn't, and so he didn't stop Erza from doing so. Besides, it's not like he'll hurt her or anything. Erza trusted him to not get her burned, so he should trust Erza's judgment to trust him. It was that simple.

Too bad simple didn't cut it here.

"Erza!" He shouted as he jumped and caught the red-haired knight after she was hit by a metal claw. It was a lucky hit, what with the mechanical dragon flailing around in an attempt to hit anyone in its vicinity. But still, that hit looked like it was solid, and Erza was sent sailing right above his head.

He landed in a roll, before he looked towards his teammate with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked as he put her down on her feet. Erza wobbled a little, before she shook her head.

"I'm fine." Erza said in between shakes of her head. "Just a little dizzy is all. I can still fight." She reassured him.

He nodded his head, not questioning her as he put his trust in her word, before he turned back to the flailing dragon. "Let's go then." He was about to jump towards the dragon to restart his attacks, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing so. He turned towards Erza, whose hand had tightened around his shoulders and was now squeezing it. "Erza?"

He looked at his teammate in worry. Whatever it was she was thinking about, it didn't look good. "I don't think we can defeat this thing with just brute strength Natsu." Erza began, her eyes never leaving the mechanical dragon.

He was about to rebuke her, to tell her of course it will, but before he could, Erza shook her head at him. "No, listen to me Natsu." Her tone was serious as she turned towards him. Their eyes locked, and he could immediately tell that Erza was serious. "Whatever we're doing, it won't be enough. The armor on that thing is too strong, and I can feel the latent magic in the air starting to get thinner. Haven't you noticed it too?"

Actually, he hadn't. If Erza hadn't pointed it out, he'd probably not have noticed that the air really was getting thinner, or that the grassy area that they were on was steadily turning brown. But still…

"What do we do then?" If they couldn't beat it with brute force, what else could they do? His only inclination was to punch it to a pulp, as with most of his other plans. But if Erza said that they couldn't beat it like that, then they probably couldn't.

"We need to find a weak spot." Erza said. He saw her eyes turn away from him and towards the metal dragon behind him. "If we can find one, we can focus all our attacks onto it. Try and overpower it before it can do anything." It was a simple plan, and he liked simple plans.

"Alright!" He said as he grinned. He turned around and began looking over the dragon. He couldn't wait until they found one, so that he could beat the thing into a thousand pieces and dance over it as it burned. How dare that thing call itself a dragon! I mean, it was as strong as one, but still, nothing compared to the original!

He kept looking over the thing, his eyes scanning up and down and around it. He watched its tail as it swept towards Gray and Gajeel, only for the latter two to jump over it. He watched as its chest opened and released a few more missiles at the other Erza who was running around the perimeter of the thing. He watched as its dragon like head begin to whirl around, looking for targets. He watched the thing closely, and surely, and completely.

He frowned as he realized there wasn't any visible weak spot.

"Re-quip." He turned around as he heard Erza. He watched as Erza's armor turned into a golden armor, with a large jousting lance in her hands that was the same color as her armor. There was no symbols on the armor, nor any kind of decoration. It was simply a knight's armor with a golden jousting lance that was a full chest taller than both of them.

"You probably noticed it too." Erza began as she heaved the tall lance and put it on her shoulder. The shoulder plate and the lance making a metallic 'clink!' sound as they met each other. "But there doesn't seem to be any noticeable weak spot." He nodded his head at Erza, who then gave him a small smile. He realized just what she was implying, and he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"I'm all fired up!" He shouted as he felt his hands ignite. No weak spots yet meant only one thing, they had to make one. And the best way to do that was to keep hitting it with all they got.

"Natsu." He turned around, and saw Erza giving him a slight smirk. He watched as Erza shifted the lance in her hand so that it was close to her chest. He realized what it was she wanted him to do, and he couldn't help but grin.

"Throw me."

XxX

He wasn't exactly sure if what they were doing was actually giving them ground. But he liked doing it, and by the indents that both he and Gray created on the dragon's metallic armor – compared to that flaming idiot's and Knight's that is – he could tell that what they were doing was causing some kind of meager effect on the thing.

With that said though, it was only just that. Meager. Blunt force trauma on something that couldn't get dizzy, that didn't have any internal organs, that couldn't be stopped with internal bleeding. True, continuously doing this might cause some kind of damage inside the thing, but with the size of the indents that they caused, he guessed it would take a hell of a lot more than just a few to actually start doing something.

Still fun though.

"Iron Dragon's Hammer!" He shouted as he brought his hand up and immediately swung it down. Another hammer formed from his hands, and again it struck the thick metallic hide of the metallic dragon. But like the strikes before it, it immediately righted itself, before it came at him with a metallic paw, ready to bisect him with its claws.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" His partner for this battle shouted, a little ways to the right of him. The clawed paw was almost upon him, but a ball made of solid clear ice struck it before it could, sending the paw off trajectory and hitting the space just to the left of him.

He took advantage of the save, as he dismissed the hammer in his hands, before he swung his right hand to the side and swept it forward. "Iron Dragon's Buster Sword!" His right hand began morphing, and soon, a giant sword that was as large as his torso and probably a head higher than him formed around his right arm. The sword swung as his arm swung, and soon, it collided with the forepaw of the metal dragon, causing a slight gash to appear that was probably just a paper-cut to it.

He jumped back, not giving the dragon any time to actually recover and take a swat at him with its paw again.

He landed right beside Gray. He turned towards the ice mage before he nodded his head at him. That was all the thanks he was going to get.

"I'm getting drained." Ignoring his acknowledgement, Gray instead chose to let out a complaint. "Forming so much ice sculptures is taking a large hit in my reserves. I don't think I'll have enough to actually take this thing down."

"Quit complaining Princess." He half-barked/half-growled at the mage. "I'm fine. If I'm fine, you're fine." He wasn't even starting to get tired. What, did the ice princess skate around too much in his ice shoes?

"That's because you're a Dragon Slayer idiot." He turned towards Gray, who was giving him a slight scowl. "I don't like admitting it, but if you compare my endurance with that of Flame Brain, I'd be half-dead and panting by the time he even starts getting sweaty. I can't keep this up for too long anymore."

Well… he did have a point. Dragon Slayers had remarkably high endurance levels, and they could potentially keep fighting for days on end without rest. But still, how Gray be tired already?

"I've been using my magic ever since my fight with Sugarboy." Ah, right. He forgot about that. "I've barely had rest before I had to come in here and fight that thing. Not that I'm complaining, but damn it, I'm running on fumes as is." Gray explained.

Well, whatever. "Just keep on hit-" He was cutoff from his reply as he heard a loud and completely animalistic shout coming from the other side of the dragon. Both he and Gray turned towards it, and both saw something that left them gobsmacked.

It was Natsu that was shouting. But that wasn't what made them surprised. No, what surprised them was the fact that Natsu was twirling around while his hands were on Erza's ankles.

And then they both spoke, immediately telling all of them what they were about to do.

"Unison Raid!" They spoke together, Natsu still pulling on Erza's ankles as he spun around with the red head. He idly wondered what they would call such a move, but decided it was irrelevant. As long as it wasn't anything outrageous.

"Fire Dragon Knight's: Piercing lance!" Natsu finished as he let go of Erza's ankles, sending the red head flying straight towards the side of the metal dragon. He watched in morbid fascination as Erza seemed to ignite and turn into a fireball, a fireball with a lance ready to run through the Dorma Anim.

Erza impacted on the metallic scales of the dragon and immediately made it stagger, the sound of metal meeting metal as they clashed and pushed against each other echoed around the area. It only lasted for a handful of seconds however, before it was replaced by the sound of metal screeching as something gave way.

He watched as Erza plunged the lance in her hand deeper into the side of the Dorma Anim, her body steadily losing the fire that surrounded it a few seconds previous. He watched as Erza, seemingly satisfied with what she had done, let go of the lance that was now stabbed half-way into the Dorma Anim's upper right chest, before she made her way away from the still recovering dragon.

The Dorma Anim let loose a roar, but it wasn't animalistic, no, it was entirely human and had the voice of the king that was no doubt piloting it. "Wretched woman! What did you do?!"

Sparks began to fly from the wound that the lance was impaled upon, surrounding the lance and arcing towards the ground around it. He had to jump out of the way as a stray bolt of electricity threatened to hit him, no doubt due to his mostly metal body.

He whistled. "Damn, that would have hurt if it hit." He had once been the lightning rod for something similar, but he could literally feel the power coming off from those off-shoot electricity arcs. He landed a ways away from the metal dragon going haywire.

He knew what Erza and Natsu had done; they had created an opening, an exploit that everyone could use. And just by leaving that lance there, Erza had ensured that everyone knew what they could do to it. So it was obvious now what should be done, what they should be doing.

But before he could move, before Gray could do anything, and before Natsu and Erza recovered from their combined use of magic, a figure with red hair in a battle bikini alone with a slightly disheveled hair that was trying to keep itself in a ponytail appeared right beside the Dorma Anim. Her eyes were hard, and she was unafraid even as streaks of electricity swept by her lithe frame. In her hands, was a spear that felt so wrong to him, but so right to that person.

Knightwalker had taken the risk of getting close to the Dorma Anim, had taken the risk of getting hit with electricity that made even him cringe, had risked getting swatted away by the still reeling dragon. To exploit the one weakness that Erza and Natsu had opened.

A flash.

Knightwalker rammed the spear right next to Erza's lance. The electricity stopped, the dragon stopped reeling, and the very air itself seemed to freeze.

Knightwalker landed on the ground, on one knee as she panted heavily. He smirked, that last attack was anti-climactic to a fault, but at least now they won-?!

He couldn't even finish his thoughts as a sudden inexplicable force suddenly erupted from the still Dorma Anim. It blew Knightwalker away, and soon, he could feel his own feet leaving the ground. He cursed as he felt his body get lifted and thrown away by a sudden explosive shockwave.

But as he landed on his back, all breath taken away from him, he heard something low and menacing and angry. He heard the howl of a dragon, a dragon in rage.

XxX

"You think you've won?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat. He had managed to avoid the brunt of the shockwave by ducking under the railing and latching onto the side of the building, but still, he felt the shockwave rock not just the building, but the foundations of it. And when he looked back up, it was to be met with a sight that made him truly see what a dragon knight was.

"You think you've bested me?"

It stood high and mighty and half as tall as the building he was on. Its hind legs were backward jointed and looking something completely nonhuman at all. The previously gray metallic scales had been replaced by pure black metal ones that seemed to drain the very light that hit it.

"I shall see a world of infinite magic for my kingdom."

Wings as black as the night sky extended, shadowing the ground beneath it menacingly, threateningly. Pinions as sharp as knives and as hard as metal coated the wings, giving it an even more menacing and ominous look.

"I shall not stand down. My reasons are just, even if my actions are not."

The head… the head was entirely draconic. A stout, black as night that elicited smoke from its nostrils. Eyes that had a slitted irises looked down at the people below its mighty visage. And large pointed ears that reminded him so much of batwings seemed to hear everything.

"I am willing to do evil, for the greater good. For the lives that I will save, for the families that will prosper, and for the people that will live. I shall kill for them."

The maws of the beast opened, and a loud warbled roar escaped it. He cringed as he held his two hands to his ears to keep the sound away. This… whatever this is. It was neither human, nor dragon. It was a dragon knight.

"Come Fairies."

The king's voice escaped the maws as it finished its roar, just like before. He looked up, and knew without a doubt, that if he did not realize the Blade Works, they would lose.

"Show me your strength."

The dragon knight's maw opened once more. But instead of a warbled roar, the humming of power echoed from within it. He knew what was coming next, and apparently, so did Carla. He had almost forgotten that the Exceed was there until she latched onto his back and began to fly him upwards at insane speeds. He looked down, towards the newly evolved Dorma Anim, towards the open maw that power coalesced in. He looked at the people below, at the members of Fairy Tail as they scrambled to get away from the incoming blast, at Knightwalker, who was running off at full speed at a safe distance, at Wendy and Ellen, who were both considerably far from the Dorma Anim itself.

He watched as the Dorma Anim's maws closed, before it pointed them straight forward and reopened.

The wave of light was comparable to that of Excalibur. It tore through the building he had been standing on, before it proceeded to rip its way through castle building after castle building one after another, before it tore through the castle walls itself. He looked at where it was headed, and saw a small floating island, not large enough to be inhabited, but respectable enough that it looked as big as the entirety of the castle itself.

He watched in horror as the wave met the island. A flash of light blinded him for a second, before he looked back up and saw the incoming soundwave. The sound of an explosion ripped through the air that was soon followed by a shockwave. Carla seemed to be having trouble adjusting, but soon, she managed to right herself. He looked back at the island, and to his horror, saw nothing there.

That… that was insane! That wasn't normal! Whatever that was, it rivaled Excalibur!

There was no feasible way of fighting the Dorma Anim now without him utilizing the Blade Works to its fullest. Yet he couldn't do that, his body was too mangled, his reserves too low. If he tried to do that, he'd only kill himself from overexerting.

He looked back towards the Dorma Anim, a grim frown on his face. But did he have a choice? If he didn't stop that thing, it would kill a lot of people. If not intentionally, then certainly accidentally. No, he couldn't allow that thing to remain standing.

But even as he set himself to fighting it, of killing himself to just make it stop. A familiar voice sounded from behind him and Carla.

"Amazing isn't it?" He knew it was Hughes, the voice and way of speaking was the same. He knew he was behind them, a good distance away. He could feel Carla's paws gripping onto him harder, telling him that she didn't want them there now.

"Indeed, perhaps now is the best time to surrender." Another voice, Sugarboy's this time. Carla's grip tightened again. He let out a strained sigh. He felt Carla begin to turn around to face the two aggressors. There, a good fifty feet away from them, were Sugarboy and Hughes. Both on wooden horses that looked like they belonged to a carousel.

He wanted them to just leave so he can fight the Dorma Anim, but knew that they wouldn't. So instead of saying anything to them, he muttered his aria under his breath as he readied himself for the inevitable fight.

"Trace, on."

XxX

Been awhile huh? Three weeks? Probably?

Sorry about that. Anyway. I've got a really good explanation that probably sounds like all other explanations. School, or college if you will.

I'm focusing on college right now because it's finals term. I'm not scared of failing any classes simply because I know I did really well on both prelims and midterms. But finals has a lot of projects and reports that I have to do. So I'm trying to focus on them first. (Reporting about anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders can be a bitch since there is a lot to cover. Yes. I am a psych major.)

Anyway, this fight will probably wrap up on the next chapter. And before people start sharpening their pitch forks and pulling out their torches. Let me remind you guys. Excalibur is anti-fortress. In Fairy Tail, there was the Jupiter cannon. Which was strong enough to destroy an entire island. Even if that entire island was composed of lacrima inside of it. The Dorma Anim is comparable to the Jupiter Cannon in the sense that it uses the magic, any kind of magic, to power their cannons. I'm not downplaying Excalibur in the slightest here. But I also want to make sure you guys don't downplay Fairy Tail either.

Anyway, this chapter… how do I feel about this? Hmm. Can't say I'm happy or sad about it. And I did take the liberty of doing something different at the end there with the king and the Dorma Anim. I took inspiration from CrimsonLord for that. And I am well aware of how weird and completely nonsensical the king is.

Anyway, I've got to ask this. Am I doing a decent job of this story? If not, how can I improve? Really, any ways you can help can go a long way. I know some people disagree with how I write, but I really want to know why they feel that way and ask how they think I can make my writing of this story or my other stories or any future projects better.

Anyway, I'm out for now. Still gotta finish my report. Woo! I hope I don't have a panic attack when I'm reporting up front in my class. I have a phobia of public speaking. I'm kidding, but still, I'm working my ass off for this report. I sure as hell hope I'm doing a good job at it. And why the hell am I telling you all this anyway? You probably don't care… probably. Would be awesome if you did though. But meh.

C.O.Y.L out, peace!

P.S: If at all I post this, and this post note is still here. That means I haven't proofread it due to lacking time to be able to. I'll get it done after I finish my report, but still, feel free to point out any grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Would help if I know what I'm looking for the next time around.

Edit: I've got an asshole anon reviewer that wanks off type-moon way too much that he thinks that a lot of things I've written are idiotic. He thinks Excalibur is the strongest weapon in the whole world and that I've nerfed Shirou. Really, I don't normally call people assholes, but this one takes the cake for wankery and idiocy. The jupiter cannon in the Fairy Tail verse managed to obliterate an island that had a giant magic sucking lacrima core. I repeat. It managed to destroy an island that was supposed to absorb magic. If the lacrima core wasn't there, everything within half a thousand mile radius would have been destroyed as well.

I can handle people disagreeing with what I've written. But asshats like this one anon reviewer that won't even logically take things objectively can grate on my nerves simple because they wank off one world and ignore the other. Excalibur is strong, I get that. But to wank it off like it was an armagedon type weapon is just stupid. Fairy Tail has armageddon type weapons, Lullaby and Fairy Law being some I can name off the top of my head. But Excalibur? I've had wankers, and I've had wankers, but this guy takes the cake for the most biased person I've ever met.