And we have arrived once more... not much to say this time. I feel like I say that a lot... oh well!
I hope you enjoy!
"Oho! Sounds like you two had a real party down here!" Leivinia commented. The airship had just landed and a hatch opened on the side, allowing the passengers inside to disembark.
"Something like that… Caster is a real piece of work." Hamazura replied. The ground was littered with broken bones form the skeletal creatures Caster had summoned to fight against them.
"No magicians are around… it would appear that Caster had sent forces stationed here elsewhere… I wonder why?" Mark commented.
"…If it wasn't clear that this was a trap before, I think it is now…" Rin commented. The group continued to disembark one at a time, and the last one to get off the aircraft was Artoria.
"Judging from the mana flow… several other groups have begun their attack as well…" Index spoke up, Othinus sitting on the girl's head. "…If this is a trap, it must be very elaborate if it intends to account for so many invading parties…"
"…The other level 5's are here as well." Takitsubo suddenly spoke up.
"You're shitting me… all of them?" Mugino asked.
"All excluding the number six… they appear to be fighting." Takitsubo commented.
"…I feel super sorry for those magicians then… they not only have to stand up to the other level 5's, but Accelerator too? It's not going to be super pretty over there…" Kinuhata spoke.
"Any sign of Lazarus? I doubt he'd pass this opportunity up…" Leivinia asked.
"Not yet…" Takitsubo shook her head.
"He will come… it is only a matter of time… until then we should focus our efforts on liberating the Imagine Breaker from the Solution to Nothingness' custody." Mark suggested.
"…Ah, fucking hell!" Hamazura suddenly cursed. He took of his helmet and the suit opened up, and the dirty blonde got out of the powered suit.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Shirou asked.
"Just got a low power warning… this fucker should be good for at least eight hours of continuous activity…" Hamazura spoke as he inspected the powered suit. He felt around until he felt a warm liquid, and quickly pulled his hand back to wipe it off. "…Mother fucker; one of those pieces of crap hit the battery cage… it's leaking all over the place…"
"Can you fix it?" Rin asked.
"No fixing this without getting my hands on another battery… plus I don't know how to disassemble the cage… fuck, I don't even think this thing will move anymore." Hamazura sighed. "This thing is officially five-hundred pounds of useless…"
"Then get everything you need off of it so we can do the follow-through." Mugino ordered.
"…Follow-through?" Rin seemed confused.
"Right… Aneri already has jumped back to my phone… I just need this…" Hamazura fiddled with the straps currently holding the black box it had on its back in place. After a moment the large case hit the ground with a thud, and Hamazura dragged the box away a fair distance. "Alright, let it rip!"
A green beam pierced the powered suit, causing it to explode rather violently.
"H-hey! A little more warning next time! I was close to that, you know!?" Rin shouted. "Why'd you do that, anyway?"
"Standard procedure… Academy City technology cannot fall into the hands of any other power. Besides… think about what could happen if some other country got their hands on it and decided to make their own?" Mugino answered.
"…Ok, I get that but still… a little more warning would be nice…" Rin sighed. "What was in that case, anyway?"
"Some special stuff I picked up from where we got the Five_OVER." Hamazura unlocked the case and opened it up. It contained several cartridges of ammunition of varying types, as well as two guns; a high-powered assault rifle, and the infamous Barret M82A1 "Metal Eater M5," Anti-tank rifle. Hamazura took out a few cartridges as well as the assault rifle, but left the metal eater in the case as he closed it.
"Looks like you're ready for a war…" Shirou commented.
"More or less... couldn't find any explosives though, so I have to deal with what they had… saving the big guns for later." The dirty blond stuffed the cartridges into his pockets as well as loading the rifle before hauling the large case over his back; it was a lot lighter than it appeared.
"You know those won't help very much against Servants as they are…" Rin commented.
"I know… but since we've entered the realm where we're not just fighting spirits and what not… I figured this stuff could be useful." Hamazura replied. "A Servant may be able to survive these bullets… but the Five_OVER dealt with those undead-looking things well… plus a bullet can damage a human just fine, be it a magician or otherwise…"
"Likely, the masters are aboard this vessel as well… if he were to get into the right position he could eliminate them." Artoria spoke up.
"Exactly! Plus… I feel like we're going to run into a lot more magi than Servants…" Hamazura shrugged.
"…Good point, just be sure you know what you're looking at. I don't want to get shot in the back of the head or something." Rin commented.
"Please; I've used both of these babies before… I'm a lot more familiar with firearms than you'd think." Hamazura replied. "Have some faith in this shitty level 0."
"…You say that like it's a thing of pride…" Rin spoke with a deadpan expression.
"Well… he did kind-of super kick the shit out of Mug- Oww!" Kinuhata held her head as the number four level 5 suddenly chopped her head with her fake hand.
"Need-to-know basis only, Kinuhata!" Mugino shouted.
"...Ok, I'll stop questioning it…" Rin sighed. "You people from the science side are all weird…"
"You probably seem the same to them, Thighs." Leivinia commented.
"Again with this!?" Rin shouted.
"Enough! Please… let's hurry up and go so we can find Touma!" Index shouted.
"That's right; we got a mission. If we can get Kamijou-san out of here, we might be able to prevent whatever plan they have for everyone who decided to invade from succeeding." Shirou stated. The group agreed and they began to move into the Hanging Gardens through one of the many corridors.
It led them down a series of alternating paths and many passageways; it was like the interior was some kind of maze. The paths would lead to ascending and descending staircases, intersections with other paths they had already traveled, as well as a series of dead ends.
After a while, they eventually came out into a courtyard of some kind. There was no ceiling, though there were more paths to take, as well as the ground was covered in vegetation. Considering no one had seen this area before, they decided that it was a good sign and went to make a symbol on the entrance they had come from to mark where they had been.
Without warning, a beam of yellow light struck the middle of the room, completely demolishing the floor. This sent everyone hurling down in different directions as the walls below forcefully split up members of the group, and sending several down different paths to different locations as debris followed them from the destruction.
Rider materialized in one of the corridors leading to the now collapsed courtyard. He smirked for a moment as he watched the Hanging Garden's interior forcefully split everyone up due to his attack
"Let's see where you all end up… this should slow them down quite nicely… don't die before the final confrontation now; that would be extremely boring…" Rider commented as he once more turned into spirit form, leaving the area.
-Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Unknown Location-
"Hey… is everyone ok?" Shirou asked. He was coughing due to the dust from the collapse behind them.
"I'm fine… I think… ow…" Rin called out.
"T-that… seemed like it was the Rider's attack… right?" Index spoke up.
"…Hopefully I don't need to describe how much more of a pain dust is when you're this small…" Othinus chimed in. The four got up and Othinus was quick to climb back up to her post on Index's head, and they began to look around.
However, no one else seemed to be near them.
"That bastard… Caster must have tipped him off that we were coming…" Shirou cursed.
"It looks like the inner workings of the fortress lead us all down different paths… though the way back is blocked now…" Index commented. "What do we do…?"
"…All we can do is push forward and try to meet up with everyone… let's go." Shirou replied. The smaller group began to move out, eager to find their friends once more.
-Unknown Location-
"Gah… damn… what the hell happened…" Hamazura rubbed his head as he came to. His rifle was across the room, while he himself was lying against some rubble. He quickly noticed that he was alone and raced for his rifle, not trusting the situation without some kind of defense.
"Hey! Is anyone down here!?" Hamazura called out, but he didn't hear a reply. He gritted his teeth at the silence. "Hey… Takitsubo! Are you down here!?" This time he heard a small moan, and he began to move. "Takitsubo! Just keep talking and I'll find you ok…!?" It appeared that he had exited out in a large four-way hall, and thought that his girlfriend must be on one of the other paths currently blocked by the debris, and he quickly took an alternating path that seemed to lead him around.
"Hama… zura…!" The dirty blond faintly heard the cry and ran faster, turning the corner quickly to enter the nearest corridor and came to a stop.
He found Takitsubo alright, but the thing that gave Hamazura paused upon finding her was what she had landed on.
Or rather… whom.
"I-I know you're still reeling from your fall… but this position is really awkward…!" Ruler spoke. She was currently on her back while Takitsubo was lying on her chest, facing the Servant.
Perverted thoughts immediately ran through Hamazura's mind, triggering a nosebleed.
"S-sorrrryyyyy!" Hamazura cried out, turning his back on the two to try and take care of his sudden injury.
"E-eh? Is he ok? That looked really bad…!" Ruler asked.
"…It's fine… it's just Hamazura being Hamazura-y…" Takitsubo sighed.
"C-crap… are you two ok…?" The dirty blonde asked.
"Hamazura… help me up please… this is really embarrassing…" Takitsubo replied. Hamazura dropped his gun and raced to his girlfriend's side and helped her to her feet. Ruler was quick to push herself up now that Takitsubo was off of her.
"…What are you two doing here…?" Jeanne the Ruler asked.
"It's a long story…" Hamazura replied. "…Hey! My case is here!" True to his word, Hamazura's black gun case was sticking out of the rubble. He tried to pull it out, but it wasn't budging an inch, probably due to the weight of the debris. Ruler moved to try and help but just as she did, the box suddenly shot out of the rubble like a rocket, carrying the dirty blonde with it.
"…I heard all the talking, can anyone give me a hand? If I use anything I could make this collapse worse…" It was Artoria, speaking out from the hole the gun case had just been ejected from.
"…You shot me across the room… shit, I think this is how the boss feels, right!?" Hamazura shouted. He was quick to help dig Artoria out however, as was Ruler.
"So… we're all that's here… we must have been divided up…" Artoria stated once she was free. "Why are you here though, Ruler?"
"I was asking your friends the same thing…" Ruler replied. "I hadn't been able to locate any additional information aside from what you all told me, and Lancer's signal vanished shortly after you all left, so I was left with the only option of tracking down the Caster after my other paths were closed… then I discovered this fortress flying in the air, and had to retrieve a method of flying up…"
"…So you don't really know what's going on?" Hamazura asked.
"I know that something dangerous is occurring, but I do not know the details… can you please inform me?" Ruler asked.
"…Lady, Caster summoned this thing and is sending it straight toward London to smash up the place." Hamazura replied.
"…What…?" Ruler's eyes widened. "…Why? Revealing magic to the world at large is extremely dangerous, and you say the Caster intends to invade London…!?"
"Her demand was that the British Government hand over control to her. It is assumed that if her demand isn't met that she intends to destroy the city." Artoria answered.
"…That's…!" Ruler shook her head for a moment. "As I said, revealing magic to the world is dangerous, as is her current campaign against the United Kingdom… but with the full intent of genocide…!"
"Also… they're luring people here for some kind of trap." Takitsubo replied. "They kidnapped Kamijou-san and held him up as part of their display… a lot of organizations are here now trying to save them… but it's exactly what they want."
"Yeah… this entire place is a god damn trap, and they're using the boss as bait." Hamazura replied.
"…I see…" Ruler narrowed her eyes and looked down.
"…Listen, I know your stance on this stuff cause of your position, so don't worry about us. We'll be fine." Hamazura spoke.
"…No." Ruler shook her head again. "While kidnapping and even murder is not against the rules of the war, blatant mass genocide undoubtedly is, especially when there is no conceivable reason for such an action. While it appears the Lancer is on his way here, all other Servants are now aboard this vessel; none are in London and therefore it is unrelated, and this truly is Caster's fortress, then she must know this fact."
"…So you're going to help us?" Hamazura asked.
"I cannot say for sure… I will abide by the rule that I cannot interfere with battles between Servants…" Ruler trailed off. "…But please; allow me to accompany you. As long as we do not stand between Servants fighting I will help you however I can, but I need to meet with this Caster."
"If we come across her that's fine, but our main goal is saving the boss, alright?" Hamazura replied. Ruler nodded.
"I wholeheartedly understand. We may complete your objective first, as it is clear that Touma is very much related to whatever insidious plot they have created." She replied.
"…You said that the Lancer is on his way, correct? And that the rest of the Servants are here?" Artoria asked. Ruler nodded. "If Lancer appears to be approaching… then that means Lazarus must be on his way as well… but tell me, can you sense an Archer?"
"I can, let me… huh?" Ruler suddenly looked confused. "I sense… two Archers? How can this be…? One of them is approaching but the other is already on board…"
"…! Two Archers…!?" Artoria's eyes widened for a moment before her look became serious. "…So the King of Heroes saw the broadcast as well…!"
"King of Heroes? King Gilgamesh is here? Was he… wait…" Ruler began to process what she had heard. "…You are the Servant of Rin… Touma said he had a Servant left over from the previous war as well… then…!"
"…Gilgamesh is the Servant of Kamijou Touma." Artoria began. "They were not at the start, but abnormalities occurred when the one who started the Illegal Grail War being forcefully transformed into the Lesser Grail and gave Touma command seals… and through a mutual agreement they made the pact."
"…I'm lost." Hamazura sighed.
"Remember the man in golden armor that rode on top of the truck when you drove us before? That was Gilgamesh." Artoria answered.
"…So he's probably here to pick up the boss too; what's the problem then?" Hamazura asked.
"The problem is that he is more than capable of destroying the entire Hanging Gardens of Babylon if he wanted." Artoria replied. "You are correct, he is likely on his way to save Touma, but he will care little about anyone else and it is very likely that he intends to destroy the entire fortress afterward."
"…Ok shit, that's really bad." Hamazura commented. "So we have to find the boss before this Gilgamesh guy does, or else he blows this entire thing sky high!?"
"…I would like to point out, that Jeanne-san pointed out that the other Archer is here as well… so likely Minho is skulking around somewhere…" Takitsubo spoke up.
"And that's just an extra dash of fuuuuuck!" Hamazura scratched his head. "…Ok… ok, ok… and ok…" He took a deep breath. "I'm good I think… sorry Takitsubo…" The dirty blond hung his head low, but his girlfriend rubbed his back gently to help him calm down.
"I'm sorry… I can't tell the difference between Archers… one is on their way and the other is definitely on board, but a long distance away from us…" Ruler replied. Hamazura walked over to his gun case and heaved it over his back, as well as picking up his rifle.
"So… how about we start running as fast as we can before we get shot out of the sky?" He spoke.
-Unknown Location-
"Great… now we're stuck with each other…" Mugino commented.
"I don't know; Birdway is really kick-ass! Does super suck that Hamazura and Takitsubo aren't here though…" Kinuhata commented.
"Less talking, more running! The sooner we can find someone, the better our chances of finding the others!" Leivinia shouted.
"Boss, I'm feeling some explosive vibrations nearby…" Mark spoke up as the group ran forward. They had been quick to begin their exploration after the four had woken up from the sudden collapse. They kept running up and down various paths until they heard a very definite phrase that the fourth ranked level 5 clearly recognized.
"Amazing Punch!" sounded through the halls, followed by a powerful shockwave shaking the entire corridor, and that was tailed by a sudden explosion, blasting apart the left wall about fifty meters ahead.
"Hey… wasn't that…?" Kinuhata spoke up.
"…I don't even want to imagine him being here right now, much less right next door…!" Mugino held her head as if she had suddenly been struck by a migraine. Before Leivinia could even ask, another section of the wall collapsed; this time right in front of the four.
A boy was thrown through it, and he had black hair, a white headband, as well as a Rising-Sun shirt.
"Man… these guys really have some fire in their guts!" The boy spoke, hopping to his feet with ease despite being thrown through solid stone.
"…Oh son of a bitch, it is him…" Mugino groaned.
"Oho! If it isn't the number four!" Sogiita Gunha cheerfully greeted. "Long time no see… I guess the number five's assumption that you'd be here was right! Impressive!"
"I don't even want to know how she found that out…" Mugino spoke in an irritated tone.
"What are you doing? Get back in here!" Another female voice called, sticking her head in the hole Sogiita had just been thrust from. She had brown eyes and hair.
"…Misaka Mikoto too huh? I should have expected that with Kamijou's life on the line…" Leivinia commented.
"…Eh!? Not you again!" Mikoto shouted the moment she laid eyes upon the blonde cabal boss.
"Why the hell does everyone keep saying that to me!? First Kamijou, then Hamazura, and now you!" Leivinia shouted.
"…I believe it is safe to assume that you have a negative reputation with- Gah!" Mark suddenly shouted when Leivinia kicked him in the shin.
"Ugh… there's no time for this! Get back in here!" Mikoto shouted. Sogiita nodded and stepped back through as well. Curious, the group of four followed the two.
Inside was a chaotic battle to say the least. It took place in another courtyard, although despite the vegetation being present, there was a ceiling this time, implying that they were still on the lower levels. There was a large crowd of magi on one side of the room and numerous dragon tooth warriors flowing in from the various corridors leading into the room, while a small number of people on the other, but despite the difference in numbers, the conflict was very heated.
Because the small number consisted of most of the level 5 espers from Academy City.
Upon reentering the room, Sogiita rushed and leapt into the crowd of magi, forcing it to disperse with a variety of powerful blows, including several invisible attacks launched from his fists whenever he threw a punch.
"Come on! You all were so fired up before! Get over here and show me your GUTS!" He shouted, charging headfirst into his next target.
The number five, Shokuhou Misaki, was standing in-between five different men. They were dressed similarly to the magi currently trying to repel the esper forces, but all five were acting is Misaki's defense instead. The odd thing; each one had stars in their eyes.
"I must admit… this magic ability is really useful. Make sure to do your best to protect me, please~" Misaki cheerfully commented as she manipulated the five men around her with her Mental Out.
Misaka Mikoto was taking a more active approach, blasting apart the hordes of dragon tooth soldiers with her electricity. She seemed to be purposefully avoiding using her railgun, despite ample opportunities to do so, most likely due to concerns about the structural integrity of the room.
The number two, Beetle 5 who was currently taking on the persona of Kakine Teitoku, had a much more devious strategy. He was standing in the middle of the room, and although he was constantly under attack, his all white body effortlessly regenerated from whatever punishment the magi decided to inflict upon him. Those that would get in close however, would find the floor reaching up to strike them down.
As the floor around him was slowly turning white and expanding outward. It appeared superficial at a glance, what he was actually doing was slowly but surely turning the floor of the room into a substance known as Dark Matter, which he could freely manipulate with ease. The ground the magi could tread was shrinking rapidly as the number two took territory right from underneath them.
However, outside of the missing number six, one thing was amiss about the situation.
"…Where is Accelerator?" Leivinia asked. It was Beetle 5 who heard this, and pointed upward.
"The floor above." He spoke simply. Shockwaves could be felt emanating from the ceiling. A large claw suddenly shot down from the floor above, but was quickly retracted.
"W-what the super hell was that…!?" Kinuhata asked.
"A summon more than likely… I do not know if it belongs to the Caster or any of the magi here however… I suppose it would be reasonable to assume that the creature is in a fight with the top dog of Academy City then?" Mark spoke.
"Such a powerful deduction ability… hehe~" Misaki commented.
"Get back! The ceiling is coming down!" Mikoto shouted as cracks began to form in the ceiling above. The magi began to scatter upon realizing this, but it was too late for most of them as a large quadruped creature crashed through the roof, crushing and scattering a sizable amount of the magic forces with a sudden impact.
As well as Sogiita Gunha, who was right underneath the creature when it landed.
The monster had leathery skin, and seemed more akin to that of some kind of lizard with its primarily green coloring. However, the creature wasn't moving and there was a noticeable large hole in its chest.
And a boy with red eyes and white hair jumped out of that hole, landing on the plant-covered stone flooring.
"Pain in my ass…" Accelerator cursed. "What'd I miss?"
"You defeated most of the opposing forces just now… as well as crushing the number seven." Beetle 5 was quick to answer. Accelerator turned to look at the beast he had felled and shrugged his shoulders.
"…He'll live." Accelerator began to walk away. As if on cue, the large beast was forced over onto its side, and Sogiita jumped to his feet out of an imprint on the ground.
"Looks like they're all running away just because this big guy lost… they really need to show more guts than that... they were looking good before…" He looked around to see that fewer magi were left under the beast than initially thought; most were blasted away by the impact, but a few unfortunate souls were indeed felled by the fallen titan.
"…I see that you're all doing well, as expected." Leivinia spoke up after a time.
"…God damn it, not you again." Accelerator cursed. Leivinia's arms fell to her sides as she looked back at the top dog of Academy City.
"…Don't… don't talk to me…" Leivinia spoke in a depressed tone as she hung her head, turning away from the rest of the group. The fourth revelation that her presence was not welcome was enough to finally enough to break the blonde cabal boss. Mark tried his best to snap Leivinia out of her sudden mood swing but it seemed ineffective.
"So fourth rate… what the hell are you doing here?" Accelerator asked.
"Bitch controlling this flying piece of crap pissed me off a while ago." Mugino commented. "Plus Hamazura was on his way up here anyway to save Kamijou, and someone has to keep his ass out of trouble… although it appears that we've lost him…" Mugino ended that last sentence with apparent distain for the situation.
"…Fuckin figures." Accelerator cursed. "The fuckin hero goes off and gets kidnapped and everyone comes to save him? That's so fucking ironic that it could bring me to tears."
"His important power is rather infamous, you know." Misaki walked up to the group. "Also… you and Misaka-chan are a bunch of meanies for making her cry…" She was currently holding Leivinia Birdway with the back of her head stuffed right in the number five's impressive chest. The blonde cabal boss appeared to have returned to her senses, but she also seemed strangely content with the position, despite her own insecurities about her own lack of bust.
Perhaps it was due to her getting a sneak preview of what she would look like in several years a few days ago, remembering how buxom she had become herself, and was currently imagining holding a certain someone in a similar position.
"…Did… did she use her ability on her?" Mikoto blinked.
"…I don't see a remote in her hand…" Mugino commented.
"…The fuck?" Those were the only words Accelerator could muster.
"What's so surprising? A big sister has to look out for her little sisters after all!" Misaki smiled.
"You're just as old as me! Stop claiming maturity when you're only fourteen!" Mikoto shouted.
"…I'm twelve, so her being a big sister still applies here." Leivinia rose her hand up to reply.
"...I don't see any stars in her eyes…" Mugino blinked.
"… Fuck this underage bullshit; I'm going to go kill someone." Accelerator spat, walking away from the conversation.
"…It was rather crude, but he does have a point; we have little time to waste if we wish to save Kamijou Touma." Beetle 5 spoke.
"…I'd rather go get Hamazura and fuck out of this place… but I'm already here…" Mugino replied.
"Plus we don't have a super idea where he went… maybe he'll meet us over by Kamijou?" Kinuhata spoke.
"…Mark, be ready to fight. Who knows what will happen next…" Leivinia commented.
"…Understood." Mark replied, although he had less than stellar opinions about the blonde cabal boss giving such orders in the position she was in. After a moment Leivinia looked up, facing Misaki.
"…Did he just think something bad about me?" She asked.
"He did… his insult power was rather violent there~" Misaki replied with a smile.
"...Hold on, what!?" Mark shouted.
"Mark… this goes on your permanent record." Leivinia spoke. With that she and the buxom level 5 joined the group to continue their rescue operation.
"H-hold on, how did you two get to the point that the boss knew your ability already!?" Mark shouted. "A-a-and what do you mean by that? I have a permanent record!? H-hold on, wait! Boss, I'm soooorrrrryyyyyy!"
-Shirou's Group's Location-
"…How the hell did we wind up back here?" Shirou commented. The four were staring right back at the ship they had used to land aboard the Hanging Gardens.
"…Those winding staircases really make you lose track of which direction you're going, eh?" Rin replied with a disappointed sigh. "…Do you think anyone else made it back here?"
"Maybe… it can't hurt to look, right?" Index shrugged. The three made their way over to the ship, but their march was stopped halfway when a spear made of fire was unleashed from behind them and struck the aircraft, exploding violently on contact and taking the ship with it. They didn't see any bodies fly from the ensuing explosion, so it was likely uninhabited, but the act was still disconcerting.
"That is far enough, invaders…" A male voice sounded from behind. Several magi had gathered behind them. The group turned to face them, only to be face to face with another hoard of dragon tooth warriors as well. "These creatures have been entrusted to us by the lord of this castle, and your only route of escape has been destroyed… we will give you one chance; submit."
"Like hell… you bastards kidnapped my friend!" Kanshou and Bakuya once again formed in Shirou's hands. A loud whipping sound could be heard, but it was unknown where it originated.
"Don't worry; in death you shall find him once more after our plan is complete." The magus spoke. He raised his hands and magic circles appeared below them, evidence of magecraft.
The whipping sound grew louder.
"…Do your worst! We will defeat you and find our way to Touma!" Index shouted.
"Very well… at least you will… what the bloody hell is that noise!?" The magus shouted. The whipping sound was the loudest it had been and seemed to now be coming from below the platform now, although it appeared to be rising. Wind kicked up from behind the group, and they turned back to look as it appeared to be unnatural.
What they saw were three helicopters. To be specific, two AH-64 Apache attack choppers as well as transport chapter of an unknown make and model that appeared to be new.
Judging from their color as well as the model, they appeared to belong to the United States of America.
The chain guns on the attack helicopters opened fire, shredding through several of the dragon tooth soldiers as they focused their aim on the magi by the corridor entrances.
"What the fucking hell are these people doing here?! Shoot them down!" The head magician shouted, using different magic to forcefully raise the stone floor to act as a kind of cover. Several magi tried to duck out from behind their cover to attack, but where quickly shot as the hail of lead pounded their fortifications.
"What the hell…!?" Shirou shouted.
"It's… a military response to Caster declaring war on the United Kingdom…!" Othinus shouted as she was using all of her strength to hold onto Index's habit as the silver-haired nun held it down.
"Don't worry my friends! Your saviors have arrived!" A loud booming voice from some kind of microphone sounded as the transport helicopter's sides opened up, with several ropes dropping down as heavily armed soldiers used the lines to descend and land on the platform and ran past the group to open fire. The last one to drop down was bulkier than the others, and he had a large minigun heaved over his shoulder. His eyes were obscured because the combat helmet he wore hid his eyes with sunglass lenses.
"Hey… you're the commander… right? You need to get your men out of here!" Rin shouted. The large man could only laugh.
"And leave you four trapped up here to die? Not a chance! Haha! Have some faith in the cavalry!" The man moved forward and opened fire with his minigun, shredding through the dragon tooth warriors that charged the soldier's front line.
"…If he's not going to budge on this… then… cover me!" Shirou rushed forward, moving past the firing soldiers.
"Wha-!? What the hell are you doing you idiooootttt!?" Rin shouted as she began to open fire with Gandr.
"Oho? So you're a magic caster then?" The large man with the minigun commented.
"Yes! If you're going to do anything useful at all then help me cover Shirou!" Rin shouted as she resumed firing.
"Alright boys; our priority is to protect the one who just charged ahead! Light them up!" The large man shouted, and the soldiers did their best to clear the shambling undead creatures out of Hero of Justice's way. Shirou moved quickly, jumping over the raised bricks and pouncing down on the lead magician, slashing into the side of the man's torso.
"You… son of a…!" The make choked out.
"Sorry, but there's someone I have to save." Shirou replied, kicking the man back into the wall behind him, knocking him out when his head jerked back and hit solid stone. The spell raising the floor cut out, as it slowly returned to normal. As their fortification fell apart, the magi attempted to unleash any and all kinds of magic, but they were either taken out by Rin's Gandr, shot by the United States' army, or had their spells redirected back at them by Index's spell intercept.
"…Alright, the LZ is secure." The large man, clearly the one in charge spoke. Several more soldiers spilled out of the transport aircraft before it and the attack choppers left, turning around.
"H-hey… where are they going?" Rin asked.
"The attack choppers are going to assist in other heated areas… my men are going to clear a landing area for our transport so we have a way back home." The large man replied. "We arrived in time right? None of you are hurt?"
"We're fine… thanks… I don't know how well this would have gone otherwise…" Shirou spoke as he walked back.
"But you guys know about magecraft…?" Rin asked. "Just… how much do you know…?"
"About everything… unless you lot learned anything new." The large man replied, setting his minigun down and resting his hands on his hips. "The United Kingdom is in trouble and they're using Kamijou Touma as a bargaining chip or even bait to lure in people… either way in a situation like this all you can do is call their bluff… I need to pay Touma a visit anyway; it's been too long."
"You know him… personally?" Index asked. "Just who are you?"
"Ah! That'd probably help if you actually knew who I was… heh!" The large man put one foot on his minigun and undid the strap holding his combat helmet in place to take it off, revealing his black hair.
"W-what…?" Shirou spoke in shock.
"Oh… my…!" Index eye's widened.
"W-what the hell is someone like you doing here!?" Rin shouted. "D-do you know how dangerous for someone like you being here is!?"
"Of course!" Roberto Katze replied, spinning his combat helmet with one finger and pounding his chest with his other hand. "How could I not? I'm the god damn President!"
Welcome to the bottom... so thoughts on the sudden appearance of the god damn president of the United States!? I feel like it was over the top, but considering it was Roberto we're talking about here, I feel like it had to be. And for those not entirely clear, LZ is military slang for Landing Zone.
As always, I hope you enjoyed. Review at your leisure; I still love feedback.
Have a good day my friends!
Sincerely,
ArmoredCoreNineBall, your friendly (not)robotic (not)overlord (possibly)person who occasionally writes things.