I've been hyping a battle between Evan and Rider for a while now, and it's finally here. I'll freely admit I don't know much about army on army combat, so for Evan's army formation I went with what seemed logical based on their weapons. Also, in light of the Coronavirus causing a quarantine in my area, I'll be trying to upload once a day so you all know I'm still alright. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Fate series, Lupin III, Ni No Kuni, or My Hero Academia.
Chapter 38: Evermore Forevermore
'And all that's on everyone's mind in the wake of the incident at the docks, which saw the deaths of at least forty including Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was recently acquitted posthumously on charges of taking part of the sexual slavery of his own daughter, now identified as Sakura Matou, is just what Lupin the Third's next move is going to be.' Evan finished his burger. He had decided to get some lunch at a local Burger King. By now he had heard from Kayneth about the kidnapping of Iris by the Court of Owls. 'No doubt their next move will be to try and whittle our numbers down until there are only two left. I still have my fight with Rider soon. Better to get it over with. They'll be easier for Lupin to deceive if they think their plans are working.'
'And that was Queen Clarisse de Cagliostro, responding to accusations that her country has been harboring Lupin since his time dead,' the news continued, 'Meanwhile is America the Clinton administration…' Evan tuned the TV out, but did think back on his old friend Roland. It was thanks to Roland's own political career that he knew what it took to run a country, and Evan made sure to take his lessons to heart. It's why Evermore had prospered for so many years, even after his death. "Well, no time to sit around and think about things. I have a War to finish." He chuckled. "Never thought I'd say that…"
"Knowing Lupin he'll be ending things tonight," Zenigata noted. He was with Jotaro in his office. "So you think the war will end tonight then," Jotaro noted. Zenigata nodded. "There's only five Servants left, and Avenger's flying dragon was seen heading for the civic center. Lupin sent him there, I'm sure of it. And even knowing the Grail is supposed to manifest at the Ryudou Temple, Evan decided to go. The reason? To take out the one Servant Lupin would need him to take out. Someone only Avenger could possibly deal with." "Iskandar," Jotaro realized, "It'll be army against army."
"I've already ordered the immediate evacuation of Fuyuki City with help from the Church, the Association, and the Speedwagon Foundation," Zenigata said, "I'm just surprised the folks at Speedwagon are willing to believe all this." "Even without knowledge of Stands," Jotaro pointed out, "Speedwagon has verifiable evidence of the supernatural in the form of the Pillar Men, vampires, and the undead. It's too much of a stretch to believe in magic, especially since the Foundation keeps several Hamon users on retainer."
"By now the Mackenzies are gone from Fuyuki," Waver noted. "So much the better," Rider said sadly, "The War is reaching a fever pitch. And knowing how Assassin operates, I've a feeling he intends to end this War tonight. As for his plan, first he'll try to eliminate me somehow. Then it'll be down to just him, Avenger, Berserker, and Saber. The four who struck up a friendship at the beginning will be forced to fight for the Grail." He then noticed a set of fireworks in the sky. "And sooner than we think. It looks like Assassin is sending us a message."
The fireworks spelled out a message. "THE FUYUKI CIVIC CENTER! THE GRAIL IS MINE!" "Do you think he really has it?," Waver asked. "Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't," Rider noted, "Either way, we may have a chance to disrupt his plans here and now." Waver nodded. He hopped on the Gordian Wheel as Rider took off. However, it wasn't Lupin who was waiting for them, but Evan. "I've been waiting for, King of Conquerors. Now is finally the time to for us to test our own might against each other." Rider realized what was going on and gave a good, hearty laugh. "For the chance to fight against the Once and True King? Even falling for one of Assassin's traps makes it worth the effort!"
He turned to Waver. "I'm afraid this is one rider you cannot take part in. Even if you can't restore my old library, you can still take this chance to become a great magus." Waver realized what Rider was getting at. Iskandar might have a mighty king, but Evan was likely mightier still. Reluctantly Waver hopped off the Gordian Wheel as Rider moved to confront Evan, who already had Mornstar drawn. As the chariot rode into the sky, Evan called forth Loftwind and hopped on, flying after the King of Conquerors. Blasts of lightning were met with gusts of wind as Loftwind moved to try and ensnare the oxen driving the chariot using his serpentine body.
Rider grunted as a blast from Loftwind hit the oxen causing them to tumble out of the sky and crash-land on the ground below. Evan quickly leapt off Loftwind and drove the blade of Mornstar into the neck of one of the oxen, killing it, before roasting the other with a massive fire pillar. "That should effectively take your Gordian Wheel out of commission!," Evan said. Rider laughed. "Well played, boy! You took advantage of the fact that my chariot, powerful as it is, requires the oxen to pull it! But I hope you haven't forgotten that which made me King of Conquerors in the first place!" Evan closed his eyes as the world turned white.
When Evan could see again, he was in the middle of a white dessert. "A Reality Marble… Which can only mean…" "Correct!," Rider called out from the edge of the dessert, "A king cannot conquer without an army behind him! And here we have the very battlefield on which my men marched! That hellish field in which they followed me so that we could reach Oceanus! Ionioi Hetairoi!" Evan watched as the entirety of Iskandar's army appeared, marching in through a cloud of dust. Evan chuckled. "You think you're the only king who came here with his army!? Our little banquet should have clued you in! You only brought your army… But I brought my whole kingdom!"
Now it was Rider's turn to shield his eyes as a second Reality Marble overlaid his own. He and his army gasped as they were now on a grassy field, a vast ocean on the other side. And completing the skyline was a fantastic city of marble and stone, the high walls making it clear that now army was getting through uninvited. Around Evan were several cannons and watchtowers with archers, behind him several tents manned by armed soldiers. And then the gates of Evermore opened, and out from it marched a vast army.
Rider noted that overall it was smaller than his own, thirty-one units with maybe ten men per unit. But they looked like they can from various walks of life. In the front were four shieldmen units. Glaucus from Hydropolis with his Glauconauts. Callianeira, a merwoman from Hydropolis with her Mermagi. Oz, a security guard from Broadleaf, with the Beta Corps. And Jared, also from Broadleaf, with the Covert Ops Unit Omega. Just behind them were six spearmen units. Rumpel, a grimalkin from Ding Dong Dell, leading the Bengal Lancers. Raxel, a mousekind mercenary from Ding Dong Dell, with his Black pack.
Yung Mein, a young dogfolk from Goldpaw, with her Power Pups. Yo Ho-Ho, a beautiful dogfolk woman from Goldpaw, with her League of the Patch. Lycorias, a merwoman from Hydropolis, with her Hydropolites. And Chip, a scientist from Broadleaf, leading his robotic Gamma Squadron. Just behind them were six hammermen units. Yung's brother Long Mein from Goldpaw and his Precocious Geniuses. Chi Pi, a dogfolk from Goldpaw, with his Woodworker's Guild. Bai Gon, an elderly dogfolk from Goldpaw, with his Silver Foxes.
Phorkys, a merman from Hydropolis, with Cetus' Chosen. Drew, a Broadleaf security officer, with his Lambda Force. A Tyran the Untamed, a former bandit king leading his Tyran's Terrors. Mixed in with them were six swordsman units. The sky pirate Chingis and his Scurvy Sky-Vipers. Tabbias, a grimalkin mercenary from Ding Dong Dell, with his Kitty-Catty Cutters. The mousekind solider Grimm from Ding Dong Dell and his Moonless Knights. Ya Pi, a venerated dogfolk warrior from Goldpaw, and his Golden Wolves.
Brooke, a young female programmer from Broadleaf, leading her Alpha Females. And Kimmy, Drew's partner in Broadleaf, with her Sigma Battalion. Towards the back were five units of bowmen. Chingis' friend Khunbish with his Salty Sky-Serpents. Muriel, a young grimalkin from Ding Dong Dell with her Sisters of No Mercy. Moggie May, a grimalkin huntress from Ding Dong Dell with her Feline Firing Squad. Filippos of Hydropolis with Orion's Belters. And Helena, a cook and huntress from Hydropolis, with Helena's Hellraisers.
To one side of the army were a set of gunmen. One was Min Ti, a dogfolk soldier from Goldpaw, and her Howling Hunters. The other was Alexis, a Broadleaf special ops agent, and her Team Epsilon. On the other side were some staffmen, basically magic casters. First was Marlene, a beautiful mousekind woman from Ding Dong Dell, and her Wicked Witches. Next to her was Speio, a young mergirl from Hydropolis, with Speio's Sirens. Rider's army gasped as two wyverns flew overhead, roaring as if baying for action. "As you can see, Iskandar!," Evan called out from the front of the army, "I do not come unprepared! My army has won many a skirmish with just four units at a time! Imagine how powerful the army as a whole would be!"
Rider chuckled to himself. "That is no idle threat he boasts…" He gently patted the giant black horse that galloped up to him. "This will be a glorious final battle! Let our armies clash, and the mightier prevail! Now men! CHARGE!" "ADVANCE!" The two armies collided with each other, Rider's forces smashing against the shieldmen with limited effect while getting impaled by the spearmen. Archers on Rider's side took aim and fired toward the back where the shields were less, only to find shield were not the only defense Evermore's army brought to bear.
The massive numbers from Rider's army proved an advantage, but Rider soon learned that Evan had the means to overcome numbers. His very body glowed with the power of his Kingmaker as fallen warriors got back up, ready to fight again. One soldier managed to get close, only to get clobbered by a massive hammer. The hearty laughter that came from the rescuer was a welcome sight. "Well Evan lad," said the familiar voice of Batu, the Pirate King, "Quite another big skirmish ye've gotten yerself into." "I suppose you just can't help yourself," said Tani, Batu's daughter and Evan's wife.
"At least you have to help back you up," Bracken said as she fired her gun at a nearby soldier. "And we will be there to help as always," Leander said as he stepped forward. Evan smiled as a familiar hand landed on his shoulder. He looked to see Roland. He took aim at Rider's horse. Waver, who could see inside the marble, called out, "Holy shit, that man has a gun-" He was cut off by the sound of Roland's pistol firing, hitting Rider's horse and toppling him. "The final blow has to be yours Evan," he said, "This is your War to fight, after all."
As if realizing the same, the Army of Evermore switched tactics to clearing a path for Evan to reach Rider. Seeing the boy king coming, Rider quickly drew his own sword. 'I've size and reach, but Avenger has stamina and agility on his side.' The two armies surrounded the battlefield of the two kings as they clashed steel against steel. Finally, Evan leapt into the air evading an attack from Rider, only to come down with the full weight of Mornstar embedding itself right into Rider's chest and through his heart. As if to confirm that it was the end for him, Rider's army started to fade.
And yet, he smiled. "This is how a King of Conqueror's should die. Not an ignoble death from poison, but slain on the battlefield in glorious combat… Well done… Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum…" And with that, Alexander the Great was dead, his body vanishing as Evan retrieved Mornstar and dispelled his Reality Marble. 'Just the three of us left now…' He removed the small camera Lupin had given him to record the whole thing. "Alright Lupin, looks like from now on it's everyone for themselves. Chose your next opponent wisely, because none of us will fall for your tricks so easily."
In his hideout, Lupin grinned. "Duly noted. But man, what an army! Iskandar never stood a chance! I knew it was a good idea sending Evan after the big guy!" "To think Avenger could produce such a large Reality Marble," Kirei said, "The faith and loyalty his people have in him must be vast." "The guys giving people happily ever afters," Lupin pointed out, "And keeping to his promises. Seriously, even I'd wanna follow him if I lived in his world!" He crossed his arms and frowned. "Still, what to do now? Evan's certain to use that army again if I go up against him. And I may be reckless, but even I wouldn't be so idiotic as to take on a entire army on my own. Not when I know I'd get steamrolled."
"Perhaps you should try focusing on Saber instead," Kirei suggested, "Let Berserker handle Avenger. With his strength, victory might be possible." Lupin nodded. "Yeah. It'd be easier for me to handle All Might on his own than Evan and his entire kingdom. But first things first… We have a lady to rescue. By now the Court of Owls has caught wind of the fight, and they'll be sitting pretty thinking their plans are going as expected." He grinned, this time more maliciously. "Time to put our plans into motion. One final fight as allies before we leap at each other's throat…"
And so it's down to the final four. The Gentleman Saber, the Thief Assassin, The King Avenger, and The Hero Berserker. Read and review.
