Fate Humanity Bladeworks 8

(France 1431)

"Shit, shit, shit." An orange haired girl thought as she burst through the undergrowth. Everything had gone to hell the moment she had arrived! Her team consisted of Mash; Archer: Willem Tell, Saber:Gilles de Rais, Assassin of Serenity; Archer: Emiya and Rider: Marie Antoinette.

Someone or something had been waiting for them upon materialisation. Her servants had either been destroyed or scattered from her outright. Her communication to Chaldea had been severed; with that she ran. Her heartbeat was erratic, she remembered that Romani had thrown her into a Spiritron Coffin to save her life.

She had just managed to summon her servants only to lose them in this singularity! "I just hope someone can save me."

(Chaldea)

"Director, I'm detecting a reading of a survivor already…" Romani began.

"A survivor! Who is it? Do we have a name?"

Romani gulped "I'm working on it! Director? Are you going with Fujimaru, Kyrielight and Emiya or are you remaining here?"

Marie looked at her remaining senior most official "Of course I am going. Romani, keep trying to make contact with the survivor."

Shirou headed towards his coffin only for Altria to grab his hand "Shirou…swear on your honour you'll call us the moment you're able to!"

Shirou nodded "Saber Alter, Alter Artoria, I swear I'll summon you the moment I am able to."

The Blackened Artoria looked at him and nodded "Good. Now go!" With that she all but bundled him into his coffin. The assembled servants watched as the quartet shimmered and vanished.

"Artoria, our master will summon us. You, I am certain, will be at the forefront of his mind as he summons you." Sigurd stated.

As this was taking place the rest of the Servants were taking their time to prepare. "Saber, who won in the end?"

Artoria looked up to see Diarmuid nonchalantly walked over, Arturia gulped. The last time she had seen this man was impaling himself on his own spears cursing her and their masters. "Technically Kiritsugu Emiya and I were the last pair standing. Kiritsugu ordered me to destroy the grail…"

Diarmuid stated "How come? The Magus Killer from what I remember was extremely pragmatic."

Artoria shrugged "He saw something within the Grail that twisted his wish. He destroyed it, subsequently setting up the 5th Holy Grail War which occurred only ten years later. Again I was summoned into that."

Diarmuid's breathing hitched "You remembered the 4th war? Please tell me you won that one."

"I did and lost. Shirou Emiya slew Gilgamesh in solo combat. Then fought the evils of the grail and we ended up here." She decided to avoid bringing up Zelretch. "It is…good to see a familiar face."

Diarmuid chuckled at that "To think we'd be serving Masters again. You said Emiya Shirou was your master…"

"He's not his father. Far braver and a lot more suicidal. I just hope he remembers to summon us to him."

(France 1431)

The rayshift cut short. They were supposed to land on the floor but they were in free fall. Shirou cursed "Of course it'd be my luck…wait!" He spied Mash in her combat attire with Ritsuka on her back beneath her shield.

"Emiya-senpai!" Mash's hand reached out, Shirou went for it only for Mash's shield to come loose. There was the distinct feeling of metal drawing blood. "Shield of my Kings! Bring me Arturia!"

In Chaldea both Arturia and Alter began to glow "Emiya! You realise that you're summoning them in free fall!"

"Emiya! You realise you're summoning them in free fall!" Came Romani's shriek through the wrist comm.

"I'm beginning to see why the Director gets annoyed. I'd rather not splatter thank you very much! And I swore an oath!" Shirou growled as he felt a pair of arms grab him.

"Master! I have you." It was Alter. Alter turned to her counterpart "Save the Battery."

Marie Olga screamed as she found herself in freefall. In her panic she belatedly realised that she hadn't summoned Servants of her own! She had been too busy trying to prevent Emiya's volatile servants from killing everyone in Chaldea. "Director! I have you." She looked up to see Saber, the polite one, reaching for her.

"Why me! Why aren't you saving…" Marie began but out of the corner of her eye she saw the Alter Saber carrying Shirou as they fell through the sky.

With three rather heavy impacts the Masters and Servants landed. Shirou found himself going slightly dizzy as Arturia pulled him close "I was so worried that you'd not summon us, me."

Shirou nodded "Always…there were complications with the Rayshift. We were falling instead of landing on the ground and I need you to trigger Avalon effectively."

"You have the missing shield of the Once And Future King!" Marie screeched.

"I thought we'd covered this. Yes, yes I do. It has its boons and banes, boons include incredible healing and guaranteed insert Da Vinci term 'Saberface'. Bane stunts your magic. But anyway we're here. Now shall we get our servants?"

Ritsuka nodded as Mash drove her shield into the ground, the symbol of Chaldea appeared followed by Romani's face. "You guys made it."

"Only just. Of the three Masters only two of us could walk away from a thousand foot drop without a parachute. Work on your accuracy!" Olga snapped "If Emiya hadn't summoned two of his servants."

Both Arturia's looked at their consort "Did you intend to summon both of us?"

"I just pictured Arturia as I knew her, grabbed the shield, and summoned you. Low and behold the pair of you arrived." Shirou retorted.

Altria spoke "You are familiar with both of us…that would make sense. You summoned my sister as your familiar, and you used that familiarity of my sister with me, knowing I'd be most reluctant to strike you down despite you not being MY Shirou. As I am who I am and you are who you are, I suppose having to share one part of my hoard with my sister is...not so hard. But Shirou, regardless you will not order me to babysit or aid the Battery in any way shape or form."

"Batter means the Director. Arturia Alter and her do not mix. Got it." Shirou nodded "I can do that."

"The link is ready Senpai." Mash declared.

"By Chaldea's Command! Servants of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Emiya Shirou take to the field." Marie Olga chanted.

In Chaldea the assembled servants began to dissipate in golden sparks. "Be alert! Protect our Masters!" Caster Cu called out, it was a slightly redundant comment, but it was better to be said than not at all.

The group materialised finding Shirou, for those who were in Singularity F, or his respective Holy Grail War, clad very much like his Archer with a bow present along with twin swords. "Emiya, you do realise how much you look like him...don't you?" Rider stated looking the sword-specialist up and down.

"Very much so, Rider. Very much so." Shirou retorted as he stared at his team of Servants. "Sigurd, Artoria trio, Cu twins…Four Sabers, A Lancer and a Caster."

"Shielder, Rider and a Lancer." Ritsuka commented with his strike force.

Olga stared at them "I didn't have time to summon any…"

Shirou and Ritsuka looked at one another "Shirou-senpai…you've got an incredibly stacked team...how are we to do this?"

Shirou looked at his team "Alter Artoria, you'll come with me...Caster Cu, with me as well...Lancer Cu…you know as well as I do that…"

Lancer Cu nodded "Aye, Bozo, I'll go with the cute Director, as much as I like my Caster Self, I can't stand to see pretty women defenceless in enemy territory."

"Alter Me, I charge you to protect our Scabbard by all means." Artoria ordered, her tone finishing with a slight growl. "I would much rather go by myself but…"

"You know me and you don't trust my temperament or my ability to cope with the Battery's question that could be answered if she uses her brain."

Olga bristled but remained silent, inwardly she pitied Shirou and his ability to summon absurdly strong servants with near fanaticism for his well being. "Shirou-kun, I'll go with Fujimaru-kun. You have my elder sister and I think Mash and Fujimaru could do with my experience." Chirped Lily enthusiastically. "But I do request training with you."

"I'm staying with you." Sigurd stated bluntly. Shirou could feel the unwillingness but necessity of his Servants having to split themselves between the three Masters; but their survival was paramount to the Servants' wishes.

(Meanwhile somewhere in Orleans)

"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer me. I hereby swear. That I shall defeat all evil in the world. But let thine eyes be clouded with the fog of turmoil and chaos. Thou art trapped in a cage of madness, and I the summoner who holds thy chains— Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power! Come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of the Scales!—" Came the nasal voice of a Caster Servant.

The Caster Servant looked a terrible state, clad in an inky black cassock that revealed a gut, heavily muscled arms and frame and covered in a black and crimson robe laced in precious metals and if one looked closely or was sensitive to aura's the ensemble seemed emit a feeling of pure evil. His eyes in his gaunt face almost seemed to bulge out of place.

As the servants appeared before the Caster, in the dimly lit room the sound of footfalls seemed to permeate the room. As another figure, this one if you looked closely, was a spitting resemblance to Jeanne d'Arc, the Living Saint, a hero of the time. "Gilles, thank you for finishing the preparations."

Gilles de Rais, Marshal of France, Companion-in-Arms-to-Saint-Jeans, Demon Marshal and perhaps most well known Bluebeard; at least in his current guise. The mutated former Marshal squealed at the affection Jeanne had given him for his work. This Jeanne whilst looking very much like her was also quite clearly not. Where one was healthy and tanned the other looked flaxen and pale; Jeanne's eyes were a crystal blue, and forgiveness evident in them the others a pale sickly yellow that promised pain. Jeanne was clad in armour of purple and silver, pure black. "Thank you for coming, my fellow Servants. I am your Master. You know why you were summoned, yes? Destruction and slaughter, those are your orders. If a city is reveling in spring, destroy it. If a town is celebrating spring, devastate it. Not matter how evil or cruel, God will forgive your every transgression. Should He mete out punishment, that is fine in its own way. For this is no more than a means of proving God's existence and His love. —Now, then, Gilles. Please bring him here."

Gilles smiled and stepped away, only to return with a Bishop. The Bishop was in shock, his pale features rapidly turning grey! "No! This cannot be! Y-y-y-you cannot be Jeanne D'Arc! I saw you die but four days ago! Begone! Foul demon witch! I thought you…!" His words were cut off as Jeanne spoke.

"Should be in hell? Perhaps so, your Grace. Perhaps, I am in Hell."

Pierre Cuchon quailed "This is a dream! A nightmare. What else could it possibly be, other than a nightmare."

Gilles watched with a contented smile "My dearest Jeanne, I fear he's started to flee from reality. This won't do at all, no this absolutely will not do at all. We must snap him out of it."

Pierre screamed and wailed, holding onto his cross in the vain hope that someone would wake him from this nightmare. Jeanne's short fuse snapped "What will you do, Your Grace? Jeanne d'Arc, whom you accused of heresy, stands here before you. Should you not grip your crucifix and offer up a prayer to God? Should you not mock me? Scorn me? Abuse me? Trample me? And tell everyone the wicked Jeanne d'Arc is here! Should you not roar like the brave lion you are?! Go on, do it! Do it! Do it!" She roared advancing on the downed Bishop, as she did so the smell of woodsmoke and the faintest sound of flames beginning to ignite on wood was heard.

"Spa...Spare me." Pierre whimpered, in another time he would have stammered 'spa' a few more times provoking utter mockery from the Altered Jeanne.

Images in her mind came to her of a figure, rather a clothed skeleton surrounded by flames erupted into her mind "Sorry, all out of salvation. Indulgences are not for sale in this era. Now—Shall we start at your feet? If I was burned alive by holy flames... ...Then your body shall be scorched by the flames of Hell." With that the woodsmoke and flame smell intensified, manifesting as a fireball in Jeanne's hand then with unnatural speed she slammed it into the Bishop's feet then she smiled as she watched the flames rapidly consume her former executioner.

All too quickly the Bishop was consumed, leaving nothing but a charred outline behind "Not even a pile of ash…that's disappointing, I apologise for taking up your time Gilles."

"Not at all, my dear Jeanne, it was a fitting and meaningful punishment. What are we to do with the rest of the Clergy?"

Jeanne paused "Now...that is an excellent question, it's too much to question them all. Just feed the clergy to them and let The Lord sort them out. Rejoice, my ignoble Servants! The surviving clergy are yours. I, your Master, Jeanne d'Arc shall forgive you all. Devour their souls. Feast on their flesh. Savor their blood. After all, our manifestation is no different than that devil, Dracul. I have but one order. Wipe out this country, this mistake that is France. Overrun it, trample it, reap it. Let us begin with our dear Orleans. We shall return its fruitful land to a bare wasteland. Age, gender, and religious beliefs are of no importance. Make sure you kill them equally. That is the only order I give you as your Master. To that end, I have given you all the attributes of a Berserker. You may be a saint, or a hero, but now you shall dance with your broken soul. Berserk Saber, Berserk Archer, Berserk Lancer, Berserk Rider, Berserk Caster, Berserk Assassin and him. I summoned him instead of Berserker, and myself. I shall pass down judgement as this world's Ruler. Humanity has no value, for it failed to prove its love for our Lord. —They are guilty to a horrifying extent. Humanity is equally guilty, sinner and saint alike. So we shall kill them all. I will not tolerate a single one escaping." As she finished giving her instructions, in her mind visions appeared of a man in red, one who felt too much like her. "He's a foe. He's a Master!"

"One last order, bring the Red Headed Master to me, Alive."