Chapter 5
The Rescue, The Rage, The Pain
Ritsuka-chan and her friends start heading through the large desert to get back to the palace in Camelot. Though, questions still swirl around the cute redhead's mind, but mostly for Jeanne. How is Artoria's condition? Can she hold out just a bit longer so that they can get the items needed to awaken the scarab's power? How many people has she murdered already? Thinking about these things already has them getting very worried. But there is no time for that. First they need to rescue Serenity, where the knights have captured and locked her up.
It takes pretty much all day, literally until they reach the palace. Night falls and they notice the big sub-knights around the castle.
"They got guards everywhere!" Mash whispers loudly.
"We must find a way around somehow….!" Jeanne says. "I should go and check up on Artoria while we are at it."
"No way!" Jalter says. "We're here to rescue Serenity. And gather the items needed to break the spell."
"I need to see her!" Jeanne argues. "Just for a little bit to make sure she is okay!"
"She's right," Ritsuka-chan says. "We just need to pray that she can hold out for a bit longer so that we will be able to give that scarab to her."
Jeanne bites her lip before nodding her head. She just needs to be a little more patient and hope that her beloved might hold out long enough for them to save her in time. The group continues on walking until they make a stop again.
"Alright, everyone," Ritsuka-chan says. "This is going to be a bit rough. If we can somehow get past the guards, we can find a way to break inside and rush toward the dungeons where Serenity might be locked up."
"So we're….fighting them?" Schera asks.
"That's dumb!" Nito says. "They'll alert everyone and who knows how many we can take down!"
"We're just gonna have to split then," Ritsuka-chan says. "Just so that we can distract at least half of them while the rest of us break in."
"No problem!" Astolfo puffs out his chest, putting a fist on it. "Leave it to me and D'eon-chan! We're quick and tough, so you girls should be able to break in if both of us gather enough guards to leave the castle wide open for you~!"
"You sure we should do this?" D'eon asks, a bit worried about his boyfriend's crazy plan.
"Well…what choice do we have? We need to rescue the girl and get the item for our spell breaking bug," Astolfo shrugs. "We may be betraying the Knights of the Round Table, but all that matters is our King's Safety. We cannot let it get worse."
"Do not worry…!" Schera says. "We will leave it to you. Be safe."
"Yeah! Be careful out there, you two!" Jalter Lily says.
Astolfo gives a toothy grin and a thumbs up. "You betcha~"
"We will return to you as soon as we can," D'eon says. "Let's go, Astolfo-chan."
"Right!" Astoflo whistles loudly and his hippogriff flies down and offers the two traps a ride. Both of them hop on and the hippogriff flies away.
Giving a nod, Ritsuka-chan turns to the rest of the group. "Let's go and wait for Astolfo's signal."
Back in the sky, Astolfo lets out a hearty laugh out loud in order for the guards to hear.
"Hahahaha! You scums!" Astolfo calls out. "Catch us if you can! Or are you chicken? Hahahaha! I don't think you can call yourselves knights because you're so pathetic!"
"What did you say!?" One archer knight growls.
"Let's get them!" The big knight with a sword says. He points his weapon forward, signaling at least 20 knights to go after them.
Astolfo turns and waves his lance while the hippogriff flies downward a little bit in order for Ritsuka-chan and the others to see. The redhead and her friends start heading around the castle to find a door while the other sub knights chase after Astolfo and D'eon. However, one knight takes notice of the group and starts to chase after them.
Jalter Lily notices and screams. "Onee-chan! Onee-samaaaa! Scary knight!"
Jalter halts and turns to the knight with a big spear pursuing them.
"Not on my watch." Jalter charges and clashes blades with the knight.
Back and forth they clash until Jalter trips him and jams her spear through his armor and kills him.
"Ugh!" She grunts. "Piece of shit."
"Come on!" Ritsuka-chan shouts. "We gotta hurry!"
The Jeanne Sisters and the rest of the group follow the cute redhead toward the back of the castle and find a door. Jalter kicks it open and they continue further down the long hallway. They find stairs which may lead them to the dungeons. Jeanne decides to take the lead this time and beckons the group to follow her.
Meanwhile, the hippogriff flies high in the sky, having the sub knights chase after the traps. The archers fire their arrows, but the hippogriff skillfully dodges them all. Astolfo laughs and prepares his lance.
"This is as far as you go!" Astolfo says as his lance glows bright yellow. The griffin glows as well. The knights that are gathered together panic. They are too close to each other and none of them are fast enough to split. Astolfo charges at them with his Noble Phantasm and hits them with an explosion
The hippogriff flies upward after that as Astolfo stands up and poses. The knights are all defeated. D'eon claps for his boyfriend's efforts.
"How's that for a crazy idea~?" Astolfo winks.
"Astolfo-chan…I never should've doubted you," D'eon gives a small smile.
Just then, they hear a familiar, angry voice just at the roof of the castle.
"Heeeeey!!" It's Mordred and she does NOT look so happy.
"Mordred?" Astolfo says. "What are you doing up there?"
"Come here! I need to give you a tough lesson!" The "son" whips out her sword and jumps in the air, high enough for her to reach the bird.
She successfully grabs Astolfo and hurls him down toward the roof.
"Astolfo-chan!" D'eon cries as the bird panics and flails around.
Mordred and Astolfo reach the roof and tumble on the ground with a loud thud. Mordred gets to her feet quickly. She is without her helmet but she still dons her knight armor.
"You have…a lot of explaining to do!!" Mordred growls.
Astolfo uses his lance to help him to his feet. "What….are you talking about?"
Mordred lashes out her sword as it glows red. "For leaving me with a rampaging father! Rrrrrraaah!" She lets out a battle cry and charges.
Astolfo blocks the attack and he struggles to keep his ground. D'eon is still on the griffin, waiting for the right moment for a sneak attack.
"Why!? Why is Father acting so evil!?" Mordred says. "She's not acting like her usual self!"
"That…Lance!" Astolfo says. "It's cursed! We need to break its spell before it gets any worse!"
"And you left me to deal with her!?" Mordred says.
"Look, we didn't do it on purpose!" Astolfo shouts. "We offered to go with Master and the rest to help find a way to save your father! And we were tasked to protect Jeanne as well! So there's no need to fight!"
"Father is getting worse and you two are not quick enough to save her!" Mordred shoves Astolfo backwards and they clash blades one after another. "My comrades were right about you! You two are nothing but weak pretty boys! You cannot do anything to help my poor father?"
"That's enough!" D'eon slashes Mordred from behind and jumps back to create distance. "Do not beat on my boyfriend!"
"You want to end up like him?" Mordred growls.
"No, we're trying to tell you something, but you won't listen," D'eon says. "Stop this madness!"
"You are the ones….who are not listening!" Mordred slashes both Astolfo and D'eon, knocking them off their feet. "Bring back my Father right now! She's getting worse and worse! She will be completely evil by the time you get to her!" She slashes again, but the two traps dodge the attack.
Both of them have no choice but to fight. Together, they charge at Mordred with both of their weapons clashing with the Red Saber's and then they bounce back to create distance. They charge again and clash weapons left and right, up and down. Sparks fly with each clash. D'eon stops one attack but get knocked off his feet and shoulder tackled to a wall. Astolfo aids him by rushing in front of him, parrying Mordred's next attack and then shoulder tackle her back. Mordred growls and charges once again. Astolfo helps D'eon back on his feet and the two use their weapons to perform diagonal uppercuts, this time knocking Mordred off her feet and send her crashing into the wall. Astolfo and D'eon approach her, not willing to fight anymore.
"You shouldn't do this…" D'eon says.
"Going out on us isn't going to help save your father," Astolfo kneels in front of Mordred.
"Father…she's going to be completely insane…." Mordred says softly. "Please…save her…"
Astolfo smiles and puts his hand on the knight's shoulder. "We will do everything we can. Please, just hold on for a bit longer. We will protect our King."
D'eon smiles as well with a nod. "Once we break the spell, she will go back to being the kind and loving Father you know."
Astolfo and D'eon nod to each other and then turn around to leave. Mordred looks down at the ground, tears dropping.
"Save Father, you two…" Mordred sobs softly. "There's not much time…."
Meanwhile*
"Alright, everyone," Jeanne says as she gestures toward the large dungeon. "Here it is. Let's hope Serenity is in there like Assassin said."
"Scary…" Jalter Lily hides behind Jalter.
"We have to find her," Nitocris says.
"Right with you on that one," Schera agrees.
"Alright, let's split and see what cell she is in," Ritsuka-chan says. "It's a girl with the mask and dark skin. We shouldn't miss it."
"I'll go with you!" Mash says, stepping beside her partner.
"But where can we find the key to her cell?" Jeanne asks.
"I'll just smash it down if I find her," Mash offers as she summons her gigantic shield.
"I'll burn it with fire if I find the cell," Jalter says, raising her spear.
"No way! You'll hurt the prisoner if you do that!" Jeanne protests.
"Listen, let's just go look for the prisoner and see what we can come up with," Ritsuka-chan says. "Come on, Mash."
"Right!" Mash nods and hops beside her Master.
The Jeanne "sisters" and Nito and Schera go the other way to find the prisoner.
Meanwhile*
"Tell us…" Lancelot says, having himself close to the girl with dark skin, a mask on her face and she has short purple hair. She is chained against the wall, about a few feet from the floor. "What do you know about the Holy City? What is your goal to rob us from our treasury?"
The girl doesn't answer. Lancelot has been there for nearly an hour and he is starting to lose patience. This girl is tough, but he will know when the other Assassin servants will follow to try and rescue the girl. However, he will kill them if they take a step close to her.
"You are testing my patience, young one," Lancelot says, still wearing a stoic expression. "The Holy City is not yours. It belongs to the one and only Lion King. You have no right to infiltrate it. Now what do you know about its secrets?"
The girl still doesn't talk.
"Fine then," Lancelot says. "You are no use to us. My men."
The sub knights with the spears raise their weapons, preparing to stab the life out of her. However, they hear the jail bars break from Mash bashing it down. Lancelot turns around in surprise. He raises his big sword and lunges forward. Mash blocks his attack and pushes his sword upward, making it open for her to bash him against the wall. The sub knights charge to attack her, but Mash spins around, knocking down each and last one of them until they are rendered unconscious. Ritsuka-chan finds the key on one of the sub knight's belt and picks it up.
She goes to the girl that is chained up. The short haired one looks up.
"Are you…Serenity?" Ritsuka-chan asks.
The girl nods.
Ritsuka-chan smiles and holds up the key. "Don't worry. I'm here to help."
The girl gives a soft gasp as the cute redhead unlocks the chains. However, Ritsuka-chan didn't count on the girl actually falling down on top of her…and their lips connected. The girl, Serenity, isn't surprised at the very least. Her mask falls off when she pulls away, revealing cute big eyes.
"I…" Serenity says, her voice soft and cute.
"Ummm…well…" Ritsuka-chan sweat drops. "This is interesting…"
Lancelot jumps to his feet. "You freed our prisoner. You won't be forgiven for this."
Mash bashes him hard, sending him into the wall again. "Guess again!"
Lancelot recovers and looks at Mash. He furrows his eyebrows as he does a double take. That armor. It looks so familiar.
"You…" he says quietly.
Mash gives a soft glare at him. Something within her is telling her that he's a familiar person. But she cannot put a finger on it. But what she does know is that he's the very reason for having her despise the knights. Or at least try to.
"Ah…" Lancelot finds himself reaching a hand out but Mash just turns and runs. Ritsuka-chan carries Serenity on her back and makes a run for it as well. Lancelot just sits there, stunned. "Have you finally…returned to me…?" He says to himself.
Meanwhile*
After letting the others know about finding and freeing Serenity, Jeanne leads everyone out of the dungeons and make their way around the castle to head back to the village. However…
"This is as far as you'll go," Gawain says as he stands in front of them, blocking their path.
"We will not let you get away this time…" A bishounen, redhead says, holding a harp in his hand.
"Sir Gawain!" Jeanne gasps. "Sir Tristan!"
The red haired knight, Tristan, nods. "I have come to aid Gawain in defeating all of you. Since he couldn't do it in the first place."
"This is actually revenge," Gawain says as he lashes out his big sword. "I will NOT let our King torture me again after my failure last time!"
"Now wait a minute!" Jeanne says, stepping forward with both fists on her chest. "Why are you doing this!? You're not the least bit concerned about what Artoria is ordering you to do!? You should at least think about this a little longer!"
"What do you mean about that?" Tristan asks.
"The Lion King is being controlled by that Cursed Lance!" Ritsuka-chan steps forward as well. "That thing is the one that told her to tell you to kill all those people!"
"Nonsense!" Gawain chuckles. "If that were the case, then we would've had noticed. But we didn't."
"Sadly, this lance has been holy since the beginning," Tristan adds. "How can we be so sure that this one is clearly cursed? We would've checked that very carefully."
"Well apparently you didn't," Jalter sighs. She raises her spear. "Now, get out of our way or be burned in Hell."
"I beg to differ…" Tristan runs his fingers on the strings of the harp, making blue sparkles appear.
Blue glowing strings appear everywhere, restraining Jalter on the arms and legs and lifting her up. Se struggles to get free, grunting, but the strings won't break. Tristan runs his fingers on the harp again, blue sparkles appearing and he shoots one big blue light at Jalter, hitting her directly, making her scream in pain. The strings disappear and she falls on the ground on her side.
"Damn…! That hurt…!" Jalter groans.
"Onee-samaaa!" Jalter Lily comes to her aid. And then she looks up at the bishounen knight. "You hurt Onee-sama! I'll make you pay for that!" She summons her spear and raises it up high. It glows light blue and she tries to perform her Noble Phantasm.
However, Tristan is faster. He runs his hands on the harp again, unleashing blue arches and lasers from the side and the sky. Jalter Lily gets hit from all sides, knocking her off her feet and falling on her side as well, rendering her injured.
"Lily, no!" Jeanne gasps. "You hurt my sisters!"
Gawain chuckles. "That's for not listening to us. Now to deliver the final blow. So long!" He summons fire from his sword and is about to strike down the two Jalters.
However, he gets ambushed by Ali Baba men surrounding him and hitting him from all sides with their swords. A large Genie appears above him and fire hits him, knocking him down.
Meanwhile, Tristan gets hit by ghost like little men from all sides as well. They trip him, pick him up while taking away his harp and throw him against the wall as hard as they could.
"Hehehe!" Nitocris chuckles. "Good! That's my Medjed~"
"This story…shall not end here…" Schera says as she lowers her staff after summoning her Ali Baba men and the large Genie.
Ritsuka-chan smiles. "Thanks a lot, you two~"
"No problem~" Nitocris says.
Schera gives a small gentle smile. "We're here to help you on your journey after all. We want to complete your story as soon as possible."
"Grrrraaaaah!" Gawain grunts as he gets to his feet. "I will not let two tanned beauties beat me!"
"Then how about you beat US then!" Astolfo rushes in and kicks Gawain in the face and sends him stumbling to the ground.
D'eon hits Tristan as soon as the red haired knight got his harp. The two traps get together, facing the knights.
"You came!" Ritsuka-chan exclaims happily.
"Hehe!" Astolfo turns and winks. "Told ya we'd return!"
"So…you have arrived," Tristan says. "How pathetic."
"Two pretty boys gonna fail again?" Gawain taunts as he gets to his feet again.
"This time, it will be different," D'eon says, readying his sword. "I will be against you, Sir Gawain."
"Haha! I will break your sword with mine in one swing~" Gawain grins as he readies his own weapon.
"Then it's you and me, Tristan!" Astolfo says as he readies his lance.
"So be it." Tristan says.
They stay still for about 30 seconds, staring down at one another. And then…they charge.