AN
"Blah" - Normal speech
'Blah' - Thoughts
BLAH... - Driver
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider
Journey through the Kaleidoscope
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider Gaim
Fate/Lock On
Chapter ?: Rise up your Flag
Pluck the fruit of Heaven, that the world maybe dyed in your image
Is that the glory you seek? Is that burden one you can bare?
Know this, the lives of men are not ours to control. Not even our own.
We cannot deny the inexorable current of fate that carries us.
But what if fate were to call you…to change the world?
To turn the course of the future?
You cannot defy your fate, but the fate of the world is in your hands…
Letting out a pain filled grunt Emiya Shirou did his best to ignore the ringing in his ears and the aching in his body as he pushed himself back onto his feet, as he did so he tried to figure out how everything had gone so horribly wrong.
In hindsight he probably should have seen this coming, he should have known that the moment that Archer had appeared before him that nothing good was going to come from today.
It had all started with a simple trip to the grocery store to restock his kitchen, something that was becoming more and more frequent since Saber had entered his life (it both amazed and baffled him that someone of her build could pack away so much food), with said Servant tagging along behind him.
Whilst on route both Master and Servant happened to run into Kumon Kaito, despite not saying anything Shirou knew that the former leader of Team Baron had been out in the Helheim Forest trying to defeat the Overlords, the mysterious beings that had the ability to control both the forest and the Inves, and judging by the large bag of supplies he had with him it was more than likely that he was heading back there.
That is when Archer appeared before them and requested their aid, judging by his tone it was quite clear that it was something that he was doing so begrudgingly. The tanned skinned Servant informed them that his Master, Tohsaka Rin, had been captured by Illyasviel von Einzbern and her Servant Berserker and, not being foolish to think that he could take down the massive Servant by himself, that he required their help to get her back.
Before he knew it Shirou found himself storming the dense forest that covered a wide area to the southwest Zawame City as he and Kaito tore through the woods on their Sakura Hurricane and Rose Attacker Lock Vehicles at high speed, Saber sitting behind him. Before long the three of them along with Archer arrived at their destination: a European style manor located deep within the lush woods like an enchanted castle from a children's story, and managed to enter without any resistance, something that didn't sit well with any of them.
Entering into a large entrance hall the party of three briefly discussed what to do next when Illya's voice suddenly filled the air welcoming them into her home as well as informing them that Tohsaka was mostly fine before suggesting that they play a little game, telling them that if they managed to find Tohsaka and get out beyond the gate before the sun started to set she would allow them to leave unharmed. However at sundown Berserker was going to wake up and was going to start hunting for them. After which she then wished them luck and the room became quiet.
With a ticking clock now hanging over them the Servant of the Sword and the two Armored Riders wasted no time in making a beeline towards the stairs and made their way up to the second level of the building to begin their search and hopefully find their captive friend as quickly as possible.
Of course expecting the miniature Master to make things easy for them was absurd and it wasn't long before all three of them, Archer having split off from them to go look for his Master the moment that Illya's disembodied voice greeted them, found themselves fighting their way through dozens of familiars along with Illya's personal maids, Sella and Leysritt if he recalled correctly, both of whom proving to be formidable opponents and forcing him to utilize most of the Lock Seeds he'd acquired.
With time continuing to tick by, Saber eventually turned to him and insisted that he go off, leaving her and Baron behind whilst he search for Tohsaka, assuring him that the two would hold off the two maids and the army of familiars. He wanted to disagree, not liking the idea of leaving them both behind however with time growing short he knew better than to argue and after cutting through several more enemies managed to break off from the fight and made his way deeper into the castle halls.
Alone now Gaim began searching for any sign of Tohsaka, checking every room that he came across whilst in the process fighting several of Illya's familiars that he came across, his 'host' clearly not wanting to make it easy for him.
After a sizable length of time spent searching and fighting the sound of footsteps from around the corner caught the samurai Rider's attention, weapon at the ready he readied himself to engage whatever was coming and to his surprise found Tohsaka looking back at him equally confused at seeing him, Archer following close behind.
Following a quick round of both of them questioning the other what the other was doing here the pig tailed Magus informed Gaim that she'd managed to free herself as well as that Illya's room, where she was held, was decorated with various items associated with Team Gaim such pictures from various sources featuring the team and even some of Gaim himself and even a large flag that bore the teams logo.
As he absorbed this information a window in the corner of Gaim's eyes caught his attention, through which he saw the sun dip begin to sink towards the horizon and seconds later a loud blood curdling roar echoed through the castle and the sound of heavy footsteps from close by were heard.
With a muttered curse Gaim grabbed Tohsaka by the wrist and led/pulled her along as they made a hasty retreat through the corridor and back towards the entrance hall, any and all protests that his fellow Master was making were ignored as the two of them ran as the only thing that mattered was getting out before Berserker could catch up with them.
They didn't get very far as a large intimidating figure then appeared from around the corner at the end of the hall, blocking their path. Berserker glared at the three, his red eye giving off a glint and his teeth gritted, as Illya then stepped out from behind him, a playful look on her child-like face.
"You didn't make it in time. Ahhhh, that's too bad Onii-san." He heard Illya say, her tone sickly sweet sounding. "Oh well, that just means that Berserker gets to play."
The moment she finished these words Berserker began to advance, a thick aura of malice radiating off of him with each slow footstep he took.
Seeing the large Servant stalking slowly towards them, Gaim was about to take a defensive stance when Archer told him and Rin to run, saying that he'd try to buy them enough time to get away.
Conjuring a pair of his signature swords Archer moved in to engage Berserker, doing his best to avert his attention away from his Master and Gaim. Whilst the mad Servant outclassed Archer in terms of size and raw strength the narrow corridor they were currently in left him fully unable to make use of his great strength or use his stone sword/axe effectively, while favouring the more nimble tanned skinned bowman.
Avoid the larger Servant's attempt to slash at him Archer pulled back, his large black bow appearing in his hand as he did so whilst at the same time conjuring a sword in his other hand, its blade shaped like a drill.
Taking the newly conjured sword Archer knocked it into his bow as if it were an arrow, pulling back the string the bladed weapon changed shape flattening out and taking on the shape of an arrow that retained its spiral shaped tip and fired, the projectile glowing red as it left the bow that the split off in several projectiles that struck Berserker, causing him to let out a roar as he was struck repeatedly.
The first arrow had barely left his bow before Archer quickly conjured up another sword, repeating the process of changing it into an arrow and fired it, only this time instead of shooting Berserker he instead fired it at the ceiling above the mad Servant, causing a large amount of rubble and debris to collapse on top of him as part of the roof caved in.
Meanwhile both Gaim and Rin watched the two Servants engage each other before the orange Armored Rider once again took hold of Rin's hand and led her away from the scene. With Berserker having cut off the most direct path the two Masters were forced to find another route back to the main entrance, all the while the two of them were forced to fight even more of Illya's familiars along the way.
It took them a while but eventually both Gaim and Rin managed to find their way back to the main entrance hall, finding Saber still engaging both of Illlya's maids. By then the sun had set and night was setting in which would mean having to fumble their way through the forest that surrounded the luxurious manor in the dark. Another thing of note was that Kaito was missing.
These things however was something that Gaim wouldn't worry about right now, his only real concern was getting himself, Saber and Rin as far away from this place as possible. "Saber, I've got Tohsaka." He called out to his Servant, getting her attention. "We're leaving now."
Before anyone could do or say anything a streak of red emerged from the corridor of the top floor and smashed through the guard rail before colliding with the ground below. Lying there was Archer, the Servant of the Bow looking pretty worse for wares.
Before anyone could react to this the sound of hurried thunderous footsteps that shook the room was heard and from the same corridor Archer had been violently thrown from emerged Berserker with Illya seated on one of his meaty shoulders, leaping from the top floor and landing on the ground below with such force the room shook and the floor beneath him cracked.
"Ahh, are you leaving Onii-san? Aren't you having fun? I'm having a blast." Illya said as she looked down from on the upper level, a smile on her face a cat might have when cornering its prey. "That one, he wasn't much fun. He tried but he still wasn't a match for Berserker. I wonder, can you and your Servant do any better!"
"Wh…(cough)...what are you waiting for, get going already." Archer grunted, several flakes of blood dripping from his mouth as he did so, he then looked over in Gaim's direction and fixed him with a stern look. "Emiya Shirou, I am trusting you to protect Rin. Now go, I…I will hold Berserker off while you...(cough)…you get away."
His piece said Archer tried to rise back up onto his feet, his legs shaking as he did so, only to fall back down into his knees.
"Archer, you can't possibly think that you can take on Berserker in your condition," Saber protested. She then ran over and placed herself between Archer and Berserker, sword at the ready. "I will hold off Berserker whilst you escape with Rin and Shirou."
Seeing this made Illya giggle in delight. "Oh my, you seem pretty eager to face Berserker." She said to the blond Servant. "Not that you stand a chance but I do hope you'll be more entertaining than the guy in the red coat was, I want to see you struggle before Berserker inevitably rips you apart."
"No one's fighting anyone, we're all leaving now." Gaim said in a stern tone. "Illya, I know that Emiya Kiritsugu was your father just as he was mine so I'm asking you, as family, to please let us leave."
Illya looked over in Gaim's direction, her playful air vanishing. "Oh, so you learned about that, did you." she said in a serious tone, a dark look spreading across her face. "That despicable man, he abandoned me, forcing me to endure all sorts of torture and experiments just to make sure I was prepared to be a Master in this damned Holy Grail War. Not that I care about it really, to be honest the Grail means nothing to me."
A smile then returned to her face. "The only reason I agreed to participate and come to this backwater country was to meet you Onii-san, I wanted to meet the stray puppy that stole my family away from me." she continued, her harsh tone softening somewhat. "It's funny, I hated you so much before I came here. My one desire was to see Berserker rip you limb from limb. But then I met you, you were nothing like how I imagined that someone raised by that man would be like. After that I couldn't bring myself to hate you no matter how much I wanted to. The amount of time I got to spend with you, watching that dance team that you used to be a part of, it's been fun,"
Just then her smile vanished. "However I am still a Master in this Holy Grail War and the rest of the Einzbern clan is expecting me to win. I'm sorry Onii-san but I can't let you go, if only you hadn't been selected as a Master things might have been different." She told him in a firm voice. "But don't worry, when I get the Grail I'll make sure we're never separated again, we'll have all the time in the world to spend together."
Beneath his helmet Gaim grimaced, seeing the state that Archer was currently in, he knew that taking Berserker, even with two Servants on his side, on was not a good idea. In a last ditch effort he'd brought up the familial connection to Illya, hoping that just maybe it would be enough to get her to see reason.
Apparently that wasn't going to happen.
Grabbing his Orange Lockseed as well as pulling out his Lemon Energy Lockseed, popping the locks on both of them and attached it to the Sengoku Driver, closing both of them.
ORANGE/LEMON ENERGY…LOCK ON…
Taking hold of the Cutting Blade, Gaim pressed it downwards causing both Lockseeds to open up. The orange armor folded up back into closed form just as a zip opened up above him, the Orange Armor Part then rose up off of Gaim's head and shoulders just as a second Armor Part shaped like lemon emerged from the zip.
The Orange Armor absorbed the Lemon, turning black before descending downwards back onto Gaim's head and shoulders once again, opening up creating chest and shoulder armor, the front decorated with dozens of yellow lemon slices as well as the symbol of Team Gaim,. He had a Sonic Arrow in one hand and the blade like crest mounted to his helmet was silver instead of its usual gold.
SOIYA! MIX! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI, ON SUTĒJI! JIMBER LEMON! HA-HA!
No sooner had Gaim assumed him new form then did things escalate quickly, letting out a roar Berskerer swung his stone weapon at Saber who used her own sword to defend herself whilst Gaim found himself being confronted by both Sella and Leysritt, using the Sonic Arrow to block their halberds.
He pulling back the Sonic Arrow Gaim quickly backed up a few steps before firing a volley of shots at the two of them which caused to halt their approach. "Tohsaka get ready to move." He said glancing over at his companion, his tone serious. "Saber Archer, soon as we get an opening we're going."
The moment he was finished saying this Gaim then launched himself forward and towards the two maids, ducking under a swing from Sella and once more engaging with Lysritt, intercepting her halberd with the Sonic Arrow. Mustering up his strength the orange Samurai Rider leaned in and with a mighty shove was able to knock Lysritt off balance causing her to stumble backwards, slashing at her with the Sonic Arrow several times to keep her on the defensive.
This approach however wasn't 100% full proof as focusing solely on Lysritt left him open to attack from Sella. Seeing her sister was having trouble Sella quickly moved into assist, slashing at his exposed back with her weapon when her halberd was intercepted by a pair of yin and yang themed falchions.
To both Gaim and Sella was surprised by the sudden appearance of Archer. Despite his current state the Servant of the Bow was more than able to hold off of the pale skinned homunculus.
Seeing that Archer was keeping Sella busy, Gaim returned his focus to dealing with Lysritt, blocking a slash from before grabbing a hold of her Halberd, managing to pull it down enough for him to swing at her and bash in the temple with the flat side of the Sonic Arrow before following this up by delivering a punch to Lysritt's jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground.
With both of Illya's maids dealt with, if only temporarily, Gaim turned his gaze in the direction where Saber and Berseker were locked in battle, at that moment Saber had intercepted another swing from the larger of Servants stone axe/sword and was bearing down on the blond haired swordswoman.
Seeing that his Servant was in a tough spot and knowing that Berseker had to be dealt with if they stood any chance of getting out of here Gaim detaching the Lemon Energy Seed from the driver and attached it to the Sonic Arrow and closed the lock.
LOCK ON…
That he the grabbed cutting Blade on his Sengoku Driver and pressed down on it quickly.
SOIYA! ORANGE SQUASH…
Taking hold of the Nocking Drawer Gaim pulled it back to its fullest width, energy gathering into the arrowhead of the weapon as before him an alternating row of orange slices and lemon slices appeared him formed a line towards Berserker.
Once Sonic Arrow reached its the maximum charge Gaim let go of the grip, the rod that it was connected to sinking back into place and firing a sparking bolt of energy fuelled by the power of both the Orange Lockseed and Lemon Energy Lockseed that passed through the line of slices, the bolt making contact with Berserker's head followed by an explosion, causing him to stumble backwards slightly.
LEMON ENERGY…
"Come on," Gaim called out to his companions, "We're getting out of here."
He didn't even wait to see if Saber, Tohsaka and Archer had even heard him, before he'd even finished this sentence Gaim was already running in the direction of the front door, the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind him was his only indication that Tohsaka and the others were following after him.
It wouldn't be easy, a roar told him that Berserker had already recovered and was on their trail along with whatever else Illya decided to throw at them but if they could just get to and through front door they might still have a slim chance of making it out of this damned place.
And then that's when it had all gone to Hell. They were mere inches away from the front door when it suddenly exploded off of its hinges and flew inwards to reveal someone standing in the remains of the doorway, a man with blond hair and blood red eyes.
According to Saber this man was an Archer Servant, the very one that had been summoned to fight in the previous Holy Grail War that had taken place ten years ago, the same war that Kiritsugu had been a participant of.
Not only that but Tohsaka recognized him as the very Servant summoned by her father and identified him by name: Gilgamesh, the legendary ruler of Ancient Mesopotamia and king of heroes. His tale immortalized as an epic poem and regarded as the basis for the hero's tale.
The following battle had been swift and brutal, even against the combined might of multiple combatants engaging him at once Gilgamesh had just been too much for them and stood victorious.
Both Sella and Lysritt had fallen quickly, the two of them proving to be no match for blond haired man.
At that moment Saber was struggling to free herself from the golden spear that had impaled itself in her shoulder and had embedded itself in the wall whilst Archer was currently buried under a pile of debris that had fallen on him when part of the ceiling had collapsed.
As for Berseker he'd managed to last longer than everyone else, shrugging off multiple weapons that had been fired at him fir the multiple golden motes that the blond haired Archer was able to conjure up, all of which were Noble Phantasm's according to Saber.
After seeing that no matter how many Noble Phantasms he threw at him the raging mountain of rage and muscle was able to seemingly shrug off Gilgamesh changed tactics, instead resorting to binding Berserker in multiple golden chains, ones that he was unable to break despite his great strength.
"BERSERKER!" No sooner had Shirou managed to get back up to his feet when the loud pitched voice of Illya got his attention and looking up he watched as the pale skinned girl was dashing towards her Servant, the dark skinned mass of muscle and rage still struggling against the chains that bound him but held strong no matter how much the mad Servant tried to free himself.
Illyasviel, member of the Einzbern family of Mages, Master of Berserker, participant in the Holy Grail War and, as he'd just recently learned, the biological daughter of his adopted father, Emiya Kiritsugu.
"Come on Berserker, rip those stupid chains apart like paper." The small girl called out to the large Servant, fear and desperation creeping into her voice. "You're supposed to be the strongest, there's no way that some dumb chains can hold you. So do it already, free yourself. I…I order you to free yourself and stomp this smug bastard's face in. Please…"
It was then a mocking chuckle accompanied by the sound of footsteps was heard. "Look at you, crying over that chained beast believing that it has wits enough to understand your words." Gilgamesh gloated. "Don't waste your time girl, even with his strength your dog will never break my golden chains no matter how many tears you shed. Now if we're done with these silly games you're coming with me, it's time to fulfil the purpose you were created for."
Shirou watched as Gilgamesh approached Illya, he couldn't help but notice the look of absolute terror on her face. That combined with the knowledge that she was Kiritsugu's daughter… 'Ahh hell…'
Before he could even begin to question himself Shirou began to run from his position, barely registering both Tohsaka and Saber calling out to him as he rushed over to Illya's position and placed himself in front of her. "She…she's not going anywhere with you."
"O…Onii-san…" Illya exclaimed, shocked by the taller redhead coming to her aid.
"What is this, you're going to defend her?" Gilgamesh said, any confusion he might have felt quickly vanished and replaced by amusement "After everything she put you through you're going to get in my way? Do you even understand what's going on or know what this thing really is?"
"Yeah, it doesn't make much sense and yes she's been a major pain for me since I first met her. I also don't claim to fully understand what's going on here or what it is you want with her. But…judging by the look on her face even I can tell Illya doesn't want to go anywhere with you. And y'know what, that's all I need." Shirou snapped defiantly, reaching down he then grabbed a larger Lock Seed from off of his belt. "I'm not letting you take Illya anywhere, so if you want her you'll have to go through me to get to her."
The moment he was finished he hit a button on the lock seed and the loop popped open before attaching it to the Sengoku Driver around his waist and closed the lock.
KACHIDOKI…LOCK ON…
Gilgamesh shook his head, a look of bemusement on his face. "'Go through you' you say." He sneered as several golden sigils appeared in the air behind him, from which the points of several bladed weapons protruded. "Very well then Mongrel, if you're going to get in my way of my prize then I'll simply step over your corpse and take it."
"Hensh…" Shirou barely had time to say before a long spear as fired from one Gilgamesh's sigils, narrowly missed the side of his head and struck the wall behind him, this was quickly followed by dozens more bladed weapons being fired in his direction kicking up a cloud of dust and debris as they hit the wall or the floor.
"EMIYA…"/"SHIROU…" Both Rin and Saber cried out as both the rust haired teen and Illya vanished in a cloud of dust, the endless barrage of weaponry from Gilgamesh continued, swords and spears continuously firing at the spot where both Shirou and Illya had been.
With a simple wave of his hand the onslaught of weaponry ceased and the room fell silent. All gathered staring at the spot where Emiya Shirou had stood, the thick cloud of dust still hanging in the air.
Both Rin and Saber looked on, wide eyed in shock and horror. For Rin she couldn't believe that Shirou had just been killed in front of her, after everything she'd somewhat convinced herself that Emiya was somehow invincible. That no matter the situation where he found himself utterly outclassed he'd find some way to survive and continue to be a headache for her with his idiocy.
As for Saber she burned with shame, inside her she could hear a voice taunting her that for once again failing, despite how strained relationship with Shirou had become as of late he had still been her Master and she had failed in her duty to protect him.
Archer, who had managed to pull himself free of the rubble that had fallen in him, looked on with a frown etched into his face. It was true that his sole wish was to see Emiya Shirou dead, so why did he feel oddly conflicted? Was it because he had not done the deed himself or could it be that somewhere inside of him, a part buried deep and abandoned part of him that was genuinely saddened by his death?
Gilgamesh looked on, his signature prideful smirk never faltering as the dust kickass up by the barrage from his Gate of Babylon slowly began to settle.
Just then an orange light began to glow amongst the dust and a burst of small balls of light that blew away the dust and debris to reveal Gaim still standing there, clad in armor that none of them had seen him clad in before.
Gaim stood adorned in orange and red studded Shogun armor with matching armor pieces on his shoulders and wrists, the symbol of Team Gaim emblazoned on the chest plate along with a pair of orange bata flags mounted to the back plate that also bore the team's symbol. Finally the helmet atop his head bore a twin finned golden crest mounted to the front of his helmet and the golden trim along the jawline gave it a more fearsome look.
KACHIDOKI ARMS! IZA, SHUTSUJIN, EI, EI, OH!
From her place behind Gaim, Illya uncrossed her arms from her face and looking up her widened as she took in the sight of the Armored Rider's new form. "Illya," She heard him say. "Are you alright?"
Unsure of what to do or say the small Master could only stare up at him. "Uhh…uh… uh huh." She managed to reply.
"That's good."" Gaim said before turning his attention back to Gilgamesh, "Like I said King of Heroes, if you want Illya you're gonna have to go through me."
From his position Gilgamesh stared back at Gaim, his initial shock at seeing that he'd managed to survive a volley from his Gate quickly dissipating and a scowl spread across his face. "You think you can challenge me mongrel, don't make me laugh." He told the Shogun themed Rider. "Beings with far more power and experience than you have tried to oppose me and their tales ended in defeat and disgrace, abandoned and forgotten."
His scowl then shifted back into his trademark smirk. "And you, you do not even begin to compare to them nor come close to being worthy of my notice. Compared to me you are nothing more than an ant trying to compete against a titan, no matter what form those little toys of yours allow you to take, your tale will end much the same as theirs did." He boasted. "I on the other hand am king, one recognized by Gaia itself, and I alone will decide the course that this world will take, that is my sacred right. Whether it to be salvation or damnation, it will be done so according to my wishes. That is the iron clad rule of this world."
Beneath his helmet Gaim's eyes narrowed. "Iron clad rule, huh." He said, shaking his head. "Damnit Sagara, you had to be right."
"What was that Mongrel?" The blond haired Servant said sternly. "Speak up, surely even one as uncouth as you knows better that to mumble in front of your betters."
"I said that Sagara was right. You talk a big game, make loud and bold declarations, but the truth is your weak." Gaim retorted, raising his new weapon, the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju, as he did so. "You, Yggdrasill. The other Masters and Servants. That goes for Tohsaka and Saber too, all of you are weak."
"Excuse me?" The blond haired man said. "I believe I must have misheard you, did you call me weak?"
"You heard me, you're weak because for all your big talk all of you are still bound by the rules that demands that sacrifices are necessary for hope. Well not me, I'm done playing by those rules." Gaim practically yelled. "So just watch King of Heroes, I'm about to take your iron clad rule and shatter it like cheap glass."
Across from him Gilgamesh was seething, Gaim's words anger pounding in his ears. "Very well then Mongrel," His growled through gritted teeth. "If you are so desperate to meet your end at my hands then I shall oblige you."
A new golden mote was conjured up slightly to the left of Gilgamesh's head, the blade of some new weapon protruding from it. Before it could be launched however Gaim pointed the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju in its direction and fired, an orb of glowing orange energy was launched from the weapon and flew towards the mote that Gilgamesh and conjured up and slammed into it, the ornate sword that it had been preparing to fire clattering to the ground.
Taken aback momentarily by this the red eyed Servant glared at Gaim before conjuring up several more motes, ready to unleash another barrage of Noble Phantasm's at Gaim. Seeing this raised his Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju again. "Illya, stay close to me." Gaim told the pale skinned girl before he brushed his hand across the DJ Table twice, a high pitched sound of a horagai music being released, before taking hold of the DJ Pitch and twisting it to its highest setting and opened fire on Gilgamesh's motes, doing his best to shoot down the various weapons as or before they could fire in his and Illya's direction.
Meanwhile Illya was doing her best to keep as close to Gaim as possible as not to be impaled by the assortment of bladed weapons, looking around she noticed as a new mote formed, however instead of firing a sword or a spear at them a golden chain sprung forth and rushed towards them.
"Onii-san…" Hearing Illya's voice Gaim glanced round and was in time to see the golden chain, one not dissimilar to the ones that had bound Berserker, flying towards him and Illya. Grabbed a hold of his Musou Saber and in one fluid motion drew it and sliced at the golden chain before it could wrap around him.
Letting out a cry Gaim practically spun his place, using both his gun and sword to shoot and cut down any Noble Phantasm or golden chain that Gilgamesh launched at him.
So engrossed in what was going on no one was aware that from above then Kumon Kaito was watching. A while ago whilst Saber had been engaged with the two pale skinned maids the Leader of Team Baron had slipped away to look for Rin on his own, after an unsuccessful search he'd made his way back to the entrance, the sounds of battle catching his attention coming from that direction as he approached.
Entering the hall from the upper floor Kaitou was greeted by the sight of Gaim doing his best to shoot to shoot down a barrage of weapon being fired at him whilst a man with blond hair clad in black clothing watched on with bared teeth and anger on his feet. The man with the blond hair, Kaitou had no idea who this was but based on the self-righteous garbage that he was spouting he already knew that he hated him.
Seeing that Emiya was having trouble against this man the leader of Team Baron pulled out his Genesis Driver and pressed it to his waist, a strap emerging from it and wrapping around before pulling out his Lemon Energy Lockseed, popped the lock and attached it to the Driver.
LEMON ENERGY…LOCK ON…
This done Kaitou took a few steps back before he ran forward, jumping up and pushed himself off of the banister. "Henshin…" He cried out, grabbing the handle of the Genesis Driver and pressed it
SODA! LEMON ENERGY ARMS! FIGHT THE POWER! FIGHT THE POWER! FIGHT, FIGHT, FI…FI…FI…FI…FIGHT!
As he descended towards the ground a red and grey Genetic Ride Wear appeared on Kaitou's body as a zipper appeared above him, opening up from which the large lemon shaped Yellow armor lowered and attached itself to Baron, opening up and giving him the appearance of a European Knight/Archer, Sonic Arrow in hand.
Hearing something coming from above Gilgamesh turned his gaze upwards and was greeted by the sight of Baron in coming, the red Rider dropping down behind him and slashing the blond haired Servant across the back with his Sonic Arrow.
Grimacing the blond haired Archer stumbled forward slightly before turning to face Baron, his face flushed in anger as the red and grey Rider slashed at him again, this time he was able to knock the Sonic Arrow away as a new mote appeared beside him from which the golden handle of a sword protruded forth.
Reaching behind him Gilgamesh drew forth an elegant looking saber that he used to slash at Baron, the two's respective weapons colliding several times before Baron surprised the Ancient King by managing to duck out of the way of one of his saber swings and lunged forward, pressing the Charging Signal against his chest.
Baron then grabbing a hold of the Nocking Drawer quickly drew it back, energy gathering along the Energy Drive Bay before firing a shot directly into Gilgamesh, the release being enough to knock both Gilgamesh and Baron backwards.
Pressing a hand against his smoking chest Gilgamesh glared Baron, his face twisted into a scowl and his teeth bared. "You…you…you little bastard…" He snarled, his knuckles turning white as his grip on his saber tightened.
"Go fuck yourself." Baron retorted as he raised his Sonic Arrow and rushed towards the King of Heroes to engage him once again.
Meanwhile, with his attention now firmly fixed on Baron, Gilgamesh's barrage of swords, spears and golden chains on Gaim ceased, the weapons that had been fired at both him and Illya dissolving into a golden mist before vanishing from view.
With a cry Gaim dashed forward towards the blond haired King of Babylon and the Knight of Spear, tossing the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju aside before leaping into the air. Hearing him Gilgamesh looked over in time to see Gaim leaping towards him, the blue and orange Rider's fist connecting with his cheek and causing him to stagger for a moment.
Gingerly Gilgamesh reached up to brush the side of his face that had been struck. "You…you struck me…" He stammered, just then the stunned look on his face twisting into pure rage. "You…you insolent little upstart, how dare you strike me. I'll have your heads for your insolence."
"If you want my head, then come and get it." Gaim retorted before he lunged at Gilgamesh, slashing at him with the Musou Saber only it to be blocked by the blade of the red eyed man's weapon, a clang of metal resonating as the two swords collided.
At the same time Baron moved into reengage Gilgamesh, slashing at him with the Sonic Arrow. Reacting quickly a new golden mote appeared from which Gilgemesh produced a new sword, its design just as elegant as the saber that he already wielded, using it to intercept the red and yellow Rider's weapon.
From his position the bound form of Berserker watched as the blue and orange and the red and yellow one Riders did their best to fight the blond haired intruder. Illya heard a low growl coming from her Servant, looking over she saw that his attention was fixed upon the point where Gaim and Baron were fighting the blond Archer. "B…Berserker…"
Snarling Berserker struggled against his bonds as he managed to pick himself up off of the ground, with a the towering demigod called upon every last ounce of his inhuman strength and with a ferocious roar and mighty flex the chains shattered before dissolving away. The sound of which caught the attention of everyone.
"I…impossible…" Gilgamesh exclaimed, his and the two Riders looking over in the direction of the mad Servant. "Those chains are capable of binding anything with divine blood, there's no way a rabid dog like him could have broken free."
Free from his bonds Berserker didn't hesitate and lunged towards Gilgamesh, reaching out and grabbing his weapon from where it had fallen as he passed by and swung it at the man that had threatened his Master.
Seeing the Greek Hero come charging towards them Gaim and Baron glanced at each other before quickly pulled back, leaving the ancient King to feel the full brunt of the giant Servants wrath.
Seeing the dark form of Berserker rushing at him Gilgamesh muttered a curse as he conjured several glowing motes, preparing to fire another barrage of weaponry in an attempt to halt the mad Servant before he could reach him.
Rolling along the ground, Gaim grabbed a hold of the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju, brushing his hand across the DJ Table twice, horagai music once more being heard, before once more with the DJ Pitch to adjust the pitch, the musing becoming slower and deeper. At the same time Baron had aimed his Sonic Arrow and pulled the Nocking Drawer back and began charging energy as he prepared to fire a shot.
Both Rider's pointed their respective weapons at the golden motes Gilgamesh had conjured up and fired, Gaim's gun firing a powerful glowing sphere that unleashes a powerful whilst Baron fired off several glowing bolts in quick succession. Regardless the results were the same, knocking the bladed weapons out of the air before they could be fired at Berserker who continued onwards towards the blond haired Servant, swinging his large weapon at him.
Growling in frustration Gilgamesh quickly raised both his swords as he tried to block Berserker's large stone sword/axe, straining under the Greek demigods inhuman strength as he stubbornly tried to hold him back, both Heroes of legend glaring at one another.
Gaim aimed his Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju at Gilgamesh and fired, his shot he fired connecting with the blades of the red eyed Kings swords and caused them to shatter, with nothing to hold Berserker large stone weapon back Gilgamesh quickly found himself being thrown backward by the larger Servants great strength.
Letting out a snarl Gilgamesh pushed himself up onto his knees, fixing a hateful glare at Berserker and the two Armored Rider, moments later the air around them was filled by dozens of glowing motes, from which the bladed ends of swords spears halberds and other such weapons protruded. The snarl on the blond haired man's scowl then twisted itself into a sinister looking grin. "Try to escape this mongrel…"
With a wordless command the, before any of them could come close to impaling the two Riders or Berserker dozens of red streaks flew through the air, striking each and every one of them and setting clattering to the ground.
"What the…" Gilgamesh exclaimed before turning his head in the direction where the red streaks had originated from and was greeted by the sight of Archer, the tanned skinned Servant standing upon the pile of debris that had fallen on him, his large black bow extended before him.
Gilgamesh face once twisted itself into a look of pure anger, baring his teeth at the Archer in the red coat as he conjured up another dozen glowing motes, a bladed weapon protruding from each of them ready to fire their respective payloads at their target.
Seeing this Archer's eyes narrowed and a deep sounding breath escaped his body. "■■■■■ ■■…" He muttered under his breath, despite not hearing Gaim felt a tingle in the back of his mind. Moments later the air around Archer seemed to ripple and exact copies of the weapons Gilgamesh had summoned appeared around him.
With a wordless command both Servants of the Bow launched their respective array of newly conjured weapons at the other, both groups of identical blades collided with each other, a ringing clang of metal striking metal filling the air before they clattered to ground.
No sooner had been neutralized Archer held out one of his hands and a sword with a drill like blade appeared above his palm before being quickly snatched up and was quickly knocked into his bow and pulled back the string, the odd looking sword changing form and taking on a more arrow like appearance as he did so, before firing it at Gilgamesh, the instant the arrow left was fired it began to glow with energy and split into dozens of streaks of energy.
Seeing the growing projectiles flying towards him Gilgamesh let out a growl of frustration as he conjured up a pair of motes from which he pulled a pair of elegant looking swords, letting out a cry as he used them to cut down the each of the glowing projectiles before they could strike him.
Whilst these exchanges was going on Saber had managed to snap herself out of her stupor, a serious look appearing on her face as she balled her fist and began to slam her it against the shaft of the spear that pinned her to the wall, hitting it again and again until it finally snapped and clattered to the ground. Gritting her teeth Saber she then placed her hands and feet on the wall to push herself along and off of what remained of the spear, landing on the ground.
Pushing past the pain in her chest Saber rose up and charged towards Gilgamesh, summoning her invisible to her hand as she did so. So focused of dealing with the projectiles fired at him by Archer Gilgamesh didn't notice Saber charging at him until he heard her let out a cry of 'have at thee…', barely having enough time to intercept her wind covered sword.
Again and again Saber hammered away at Gilgamesh, her sword slamming at the twin blades that the blond man wielded again and again which in turn forced him back a step each time their swords collided. With a final swing her weapon once again met his, as they collided the blades of the Uruk Kings cracked before shattering into shards and splinters.
With her opponent disarmed, Saber wasted little time aiming a balled fist at the blond haired Servant, catching his cheek with enough force behind her punch to caused him to stumble backward.
Seeing the blond Servant fall back both Gaim and Baron detaching their Lockseeds and placing them onto the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju and Sonic Arrow, locking them into place.
LOCK ON…/LOCK ON…
With that done Baron grabbed a hold of the Nocking Drawer of his Sonic Arrow as energy from his Lockseed coursing through the weapon. At the same time Gaim brushed his hand across the DJ Table three times before he and Baron pointed their respective weapons at Gilgamesh, sparking orange energy gathering in the gun's barrel before both of them fired.
KACHIDOKI CHARGE…
Baron's shot was the first to hit, striking the Ancient King in the chest with a glowing bolt of energy that expanded outwards creating a lemon shaped sphere from which a barrage of energy arrows were fired that relentlessly pelted Gilgamesh before he was struck in the chest by a large sphere of sparking orange energy fired by Gaim, the Uruk Kings body sparking with yellow and orange energy before being consumed in a large explosion that shook the room and caused more debris from the ceiling to fall.
Soon enough the flames and debris caused by the powerful release of energy died down to reveal a heavily dishevelled looking Gilgamesh lying they, panting heavily the blond Archer rolled himself onto his front and pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking up he found Gaim standing over him, pointing the Hinawadaidai-DJ-Ju at him.
"Like I said King of Heroes," The orange and blue Shogun Rider told the fallen Servant. "Like cheap glass."
A snarl passed Gilgamesh's lips as he glared at Gaim who didn't even so much as flinch under the Ancient Kings hatful glare. Shifting his gaze Gilgamesh glanced away from the Rider before him and over to Saber and the others, all of whom were glaring back at him with a look of defiance. Even Rin and Illya were glaring at him with a stern look on their faces, any fear they might have felt when he'd first arrived had evaporated instantly upon his defeat. Something that only served to frustrate the Uruk King even further
As much as it burned him up inside to admit it his bid to secure the Lesser Grail had ended in failure.
Breathing heavily Gilgamesh glared at the Orange Shogun. "You…you…" He growled. "Next time Mongrel, I will make you beg for death…" With that he vanished from view.
The moment Gilgamesh was gone Gaim's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh of relief, now that the battle was over he felt exhaustion set in as the adrenalin he'd been running on since entering this place was starting to fade.
"Well, that was something I could have done without." He heard Rin say with tiredness in her voice. "For a moment there I was wondering if we'd make it out of here alive."
"Indeed, we were quite fortunate." Saber added. "Gilgamesh is just as strong as he was 10 years ago. However I am most curious as to how he still exists in this world, Servants not are supposed to linger once the Grail War has concluded. "
"A mystery for another day, I'm too tired to even begin to figure that out." Rin replied. "Right now all I want to do go home and crash in my own bed."
It was then Gaim felt something collide with him and a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist, looking down he was met by the sight of Illya, the shorter "Onii-san, you did it." She said. "But why, after everything I put through."
Beneath his helmet Gaim gave the pale skinned Master a warm smile. "We did it." He replied, "And you don't need to thank me, I just did what I thought was right. We're family after all." He then glanced around him. "Although it seems we made a bit of a mess of your house."
Illya couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Yes, you did. I expect you to be a good host until the mess here is cleaned up." She said in a mock haughty tone of voice.
Gaim couldn't help but chuckle as well. "Well, it's a good thing our house has plenty of room." He replied as he patted her on the shoulder. "You and me together, just like the old man would have wanted."
Nearby Baron let out hmph. "Emiya, unless there's anything else that needs to doing I say were done here." He spoke up.
"Kaitou," Gaim replied, nodding to the red and yellow Rider. "Thank you for help, I dunno if we'd have made it if you weren't here."
"Whatever." The former leader of Team Baron replied as he turned his back on Gaim and the others and slowly began walking towards the remains of the front door. "Let's just get out of here."
Just then before anyone could say anything else a rumbling noise was heard a piece of the ceiling began to fall in around them. "Wh…what the…" Gaim exclaimed as he held Illya close to him.
"Damn, the structural integrity must have been compromised, probably caused by Gilgamesh or Emiya Shirou firing wildly and hitting the support beams during the fight." Archer cursed. "The whole place is coming down."
"Then it's best we don't dawdle." Saber added as she prepared to move.
Just as they were about to start running the roof covering the front of the building collapsed in on itself, blocking the entrance and trapping the inside.
"Well that's great," Rin groaned in frustration. "Now we're trapped."
"Come on, we need to find another way out we before we get buried." Saber told her companions in a commanding tone
It was then the sound of a zipper being pulled down caught everyone's attention and looking round they were greeted by the sight of a zipper like opening had appeared right in front of the debris pile that was blocking the front door, through which the forest of Helheim could be seen.
"Come on, that our way out." Baron cried out before he took off running towards the opening.
Seizing Illya around the waist, the pale skinned Master letting out an epp as he did so, Gaim lifted her up before he made a mad dash towards the opening, blocking out everything that was going on and focusing solely on getting out before the building could collapse to top of him, Rin and the others following close behind.
As he ran a cracking noise from above Gaim and Illya was heard, beam and a large portion of the ceiling falling toward them. Before the beam and debris could crush them Berserker appeared before the pair, using his legendary strength to hold up the section of the roof, as he did so the dark skinned man glanced over at Gaim, fixing him with his glowing red eye.
As the Berserker fixed his gaze at him the Shogun themed Rider heard a faint growl emanating from the large Servant before him, he couldn't explain how or why but somehow he got the feeling that Berserker was telling him to take care of his Master.
Tightening his grip on Illya, Gaim was once again on the move dashing toward the opening, moment by moment he drew closer to it, after folding prana through his system, Gaim practically dived forwards carrying himself and Illya through the zipper like opening.
The moment that he and Illya were through the opening Gaim and found himself with in the flush forest of Helheim where Baron, Saber, Rin and Archer were already located. No sooner had the two of them passed through the opening that had brought them here sealing itself then moment all of them were through. Just as in the place they had just escaped from the sun had set and darkness was falling upon the forest.
"Just great," Gaim groaned as he set Illya down. "Trapped in Helheim with no supplies, no way out and no idea where we are."
"Helheim?" Rin muttered, fixing both Gaim and Baron with a narrowed eyed look.
Meanwhile Saber had been looking around when she noticed a strange looking fruit growing on the branch of a nearby tree. Ambling over the blond haired Servant reached out and plucked it. "What do you mean Shirou." She said as she presented the fruit that she had just picked. "With all this fruit growing here we have plenty of food."
"Saber, don't eat that." Gaim cried out as he slapped the fruit out of his Servants hand. "You can't can eat the fruit from here. None of us can eat it."
"S…Shirou, what are you talking about?" Saber said sounding confused at why her Master would not allow her to eat perfectly good food. "Why can't I eat the fruit, there's plenty of it here."
Gaim fixed his Servant with a stern look. "If you eat the fruit from here you'll be turned into an Inves." He said, his tone serious.
"I...Inves…" Rin exclaimed, "You mean those creatures that the Beat Rider teams were using to fight each other for a while?"
"Emiya, I know exactly where we are." Baron said firmly, unfazed by what was going on as tapped a nearby tree that had a crude image of Team Baron's symbol carved into it.
"Kaitou…" Gaim said. Rather than answer him the red and yellow Knight/Archer began to walk off, letting out a grunt of frustration Gaim and the others followed after him. As they walked along both Gaim and Baron dismissed their Rider armor.
Following Kaitou through the trees following a trail of more crude Team Baron emblems carved into more tree and before long the group arrived at a cliff that overlooked a valley, the light of the moon above revealing the ruins of an ancient looking city that had been mostly consumed by the forest could be seen.
"Wha…what are those?" Rin exclaimed as she took in the sight of the bleach white buildings.
"Well obviously they're ruins Rin." Illya told the Tohsaka in a very 'no duh' tone.
"I can see that Illya," Rin replied, fixing the shorter girl with a stern look. "What I want to know is what are they doing here?"
"I have to agree." Saber spoke up, "They do seem very out of place given our surroundings."
"Kaitou," Shioru said as he looked over at the brown haired teen clad in the black and red coat. "This is…"
"…the valley where the Overlords reside." The ex-leader of Team Baron said, finishing the rust haired teen sentence.
This caught the attention of Rin, Illya and the two Servants. "Overlords…?" Saber said, sounding rather confused to what her Master and Kaitou were talking about.
"You can't be serious?" Shirou said heatedly. "You really want to go down there and fight these guys?"
"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas Emiya." Kaitou shot back. "If there's any way out of this forest, it's down there."
"Ok, that's it." Rin spoke up, sounding stern. "This has gone on long enough."
"T…Tohsaka…" Shirou exclaimed.
"Don't start Emiya, it's pretty obvious that you and Kaitou both know more about what's going on here then the rest of us." Rin said, fixing both him and Kaitou with a stern look. "And I've suspected for a while that you've both been hiding something, I just couldn't figure out what it could be. So I suggest that you cut the crap and come clean about what's going on here as well as whatever it is you've been keeping from us."
Shirou sighed as he shook his head before he looked over at Kaitou who merely shrugged in response. "Guess I've got no choice." He said, turning his head back to Rin, Illya, Saber and Archer. "Ok, I'll tell you. But I warn you it's a pretty out there story."
AN And with that another chapter is in the bag. Hope you all enjoyed it cos boy have I been sitting on this one for quite a while now. Like Ryuki, Gaim is a Rider show that in theory should work well Fate given the whole battle royal competing for a prize that's said to have has great power, as well as competing ideologies amongst the main characters. Its kinda sad that the few attempts at writing a full Fate/Gaim crossover never seem to get very far before being abandoned. Can you imagine a scenario where Shirou has to deal with the other Masters and their Servants as well as the other Armored Riders, all the while Yggdrasill are operating in the background and serving as the antagonist until Helheim finally arrives and covers the entire city forcing all the different parties involved to work together to push back and defeat the Femushinmu, only to driven apart again when the time ultimately comes to side with either Shirou or Kaito.
Another aspect of Gaim that make it a good candidate for a Fate crossover are the Overlords/Femushinmu since IMO they're some of the few Rider Kaijin that are a match for Servant. To me it makes sense to me since the Overlords/Femushinmu were survivors of a previous world that was consumed by Helheim and had to evolve to survive the Forest, as such you could see them as distorted reflections of what Shirou and the others could become if Earth is consumed by Helheim.
Also similar to the Faiz chapter this is another case of a large corporation moving into Fuyuki following the events of Fate/Zero, in this case being Yggdrasill because the Helheim tree was at ground zero of the Fuyuki fire and was untouched by the corrupted Grail, they then bought up the city and funded its reconstruction, with the difference being that is that after the city was renamed Zawame afterwards. The whole idea that it symbolises that this new city, Zawame, rising up from the ashes of Fuyuki.
One idea I had to better connect the worlds of Fate and Gaim would be to have various Fate characters be involved with the various Beat Rider Teams. For example is that Rin is a member of Team Baron, thus giving her a connection to Kaitou, whilst Sakura is a member of Team Gaim. Shirou would also be former member of Team Gaim member, he didn't dance but he used to look after their equipment and made sure it all worked.
A big part of the story is that Shirou's been keeping secrets from everyone, hence Rin and Saber's reaction at the end of the chapter, he's kept them in the dark about the true motives of Yggdrasill or Helhiem, if your curious as to why he didn't tell Saber at least that is because he was afraid of what she'd do if he told her about the Golden Fruit.
I get the feeling there's some of you who have so questions so let me clarify. First how can Kachidoki Arms survive a barrage from Gate of Babylon? To answer that question, Kachidoki Arms is my favourite form of Gaim so I'm very very biased.
Second I'm sure some of you are confused by Shirou calling Saber weak? Well I do have a explanation for this and it all comes down to mind set. Saber has resigned herself to the way of thinking that requires her to make sacrifices in order for there to be hope, however that's not hope, that compromise and she kept compromising, its a big reason why Camelot ultimately fell. Shirou however, thanks to Sagara, has come to the conclusion that hope cannot come from sacrificing others.
So with that I'm done for now, please feel free to leave a comment because I'm curious as to what you all thought about this chapter. And before I sign off let me leave you with one last thought: What do you think would happen if the other Masters and Servants, as well as the Moonlit world in general, learn of the existence of the Golden Fruit, because after all why fight over something that is said is only able to grant a single wish when their exists a greater prize, one that can grant you the power of a God.
Till next time, peace out y'all.