Chapter 8: Preparation

The soft morning sunlight shone through the dense foliage of the trees. In front of Rani's house, Tenkuji Takeru was training vigilantly with a staff made from a branch. He swung his staff downwards onto an imaginary enemy, then raised it as if to defend himself from his enemy's own downward blow. His face was contorted with intense effort, struggling to hold in the pain of his leg. Although the night in the house had healed the wound sufficiently so that he could move on it, he still felt some residual pain within that leg, so he was spending the morning trying to get used to it. The sound of swishing filled the peaceful air as Takeru continued to spar with his foe. Then, unable to take the pain anymore, he collapsed onto his knees, propping himself up with his staff.

In that period of respite, his mind flashed back to the events of the previous day.

I got shot…

He looked down at his right leg. The scar was still visible where the bullet entered, although it had faded very quickly overnight. He sighed.

What happened afterwards…?

Landing on the ground with a thud, Takeru had stayed there, gripping his leg in excruciating pain. The blood already formed a pool around him, soaking into the earth. He looked around, trying to catch sight of his allies, but he could see nothing but trees for miles on end. He got up, wincing as he put a little pressure on his right leg to get up, then leant on a tree, breathing heavily.

"I need to deal with this wound quickly." He thought.

Although he wasn't a doctor like Emu was, he knew enough about first aid to know that he needed to stem the bleeding. He took off the red cloth rope and tied it around his leg tightly, clenching his teeth to withstand the pain. After a while, the bleeding slowed down and stopped.

Takeru breathed a sigh of relief and, breaking off a branch to serve as a stick for support, limped into the forest in search of Emu and Saber.

As he walked through the forest, he took the time to look around and take in the scene. The forest was very peaceful and, had Takeru not been in the life-or-death situation he was in, he would have stopped to admire it. The foliage was lush and green, with beams of sunlight streaming through, illuminating the grass-covered earth below his feet. The only sounds that filled the air was the chirping of birds and the whooshing of wind. The aroma of grass and flowers hung in the atmosphere. For a moment, Takeru smiled.

Suddenly, he saw in the distance purple smoke snaking towards him, leaving a trail of dead grass in its wake. Takeru snapped out of his trance and clutched his heart, feeling a sense of danger within him:

"Emu and Saber… I need to hurry!"

He bolted forward, rushing right into the purple fog. His leg screamed in protest, but his desire to protect his friends silenced its cries. As he neared the centre of the smoke cloud, he saw Emu on the floor, his legs caught in some sort of trap, and Saber on her knees, her sword planted in the ground.

"Emu!"

He materialised his Ghost Driver and pulled out the first Eyecon he could find. It was the Drake Eyecon. He opened the Ghost Driver, dropped the Eyecon into the Driver and closed it, pulling the lever on the side outwards.

EYE!

BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!

The Drake Damashii emerged from the Ghost Driver. It was essentially Drake's coat with a hoodie attached, and on that hoodie was a black pirate's hat similar to the one Drake wore, except that it was integrated into the hoodie.

"Henshin!"

Takeru slammed the side lever of the driver in. His body glowed as the Ghost Transient Armour materialised. Then, the Damashii landed on Takeru's armour like a coat, solidifying into a hoodie.

AROUND THE WORLD WE'RE CIRCLING! LET THE WILD HUNT BEGIN!

Ghost, now in Drake Damashii, rushed towards Saber. He materialised his Gan Gan Saber and, stepping in front of Saber, raised it just in time and blocked a barrage of arrows from hitting Saber. He stood motionless, waiting for the mysterious archer's next move. Suddenly, the pain in his leg reignited, and he fell to his knees, his armour dissipating. He looked down at the earth and saw that blood from his leg had begun to soak it a crimson red. He sighed.

I failed...

Suddenly, he felt an intense heat around him for an instant. He looked up and saw that Saber had incinerated the vicinity with a pillar of fire. It was a temporary move, but it had failed to defeat the enemy Servant. With a mocking laugh he had fired his final volley, but the arrows had exploded in midair, finally driving the Servant out of his camouflage. It was then that Takeru had a proper look at their attacker: Orange hair, green cloak, medieval outfit, crossbow on arm...

The colour drained from Takeru's face. He recognised that sort of outfit from a particular Heroic Spirit he knew very well...

"That outfit... It can't be..."

Entering the dining room after his training, he was surprised to see Emu and Saber already in the middle of breakfast. Saber looked up and waved, gesturing him to sit. Takeru did so.

Saber was devouring her place of eggs and toast and taking swigs of water from her glass in between bites. Emu, however, was sitting motionless, staring at his glass, as if he was deep in thought. His face lacked the shine of his usual optimistic self. Instead, it was hollow, as if he had aged internally by years.

For a moment Takeru wondered what was going on with Emu. He had been like this ever since the elevator between the bottom floor and the first floor.

Could it be due to that thing Drake was talking about...?

"Umu! I have not eaten anything since yesterday!" Saber proclaimed with glee as she continued eating. "I shall eat much more this time! Maestro, Takeru, you too!"

Takeru understood what she was saying. They needed to recover their strength, and for that, food is essential. He therefore put his thoughts aside and started eating.

"1000 years" Emu mumbled to himself.

He was still mulling over the significance of those words. They had been plaguing his mind ever since the previous night.

Rani took a drink from her glass.

"999 years, to be precise." she said.

Takeru wondered what they were talking about.

"What is with your gloomy face, Maestro?" Saber enquired, her mouth full of eggs. "1000 years is nothing to me! After all, I was from 2,000 years ago. Wait, was it 3000?"

She swallowed her mouthful and went on.

"Anyways, that matters not! No matter the era, at the very least, I am here with you. That is more than enough for me!"

Emu looked up towards Saber. She smiled, her face beaming at him. Takeru also smiled as well. It was nice for Saber to try to cheer up Emu. Emu's mood didn't improve much, however. He returned to looking down at his glass.

"Saber's got a point." he said quietly.

Saber's smile grew even wider.

"Am I not?"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Emu's face rose up and he cracked a small smile.

"Thank you, Saber. I feel a bit more relieved."

"Umu!" Saber responded in satisfaction.

Takeru was glad to see Emu feel better.

After they had cleared away the dishes, Rani set up a virtual layout of the arena. It showed the entire forest as well as the house they were in, the abandoned manor the previous elevator landed in and the clock tower.

"Alright, shall we talk about the plan?" Rani beckoned the others to the table.

Emu, Saber and Takeru gathered around the table. Rani took out some chess pieces and placed them on the table.

"In order to win, know your enemy first."

"War tactics, is it not?" Saber noted. "Very well. What do you know about this floor's Master?"

Rani began: "He's a top-notch soldier, someone with the desire to keep winning. Dan Blackmore."

She opened up a virtual console and began tapping in commands.

"A Master who has killed many of the same kind in the second floor."

She finished typing in commands. A screen opened up displaying Dan's profile and picture.

"His purpose is to ascend to the upper floor and doing the same thing over and over. However..."

She paused, then finished her sentence.

"... that will never happen."

"Never?" Emu was surprised. Takeru was too.

"But I thought if you defeated a Master you could ascend, is it not?" Takeru asked.

Rani looked at the profile, scrutinizing it.

"He may be a Floor Master, but he's no longer a Master. He lost a battle 1,000 years ago. That's why he's unable to ascend. Even if he killed Masters, the Ladder won't appear."

So that means...

"What he has been doing is in vain." Takeru finished Emu's thoughts. "That man is insane!"

"Correct. I don't know the truth behind this, but for the past 999 years, he has been killing Masters.

So not only has he been killing hundreds, but all of it was for nothing...

Emu and Takeru both balked at this atrocious waste of life.

"He'll focus on you, Emu, because you're the only Master remaining on this floor."

Rani zoomed in on the house on the virtual map. She then took a white Queen, King, Bishop and Pawn and placed them onto the house.

"I shall be the Queen piece. The most powerful piece on the board!" Saber proclaimed smugly.

"I shall be the bishop." Rani said. "Takeru is the pawn. I am aware of his ability to wield the souls of other Servants, so that will be like a pawn's promotion. Therefore-"

"I shall be the king." Emu said. If he fell, then it would mean their game over.

"Surely Emu should be the knight?" Saber enquired.

Rani shook her head. "The knight shall be Dan Blackmore. As befitting of his soldier days."

She took the black Knight piece and placed it at the Clock Tower.

Saber shrugged. "Oh well, can't be helped."

Rani continued. "Finally, Dan's Servant shall be the Rook." She placed the black Rook piece in the middle of a forest clearing.

Takeru looked at the Rook in apprehension.

"I believe that I know the identity of the Servant we're facing." He said. "I know him well."

Whatever surprise Rani had for that statement did not appear on her face.

"Then, I'll let you introduce him to us." she said.

Takeru went over to the Rook piece and picked it up.

"This Servant uses a bow and arrow, therefore he is an Archer, correct?"

Rani nodded.

"His appearance is that of a medieval character, and his green outfit signifies that the forest is his dwelling. I know this Heroic Spirit. I know because I fought alongside him in order to revive myself from the dead. I created his Eyecon myself during that journey."

He took a breath.

"That Servant is Robin Hood, the Prince of Thieves. An outlaw of legend from British folklore, he stole from the rich to give to the poor. He was supposed to be a noble criminal. I don't understand why he would agree to this kind of warfare."

Rani shook her head.

"You are mistaken in your impression of him, but otherwise you are correct; he is Robin Hood. He was a master of the art of Guerilla Warfare, which allowed him to pick on the most powerful of enemies without them being able to react. That is why he uses traps and poisons."

Takeru frowned.

"Anyways, be aware of his two Noble Phantasms: his invisibility cloak, No Faced May King, and the ability to make his poison explosive. The sacrament of the druid: Yew Bow."

"Explosive?" Saber asked.

"After he has poisoned his opponent, by saying the name of his Noble Phantasm, he can trigger the explosion. It explodes from inside the body."

"That means that you have saved my life." Saber noted. "You have my gratitude, Rani."

"No problem." Rani repllied. Then she went on.

"While both his Noble Phantasms are of the strong kind, he can't use both at the same time. In order to trigger the explosion, he must reveal himself."

Saber nodded.

"In that case, I have a plan. I have trouble winning against invisible enemies, but with this..."

Saber then turned to Takeru.

"Takeru-dono! I wish for you to participate in this fight. We shall face him together!"

"Wait a moment, Saber." Takeru stopped Saber. Then he turned to Rani.

"Rani, I believe if I can get him to recognise me, then we could be able to convince him to stop fighting for Blackmore. We can avoid the need to fight. I don't feel comfortable fighting an old ally."

Rani stopped for a moment to consider it, then she nodded.

"You may try. However, should that fail, you should have a backup plan. In these situations, it is not wise to be too optimistic of your chances."

"Alright. Saber, we'll need to discuss our tactics. I think I have an idea..."

Rani then turned to Emu.

"What about you?"

Emu picked up the black Knight piece. There was no other option. He knew what he had to do.

"I will eliminate Dan Blackmore."

"Very well." Rani responded. "I will lend you a hand."

As she turned around to prepare her things, she stopped and turned around.

"After 50 years of rebellion..."

She adjusted her glasses.

"...let us put an end to this."