Warning: Warning: This fanfic dealt with probably controversial themes and you may find it not suitable for you. If you still decide to read, then stay strong and brace yourself for what you are about to read. This story here happens in Arc 2 and thus may contain some spoilers.
"._.""._.""._."
Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Storm
"._.""._.""._."
Somewhere in the forest
It has been 5 days ever since they decided to stay in the village, or to be more exact is a refuge that can barely protect itself at all. The assassin has decided to scout the area around for anything suspicious at all. Many hours have passed and he has been doing this since his first day here, even his family reprimanded him for constantly overworking himself. Not that he bothered about it at all, he has promised to defend this village and he'll dedicate it even till its end. He doesn't make promises that he'll break it soon afterward.
"Da Vinci, do you detect anything in the nearby distance?" Kiritsugu asked.
"No... Nothing suspicious on my radar" Da Vinci answered
He continues to scouts around the area and moving even further from the refuge. Any oversight would be proven fatal, just like how Camelot was. A mad show that reawakens his worst nightmare that he wishes to never see it again. At least that madness has ended.
"By the way, don't you think the weather keeps getting worse over time? It was just a sky full of white clouds 5 days ago, but now it just dark and gray cloud covering the entire sky. There's no rain, yet..." The assassin asked.
"Yeah... The level of mana and mystery keeps rising over time and it probably has some effects on the weather itself. I think that if it keeps on with a pace like this, people would be dying from mana poisoning soon enough." Da Vinci asked.
Servants benefit greatly from mana as they can absorb it from the surroundings to revitalize or heal themselves, but normal humans? They can't, too much mana will also outrightly kill them.
The assassin continues searching around until Da Vinci picks up something. The inventor quickly guides him to hide. The assassin quickly hides himself away, waiting for further instruction.
"Da Vinci, what's going on?" The assassin whispered.
"I'm picking up a lot of signals from the West, proceeds with cautions." Da Vinci warns him.
Kiritsugu quickly making sure he won't get detected. His A+ Presence Concealment would make him straight up invisible as long as he doesn't attack. Evading detection, he discovered a large encampment that consists of a large amount of soldier, what seems to look like monstrous beasts held inside a cage, many mechs being calibrated for uses. He takes a quick estimation of the number of enemies.
"Tsk, 4... No, 5000 of soldiers, a hundred of beasts, 30 artilleries, 30 fighter planes, fifty robots..." Kiritsugu gave himself the estimations, could be lower or higher as this is just his quick estimation.
"Should you return and report about this?" Da Vinci asked.
"No, I need to get every possible information and intelligence from them. If I have done so, we would be able to plan a better tactic and taking them down should they come for the refuge. If they weren't coming here to destroy the refuge then we should leave them alone. Even so, if you want to get the tiger cub, you must go into the tiger's den." The assassin answered.
"Guess there is no stopping you then..." Da Vinci let out a sad smile before she let him do his job.
Kiritsugu moves quickly toward the encampment, searching for the command quarter. Still, he found it extremely strange, the soldiers stand still as if they were statues, not even a single word is spoken from them, except for those who are calibrating the equipment and even then they don't talk. The camp was almost dead silent unlike how normal military encampment is. He knew something is wrong but he'll have to leave it to later. Right now, their information is his utmost priority. Moving silently undetected, he could feel the power radiating through the soldier, beasts, all of them. They seem to be hellbent on destroying what they were being commanded for.
"These things are even radiating mana, no wonder there isn't anything that can stop them save for Heroic Spirits." Kiritsugu thought.
Kiritsugu searching around until Da Vinci warns him telepathically.
"Kiritsugu! Hide! There's a Servant around!" Da Vinci gives her warnings.
The assassin quickly approaches cautiously, strange enough that there is only one tent that doesn't have any of the freakish things in it. And that is where the Servant that Da Vinci warned.
The man who is wearing the SS Wehrmacht uniform, behind him is a sniper rifle that seems to have more mana than the entire army here. He is communicating through the radio. Kiritsugu decided to eavesdrops on him.
"Listening here, Archer. We got the EKS to update the Spirit Origins' location. Your task is to destroy the place where the 3 Servants of the future are, the 1901 one, the mysterious unidentified spirit origin and whatever is there. You have 2 days. That is my order for you." The voice from the other side commands him.
"Whatever, you old man." The Archer shows his disinterest in the mission openly.
"This is an order! Should you fail this-" The voice starts to have the tone of anger before being cut off again.
"Listen here, you little shit, just because you were promoted to an officer doesn't mean you can just tell me what to do, I'm a Servant and you're a human. I could crush you into a dice and you should be glad that there is a Servant who even follows your order in the first place. I am too valuable for you to just outright trying to kill me if you could in the first place. Plus you aren't my master in the first place" The Archer gives his argument before putting down his intercom.
"Tsk, that crap sack should have known that it is getting harder to become a Servant the higher year is. If those 3 from the future could become Heroic Spirits then they must have been very special to do so. Plus, killing nonchalantly isn't my cup of tea. I'll just put it off till the last days" The Archer sighed.
"Hmm? Seems like there is something here... Probably my imaginations." That's what the SS Archer thinks it is.
Kiritsugu has already quickly made his way out of the encampment, he got everything he needed. There can only be one thing and that is...
War...
"._.""._.""._."
Herculean Task
"._.""._.""._."
At the bottom of the cliff near the refuge.
He remembers the day when people would literally killing each other over the chance to become wealthy. The extremely harsh conditions of excavating these precious ores turn the gold rush into the death race where people fought each other for gold and supplies and those who made it past the winter claim it all. Despite never been in it, his nature would make him felt bad about it regardless. As his mind remembers, his strikes cleave through the rock almost effortlessly thanks to his Servant's strength and the new pickax that he made by himself with the material sent by Chaldea under his request. He called it. "Herculean Task" as it allows its wielder to strike with the power of the legendary Greek hero. Heracles.
"Hey there, bring this to my workshop please" The old Archer gives him the sack full of ore.
"Okay, I'll bring these things to your workshop" The militant gives a sad smile as he held the sack in one hand while other climbs the ladder. It is obvious that he's a Servant, but why can't he remember anything about himself?
After putting the contents inside the sack into the crates that were stacked inside the old Archer's workshop, he climbs down for another delivering trip. Or so he thought...
"Hey, how about we switch it up? I'll be carrying the ores while you mine" The old Archer suggests.
Before the militant has any word to say, the old Archer has already thrown the pickaxe at the militant.
"It will be a nice change of pace. So good luck!" The old Archer laughed heartily before carrying the sack himself.
The militant sighed, he tightens his grip on the pickaxe but for some reason, he felt uneasy holding it. He sweats profusely while his body shivers. He felt something is wrong with him but he got a job to do and he won't let his fear got the best of him. Taking a deep breath, he let out a strike with all his might.
"CLANG!"
The moment the pickax struck the ridge. A memory in his mind flashes over him as it showing him smashing someone's head open with the same tool, not exactly the one he's holding but looks the same. The militant quickly shut off that memory while he holding himself from vomiting in disgust. He knew he is a soldier but why now? Why does it flash over his mind right now?
The old Archer who has just gotten down the ridge and seeing him knelt down, he quickly got to him to check if he's alright.
"Are you alright? You look really pale right now." The old Archer checking on him.
"Yes..." The militant answered hesitantly.
"Just stop lying about your condition, you are a lot more unstable than how you thought." The old Archer scold him.
"I... I just remember something..." The militant answers.
The Archer raises his brows. He is interested in what the militant has just remembered.
"Can you tell me what it-" The Archer was about to ask until the refuge's guardians have told them to come up for the meeting.
"We got a report from Assassin! You two get up there so we can hold the meeting!" The Ruler speaks loudly so that the two underneath the ridge would be able to hear what he's talking about.
Afterward, the Ruler quickly goes out of their sight.
"Tsk, let us get over this then I'll check up your condition." The old Archer sighted.
The old Archer quickly walks his way towards the rope ladder that went to the top of the ridge, leaving the man who has seen something that has scarred him inside his memory. The militant begins to questions himself what did he do in his past. But he decided to just get over it, as the only thing he can do right now, is to let the time tell it sooner or not.
"._.""._.""._."
The Meeting
"._.""._.""._."
At the meeting tent in the refuge
"What!? You are saying they have come there to take us down?!" The Ruler surprised about what the Assassin has reported.
"Had they actually come for us Chaldean alone then we could easily deal with it. But the refuge now also in danger because of us. I also heard about the EKS, I don't know what that thing is but base on my intuition, it is most likely has something to do with that large crater that we found Pierce and his men nearby it." The Assassin gives his opinion.
"Yeah... It is extremely strange for a crater like that to be near the shore. It couldn't be Omaha Beach where the D-day took place as there isn't anything but that large ass one." Emiya gives his word.
While everyone is discussing what is going on. The militant's silence begins to make other suspicious about him.
"I think you should say something..." The white-haired Caster suggests him.
"I... I know some details about the EKS." The militant stutters.
"Please tell us." The Chaldea Master asks.
"EKS is an acronym for Evangelion Kill Sat, a laser satellite that was made by those German for one purpose. To automatically destroy any Servants with Spirit Origin whose year of becoming Servant below 1900." The militant divulge the information.
"They... actually made that?..." Irisviel shivered.
The militant also explains how powerful the thing is. After he has just done speaking about the firepower equation of the thing. The Chaldean Intercom blares up with the voice of a certain King of Heroes.
"They what! They made something far more powerful than Ea?! Those mongrels will paid for this!" Gilgamesh's voices went through the intercom as his hologram shows him being furious.
"Gil! I know you being mad but please don't rayshift here." Gudao tries to calm him down.
"Tsk, I don't need you to tell me what to do, but that doesn't make me any less angry. If I can enter the singularity, I'll use my full strength Enuma Elish on those mongrels to show them that no one is allowed to be stronger than me. No one!" Gilgamesh's anger can be felt on the other side.
"Now that I have vented my egoistical hero side, I'm the wise king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. And I am here to give you advices and opinion in this matter." Afterward, Gilgamesh calmed down as fast as how he angered.
"First off, in order for something to be more powerful than Ea, that thing has to predate Ea itself," Gilgamesh explained.
Now that is actually worrying. There aren't many things could possibly rivaling Ea in its age. The thing was formed back in the Genesis-era where the Earth is being formed. If it predates even Ea itself then just what could the said thing be?
"Before you try to think about what such a thing can possibly be, I recommend focusing on the matter at hand as it is more important and urgent than trying to figure out what that thing is. Meanwhile, I'll search in my treasury to see if there's anything that could give me clues or pointing out that there is something predate Ea itself." Gilgamesh said before he turns off the comm.
"So... what should we discuss next?" The Ruler asked.
"Know your allies and know your enemies, soon you'll claim victory in all fights. We need to know more about the enemy we have to fight against." Kiritsugu said.
"Dad? When were you Zhuge Liang?" Shirou asked as he noticed his father started to use strategists' quotes more frequently.
"Just saying, son. So? Do anyone have any clues." Kiritsugu said.
"I do, this is all my personal experience during the time I fought for my homeland, Finland." The white-coat said.
"Guess that explains the white coat you wearing all the time," Kuro said.
"Anyway, this will be a long one but very important for you to know." The Finnish said.
"The enemy's troops are divided into 5 ranks. The first is Infantry and they are the weakest of the bunches. A well-placed normal sniper shot would take it down. But let me remind you, no matter what should you ever be careless as they can still turn you into flying gore pieces with their bolt-action rifle. These kinds of troops are only made for one purpose and that is to be cannon fodder for those higher-ups." The Finn explained.
No one said anything but they felt like things could get extremely worse. They just know it.
"Up next is 2nd Class. They fill in many roles in the Nazi army as they have 3 classes. Sniper, Artillery, and Stormtrooper. I'll cut their name short to save time. 'Sniper' would get to high-area where they can't be compromised in order to take down any defensive weaponry operator. Arty will stay from a distance from the battlefield as they'll raze the battlefield first to clear a path for the vanguard. The StT armed with their SMGs will charge into the frontlines and destroy anything that is still moving in their sight. All of their weapons are mana charged to destroy anything in one shot if they don't have enough mana or mysteries. They are more resistant than Infantry too." The white-coat explained further.
Pierce and his squad started to sweat when they tried to comprehend how powerful those things can still become.
"The up next is 1st Class. They are divided into 2 classes. Beastmaster and Pilot. One of those beasts alone can destroy a battalion of tanks and the 1st class by themselves aren't any less dangerous with their assault rifle-" The Finn got cut off while explaining by Assassin.
"You mean those beasts that are wearing soldier helmets?" The Assassin asked.
"Yeah, and boy those things are extremely resilience that I can only see them destroy is getting hit by a mana charged cannon directly or a Heroic Spirit's attack." The Finn explains it before continue.
"Those fighter planes are also no laughing matter either. No amount of normal protection or cover would save you from getting turned into Swiss cheese by their machine gun or being a splatter on the ground by their bomb, the only way I could think is to have a mana-pumped sandbag or wall or-" The Finn said before cut off by the tanned Archer.
"Or perhaps... I got an idea." The tanned Archer speaks his opinion.
Everyone is looking at him, hoping that he is holding the key to this predicament.
"But first, Jii-san?" Shirou looking at his father.
"Yes?" The Assassin answered back.
The father and son whisper to each other, out of the ears of the people in the meeting. A bit later, he announced his idea for everyone. Everyone surprised that such a solution was possible for them,
"That's actually killing two birds with one stone. Not only we actually able to impede the enemies' advance but also protect us from heavy caliber attacks like fighters and artillery." The Ruler exclaimed when a satisfying solution was given.
"Yeah, this will be going to save us a lot of time and materials in building barriers. Not to mention, it is going to be tougher than any of the defenses I could make." The old Archer commented.
"So that is settled, I'll be explaining the next enemy to you. This one... if you Heroic Spirit still find all the previous child's play then here's the one that could easily match up with you all in combat. This one is called... Knight's Cross. Those things are real monsters to be reckoned by even Heroic Spirits and those things don't even die when they supposed to. They wield machine guns if they were by themselves and they have the combat level of Servants. To add more fuel for the fire, those things don't come alone by themselves. They control those mechs that are called Panzersoldat, those things are armed with HMG in one arm that could shred Servants to pieces and the other one is a tank cannon that a single shot is more powerful than a large volley of artillery infused to one single shot itself. Basically, unless you completely pulverize the Panzersoldat, its controller, the Knight's Cross will dismount out of it and fight you directly. Not that they are unbeatable by Servant's standard but very tough. No enchanted gears or weapons except for Servant's level of mystery could ever defeat it."
Everyone is silence, they knew things like these would come. Pierce stares silently, shows nothing in his face while his squad is sweating bullets in fear. The Servants have nothing to say until Pierce asked.
"You said there are 5 ranks and you explained 4. So what is the last one?" Pierce saying it while his intuition basically screaming that he's opening a Pandora's box.
"The last one..." This time, 'the Finn's' face turned pale, his voice isn't as tough anymore but replaces by fear and uncertainty.
"...is called Grand Cross" The Finn let out a heavy breath after saying it as if he has said anything sacrilegious.
Seeing 'the Finn's' face. Everyone knew that this thing can only be a monster of a nature that can't be taken down by a Servant alone. Kuro jumps in and said, "What is it?"
"I didn't exactly fight this kind of enemy but I learned about it through tattered reports of where the said thing has combated. That thing has the power of multiples Heroic Spirit combined, that thing true strength not only lies on sheer power alone but also leadership. That thing can slash you with its saber into hundreds of pieces before you realized you're dead if you aren't a Heroic Spirit and even then, you can't fight that thing by yourself alone. You must team up with at least 3 Servants or more if you wish to be able to defeat it. That thing can wield any weapons with complete mastery, its riding skill with the Panzersoldat can make that damn thing act as if it has a mind of a Grand Cross of its own. IF you see THAT THING, DON'T HESITATE to use your Noble Phantasm on it. Nothing else would deal enough damage to finish it off." The Finn explained nervously.
Everyone is now staring at each other, don't know what to do. Until one person decided to speak up and that person is Gudao.
"Listen up! Everyone. Us Chaldean has fight far worse enemy and more dangerous than these. Chaldea has fought against many destructive foes who threaten the existence of the world, even against the Evil of Humanity. Goetia, Tiamat, Demonic Bodhisattva. Even the Goddess of Lust, Mara. There isn't anything us Chaldean should back down from fighting if it threatens the future of humanity. Compare to those, the Nazi is just a pawn compared to a queen." Gudao gives his speech.
Everyone is looking at him silently while he just standing here, Gudao thought that he probably played a wrong move and got himself embarrassed. That was what he thought until he heard clapping from someone, he looks around and sees the old Archer clapping his hand.
"This... this is what we needed. A determined leader with a burning heart that can be seen through his eyes, a man who refused to give up when everything appeared futile. This man, I swear that he is far more experienced than he looks, a Master of over 200 Servants. All follow him out of respect. Under his command, we'll make it through this hell!." The old Archer said.
"That... I'll have to agree with you. I might be a colonel but that rank is pointless in this situation. What we'll need is someone who has fought along with Servants and can devise tactic on the fly with such a force of nature." Pierce said.
"I also agree with this. I might be a Servant and a protector of this refuge but I'm not a general or tactician of sorts so I'll be relying on you too." The Ruler said.
"And of course, we Chaldean will always follow our Master no matter what, That man is an epitome of an unbreakable will and he'll make it work. We just know it." The tanned Archer said.
"So everyone has agreed that we'll fight against them no matter what?" Gudao said.
Everyone gives a nod, there is no choice in regard to this. They together will repel the enemy no matter what.
"We'll need proper firepower too. Archer, can you make siege weapons?" Pierce said.
"Hmm, yes I could." The old Archer thinks for a while before saying anything.
"Good, we'll need to also able to take down or impede Beasts and Panzers too," Pierce replied.
"A layout of the surrounding area would serve us well too. Does anyone here can draw?" The tanned Archer asked.
Pretty much everyone basically saying "No" after Shirou said it, but a hand was raised and it belongs to the militant.
"Wow, I actually didn't expect you to know how to draw," Shirou said.
"Don't judge me, I know how to draw properly at least. Isn't that what you ask for?" The militant said.
"I'm not saying that I disappointed in you, it just that I surprised when you are actually knowledgeable about artistry at the very least," Shirou explained.
"So are we agree in letting him do the layout drawing?" Gudao said.
Everyone else has no comment. They might know a lot about combat but drawing is obviously not their expertise.
"Well, you got the layout drawing, you better be drawing and scouting properly or else I have to do the scouting part and basically waste away the time I could spend to built barriers and defenses." The tanned male Archer said.
"I know! Just trust me on this one, okay? I swear that I'll draw properly and not wasting your time! I swear my vow!" The militant swears his vow.
"Hold on, only you and your father can do this barrier building?" Pierce asked.
"These defenses are heavily limited to our expertise and no one else can do the same," Shirou said.
And so everyone agrees on letting Shirou and Kiritsugu to build defenses. Kiritsugu knows a lot about espionage and ambushes so it would be perfect for him to do the layout of the defenses.
"Moving on, to the next subject. Hey! Old Archer, can you make more weapons for us to fight against the oncoming enemy?." the Finn said.
"Mass production? It might drain my stamina but if it's to help this refuge then I'll gladly do so." The old Archer said.
"Can you also improve our weapons, you did say that the more mysterious the materials, the stronger said weapon. You even said that if you give an old and rare enough material, the weapons can even defeat legends of old!" Pierce said.
"While that is true, I forgot to explain how Pack-a-Punch actually works. It is true that the more mysterious the material, the stronger the gun. But there is one thing, the more mysterious said material that was made into the gun. The higher chances that the gun will explode upon the user during uses due to the instability of the material, killing its user instantly." The old Archer explained.
"WHAT!" Pierce surprised about how it actually worked.
"You know about the circuit that imprinted on your gun? Those things are not for decorating purpose, those mana circuits are made to deliver mana throughout the weapon to boost the weapon firepower to beyond its maximum actual threshold without breaking itself apart. The more mysterious the material, the harder it is for me to make a stable enough mana circuit to prevent self-destruction of said weapon. If it's got too mysterious or old, I would be unable to make a proper enough circuit and thus just give up doing so. It would take a collaboration of me and a Caster of Age of God if you wanted me to turn something like that into a gun." The old Archer said.
"But Chaldea sent you the Hercules's Swordaxe to make it into a wea-" Pierce tried to inquire only to be cut off soon.
"That thing? Unfortunately, that piece of sharpened flooring is way too mysterious for my comprehension and thus I decided to just turn the said thing into a pickaxe that would benefit me in mining for materials. Brass and Dark Steel is the most powerful I can make without it self-destructing upon itself during uses." The old Archer said.
"You turn the thing into a pickaxe?! That pickaxe which you called "Herculean Task"?!" Pierce is in denial about how a powerful piece of equipment got shrunk down to pickaxe, a fucking pickaxe!
"Hey, there is no chance that a pickaxe can somehow explode upon itself, you know?" The old Archer said.
Both of them are arguing about how the old Archer just turned the weapon of a legend to a pickaxe, everyone around them lets out a sigh seeing this argument alone. That was until the Ruler intervenes did both of them finally stop arguing.
"I got much more urgent task to deal with, you do you." The old Archer said to his Master before he went back to his workshop.
"Sigh... Did I make him mad?" Pierce asked.
"No, he just put the refuge to his top priority over arguing with his Master, that old man I saw is much more patience than how you see." The Ruler said.
"You seem to able to see a lot more in people compare to me," Pierce replied
"Let just say that what I did in my life has a lot of impact on me." The Ruler said.
Pierce decided that he shouldn't speak more than he should less he wanted himself to be more embarrassed. When he about to walk toward the exit, Pierce heard the Ruler said:
"I have to announce to the refugees about this"
"Wait, you going to?" Pierce surprised about how straightforward the man actually is.
"Had I not pull any punch back when I was alive, I wouldn't be a Heroic Spirit now. Plus, the enemy will come regardless, and the refugees will going to face it no matter what. If I told them now, there may be panic but it will benefit them in the long run. Trust me." The Ruler said as he walks toward the exit to announce the situation.
Pierce stares at him silently, he's downright nice but also straightforward. He wondered if he has come across him at some time considering he is also a US soldier. At this point, there aren't many left in the meeting tent only the white-haired caster, his squad, and the tanned skin little Archer. Many have left to do their things. So he has no reason to stay here anymore.
He walked out towards the exit and brace for whatever to happen next. To his surprise, everyone in the refuge is silently listening to the Ruler announcement. There is no panic, only understanding of what may come. That very silence makes Pierce unnerved how can they keep a straight face after hearing something like that. He comes close to a refugee and asked.
"You heard what he said, right? The Nazi is coming to this place-" Pierce got cut off before he said everything.
"Yes, we know that already. Truth be told, considering how quickly advanced in their tech and magecraft, we have already known that this place would soon get busted eventually. There is no time did we truly at peace, feeling the dread of getting destroy like ants against pesticides. But did we despair? Did we afraid? No, we live each of our days at our fullest, no matter what the next day will be. If the Nazi is coming for our heads then we will fight back like how we did at Warsaw Uprising. Even if it ends with all of us returning to our soil." The old man said.
Pierce has finally seen it for himself. The refuge has always been determined from the start, it just that he failed to see it. No matter what their fate will be, surrender won't be one of them. He knew fighting a large army by Servants alone won't be a viable idea when there are people needed to be protected calculated in. So the refugees are going to join the fight and they won't take no for answer.
"This will be going to be a long day," Pierce said while seeing the wind blowing from the horizon. He only has one day worth of time left to prepare and he'll have to make it work.
"._.""._.""._."
Shadow Border
Minds of the Strategists
"._.""._.""._."
At the theater of Shadow Border
A place where those whose expertise not lying on direct combat gather to see the current situation in the Singularity. While it is called "Theater". In truth, it is more of an observing chamber for all those Servants who are not selected to rayshift into the singularity. In this case, most of Chaldean Servants can't and so this place ended up more crowded than how it could be imagined.
"Well, I think I can take a break right now. There's nothing worth seeing here right now, especially that tanned Archer" Cu Chulainn said as he walks toward that exit. There is a reason why he doesn't think Emiya too highly.
Now the theater started to clear up. Some restless Servants would rather do supply run compare to sitting here and having nothing worth to see. Some just content with seeing the preparation.
"You know, if I could get in there, I could give them some advice about how to prepare but I can't get in so I have nothing to said." Waver grumbled.
Right now, Waver who has the Spirit Origin of Zhuge Liang is sitting next to his disciple, Gray, who was thought to be the distant descendant of King Arthur and his half-sister who has the Spirit Origin of Sima Yi. Both of them sit next to Waver as they listen to his grumble.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you wanted to go back to work right now?" Renies, his half-sister said.
"No, it isn't funny if I die from overwork, especially right now." Waver replied
He has followed Gudao all the time ever since he was summoned. For all those times, he has never left Gudao's side as the strategist who advises him on what he has to do. For all of the fights and combats never has he failed him and right now, he is benched here just because of his Spirit Origin's ages. Still, he'll appreciate the free time and any rest he is given right now.
"Anyway, if you liked to stay here then fine. I got to go to the bathroom." Waver said.
"You going to take a leak huh?" His sister teases him.
"What!? It's an obvious thing any living animal would do!" Waver said it while he still has his cheek are red from embarrassment.
He soon just walks out of the theater while his sister giggles. As much as he appreciates her, their relationship is basically a love-hate relation like how their Spirit Origin is with each other. As he walking through the hallway, he came across someone who he would have preferred to stay away from her haven't it been to the current circumstances. And that person is the daughter of a certain Magus Killer, the different one compared to the other little white-haired Caster. Her name is Miyu. She has black hair and golden-brown eyes and those eyes are her biology proof that she is Shirou's sister or at least the younger Shirou. Right now, she is wearing her coat and scarf and staring at him with the far-off look.
"Mr. Waver, why are you looking so distraught?" Miyu asked
"I just don't want to paint a large target on my back for a certain someone from "Father's Club" for being suspicious for doing something inappropriate to his daughter." Waver said.
The Emiya Family is a strange result of fate itself. Most of the time, almost no Servant have their relatives to also made it to Throne of Heroes and a few at most having one like siblings or betrothed one. And here, a family of heroes through their intertwined and bounded fate to never separate from each other no matter what through fate and circumstances. Chaldea just happened to be a perfect place where they would able to get back with each other again. The Emiya Family has also set up an example of family and parenthood for many Servants and legends. Some have taken an example like how Artoria and Mordred managed to fix their broken family relationship by taking a page of them. It is a popular topic among the community about how a family can reach the Throne of Heroes.
Waver and Miyu ended up talking with each other longer than how they expected considering their initial circumstances. Even Waver forgot that he has to go to the bathroom until he realized his body urging him to do it now.
"I'm sorry but I have to go to the bathroom now." The moment Waver done speaking did an announcement went throughout the Shadow Border.
"All Servants who are strategists please meet up in the meeting room." The announcement made by Da Vinci can be heard throughout the Shadow Border.
"Tsk, I have to get this done soon, see you later." Waver said.
"See you later too," Miyu said her goodbye to him.
It seems like he is going to work no matter what. He'll enjoy the little time he has and makes the best out of it before he gets back to work.
15 minutes later in the meeting room
"Gentlemen, we here to discuss and devise our tactics and plans for our Master. Since we couldn't enter the Singularity on our own, we will have to rely on whatever our Master managed to send to us, information or layout map alike. But first, we'll need to make sure that everyone is here. So let us check up." Waver said.
"Napoleon?" Waver asked.
"Yes!" the said man answered.
"Good, Caesar?" Waver continued to check.
"At present!" Caesar said.
"Okay, Hector?" Waver said while he smokes his cigar.
"Yeah, I'm here." Hector of Troy said it while carrying the face of a tired uncle. His face actually doesn't tell what he actually felt right now though.
"Good, Iskandar?" Waver continued to check.
Unfortunately, there isn't a single indication that he was here in the slightest. That man was loud, bulky and buff. There is no chance in hell that he could be overlooked at all. Waver sighed before he marks Iskandar as dismissed did he heard the little girl from behind him. The little girl that he heard was Da Vinci.
"Waver! Iskandar is just having a look at a video game that he got from a supply run from a modern singularity. He said he'll be here soon enough." Da Vinci said before walking out of the room.
"Good grief, we'll continue without him. First, I'll present to you all the layout maps that were given by Master." Waver pointed at the pieces of paper on the table.
" you saying these works of art are our layout maps?" Napoleon said.
"What are you saying? Did you already take a look at it when I was talking to Da Vinci?" Waver said.
"If you say that then yes. These drawings are actually beautiful looking yet it looked sad when I look at this. These things could have taken a bit more refinement and bam, you have a masterpiece in your hand. It doesn't take a mind of great artists like Da Vinci who you were talking to understand this." Napoleon said.
"Hmm, you know. Napoleon is kinda right. It is beautiful yet when I looking at it, I felt sad somehow. It probably because of the drawing style that makes living people so dull compares to the surrounding. But hey, I'm a soldier, not an artist." Hector said.
"Well, let's get back to the matter at hand. These layout maps and drawings show the current area that Chaldea has to protect. It is not going to be simple to have a good look."
"Hey, why do we have to take a look at these papers when we could just ask Da Vinci to show us the area layout that was taken by Sheba?" Julius Caesar asked.
"As useful as Sheba is, that thing is, unfortunately, can't show us anything else other than the top look of the surrounding which could potentially overlook some details. The drawings here will reveal all of the nook and cranny of the area." Waver said.
"The area is on top of a ridge, below at the bottom of the ridge is the shore that can't be accessed by any other way other than ship or boat. Going further into the mainland is a large forest and some large hills protruding from a distance away from the village. Does anyone have something to say?" Waver said.
"First off... Does the refuge has some cannons?" Napoleon answered.
"Do you always expect an impoverished refuge to have cannons? Well, they will have some soon enough from a certain Servant there if I heard from our Master correctly." Waver answered.
"Okay! I'll handle that." Napoleon answered.
"Do the refuge have tough war-" Before Caesar said all of what he wanted to say did he got stop by Waver
"No, it is 1950 in that singularity, swords were discarded and considered useless, they were replaced by firearms." Waver answered.
"Guess there isn't much of what I can help," Caesar said sadly.
Everyone keeps discussing with one another, trying to devise a plan. But most of the time, many plans were considered not suitable or relied too much on the non-sufficient resources of the refuge. The discussion keeps getting nowhere. That was until Iskandar who is wearing his T-shirt of a certain video game franchise walking in the meeting.
"Hey, what did I miss?" Iskandar laughed heartily.
Everyone there fills Iskandar in what he missed. Iskandar thinks carefully about what everyone discussed and he takes a good look at the layout map. A few minutes have passed and the tension keeps rising. Everyone feels like their joints could go stiff from the tension alone. Finally, Iskandar lets out a sigh as he explained.
"You know that there are major differences in conventional warfare between ancient and modern times, right?" Iskandar said.
Everyone there went silent, how can they actually miss such an obvious difference like that.
"The only reason we were unbeatable by anything that isn't a Servant or Phantasmal Being is because of mystery factor. The moment mystery went out of the window and we are not anything better than a normal human and that singularity there proves my point." Iskandar enforces his points further.
"So if anything, we need to think the other way. Change your way of thinking. Choose a different course of action." Iskandar adds further evidence.
"So you have heard, any conquests started with a small step and this is step one! Secure the path!" Iskandar started to devise the plan.
"I see, by routing your allies and deceiving your foes to follow your tactic so that you control the flow of battle. No wonder that you are known as the King of Conqueror." Napoleon commented.
"From what Kiritsugu reported, the enemies will attack at nightfall and they'll start it with an artillery barrage to clear up the field so that they would get a starting advantage." Waver said.
"Nighttime, huh? Then we'll make it into our advantage. Step two! Ascend from darkness!" Iskandar said.
"I don't exactly sure how one can still fight on equal ground if they were received such powerful initial attack," Hector said.
"From what I heard, Shirou and Kiritsugu have together made their unique defensive barrier which was exclusive to their abilities." Waver replied.
Hector thinks about what Waver said more carefully for a while. Later, a smile showed on his face.
"I see... I see what you are talking about." Hector said.
"No matter how powerful their artillery can be, those things won't make a single dent in that defense. When that happens, a chance to counter-attack will show itself." Hector said while fiddling with his Durandal.
"And when the time comes, we shall take this to step three! Rain fire!" Iskandar roared.
"When they thought that got an easy victory, that will be the moment they were proven wrong. Overconfidence is, after all, a slow and insidious killer. And when they were returned with a powerful counter-fire. It will be sure without a doubt that it will cause disarray and chaos." Caesar commented.
"And it will be our stepping stone to step four! Unleash the Horde!" Iskandar devised his next step.
"I'm sure hope that you aren't sending more people to their deaths. They already have too much in their plates." Waver commented while having a serious expression in his face.
"My retainer, I'm sure that you know I have a further understanding of the scale between risk and reward than anyone here. Do you think that I'm the kind of man who willingly sending his own men to their futile deaths? I'm sorry but it is wrong to assume that I'll just command my men to run blindly straight to their deaths." Iskandar explained yet still keeping his tranquil air.
"I... I understand." Waver said as his mood started to return to normal.
"Good, cause we'll going to move on to step five! Skewer the winged beasts." Iskandar said.
"You see here, the enemy has air superiority like what the report has written and that would soon be proven detrimental against us. It is an absolute law in warfare. The higher ground you have, the more advantage you are. But in this case, we can't bring any Servants with aerial Noble Phantasms because our enemy has a trump card against us older Servants. To add insult to injury, we have no modern Servant with aerial Noble Phantasm." Iskandar explained.
"So anti-air also takes a great priority in our plan, should we also tell them or-" Napoleon tried to chime in before Iskandar cut short of his speech.
"That isn't needed my friend, that King of Swords and his sister the Lady of Blades, back in the Fourth Holy Grail War Singularity when I was a Servant candidate in that war, I have clashed my blade with him. Even in my Gordius Wheel which I used to take flight and move with an insurmountable speed. He still managed to hit me. Even with my Ionioi Hetairoi, his kingdom of swords has stopped my army dead in its track. I have no regret when I clashed with such a man like that, he has the power that worthy of a king, a man who will impose his will on the entire world, carries his conviction with that heart white like glasses. Yet will never regret his decision and will continue on until his last breath, and I doubt he would stop if even so." The King of Conqueror gives his opinion about that man.
"Now I'm interested in why you called that little Archer there the Lady of Blades," Napoleon asked.
"When I first met her, she is said to be the holder of the power of that King of Swords, I decided that I want to test her mettle and so we have a sparring fight. And boys does she doesn't disappoint me in the slightest. If I have anything to say about her, the Lady of Blades and King of Swords are two sides of one same coin. Same yet different, they wield one same technique yet managed to differentiate so much from it that it was unreal. If I equated their techniques to 10 forms then they have reached the realm of 11th. To be fair, they have self-taught and created their own technique from the base and push it beyond its limit. Even if she can't do what her brother easily could, she has earned my respect and so I called her, Lady of Blades. Just like how I called her brother King of Swords." Iskandar explained.
"I see why you put them in such high regard," Napoleon commented.
"In short, they can together easily repel the fighters with ease. I just hope that they won't be caught in something bad before then." Iskandar replied.
The plan seems to be completed but Iskandar still feels like something is missing, he wanted his master to complete this mission flawlessly and he won't miss any possible factor that could let the plan to go wrong horribly.
"Hmm..." Iskandar squints at the report.
"Do you have anything to say? Iskandar?" Napoleon asked.
"That old Archer, they said that he is a noble and kind man, right?" Iskandar asked.
"Right, my liege. He also an inventor and gunsmith at the same time." Waver responded.
"Does he have a habit of helping others before considering himself?" Iskandar asked.
"Uhm... Yes?" Waver reluctantly answered.
"Hmm, it looks like I could equate him into the plan. Step 6 & 7! Wield an Iron fist and Raise hell!"
"What exactly can he do to raise hell?! I could understand wielding an iron fist but raise hell? He's a kind old man, how can you be so sure about that?" Hector asked Iskandar to explain why.
"This is where the difference between ancient warfare and modern is. Efficiency is the king on this battlefield. Efficiency was prioritized over anything else, honor is worthless and discarded away in that time. Each side resort to underhanded methods, for victory at all costs. Human life was disposable, expendable in that dark time. In the end, it just boiled down to how much life you can dump to that cesspool of death and blight and call that a victory. A reality like that would chip away any men's sanity. Soon that man would go snap should he stay in combat or seeing the defense suffered a major loss and he'll unleash his Noble Phantasm as he let his rage control him. What makes his rage so devastating is that he is a kind man in the first place. The kinder you are, the more wrathful your rage when the boundary of wrath and patience is broken. That is also part of humanity's nature, it is undeniable. That man has a regret that he brings with him to his own grave, one so deep that it influences his own action as a Servant." Iskandar explained.
"I... I can't see that old Archer could even shed a drop of rage, he just so chilled." Da Vinci chimed in.
"Lady Da Vinci, people wear many masks to hide their true feeling, his own kindhearted personality could be used to cloud his own unbounded rage, it just a matter of time until that facade would be broken," Iskandar explained.
Everyone became silent, they realized any Servants made it to the throne have a good reason to do so. That old man who is a Servant must have been something to make it the throne despite being a modern historical figure.
"So, are we done yet?" Hector asked.
"No, no matter how powerful one defense can be, if its operators are normal humans who are fighting against an army that has the power akin to Servants, then the people will die before the defense would have a chink in its wall." Waver said.
"You have a good point. If they come for Chaldean then there is nothing to worry about. But innocent people have been caught into this charade and so they have to be evacuated away as soon as they can." Iskandar said.
"There is a ridge there, why don't they just, you know? Hide there?" Caesar gives his idea.
"There are way too many people to hide, if the enemy found out, they'll be easy prey for those soldiers. Plus, a refuge that exists without being known in their intelligence before? It makes more suspicion if they found no one in said refuge at all." Hector said.
Now everyone is arguing with each other about how to deal with the refugees, tension rises with unimaginable speed as if violence would happen any second now. Things would have gone south hasn't it been for Cu bring in the last report.
"Everyone, I found this piece of paper on the way here, I read it over for context and I decided to bring it here." Cu said.
"Wait, I actually dropped something important like that and didn't notice it? Damn, guess all those overworks started to get on my mind." Waver grunted.
"So what is in the report?" Napoleon asked.
"It said, "Rescue team was dispatched by America's Resistance will arrive at the refuge right at midnight of the next day, the rescue team is led by a Rider Servant who will be giving fire support on arrival"." Cu said.
"If we calculate the time from the hypothetical starting time to midnight. The refugees will have to fight for 6 hours until the rescue team arrives. I don't know whether or not a few refugees will make it let alone the entirety of the refuges." Waver said.
"But are there any options left? If you can think of any better strategies then be my guest, my retainer..." Iskandar said.
Waver tried to squish his mind to think of any more optimal strategies but minutes have passed and Waver starting to sweat when he can't think of any better way without costing the refuge itself. Finally, Waver concedes defeat.
"Well then, we shall move to the next and final step, step 8! Freedom!" Iskandar roared.
"But, in my opinion, I have a feeling that our Master can refine it further so that it can be adaptable should the situation went out of hand," Hector said.
"Well, that is up to him, we can't interfere any much more." Waver said.
Now that a proper plan is made and prepared to be sent to the Master but before that, Iskandar added a P.S that the old Archer should not know about this plan. He guaranteed that steps 6 and 7 will work but only as long as the old Archer does not know about it. Da Vinci takes the plan to the rayshift chamber and prepares to send it to her Master.
"Godspeed, Gudao. May you able to fight against this atrocious raid." Da Vinci said before rayshift the plan for him.
The plan soon turned into pseudo spirittron and soon will reach the hand of Chaldea Master on the other side.
"._.""._.""._."
Voyage of Reminiscence
"._.""._.""._."
At the old Archer's workshop
"Don't you having much more urgent tasks to do right now?" The militant asked.
"While my task is indeed urgent, I'm not the type to leave others to deal with their own issues if I can help them. Now please, lie down and tell me what's on your mind right now so I can see what I can help. You could refuse but-" The old Archer said before the militant already started to act.
The militant lies down, looking back at the Archer. Shined upon by the lantern that was hung up at the ceiling of the workshop, he felt as if he is seeing something that was long gone but he can't tell why or what, the old Archer still waiting for him. He decided that it might be for the best to tell whatever he can.
"It was a flashback of a moment that I smash open someone's head with a pickaxe, it happens when I tried to use your pickaxe. In my flashback, I was in a trench of sorts, people were killing each other with anything they have, shovel, pistol, rifle, etc... You name it. The weather in that memory was so horrible, it just pouring like it was raining cats and dogs... It was so bad that I instinctively tried to puke." The militant tried to squeeze any possible details that can help him.
"Do you remember anything else? Like your childhood, daily life before enlistment,..." The old Archer asked.
"No, I'm drawing a blank here, I can't remember anything else as if such memory didn't exist at all..." The militant answered
"I assumed that you have PTSD before checking up on you, but seeing the actual situation for myself makes me realized that it is much worse than I thought. You could probably have memory loss or amnesia or even worse. Not that I try to scare you but, the fact that you don't have any memory of most of your life is already alarming by itself. I just hope it isn't something that was so bad that it literally follows you to the Throne itself." The old Archer said.
The militant went silent, so much about him are shrouded in mystery. He can't even remember his own name and it starts to make him felt down.
"This is my last straw in finding anything that could help you so, try to remember anything you could probably recall." The old Archer tried to encourage him.
The Militant tried to search for any memories in his mind, anything that holds clues to his identity, he felt his mind could burst anytime right now. As if right now in his mind, he is running inside an infinite-like locomotive train that is moving on a bridge that is stretching endlessly, he desperately tried to reach the locomotive where it holds the key to his identity but nothing was ever so simple.
Behind him, the bridge itself is collapsing, taking every cabin to the void, he tried to outrun the destruction itself but he was never fast enough to keep pace with it let alone outrun it. Soon, the cabin that he is running through will soon be falling off to the void. He doesn't want to give up now, not until he got an idea of who he is. Sprinting with all his might, all his stamina. He sees it, his name! He can't discern what it is, but if he got his name. he'll get the Chaldean help to found out who he was.
But, it was too late, before he managed to get a clear look at it. The cabin he is in has disconnected from the train as it falls into the void. He tried to grasp it but it was too late. He only managed to see the first word of his name before falling to the void. He falls while stretching his hand toward the sky as if he has been forbidden from entering heaven. He falls aimlessly until he can't see the light anymore.
"Are you okay?" The kind voice of the Archer wakes him up.
He realized he has been lying face down on the floor while sweating bullet, it must have been worse than he thought.
"I remembered my name, but only the first word." The militant said.
"Then mind to share it with me?" The old Archer asked.
"It was an A, just an A" The militant answered.
"At least it is better than nothing. Plus, it started to get confusing to call you without a name so, how about Arnold?" The old Archer said.
"Arnold... I'll take it. It will be my first step to search for my identity." The militant "Arnold" said.
They talk to each other for a while, mainly to drop some stress after such a therapy session like that. That was until a certain Assassin shows up to join the conversation.
"Hey, Archer! I got something to said to you." Kiritsugu said.
"Yes? What do you have to say?" The old Archer asked.
"It is about weaponry production, we'll need you to be in top shape for tomorrow," Kiritsugu said.
"I got an urgent task to make weaponry for the refuge, you think that the refugees can fight with sticks and stones?" The old Archer asked.
"Then I'm here to resolve it for you, I have an additional Noble Phantasm that can deal with this situation so you can take the night off. You should save those energies of your for combat." Kiritsugu replied
"Hmm, why didn't you say about it before at the meeting?" The old Archer asked.
"Barricade... You already know about it at the meeting." Kiritsugu replied.
"Fair point." The old Archer grunted.
The old man now resting upon the couch that he made by himself. Thinking about how exactly does Assassin would even get any weapon at all. But he knew that if they told him to conserve his strength then he had to do so. His eyelids now starting to get heavy and he will soon fall to his sleep.
"Hopefully I made the right choice of leaving it to the Assassin's hand." The old Archer thinks before he falls to his sleep.
A distant dream bound by Master and Servant. A fragment of memory that belongs to either one of the two. That fragment will soon reveal to show each other their true color.
"._.""._.""._."
A Glimpse of One's Past
Skyclad Observer
"._.""._.""._."
Somewhere in the USA, before WWII
"All unit! You all can take a rest tonight, your next mission will be decided and will be announced tomorrow. All unit! Return to your post." The commanding officer after he checked to see everyone is regrouped or not.
Everyone now scatters away, each left to do their own things, the day is about to end to let the night take its place. Two siblings who never separate from each other walking side by side as they gaze up to the star. But tonight, there is no star, only a glooming sky full of dark clouds. One could tell that it is going to rain soon.
"Pierce, do you think you will be chosen to take part in the war against Nazi?" Penny asked.
"Probably likely, I can't be sure about whether or not that I would be chosen as a soldier to fight in that war," Pierce replied.
They both became silent, the idea of being separated from each other is already scary for them, losing each other is more devastating than how one could possibly imagine.
Suddenly, the rain comes crash upon them, making them soaked. But, it is fine, because they look forward to it. They run together in the rain, enjoying their own blissful moment while letting none to dare of taking it away. At that moment, their hearts are one with each other. Why do they find the idea of just running in the rain so beautiful? Perhaps, it is something that only they can understand.
"Pierce, do you remember the time when we see our grandparents pass away?" Penny asked sadly.
That moment is when Pierce sees his sister's tears dripping on her cheek. The rain can't wash away her sadness. Pierce remembers his grandparents' funeral as it was one of the darkest days in his life.
Years before
The sky was pouring as if it was crying for his grandparents. He and his sister have no known relatives except for them. They don't even know if have a mother or father or not.
The funeral was held using the very last and little of their grandparents' savings. Except for the funeral organizer, the funeral itself was almost dead silent if it wasn't for the rain, with almost no people at all except for the siblings. They don't even have the money for a proper burial, and cremation is still out of their range.
As the rain falls, time passing on. Pierce looks at the death bed of his grandparents, they both look peaceful. He looks silently with a far-off look in his eye wondering what had he done to lose them.
The rain lightens up a little, it still raining but not as heavy like before. The silent air can't be disrupted by the rain, accompanied by the sounds of raindrops colliding with the ground make Pierce felt every single grain of time passing by. It went on for who knows how long until the organizer realized someone is missing. He patted Pierce's shoulder to catch his attention.
"Hey kid, isn't there supposed to be a little girl around here? I forgot that she supposed to be beside you and praying." The organizer said.
Pierce's mind suddenly went full alert, he looks around for his sister anywhere but got no signs of her. Both the organizer and him looking for her around the house but still no sight of her. At that time, their house is always a distance from any community due to the place is built in a rural area. If anything, she can't be running far from him. Without a second thought, he rushes into the rain, the organizer doesn't run into the rain since he doesn't want himself to get soaked so he tried to find an umbrella before proceeding to find them
The raindrops fall on him, the blowing wind gives him chill but the rain, to him it was warm like a mother embraces, something that he never felt once in his life. But it doesn't stop him from stopping and embrace the rain itself, his sister is his top priority right now and he has to find her by all cost.
He keeps running, the sounds of splattering raindrops on the asphalt road created a harmony that kept him going on, he picks up his paces, wishes to find his own sister. Not before long, he managed to catch glimpse of her, despite the rain cloud her image away, he still able to felt her sadness and seeing her tears within the rain itself. They both running under the rain like two fishes swimming under the sea, both were alone under the sea of emptiness itself while trying to reach out to each other. Pierce picks up his pace and begins to shorten the distance between him and her. It doesn't matter how long it is gonna take, he swears that he'll reach her with all he has.
Every step he runs, he got closer to her. Eventually, he is close enough to her, she's just within his own arm's reach. Pierce stretches his arm and grabs her arm. When Penny felt something warm in her hand, she instinctively turned back and saw her own brother holding her hand and telling her to stop. Both of them slowed down and Penny soon knelt down and right at that moment, her emotions burst out of her heart. She cried as much as she can until her eyes can't drop a single tear anymore. She wailed in sadness until her stamina run out. Pierce hugs her own body tightly in his hand so she can finally calm down.
The rain still falls, and a small fog envelops their surroundings so that no one can see them. Both of them hugging each other in the rain, crying with each other.
"Penny, why did you run away?" Pierce said with a hint of sadness.
"I... I don't want to... I don't want to face the reality that we will be separated! I don't want to accept the fact that I would lose you too! Didn't you see what happened to our parents!? If God wanted us to be happy then he shouldn't have to take life away from those who deserved it! Yet it happens-" Before Penny said anymore, Pierce hugged her tighter just so he could calm her down.
"Penny, that is why life is a fleeting dream. If a journey goes on forever, would you even want to follow it with all your time? If you were immortal, would you even found any joy in life? Being immortal... is to give up being a normal person..." Pierce explained.
Penny's emotion swells up but she can't cry anymore, she has shed all of her tears, unbottled every single word and feelings. The twin held each other underneath the rain. Unknown to everything else as they let the passage of time to flow away.
Time has passed for who knows how long but they saw a light from a car. It was moving slowly through the fog in order to find them. the driver got out of the car and turns out it was the very funeral organizer from before. He tried to follow them before but unable to keep up for long, he decided to get his truck or to be exact, it was the agency's truck in order to quickly catch up but when he got to the fog, he has to drive slowly or else he'll probably crash into someone.
"Thank god that I found you, but seriously, you two sprinted for 10 miles non-stop! Just what kind of tenacity you kids are having!?" The organizer said.
Both of them dumbfounded when they realized how long and far did they run, if a marathon runner did this, no one bats an eye. But kid? It is definitely something that would be caught anyone's attention. Both of them can only stare at the organizer.
"Look, you two aren't old enough to have any inheritance or living by yourself and all of your grandparents' properties will be taken by the government. I also heard that you two have no living relative at all so you two will be forced to live in an orphanage. As much as I don't want to, but it was written by the law so I do anything to help you more. But anyway, I'll take you two to my boss so we can decide which orphanage will be suitable for you two." The organizer said.
Both Pierce and Penny have a sad look on their faces. They walk slowly into the car so that they will be taken to the burial agency, slowly waiting for their judgment, but they still their head high for as long as they are still with each other.
A while later, they got to the burial agency that they hired. The undertaker manager who is sitting in the manager room answering calls, the moment he sees his one of the funeral organizer, he turns his attention toward them.
"Okay, so what is up with these 2 kids?" The manager asked.
"Well, the thing is that. These 2 kids no longer have any living relatives, and according to the law. They likely won't be able to have any inheritance from their deceased grandparents due to the fact that their grandparents left no will at all. Even the house they live in is rented. Because of that, there will be no place for them except for orphanage." The organizer said.
"I see. Well, I'll look for any reputable orphanage with good security for them." The manager said.
"Sir, if you are going to dump us at an orphanage, why go through such length for a good one when you could just dump us at a random one?" Penny asked.
"After the serial orphans kidnapping case eight years ago that make an uproar in the media? I'll rather pay more money for safety assurance rather than getting a bad reputation. Don't ask why those 2 connect with each other..." The manager said.
"Hopefully that I won't have to take you there myself. After driving 10 miles at a slow speed, my mind has already burnt out from the stress because these kids somehow managed to sprint for 10 miles continuously with no stopping in between." The organizer said it tiringly.
"Wait, you said these 2 kids run 10 miles continuously!?" The manager asked in surprise.
The organizer explained what has transpired in the last 5 hours. Apparently, these 2 kids managed to do something that is just almost impossible for kids.
"I see. These kids are much more special and extraordinary than I thought. The fact that they weren't shaken much when I said they have to go to an orphanage or their grandparents' deaths. These extraordinary feats make clear that they don't belong to the orphanage at all." The manager explained.
"Great... If it isn't orphanage they should go then where?" The organizer asked.
"Let me tell you, I have many connections and they could help me with something like this and I just have a perfect person to handle them." The manager said.
After done speaking, he dials the tabletop phone in order to call somebody. He exchanges words through the phone for a while. After that he said.
"Okay, you all soon will have your guardian to come and take care of you. Now, you all just need to stay here not causing any trouble." The manager said.
Time flows while the rain still not stop, Pierce and Penny sitting next to each other and looking through the window, the sky still raining but that isn't what they paid their attention to. They look up at the sky, trying to gaze through the cloud and reach toward the star but of course, it was too cloudy to do so but that didn't stop them from trying.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Both of the siblings look at a man in military uniform who has just entered, the manager quickly introduces the man to the siblings.
"Kids, this man is a sergeant in the US Marine Corp. His name is Smith and he'll take care of all of you." The manager said.
Now looking back, Pierce thankful that the Sergeant has come to take care of both of them. Otherwise, they won't be who they are now.
Back to the current time.
"I remember, that man, he was almost like a saint, I'm thankful that he has come to take care of us," Pierce replied.
"Hey, you two! If you two keep stand under the rain like that, I'll make all of you dealing with paperwork that I'll have to deal with if you two got sick!" An officer passing by saw them.
"We sorry!" Both the siblings said as they run away. Thankfully that they didn't have any illness at all even when they got soaked for who knows how long.
No proof ever show more insights about a person than their memory. One's identity is shaped up by one's memories. And from there, individuality is born.
"._.""._.""._."
Final Hours
"._.""._.""._."
At the old Archer's workshop.
"Huh, how long did I sleep, wait... I forgot that I have to make weapons!" The old Archer said when he wakes up before he realized that Assassin has taken the job for him.
"Tsk, he better be doing his job properly..." The old Archer said.
The old Archer moves his body up, checking to see if Assassin did the job properly or not. He sees that Arnold is still sitting near the cliff and looking at the horizon. After seeing his Master's dream, he felt that he should also check up on him. When he walks out of the workshop, he noticed that the sky was drizzling albeit slightly. He comes close to him to ask.
"How are you feeling right now?" The old Archer asked.
"I'm okay, just that I don't even know why I'm a Servant at all. I don't remember doing anything special at all. I'm not like that Finnish guy or that friendly US soldier or even you. I'm just an unknown soldier of an unknown battlefield that should be forgotten yet I'm here." Arnold explained.
"That's okay, the fact that you are a Servant prooves that you are far more special than you thought, you just don't remember it yet." The old Archer said.
"Then what should I do to search all of them back?" Arnold asked.
The old Archer went silent, the last time he has done this cause Arnold to have paralysis and fell to the ground. Servants don't suppose to get mental trauma unless it was another Servant's Noble Phantasm but it didn't. He picks his words carefully and said what would have been a fatal gambit.
"An action speaks louder than words. Perhaps you'll find them during your fight here. After all, you are a soldier, right?" The old Archer got nothing else but a half-assed answer which would probably backfire, but he can't afford to leave any trouble that would harm him and anyone who is close to him.
"I see, I'll do my best in the upcoming defense then..." Arnold answered tiringly.
After saying that, Arnold still looks at the sea that stretches beyond the horizon, the old Archer noticed that Arnold has the loo of "thousand-yard stare", it is crystal clear that it is something that he'll have to resolve sooner or later.
The old Archer now looks at the defense line that Shirou and Kiritsugu have built. They have just recently done covering up the core defense with sandbag and concrete, now they look like those bunkers that normal military used in holding defenses. Emiya and Kiritsugu are taking their rest as they sit near each other. The old Archer decided that he should talk to them.
"I hope you also did what you promised to." The old Archer said to Kiritsugu.
"Yeah, I already deposit them in nearby cases. You can take them and install them into positions right now." Kiritsugu replied.
"Good to know then, I hope that you keep your promise. See you later." The old Archer replied to Kiritsugu.
After conversing with Kiritsugu, the old Archer decided to see what did Assassin made. Walking toward the crates and seeing the results of Assassin, not what he expected but good enough.
"Not bad." The old Archer mumble while having a smile on his face.
Somewhere closes to the workshop.
"Okay, everyone. We are going to make our final checkup on our weapon. First is my "Widow Maker" which is a modified BAR, I got to say though is that Servant of mine is a sure master craftsman. Modified with optic scope, reflex sight, drum magazine, grip, and stripper clip compatibility. Got to say though, I'm sure that I'll manage to take down at least 1st Class with this weapon. What about you?" Pierce examined his weapon before asking others.
"Okay, mine is a modified M1 Garand which is now called "Grandeur Express", I'm surprised that he somehow makes the bayonet and grenade launcher adaptor not obstructing each other. It has an optic scope, reflex sight, dual extended detachable magazines, stock ammo pouch, it still has its stripper clip compatibility which I'm thankful for." A soldier examined his weapon.
"Mine is a modified Springfield which is now called "Persephone's Punishment". It has both optics and reflex sight, and he somehow managed to recreate the Pedersen Device and integrated it to firing 30-06 Springfield round in semi-auto! The Pedersen Device can be removed for stripper clip reload if I somehow run out of ammo for the magazine chamber." Another soldier examined his rifle.
"Oh, right! My weapon is a heavily modified Thompson which that old man called "Valentine's Firing Squad". The large 100-round drum mag that he modified it to the weapon somehow not jamming like how it supposed to. Equipped with grip and belt, I can't think of any more possible way to improve this thing." A soldier followed up in examining his weapon.
"You guys know about the M1 Carbine that I used to have until I lost it during life on the run from those Wehrmacht, right? Back when our army still here, before proceeding on any missions, I always dismantle my weapon for maintenance, so much that I even remembered every single part of the gun. And that Servant of your managed to recreate every single part that I described flawlessly. Okay, back to the weapon. This recreated M1 Carbine of mine is now called "Winter's Sin RC-1k". It has duals extended mags taped with each other for reduced reload time, optics and reflex sights which both of them are capable of quick interchangement with each other. The normal rifle stock is replaced with paratrooper's folding stock version for easy handle and weight reduction." A soldier explained enthusiastically.
"Back during the start of the war when we were still issued with WW1 armaments before receiving newer stuff. To be fair, I always bring my Lewis gun ever since I received it and for some reason, I carried the thing with me throughout the entire war until you already know what it is. Of course, it's supposed to be rusted by now, but the man takes a very good look at this and well, behold my supreme firearm! The heavily modified Lewis gun of mine which is now called "Kiss of Death". There aren't many things I can tell are changed. Other than this obvious 97-round mag, chambered in 30-06 Springfield. Made entirely with brass and dark steel with a built-in heat sink to prevent over-heat. This thing has some designing texture on some parts of the gun just for aesthetic purposes. Not sure if it fires faster or not but at least I'll be able to fight them back instead of hiding like a rat." A soldier tells the details of the weapon that he is holding.
"It is my turn, right? Mine is basically a heavily modified Enfield rifle which is now called "Lee-Onhart". To be fair, I can't see much difference other than the higher and adjustable magnification scope, stripper clips pouch that also doubles as cheek pad. Same materials like the one you guy has." Another soldier in Pierce's squad followed up.
"Well, Pierce's Servant said that this thing is so 'trash' that he can't think of any way to improve this weapon much so this modified M3 Grease gun which is called as "Black Gold". I asked that old man to improve this thing further and it took some time but it was successful in the least. Now, it has a 50-round drum mag, silencer that doesn't impair the gun firepower, reflex sight. It ain't much but at least it is better than having two magazines taped with each other and then call it an upgrade." The next soldier said.
"You know one of those obscure weapons that not being issued normally to infantry? Well, I'm just happened to be able to receive one of those. It is an M1941 Johnson, I'm pretty sure that you guys didn't get to see much of it as I was sent to your team during near the supposed to be Berlin Offensive. Anyway, the old man made it into "M2k-Spitfire". Modified with low magnification scope and extended magazine, I just hope that it has the mettle to withstand until daybreak anyway." The last soldier in Pierce's squad finally finishes up the weapon examination.
"Good, about the last guy, he can stay out of this one, he's already on the edge of madness and he doesn't need more bloodshed unless he wanted to go insane so, he'll be hiding at the bottom of the cliff," Pierce said why the last guy will be dismissed.
"Okay, because my Servant has finally finished my request. Those suits there will be our combat armors, completely protect us from enemy gunfire." Pierce as he introducing his squad to his Servant's creations. Nine suits of armors made entirely out of brass and dark steel. Full metal caps, bulletproof safety goggles, gauntlets, full-coverage bodysuits, and air-filter masks. These things will grant them full protection against any small arms and toxic gases. But it won't protect them from Servant's attacks and direct-hit shells. The wielders will probably be knocked around when receiving attacks of high mana-concentration but it is far more desirable than getting blown apart.
"You guys know what to do right?" Pierce asks his squad.
"Make it or break it. I'll just have to fight." A soldier said.
"One more day and we'll get out of this hell." Another soldier said.
Pierce and his squadmates are now motivated, hopeful at the idea that they'll finally see the end of their duty. They'll have one fight to go and they'll make sure that old man's efforts won't be wasted.
When the sun begins to set
Tensions are rising high, the air felt heavy. Everyone has decided on their roles in combat. The Finn will be taking out the artillery positions. The US will carry any people who are injured in combat to the shore below. Shirou, Kiritsugu, Kuro, Irisviel will be fighting in the front to take out any soldiers who are charging in, especially the Knight's Cross. Pierce and his squad will back up the frontline and taking down any Sniper and oncoming Infantry and enemies. Arnold is chosen as one of the people who will use the machine guns in the bunker to lay out suppressing fire to take out the stragglers who are still coming in.
Shirou who is standing on top of the bunker, using his Hawkeyes to see the area in front of him. It is as he suspected, the army of thousands of soldiers and many things are coming. Gudao can read what Shirou is thinking and know that there is no avoiding this fight. Gudao begins to prepare his signal as the enemy is getting closer to the turf. The moment his enemy comes close, he'll give his signal and all hell will break loose.
As soon as soldiers came rushing through from the forest, Gudao shouted. And in that very moment, a battle of life and death started to rage.
We'll see the end of our tales.
Writer's Note: Thank god that I managed to write this out, not only fixing up the grammar but to also properly researching. I hope you guys enjoy this, and I'll manage to make the next chapter in the next 2 weeks or a month. Until then, see you later.
Sneak Peek: "As the rain of blood unveil my crimson cloak"