Ok, this is the last flashback of the story. After this, I will have explained everyone's past. Well, almost everyone's. I'll save Avenger's for the sequel.
Things are really getting to a head now. More Servants will be dying. We are reaching the end for everyone. Now it's time for some real fighting.
Chapter 13: The Reaper Comes to Fuyuki
(8:00pm, Another Abandoned Warehouse)
Sola and Kayneth sat in rapture as Caster spoke of his past adventures. He told them about Mount Aleph and Sol Sanctum, where the keys to awakening Alchemy were hidden. How Saturos and Menardi abducted his friends Jenna and Kraden to get the Alchemy Stones. How he and his friend Garet chased them all around Weyward to stop them lighting the Elemental Lighthouses, making new friends and enemies along the way. The two of them, along with their new allies Ivan and Mia tried everything they could, but the villains managed to light the Mercury and Venus lighthouses. Jenna's brother, Felix went on to complete their mission, so they had to sail off to the other lighthouses to stop him. When they found him at the Jupiter Lighthouse, they were ambushed by Saturos and Menardi's siblings, Agatio and Karst. Felix jumped in to save them, and after Agatio had lit the Lighthouse he told them why he was doing this.
It turned out that Alchemy was the very life of Weyward. When the ancients sealed it away, the world started dying. The very edges of the world were falling away. Technology had regressed to the point of using wood for weapons. In order to save the world, they had to light the Mars Lighthouse themselves. But when they got there, The Wise One, guardian of Alchemy, stopped them. To him, Alchemy must remain sealed. He summoned a three-headed dragon to kill them and their allies. They triumphed over it, only to find that the dragon was his father and Jenna's parents. Heartbroken, Isaac placed the last stone in the lighthouse, releasing Alchemy again. Their parents came back to life from the sheer power of the Lighthouse, and The Wise One congratulated them. He had been testing them, to see whether humans were ready for the unimaginable powers of Alchemy. And so they all went home, everyone thrilled at their victory.
"Unbelievable." Kayneth said after a few minutes of silence. "To have access to such power, but only tapping into a tiny part of it. I can easily imagine many Magi who would literally kill for that kind of power."
Caster looked stern. "If they're anything like Viggato, then they can't have that power. The Ancients caused so much damage, and they were mostly naïve about their power."
Kayneth nodded, before Berserker's creepy chuckle echoed around them. Sola and Kayneth stood back to back, Volumen circling around them while Caster got his sword out. Berserker walked out of the shadows with a dozen zombies alongside him.
"Cute tale." He said. "But I need to pay you back for your interference. I'd say nothing personal, but getting stabbed by a massive sword is pretty personal." His zombie rushed towards Kayneth and Sola, but Volumen sliced them apart. The zombies pulled themselves together, but the two masters were already running. Berserker readied himself for Caster's attack.
"Odyssey." Caster called, and Berserker was impaled by two swords of light. He screamed as another two impaled him, then Caster swung an even more massive sword right through him. Berserker fell apart, but the pieces crawled away and reformed. Suddenly, a truck flew at Caster! He raised his sword, slice it right through so that both halves landed on either side of him. Berserker threw more things at him, but none came close to squishing him. Berserker growled as something big walked out the shadows.
It was fat and tall, but it's hands were massive and swollen. It roared before closing in on him. Caster blocked the strike with Sol, but found himself nearly being crushed under the weight. The hand alone had to weigh more than him! He jumped back as it swung again, and again. But he knew he was going to run out of room soon. He prepared to charge in when one of the hands was sliced off by a spinning circle. As the beast roared, Caster looked over to see Avenger swinging the other circle. It passed through its head, setting it alight in the process.
"Where have you been?" He asked her as the beast burned behind him. Somehow, he could tell she was smiling.
"I was seeing the sights. We never had this kind of technology back home."
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it Avenger." Berserker said as he walked out of the shadows again. "Because I'm going to send you both back to the Throne. My Name Is Legion." He shouted. A red orb formed around him, swallowing the three of them up. When the light faded, they were standing in a nightmare.
It was the city known as New York, but badly damaged. The sky was red, growths formed over the walls, fire was everywhere, and corpses decorated the streets.
Then the corpses started moving.
Zombies and monsters of all shapes and sizes rose up, surrounding the two Servants. Many of them were roaring and screeching at them. Berserker's laughter echoed around the Noble Phantasm.
"This is what happens when my virus really cuts loose. This is why I'm a Servant. Because I am all powerful."
"Welcome to the Red Zone." He finished saying as his monsters charged. Caster and Avenger quickly cleared a path for themselves. Caster sent out two Venus Djinn before summoning Ramses. A small desert formed with a pyramid in the center. The pyramid exploded, revealing an Egyptian-themed giant. It slammed its fists into the ground, squashing monsters flat and clearing away more. Caster used that chance to cast a wall of fire around him. More Djinn lashed out and he summoned more beings. He then unleashed more Djinn allowing him to summon Thor. A Large Viking flew through the air on his massive hammer, before it changed into a large drill-thing. Lightning arced everywhere from the point of impact. Then, he summoned Cybele, summoning a giant silver0haired lady. She blew a small frog monster at the Infected, which then burrowed underground and sprouted skyscraper-sized vines. Procne summoned a massive bird that caught loads of Infected in a tornado, before blasting them all with beams of magic. With Neptune, a large pool of water appeared in the ground, drowning several monsters. Then a monstrous whale rose out of it, before firing a beam of water at a particularly large group. All the monsters seemed to stop when they saw Boreas. He was a gigantic train monster, who created a wave of ice and snow by slamming its hooves into the ground. Next up was Haures. He was a large blue demon monster, who moved fast enough to slash monsters from several angles all at once. Daedalus was a massive war-machine that fired a series of missiles from its shoulders, before revealing a massive one in its chest. Next up was Catastrophe. He was seen as Judgement's brother, being a knight covered in weapons. The monsters screamed as he fired darkness from the tip of his massive sword, cooking them alive. Finally, Charon was unleashed, taking the form of Death. He summoned a ball of darkness, that enveloped a large part of the Reality Marble. Any monsters caught in it died instantly. The number of dead was staggering.
But they still kept coming.
As he slashed at another, he knew he was running out of mana. He only had enough for his two most powerful attacks. He just hoped that Avenger would try to avoid them.
"Wrath of The Sun. I Summon Thee, Iris." The Reality Marble changed into a Galaxy, with a beautiful woman in the centre. She glowed with a holy light, before blasting all of it through the void. As it travelled, they saw that it was heading for Earth. The beasts ran wild, but Iris vaporised each and every one of them. Buildings crumbled from the force. Caster felt rejuvenated, but he knew it wouldn't help. Iris may have healed him, but without the Mana he would fade away. Still, he was going to save Kayneth and Sola. He spotted Berserker, standing over a fallen Avenger. She looked badly hurt, with Berserker about to land the final blow.
"Megiddo." Caster called, swinging his blade. The sky grew brighter as a small star fell towards Berserker. He ran, but the star followed him with pinpoint accuracy. It slammed into him, destroying more buildings and setting fire to everything left. Any monsters crawling to attack were vaporised again. Afterwards, there was only silence. Caster felt relieved, even if he only had a few moments left.
Then pain, as Berserker's blade ran him through.
"Gotta admit." Berserker said as he removed his blade. "Those attacks of yours scared me. If I hadn't made a double, you'd have probably won the fight. But it's all over now." Caster could only gurgle as he faded away. Once his remains were gone, Berserker dispelled the Reality Marble. He saw Avenger run away. He could've chased after her, but his zombies were about to lose the humans and he wanted to make sure they weren't coming back.
Besides, he really wanted to eat another Magus.
(Alleyway)
Sola gasped as her command seals faded. She felt like crying, but the zombies were still chasing them. Which was really unfair. Zombies were supposed to be slow, and stayed dead after you sliced them. But apparently Berserker thought differently.
Looking back, she saw that Kayneth was slowing down. They both knew that his stamina was getting worse after Saber's attack. He could walk fine, but constant running was too much for him.
"Sola." He gasped. "Keep going."
"No." She said. She may have disliked his attitude at first, but the War was making him… softer. She saw that he really did care about her. She wasn't leaving him behind.
"Please. We both know I won't make it. I'll hold them off and distract Berserker. At least this way you can survive."
"Kayneth…"
"Go!"
Sola looked on in sorrow, before running away. Glad that she would escape, Kayneth turned back to face the zombies. The two chasing him rounded the corner, before being sliced apart by Volumen. Kayneth blasted the pieces with wind, scattering them before they could regenerate. He turned to leave when Volumen blocked off a black spike from the ground.
"Kayneth!" He heard Sola shouting. He turned to face her, but realised that she came from the battlefield instead. Volumen sliced her in two, but as he suspected the pieces reformed. He tried to blow them away, but his winds couldn't even budge them.
"Impressive." Berserker said as he rose up in his armoured form. "I will enjoy adding your power to my collection." He fired tendrils from his armour, Volumen rising to block them. Kayneth heard them go 'bang' against the mercury, each one louder and louder. Finally, one pierced Volumen, blowing his leg off. He screamed as Berserker tore his way through, heedless of the wounds he was suffering. Kayneth knew he couldn't let Berserker take him alive. He could find out where Sola would be running to. He had to protect her. He commanded Volumen to slice the two of them in half. He was dead before it had even finished.
"God dammit!" Berserker shouted as he pulled himself together. All that knowledge, gone. True the power was still there, but Zouken wouldn't have a clue how to utilise it properly. And he had no clue how to command the metal orb-thing. Grumbling to himself, he almost missed hearing his phone ring.
"Yeah?" He asked, thinking his master was checking up on him or something. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Berserker." Kirei said. "Inform your master that Tohsaka will be waiting in the church for him. He has no idea that Kariya will show up, and Archer and his 'toys' are occupied."
"Alright then." Berserker replied. "But you'd better not be getting all 'Stupid Evil' on me." He hung up of the priest, before dialling in his master's number.
Someone else was dying tonight, and Berserker didn't think it was going to be Tohsaka.
(9:00pm, Fuyuki Church)
Kariya grinned. He was glad that Berserker had gotten this information. He had sent Berserker to go and distract Archer. Couldn't have more of his toys stopping him. He was better prepared this time.
He slammed both doors open with a bang, showing off his immense strength. There, in the front seats sat Tokiomi. Kariya grinned even more. Finally, he could get revenge for Sakura. Him and Aoi could have a family. Rin and Sakura would be safe.
"Just like you to skulk in the church, Tohsaka." He said as he walked closer. He kept his senses wide open, in case of a surprise attack. He would win this time. "Are you praying for salvation? For forgiveness? For what you've done to Sakura? Well it's too late for that. I will punish you for your sins Tokiomi and…"
He stopped. Tokiomi was falling to the ground. As he looked, he noticed that his suit was stained red at the back, with a rip in the middle. He walked closer to see his face. Tokiomi had a glassy-eyed stare. It was clear that he was very much dead. As he stood over him, he heard a gasp. Looking at the door, his heart froze over.
Aoi was standing there, tears welling up as she stared at them. Tokiomi, dead, with him standing overhead like a murderer.
"It's…it's not what it looks like." He pleaded. "I didn't…I didn't do this."
Aoi didn't seem to hear him. She walked closer, stopping only when she and Kariya were face to face. Quiet as a shadow, she checked over Tokiomi. He tears became bigger and she started sobbing when she confirmed his demise. Kariya could only stare in horror.
"Are you happy now, Kariya?" She asked. "The Matous are sure to win now." She started sobbing. "First I lost Sakura to your wretched family, now you take Tokiomi from me?" She sobbed again as she started shouting. "Of all the cruel things you could've done, you had to kill him right in front of me?"
"But he…it was all his fault. If it weren't for what he did, no one would've ever had to suffer. You Aoi, or Sakura. You could've had a happy life."
"You shut your mouth!" She shouted back. Kariya stopped in shock. "What could you…what could you possibly know about it? You? You've never…you've never loved anyone in your entire life."
Kariya saw only blackness. He heard Aoi scream as something splattered against his skin. He heard her beg as tearing sounds echoed through the church. He heard strange noises. Until he couldn't hear Aoi anymore.
Vision came back to him. He saw Aoi in pieces on the ground. Her guts strewn around the place. Her blood decorating the floor. And all over his hands. He could only stare in horror, before screaming and screaming. He rushed out the door as fast as he could, leaving the scene of horror behind. He failed to notice the three people watching over the entire thing. One man felt cheer and joy from the carnage. The second felt only rage, at the man who made this whole thing possible. And the third man looked on feeling nothing, before finally speaking.
"Well that was unnecessarily brutal. Want to strangle some puppies while you're at it?" Berserker asked Kirei.
(6:00pm Saturday, Emiya Residence)
Saber brought in another bowl of fruit, but now he had to hand-feed Irisviel. She was weaker this morning for some reason. Saber decided now was a good time to ask.
"So are you going to tell me why you keep getting weaker? It can't really be a 'design flaw' because I can sense some energy forming inside of you."
Irisviel looked at him for a bit, then sighed. "The truth is, Einzbern Homunculi are the physical vessels of the Lesser Grail."
The truth hit Saber like a charging Abomination. "You're the Grail?"
Iris shook her head. "I am how a master contacts the Greater Grail, the true omnipotent Grail. The Grail is powered by the mana of the fallen Servants, meaning I get weaker with every victory. At this rate, I'll be dead by tomorrow."
"And you're alright with this?" Saber asked. "You're fine knowing that you'll be dead soon?"
"I've known that I'll die the moment the War began. Don't worry about me Saber. At least I'll help realise Kiritsugu's dream."
Saber didn't know how to respond. A small but persistent voice kept calling about how this wasn't right. But fortunately he was interrupted by Emiya. The man seemed colder to him than ever. Perhaps he had seen his memories, as the books he read said Masters did. Annoying, but Emiya wasn't about to give up on winning just because his Servant was the most hated being in Azeroth. For now, he seemed satisfied with sending Saber riding around the city, looking for the auras of the remaining Servants.
One way or another, tomorrow will be the end of the War.
(7:00pm, Emiya Residence)
Irisviel and Maiya had been talking about Kiritsugu when the door was blasted open. Maiya got her gun ready as the intruder entered.
It was Berserker, frothing at the mouth and with his hands covered in massive gauntlets. Maiya opened fire, trying to distract the servant. She had already called Emiya as soon as they heard the first thump, and knew that her bullets were useless against a Servant. Her only hope was to keep it from getting to Lady Irisviel until Saber could get back. Tired of blocking her bullets, Berserker charged in closer, slamming into her with his fists. She felt every bone in her body break from the blow. She coughed up blood as she fell. Berserker seemed to shake from pure rage, before grabbing hold of Lady Irisviel. They left out the door, and as she blacked out from pain, she saw Saber look in before leaving. A spell flew at her, fixing some of the damage. It was nowhere near powerful enough to save her, but it made the end less painful.
Later, Emiya came in. He kneeled down beside her, sadness in his eyes. She tried to tell him that she cared for him, that she wished that he would succeed. But it hurt to speak, and she finally closed her eyes for the last time.
And so Maiya died in peace.
There we go. I finally get to show Berserker and Caster in some real action. That was a great fight scene. Hope you guys enjoyed it too.
Also, just in case anyone missed it, I am hoping for any other ideas for Omakes. I've got one idea for the next chapter, but I'll appreciate any other contributions. Who knows, you might have a better idea than I did.