51. Conflicting Plans

_Artoria_

Watching Godrick get up from his seated position, Artoria could do nothing as she watched him clench his fists, and walk towards them.

As Caster Appeared beside her breathing heavily, she wrapped her uninjured arm around Artorias shoulder, covering her from sight. Though, she still saw her son fall to one knee as he tried to reach them.

They disappeared in a burst of reds and purples, only to appear in a church basement. Stone columns stood in rows supporting the stone roof.

Ruined furniture littered the ground, and wooden pews lined the wall, having been haphazardly tossed there years earlier it seemed.

The two servants had appeared on a dais overlooking the room. It had a stone altar behind them with candles lit with blue flames.

Artoria was suddenly viciously slapped across the face, but the force behind the blow was pitiable, as Casters physical strength was nothing compared to her own.

"You stupid Bitch!" Caster screamed before standing up and striking out with her boot, hitting Artoria in the face.

The Saber could do nothing as her master continued to abuse her. She made no effort to defend herself as the blows rained down before a cold voice cut through the air, stopping Caster dead.

"What are you doing Caster? Why are you hitting her?" Kuzuki Souichirou said in his monotone voice.

Caster was ripped from her anger, suddenly turning around to look at him almost fearfully.

"Kuzuki, what are you doing here? I asked you to stay at the temple where you would be safe." She said, quickly walking over to him to make sure he was alright.

He seemed to not mind her fussing, as she walked around him, checking almost every inch of her master.

"I decided that I wanted to come here. Is that a problem?" He asked coldly.

"N- no. But it will be much more difficult to protect you in this location. There you would be protected by my magic, as well as Assassin." She said.

"Oh, I understand. It seems like I've made your situation more difficult. I apologize." He answered.

"Oh no, it's quite alright. Honestly I'm glad you're here." Caster said, gently hugging him, to which he didn't respond. This didn't seem to bother her, though Artoria saw that Casters master made no move to remove her.

"Now, back to my original question. Why were you striking Saber?" He asked once more.

Caster almost snarled as she turned around and pointed at Artoria before telling of what happened.

"This bitch almost killed me!" Caster said venomously. "She resisted my commands when fighting that- that… Abomination of a servant! He took her Noble Phantasm straight to the chest, and got up like nothing happened!" She shouted.

Leaving her master's side, Caster strode over to Artoria, gripping a fistful of her hair before wrenching her face back and up to look into her own.

"If you hadn't stopped hitting him with it half way through, you might have been able to kill him. But no, you chose to stop halfway through, even though I used a command seal on you!" She screamed, violently shaking Artoria's head back and forth, ripping some of her hair out as she did.

Artoria couldn't help but grimace at the treatment, though she couldn't help a smile from coming to her face as she looked up into her tormentor's eyes.

"He's going to rip you apart when he comes for me. And he will come. Mark my words." She said, before spitting up into Casters face.

Caster reared back before wiping her face, shoving Artoria away from her before she lashed out with her foot once more, sending Artoria to the floor. She then proceeded to repeatedly stomp on the Sabers face, before her master's voice once more stopped her.

"That's enough, Caster." He said coldly after a few minutes. She looked up at him sharply, but didn't argue with him. This didn't stop her from giving Artoria one last vicious kick to the face however before taking a few steps back.

Artoria pushed herself into a seated position before wiping at the blood coming from her nose. She spat the blood that had leaked into her mouth, coating the ground beside her red as Caster began to speak once more.

"You seem to know of this mysterious servant. Who is he?"

Artoria shook her head as she responded. "Go to hell."

"Do you really think I won't use another command seal on you?" Caster asked venomously.

"If you do, that only benefits me. Go ahead, waist one." Artoria retorted.

"Fine. Saber, with a Command Seal, tell me all you know about the servant you fought earlier today." As Caster spoke, she held up her left hand, showing off her Command Seals as the last two lit up before one disappeared

Artoria let out a laugh as her hands held her in her seated position.

"He's my son. His name is Godrick, the Knight of Ruin, brother to Mordred, the Knight of Treachery. His class is the Juggernaut, and he seems to be head over heels for some girl I've never met. He seems obsessed with a white flower, and won't shut up about her. Also is one hard bastard to kill, as everything you throw at him he just seems to eat, sometimes literally." Artoria said in what seemed like a playful voice.

"What else?" Caster asked.

"He uses a halberd, though he likes to use his fists more, the crazy boy. I tried to beat it out of him when he was little, but it never stuck." She laughed to herself.

Caster seemed almost like she was about to explode as she felt like she was getting useless information.

"What else?" Caster asked, her voice harsh as she was on the verge of exploding.

Artoria laughed as she responded.

"That's all I know. He told me of some of his abilities, but you already know about them. As I said, a waisted Command Seal." Artoria said in an almost sing-song voice.

Caster almost sprinted forward before a hand on her arm stopped her. "Someone else is here." Her master said.

Another voice suddenly sounded in the room from the entrance to the upper levels to the church, making all three of the people in the room suddenly look to the entrance of the room.

"I think I could be of more help in this regard, my dear Caster." A masculine voice said, as a man with a braided beard and braided hair walked down the stairs, revealing himself in the light. He was followed by another figure who walked into the room.

"Who are you?" Caster said, suddenly in front of her master protectively.

"Peace my dear, peace." The man said in his strange accent.

"My name is Ivar. As the saying goes, "an enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?" He said, walking down the stairs towards the bottom floor.

"I've fought this Juggernaut on multiple occasions, and I must agree with the miss over there." He said, pointing a meaty finger towards Artoria.

"He is one tough bastard. But with the proposal I bring to the table, he might not be all that bad in the end." He said, taking a cigar from his coat pocket before a small lightning bolt came from his finger, almost looking like it was frozen in time as it lit the end of the cigar.

Taking a long puff of the cigar, he blew it out, making a ring of smoke that disappeared into the air.

"Let me introduce you to my new partner." He said, gesturing to the figure standing next to him.

The young man had golden hair, and had eyes the color of blood. He stood there seemingly disinterested in everything, his hands in his pockets as Ivar introduced him to Caster.

"May I introduce Gilgamesh. King of Heros."

_Godrick_

Taking a deep breath, Godrick finally stood up. He looked at the place where his mother had disappeared from, whisked away by that bitch Caster.

He clenched his fists as he thought of it all. He had that woman in his grasp, and had made the decision to let her go, thinking she was inconsequential. Now, he was paying for it.

'Freaking dumbass' He thought to himself. No matter now. It was done. The past couldn't be changed, and he would have to deal with the consequences now.

Dematerializing, he made his way to where Archer and the others were. He watched the bounded field collapse in on itself as he left, seeing the bridge return to normal.

Rematerializing in the Tohsaka estate, he found Rin, Shirou, and Archer arguing with one another around the dining room table. Shirou was demanding that they leave that moment to go save Saber, while Rin and Archer were telling him how stupid of an idea that was.

"What we need is a plan of attack. Something that they might not see coming. The moment Caster feels like something is off, she'll bend Artoria to her will with a Command Seal, just like that!" Archers said, snapping his fingers.

"Why the hell does that matter when we have him!" Shirou said, pointing to Godrick.

"You saw what happened, he took Saber's Noble Phantasm like it was nothing, and got back up!" Shirou shouted.

"That might be true, but he won't kill his own mother you dumbass!" Archer said forcefully.

"Yes, but then if we kill Caster, I can reform my contract with Saber. Problem solved." Shirou said, standing from the table.

"That's not true." Rin said, finally cutting into the conversation.

"Your magical circuits couldn't support her as well as someone like me, or another mage a second time."

Shirou stared at her in disbelief, not wanting to believe what was said.

"No… No, I- I can do this." He said, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than the others.

"But then… who?" He asked.

"Rin." Archer answered matter-of-factly. Rin looked over to her servant sharply, confusion on her face.

"That's where my plan comes in." He said.

"Right now, Saber is fighting against Casters control. The second that we barge in there, Caster will just use a Command Seal to force her into submission. We can't just rush in there guns blazing. We have to have a plan of attack. And I think I have a perfect one." Archer continued.

Rin, who was listening to the conversation, glanced over at Godrick, who had taken a seat in one of the chairs he knew could support his weight.

He was thinking about Caliburn. Much like Jeanne's La Pucelle, Caliburn was a crystallization of his death. The moment he summoned the sword and began using it, he would begin to die. He didn't know how much time it would give him before he passed away, but he knew that once finished fighting, he and the blade would disappear.

Rin bumped his arm, getting his attention as she motioned over to the table where everyone was sitting at.

"What's your opinion on all of this?" She asked, wanting his input on the situation.

Godrick motioned towards Archer, denoting his support for going with a plan rather than running in head first like he usually did.

"See? Reason wins." Archer said, declaring the matter over with.

"Now, listen closely. You might not like what's going to happen, but you need to trust me."

_Ivar_

The rogue servant sat on his throne made of stone, overlooking the reality marble he had made. Much like Gilgamesh's and Archer's Noble Phantasms, his own, Valhalla's Gate, gave him access to something unique only to him.

Gilgamesh had his treasures, while Archer had his copies. But him… he had his spirits. Spirits of his fallen comrades. His Shield brothers and sisters. Though he didn't see them as anything more than expendable fodder.

He sat in a small cave on top of a mountain that had a massive stone hall carved into its base. overlooking a lush valley surrounded by mountains, almost making a bowl-like shape.

On the far outskirts of the valley, two massive stone pillars grew from the ground, making an inverted V.

It was the Gate of Valhalla, the entrance to this reality marble.

The valley beneath him was filled with thousands of warriors fighting each other.

"The joys of Valhalla." He said to himself, thinking of the feasts, the women, and the fighting that took place here everyday.

Footsteps approached from behind him, and he quickly stood up, not wanting to offend the man who approached.

"You know, I've never been one to give praise, but I must say, your plan is certainly a good one. To sacrifice Caster so Saber could return to her original master with false information. Dastardly." Gilgamesh said, coming to stand by the stone throne, looking down at the slaughter happening below him.

As the warriors killed each other, the bodies would disappear, and they would be resurrected for the next day's feasts and fighting.

"High praise coming from the King of Heros." Ivar said, bowing at the waist. He always knew how to tickle someone's ego, as he had been doing it all his life. That's how he took credit for being the viking on the bridge.

He had been stabbed in the groin while he was running from the Saxons as he crossed the bridge. As he lay there, slowly dying, he saw one of his companions pick up two axes as he fell next to the man. He had seen the man sacrifice his own bear companion in Thors honor so that the God would take notice, and give him the strength to fight before the battle had begun.

As he watched this mountain of a man defend the bridge, he grew jealous in his dying moments. As his shield brother fell he used his remaining strength after the battle was over, to throw his body into the water, and take the axes into his own hands, making it look like he had been the one to perform the feat.

He had always been a jealous man, but he was too cowardly to actually pick up a weapon and do anything about it. Sure he could fight, but it was nothing compared to the strengths he had gained through becoming a Heroic Spirit.

"I have something for you." Gilgamesh said, pulling a long spear from a golden ripple that appeared next to him.

"I want these back. But you can outfit the army with these if you want. Use them for your upcoming fight with the Juggernaut. Hopefully that will give you an edge over him." The golden haired man said, handing over the spear.

"Thank you so much." Ivar said, bowing even deeper, looking over the weapon. It was black in color and looked to be made out of obsidian, and had a long ragged cloth tied around its head.

"When Caster calls for aid, we'll ignore her for the most part. We'll Open a portal for her, and if she's competent, she'll take the opportunity to escape. If not.." Gilgamesh just shrugged his shoulders, not caring what would happen.

"As the Juggernaut raids the church, we will strike another target. Hopefully he'll come after killing Caster so I can teach him some humility." Gilgamesh said, now walking away back down the stone stairs leading out of the cave to the great hall below.