Chapter 20

Godrick

"Care to tell me why you destroyed my chapel?" Shirou asked as he turned toward Godrick.

"It's simple, my master." A new voice said as a man descended from the stairs that surrounded the altar.

"He is the Juggernaut." William Shakespeare said before adding in a whisper, "Bitch."

Shirou Amakusa turned towards him with a stern expression.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been looking into this age's literature, and this is a phrase that humans find quite funny and enjoyable." He said as he tried to placate his master.

"Interesting." Shirou said as he eyed the Caster. Ad Shirou back to the gathered crowd, another person spoke.

"While we were on our way here, we felt our masters change. What did you do?" Atalanta said as she looked at Shirou.

"It's simple really. Every red servant here now serves me!" He said as he held out his arms.

Achilles and Atalanta reacted in a split moment, with Achilles charging towards Shirou before Semiramis stepped in front of her master with a feral grin. She covered her arms in scales as Achilles' spear slammed into them. The scales shattered as she stepped back.

Atalanta had fired an arrow, which was caught by Karna, only inches from Semiramis' face.

"My, my." Said Semiramis as she looked at her fellow servants.

"Quite quick to temper. I will not allow you to kill our master." She finished.

"Lancer!" Atalanta shouted.

"Do you accept what he's done? He killed our masters!" She shouted.

"That might be true," he said calmly. "But I have some questions that need to be answered before we start attacking each other."

"Before that," Shirou spoke up. "I think the black faction should surrender before we discuss things further."

"Surrender? I didn't think you were a fool." Archer of Black said.

Shirou merely shrugged at the insult.

"You are outnumbered, plain and simple." Shirou said without a care, as if he were discussing the weather.

Caster of black took a step forward from the group.

"I have words, if you would hear them." He said to Shirou.

"Speak." Said Shirou

"You seem to know much about the Holy Grail. My dream doesn't have anything to do with is, and I believe our interests align."

"You would like to defect to our side?" Said Shirou with a sly grin growing on his face.

"On one condition."

"You will not attack my master. He is nothing more than a child, who doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."

"An admirable request. Very well. I'll not harm the boy." Shirou said.

Turning back to Jeanne, shirou gave a sad smile.

"This doesn't look very good for you right now. I'm sorry, but I'll have to kill you tonight." He said. With that Caster of Black snapped his fingers, making golems appear out of the walls and floor, surrounding everyone.

Godrick had been still this whole time, looking at his hated enemy. Shakespeare had been keeping his distance from the Juggernaut, but the moment the golems appeared, Godrick took action.

Suddenly Caster of Red found himself pinned to the wall by a massive halberd that had pierced his left shoulder. He screamed in agony as the knight appeared next to him, and delivered a rib shattering punch to his torso. Godrick then ripped the halberd out of the man, before throwing it at the golems. It destroyed them as it lanced through, burying itself into the adjacent wall.

Turning back to Caster of Red, Godrick reached down with one mighty hand, grabbing the man by the left shoulder. He then crushed the man's shoulder in his grip, completely destroying the flesh, tendons, and bone.

Caster let out a shriek of pain, followed by him trying desperately to claw at Godrick's hand in an effort to get away. It did nothing but to anger the knight further as he released the man, only to grab him once more by the forearm. One vicious tug was all it took to pull the arm from the socket, flesh ripping as the arm came away.

Caster fell, screaming as he rolled on the ground.

"Godrick, we need to go, now!" Jeanne said to him as she backed out of the chapel.

Looking back down at his victim, Godrick gave one vicious strike to Casters head with the freshly severed limb, before letting the arm fall to the man's chest. Just for good measure, he stomped down on the man's legs as well, then turned to the other servants in the room.

They all looked shocked at his brutality, except Semiramis, who licked her lips seductively.

Recalling his halberd, Godrick circled to the doors Jeanne had left from.

"You are quite vicious for a knight of the round table Godrick "Pendragon"." Shirou said with a hint of scorn.

"I wonder what your mother and sister would do if they saw you like this? A beast who destroys and tortures?" He said, trying to play on Godricks conscious. Little did he know that would never work. Godrick was of the mind, that war is war. Sometimes people make evil decisions, and sometimes those decisions affect innocent people. Just like the one he was about to make.

Taking his halberd into both hands, he raised it high above his head.

"No!" Shirou's attitude suddenly changed from indifference, to complete horror, as he watched Godrick bring his halberd down on the floor.

Godrick brought his halberd down on the floor releasingall the kenetic energy it had built up. The strike completely destroyed the chapel, and a good portion of the Hanging Gardens they were in.

As the Gardens crumbled around him, Godrick threw himself into the corridor Jeanne and the Archer of Black had fled out of.

Emerging from the smoke he had created, Godrick sprinted down the corridor, catching up to the two who had left. He dematerialized his halberd as he picked up Jeanne in his right arm, and the Archer in his left, leaving them dangling in his grasp as he picked up his speed. The Hanging Gardens were crumbling around them from his strike, and as he ran he finally saw what he was looking for. The hole he had made when he landed on the Lancer of Black.

Sliding to a stop just beneath the hole, he lept into the air.

Jeanne began to laugh as they went high into the sky, however Archer of Black started to yell as they started to fall.

They landed near the castle of Yggdmillennia, where Archer's master Fiore Forvedge was waiting.

"Chiron!" She yelled as tried to wheel her chair over some of the ruin of the castle.

Godrick put Chiron and Jeanne down before he turned to watch the Hanging Gardens crash to the ground.

"Master!" Chiron said as he quickly made his way over to the struggling girl. "Please be more careful, it's not safe here!" He said gently as he stood behind her, grabbing the two handles of her wheelchair to help guide her over to Godrick and Jeanne.

The four turned as the Hanging Gardens fell, slowly descending to the ground before an ear splitting crack was heard.

"Well, that will certainly take them some time to recover from." Jeanne said as she looked to her right.

"Good job." She said as she patted a hand on Godricks arm. The four of them stayed that way for a while, watching as the dust settled around the grounded Hanging Gardens.

Avicebron

As the Juggernaut and the other servants of black left the now destroyed chapel, they left the servants of red to fend for themselves. The Hanging Gardens began to fall as everything crumbled around them. They had all acted quickly, picked up Shakespeare and fleeing the room into the hallway, all trying to escape the falling death trap they found themselves in.

"This way!" Semiramis shouted desperately, leading them through a hidden door in one of the hallways.

She led them to a bunker type room where they could wait safely for the crash.

"Brace yourselves!" Shirou yelled.

Suddenly they felt the Hanging Gardens hit the ground hard, flinging them all across the room. As everything settled, they moved out of the room, carrying Shakespeare and Semiramis, who had been injured due to the damage. They made their way out of the Hanging Gardens, though they weren't really Hanging anymore.

"No!" Semiramis screamed as they all looked upon their damaged fortress. "This will take me at least a week to repair, master." She said heartbroken to Shirou.

"That's alright. We aren't going anywhere, and neither is the enemy. But you are right. We can't access the grail now that it's buried under all this rubble." He said in an irritated voice. He then turned to his group.

"All of you, help me try and find the Grail. While she repairs the Gardens." He said, then turned back to the wreckage.

Caster of Black spoke up. "I need to finish my project before it's too late. The Black faction will soon learn of my betrayal, and I need the core to my Golem before he finds out what I've done."

"Very well. Do what you need to. Use the Golem to try and buy us enough time to search for the grail uninterrupted." Shirou said.

"Yes, master." Caster said.

"Semiramis please watch over William while you begin repairs please." Shirou asked as they began to move rubble, and debris.

Leaving the group, Avicebron contacted his pupil/ former master.

"I need you to meet me at the usual place. Please bring the core." He asked.

A young energetic voice replied to him. "Is it time!? Are we finally going to complete the golem!?"

"Yes." The caster answered simply.

After a short time traveling he finally made it to the lake where his golem Adam was waiting half submerged in the water. The young boy Roche was there, bouncing on his feet excitedly. He held a bundle of cloth that seemed to be the core of this golem. The poor child didn't know that it was all a lie.

"I'm so excited!" Roche said as he looked at the Golem in the water.

Using the little strength he had, Avicebron picked the young boy up, and threw him towards the golems chest.

The boy was surprised, but thought it just had to do with the bundle in his arms. He reached the chest, and the moment he touched it black vines shot out from it and enveloped him.

"What? What is this?" He asked with fear in his voice.

"I'm sorry," The caster said. "You are the core. You have always been the core."

"No," the young child said as he didn't understand what was happening.

"I- I have the core right here!" He shouted As he looked for the bundle that had fallen from his arms. He found it had fallen into the lake, and was no longer in reach.

"No," he whispered.

"No, please!" He screamed out at his servant, who turned a callous eye towards him.

"I'm sorry, but in order to fulfill my dream, I need to you die." He said as he began his incantation.

"You don't have to do this! Teacher please help me! I don't want to die, not like this!" The young boy cried desperately.

Roches vision began to fade as more and more black vines pulled him into the chest of the golem. He gave one final heart-rending scream of fear before being devoured by the golem.

As the incantation finally finished, an enormous wave of magical energy released from the golem as life flowed into its eyes.

It stood out of the water, then began to walk out of it, making its way to stand before its creator.

"Yes!" Avicebron exclaimed as he lept onto its shoulder.

"Now, make your way to Yggdmillennia castle! We must keep them from the wreckage of the Gardens for as long as we can!" He yelled as the golem began to walk towards the castle.

Godrick

After they had finished watching the Hanging Gardens crash to the ground they all left to go back to the castle. Along the way Chiron and Jeanne told the young woman in the wheelchair all that had happened inside of the Hanging Gardens.

"So caster has betrayed us?" The young woman said.

"Yes master." Chiron replied.

"Well this certainly changes things." Jeanne said as she thought of their next steps.

"Ruler, you know that things aren't right here." Fiore Forvedge said as she looked at Jeanne.

"You know that we are going to be wiped off the map, if Shirou is who you say he is. The cards are stacked against us." She said.

"Please fight with us. We need your support if we are going to get out of this alive." She continued.

Jeanne looked to Godrick, who shrugged.

Fiore then said something that would change to two's lives forever.

"We can teach you two to communicate. I can teach you both sign language if that maybe sweetens the deal at all?"

Jeanne and Godrick looked at each other. Looked back at the young woman, and nodded.

"We would enjoy that very much!" Jeanne said excitedly.