32 32. The Power of the Grail
-Godrick-
Godrick and the small group that was with him walked through the airport, making their way to the planes that they would use.
Walking through the empty terminals felt odd, but no one said anything. Soon they came to a wall of windows that let them look at all the gathered planes. Each of them were large enough to hold a couple hundred people or so.
They stopped before the windows, and went over their plan once more.
Clause explained that Astolfo would ride ahead of them and flank the Hanging Gardens, as the rest assaulted from the front. The masters would then follow behind the vanguard, where they would assist with support where they could.
After a short conversation if Rider had remembered his Noble Phantasms name, the group set out.
They walked out onto the runway and mounted each of their planes. Godrick would ride in front, taking the brunt of the enemy's attention. Jeanne, Chiron, and Berserker would all flank him.
Their jobs were to protect themselves, and get To the Hanging Gardens in one piece.
Mordred had joined them, driving with her master as their small plane was being towed behind to the runway. She turned up their radio to blast music as they drove by, almost blowing the speakers out.
As Godrick was looking at his plane, wondering how much damage it could withstand, Jeanne found him.
"Hey," She said to him. "Be sure to keep yourself safe out there. This might be our last night here in the mortal plain together." She said with a hint of anxiety.
Godrick thought for a moment before replying to her.
"I'll give you the same answer I gave my sister earlier. I'm the Juggernaut, it's my job to keep you safe." He signed to her.
"And you have, but there is more to this battle then my safety." She said, looking into his eyes.
"Maybe," He signed. He now took a leap of faith with his next words.
"But your safety is all that matters to me."
She stared into his eyes as she thought of his words.
"I may not be very old my lady," He signed to her. "But I consider myself an old fashioned knight."
He knelt to her, now looking into her eyes at an equal level.
"You have my oath lady, I shall stand with you always, and protect you in all things. Even if the world is our enemy." He signed.
In his homeland, oaths were not given lightly. They bound the party's together until the world's end. And once one gives an oath, they are bound by more then just magic.
Jeanne looked into his eyes with a serious expression. She had never had an oath pledged to her. they had all been pledged to the Lord, but never her.
"Hey!" Mordred shouted to them over the sound of the stereo.
"How do you like the tunes!" She shouted as she played an air guitar on top of the roof of their car.
"I'm quite enjoying it!" Jeanne shouted back.
"I'm enjoying everything I'm hearing!" She said as she looked back into Godricks Icy blue eyes.
"I know how serious oaths are. And there might come a day that I will hold you to yours." She said as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek before walking away.
Godricks heart skipped a beat as he watched her walk away, never before having felt what he was feeling. He stood back up, his eyes still lingering on Jeanne as she walked to her plane.
Mordred, having turned the music off, came and bumped into him with her shoulder.
"I saw everything you know. Not so subtle, getting down on your knee and all." She said.
He simply reached up quickly and smacked the back of her head, quickly turning back to his plane before he jumped up on top of it.
Mordred's hair was now a mess, as the blow had snapped the band she used to put her hair in a tail.
"Jackass!" She said to him. "I was only going to tell you good job!" She finished as she gave him the middle finger.
Soon it was time to depart and servants and masters said goodbye to one another. Golems lined the runway with small bright wands that lit up in their hands.
Godricks plane was the first to start, and after a moment, its wheels started to turn as the engines roared with life. The plane started forward, picking up speed as it did.
Finally it started to go faster, whipping Godricks cloak behind him as he stood firm.
When he had jumped onto the plane, his feet left faint indents in the metal, telling of how much he and his armor weighed. These indentations now acted as footholds for him, and he was grateful for them.
Finally, the plane took to the air, and soon, the other planes did as well. Godrick looked around him to see Jeannes plane behind and to the right of him, while Chiron was behind and to the left of him. Berserker brought up the rear, but her plane was higher than the others by a bit, so as to not be targeted by attacks that were aimed at the others. Other planes littered the sky in case any of the others were destroyed.
Suddenly a much smaller plane flew past Godrick, dipping and weaving through the air as it flew. He thought he could hear Mordred laugh at the plane past with the word "Saber" written on it.
Soon the Hanging Gardens came into view, and with it, the final battle to determine the winners of this Grail war.
A magical screen appeared in the sky, showing Assassin of Red.
"We welcome you to the Hanging Gardens, Black Faction. And to you, Ruler and Juggernaut. Please, come partake in our hospitality as our master is waiting for you." She said with a sly smile on her face.
Suddenly one of the magical cannons from the Gardens flashed an eerie purple. A huge magical beam shot out, aimed for Godrick's plane.
He simply held his left hand up and let the beam hit him. The beam burst as it connected with his hand, but the cannon continued to fire. After a couple moments the cannon stopped, showing Godrick who was completely unharmed.
Assassin bit her lip as her image looked down at the Juggernaut.
"Can't blame me for trying can you?" She asked seductively. Suddenly her image disappeared from the sky, but her voice remained.
"Come, if you dare." Her voice said, lingering in the sky.
Purple beams filled the sky, as the Gardens cannons started firing nonstop. Godrick was unsurprised by the attack, same as Jeanne. Godrick just stuck his hand out as usual, while Jeanne lowered herself into a defensive stance and deflected the beams. As they were shot at her, a golden magic circle appeared and deflected them up into the sky.
Mordred and the others weren't as lucky, as they had to dodge through the attacks. Mordred's plane ducked and weaved through the beams, though one did end up striking one of the wings of the plane, but it wasn't bad enough to ground them.
Chiron and Frankenstein had to run and jump to other planes as theirs were destroyed from underneath them.
Having seen enough, Godrick crouched down and leapt forward. His leap was so strong that he reached the cannon in an instant, and shattered the plane he was riding on.
He let his left shoulder smash into the cannon, shattering it to bits and pieces.
Grabbing one of the pieces, he hefted it up, and with one hand, threw it at one of the other cannons.
That cannon shattered as well, letting its debris fall to the ground far below. Godrick turned to his right and threw his halberd at the other cannon, taking care of that as well.
Summoning his halberd back, he waited for his companions to reach him. Each of them dropped from their planes, as Mordred materialized next to him in her armor.
Once they did they walked into the Hanging Gardens together, only to be met with a maze.
"Anyone have a map?" Mordred said. "Assassin said we were welcome, but it doesn't seem like it to me…" She said.
The long hallway had multiple corridors branching off from it. It then came to an end about 100 feet away from where the group was.
"We don't have time for this." Godrick signed to Jeanne as steam came from his helmet.
Rolling his shoulders, he started jogging towards the end of the hallway. He picked up speed, and soon he was sprinting full force at the wall.
Burying his head, he hit the wall full force, crashing through it. He then barreled through the next wall, and the wall after that.
"Well, my mother always told him to use his head." Mordred said as she ran after her brother.
-Shirou Amakusa-
Shirou knelt on both knees with his eyes closed as he meditated. His new abilities, Class, and armor should be enough to wipe out the Juggernaut and the Ruler. Not to mention the rest of the black faction, and the traitor.
Soon he began to hear faint rumblings from in front of him, followed by Semiramis' voice calling out to him.
"The brute is just running straight here through the walls! What are we to do?" She asked.
"Calm yourself Semiramis. All will be taken care of. Just prepare the Grail." He said to her.
Without opening his eyes he called out to Shakespeare.
"Are you ready William?"
"I… I believe so, Master." He stuttered out.
"There is nothing to fear William." Shirou said to his frightened servant.
"The Juggernaut will not hurt you." He said. 'Badly' He then thought in his mind. In truth, he wouldn't go out of his way to protect his servant. As long as William did his part, there would be no need.
Soon the distance rumblings grew closer, and at last, the Juggernaut ran through the far wall.
He came to a stop as the glory of the Grail envelope him. Soon his companions joined him, first, the bitch that had betrayed them, then the Ruler.
Shirou got up from his kneeling position as he began to speak to the gathered Black faction.
"Welcome, my dear friends." He said as he stood and held an arm out.
He held his Helmet under his other arm as he did, then continued his speech.
"You all stand in a holy place. This is where I shall save all of humanity."
"You?" Jeanne said as she stepped forward. "There is only one person who can save humanity." She said as she brought her hand to the small cross she wore under her armor.
"How dare you blaspheme against the Lord, claiming you alone can save Humanity." She brandished her Lance in front of her as she prepared to leap forward.
"How foolish you are my young Saint." Shirou said.
He then turned as looked toward Shakespeare.
"Begin." He commanded.
William nodded his head, and with the power he drew from his master, activated his Noble Phantasm.
Normally, he could only target one person with his NP, but with the power his Master now had, he could target each of the Black Faction members.
-Godrick-
Godrick's eyes dimmed before he found himself standing in a crowd of people. He was in an unfamiliar city, with tall buildings all around him.
He marveled at the craftsmanship of the buildings, wondering how the stone had been cut so perfectly. He knew this wasn't the age he would have been alive, for no craftsmanship was that talend. He soon realized that this was all part of Shakespeare's Noble Phantasm, and that he would be free when it was over.
The crowd deeper in the city started shouting and cursing at a figure he couldn't see.
He was tall enough to see over the heads of the people around him, but whomever the crowd was shouting at was deep In the city.
Soon the shouting started to spread to where he stood, and soon he finally saw the figure that drew the crowds hatred.
It was Jeanne.
She was being dragged by a chain down the street to a stake that had wood piled around it.
She was covered in blood and rotten food, due to the crowd's anger and hatred.
Godrick finally understood what he was seeing. It was her death.
He had read about her death in the library of Yggdmillennia castle, but to see it in person…
Jeanne stumbled as a stone hit her in the head, making her fall to the ground with a grimace. She quickly got up and continued walking to the pyre In the middle of the city Square.
Godrick broke through the crowd, but hit an invisible wall that separated him from Jeanne. With all his strength, he threw his right fist into the invisible wall, but it did nothing. He turned to who had thrown the stone, seeing a middle aged man with a balding head.
Godrick shoved through the crowd, who completely ignored him. He reached the man and brought his fist down on him, sending his head into his torso with a crunch. No one reacted at his brutally, their hate still directed at Jeanne.
His attention was focused back on her as she let out another groan. He twisted around to see she had been struck by another stone, making her fall a second time. The guard holding her chain didn't seem to care however, as he simply kept walking, dragging Jeanne on the cobblestone behind him.
Jeannes chain went tight around her wrists, and then her throat, making her gasp for air as she was dragged.
Godrick quickly found the perpetrator responsible for throwing the stone, and brutally killed the man as well.
He returned to the wall after, and struck at it with all his might, desperately trying to get to Jeanne.
She was finally able to get back to her feet, and gasped as she was able to breathe once more. Godrick gave up on getting to her, and was proactively killing anyone in the crowd who raised their hand to throw something at her, but he was only on one side of the street. The other had plenty of people throwing things, which only increased his anger.
Soon she was dragged to the city square where she was led up the stairs to the large wooden stake. Godrick found he could now move as the crowd encircled the platform she was on. He ran again to jump up to her, but hit the damned wall again.
He took his frustrations out on the crowd around him, swinging his Halberd indiscriminately. He then saw the guard that had been dragging Jeanne down the road walk down the stairs of the wooden platform into the crowd.
Godrick believed that he wasn't a cruel man. But the moment he saw that guard, and understood he could get to him, his dark side came out.
He crushed the people underneath him as he ran towards the guard, who surprisingly seemed to notice him.
"Halt!" He yelled as he pulled his sword from its scabbard. Godrick knocked the blade aside, grabbing the man by his throat with his right hand and lifting him into the air. He then grabbed him by one of his legs with his left hand, then brought him down hard as he knelt.
The man's spine broke, causing him to let out a scream of pain. Godrick silenced it as he brought his right fist down onto the man's face, snapping his head back. Godrick brought his fist down on the man's face until his head was a pink mess on the cobblestones.
He flipped the body off his knee, then stood up once more.
"Jeanne D'arc. You stand accused of heresy, and blaspheming against the Lord. What say you in your defense!" The white robed priest said as Jeanne was chained to the stake. The priest reached out and ripped the small wooden cross from her neck, holding it up for the crowd to see. A great cheer erupted as he did, then he pocketed the small item.
Godricks head snapped towards the platform, disbelief on his face.
As Jeanne opened her mouth to speak, another figure on a second platform stood and spoke.
"Silence!" His shrill voice sounded out.
"We will not give you a chance to spout more blasphemy against the Lord our God!" His unusually high voice cut through the shouting and cursing.
"Brother Peelig, if you would!" He shouted at the second priest with the torch.
Godrick was on the man in an instant, though the man with the high voice didn't seem to notice him until just before his halberd cleaved through his head.
Godrick quickly killed the other figures on the platform as well, before a blazing light from over his shoulder caught his attention.
"I love the Lord!" Jeanne shouted as the flames began to eat away at the timber around her.
"I go to his embrace now." She whispered to herself before the flames touched her skin.
Godrick screamed with everything he had, but no noise came from him. Once again he hurled himself at the invisible wall trying to break it. He used every ounce of his strength to slam against it, but nothing seemed to work.
"No!" A shout was heard.
Godrick looked over to see an old man with a hunched back, crying as he looked at Jeannes burning figure.
He was fighting his way towards her, but he was so weak and frail that no one paid him any mind.
"Jeanne, No!" He screamed out.
The small man fell to his knees, and cried like a child as he looked up at his daughter.
Godrick looked up helplessly as he watched Jeanne burn. She didn't make a sound as the flames ate at her, until her hair caught on fire.
Soon Godrick could hear her whimpering as she did her best to stay silent. She was shaking, fighting against the chains that bound her. Finally she let out her first, and last cry.
"GODRICK!" She screamed for his help, then was silent. Her body had stopped moving, telling everyone she had finally died.
The old man cried even harder, as the crowd around him cheered for delight.
Godricks cheeks were stained with his silent tears as he was helpless to stop things from happening. The hand that was wrapped around his halber was clenched so tight, that it left an indent of it in the metal. His armor creaked as he clenched his left fist, his fury and hatred rolling off of him, it being almost palpable.
He was shaking uncontrollably, his body looking like it was spasming. He brought his left hand up and ripped off his helmet, before grabbing his face. He clenched his face as if he was physically trying to stop himself from shaking, but it only made it worse.
Suddenly, he held his halberd up, then brought it down on the ground with all his might, shattering the world around him.
He found himself back in the Great Hall of the Hanging Gardens, William and Shirou standing in front of him. Behind them the Holy Grail glowed as a complex magical circle was before it.
Reacting quickly, Godrick spun around to face his companions. They all had blank looks on their faces, looking as if they were in a trance. He swung out with his halberd, hitting them all, smashing them through the wall to their right. He pushed Jeanne as gently as he could away from him, sending her through the wall to her left, as the magical circle finally finished forming.
A white golden beam shot out from the Grail, striking Godrick.
He put his left hand in front of him, letting it take the brunt of the attack.
The moment the beam touched Godrick, he was blown away from the Hanging Gardens. The armor on his left arm was completely destroyed, along with a section of the armor on his chest. The skin underneath had been burnt to a deep red, and he was knocked unconscious as he was thrown from the Gardens, landing somewhere far away.
"Well." William said.
"That certainly didn't go as planned."
