Cu and saber walk into the cafeteria and find a seat in the middle. There is no one else around so they can talk openly.

"So you became a hero after all." Cu says.

"Ya I guess I did something right in the end." He laughs.

Saber raises an eyebrow at him.
"Princess hey?"

"Well it's master actually."

"Master?! Veda is a master?!"

"Ya my master." He puts his fist to his heart. " I chose her last night."

"What do you mean last night?" He asks in a low tone glaring at him.

Cu puts his hands up surrendering. "Not like that, she got me out of Tokyo city and took me back here. We were outside drinking and I made the decision."

"Drinking?! Is this decision based on her breasts or her "actual" skills?"

"Ummm...both?" Cu replies with a sly smile.

"God dammit Cu! She's not like other girls. You can't just throw yourself at her." He slams his fist down onto the table. "Masters are chosen by their ability to carry out the mission not because they have blonde hair and big tits!"

"Hey! Don't under estimate her. I've never had a master as strong as she is. And it's not like you haven't thought about being her master." Cu looks away tapping his hand on the table, he can feel his face flush with frustration.

"You actually like this one don't you?" He asks.

Cu looks up. "Yeah.....She's incredible."

Saber sighs a long ass sigh.

"She's precious and can be easily broken, you don't know half the things she's been put through. If you hurt her I'll never forgive you." He replies.

"Why does everyone say that? Am I not capable of loving someone?" mostly asking himself.

"Love? I wasn't talking about love Cu." Saber shakes his head. "You don't have the greatest track record with women."

"Well I'm going to change that!" Cu protests.

Saber is stunned with his reply. "You haven't loved some one since....." Cu glares at him. "Ok son, you know she's cursed right?"

"Yeah. But it only effects humans, I'm not human remember?"

"Right....Damn.....Lucky son of a bitch. Do you know how many men want that girl? I've been fighting them off for a year now." Saber laughs.

Cu laughs with him. "I bet! I'll be good to her I promise..... So Shirou is your master?"

"Yeah, we decided that was best. It's the strongest bond and we can lead this sanctuary together. It's worked out well so far. Shirou is a great man and great leader I think we have a good chance at finding the Grail we just need to find the other servants. But Cu, this will be the most difficult war you've ever been summoned to." He replies.

"I can tell, Veda and I ran into Beserker at the mall, he's got the curse too. It changed him into some kind of demon from the underworld called the Pyramid Head. I don't know what heroic spirit he is either but Shirou says he's coming for Veda."

"For Veda?" He looks confused. "Well, we will be here to keep her safe. It sounds like there's some kind of connection with Veda and the war, I don't know what it is but we need her. Our mission is to get her to the Grail at all costs."

Cu sits back, realizing he had chosen the most valuable master in the world. It scares him having that much responsibility. He was afraid of failing, afraid of losing Veda. He would keep her safe as best he can, and with Shirou and Fergus here she is probably the most protected master in the world right now. He hopes he can keep it that way...

"So what's up with Veda and Shirou? I mean he's at least ten years older than she is." Cu asks.

Saber cocks another eye.
"I'm not sure, I've never seen him interested in Veda before. She's about 22 now and archer is well I'm not sure, but can't be too much older. I'm definitely older than he is. What would make you think he is interested in her?"

"Well he's flipped his shit on her the last 24 hours, and he got into it with me at the rendezvous." He replies.

"Oh really?! Well he was the first to find her. She was running the streets in Tokyo wearing a red dress of all things. The cursed almost took her but Shirou managed to get her out and brought her to the drop off zone. Shirou and I had already made our pact by then and she joined our crew. I swore I had never seen something so beautiful in my life standing on that roof top. Maybe he does feel something for her I'm not sure."

"Well he sure has a sore spot for her. It's pissing me off!" Cu replies.

" If he does there's nothing he can do about it, that's probably why he's never shown it. But that's not any of our business, that's his shit so don't get involved with it, he can figure it out for himself."

Saber was right it didn't matter what Shirou wants, he can't do anything about it so who cares.

They finish their conversation talking about the good times, and some of the bad times. He had missed this so much it was really great to see Fergus again and be on the same side. He would have hated having to fight him.

—————————————-

She opens the doors to the armory. It is a large metal building full of weapons. The military had set this area up as a training base before the curse broke out. They had stocked it full of weapons and ammunition, Fergie had been scouring the other areas for more and apparently they found some new weapons out at Hiroshima. He had been gone for a few weeks she was glad he was back, she always felt a little safer with him around.

She hears the doors open up behind her.
"See anything you like?" Shirou asks.

She turns to him smiling.
"I thought Fergie got some new toys. I wanted to play with them."

He looks at her and closed his eyes for a minute.
"Ya he found some older rocket launchers and some brand new G28E sniper rifles. You should try one of those."

He grabs her hand leading her through some of the isles to the back of the armory. There is a large wooden crate on the floor. He pries it open with one hand and takes out a rifle for her. She begins to drool over it immediately. She  takes it from his hands examining it. He was watches her quietly.

She takes a few steps beside him and cocks it, pulling back on the bolt and pointed it out towards the doors. She looks through the laser scope, it had really nice glass and you could see far with it, almost as far as Shirou.

She hears Shirou sigh and come up behind her putting his hands on her hips.

"You like it?" He asks.

He heart begins to race from the his touch. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.

"...Yes.." She replies in a whisper. He moves his hands around her stomach and pulls her in.

"Shirou." She says, Cu was in her mind now.

"I know, just give me this moment please." He kisses her shoulder and holds her close. She lets out a small wimper. He takes the gun from her and places it on the floor, then turns her around to face him. He holds the side of her face with one hand and her waist with the other. He looks at her body for a minute then draws his eyes to hers and runs his thumb across her lips.
"Shirou...." She whispers.

"Forgive me for what I've done to you. I didn't mean to." He has a deep sadness in his eyes.

"Of course." She whispers. He kisses her forehead and then her cheek.

"I have gifts for you." He smiles.

Shirou opens up his cloak, she could see his muscles rippling through his black shirt bringing back all of her attraction to him. He pulls off a necklace he had been wearing. She hadn't seen it before until now.
"What is that?" Her eyes widen.

"It's a beacon." He hands it to her. It was a red jewel pendant situated on a thick herring bone chain. She holds it in her hand examining it, then fastens it to her neck.
"You can use it to summon me again one day, it also holds enough mana to save a life. It's been apart of me for many years." He says.

She is overwhelmed with gratitude. She grabs him around his neck and embraces him thanking him over and over.
"You said "gifts" is there more?." She asks teasing him.
"Are you going to take your shirt off for me?"

He laughs shaking his head. "I didn't know you had that much attraction to my body. I'll keep that in mind, but we are running out of time. I had Lucy make something for you and she's been busy with this one." He walks over to a black container laying on the floor beside the rifles. Lucy was their weapons specialist, she had expertise in modifying weapons to make them more usable towards the cursed. She was dam good at it too.
"Open it Veda." He looks excited.

"Ok." She walks over and opens the latches. They click and the lid springs up. Inside we're two beautiful katanas inscribed with fire and ice down the sides. Their grips weren't round like a typical katana, they were more of a thin rectangular shape with locking mechanisms in different places on them. She takes them out and tests their balance.
She steps back into the middle of the isle and flips the blades around her hands, she throws one up above her, it lands perfectly centered across one finger. The balance was precise, but how to use the grips.

Shirou was in front of her now. "So those blades come together in different ways. You can push them together to make a double ended lance or you can join them side by side to make one big blade. The locks are designed to be separated easily, so while you're moving you can change weapons in a second. Fire and ice has been inscribed into them by Shannara our best mage, you just have to draw mana into them and call out what you want."

She holds out one blade and pours mana into it drawing from her center. When she felt she was ready she said "fire". The inscription on it s begins to glow red and it erupts into flames. She swings it around a few times feeling the heat from it then lets it die out.

"Shirou!! This is awesome.!"

He laughs at her excitement.
"I'm glad you like it. So new rifle and new blades, you're all set. It's two now, we need to get going. We meet at three in the cafeteria for some food and to come up with a plan." He places a hand on the top of her head and kisses it before walking away.

"Thank you Shirou." She says whipping her new blades around.

—————————————-

Cu and Fergus are now telling battle stories to a group that had joined them. Most of the soldiers and mages are there waiting for Shirou to go over plans.

Shirou walks into the room, everyone stops stands at attention. He is carrying some plans with him.

"Where's Veda?" Fergus asks.

"She's getting some things together she will be here soon." He replies.

Cu is wondering how he knew that, a bit of jealousy comes over him so he sends out a thought Veda.
Hey beautiful, What's up?.

I'm almost ready, Is there food? I'm starving power bars just didn't cut it today. She thinks back to him.

Ya I had Ben make you up some deer steaks everyone else has eaten. I saved you a plate.

Just one plate? I usually eat three or four. She replies.

Serious?! You eat like men do!"

You shush! I'll see you in a few minutes.

Shirou has the plans laid out on the table discussing what to do with everyone.

He raised his hand for everyone to stop talking and pay attention.
"I'd like to get something out in the open. There is a servant coming with the cursed. He is a Beserker class as far as we can tell, we aren't sure what heroic spirit he is but he has been infected and has somehow turned into the Red Pyramid."

"I knew it!" One man whispers behind Cu.

"Yes, he is coming for Veda. She ran into him while rescuing Cu,  she maybe the key to this whole war, no matter what happens she needs to be safe. We will bring her to the Grail once we have found the rest of the servants. Shannara has told us there should be seven in total, we have three, the beserker makes four, Medea makes five, there are two more unaccounted for. But Shannara assures me they have all been summoned." Shirou points to the plans. They look like plans for the sanctuary, Cu leans in to take a closer look.

"The walls are north and south with almost unscalable mountain terrain in between. The north wall is closest to Tokyo city which means the cursed will come from there. I think we should have all of our troops there. I will be on the bunker roof top with my bow and so will Veda." Shirou points to the different areas on the plans.

Just then Veda walks through the doors. Everyone goes silent again watching her, she looks incredible. Wearing a full black leather suit that shows off every desirable curve and feature she had with amo and weapons the same as she usually wore, except for a new bigger rifle and some different katanas. She had black thigh high boots on again he can't help but stare at her, he ran a hand through his hair feeling the effects of it. She even had Shirou's attention this time.

A few men clear their throats and shuffle out of the way as she pushes her way to the table to stand beside Shirou.

"Hey." She says to everyone looking around.
"I heard my name. Sorry I'm late, had to get my shit together."

"The suit looks good Veda." Lucy calls to her.

Shirou clears his throat.
"Ok, so Veda you're with me on the bunker roof, Cu and Saber on the ground at the gate. I want our best snipers on the wall with the mages. The rest will join Cu and saber on the ground. I'll have Shannara and Riku put up barriers around the wall to help keep them out. Red pyramid cannot get to the gate, if he does there will be no stopping him from getting through and he will bring what ever else is there with him. Cu and saber will be ready to fight him off. If he gets through retreat back into the bunker. All commoners will be in the cellar, sorry for that but it's the safest place, there will be barriers around it. Do not engage Beserker! Leave him for us. Any questions?"

Veda speaks up.
"I want to fight beside my servant."

Shirou looks at her. "Absolutely not." He replies. "You are what we are protecting today. You need to stay out of harms way."

"You don't need to protect me, the people here are more important than I am. Protect them." She argues.

"Veda please we don't have time for arguments!" Shirou replies.

"I'm not arguing I'm telling you what's going to happen." She gives Shirou a challenging look.

Cu stands up and places his hands on the table.
"Veda! As your servant, I demand you to stay on the roof with Archer! I won't take any arguments or discussions about it." He raises his voice as a warning not to challenge him.

She blinks at him. It was the first time he had ever raised his voice to her. He stares at her and she stares at him.
"Veda!" He snaps.

She lets out a big sigh.
"Fine. But if shit goes down I'm going with you."

"No you're not!" Cu says in a low voice.

She stops arguing after that and crosses her arms pouting.

Shirou nods at him as a thanks for stepping in and agreeing with him, for the first time in...well...ever.

"Anything else?" Shirou asks everyone.

"What are we up against with Red Pyramid?" T-Rex spoke up.

"You can tell them Cu, you and Veda are the only ones that have fought him." Shirou replies.

"Well, He's twice my size and the power coming from him is close to a noble phantasm, our strongest strike, he carries a huge spear and he can throw it around just by waving his hand. The cursed fear him, fuck even I am scared of this thing. Not knowing who he actually is makes it hard. We don't know his power or abilities but he is strong, we will see what he can do I guess. But there are three of us servants, he should fall tonight, I bet my lance on it." His lance appears in his hand and he slams the butt end of it on the floor.

"I'll take that bet." Saber says smiling. "It May take all of our noble phantasms to stop him."

"Yeah.. you could be right." Cu replies.

Shirou rolls up the plans. "We get into position at night fall, bring what you can and aim for the head. See you all on the battle field."

Everyone scatters out of the cafeteria in different directions talking amongst themselves. Ben comes over with two plates of food for Veda and a beer. She salivates at the food.

"Oh my god! Ben it smells so good. I haven't eaten in forever!" She says dramatically and sits down at the table then pops the cap off her bottle of beer.

Cu comes around to her side of the table. He straddles the bench seat beside her looking at her body in that leather outfit again. They are alone now just the two of them, he was thankful for that. He hadn't had her alone since this morning although she was avoiding him at the moment. He can tell she is pissed at him for raising his voice at her.

I'll calm her down with some charm. He thinks.

"Leather has never looked so good." He gives her a sexy smile.

She rolls her eyes and keeps devouring her food like she always does.

"Don't be mad, I just want you to be safe." He watches her expression.

She sighs.
"I know...You like my suit? You have a kinky side hey? I bet you would dominate in bed." She winks at him.

He almost choked on that response, she's never talked back to him like that before.
"Uhh... yeah."

"Well if we make it through the night I'll let you take it off of me." She says so casually, then goes back to devouring her food.

He sits there in shock thinking about what she's wearing underneath and what's gotten into her. She seems so innocent and shy all the time, but he isn't complaining. He remembers her taking her shirt off this morning in front of him, she was so dam hot. Like crazy hot. Like Victoria's Secret meets blonde Megan Fox hot.

She finishes her dinner and downs her beer wiping the excess off her lips. She turns towards him straddling the bench like he was and scooted closer.

"We were supposed to train with lances this evening I guess that won't be happening." She says with disappointment.

"Tomorrow, if you're not busy". Cu chuckles.

She looks up at him and smiles.
"I got new blades! Wanna see?"

"Hell yeah!"

She pulls out her katanas, they are pretty wicked looking. Cu takes them from her and walks a few steps into the open. He flips them around his hands testing the balance and strength. She seems to like this.

"Ooo! You know how to use them?" She asks and bites her lip.

"I've fought enough men with katanas to pick up a few things." He winks at her. "The grips are different though, how do they work?"

"You can push them together at the ends making a lance or you can lock them side by side making one blade." She is beaming.

He tries it out, pushing them together they clicked into place easily and held strong. He flicks a switch on the side and they came loose.m, then he pushes them together side by side and they click into each other forming one single blade. It was a great idea, perfect for fighting more than one enemy at the same time.

"These are great! Where did you get them?"

"Lucy, our weapons specialist made them, and shannara our top mage inscribed fire and ice into them. Pretty deadly." She says proudly.

He hands them back to her and she sheaths them into her back holsters.

"Veda I'm worried about Beserker. He could be the strongest servant we've ever faced." Cu sits back down on the bench in front of her this time facing away from the table leaning back on his elbows.

"Ya....I can sense him coming, he calls to me."

"What? What do you mean he calls to you?" He is a little confused by this.

"When I was released from the government building, I kept hearing this voice in my head, telling me to come to him. Then at the mall it spoke to me again. It said, "release me."" She replies.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" He wasn't sure why she would hide something like this.

"I haven't had the chance really. There's been a lot of distraction, and I forgot about it. Sorry I should have to told you sooner." She looks down at her hands.

"It doesn't matter, not like it would change anything. Release me, hey? Like from the curse?." He asks.

"I'm not sure what it means." She replies.

"Well you stay away from that mother fucker, leave him to us."

She smiles up at him. "Ok, what ever you say. We should get going and see how everyone is doing or if they need help."

"Alright." He says reluctantly. "But I was hoping we could go back to your room and play with your new toy for a bit."

She scowls at him.
"And what new toy is that?"

He leans in closer to her.
"Me." He watches her expression change as she closes her eyes and bites her lip. She was blushing a lot right now he loved doing that to her.

"Hmmm....that would be nice. We do have a couple minutes." She replies checking her invisible watch.

"Hey! I can last longer than that!" He scowls.

She laughs at him and gets up.

"So is that a yes?" He asks prying.

She turns back towards him and blows him a kiss. "Maybe one day, I'm going to make you work hard for it."

"You're killin me girl." He is dying for it, but didn't mind the chase either, he was going to put everything he had into it. He gets up and follows her out of the cafeteria.

—————————————

They walk outside bumping into Shannara. She was an older darker skinned woman draped in red robes with a large hood covering half of her head. She was quite striking but he knew mages, and their abilities around keeping themselves looking young. She could be much older than she looked and he would have no idea. She wore five thick necklaces covered in medallions with symbols all over them. They looked like symbols from the Mayan culture. She had a thick Spanish accent and was very short. Her eyes are what caught his attention, they were cat like and bright yellow, they seemed to hold immense power and experience in them.

"Cu Chullain! Just the man I'm looking for." She places a hand on his bicep and squeezes slightly.

He throws her a sexy smirk and wink, his typical swooning trade marks.

"You are proficiently skilled in rune magic are you not?"

"Yes I've mastered it." He replies.

Veda is looking at him trying to get his attention.
"Hey Cu? I'm going to see if Shirou needs help ok?"

"Ok sounds good, I'll see you in a bit." He turns his attention back to Shannara who is now admiring his pectorals.

"We need you to put up some barriers behind the gate. Something to burn them with." She smiles politely at him.

"I can do that. Show me where you want them young lady."

She giggles. "Oh Cu you definitely live up to your reputation." She grabs his arm feeling his biceps leading him over towards the large metal gates by the wall.

"But I do wonder how how your reputation holds up towards Veda." She cackles.

"Yaaaa, it's not holding up well. She's a tough one." He replies.

"Well she's a broken soul. Trust doesn't come to her easily but keep at it she will come around love." She pats his chest. "Can you make a rune barrier across the entire wall here?" She waves her hand across the ground drawing a line with her magic.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"Great I'll leave you to it. Any other things you think would help please feel free." She smiles at him and walks away towards the wall.

"No problem. Nice to meet you Shannara." He watches her for a minute thinking of how strong of a mage she was. She was definitely a force to reckon with, he was excited to see what she can do with her skills in battle.

He gets to work, placing rune symbols on the ground creating a barrier for them. He uses fire runes which he would create a wall of fire if the cursed ever make it through the gate.

————————————-

Meanwhile Veda has gotten distracted talking with Fergie about the going ons over the last few weeks. They are leaned up against the side of a storage unit watching everyone hustle.

"So, I had a long chat with Cu." Saber says looking at her with suspicion.

"Ohh ya.....! And what did he say?" She asks glaring at him.

"Well he said that he is happy to be your servant." He crosses his arms and looks out towards the bunker watching a couple of soldiers struggling with his box of sniper rifles.

"Hey! Be careful with that! Get another guy to help we don't need you hurt before it all begins!!" He yells at them. They look at him and quickly scrambled to find another guy to help.

Veda knew there was more to this conversation, but Fergie was holding back on purpose. He always does this to her. It was his way of getting her to confess things without asking. Drives her crazy!

She lets out a big sigh. "Fergie...for god sake what else did he say?"

He laughs at her. "Well....he's a good guy, I'm not just saying that because he's like family, he was married once you know. He was loyal to her and loved her, so he's not completely incapable of that. But you know what happens after the war right? All servants go back to the Hall of Heroes to wait for the next war. You two may never see each other again."

She hadn't thought a lot about that. It was such a grey area. This war could last another year or more, no one knew how long it would take to win. At that moment she decided that it would be a long time before she found anyone else she could get close to. Cu was the only one she could be with, it made her happy thinking about it.

"I understand what happens, but who knows how long this war will last. In the mean time he's the only one I can ever get close to." She replies.

"Oh ya? Well don't get involved just because of that. It's not fair to either of you. He really likes you, hell he might even love you I don't know. But you need to figure out what you want first. And what about Shirou?" His stern look turns the conversation into a more serious tone.

"Shirou.....he...I can't Fergie. At least not now. I pushed my feelings aside for him months ago."

"Well, Cu said he's been acting like a jealous school girl since he came around. Is that true?" He says chuckling to himself.

"Yeah, he told to me yesterday. The first time in over a year he decides to tell me now. I was so mad at him. You know how many times I watched him with other women?." She was starting to get angry again. "That hurt more than some of the experiments they put me through. Like the shock treatment, where they tie you to a chair in the middle of a room filled with cold water up to your knees and run electricity through you until you die, only to bring you back and do it all over again."

Fergie is looking at her mouth open from what he just heard. That was one experiment she hadn't told anyone about... except for Shirou.

"Jesus Veda...." He comes over to her and holds her tight.

"It's ok, I'm ok, I've gotten through that part...I'm ok. But why is it that the shit with Shirou and Cu is so complicated and hurts so much? You think I'd be able to handle it but I find myself crying hysterically or so angry I want to smash something."

"Thats just the way it is. It's what makes us human Veda. Embrace it, time heals and things will get easier I promise." He lets her go. "But we have a huge fight ahead of us now, time to push all that shit aside and focus. I'm sorry for bringing it up, it wasn't my plan."

"It's ok I pushed you for it." She half smiles at him. "You should go get ready I'm going to go find Shirou."

"Alright precious. I'm glad you have my back tonight." He smiles at her and walks away towards the barracks.

She lets out a big sigh. Let's kill some shit. She thinks.

—————————————
Our day has come

​
It's drawn in the sky
So don't shed a tear now
Be thankful for the time
Life wouldn't be so precious dear if there never was an end
Children still play in the garden
Dance as the sun slips away
We stand on the edge now
We've come so far
Through all the dust it becomes clear
You will always be my heart
There's no death, no end of time when I'm facing it with you

-Acid Rain Avenged Sevenfold

——————————————

Veda was sitting on the roof top with Shirou now waiting for the impending mass of murderous heathens coming their way. He was standing closer to the end of the bunker watching.

She was replaying that song in her head, "Send us home, Send us home, Send us home......." It seemed to suit the world turmoil.

Shirou speaks up. "Time to get your gun ready. Did you bring your bipod?"

"Ya I brought it."
She grabs a container from beside her and joins him where he stands. There was a flat part in the middle of the roof just wide enough for her to lay down on and set up her rifle. She takes out the bipod and clips it to the front of her gun then positions it towards the wall. She sights in her scope and turns the laser on.

"I love this gun Shirou!" She says.

He laughs.

With everything ready she sits up and takes out two fruit bars she tucked down her shirt. Shirou is watching her shaking his head.

"What? Do you want one?" She asks handing one over.

He laughs." No I'm ok. You're still hungry?"

"Always hungry Shirou.....always hungry." She sticks her tongue out at him.

She finishes her snacks and stands looking out over the sanctuary ahead. Cu and Fergie are behind everyone, there are at least fifty soldiers heavily armed in front of them. She can see the rune barriers glowing on the ground creating its very own wall ahead of them. After that was wooden stakes dug into the ground then the big metal gate and the wall. The wall was large enough to house at least thirty soldiers on the top with barbed wire fencing strung around the top. They are all in place with their rifles set up ready to go. The mages of the group had joined them, conjuring up mana and reciting their spells. She could see their summoning circles glowing below their feet.

Shannara is on the wall barking orders and drawing mana. They were lucky to have her, she is the strongest of them all. Her abilities include summoning a sacred fire bird called the Phoenix. Veda has never seen it before but from what she was told, it was very powerful. Riku stood beside her, he was a great mage as well and worked mostly with the holy arts similar to a priest. He is very young and had just turned eighteen a few months back but he had been practicing the craft since he was five years old. His best skill was his smite strike, a holy light that cuts like a laser. The four other mages were still learning but capable of pumping out some good ranged fire balls and mana bolts.

Her thoughts are suddenly broken with the feeling of the cursed. It was a tingling sensation like when you feel the touch of something freezing cold and your skin prickles. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. She can see the trees rustling maybe a few hundred meters away. Shirou could see them as well and signals to Fergus as he summons his bow and lets a small red arrow go, straight up into the sky to signal the rest of them. That's when she felt it. There wasn't just a few hundred cursed, there were thousands coming. She turns to Shirou and grabs his arm in a panic.

"Shirou! There's over a thousand of them!"

He stares at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very sure. And Beserker is calling to me." She replies.

"Calling to you? What does he say?"

"....release me." She whispers to him.

He responds with a fearful expression then turns towards the battle field and readies his bow.

"Get into position Veda."

She lays down in front of her rifle looking into the scope. She aims it towards the tree line ahead of the wall. There was at least one hundred meters between the wall and the tree line.

She sends a thought out to Cu.
Cu! There's more than a thousand coming and Beserker is with them. This isn't good.

"Shit, we have a little over one hundred men here to fight. This is going to be messy Veda." He replies.

Everyone sits waiting silently. You can hear the rustling of the wind through the trees, the river flowing behind them in the distance and then the ear piercing shrieks of the cursed ripping through the forest getting closer.

They came in waves, crashing over each other clawing and biting. She could hear men gasping and calling out. "Take em out!"One yells.

The front lines start shooting all at once, the air fills with the pattering sound of bullets and the booms from the rocket launchers. She searched through her scope taking the cursed out one by one, this wasn't very efficient she needed to use her bow. She stands beside Shirou who is shooting his multiple red arrows into the mob. She knocks six and pulls back, they shoot out into the night exploding on impact sending cursed bodies flying back.

The cursed were overwhelming the front lines in no time, smashing through the first three barriers and destroying the last. They threw themselves upon each other to reach the top of the wall. There just wasn't enough bullets going out, they needed more men but didn't have them.

The mob was half way up the wall when Shannara unleashes her Phoenix. What a sight it was, she pulls enough mana to cause the air around everyone to suck in towards her. The men closest to her nearly lose their footing as she raises her hand into the sky and calls for the "Fènix!!!" and a large blast of orange and red flames flow out of her hand into the night. It lites up the sky and the flames circle on themselves forming a bird made of fire.

It is about the size of a small plane and swoops down onto the mob of cursed bodies spitting a beam of fire lighting them up. Anything touched by the fire explodes into bits of flesh and debris, keeping them at bay...for now.

"Shirou they need to protect Shannara, or she will lose the Phoenix." He nods and sends out a thought to Fergus.

Fergus was running towards the wall now. He leaps up onto it with ease scaling the barbed wire and lands just beside Shannara. The cursed were almost at the top of the wall now. Their mages were giving it all they had, Riku with his Smite, and the others with fire or mana bolts. The troops were doing a decent job with their guns and rocket launchers but she could tell they were running out of amo. Their defense wasn't enough and they didn't have enough men or fire power for this many cursed. At that moment they hear the retching of Pyramid Head. She could see him tearing through the trees, using his spear as a machete to clear a path for himself.

He calls for her...Veedaaa...release me...

The cursed had made it over the wall now, as they throw their bodies at anything living. Fergus was doing a dam good job of keeping everyone alive up there but they need to fall back. Veda watches two soldiers fall with at least five cursed on top of them. They are eating them alive and sucking their souls out. A heavy grey and white smoke seep out of their chests as they scream for help.

Veda and Shirou were shooting off arrows like their bows fully automatic. She let her bow disappear she needs to see Beserker. Her plan? To try and take him down with one shot to the head. She knew it's helmet has some holes in it maybe if she was lucky enough she could get the perfect shot.

"Shirou! They need to fall back!" She yells at him. But he was already on it and Fergus was escorting everyone down from the wall. He started with Shannara, she let her Phoenix give one more blast, Veda was thankful for that. It gave her the opportunity to see Beserker through the darkness. His helmet was shining red in the light, she could see the holes over his eyes through her scope. He locks eyes with her almost like he knew she was looking at him. "Fuck." She whispers.
But she focuses and takes a deep breath in. As the light was fading she centers the scope and takes the shot. "BANG!" It flies through the air, she watches it waiting for the hit. Beserker's eyes squint almost like he is smiling and just before the bullet hits he brings up his spear deflecting the it into one of the cursed bodies. "Dammit!" She yells and springs to her feet.

"That was a deadly shot Veda but he's too fast for guns. I'm going down there. Stay up here!" Shirou says and leaps off the building before she can argue.

Then Beserker laughs a loud horrible laugh which echoes around the entire valley. She can hear him clear in her mind.

Release me!

His voice was so loud in her head it causes her to fall to her knees her mind almost breaking. She looks out to him, watching him come for her.

————————————

Cu is now fighting with the cursed, they were falling from the top of the wall and stumbling across the ground towards anything they could get their decaying hands on. Five come at him all at once, he dumps mana into his lance and slashes them backwards cutting off their heads, their bodies fall to the ground twitching and gushing blood. Fergus circles around Cu getting everything coming behind him. They are a great fighting pair and held them off. God forbid the gates come down or they would be swarmed. He can hear Beserker coming in fast, the ground rumbles as he stomps closer and a deep loud menacing laugh comes with him.

"That thing is straight up hellish Fergus!" Cu yells at him while slicing through another cursed head.

"Hey! I've heard more hellish things come out of your mouth, don't be such a pussy Cu!" He laughs maniacally.

Cu laughs and fingers him then turns around slashing through more bodies.

He looks up to check on Veda, she looks in pain up on the roof.

Veda what's wrong? He thinks to her.

But before she can answer Beserker has launched his spear smashing the large metal gate completely off. It flies into the air. Cu could see this coming and catches the gate just before it crushes everyone fighting below. He holds it up on his back, just like super heroes do when the buildings come crashing down on by standers. "Go to the bunker!" He yells at them. Then he throws the gate aside.

The dead came tearing into the sanctuary, Shirou is beside him now flipping his blades in each hand. They are dodging and slicing through the cursed with ease. Fergus comes to join them, it is the three of them now, their weapons dancing in sync around each other. But the cursed hoard was too much.

"Everyone fall back now!." Cu yells. He knew he was over stepping Shirou but he had led his own war once and knew when it was time to retreat. Everyone pushes their way back to the bunker rushing through the door. With the mages by their side, they kept the cursed off of the troops until they were all inside.

Beserker storms through the open gate, Cu could see Veda shooting him with all she had. Bullets are piercing through his skin sending blood spatter and chunks of flesh over the ground. But gun shots aren't stopping him. He lets out another menacing laugh that shakes the ground.

They have to stop the cursed from coming any further. The spikes were doing almost nothing and they have only one barrier left. Cu's rune barrier. He lites it up as they come swarming in. He had lined the entire area with fire runes creating a huge ten foot tall wall of flames between the gates and the bunker. It does the trick, the cursed are held up behind the barrier, there is a silence now except for the flame wall crackling between them. The cursed stand quietly waiting for the mana to run out of the runes, their blood red eyes are still, staring at them giving Cu the chills, almost as if their eyes were separate from their bodies that still twitched and jerked uncontrollably.

It would be at least an hour before the flames die out. So they wait in silence. Heavy footsteps approach with sound of a blade dragging against gravel. It is Berserkers time now.

————————————-
After the gate fell Veda rushed back to her rifle shooting everything she had left at Beserker as he stormed through. It was almost pointless, her bullets were doing little to no damage. She sends a thought Cu.

"I'm ok, he's in my head, he's coming for me."

She didn't hear a response, but could see Shirou, Cu, and Fergie were fighting bravely against the enemy. They are really something fighting together and the temptation to go down and help her comrads was killing her. She was about to scale down the roof top when Berserker leaps through the tall flames effortlessly. He lands in front of the servants and the ground shakes.

They are ready for him in their fighting stances. Beserker stands watching them, his spear raised across his face. He speaks, it sounds as if two voices were speaking, one in a growling low tone and the other in a higher screeching tone.
"Give........her.......to......me." His words are drawn out almost like he had to force them out through the metal cage on his head.

Cu speaks up. "Not a Chance buddy! You die here tonight." And he leaps high into their air spinning his lance around coming down on him.
Berserker blocks with his spear.
Cu pushes his lance down harder forcing him back a few feet.
Berserker grunts and lunges at him. Cu blocks with his lance and spins around to his side swinging the blade of his lance towards his head.
He dodges grabs his lance and throws Cu to the side.

Shirou's turn now, he comes in slashing at his side. Berserker blocks, then Shirou spins around and thrusts with his second blade, Berserker blocks but leaves himself open to a stab wound straight into his chest. Shirou spins his other blade around his hand and forces into his gut. But he doesn't show an ounce of pain instead he grabs Shirou by the throat lifting him into the air.

Fergus comes barreling in swinging his sword at Berserkers head, he throws Shirou back ten feet and blocks Fergus's weapon then counters with a kick to the side sending him tumbling backwards.

It was all three servants and Berserker now, they fought with epic speeds as Veda watched, with flashes of light from their blades and clinking sounds of metal on metal.

Cu lunges at him pouring mana into his lance it exploded into red lightning. He stabs at Berserker, but he dodges the strike. Cu spins and back kicks him in the chest. Berserker shakes it off and swings forward with his spear. Cu takes a running power slide leaning back under the strike barely missing it. He takes his lance in both hands regaining his footing, and swings it at Berserker's head, but he turns as quick as lightning catching his lance mid air holding it with such strength there was no way of prying it from him, then he throws Cu to the side once again. He falls to the ground tumbling a short distance away. Veda has been watching every move they make.

"Cu!" She yells and that was it she is going down there. She couldn't watch this without doing something.

"Stay where you are Veda!" Cu yells back at her getting to his feet. The other two servants are at a stand off with Berserker.

But Veda isn't listening anymore she needs to be with them. She runs to the edge of the roof top and braces herself for a long fall and leaps off. She hits the ground rolling over her back then coming up onto her feet. It hurt slightly but the pain faded as quickly as it started. She runs around the side of the bunker towards the battle field. All servants are on the ground now struggling to get up. This was bad. Cu finally stands up and ready for another attack.

Berserker shoots forward so fast Cu barely has time to block his strike. He slashes his spear upwards making contact with Cu's chest ripping into his flesh, then he kicks him back again. She runs to him dropping to her knees.

"Cu!" She puts her hands on his back as he pushes himself to his knees.

"God dammit Veda I told you to stay on the fucking roof!" He snaps at her.

She stares at him.

"Get out of here....PLEASE!" He shouts. He jumps up,  bleeding quite a bit from his chest wound.

" We can't keep this up." Cu yells holding his chest wound.

Shirou and Fergus both look at him then Berserker.

" I will keep him in place, then we use everything we got, understand?" Shirou orders.

Fergus and Cu nod and get ready. Shirou summons hundreds of swords out of the air all around Beserker, they stab into him freezing his bloody mutilated body in place. Cu takes the lead again drawing all of mana into his lance and gets into his noble phantasm stance. Fergus draws mana into his sword and prepares for his noble phantasm.

As Berserker stands motionless, Cu steps back then leaps high into the air holding his lance back in one hand aimed at his chest. Shirou had his sword drawn into his bow, and Fergus held his sword into the air, it glows with a bluish aura.

As Cu throws his lance he yells "Gae Bolg!"

Shirou shoots out his sword from his bow, and Yells, " Calad Bolg!"

and Fergus drive his into the ground and yells, "Calad Bolg!" creating a huge rainbow of light that tore up the earth under Berserker. The other strikes came in at Mach speeds, the air cracking and exploding around them.

Veda looks at Berserker, and he turns his head towards her staring at her through his helmet. There was a few seconds where she can see the ground rising up around him, as their weapons made their way to his impending death. He reaches a hand out to her and calls to her.

"Release me!"

Then Berserker drops his spear, falls to his knees and holds out his arms taking in their strikes. They hit with unbelievable power and made an explosion big enough to throw her back, Cu catches her just in time before she hits the ground, he holds her tight shielding her from the blast.

She whimpers at him. "Cu." He doesn't respond.

There is an eerie calm now as dust and debris settled back to the ground. She pushes away from Cu and looks towards Berserker. The ground around him was completely torn apart and there is a huge trench encircling him. He kneels in the middle helmetless, sputtering blood out from his mouth. She could hear Cu whisper a name. "Spartacus."

Spartacus...was a Thracian born Roman Gladiator who led a rebellion against slavery. He was a very strong and tactical opponent and mixed with the curse he was a whole new beast.

He calls to her once more, through gargles of blood.

"Release me." It's two toned voice now just a whisper.

She had a strong urge to go to him, like something was pulling her towards him. She left Cu's side and set her gaze on Berserker. A black and purple smoke oozes from parts of his skin now disappearing into the air. He was dying, but no servant could survive direct hits from three noble phantasms. Cu summons his lance back from Berserkers heart and catches it.

"Veda! Don't go near him!" He yells. He reaches out to grab her but she forcefully pulls away not listening to anything he was saying and picks up her pace.

Her eyes were set on Berserker who was reaching a hand towards her. As she approaches the wall of flames fall, but the cursed don't move they stand watching her.

As she gets closer she can feel a vortex whipping the air and debris around, it seems to be coming off of Berserker. There are large pieces of earth floating above the trench the explosions had left in their wake. They form a walk way for her, she somehow knows what she needs to do.

She walks across the pathway made just for her with smoke and purple streaks of light swirling around her. She approaches Berserker and reaches her hand out to his, as their fingertips touch a ray of light pours out between them and she speaks.

"I release you servant." She says. There was a loud boom and he screams holding his head back. She is pushed back a few feet by black smoke and a gust of wind that came rushing out of Berserker. She keeps her arm held out absorbing the darkness of the curse into her chest as her palm releases a white light. Pain was tearing through her but she pressed on holding her wrist with the other hand. Cu was in the back of her mind calling for her, she could barely hear him through the sound of the curse running through her.

The dead had circled her now, dropping to their knees and and spread their arms out. She was sucking the curse out of them too. The air was thick with the smoke but she could still see Berserker, his color is coming back to his skin, his clothes are normal, he is himself again. A thankful smile lifted his face.

Once she had absorbed it all, she was lifted into the air and thrown back by a force she couldn't see, hitting the ground thirty feet away skidding on her back across the gravel. Everything went dark.

—————————————

"Veda Stop! Come back!" Cu calls to her, but she wasn't listening. He runs towards her, trying with all his might to reach her before she got to Berserker. He is within arms reach when an invisible barrier opens up around her stopping, he hits it with a thud and it forces him backwards. He tears at it, smashing it with his fists and lance, but there is nothing he can do. He falls to his knees begging for her to come back.

"Dammit Veda!" He yells at her. Shirou and Fergus were throwing themselves at the barrier too, but nothing would break it. Veda has reached him now, she holds out a hand to him and once their fingers touch she mouths something he can't hear. It must have invoked something inside of her. Her hand starts glowing white and the smoke coming off of Berserker is streaming into her chest. The curse streams out of everything around them including the dead.

All they can do was watch. As it fills Vedas body she lifts into the air and with a sudden force of energy unleashed, Veda is thrown back crashing through the barrier behind them all. The force was strong enough to create a large wave of smoke and debris that blew over the entire valley. She hits the ground hard and slides across the gravel on her back.

And everyone runs to her at once, Cu at her side first. He puts his hands on her shoulders and shakes her. "Veda! Wake up Veda!" She doesn't respond not even a breath escapes her.

He checks her pulse but there is nothing. The fear that came across him causes him to yell out to everyone.
"SHE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Shirou and Fergus rush in and Cu begkns pumping her chest. Fergus checks her breathing and times his pumps.
"One and, two and, three and, four and..."

They worked simultaneously on her and after a long terrifying minute of pounding on her chest, she takes a long breath in coughing and gasping. Her heart starts beating again and she has a pulse. He thanks the gods for bringing her back, then rests his forehead on her stomach clutching her leather suit. He takes labored breaths, trying to calm himself from the adrenaline rush and fear inside.

He sits up finally, looking at her laying there unconscious blaming himself for everything that has happened to her.

"Let's get her inside." Shirou says and attempts to lift her but Cu stops him.

"She is my Master I will carry her myself!" He snaps. Shirou backs off thankfully, he wasn't in the mood for his shit right now.

Cu picks her up and turns towards the bunker, to his shock there were people standing all around him, they were confused and mumbling to themselves gasping at Veda and the servants and through the crowd is Berserker. He is fading away, tiny blue lights dissipating into the night sky. He wares a huge smile on his face. Then he disappears into the night.

Cu carries Veda into the cafeteria and places her on one of the tables, no one made a sound as they watch him lay her down.

"What happened?" Tobi asks helping them position her across the table.

"I don't know...She should have stayed on the fucking roof." Cu curses. "I should have stopped her!"

Shannara interrupts.

"Don't blame yourself Cu! Let me look at her." She opens her eyelids examining her pupils then runs a hand an inch above her body from her head to her toes.

"She's dreaming, the curse has taken her somewhere. I can get her back but it will take some time."

"What ever it takes." Shirou and Fergus say at once.

"Bring her to her room, I will do my work there." She stands motioning everyone to move out of the way.

Cu picks her up in his arms again and carries her down the barracks and into her room. He lays her down gently on her bed, pushing back strands of hair that had fallen on her face.

"You can wait outside Cu Chullain. " Shannara suggests.

"I'm not going anywhere!" He replies.

They stand off with each other for a minute before she nods.
"Very well, but the others must go this is risky work, we don't need anyone getting infected."

Shirou and Fergus glance at Cu then Shannara.
"Alright but I want frequent updates. We will be out organizing the people outside. They must be very confused." Fergus replies.

"I will be in the cafeteria with the troops debriefing them on what just happened." Shirou says. "Shannara tell me the minute she's awake!"

"Of course Archer." She replies.

They leave them alone in the room and close the door. Cu finds himself a chair and positions it close to Shannara. She glances at him warning him not to get too close. Then she begins, she raises both hands over Veda and began chanting something in Spanish. Her hands held a green light as she spoke, this lasted hours before they saw any progress.
Shannara stops and looks at Cu.
"Veda needs rest, her mind is back in its place but she has taken on a lot of trauma. She will be awake by morning...I hope. I'm not sure what state of mind she will be in, you should stay close to her tonight she will need your help when she wakes up."

"I won't leave her side for anything." He replies and pulls his chair closer to Veda.

"Cu, she is the key to all of this you know. The only one who can break the curse, we need both the Gail and her to cleanse the earth and bring it back to normal." Shannara stands and walks towards the door. She stops before opening it, "I hope you two can come together through all of this I know how much she means to you." Then she walks out the door.