"Cu Chullain."...A voice he hadn't heard in what seemed eternity. "Cu Chullain..." Its echoes falling away into the darkness. He nearly tripped over himself at the sound. It was his time now and he stood anxiously waiting for the white gates to open. A white light came before him with barely visible gates. He stepped through, ready for the fall. He is suddenly pulled down by an unseen force, landing in the middle of a large empty...shopping mall?

"What the hell?..." He thought and was immediately hit with the smell of stale death. He shudders involuntarily, it was a scent he could never forget. One that lingers with you no matter how many times you've tried to wash it away.

He takes a moment to look at his surroundings. His eyes start from the top level. The mall looks as if it hadn't been in business for a long time. As he moves his eyes to the second floor he can see bullet holes scattered across almost every wall. There wasn't a store in the building with a glass window intact. He begins to notice the blood streaks that had now dried staining the walls and floors. Merchandise has been tossed everywhere. He moved his eyes further down to the main level he is on. Security cages used to close up shops were either torn out or bent nearly in half. This entire building was a gruesome battle ground and it looks as if both sides had lost.

"This isn't good." He whispers.

Suddenly a black shadow appeared in front of him. He instinctively summons his spear and readies himself for a fight. Pointing the blade directly at the shadow, he grips it tightly feeling its power in his palms.

"Friend or foe, shadow?" He asks.

The shadow does not move, only hovers above the floor. "Cu Chullain you been chosen to fight in the Holy Grail War. Although this is no ordinary war. Mankind has come to near extinction, you and the other servants must choose a master, find the survivors, and bring them to the Holy Grail for salvation. But Cu Chullain...choose your master wisely not everyone wants the same future... Go now! The fate of mankind depends on you." The dark entity raises a shadowy hand.

He lowers his spear in confusion, and steps forward hoping to catch the shadow before it leaves.

"Wait! ...How do I find my master?" He asks.

"They are scattered around the city. You will find one soon. May the Holy light be with you!" And before he can ask anymore questions the shadow disappears.

"Fuck!" He whispers. "Now what?"

Mankind has always been on the verge of extinction, this was nothing new to him. It was up to himself and the rest of the servants to clean up the mess, it has always been this way. If it weren't for women, love, and sex he would have given up on mankind a long time ago.

He looks around again, where to start? He places a frustrated hand on his forehead and sighs. The mall isn't giving him any clues, so he decides the roof tops above would be best. But a cringing sound breaks his thoughts, a gurgling growl tears through the silence behind him, followed by a few stumbling foot steps and another gurgling groan. He turns towards the sound and sees what looks like a man ten feet away from him lurking in the shadows. It stumbles forward jerking its limbs in unnatural motions. Slowly it creeps towards him. Cu squints through the darkness nervously.

It stumbles into the moonlight and he gasps at its half torn face. It was missing an arm and was walking on a broken ankle, it's bones protruding from decaying wounds.

"What the fuck?" He whispers.

The creature jerks its eyes towards him, twitching its neck and body. With a sharp whale it tears after him moving fast, biting and clawing.
He grips his lance in both hands and hits it hard across the chest knocking the creature onto the floor. It falls onto its back then he it stabs in the chest. It lies limp on the ground, but for only a few seconds. Then the twitching begins again as it reaches up for him, hungry for blood. This triggers his horror movie memory. "Zombie + blow to the head = dead zombie" He thinks. He pulls out his lance, spins it around and drives it through its head. It stops moving immediately. He sighs

"Thank you resident evil. "

So this was mankind's extinction, zombies or zombie like creatures anyways. Cu was wondering how the hell man had gotten to this point. But his thoughts were cut short as quickly as they started. He could hear the pattering of footsteps and those blood curdling shrieks again coming from all directions now. He readies himself for them.

They came in like a bloodthirsty swarm, some missing a torso or limbs. They were quick and ruthless, clawing at each other to get to him. This was a nightmare he had wished he had never fell into. He powers up his spear and spins it around himself as they thrash and claw. It explodes with mana sending a red streak of lightning around him, demolishing anything in its path. But his defense wasn't enough as hundreds more pour into the room and with each strike he slaughters them by the dozen, ripping through heads and bodies, using everything he has. They begin to overwhelm him, he was drowning in the creatures as they bite and scratch their way to his face. Four creatures jump onto him forcing him to the ground and he falls with a grunt, still slashing in an attempt to keep his crontrol.

"This can't be it for me! I had just started this damn war! This is a sad defeat, I don't even have a master yet. Pathetic!" He thinks cursing himself.

He is struck in the head by a decaying hand disrupting his thoughts, he turns his head to the side only to be face to face with another creature pinning him down biting at his nose. It's teeth chatter as they bite. His lance was the only thing between its teeth and getting his face chewed off. "Get off me!" He yells.

Then gunshots break the air around him . Hundreds of them, and the creatures head above him exploded into brain matter and bodily fluids. All of the creatures on top of him are shot one by one directly in the head with bits of matter flying in all directions. He is finally able to move. He jumps up and turns around to see who had set him free, in unexpected shock he freezes. It was a girl, kneeling down holding two AK-47's one in each hand shooting them with such precision only heads were exploding. She is fully loaded, two katanas in her back, two AK's in her hands, two pistols in holsters on either side of her chest, two pistols in thigh holsters on each leg, and knives tucked into her boots. She wore only tactical gear over a white tank and black shorts. She was an over whipped tomb raider with blonde hair. "God damn."

Her eyes lock onto him.
"Don't just stand there! Fight!" She yells.

She has run out of amo in the AK's by this time and throws them to the side, then draws the pistols from her hips.

Cu turns and pours mana into his lance again, letting out another red electrical blast sending hundreds of the creatures back, killing nearly fifty of them. She was at his side now still shooting. They were coming from every angle now.
She circles behind him back to back and pushes up against him then reloads her guns and cocks them.
"We need to get out of here now!" She snaps.

"No shit!...The only way is up!" He replies.

He looks up to see a dome type structure that above them that used to hold glass panels. If he could get them both up there they would be safe. He looks around quickly for something to give him an extra boost. There is a large flag pole twenty feet up hanging on the wall to the right with a tattered and blood spattered flag hanging from it.

"We use that flag pole... I can get us up, I'll have to carry you though." He says slicing through ten creatures and knocking them back into the wall ahead. He turns towards her but before they can make a move the building begins to shake. A loud rumbling noise followed by the sound of a metal object drags against the tile floor, causing them both to cringe like the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

"Shit." She whispers.

And each creature whales in fear, clearing the room. They are left alone with only the sound of metal scraping the mall floor. Whatever was coming ahead of them was massive and so was its weapon.

"What the fuck is that?" Cu asks.

"The Red Triangle. Or Pyramid Head. A demon from the underworld. We need out NOW!" She snaps putting her pistols back in their holsters.

Cu dematerializes his lance and picks her up. She wraps her arms around his neck and braces herself.
"Ready?" He asks.

But before he could jump a large thick spear soars through the air towards them. Cu throws the girl out of the way and ducks barely missing the blade with his head. It stabs into the wall behind them.
"Jesus!" He shouts.

And she was up on her feet again unsheathing her katanas. She stares at the end of the mall hallway where the elevators are.

There was a loud groan and curdling moan. It echoes through the room making it sound like someone gargling a thick liquid. And it appears around the corner stomping slowly. The demon must be twice the size he was, and he was a big man, it was very pale, and wore a blood-soaked butcher's smock. Its most outstanding feature was a large, red, triangular helmet that completely covered its head. This was straight out of a horror movie. This thing actually scared him more than being eaten alive by those zombie creatures. The energy coming from it was almost as strong as a noble phantasm, his most deadly strike. The demon raises a hand and his blade comes free of the wall behind them barreling towards their heads again. They dodge it moving backwards looking at each other. The demon catches it with its right hand then drops the tip of the blade to the floor dragging it as it walks closer.

"This is fucked up!" He says. "We're leaving now!" She nods and sheaths her katanas. He quickly scoops her up then leaps onto the flagpole.

But the demon can see their plan in motion and jumps into the air after them. Holding its spear above its head, coming down on them as they prepare for their next leap.

"We're not going to make it!" Cu says.

"Quick! Hold me up!" The girl replies.

He does as she says and drops her legs then holds her up above him by her waist. She summons a bow out of no where and knocks six manifested arrows. She pulls back on the string, the demon and its blade almost upon them now.

She yells, "Ignite!" And lets go of the arrows, making direct contact with the demons chest. An explosion erupts, Cu pulls her back down shielding her from the blast. The demon is sent back crashing through the second floor balcony then falling onto the first floor. The building shakes, but Cu isn't sticking around for anymore of this, and is already up onto the roof with her still in his arms. They are safe....for now.

Chapter 2

They were making their way over to more solid ground. The mall roof top was not the ideal place for a fight and losing your footing their would land you back in the depths of hell with those creatures and the demon. She was scaling the tops of buildings with ease leaping from roof top to roof top, like she had done this before. He follows behind thankful she knows her way around the city. He hadn't had a chance to look at the city yet but he could tell from the smell that it was littered with the dead. That was a smell you could never mistake for anything else.

Finally they come to a building on the outskirts of the city. It was slightly shorter than the rest but gave them a good view of the area. They scale over a tall chain link fence welded around the top and find a place to sit for a minute.

Although had already healed from the flesh wounds the creatures had chewed out of him he was now facing mana depletion and without a master he wouldn't be able to rejuvenate himself until he finds one . He looks over at the girl. She has fallen to her knees holding herself up with her hands catching her breath.

"Are you ok?" He asks concerned.

"Yeah, just a little out of breath, I'll be ok in a minute then we can go." She replies.

Radio static startles them both.

"Veda! Are you there?!".

She lifts a small black receiver unit on her arm to her mouth then clenches her fist and spoke

"Yeah, I'm fine. I found him. We are on our way back."

"Ok we rendezvous at the red district. We will hold them off for you if needed. And Veda, DON'T take off like that again! You could have been killed!."

Cu smiles to himself, he can tell it is a mans voice, vaguely familiar, and definitely not happy with her.

She raises the radio to her mouth again and stands.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you in an hour. Over and out!". She replies.

"He seems pissed at you." Cu smirks.

She turns around to face him, hands on her hips. He could finally see all of her in the moonlight. Her hair was blowing in the wind and shone brightly. She was gorgeous and her body was incredible.

"Ya I found you on my heat seeker, and sort of... took off. I'm in trouble when we get back." She chuckles to herself.

"So... are you single?" He asks. Cu was always one to swoon a lady without any hesitation and he wasn't going to hold back with her.

She looks at him curiously and begins to laugh wholeheartedly.

"You're hilarious! I'm not the kind of girl you want to cozy up to I guarantee you. I am more trouble than you would ever want." She replies and carries on checking her gear.

"I love trouble." He winks..

She stops for a moment only glancing at him for a second, then shakes her head.
"I'm sure you do." She replies and reloads her pistol.

He wasn't getting very far with this right now,and decides to change the subject before things get too awkward.

He turns towards the city and looks out over the area. "Where are we?" He asks.

They were in a large city that was for sure, but where in the world had he been summoned to? It was pitch black aside from the moon and the red light off in the distance. The entire city was dark with no power. Buildings were torn apart and barriers put up on almost all of the windows and doorways...Just like out of a zombie movie.

"You've been summoned to Tokyo city. It's the year 2030, mankind has once again nearly destroyed itself and you are here to help us survive. I have been tracking servants for over a year now. You are the fifth to be summoned and we have two already in our arsenal archer and saber class." She reloads her other pistol and cocks it before placing it back in its holster.

"Now this war we are facing has been stretched over a couple years. Servants are being summoned at random which makes them hard to find. We are trying our best to gather them for our cause, but the Holy Grail War has changed so much and it's becoming more difficult. The biggest change would be that servants are in control of masters now. You must choose a master and complete the bond, you are given five days to do so or you die. Servants are also able to change masters at any time. So if you don't like them you can find a new one. Masters still bear command seals but they don't work the same, they are only used for bringing each other together by teleportation or to give life to another. Like the extra lives you get in video games."
She giggle. He instinctively scratches the back of his head trying to understand everything she had just spewed out.

"That is a lot to take in... I'll give you a minute to think about things." She continues to secure her gear.

"How did this all happen?" He asks.

"Two years ago a Great War for the Holy Grail began. But it was under a false pretense, mages began summoning servants at random, earlier than they should have, which caused a rift in the circle. One mage in particular, a government official named Hisaki Kirei, had summoned Medea a caster class and under the secrecy of the government and had experimented on her in the most vile ways, causing her to unleash a curse that spread like disease through the world. Within a year the entire world had fallen to it, Tokyo was hit first."

Veda stops suddenly, off in the distance the sound of a propeller echoes through the buildings. They both search the sky.
"That's us, we need to go now, can you get us to that red light over in the distance? There is a large flat roof top there. But we've wasted time talking, we need to be quick." She walks over to him.

"Sounds good to me!" He replies scooping her up and they take off into the night bounding from building to building top towards the pick up zone.

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Now usually in video games the zombies smash through the roof top door as you're trying to escape and you barely make it out of there with your life using up all of your amo and losing a bunch of your comrades and in the last minutes of your life you leap off the top of building in slow motion while the building explodes behind you for some reason, barely catching the rope ladder thrown out for you from the chopper... But that didn't happen, although he thought for sure it was going to, instead they reached the rooftop safely just as the helicopter landed. And to Cu's surprise, out jumps a familiar face, the older Shirou Emiya, archer class...He was standing beside three other men in tactical armor with the same overly confident smug look he always has.

"Fucking hell." Cu whispers under his breath.

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As they approached the pick up zone Veda couldn't help but feel excited for the package she found, surely Archer couldn't be too pissed off at her now.

She could see the helicopter had already landed and her team was there waiting. Archer in front as usual, Tobi, Rei, and Jax standing beside him, guns ready just in case.

They land softly on the rooftop and Cu sets her down gently. She still couldn't believe he was bold enough to hit on her in the middle of their escape. She looked up at him for a moment, he sure was something to look at. But the last thing she needed was a man in her life causing problems and she had enough dramatic men around her. She turns her view to Archer who was now approaching them. He has a disgusted look on his face, she was hoping it wasn't for her she closes her eyes and clenches her fists waiting for him to blast her out.

"Well if it isn't my favorite nemesis Cu Chullain! Why is it we always get summoned to the same war?" Archer says, he stops a few feet in front of them and crosses his arms.

"Cu Chullain?" She recites the name in her mind and opens her eyes to look at him. He had a challenging smile written across his face flashing directly at Shirou. This can't be good. She has heard the name from Shirou before, but only backed with distaste. He does not like any part of this man, not one bit.

"Looks like you've still got arrows up your ass Shirou, archer class again hey?" He chuckles.

"Yeah, and you have a spear up yours and it looks like it's been there for awhile." Archer laughs returning the Jab.

Veda laughs nervously with them, unsure of what is actually going on. They have obviously fought in the past and knew each other. But she can't quite make out if they were being sarcastic and friendly like buddy to buddy insults or if they actually hate each other. She decides to go say hello to the other boys, they seem a little more quiet. She takes one step forward and stops feeling disapproving eyes on her. She winces.

Archer glares at her and grabs her arm before she can take another step then pulls her to the side away from Cu Chullain.

He leans in close to her ear.
"Veda...you scared me! Don't EVER do that again. You LISTEN to my orders or you'll never leave the sanctuary again!" He snaps. She pulls her eyes away from him.

She looks up at him, in hopes to cut the tension she raises a hand in the direction of Cu.
"But I brought you a present!" She bites her lip waiting for the recoil from her comment.

His stern look was impenetrable, he glances at Cu them back at her and shakes his head.

"I wouldn't call him a gift and risking your life like that was a stupid decision. Don't do it again!" He replies.

She sighs.

"Veda!" He snaps again.

"Ok, ok!" She backs away surrendering.

"Let's go, before we wake up the dead." He shoots Cu one last death glare then walks with Veda to the helicopter.

Veda stops at the helicopter and turns around. Cu was standing where she had left him staring at the ground, most likely trying to make up his mind on what to do. But she wasn't going to leave him here so she bounces back over to him, he watches her approach.

"Are you coming with me?" She asks.

"I...." He chokes, looking at her then back at Archer. He looks so disappointed.

She grabs his hand.
"Come with me! I won't leave without you." She smiles and his eyes soften slightly.

"Alright sweetheart, but only because of you." He replies.

She takes her hand from him and grabs his arm pulling him towards the helicopter with Shirou scowling at them both.

"What?" Veda asks as she walks by him, Cu following just behind her.

"Don't you get attached to this "mut", there aren't many happy endings under his belt.". Something has definitely hit a nerve with Shirou.

Cu rolls his eyes. "Oh ya?! You're one to talk! And you were so successful with Rin weren't you." He snaps back.

"Hey fuck you! You don't even get to say that name!" Shirou shouts puffing his chest.

"No fuck you!" Rages Cu.

Things were getting intense. She has never seen Shirou so worked up before. He has always had an even temperament but Cu had him flying off the handle in seconds.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Veda shouts but they ignore her. It was a full on profanity war now and no one was going to stop that. The other men with them were just as shocked as she was and looking a little frightened. The last thing they needed was a servant on servant match at the top of a building filled with the living dead.

She presses on trying to grab their attention, but it was no use and their dispute was beginning to get physical, pushing each other further away from the helicopter.
"This is ridiculous!" She stammers and walks over to Tobi. She grabs the modified tasers from his belt. One for each pissy servant.

"Veda!" Tobi warms and shakes his head.

But she carries on. The tazers were built to knock at least ten zombies to the ground. This should get their attention.

She walks back over to the boys arguing with a taser in each hand. She clicks them on. They make a short buzzing noise, then she buries them into the sides of both of them. The rest of the boys gasp in shock watching them fall to the ground shaking. Yes this probably wasn't the best idea she had and Shirou will be chewing her out again for this. But they were both on the ground holding their sides with their full attention to her. She smiles pleased with the control she had giving them one more satisfying shock. They both gasp in pain.

"Now are you two idiots done? The past is the past, don't bring that shit here or I'll taze the testosterone right out of both of you!" She demands.

"Fuck Veda!" Shirou gasps.

"God damn girl!" Cu managed to choke out laughing slightly almost as if he enjoyed it.

"Now get in the goddamn chopper!!" She says and walks to the helicopter handing Tobi back his taser. She jumps into the seat and buckles herself in. The rest of the boys get in with her laughing and shaking their heads at her.

Shirou and Cu were on their feet now shaking it off.
"This girl's a handful hey Archer?" He nudges him with his elbow.

"Shut the fuck up Cu."

Cu snickers.

They both get into the helicopter and take off towards the sanctuary. It was located thirty kilometers outside the city in a small valley. There are only two ways into it, north and south roads with large concrete walls heavily guarded by military personnel. It was one of the first sanctuaries built after the world had ended. Her team had managed to find over three hundred survivors in Tokyo city, and brought them there to this secure valley to start life again.

Veda was desperate to get back, her tussle with the cursed left her feeling dirty, she wanted to get home and into more comfy clothes and she was starving.

"Tobi! Got any snacks?" She yells through the propeller noise.

He laughs at her. "Do you ever stop eating? I swear you should be at least 350 pounds by now." He hands her a bottle of water and a power bar. She downed it like it was her first meal, and was still hungry but she will have to wait until she gets to the sanctuary for a decent meal.

She turns her gaze to the new guy. Cu Chullain, Ireland's child of light, so the legend says. He was built like a warrior, with large chiseled muscles, a tall stature and looks to match. He was bigger than Shirou mostly in the chest and biceps, but demigods had a knack for being ridiculously jacked and stupidly handsome. It really wasn't fair to normal men not like she wasn't complaining though. He catches her eyes and winks, sending a wave of heat over her cheeks. Veda bites her lip and smiles. Which only lands them a death glare from Shirou.. What's gotten into him?

She decides not to test Shirou patience anymore, he was already touchy over the fact she took off on everyone. She focuses on the trip home instead of Cu looking out over the moonlit landscape.

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He was still pissed at Archer for saying that shit in front of Veda. Who the hell was he to embarrass him like that in front of a lady. Maybe he was right about not having much luck with women but that wasn't his fault...for the most part. He was picturing stabbing him in the face with his lance when he felt pretty eyes on him. He looks over at that stunning blonde sitting across from him. He winks, causing her to blush profusely making him smile.

He can feel more eyes on him coming from Archer. He definitely had a soft spot for Veda and could see why, he bet everyone in this chopper wanted her at some point. Well this time he was going to get the girl.

They were silent the entire trip to the sanctuary, Cu was looking out over the lights off in the distance. It was situated in a flourishing valley with rigid mountains and a river flowing through it. The actual sanctuary looked more like a military camp surrounding a large bunker and massive storage units on either sides. There were large tents set up around the area with small campfires and torches scattered throughout. They landed in a crop field just behind the camp and jumped out.

Immediately, Archer had Veda by the arm again pulling her away from everyone. His aggression towards her was really starting to piss him off.

"Oi ! Let her go man! She hasn't done anything wrong." Cu yells following behind them.

Veda turns her head towards him.
"It's ok I'll be right back, my superior wants to talk with me." She replies. "I'll meet you inside."

She carries on walking with Archer and he decides not to follow this time. Trusting in her words that she would be back unharmed, Shirou isn't a complete jerk.
Cu heads towards the bunker instead, with the rest of the guys.

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