Chapter 46: Foundation
I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs.
o. o. o.
Merem yawned as he walked to his next destination. It was just after ten, and he had just landed after his meeting with Fina.
"It's too early for this," he moaned to no one in particular. Normally he'd keep his thoughts to himself, especially when it was very likely that Fina had spies in the area, but he didn't care.
How did Ortenrosse, Altrouge, and all those other micromanaging monsters around the world deal with this day in and day out for centuries? He never understood it. There was a need for organization for large projects, yes. Time and preparation were always necessary for things that were worthwhile in the end, but for a monster that was more akin to a natural disaster to spend day after day without end at a desk of all things plotting was just unbearable to him.
Maybe it was the fact that he was a Planet Terminal that kept him from being able to stay in one place for long. The ways of the World did not mix well with the ways of Man after all.
While most Apostles thought him as a traitor for working for the Church as what was generally accepted as an attack dog position, he didn't care. He didn't want to be in a high ranking political position. He didn't want to have subordinates. He didn't want that sort of power. It was all meaningless to him.
Truth be told, he had initially harbored the idea of siding with Ortenrosse before the Church. The jobs in general wouldn't have differed much. Take out target A. Go to location B. Etc. He chose not to in the end for three main reasons.
The first was that the Church had a better cache of ancient treasures that they could pay him with to add to his collection.
The second was that Ortenrosse was just too old fashioned and boring for his tastes. He simply just didn't get along with the dusty white old man.
The third was just to see if he actually could join the Church in the first place, if only to see everyone's reactions and figure out just how far he could take it.
He was one of the oldest Apostle Ancestors. Turned by Crimson Moon himself. He got bored. It happens.
He felt his left hand twitch, as if it was laughing in amusement.
"Hush you," he chided the rat before stopping in front of his destination, the home of Rin Tohsaka. He would have flown the entire way there, but he was fairly certain that alarming four high strung Servants with a rapidly approaching Divine Beast would be a poor decision.
The bounded field around the property was strong. Granted, the bounded fields he had crossed walking on the streets to the building were potent as well, but those were more for detection while these were no doubt for War. He doubted he'd be able to get through them without some serious effort.
That being said, he took the more mundane approach to announce himself and rang the doorbell, followed shortly by knocking on the gates.
Then for good measure he spiked just a small bit of his prana to set off a few of the bounded field alarms. He wasn't hiding in the first place, but it would get them to him faster. He wasn't exactly in the mood to wait today.
A minute later, the gate opened to show a far more pleasant Caster than the one he had dealt with that morning.
… Well, pleasant was a bit of a stretch given how stressed and disheveled she looked. Less conniving would be a better way to describe her.
"Hello. I'm Merem. Is Shirou here?" He smiled politely, appearing for all intents and purposes like an innocent fourteen year old child.
The Servant looked at him confused for a moment before the name registered. "The Vampire?"
"Mmm. And you're the other Caster. Medea of Colchis." He verified her identification of him in return.
She looked around warily. "… You're responsible for all the rats that have been spying on everyone."
He lifted up his left hand and wiggled his fingers, as if to show her that the King of Rats was not at the moment, a rat. "Spying on everyone, yes, but for the most part they're everywhere to begin with. Humans tend to be rather suboptimal when it comes to keeping buildings insulated if they don't see that things are wrong in the first place. That being said, you'll be pleased to know that I have no idea what's happened with your group since you moved here thanks to your fields."
"I learned my lesson the first time." She frowned, unsure if it would be a good idea to let him in the first place. "Why are you here?"
He blinked in confusion, as if genuinely not understanding her question. "To help. Shirou must have told you about my actions by now. Unless, is he still unconscious?"
She shook her head slightly, her face betraying the fact that she clearly didn't want to think about him at the moment. "No. He is awake now, though he was preoccupied with other matters. I took a moment to have some time to myself so I'm not particularly up to date on his status. One mom-?"
BOOM!
Before Caster could finish her sentence a small explosion blew out the windows of one of the rooms to the side of the building, catching their attention. A red and black blur shot out from the debris, followed soon by a brown and red one.
"He looks fine to me." Merem looked around Caster to get a better look at the situation, not too perturbed by the new turn of events before looking at her again. "This may sound a bit rushed, but do you mind letting me in before things get more escalated? I want a better view of everything."
Standing in Rin's front lawn were Archer and Shirou, staring one another down and waiting for the other to move first. Their circuits running hot and their eyes searching for the slightest weakness or sign of magic from the other.
Archer remained impassive for the most part, but Shirou was borderline apocalyptic if his expression was any indication.
"Is now really the right time for this?" Archer asked in a bored tone, as if he was talking about a chore. Despite his words, Kanchou and Bakuya were in hand and at the ready.
Shirou on the other hand didn't say anything. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes seemed to burn molten silver. Around him hovered several copies of Gae Dearg aimed at the Servant, and a few ethereal and transparent shields directly between them, trinkets from his fight against Gilgamesh. None would prevent any real attack, but they were enough to stall Archer for a moment or two if he wanted to get close.
"What on earth… what is that boy doing?" Caster couldn't comprehend what was going on.
Merem's expression didn't change. "I've never seen him so worked up before."
Five of the spears shot at Archer like bullets, spread widely so that he wouldn't be able to dodge them all. The speeds they traveled at were almost akin to what Gilgamesh used on average. It wasn't that great of an accomplishment since they both used the same simple method to do so. All it took was the application of a small but densely focused amount of prana behind the tools.
The Servant blurred to the right, deflecting the closest spear with Bakuya by hitting its shaft when it got close and making sure not to touch the spear's tip.
With the attacks out of the way, Archer continued his path around the boy at speeds no human or average Magus could follow, let alone match, until he was behind the makeshift bulwark and darted forward.
"Ngh!?" He jumped back just in time to avoid getting speared by more copies of Gae Dearg that instantly materialized behind the boy.
"He kept up with Archer?" Caster blinked in surprise. True, Archer was nowhere near the fastest Servant, but still a human should not be able to follow one in terms of speed.
"His eyes did." Merem corrected her, noting that Shirou was turned in Archer's direction and looking at his opponent. Archer may be leagues faster than the boy, but Shirou's eyes enabled him to at least track of his opponent.
No, that wasn't exactly it. It was more Shirou's eyes were merely cataloguing what and where everything was at any given moment. The action of seeing and following Archer's movements was beyond him, but it didn't matter because his eyes still obtained and processed the data that was Archer's location and direction.
It was much like being stuck in a room with no light, but your eyes were still able to send signals to your brain to tell you where everything in its line of sight was. You couldn't see anything, technically, but the knowledge was still there and valid.
"You're obnoxiously attached to that spear." EMIYA noted with some annoyance as the weapons that missed him dissolved into nothing. Gae Dearg's anti-magic properties were a perfect counter to traced weapons. Any projection that encountered the tip of one of those things would instantly fall apart.
He wouldn't admit it, but the Servant was slightly impressed. The longer he was around the kid, the more their memories leaked into one another. He could tell that Shirou had left his back open on purpose, that the moment anyone attacked from that direction, the kid's magic would trigger automatically and fire on anyone that approached from that direction.
It was obvious if you looked at how they fought. Archer used his weapons like weapons. Shirou used them like spells. Quality and Reality Marble aside, the kid was far more akin to a magus than he was and it showed.
"What's going on here!?" Caster finally found her voice and approached the pair.
"Surprisingly, I didn't instigate it this time," Archer casually replied, not once taking his eyes off of Shirou as the latter turned around. "He woke up earlier. Came down stairs. And went nuts as soon as he saw me. Just in a different way this time."
"Trace. On." Shirou's eyes narrowed as three copies of Kanchou and Bakuya materialized around him, spinning like saws and fired at the Servant.
Archer's eyes widened in surprise, instantly knowing what the boy's plan of attack was and threw his own swords at the kid as if he was getting rid of a bomb before dodging once more to the side. Had he kept hold of his own blades, the attraction properties of his blades would have literally pulled Shirou's to him like a magnet, making them far too distracting to deal with while the kid fired on him with more spears. "Not bad. He has a brain after all."
The oncoming blades would have cleaved the teen into pieces had he not moved some of the copies of Gae Dearg in the way to dispel them on contact, but the focus it took to defend himself properly gave Archer enough time to get his own strategy made.
Jumping back, the Servant made his trademark ebony bow and took aim. Shirou braced himself for an attack, but his eyes widened an instant before shots were fired as he saw his enemy's real target.
Arrows impacted the ground in front of Shirou with the force of small bombs, kicking up grass, dirt, and stone in equal measure, blinding and unbalancing him in the process.
Shirou jumped back unsteadily in turn, attempting to get out of the way of the dust and the arrows, but for each foot he retreated, another bomb went off in front of him, disorienting him even more.
"Dirty, no pun intended." Merem watched with curiosity. Shirou couldn't match Archer in strength, speed, prana, or experience. That much was obvious. The only thing the boy had going for him was his magic, which was for the most part identical to his opponent's. No, if what he learned and deduced is true, then Shirou's proficiency with it might even surpass Archer's save for the fact that he hasn't fully manifested his Reality Marble yet.
In terms of spell weaving, Shirou had more tricks to use and knew how to use them. Traps and spells that he could enact, with strategies that optimized their uses. Throw in the fact that he had the Emiya thaumaturgical crest and it could be easily deduced that the boy had the wider range of mysteries than his opponent.
But that was all he had.
Versatility was fine, but it didn't mean much if the enemy was too fast, strong, skilled, and experienced to let it get to him. Not to mention that Archer wasn't exactly a one trick pony either.
Shirou had been pushing himself in this fight because he had to. He couldn't match Archer's prana, speed, and power. Close range was suicide, and both fighters excelled in mid to long range combat, but that once more put things in Archer's favor. It was a fight that Shirou simply couldn't win if he hadn't prepared for it beforehand.
"You're not terrible," Archer spoke from the top of Rin's home. "But, even you should be able to tell what will happen if you keep pushing this. You're wasting too much prana to protect yourself, and you clearly didn't start this in ideal condition either. You're going to run yourself dry pretty soon."
Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance as he took stock of the shields and spears around him. With a mental trigger, the spears vanished, but the shields merely repositioned themselves around him.
Archer took aim and smirked. "Oh? Interesting."
A copy of Kanchou and Bakuya slammed into the shields on either side of the teen, making him flinch, but not enough to take his attention off of his opponent above, just through the dust.
"You're not as gullible as I thought."
Shirou managed to get a bow up and fired off a counter volley of arrows just in time to intercept Archer's. Small concussive blasts that sounded like cannons went off as reinforced shaft met shaft.
Archer's eyes focused on Shirou and could not hold back his amusement. It was impossible for a normal human to match this rate of fire. He wasn't going all out, but he had assumed that it would be enough to overwhelm the kid.
Instead, he watched as Shirou released his arrow with unreal accuracy, let his projectile leave his weapon's influence, then without moving or uttering a spell, partially deconstructed and reconstructed his bow such that the taut string was once more in his back hand with a new arrow in place in a fraction of a second, took aim just as quickly, and let the new tool loose.
"Not bad. It's not often that Shirou Emiya of the Fifth Grail War manages to figure out that trick. Or did you just get that from me?"
"No. He's known it for a while. I've seen him use it on a few jobs. It's pretty useful, but not that accurate for long range," Merem commented to Caster. "Although I am surprised that Shirou's bow is giving him enough force to match Archer's in the first place."
"He's using prana to increase the power and velocity of his shots," Medea absently answered him, figuring out his trick with a glance, more distracted by the fight itself than the mysteries involved. "Archer's taking him lightly."
"Mmm. I see. I see." Merem nodded in understanding as both bowmen continued their stalemate. "I understand why Archer wouldn't go all out against Shirou with the vast difference in power between them, but I don't think it would be wise to get comfortable or complacent."
"Time Alter. Double Accel."
Shirou's rate of fire and the velocity of his arrows doubled instantly.
Had EMIYA expected Shirou's time magic, he easily would have been able to adjust in kind, but the instantaneous change in rate of fire and power caught him off guard. Just before the first shaft hit him, he dodged to the side. With his footing off, he couldn't match Shirou's following bolts, making the Servant continue to move across the roof of the building while countering the most troubling of the lot.
"He forced Archer back." Caster blinked in surprise. True it wasn't an outstanding feat by a Servant's standards. Even she could put up a solid fight against EMIYA, but for a human of this era without aid to do so was beyond belief. The boy had apparently fought toe to toe against Gilgamesh, but she had trouble digesting it until seeing the boy's combat aptitude personally.
"Changing weapons. Range control. Alternating combat tempo. Traps. Shirou uses and switches between all of these whenever possible to open up his opponents' defenses." Merem nodded, as if expecting this to happen. "There's a limit to how fast a person can react to major changes in a fight, more so when it comes to conjuring an answer to it. Shirou's general approach to things it to make the biggest opening possible with these factors to open his targets up, and then strike them with either the hardest or most effective attack he can set up at the time for a one hit kill. Truth be told, he hates using tactics that wear down his opponents. He says it gives them too much time to come up with a counter."
"But he supposedly killed Gilgamesh. Shouldn't Archer be easy to deal with?" Caster asked.
The vampire looked at her briefly with an unreadable expression. "Shirou prepared for Gilgamesh. Extensively. He planned for the War months if not years in advance, and Gilgamesh was one of the factors he focused on the most. Locations. Tactics. Spells. Traps. Behavior. Habits. He took it all into consideration. He couldn't afford not to. The belt he wore when he arrived had gems that he had charged for two years with prana just so he could stand his own in that fight for more than a few seconds. In comparison to Archer, Shirou probably didn't know anything outside the bare minimum about him until today. He isn't prepared. He didn't set up a battleground. He isn't even fully healed from what I can tell. And the most he knows about Archer is what he knows about himself plus anything that's leaked from them being Shriou Emiya. That's not even taking into account the differences in how Archer and Gilgamesh fight, personalities, weapons, and so on. The circumstances are as contrasting as night and day."
Medea appeared to look like she was going to say something else when a gust of wind distracted her.
"That's enough!" Saber stood on the lawn in between Shirou and Archer in full armor and sword post swing. It looked as if she used the wind mystery around her blade to blow away the next salvo of arrows from both bowmen.
"About time you came." Archer sighed, but didn't put his weapon away seeing as Shirou didn't either.
"Saber. Move. This doesn't involve you." Shirou all but ordered, not looking at her at all.
He probably should have. That way he would have noticed the Fin shot that passed by his Servant and smashed into his skull, sending him crashing to the ground, courtesy of Rin.
"It sure as hell involves me you insensitive ass! That was my living room you totaled, in case you forgot! And that's my Servant you're currently trying to kill!"
"Huh. All this time I thought his constant concern about the girl killing him was metaphorical." Merem tilted his head to the side and looked at Rin curiously.
Archer remained quiet. Seeing Shirou get nailed with the curse dredged up several unwanted memories that were best forgotten.
"I hope you didn't knock him unconscious again. He just got up." Illya sighed as she appeared next to the very angry Tohsaka.
"For all the help him being awake did us." Luvia sauntered over out of the hole that Shirou had made, brushing dust off of her clothes as she did so.
"Shouldn't we be more concerned as to why Shirou wants to kill Archer in the first place?" Sakura looked around confused.
"Before anyone assumes I provoked him in some way, I didn't," Archer shouted from the roof. No one bothered to reply or react to his claim.
"The first time they looked at one another, Shriou went catatonic. The second time he went into a murderous rage. I shudder to think what would happen a third. It is best to keep them separate first before any explanations are made." Luvia shivered.
"Would that even work?" Illya frowned. "Onii-chan went straight for Archer after he remembered everything."
"It can if you have the right distraction." Merem suggested, causing everyone to turn to his direction and finally notice he was there. "Hello everyone. I'm Merem Solomon."
"Caster. When were you going to tell us we had company?" Luvia asked slowly.
"I was going to, but then, well, this happened." The Servant nodded her head to Shirou and Archer.
"It was very interesting to watch." Merem clearly had no qualms with making everyone there feel more than a little uncomfortable.
"I'm going to need so much aspirin after this," Rin muttered under her breath. "It's just one thing after another these days."
"How do you think I feel?" Illya looked at her with some annoyance. "Ever since I first met Onii-chan my grasp on what is rational and what isn't has been all but nonexistent. And he's supposed to be the one that's taking care of me when all of this is over."
"Given what your life apparently was in Germany, is that really such a bad thing?" Sakura probed.
"At this moment, I'm still debating it," the Albino answered with a dead tone.
The immortal couldn't help but laugh in amusement. "Hahah. How interesting. You certainly have attracted an entertaining lot, Shirou."
"Shut up, Merem." The clearly not knocked out teen picked himself up and cradled his aching head. Rin did not hold back with her curse and it sure as hell felt like it. He didn't know what hurt more, the initial impact of the lingering residue that was playing tricks with his skull.
"Have you calmed down yet? Because if you haven't I will plug your skull again. Unlike everyone else, I am fully aware of how hard it is." Rin glared at the redhead and charged another curse.
"I allowed you that first curse out of respect and courtesy given my Master's actions, Rin. I am not so generous to allow you more without due process." Saber warned tersely. She did not say it, but she was a bit miffed that the girl used her distraction to land what could have been a lethal blow to Shirou.
"Don't stop me, Rin. He has to die. That… thing isn't me. Don't listen to his bullshit." Shirou tried to stand up, but was pushed down again by the owner of the house and was forced to stare down a black orb several inches from his face.
"I. Don't. Care." She spoke slowly, her curse pulsing with each word and actively ignoring any and every warning she was given. "Let me make something clear, Shirou Emiya. After all that I've learned. After all that I've been through these past few weeks. After all the shit that I've endured dealing with TWO of you, I have decided to stop being nice. I'm not going to humor you. I'm not going to let you do whatever the hell you want anymore. I'm not giving you the carte blanche. You don't like Archer? Too bad. He's myServant, so I decide what happens to him. Not you."
"Ri-" He tried to argue, only to be cut off as she grabbed his shirt with her free hand and pulled him dangerously close to her curse.
"No Rin's. No but's. You lost your right to use those until Isay otherwise. At this point you'll be grateful that I am allowing you to breathe without my permission, and it's going to stay that way until I say otherwise. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"
Under normal circumstances, such treatment would cow most people, including Shirou. However, even with her hold on him, he still refused to submit to her demands. What Archer represented, what he had done, what he simply was, was something that Shirou simply could not ignore and let exist so easily.
He grit his teeth and glared at her. He didn't want to fight Rin. He didn't want to cause her more trouble than he already had. It was something inconceivable to him… but then again so was Archer.
Rin's eyes narrowed and her grip tightened. It appeared she'd have to use her ace to deliver the final blow.
"Follow my rules. Or I take back the kitchen."
Shirou's face turned ash white and his heart fell through his stomach. "What?"
"You heard me. I'm part of the Church, remember? I giveth. I can taketh just as easily." Her expression didn't change in the slightest.
Illya blinked in disbelief. "She didn't just… the kitchen? Seriously?"
"You wouldn't." It was more of a plea than a statement.
"She would." Sakura dropped her head and sighed, partially in embarrassment, partially in relief seeing as Shirou was being forced out of his erratic state.
"We don't speak of this to anyone. In fact, I suggest we purge this memory from our heads as soon as Caster is dealt with." Luvia covered her eyes with a hand. She and her family would never live it down if word got out that Shirou was being cowed and manhandled by an angry childhood friend threatening his kitchen of all things.
"I have a future you as my Servant. The Ritual my family has dedicated centuries to is a flop. The world is at risk of an apocalypse because of it. You've been hiding this shit from me for two years. And I have a fucking Apostle Ancestor watching all of this on my front lawn with a grin on his face like this is his new favorite afternoon tv drama. Try me."
"I'd compare it more to a multi-part play. I'm not really a fan of television," Merem threw in his two cents.
"You're not helping." Caster glared at him.
"Was I supposed to?" His innocent smile completely contradicted the situation.
"Wasn't that your reason for being here in the first place?" She pointed out skeptically.
Her words seemed to remind him of his original purpose for coming over, as he flinched slightly, although that too may simply have been an act to appear innocuous. "Right. You got me there."
"Rin. But, Archer. He's…"
"On our side. Unlike Caster. Who is still likely to kill us all if we don't get our shit together ASAP," Rin cut him off again. "Whatever it is you have against Archer, stow it until after we deal with that bitch. We don't have time for you to get hurt doing something stupid again. We don't know when she'll attack us next."
"Three days," Merem spoke up, causing everyone to pause and turn to him in confusion.
"And how would you know that exactly?" Saber all but ordered him.
"Because I saw her this morning, and told her that if she didn't agree hold back for three days I'd attack her with everything I had. Which would all but ensure that you'd win once you did make a move." The Vampire shrugged.
The entire lawn was awkwardly silent for several moments before Rin turned to Shirou once more and seemed to talk just by making eye contact.
A long and reluctant sigh of annoyance escaped his lips before his body went lax. "Let's get inside. It'll be easier to organize and plan everything if we have some maps and notes on hand."
"And Archer?" She frowned.
His expression momentarily flashed to one of indignation and fury before calming down again. "We'll discuss that after the Witch isn't a problem anymore. Don't let him anywhere near me until then unless I say otherwise."
She stared at him with an unreadable expression before letting her curse die off and letting go of his shirt. "You're so unreasonable, you know that?"
"I've been told." He picked himself up before wincing as he recalled that he had just taken a Fin Curse to the head just a few minutes earlier. "Damn, could you have at least hit me somewhere else?"
"I picked the part of you that would be damaged the least." She turned away without shame and walked to her home again. "I expect you to clean up my living room before you decide to get put into a coma again."
He threw her a dirty look but refrained from saying anything. The bow next to him shattered like glass as he started to the building. "… Just keep him away from me. I don't want to deal being around him any more than I have to."
"I was going to do that anyways. Having one of you in a room is bad enough." She shot back.
"He's not me." Shirou ground out with a surprising amount of venom before forcefully tearing himself from one headache to another. "What was the deal you made with Caster?"
Merem took it as an invitation to come inside as he walked away from Medea and to his friend. "Three days of ceasefire starting this morning. If she breaks it, I will fight with you. If she doesn't, I'll stay an observer."
"And if we break it?" Shirou probed.
"Still an observer. The deal wasn't with you."
"What constitutes premature nullification?"
"Unrestrained combat and assassination. Spying and covert operations and the like are permissible."
"That includes her setting up bounded fields and traps, and our dismantling of them?"
"Of course. Caster wouldn't take it otherwise. Plus it would be boring."
"And you're free to do as you wish until then." Shirou paused and looked down at his friend with a knowing glint in his eye.
"Indeed I am." Merem smiled back.
"… Caster's an idiot." The teen shook his head. "When the Princess goes out to dismantle Rider's Bloodfort Andromeda, you'll escort her. Make yourself visible as she works. It'll piss off the Witch and cause her to make mistakes."
"Hmhm. You're quite an obnoxious brat aren't you? I don't know what's more ridiculous, the fact that you came up with that approach so quickly, or that you're so comfortable ordering me around like you're my superior." Merem chuckled.
"You make it sound like you're against your own setup. Old Geezer." Shirou aimed low, not bothering to hide his own amusement.
"Now that's just rude. After all I've don't to help you out, the least you could do is show a little gratitude." The oldest one there didn't sound offended at all as they entered the building, ignoring everyone watching them. "Kids these days are so impatient. You're not even going to wait the full three days are you?"
"Of course not." The boy grunted. "Whoever attacks first has the advantage. There's no way we're going to risk losing that. Everything's going to happen on the second night."
"I thought as much. You really are an impatient brat." The conversation was muffled by the building as they disappeared inside.
"I'm not the only one that got chills listening to that, am I?" Illya looked around hopefully.
"I'm beginning to see why he's so comfortable around other Servants despite our difference in power." Saber's expression was unreadable, her eyes never leaving the building.
"The Vampire is certainly powerful. I understand why everyone is so concerned about his being here." Caster crossed her arms. She could instantly tell that his limbs were not what they seemed. That they possessed ancient and unmatched mysteries that were rarely rivaled even in her time.
No one followed the pair into the building, whether it was because they didn't want to be around them, because they wanted to talk with the people outside, or because they didn't want to help Shirou clean up the living room.
"They certainly do look like they acknowledge one another," Sakura noted. "I wonder why Merem is so accepting of Shirou in particular. From what I understand, Apostle Ancestors don't really make that many friends… other than that one that I heard runs a human company for fun."
"I could care less about him so long as he doesn't destroy my home." Rin didn't want to bother dwelling on Merem unless she had to. She already had enough headaches to deal with. She still didn't understand why Shirou is reacting so violently to his Servant counterpart. "Archer, did you really have that hard of a time dealing with Shirou?"
The man on the roof remained quiet for a few moments. "To use an analogy, he's like a very venomous wasp. He's too weak to warrant me going all out, but if I am careless he still has the potential to kill me for certain. Trying to fight while keeping damage to a minimum is frustratingly vexing. I can see why the Servants he's fought against are wary of him if they didn't know anything about his abilities. Underestimating him is just as potentially lethal as underestimating another Servant. Unlike other Masters, he's actually a threat to us."
"That makes sense, I suppose." Luvia crossed her arms and looked at Rin. "How are we going to deal with this new development, Tohsaka? Shirou's proving to be even more of a handful than we first thought."
"He's not a problem. Not so long as Archer stays away from him and Rin keeps them both in line," Illya interjected.
"Why didn't you try to stop him when he woke up?" Rin looked at her.
Illya rolled her eyes. "Yes, because Onii-chan is the kind of person that tells others that he's planning on killing someone on their side in the immediate future. Saber and I barely managed to realize that he was going for Archer in the first place before he managed to get downstairs, and even then we didn't think he was going to go this far."
"I don't know why, but Shirou's thoughts are surprisingly clouded and blurred whenever Archer enters the picture. I'm sorry for not preventing this sooner. I should have anticipated it." Saber bowed her head in shame.
"Still… I've never seen him act like that before." Sakura looked at her sister as if asking for confirmation. "This is the first time he's ever lashed out at anyone. Especially like that, and unprovoked."
"I guess I just bring out the worst in people in this world." Archer helplessly shrugged.
"Something tells me it's not a unique occurrence." Rin glanced at her Servant. "Archer, stay up there and keep watch for the night."
"No surprise there. If I see an easy shot against one of the other Servants, should I take it despite the ceasefire?" He asked curiously.
"Do not joke about such things Archer." Saber chided. "You know as well as the rest of us that doing so could easily put us in a position we do not want."
Archer waited for a moment for someone else to add their two cents, but when that clearly didn't happen, he shook his head and snorted. "Fair enough. I'll just bark if something happens then."
With that he turned spiritual, exiting everyone's line of sight.
"He certainly seems to be taking things well." Luvia didn't look away from where he vanished.
"Please, just don't go there Edelfelt. For all our sakes. Just don't." Rin sighed and rubbed her temple to reduce her migraine before looking at Caster. "Did the vampire say or do anything that we need to worry about?"
Medea shook her head. "No. He seemed to be content just watching the boy and Archer fight. Anything important he's said was heard by everyone else here."
Everyone there glanced at one another as they started to recall just what Merem had said not even a few moments earlier.
"Three days." Sakura crossed her arms and looked at the ground.
"Two. Shirou doesn't intend to wait that long." Saber corrected her.
"Does he even have a genuine plan of attack?" Caster frowned.
"Knowing him, he's already come up with a few even though he's just woken up. Whether or not they'll work is another thing." Rin shook her head.
"I know he doesn't deserve it, but should we help him fix the living room? It'll get him to work on strategizing faster," Luvia suggested.
"No. He needs time to cool off, and cleaning helps him relax almost as much as cooking even if he'll never admit it. It's a good distraction." Sakura knew Shirou's personal habits better than anyone else there since she's spent the most time with him at his house. Rin was just as frequent, but she was more active whenever she was around him, so she saw the relaxed side of Shirou less than her sister.
"A powerful male that enjoys servant work. As if this era wasn't confusing enough." Caster shook her head in defeat. She'd never get used to this time or its customs.
"Please don't assume that Shirou is an accurate representative of our world's male population. I'd have nightmares picturing such a thing." Luvia shivered as she let her mind wander, followed by many of the others there.
"None of you would come close to being as traumatized as me if that ever came to pass." Archer mentally quipped to Rin.
"I wonder why," she shot back reflexively before giving up. "Let's go inside. We're not going to get anywhere just standing here and wondering how messed up everything is going to be in a few days. Since half of us haven't eaten yet, Sakura can start on dinner. If Shirou finishes before she does he can help out there as well."
"And what will the rest of us do?" Luvia followed her. "I refuse to sit idle on anyone's behalf any longer Tohsaka."
Rin looked back with cold azure eyes. "We get everything we have together, start mapping out the battleground, and start to plan. Then when everything else is done, we see just how Shirou acts and thinks when he's planning to destroy someone completely."
o. o. o.
"Your thoughts?"
The captain of a nameless regiment of the SS army stood at attention as Fina lounged in his chair and casually sipped some blood from a glass. "I have observed many of your interactions with your peers over the years Sir, but even now I can never be certain as to their thoughts and motivations."
"Toss certainty to the latrines. Nothing's ever certain. Certainty's useless and predictable. Come on. Out with it." Fina brushed off the excuse with a lazy wave.
A minor shift in weight was all the German did to display his discomfort. "I suspect that Solomon is hiding something in regards to the War. Given the limited contents of your conversation and what I know of him, I can only assume it may have something to do with the Emiya boy because of their relationship. Perhaps the child's Servant is more prominent than we anticipated, or more specifically its Noble Phantasm."
"Mmm. That does match my suspicions as well." Fina nodded as he looked aimlessly at his drink. "Merem's always been a bit peculiar compared to the rest of us, even if you don't take his relationship with the Church into account. His idolization with the White Princess has been a problem for us. He's helped, or rather, led her to one or another of us Ancestors every time she's woken up, leading to their unfortunate end. He does so not out of duty or for the sake of a reward, but simply because he believes that it is only natural that he should do so, even if it ends in his own death eventually."
"And despite all that, he's announced a new Ancestor recently. Something he's never done before." The SS noted.
"Not directly." Fina corrected. "He's been there for a few declarations, and even supported a few claims, but he's never hoisted one up himself. And to do so when the Aylesbury Ritual so close… there's a reason why everyone's scrambling to find the new Tenth. Even if he is a supposed weakling, there's no desire to let an unknown X factor free to do as they wish now. Not when that other brat Enhance is betraying his kin and rank in a pitiful childish rebellion."
"He is rather attached to the boy. Do you think perhaps…"
"Pfffft! Ha!" The pirate laughed loudly at the unfinished question. "Barthomelloi is like a bloodhound when it comes to us. If the boy was an Apostle, let alone an Ancestor, she would have torn him to pieces before wiping his name from every book and record on the planet by now. Even if it was in her favor to employ him, she'd still murder his ass just for suggesting such a thing. No, the brat's human. Interesting and very easy on the eyes, but human."
"But that still doesn't change the fact that he's the first human outside of the Church that Solomon is involved with to a notable degree."
Fina drank some blood with a wide grin on his face. "Hmmm. True. Very true. That one doesn't grace others in person that often. Normally he uses that disgusting rat arm of his to deal with others. To be honest, I was expecting the rodent showing up earlier for our meal, not him."
"He's comfortable here." The soldier frowned. "Enough that he believes that exposing himself won't be a significant risk. In his mind, the boy isn't just a friend…"
"He's a genuine ally. One that will fight beside him without asking questions. Showing up like that was his way of saying 'I am not alone here.' Not just that, but it also states the capability of those that he believes are backing him up. That little bastard was mocking us the entire time." Fina's smile widened, only this time it was one of vicious hunger. "The Queen's Silver Dog. The Ash of Miracles. In such a short period of time Crown has made himself quite the diverse circle. I'm beginning to see why my Lady was so concerned. Hell, I'm surprised that dusty old bastard White Wing hasn't made a move yet."
"All the more reason to be careful here. Solomon can be pushed back with the right tactics and resources, but we would be frantic to spare enough firepower to hold off a Servant as well. Much less several." The German honestly assessed the situation. He was part of the greatest military force on the planet, but that did not mean it was undefeatable.
"And that is what reconnaissance is for, captain." Fina raised his glass in a toast. "For what is life but a series of battles that may or may not be fought? With cities ripe for pillaging or avoiding? Are we to hunt or stay our swords and guns for another day? Is the day where our grand illustrious march continues yet again upon us? My friend, you must remember that oft times these questions and the preparations that lead to them are as marvelous to behold as the show itself."
"Sir!" The captain stood at attention, agreeing completely to his leader's proud statement and command.
It had been almost sixty years since he and his squad had been enlisted in this army, and while it was rough and confusing at the beginning they got used to it quickly. A new leader. A new life. A new everlasting war. But they never forgot their origins. He and his comrades were part of the Third Reich, and they proudly represented their homeland and ideals.
Much like the Corsairs of the Spanish armada.
And the Navy Seals of the United States Army.
The Soviet Union. The Chinese Communists. The Jagiellion dynasty. Roman-Catholics. Kalamars. Ajurans. Ethiopians. Khmers. Samples from every great power, known and unknown all ended up presenting themselves in line eventually.
For their honor. For their pride. For themselves. For their homes. For power.
For War.
For the Parade.
o. o. o.
Everyone was in the living room doing one of two things.
They were focusing on the table with the map of Ryudou temple and the area around it, complete with little gem statues placed in seemingly random locations.
Or they were watching Shirou as he did the former.
Walking around the table, the Emiya's eyes were never still. His gaze would dart back and forth between the entrance to the temple and the city itself. Small jewel statues that represented what appeared to be everyone in the war were frequently and constantly moved to one location or another, then back as the boy seemed to second guess his decision. More often than not, he'd turn to a bulletin board that had also been moved to the room that was already covered in notes to either write something down or look up a fact.
He had also restarted his simulated attacks more than a few times, clearly not liking where they led in his mind. Enough that most of the people there had given up trying to keep track of the number of repeats.
"Why did you abandon that approach?" Saber spoke up as soon as Shirou silently gave up on his latest strategy and reset the map, taking Saber's statue out of the temple grounds. "You were applying solid pressure to Caster and had managed to get me inside without issue."
"Too much pressure." He shook his head as he placed Lancer's replica back at the gate of the shrine from where it had been with Berserker at the base of the stairs. "Caster can't be allowed to have time to realize and react to the fact that she can no longer win. She'd set off the mountain before you'd be able to deal with her. Plus there's no way to keep the other Servants in place with that setup."
"Keep them in place?" Medea tilted her head in confusion.
Shirou paused as he reached for the crystals that represented the Masters. "We have a major weakness going into this that Caster doesn't. Us."
"The Masters." Luvia understood. "We can't fight Servants. Not directly. And we'd be easy targets against them, more so against Assassin and Caster."
"And Rider." Sakura frowned. "No. Especially Rider. Caster won't hesitate to have her use her mystic eyes with us around. Just being around her when she uses them would be a major risk. Or Bloodfort Andromeda. If any of us get stuck in there, our deaths would be a question of "when" not "if"."
"And keeping us separate and away from the fighting would only leave us open and undefended for Assassin and Caster to pick off." Rin grimaced.
"That means that the best solution for us would be to kill Rider as soon as possible," Illya evenly stated, not caring how her brother or Sakura would react.
"No it's not," Shirou countered her, much to everyone's surprise. "Or rather, if this was a normal war and a normal siege that may have been the case."
"Oh? You really are cruel if this is going where I think it is." Merem's eyes lightened with anticipation.
Saber, on the other hand, didn't seem to agree. "You don't mean to say…"
"Bloodfort Andromeda is Caster's first line of defense, but it's also a trap designed to hold back and separate as many of us as possible." Shirou crossed his arms. "The more of us she has in there, the safer and more confident she'll be. In contrast, if we completely get rid of it with minimal damage, her hopes of victory will be reduced to almost nothing. Nothing else available to her has the capability of holding us back and keeping us apart outside of her Temple en masse, and the temple itself should be considered her last line of defense. We don't want her to rely on that staring down all of us. She'll panic for sure."
"You intend to use it as a false lead. A distraction." Luvia's eyes widened. "Some of us are going to be stuck in there to give the illusion that we're split apart against our will."
"Not some." Shirou grimaced as he placed Caster's, Archer's, and the majority of the Master models in the bounded field.
"You're kidding me." Rin glared at the setup, only for Shirou to put Rider's and Assassin's statues inside as well.
"This is the only setup that makes sense if we want to keep the non-fighters safe. We'd start off with this group dismantling Rider's Bloodfort. It would only be obvious for Assassin to place traps around the sigils, while at the same time setting up to take out as many as possible from a distance with a sniper rifle. It would also give him a perfect setup to attack anyone gunning for the Temple directly. Not only that…"
"But it would also trap Assassin inside as well should Rider enact the field, eventually killing him along with everyone else and eliminating a risk for Caster. Three birds with one stone." Saber frowned, instantly understanding where he was going and clenching a fist in frustration.
"That does sound like something she'd do." Merem nodded in agreement. "Good catch, but how will endangering yourselves be in your favor?"
"Everyone here is adept at thaumaturgy and powerful in their own right. Plus Medea has been mitigating the field's progress for the past few days. With those and a few pre-emptive spells, they should at least be safe from the field until the fighting is over. Her summons can provide an extra measure of protection for everyone." Shriou elaborated as he pushed the Servant pieces together. "… Between Archer and Medea, Assassin's location should be found pretty quickly. She can handle him from there. Archer would then take Rider. He's the only one of us that can reliably hold her off at all ranges of battle. Ironically, if Rider sets off Bloodfort Andromeda, the Witch won't be able to teleport in or out of it using her spells, meaning we wouldn't have to worry about her trying to catch everyone off guard in person."
"It's true. I've inspected Rider's bounded field and its properties while I dismantled it. Once activated, being able to warp in without using extensive measures such as the Command Seals will be beyond myself or my counterpart." The Princess nodded, though shooting Shirou an annoyed look. She understood why he referred to her by name and her other by their class in order to avoid confusion, but she still disliked it.
"Can you create an opening in the field once activated? In case we need to get everyone out?" He probed, never looking up.
"Given time, yes. Had it been at full strength my answer would be less favorable. However that's not the case," she replied. "Though my other may as well. If that's the case, I may be able to use it to our advantage."
"Good. That makes things better for us." He nodded before putting down his, Saber's and Berserker's pieces right in front of the mountain itself, and paused. "… I don't like it."
"Don't like what?" Sakura leaned forward and looked at the setup, as did several others.
"The raw power balance is too lopsided in our favor." Saber frowned. "Berserker, Shirou, and I against Caster and Lancer. Even if there were traps, getting through it all would be too easy if we simply charged through, and it's too easy to set it up that way."
"There's a trap somewhere that we're not seeing." Luvia came to the same conclusion that Shirou did. "You think we are missing something."
"Bloodfort Andromida's a powerful and useful tool in this setup, but it's still easy just to walk around. Caster can't risk completely crippling the leylines that lead out of the mountain." Shirou traced his hand around the stairway all the way up to where Lancer was situated and stopped. "… It's been bugging me ever since the idea of just having Saber and Berserker bowling over Lancer came to mind. Something's telling me that it's simply not going to happen if we try it, and only make things worse."
"I don't see how that's the case." Illya looked at Lancer's statue, unimpressed. "Cu Culainn is an impressive Servant, but we have King Arthur and Heracles. You might as well have him try and hold back an entire army by himself with those odds."
"An entire…" Shirou mulled over her words before his face went ash white and he focused on the map again for several moments. "… Son of a bitch."
"That doesn't sound promising." Merem crossed his arms and looked at the map, trying to see what Shirou saw. It wasn't often that the teen swore out loud.
"I take it you figured out what the trick is." Luvia noted, looking at Lancer's piece as well in confusion.
Shirou tore himself from the map and looked at the girls. "My notes. My thaumaturgy books. Where did we put them?"
"Most of what's not on the board are right over there." Rin nodded to the small trunk by the window. "Any of your more sensitive thaumaturgy related materials and books I put in my workshop just in case."
Shirou wasted no time rushing over to the trunk, opening it, and then ruffling through all the files and binders until he got to Lancer's data.
"No. No. No." He muttered to himself in annoyance as he went through the pages, clearly looking for something specific. "I know I at least made a note of it… here."
"Care to share with us what exactly you're so worried about?" Luvia voiced the question that was on everyone's minds.
"We horrifically underestimated Lancer's potential as a guard. In a bottleneck, he's worse than Assassin by far. No. He's possibly the best Servant to be summoned for such a role." The redhead absently replied as he read his notes with a deep frown.
"The best Servant? Isn't that a bit much?" Caster felt slightly insulted by that statement. Her thaumaturgy and Noble Phantasms were mostly defense oriented to the point that she could hold off multiple Servants at once if she needed to, even if she was weaker than she should be since she was summoned as part of a pair.
"Ath n'Gabla," Shirou all but snarled as if it was the source of all his problems in the world. "His version of Ath n'Gabla to be specific."
"Ath n'Gabla?" Sakura frowned in confusion, not familiar with Cu Culainn's legend. "What's that?"
"The deathmatch curse. Originally made by and passed down by the Knights of the Red Branch, a military force under King Ulster." Putting a hand to her mouth, Luvia frowned in thought. "It forces the caster and the intended to fight one another one on one without interruption at that location. Neither is allowed to leave until one is dead, and it prevents outside parties from interfering. Lancer in particular made it famous when he…"
"When he used it to hold off an entire army by himself. For seven years." Rin's face turned ash white, as did many others. If they tried to rush through the front gates, Lancer's spell would stop them in their tracks, and Lancer himself was durable and powerful enough that even Berserker would take a while to finish him off for good, which was something they wanted to avoid.
"Part of it was in conjunction with geass work." Shirou turned a page. "The leader of the enemy Army agreed to certain conditions to prevent Lancer from obliterating huge portion of her forces by himself, but he still would have lost in the end. They originally agreed to one fight a day, but she didn't hold her end of the bargain for long and exploited some loopholes in the agreement. Still, there's no telling just how nasty it could end up if Caster decides to put her own twist on things. Lancer's one of the three knight classes, but his skill in runes was naturally high enough that it was downgraded to B rank, which is ridiculous if you think about it."
"Couldn't you just use Rule Breaker once it's activated?" Illya went to the seemingly obvious solution at hand. When it came to thaumaturgy based issues, there was little that Rule breaker and Gae Dearg couldn't solve.
"No. If anything that would just make things worse." Shirou shook his head. "The only ones that should be fighting Lancer are Servants, and Rule breaker would not only get rid of the curse, but their contracts to us as well. Plus, Ath n'Gabla is notoriously easy to enact and use. I wouldn't be surprised if Lancer could just reenact it as soon as the original spell was broken. His priority it to keep Bazett alive. So long as Caster has her, he won't go against the Witch."
"If it's so easy to use, then why is would it be so potent?" Caster frowned. "Wouldn't everyone knowing how to use it lower its efficiency in this era?"
Shirou turned a page. "It would if it weren't for two things. First is that runes aren't used that much these days. Second is that the rule you're referring to is not based on the knowledge of the mystery, but on its use. Bottom line is simply nobody ever really uses Ath n'Gabla even if it is easy to cast. There's no real use for it as far as research goes and there are safer ways to kill your opponents without risking yourself in the process."
"And how many times have you used it?" Rin asked knowingly.
"Twice." He didn't hesitate. "One designate. One Apostle. Both were pains to chase after and would have likely gotten away if I didn't use it to tie them down. They weren't that strong in the end."
"Figures." Luvia sighed.
"This is a problem." Saber frowned, acknowledging the situation. "It is good that Shirou managed to catch onto this possible trap, but it still puts us in a dire position if we can't do anything about it. Should Lancer, her greatest defense, fall, then there would be little to stop us from entering her Temple. She would probably be confident should only one or two of us enter, but if both Berserker and I manage…"
"She wouldn't have a chance in hell for victory and she'd know it." Shirou slammed his book shut. "And then we'd be left with a crater where the mountain would be. Rin, I'm going to the workshop for a moment to see what I brought over. There's a chance I might have to go home if what I'm looking for isn't there."
"Your rune research and books, right?" Rin glanced at him, knowing where his mind was leading him. "I have some in my library as well, though it's probably not as extensive as your collection since McGinty is your teacher. Feel free to go through them if it might help."
"Thanks." He didn't waste time as he speed walked to the stairs that led to the Tohsaka basement and vanished quickly.
"My my. I've seen Shirou focused before, but never as a magus. It's quite a show, seeing his mind work like this." The only way Merem could look more content was if he had a bucket of popcorn and a soda in his arms. He was promptly ignored by everyone else there.
"Tohsaka. I hope you noticed what he was attempting." Luvia looked at her rival with a sharp glance before looking down at the map again.
"After everything he's done, how could I not?" She shook her head and focused on their replicas on the map.
"He's keeping us in the least amount of danger possible and himself in the most again." Sakura sighed, noting that Shirou's model stood with Saber's and Berserker's at the base of the mountain.
"Idiot." Illya shook her head in frustration.
"He does have a point that you are probably safest with Caster and Archer, but… no, he must have some idea he's trying to get to work." Saber walked around the table, inspecting the battleground from all sides before reaching for the largest piece there. "Raw power isn't going to ensure victory. It is a delicate situation that requires a careful approach to work. Victory has to come in a single unseen stroke. Odds are likely he needs to be in Caster's territory in person in order to enact his plan. As for Berserker, yes, it's likely that he's going to be used to trigger a trap of Caster's. Or force a reaction from her. He's too great of a presence on the battlefield to approach like everyone else."
"Does it have to be him? Or is he just being stupid again?" Rin countered with a frown, reached forward, and swapped Saber's and Archer's pieces. "Unless you've forgotten, Archer is Shirou. They have essentially the same skillset other than a few small differences. Berserker can still be the muscle, and Saber's innate instincts can be just as useful in defending against Assassin. Plus she much more suited for holding off Rider than he is."
"What if he wants Archer up there?" Sakura suggested, putting the bowman's piece back where the buildings are. "Archer is a long distance fighter. Maybe Shirou knows he can help out from a distance."
"Both of them have insane eyesight, but neither of them can actually see through Caster's bounded fields. Shirou managed to pinpoint her location though a loophole last time, but he was practically behind her then and it didn't work," Rin countered. "As soon as anyone gets through the gates, they're on their own."
"What if you're wrong about that though?" Luvia added. "What if he intended to do something that Archer couldn't do, that a Servant couldn't do?"
"He already attacked Caster through her bounded field from the natural bounded fields of the mountain once. She won't fall for it a second time." Saber frowned.
"Maybe it has something to do with the Command Seals?" Sakura added. "Maybe he intends to teleport Saber, or enable her to do something that she normally couldn't to get Caster quickly?"
"Then why would he have to be there in person?" Merem saw a flaw in that plan. "He's capable of observing everything through Saber's perspective."
"My counterpart's defenses could interfere with that connection. Bloodfort Andromeda can do something similar from what I've discerned." Medea replied.
"That's… too simple." Saber didn't take her eyes off of the map. "If both Shirou and I are there, I doubt that Caster would reveal herself in person. She'd likely try to kill Shirou as soon as possible once he was within the grounds and not give us time to react properly. It's an unreliable way of getting her, not when she's prepared for us and not when she has as many resources as she does."
"She has the extra Command Seals too," Illya reminded everyone. "If things get too hectic, she could literally summon all of the other Servants under her control to her and overwhelm the small force that've gotten in."
"Splitting us apart and then picking us off one by one with numbers. It's a very likely scenario," Luvia agreed.
"And yet we still have to not overwhelm what she has or else she'll try and take us down with her." Sakura slumped in her seat. "This is a harder setup to get around than I thought."
"What about Kizuki-sensei and Assassin? I thought he was going to do something with them, but so far Shirou hasn't done or said anything to indicate otherwise. The notes said that Sensei with the right enchantments from Caster could hold his own against a Servant." Rin was confused by that fact in particular since the very beginning. It was almost as if Shirou was purposefully avoiding using them.
"If he has then he hasn't told any of us." Illya shrugged helplessly. "Saber?"