Time brings all things to pass- Aeschylus

October 8th 2013

The Sea of Japan

Avalon Headquarters

The sea breeze blew gently across the steel platform as the sound of seagulls filled the ears of Shirou Emiya. He let out a content sigh as he stretched, basking in the warmth of a partly cloudy day and taking in the salty scent of the ocean. It was rare moments of peace like this that he had time to reminisce, to think about the war that seemed so close yet so far away in his memories. There were three things he would never, ever forget about that time in his life.

The first was the beautiful and courageous blonde haired warrior. Noble and honorable to a fault, she was the true embodiment of what it meant to be a hero and a king. An inspiration and an ideal, his memory of her gave him an inner strength that had not failed him yet. His memories of her also always brought a smile to his face; even though their time together was short, he had made precious memories with her.

Secondly, there was the tall and imposing warrior in red; a warning of what he might become but also, his biggest inspiration. He was the embodiment of his ideals, but twisted and warped by betrayal and by the hypocrisy and contradiction of his very existence. He remembered the loud ringing in his ears of steel striking steel as blades clashed; as the words the red man uttered struck at his very soul. It was that damage though that reinforced his resolved, and made him who he was today, and for that he would be eternally grateful to the heroic spirit known as Emiya.

Finally, the last thing he never would forget was standing right next to him. She was even more beautiful than she was three years before. She had gotten slightly taller, and her physical regime had become even more extreme with their new line of work, turning her once flawless figure into a perfect one. Her curves showed off her feminine side quite well, and she wore the same red top she had three years ago, because she knew how it drove him wild. Her name was Rin Tohsaka, and they were lovers as well as partners in crime.

He looked towards her and she looked back, their eyes locking onto each others as Rin gently squeezed his hand. "Something on your mind, Shirou? Don't bother lying to me, you know I can read you like a book." She gave him a playful smile as she teased him, but her tone clearly carried concern for the young man. Shirou thought for a moment as he gazed at their flag fluttering in the wind, a sword notched on a bow like an arrow on a field of blue, a rather fitting symbol, given their history.

"Do you ever regret this, Rin? I mean, you had your place at the Clock Tower secured and you could have even taken me on as an aid, but then I went and had this crazy idea." Shirou motioned to everything around them. Avalon was a city in the ocean, steel platforms rising from the depths of the ocean that housed everything they needed to operate as an effective mercenary group: beds, kitchens, supplies, weapons, helicopters, planes, ships and more importantly, personal.

"I mean...a band of soldiers and magus dedicating to fighting for justice and peace...with no affiliation with any country or the Association? How did I ever talk you into this." Shirou just laughed, it all seemed so crazy at the start and it still seemed crazy now, but they were doing a rather good job at what they set out to do. They had been branded outlaws by the Association, but they were saving the lives of rogue magus and newly awakened ones from being killed just because they couldn't control their powers, and they were preventing wars between countries by obtaining information and leaking it to the right people at the right time.

Rin looked at Shirou for a moment and then just let out a laugh, a booming laugh that seemed to echo around them. Shirou just cringed as Rin held her sides, trying to compose herself as she started to calm down. "I'm sorry." She managed to get out an apology first before putting a hand on his shoulder for support. "It's just odd to hear the Hero of Justice doubting himself like this." She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she pulled away, a red blush tinting her cheeks as she did so.

"I don't regret this at all. I backed you up because I believed in you, and I thought this would be the best way to realize your ideal without you getting killed or..." She paused for a brief moment, squeezing his hand hard as memories flooded back, "...or you becoming him. I poured all my inheritance into this because the world needs heroes and professionals it can look up to, to idealize, who fight for justice. I will never regret this, Shirou. I don't expect you to regret it either! Got that!?" She playfully poked him in the chest and cheek as he let out a chuckle, his mood more warmhearted now.

"Thank you, Rin. I knew I loved you for a reason." He teased as he kissed her forehead gently. Her face turned about as red as her top as she began to stammer out incoherent words and curses, poking him roughly in the chest before she let out a huff and walked away, muttering something about having to get back to work. With his doubt erased, Shirou looked back to the fluttering flag with a renewed sense of purpose and pride. Avalon was what the world needed, Shirou truly believed that and he hoped somehow, Heroic Spirit Emiya was able to see all of this.

Just as he was settling his thoughts, a hand landed on his shoulder. It was larger than Rin's and clearly a man's based on the size. He turned to see a worried expression on his turned a new leaf best friend, Shinji Matou. After the events of the Grail War and learning that he and Rin had risked their lives to save him, Shinji apologized profusely and began to change how he lived. He began to treat Sakura like his actual younger sister and cared for her deeply, and he no longer was so egotistical or vain. He could still be crude or down right moronic at times, but he treated everyone with respect and dignity now, which Shirou was happy to see.

"Shinji, what's wrong?" Shirou asked, concern evident in his voice as Shinji motioned him to follow him to the command room. Shinji had been a co-founder of Avalon along with him and Tohsaka, making him the effective third in command. He often headed up the rumor mill and intelligence gathering from their command hub, a massive room with computers of all kinds scattered throughout the room. In the center was a large map of the Earth. It was basically a giant touchscreen tablet linked up to a satellite array that helped them keep track of operatives and missions.

"Emiya, I have some troubling news. We've received word of a large build up of mana and high readings of magic that reach the High-Thaumaturgy levels." Shinji's voice was clearly worried and Shirou listened to what he had to say carefully. "While we can explain the magic use reading as a magus accidentally awakening an innate power or casting a spell beyond their level, it is the high levels of mana building that really worries me. If left unchecked, it could mean a natural disaster for the area." As Shinji spoke, Shirou visibly cringed, memories of the fire pained him to this day and he gripped his wrist tightly without even realizing it.

"If we've found out about this, the Association won't be far behind. I want to figure out the source of this mana build up and the magus that caused a spike in our readings, the Association might just kill them before they ask questions." Shriou voice was firm and Shinji nodded as they both understood how ruthless the group of magus could be. "Where is the location?" Shirou asked, looking at the map. Shinji zoomed in towards the United States and then to the state called Oregon, to a small town on the Pacific coast.

"It's a town called Arcadia Bay, and the spike in the reading occurred at a school called Blackwell Academy." Shinji explained as he finished zooming in the on the small and peaceful town. It seemed like a lovely place, and Shirou wanted to protect it and the people living there, both from the Association and from whatever might be happening.

"Right then. Shinji, can you arrange for me, you, Sakura and Rin to be transfer students at this academy? It would make our investigation easier." Shirou wondered if the four of the them could still pass as academy students. They were still pretty young, in their late teen years, and he was told people in the States stayed in school longer. Before he had long to ponder though, Shinji looked back at him, giving him his trademarked smirk.

"Already taken care of, we start class tomorrow, which would be October 8th there, so you best pack quickly!" Shinji laughed as he patted Shirou on the back on his way out of the room. It seemed his old friend knew him quite well and Shirou couldn't help but laugh himself. It was time to find Rin and let her know they had a trip ahead of them.

October 7th 2013

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

It was just your average, run of the mill shitty day at Blackhell Academy for one Maxine Caulifield. She just tried to avoid everyone else as she listened to her music while she walked down the hallway towards her class. It felt like she hadn't gotten much sleep last night; she had some strange dream about the lighthouse and it was stormy. It was some weird shit for her, and she was stressing about the Everyday Hero contest that Mr. Jefferson was basically forcing her to enter. While she loved the fact that he thought she had a gift, she now felt like she was under a lot of pressure to live up to expectations she never wanted. She had meant to call Chloe this week too, but all the stress had kept her too busy.

Everyday seemed like the same blur of a day to her these days though. Avoid shitty Vortex Club members, attending lecture and get embarrassed when she didn't have an answer and then listen to that snob Victoria rattle on about some piece of obscure art knowledge to try and get into Mr. Jefferson's pants. For the most part it was rinse and repeat but there were few moments that kept her from thinking she was just repeating the same day over and over again. She caught those moments on her camera, and often times they were the smallest of moments. A bird getting ready to take flight, a single leaf in a puddle, and picture of her schoolmates in various unique and interesting situations. She liked to think of her pictures of captured moments in time, her own little form of time control.

At times though, she wished she could speed up time just to get through lectures sometimes, especially when Victoria started to rattle on. She was talking about some French painter no one else knew of and how their method revolutionized the art world. She let out soft yawn so no one could hear her. She could feel her eyes growing heavy, surely no one would notice if she took a quick catnap. She could play it off as reading her textbook on her lap. With that decided, she slowly lowered her head to the table and closed her eyes, intending to rest for just a moment, unaware of the nightmare she was getting ready to be swept into.

OOC: Hello everyone! Malfrost here, and I'm back with a brand new rap! By rap I mean story, of course. I hope you all will enjoy my tale of a clash of magus in a small seaside town in Oregon! I'm excited to be writing once again and since it has been so long, any and all reviews would be appreciated! As I said, I hope you will enjoy my story and I look forward to hearing your comments!

RYUU GA WAGA TEKI WO KURAU!