Author's Note
Well Fate Orussia is back and this time the story is going straight where the narrative is meant to be with flashbacks showing Shirou;'s life on earth before the story begins.
I apologize to my readers about removing the old story; it was a tough time for me back then and I well took drastic measures. To make things worse, I lost the original draft entirely.
Disclaimer
The characters from Type Moon and Nanohaverse don't belong to me. Ocs are well you know how they are.
Considering that the only source about Orussia is from the Audio drama, I'm taking a lot of creative liberties about the world building of the setting.
Fate/Orussia
The spaceship blasted off from a deserted area away. The inventor responsible for a space faring vehicle had foreseen that NOBODY not even NASA and the United States can intervene with the blast-off.
Hence, the astronaut inside it will not be hindered by unnecessary problems the magus have to face.
"See you again Shirou."
Three words to describe what could have been mankind's greatest achievement of all time. Months ago, a space shuttle was launched from planet earth with a single astronaut on board sleeping his way through the entire trip without interference.
The space ship warps into hyperspeed the moment it leaves earth's orbit; leaving nothing behind.
With the exception of a woman watching the sky as if her love left her to fight in a war. Considering the circumstances, the analogy is not far from the truth.
It would be lying if the woman left behind feel nothing about her lover leaving her for a goal many may not be able to return alive but the aim is clear and must be accomplished no matter what the cost; even if it means forsaking her own happiness in the process.
She is a woman of steel, stoic and strong against all odds and will await for his return one day to this world she call home.
The sole daughter of Jail Scaglietti watched the entire take off sequence before looking away from it. There is much for her to do in cleaning up what has been done today.
Entering a black limousine belonged to her father's company, she left the scene before the entire base explodes from the inside. No evidence left behind, she has make sure that the spaceship technology created her quirky father will not fall into anybody's hands yet.
"Do you have the information I asked?" Uno asked one of her father's private security guards stationed inside the vehicle with her at the back seat.
"Yess Maam." Said the man. He gave her a folder containing information about loyal bodyguards his employer can hire at the meantime of the other man's absence.
The fonts on the front is at least 20 sized font in arial black with the word "TAKAMICHI" emblazoned on it.
"Yes I believe these people are suitable for the job." The profile Uno read describes about a man named Takamichi Shirou, hailing from the Fuwa family and infamous for his swordsmanship. From what she read from his profile, he is with a woman in a photograph.
A tidbit she's bitter about but there is nothing she can do about it. She placed a hand on her stomach, hoping to feel something kicking back but to her disappointment there is nothing inside her.
Scene Break
The year is 0053 Mid-Childan Calendar. It is only a month away from Cease Fire month; everybody;s favorite holiday and official public event agreed upon by the Orussian warlords. Even now, the local populace are making preparations for the upcoming break from the endless conflict. It is also a time where the warlords themselves reload their weapons to begin next year's game of thrones with each other.
At the same time, something else is happening which is crash landing towards the world from deep space.
"Unidentified Spacecraft! please respond! Unidentified spacecraft please respond!" The space shuttle's comm system was blaring from a signal the computer barely recognized with its current technology.
Nevertheless, the inventor responsible for the space shuttle brought the astronaut far into Dimensional space undetected by TSAB and there is no reason the space shuttle will be hindered the moment it reaches Orussian's space.
"That's it." The same officer who tried to contact the earth made space craft slammed down the communication device back in its place. " Shoot it down!" He ordered; a logical decision considering that the unknown space travelling object is reaching Orussia.
"Denied." His aide refuted.
"What? You can't be serious!" The officer looked at his aide in disbelief.
"Unknown spacecraft's estimate landing is in the desert sir." An officer informed.
"Do I look like I care if it crashes into the ocean!?" He snapped the person informing him of the latest update pertaining the situation.
"Scaglietti called just now. Saying it's a shipment belonged to him."
"Damn." The officer cursed.
The name Scaglietti hold weight even in his workplace especially when an arms dealer is a good friend of his superior officers.
In other words, he doesn't like it all when other people interfered wit his job to make sure the people of Orussia are safe.
Being a successful arms dealer, Jail Scagleitti lives a life of luxury in his own private resort in the Orussia's capital.
Speaking of the man himself; he can be seen sitting down in the yard outside while having a toast to whatever special occasion he has in mind. The Belkan Red wine remains to be his favorite drink all these years and nothing is going to change that.
"So you're finally here..." Jail chuckled to himself. " I was wondering whether you'll be able to make it it or not." He sipped his drink; savoring its flavor. " Quattro you told me he'll be landing in the desert?"
Being an arms dealer in a war-torn country doesn't mean that he'll be wearing a lab coat all the time because the best tip one can get to survive in Orussia is knowing how to defend yourself from enemies.
"Of course but won't the shuttle and the astronaut die the moment they reach ground?" A pig-tailed combat cyborg answered. Her IS showed her the schematics of the arriving space shuttle above the clouds of Orussia and is the trajectory landing. "Dr. why did you order the army not to shoot it down?" If she was at her workplace, her older sister would have berated her for interfering in affairs she does not have to know about considering that the glasses wearing combat cyborg is head chief of Engineering of their father;s company.
"Knowing the old man he would make a fool-proof plan to counter that. I wouldn't worry too much about it." the doctor answered. "and Quattro sweetie" he doted on his daughter. " -Daddy wants to meet him personally." He added. "whatever he does I hope he's not doing anything stupid during his stay."
Not far from the father-daughter pair, the second daughter of the Scaglietti family on Orussia thought otherwise about the descending spaceship from across the stars. The way she positioned her hands across her chest made her look defensive but it is no doubt that she does not share the joy her father is expressing at this moment. Unlike Quattro, Tre is more concerned about the battle capabilities of this newcomer. After all. This is her job as head chief of security for her father's company.
Despite that, there is nothing she can do about the situation at hand without her father knowing what she has plans for the guest arriving soon.
The third and fourth daughter of Jail Scaglietti has less things to say about the current situation.
Cinque agreed with Tre about the situation while Deici kept her thoughts to herself away from her own sisters. Neither of them can change their father's mind at the moment and have decided that they will act the moment they hear word about what happened to the spaceship. After all both, girls have yet to work in the father's company and have no authorization to know what is going on.
Meanwhile, another event is taking place somewhere in Orussia; specifically where the saint kaiser religion grow prosper.
Childbirth.
"Carim. Her name will be Carim." The mother knew that her time is almost up. She spoke her last words, shedding tears as she held her baby for the first time in her life and for the last time before her soul is extracted from her body to travel the other side.
Her husband said nothing, not wanting to interrupt the first and last meeting between his beloved wife and newborn child. There was simply nothing he can do to prevent this incident from happening in front of his eyes. As a man of faith, he can only pray to the saint kaiser that his wife's soul is sent to the kingdom of her majesty in the great beyond.
The men and women around them could do nothing but give their support to the man who has just lost his beloved wife but gained a beautiful baby girl in return.
A child named Schah was peeking from outside to have a closer look at what is going on. At her young age, she does not understand what is going on. The sudden cries of the father scared her; prompting her to draw out her training weapon from is non-active form as he wailed into the night sky.
The wife he lost today has a particular ability that can only be activated once in a third moon. Said prophecy is supposed to happen today of all times. His wife's death would mean that the particular ability will be inherited to his newborn daughter.
And it did. With no training and guidance from anybody in the room or experts, a prophecy was made by the newborn child.
The poem is written in ancient Belkan. The parchment looks old and look as if it survived a fire. To emphasize that point, baby Carim gagged from the smell of brimstone from the piece of parchment. Her cries stumped everyone especially the father trying to calm her down.
At the same time, a shooting star can be seen in the night sky.
Scene Break
It's a stroke of luck adding a miracles that the space ship lands safely on the desert far away from Orussia's capital. The inventor behind the spaceship's construction was sane enough to add a lot of parachutes for the landing if not there will be a massive explosion when it hit the grounds. Nevertheless, the gel he created is not made from earth but he was able to make do with whatever materials he was able create to lessen the impact.
As for inside the spaceship, it looks as if there was an earthquake just occur and the sole person sleeping inside is ignorant what just happened—
Until now that is.
BeepBeep!Beep Beep!
Meanwhile, a certain somebody woke himself from his stasis chamber. The trip from non-administrated world #97 to Orussia is a Light years away from the solar system into unknown territory in the galaxy. Despite that, the inventor responsible for the construction of the rocket ship belonged to the magus achieves its aim: sending Emiya Shirou towards his destination in one piece.
The interior of the space ship is exactly what you would expect from science fiction. The technology is more advanced that anything made on Earth however the material made to build the space travelling vehicle remains limited by the materials provided on the non-administrated world. Thus, it wouldn't be surprising that the space ship is reinforced in every way before the takeoff.
Speaking of it;s sole astronaut, Emiya Shirou woke up from his long sleep. He stretched his body as far as he can; feeling his body tense from the trip. "Ah damn it you crazy old man..." He muttered the name of the man who made the trip possible.
Just like any new visitors to a new world, the first thing Shirou did is to listen to Uno's instructions she left behind. The red colored beep he spotted on the control panel indicates that there is message left behind.
As usual, Uno berates him like she always does when they are doing a job together. Her words alone are like swords stabbing the heart; pointing out his reckless behavior on the field.
"-Don't do anything stupid!" A far cry from Uno Scagelietti's usual monotonous tone as her public display; a worrisome and caring combat cyborg Shirou knew back on earth greeted him back the moment he woke up from stasis. "I'm not there to tell you what not to do and you're completely on your own!"The combat cyborg herself in question appeared before him as a hologram.
Just like her previous job of being his aide while working for her father, she chastised him for all its worth; a feat only a woman can do.
" Whatever you say Uno..." Shirou dismissed the hologram. Despite being 27 years old, Shirou is still being nagged like a little kid caught stealing a biscuit from its jar. Humorously, the white hair he sported indicated the amount of stress he suffered for years but sadly the truth is further than a consequence of facing a woman's wrath
Dressed in blue armor, Shirou reluctantly agreed that the attire fitted him along with its capabilities to defend himself in combat. It;s also special in a sense that it was forged by two certain people in his life that wanted him to be employed as a knight. Just to be sure, he brought along the clothing of the same man he loathed back in the grail war.
The holographic Uno sighed. " For some reason, I can imagine you're trying to play hero anyway..." Something in her voice made Shirou hesitate for a moment. It was the same tone she used back on earth when they were working together as a team. "What am I going to do with you..." It's as if she is inside the shuttle with him in person that her eyes had that sad look Shirou saw back home.
It affected the magus that he wanted to reply to a recorded holographic footage; to comfort the woman from his earlier life on earth.
"Never mind, Knowing you you'll probably bulldoze your way through like always..." The combat cyborg quickly changed the mood of the situation. Considering that she is her father's robot she expressed more emotions than most people Shirou knew.
That comforted the magus. He left Uno back on earth and yet she has never failed to make sure him that she is a strong woman metal heart or not.
"Still, I implore you to be careful." Uno warned. "You're in a dangerous world now. My father's records of Orussia is scarce and I can only make due with what I have. Don't get involved with too many conflicts at once." Her hologram displayed her IS; showing him a screen telling him that information about Orussia is lost.
"I know Uno..." Shirou replied; feeling a bit annoyed over her nagging. Immediately he found the button to open the entrance.
"One more thing before I go." Uno looked away slightly; her face marred with the color red and her ears would have released steam from her processor. She even bit her lip for emphasis. "Whatever happens, return home ALIVE."
"I know Uno." Shirou repeated; his tone softened.
"Come back to me my hero."
This caught the magus off-guard.
"Uno you-"
The holographic recording stopped.
Shirou sighed; knowing that she had the last word in the end. True to her usual misconduct back in the early days, she left him hanging.
Without a word, the magus made his way outside. The combat cyborg informed him that the air in Orussia is almost identical to earth so he wouldn't need a spacesuit to walk around. Much to his surprise, the gravity level is lower than on earth as he nearly made a long jump into the air by mistake.
Before he leaves, Shirou decides to check what seems to be mini fridge to make one final check before leaving. The gears in his head would have halt the moment she spotted something familiar back home.
A piece of cake on a fine china plate with a fork ready available.
"One Tiramisu and coffee." For a waitress, she looks nervous while dealing with customers. She is also avoiding looking at Shirou for some reason. "And one Ice tea." She turns her face the other way when she places my order in front of me. "Please enjoy!" She dashes away like a servant with Self-Preservation skill.
Tap tap tap tap
Feeling anxious, Shirou tap his fingers on the table.
"Can you stop doing that?" Uno grumbled at the person sitting opposite of her.
"Sorry." Shirou apologized.
STAB
CHOMP
From Shirou's perspective, watching the woman eat reminds him of Saber during the war. He couldn't help but notice that the young woman in front of him eats like a proper woman like his servant back in the war; differing each other by the volume of their food intake. She stabs her fork into her cake and eats in small pieces. She only drinks her coffee after three bites or so and the process repeats itself.
The magus couldn't help but notice that she consumes a lotof caffeine in one setting. "She must be really enjoying her food" was in his thought process as he continues making his observation.
Speaking of which, his classmates from law school waves at him; surrounded by the rest of the peanut gallery in one table.
RINGRING
The magus took out out his hand-phone; a text message appears on the screen from the same person waving earlier.
Are you two on a date? The guy asked.
replied back to him.
Even without reinforcing his eyes, Shirou can guess from his face that he doesn't believe me like Fuji-Nee and Sakura did years ago when Saber is in the house.
It also helps that everyone is scrutinizing at the pair like a noble phantasm in a museum display.
The plate and fork left unattended on the control panel; the tiramisu cake finished in a jiffy before being left behind by the magus. It would be the last time he ate anything resembling an earth made Tiramisu cake before his stomach will be filled with rations before going native.
With a bag of supplies and the clothes on his back; there is nothing else to do but making the first step on the alien planet. The supplies he brought include food and beverage, extra clothes including The Shroud of Martin he acquired from a certain curry-loving nun during his travels.
Apart from the abandoned ship, the only sign left behind by the magus are his footprints soon to vanish by the cold desert wind in the night.
His previous travels taught him that astronomy is a method for directions which was used in the past with the absence of a compass and a map to guide his way. With that in mind, he at least have a direction to move from the starting point.
The view is beautiful. The landscape of an alien planet mesmerize the earth traveller. The view reminds him of the middle east during nighttime. The cool air is to his liking and the stars in the sky are as bright just like back home.
The desert night comforted him for some reason as he gazed upon the silver moon in the sky. The stars shone brightly over his head as if lighting his way. Any signs of civilization can't be detected from Shirou's vision without being reinforced.
His journey into a brand new world is starting.
Scene Break
A few days have passed since Emiya Shirou successfully lands on the alien planet. The spaceship he came with was brought back to the Orussian authorities for forensic analysis about the illegal immigration to their world. However, there is nothing they could salvage other than debris and the identity of the pilot remains unknown to this day.
As for Emiya Shirou, his tracks was covered by the sands and nighttime was the perfect cover from the authorities. It doesn't help that the desert itself is a bane to look for any survivors of a spaceship crash because the assumption that people die in such places is the first thing that comes to mind.
However, a trail of destruction was left behind only for the authorities unable to identify the weapons used to defeat several desert bandit groups. As far as they are concerned, criminals brought from outside Orussia was taken care off with their hands clean free and the bounties were not claimed.
"No sign of the pilot doctor." Tre reported. The frown on her face remains stoic but no doubt that she doesn't like what is going on now. Whoever the astronaut was, he made sure to blow up anything they can salvage from his ship. To make matters worse, the desert environment made it difficult for the search and rescue squads to pinpoint the exact location of the astronaut at hand now that his trail has gone cold."
"I wouldn't worry about it so much Tre. If he's anything like me, we'll meet eventually."
"I know that. However, Due-"
"I know Tre. The time will come when we will meet him face to face. Do what you can now but don't get carried away. I need you for the board meeting today." From the screen ,Tre couldn't help but notice Deici is helping their father with his necktie.
"Yes sir." She complied. "I'm going to be away for a while, Keep searching for the pilot. I don't care he's dead or alive find him as soon as possible!" she ordered the men to continue their work.
The Seamonkeys Tavern.
Despite its name, it's a legit establishment and one of the rowdiest place to have a bar fight between drunk warrior men and women. The sun fell; replacing it with the night sky making the place lighting up like a small festival within its walls.
It's also a place where information brokers bloom like flowers due to their clients frequent such establishments to get information legal guilds don't usually give for bounty hunters.
"And with that, Vandein Corporation officially opens!" the newscaster announced. The news she reported is about the grand opening of vandein Corporation, a new company in the market producing fuel across the administrated worlds. Featured on the televised screen is the young but talented CEO Hades Vandein along with his various business partners clapping hands at the grand opening of the company.
"Zaffy's Shit." Watching the television screen, Bounty Hunter Gloria drank her ale. " damn those admins
"Any takers?" Like all warrior women, Gloria Magnus is no different from the rest of Orussian women: tough as nails, deadly and certainly don't need a man to sweep you under your feet. It's the other way around in some parts of Orussia. " No just no Not this guy not him no way no how I cannot work with someone like him."
On the table, a dagger struck a photographed face belonged to some guy with strange devices whose name she can't even bother to remember.
"You;re making this harder for yourself Gloria." Said the barkeep. " The stories you hear about the executors are as true as what you were told about them. I wouldn't make them my enemies if I were you." He warned.
"Well make things simple. I need someone I don't have to watch my back over religious dispute nonsense." Gloria explained. " Do we have anybody not affiliated with the saint kaiser;s church in this area? Anybody?" She looked around; only to find more people who look like pirates than competent warriors she needs. "I'm surrounded by seamonkeys..." The noise of her face slamming onto the wooden counter was muffed by the crowd inside the tavern. "One more glass...I need to break all my brain cells for this..."
"You still owe me money Gloria." The barkeep reminded.
" I'll pay you when the next job comes around ok! Do you know how hard it is hunting criminals down these days? I swear if Scaglietti have something to do with arming them I'm going to stab his ass with my sword!" She banged the counter from the pent-up frustration.
"Maybe it's time you look past old grudges?" The barkeeep suggested. "if it;s interfering with your work I say get rid of it." He advised.
"Heck no! I'm not getting myself involved with a saint king follower." Boasted the proud follower of War Goddess Signum Wolkenwritter. " I don't need a pansy worshiping an arm-less king tell me what to do."
"Well it';s your choice I did my best to help you but if you can't accept my generosity there's nothing I can do about it..."
"Nah don't be like that one more glass please..." unashamed, Gloria pleased the barkeep to pour her one large glass of ale on the house. " I got a kid to feed and an old man I want to beat up so badly I need to-
"yeah sure whatever on the house just this once..." Sighing, The barkeep banged on large mug on the counter with his famous beverage.
"Oh bless The war goddess I need one of these!" Gloria blessed Signum the War goddess for her good fortune of having another large glass to drink for the night. She immediately grabbed the mug and drinks it; surprising the barkeep for the hundredth time on how she pulls of something like that.
The door to the tavern was slammed open; revealing a tall figure in strange attire.
"save money?" She was not unfettered by the sudden appearance with everybody feasting their eyes onto the strange customer.
His attire is strange indeed. The newcomer is wearing dark blue colored body armour as if he belonged to the Thunder knights but the coat or arms is missing of he defected from the warlord's employment.
Today of all days, a strange visitor even by their standards enters the tavern with only body armor on his back holding a sack. The tanned skin doesn't raise anybody's eyebrows but his hair definitely took their attention. It was white as snow as if winter came early. The man look at nobody, sitting next to Gloria. The sack he carried was slumped onto the floor; the weight was enough to create a "THUMP!" sound.
"What are you supposed to be?" Gloria couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the stranger. Being a native Orussian, she recognizes similar traits shared by her people along with traits belonged to outsiders coming into this world legally or not. "Piece of advice, dressing up like that is going to get you killed before tomorrow morning." She laughed it out like a private joke. "I'm serious new guy this is not a place where greenhorns like you just walk in here like a badass without getting killed."
"I'll be fine, this is not my first time in a place like this." There is something with his tone that bothers the bounty hunter. The word "arrogant" came to mind especially to newcomers from other worlds into her humble home for the first time.
"Sure...fine be that way. I hope you won't regret it." Gloria ignored him. In her mind, there is no help against people who is overconfident of themselves in the area. "Little piece of advice, I don't know what you're packing but if it can't pierce through a barrier jacket, you don't stand a chance." She sneered. Having seen a lot from her job as a bounty hunter, a barrier jacket is a suit of armor for extra protection one cannot simply live without.
"What can I get you?" Despite the awkward atmosphere, The barkeep ignored it in favor of serving his customer.
"Anything non-alcoholic?" His statement made Gloria sputtered her drink across the counter.
"Hah! What kind of pansy are you?" Coughing, the bounty hunter couldn't help but laugh at his order. " Oh boy you are so going to die before tonight ends..."
"No. I don't think so. My chances of staying alive increases if I don't drink anything intoxicating while I'm here." The stranger justified himself.
"Hey Barkeep did you listen to that? Does that sound ridiculous to you or what?" Gloria asked the man behind the counter for his support. "Boss? Yoho boss?" She called him out like a little kid but her pleads was ignored. "Great, I don't think I can barter for another on the house..."
"You're in my seat." Someone behind them interrupted the conversation. The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of men entering the premise in large numbers.
"Great." Gloria groaned to herself. A man dressed like a pirate enters the establishment, with a jolly Roger tattooed over his chest aside from the bandoleers he sported. "You again."
The follower of the war-goddess recognizes the man as a pirate; as in an actual pirate robbing merchant ships and attacking naval ships belonging to the Orussian warlords. Behind him, his crew watches the spectacle.
"Doesn't have your name on it." The stranger's voice sounded hoarse. His appearance compliments his age or exaggerating it. He has white hair for someone who looks like he's in his late 20s to early 30s. "Besides, first takers. Why don't you wait your turn until I finish my drink?"
"Ouch." Gloria casually commented on the poor choice of words. Then again, she couldn't help but smirk at how the pirate is being trolled by a rookie from Lady Signum knows where he came from.
"We'll see about that." Before Gloria knew it, The pirate spun the stranger around and drag him by the collar. His left hand took out a gun with a sound of a visible click resonating in her eyes from such close distance.
"hey leave me out of this." Gloria gave her own two cents. " Do you know how hard it is to remove blood splatter off clothes from this distance?"
"No fights in my bar you know that." Behind the counter, the barkeep took out his device; ready to activate it if things get worse from here on.
" Look I don't want to pick a fight." Unfortunately, whatever pleading the stranger is making, the pirate is not changing his mind about robbing him blind and kill him in some dark alley.
"Well stranger that's how most things are resolved here in Orussisa. May the war-goddess bless you." Gloria wishes the best of luck to the unfortunate stranger. This fight is not her fight and there is no need for her to get involved without risking her own neck.
"Any last words?" The pirate captain demanded.
"Well I do have only one thing to say." The stranger admitted albeit sarcastically. "Uno was right when she told me I attract fights like a magnet." He chuckled over a private joke nobody around him understands.
"Who?" Everybody voiced out the question at the same time.
Suddenly, a sword materializes in his right hand. Gloria raised an eyebrow, one man VS at least two dozen pirates under the command of this particular pirate is not the smartest move to live long in Orussia.
"Hey take this outside no brawl in here!" The barkeep also noticed the sword materializing the sword from thin air but thought nothing of it beyond the possibility of a big brawl inside his tavern.
Despite that, both people standing or sitting next to the stranger couldn't help but notice that the sword looks well made.
"Tizona."
It feels as if the air inside the tavern was sucked out like a vacuum.
Gloria felt difficulty in breathing; her heart feels like racing twice than usual. However, this feeling is something she has accustomed herself with all her life: fear. Fear kept her alive all these years and hone her instinct as a warrior. However, the sensation of fear is almost too much for her to handle on her own.
SMASH!
Gloria's mug of ale fell to the floor; spilling all the contents.
There is a feeling of higher power suppressing her very existence; ordering her to run away as far as possible from the vacuüm space. The rest of the pirate crew fled; some simply drop onto the ground and not moving. The customers inside fell unconscious from the fear.
It also doesn't help that her stomach feels like purging its content from what she drank earlier. The bounty hunter covered her mouth to avoid vomiting on the floor and all over her clothes. The sense of dread made it feel like she is going to throw up for real but with the amount of willpower she acquired all her life as a bounty hunter; she pulls through with much difficulty.
As for Barkeep, he looks like he drank too much and still conscious from where he is standing. His hands are shaking despite holding a device in which the weapon should be more than enough to kick out rowdy customers off his establishment but he seems to be having difficulty of doing so.
"Uwaaahhh!" Speaking of the captain, he immediately flees as if he saw a ghost. Moments later, there is a sound of something or someone falling into the water.
"What's going on? I-I don't feel so good..." Gloria somehow pull through from vomiting. She eyed the sword. Her brain immediately pinpoint the sword as the source of the fear-mongering and her nausea. "What did you do?" She looked at the man.
"You're still standing?" The stranger asked her. The question he posed sounds like he doesn't expect much of the Orussian bounty hunter.
"W-what?" Gloria stared at him in confusion. The air around her stay thick as if a layer of poison or something she can't identify is compressed inside the tavern like trapped hot air. The pressure increases but her body honed from years of training and combat is the only thing making her staying awake.
"Never mind." The stranger proceed to leave the place. " I-I'll just go look for another place to eat. I apologize for interrupting your business here sir." To Gloria's surprise, the stranger bowed at the barkeep.
The moment the stranger left the sea-monkeys tavern is when Gloria finally able to breathe again. Looking around, most of the customers are knocked out, even foaming in their mouths. All of them are still alive though the pirates lying on the floor died without any stabbing wounds or gunshots to the torso.
The bounty hunter may not be a doctor but experience on the field taught her enough that basic knowledge on how to be a field medic. What she discovered her made her feel anxious about what that stranger did to the unfortunate pirate.
"H-he scared these guys to death!" Gloria stated the cause of the men's death. "T-that's incredible! That sword was like an enemy repellent! Barkeep! Who was that guy?" Her screams of joy startled the older mind races to all sorts of possibility she can do with someone of his caliber at her side. Sure, scaring people away may look uncool but the pragmatic side of the tactic feels
"What was all that about?" Behind her, the barkeep decided to sit this one out from the experience.
"That guy he's gonna be my new partner." She declared it proudly.
"Never seen him before in my life. Don't want to have him here again that"s for sure..." he lamented at the sight of his customers passing out or died in his tavern. " Those damn police is going to make a field day out of this..."
"Pst With a sword like that, I don't think he's scared of anybody." She immediately gulped down her ale without taking a breather; burping as loud as she can with her eyes glittering in joy. " Add it to my tab!" She gave chase to the stranger; hopping over a pirate's corpse without a care in the world.
"You still owe me 20,000 credits!" The barkeep shouted behind her; shrugging his head from a new mess he has to deal with at the moment. "I'm gonna go get my mop..."
"Feel free to openly trace your weapons in public eye BUT only for weapons you don't mind having people know about it." Uno reminded Shirou for the hundredth time before his takeoff tomorrow.
Shirou however, did not want to say anything to defend himself. Most of the time he doesn't have a chance to defend himself when his partner Uno is dominating the conversation.
Just like any other lover, Uno wants what is best for Shirou and to make sure his survival rate remains to be in the safe zone. Considering Shirou's tendency to save people despite being under her watch, it would be more than appropriate to nag him about the issue when she's not around to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.
Under normal circumstances, what Shirou did would have pin a target mark on his back like a dartboard by enforcers from the magi association. Uno's advice so far he couldn't help but think that he's going to break the deal at least within a week.
Tizona is one noble phantasm he acquired during his travels around the world before he decides to travel to this alien planet. The sword repels enemies unworthy to fight him on one on one combat. For there to be two people who can resist its effects to a certain degree, that information alone is enough to tell the former master of the 5th grail war that he's in strange lands where he's fighting in an entirely different level than what he is used to back on earth.
Speaking of the sword, it breaks after the faker broke it so that it won't disturb the public after the fiasco in the bar earlier.
"Hey wait!" Looking behind him, the woman earlier ran towards him.
"Can I help you?" Shirou remembered the same woman from the tavern earlier.
"Yeah!" Gloria shouted; gasping for air after looking everywhere for the stranger. " You- You got something I want."
"Whatever I own it's not for sale. I don't want to cheat you out of your money." The stranger replied. "it's not worth it trust me on this one I know."
"Hah! I'm not going to buy your sword there!" Gloria clarified. " Need a place to work rookie?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. If you want to survive long enough in a place like this you can't do it alone. Come work with me and we can split the bounty 50/50 wait make that 60/40 no 70/30 to start!"
"Uh I think you better clear your head first..." The stranger slowly backs away from Gloria.
"Oh no don't even think about it buddy " Gloria on the other hand; steps forward in defiance. " You got something there I think will be beneficial to the both of us!"
Whatever it is Shirou wanted to say to the bounty hunter; the both of them was interrupted by a misfire between both of them meant for the older man. Both warriors looked back and forth the bullet's trajectory and the shooter; spotting a large ship near the harbor sailing close to them.
A pirate flag can be seen hoisting proudly in the night sky; its crew can be seen carrying multitude of weapons ranging from swords, spears and even mass weapons they can carry. The captain of the vessel can be seen leading them in front of them; wielding his own personal device. "Hello there!" The pirate re-appeared again with his wet clothes; the ammunition stored in his bandoleers reduced to useless from his earlier swim in the seawater. " I hope you're not leaving so soon we have unfinished business stranger." He glared at the man responsible for what happened earlier in the tavern.
"Huh I see you had a nice swim!" Shirou shouted back. " That has to be first time someone actually dived into the water after what I did." Lowering down his voice; he confided to the person standing next to him. True enough, in all his years of using Tizona to avoid unnecessary fighting, there hasn't be one incident where someone was afraid enough of the sword to jump into water to escape its effects.
The magus could have sworn he saw the pirate captain gritting his teeth and nearly crushed it with the comment. Instead of a verbal comeback, a shot was fired towards the pair from the pirate captain the moment he snatched one mass weapon from his nearest subordinate.
That didn't stop there. The rest of the crew opened fire with their own weapons directly at them. Gloria managed to find cover behind the nearest building she can find in such short notice. immediately, she summoned a pair of shield and a lightsaber from nowhere. Watching this, Shirou assumed that the weapons she conjured is her own personal device just like the rest of the Orussians he has met previously to this encounter.
"Open fire!" In a millisecond, the building Gloria was hiding was blown into smithereens by a cannon fire shot by the pirate vessel. The earlier continues gunfire alarmed the locals that something is going at the docks. The explosion confirmed their fears that a large brawl broke out and the it had become out of hand now that the sight if the jolly Roger becomes visible in the night sky.
"Arkh!" Gloria on the other hand, can be seen groaning in pain. Having Shirou suddenly grabbing her avoiding the cannon fire was a blessing from the war-goddess herself. She would have wondered how he pulled off the feat but the situation at hand did not give her the luxury of time to dwell upon the question she would like answers for.
"Are you alright?" Shirou covered the bounty hunter from possible enemy fire. The smoke reduced the opponent's vision to spot two targets on the battlefield.
"I can handle myself!" Gloria pushed the magus aside with her shield. " I don't need a man for this!" She wiped her mouth with her hand; glaring at the bloodstains she got from biting her lip too hard when she was suddenly dragged away by her new working partner.
As the pair bicker, the nearby locals was at the scene of the crime; some brought their own weapon and fire at the pirate ship.
"Hah!" With pride and joy, The pirate captain ordered his men to attack the locals from the safety of their ships. The cannons initially targeting the man who humiliated him changes to the locals; opening fire without hesitation at the crowd daring to attack his vessel.
If that's not enough, The damages done on the ship is minuscule. The spells enchanted on the sea vassal made him and his crew live through attacks from other pirates and the authorities alike. As such, he has nothing to fear from measly pea-shooters targeting his vessel.
"I need to go somewhere with higher ground!" The only place from his position that fits the criteria is a hill overlooking the town. There is a large tree present at the top of the hill. "I suppose I have no choice."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gloria shouted despite the deafening noises of cannon fire from the pirate ships from the her surprise, the stranger vanished. "Hey!" A loud explosion rang her ears as a cannon fire from the pirate shop was shot near her hiding spot.
Dashing through the town, the stranger can be seen pacing through the crowd with precise acceleration like a vertical lightning bolt through the maze like neighborhood. He avoided cannon fire like a ballet dancer; dodging impact upon impact while glaring at the ship behind him.
It doesn't help that the civilians are caught in the crossfire as the cannon fire hit several houses and the cries and screams began to boil the stranger's blood like hot water in a kettle.
In less than a minute, The stranger made his way to the top of the hill. Looking back to to the view of the battle, his resolve strengthened to take down the pirates and save everybody.
"Trace On."
A black colored bow materializes in his hands. Years of experience on the battlefield taught him several things: his arsenal needs to be widened for him to continue saving as many people he possible can
The black bow materializes from his reality marble; literally re-creating the weapon from his mind with a single thought. The weapon is a matte black, western style straight bow specially constructed for his unique fighting style.
In his right hand, he materializes Caladbolg II: The Fake Spiral Sword, a modified weapon which he encountered once during his travels on earth. The weapon resembles a drill than an actual sword but the weapon is nothing but legendary. The weapon he traced may lose its rank by one but it doesn't change that the sword has a history behind it. There is many stories behind the projected noble phantasm and Shirou would prefer to believe that the Celtic weapon he traced is Caledfwlch, the prototype of Excalibur. Having seeing the golden sword himself from his younger days, he of all people is aware how powerful such weapon can be against strong enemies.
"We're still not done! Open fire!" the pirate captain ordered his men to reload the cannons to bombard the man who humiliated him earlier even if he has to decimate the town to do it.
"Captain look!" His second in command pointed out the coordinates of the man they're trying to kill through his own device which allows him to scope at enemy's location.
The screen displayed said bastard who scared them half to death aiming an arrow at them.
"Hah! Why should we be afraid of that! This ship has the best defense shields in the entire region! Maximum power to all shields! Let's show that Kaiser's bastard what we're made of!" The derogatory slang he used clearly shows that he is not a follower of the Saint King's teachings.
"Caladblog!"
The air twists itself as the arrow makes it way towards the target. The protecting shield spells rendered useless in the face of a noble phantasm that corrodes no easily penetrating through its defensive shields like paper. The pirate ship blew up in a giant explosion, razing it into debris at bay.
As for the pirate captain and his crew, nobody was able to say their last prayers as they were all incinerated by the flying arrow. The sheer surprise of having the ship's powerful defense spells casted all over the hull was left hanging as none of them were even alive to complain about the issue. Whatever it is that killed them left no survivors behind.
"I-incredible..." The pirate ship was destroyed with a single shot of an arrow. The sight alone made Gloria praise for the war-goddess that victory haven been achieved. "You magnificent bastard you destroyed that pirate ship with a single shot!" Anyone can tell how excited Gloria at the sight of ship being destroyed without a second thought.
"A pirate attack? Send someone else, I'm busy right now."
Meanwhile, Tre Scaglietti is busy with her own work regarding the certain newcomer who has made a mess of himself judging by the trail of destruction he left behind. Her processor would have take less space if she hadn't been speculating about his current whereabout in the desert.
From the map shown on the screen, there were multiple villages he could have been any of those places and she can't spare enough me to spread out and look for someone she doesn't know what the person looks like in the first place. She cursed the man from the non-administrated world #97 for making her job difficult to handle.
Cease Fire Month is coming soon and she has a lot on her plate to deal with barring the arrival of the newcomer from across the stars.
As such, her blatant disregard for a random pirate attack sounds less important in her processor compared to the rest of her problems she has to deal with.
Imagine her surprise as she receive the news of what happened to the pirate ship.
The entire incident ended abruptly with the destruction of a pirate's ship. A lot of people gathered at the crime scene to see what has happened to the people opening fire at their houses near the harbor. The sight of what once as pirate ship in smoldering wreck created a sense of awe and fear among the populace. The authorities on the other hand, are trying their best to contain the situation and to find anybody they can related to the incident.
Meanwhile, a certain magus from earth stare at the crime scene awkwardly. " This can't be good..." Unable to resist himself, he returned to the scene of the crime and witness the damages he caused for the lack of better term along with spotting the authorities of the planet. Needless to say that the magus found himself in a stick situation.
It would have been funnier if the magus had nothing to do with the situation at hand. He spotted several children trying to get near to the crime scene much to the police's dismay. He even spotted several officers handcuff the locals trying to make a run for it with stolen weapons and goods from the destroyed ship.
At the same time, a similar sight greets him with an evil smile on her face. She looks as if she's waiting for the older man to tell what she wants to hear and no doubt in her mind that she is going to enjoy the moment.
"About that job offer...I'll take it." Shirou scratched his head; the burning inferno appearing as the background for the unexpected job offer on his department. In his mind, there is no doubt that the authorities will arrive sooner or later about the piracy attack and their sudden destruction by an unknown weapon. The last thing he needs now is to pick a bone with the wrong people this early in his journey.
"Great! You won't be disappointed!" Gloria shook back; gripping his hand as hard as she can and swing it as wildly as possible. "Finally! Someone to boss around!"
"Wait what!?" Let it be known that the gears in his head screech to a halt the moment he heard those words coming out from the woman's mouth.
For hours, the entire harbor became a crime scene with the authorities securing the perimeter. Alongside them, Tre Scaglietti accompanies the chief of military police about what happened to the pirate ship.
"If you ask me, whoever this guy is he did us a favor taking out the pirates." Just like that, he ripped a bounty poster belonged to said pirate into two before crumbling it and tosses it away like used tissue.
"Not good enough." Tre reprimanded the man.
"I swear I don't know him. The guy walks in my bar, scare the crap out of the pirates and leave. What else to say officer?" The barkeep insisted that he doesn't know anything what happened to the pirate ship. "Now if you excuse me, you're staining my place with your precense, my customers appreciate not having the military police and someone like you in my tavern." To emphasize his point, he pointed out his empty establishment.
Said customers were knocked out earlier was pushed into a corner as they begin mumbling in their sleep; no doubt drunk in their stupor.
"Is there anything about him you can describe?" Tre however, is not going down without a fight. Being the chief head of her father's company, she was called in along with her father at the scene of the crime to investigate what happened.
"Dressed like everybody else." The barkeep counted down the list with his fingers. " This is Orrusia everybody dressed up like a Belkan warrior! Good luck finding him all over the world you're going to need that..." He snorted; wiping the counter with a filthy rag.
Only to have a the tip of a purple colored laser blade nearly touching his nose. "Don't test my patience." Tre sheathed the laser blade away from his face back into its sheath on her arms. The proud combat cyborg made by Dr. Jail Scaglietti is the undefeated of Close Quarters combat in the main capital; designed to take out multiple enemies as a counter to Belkan Warriors.
"Arkh!?" The barkeep made an unaudible sound as he found himself at the woman's mercy. His fingers couldn't reach his device without thinking that she would loop his head off before he can do anything to save himself.
"Woah woah woah let's not get carried away here Miss Tre kill him and I have to explain to your old man why I allow him to croak." The chief interrupted. "Unless of course this is self-defense he is armed with a device..." The barkeep indeed nearly pointed his own device at the chief of security herself but found himself frozen the moment he found himself in her mercy. " He said he doesn't know as far as I give a dragon's ass he's right isn't that right?"
"Yeah sure I got nothing else to say." The barkeep insisted; rubbing his neck unconsciously.
Scene Break
The journey from the town to the hideout was a long trip. It took them hours to reach the area away from human civilization with nothing but a jeep she owned and the clothes of their back along with what seems to be grocery bags at the back of the car.
The place Gloria showed him is particularly interesting from Shirou's POV. For starters, the entire area is nothing but ruins from some ancient civilization. The illustrations on the walls are interesting to say at least...it follows a narrative sequence for what seems to be a life story of a girl (At least Shirou assumes it's a girl). The girl eventually becomes a ruler based on the illustration of her coronation.
"Well here we are. What's left of Ixpellia's temple. My boss renovated the area be habitable but hey as long as there is running water I'm not complaining." They walk pass through ancient Hieroglyph on the wall; illustrating beings Shirou couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow considering that the women (or at least he thinks that the picture drawn are women) in large numbers as if they are marching before their fuhrer who is also a girl but tiny in size if the picture completely captures what happened in the past.
"Ixpellia?" Shirou asked; wondering what on earth the woman is talking about.
"The Dark Ruler of Galea. It was said she created and commanded an indestructible army with weapons to raze lands and was an equal to the forces belonged to the saint king and her supposed lover. Unfortunately, she vanished on the night before the last battle and was never seen again since. It was said that she became a vengeful ghost o haunt those who had done her wrong the night she was supposed to reign as the one and true king of Orussia."
From what Shirou spotted at the inscriptions on the wall, it was enough for the magus to confirm that this Expellia was a queen of the lands with an army of armored women. The illustrations on the wall of the ruins explained a chain of events as they dwell deeper into the ruins.
Just like what Gloria said, there hasn't been any explanation why she disappeared the night before the last battle for her lands. The gears in Shirou's head rotates; speculating possibilities why she vanished. In his mind, his first theory is foul play: a royal with such power assassinated and her death silenced.
"A game of thrones?" Shirou couldn't help reference a certain television show popular back on earth. The grin on his face is enough to confirm that he's just messing around with the woman walking in front of him.
"huh? I suppose the three kings during the warring era was aiming for the throne." Gloria confirmed; albeit slightly confused why does it feel like her new working partner is making a fool out of her.
"So there's no song of ice and fire?" Shirou added.
"What?"
"Something from back home." Shirou chuckled heartily of his own private joke.
"Riiggghhhtttttt...I'll start ignoring you now." Gloria sped up her pace; placing a slightly larger distance between her and Shirou for good measure.
"Huh at the rate Gloria you might want to hire more hands, I do need friends to chat about these things." Whether her new working partner is serious or not, the bounty hunter couldn't tell at all in the slightest.
So, Gloria ignored him.
Inside the camp however, is the closest thing to a normal household in the middle of nowhere: surprisingly furnished and well-kept.
"Mama!" Greeting at the front door is a little girl resembling Gloria from Shirous' POV. The clothes she 's wearing is slightly larger than her size but so far the she doesn't display any difficulty of walking or even running towards her mother without tripping over herself. Her hair is unkempt with lack of hair ribbons.
"Rune!" To Shirou's surprise, Gloria carried the little girl into her arms like a mother would do to her child. " Have you been a good girl while mommy's away?"
"You're married? With a kid?" The 'duh..." look on the woman's face made it obvious. Both mother and daughter stared at pink elephant in the room; with Rune as Gloria puts it stare at him with curiosity.
"No Shirou this is my mother..." Gloria replied' unamused while her own daughter giggled despite not fully understand what's going on.
"Shirou I would like you to meet Professor Toredia Graze, my boss." Gloria would have introduced the man right away if not said man have not make his appearance the moment his name was called. " Be right back sweety..." tightening her fists, she marches towards one of the back rooms.
"Hi." A pair of eyes belonged to the little girl greet the older man; looking at him with curiosity. To emphasize the point, she even poke his leg and was instantly excited that she made a noise as she tap his armored leg.
"Out you go doc, I got you need help!" Gloria re-appeared; dragging a strangely dressed man from inside one of the rooms.
Strange is not the best word to describe how eccentric the third occupant in the room. The third person is definitely a man wearing a strange-looking gas mask. Anyone else would have assume that there is a robot living among them but what made him look silly is that he's dressed like a normal adult man consisting of a t-shirt with a lab coat over it.
"What are you doing?" The man with a gas mask retorted. He spoke in a synthesized voice; intriguing Shirou;'s attention towards the strange-looking alien. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something!?" He protested.
"I got your extra help! Now make yourself useful and introduce yourself sir..." Gloria shoved him to greet Shirou. Her daughter on the other hand, seems to be enjoying the spectacle.
"Oh alright!" The masked man turns his attention towards the newcomer. "Hello there Tredia Graze speaking..." He extended a hand to greet the newcomer.
"Emiya Shirou." The stranger introduced himself; extending his own to greet the strangely dressed man.
And with that, both Magus and scientist meet for the first time; instigating a chain of events that will change the fate of Orussia forever.
Scene Break
meanwhile, something else is happening inside the manor belonged to Jail Scaglietti of Orussia.
"Ta~ta Deici..." Quattro excused herself from her younger sister; making her way to the basement behind their father. Like any sibling would do, Quattro didn't waste time to make fun of her younger sister that she gets to spend time with the father compared to the meek Deici.
The basement below the manor house belonged to Dr. Jail Scaglietti is his own private workshop. In addition to creating devices and mass weapons for his customers all over Orrusia, the madman has a side project he invests a lot of time, energy and resources to pull off for future market.
Quattro's glasses gleamed white as the young woman herself is pleased with what is looking now. The information she typed appear on the screen with fonts many people may not recognize. The computer language and calculations are of course understood by combat cyborgs and intelligent devices compared to mages and ordinary people with no potential for magic.
Both father and daughter are a team when it comes to to the development of combat cyborgs. Unlike the rest of Quattro's sisters, Quattro herself possess superior intellect points and capacity in her own processor; allowing her to be Jail's assistant in his own experiments.
The entire basement is filled with capsules. Each contain a woman vary of age ranging from little girls to young women in her 20s. All of them are sleeping soundly, unaware of what is going on outside their containment unit. The capsule itself functions as a womb as if these people are merely fetus before they are born into the world. However, to call them infants would be a mockery of natural birth. These people are combat cyborgs pre-activated to follow their creator's programming and whim.
Two of them in particular were freshly made thanks to a donated DNA sample gathered from TSAB Ground Forces female officer. Information about these two particular combat cyborgs remain obscure to everyone except the mad doctor himself and Quattro Scaglietti as only they are able to read the information display and know how to activate them.
Subject Zero-First and Zero-Two slept soundly inside their respective vats just like the toddlers they are.
Inside the capsule belonged to subject Zero-Two, she looked as if she is going to start crying with her eyes trying to crack open; revealing yellow colored irises ready to struggle herself out from her vat like a savage animal as the glass shattered from the inside.
END
I'm taking liberties to retcon lore for Nanoha to fit into the story; especially because the setting of the story takes place in a world we barely know aside from a civil war in Strikers X.
As for the characters, they have appeared in Nanoha canon narrative one way or another yes this means that even Gloria actually came from the canon characters in Nanohaverse.
Read and review!
EXTRA!
Mid-Childan Calendar 0026: Shirou is born
Mid-Childan Calendar 0043: The 5th war (2004) (17 years old)
Mid-Childan Calendar 0053: Shirou arrives on Orussia (27 years old)