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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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"Even if my life is full of hypocrisy, I'll keep on striving to be a hero of justice!"
-Shirou Emiya, UBW
"There are times when one thing can outweigh everything else."
-Shirou Emiya, Oath Under Snow
"A true hero is someone who saves those he cherish and care for, using all the means possible. He will sacrifice himself to permit those who truly are good to live another day to make the world better."
- Shirou Emiya, Fate Player Online
The Desert that encircled the Sinai Mountain was and incredible sight to enjoy.
Drinking from its flasket, the young man resumed his march towards his objective.
Several border conflicts were intensifying the already possible new war between Egypt and Israel. Unacceptable.
His eyes finally found the small outpost with the Egyptian flag and prepared to end this small group like the others.
The soldiers had barely the time to react to the precise and unusual arrows reducing their numbers and soon none of the squad was left alive.
Sighing, the man relaxed his posture and lowered the ebony bow in his hand.
His eyes, previously closed in concentration, opened and showed sleepbags underneath them.
With this execution, his killcount had grown to more than 100 me- enemies of Humanity.
A part of him wanted to feel something, may it be pleasure or regret, because of his actions, yet he felt empty.
The more lives he took, the more he felt void of any trace of his former self.
Grunting, Shirou Emiya almost facepalmed but refrained because it wouldn't help him with the situation.
He had forgotten to write a letter to Rin two days ago.
While the Tohsaka had kept herself quite busy in her studies and with the aquaintances made at Clocktower, she had demanded from him a punctual letter every month.
He froze.
Memories of what had steeled his resolve were now weighing his soul and the words of a broken man that he would became still resonated in his ears.
Shirou didn't know what to do, his mind divided in what to do or what to not do.
Run. Return to Rin.
That thought felt attractive and he knew that it would have been the right choice in his dilemma.
Yet he continued to make steps in the path of the Hero of Justice, ignoring the comodities that every human being needed to live.
Was he truly becoming a machine?
Was Shirou Emiya marching in that battlefield where he would experience death by sword?
He was unsure. So many opportunities and warnings tried to sway him from this road paved by his best intentions.
Yet he was certain that he wasn't walking towards heaven.
He felt somewhat relieved that he had reached back the cave he had converted in a small camp.
The place was quite cool and was able to eliminate most of the heat of the region.
Removing his enchanted hat and coat, Shirou sat in a chair he had traced.
Everything in his hideout had been traced.
He knew of the damage he was inflicting to himself, of the unecessary strain his Circuits were suffering.
But it was like an itch he needed to scratch everydady.
Opening the carpet, his hands glowed the familiar blue of Prana being used in his excellent projections.
I'm Bone of my sword
It was inevitable. He was distorted after all and had been cursed into a life that lacked any human normalcy.
His hair had already started to get the same white color of Archer's and his skin was gradually getting darker.
It was supposed to be like one of the many addictive tracing sessions but something felt off.
As his head tilted to the entrance of the cave, expecting an enemy magus, his Circuits flared more than the usual.
Suddenly he felt intruded, not externally but inwardly, as if someone was fighting inside of him.
Inside his soul.
The blue glow spread through his arms, enabling enough Circuits to start his Reality Marble.
Cracks appeared on the floor, reality shifting before wide eyes.
Unlimited Blade Work was being activated without the usual chant, something unheard to the same Archer.
The familiar white light of reality finally twisting to his soul's appearance covered his body and soon he found himself in his own world.
"Why?"
The surprise of the moment caused his mouth to blurt the first word his brain could formulate.
How did UBW activate on its own?
Was he turning into something worse than Archer? Maybe he should have not overused tracing so much.
A cold wind broke Shirou from his investigations as the phenomenon was unheard.
UBW's weather couldn't change and it had always been like an arid climate.
Turning around, his eyes widened once more.
Parts of the land were now covered in snow and dark clouds covered the sky.
Shirou jumped up as he heard approaching footsteps coming towards him and silently traced Kanshou and Bakuya.
"You... are a disappointment."
He frowned at the statement and he oddly felt like he knew the speaker.
Slowly the silouette of the intruder appeared and the more he closened up, the more Shirou found himself weirded out.
The teen, few years younger than him, had clothes quite similar to Archer. Clothes he was sure that were unique and that he had yet to obtain.
Cold eyes froze him on the spot, as the visage of the young teen was now visible.
Few white spots on his red hairs and parts of his face darker than the rest, here stood another Shirou Emiya.
"H-How is this possible?"
The teen didn't reply. Two other copies of the falchions the older Emiya was using threatened to cut him as his two blades were barely holding the strong attack.
He wasn't human.
"Are you Archer?"
The teen smirked as Shirou barely dodged a volley of deadly slashes.
"I will take it as a compliment." The Heroic Servant stated. "But no. I'm not EMIYA."
As the falchions exchanged a series of clashes, Shirou felt the familiar sensation of his Magic Circuits burning.
Flames consumed the town -A large crater had replaced a big chunk of Fuyuki.
He blinked in surprise. Kanshou blocked Bakuya.
Left for dead, someone arrived and saved him- A young girl stared blankly at the centre of the disaster, her house damaged by the blast.
Shirou stared into his doppelganger's eyes, finding something he had once possessed but now lacked.
Shirou sighed as he placed another box inside the courtyard, looking at the emotionless Kiritsugu- Shirou watched his little sister as she tried to copy his work in the kitchen.
Something he had forgotten about, something he missed the most.
"Are you my master?" A gorgeous swordswoman asked to him, her beauty being enchanted by the moonlight coming from the damaged warehouse.
Shirou had already defeated Assassin, Rider, Lancer and Caster. The Saber Card User was charging what he had recognised as Excalibur, yet his wounded arm hindered his full charge and the blast was extremely weaker than the real deal. Caladbolg II shattered the hopes of the Ainsworths of winning this War.
He once would have died for it.
Shirou watched silently as Gilgamesh killed Illya, Berserker halted by the strong chains that held him on the spot. Once again, Shirou Emiya had lost his family.
The painful sensation of the overused Circuits was now unbearable. The bastards had kept him in this fortress for what? Months, years? In the end it didn't matter. Miyu was away from their reach and he was more than happy to endure the pain as long as he could.
He would have fought for it.
Copy met Original. Faker faced the King. The weak destroyed the strong.
He put pressure on his wounds as Miyu helped him to halt the blood leaving his body. The young girl that her sister was looking with trust and determination used the weird blade against the Cube of Pandora, destroying a good part of it. The nightmare was finally over now.
And yet he gained nothing.
Having said goodbye to Tohsaka, Shirou sat silently in the kotatsu and stared at the empty spot where before sat Artoria. So much had happened in those days but he had lost more than that at the same time. He sat alone, his blades his only safe haven...
Shirou smiled as Miyu continued her tale after he had get her away from Julian. He was happy for her cheerier behavior, all thanks to the many friends she had made in the new dimension. A bit annoyed by the fact he was now unable to fully fight, Shirou still smiled. He was there as Miyu could smile and nothing else mattered by that point.
Kanshou stabbed in the tender skin of the older Emiya.
Blood surged out of his mouth as the wound didn't close down.
Avalon had finally stopped to work.
There wouldn't have been a way out of this situation. He cracked a smile at the irony.
Only he could kill him. He felt dumber, maybe the bloodloss.
"B-Before you finish the job. Why did you wish to kill me? You have the best of the lives, yet here you are trying to kill me. Why?"
The counterpart glared at him. "I don't wish to kill you."
The reply suprised the older version, unable to grasp the logic behind the answer.
"I know everything our mutual Archer had known about you, about us. This moment was not casually chosen."
As he continued to explain, the dying Shirou started to hear the voice of a woman, alluring and promising the power to win and become a true Hero.
The winner of the battle turned around and walked away.
"You have been given a choice, Shirou Emiya. Will you became something worse than Kiritsugu or betray your ideals?"
It was the second time Shirou had heard this ultimatum. The first time he had been confident of his reason and had stood up for his dreams.
Now...
The voice of Alaya seemed to get less hearable, now with the same echo of a whisper in a storm.
The counterpart was nowhere near him and UBW had returned back to normal.
He was alone, dying and clueless to what to do...
Finally, feeling his heart slowing its pace, he answered...
[A] I want to be an Hero of Justice!
[B] I think it's time to stop this madness..
AN
I leave you with this cliffhanger to you to answer in the reviews. In the end I will do both but I prefer to know what everyone thinks Shirou should answer after this extradimensional encounter.
I would usually offer a logical explanation about how Miyu!Shirou is in UBW but I think it would ruin the theme I'm trying to accomplish here.
What happens when in crucial moments of our lives, we have to fight against ourselves for what we think is right? Would our resolve fail against the truth or strenghten itself by the fight?
Lastly, I decided to write this Three-shots(?) to also give you all something to read. Today I was unable to write a chapter of FPO as I felt tired at the strenous effort put in the exams and in the serious work of FPO. Does that mean you are stopping FPO? NO! I just took the liberty to relax today before continuing with the usual responsibilities tomorrow.
To excuse myself of the lack of the chapter, I planned to write TWO chapters tomorrow!
Yes, not just one BUT TWO CHAPTERS! HUZZAH!