A Heart of Steel
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Fate/Stay Night.
AN: Hey folks. I have tried really hard to pump out this chapter, even if it is mostly filler. Just so you guys know, I had a bit of a problem with magical circuits/prana interpretation and have done my best to explain it. That said, I had to fudge the 'official' numbers a bit as they were too contradictory.
Enjoy the show.
December 17, 2007
National Air and Space Museum
Washington DC, USA
The janitor hummed a song to himself as he went about his duties, mopping the floors of the emptying museum. It was close to four in the afternoon, maybe a little past, but that didn't deter the cleaner, even if his shift didn't officially start until five, which was the actual closing time that day. It was little earlier than usual, but the boss had spread the word that an inspection was due in the next few days, so they were closing earlier to give all the cleaning staff a chance to do all the little jobs that were generally overlooked.
Not that the janitor truly cared, he was just happy helping people out. Hell, he was just a fill-in for the regular guy that was sick for the last two days.
He brushed his crimson red hair back, sweating a little from bending down to mop the floors of the exhibit, his golden eyes glinting softly in his softly tanned face. Despite that he was wearing denim overalls and firm black boots, he made no noise at all as he moved, except the sound of splashing water from the bucket.
'It might not be the most glamorous of jobs,' Shirou thought as he mopped a particularly stubborn spot, likely a scuff mark from a shoe, 'but it helps to pay the bills.'
Shirou kept humming as he worked, losing himself in reminiscing on the past. Particularly the last few months.
START FLASHBACK
Once he had managed to untangle himself from the knot of female limbs and chains, Shirou quickly gathered both of the young ladies, after wrapping a, unbelievably, real Noble Phantasm around his torso beneath his tattered shirt (there was no way he was going to be irresponsible enough to leave something that powerful lying around), and moved quickly through the street outside the alley, his, thankfully, good knowledge of the English language letting him quickly identify a small, hole-in-the-wall motel.
A small bit of hypnotism, something so basic that even he could perform it, and he was able to obtain a room for the night, large enough for all three of them, without any questions or any charge. Shirou felt a little guilty at having done so, but the current situation was beyond his experience and they needed a safe place. He promised himself that he would pay back the manager, in full, another day.
Shirou had just placed them on the double bed and taken a seat in one of the chairs when they had started to stir.
"Hrrrmmph Hmm-Hmm," mumbled Rin as she began to awaken once more, her mind still slightly sluggish from the events that had happened.
Saber, on the other hand, snapped from asleep to awake and alert with a mere flutter of her eyes. Warriors of her time either woke quickly or never woke at all.
Meadow green eyes quickly surveyed the situation, ignoring the fact that her new Master was stirring against her. The room was sparsely appointed, a bed with two side tables and a main table with four chairs, one of which was occupied by a still visibly tired Shirou, near a simple sink with a just boiled kettle on it, was all that she could see.
"Good," Shirou spoke tiredly, the voice bringing Rin fully awake, not used to a male being in her presence when she was still half-asleep and her mind filling with frightening scenarios, until she recognised the voice in time to not react more than awaken entirely, "you're all awake."
Shirou ran his hand through his short disheveled red hair, still gritty and grimy from the battle he had with the King of Heroes, "we all need to talk."
Seeing the serious expression on his tired features, Rin held back her snarking and simply joined him at the table along with Saber.
A few moments later, all of them had a warm mug of tea in their hands as they discussed the happenings.
"Does anyone know where we are?" Rin Tohsaka asked with a frown, "because this certainly doesn't look like any rat-hole apartment I've seen in Fuyuki."
"We're in Washington DC," answered Shirou, taking a few fliers from his tattered jeans, ones he had picked up as he had carried the two females to the motel, printed in English and proudly decrying the attractions in the city, as proof, "in America."
Rin's nosed wrinkled in confusion, "that's impossible!" she announced, "it would require something border lining the Second Magic to achieve something like that. And last I checked, none of us could perform that, let alone try to do it as we were being sucked into the Grail!"
"And yet," interjected Saber as she examined the fliers, "these fliers are real, we are evidently not in Fuyuki as evidenced by the scene out of the window and the signs I can see are all in English. Plus, Shirou is not one to joke or jest, not in this situation."
Rin visibly deflated, defeated by the logic of the King of Knights, before she rallied, "Okay, say that we actually are in the States, how in the name of the Root did we get here?!"
Saber frowned for a moment trying to recall the final events before her sudden loss of consciousness. She could remember being knocked flying, the endless abyss drawing them to it's gaping maw and then...
A flash of golden light.
The woman King's eyes narrowed. She was far from an expert in mysticism, but she had lived in age where Magic had been more widespread than modern times and her mentor had been a skilled user himself, even if he was madder than a cut snake, but she could not recall anything that could do this and had to do with golden light.
Still, she consulted with the resident True Magus, Shirou not really counting with his mindset and inexperience.
"Do you remember the last moments before everything went black?" she asked her fellow female, "A flash of golden light?"
Rin looked at her Servant, her eyes distant as she, too, recalled the light, almost blinding in it's intensity, causing her to close her eyes tightly to prevent actual blindness. The funny thing about it, was that she could remember feeling it, mystically, much like Shirou's ability to sense magecraft through smell. It wasn't as sensitive or accurate as Shirou's, but it didn't need to be, not with the amount of power that was within the light. It felt like she was in an excessively hot contained area, the mere memory making her want to sweat, the heat was both brilliant and dull, like being in the presence of roaring flames and boiling lava or...
...
...Melting metal.
She could now recall where she had felt similar. One of the mandatory school field trips taking them to a steel foundry on the edge of Fuyuki. The atmosphere of the factory had been stifling, making the entirety of the class practically drip with sweat in the first few moments.
Except for Emiya.
Rin turned abruptly to the son of the Magus Killer, scrutinising him with narrowed eyes, even as he flinched slightly at her hard stare.
She had known that there was something odd about the Faker. She hadn't known he was a Magus until the night of his summoning Saber and had just passed him off as a one in a million shot at being chosen, before she had known about his still forming Reality Marble. But he had allowed her to examine him, as a part of the alliance she had with him. Part of it had included a measurement of his power.
To say that she had been shocked at the results would be an understatement.
To understand her shock, one had to know of the relationship between Magical Circuits, Prana and Mana/Od.
Every living being in the world, from the weakest insect to the greatest Beast, has a reserve of life force, often refered to as Od. It is produced by breathing and walking. Every being has it, but the reserves size varies from individual to individual. If a living being were to run out of it, it can be replenished by rest, food and time.
Mana is the life force of the planet itself, produced by the 'world' and is everywhere in the atmosphere and in vast quantities, but, if it is somehow drained, will take years, even decades or centuries, to replenish.
Prana is the source of all magecraft, the source of power that fuels the spell, like gasoline or petrol for a car. Prana is made by converting Mana or Od, through a Magi's Magical Circuits into the power required.
Magical Circuits, the very thing that qualifies a human to be a Magus, a link between the soul and the body, take in Mana or Od, at the will of the Magus, and process them in a certain way as to create Prana. The number and quality of them determine the absolute output of prana.
An example would be that a weak magus can have an Od reserve of five units of power and a dozen Magical Circuits able to handle ten units of prana. Despite his extremely low Od reserve, he can take in Mana from the air to supplement his own weak reserves in order to produce a complete output of one hundred and twenty units of prana, in theory, in one go. However, he needs to insert some of his own Od in order to grasp ahold of Mana in order to convert it to prana, which can take some time, so, if he were to say use some units of Od each time he had to utilise Mana, then he would have only one shot at his maximum output, if he was desperate.
It is generally seen that a Magus has lower Od than their total circuit output by an exetremely large amount, leading any Magi worth their salt to have to use Mana as a primary source for the majority of their spells. On the, very, rare occasions in which the reverse is true, where their Od is superior to their circuit output, limits the magi's capacity. Even if they had over a thousand units of Od, if their circuits can only handle a hundred units of prana, then they can only perform spells requiring the power of one hundred units naturally.
Of course, this doesn't take into account individual abilites or skills, like the Blue Blood Noble of the Barthomelloi and the extreme quality of prana created by the Aozaki.
On average, a Magus has twenty circuits, each capable of using at least fifteen units of prana and twenty five units of Od. Thus having a complete output of three hundred units.
Rin Tohsaka, as a prodigy of a well established clan, had forty inborn circuits, each of them capable of handling twenty five units of prana, and an Od reserve of FIVE HUNDRED UNITS, twenty times the amount of a mature magus. This led her to having a whopping one thousand units of prana as a maximum output.
And this didn't take into account her thirty Crest circuits and the accumulated knowledge and power contained therein.
With her own hard-worked for skills and her considerable intelligence, this made her a frighteningly powerful magus.
But Shirou had blown her out of the water.
Ninety. Ninety. As in nine times ten. That was how many circuits he had. It was such a ridiculous amount that she privately, and almost vocally, thought that he wasn't human. The quality wasn't much better, four times her own at one hundred units of capacity.
Thus making his total prana output, NINE THOUSAND UNITS.
And that wasn't all. To her ongoing disbelief, his Od reserve, that source he drew his prana from, was powerful enough that she couldn't get an accurate measure on it, it had felt so vast and alien that she couldn't comprehend it. He didn't need to use Mana, making his spells come quicker and with less chance of interference.
If it wasn't for his status as an Incarnation, and if he were to have a bit more intelligence, and was an Average One instead, he could have replaced the Queen of the Clocktower as the Vice-Director, given the time and the knowledge.
It had made her swirl in her seat, her mind adrift as she tried to come back to earth.
Her eyes grew sharper as she stared at the now fidgeting third-rate (in practice only) Magus. He was the only one who could have, maybe, done something, even in his completely tired state.
But she didn't know how. Transportation/Teleportation was so far out of his skill set that it wasn't funny.
"It had to be you, blockhead," she said, voicing her opinion, "you may have been tired as all hell, just like the rest of us, but you always seem able to pull something out of your arse when we really need it."
At Saber's nod of agreement, Rin could only watch as he hung his head.
"Still," she sighed stretching a little, "things could be worse. We will figure out how you did it later, for now, I just want to contact the school back home to let them know that we will be out of touch due to a family emergency. I have no desire to ruin my perfect attendance record."
"There is a phone just down the hall," Shirou answered her unasked question, "you can make a call from there. Just take a right after exiting the room."
"Thanks, metalhead," Rin smirked slightly and left with a flick of her hair.
"She never fails to surprise me," Shirou said after the door to the room had closed with a click.
"Is it not the prerogative of women to confuse and shock men?" Saber queried with a soft, mischevious, smile.
"It explains why you became King then," Shirou shot back quickly, used to the banters the two had begun when they were still Master and Servant. A quick frown crossed his face as a thought popped up.
"By the way," he said, "how are you feeling? I know that with the Grail gone, and even more so now that we are out of it's area of influence, that should feel a great deal weaker, even if Rin has the prana capacity to keep a Servant around with the Grail's assistance."
Saber frowned slightly, obviously trying to find a way to accurately answer his question, "Strangely enough, I feel fine. Better in fact. I am currently at full capacity, not diminished at all."
Shirou cocked his head, "that shouldn't be right. There is now way Rin could fuel a fully functional Servant, all by herself, without the Grail taking some of the burden," his golden eyes narrowed, "I think we have another avenue to investigate. Whatever the hell I did, because I sure don't have a clue, has had more consequences than we thought."
"Perhaps my unique nature has something to do with it?" Saber offered, referring to her contract with the World and the fact that she was not a proper Heroic Spirit. In fact, she clenched her fist experimentally for a moment, it felt like she was in her actual body. Newly healed and hearty of course, despite the slight fatigue, but it didn't have that subtle feel of the body she used in the Grail Wars, created by the World, had.
"Maybe," Shirou said noncommittally, "that type of thing isn't my area. Ask Rin when she gets back, she would probably have an idea, outlandish as it may seem."
As if summoned by his words, the door to the room was slammed open, a pale Rin in the opening. Before Shirou could ask, she began speaking.
"I don't know how you have managed it, you idiot," she began slowly, stalking toward him unconsciously, "but you have managed something that is completely beyond description."
Shirou looked at the young woman, her eyes wide and manic, and felt his metaphorical spine turn to water as she gently grabbed the collar and pulled him, roughly, into her face, his wide, and completely terrified, golden meeting her manic and bloodshot aqua blue.
"Tell me, Shirou," she said with a crazy giggle, making Saber wisely back away a large step, before her face became a snarl, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU THROW US INTO ANOTHER DIMENSION!?"
END FLASHBACK
Shirou winced slightly in remembrance. It had taken Saber five minutes to drag the hellcat Rin had become off of him after that particular revelation.
She had found out by calling the school back in Japan, only to get the number for a bakery numerous times. After the tenth she had given up and, frustrated, channeled her prana for a Gandr at the phone, blaming it for crossing wires. It was the ease that she did so, making a Gandr that would have taken out the whole wall, instead of just the phone, that had tipped her off that something was askew.
Thankfully for Shirou's pocketbook, Rin had managed to cancel the Gandr.
Further investigation by her, with some minor spells, showed that each of them had a much stronger effect than they should have. All of them. To hear her description, after she had calmed down and was no longer mauling his face, it was 'as if a great weight had been removed, that I had slipped my chains and was running unbound and wild, answering only to myself.'
The only possibility; Gaia's presence was completely absent.
The only conclusion; They were in an alternate dimension, so far removed from their own as to have, almost, completely different universal laws. At least in regards to Gaia's influence, or rather the lack thereof.
Rin had been far from happy as, due to their collective knowledge and skills, it meant they were stranded here, neither of them having any true skill in the Second Magic and thus unable to get home. Meaning that she lacked access to her resources, like her library, artefacts and finances. The lack of the family library was somewhat mitigated due to some paranoid, beyond a normal magi's, ancestor of hers transcribing a spiritual copy of the library into her Crest, only up to date to his time though. The heads of the family that came after regarding it as a waste of time, assured in their own power. This lead to her losing a good ten to thirty percent of the books within the real library back home. Many of them being rare and valuable works that her father had obtained during his life.
She had been beyond pissed.
They had then put their heads together and began to plan, resigned to live in this alien place and country after they had all come to grips with it. First item being identification. Hanging around as illegal immigrants, constantly dodging the police and other public departments was really not on any of there desired list of how to spend their lives.
Thankfully, Shirou had been around Taiga, a daughter of a Yakuza leader, enough to know where to look for and, more importantly, who to look for in regards to that. A little hypnotism here and a flurry of cash (made by Gradient Air. Thank heavens for being a Faker, even if he didn't like doing it) there and he was able to obtain three complete sets of 'legal' identity and 'paid' extra to have it inserted into the National Database as US citizens, born in America to immigrants. Thankfully, they all spoke English very well, Saber's especially as it was her native tongue despite using it in an old-fashioned manner, and what accent they had was written of as growing up with their families.
They had gone by their own names, for the sake of simplicity, save for Saber, who went by Altria 'Saber' Aurora.
Because of their physical age, they needed to enrol in school, a public one, which was was easy enough as it was the summer holidays and school hadn't started until they had cleared up the accommodation and financial details.
Accommodation was, again, easy with Rin doing her bit as the hypnotist this time after Shirou had managed to obtain some correct chemicals and minerals and, with a little Alteration, been able to create some high quality gemstones, which were then valued and sold by a series of jewellers. The money was then funneled into an account, which was then used to pay for the house.
Shirou was, once again, mauled by Rin for him not revealing he was able to create high quality gemstones.
It was a nice little cottage, with three bedrooms, a large study, a well appointed kitchen (which Shirou had insisted on. Saber and Rin were close behind, as it meant that could still partake of Shirou's divine cooking.), a combined dining and lounge room, an almost sinfully decadent Western bathroom with a large tub, big enough to fit three (if they were friendly), and shower, again big enough to fir three if they squeeze, and a laundry at the back of the house with connecting dryer.
To top it all off, there was a large backyard and paddock of about five acres with two attached barns and a stable, mainly due to it being on the outskirts of the city, remote and isolated much to the female magi's pleasure.
About the only problem, and the reason they were able to obtain it as, despite the gems, their financial situation was limited, was that it was a small state of disrepair.
To Shirou's eyes it had been perfect and, with a little help from magic, his handyman expertise, Saber's own craft skills and Rin's ideas and knowhow in regards to the mystical arts, they soon had it ship shape and defensible enough to withstand a siege.
And so, they began to settle in, working out a niche for themselves, their reputation as loners and people kept to themselves. Though there were a few rumours that the three of them were a...cough... threesome.
Incidentally, the instigators of that particular rumour later found themselves bare arse naked and tied to a light pole in the middle of the business district of the suburb with no idea how they had got there. all they remembered was a dark figure with a devil's grin and it's fingers held out like a gun.
It was just before school had restarted that they all became aware that the world was different than they had assumed.
START FLASHBACK
"Well I think that is everything," Rin said peppily, almost skipping down the lane towards their home from the bus stop near there. They all used public transport or walked/ran/sprinted when they wanted to go somewhere, as they neither owned a vehicle, looked old enough to even get a learner's license or really needed one.
"Indeed," Saber responded regally. She was dressed differently than she usually did. Now that they were walking in full view of people, not hidden by the shadows of the night, she had taken to wearing something similar to Rin. A white blouse, instead of the deep red of Rin's, with a black pleated skirt that extended to just below her knees and plain black dress shoes with short white socks. She looked every inch the demure school student.
Shirou couldn't help but think it looked good on her. At least he would if he wasn't juggling a heavy pile of brown paper bags contain that week's groceries.
"I sure hope so," Shirou grumbled softly to himself as he tried to balance the tall pile of bags. Don't get him wrong, he loved cooking, and carrying the bags was part of the ordeal it was to make and create a meal. But, that was when he was making them for himself and his visiting mooch, and teacher, Taiga. Now that there were three people in the same home, one of which could possibly out eat a platoon of troops by herself, the pile was getting a bit much.
The fact that the bags also contained some nice upper-line clothes, in separate bags, and that the girl's hands were completely empty gave him some cause to grumble.
They were just within a small distance of their home when the attack happened.
Shirou was the first to notice it, the thick smell of charred steak and molten metal coming to his sensitive nose. He quickly reacted, dropping the pile of bags and whipping his head around to a small stand of trees that stood opposite the entrance to his home, Saber and Rin were close behind, reacting to Shirou's own motions.
In his mind, a gun fired, waking Shirou's circuits from their dormancy.
"Trace...on," he commanded, a twirl of light wreathing his hands before vanishing, leaving copies of his favoured blades, Kanshou and Bakuya, in his hands.
"Shirou!" Rin called questioningly, wordlessly asking what he had sensed, even as Saber seemed to grasp nothing before going into a into a battle stance, looking very competent despite the lack of a visible sword and wearing a schoolgirl's outfit.
Shirou didn't bother answering as a hollow roar was heard and the air seemed to thicken.
Shirou could only watch in surprise as loud thuds were heard, shaking the earth slightly with each noise, as the cause of them slowly emerged from the copse of trees.
The first thing that the sword incarnation noticed was it's sheer size, easily larger than a full-grown African bull bush elephant, maybe fifteen feet at the top of it's wide-set bronze shoulders, and was easily wider than a car. The horns it had were long and pointed, almost like bronze swords than horns of a terrestrial beast. The head was bovine in shape, with a rounded metallic muzzle and wide-set eyes, just like any other bovine creature, but it's eyes, those dark blood-red ruby eyes, were not filled with a cow's placidity. They were filled with a burning anger, a deep hunger, that now mortal herd animal could possess. The clincher on the unnatural existence of it, was the billowing steam, like an old train's engine, escaping from it's nostrils, and the deep glow of a furnace he could see within them.
Just from the sight of it, Shirou knew exactly what it was, the stories of them having a damn good description.
"Saber," he said sharply, whispering, gaining her attention but not taking her eyes off the animal, "back off and get in your armour, fast."
"You know this beast?" she asked, keeping herself place in front of Rin, who seemed to have gone catatonic at the sight of the, admittedly, magnificent, and dangerous, beast.
Shirou grunted in affirmation, never taking his eyes off of the now pawing beast, "yes, but now is not the time. Grab Rin and retreat a safe distance and then put your armour on and help me. When you do, under no circumstances touch the skin of the beast with your armour on, chances are the heat of it would burn straight though the gauntlets. Do you understand?"
A small nod of the head, only just noticable, was all the answer he received.
"Good," he answered, tensing as he noticed the swaying tail grow still and the shoulders tense, "execute on three. One. Two,"
The bull reared back, preparing to charge.
"Three!" Saber and Shirou yelled in unison, Saber blurring to grab Rin and Shirou charging the now also charging Colchis Bull.
Shirou met the beast with a swing of his blade, aimed to slash the throat, hoping to end this before it got bad.
Screeeeeech!
The sound of scraping metal was heard, making Shirou's ears ring as a large and deep cut was made along the throat, parting the metal but not striking any vital pathways. His angle had been off, much to his misfortune. This caused to have to roll to the side, avoiding the beast's attempts to skewer him on it's horns, came back to his feet all in one motion.
The beast swivelled around, faster than the swordsman had thought it was able, before he mentally knocked himself in the head. It was a Phantasmal Beast, a being that didn't confirm to the set rules of reality, he should have been aware that it's abilities would not be constrained by the laws of physics and the limits of the flesh.
It charged again, just as fast, swinging it's head from side to side in an attempt to cut him in half. Shirou swiftly retreated backward. Despite it's deceptive speed, he was still able to keep away from it as he lead it into the empty fields behind the copse of trees.
It might have given the beast room to move, but it also gave Shirou room to execute his plan before Saber got there.
The Bull suddenly snorted loudly, an immense billow of red flame shooting towards him, only for him to leap sideways. A second jump swiftly followed as the bull used that movement to close in on him for another try at impaling.
If he got the chance to pull it off before he was killed anyway.
Another leap backwards and he was back to leading it through the long grass, like a red flag to the bull. It charged him heedlessly, those ruby eyes focused on him and only him. They traced him as it chased, as he ran backward, before he suddenly leapt upward and back. The beast lunged forward, trying to get under his landing spot so as to turn him into a shishkabob.
But as it did so, it seemed to suddenly trip, the ground beneath suddenly sinking.
Splaaasssh!
A hollow roar, one of distress this time, as the mighty Colchis Bull found itself up to its neck in cold water and soft mud, right at the bottom of a sinkhole that had been hidden by the long grass.
The beast was now trapped.
Shirou frowned slightly as he looked down at the thrashing beast from where he stood at the edge of the pit. He had explored the area and his home and found that the empty field across from him was more of a marshland or swamp, making it unsuitable for development. He had found more than his fair share of holes the same way the Colchis Bull had done, giving Rin and Saber a laugh numerous times, until he learned to keep up Structural Analysis whenever he entered it. He had just played follow the leader until he found an appropriate hole for it to sink into and lead it there instead.
The sound of boots on earth drew his attention, making him look at an armoured Saber carrying a now coherent Rin.
"It seems my help was not required," Saber said with a lifted eyebrow to the snorting and struggling beast below, it's flames billowing out in its anger, but failing to do anything to help.
"Required, maybe not," Shirou agreed, "but it is always appreciated," he finished with a soft smile, making Saber shift a bit, uncomfortable with the honest praise.
"A Colchis Bull," Rin breathed, still slightly unbelieving but more focused now, her experience as a magus coming to the forefront, "said to have been created by Hephaestus, Greek god of the forge and fire, and given to King Aeetes of Colchis. These were one of the beasts that Jason of the Argo had to harness and use to plow a field in order to get the Golden Fleece."
She breathed deeply again, "what, in the name of the Root, is one doing here?"
No one answered her question, still confused at the beast's existence. They all just stared at the now halted beasts, it's struggles ceased as it just sat there, knowing it was unable to escape.
"What should we do with it?" Saber asked, "we cannot just leave it where it is."
Rin frowned in annoyance, her face conflicted, "as much as I dislike losing the chance to study such a being, I don't have the necessary equipment to do so, nor do we have a means to control it.
"Kill it."
"No," Shirou said hastily, halting Saber as she readied her unseen blade, "wait a moment, please," Shirou requested as he stared at the beast, a sense of familiarity, for some reason, covering him, like he had seen the creature before.
"What are you-?!" Rin began before choking on air as Shirou leapt from the rim of the sinkhole to land directly in front of the bull.
Shirou ignored the hushed expletives of the ladies and simply looked into the ruby eyes of the beast. The eyes, crimson and shining, stared back. He could feel something, like a wisp of a memory long forgotten, scratching at the back of his mind.
He frowned deeply at the now, surprisingly, placid beast. There was no doubt about, he knew, or rather had known, this beast or something like it. The familiarity was practically banging on the locked door of his mind.
"Alright, big guy," he said in hushed tones, making the metallic ears of the beast perk up, "if I get you out of here, will you attack us?" Shirou felt slightly silly even asking the beast the question, unsure if it could understand the query or even why he had asked it in the first place. He had been fighting the Bull, and even attempted a fatal blow, not five minutes earlier, and now he was trying to make peace with it.
It confused him that he was doing this, but, deep down, some part of him, hidden and forgotten, told him that the bull would not harm him now, that having it on his side was necessary.
The Bull seemed to peer at him hard, hard to judge due to the expressionless gemstone eyes, before it deliberately, slowly and unmistakably shook it's head.
Well, that answered if it was intelligent or not.
"Okay," he huffed slightly, before he eyed the walls of the sinkhole. It was almost a vertical pit, ten feet deep, filled with soft mud at the bottom and the single large stone on which he stood directly in front of the Bull's head.
"Rin!" He called up to the edges of the pit, where the two women looked down with identical expressions of exasperation, annoyance and anger, "can you please make a ramp up to the top? The Bull has agreed not to attack."
Shirou shuddered heavily when the annoyed face changed into a schoolgirl happy grin. A happy grin from Rin only meant pain in his future.
"But of course, Emiya-kun," she chirped, already gathering her magic to perform the deed, "and directly after, we will have a talk about jumping head first into things, won't we?"
Shirou winced again as the earth walls of the pit slowly shifted shape and hardened. Forget pain, there was going to be absolute agony in his future.
"Come on, Kane-kun," Shirou encouraged the now-named beast, as it slowly waded up to the ramp, "your almost on the way up."
The bull lowed in a brassy tone, like the ringing of a deep toned bell, as it took another step, it's massive hoof leaving the watery mud, before it started to slip.
"Ha!" Shirou exclaimed briefly, managing to move to the Bull's side and use his own strength to heave it back on balance.
At least, that was his intention. As his hands met the bronze flank of the beast, a brilliant spark of golden power slipped from him unnoticeably, making a series of images assault his mind. A place filled with fire and metal, a man-who-was-not-a-man working hard at an anvil, hammering heavily. Shirou could feel the sense of purpose in the not-man's strokes, each one a single step down the path of completion of the object the not-man held. He could feel the immense power the not-man had, one that was so similar to his own. He watched briefly before the not-man seemed to stiffen and turned to look directly at him.
Annoyed and puzzled burning brown eyes met the unflinching and fascinated golden for but a moment, before the sight disappeared in a flash.
Shirou returned to the real world, a bare moment passing as he had delved into the vision, to find himself with his hands just resting on the Bull. HIs eyes looked around in surprise, trying to figure out if what he experienced was real or not.
"Do you require aid, Shirou?" called Saber from the top of the pit, having seen him freeze for but a moment.
Shirou shook himself out of his reverie, "No!" he responded, "everything is fine, just give me a chance to heave this big lummox straight!"
"Very well," Saber acquiesced, her face having a slight frown.
Shirou immediately began heaving the solid bronze Bull up the steep, magically made incline.
When night had fallen, it was greeted with the Bull named Kane now living in the paddock out the back and a seriously bruised Shirou with his head in his arms after Rin had got done with him, with Saber's help also.
As he laid back on the couch, trying to adjust himself so his bruises were not rubbing against the wooden couch, his mind couldn't help but drift back to that brief vision of the not-man he had seen.
Who was he?
END FLASHBACK
That encounter had been only the beginning, the first step into a new world.
Over the next few months, they had had run ins with various Phantasmal Species that either approached their home. A Cyclops, a flock of Stymphalian Birds, a pack of what could only be described as Hellhounds and a Harpy of all things.
It was when they had encountered the Harpy that things were made clear to them. The reason that there were so many Phantasmal Species around, why they attacked them, why they all disintegrated into golden dust once killed (much to Rin's annoyance, as she had wanted to study them, a golden opportunity for the magus) leaving behind only a token or an object (much to Rin's joy, planning to use some in her experiments).
This world was still in the Age of The Gods. More specifically, the Greek Gods.
The Harpy, named Sella, had informed them of the 'Heart of the West', the reason why deities hailing from the Mediterranean were now calling USA their home. She informed them of the various spirits that still walked the earth, Nymphs and Dryads, Nereids and Satyrs. She spoke of grand Olympus, hovering in the clouds above the Empire State Building. She gave them her knowledge of the Mist, the force maintained by Hecate that hid this world of the Gods from the mortals.
Then she spoke of demi-gods, half-bloods, and the camp they generally went to in order to receive training from the wise centaur, Chiron himself. She also said that monsters could sense a half-blood, and she thought they were half-bloods.
This information put a whole new spin on their life. Powerful magi and Servants they all may be, but to the eyes of Gods, they were little more than ants. In hindsight, they had been lucky not to encounter stronger monsters than they already had, Sella had kindly informed them, with a bit of a smirk, that each of their scents, alone, would draw monsters like bees to their honey.
Together, and they were irresistible.
That had been about three months ago. Thankfully, Rin was able to place a Bounded-Field that was able to eliminate scents within their home, making it a place where they were completely safe, a short time later, with aid from a now frequently visiting Harpy.
Apparently, she enjoyed companionship with them and the endless amount of shenanigans that went on in the home.
Shirou mopped his brow again, his job done in that particular exhibit, and went to empty the mop bucket and change the water.
After the revelation, while they were careful not to attract to much attention to themselves, at least in regards to the World Behind The Mist, as they refered to the divine and monsters, life merely went on as normal, as far as normal can be applied to the trio, as they were not quite ready to delve deeper into that world until they had more information, something that was hard to come by beyond the basics. Rin continued her investigations into her magic and the possible improvements it had due to being in a world more filled with magic. Saber was generally with Rin or helping Shirou train or just relaxing, no longer having to worry about being a King. And Shirou merely trained his skills, delved into his magic and generally helped people as much as he could.
Which had led him to signing on as a 'filler employee', a person who can 'fill-in' for an employee on extended leave or with a long illness. This, in turn, lead him to taking a job as a janitor at the National Air and Space Museum a little over a week before Christmas.
He glanced at the clock above the sink as the bucket filled. It was a quarter to five. He was surprised at the time, having lost track of it while he was reminiscing.
As he turned off the tap, as the bucket was now completely full, he heard a great deal of noise, familiar clashes and clangs of metal on metal, human screams and an inhuman roar, deep and powerful, echo through the museum. His eyes narrowed.
That was the sound of war and battle, definitely not something that should be here.
Shirou didn't waste time, sprinting out of the janitor's closet and flying towards the source of the noise, easily identified by moving where people were running away from.
As he ran, he mentally imagined the firing of a gun, awakening his circuits, priming them for the battle ahead.
He didn't know what lay ahead, but he did know that it was threatening the lives of these people.
He reached the balcony of the third level, overlooking a central a central exhibit on the ground floor below, as well as the battle.
His golden eyes took in the battle within moments, designating each participant of the battle as adversary or ally as required. He saw the enemy, a golden lion the size of a pick-up truck, ready it's silver claws to slash at a slim punk-haired girl with a shield and a spear. He saw her allies were not in a position to help her.
"Trace...On!" he declared as his faithful blades were Traced into his hands. before he sent them flying towards the beast with a mighty heaving swing, making them spin towards his foe, as his opening move into the battle.
Percy Jackson had not been having the best of days.
Hades, he hadn't had a good week.
It had all started going down hill with the disappearance/abduction/maybedeath of his friend, Annabeth. As if that had started the ball rolling, the next few events that stuck in his mind were far from positive.
Failing to bring Bianca di Angelo to camp, after she had joined the Hunters of Artemis. Losing to said Hunters in Capture the Flag. Getting into an argument with Thalia, daughter of Zeus. The Quest for Artemis, that may happen to coincide with Annabeth's disappearance. Not being chosen for said Quest, thus denying a chance to find Annabeth. Trailing the group as they set out and then running into a known traitor of Olympus, Luke Castellan, and his current master, the General, as they summoned Skeleton Warriors and failing, dismally, to stop the summoning and, somehow, making himself the target, of all the luck. Then running and meeting the group, in hopes of getting them out of dodge before the 'playmate' the General had mentioned found them, only to be too late. Then finding out the playmate was the Nemean Lion, of all the damnable monsters, thus leading to the present...
Fighting for his life against a monster whose reputation for power, toughness and nigh invulnerability was literally legendary, with the threat of the Skeleton Warriors still to come.
Yes, it was safe to say Perseus Jackson was having a bad day.
Thankfully, this dark and heavy cloud had a small, maybe a thread's worth, silver lining. He had managed to figure out of a weakness for the massive cat. It's hide may be invulnerable to harm, but the inside of it's mouth did not have the same properties. All that needed to be done, was for someone or something to pierce the inside of it's mouth, targeting the brain, and they had archers, in the form of Lieutenant Zoe Nightshade and Hunter Bianca di Angelo, that had enough skill to pull it off.
The problem was that the cat was keeping it's jaws close to shut, not giving them a good shot.
Thus leading back to him and Thalia fighting for their lives, up close, against the living leonine version of Superman...minus the flying.
There were some days that it just didn't pay to get out of bed.
"Gaa!" Thalia goaded the lion, her shield facing the beast and making it rear and snarl at the Gorgon's face on it.
"We still can't get a shot!" yelled Zoe, even as she rained down arrows on the beast in an attempt to distract it, "you need it to have it open it's mouth wider!"
"Easier said than done!" Percy called back as his mind ran frantically in an attempt to find a plan. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the gift shop.
His mind clicked, a vague memory of coming here with his mother and getting something, which he had quickly regretted. He hoped they still had it.
"Keep it distracted," he said to Thalia, who nodded grimly, before he sprinted towards the shop, Zoe's yells of disbelief and anger and the deafening roar of the lion of Nemea fading out as he leapt through tables and racks looking for it...
There! Racks upon racks of silvery packages. He grabbed as many as he could carry in one arm, leaving his other free to swing Anaklusmos.
Not wasting time, he sprinted back towards the fight, sword ready and bearing the fruits of his search.
The Hunters were still raining down their arrows on the lion, causing it no damage and not succeeding in distracting it from it's target, Thalia. It slashed and batted at her, a cat playing with it's toy, it's eyes narrowed and focused even as Thalia frantically dodged it, waiting for the moment to strike.
Thalia jabbed with her spear, crackling blue lightning surrounding it, and backed off. The lion pressed her, acknowledging the lightning with only a light snarl.
Then she made a mistake.
"Percy!" she called, distracting herself slightly, "whatever idea you have-"
Percy didn't hear the rest, if it was even spoken, as he noticed the tensing on the lion front legs. It was readying itself to strike her with a paw.
The world seemed to slow to Percy's eyes. He could only watch as the beast's eyes narrowed even more, practically disappearing, as it saw it's chance to kill. A paw was lifted, shining silver beneath the lights high overhead. He saw Thalia notice the move, but was too slow to react.
He was going to see her die. He knew this. He wouldn't be fast enough, the Hunters arrows didn't have any effect and Grover was trying to get the normal mortals out of the line of fire.
He could only watch in horror, even as he tried futilely to move fast enough to stop the massive paw and deadly claws from a claiming a friend's life.
As he saw the paw begin to descend, much like his own hopes and spirits, a weird noise hit his ears, a whirring buzz that sounded sort of like a chainsaw, before two blurs, one black and the other white, whipped past him. He saw the blurs continue on their path, directly toward the lion.
Cla-slish! Cla-slish!
He saw them hit the massive leg of the lion, knocking the paw away, and then keep on spinning away, rising upward toward the balconies. He heard the lion roar, not just in rage, but in pain, and saw, to his disbelief, two extremely shallow cuts on the leg, more akin to paper cuts, bleeding golden ichor slightly.
Somehow, impossibly, those blurs had managed to cut the supposed invulnerable fur of the Nemean Lion.
Thalia, while also shocked, used that moment to quickly back away from the great beast, while it was distracted by the unfamiliar sensation of pain, joining Percy once more.
"Do you know what that was?" she asked, dumbfounded.
Before Percy could answer, the buzzing was heard again, louder this time, The lion reacted, its survival instincts kicking in, and looked towards the source, coming from above, followed by the half-bloods.
Percy almost thought he was dreaming at the sight he beheld. Instead of two blurs, there were now four, two of each colour. But that wasn't the real eye opener.
It was the absurd sight of a teenager, maybe fifteen or sixteen, with chin-length spiky crimson hair, falling towards the floor, feet first, and visibly armed with two curved swords, one black and the other white, dressed as a janitor, in the middle of the whirling blurs as they seemed to orbit him.
Impossibly, he seemed to land safely on one knee in front of the cousins, cracking the floor and stabbing his swords forward at the same time. In reaction, the orbiting blurs shot towards the direction he had stabbed, heading straight for the Nemean Lion.
The blurs streaked toward the beast, this time, despite the increased numbers, missing completely as the lion evaded with a large leap to the side, letting them shoot by.
The teen then stood tall, facing the lion with his swords now poised to strike, and addressed us without even turning.
"Is this a private party," he said, with a grim edge to his tone, "or can anyone join in?"
Well that ends the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Just so you know, the next story I plan to update is Lord of Chaos. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest you do, as it is the first Campione and Ranma 1/2 crossover to be made.
As always please review,
kujikiri21