'Thoughts'

"speech"

START story

A month later:

"So, what's the plan?" Shirou asked as he drove the little Chinese car through the rolling desert hills of the Chinese interior. There was nothing to see, and since the sun started to set, it was getting harder to see even that. Rin and Shirou were skirting the edge of the Gobi desert, an area almost devoid of human habitation. It was hard to believe that they were in one of the most populous nations in the world.

"We go to the coordinates that Waver gave us, check out if there is a rogue magus handing out out spells to the local officials, then put and end to it." Rin recited for the umpteenth time. She was leaning back in the passenger seat, her feet up on the dashboard as she did her nails. "Preferably without the Mage's Association getting wind of it, otherwise there are going to be bodies everywhere." She appeared very comfortable, despite the bumpy gravel road.

"I know that part," replied Shirou exasperated, "But why are you coming along - the Clocktower has been running you ragged. You were just complaining that you haven't had time to do any research in months."

"Baka" Rin absentmindedly smacked Shirou in the head by way of answer. She frowned when she noticed that the nail polish had smeared.

When no further explanation was forthcoming, Shirou continued, "You know, if you took on an apprentice, they could at least set up your experiments when you are away. That way, you would be able to get some work done in the few days your home."

"And when would I train an apprentice?"

"You could bring her along."

"Her? You have somebody specific in mind?" Rin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"That girl you rescued - Chidori - if Sousuke clears her, she might be a good candidate."

"She's Japanese - getting her a membership in the Mage's Association is going to be like wrestling an alligator."

"So don't go through the Mage's Association. I never joined. And what's this about wrestling alligators?"

"You didn't join because you flunked the entrance exam. On purpose."

"So? I want to know about the alligators."

"Oh, for goodness sake," Rin rolled her eyes "It was just a turn of phrase. I have not, nor do I plan to, wrestle any alligators. Good enough?"

"Good enough," Shirou agreed, "After all, how am I supposed to keep you safe if you keep insisting on wrestling large reptiles?"

"Baka!" Rin smacked Shirou on the shoulder with the back of her hand, but she had a small smile on her face. After a moment, she continued, "Taking on an apprentice is a huge commitment. I would need somebody I can trust completely, It's almost like a parent child relationship" 'And I suck at opening up to people' "I don't know how you manage with Mithril". That last part slipped out without conscious thought. Rin did her best to avoid mentioning THAT organization.

Shirou smiled, "It's not easy, but what other choice did I have? I saw how unhappy Arturia was, when I went to her time. Despite how powerful she was, she was helpless to achieve her goals after she lost her knights of the round table."

Rin turned to look out the window, withdrawing from the conversation, as she often did when Mithril or Arturia were bought up. And as always, Shirou gave her her space.

The two magi had flown into the city closest to their target. Not that it was much of a city - it had an airport, a couple of factories and enough smog to kill a normal human. Unfortunately, China is a big country, and they were still far from their destination, so Rin had hypnotized a car dealer into thinking they were Communist party officials. But Shirou had insisted on paying for the car, though.

They had been driving for most of the day, and there was still nothing in sight except small scrub trees and hills.

"We're still a couple of miles from the coordinated Waver-san gave us. We should find a spot and camp out for the night." Shirou finally said with a worried frown.

"We can make it before full dark."

"Maybe, but I don't feel comfortable rolling into a potentially hostile situation just as night falls."

"Point" frowned Rin, "In that case, can the car make it up to that jumble of scree? It should help keep the wind off, and it will give me something to anchor the bounded field to." Her mood had lightened again, or at least she was doing a better job of hiding her unhappiness. With Rin, even Shirou had a hard time knowing what was real and what was an act.

Shirou gently made his way towards the rocks that Rin had picked. The cheap Chinese car grumbling and thumping as it went over the rough ground.

"I still don't see why we didn't take the SUV" Rin groused.

"Because we couldn't afford it?" replied Shirou.

"You know, sometimes the end DOES justify the means." Rin retorted.

"You only say that when _your_ end is sore"

"Mmm" Purred Rin with a smile.

"I didn't mean it THAT way!" Shirou replied, flustered. He concentrated on pulling the struggling car into the lee of the rocks and turned off the engine. "Why is that whenever I try to tease you, I end up the one at a loss for words?" he asked as he stretched.

Rin gave him a look "Because I'm smarter than you." and got out of the car.

Shirou waited until she was just leaning forwards to take her first step before flicking his hand out to catch her across the rear with the tips of his fingers.

"Wha!" Rin squawked and spilled from the car, almost landing face first in the dry dirt.

"But I'm faster" smiled Shirou.

*KoM*KoM*

"So, I hear you walked home with Sousuke the other day" Kyoko bounced along next to Kaname, skipping through the slight drizzle. The pair were walking home from school. Kaname, ever the sensible one, had her umbrella out.

"No, I didn't - he was just walking in the same direction." Kaname replied hastily. "He lives across the street from me."

"Oh, falling for the boy next door - it's just like a romance" Kyoko replied in an exaggeratedly breathy voice as she clutched her clenched hands near her cheek.

"It's not like that."

"But he is cute."

"So, that doesn't mean anything"

"And you keep having fantasies about him"

"I DO NOT! I saw him somewhere in real life!" Kaname replied, and picked up her pace. The day was getting darker, and it looked like would rain for real soon.

Kyoko glanced up at the clouds and pulled out her umbrella as well before jogging to catch up with her friend. "Don't get angry - I was just teasing."

Kaname sighed - she was never one to stay angry for long, "He is cute, but there is something .. weird about him. I'm not certain how to explain it. it's like he's missing basic social skills."

The pair weaved their way through a series of side streets as thunder growled and the rain poured forth like a waterfall. both girls pulled their umbrellas down closer to their heads.

"So he's an otaku. Heavens knows half the boys in our grade are."

"Maybe" Kaname walked in silence for a moment before coming to a halt. "Did we take a wrong turn?"

"I.. I wasn't paying attention - I was following you." Kyoko looked around at the buildings. They didn't look familiar, though in the rain and gloom, it was hard to tell.

Chidori turned around, "Lets head back the way we came". The girls had just started back when a pair of drunks staggered out from an alleyway and moved to block their path.

"Grab the girl" it was just a whisper

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" demanded Kaname at the same time as Kyoko shrank back.

The drunks didn't reply, instead they staggered towards the girls.

"Kill the short one" There was the sound of glass breaking behind them.

"Who said that?" Kaname whirled to see another set of drunks staggering up the street behind them.

"RUN." she yelled and tried to dart around the mysterious assailant. She managed to dart around one, but Kyoko was too slow, and her way was blocked. Kaname turned and smacked one of the drunks with her umbrella. 'oh, god. he reeks!' She staggered from the smell. the drunk ignored the blow, instead grasping at Chidori's arm.

"Let go!" She yelled shrilly. the hand holding her had the flesh peeling off, but it was strong.

Something black dropped to the ground behind the zombie. Before the creature had time to react, a pair of gunshots rang out, and the monster's head exploded like an over-ripe watermelon.

"AAH!" Kaname screamed, staggering back as the zombie's grip loosened.

She glanced up to see a soaking wet Sousuke standing in a professional shooting stance as he gunned down another zombie with a large automatic pistol. At this point, Kyoko was cowering on her knees, with her arms over her head. Sousuke was wearing black suit that looked vaguely like a school uniform, except that it was covered in small red symbols. As he moved some of them flared yellow, while others faded to black.

"What's going on? What are these? Who are you?" Kaname had the presence of mind not to run from her defender.

BAM!

BAM!

Two more shots, both head shots, and the last of the zombies dropped. "I am sorry you were exposed to that, Chidori-san. I was remiss in my duties." Sousuke apologized.

"Duties? What are you talking about?

Sousuke paused to consider. He really didn't like operating without orders, but Shirou (who was his role model, as well as commanding officer) had insisted that he use his own judgement more. And Chidori's reaction to the zombie attack seemed to imply that the girl was not a rogue magus.

"I will explain once we are at a safe location." Sousuke moved to help Kyoko up. The smaller girl still looked dazed, so Kaname moved to support her from the other side. "Come on, before more of these show up."

*KoM*KoM*

"Why are we going to your apartment? Chidori asked skeptically. Kyoko had recovered enough to walk on her own, but she was still uncharacteristically silent.

Sousuke unlocked the front door to his apartment "because I am not certain if whoever sent the.. things" he gave Kyoko a quick glance "to capture you might have done something to your apartment."

Kaname's questions were cut off as she entered the studio apartment - it was almost completely bare, except for a futon, two chairs and a table. 'ok, this is getting weirder and weirder. In the movies, this is what the serial killer's apartment looks like'.

The two teens helped Kyoko to the futon, where she collapsed. Kaname sat with her while she fell asleep. Sousuke meanwhile retreated to the other side of the room and pulled out his phone. When he did, Kaname quietly went to the kitchen and grabbed the one lonely knife from the utensil drawer. Then, holding it out of sight, she sat down at the table

"Ok, talk" demanded Kaname as she fidgeted in one of the barely functional chairs. She glared at Sousuke, who was having an urgent conversation on his cell phone.

Sousuke sat down opposite the free-spirited girl and put away his phone. 'She's really handling this well. I thought most civilian girls would collapse in a heap after a fire-fight. She's acting like a veteran soldier' For Sousuke, that was the highest possible compliment "Do you remember anything from your trip to Germany?"

Kaname looked surprised at the question, "yeah, I remember all of it, though the last few days are a little foggy. I must have been out of it."

"More than just that. You were kidnapped by a group of cultists. We think that they planned to use you as a human sacrifice. We aren't certain if we got all of them when we rescued you, so I was assigned to act as your bodyguard." Sousuke hated lying, and he was monumentally bad at it, but this was close enough to the truth, and Andrei had just coached him over the phone on what to say.

"What?" Kaname almost yelled, then she glanced at her sleeping friend and lowered her voice, "I can take care of myself. and who is this _we_ you keep mentioning?"

"I work for Mithril. And need I point out today's attack?"

Kaname sighed and thought rationally about what had happened, "I guess not. But what were those people? There was something wrong with them. And what was the deal with that voice?"

"What voice?"

"There was somebody telling those.. things what to do"

Sousuke grimaced in annoyance "I don't know anything about that. The whole situation is complicated, and I am not the best person to explain. I spoke to my commanding officer, and his orders were to bring you in to base if you had more questions"

"Why can't you explain? Don't you know?"

"I.." Sousuke looked embarrassed, "some of this stuff is pretty new to me as well. If I try to explain it, I may giving you erroneous information."

The two teens sat silently for some moments, before Kaname demanded, "So what do we do now? just sit here?"

"Yes. Base will send somebody to pick us up this evening." Sousuke reached into his pocket, "Cards?"

*KoM*KoM*

"So what's your plan after we get back?" Shirou asked quietly. He and Rin had lined up their sleeping bags between the rock and their car, so as to keep the wind off. It was still fairly early in the evening, but out away from human habitation, it was already full dark.

"I'll go back to my research, obviously" Rin replied.

"And joining me as a 'Hero for Justice' doesn't have any appeal?" Shirou asked with a smile.

"Frankly, no." Rin replied, carefully keeping the impassive expression that she had perfected in high school on her face. "We talked about this before, and I made it clear that risking your life like this is incredibly stupid. Do the people you help even realize what you are doing? It's a thankless job. And you know that in the end it will backfire on you, and make you into a bitter person."

"But I'm NOT following in Archer's footsteps. What he did wrong is he tried to help everybody on his own. But I learned from Arturia that nobody can do what we were trying to, not on their own. It takes a team. " Shirou replied vehemently. he didn't notice the way Rin flinched at the mention of Saber's name. "That is why I created Mithril. Together, we CAN accomplish something great."

"I.." Rin started then paused, "What's that?" she pointed to a faint glow coming from over a nearby ridge.

Shirou sat up, "Not certain. Let's go take a look"

The two magi quickly got their gear on and started up the ridge. They were almost all the way to the top when Shirou held out his hand in a 'stop' gesture.

He sniffed the air a couple of times, then leaned over to Rin and whispered, "There's a bounded field here. A subtle one"

Rin frowned, more at not having spotted the magic first than that it was there. she started muttering under her breath as she traced arcane gestures in the air. Small sparks flared from where her fingers paused.

After several minutes, she stopped and nodded authoritatively before turning to Shirou, "I opened a doorway. I don't think I triggered any alarms."

"lets go"

The two magi crept through the opening, being careful to stay close to the small scrub bushes growing on the ridge. As they did, they heard the sound of hammering and crashing, noises that the bounded field must have muted.

Shirou reinforced his eyes as they peered over the edge. At the bottom of the ravine, they saw what looked like a mine - there were a dozen ramshackle houses huddled around a larger building, all of which were next to several openings dug into the rock. the largest opening had tracks leading in.

As the pair watched, a group of workers mutely pushed a cart out from the mine along the tracks. Another group of workers finished dumping their buckets onto a pile of rock and headed back towards another opening. even at this time of night, the mine was busy. Standing guard over the workers were men in medieval european armor. Except the armor glowed with runes that were carved into it. Incongruously, most of them were carrying assault rifles.

It looked like some sort of slave labor camp.

"What are those?" Rin whispered.

"Second generation Arm Slaves, like what Sousuke wears, except his is a Third generation unit."

Rin glanced askance at Shirou, but decided to hold her questions for later. They watched the scene in front of them for some time. The workers continued to stagger through their jobs - they looked as worn as their threadbare clothes. Several more Arm Slaves came out of the large central building. "This looks professional. They have sentries, and some of those things are walking patrol." Rin turned to Shirou, "Do you think we can handle this on our own?"

"I don't know. Those are American models. They are pretty good. Let's do this the smart way." Shirou backed up down the ridge until he could stand up safely and then he and Rin made their way back to the car.

"Ok, talk!" Rin hissed, "What do you mean 'those look American'? since when do American's know anything about magic?"

Shirou smiled in a bemused fashion. "Rin, it's the 21st century do you think the major governments haven't noticed that something odd is going on around them? The Americans have known about magic for decades. In the 60's, they set up a magic research facility run by the NSA at something they call Area 51, in Nevada. Of course, being Americans, they believe in equality, so most of their magi are mediocre first generation people, without any family crests..

"But.. But the Mages Association will insist on declaring war on them!" Rin replied, aghast.

"That's why those of us who know about this don't TELL the Clocktower." Shirou replied in exasperation. "besides, the American's aren't exactly the only ones. the Chinese started their own magical department a couple of years ago. They would have been way ahead of the Americans, if Mao hadn't exterminated all the Chinese magi in the 50's. Though rumor has it many fled to Tibet." Shirou pulled out his cell phone, only to grimace when he realized that there was no reception. He popped the trunk of the car and rummaged around for something in his suitcase.

"Is that who you are planning to call? The Chinese Magic department or whatever they call themselves?"

"What? No - I'm going to call Kalinin, and have HIM negotiate a deal with the Chinese for Mithril to shut these guys down. He's much better at that sort of thing than me - I feel guilty about asking for money" Shirou shrugged in embarrassment.

"And if the Chinese are collaborating with the sealing designate?"

"Well, we'll find out, won't we?" smiled Shirou as he slapped a sigil carved plate onto the boulder next to them.

"Arg!" Rin sighed in exasperation at his casual attitude.

A reddish doorway opened into the rock.

"Coming?" asked Shirou.

*KoM*KoM*

Sousuke pulled out his phone and glanced at it momentarily. "Our ride is here. We are to meet them out back." he spoke in his usual no-nonsense manner.

"What about me?" asked Kyoko. The pig tailed girl had awoken, and was looking much better.

"You should head home" Sousuke replied.

WHACK

"What do you mean, 'just head home?' what if she gets attacked by those people?" Chidori stood leaning forwards aggressively, threatening Sousuke with her fan.

"Chidori, the attackers were after you. Kyoko should be perfectly safe."

"And how are you so certain of that?" Kaname was leaning into Sousuke personal space, and the sergeant was looking somewhat uncomfortable with the close female proximity.

"What's the alternative? I don't have clearance to bring her with us."

"Well, you best get clearance!" she snarled into his face.

"It doesn't work like that" Sousuke had a hard time concentrating with Kaname's lips, erg, face so close to his. 'She'd make a really good sergeant.'

"It's ok, Kaname. I can walk home." Kyoko turned to Sousuke, "And I can call the police and tell them what happened.

"Go ahead, but I doubt it will do much good" Sousuke agreed, glad not to be the target of Kaname's wrath.

"Fine!" Chidori turned to her friend, "be careful, ok, and call the police if you see anything."

Kyoko nodded, "Are you certain you're ok going off with Sousuke like this?" she whispered

"So many weird things have happened to me lately - I want to find out what's going on." Kaname shrugged, "And Sousuke is' perfectly harmless."

"If you say so" Kyoko replied skeptically, recalling Sousuke gunning down their attackers earlier.

Sousuke and Kaname exited the apartment building through the back door. The parking lot had a scattering of cars, but Sousuke led them over to a large clear area next to the dumpster. As the two teens approached, a ripple passed through the asphalt and a submarine's conning tower pushed up.

As Kaname stopped, her mouth hanging open in shock, Sousuke grabbed her and pulled her in through an open hatch. As soon as the two were on board, the Tuatha de Danaan sank back down, leaving just a few odd ripple marks on the parking lot asphalt to mark its passing.

"That was... that was.. what was that?" asked Chidori.

"That was pretty cool, huh?" asked a young man in an ensigns uniform. "That was the first time we did that for real, and it worked just like in the drills." He was beaming happily. "Nice to see you, sergeant Sagara." this was addressed to Sousuke

"Sergeant?" asked Kaname, realizing that she might be in over her head.

"Come this way, miss. The Director is waiting for you, and she will explain everything."

Kaname looked nervously at Sousuke.

"Go on. I'll help you with the ladder - it's a little steep." Sousuke replied, miss-reading the cause of the girl's anxiety.

Kaname made her way through the huge submarine, which had somehow traveled through solid earth to surface in a parking lot. Kaname's world view was so shattered that she didn't know what to expect next. She wouldn't have been surprised to see Sousuke and the ensign transform into some chittering otherworldly horrors. Well, not Sousuke he was too mild mannered to be scary.

Nevertheless, when Kaname stepped into the Director's cabin, she was expecting a solidly built middle aged woman, not a pretty young coed that looked barely older than her.

"Hi, you must be Kaname. Come in, please take a seat." Tessa stood up and greeted her visitors with a smile. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, yes I would" Kaname replied decisively, grasping at the faint strands of normality like they were a life line. She sat down in one of the small couches that surrounded a low table. Everything looked more like a living room than an office.

Seeing the distress in the high schooler's eyes, Tessa turned to Sousuke, "please join us sergeant, you can help with the briefing."

Sousuke nodded, and took a parade rest position, standing next to Kaname's couch.

Once everybody was settled in, Tessa turned to Kaname, "welcome to the Tuatha de Danaan, ms. Chidori. I am Teletha Testarossa, Director of Applied Magical Research at Mithril, but please call me Tessa. I bet you have a lot of questions." her voice was gentle as always.

"Where are we?" demanded Chidori, "I know it looks like a submarine, but we're UNDERGROUND."

"Actually, we're not" replied Tessa, "We are traveling outside of reality. Just like a regular submarine goes under the surface of the ocean, we are traveling under the surface of the real world"

"How?" was all Kaname was able to get out.

"Magic" Tessa smiled, "I am the head of Applied Magic for Mithril." Seeing that Kaname wasn't able to form any coherent questions, Tessa continue, "Mithril is an organization dedicated to helping people and stopping menaces that nobody else can. For example, right now we are on our way to China. A rogue magus there has been enslaving villagers to use in his schemes, and we have been asked to put a stop to it."

Sousuke snapped to attention, "Sir, should I suit up for action?"

"In a bit, but we still have several hours of travel time" Tessa turned back to Chidori, "Just because we aren't traveling through our reality doesn't mean we can more around instantaneously"

"Why me?" asked Chidori finally,

Tessa related the events that had happened in Germany, finishing with, "And it seems like you have some connection to this magic. you said that you could hear a voice directing the enscrolled cultists"

"And I heard a voice directing the things that attacked my earlier today. And also several times in school." Kaname took a deep breath and asked, "were those . those people people that attacked.. people?"

"No, miss, they were zombies.": Sousuke replied in

"Ok, OK" Kaname stood up, "This is too much! zombies, wizards, flying submarines!" it's like something one of the video game Otakus at school would dream up!" she paced around the room looking overwhelmed.

"I think we'll stop here. I'll call somebody to take you to your room, and we can talk more later" Tessa smiled. The older woman's gentle manner, and the stolidity of Sousuke was all that kept Kaname from losing her sanity there and then.

*KoM*KoM*

"So how is our guest," asked Shirou. He was sitting with his top staff (and Rin) in his office on the Danaan.

"She's taking it as well as can be expected. I cast a small soothing charm on her and sent her to rest in her quarters for a bit." Tessa replied with a smile as she adjusted her braid.

Rin glanced at the expression on the silver haired woman's face and frowned.

"Ok, good" beamed Shirou. Tessa smiled back, Rin fumed.

"And what did the Chinese have to say?" Shirou asked, turning to Kalinin.

"I spoke to the regional governor, and the situation you came across was definitely NOT authorized by him. He says that they have had a large number of missing person cases recently, and this might explain them. He is willing to pay our usual rate to have us put a stop to it."

"Good!" Shirou smiled. He would have been willing to stop the rogue magus for free, but it was nice to get paid as well - operating Mithril was not cheap.

"Except he did have one condition." Andrei continued, "He wanted some of his people to observe. My guess at least one of them is a magus."

Rin was about to burst in with an angry refusal, when Shirou nodded "That's ok, we don't make any secret of how we operate"

"What?!" Rin exploded, "The Mage's Association.." she started, but was cut off by Kalinen

"We aren't the Mage's Association. And your precious Association doesn't seem to have noticed that the world is changing around them. Magi aren't being burnt at the stake anymore. they don't need to cower in the Clocktower for safety. As a matter of fact, there are probably more unregistered Magi than association members. And SOMEBODY has to deal with them"

"And that somebody is you?" demanded Rin.

"Yes"

Rin glanced at Shirou, to see acknowledgment in his face, "rogue Magi aren't the only thing Mithril deals with, but they ARE part of our mandate" he added quietly.

"And mundanes know about this?"

"Some do." Shirou replied, "Those that do mostly want to keep the existence of magic a secret as well, but its only a matter of time before the general populous learns about Magic."

"And that will be the end." Rin growled, "once everybody knows, the power of magic will dwindle"

"No it won't, Rin" Tessa interrupted, firmly, "The Clocktower's outdated Arias, all learned by rote, will weaken, but new innovation will keep magic alive. It's like music. Right now, we are all playing the same old classic music, with no true innovation. The fear is that if we have a bunch of amateurs start casting spells, the Arias will lose their power, just like music that is heard too often becomes dull and lifeless. But just as with music, some of those new practitioners will create completely new schools of magic. I have some theories on how to.."

"Bullshit!" Rin stood up angrily and stormed out of the office.

"Excuse me" Shirou stood up and followed her.

He found Rin standing, steaming, outside the office door.

"Rin, are you ok?"

"No, No I am NOT!" Rin was furious, "You are threatening to tear up the magical world, and you ask me if it's ok" She was practically quivering with anger. which for her was saying something - this was the woman who had created a completely false persona during high school.

"It won't 'tear up the magical world' as you say," Shirou sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "It will just introduce change. I know the Mage's Association is scared of that, but you can only keep things frozen without change for so long. And you yourself have said that they need to evolve."

"But not like this!" Rin replied, then gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I will stay out of your way as you do your experiment, and you stay out of mine as I do mine."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Shirou asked cautiously.

"I think we need to take a break from each other" Rin replied, not looking at Shirou, "our interests are just too different" She lied with a straight face. She had a lot of experience at it, after all.

"Ok." Shirou replied, impassively.

"Ok" Rin didn't look at at Shirou.

"We can drop you off in Beijing." Shirou offered.

"Ok"

END

Some feedback would be appreciated.