Fate Lagoon

Summary:

Revy didn't believe in heroes. Then came the one who walked countless battlefields undefeated; never once has he retreated, nor once has he been understood. In a city drowning in darkness, an ally of Justice will rise.

AN: Review responses:

OK, so once again, this set of reviews was mostly comprised of people who wanted to encourage me and let me now they are enjoying my work. I appreciate you all taking the time to do so and it has helped me with finding the time and motivation to sit down and continue writing more. I hope that you all continue to support me and enjoy reading my story.

People seemed to like the piggy line. I thought that would fit Revy's style, and it seems to have read well enough.

It was pointed out that my use of key numbers rather than typing them out was incorrect. I will henceforth try to use better prose in regards to numbers like five and one hundred ect..

I don't know how Benny's canon reaction would have been. I'm not INCREDIBLY familiar with Black Lagoon. I have watched the first season and I did some research into the wiki but I probably know more about Type Moon than I do Black Lagoon. If anyone feels that a character is OOC please feel free to let me know and why and it can hopefully assist me in further interaction with that character.

As for Benny's reaction, I felt that he was amongst the more normal moral compass of the crew. So I chose him to provide a counter argument for exposition.

Lately it seems that Balalaika is getting quite a bit of hate. Hmm, I dunno I kinda like her character.

With that, let's get on with the story:

Disclaimer: I do not own the two properties Fate and Black Lagoon. They are the property of Kinoko Nasu and Rei Hiroe respectively. This is a non profit fanfiction done for the sake of improving my storytelling and expanding my skillsets.

Key:

Flash backs, thoughts, omniscient perspective

Emphasized points

Normal speech

Chapter 4: What lies Beneath

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Shirou felt the gentle touch coming even before the hand reached his shoulder. Years of training and field experience had honed his senses to the level that even the intent to act upon him could be sensed.

This didn't mean that he was immune to reflexes, however. As soon as the cold hand prodded him he shot up in his seat his eyes going wide and his hand instinctively clutching the handle of a sword that didn't yet exist.

"Easy there son," a middle aged Japanese man in a dark blue business suit remarked from the window seat next to him. He withdrew his hand and motioned to the front. "The plane's just getting ready to take off and they wanted everyone to raise their trays."

Shirou blinked a few times and took in his surroundings. He closed the tray in front of him and noticed his black duffle bag stuffed into the overhead compartment. The small oval window showed the run way flying by them as the plane began to pick up speed.

"First time flying?" the man asked curiously running a hand through his slicked back black hair.

Shirou refocused his gaze on the reflection of his own white hair in the glass of the window. "Not exactly, I've flown quite a few times, but I don't particularly care for it."

The man nodded understandingly. "I understand; it's not something you ever really get completely comfortable with. He smiled disarmingly. "But don't worry, this airline has a fantastic record and has never had a major problem in its twenty seven years of operation."

Shirou turned to him and smirked. "Well, that's good I suppose, though dying in a fiery explosion over the pacific would at least be more exciting as deaths go."

The man blinked a few times and frowned before nodding and reaching into his bag. "I suppose that's true."

Shirou felt the slight jolt as they ascended into the air before the plane leveled off and stabilized. He lightly stretched his neck as the man next to him pulled out a small black book and began reading.

For a few minutes the conversation seemed to lull as the man continued to read and Shirou began to let his eyes wander across the various passengers surrounding him. He was broken out of his reverie by a quite question from the man.

"Do you know where you'd go?"

Shirou blinked once before turning to see the man still reading his book.

What?" the white haired man replied eloquently.

His dark haired neighbor sighed and looked up from his book. "Do you know where you'd go.. if you were to die today I mean?"

Shirou looked off to the side. "Preferably the Throne of Heroes" He muttered softly.

"What? I didn't catch that." The man tilted his head and curiously stared.

Shirou sighed and scratched his nose. "I'm a Shinto Buddhist so I suppose I'd be reincarnated according to my Karma." Shirou turned to look out the window. "Fortunately, my Karma should be pretty decent so I'm not too concerned."

The man nodded slowly. He looked back down at his book. He was silent for a few seconds before he looked up again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Well, I think we're past that point already.. what's on your mind?"

The man nodded and lifted his book. "Have you heard the good news of Jesus Christ?"

Shirou finally noted that the worn black book in the man's hands was a Bible. He face palmed and sighed heavily. "Listen, I'm really not interested in religion.."

The man shook his head. "I understand, but have you ever heard the message of salvation? If you'd let me I'd really like to tell you about it." He pointed down to his book. "This here is the Roman's road; it's an outline for how you can be saved from-"

Shirou groaned and motioned to the Flight Attendant who was several seats down assisting an elderly woman. He interrupted the business man "Look, I told you before sir, I'm not interested in this topic, I'm quite happy with my beliefs and I don't appreciate the intrusion."

Shirou massaged his temples. He'd had more than enough of the Church to last him a lifetime. Kirei Kotomine had proven the kind of men that religion brought up. His dealings with the Executors and the Eighth Sacrament had only further jaded his views on the subject.

As if that wasn't enough, being privy to the knowledge of the Akashic Root, and The inner workings of the world really spoiled his suspension of disbelief in superstitions and feel good nonsense.

The man sighed and placed his book in his lap. "I see, I'm sorry to intrude, it's just that well, If there's even a slight chance I could help someone come to know the Lord I never want to pass up that opportunity."

Shirou turned to look at him with a dead pan stare.

The Flight Attendant finally came over to his seat. "Yes sir?" She asked in accented English.

Shirou turned towards her and bowed slightly. "Excuse me, is there any way I could change seating?"

The man next to him turned and shot him a hurt look before looking down and returning to his book.

The young woman nodded and motioned to a seat a few rows back.

Shirou smiled and stood up to grab his bag from the compartment. "Thanks, I'm sorry sir, but I think it's best for both of us, For what it's worth I hope you enjoy the rest of your flight."

With that the white haired man turned and moved to his new seat. He opened the overhead compartment and stuffed his bag in.

When he went to close the compartment and sit down the latch failed to close properly and the bag was about to fall out when a large calloused hand reached up and pushed it back in before slamming the compartment closed solidly.

"Hmm, I don't have to worry about a hammer falling on my head now do I?"

Shirou turned to look at the man who'd saved his bag and smiled. "Yahshu-san? My goodness, this is a coincidence."

The tanned man gave a hearty laugh. "It's good to see you Emiya-san, I'm glad you're well."

The white haired man chuckled sheepishly. "Ah yes, I really can't thank you enough for the tool set and all the help you've given me over the last few weeks. I really wasn't cut out for all this carpentry, but now thanks to you I feel like I've got a handle on it."

The larger man stroked his small black shaved beard. "Well, you know what they say. When a student learns a bit he thinks he knows something, but when he learns more he realizes he knows nothing." "Give it some time, you'll lose your handle soon enough."

Now seated, Shirou took the time to examine the man who'd appeared in Somalia on a rainy day, and had taken Shirou under his wing and taught him Carpentry as well as Fishing, and several other important skills he'd need if he were to continue his pursuit of justice.

Yahshu had a blank white t shirt with brown slacks and worn brown leather sandals. His large nose and broad square jaw had set him apart from most of the indigenous Somalians he'd worked with. On the plane, however, the diversity of the passengers made him fit right in amongst a sea of other strange features.

Shirou stretched his arms out.

Yahshu turned to him and tilted his head, "So, not that I'm not glad to enjoy your company but, what was with the Jerry Springer moment there? Religion's a bit of a sore spot with you huh?"

Shirou sighed. "Not particularly, I don't have anything against other people believing what they want; it's just not for me."

Yahshu nodded. "I see, he seemed like a nice enough guy though. It'd be nice if more people were actually concerned about the person sitting next to them, even if it's misguided."

Shirou shrugged, "Who knows, maybe if he wasn't such a kool aid drinker I could've found out more."

The tanned man next to him turned to look out the window. "It's really a shame, religion does that."

Shirou tilted his hea din confusion. "Huh? Does what?"

The man continued to look out the window. "It separates people. It takes otherwise good intentions and twists them until the original meaning is all but lost. And for what.."

He turned to look at his white haired comrade. "Control. Religion has always been about control, it's not about bettering yourself, or serving God or some higher cause. It's bondage, like invisible shackles that make you a slave to an impossible goal that is judged over by hypocrites. In the end it's just the twisted product of greedy men."

The bearded man shook his head slowly. "I despise religion."

Shirou contemplated the man's words. "I don't know if I'd go that far.. but then again.. I certainly haven't had the most.."

' Rejoice, Emiya Shirou, your wish shall be granted.. '

"er.. pious examples of it to judge."

The man looked at him knowingly and gave a hearty laugh. "I see, well someone as experienced as you is bound to have met a few bad eggs."

Shirou nodded with a grin. "Speaking of which, I'm certainly glad to see you but what are you doing on this flight exactly?"

The man next to him chuckled. "Well, I'd wager that same thing you are… going to help out in that school hostage situation in Brazil. There's a contracting company that's extorting the teachers and it's boiled over now. Once it's all cleared up, the school will need to be rebuilt so I'm going in to lend my assistance."

Shirou blinked. "Really? That's incredible, I didn't think anyone else knew about that.. we seem to think alike."

The man narrowed his eyes slightly. "Ah, but I'm going in to help rebuild after the situation's resolved, you're going on for a different reason though aren't you Emiya-san?"

Shirou's expression betrayed nothing. But it was true. He wasn't going to help repair. He was going to help resolve the situation by taking out the contracting company.

The bearded man continued. "I've been watching you for quite some time to be honest. I've wanted to meet with you for a while, but you were always so busy rushing from warzone to catastrophe, that you never gave me the time."

Shirou's eyes widened. "I don't believe I ever told you about any of that."

Yahshu shook his head sadly. "No, unfortunately I was only able to meet you back in Somalia when I took the bull by the horns and tracked you down myself."

The man continued. "You know, there are a lot of people who don't understand you. You go all over looking for the most trouble you can find and then when everything's over you vanish. Why would a man do something like that? What's he got to hide?"

Shirou frowned but before he could respond his comrade continued.

"But that confusion pales in comparison to the few who do understand at least where it's coming from. The Magus Killer Emiya Kiritsugu used to go around doing the same thing."

Shirou's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? But I never told you about.."

Shirou's eyes narrowed. "Tell me Yahshu-san, are you a magus?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "No, not at all. Though I did know some rather well established Magi from my childhood. I told you before though, I like to keep informed."

Shirou kept his gaze cool and leveled on the man to his left. "I see, so you're curious why I do what I do?"

Yahshu shook his head. "Nope, I already know."

Shirou blinked in confusion.

"The question is Emiya-san.." The man continued. "Do you?"

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Shirou awoke to the sound of tires screeching and gun fire ringing out a block from his apartment. He popped his back a few times and rubbed the dust from his eyes.

That dream again.. that was the beginning… looking back on it I really should have seen it coming..

Shirou moved to get showered and dressed but paused when he went to grab his standard black shirt. He paused when he caught sight of the bag sitting in the corner of his room. He looked out the window to see the bustling city of corruption flowing through the streets.

Shirou sighed and continued with his morning preparation.

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Dutch called out to Benny. "Get that gear on board and make sure the communications beacon is ready to go. We're leaving in 5 minutes. Two hands is already on board."

The blonde former Floridian nodded as he carried the crate onto the ship and Dutch moved to run a final Radio check and make sure his Thai Navy flag was still in good working order.

As he turned to move into the cabin Benny's voice called out to him. "Uh, Dutch.. looks like we got a new crew member coming along for this one."

The Dark skinned man turned around and noted the tanned white haired man leisurely walking up the dock to the loading area.

Dutch tilted his head slightly. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Shirou was currently wearing his usual red and white sneakers and blue jeans, but in place of his usual black collared shirt he had on a bright red Hawaiian Shirt with colorful flowers printed across it.

Shirou smiled warmly. "Revy-san went to the trouble of getting me this shirt I figured the least I could do was wear it. Wouldn't want to appear ungrateful.."

Dutch raised an eye brow and motioned to the back before climbing back down into the hatch. "Just get on the ship Emiya, we're headed out now." "Meet me in the cabin in 10 minutes for mission briefing."

"Aye Aye captain." Shirou gave a mock salute and wandered off on the top deck. The ship gave a small lurch as the anchor was pulled and the engines roared to life.

As he stepped onto the main deck platform he was immediately greeted by a surprisingly good natured Revy.

"Hey, you're actually wearing it! Good not bad, you don't look like such a little yuppie now." The slim brunette smirked as she casually walked over to him and began to circle him with a scrutinizing gaze.

She snorted and turned to walk back to her spot at the front of the ship. "It's good you know how to follow orders and listen to your betters. Keep this up and you might even make it back from this job alive."

Shirou's eye twitched but he kept a neutral grin in place. "I see, well that's certainly my plan, I have quite a bit of work to catch up on when I get back, so I can't really afford to die on some underwater salvage."

The white haired man narrowed his eyes slightly as he took a crouched position next to the brunet woman. "Still, I'm curious. Dutch said that this was a strictly legal and legitimate job, but knowing you all I have to wonder.. what's the catch? What exactly are we really going to be doing?"

Revy rolled her chocolate colored eyes and looked out into the foggy morning horizon. "Don't worry boy scout, Dutch will explain it in more detail once we get there, in the meantime you'll just have to trust us. This job's about as cut n dry as they come."

Shirou sighed and closed his eyes as he fell back and plopped down. He let his head slowly fall back to his cradling hands and took a deep breath. "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to trust you. Honestly, I'm placing my life in the hands of pirates.. how lovely."

Revy lightly kicked him in the side with her green combat boot. " Che, pirates wish they could be us, we're way more classy than some black beard captain hook rejects."

Shirou raised a silver eyebrow. "So you won't be making me walk the plank then?"

Revy grinned showing her sharp canines slightly overlapping. "Well, that all depends on how good of a little doggy you are. As long as you do what you're told, you'll get your reward."

"But." She stated with her eyes growing cold and dull. "If you can't pull your own weight, I'll make you play dead."

"Hmm, well I doubt Bao would be happy to learn of his assistant's disappearance in the ocean so in the event that that happens, at least I can pass on with the knowledge that you will enjoy having your rectum welded shut." Shirou remarked coolly.

Revy's cold gaze slowly began to crack before a chuckle she couldn't fully suppress emerged from her lips.

Benny poked his head out from the hatch with a slightly stunned expression. "Uh, is Revy laughing? Wow, man with the way she was grumbling and carrying on about bringing you along I figured she'd have thrown you overboard by now." "In any case, you guys come to the cabin for a mission briefing. We're nearing the target and Dutch has some last minute instructions for ya."

Shirou and Revy both stood up and turned to follow the blonde haired man back into the main cabin and gathered around the steel table that displayed a map of coordinates.

"Now" Dutch began. "I explained this briefly at the office, but we'll go over the details again before we go in." "Benny, you start."

The blonde haired man nodded. "Sure, well first off let's take a look at this." He opened up a small laptop computer and showed them a picture of a submarine. "It's an old story from some half a century ago. IXC Attack Submarine U -1324 of the German Navy."

"It was a sub in the Wolfpack that tore up the Atlantic. The captain was Major Vincel H. Ava." He remarked as the black and white picture of a handsome Caucasian man appeared on screen.

With a click the image changed to a map of Eastern Europe. "The last order he ever received was to return an officer of the Japanese Navy to Batavia." "But, it wasn't quite that simple. He had to circumvent the allied forces and take a crazy route worthy of Magellan, but Ava actually managed to pull it off."

"However" Benny continued. "When they were in plain view of their destination, the old U – 1324 finally ran out of luck." " The US Navy came across the boat and decided to strike all at once sending the captain and all of his crew to the depths of the ocean."

"But." Benny said pushing up his glasses." "There's another part to this story, a story about an S.S. officer who was able to force his way on boards with papers from the Secret Police."

The blonde man smirked while clicking a new window open. "Now check this out." A picture of a painting depicting a group of armored knights surrounding a Norse goddess appeared on the screen.

Shirou couldn't suppress a small smile at the sight.

Memories of his own encounter with armored knights surfaced in his mind. Images of a time long ago..

I ask of you, are you my master?

Of course, Hunger is the enemy.

Shirou, I cannot escape my duty, we are all the subjects of fate.. even kings must bow to its will but know this.. For you I will always..

"It's called the Twelve Knights Guided by Brunhilda." Benny continued snapping Shirou from his musing.

"This is the painting that S.S officer was carrying the night he boarded the boat. The artist is August Yanka, an unknown painter."

Revy tilted her head to the side before interrupting. "That thing looks pretty bland to me, I've seen New York subway Graffiti that would put that to shame."

Benny shook his head. "But it doesn't make any sense. Why would an S.S. officer board the ship with only this painting… no official documents or anything?"

Dutch interrupted folding his hands together. "But in the end it doesn't really matter why. The one thing that matters to us is that this painting is preserved inside the wreck of the sub. It was thought to be lost for years, but recently a French Telecom company was laying down underwater cables and they happened across this little gem."

Dutch stood up and folded his arms.

"We've been hired by an antique collector in Spain. This guy's hobby happens to be collecting Nazi Artwork."

Revy leaned over the desk resting her elbows on the side and snorted. "That's a pretty messed up hobby."

Dutch shrugged. "Yeah well, the thing is that several companies are in dispute over the ownership of these waters so no one is able to make a move for it easily… annnd.."

The black man's lips curled in a smirk. "That's where we come in. Not bad for a fifty thousand dollar job."

Shirou sighed. "So we're taking advantage of the squabbling in international politics to swoop in and grab this painting?"

Revy turned to the white haired man who stood leaning against the wall. "Is that a problem, don't tell me even this is too naughty for Saint Emiya."

Shirou chuckled. "I'm certainly no saint, however No, if it's just this much I think I can be of some use to you in this job."

"Right" Benny commented. "So then, here's how this is going down. You two will go in through the torpedo tubes and then close them off. Once you weld the door shut you should be able to open the door to the interior."

Shirou nodded as he stroked his chin. "Hmm, that's certainly feasible but by closing off the entrance we'll also lose our exit."

Dutch shrugged his shoulders. "Just make a hole in the subs hull and swim out. Once we get what we're looking for who cares what happens to it."

Shirou frowned. "Is that really necessary? I considered this possibility and I have some underwater sealant and some blast caps. I don't really think there's any need to damage a historical site like that."

Revy rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't care either way, but underwater demolitions can be a pain, I say we try it Emiya's way then if it don't work we'll go from there."

Shortly after that the boat came to a stop at the designated area. Shirou moved to the side of the deck and put on his wet suit and started testing his equipment. He had just finished with his preparations when Revy walked over to him.

"Hey, you done checking the equipment yet? If it breaks I'll leave you down there."

The man in the red Hawaiian shirt just grinned. "Yes, yes, it warms my heart to see how much you care."

Revy's eyes flared with anger before Dutch appeared and tossed her a black object.

"Here" He said. "A little souvenir Balalaika brought back from her homeland."

In a rare moment of femininity, Revy's excited squeal resounded across the deck. "Oh, an underwater rifle, does this thing have full auto?!"

Dutch gave her a thumbs up and turned to Shirou. "You got your sealant? And everything else you'll need?"

The white haired man nodded as he fastened his respirator and adjusted his goggles. Without another word Revy fell backwards into the water and Shirou joined her soon after.

Benny walked up behind Dutch and placed his laptop on the plastic table. "So you saved Emiya's ass and won her over with a gun.. smooth."

Dutch sighed. "Yeah those two really don't get along. I think Revy's just not use to having someone fire back when she goes off on one of her tirades. In the end though, they might end up being one hell of a team."

Benny shrugged as he leaned back in his chair checking the motion tracking beacons the two scuba divers had taken on his screen. "Or, they could end up killing each other before they ever get over the awkward phase."

Dutch shrugged as he moved to walk back to the cabin. "Yeah, that too."

Behind him Benny made an appreciative whistle. "Wow, they're almost to the site already. Revy and Shirou look like they're pretty used to this kind of thing."

Dutch nodded as he climbed back down the hatch. "Yeah, I never would have hired her if using those guns was the only thing she had goin for her. When it comes to swimming she might as well be a mermaid. And Emiya.. that guy.. He's not normal. I haven't figured him out yet, but something about him doesn't make sense. Anyway, He seems to be competent at least, so that's enough for me."

With that he vanished down the hatch and into the control room.

Benny continued watching the beacons but a few minutes he noted a strange sight.

"Uh, Dutch, you might wanna come up here for a minute. It's a ship."

The black man frowned. "That shouldn't be possible, we aren't on sea route and the Telecom Company's not supposed to be out here for another few days at least. "

Benny shook his head and he gazed through binoculars. "No, I don't think so, that's a research ship."

From his binoculars he could see a white and grey research ship floating slowly towards them.

Dutch joined him and they both waited anxiously for some sort of radio communication to acknowledge their presence. All they received was silence as the wind gently blew across the sea.

With agonizing slowness, the boat continued floating ever closer.

Finally Dutch frowned and rose up his flag before moving to the radio. "This is PT 377 of the Thai Navy, we are currently on a mission here, and we'd like to inquire about your purpose for being in this area. Tell us your nationality, ship number, and signal code."

Dutch waited for the response but nothing came.

He looked at Benny and sighed. "This is definitely not normal. Keep an eye on them and keep me informed. I'm going back to the control room. Fold up your parasol; we've got some unusual cloud activity coming in."

Benny nodded and continued to observe the eerie ship drifting ever closer.

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Shirou followed Revy in through the rusted opening of the torpedo launcher tubes and then quickly deployed his underwater sealant. It only took a few minutes and the entrance was effectively temporarily sealed.

Now in the loading room he moved to the door and began working on inspecting the locked hatch. He stopped and rolled his eyes as he saw Revy placing a detonation charge on the door next to him and he quickly moved away and grabbed onto a rail near the wall.

A few moments later the charge detonated and the water gushed through the small opening and into the sub proper flooding the floor and leaving about a foot of water in the next room.

Shirou casually climbed through the now open door and turned to see Revy already taking her gear off and pulling out a small flashlight. "Hurry it up, Snowball we got work to do, and I'm not trying to spend any more time down here than I have to."

Shirou nodded as he removed his main gear and slung a small bag over his shoulder as he moved to follow her down the dark corridor and deeper into the sub.

As they moved through the dark narrow hallways Shirou noted how suspiciously empty it was. He also felt a slight sense of unease as a strange feeling pricked at his senses. He'd felt something like this before, but he couldn't recall exactly what it was.

Momentarily ignoring it he followed after his partner and scanned the dark and rotten smelling scenery for any sign of the painting they were searching for.

Revy turned shining her light on yet another empty room, but this time she noted a strange scene. There were guns lying on the floor and red blood splatters decorated the metal walls. She entered the room carefully and let her eyes pass over the rotten forms lying on the ground. It was impossible to tell if they were the remains of the crew or some other object or animal.

Shirou sighed. "It looks like there's not much left in here. "Decomposition might have very well taken the painting as well."

Revy snorted. "That would be our luck, well we'll keep looking to make sure, but in the meantime, If you see any clothing or items lying around let me know. If the painting's a bust we'll need to grab anything of value we see of this whole trip's been a waste of time."

Shirou frowned as he picked up a worn and faded picture next to one of the bloody splotches. "Well Revy, let me ask you something, don't you think these people are the ones who deserve to have them? These medals are the proof of what these people did. To you and I they are just antiques but to them they are priceless."

Revy glanced t the picture of the family in the picture before sighing and taking out a cigarrete. She lit it and let out a puff before sitting down on a metal bench. "Oh yeah, Is that how you look at it? Well.. I guess I'll have to enlighten you a bit, I've got a story that's prefect for this atmosphere."

Shirou sank down against eh blood stained wall and turned his attention towards her.

She picked up a nearby skull and held up an iron cross she'd already pocketed. "Tell me, what do you think these two things are?"

Shirou glanced at the two objects and remarked "Well, one is a human skull and the other seems to be a medal or some sort."

Revy shook her head causing her brown ponytail to sway with the movement. "Wrong. These items are both just things. When you strip away their meaning that's all they are. If anything is going to give either of them their value back, it's not going to be some sentimental bullshit."

She turned her cold gaze on Shirou and blew a ring of smoke out directly into his face. "It's gotta be the one thing that everyone agrees on."

" Money."

Shirou lowered his gaze to the floor. "Tell me Revy, is money.. your god?"

The brunette Asian woman snorted incredulously. "Che, it's power, something a lot more useful than god."

"And" Revy continued closing her eyes and tapping her cigarrete to remove some spent ashes. "If you think about it, what else do we really value in life?"

"God? Love? Don't make me laugh, back when I was just a brat crawling around that shit hole city, it seemed like god and love were always sold out when I went looking, but before I knew better I clung to god and prayed to him every single night."

"Yeah, I believed in god right up until that night the cops beat the hell outta me for no reason at all, All they saw when they looked at me was another little ghetto rat with no power and no god."

Revy took a deep breath before replacing her cigarrete in her mouth. "What's left for poor little Chinese bitch to rely on? It's money of course, and guns Fuckin A."

She leaned back and rested her cool gaze on Shirou's stoic face. "With these two things, the worlds a great place."

Shirou closed his eyes and nodded. "I see." "So you believe that money and guns are the source of power in this world."

He slowly climbed to his feet. "This will be a good experience for you then."

Revy narrowed her eyes slowly as she watched him rise. As he returned to standing Shirou shook his head. "I'm sorry to tell you this Revy, but you're wrong. There are things in this world that can be neither purchased with money nor slain by guns You are about to meet such a thing."

The sounds of scraping on metal suddenly echoed through the empty corridors. The unmistakable low guttural grunt and moans reverberated through the sub.

Revy shot to her feet instantly pulling out the underwater rifle. "What the hell?! There's someone else down here?"

The white haired man shoot his head. "No, there's nothing living down here. However, your worldview is about to challenged, I hope you're prepared to defend it."

Shirou reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn dollar bill before tossing it to the confused brunette. "Here, perhaps you should consider praying to your god so that it can protect you."

Revy turned from him to see a figure slowly ambling through the dark. Glowing red eyes pierced the darkness and the woman quickly brought up her rifle and opened fire.

Even through the loud gun blasts she could hear Shirou's calm statement.

"Maybe you can ask him if he'd be willing to part with the medal on his shirt."

"As for me.." The White haired young man smiled and looked up to the ceiling. "I don the Armor of Yahuveh"

"I stand firm with the Belt of Truth."

Revy glared at the approaching figure and her eyes went wide as the being finally crossed into the beam of light her discarded flashlight provided.

It was grotesque. It was impossible. "W-what the hell is this? This isn't some Georgio Romano film you gotta be shitting me!?"

Slowly moving forwards with several holes perforating it's rotting body, a moving corpse wearing the uniform of a German sailor ambled closer.

"The breastplate of righteousness" The man next to her calmly stated with a smile of all things on his face.

Revy continued firing into the monster walking towards her with saliva dripping from his dislocated jaw.

Suddenly the click of the receiver informed her that the weapon had run out of ammo. She quickly discarded it and reached for both of her Cutlass Pistols.

"My feet fitted with the Shoes of Peace"

Revy's rapidly desperate expression turned to Shirou even as he two pistols extended and began firing into the oncoming enemy. "How about you fit yourself with something to help me actually hold this damn thing off!?"

"The Helmet of my Salvation." Shirou's expression was nearly radiant now. His joy and confidence glowed almost visibly.

Revy was backing up now so she was beside Shirou who was in some sort of weird trance like state looking up at the ceiling with his eyes glassed over. Suddenly the deafening click of her weapons informed her that they had run out of ammo.

Switching magazines was out of the questions. With no time and no ability to move to cover or create distance it was impossible. And even if she could, it would just be a waste of bullets.

If you had asked her how she would have reacted in such a situation the proud woman would have boasted that she'd simply punch the ugly bastard in the face and decapitate it with her bare hands.

The truth however, was that facing a creature that had been completely unaffected by her gun fire had frozen her. Her mind refused to accept the gruesome reality that was now directly in front of her.

For the first time since she had been the scared little girl laying on the cold hard cement with the two men standing over her, she felt powerless.

Her guns that she had poured her soul into, every fiber of her being driven to perfect their usage.. had failed her.

No.

They hadn't even affected the thing in front of her. In this situation they had been completely useless. For Revy who had only been able to scrap together the woman that she was today through building a wall made of confidence in the absolute finality and stability of her weapons..

She could not accept the reality in front of her.

Her wide brown eyes saw the creatures head reel back and suddenly begin to lurch forwards. But she did not accept it. This could not happen. These things were not real, she was hallucinating, this must be some kind of a game or joke, there had to be some rational explanation for this.

The creature few forward in a blur of motion it's rotten jaws opened wide and prepared to sink into the supple flesh of her neck.

Revy could not hear anything but the sound of her own heartbeat. The creature seemed to move in slow motion. She knew that it must be moving at an extremely fast speed but for her it seemed like an eternity. A blurry object moved in front of her disrupting her vision but she kept focused on the incoming jaws. The creature seemed to be frozen there with its jaws wide descending upon her.

Her heartbeat continued to thump in her chest. But then she realized that it wasn't just her perception. The thing really was frozen and unable to proceed any further. And directly in front of her Shirou's outstretched tanned hand came into focus resting in the foreground.

"The shield of faith." He said softly.

Revy stared in disbelief as the monster in front of her slammed its head against a seemingly invisible force field of some kind.

Shirou turned to the terrified woman and in a quick movement he gathered Revy into his arms in a protective hug. "I know you've been through a lot. I know that you've been waiting a long time for someone to hear you."

The man's smoldering Steel grey eyes bore into her own widened brown ones. "I know that you don't believe in heroes.."

"But I promise you" The man said softly. "I will definitely save you Revy."

The man smiled warmly and stroked her hair softly. "And one day, I'll introduce you to the one who can save your soul."

Revy's eyes widened again momentarily before the situation totally overwhelmed her and she fainted in his arms. Shirou gently laid her back on a metal cot and turned to see the member of The Dead still hammering away uselessly at his shield.

He stood there for a moment watching the red eyes monster continue to attack before bowing his head and reciting the final line.

"The Sword of the Word"

With that air began to swirl in Shirou's hand similar to Saber's invisible air technique, But rather than a barely controlled hurricane of prana this was something different.

Shirou slashed down and the being in front of him vanished. It left behind no trace, not even dust.

As Shirou stepped out into the hallways he was unsurprised to see a host of glowing red eyes staring at him from the darkness. He held out both hands and bowed his head.

"Trace on"

In one hand an ornate Chinese spear materialized. In the other a large Spartan shield. Taking a defensive position behind his shield he charged into the mass of eyes. The Nazi Dead attacked as well and were easily felled by the skillful spear play Shirou had managed to trace from the weapon's original wielder. His Spartan tactics allowed him to attack and retreat and with the sword of the world still empowering his weapon with a holy aura, and the shield of faith imbuing his shield with innate defense he was well equipped.

A Nazi dead came lurching down the hall from behind him and he quickly twisted the spear in his hands and threw it like a javelin beheading the creature.

Shirou then traced a roman Gladius and raised his shield just enough to stab forwards. The monster in front of him dropped and Shirou carefully advanced forwards making sure to guard the entrance to the room holding Revy's unconscious form.

He smashed his shield into the growling creature in front of him and slashed down bisecting it and continuing his momentum he spun around evading a swipe of decaying claws to slam his shield into the side of another Dead's dead splattering it against the wall.

The creature he'd dodged twisted around and attempted to bite him but Shirou stabbed the sword forward into the creature's mouth and out the back of its head before breaking it with an imbalanced prana load.

The weapon exploded and wiped out the group of dead behind it as well. Shirou brought his shield up to block a wild swipe and then shot his rigid fingers forwards at the off balanced monster.

Before the fingers connected a set of blades appeared on his fingertips and he sliced the creature to ribbons before it could regain its balance.

Now wielding a Black Key Shirou noticed a shadow moving along the wall and he stabbed the blade into it halting the monster's movement. He then flung his weakened shield in a spinning disc attack that he detonated with an overcharge when it was in the midst of the Dead. The resulting blast threw him back and destroyed most of the Dead attacking him but he could hear more of them all throughout the sub.

Shirou frowned as he realized that he was starting to run out of Prana. He would need to defeat the remaining enemies in a single attack.

He quickly dashed back towards the room with Revy and slung her unconscious form over his shoulders.

Shirou carefully traced one of his more powerful weapons.

In a few moments he could hear the sound of several members of the Dead approaching him rapidly from all sides.

He then took a deep breath of air from his backup respirator and then pressed it onto Revy's mouth and clamped her nose. Quickly lifting the newly traced Hrunting Shirou slashed through the ceiling with unnatural strength.

The torrent of water that gushed in from the sudden opening did little to stop his reinforced jump that sent them both up out of the sub and back into the bottom of the ocean floor.

Shirou kicked hard and swam as far up as he could in the time it took to charge the sword with prana. He then pointed the now broken Hrunting at the Sub below them and released it with a twang from the newly traced bow.

As the bow vanished into particles he put all of his remaining prana into a hastily constructed mimicry of Rho Aias.

The Broken Phantasm slammed into the sub and detonated at nearly Mach 5 sending Shirou and his passenger blasting upwards along with a blast of foam, water, and metal shrapnel.

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Dutch frowned as he paced back and forth occasionally looking at the ship that had finally stopped at around 200 meters from them.

Benny was looking back and forth from the ship to the ominous dark storm clouds rolling in. The winds had begun to pick up and the signs of a big storm were clearly evident.

"I don't like it." He remarked. "The beacons are still on but they have been down there way too long.. Something isn't right."

Dutch bit his lip lightly. "Yeah, something, not right about this, but I don't know what we can do at this point. We just gotta believe in Revy."

Benny was about to respond when a rumbling sound and a bubbling on the ocean surface caught his attention.

Suddenly a massive explosion sent the Lagoon boat shooting back and nearly capsized it. A cylinder of water shot up out of the sea into the darkening skies and then raindrops of water, foam, and metal shrapnel came falling down pelting the lagoon and making the two occupants dive for cover.

Two large objects dropped from the sky back into the water with a loud splash, but a moment later the bobbing figure of Shirou re surfaced with his arm around an unconscious and bleeding Revy.

Dutch and Benny quickly moved to get the two of them on board and Shirou collapsed into a heap finally pulling Revy onto the safety of the ship. His own face was bleeding from a small gash above his eyes, but thanks to Avalon the wound was already healing at an accelerated rate.

Revy looked to be in pretty bad shape. She had a broken arm and a piece of metal shrapnel was lodged in her lower back. Fortunately she was had been breathing with the respirator up till falling back into the water from the sky so she shouldn't have taken in too much water, but Benny quickly moved to begin CPR regardless.

Shirou was barely able to sit up. It felt like every muscle in his body was torn and he felt completely drained.

The loud boom of thunder reminded the Lagoon crew of the storm brewing around them and Dutch began barking orders at Benny to get the two of them inside the cabin and out of the rain.

As they began moving lightning flash brought their attention to the now once again moving research ship. As it began turning on the front deck Shirou caught sight of a blonde haired man in a crisp professional Nazi Military uniform.

"H-hey, is that-" Benny remarked upon seeing the painting tucked underneath of the man's arm.

But Shirou was not looking at the item. It was his eyes that captivated the young Magus.

Blood red eyes gazed curiously at the area that had just exploded. The cold unnatural eyes slowly passed over the crew of the ship until landing on Shirou.

Despite his injuries Shirou forced himself to his feet, though he could barely stand and he wobbled as he tried to remain strong.

The man's red eyes narrowed slightly and gave a smirk, before nodding politely and then turned to walk further onto the ship.

Dutch called out for him to stop but the thunder drowned out his calls and the lighting flash illuminated the forms of several dead men in similar uniforms littering the deck.

The ship turned around and began sailing off. As it moved an unnatural mist rolled in blocking the ship from view for a moment.

Dutch jumped into the control room and set off after the ship but when he exited the mist he was dumbfounded to find no trace of the ship.

It had vanished into thin air.

Shirou stood glaring at the spot the man had stood moments before. There was no doubt in his mind. He had wondered how there could be Dead on that submarine, especially when the bodies should have fully decomposed long ago.

Now he knew. He didn't know who the culprit was, but he did know what that man had been. "A Dead Apostle." He murmured.

The others ignored him.

Benny stared in wide eyed disbelief. "W-what the, they vanished.. what the hell? How did they.."

Dutch palmed his forehead. "This mission really turned out to be a real shitfest.."

"Emiya" He stated wearily. "What the hell happened down there?"

Shirou sighed falling back down and lying back. "I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you."

After moving into the cabin he began his tale.

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Shirou had left the boat a few minutes after they reached port. Dutch and Benny had moved Revy to the apartment and called for a doctor to come check on her, remove the shrapnel and re set her arm.

Benny slumped down against the worn couch running his hands through his dusty blonde hair. "So, Nazi Zombies huh? You really think Revy is going to corroborate that story when she wakes up?"

Dutch took a long swig of his drink and he let his head fall back on the chairs head rest. "To be honest, I don't know what to think. Disappearing ships aren't something I would have believed in either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Benny just shook his head. "Man what the hell is happening to this place.. the last few months have been the most ridiculous I've ever seen, masked vigilante super heroes, Random exploding Helicopters, Zombies, and now Ghost Ships? What's next UFO abductions?"

Dutch turned to look at the unconscious Revy. The brunette woman had taken some tremendous damage. If even half of what Shirou had said was true then she owed him more than her life several times over.

The two crewmates could only stare at the once strong and vibrant woman laying their unconscious and shivering trapped in some sort of nightmare and wonder if she would ever be the same.

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Shirou hadn't bothered to check in with Bao. He was dead tired and still slightly injured. He just wanted to crawl back into bed and contemplate the appearance of the Apostle when he was more rested and coherent.

He unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside out of the rain shaking his wet hair. He peeled of his drenched Hawaiian shirt and tossed it in the laundry basket before walking into his kitchen and moving to the cupboard. Reaching inside he quickly spun around and pointed his 9mm handgun at the woman sitting casually in a chair in the dark corner.

The blonde Russian woman smiled and merely drummed her long fingernails on the counter and watched him with an aloof gaze.

Shirou sighed and brought his hand up, taking the weapon's aim off of her and casually dropped the empty magazine.

Next to her hand on the counter sat 12 hollow point rounds lined up neatly in 2 rows.

Shirou absently checked the chamber to be sure she had removed the last bullet as well, and was unsurprised to find the former Spetsnaz to have done so.

The white haired man carelessly tossed the useless weapon on the table and moved to grab a pot. "Well, seeing as how you're already here would you care for some tea Balalaika-san?"

The woman smiled closing her eyes and clapped her hands together. "Oh yes, that would be wonderful. I actually have many things I'd like to talk to you about Emiya-san."

She picked up a red cloth garment and neatly folded it on her lap as a makeshift napkin.

Shirou noted with a weary glance that it was his Red Shroud he'd obtained from Ceil.

"Or should I say, Guardian-san."

AN: Well that's the next chapter. As you can see, it's quite different from the traditional canon story. One thing that always bothers me is when people take different characters and place them in the position of the main character and then completely waste the opportunity to use their different personality and abilities and have them do and say the same things that the main character does.

This story won't be doing that.

Please read and review.

Input is always appreciated.