Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate or Tsukihime it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Moonlit Fate
Chapter 6
Sakura watched as the battle between Archer and Nrvnqsr Chaos unfolded, and wiped the blood from her nose. As expected, considering the…patchy, construction of her mysteries and lacking a crest of her own, using Sterne der Nacht and Bullet Holle as single-count spells was proving a heavy strain on her body.
And now she was trying to keep up with the speeds the King of Heroes and Nrvnqsr Chaos were moving. To an ordinary Human they would have been coloured blurs of light and shadow flashing all over the battlefield. To her, even with reinforcement they were still moving fast enough to leave afterimages behind them…and it was making her head hurt some more.
Still, with that said the King of Heroes had the advantage. Nrvnqsr Chaos was unwilling to get too close, an understandable sentiment, considering Archer's conceptual weight Nrvnqsr Chaos' regeneration might not be able to cope if he gets cut by Archer's golden blades. Even so however, the vampire still fought hard, his metastable shadows taking the form of curving, serrated blades, fanged mouths, writhing tendrils and billowing clouds and waves of darkness.
They threw themselves at the King of Heroes, seeking to crush him, to tear him apart, to consume him into their being. In the midst of the storm of darkness Archer was like a mountain that shone with light, his being unsullied by the darkness around him. Every swing of his swords tore the darkness apart, and denied its insatiable hunger as he sent dying shards flickering into the void.
Sakura blinked, wondering why Nrvnqsr Chaos wasn't sending any more of his beasts against the King of Heroes. But then again…ordinary beasts weren't of much use against Archer. Nrvnqsr Chaos could use his Phantasmal Beasts, but they would cause a lot of damage, and Fuyuki was Association territory.
If he got too…flashy, then he'd be risking an incident between the Association and his faction in the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. And that would risk more than his position as the tenth: among the Dead Apostle Ancestors, position changes were literally a matter of life and death…or worse.
Sakura didn't worry much more about that, as she felt someone approach from behind. Stilling the familiar fear from the murderous aura – easily on par Nrvnqsr Chaos' terrifyingly enough – she turned to spot Ciel standing implacably several steps behind her. "I thought I made it clear that you were not to interfere with my affairs." The Burial Agent remarked coolly.
"This is my city." Sakura replied, keeping the fear out of her voice. "That makes it my business as well."
"You have absolutely no idea who you are dealing with, Tohsaka." Ciel said. Sakura actually felt amused at that, strangely enough. But then again she had the King of Heroes with her…even if he was a bit busy at present.
"Maybe," she said. "But I could say the same for you."
"Last chance Tohsaka," Ciel replied. "Take your Servant and leave."
Sakura didn't answer at once, instead opting to look at Ciel in the eyes. The fear returned but she fought it down, resolutely fighting it until she could completely take in those cold, determined eyes. Much like hers, though she didn't know it.
"No."
"So be it, magus."
Black Keys flashed into existence as Sterne der Nacht swiveled its diamond wafers, and then Ciel was charging, a black blur through the air. "Bullet Holle…!" Sakura shouted, opening fire.
Ciel's eyes briefly widened in surprise, and then she was flying back. Her clothes were proof against such a common spell as Gandr, but quantity was a quality of its own. The rain of hundreds of dark projectiles pounded her into the far wall, and she felt her flesh be reduced to bloody pulp under the barrage.
It hurt but…nothing could really hurt her anymore.
Nothing…not since Elesia had died…and she became 'Bow'.
So she let the magus rain death on her. She let Tohsaka reduce her to pulp mixed with the rubble of the wall as it collapsed under the deluge. And in the next instant after her immortality imposed itself, she rolled out of the way and charged to outflank the magus.
It wasn't completely successful, it took only a thought it seemed, for the magus to rearrange her mystic code to keep up the barrage on Ciel. But moving parallel to the dome diluted the barrage, most of the dark projectiles slamming into the ground.
Ciel grinned, going faster and faster in a slow spiral inwards to disorient the magus until finally, she ploughed through the mystic code and slammed a series of blows into Tohsaka's chest. The magus flew back, coughing blood and causing Ciel to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Those blows should have completely collapsed her chest cavity. Reinforcement…? Very good reinforcement too…
Ciel snorted as the mystic code broke into great clouds of dust as the magus flew out of her circle. For a moment they drifted indistinct, and then the magus' will reasserted itself, and the clouds swarmed at Ciel.
Black Keys flashed between her fingers and through the air as Ciel blew the clouds back, and then with the crack of breaking earth beneath her feet she closed with Sakura and caught her by the throat. "I told you, didn't I?" Ciel asked as Sakura's eyes widened with the realization of impending death. "You have no idea who you are dealing with."
"And neither do you, mongrel." A man's voice remarked, dripping with malice. An instant later and Ciel was literally cut to ribbons by a storm of blades, Sakura falling to the ground. And then she was scrambling back with a mix of horror and disgust, away from the severed hand that had been clutching her neck mere moments ago.
And in another instant Ciel was back, only to be crushed into the ground by a single foot on her back. Archer twisted his foot, and with a cry of pain Ciel felt her back snap.
A shadow fell on them, and Sakura gasped. "King of Heroes…!" she shouted, as a towering tidal wave of shadow blotted out the sky and fell to engulf them all.
Archer sneered, Enki's blades folding back into tonfas. Half-turning he raised an arm, and caught the shadow as it fell. Ciel's body and the ground broke beneath his feet, and the air visibly shook, but the shadow could not fall.
It was…impossible, but neither Ciel nor Sakura could or would deny what they saw then. Even though the sheer volume of the shadow should have overwhelmed him, should have swept past him and consumed those around him, it could not. It buckled and broke against his arm, but it could neither overwhelm nor pass him.
"I…AM…KING!" Archer roared, fisting his free hand and driving it into the shadow. The shadow buckled and rippled, and Sakura had to shield her face from the blast of displaced air, and then with a thunderous roar the shadow exploded away from Archer's fist.
Ciel and Sakura alike gaped at the sight. It was the only reaction they could have, given the circumstances. Sakura knew that each of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors were powerful, but the top ten especially so. From what little her family had on them, any of the top ten could end the world on a whim if they so wished provided none of their fellow ancestors or the Association or the Church did anything to stop them.
And they would struggle at that. And the price to be paid for the Counter Force to maintain the balance between Gaea and Alaya in such a scenario would be horrendous in the extreme.
And Archer had just punched the tenth ancestor's full power away as though it was nothing.
Ciel knew all this and more. She knew that even Arcueid Brunestud would have difficulty against Nrvnqsr Chaos should he exert his 'chaos' to crush and consume her. True, that was largely because she limited herself to barely thirty per cent of her full power, and as a True Ancestor she would eventually (probably) return, but still.
But the King of Heroes had just punched Nrvnqsr Chaos' shadow away like a strongman at a circus showing off his strength.
What have I gotten into?
Nrvnqsr Chaos stared at Archer, his body covered in wounds and bruises, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. His shadows feebly stirred around him, his clothes sympathetically blown off from his body.
Everything around and behind him was a sea of rubble, the collapse of his shadows turning its force against him and everything around him. Belatedly Sakura realized the devastation, and wondered if and how many died from it.
She also realized that the bounded field had collapsed, and it wouldn't be long before people (and other Masters and Servants) noticed what was going on. If they hadn't already, that is.
"That…this is…impossible…" Nrvnqsr Chaos breathed with a tinge of fear in his voice.
"Impossible…?" Archer echoed. "Do you not know to whom you speak mongrel? I am Gilgamesh King of Heroes. Mine is the first legend upon which all other legends derive from, and which shall endure even as other legends are swept away by the sands of time. So long as heroes exist, so long as there are those who would bear the weight of the world on their shoulders, even should my name and mine be forgotten, my legend shall endure. For I am the first hero, the greatest, and all other heroes are forged in my image."
Nrvnqsr Chaos stared, unable to break Archer's gaze. It was like gazing into Altrouge Brunestud's eyes, knowing that death could come at any moment but one could do nothing about it.
This…man…no…this…being could slay her and her dog…
I…I have to…I have to…even if the White Wing Lord…if I…
"Do you wish to flee, monster?" Archer said silkily. "So you cannot even face death with dignity, but then again what can I expect from one of the Unquiet Dead? Get out of my sight. As a token of my…displeasure, I will suffer your departure with but a warning."
Archer snapped his fingers, a golden spear that shone like the brightest of stars flashing from Bab-ilu and burying itself in Nrvnqsr Chaos' chest. The force of its flight sent the vampire flying clear of sight, and further beyond, the gleam of the ancient Noble Phantasm vanishing far into the distance.
Archer now turned to Ciel. "Now, as for you," he drawled, and Ciel whimpered. Few people she had encountered could truly terrify her, and she could count them on one hand: Narbareck, Lorelei Barthomeloi, Altrouge Brunestud…and now she added another to that list. Gilgamesh: the King of Heroes of Ancient Uruk, reborn into the world by miracle of the Grail of Fuyuki.
Archer coolly regarded her, and then tilted his head curiously. "You are not of the Unquiet Dead." He finally said. "And yet it seems that like them you cannot die easily. What are you, El's priestess?"
"I am…I am an immortal." Ciel answered in a whisper.
"Are you now?" Archer answered neutrally.
"The world will not let me die." Ciel quickly answered. "So long as my nemesis, the Serpent of Akasha lives, I will continue to exist in this world."
Archer smiled coldly. "It's your fate to fight?" he replied. "I'm certain I have…ways, to end it in my treasury. I defied the gods once, little priestess. The price was terrible, but I have done it. What more fate? But I will not do that."
Archer's smile widened, and his next words would normally have elicited a violent reaction, but Ciel doubted that would be very wise. "I've no desire to stain my hands with a beautiful woman's blood, even if she is an enemy, and a beaten one at that." He said, and Sakura barely managed to keep from groaning and grimacing.
Legend does state he was a womanizer, but this seems a tad excessive.
"You may depart." Archer said dismissively. "So long as you do not raise your hand against me or my servant, I forgive your earlier…insolence. The King is merciful. Know however, that I seek the Serpent of Akasha's head as well, should I cross his path. But if you would cross his, then by all means, do as you need to do. Only…"
Archer paused and smiled. "I will expect better than this, priestess." He said, and turned away towards Sakura. Ciel bowed her head, and carefully getting to her feet vanished.
"Fast," Archer remarked with evident amusement. "For a Human of this age."
Archer strode past Sakura as she shakily got to her feet, and bowed at him. He cleared a large patch of rubble with a hand, and sat down before regarding Sakura. "So," he asked. He paused to survey the battlefield, mostly rubble but with patches of blood here and there, and nearby surroundings glittered with powdered diamond. "How was your first battle?"
Sakura didn't answer at once, but she eventually looked down. "Terrifying…" she whispered. Archer nodded. He expected as such, and approved that she didn't try to hide it.
"It always is." He said. "It never gets any easier, but you'll get used to it. That much will never change, no matter how deep the sands of time become."
The house was dark, though that wasn't surprising. Sakura had to deal with something, and the same went for Taiga. Still, Shirou had gotten used to coming home to people waiting for him, and he couldn't help but feel a bit forlorn over it.
As he took off his shoes, he felt his body tense up. No, that was wrong. He wasn't tense. It was…
It feels like…
Visions and images of fire came to mind, along with the sharp stink of blood and death. Shirou drew himself up, and quickly glanced around him. "What is this?" he thought. "Why do I feel…threatened, here of all places?"
Walking slowly and quietly, he walked over to a storage cabinet near the front door, and withdrew a steel bat. "Trace on." He whispered. "Composition analysed. Fundamental structure analysed. Components reinforced."
Taking another look around and seeing nobody, Shirou crept deeper into his own home, keeping his back against the wall. He was angry, angry that someone would break into his home and threaten him here. That was the only possible explanation for this…feeling.
He hadn't felt it in a long time, not in ten years in fact.
It was the same feeling he had felt while he had walked through the burning ruins of the great fire ten years ago. It was nothing less than survival instinct at its purest, when one knew with every fabric of one's being that the only way to survive was to disregard everything around you, and to step forward and confront the danger on your own terms.
It still made him ashamed…and resolved.
Shame, because he remembered the screams and pleas of the people trapped and burning in the ruins. And he had ignored the screams and pleas to keep himself alive.
To save someone means not saving someone else.
Dad…
Shirou took a deep breath as he paused just around the corner into the living room. How he had survived was a sin in itself, but at the same time…he knew he had to make it mean something. For the sake of those who died, those he couldn't help, for those who couldn't be helped, he had to live.
Live, and give meaning to the lives sacrificed for his sake.
It was poor atonement perhaps, but it was still atonement for all that.
And there was also…
I'll make your dream come true for you.
"Dad…" Shirou thought, and with another deep breath he jumped up from behind the corner, brandishing the bat. There was no one there.
After a moment, he lowered the bat and cautiously walked to the centre of the living room. He looked around briefly, his body tense and his makeshift weapon held relaxed but ready.
It was a small thing really, just a barely-inaudible displacement of air. Most people wouldn't have heard or noticed it. And even if they were as wary as he was right now, they probably wouldn't have noticed it either.
But then again…not many people were as attuned to death and its coming as he was.
In hindsight he should have reinforced his senses along with his weapon, and he might have done better. As it he ducked and rolled, avoiding a swing that would have taken his head and a follow-up that would have skewered his heart.
"Fast, aren't you boy?" the redhead in Greek clothing remarked.
At that he lunged forward, the scythe he was carrying flashing in the dim light as he sought to carve Shirou up. Grinding his teeth with the effort, Shirou clumsily parried every blow, each of which jarred his limbs and cut deep into the reinforced metal.
Just what the hell is he?
The scythe caught the bat, and with a grin Rider forced it around and them before pulling Harpe free. It scythed towards Shirou's neck, but Shirou ducked…and received a heel to the chin that sent him flying through the sliding doors and passed the veranda into the inner gardens.
Rider flourished Harpe, confident he'd broken Shirou's neck. Then his grin faded as he heard Shirou cough, spitting out blood while staggering to his feet. "Oh come on." he complained. "I'm trying to be merciful here boy. Why can't you just stay down and just die?"
"Shut up!" Shirou shouted and brandished his bat. "Merciful…? Don't joke around! You broke into my house and tried to kill me! How is that merciful?"
"It's merciful when I planned to give you a quick death." Rider remarked. He held out his scythe. "Trust me boy, with this thing I can kill slowly and painfully."
"What the hell are you?" Shirou demanded. "And why do you want to kill me?"
"Well since you're clearly a magus I suppose I can give the brief of things." Rider drawled as he relaxed and let his weapon fall to his side. Shirou though stayed wary, ever as Rider walked closer and out of the house. "This city is hosting the Holy Grail War you see. It's a war between seven magi known as 'Masters' who summon seven Heroic Spirits as 'Servants' for the chance to offer a wish to the one and only Holy Grail. And to win that chance…well, simply put you have to get rid of the competition. With me, boy…?"
"Magi…? Masters…? Servants…? Holy Grail…?" Shirou echoed. "I don't know anything about that!"
Sakura…are you part of this? Are you involved in this…'war'? Are you putting innocents at risk for a wish? Sakura…I don't want to believe it but…you're the Supervisor…Sakura…!
"Well isn't that surprising?" Rider drawled as he walked around Shirou. "This might be a blood sport, but it's supposed to be fairly well-known."
"I don't care about that." Shirou snarled. "Are you a Servant? And you still haven't answered my earlier question: why do you want to kill me?"
"Why yes, I am a Servant. In fact I'm the Rider Class Servant of the Fifth Holy Grail War."
The FIFTH…?
"As for why I want to kill you," Rider continued. "My Master told me to kill you. Apparently she's got some beef with that woman of yours, so she wants you dead to stick it to your woman where it really hurts."
"What…Sakura…she's not…I mean…"
Rider sighed. "Children," he said theatrically, and Shirou shook his head to clear it.
"So you're going to kill people simply because you're Master tells you to?" he demanded. "How can you call yourself a 'Heroic Spirit' like that?"
Rider raised an eyebrow. "I get a feeling there's a whole world of shining conversation behind that last question." He said. "But I don't really have the time for it. As for that question before that…no, I don't enjoy killing people because I'm told to. In fact I don't want to do it. It's hardly heroic, wouldn't you agree?"
"Then why?"
Rider's smile vanished, his face turning cold and sad. "I have to." He said softly. "I'm a hero after all. And there's a little girl out there screaming for help, and to help her I need the Holy Grail."
Shirou's eyes widened at that. Or rather they widened at three words: 'I'm a hero'.
To save someone means not saving someone else.
"It was fun talking to you boy." Rider said wearily. "If we'd met differently, who knows? Maybe we might have been friends. I'll make it quick."
Rider moved so fast Shirou could barely keep up, his bat moving barely fast enough to parry blows that would have ripped him to shreds. And then it happened: the bat shattered, even Shirou's exceptional (as Sakura once described it) reinforcement unable to hold in the face of such punishment.
Harpe cut through his torso with a shower of blood and sparks, and Shirou staggered back with a shout of pain. Rider's eyes widened in shock however, and his next blow was a stab with the bottom end of his scythe, sending Shirou shouting across the garden and through the doors into his workshop. Rider then glanced at Harpe's edge, and narrowed his eyes. It looked as though Harpe had…had a run-in, with steel plating of some sort.
What in Hades' name?
Shirou meanwhile rolled onto all fours, coughing up blood and trying to catch his breath. One hand went to his torso, at the bleeding wound that thankfully didn't seem too deep…somehow. Shirou just knew that blow should have gutted him.
How?
Unknown to him, as blood coated his right hand command spells flared into existence, while behind him a magic circle began to glow. A shadow fell on him, and he looked up to see an annoyed Rider.
A foot drew back and kicked him back. "I don't enjoy being lied to." Rider said softly. "Really, you had me back there thinking you were just an ignorant amateur when in fact you're the last of the seven."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Shirou spat, defiantly looking and glaring at Rider. Rider tilted his head.
"Fine," he said, raising Harpe and swinging it back behind his shoulder. "Keep lying to the very end!"
As Shirou watched the blade swing towards his neck, time seemed to slow down, but he refused to look away. He wouldn't. He wouldn't.
"Is this how it ends?" he thought. "Damn it…! I can't die here! Not like this…not when I haven't done anything yet…not without having saved a single life…not without having changed a single thing! For my ideals…dad's ideals…not like this!"
As the scythe swung towards his neck, Shirou's command spells flashed several times before flashing one final time, the magic circle behind them filling the workshop with blinding light. The light flooded out of the windows, and brought Arcueid up short, the vampire landing on a rooftop with a perplexed expression.
What's that? Boy…!
There was a blast of wind, and with a cry Rider was sent flying through the wall and tumbling across the yard beyond. Shirou was buffeted aside by the blast, and he landed hard against the wall. As he lowered his arms, having used them to shield his face, he speechlessly regarded the person standing in front of him.
She was a girl of average height, wearing a dress of blue and white with rune-engraved plates of steel over her chest, torso, and skirt, while heavy gauntlets covered her hands and forearms. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and cool green eyes regarded him coolly.
Shirou couldn't see a weapon, but he knew that she was more than capable of killing him if she so chose. And yet…he knew she was different…somehow…he just knew. And at the same time, he found himself comparing her to the blonde woman from before.
Was she also a Servant?
And yet…even as he compared the two of them, he remembered the sweet, peaceful innocence of the woman's face as she slept in his home, when they woke up in that apartment-turned charnel house, and when he carried her home. Compared to her…this girl, from her eyes and face…she seemed cold.
Why?
Why is someone like her, someone who only looks as old as me, so cold?
Why?
"Servant Saber," the girl suddenly said, and shaking Shirou from his thoughtful reverie. "Here I stand by your summons. Answer me: are you my Master?"
A/N
Nrvnqsr Chaos got beaten easily, but what did you expect? He's up against Gilgamesh, well his prototype version, but despite that I'd like to think that Proto-Gil is actually as good as Gilgamesh.
Ciel spilling the beans like that…oh come on. You'd do the same when you're up against someone on the same level as Altrouge if not greater. And yes, Gil was a womanizer. In fact, as I mentioned before the reason the gods sent Enkidu was not because of Gil's impiety or because he was a tyrant (IIRC his subject didn't mind getting put to work on Uruk's walls, roads, and other public works) but because Gil kept insisting on the first night tradition.
Mejciu: Enki is shown to be in the Gate of Babylon in Fate/Extra. I assume therefore that Ea is also in Bab-ilu, but Proto-Gil prefers Enki because it allows him to show off his skill. Ditto for the armour, Proto-Gil just likes to show off.
Noodlesandrice: Yes, I was aiming for that. Basically more king and less jerk and thank you for the kudos.
Gree: Well, Medusa is biased against him (he did kill her). I went for a compromise that has him sound like Shinji while having motivations similar to the ones he had in Fate/Prototype.
Server lock: A very bad joke considering he's a rapist who deserves to hang. No one mourned his death in Fate and Heaven's Feel.
Shiki Shiori: Yes, bullet hell. I'll get to that later on.
Preview for next chapter: catfight. And another villain appears, for the Fate side to RIN/Roa's Tsukihime side. It's a shocker. Feel free to guess who it is though.
Edited: May 30, 2017