FATE/DOWN THE CRIMSON PATH
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FATE. FATE BELONGS TO TYPE-MOON AND NASU KINOKO. I OWN ONLY MY OC. ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL PERSON OR PEOPLE ARE MERE COINCIDENCE. NO FINANCIAL PROFIT IS MADE FROM THIS. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.
A/N Sorry for the long wait. Between schoolwork, assignments, clubs and all those reality calls, plus another episode of writer's block, this chapter came out late. Sorry for the delay guys, but I hope you will enjoy the story. Do leave reviews to let me know how my story is progressing.
Chapter 13
"Halt…" A voice echoed through the mountain, and the trio ascending the stairs stood in front of their Master, weapons raised.
"Show yourself." Ruler demanded calmly, her sword raised, and her eyes scanning the area around them. She couldn't believe the fact that they had been someone with them all this while and she hadn't noticed it. Tristan was having the same expression like her, confusion clearly etched on his face as his hawk-like eyes scanned the surroundings like her.
Daphne put out one arm before the swordswoman and gently ushered her aside. "I was wondering when you'd show yourself. I noticed you, but decided to wait till you do something since I feel that you mean us no harm."
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows, clusters of sparkling dust took the form of a human figure, clad in a red cloak, sapphire blue eyes glimmering from under the hood. A soft smile played across her lips, and the figure curtseyed before speaking up once more.
"Greetings, you all. I reckon that you come here in search of mending your relationship with your sister?" She inquired, already knowing the answer to her question.
Daphne took another step forward, Ruler moved to intercept, but this time, Tristan was the one who held her back, shaking his head when she glared at him. As a knight, he understood that their Master had to face this alone. It might be true that he was summoned to be her sword, but at times, there were things that a Servant shouldn't be interfering. And Tristan knew now was such a situation. Reluctantly, Ruler stepped back, placing her sword back to its scabbard while Tristan stowed away his bow. If the figure decided to show hostility, he believed he could take the person down before his Master was harmed.
"And how did you know that?" She questioned back, growling a bit. The woman knew too much for her liking. No one, not even her grandfather or sister had known the true purpose of her nocturnal visit, yet this woman-yes, she was sure it's a woman due to her voice- had pointed things out quite bluntly. She suspected the woman knew far more than she was willing to let on, and she found herself starting to hate the woman, no matter who she might turn out to be.
The woman chuckled. "Have you not figured it out?" She countered in an amused tone. She knew the younger woman might be dense at times, but not that dense till she couldn't even figure out who she was. Inwardly still chuckling, she held up a hand, and a diamond bracelet glimmered under the soft rays of the moon. She watched as the younger woman's eyes widened before her mouth gaped open at the sight, then she raised her own arm, and stared at the Mystic Code there. She gasped out in realization, and so did her Servants, who exchanged looks but remained silent.
"You…you're…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Her mind was still trying to process the information she had just received. Did Grandfather bring her to my world? Why would he do that? She let her arm fall to her side. He didn't even bother to tell me that he had brought someone to this world? More ever, that person's another me! Her mind howled at herself at the fact.
She pulled the hood over her head. A face, completely the same as hers, looked back at her. The only differences were, her eyes were pure blue, and they were filled with the ages and wisdom she had gone through in her life. Her hair was long and silky, just like her own, but they lack the silver-white streaks in them. Her lips curled up into a soft smile, and her eyes seemed melancholy to them. It was as if she was holding in some pain.
"Indeed I am, Rin." She affirmed her thoughts. Sure, she may not be the Tohsaka Rin of this world, but she was still the Magus nonetheless. In another world, she was apprenticed to the Lord of the Second as well and had traveled to various worlds on different occasions. This time, he had brought her along without any of his other companies noticing, and she had made a move without informing him. It was too much for the brunette to sit behind the scenes without trying to help.
Ruler was tempted to lurch forward and cut the woman she thought as an abomination down. How dare she takes the form of my Master? How dare of her to insult milady this way?! Rage blinded her mind, and the red-haired knight had to once again pull the Frenchwoman back. Without turning to face either one of them, Daphne raised her hands to reveal the glowing Command Seals, and both Heroic Spirits immediately stood at full attention.
Finally settling the two troublesome spirit, she turned her full attention back to the other her. The 'her' from another world. "What do you want?" She growled out her question.
Rin shook her head sadly. "You have yet to realize, no?" Seeing the look of confusion on her younger self's face, she continued, "I have seen the darkness that now lurks inside your heart. Perhaps you might not remember this, as Lord Zel had informed me of your amnesia, but have you really forgotten? That burning black mud? Seeking to corrupt your mind, drowning you with its curses?"
At the mention of the mud, Daphne saw scenes unfolding before her eyes. She was standing at the edge of what used to be a pond, a tower of humanoid limbs spewing black burning mud into the pond, bubbling and releasing steaming vapor in the process. She remembered speaking to a redheaded boy, then swallowing a gem, she stepped into the boiling mud, making her way towards the tower despite the burning sensation in her legs.
Her vision blurred, and she sank to her knees, clutching her pounding head. Ruler rushed forward, leaning the woman against her, while Tristan pulled out his bow, his arrow trained on her. The older Rin smiled, raising both her hands up in surrender. The knight narrowed his eyes, but Rin merely shrugged.
"I mean no harm. I'm just here to talk."
"Don't think so." A lazy voice drawled from below. Mist shimmered and Achilles came into view. A handsome young man with a muscular build and clad in full body armor made from leather. He had a scowl on his face, and arms crossed over his chest as he stared into the other version of his Master. He had never liked the idea of Humans summoning heroes from the throne. In his mind, he had always thought of humans as selfish creatures, pulling the spirits of heroes from across all time and ages, forcing the once legendary heroes into submission with the use of the dreaded Command Seal. In his own opinion, the humans needed to be culled for their insolence, disturbing their slumber.
"Achilles…" Rin greeted, bowing to the man before her.
The Greek hero snorted. I will not fall for your crude tricks. The man told himself. He walked up the flight of stairs, not even sparing his allies and Master a glance as he made his way up to the woman. Rin respectfully bowed once again as the man towered over her, his scowl still clear on his face. He reached out one hand and held her chin up as he inspected her. Her sapphire orbs didn't even flinch even when he gave her his glare. In fact, there wasn't even fear in them, to begin with. There was respect. Respect for the hero standing before her.
Achilles broke into a laugh as he released her, taking a step backward. Ruler and Tristan watched in confusion, while Daphne tried to focus on the scene with her pounding head. The Greek turned his gaze to the older woman and smiled.
"You're different." He whispered, his eyes softening as he gazed into the sapphire orbs.
"How so?" She questioned, intrigued to know the answer.
He smiled again. "You're a Magus too, right?" She nodded. "Then there lies the answer, young lady. I do not see the greed for power in your eyes. Instead, I see that you've been through a great lot of pain. You've seen more evil than you wanted to, haven't you?"
Rin tore away her gaze, tears gathering in her eyes. "I… I killed my own sister… I thought that was the best thing to do, that it was the only option I had left. Because, if I had spared my sister, the whole world would shatter under the power of the Angra Mainyu. But after I killed her, and saved the world, I realized that my own world had shattered in its own way… I was so lost. I had nothing to live for… nothing… even the man I loved with all my heart turned his back against me when he knew I killed my sister…"
Achilles looked on with a melancholy expression. He pulled the woman into a hug, pressing her against his chest. He didn't understand why he was doing it, but he didn't resent the woman. She may be the same person as the one who summoned him, but at the same time, she was different from his Master. He thought he hated humans with all his heart, but one look into the woman's eyes, he realized that she had lost more than she could bear to lose.
"Then we are different. You are not me." Daphne said, rising to her feet as she did so. Ruler still supported her, and she let the blonde. Right now, she had more important matters to attend to. The woman in front of her, though she was her from another universe, she was not her. If Sakura was truly her sister, then she would never hurt her. She would love her with everything she had. Because that was what she believed an elder sibling should be like.
Rin detached herself from the man and gazed upon her younger self. She knew that look all too well. When she was younger, she was just like Daphne, impulsive, stubborn, always believing that she was the right, no matter how wrong she actually was. It was the reason Tohsaka Rin had broken down in the first place.
"Oh, enlighten me." Rin countered.
Daphne snarled at the sight. "I will never hurt her. As an elder sister, I will never hurt my sister, let alone kill her. What kind of sister are you?! You killed her when you thought her death could save the world, but you didn't look for another solution to things. You could've found another solution, yet you impulsively did the first thing that crossed your mind."
"I could say the same about you, young one. Do you really think that you're all that different from me? Think again, who was the one who left her sister to the Matou twenty-one years ago? Who was the uncaring Magus all these years? You knew who Matou Sakura was, yet you had never questioned her on her wellbeing, sticking to the contract drawn up by that man you called a father and that plague Sakura called a grandfather. Being daddy's girl all the time. Hell, you wouldn't even look at her in the eye and be a sister for once. Ever since Tohsaka Sakura was wiped out from the family record, you acted as if such a person never existed."
Daphne staggered backward. Luckily, she had Ruler standing behind her to prevent her from falling. "I… I… no, that's not true… I… I would never do that…"
"You and I are one and the same, no matter how you wish to think things differently. I overheard what Lord Zel had told you about, and that's the only difference between us. In my world, my sister, Sakura was the one who posed a threat to the world, but she had never wanted that to happen. I failed her, her senpai failed her. We all failed to see her despair, and she broke, accepting the darkness. Because there is no misery, no sadness, no despair inside the darkness. It's just a void, a void of darkness. But you, you of all people, had accepted that darkness within you willingly. You know its terror, its curses, yet you embrace its power as if it's an extension of your limb. Why are you sinking so low?"
"I did not!" Daphne hollered back, her shadows rippling out around her. Ruler tool one look at things and quickly pulled Tristan away as well. The man was slow in his move and one of the tendrils latched onto his leg and the man grunted in pain before pulling herself free.
Come, come to me… A voice whispered to her in her head. Come, come and join me in my gardens, together, we shall bring the world to their knees amidst the blazing flames…
"Step back!" Rin shouted as she noticed the crimson flashing in her eyes, her hair bleaching at a fast rate, and the shadows intensified, swirling around them and hitting everything in sight. The four of them ducked below the tendrils, but the surrounding trees were not so fortunate as they got cut down by the tendrils. Rin rolled out of the way, with Achilles close behind. The man gathered the woman into his arms, and with a jump, he maximized his agility to get her to the temple gate. He put her down and rushed back to draw the attention of his Master as the other two tried to cut their way out of things.
With one slash from her sword, Ruler immediately jumped free of the tentacles, pulling the knight with her. In the midst of confusion, Tristan placed his sword back into the scabbard and took out his bow, nocking arrows and firing them at rapid fire pace. Their Master didn't even look up as a barrier went up around her, shielding her off from any form of attacks. She fell to her knees, hands clutching her head, and her mana went wild around her.
Silver streaks landed from the skies, and Rin swore that man just wanted to meet his death far sooner than expected. Sure enough, upon contact with the field, the projections shattered and exploded into a wild inferno, sending the trees around them ablaze. The man in question appeared in a shimmer of red beside Rin, who sent him a glare, but he merely shrugged his shoulders as he projected Caladboldg.
Rin's eyes went wide before she pounced herself onto the man, knocking him off balance and sending the two of them crashing to the ground. Archer looked up into a pair of sapphire orb he knew too well and knew that he was in trouble. Rin pulled back a fist and brought it down with such a force she had the Counter Guardian coughing at the impact.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She hollered at him, her Mystic Code flashing urgently. "And you better give me a good answer, Archer, or I swear I'd kill you, even if that's the last thing I will ever do."
The Counter Guardian had to smile at that. Rin is still Rin, no matter where she is when she is. He pushed the petite Magus off him gently and looked into her eyes with his molten steel gaze. "You of all people should know why I'm doing this, Rin." He said in a soft tone. "You've seen how malevolent the curses are, surely you won't want to see a world destroyed by it?"
"What of Sakura?" She insisted heatedly. She knew that he had a point, but she didn't want to see Sakura get hurt again. Not because of her again. There would be no more tears from the girl she loved dearly. "I know what you're thinking, Archer. But, you've been summoned into multiple universes as well. Surely you don't want to see the siblings separated again, right?"
"Done chit-chatting?" The Hound of Ireland asked as he too appeared in a shower of blue. "Bazett and the rest of the lot heard the commotion and sent me on first as a scout. Didn't know pretty boy here can move his ass so fast." He pointed his lance to the hurricane on the stairs. "That?"
Rin merely nodded, and the man smirked in delight before jumping down to join the fight.
"Don't hurt her!" She managed to shout after the man, not that she knew he was actually paying any attention to her anyway.
The blue-clad spearman cut through the dark tendrils with ease, but he couldn't stop the advance of the woman, who was now back on her feet and slowing making her way up the stairs. Neither Heroic Spirits nor Counter Guardian wanted to be engulfed by the mud, but they had to stop her. Stop the malevolence.
"Nee-san?" Sakura called, her voice laced with worry. Rin turned to face the party, noting the Servants in full battle gear, Magus with their Mystic Codes, and even the homunculus had weapons with them. She sighed in defeat and accepted Archer's help as she rose to her feet.
"It seems that she has just crossed the line."
Shirou looked at her with a suspicious expression. "And are you sure you didn't say anything to provoke her?"
Rin glared back at him. "I just told her the truth. If she's a Magus, she should suck it up, bear the pain of the truth."
"You know she's not ready for this, so why?" He retorted, his Magic Circuits flaring across his body. Mana crackled around the boy, and his eyes gleamed silver.
"Oh, are you reprimanding me know? It seems to be that Emiya Shirou had finally grown a backbone huh? Yelling at a woman?" She countered, sarcasm heavy in the tone of her raised voice.
"You!" Shirou almost yelled, hands tightening around Kansho and Bakuya formed in his hands.
Sakura stepped in, mana surging. "Enough, both of you! Is this really the time to be at each other's throat? Nee-san's life is on the stack here, and if the both of you want to holler at each other, do it somewhere else."
She stepped away from the duo, making her way down the stairs. Rin ran after her, grabbing the younger woman's arm. Sakura winced at the tight grip, trying to wrench her arm free, but Rin had the stronger hold. She forced the younger Magus to face her. "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.
"I'm going to save her." She answered. "Do you even have to ask that?" Rin looked ready to object, but Sakura cut her to it. "Look, I know you're concerned for me, especially watching your Sakura died in your hands. But now, you have to leave things to us. This isn't your world, I'm not your sister. But she is." She gestured to the woman ascending the stairs. "And just like you, no matter what my sister turns into, I will continue to love her no matter what, because she's my everything. She's the only living relative I have left."
Looking into the sapphire orbs, Rin realized how serious Sakura was. Reluctantly, she let go of the petite Magus and watched as she walked down the stairs to meet her sister. She watched in horror as the same shadow appeared around Sakura. Taking a step forward, her advances were stopped by Bazett, who shook her head.
"It's her fight, Tohsaka."
She looked back to the tendrils emerging from Sakura's shadow. "But, the Angra Mainyu…"
"Have some faith in her, Tohsaka. She's not the Sakura you know." Shirou remarked dryly.
"And I'm not the Tohsaka you know, so stop 'Tohsaka' me." She countered with a snort.
The male spluttered and coughed. Ferdinand stepped forward and pat the male on the shoulder, who smiled back gratefully. Shirou had not expected her to counter him that way. Sure, he knew she wasn't in their way, but that was one way to shut him back down. He didn't know her full story, just the bits and pieces she let them on, and even that, she had been secretive.
They watched on, none of them making any move, even the Servants had retreated up to the temple gates. None of them wanted to be caught in between the crossfire of the two Magus, who could wield those shadows. They had felt nothing but utter malevolence from the source, and now there were two of them radiating the same negative energies.
Daphne snarled at the woman blocking her path. I have to get to the sound. The voice that urged me to be with it. Together, we shall bring the world to its knees. Together… Her mind clouded by the power raging through her circuits, and the sweet voice that beckoned her to drown herself amidst the power it presented.
Yes, yes, join me, accept me… together as one, we shall have the world at our mercy… Laughter echoed in her mind.
Sakura let the darkness inside her emerged from its long slumber, and the two powers clashed against each other, the tendrils canceling each other off. The mana outburst continued to rage, cutting down everything in their vicinity. The black mud continued to bubble, spreading its domain, burning everything in their touch, except their wielders. Humanoid shapes surfaced from the mud, and screams of the dead filled the silence of the night. The party atop the temple gates shivered at the sight and sound, but none dare to make any move.
"Nee-san, listen to me!" Sakura yelled over the anguish screams of the dead, stepping in closer to her sister. Her sister paid no heed to her, her eyes flashed goldenly and her hair was disarrayed, wild in every direction. Daphne's mana level continued to rise, as red veins crept all over her body, pulsing in resonance with the power she was unleashing.
"You will not stand in my way!" A voice, deep and evil, roared at them. "I will have my revenge on those who had wronged me, on all those who had tormented me. I shall avenge those who were wronged! None of you shall stand in my way! You will all be ashes by the end of the day!" With another roar, Daphne released her full power, blasting Sakura off her feet, sending her flying a few feet away. Medusa immediately rushed forward, securing her Master in her arms. The shadows her Master had summoned had vanished
"Master?" Rider asked the Magus in her arms.
Sakura stirred, blinking confusion from her eyes. "Rider? I… I'm fine…"
"Thermal constructions, full ether charging!" Rin's voice bellowed over the place, and all eyes were trained on her. Cut gems hovered around her, all of them were rubies, and gathering energy from around them. The gems glowed brighter and brighter, and those closer to the Magus began to feel the heat, and immediately pulled away. The rubies continued to glow, and once the energy stored reached its peak, the gems' shine remained the same. Rin took a glance at the constructs around her and pressed her lips into a thin line. I've never done this before… I have no idea how much damage I can cause…
Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she brought her hand down, and the gems glowed once before all of them converge and blasted towards the shadow. The energy was high enough to scorch the stairs, and the unfortunate trees lining the side of the stairs caught fire and began to burn merrily. The heat wave hit directly on the shadow. Through the heat haze, Rin clearly saw a wall of shadow shooting up from the mud, blocking the blast, sending the heat outwards, sending more trees on fire, and the stairs around her scorched.
"Nee-san, what are you doing?!" Sakura screamed, pulling at her hand. "You'll kill her!" She continued, tears evident in her eyes.
Rin turned to face the woman who was her sister, but at the same time, wasn't. "If it's that easy to kill her, she wouldn't have lived that long." Her voice was cold, like a machine. Her sapphire orbs too held no emotions in them. Sakura stepped back, fear climbing up her spine. The woman before her, she was not her sister. They're different.
"Rin…" Archer called, and Rin immediately turned her attention to the man, who projected more swords around him, and sent them flying at the woman, plunging them into the ground, trying to cut off her path. But the shadows once again appeared from behind the smoke of the previous blast and cut through them like a hot knife through butter. He grunted and turned to the woman again. "Oh, not going to yell at me this time?" He asked, an amused smirk on his face.
She returned the smirk and turned her attention to the other her. "Ain't the time to shout at you, pretty boy. Settle her first, before you have to fight as a Counter Guardian instead of a Servant."
"Worried about me?" He continued the banter. But he didn't take his eyes off the threat, instead of projecting more and more swords to try and stop her.
"No, I'm not doing this for her. I'm doing this for Sakura." She answered. "No more sadness. I don't want to see her tears anymore. The sight of my sister, dying in my arms, tears on her cheeks, the blood and life leaving her body, but she smiled through the pain, smiled until the very end."
Archer didn't say anything. After a momentary silence between the two, he finally asked the question he had wanted to ask ever since she told them her story. "You didn't sell out your soul, right? You didn't trade your freedom for another chance, right?"
She didn't answer him, but only gave him a sad smile. "Not a second chance in saving her. I traded my freedom for something else. Something you will never understand."
I held her body close to me, my tears have long since died. Her body lay limp in my arms, becoming colder and colder by the minute. Her smile was still there, it never faded. My heart wrenched at the sight.
How could she still smile? Why could she still smile? I left her, let her be tormented, left her to her fate, never caring about her. Betrayed at the very end, by me. BY ME!
I wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Turn after turn, year after year, betrayal after betrayal, she never blamed me. Not even a harsh word. Nothing. All that she had cared was, she didn't hurt any of us.
How foolish can you get, Sakura? How selfless can you get?
Pushing a wet lock from her face, I placed a soft kiss on her forehead and pulled the girl closer to my bosom. I never had the chance to hold her this close, not after that man we had once called a father sent her away. It had been so long ago, and I couldn't even recall the feeling of holding my sister in my arms.
Fresh tears slid down my cheeks, startling me. I thought… after all that I've been through, after all the tears that I had shed, I thought I had none left. But looking at the girl lying in my arms, the blood pooling beneath us, my tears came.
"Sakura… Sakura…" I sobbed like a baby. "Sakura…"
Do you want the power? The power to undo all this?
"No…" I sobbed, croaking out my answer.
Why not? If this ending hurts you so much, why not change it?
"Because of her… she won't want me to…" I murmured, motioning to Sakura.
But, what about you?
I shook my head, smiling sadly. I knew what was headed my way, I knew what kind of help this voice wanted to offer, but I will not use its power for myself.
"If… if I were to use your power, to seek your help, but not for my own reasons, will you help?" I could almost see a face behind the voice smiling.
Of course, but you need to know, we trade one favor for the other. I will lend you my powers for your use, in your life, as of onwards. But in return…
"I… I will pledge eternal servitude to you."
Then the pact has been sealed. Go, follow your heart.
Rin gathered all the mana she had in her circuits, and let the flare to its highest before releasing it in full torrent. The mana spread out like a blade, blowing all the Magus and the Servants with low Magic Resistance off their feet. The air immediately smelled like ozone. The younger Magus among them, Shinichi, dropped to his feet and began to retch, and his Servant crouched down to ease the boy, who had tears from his eyes was now trying to cough up dry vomit.
"I will not make the same mistake again!" She roared, and raising her left hand, her Magic Crest flared to life, the spells in them activated, and a Gandr began to charge. "Luvia, you too."
"What?" The Finnish Magus was lost for a moment before she realized what her 'cousin' was going. She raised her hand and a Gandr began to charge as well. Then, she seemed to remember a very important question. "Er, who are we hitting?"
"Me." She replied coldly.
"Huh? You?" She asked.
"Not me, me. Me, her!" Rin said, her shot pointed at Daphne. "On my mark. One, two… now!" With that, the charge let the end of her fingertips, and joined up with the shot from Luvia, hitting the Magus in the chest, and immediately knocking her out. The shadows disappeared, her hair and eyes returned to their original colors.
Sakura jumped down the steps and pulled her sister into her arms. "What were you thinking?!" She hollered at the older Magus. "She could've died!"
Rin shrugged, not even feeling guilty about what she had done. "I didn't do anything wrong, Sakura. I did what I had to do to keep you alive."
"I don't need that." She countered. "I can take care of myself."
That speech cut across the older Magus' heart. She pulled the hood down her face. "It seems, that my presence here is unwelcome. I shall take my leave then." She turned to leave, but Archer reached out to grab her upper arm.
"That was what you trade your eternal servitude for, right?" He asked, his grip growing tighter. Rin glared daggers at him, but he wasn't intimidated. "Not a chance in your world, not your past. But the chance to change those fates in the other worlds."
Rin sighed as a sign of defeat and turned to the man she loved. "Indeed. Because no matter what I do, my Sakura is still dead, even if I had chosen to revive her. Because that's not my Sakura. But after years of wandering through the worlds, I realized something was flawed."
"That whatever you had wished for in the first place can never be granted." He said in a solemn tone. "You saw it, didn't you?" When he received no answers from the woman, he urged on again. "Did you?"
She laughed. "I was stupid, just like how you put yourself. The wish of wanting to save everyone is just a fairy tale. I should've listened to you. Even when my wish was to save the few that I love and cherish, I never did save anyone. I was always one step too late."
"Does everyone that I know end up as a Counter Guardian?" Shirou moaned, suddenly feeling all that was happening was just another bad joke.
"Not everyone…" Archer muttered to himself.
Bazett did something she never thought she would do. She pulled the woman into an embrace. As an Enforcer, she didn't show her affection to anyone, especially not to the hunted. But now, she felt something for the woman in her arms. Rin didn't push her away. She stayed in the embrace, basking in the warmth she had lost so long ago. For years, she had been bathing her hands in blood. Blood of those she had loved.
"I… I'm useless. Even with the power in my hands, I had changed nothing. Throughout my journey, I saw only more deaths, more separations. There was nothing I could do. It was always too late. Just like this world. I couldn't save my own Sakura, but I had hoped with this power in my hands, these siblings in other worlds would never have to suffer what I had suffered."
Bazett bit her lips. She had no idea what she had gone through, what she had seen. But in the years that she had served the Counter Force, she must've seen worst scenarios, but to her, separation of siblings was the worst form of torment one could ever suffer.
"Let it go, Tohsaka." Luvia cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's over now."
"NO!" She screamed and pushed the woman embracing her, her mana level climbing. "It… it can't be over. No, no yet! I… I haven't even done anything yet." Her sapphire orbs went to the siblings on the stairs. So content. She broke into a maniacal laughter.
"Who knew?! Who knew?! Who knew that when I haven't done anything, all problems have been resolved. My efforts had been in vain. Whatever that I had tried to help with, it was just extra work, work meant to destroy them. Then what was the meaning I pledge my servitude to you?!" She screamed towards the sky. "Answer me! ALAYA!"
Of course, no answer came from the heavens.
She sank to her knees, her face buried in her hands. "Why? Why?" Her frame shook. "Why? Have you lied to me? Have you lied to me, lied to me that I have the power to change the world, but in the end, I, just a puppet in your hands? Is this how our subconscious mind truly is? Then what's the use to save this world? For what we protect Humanity?"
"For survival." An aged voice bellowed. Zelretch appeared from inside the temple gates, and stepped forward, pulling his apprentice up. "You still have a lot to learn. Humanity may be cruel, cold, heartless at times, but this minority does not represent Humankind. Think of the others, people like your sister…"
"I can't…" She cried hoarsely. "I'm not that selfless."
"Second…" The rest echoed in respect. The old man dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They looked at each other, even Shinichi had stood up with help from Medea, and was busy gaping at the sight before him.
He looked into those sapphire orbs. They no longer held the childish innocence he had seen when he first took her under his wings. With him, she had seen more than she should, not to mention, her pledge to Alaya had made things even more difficult for her. She had been with him for years, but her soul, her true soul had been stuck at the time she made her pledge. She would always return to that time after she answered her summons.
What aged was her physical shell, but her soul will remain alive forever, bounded by a pact to the Counter Force.
"Oh lookie lookie. Things are just getting warmed up huh? Then I suppose I should join the party now.
P/N: That's it, folks! Do R&R and a very hearty thank you for all of you out there who have been continually supporting this fic & the author~ Do check out Altered Kaleidoscope by our very beloved writer, Rin!