Author's notes: It's been a long while since I've posted a chapter here. Life's been getting busy especially in engineering studies and working as a journalist in training simutaneously. Don't worry, I haven't forget and neither will I. Hope you enjoy this chapter, R&R.
Chapter 24: Eye of the Storm
"That was quite a surprise wasn't it?" Rin asked as they returned for home. They've only met up with Shirou and Saber mere moments ago near the skyscraper and Mark a moment after that. In the urban city, it was easy enough to escape the eye of the sky. In an alley, they continued their discussion as they walked in the moonlight.
"How can they keep catching us like this?" Ilya ignored Rin's question entirely. It was the one which an answer is needed and needed urgently.
Shirou answered both "No doubt it was. They're using magic on us. I felt it right before they come in guns blazing."
Rin explained "It was definitely to keep the sound in. No noise, no attention, no messy cleanup." She mused with the information "This isn't good." Whoever controlling this group of soldiers also has magic on their side, a very bad case for them. Knowledge is power. Without any information on them turns the odds over to them, another bad thing.
"I agree. If they can catch us at any given moment, they can catch us at home." Caught off guard, outgunned, outmatched, outnumbered against both magic and modern technology. It will be fatal for him, Ilya, Rin and Jessica even if their servants could hold out on their own against the onslaught. Even with their great powers, all heroes can be overwhelmed eventually with pure brute force.
"I'll prepare the necessary countermeasures." Rin suggested although it was more like informing them. "We should still have our guard shifts just in case too." She kept the rest of her thoughts to herself 'Just in case…it's already too late.'
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The Next morning
Rin awoke at the autonomous insistence of the alarm clock. She struggled to keep her eyes closed and let her mind fade away into empty dreams. Every ounce of sleep she could get was a godsend. Yet, her attempt to drown herself away failed and a full minute later, she slammed the top of the alarm clock to turn it off.
A moment and a few yawns later, she was finally on her two sleepy feet. She dragged them to the kitchen in desperate need. She opened the door to see Shirou, Saber and Ilya already wide awake. The rest remains to be seen. She grunted a greeting as she opened the fridge. The rest greeted back with more enthusiasm. Shirou greeted, simultaneously cooking using a wok "Morning Rin. How about you get yourself ready and have some breakfast?" Rin ignored him for a moment as she reached for her drug and consumed it steadily. Glug by glug, it flowed down her throat until the very last drop, the last drop for a bottle of milk. Now only did she feel recharged!
Only then did she answer "I'll do just that." She left the dining hall for her room. In a good twenty minutes later, she reentered in much better shape. By then, breakfast was just prepared, perfect timing. The rest were still missing, probably out 'Not exactly missing for him.' She thought. She felt Archer sitting in spirit form on the roof. 'Simply on guard duty' she recalled him answering in telepathy. She asked with a smirk as she took a seat. "Where did those two go?"
Saber answered before taking the first piece of her meal from the arrayed dishes "Jessica went for her studies and Mark went along as well." From then, she reached for another and another like a machine. The rest naturally decided to play catch up before Saber literally consumes everything. At the end of breakfast, Rin and Ilya settled themselves for some TV while Shirou and Saber cleaned up. They switched through the channels at clockwork. They flipped through Dramas, cartoons, documentaries, the likes' of television.
"In conjunction with the surge of immediate criminal activities…"
They stopped dead in their tracks. Even Shirou and Saber did; their hands at a complete stop. They listened to the newswoman in the morning broadcast. "In the past few days, the police general calls for greater precaution for Fuyuki city. Night activities are to be minimized and to ensure that all doors at home are locked. Police will alongside step up their efforts to greet this dangerous matter." Rin gave herself a few quiet moments and pondered on the news in her mind. To her knowledge of Fuyuki city since a year ago of her return, crime rate had been dropping steadily without much of a reaction. Most of the higher up yakuzas seem to be keeping low and out of the spotlight for a more profitable long term. The rest seem to be more aggressive, naturally fading away against the might of the police. The change had been drastic to say the least. For now, she kept it aside for later processing.
"In other news, police have discovered another family of five dead from another set of gas leaks." The woman took a quick glance of her notes before continuing "The cause has been deemed to be accidental. However police officials believe that this is a possible series of murders, having resurged from again another series of lethal gas leaks in the past decade. With a current total of thirty dead, caution is again advised." Her voice then turned silent in spite of moving lips. With the TV in mute, Ilya placed the remote back onto the table. They need not speak any words. They know what's going on.
Rin started it off "They've started it again." Servants after more power seek so from human souls. It's like a pack of wolves hunting a horde of unsuspecting defenseless sheep. It was almost too easy if left unchecked.
Shirou nodded in agreement from the sink "Let's go get them"
"Not so fast." Rin stopped his idea short. She added "We don't know all the cards being played and the player themselves. The gas leak though should be Medea's doing. The other thing about those Servants, we need to find out who they are." She gave the faintest of a smirk. "And take them out of course."
Ilya concluded her suggestions "In other words, good old fashion detective work." She brightened, enthusiastic "Well, let's start then!" They all gave a nod, determined to do what they can to save Fuyuki city from the Holy Grail war.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"This is a long day!" Shirou said as he leaned back against a metal railing by the sea. They were here a decade ago. A ship split in half lay visible across the sea, another consequence of the Holy Grail war.
"Yes it is Shirou." Saber leaned forward beside him. They had been investigating for the entire day. They had split up to cover more ground simultaneously. Shirou and Saber checked out the criminal activities, Rin and Ilya with the gas leaks. They scoured around for clues and information, asking around, observing the rest of the city. Nothing much could be found in the day for Shirou and Saber. Now in the end of afternoon, Saber stared at the setting sun. "Shirou, can I ask you a question?"
"By all means, go ahead."
"What does it feel like…to live without great responsibility?"
That gave Shirou a peculiar surprise. An odd question asked out of the blue. "Well, it isn't anything different. We all have great responsibilities."
"But such responsibilities differ for every one of us."
"And so are their strengths to hold that responsibility." He assured.
"I understand the facts but…" She looked right into his eyes. "I just can't see how it would feel. I've been wondering about this for a very long time, even back in the days when I was King." She continued "I've tinkered about it in my mind from time to time. How would it be to live a normal life? A simple life where I am free to choose, free to do whatever I desire, never the need to sacrifice people's lives and futures over others…never the need to kill." She said, relief in her voice "I've put it aside ever since the beginning of my fall. I was simply too busy to ponder upon unnecessary things during war."
Shirou nodded understandably "Yet, you did during the Holy Grail war we met."
Saber portrayed a smile "Yes Shirou. You made me recall about those thoughts. You reminded me what a life I could have possibly lived when we went for that date."
Shirou teased "Which you made us at ends against each other with your wish to go back to the past."
Saber chuckled for once "Indeed, you brought me back to realization and I thank you for that." By now, the sun has fully set and night begun its reign. She stared at the city of lights. "Come, we have much more to do. The night has begun."
Meanwhile…
Rin observed her surroundings of an empty room. She stepped carefully into the bedroom, bathed by sunset from the window. She took care with her every step. The clues of what had transpired here still remained traceable, traces unseen to others but only to magus. She referred to her magic crest in her arm for the right spell. "Sit ech, veinstag." Her eyes now gave a completely different kind of vision. It was now blue with thin white vapor floating around in the air. Her eyes could now see traces of magical energy around her. The floor had the largest trace, marked by chalk of a human shape. Fainter traces in sizes of footsteps edged to the outside and into the living room.
She followed the trail to a larger puddle of magical remains. Another three have lost their souls here. Another trail led to the outside of the simple apartment, barred with black yellow police crime scene tape. Standing beside the drawn chalk, Ilya spoke "The same pattern again."
Rin agreed "For the past eight cases we visited." They managed to sneak into the crime scenes where the supposedly gas leaks occurred. Finding the scenes first was the hard part of their investigation. Some were from the reviewing of previous news in the papers, some from the Internet and so on. After eight crime scenes, they now have a modus operandi. She continued "It's definitely Medea's work. I've seen enough of it to be sure."
Ilya noted "The problem now is finding them." In her left hand was a map of Fuyuki city. It had eight labels of X in red, each signifying a crime scene. These eight were scattered all over the map. She mused with the pencil in her fingers "According to the map, these incidents are too far apart for anything definite." An idea popped out from her head "Unless there are multiple servants doing exactly the same way."
"The odd for such a possibility is impossible, don't you agree?"
"Well, what else can possibly explain such patterns?" Ilya rebutted her answer. Their current leads aren't useful enough to solve the problem. How should they proceed from here?
Heracles slowly materialized into the room, not to surprise anyone. His head nearly scraped the ceiling as he spoke "The answer to your problem is in the hurricane." They gave him a bewildered look except Archer who was outside standing guard for any trouble. What would his answer of a hurricane of all sorts be the solution? The servant drew a circle on the map with his index finger, large enough to encompass all the incidents within it. He then explained "This pattern indirectly shows us where they strike and where they hide." He moved his finger over each incident in sequence. "They occur all around the edges of this city. Assuming it is only one person at work, this is where we would not expect them to be." He pointed at the centre of the map "It is here where we will find them…in the very eye of the storm…"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Shirou stared at the stars in the dark backdrop of the night. It was only an hour away to the next day. He was tired, being out all day and night. "It's late Saber. We should head for home." She looked at him, winded as well "Certainly. There's nothing else we can acquire by asking around." Certainly they could do more investigation, but if they have to fight a servant in fatigue, it would spell trouble. They spoke no more as they begin to walk home. The last few stores in the commercial area of Shinto closed their metal covers, eager to sleep for the night. There was hardly anyone around on the streets. All that's left were the nightclubs and pubs that have vampire work times. Even so, there weren't many of such businesses around and certainly not places Shirou and Saber could acquire the information they need.
Even so, the darkness has secrets and naturally dangers of its own. 'We'll settle it tomorrow night.' For now, they'll stay careful and return home. Yet fate has other things in mind. A dozen steps later, Saber came to a stop. Shirou asked as a sign of caution "What's wrong Saber?" She held a finger before his face, a gesture of pause. He kept silent did he only feel something faint. It was unnatural but warm tingling sense in his body. It felt hotter to his left side than his right. 'What is it that I'm feeling?' It was something he never sensed before naturally. So, it had to be…magic!
She asked as she gazed at an alley to the left "Do you feel it as well?" His answer was a definite nod. "Let's go and investigate. This might be our lucky catch." They entered the alley quietly, edging closer to the source of faint magic. Suddenly, the faint source became dangerously faint, almost nonexistent to their senses. They automatically accelerated to a run. It wasn't very far for them to get a glimpse at the source but time took precedence over stealth.
A large mass of flesh suddenly came into their way. That mass had a voice "Where do you think your going?" The voice belonged to a man, in loose dirty clothes. His hygiene was unkempt, not having cleaned for weeks. In his hand was a baseball bat made out of metal. It prompted caution from the pair as another two similarly clad men joined the foray.
Shirou cursed in his mind 'Now isn't the time for these gangsters.' They now block their sole path, obviously not going to budge for them.
Saber spoke as she flexed her fingers, warming up for a brawl "Go Shirou, I'll handle this. That information is important."
The gangster who spoke wasn't amused "You're pretty cocky for a girl. Saber replied with a hard punch to the face. The man staggered off balance, clearing the path for a moment. Shirou promptly nodded, gave her a thumb's up as good luck and ran ahead. Saber can handle this much faster than he could. She gave a nod back in return before focusing on the trio of men. The second gangster reached out to grapple her. She counter grappled him, twisting his arms into a joint lock behind his back. She kicked his knees, forcing the man to buckle. She then kicked the man down onto the floor before dodging a blow to her stomach. She grabbed the arm, slipping her feet behind his and tripped him into a crashing fall. Before she could finish him off, her instincts told her to break away. She jumped back, letting a baseball bat strike the downed man in the face.
She backed away as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her tight. The second man gloated "Not so tough are you girl." Saber slipped her leg behind his and tripped the man. They fell down together albeit Saber had a softer landing as a baseball swung again from above. She struck the baseball man's grip with her legs. The bat went airborne, giving Saber time to roll backwards onto her feet. The bat flew perfectly into her hands. She smiled as she charged in the counterattack "Good night." A hard hit to the neck and her enemy is down. She then said to the man behind her "Don't even try it." She leapt into a back flip, evading the stab of a small knife. She struck back in the neck, knocking the man out cold. She then lashed the air with the baseball bat, considering the level of danger around her. One hundred percent safe from the trio, she discarded the weapon before running to catch up on Shirou.
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Shirou leaned back against a wall as he neared a turn. He could hear something going on just around the corner. He edged out and peeked into the scene. Down the alley were two figures standing on their feet. One appeared as though to be biting into a man's neck. The man's eyes were dead, hollow of any consciousness. Shirou then noticed several more men, gangsters with those same cold eyes on the ground. Shirou figured it out. 'They're dead with their souls stolen.' He has to stop this before more lives, innocent or not become lost!
Shirou openly stepped into full view of the alley "Stop right there!" The biting figure stopped and jerked its head around to see Shirou. Eye to eye, they both had a heck of a surprise for each other. Shirou couldn't believe it, not at all. He was almost speechless to see this. "It's you…Mark."