AN: Don't own shit. Read and Review, Follow and Favorite!
"Legacy!"
"G'way, sleeping." I rolled away from the voice.
"Come on, Legacy. People are rioting. The Colonel wants you up and ready to respond."
Blinking the sleep from my eyes I rolled back toward the voice and sat up. A yawn ripped itself from my throat. "What?" I blindly grabbed for my helmet.
"It's the Merchant's." Glancing over I finally saw the speaker was a sergeant with the Guard. "Don't have many details yet, but there's been rioting all over the city. They're looting all over the place, and trashing what they don't want. The Colonel wants to reinforce the camp closest to the Merchant borders. If they head for the camps, they'll have to go through the ones farther out before they get here."
Groaning I pulled myself to my feet. "No sign of New Wave?" I wasn't hopeful. Lady Photon had made it painfully clear her family was in no shape to be fighting. Granted, I could probably take all three Merchant capes at the same time, but I wasn't in a hurry to try, never mind a small army of rioting civilians.
"No, ma'am." The sergeant shook his head. "The Colonel requested you join my convoy to the most outlying camp. I know it's short notice but-"
"Let's go." I cut him off tossing my duffle bag over my shoulder. With a nod he started power walking and I fell in beside him. "Do we expect them to hit the camps? Any indication that their capes are with them, or at least some of Squealer's cars?"
The man nodded even as he pointed out a troop transport and hopped into the back. He offered me a hand and hauled me up before answering. The other soldiers already present paid careful attention.
"Reports on exactly what's going on out there are pretty vague. The Protectorate have clashed with a few groups, but they seem to scatter as soon as they face any real resistance. Worse they seem to be heading our way. Colonel thinks they're looking for a softer target."
"Damn it."
"You are as prepared as you can be." Shirou was quick to reassure. "Just remember that your job is to protect the civilians." He very pointedly didn't mention anything about the people we might soon be fighting.
At that point the convoy started to move and I leaned back against the canvas wall in the hopes of getting a little more sleep before we arrived.
{}{}{}{}{}
It was going on two AM when one of the soldiers shook my arm. I was up in a few seconds and surveying the work they'd managed to get done since telling me to get some rest. Barricades made from rubble and abandoned cars had been used to block off most of the street. If everything had gone according to plan the other roads leading to the camp had been entirely blocked off and were being watched by smaller groups. Ours was the largest picket group. Forty soldiers with assault rifles, two fifty cal machine guns mounted on jeeps, and me.
It didn't take me long to figure out why he had woken me either. The roar of engines was distant but growing louder. Worse I could see headlights coming our way.
"Can't fix what isn't broken." I muttered as I traced my bow and my latest success in modifying weapons into arrows. Six arrows later I started cursing.
"What?" The concerned looking corporal next to me asked.
"I killed the lead cars' engines." "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" "Now the cars behind them are just pushing them forward like car sized shields."
The people around me started to curse as they lifted their weapons. They couldn't see it as well as I could but the two dead franken cars weren't even slowing down the convoy. With the lights in my eyes I couldn't make out enough to try shooting the drivers behind them and that was if I'd even have line of sight on them.
"Time to stop playing nice, Taylor." Shirou made it sound so simple. And on some level, I suppose it was.
"...Right." "Lieutenant, permission to switch to lethal force?" It was a formality. Everyone around me was almost completely limited to lethal force. We had some tear gas, but that was it. Still, I was here as an independent cape. Getting permission from the ranking officer was just a way to cover myself if anyone wanted to make noise about it after.
"Granted." Was the answer from somewhere to my right.
I reached inside for the Unlimited Blade Works. At that moment I had a flash of inspiration.
"I am the foundry and forge." I found Caladbolg II in a heartbeat. Yes, that line was a much better fit.
"Steel is my body, and fire is my soul." The blade formed over my outstretched hand.
"I have inherited over a thousand blades." The sword warped, elongating into an arrow I'd only seen before in some of the memory dreams. In the back of my mind I could feel the connections to Shirou's reality marble grow stronger, more stable.
I drew back the arrow and sighted at the approaching cars. I could overload it and blast the entire group to pieces. Or I could simply let the drill arrow shred through everything in its path. I hesitated for a moment and chose. The brilliant line of blue light streaked down the road with a scream. A twirling corona of blue circled around the tip of the arrow.
A line of Merchant cars along the left side of the road were torn through. All of them were tossed by the force of the arrow. The lead car actually ended up on its roof. The cars lucky enough to not be hit peeled off, shooting down a couple of side streets. I was busy trying to dismiss the arrow before it could put a whole through every building between it and the ocean. Needed to remember to watch out for that.
"Holy shit, kid." I glanced over to see an entire line of wide eyed soldiers.
I grinned sheepishly. "Too much?"
The Lieutenant shook his head. "No, I just didn't realize I brought a human sized artillery unit with me." That set the soldiers to laughing. I was going to say something else when I realized that the sound of engines was still getting louder. I snapped around just in time to see one of the Merchant cars come shooting out of a side street not even a block away from us. It drifted for a moment before gunning the engine, and heading our way.
Wide eyed, and low on options and time, I decided to test out an idea I'd had months ago. "Trace on!" It was a wedge of steel; four feet tall, six wide, and two thick at every point… then I gave it velocity. The front of the modified garbage truck crumpled like a T-boned Prius. The rest of the Merchant vehicles shot out of the same side street. They very quickly turned around and scattered every which way. Some of the Guardsmen took potshots at the retreating cars, but they gave up pretty quickly. Glancing over my work it was painfully clear the people in the truck's cab hadn't been wearing seatbelts. I didn't get time to dwell on that though as the back of the garbage truck blew open and a wave of trash spilled out.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." I dismissed my bow. We were close enough that I'd rather have a different weapon in hand. There wasn't a lot of light right now though, so pinning Mush's shadow was a bit of a long shot. "Shirou, do you have any swords that destroy filth in order to restore the purity of nature or something?"
"What would be the point of an anti-pollution sword? Swords are meant for killing things. Not saving ducks from oil spills." My mentor snarked back.
I glared up at the fifteen foot trash giant. "A simple no would suffice, thank you." I grit out.
"Mush!" I shouted getting the garbage golem's attention. "The rest of the Merchants retreated." I jumped past the makeshift barricade. All the soldiers were aiming up anyway, so I shouldn't have to worry about friendly fire. "Surrender!"
"Fuck you!" His bit said Mush punted the wrecked garbage truck at the soldiers to my left. I tuned out the shouting and gunfire to rush forward.
"Going to need something big for this." I traced a claymore mid swing as I aimed above the golems right knee. The blade blew through the garbage golem with almost no resistance. It also did absolutely nothing as the limb simply reattached itself. "No, of course this couldn't be easy." I danced away from a kick and abandoned the claymore. When Mush tried to scoop it up, I dismissed the blade.
"Perhaps something more aggressive?" Shirou suggested.
"No back seat fighting." I snarked. Though I didn't really mean it. I wasn't about to turn away advice. Bullets certainly didn't seem to be doing much…
"Let's try this then." I dodged around a swipe from Mush's left arm and traced a half dozen claymore's and gave them velocity. The blades blurred forward and tore through Mush. it didn't faze him any more than the bullets were which was to say not at all. "Of course not." I growled and leapt back through the opening in the roadblock we had left open.
"Right, normal weapons aren't doing shit. Time to break out the big guns." "Trace on." Gáe Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism formed in my hands, red light collecting and building and arcing until the beautiful cursed spear fully manifested. I settled into my stance, with a fierce grin on my lips. I flooded my body with mana reinforcing myself as much as I dared, I pushed forward between the golem's legs. Spinning on my heel I reset my stance on the other side of the cape in time to see its legs dissolve where I had swiped at them.
The forming grin turned into a scowl as the stupid thing once again reabsorbed the disconnected trash.
"Damn it!" I rushed in full tilt, dashing around the flailing cape, hacking at any bit that got in range. The Guard continued to pour bullets into its upper chest and head. It didn't matter. Mush could reestablish connections to whatever I severed. Trying to buy time I tossed the spear into its chest as I went looking for a better solution. Then I felt Shirou nudging my focus towards a certain weapon. I hesitated for a moment, but another insistent nudge was enough for me to capitulate. I didn't have any better ideas.
Mush floundered for a few moments until he managed to pluck out and toss Gáe Dearg aside. His body stabilized itself just as I finished preparing my next weapon. Gáe Bolg. I slid into a wide stance with the spear point aimed towards the ground. "Mush!" I shouted loud enough to be heard over the gunfire. The Guard stopped firing. Whether they were using this as a chance to reload, or were just thrown off by the lightshow my spear was starting to put on I had no idea. "Last chance, Mush. Surrender or die!"
The cape laughed and took one distance consuming step forward. I steeled myself and let my understanding of the spear's legend carry me away. "Gáe Bolg." With that utterance I pierced Mush's heart because I would strike. The blade was embedded in the golem's crotch of all places. For several heartbeats the battlefield was silent and still. Then a red trickle began to flow down the shaft of my spear. I pulled back, swiping the spear to the side cast a line of ruby droplets onto the concrete.
The golem collapsed on itself.
{}{}{}{} 10 AM
Nursing a cup of soup and hunk of bread I leaned into an out of the way corner. Normally I'd have offered to help out with making breakfast but I'd slept in today and was enjoying a bit of quiet away from the breakfast crowd. Or I was until a runner with Privates stripes waved me over to the tents entrance.
"Colonel wants to see you in the command tent, ma'am."
I downed the last of my soup setting the bowl down on the nearest table and followed along. I didn't need him to show me the way, but I wasn't going to be rude about it. And if he wanted to talk… well I still had a bit of bread handy if I needed an excuse to not answer.
Walking into the tent I was surprised to see Colonel Potter talking with Lady Photon, well, Sarah Pelham at any rate. She wasn't in costume.
"You wanted to see me, Colonel." I asked glancing between the tent's occupants. Mrs. Pelham seemed just as tired as when I paid her family a visit the other day. The Colonel on the other hand seemed to have a bit more spring in his step than the past few days.
"Legacy, good to see, can't thank you enough for supporting my men this morning. No telling how many would have gotten hurt without otherwise."
I shrugged it off. "Just doing what I can, sir."
"I was just wrapping up talks with Mrs. Pelham. New Wave will be moving into camp here and they've agreed to fly patrols between the camps at regular intervals."
That was… something at least. Hell, it was a lot better than what we had before which was nothing. Having a few capes stationed at every camp would be better, but considering they could fly we at least had access to fast responders. But if they were going to be based here…
"You wanted to see if I'd be willing to relocate to one of the other camps?" It was just a guess, but the facts lined up.
"Yesterday's attack proves their willingness to come after the camps." He confirmed. "Given how you handled things, a lot of people will sleep better knowing you're on hand." He shook his head. "I've also passed on the reports about what happened. Might finally be enough to get us some help from Director Piggot."
"Same camp I helped out last night?" The Colonel nodded and I shrugged back. "When does the next supply truck leave?"
"Noon."
"Then I'll grab my stuff and be ready to go when it does." With a clipped nod I headed off.
"Taylor, are you alright."
"I'm fine, Shirou."
"You just seem, a bit tense."
"I'm fine, Shirou."
"Alright, but if you want to talk about something"
"Leave it alone, Shirou." I cut him off as I went about double checking my duffle bag. I knew what he was doing. I wasn't getting dragged into that. I had things to do and places to be. Someone had mentioned problems with one of the auxiliary generators, and I'd promised to take a look since Shirou was a pretty good handyman. We only had a couple of hours to get that done before I needed to leave, so there was no point putting it off.
I just needed to keep moving.
