DAWN waits for no one, ready or not...
The council had been gathered at the utmost haste. Qrow's message quickly spread around Ozpin's little circle of trust come early morning.
Ozpin himself sat firmly behind his desk. His morning cup of coffee remained untouched. To his right stood one of his most trusted confidants, Glynda Goodwitch. The two of them faced the gathered individuals on the screens before them. Three different people on separate screens. All of them just as agitated as Ozpin and Glynda.
"I believe you've all read Qrow's latest report?" Ozpin jumped right into the fray.
"Of course we have! This is incredulous. The Winter Maiden, attacked and assumed dead? What is the meaning of this, Ozpin?!" The headmaster of Haven Academy demanded.
Glynda frowned at the man's impatience, but held her tongue.
Ozpin on the other hand, indulged his fellow academy headmaster's concerns. "It's as the report said. The Winter Maiden's lodgings had been compromised by the time Qrow arrived on the scene. Her whole estate was in ruins and no survivors were found." Ozpin frowned, glancing at the upper most screen with the image of a stern man in white. "What I would like to know is how this tragedy was able to transpire under your watch, James."
General James Ironwood of Atlas Academy furrowed his brows, gritting his teeth.
"The Winter Maiden's security was Atlas' responsibility, was it not?" Glynda added, particularly eager to land a few blows at the man's pride. "How do you explain yourself?"
The council's eyes all rested on Ironwood. He coughed into his fist first, before speaking.
"I take full responsibility for this loss," Ironwood shut his eyes and bowed. "Winter was entrusted into my care. And I let our enemies get to her. I have no real excuses but only this truth.
"As per our previous consensus after what befell Fall, the rest of the maidens were to be swiftly secured. Atlas of course, kept our side of the bargain and made steps to secure Winter. We had guards stationed to her person 24/7 in an Atlesian Military Base, the securest location in all of Atlas.
"However, Winter was… difficult to control. She didn't respond well to her bodyguards and didn't agree with our safety policies. She was brash and selfish, only ever thinking about her own needs."
Ozpin noticed the scowl growing on James' face. He couldn't help but wonder just how much of what the man was saying was objective fact and how much of it was just the man's bias showing.
"Winter insisted she be allowed off the base camp. She said she wanted her 'freedom' and made periodic requests to 'be her own person'." Ironwood shook his head. "Of course, we refused her selfish demands and tried to appease her. But…
"A few months ago, she became rebellious. Things only worsened once she found out about Atlas' latest research topics."
Everyone on the council winced. It was common knowledge among their circle that Atlas' latest research was directed towards finding a method of saving what little remained of the Fall Maiden's powers. It was experimental technology that could in theory transfer the powers of a Maiden to another person. If the rebellious Winter Maiden had found out about that line of research…
"She didn't trust you?" Ozpin surmised, his left eye twitched.
"Unfortunately." Ironwood nodded. "She stormed her way out of the compound that night and fled the continent."
"And you just let her?" Glynda asked incredulous.
"She was a Maiden! A force of nature in the flesh! What were we supposed to do?" Ironwood defended himself. His raised voice riled everyone up.
Ozpin however, remained calm and stared at James, patiently requesting for more.
"Of course, we didn't just let her stroll out into the unknown. We demanded that she at least be stationed a security team, and she allowed us to post guards around her choice of residence, provided that it be relatively isolated."
"Which was the site of destruction Qrow reported about," Ozpin concluded, bringing up to the screen the images Qrow attached to his message.
The images were hazy, taken in the dark wilderness, but the broken figure of what was once a cottage on a snowy mountain was unmistakable. Torn down walls covered in icy frost, wooden beams cut cleanly.
"Yes," Ironwood sighed. "Before Winter left, she made it clear she would be staying in her grandparents' cottage on the Northern Mountains of Anima. She said she grew up around the area and that very little people ever visited the place. But what really made the location ideal for her hiding place was-"
"Her connection to the terrain, yes?" Glynda cut the man off.
Ironwood's eye twitched but he continued. "Yes. As she was the Maiden of Winter, the snowy Northern slopes of Anima would have been where her element would be at its strongest."
Ozpin nodded. A Maiden's powers were tied to the forces of nature itself, and naturally drew from the strength of the land. It was why one wouldn't want to fight the Fall Maiden next to an active volcano.
"Which means that whoever assaulted the Winter Maiden managed to overpower her at her peak," Headmaster Lionheart concluded grimly.
"Or they could have deceived her with trickery," Glynda offered.
Ozpin took a sip at his coffee. His eyes brushed over the images Qrow sent, noticing the many holes and cuts on the broken wooden walls.
"We can be sure it wasn't a Grimm attack at the very least. Those marks are on the wood are too clean for any Grimm's claws." The headmaster of Shade Academy joined in.
"Your men." Ozpin looked at Ironwood. "The soldiers you had stationed at the cottage. When was the latest report they sent you?"
Ironwood's eyes darkened. "They were scheduled to report at monthly intervals. It's difficult to get Scroll signals up on the mountains after all. The high rise and the jagged cliffs affect the signals."
"When did they last report to you?" Ozpin repeated the question.
"Nearly a month ago."
"Which means the Winter Maiden may have been attacked as far back as a month ago, and we're only now discovering this." Ozpin closed his eyes and took another gulp of his coffee.
"Oz…" Ironwood didn't know what to say.
The headmaster of Beacon Academy finished his cup of coffee and set his mug down on the table. "Our enemies are growing stronger and bolder. Qrow mentioned the addition of new pawns, though he didn't elaborate any more. But somehow some time ago, the enemy found out Winter's location and overwhelmed her at her own territory.
"We have to consider the worst-case scenario and assume that the enemy has succeeded, and stolen all of the Winter Maiden's powers."
The entire council drew their breath.
"Which means that somewhere out there right now, the enemy has one of four of the most powerful forces on Remnant all to herself."
"Shirou~! I want pancakes for breakfast!"
A high-pitched cry pierced through the hazy early morning atmosphere of Unlimited Blade Works. The door to the rooftop opened with a slam and a super energetic girl with cat ears stepped out. She took a minute to bask in the majestic light of the rising sun, before bursting into an excited sprint around the roof-deck, her arms outstretched like wings.
"Pancakes? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
A somewhat groggy but stern voice answered the girl's flippant request. A red-haired boy stepped out of the open door. He wore a black and cerulean tracksuit. He shielded his eyes from the initial glare of dawn with his free hand. In his other hand, he carried a small-sized purple tracksuit. His eyes widened when he spotted his sister.
"Come on, Illya, you shouldn't run too much without stretching!" Shirou reprimanded her.
But the girl didn't seem to hear his complaints and continued to run the perimeter of the roof-deck. Her mouth opened wide, taking in the strange mix of chilly air and warm sunlight. Every so often, her fingertips would graze the metal fence around the roof-deck and the metal frame would glow silver.
"It's fine, it's fine!" Illya said after running a whole lap of the perimeter. "More importantly, Shirou, I've set up the Bounded Field like you requested. So, how about those pancakes?"
Shirou sighed. "Thanks for that. And well, it's not like we don't have the ingredients necessary for pancakes. But where is this coming from?"
Illya harrumphed and twirled her cat tail. "You see, it just so happened yesterday when I was handing out fliers on the street, I came across a couple. The girl was really enthusiastic about pancakes and kept on pestering her boyfriend to make her some."
"I see…" Shirou thought the reason was too flimsy.
"At the time, I remembered how I've never tried pancakes myself and thought, 'I should have my boyfriend make me some too!'," Illya explained.
Now, that was a much stronger reason. Still, Shirou shook his head. "Illya, I'm your brother, you know."
"Hm? What's your point, Shirou?"
This girl… Did she have no qualms with siblings being in a relationship? Shirou coughed into his hand. "Siblings can't get married. It's against the law." He knew he was running away from the heart of the situation, hiding behind the law.
"Don't sweat the details, Shirou. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Illya pouted, waving off his concerns. "Anyway, so, pancakes?" She puffed her cheeks.
Shirou smiled wryly. "If you stretch properly with me before our work out, I'll make you all the pancakes you want."
"Yippee!" Illya jumped up in triumph.
Shirou smirked at his sister's excitement, but frowned once he noted her choice of clothing again. "Illya, it's pretty chilly this early in the day. Maybe you should at least cover up a bit...?" He raised the purple tracksuit to her.
"No way." Illya shook her head instantly.
Shirou winced at her flat-out rejection. It went against his morals, but his sister insisted on wearing her usual exercise attire. It was a simple combination of a white shirt with purple bloomers and running shoes. Perhaps in an elementary school somewhere, this would have been standard gym uniform. But the bloomers Illya chose only covered the minimum amount of skin. Given her childish body, it wasn't exactly a bad fit. But with the knowledge that she was actually older than him and the strangely tense feeling in his chest, Shirou couldn't stare directly at Illya for too long.
If only she would follow his example of wearing a tracksuit.
"Don't your legs feel a little cold?" Shirou tried to reason one more time.
"This paltry level of cold is nothing compared to the Einzbern Castle's," Illya deadpanned.
"Right, my bad," Shirou apologized for bringing up the past unexpectedly. He set the purple tracksuit aside and exhaled. He smiled at Illya. "Well, stretch with me and we'll have pancakes for breakfast."
"Yes," Illya replied and quickly copied Shirou's stance.
The two of them went through Shirou's usual routine of stretching quietly. Sweat dripped down their bodies under the beating sun. They finished their stretching with breathing exercises. Their breaths in perfect rhythm with one another. Their eyes closed, they exhaled deeply one last time.
"Illya, the Bounded Field is set up perfectly, right?"
"Of course, right now everyone within a five-kilometer radius is receiving the compulsion not to look up here. Anyone further away will see nothing out of the ordinary, and any disturbance we make in here cannot be detected."
Shirou nodded. He had to make sure there were no bystanders to witness their morning ritual. It would be troublesome to have to erase their memories.
They opened their eyes and stepped away from each other, until there was a good distance between them. In this closed off space, the two of them, brother and sister, stared at one another. No more words would be exchanged. Right now, they were…
"Trace on."
"Degen."
Two black and white dao swords appeared in Shirou's hands.
Two silver wire-construct swords hovered over Illya's shoulders.
They were two magi facing each other in combat.
Their swords clashed with explosive force and the air trembled.
Steel screeched into Shirou's ears. His swords Kanshou and Bakuya gritted against two of Illya's gigantic épée swords. The force behind their thrusts strong enough to crush his skull. His nose twitched, catching the scent of fresh alcohol in the air. He reacted instinctively, breaking away from the giant blades and dodging two bullets of magical energy at the last minute.
Around Illya, three new wire-construct birds hovered, firing an endless barrage of prana bullets at him. Shirou's eyes changed into silver and he let Archer's combat experience flow into him. Through pure battle instinct, he saw a few seconds into the future. The trajectories clear to him. He deflected the lethal shots with Kanshou and Bakuya, and dodged the rest. He retreated a few steps back, giving himself more room to dodge.
Illya wouldn't let up though. She brushed her hands through her hair and pulled out four strands, creating four more bird familiars. Their beaks aimed at Shirou. Like the rest of the flock, they fired at him mercilessly.
Shirou bolstered the reinforcement in his legs tenfold. The strength beneath his feet rivaling a Servant's, he ran across the roof deck in short bursts. He leapt into the air, blocked shots with his swords and used their momentum to reach the edge of the Bounded Field. He kicked his feet against the magical wall and propelled himself like a rocket.
"Trace OVEREDGE."
Kanshou and Bakuya thrummed with power in his hands. The two swords sang and their blades grew, expanding into jagged long swords. With their new extended reach, the married swords tore through the flock of bird familiars, blocking against any fired shots, before bursting into a shower of deadly shards that rained down on the familiars.
Illya switched gears and jumped back. With a cold look in her eyes, she pulled out several more strands and waved her arm in command.
Shirou landed on a broken piece of machinery and Archer's instincts screamed at him to dodge for his life. The birds came after him in organized formation, spreading apart and firing from all around him, giving him no room to dodge.
A jagged line of tan skin grew over Shirou's silver eyes and Archer's circuits went to work. He projected several mundane giant swords to serve as a wall. It was only a stopgap. The steel easily broke, but it bought him enough time to project several pairs of the married swords. With Archer's trained eyes, he threw them into the air.
The birds dodged the spinning blades. Their autonomous state giving them the freedom to fly as wildly as necessary. They acted coordinated though, never crashing into each other or entering each other's line of fire.
Illya was being serious today, Shirou noted. The familiars more bloodthirsty than usual. Was this thanks to the promise of pancakes for breakfast?
Archer scolded him for straying his thoughts. His body acted without him and Shirou found himself dodging several birds that transformed into swords. Their giant dull blades embedded into the concrete where he stood only moments ago.
He was reminded again of the situation. His sister was trying to kill him. Nothing especially new. Just difficult to swallow.
Illya snapped her fingers and the swords stabbed into the floor rose up, and flew at him again as birds. In turn, some of the birds morphed into swords and thrust at his direction.
Shirou returned to his dodging and defending with another pair of Kanshou and Bakuya. He destroyed several more familiars, but Illya kept making more. It was beginning to become overwhelming.
"That's good. Something like this."
A few strands of his hair turned white and for a moment, Shirou returned to that fateful night under Mount Enzo. Standing against an endless armory of legendary weapons, facing the King of Heroes himself. He felt again that animalistic instinct in him to survive no matter what was thrown against him.
Cuts and scorch marks spread across his tracksuit now. But his body wouldn't break. He kept on moving, dodging, blocking, and destroying more birds with his projected swords in a frenzy. All the while, his eyes kept observing the birds' movement, analyzing their flight pattern.
Now's about the time…
Shirou projected Kanshou and Bakuya again. And with his mind, he called for all the swords he had thrown earlier. He hadn't let them fade away into motes of prana. They were still right where he left them. He threw his new pair of swords at a specific direction and the birds dodged the spinning blades like before.
Shirou's mouth twisted into a devilish grin.
The birds dodged the spinning blades just like before.
The copies of Kanshou and Bakuya left littering the battlefield took to the air, spinning to their fated partners. The birds moved away just as he expected them to and Shirou quickly threw one more pair of swords. The effect was instantaneous, the flight curves of the storm of swords changed. The birds never had the chance to dodge as deadly steel crashed into them. They all suffered the same end.
The wire-constructs all shattered into a shower of silver dust. Shirou released the swords' form and they broke away into particles of blue, creating the image of falling snow on a wintry night.
Silence fell over the roof-deck. The two magi stood wordlessly amidst the aftermath of their battle. Their magic circuits settled down and their breathing slowly returned to normal.
The two smiled at each other warmly. The battle now over, they regarded each other as brother and sister once again.
Illya broke the silence and clapped her hands. "As expected of my Onii-chan, taking out all my familiars at once with a single move like that. Shirou can't lose to anyone!"
Shirou wiped the sweat off his forehead and chuckled. "It wasn't anything special. It took me forever to figure out your Storch Ritter's flight algorithm. Archer would've gotten it in half the time."
That's a given. The difference between our skills is like night and day.
He frowned at his other self's sharp words, but knew he couldn't deny them.
"Nonsense, Shirou's just as good as Archer," Illya insisted, walking up to him. She leaned forward and tilted her head. "So, how'd I do today? Was I close to what you were looking for, Shirou?"
"Ah." He nodded and patted her head. "You did well today. For a moment there, I thought I was fighting Goldie. Thank you for that."
Illya smiled in relief. Glad to know her efforts had been in the right direction. "Though, I'm sorry I had to stop the fight where I did. I still had plenty of prana to spare, but if we fought any longer…" Illya frowned uncertainly.
Shirou's eyes returned to their gold color. The tan marks over his skin slowly faded. His hair regained their vibrant red flair. His body instantly felt heavy with fatigue. His bones and muscles were screaming at him for what he had them endure.
"I know. I would have reached my current limit," Shirou said shakily, between his panting for breath.
"Shirou!" Illya helped keep him upright, letting his sweat-drenched form lean on her shoulders.
"Hehe, today's match was pretty fierce, huh?" Shirou smiled through the ache encompassing his entire body.
Fool, know your own limits, will you? You're not invincible.
"I know," Shirou muttered under his breath.
Illya heard the irritation in her brother's quiet voice but didn't bring it up. She walked slowly and propped him up against the broken machine with the fresh new dent.
Shirou wheezed. He looked up to the seemingly endless horizon. He could still see some faint traces of Remnant's shattered moon. He frowned. His current state was just too pathetic. Simply activating the circuits inside him was a risk, but letting them stay activated for an extended period of time was another level of crazy altogether. Case in point, the snarky voice inside his head right now.
I heard that, idiot.
Shirou closed his fist and sighed. This was no good. At his current strength, he wouldn't be able to protect what was important to him…
Warmth settled onto his side. He looked to his left and found Illya sitting next to him. Her arms wrapped around his left arm. Her eyes closed contently.
"Please don't think too hard about it, Shirou. I can take care of myself just fine." She snuggled her head against his shoulder. "You don't have to carry everything by yourself."
He widened his eyes at her words. He had made Illya worry? Over him? Truthfully, Shirou didn't think someone like him was worth being worried about. After all the mistakes he had made in the past, the lives he had cost, he didn't deserve to be worried over.
But staring into his sister's sad frown, he couldn't deny her feelings. Whether he wanted it or not, she was worried about him. Despite the fact she knew of all his failures, she still cared about him.
Shirou didn't like seeing Illya worry, but another part of him felt happy at the prospect. He leaned back next to her and accepted her comfort.
"Give me a few minutes to recover and I'll make us some pancakes."
Shirou felt the smile creep onto Illya's face from his shoulder.
The early birds of Vale flew overhead. It was just another morning for the Emiya-Einzbern siblings.
Author's Note:
During their fight, Shirou is wearing a version of his Capsule Servant outfit and Illya is wearing her uniform from Tiger Dojo, because reasons.
Shameless self-promotion plug-in: I started a new story titled "Fate Zero: Sword's Redemption" and as the title might suggest, it's another Shirou-insert-story, but this time it's the Fate/Zero World. Please check it out if you're interested.
On Hiatus until December.
Thank you for reading.