Where was he?
He didn't know.
He should've known, shouldn't he?
That didn't make sense, why didn't he know where he was?
He'd have to figure it out later, now wasn't the time to get lost in pointless thoughts, he wouldn't be able to figure it out just by standing there thinking about it. He'd have to search around, figure it out himself.
There was a city.
There was a horrid smell amidst the pouring of the rain, unable to be washed away, and neon lights illuminated the dingy air from the black buildings. People shuffled about below on the streets, hurried and kept to themselves.
It was familiar at least, from the rooftops as he moved along. Even if he didn't know where he was, at least things seemed mostly the same.
Leaping down from the roof, he landed in an alleyway, dismissing his coat and replacing it to better serve blending in. With a thud and a splash his boots smashed into the pavement under a puddle, the water splashing the bottom of his leggings as he straightened his back.
He took a step, and suddenly he remembered, and felt the need to puke. He stumbled, head flooded with thoughts and memories as his vision blurred. This was wrong. Everything was wrong. He shouldn't be here.
Why?
He thought he collapsed at some point, maybe he did, maybe he didn't, he wasn't completely sure to be frank.
But, he was aware of someone standing by him, holding him with his arm slung around their shoulder.
Who…?
"...Don't struggle so much, you're injured…" He heard her say.
Maybe...maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.
Like Wrought Iron Chapter 3 - The Hero of Justice's actions lead to a change in the story
"What the hell…" Mephisto muttered, his glare squarely on Nearl after her entrance. Her tail swished as she turned away to look at him, a disapproving expression on her face.
"You there." She said, contempt audible in her voice, but kept in check with a tone that at least imitated politeness, "The Reunion forces worked like a well-oiled machine when they took over the Chernobog military strongholds. But your men act like deranged thugs. Mindless slaughter, burning down the city, hunting down innocents, this was all for your own sadistic pleasure, was it not?"
Her expression darkened into a full out scowl as she continued her verbal barrage against the child, "Someone base enough to plot these senseless crimes at a time like this could not possibly have designed the plan to take down an entire city. Your commander probably ordered you to cause chaos, but you succumbed to your perversion and tastelessness"
While she hadn't raised a hand against him, the pressure from her words had been close enough to physical blows for Mephisto to nearly recoil in shock. His brow shook as his eyes widened, his wavering pupils pin pricks as he stared at her in silence for a moment, before a horrid snarl replaced the shocked expression he had.
"Faust, I want her shot through the mouth!" He practically roared, his voice cracking in rage. Again, for a split second, Shirou was reminded of another, a different white haired child appearing in his vision, ruby red eyes glaring as a wicked sneer called on a mountain of destruction, before he called out as he sprinted forwards, "To your left!"
Already moving before he called out, Nearl's shield sliced through the air as she raised it to her side, barely having the time to quickly brace herself as the sniper's shot barrels against the metal with a force that causes her to cry out, breaking her guard, though not strong enough to go through the rest of the way, with her just barely managing to deflect the shot.
"Nearl! Doctor!" Amiya called out, worry in her voice at the sight of Nearl coughing heavily after the exertion, as well as the sight of Shirou rushing towards her.
"Their Sniper is ridiculous," Dobermann growled in disbelief and agitation, "Nearl won't be able to defend herself if she gets hit again, the Doctor is only going to get her hurt!"
Amiya called out, "Nearl, Doctor, the two of you need to retreat!"
"I can't…" Nearl grunted, adjusting her footing as she fixed her grip on her shield, "He's too powerful, I can't afford to let him hit our squads or the doctor. I have to intercept his attacks!"
"Don't push yourself," Shirou said, ignoring the hypocrisy of the suggestion given his current state, before continuing, "I got your back."
"She managed to block Faust's ballista...with only a shield?!" Mephisto muttered, disbelief mixing into his still livid expression before he roared out, "Impossible! Do it again! Blow her to pieces!"
And with a flash a bolt barreled towards Nearl from the right, aimed specifically at her past him, Shirou realized as he caught it in his gaze, swinging Bakuya and Kanshou to divert the ballista shot, smashing it into the ground near them.
Before he could dismiss his blades and replace them with his bow to return fire, he heard Ace's voice yell out, "Snipers take aim! Target the raised platform to the south! Fire!"
The moment the words started to leave his mouth, dozens of shots and bolts flew in the air smashing into the southern platform, kicking up a cloud of dust as chunks of concrete fell to the ground.
"What?! How dare you!" Mephisto screeched after ripping his eyes away from the destroyed platform back to them, before roaring out more orders, members of Reunion picking themselves up and charging in.
"Did we get him?" Amiya asked.
"I doubt it." Ace grunted, "We don't have time to dissect our enemies' tactics, so we have to maintain pressure until we can break through."
"The longer this drags on the less likely we'll be able to block his shots." Dobermann added, gaze on Nearl and Shirou, already fighting off Reunion members.
"We can't give him time to set up!" Nearl called out, as she smashed her warhammer into an overzealous Reunion member who tried charging past her towards Shirou's back as he slashed through another member, "Amiya, make your move while Team E3's snipers keep him occupied!"
Nodding, Amiya charged, her arts glowing as she called out, "Team E1 snipers, come with me to suppress Reunion's forces! E2, use all the firepower you have to break through the defensive line!"
Bolts and blasts of arts flew through the air as the members of Reunion and Rhodes Island fought each other. Shirou's eyes darted along the skyline watching for Faust so that he could try to end it, but each time he was about to, he had to divert his attention back to the battle around him to avoid getting skewered by a blade.
"Nearl!" He called out to her as he pushed a reunion member away, slashing at their back. Her eyes met his, he knew he had her attention even with the fighting going on, and so continued his request, "I need you to buy me a few seconds, I don't have the time with all these guys on me!"
Without even a nod, she dashed forward, lunging at the Reunion member behind him trying to bisect him with a cleaver, smashing her shield into his face and flinging him away.
It wasn't optimal, and he would've liked it if he could've stuck with just the single projection with the married blades, but with this "Faust" playing the ranged game he had to even the score somewhat. Just had to make sure he didn't do anything too flashy and end up killing himself from the strain. This would've been a lot easier if he wasn't so drained and his circuits weren't acting weird. But beggars couldn't be choosers and all that.
Stabbing the married blades into the ground by his side a black bow took their place in his grip, rods of metal imitating arrows already strung as he raised the bow and aimed. Firing in rapid succession, they blasted off with a speed and force comparable to Faust's smashing into the buildings, chunks of concrete flying off with clouds of smoke.
...He had already moved from that location, Shirou noted, deciding to switch up strategies as new arrows made their way into his grip, shifting his aim towards Mephisto.
He fired.
But before the bolts could hit the child, shots from Faust intercepted his own, knocking them out of the air and countering them. Quickly spinning, Shirou took aim at the origin of the shots and fired the remaining bolts he had traced. He struck his target, the ballista exploding.
Well it wasn't Faust, but it was something at least.
After a couple more exchanges between the two, with him trying to predict the sniper's location sometimes and going after Mephisto others, Shirou decided to try something else, dismissing his bow, he switched back to the married blades before rejoining the fight. He'd let team E3 deal with him for a bit, let him think that he'd forgotten about him, or at least had given up on taking him down, and wait to see if there'd be a better opportunity for him to deal with him. He wasn't making enough progress at that moment, and didn't have enough energy to use something explosive enough to make up for it.
So he'd have to try to trick him into overextending, even if only for a moment. And then he'd take him down.
"You filthy vermin…" Mephisto growled out as the battle continued, "Why won't you obediently just roll over and die? Why can't I just put an end to you all right here?"
"Nearl, Emiya, now's your chance! Hurry!" Ace called out to them.
A smile breaking onto her face, Nearl called out, "All members of E4, we're breaking through their formation! Clear everything out of our way in one fell swoop, let's run wild!" And suddenly, she blasted forward like a rocket, striking down members of Reunion before they could even realize she was on top of them.
"If you wish to stand against a Kazimierz knight," She declared, "Come back after you've trained a few more decades!"
Yeah, this was definitely familiar, Shirou thought as he charged after her, striking down Reunion members. Faust wasn't shooting at them at that moment, and he couldn't figure out his position. He was being cautious. Even if Shirou wasn't waiting for him, there was too big a risk to reveal himself at that moment.
The members of Rhodes Island trailed after them, following the path they cleared out for them, as they broke through. He glanced back as they charged forward, checking to ensure nobody was getting left behind, and to see if he had a clear shot at either of the Reunion leaders.
Fortunately, it didn't look like anyone was getting left behind, all managing to get through the members of Reunion. Unfortunately, he didn't have a clear shot at either of them. Mephisto was behind too many people and rubble for him to shoot down with anything that wouldn't knock him out as well, and Faust was still hidden from view.
"Doctor, is something wrong?" He heard Amiya's voice beside him, turning away from behind them to look at her as they ran he shook his head, but before he could say anything Ace interrupted, "I bet Emiya's just mad that that Reunion Sniper ran him around him in circles and he couldn't even take him out."
Shirou frowned, no he was not mad over something like that, he wasn't that childish. He told himself that as he threw Kanshou at a following Reunion member, bisecting them before the blade shifted directions to return to Bakuya, catching it in his waiting hand.
Ace laughed again.
After a few minutes of running, they seemed to have escaped Mephisto's territory, if the lack of Reunion members still following them was any sign. With another moment of relative peace for the group, they slowed down from the previous sprint, and began chatting amongst themselves again.
Eventually, Shirou's amnesia came up again, as Nearl tried to start a conversation with him, "So you're the Doctor then? I must admit, you weren't exactly what I was expecting."
"That's right but…"
Amiya started, with Dobermann groaning as she trailed off, "Every time we meet someone, Amiya has to repeat the story of how the Doctor is suffering from amnesia. What a pain…"
Nearl looked at him, her expression compassionate and understanding as she said, "Doctor Emiya...one of my friends has lost her memories as well. I'm sure the two of you will get along. After all, you should understand how precious living in the present is."
Shirou twitched slightly at her words, though she didn't seem to notice as Amiya nodded with a hum. Living in the present huh?
"Hey, is it just me, or is the sky getting darker?" A guard asked suddenly, looking up at the sky as they walked.
It wasn't just him, Shirou realized as he was broken out of his thoughts, looking up as well. Swirling dark clouds formed a thick blanket across the sky, hiding it from view, cackling yellow lightning illuminated the clouds, casting black shadows before they disappeared, only for another to replace them elsewhere.
It was wrong, unnatural, that was the feeling Shirou had, his gaze fixated on the sight.
"If only it was just you." Dobermann grimaced, "We never had much time anyway. But I don't like this feeling I get from watching it over our heads. What a bad omen."
"To make matters worse," She continued, "Reunion goons are probably lurking in every nook and cranny, but that's probably too conservative."
"It's more likely they're partying in the streets." Nearl said with a thin frown.
"Almost every street is filled with destruction, violence and looting. Vehicles and buildings are being set on fire," A medic said, her tone getting more agitated by the word, until she was loudly ranting, throwing her hands up in the air as she exasperatedly finished, "But these thugs decide that it's the perfect time for a picnic!"
"If they're going out on a picnic now, it's the Catastrophe that will feast upon their bones." Nearl responded, her expression not changing, "This proves that most Reunion members are just fools that have been whipped into a frenzy."
A couple members of the group stared at her and her dead serious response to the medic's blatant hyperbole. Shirou found a small tilt came to his lip, almost a smirk even, in amusement. Certainly an earnest knight then.
"Pfft," Amiya started to giggle, unable to hold it in anymore.
"Ah, they're not really having a picnic," The medic tried to explain herself awkwardly, "I just wanted something to complain about, you didn't have to take it seriously…"
"Oh, you weren't being serious? Wait, were you trying to crack a joke? Sorry, I'm not good with this stuff…" The expression on Nearl's face didn't change, remaining the forward facing steadfast gaze, though a pink tint was visible on her cheeks by the end of her first sentence.
"Umm, it-it's fine," The medic tried, almost giggling herself before catching herself as she continued, "Sorry, for trying to make a joke at such a serious time."
"It's okay." Amiya said, shaking her head with a light smile, "Rhodes Island wasn't founded for the sake of having everyone keep a serious face. We've always wanted everyone to be able to smile, so don't worry about it!"
Smile huh? For a flicker, he was a boy again, looking up at him. No, they weren't talking about that. They were thinking of happy smiles, content and pleased with life and the company around them. It was certainly something worth fighting for, probably better than what he had thought of.
They didn't need that type of expression.
After a few more minutes of walking, the medic seemed to notice something about one of the ruined buildings they passed by, stopping in place, "This clinic...Amiya...haven't we been here before?"
Shirou looked over the building in question, chunks of debris and scorch marks patterning the ruins telling a violent tale.
"You're right...but why has it become like this?" Amiya asked, more to herself than to the medic.
"It's been totally abandoned...it looks like it was attacked by Reunion…" The medic muttered.
"But wasn't this place Azazel, a clinic for the infected?" A guard questioned, irritated confusion audible in his voice.
"Yes." Amiya answered, only for the guard to appear even more irritated as he continued.
"Even though they had access to Chernobog's entire underground intelligence network, they still refused to work with us. Back then, it wasn't clear what kind of deal they had with Reunion…" He gripped his forehead as if holding back a headache as he ranted, "If only they had given us some information, or even just a hint, we could've been out of here by now! They brought this outcome upon themselves!"
"That's not the entire story…" Amiya started, before the guard continued.
"Amiya, you were there for the negotiations weren't you? That cold and arrogant attitude of theirs really ticked me off!"
"We can't blame them." Amiya firmly responded.
"Boss…"
"It's hard for the Infected to trust anyone. After enduring so many hardships, who can blame them for becoming jaded and stubborn?" As Amiya spoke, Shirou nearly flinched, another memory rearing its head in his head, surprisingly common that day. For a split second, he saw him, standing alone on that hill.
He had endured so much, and it broke him.
But he wouldn't, couldn't. He couldn't break, even when he saw the same hell he had. He wouldn't be the same as him, he swore it.
He wouldn't end up the same as EMIYA.
"I can understand why they did what they did and I can forgive them. Those who don't protect themselves are easily hurt by others. The Infected often can't even trust each other." He heard Amiya continue, unaware of the memories she had inadvertently dredged up in him, "Not everyone is able to stomach the kinds of risks that we take either…"
"Are we sure the building is completely abandoned?" Shirou spoke up, stepping closer to the ruins.
"Doctor?" Amiya glanced at him as he passed her, the other members of the group turning to him after hearing his words.
"Doctor Emiya," Dobermann started, "While your intentions are admirable we don't have a lot of time to spare."
"Don't bother," Ace stated, following after Shirou, "When this guy gets in his head to start saving people he's awfully stubborn about it, and it's not like the building's so big it'll take us long, and we might even be able to grab a few extra supplies that haven't been looted."
And with only a few more grumbles, Rhodes Island moved into the building, climbing over the rubble as they searched the clinic. Amiya trailed after Shirou, keeping close to him as he stepped into a room, the furniture and equipment tossed over and looted.
As his eyes glanced around, he didn't speak, so Amiya chose to fill the silence as she filled Shirou in on their location a bit more. "Azazel...they were black-market clinic that only provided services to the Infected. Given the social status of the Infected, they couldn't openly reveal themselves in public. Some of the Infected, not wanting to be thrown into quarantine, are hiding throughout the city, just trying to survive. Azazel was aimed at providing services to these people."
She glanced at a corpse in the room, a bloodied pulp by now, shuddering at the sight as she said, "...They must have rejected Reunion's proposals."
"'You're either with us or against us.'" Shirou muttered loud enough for her to hear, a frown on his face. It was maddenly common, he found after the first handful of battlefields and confrontations he had encountered after the Grail War. They moved to the next room, searching it quickly but thoroughly.
"Doctor, I mentioned how we're all sick right?" Amiya finally continued, "This disease will claim our lives, but it also grants us extraordinary powers. For example, I can use Originium Arts without the aid of a staff. However, this disease does not only destroy our bodies...it also destroys any chance we have at living a normal life. Or rather, 'civilized society' strips everything away from us."
Her eyes trailed over the room, as if seeing it as it were before the devastation, "Chernobog has been the shining beacon of this 'civility'. Fearing, hating, exilling, and purging the Infected…how many Infected even had the choice to join us, or Reunion, or some other organization? Most of them simply lost everything...maybe this clinic was a warm place some of them could call home…"
She trailed off for a moment, before continuing, a pained expression on her face, "There is no cure for Oripathy, the Infected can only die in despair, their bodies becoming new sources of infections. The Infected...are the most hated people on this planet."
Shirou took a moment to try and process everything she said.
It was a familiar story at the surface level, people were oppressed, and they needed saving.
But this wasn't something as simple as killing the threat, or revolution and reformation, or anything he'd been involved with. He couldn't stab or cut Oripathy, evidently by the fact that it still existed while he had apparently been there for a fair amount of time. After all, if he had already thought about it, he must have the first time around too.
He could save people, like he had always tried to do. But that alone wouldn't solve the problem.
Is that why he had apparently decided to become a doctor during his time here? He must have decided simply saving people wasn't enough, he had to figure out how to truly help them, with or without his magecraft. Especially if this was a global issue, he couldn't exactly move on to the next war zone and just be satisfied with letting the proper people figure it out, with the constant reminder all around him.
It was everywhere, and wouldn't leave until someone finally figured it out.
Well, he had a somewhat better understanding of how he got into this situation at least.
"Amiya," He finally said after a lingering moment. "I might not exactly be the person you came here for...I might not remember the times we've shared already…but I'll be here to help now. I'll stand by you for as long as I'm needed, and I'll do everything I can to change this world for the better."
Amiya smiled at his words, a small but hopeful smile as she said, "Thank you, Doctor…"
"Yo Emiya!" Ace's voice bellowed through the ruined hallway, "We actually found someone!"
"What's their condition?" Shirou asked, his head turning to face the direction of Ace's voice, as he and the Rhodes Island members that were near him moved into the hallway, along with the injured civilian.
She was an Infected, evident from the shards of black crystal protruding along her freshly bandaged and wrapped body. The shredded and bloodied animal ear on the left side of her head was wrapped in bandages and her breathing was uneven. A Rhodes Island coat was wrapped around her, due to her own clothing being not much more than rags at that point, though they were unlikely to have been all that good in quality, even more getting torn by rubble.
"Injured and unconscious, but not in too bad condition," A medic reported, "Her left ear is damaged and she has a broken leg and a few cracked ribs on the right side, but she should be fine if we can get her out of here."
"And she's the only one here?" Shirou asked, the group nodding in response, as the rest of Rhodes Island joined back up with them in the hallway. He sighed in relief, "I'm glad we managed to find her then. With the Catastrophe coming she would've died for sure, it's a good thing we checked."
"Anyone find anything usable while we were here?" Dobermann asked, with a guard holding up a couple medkits he had found in response. She nodded at him as he began handing them to the medics. "This was still dangerous, we don't have much time before the Catastrophe hits, but at least we got something out of it, as long as we don't have any more major hiccups we should get out of here with time to spare still."
"Sorry," Shirou apologized, "I didn't want to end up leaving someone behind when we could've helped them, but you're right we need to move fast." She groaned at his apology bringing a hand to her head as she muttered something under her breath.
"It's fine," She said, removing her hand from her head, "Let's just get out of here already."
After a couple more shared words ensuring that everyone was still there, Rhodes Island left the Azazel building with the addition of the unconscious Infected. Conversation was kept to a minimum, beyond a few comments from Dobermann to them telling them to hurry up, as they didn't have the time to linger anymore. This continued for about a quarter of an hour, with them covering a large amount of ground, even with the burden of carrying an unconscious person and trying to not aggravate her wounds.
As they moved along a groan could be heard from amongst them. A medic let out a noise of surprise before saying, "Ah, S-She's waking up, can we stop for a moment?"
Dobermann grumbled for a moment under her breath before saying, "We don't really have the time to, it's not optimal but we'll have to keep moving while she wakes up."
Barely a moment after the words had left Dobermann's mouth, the eyes of the Infected woman began to open, and she muttered, her voice weak and tired, "W-Wher…"
"Don't move too much," One of the medics helping carry her advised, "We're with Rhodes Island, we found you in the remains of the Azazel facility, we're getting you to safety."
"Azazel...it's...gone…was anyone...?"
"I'm sorry, you were the only one we could find still alive." The medic shook her head, a sorrowful expression on her face as she broke the bad news.
The Infected woman closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face, quietly sobbing in grief and pain. The medic by her side put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her as she cried. For a few minutes, their walking was accompanied by the uncomfortable sound of her quiet grieving, the expressions of the Rhodes Island members ranging from empathetic looks and glances towards her to somber forward gazes, keeping focus on the mission.
Shirou frowned as he walked, listening to her cries. If only he hadn't been asleep, maybe he could've helped avoid this situation with Reunion and stop the casualties...but he couldn't do anything about it at that point.
He'd just have to do as much as he could, save anyone he still could. A pang of guilt hit him as he remembered the Ursus guards, Crownslayer had been there with Mephisto, and he doubted she had been very merciful. He should've stayed behind despite their commander's protests, he could've helped.
But if he had it would've sabotaged all of Rhodes Island's efforts in getting him to safety, so that he could help more people. Kiritsugu wouldn't have had any reservations about his choice, if it were for the sake of saving even more people.
But he wasn't Kiritsugu.
He wanted to save everyone, even if he knew it was impossible. And yet he basically abandoned them.
He had to make choices like that as well.
And it wore him down, until he eventually broke.
He could understand, it hurt. Tohsaka probably would've said he did the best he could've in that situation, but did he? He might've tried to tip them off on their foe, but couldn't he have done more? Maybe force out a decent enough projection to launch at Crownslayer's group, and give the guard a bit more of an advantage?
No, the more analytical side of him shot that down.
He would've passed out at best from anything meaningful as he was right now. He'd been running on fumes since Amiya woke him up. It would've put a massive strain on Rhodes Island if they had to carry his unconscious body from that point on, especially with Mephisto and Faust. Nearl would've had a tough time on her own, though Ace might've been able to assist her in that case if he hadn't.
Amiya must've noticed the grimace that had overtaken his face, as she reached out, tugging slightly at the coat covering his frame, "Are you okay Doctor?"
"I'm fine Amiya, I just…" He glanced at her, his words caught in his throat for a moment before he continued, "I should've done more for the Guard. Crownslayer and her group must've killed them and I…"
Amiya's expression became conflicted at his words, but as she was about to say something, Ace chimed in, "You probably couldn't have done anything."
Their gazes shifted over to the man as he continued to speak, "If you could've saved them you would have, knowing you. Hell, if we left you alone, you probably would've tried still, even if you couldn't!" He laughed as he said that, before continuing, "But even a miracle worker like you can't do everything, so stop beating yourself up about it already."
"But I-"
"But nothing. You're only human Emiya, and you're obviously not exactly on the top of your game at the moment."
"Ace is right Doctor," Amiya affirmed with a nod, "Doctor is a good person, so please don't think you're a bad person."
Shirou was quiet for a moment as he mulled over their words in his head. They certainly had faith in him. As he was about to say something in response, a scout warned them that their easy trek was coming to an end, members of Reunion were up ahead and confrontation was likely.
As a medic spoke softly to the injured Infected woman, trying to keep her calm, Shirou went forward with a couple operators, tearing through the increasing numbers of Reunion members as they went. As they went forwards however, it started to seem more and more like Reunion was making a blockade, trying to keep anyone and anything in that section of the city.
"Why are they sending so many members out here now?!" Dobermann loudly complained, slashed through the charging infected with her whip, "It makes no sense! There's no reason for them to be defending this place so staunchly!"
Nearl yelled out encouragement to the Operators by her side, her charisma doing wonders for the guards as they worked to break through the forces of Reunion, responding to Shirou's and Ace's commands. They kept pushing forward, and then all hell broke loose. It was sudden, a cracking noise roared through the air, and a meteorite fell from the sky. A monolith of rock tearing through the air.
"It's here it's here!"
"Salvation has come for us!"
"Judgement day has come!"
Reunion was cheering and laughing.
The sight of the meteorite flipping some switch in them, a maniac fanaticism erupted from within them. A sight that for a brief moment felt sickenly familiar, before the meteorite reached the end of its journey, crushing the soldiers of Reunion in its path. Then after a single sick moment, a pause to let the sight settle in, more began to descend from the skies above, raining down on Chernobog. Explosions across the city could be heard, fire erupting, ash descended, and the wind howled. Shirou didn't need to be told to know what this was.
The Catastrophe had arrived.
"Even though I figured that Reunion would be using the Catastrophe to take their revenge...I didn't expect them to use it to completely destroy Chernobog." Dobermann muttered, her gaze locked to the sky above. "Rather than vengeance, this seems more like a manifesto…"
"All operators, find cover!" Ash's voice roared out, motioning for the operators to seek shelter from at least the worst of the storm in the surrounding buildings. Shirou went to help, getting operators to cover before seeking shelter himself. The buildings around them shook and broke apart as meteorites smashed into their roofs and walls.
"Medic! Watch out!" Shirou heard Amiya call out, his eyes catching the sight of the medic about to be crushed by rubble. And he was gone, shredding his body apart with reinforcement again to dart over, pushing her out of the way.
It smashed into the ground behind them as she gasped in shock, landing on her rear while he stumbled past her, his momentum along with wobbly footing nearly sending him into the ground.
"Doctor!" He heard multiple voices call out to him.
"I'm fine." He groaned, before turning to the medic still on the floor behind him, "How about you?"
"I-I'm fine. Thank you." She confirmed, her voice slightly shaken from the close shave with death.
He let out a breath of relief, a small smile on his face as he went to help her up, "That's a relief."
"Doctor," Amiya called out, a worried expression on her face, "You're not hurt are you?"
"I'm fine Amiya." He assured the concerned rabbit with a light chuckle, choosing to ignore the slight pain it caused his ribs, "It takes more than some rocks to take me down."
After another minute or so, Amiya noted out loud, "Fewer rocks are falling now…I think we've managed to weather the first impact…"
"We have to still be careful, nobody knows how long this Catastrophe will last," Dobermann said with a grimace, "At least we weren't caught in the middle of it. We were lucky."
"You're not wrong. Besides some light injuries, we've gotten through relatively unscathed." Amiya affirmed, a relieved smile on her face as she glanced over the rest of their group.
"We're gonna make it!" A guard said with a laugh, a weight seeming to lift from his shoulders as the worst of it seemed to pass.
"Rhodes Island!" A voice roared out, calling their attention. It was members of Reunion, a scattered group slowly conglomerating as they approached their shelter.
"Some of the Reunion members also…" Amiya started, before her eyes widened, "No…"
The members of Reunion were rushing towards them now, weapons drawn and maniac fury radiating from them.
"They're still trying to attack us?!"
"What's wrong with you bunch?" Dobermann cried out, already brandishing her whip.
"Do they not value their lives at all?!" Nearl asked in shocked disbelief at the sight of the charging soldiers, rushing through the still going storm to attack them.
"Snipers, assist me with cover fire so our operators can evacuate, fighting them head on here would be a death sentence!" Shirou called out, gripping Bakuya and Kanshou in anticipation for the coming fight. Snipers nodded as they moved into position, Nearl and Ace moving towards the door to meet the entering Reunion forces.
As they began to leak in, they were welcomed with the bashing of shields and crossbow bolts and arrows striking their bodies. Shirou hung back, helping lead the rest of the operators out of the building to leave, while cutting down any leaking Reunion soldiers before they could attack the retreating group with the help of Amiya and her arts and Dobermann's whip.
"Ace, Nearl, fall back!" Shirou called out as the last remaining members of their group escaped. The two nodded in response, disengaging from the Reunion members and charging towards the exit themselves. "Amiya, knock out the ceiling when Ace and Nearl get through, it'll block the exit and buy us more time!"
"Yes Doctor!"
The two rushed through the door, and Amiya's arts fired, cracking apart the concrete above the door and collapsing it. With their backs covered, even if just for a moment, Rhodes Island retreated, moving through the rubble filled streets and devastated remains of buildings to avoid Reunion and the still lingering Catastrophe.
"We made it!" Nearl gasped out after a few minutes, looking around them, relieved at the sight of the dwindling storm and lack of Reunion, "We've not only managed to shake them off our tail, but the Catastrophe is visibly weakening!"
"The Catastrophe…the streets are buried in rubble and collapsed buildings are blocking the roads." Amiya grimaced as she observed the surroundings.
"Is the Originium already beginning to metastasize?" Dobermann asked, seemingly to herself before continuing, "We're almost there but everything's blocking our way! If we can just…"
Shirou noted her attention being caught, and the moment he did, he noticed it as well.
"They're here." Ace stated.
Reunion. Over a hundred masked and hooded figures, stepping out of and over the rubble around them. They were grossly outnumbered, easily ten to one in terms of numbers. And they were surrounded. Reunion was everywhere around them. Blocking off every possible exit Shirou could see.
What rotten luck.
"From the plaza, the streets, the buildings...and even all the ruins. Look at those numbers." Dobermann let out a hollow laugh, "That explains why they weren't scared of the Catastrophe at all, even if it took out half their men…they still have enough to kill us a dozen times over. With these numbers, they could actually take over Chernobog if they wanted."
"Where did Reunion find all these Infected?" Nearl muttered.
"The entire plaza is swarming with Reunion forces!" A guard cried out, the hopelessness of the situation getting to him.
Okay hero, how to handle a situation this bad? Shirou's mind desperately raced to think up a solution. They were too wide spread, he wouldn't be able to take them all out with a single shot if he risked it with a powerful noble phantasm. Ignore Reunion and simply try to break through with a powerful broken phantasm to clear out a path? Had promise but was certainly risky, could lead to them easily getting overwhelmed. Maybe a rounding sweep to try to take as many out as possible? Too risky, the chances of him hitting his group was way too high, if he didn't just pop from trying. Maybe he could try a series of weaker projections, simple mundane weapons, and fire them as an imitation of her noble phantasm…
"They've stopped moving…"
Shirou's thoughts were broken by the guard's words. He was right, the members of Reunion were just…standing there now. Except for a small number, who were moving to the side to make way for someone…
The scent of sulfur and steel filled the air, like something was burning, as she approached. It was a real smell, but similar scents registered in his brain similar to magecraft. But, wrapped up in it, in her, was a sense of malice and darkness that was incompatible with it, as if choking the flames.
Jagged black horns along with a mop of white hair that reached her shoulders, the sole person approaching them was certainly a beautiful woman, with fair features not marred by the almost dead expression on her face. A black and white almost victorian era looking dress clung to her frame, the tail of the red Reunion band wrapped around her arm trailing behind her along with her actual reptilian, no…dragonic, tail.
And by her side was a sword. A predominantly black blade with a silver edge and a ridged crossguard, the grip wrapped in red, it was nearly as long as her entire frame. Violence, bloodshed, murder, fire. Shirou could see its history. And with how long she'd been using it, he could see her's in part as well in a way.
For a fraction of a second he was in a cave, his body being torn apart and held together by blades, desperate to save someone he held dear to his heart from the darkness that held onto them like a cancer.
What…? T-That didn't happen, did it? He didn't…he wasn't…Sakura hadn't…what…?
"Talulah." His thoughts were broken by Amiya's voice, as she named the approaching figure, the results of a conversation he hadn't been following. Not that he actually needed the Draco girl's name to be told to him, her sword already providing him said information.
He could focus on that weird flash to Sakura that he was sure never happened later, right now he had other priorities. She wasn't in control of her actions. She didn't want what was happening. She was being controlled. She needed to be saved. He could do it.
If he could even get to her and actually use it. Every step she took, the air around them kept getting hotter and hotter, the ground under her melting away with every step. She was extremely dangerous, incredibly powerful, an expert with a sword, and could use it in combination with her control over fire to devastating effects.
Great. It was like he was back in Fuyuki during the Grail War. Cause compared to him, especially at that moment, she was practically a servant. Tohsaka had said he should really stop trying to fight those.
"...my squad will handle this." He heard Ace say, the tail end of a sentence in a conversation he also hadn't been paying attention to, though he could probably figure out what they were planning already.
"Ace be rational, now's not the time to argue over this!" Nearl countered.
"Ace." He said, catching the man's attention, "You really believe in miracles?"
He smirked as he asked, "You have a stupid plan that'll somehow work?"
"Doctor Emiya?" Nearl questioned, looking at him warily.
"I have something that can stop her. I just have to get close enough to use it without dying and I'm-"
"Running on fumes this whole time and need me to pick up the slack for you to swoop in and save the day?"
Shirou nodded, and Ace laughed, "So just like the good old days then? Glad to see you really haven't changed even with the change in appearance!"
"What?! Are you insane?" Dobermann butted in, with other members of the group chiming in to agree.
Amiya's expression was a panicked concern, though Shirou simply smiled and went to ruffle her hair, "Amiya. Do you trust me?"
"Ah…yes Doctor…but…"
He stepped back, turning towards Ace as he pulled off the coats that he had been wearing, stripping down to the bloodied sleeveless undershirt that had been the bottom layer of coverings for his upper body, ignoring the protests from the rest of the group and tossing the excess layers to the ground, "Then let me show you what a Hero of Justice can do."
Ace snickered.
Shirou chose to ignore it.
"Make sure to stay as far back as possible," Shirou spoke loudly for them all to hear as he slowly reinforced himself, trying not to break anything this time, "I don't want any of you getting caught in the crossfire."
"She's getting ready to use her Arts." Ace noted, the air seeming to distort around Talulah as she compressed the heat in the air to her hands. "Got your pink shield ready?"
Shirou shook his head, "Can't. I'll collapse before she breaks the first layer, and I need everything I have to stop her."
"Yeah, was kinda worried you were going to say that."
"Silence." Talulah's voice could be heard, and suddenly Amiya was screaming for them to run. They moved, and even still felt the blistering heat of the inferno that they narrowly avoided, incinerating everything in its path.
Ace looked blankly at Shirou from across the small chasm made from the heat melting away the ground around where they had just previously been.
Shirou was already dashing forward, ducking behind the temporary cover of melting rubble as her arts continued to rage on, snipers of Rhodes Island firing at her from a distance. Ace quickly followed after him, calling out through the mental link, "So what's the plan?"
Shirou didn't turn to face him, keeping an eye on Talulah as he moved around, avoiding her arts to the best of his ability as he responded with the link, "She's being controlled."
"She's what?"
"She's being controlled. I can sever the connection. I just have to be able to get next to her and I have something that should do the trick."
"Should?"
"It should, yes."
"Yeah that sounds just about right for you." Ace groaned over the link, "So you need me to cover your ass while you prepare something convoluted and long winded?"
"No. I just need to get next to her and I can do it."
"Works for me. Get ready." Ace grinned, grabbing Shirou by the back of his shirt and lugging him over his shoulder, ignoring his shout of protest. His shield raised up between himself and Talulah, he rushed around the melting plaza.
"You have the resilience of liberators…but I grow tired of this." Talulah stated, raising her sword in their direction. "This is the price you must pay for slaughtering your fellow infected, an ending I'm quite fond of. Disappear."
Just as she released her Arts, Amiya's voice could be heard, colder than Shirou had heard it since waking up, "You will not hurt them."
And her Arts was unleashed, dark matter fighting against the blaze and holding it back.
This was their chance, he realized. And Ace had as well. He rushed towards Talulah, as the dark matter barrier began to catch fire…and chucked Shirou at her.
Shirou felt the heat as he approached her, first tracing a certain weapon that could help stave off the heat if only slightly, before tracing the far more important tool, his head dangerously light as he felt its weight appear in his grip.
An ornamental handle, black and gold and red in color, with dangling rings. A jagged blade, prismatic in appearance with etching engraved into it. Completely useless as a weapon, as a tool its craftsmanship was abysmal and would likely shatter if one attempted to use it as such.
Fortunately, it had a completely different purpose.
Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of his barreling form, shocked by both the strategy itself, and the fact that he had not yet burned away. He didn't have time to gloat, to tell the shadow over her that its time controlling her was up. He only had the time to react, to move the less important sword in the way of her sweeping blade from bisecting him.
And to lunge forwards with the other, the tip of the blade piercing her shoulder, as he activated it,
"Rule Breaker!"
Authors Notes
*glances around corner*
*chuckles nervously*
Uh...hello?
So the third chapter ended up being a little bit more delayed than anyone would've liked it seems.
I'd like to apologize for that before anything else, it was not my intention, it's just a lot of things happened. Extra shifts at work with the holiday rush, a bit of writers block, stress from trying to make sure everything wasn't horrible cause I made the mistake of thinking I could write a serious story in this setting, the chapter progress being halted by an accidental deletion leading me to starting over, some work on other projects...
Yeah can someone say "rough development cycle"?
Hopefully the worst is behind me with this story, and I can actually upload chapters of decent quality on a semi-regular basis. 50/50 honestly
But there we go, the band-aid has been ripped away, and we're moving out of canon territory! Well I mean in the story canon territory was moved out of a long time ago but that's backstory bullshit that hasn't come up yet so doesn't really count now does it? How will the story turn out now that our dumb ass hero of justice has gone and done something dangerous and drastic? Who knows? Certainly not me. But it'll probably have a ton of consequences, both good, and a whole lot of bad.
Because that's how these things usually go, you change something for the better only for things to get a lot worse in general. That's not even a spoiler that's a standard trope.
But hey, we got to the main heroine (kinda)
Anyways, I'm sorry for the setbacks, but nonetheless, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and I hope to see you next chapter! Have a nice day.