Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/ Stay Night or any other related properties. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Blake
"Blake, duck!" Shirou called out.
The diviner crouched in an instant as several arrows downed many of the magi before them.
"You won't out-do me!" Blake called back as he summoned two swords to his hands and cut down more of them.
They had been observing this compound on the outskirts of London for a week. The guards changed every two hours and once they had cycled all the way back to the first set they had observed, the two men had gotten a rough estimate of the number.
Still there was no sign of her.
From the intel they had received, Lorelei Barthomeloi should have been within the compound, yet there had been no evidence of her presence in the entire week they had been watching.
After they had observed the rotation several more times, the two magi had agreed on an all out assault to draw her out. The magi that stood guard appeared to be only lower ranking magi. They could all be easily handled by either of them.
So Blake and Shirou tore through magus after magus, heading towards the central chamber.
"You're moving pretty slowly today, Blake," Shirou jabbed. "If you don't move more quickly you'll be buying the food tonight!"
"Like hell," Blake shot back as he slashed through more magi.
Soon the way was clear and all of the magi that had stood against them lay incapacitated around them. They had tried to keep their blows non-lethal.
All that stood before them now was a door. It was simple in design, but that was only meant to disguise its true nature and the nature of what lay beyond.
"Should we knock?" Shirou chuckled.
Blake only shook his head as he observed the smooth wood of the door.
"That would be a bad idea," he responded. "There's a ward on this door. I'd assume it's set to activate if an unauthorized magus decided to pry."
"Then what will we-"
Blake slashed three time around the frame and the door began to glow.
"Ace of Wands: Wind."
A wand materialized and blasted a gust of wind into the severed wall and blew the glowing door into the room, right as it exploded.
"Well that was excessive," Shirou sighed.
"Let's go."
Blake entered through his improvised entry point, but before Shirou could follow him, a blue wall of mana covered the hole.
Blake cursed. Had this been her plan all along? Lure them in and separate them?
"It's fine, Blake!" Shirou's muffled voice sounded through the wall. "I'll catch up soon!"
The diviner sighed as he turned to observe the room around him.
It was large to say the least. Yet it was completely empty, save the large monitor that decorated the wall. The only entrance appeared to of been the one he came through and the walls and floor were completely white.
"Welcome, Blake Ryan," a disgustingly familiar voice echoed. "I heard that you have been looking for me."
The large monitor lit up to show Lorelei Barthomeloi's unsmiling face. "It's good to know that my men can be convincing when they want to be. But I do have to say, I thought I'd waste away with boredom. I sent out that false information a couple of weeks ago. Either I've overestimated your intelligence gathering skills, or underestimated your cautiousness. Either way, you're here now."
"Barthomeloi," Blake smiled wryly. "I had you pegged as a do-it-yourself kind of woman. I'm disappointed to hear that you sent lackeys to do your dirty work. I guess I was wrong to be impressed by you and frankly stupid to be afraid of you."
"Oh I think your attitude will change very soon," she replied cooly, yet he could see her nostrils flare a bit.
"Oh, and what would make me change my mind?"
"This perhaps."
The image shifted and Blake felt his heart drop into his stomach. All this time, he had assumed they were dead already. All this time he hadn't even thought to check in and verify that assumption. In all honesty, he had been afraid to.
Staring back at him through the monitor was his family. His entire family.
His grandparents, his parents, his step-parents, his older sister and her husband, and his little sister. There they all were. Tied up to wooden posts with a magus next to each one.
"There we go," Lorelei taunted as her face came back into view. "That's the face I wanted to see."
His eyes were wide and he couldn't breath. That insane woman had his family.
"What do you want?" Blake asked weakly.
"Well that's quite simple. I want you to die. You and your friend have been quite the thorn in the Association's side this past year. I can't stand for it any longer. Each time you resist your death, one of your kin will die.
"How do I know that you won't just kill them anyways?!" Blake shouted.
"Oh you don't," she sighed. "But what are you more comfortable with? Them dying because you refused, or them actually having a chance to live. The choice is yours. Even after this, if you survive, you will be killed eventually. I just thought I'd give you the option to possibly save the ones you love by dying sooner rather than later."
Anger rose within him. An anger he hadn't felt since he had killed Einsbern. That black flame ignited with burning intensity and his shaking from his dread shifted to shaking with rage.
He glared up at the smirking woman's face.
"Counter offer, if you harm a single one of them, I won't stop hunting you till the day you die and even into the next life."
"Oh, I see," Barthomeloi sighed. You aren't taking me seriously. You see, it wasn't a suggestion. You will choose. Now with one less life to save."
She turned her head and nodded. The view changed back to his family and the magus next to his sister's husband forced him to his knees. His sister began to cry out from behind her gag. Her eyes were wide with terror. She probably couldn't even comprehend what was happening.
Guilt dampened Blake's rage. He couldn't let his sister suffer for his pride. He couldn't let his brother-in-law die.
"Wait!" He cried out.
The magus paused and Barthomeloi came into view.
"Oh, what is it Mr. Ryan?" She asked, a faint smile tracing her face.
"I surrender. Just please don't kill him."
"Well that's a disappointment. I thought you would last a little longer than this. I just had to threaten someone remotely related to your family and you fell to your knees. Pathetic. Unfortunately, we still have to kill him. You momentarily defied me. There is a price for that."
She nodded again and the magus engulfed his brother-in-law in flame.
His brother-in-law screamed out in agony and a muffled cry shortly followed as his sister fell to her knees.
"NO!" Blake screamed out, his hand reaching for the screen.
His sister was bent over her knees, her body shaking as she sobbed her heart out.
"I told you from the start that any resistance would lead to their deaths," Barthomeloi tisked. "Even if it was brief, you momentarily defied me. Now that you've given in, there is no need for anymore death, other than your own that is."
His sister shakily rose to her feet, eyes ablaze with anger and pain. She slammed her foot into her magus's groin. The man fell in pain and she ran for Barthomeloi.
"Are listening skills non-existent in this family?" Barthomeloi sighed.
"Sally, no!" Blake cried out as his sister froze in place.
"Well now my life has been threatened," Barthomeloi shook her head.
Sally Ryan-Garret's head twisted sharply to the side with an audible snap and the woman fell to the ground motionless.
Everything felt know and Blake didn't even feel it when he fell to his knees. His sister...the person he had always been able to call when he was in trouble...the person he had had so many arguments with and so many good moments with...was dead.
"Why," he whispered. "She wasn't a threat to you. She didn't have an ounce of mana. Why did you kill her?"
"Because she defied me," Barthomeloi stated matter-of-factly. "What other reason do I need? Now I you're done crying, let's get on with the main event."
His eyes shifted to his family. Tears trailed down all of their cheeks. Even his dad, who he had never seen cry, had tears streaming down his face.
He wanted to kill Barthomeloi for this. Every fiber of his being wanted to put her in the dirt, but if he went against her anymore, more of his family would die.
Doors materialized along the walls of the room he was in and twenty magi entered through them.
"Don't waste you're mana on him," Barthomeloi commanded. "Beat him until he no longer breathes."
The magi smiled and approached him.
No matter what, he couldn't fight back. He couldn't let any more of his family die.
A fist slammed into his face sending him sprawling to the floor. He just laid there with his eyes on the screen as kick slammed into his stomach. He felt a crack and burning pain surged through him. Yet he didn't cry out. He just took it, kick after kick slammed and stomped on his body. Bone after bone fractured and cracked.
His family was crying out, yet he shook his head as he saw any of them move. His dad was still as Blake made made eye contact with him. Sadness and understanding in his eyes.
Darkness began to creep into the edge of Blake's vision. The pain that he felt had numbed out, his senses overloaded. Yet the pain wasn't anywhere near what Einsbern had inflicted upon him.
It happened before he could even comprehend what was happening. All of his family seemed to calm and with tears in their eyes they all nodded at each other.
They all rushed Barthomeloi, instantly getting incinerated by the magi holding them each hostage.
Blake's eyes went wide as he realized what they had done. What all of them had decided to do. They had sacrificed themselves for him. They had died so that he could live. The very trade he had been attempting to make himself.
Numbness threatened to overtake him, yet he fought it off. He needed to live. He needed to avenge them. He needed to kill Barthomeloi and anyone involved.
The black flame of rage reignited within him. It consumed him so entirely that he couldn't even feel his broken bones or his bruised skin. The black flame swirled within him, once again fusing with his normally white mana.
Grey energy exploded around him sending the magi, who had been beating him down, sprawling. The energy swirled around him and coated his skin, moving with his will and grey lightning sparked from his eyes.
He held out his hand and a grey sword materialized. The twenty magi regained their footing and instantly twenty heads fell to the floor.
The room around him began to crumble from the pressure he emitted and the bounded field around the room began to crack.
The diviner looked up at the screen and instinctively activated two of his cards.
He had felt it in that moment when his power had exploded forth. Another world. A world where he could restore his life years and attain power greater than any he had ever achieved. Then he would kill Barthomeloi.
He looked up at the face of his enemy and pointed his finger towards her.
"You're next," his voice resonated.
Her face paled as he slammed into the screen and illuminated the entire room with blinding light.
The bounded field shattered and the ceiling caved in.
When the dust settled, Blake Ryan was nowhere to be found.
———-
4 years later
Shirou Emiya stood before The Director, the leader of the Clock Tower. The room was grand in size, and mana seemed to pulse within the walls. The projection magus was shocked by the size. If his mental measurements were correct, the room shouldn't have been able to fit to the scale of the Clock Tower itself.
The director gazed down upon him with ancient eyes and smiled.
"What brings you here, Shirou Emiya," he asked, his voice resonating throughout the entire room.
Shirou instantly felt the need to answer. "It's about Blake Ryan, Director."
The man cocked his head to the side in slight interest. "Oh? And what about him."
Shirou took a breath. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it had to. "As you probably know, we have been opposing you for some time now. This was all in the name of changing the Mage's Association and thus changing Mage Society for the better."
"I was aware of your opposition, but not of your goal," the Director stated. "Continue."
"Well, recently, Ryan informed me that he no longer intended to change Mage Society. Instead, he intends to destroy it."
The Director's eyebrows shot up. "The Diviner intends to destroy us? That's laughable at best. Diviners may be powerful, but they aren't capable of the destruction of Mage Society. He intended to do this with just the two of you?"
"Yes," Shirou nodded. "But that is where his and my beliefs differ. I believe Mage Society can change for the better without its destruction, so I beg for an alternative."
The Director seemed to think for a moment, then motioned for Shirou to continue.
"Let me handle Ryan. Let me get him back on track and we'll go through the proper channels from now on to make change."
"Very idealistic of you," The Director nodded. No emotion gave away his thoughts. "But tell me, what if he refuses? What if he still decides to go against the Association? What will you do then."
Shirou took a deep breath.
"Then I'll kill him."
A/N: Blake Ryan disappears! Can you figure out where he's gone off to? Emiya plans on betrayal in the future? What will happen? Keep reading to find out!
I've begun to come up for the ground work to Re:SELF. Once this short story concludes, I will begin putting up chapters. Please leave some reviews on this and some of my previous works to help me out with motivation!
I hope everyone has an amazing day!
-B
