"So then, this is the place. Certainly looks anonymous."
The quartet had arrived out the front of where the Einsbern Port was apparently located. When they arrived at the entrance to the City of Mercy, they began to consult the map.
The map lead them through a maze of twists and turns, deep into the city, and only further highlighted how empty it really was. How quiet it is without life. Not even an Aragami to make noise.
The building before them was destroyed, broken down so it only had the exterior of the first floor, and even then only half of it.
"Are you sure this is where the Port is?"
"Yes, Rin. This is exactly where the map leads. Now come on, we should go look inside for the entrance. The Professor did say it was underground, right?"
Saying that, Shirou walked towards the building's door and pushed it open, causing it to open smoothly, as if it had been oiled recently. Looking in the building, he could see the floor covered in refuse, likely from the upper floor and the roof. But near the center of the floor, there was a large space clear of refuse.
Nodding to himself, Shirou pulled out the blueprints for the Port, looking for the entrance. It appeared that the opening was almost the entire clearing, and was operated by a mechanism in the--
"Raaah!!"
Bang.
"What the!?"
Looking over, Shirou saw Berserker raising and lowering his God Arc, trying to bust the door open. Shirou would tell him to stop, if not for the fact that it was working.
"Hah. There goes the element of surprise."
Taking a seat on some of the larger refuse, Shirou studied the blueprints again and tried to devise a plan of attack. As he did, Rin and Saber just watched on, stupefied by Berserker's approach.
Eventually, Berserker created a gap big enough for all of them to go through. As the sound of crushing and rending stopped, Shirou got off of his impromptu chair and moved to the three. The opening in the floor transitioned into a short drop, supplemented by a ladder, and another floor with a terminal on it.
"This should be the elevator into the Port."
Answering the silent question he felt the others wondering, Shirou hopped down the gap onto the elevator and began to check the terminal. As he did, the others looked at each other before following suit.
"Here it is."
With that, Shirou pressed the button that would take them to the Port. When he did, the elevator shuddered slightly, before it began to descend. As it did, Shirou asked for everyone to gather around.
"Alright. I looked over the blueprints a few times, and I've developed a plan, and a general idea of where Illya probably is. I'd like to talk about it and discuss options."
And talk they did. The most important topics were Illya's possible locations. She could be held in the Laboratory, in her room, or even in Jubstacheit's office. The four had likely lost the element of surprise, if not because Berserker had attacked the entrance, then because someone would hear the elevator. It was during this talk that a certain question came up.
"Shirou, are you okay? You're acting quite different from usual."
It was Saber that asked, but Rin quickly followed up.
"Yeah, Shirou. You've been really active in this, and not in your usual way. It's like you're... you're..."
While Rin was at a loss for words, Berserker corroborated their beliefs.
"They are right. I have gone on many missions with you, and while you do normally make plans, you are calm while doing so. Right now, you are acting too readily to be considered normal. While it's small, it is still noticeable."
Shirou looked at the three in silence, before scratching the back of his head and dryly chuckling.
"Hehe. Sorry. I guess... because I have all of this information, I let it get to my head. The last time I did something like this, I was walking in blind. So having all of this info made me feel empowered. But, the battlefield is ever-changing. I can't let myself forget that."
With a slight upward curl of his lip, he thanked them, before proposing a strategy meeting, with his plan as a base.
They weren't going to lose.
When the elevator eventually arrived, the four were prepared for enemies to attack them, or even just curious onlookers to find them and alert the Port. But there was no one there. In front of the elevator was a large hallway that led to a door.
Taking a group formation, with Berserker as the vanguard, Shirou and Saber as the main, and Rin as the rear, they moved towards the door. As they walked, they continuously checked their surroundings, constantly making sure they weren't about to be attacked. When they eventually reached the door, Berserker gave them all a look before slowly opening the door, to reveal...
"Woah..."
A castle. A castle, straight out of a picture book. Even if they already saw a rough sketch from the blueprints, they didn't expect this. It even came with its own courtyard, made of packed dirt and artificial white grass. Although, it was quite cold in the Port.
"Are those...?"
On the courtyard were a great number of people, all with pale skin, white hair, and red eyes. All of various heights and appearances, yet all bound by those simple things.
"The Einsberns. I'm certain of it."
Saying that, Shirou scoped out the distance between the Port's entrance and the castle. It wasn't far, a few dozen meters, but there were still a large amount of people between the two.
They could sneak by, but even if Shirou, Rin, and Saber somehow all remained undetected, Berserker would still draw attention due to his large size. With a sigh, Shirou said,
"Hah. I suppose we'll have to use a more direct method?"
With a nod, the four slowly stepped off of the stone of the entrance way, and onto the dirt path below. In the same formation, but with their weapons held low and their stances casual, they made their way towards the castle. It was halfway down the path that the people outside took note of them, but instead of walking to them or even alerting whatever security they have, they just watched.
Slightly surprised, but still cautious, the quartet made their way to the castle doors. They were unguarded, and were easily pushed open. The open doors revealed a hall straight out of the Gothic Victorian era. With a checker-patterned floor, a set of stairs covered in a red carpet leading to the second floor's balcony, and multiple doorways leading to various locations throughout the castle.
As the quartet moved forward to closer investigate the room, the doors behind them snapped shut, surprising them. When the shock wore off, they all looked at the various pathways, before Shirou asked,
"Should we go with the original plan?"
The original plan was to enter the castle undetected and then split up to visit the potential areas Illya could be kept. While they weren't undetected, their plan hadn't actually been interrupted. When everyone agreed, they split up for their locations.
Saber and Rin took the doorway on the left side of the hall, near the entrance, making their way to the Laboratory. Shirou and Berserker both made their way up the stairs, before splitting up, with Berserker taking the door on the right balcony for Illya's bedroom, and Shirou taking the door straight ahead of him for Jubstacheit's office.
The hallway Saber and Rin found themselves in was quiet, and felt empty despite the number of people that must live there. The hallway itself had a wooden floor with a cream carpet, stone walls and few windows, instead being lit by candles on sconces all the way down the hallway.
The two found it strange that there were no people inside, or none that they've found at least, instead with everyone standing outside of the castle.
"I don't think it's this one either..."
Rin sighed as the many doors along the hallway all looked the same, and it was becoming a tad difficult for her to remember which door lead to the Laboratory.
"I believe... the door we need to take is further down, near the end of the hallway."
Saber was trying her best to help, but was also being confused by the monotony of the garish hallway.
"I wish Shirou had given us the map before we split up... Oh well, foresight is 20/20, right?"
Saying that, the two continued to walk down the hallway, occasionally testing doors every few steps. Eventually, they came across a door significantly different to the rest. Instead of being an elegant wooden door, it was metal, with a plaque above it saying 'Laboratory'. The two silently looked at the door, before Rin took a deep breath and sighed.
"Haah. Okay, maybe it was more obvious than we expected."
Shaking her head, Rin attempted to open the door, only for it to not budge.
"Hah. I don't know why I expected anything different, considering all the other doors were locked."
Putting her hand to her chin, she thought on where the keys to the door could possibly be, and was about to voice her thoughts to Saber, before Saber grabbed her shoulder and sent her a serene smile. Stepping forward, Saber raised her God Arc in a stance reminiscent of a starting kendo stance, before bringing her God Arc down on where the door lock probably was, tearing a giant hole through it. When she pulled her God Arc out of the door, it swung open gently.
"There. Now it is open."
Saber delivered that with a serene smile, before entering the doorway. Rin just looked at her before shuddering, promising herself not to make Saber mad at any point in the future, then followed after her.
Beyond the door was a short flight of stone stairs that ended in another metal door. Luckily for the door, it was unlocked. Pushing it open, they were shown an alarming display.
The room was large, and made of stone. All along the room, in rows of 5, were gurneys. And on each gurney was a still body, with pale skin, white hair, and red eyes.
"What the...?"
That's all Rin could say as she and Saber looked on the seemingly infinite rows of still people with shock. When they eventually got over the shock, Saber and Rin stumbled over to the closest gurney. This one had a male, covered by a small sheet. With slightly shaking hands, Rin reached for his neck, trying to find a pulse, while Saber felt his chest for any breathing or a heartbeat. Finding no signs of life, they both stepped back and looked at all of the other people on the gurnies.
"Are... Are they all...?"
"...Dead. I am certain. Everyone in this room is dead."
"What... happened here?"
Looking to each other, they decided to investigate the rest of the room. Ignoring the many gurnies, they focused on the various desks against the walls. They were all clean and free of clutter, except for the desk at the back of the room, which had a sheaf of paper. Picking up the paper, Rin read the title aloud.
"'Studies into the Synthesis of Humanoid Aragami, and the Effects of Their Cells on the Human Biology'?"
Before Rin could continue reading the document...
Crash! Bang!
"What the-!?"
"What is-!?"
Turning at the sound of the explosion, Rin and Saber quickly made their way out of the Laboratory, Rin pocketing the document as they did.
Berserker was going down a hallway similar to the one Rin and Saber were going down at the same time, the only difference being which side the doors were on. Berserker had memorized the position of Illya's room, and knew that her room was at the end of the hall.
Even though he was walking quickly to his destination, he still kept an eye out for his surroundings. Especially the windows. They were easy entry points, and he was a large target.
Eventually he reached Illya's door, and reached out to open it. It was locked, but pulling back his hand and letting out a jab, he broke the doorknob and the lock clean off. Pushing the door, he saw a large room with an incredibly large bed near the centre.
The bed, big enough to fit him, had bedposts that reached the roof, and had see-through curtains attached, providing the bed an aesthetic similar to that of a fairytale's princess. Besides the bed was a dusty drawer, small and wooden. Against the wall to Berserker's left was a large window, giving him a view of the courtyard that composed the rest of the Port.
With a sigh, Berserker moved over to the bedside drawer. Gently placing his hand on the handle, he tugged the drawer open. The drawer slid out a little roughly, but managed to pull out without falling onto the floor. Looking inside, Berserker caught sight of a stuffed bunny, an old drawing, and some... walnuts?
Looking closer, Berserker saw that they were actually wingnuts, a species of tree in the walnut family that bore winged nuts. Making a grunt, Berserker then looked over to the drawing.
Picking it up, he saw that it was quite old, and seemed to have been drawn with an unskilled hand. It featured two circles, both drawn to near perfection, each having lines marking the eyes and mouth. Then, the hair was outlined.
The one on the left had short, spiky hair that was filled in, while the one on the right had long hair that wasn't filled in. The left one had lines drawn on the face, likely to represent stubble, while the white one had red eyes. Next to each face was a word written in barely-legible chicken scratch. The left one had 'Daddy' written next to it, and the right one had 'Mommy'.
Looking at it, Berserker let out a sad sigh.
"Were these your parents, Illya? I hope... they were good parents."
With another sigh, Berserker put the picture back in the draw and began to slide it closed when...
Crash! Bang!
Berserker looked towards the source of the noise, moving towards the window only to see Shirou flying towards the courtyard.
"Shirou!"
The hall Shirou found himself in was large and almost identical to every other hall in the castle. The only difference being that the hall had no doors except for one, which was at the end of the hallway.
While Shirou had been given the location that was the most direct, he knew that he would likely find Jubstacheit. And Jubstacheit would not be as happy as the people outside to see him. As such, Shirou walked at a moderate pace, investigating his surroundings as he passed.
Eventually reaching the door at the end of the hall, Shirou read the plaque on it that said 'Office'. Reaching for the door handle, Shirou turned it and the door opened. As it swung open, Shirou could see the office in all its glory.
With a wooden floor without a carpet, it had three main pieces of furniture. To both sides of the room there was a small bench, reminiscent of a church pew, and a full-bodied wooden desk at the end of the room opposite the door with a chair facing the wall. That same wall was almost entirely made of window, allowing a perfect view of the field outside.
And standing behind the desk and next to the chair, looking out that window, was a person slightly taller than Shirou, with long, silver, rigid hair, looking like a sheet of ice. They were wearing a white robe with golden trim, reaching down to their feet and not revealing anything about their body type.
"You're... Jubstacheit von Einsbern... Illya's grandfather, right?"
With a chuckle, the person turned to face Shirou, revealing his face. It was lined with years of experience, and had the beard like a frozen waterfall, just like Shirou remembered. Like the rest of his family, he had pale skin and red eyes. His hair being white bordering on grey instead of pure white was likely caused by his old age.
"Heh. You would be correct. And you are Shirou Emiya, are you not? I was expecting you."
"You were... what? Why were you expecting me?"
"Simple. You are his son after all. Abandoning his daughter wouldn't have sat well with him, and it likely wouldn't have with you. I was surprised when you brought assistance with you. I suppose I shouldn't assume that you are exactly like him."
Blinking, Shirou looked at Jubstacheit in shock.
"You knew my Father?"
"Of course I knew him. He married my second-greatest creation after all. Aside from that, I was one of his contractors when he was freelancing."
Shirou could only look at Jubstacheit in bafflement, before focusing on the more important topic.
"Illya. Where is she?"
"Hehe. Why, she is right here."
Saying that, he spun around the chair next to him, revealing an unconscious Illya sitting in it snugly, dressed in a white nightgown.
"Illya!"
Without thinking, Shirou moved forward, towards the desk to reach Illya. At the same time, Jubstacheit began to move around the desk, on the opposite side to Shirou. When Shirou eventually reached Illya, the two had swapped positions, with Shirou at the window and Jubstacheit at the door.
"Don't worry Illya, I'll get you out of here."
Saying that, Shirou reached out to pick up Illya, only to be interrupted.
"Sorry, but I cannot allow that."
Shirou stopped, then turned to Jubstacheit with narrowed eyes, raising Bakuya.
"And how will you do that?"
"Like this."
Pulling back his right arm, Jubstacheit's expression went still, only letting out a twitch of his eye as the sound of tearing echoed throughout the room, before his arm seemed to explode in a burst of blood. In the next instant, Shirou saw a giant red and white tendril coming right for him.
Crash! Bang!
Pushing Illya away, he was struck by the tendrils with a crash and forced through the window with a bang.
Then he hit the ground.
The packed dirt of the courtyard was displaced, resulting in a large cloud of dust to appear. The people in the field were screaming, confused at the sudden explosion. Groaning, Shirou pushed himself up, trying to make sense of the last few seconds.
As the dust began to clear, two distinct things happened. First, Jubstacheit jumped from the now shattered window onto the field, his legs seeming to break and then reform to a normal state. Second, Berserker burst from the window next to the one Shirou and Jubstacheit came out of.
"Shirou!"
Berserker then ran towards Shirou, impossibly light on his feet. Reaching him, Berserker then turned, looking for whoever had launched Shirou out of the building. His gaze was immediately drawn to Jubstacheit, who was looking at them with a smirk. Before he could say anything, Shirou stood up and told him,
"Berserker... Illya's in there. You should get her."
Pointing at the room he came out of, Shirou nodded at Berserker, telling him to go. Berserker looked conflicted, before nodding and moving towards the room.
"You're not going anywhere."
With a snap of Jubstacheit's fingers, everything changed. After Shirou landed, some of the Einsberns had run over to where he landed, trying to see what happened. Now they were screaming, holding their hands to their heads.
Suddenly, their bodies began to contort. They all fell to their knees, before their bodies began to split apart. Their legs, their arms, their heads, everything split and reformed. Their arms disappeared, moving to the legs and head, causing them to become ginormous compared to their original size. It also resulted in a tail-like protrusion forming.
The bones in their skull began to grow, quickly tearing through the skin and forming an angular, helmet-like skull. Their teeth also elongated, becoming jagged and sharp. All the while, they were crying out in pain. When they eventually stopped changing, Shirou and Berserker let out a small gasp. The Einsberns had become something similar in appearance to Ogretails, but instead with red eyes and pale skin stretched across the body instead of fur.
No longer screaming in pain, they just roared, now mindless. Shirou and Berserker looked upon them and Jubstacheit with rage and disgust, respectively.
"You bastard!"
Shirou yelled that out and began to move towards Jubstacheit, when suddenly one of the Einsbern-turned-Ogretails jumped in front of Shirou. Without thinking, Shirou immediately brought up his God Arcs, severing the Einsbern's head. As the Einsbern fell to the floor, Shirou looked down on it.
It was silent for a few seconds, until he looked back up at Jubstacheit. Without meaning to, Jubstacheit slightly flinched. For Shirou's eyes had become similar to Kiritsugu's, whose gaze always made him uncomfortable. Instead of the warmth of life, or even the inferno of his rage, his steel grey eyes had gone cold, dead to all.
Taking a breath, Shirou began to walk towards Jubstacheit, this time calmly, when another Einsbern jumped in front of him. Without blinking, he decapitated it. Flicking the blood off of his God Arcs, he called out,
"Berserker. Take care of them. I've got the old man."
Without waiting for a response, Shirou began to walk towards Jubstacheit again. This time when an Einsbern jumped towards him, it was intercepted and executed by Beserker, bisecting it vertically. Shirou continued to walk, uninterrupted.
"Jubstacheit von Einsbern. I swear...," breaking into a run, he continued, "I will destroy you!"
Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, little disclaimer, this and chapter 31 were both published at around the same time, so read that one if you don't have this as a notification.
Second, why it took me 6 days to drop another chapter. It was a mix between laziness, school starting back up soon, polishing up for my end of year school exams, and watching SBFP Compilations.
Another thing is that this chapter, last chapter, and next chapter were all going to be one chapter, a 10K word behemoth. But then I felt guilty because of how long it was taking so, here we are. Next chapter should take a few days.
Side note, the chapter name is Family's Pride; Black and White.
Thank you to aymdrim, Xyztama, Relic Dragon, Jose 3, NaN BeYonD, Crimson green flame, and Bladekotsu for favouriting and following.
Goodbye.
Word count: 3666