- Chapter 6: Goodbye -
Beaten and bruised.
"Hmph. It seems that even Servanthood could not fix stupid."
Wearing an utterly idiotic outfit, already worthless for any form of protection in its pristine state, now even more worthless ragged and torn. After all, only an absolute moron wore sandals and walked half naked into war.
"To so willingly risk the safety of your Master and yourself on a fool's chance? There were more ways that could have gone wrong then I can possibly count! If you were one of my court, banishment would have been the least of your worries."
His red hair partially burned away, leaving it frayed and dirty. Trickles of hot blood run down dirt-marred skin, only serving to highlight multiple ugly looking cuts and bruises.
"Reckless. Imbecilic. Asinine at best. Though, I should have… have expected... no.. less..."
Hard-won muscle glistening under Avalon's light, stretching and bulging with every lithe movement. Wrapped in the scent of fire, of warmth and power, like the forges of her homeland in full blaze.
"And… and wipe that… stupid..."
That same dopey smile. A grin filled with the force of a thousand stars, brilliant beyond belief. Matched only by amber eyes, now older and wearier, though still carrying that familiar gentle warmth.
"That stupid…"
Arturia grimaced.
How unfair.
"...F-forget it." She slaps away the proffered hand, rising slowly to her feet. "There are... more important matters to discuss."
[][][SINGULARITY F: NEUTRALIZED][][]
[][][RAYSHIFT SIGNAL CONFIRMED][][]
Gudako blew a raspberry.
Quietly, of course. She wasn't that uncivilized.
Shifting uncomfortably on the piece of rubble she'd designated an impromptu seat, she drummed a nervous staccato beat on the worn stone.
Nearby, Mash and a newly awake Olga fiddle with a vaguely sciency-looking device, something something jury-rig spit n' prayers rayshift connection. Cu's there too, giving unhelpful color commentary, judging by the murderous look on Olga's face.
Shirou was off doing something or another. And Salter (Cuz' her official designation was Saber Alter, clever right?) stood staring out over the cliffside across the way.
Leaving Gudako alone. With only her thoughts to keep her company.
Grand Order. Demon Gods. Human Incineration Order.
Chaldea's Last Master. Humanity's Final Hope.
The single most important human alive.
God. Gudako felt… not quite like crying, no. Instead… instead, it was more like she'd just pulled an all-nighter completing some super-important all-or-nothing essay. Staying awake through naught but ungodly amounts of caffeine and a bit of sheer will, all for the sake of this one assignment.
Only to then find out on submission that there was another one just like it due tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. An endless wave of anxiety and responsibility, with no end in sight. Beating down on her until she inevitably broke from the strain.
Haha.
Tired. She felt tired.
"I… hehe… oh gosh. Oh gosh." Running a hand through her hair, she couldn't help but laugh. There was nothing else she could do. "This… I-I wow. Wow!"
No rest for the weary, huh? After all that. After all that. Faking a smile as her friends got hurt. Faking a smile as the world burned. Faking a smile as fear ate away her very soul. Over and over and over again.
There was still so much left to do. So much at stake.
And everything… everything was depending on her. The class fuck up. The ditzy klutz. The-
She couldn't. Simple as that. She couldn'-...!
"The world's a pretty heavy thing, Master. Really big too," comments a voice from behind. "Even a Berserker'd have trouble carrying all that alone."
She manages a strained giggle. "...Y-you think?"
"I know," Shirou states simply.
Her thoughts are a mess. A dull headache pounds in the base of her skull. So its a relief that Shirou seems to content to wait, allowing her a chance to organize her jumbled emotions.
"I-I..." She swallows heavily, staring hard down at her trembling hands. "What if I can't, Shirou? What if… what if I'm not strong enough? What if..."
"Enough," Shirou cuts her off. "There is exactly one person in the world that can answer that question. And I can tell you right now that out of the two of us, it isn't me."
Ouch. How amazingly blunt. "T-Then…"
Shirou hums for a moment. "What do you want?"
She blinks, once then twice. "What do I want what?"
"You heard me, Master. Forget about what you think I or anyone else wants of you. Ignore that little voice in your heart telling you 'its impossible'. Push aside all your fears and doubts for this one singular moment and just tell me," He pauses for a moment, letting the words sink in. "What do you want to do?"
What did she want to do? A simple enough question, with a simple enough answer.
She wanted to hide under a blanket and cry herself to sleep. To scream bloody murder at whoever caused this mess in the first place. To be a million miles away from here. But... was that really it?
No. No way.
Hands curl into fists. The trembling doesn't stop, she doubted it ever would, but it decreases. Yeah, it decreases.
"I… I want to do something! I want to meet more Servants! I want to make new friends! I want to live another day! I-I want... I want to save everyone I can!"
There is a moment's pause. A second of stillness as her answer hangs in the air.
"A beautiful dream," Shirou softly says. A hand presses down on her head, gently ruffling her hair. She can hear the smile in his voice, full of warmth and pride.
"And when you try chasing it, we'll all be right behind you."
[][][RETURN DESTINATION SET][][]
[][][FIVE CONNECTIONS MADE][][]
It was as if a spell had been broken. And in a way, it likely had.
Arturia bathed in the light of a newborn day.
"Hah…" A quiet breath leaves her lips. Closing her eyes and tilting her head toward the sky, she could feel the tension slowly dripping from her form. Shoulders relax. Fists unclench.
Blackened plate slowly melts away, leaving behind only pale skin and soft cloth. Instantly, the warmth floods her form. It works its way through weary muscles and strained sinew, down until it reaches deep within the marrow of her bones.
And just like that, the bitter chill of the night fades.
Not completely, no. The tar on her soul was still there, never to disappear so long as she still breathed. A sign that she would never truly return to the girl that had been summoned in that shed. That her blade was still dripping red.
Good. She deserved no less.
Hands are raised, palm up, almost as if to catch the sunlight within her grasp. Her breath hitches and her shoulders shake.
"We won, you know?"
Emerald eyes slowly open. And before them, sheltered in the pale light of dawn, lies a corpse. A pitiful, wretched, festering corpse of concrete and stone. One more tragedy wrought by naught her own two hands.
"Please, rest now."
Fuyuki breathes a quiet, shuddering sigh of relief. Her vision blurs for some odd reason.
"I..."
Goodbye.
[][][WELCOME HOME][][]
A/N: Not my favorite, but I still like it. Sorry for the shortness, college's hard and I care too much about my writing to just throw trash up.
Next chapter 2k+ SOL, daily life at Chaldea, Shirou learning of his Muramasa abilities. My favorite Saberface'll appear, with more on the way. Will they fall to 'Affection of the Saber(s) EX'? Only time will tell.
As you can probably tell, Lev was a no-show. Olga ain't Thanos'd. Why? Well... that'd be a spoiler, innit?
