On the Precipice Between Worlds. Chp. 2
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Wordcount: 2500
Commissioned by Marteddu
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Fate scowled as her opponent charged her, even after having her halberd destroyed, while four more with identical red eyes, white hair, and fine features charged down the alley in an attempt to run her through.
"They are suicidal, sir." Bardiche informed her.
"I can see that!" With a growl, she shot upward towards the sky, only to notice the glint of awaiting barrels from the precise of the rooftops. "All barriers forward!"
A second after she declared her command the barrier she set before was hit. The projectiles, carried forward by mere propellant, nearly bounced off her barrier. However, some form of magic activated upon touching her barrier, and the bullets embedded themselves in her protective shield.
A second later they began to crackle and hum with malign power.
"Disperse!"
"Sir—
"Now!"
Her forward Barriers came undone, letting the rounds drop around her, despite leaving her without protection against the rifles peering down upon her. However, she had another form of protection, especially since she now knew that she couldn't re-engage her foes below right away.
Gathering her power within herself, Fate concentrated her power within herself, and moved.
Less of a person, and more like a bolt of golden lightning, Fate surged forth from the narrow confines of the alley way. Her mind and eyes worked together to calculate the angles of the barrels aimed at her—all twelve—and she moved as required in order to evade every single bullet that came her way… even as the first set of rounds activated behind her.
The whole alleyway was rocked with power, Bardiche reporting to her multiple esoteric effects similar to curses exploded outward from the bullets, making small craters wherever they hit. Each individual action of the magic involved was small, but they fought against one another, and the result was an explosion similar to a tank shell coming from the small rifle.
Thankfully, the rifles utilized chemical reactions, instead of magic so once Fate achieved high altitude her opponents had now way to reach her.
Still, Fate knew for a fact her opponents on the ground were hit by the attacks she dodged, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth at how they threw their lives away.
At how much they reminded her of how she used to be, but somehow worse.
"Fate are you okay!?" Hayate's voice reached her, since she passed the boundary where their communications were disrupted. Nanoha noticed her rapid ascent too, and Fate took note of her partner ascending to high altitude as well. "Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm fine. No injuries, but I'm sending you data on a new weapon that's been deployed. Bardiche, do it."
"Sir."
Nanoha reached Fate just as the transmission finished.
Her emotions must've shown more than she expected, since Nanoha immediately placed a hand on her shoulder out of concern.
"They're difficult to fight, aren't they?" Nanoha stated and Fate barely registered nodding to her friend's statement. The auburn-haired girl in her blue and white Barrier Jacket, wielding a massive spear was a vaunted Ace of the TSAB, but Fate knew that she was more than that. Nanoha was also a person who could easily understand others. Someone who knew when other people needed help. "Do you want to leave this to me? I can do it."
"No. I… I don't want you to do this alone." Fate understood that their current foe wasn't exactly like her. They were artificial human beings, yes, but they not only lacked mental completeness, but also physical completeness. The clones they fought had limited lifespans, bodies that would burn out within years, and were more akin to robots. From what Hayate had analyzed of them, it was possible to use the technique to create an artificial human being that could self-determine, but such wasn't the case with what they fought now. They were practically just automatons made of flesh. "I'll go back down there in a moment, and do what we need to do to save those who've been kidnapped."
Fate knew her friend had something to say about her stubbornness, but before Nanoha could speak, a shrill noise erupted from her coat's pocket.
Where she'd kept the card given to her by Shirou Emiya.
"Eh? Is that a ringing business card?" Nanoha blinked in confusion, as Fate produced the slim, sturdy piece of paper. It vibrated between her fingers incessantly, but ceased to ring after its first shrill call. "Uh… how do you pick it up, Fate-chan?"
Without hesitation, Fate pricked her finger and let flow a single drop of blood on the card.
Immediately, a voice she hasn't heard in weeks, the contact that allowed them to find the current facility, came forth from what was seemingly just a piece of paper.
"Keep up what you're doing. I've almost reached the master of this base. I want to away his ability to command these Homunculi, but I need you both to keep them occupied until then." Fate let loose a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, as she was given information, she didn't know she'd wanted. Her gaze locked with her longtime partner, and as she expected, Nanoha was relieved as well. Her friend was strong, and could handle the fight, but was glad to not have to do so. "Do it now, if you want to keep them alive!"
Fate met Nanoha's eyes for a brief second, before both Aces shared nods and diverted their attention towards the battlefield below.
Cause havoc?
The two of them can certainly do that.
…
They found their ally deep within the facility, after all the "homunculi" ceased fighting.
Fate blinked as she found his state to be far worse than she expected, while Nanoha actually gasped and ran over to him.
"You're hurt!" Nanoha exclaimed while crossing the distance between herself and an armored stranger without hesitation. Fate could only watch amused as the man blinked rapidly, and could barely dispel his weapons, before her partner was upon him. Nanoha's aptitude with healing wasn't very good, but she knew basic, magical first aid well enough. "Why didn't you call and tell us!? We'd have come faster, Shirou-san!"
Fate expected a flustered response, but it was her turn to blink in surprise, when Shirou Emiya spoke plainly and calmly in response to Nanoha.
"I didn't want you to miss anyone who went missing." Shirou's words made even Nanoha pause, as they were declared without any hint of pride or candid humor. It was a fact. He let himself remain hurt and didn't call for help, because he wanted others to get help first. "Did you find everyone?"
Fate took note of the frown on Nanoha's face at those words, and answered in her partner's stead.
"All those missing has been found. We found them all asleep, but with signs of your people's magic inflicted upon them, but inactive." Fate watched her newfound ally with a more curious gaze, while keeping in mind the state of the room they entered. It was a place of battle, one that tore apart walls to reveal reinforced steel, and more than a few sprays of blood were splattered across the walls. She was surprised to find their suspect alive and breathing, if pinned to the wall with a black scimitar of sorts. "Do we need to check for any failsafe systems?"
"It'd be for the best if you do. I'm more a warrior than a real Mage." Shirou spoke and Fate listened intently, crossing her arms, while Nanoha pursed her lips and focused on healing the wounds on the young man's body. Fate took note of the damage on his black coat. It was broken, shattered, and tattered in certain areas, and outright missing where he bled. Instead of acting like cloth, the garment seemed to be some sort of armor, a pseudo-barrier jacket of sorts that was inactive… or was it an unknown spell that was no longer being cast? "Thank you for your help. I feel much better."
"It's Nanoha! My name's Nanoha, and you're not getting away that easily, Shirou-san! I only dealt with your cuts, but you could have worse damage inside you!" Nanoha's words made Fate pause, before she took her own step forward and began performing her own first aid. Their ally didn't have the same protections as them, likely due to lack of a Linker Core that could permit such usage of magic, therefore they had to be mindful of any internal wounds. "You're coming with us—
"I can't. Too much contact between us will put the entire mission at risk." A thin smile formed on Emiya Shirou's face for a second. "Giving you that ring almost had me replaced. Accepting any more help will be foolish… but I can give you someone else to bring with you."
His gaze turned towards his opponent. Fate took note the man struggling against the wall. He was clad in some sort of white uniform, a cross between a lab coat and magical robes, which was stained lightly with blood. The man was in much better shape than their ally, despite being pinned to the wall, and had no sign of having any weapons whatsoever. She could only presume the shards of crystal in myriad locations all over the room were destroyed fragments of whatever he'd utilized.
However, after taking the man into account, she spoke on behalf of Nanoha who was biting her lip in frustration.
"You can give us this suspect, but can't receive medical attention?" Fate raised an eyebrow at her ally's words, studying his response. A small chuckle left him, which only intrigued her further.
"I was supposed to destroy this entire place, and kill everyone inside, even those who were kidnapped to keep the Association's secrets." The words made Fate freeze and wonder for a second whether it was right to ally with the young man before her, until she disassociated him from his orders and considered his actions. He hadn't done any of that, and chose his own path. "Since I was too wounded in battle, even though I managed to deactivate the facility, it can't be helped that you came in while I was unconscious to take everyone under your custody, right?"
Fate took a breath of surprise at Shirou Emiya's declaration. If everything he said was true, then their entire operation only succeeded because of his actions. Not only did he give them the lead that allowed them find the facility, but he also didn't use their arrival and the distraction they provided to destroy everything he could. Instead, risking everything, he'd done his best to save as many people as possible.
She felt budding respect for her new ally, so she was surprised as Nanoha suddenly stood up with hands and shoulders shaking in barely contained rage.
"You… you took all these wounds on purpose!" Nanoha's declaration made Fate focus and perform another analysis. At that declaration, Shirou Emiya's surprise was palpable, as though he hadn't expected them to come to such a realization. At that moment, he'd lowered his guard, and allowed the Ace to see past his mask. She saw immense practice in enduring pain, relief at being able to save those who he was supposed to kill, and a recalculation of both her and Nanoha's abilities. "Why didn't you call us for help earlier!? We could've helped you more!"
Fate already knew the answer, before Shirou Emiya gave it.
"No. You couldn't have. This was the only way to keep all your people, the Homunculi, and even this man alive, while allowing me to finish things properly." For Shirou Emiya, Fate realized, this was a battle that could only be won in this specific way, at the cost of his body and health. It was for the sake of him continuing to act with them, despite the wishes of his superiors, who would rather have everything be destroyed and kept out of sight. Thus, he paid the price without hesitation, because any other result was unacceptable. "Thank you for your concern, but this was the only path."
There was something in those words that made Fate frown, because for some reason they reminded her of the girl who put the mission above all else, even more so than the "homunculi" that she fought earlier.
After uttering those words though, Shirou Emiya ceased feigning being tired, standing despite the possibility of wounds harming him from within.
A familiar, crystal dagger was in his hand and Fate took hold of Nanoha's shoulder to hold her back instinctively.
"Fate?"
Fate winced at the hurt and betrayal in her friend's voice, but moved forward with the rudimentary plan she had… and possibly the only plan that their new ally would accept.
"Shirou Emiya, you requested that we work together, and that we become allies in order to deal with this threat. That means a relationship where we stand side-by-side against a common foe… not with you taking on all of the burden, while we are mere distractions." Fate recalled how Nanoha convinced her away from singular mindset. It had been a slow affair, one that couldn't be replicated now, with Shirou Emiya endangering himself willingly for the sake of others against a far more dangerous foe. Therefore, she knew that she couldn't afford to be kind. "If you do this again, we will consider you someone that should be apprehended as a danger to himself and others involved in a mission."
Fate took note of Nanoha's surprise and awe for a second, luxuriating in her partner's newfound glee, before once again matching the gaze of their new ally.
Shirou Emiya's brow was furrowed and his teeth were grit in frustration, as he understood the ultimatum that Fate had given.
If he continued to act as he did, using them and risking everything for his single path, then he shall find himself impeded by the TSAB.
Swiftly, simply… Fate put herself in the way of the singular path that Shirou Emiya wished to pursue, so that he would be forced to consider others.
As he cut through space once again, into what was likely another world, he gave no answer to her words.
However, to Fate, that was an answer in and of itself.
If he wished to continue, to keep working with them and save lives, then he must work with them.
And, if that brought an honorable, capable soldier to the TSAB from a shadowy, deadly organization that would liquidate innocents for the sake of secrecy?
Fate considered that a bonus.