Hey, it sure has been a while, hasn't it?

Well, not gonna make any excuses, cause I don't have any. I basically found myself stuck on what story I should write, and finally, after some time, I finally found one!

So, yeah, sorry!

Anyways, just gonna say this before you miss it, if Cu seems a bit OOC...well, I suppose it's because he has a better understanding of both himself and EMIYA in this one, so...yeah.

Well, enjoy!

Texas was beginning to grow annoyed.

Ever since Emiya became an official operator under Rhodes Island, they'd begun to notice how similar her Arts was to his. Of course, it isn't actually the same. The male lupo's Arts was much stronger, much more diverse, and held secrets beyond what she could imagine. She'd never seen him truly use his Arts to its maximum potential, and even then he'd defeated every single enemy faced his way.

However, she didn't attempt to hide the fact that her Arts was inspired by his. She'd found his techniques, especially his constant use of raining mundane swords down onto the enemy like some sort of machine gun, much too interesting for her to dismiss. She added her own twist to it, making the sword release its energy and sabotage the enemy's internal systems on hit.

But people were beginning to compare them, asking which one of them would be stronger, even being as brazen as to talk about it even when she's at earshot distance.

Emiya didn't mind it though, simply saying that it was people being curious to him and that it'd die down soon. She fully believed the man, by she was slowly losing her patience.

It also didn't help that Lappland's efforts to try and battle her was increasing.

Then, the phone in her pocket began to vibrate, and she took it out to see that it was Cu calling her. She picked the call up and held the phone to her ear.

Only to hear the sounds of battle.

"...Cu?" She asked warily, wincing slightly as a loud explosion was transmitted through the call. "Hey sis! How's the guy doing back in Rhodes Island?"

'The guy'? Could he mean Emiya? She blinked before she answered, "He's been doing fine. He's been on three missions now." Another explosion sounded in the background, but it was overtaken by Cu's impressed whistle. "Damn, the guy just doesn't stop working. I won't be surprised if he suddenly drops dead from exhaustion."

Another explosion, followed by sounds of clashing steel.

"...Cu, where are you?"

"Huh? Me? Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine!" Cu said as he shouted, his voice followed by someone falling over. "Just got caught by some bastards from Reunion. They were trying to-, woah!"

"Cu!?" Her brother went silent, the call dominated by a chain of distant explosions. "I'm fine!" He suddenly shouted, "Oi! Don't just stand there! Move away!"

"Shit, your leg's gone? Ah, fuck."

"Cu…?"

"Look, sis." Cu said, sounding serious for once. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me, but I'll be offline for a week or more. If Emperor asks about me, tell him I'm busy. If Emiya asks where I am, tell him to fuck himself." Another explosion sounded. "Keep safe, sis!"

And then the call abruptly cuts off.

Texas could only slowly lower her hand, the grip on her found weak and shaky.

This was by no means the first time her brother had done something like this. He'd gone on his own several times before, and he'd come back a week after, but she couldn't help but fear. There was always a niggling seed of worry in the back of her mind, wondering if Cu would come back to greet her with that infectious smile of his.

Now he was fighting against Reunion, and the terrorist group was infamously filled with dangerous and powerful individuals.

Texas could only hope and fear that he'd come back, just as he's done time and time again.

Cu was not having a fun day.

It'd been a fairly usual mission for him. Go in, kill terrorists, steal package, get out. The first three of the four part plan was accomplished fairly easily, and he was on the road to finishing this entire debacle when everything went to shit.

Reunion members suddenly became fearless self-sacrifices. They placed those grenades specifically targeted to explode on Arts contact and charged at him. He wasn't affected by them, as his powers isn't really Arts in the first place, but the resulting explosions were still dangerous even with his passive defenses set up.

Then she appeared, and shit went down.

He didn't know who she was, she didn't know who he was, but damn it felt like they'd met before. With a blade of molten slag, she clashed against his favored spear, fighting against him with skills comparable to the legends of old. Air of intense heat flew all around her, and any that met its path was melted to incoherent figures.

He called Texas as quickly as he could while helping the innocent escape, just so she wouldn't be completely unknown to his disappearance.

Their weapons clashed for several more minutes, tearing and melting the ground and buildings situated around them. Of course, Cu only used the surface of his magic, intent on keeping the rest hidden in case something else happened. The woman he was fighting was no different, her expression barely changing even after the many unhealing scratches and cuts she'd suffered from his cursed spear.

"Oi," He called out, and the woman stared back. "What's your name?"

"...Talulah." She said after a brief silence. Cu smirked. "I'm Cu. So, what're you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Cu narrowed his eyes at her monotone answer. "Don't try to lie. There ain't anything interesting here. You and your reunion cronies don't have a reason to come and ransack this entire place, especially not after that bastard mayor was assassinated a month ago." He said, tightening his grip on his favored spear. "So what's the point of someone like you coming here?"

"We were...curious."

"...Ha?"

What kind of answer was that? He wasn't blind. He knew the woman standing before him is the figurehead of Reunion, the banner that those rebelling infected go under. Someone like her, with powers similar to Heroic Spirit, came out here to a place in the middle of nowhere with nothing of interest, just because she was curious?

Yeah, no.

"Like hell you are." He said back. Talulah turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "We were. We wanted to see if Wrought Iron Hero would come."

Ah, him. "He's a bit busy right now."

"Oh?" She asked, her eyes now bright with curiosity. "You know who he is, Mr. Cu?" The lupo huffed, a snarky smile on his face. "Of course I know him. The fucker's always going out saving everyone"

"I see." And for the first time, Talulah frowned. "And why hasn't he come for us?"

"To kill you or to save you?" The woman blinked at the question, surprised. "He'll kill those not worth saving, and when he needs to, he'll kill as little as he can. The guy's a full bonafide hero." Though he'll never say that to him, ever. "If he doesn't actively try to kill you, then he probably wants to save you. Simple as that."

"Even if we've killed thousands?" The question was almost comical, naive, but Cu didn't smile. "Girl, compared to him, compared to me, that's nothing." He said, running a hand through his hair. "If hell exists, we'd probably be sent to the deepest pits of hell, but that doesn't matter."

Cu dropped down low onto the ground, his legs just barely above the barren dirt. His spear is held back, glowing in malevolent red. "You said you wanted to see him, right? He's busy, so I'll take his place." Energy rushed through his body, empowering his very being. The air around him seemed to burn, twisting and coiling.

Talulah took a quick step back, readying herself. She held within her no fear, but she knew the man before her wasn't going to hold back, at least not as much as he did previously. His Arts was rippling through the air, creating a translucent cloak of red around him that tore away everything in its path.

She narrowed her eyes in concentration.

The clouds above her began to gather, shards of originium floating into the air and mixing with the ambient air. Wind began to pick up speed, and soon, the skies turned a bright, rusting yellow, the shards of originium in the sky blinking like a blanket of a thousand stars. Heat surged from within her body, and the dirt and rocks around her began to melt.

The wind shifted, the rocks melted,

A shard of originium crashed down and shattered, and both combatants rushed forward.

At that moment, their weapons clashed with powers unlike any other, and the shockwaves it created rippled out. The wind spiralled around them, heat and lightning sparked and jumped.

And soon, a catastrophe was formed, and they were within the eye of the storm.

A couple hours later, every single alarm inside Rhodes Island came to life, detecting a giant catastrophe unlike any in the previous couple years. Thankfully, it occurred fairly far away from them, so they didn't need to alter the course of their mobile city, though they made sure to not head in its directions for the foreseeable future.

Texas watched in silence, hoping that her brother would keep his promise.