Sun at Midnight (Battle)
(Emiya house, after dinner)
(Rin)
Rin was the first one to shift from 'mealtime' to 'War preparation' mode. "Sasaku, do you have anything to use in a battle?"
"Besides the sword and spear," Kuro added dryly. "Do you do something like beams or orbs or something?"
"Nothing that would get past a decent level of Magic Resistance," Sasaku said after a moment. "I can take out weapons that will, er, I can throw them is the best way to explain it."
"So, you have more swords and spears, for throwing," Rin said incredulously. "So we have an Archer who throws swords as her special attack, and a caster who throws swords as her special attack."
"I do have a bow, you know," Kuro jumped in. "It shoots Noble Phantasms."
"Are they... swords?"
"Sorta."
Shirou looked at the group in confusion. "Why does it matter what weapon type they are?"
"No, that's not the issue. Clearly Sasaku can't use her attacks at close range though. It's pretty obvious..." She remembered that Sasaku had used a couple of low-powered beams, but not anything else when fighting Kuro.
The Servant just nodded, acknowledging her point. So she continued, "Why is that?"
"The world is slow to recognize that the weapons exist, by the time it catches up, they have already 'moved,' and it simply ignores anything they would have collided. In short, the faster I throw it, the greater the minimum distance."
"Well that's rather useless," Rin muttered, thinking quickly. "In that case, if we're attacked then Kuro will try to ambush them from spirit form, and you'll try to break off and gain range. If they follow, then you," she indicated Kuro here, "will shoot them in the back."
"Sounds like you're leaving all the work to me," the Archer groused. "And that means a lot of mana expenditure..." Sasaku flushed a cute shade of pink. "Actually, how many weapons can you throw at once?"
"Hmm," she mused. "Maybe a hundred? In a volley." Rin and Kuro blinked in surprise.
"That's... a lot, yeah." Rin said, recovering first. "Shirou, you don't seem overly surprised by that."
"Oh, Sasaku's Ar-" he started to explain, but was cut off by a sudden mental "Shh". Rin didn't miss the capital in that - so it's a skill of hers, or perhaps her Noble Phantasm is a weird type, rather than a straight sorcery or spell.
"Look," Sasaku said finally, "I happen to possess a large, very large, number of totally mundane weapons. That's why, unlike Kuro's swords, the world doesn't exact a horrible cost when I take out a hundred of them - because they could exist in an armory, in like ancient Greece."
"So couldn't you just shoot a wall, but really slowly, at someone chasing you?"
"No, because if we're both in motion, they'll be past the wall before it became solid."
Shirou realized something about the new detail. "Ancient Greece? Like hoplites?"
"Yes, it's full of dory (spears)."
"It's fine," Kuro said after another pause. "I have confidence in my selection of Noble Phantasms, provided there's no problems with mana supply."
"So you have several? That's impressive," Shirou said in admiration. Kuro beamed at the praise.
"They still have a full, or rather increased mana use so... I'll be replying on your Caster for help, ok?" It was a more devilish grin at this point. Shirou sighed in exasperation, but didn't say anything.
"I hope you're not going to give away anything critical," Rin sent in some annoyance.
"Even for a Caster, replicating this technique would be impossible."
"It's dark out, we should be good to move on now." Rin concluded.
l
(Rin)
"We'll probably be watched once we're in range for scrying or other such magecraft," Rin had warned the group. As a result, when they reached the school gates, everyone kept quiet.
After watching Rin try to open the lock without breaking it in the process, Sasaku stepped up and closed a hand around it, prompting the magus to move away. A moment later, Sasaku removed her hand to reveal an open lock.
The three of them, and Kuro in spirit form, filed in before Shirou re-locked the gate behind them. Rin pointed to the main school building, and they began heading there. However, while they were about half-way through the courtyard, a sudden oppressive atmosphere filled the air. No, rather it was-
"That Field was still usable?" Rin muttered as Sasaku immediately grabbed a suddenly-staggering Shirou's hand to steady him. "What did you say it did again?" she whispered to the Servant.
"It absorbs ambient mana, or so I thought," she replied, before correcting herself with the addition of, "but apparently it does so really aggressively."
"We're about to be attacked," Kuro said while suddenly appearing with an outstretched hand. Everyone looked upwards to the tall figure on the school roof in silence as she whipped out a dagger with trailing chains and thrust herself through the neck.
A flash marked the formation of a ritual circle of some sort as the enemy Servant began their ambush.
(Shirou)
The sensation of having all the breath sucked out of him lessened slightly as Sasaku attempted to extend her Realm into him as a countermeasure against the draining Field.
Like the sun at noon, the bright form a winged horse rising elegantly into the night sky shone down upon the four figures down far below in the open courtyard. Shirou heard Rin and Sasaku say at the same instant, "Pegasus?"
"I thought Kotomine said Rider was dead?" Kuro asked as her earlier-mentioned bow appeared. She flicked a hand to the side as a long war arrow appeared to fill it, which she nocked.
"Apparently, he was wrong," her Master replied dryly, taking out a couple of mana-charged jewels. The two of them watched as Kuro loosed an arrow, which reached out to the flying figure but was deflected by the mana coming off it, which served as a defense.
A moment later, a handful of spears shimmered up, solidifying just in time to be annihilated at a decent distance from the pegasus.
Kuro paused to think as her empty hand took hold of a twisted sword. The pegasus-riding Servant paused its ascent, the pair turning in preparation for a dive.
"I am.. the bone of my sword," she muttered as the weapon stretched and twisted upon itself to transform into a massive arrow. Nocking it, she raised her bow and waited for Rider to commit to the charge.
Like a bird swooping down on a worm, the pegasus began it's dive. Kuro and Sasaku were able to hear the Servant riding it call out their Noble Phantasm, "Bellerophon!" before the the magical comet began picking up speed in earnest, with an accompanying roar of rushing winds forced out of the way.
"Caladbolg!"
The sword-arrow flashed upwards, glowing with the intent to punch through the enemy's defense and take them out. The needle sliced towards the descending sun-"
*Boom*
The collision of the two shook the ground and nearby buildings, but hardly did anything against the still-charging enemy. Kuro groaned upon realizing her attack had at best offset a small portion of the energy still heading for them.
"Do you have any defensive Noble Phantasms?" Rin was asking her Archer, who nodded and raised her empty left hand towards the enemy. "I'll boost you, do it!"
"Trace on... Rho Aias!"
A massive shield of four pink-pink petals appeared between the ground and sky, calmly standing ready against Rider.
"Servant Archer, by my Command Spell, defend against Rider's Noble Phantasm!"
Declaring thus, Rin watched as one of her Command Seals fade from red to a dull gray. As if in response, Kuro's shield became thicker and more opaque, partially blocking out the blinding phantasmal beast approaching.
Sasaku was muttering something in a language her Master couldn't understand, though he could tell from the way she laid her hands on Kuro's shoulders that it was some sort of defensive ability.
"The jeweled foundation stones,
The wall of precious metals,
The towers of choice crystals,
The rainbow shining phalanx,
Thousand Layered Shields!"
Several dozen copies of Kuro's first, pale, shield flashed into existence around them, with most of the shields shifting to center on the path of the oncoming attack. A moment later, everything came to a head.
The sound of Sasaku's shields shattering the moment the pegasus's brilliance came into contact with them could barely be heard over the roar of Noble Phantasms smashing against one another. A wave of mana washed all around them.
"...That won't hold," Sasaku sent telepathically, with a hint of panic. "I maxed out at about half of Kuro's base shield, so I'm pretty sure."
"Even with a Command Spell?"
"-Rider was fully prepared for this, the energy amounts are too disparate.-"
Shirou took only a moment to decide on a course of action. As Sasaku had told him earlier, Rin's plan had multiple gaps in it. He thought about what the magus had said earlier.
"Servant Caster, by my Command Spell, bring us back home immediately!"
Sasaku's grip on his hand tightened. With a snap of her fingers, a flash of light shot out backwards, towards the school gate. Though blinding in its own right, it was not even a pinprick compared to Rider's luminescence. However, it succeeded in its aim, creating a tiny breach in Rider's Bloodfort Andromeda. Though much smaller than a person, it, along with the Command Spell was enough.
Shirou and Sasaku disappeared just before the pegasus and Rho Aias collided. The temporary gap closed behind them as Kuro shield began to creak ominously.