I do not own anything.
FOX TAILS AND WHIRLPOOLS
Chapter 5 - New World Goals Pt.1
For all the worlds she could have been sent to, Herta Ahlgrim knew she lucked out in being transported to one with civilization. During her trainee days she'd heard horror stories about desolate worlds where it was endless desert, arctic wastelands, or volcanic rock covering the entire planet. Thankfully, this world had greenery, lots and lots of greenery as evident by the ambient rainforest she and her Servant had landed in, and it was teeming with life too. Dangerous life, her ass and legs still hurt from having to have stingers and splintered dislodged and cleaned before an infection could spread. They'd spent almost four days running through twisting vines and trees the size of skyscrapers before they were out of that damned jungle and its blood-thirsty inhabitants. Of course, once they were out they were faced with a brand-new dilemma, finding out exactly where they were.
It wasn't until they came upon the first settlement did Herta begin to ponder if they were in a world where the Alpha Minus disaster never occurred, or if they'd even been hurled back in time. After sitting down and having Saber scout the surrounding area, she learned the truth was much more comical - they were basically stuck in feudal Japan.
At the very least she could hope this world had no Germany-equivalent.
"So, what will you do?"
The answer to that question was obvious, it was painful, but obvious. Together with her black knight they tracked through miles upon miles of forest, fields, and even a small desert chasing a thin lead on where their target was. Throughout the following three weeks, Herta had prayed to whatever deities existed in this realm misfortune wouldn't find them. One night as they lay in front of a campfire, she pondered which one would be worse - them catching a lead on Hakuno Kishinami's whereabouts and running into trouble, or trouble finding them before they can even pick up the teenager's trail. Knowing her luck, either were just as likely to happen, and were equally depressing. Her Saber had caught onto her worry quickly enough, and usual acted without a word to put her fears to ease. In spite of all the curveballs Herta had been thrown since undertaking this mission, she was grateful her knight had stuck with her.
"Hm, not a bad view, hurry, Master! This sight should put your heart at ease!" Came her Servant's male voice through his helmet. Rarely did her Saber sound happy, but from the tone of his voice she got her hopes up that he found something worth looking at.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, the German-born woman increased her pace, shoving aside tree branches and leaves to get to her target. Overhead the sun beat down upon her until she was finally free of the greenery allowing its fully glow to come down upon her. Coming to a stop beside her Servant, she looked out over the cliffside to find what it was that had captivated his attention.
Serenity and tranquility, that was what lay before her, miles of it leading up to a Japanese-style city that reminded Herta much of feudal-era Edo. To her far, far right roared a waterfall that lead downward into a giant river that snaked its way to a crystal blue sea on which countless ships road into and out of a massive port. Enhancing her eyes, she spotted countless villages and buildings built on the banks of the forking river, bridges connecting them and boats ferrying citizens from one end to another. At the heart lay of it all lay a collection of buildings surrounding a massive Japanese-style castle whose white color brimmed in the clear sun. Beyond the settlement, Herta saw a series of mountain ranges and such that went on for an undisputed distance. Without a doubt, it was a breathtaking sight, especially since for the last month or so all they'd found were hand-sized towns and even a few ghost-towns they'd been forced to camp out in.
The brown-haired woman's knees buckled while her emerald-green eyes began to fill up with tears. "An actual…city. Oh, baby, this too…" The smile that had been forming on her face ceased, instead it became a frown while her bare shoulders began to tense up. Her head fell down blocking the inviting sight form view. She looked to her lap, where her increasingly fading gray pants were beginning to show wear and tear from her long weeks of walking and running. "Saber…what did you see down there? Who did you see?"
It was amazing how calm the Saber-class Servant looked despite being as out of place as a penguin in the desert. Or rather, a European in an Asian country. Her Servant's dark and silver armor stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of the sunny and brightly-colored environment. He never showed any signs of getting hot or comfortable in the plated armor and helmet. Matter of fact, Herta had only seen her Servant take off his helmet twice since they'd arrived in this new world. He'd remained resolute unlike her who'd steadily been worn down by the daily grind of trying to figure out what was happening. Herta would have liked to believe it was because her Servant was a supernatural entity and she was a human, but the truth was far graver. He was strong and she was weak. The fact he'd chosen not to abandon her was perhaps the greatest miracle she could hope for.
"I used my sword to do some scrying, one of those foxes is down there, but I can't tell you which one." Spoke the armored-figure, turning his attention back to the landscape.
"You're sure it's not Scorn?"
"If it were her don't you think we'd be hearing screaming, witnessing fire rising from burning buildings, tidal waves crashing against the coast, and see a giant rampaging nine-tailed fox? I know you have your doubts, but don't tell me that dimensional warp sapped some of your intelligence."
Rolling her eyes at her knight's words, the twenty-five-year-old placed her palms against her forehead to think. By her guess, there must have been close to ten thousand or so people in that city. They had two primary targets and several sub-targets, needle in a haystack didn't even begin to describe the situation, on top of that… "Saber…is…are Ryma and Euryale down there?"
Behind his helmet, the knight's eyes narrowed. "…And if they are? Last I checked, we were both serving the same organization. If anything, we should be grateful Euryale hasn't wiped this place off the face of the planet if there's one of the Tamamo Nine down there."
As her Servant crossed his arms, Herta fell back onto her rear-end. Raking her hands through her hair, she briefly thought about undoing the pony-tail she'd tied her hair up in as some form of stress relief. She hadn't had a proper shower in almost two weeks, and decent food had been few and far between. Those things could be remedied by going down there and spending what money they'd been able to accumulate. On the flipside, if they ran into their fellow Stavrod operatives, she shivered at the thought of the encountering the veteran field operative and her Greek Servant. Things hadn't gone well the last time they'd ran into each other just before the Battle of the Core began. What if she ran into some of the other Master-Servant teams? What if they ran into Hakuno and Tamamo's allies? Their enemies? Without a doubt, she truly dreaded meeting Kenelm or Elise and their Servants.
"Herta," barked her Servant, causing her to look up from her pondering. Through his six-silted helmet she felt the British knight glaring daggers at her, locking her head in place. Beyond the eyeholes the German woman caught sight of his icy-blue eyes, eyes that could freeze fire and had chilled the blood of lesser warriors, and greater warriors. "You told me come what may, you would complete your mission to find and capture Hakuno Kishinami and the Servant known as Tamamo-no-Mae, even if you had to pursue them to the ends of the Earth. We tracked them to the heart of the Moon Cell, and then God, for whatever reason, decided to ship us all half-way across the multiverse. Do you believe Hakuno Kishinami and his Servant to be dead?"
Herta felt her left eye twitch. "Hell no," she spat back, feeling her grip on her knees tighten. "Hakuno…he may be a lot of things, but from what I've read, he's no quitter, he survived the Holy Grail War, he survived the Sakura Labyrinth, he survived the Fox Tail Wars, and I'm sure he's survived whatever this place has thrown at him. He's…he's still out there."
"Good," Chuckled the swordsman. "Now then, if he could survive and keep going, why can't you? That boy who came from nothing, and you, who comes from a magus line stretching back over six generations, you, the daughter of a man that cheated justice by the skin of his-"
"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?"
"Would your father want you giving up? Are you really the pathetic quitter everyone always said you were?"
Her hands balled into fists as she returned her Servant's glare with equal intensity. From an unknown place, fire raced through her veins and found its way into her voice. "No."
"Then stand up, you've wasted enough time. When we departed for the Moon Cell your compatriots were betting on who would be the one to capture Hakuno Kishinami and Tamamo-no-Mae. No one bet on you." Snapped her black knight. "Stand up and prove those naysayers wrong, prove your father wrong, your brother wrong!"
Herta did indeed stand up, and as she did her green eyes shined with a determination that brought elation to the black knight's cold heart.
A smile broke her uplifted façade. "Thanks, I…I needed that."
"As your Servant, it is part of my job, think nothing of it." He waved off, turning his head to the side.
Giggling, Herta stretched her arms upward, for the first time enjoying the high altitude. "R-Right then, let's get going! The sooner we get a solid lead, the sooner we can get back on this fox hu-" It was just her luck her stomach chose to spoke up at that moment. For the fourth time that day, it growled reminding her of how long it'd been since she'd eaten, or rather how long it'd been since she'd ingested anything other than fruit bears. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she sheepishly turned to her Servant.
The knight was smirking behind his helmet, "First though, let's get you something to eat, and some decent clothes. When we capture Hakuno, don't you want to be looking your best when you force him to submit to you?"
"Gaaahhh! Stop! Don't say it like that! Besides, you didn't even say you knew for sure he was down there." Screamed the young adult-woman while her face took on a crimson tint. "J-Just shut-up and follow me!"
"Lead on, milady." Cackled the helmet-wearing warrior taking a mock bow, much to his Master's continued frustration.
They'd just come into view of the waterfall when Herta finally remembered the question she'd been meaning to ask her Servant for the last week or so. After a few short glances backwards, she finally stopped and turned around to face him. Behind her the rushing of the waterfall echoed in her ears. "Hey, if we…encounter Aleksei and your mother, are you gonna be okay?"
Saber's grip on the pummel of his sword tightened, if only for a brief second. His dark armor made it hard for Herta to read his body language, but she could feel the change in his mood through subtle observation. "If it comes to that, we'll make do. Let us just hope they're off in some distant land, and she's not running it into the ground."
"Hey, when your father died she did a pretty good job in running the kingdom." Herta shrugged.
A near feral-snarl left the man's lips. "Yes, then she decided to sleep with one of my fellow knights, got the two of them killed, and set off a chain of events that resulted in the destruction of everything I fought for. Need I remind you why she's called the 'Mother of Disaster'?"
Throwing up her hands in surrender, Herta decided to get back to walking. "Okay, okay, just doing a double-check. We've got enough family baggage with me, I don't want to get down there and suddenly find myself having to play Doctor Philp."
"Here I thought that was my job."
"No, your job is using that shiny black sword of yours to stab things I tell you to stab. Mine is stand back, look pretty, and let you do your thing."
"Good to know our agreement hasn't changed." As he expected, there was a walkway near the river, a path that would take them down the mountain slope into the outskirts of the city. Glancing upwards, he spied several birds peaceful sailing the skies on the warm currents. Everything seemed so tranquil here, and that's exactly what worried him. Tranquility bread complicity, and complicity invited danger. I wonder, mother, are you busy enjoying the serene beauty of this world, or are you already plotting a way to seize power for yourself? Wherever he was sure, the black knight knew one thing for certain – someone somwhere was about to get screwed over, badly.
If she lived through this, Jinako truly believed she'd swear off dungeon crawlers for the rest of her life. Seriously, after this little adventure she didn't think she'd have the stomach to look at another dark creepy catacomb, even if it was confined to a computer screen. Speaking of which, she never thought she'd long to touch something as common place and simple as a computer screen. Hell, by this point she'd take an old-ass PC from a museum.
As she'd discovered oh so painfully, there was a great deal of difference between virtual reality and actual reality. Even with the advances in technology, nothing quite came close to the real feel of slowly and steadily walking down a hallway no one had set for in for hundred and possibly thousands of years. Creepy didn't even begin to describe how she was feeling, yet she knew things weren't as bad as they could have been. Not as long as she had her Launcher with her.
In a way, Jinako supposed she was lucky to have Karna as her Servant, still have him as her Servant. Karna's usual silent acceptance of everything around him both put her at ease at times, and at others infuriated her. Why did he have to take everything life threw at him with an impossibly straight-face? Would it have killed him to show a side other than the stoic, supposedly invulnerable warrior of Indian legend? That said, in the context of the situation, she supposed his unflappable attitude wasn't such a bad thing.
So far, they hadn't encountered much in terms of defenses, at least nothing that Karna couldn't handle with one swipe of his spear. Honestly, if she had to put labels on things her Servant was at around level thirty making this level fifteen dungeon an all-around kick walk, at least as long as it didn't throw any surprises at them.
The candle-like flame in the Indian Servant's hand continued to blaze even when he withdrew his arm to hoist his Master into his arms. He'd long since grown used to her cheeky comments and warnings about his wise-cracks, yet he still couldn't help but indulge himself from time to time. He'd never gone "tomb-raiding" as his Master had called it, but he was beginning to enjoy himself somewhat. The traps they faced were pitiful as were the automatic defenses that stood between them and the inner sanctum where their objective lay. In spite of all that, Karna knew better than to let his guard down. The locals had warned them that the prize they sought would not be attained easily and he believed them, if the treasure at the heart of this centuries' year-old temple truly possessed the power to cross dimensions then no doubt stronger hurdles lay ahead of them.
His flames easily burned through the thick stone walls that stood between him and his objective. Razor blades that would have easily cut through the flesh of regular mortals burned away into nothing the second they came within his personal space bubble. Behind him, Jinako periodically pumped her fist upward in joy. Inwardly, Karna smiled at the triumphant action. His Master had reacted to this new world with such terror, making moments of genuine happiness few and far in-between. Somewhere down in his heart he knew they were on a fool's errand, the supposed "ancient treasure" that was housed within this two-hundred-year-old temple couldn't possibly be what they needed to return to their own world. Still, those were his thoughts, and he was still a Servant. If this venture failed they'd move onto the next one, and so forth until his Master either found a way for them to return to their world or decided on a new course of action.
After countless obstacles and traps, the pair stood before a towering set of doors marked by countless sealing tags whose writings he faintly recognized. Stepping up to the dark bronze-colored doors, he reached out with his hands; the tips of his fingers ran smack against an electric bar.
"Heh, figures, last door so they have to make it hard to bust." Jinako muttered, crossing her arms. "You can bust it, right, Karna?"
The ancient warrior's right eye lit up with a fiery light. "Please, step back a few feet, and don't rush in before me." His Brahmastra would break the door down in seconds, and afterwards he'd have to rely solely on his spear. In other words, absolutely nothing to worry about.
For a brief moment barrier resisted him, then it finally gave away along with the twenty-foot high doors behind it. The thunderous noise nearly made Jinako jump to the ceiling, then came the winter-like gust of air as soon as the doors were gone. Smoke and dust went up from where the giant doors used to be, her Servant's flame-lit eye serving as the only illumination for a short while. She peered ahead to find only darkness, a pitch-black abyss that chilled her already frantic heart. However, it didn't last long.
In seconds, countless torches lit themselves illuminating a gigantic room almost the size of two football fields squished together. The room was rectangular, the walls lined with faded paints framed by colorful jewels and crystals that glistened in the light of torches. Opposite of the wonderous jewelry were the statues-monstrous, vengeful-looking beings carved out of marble and rock and stood opposite end of the doorway. Jinako did a quick count and found there were ten of them, five on one side and five on the left. In their hands stood a number of weapons from staffs, double-edged swords, and two of them even held a vajra in their arms. Though hundreds of years had passed causing cobwebs and cracks to cake their enormous bodies, the statues looked every bit as fearsome as they must have been when they were first constructed. Focusing her vision, Jinako found each statue possessed a bright gem situated in the center of their foreheads. Given the size of these statues, each gemstone was almost as large as her entire body.
Directly across from the pair, sitting on an elevated ledge lay their prize - a good 'ole fashion treasure box. Surrounded by a set of four torches, they saw the various sealing tags that connected the lid to the box. One swipe from his spear and Jinako was sure Karna would be able to tear through any lingering defenses and then they could finally go home.
Excitement building within her she took a single step forward, only to feel her Servant's piercing gaze fall upon her. Looking back, she saw something that made her heart drop. "What? Don't tell me, I already know the statues are going to come alive, but what are you expecting? Them to shoot laser beams?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth did the previously-mentioned constructs come alive. First the jewels on their foreheads came alight with energy, bathing the expansive room in pale-blue light. Even Jinako, who possessed no magical or sensory abilities whatsoever, felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the chamber filled with supernatural energy. The eyes of each statue came alight next, electric blue coloring the metallic surface while the mouths moved causing cracks and dust to fall to the ground. One statue immediately turned its head to the Master-Servant pair, its face morphing into a feral snarl.
Karna said nothing as he watched the statue's mouth open to form a cackling blue ball of energy almost as tall as he was. Arcs of blue lightning jumped from one corner of the orb to the next. Briefly, the ancient warrior's eyes met those of his stone adversary, then the electrical orb was launched at him like a cannonball. Karna's reaction was immediate.
Fire and lightning exploded from the point of his spear making contact with the lightning ball, the ground beneath him cracking as if it were glass while his Master was hurled backwards into the hallway. That was good, the further away Jinako was the less danger she'd be in. He shoved forward, sending the projectile back to its sender. It never got there as a massive bronze-colored staff intercepted the lightning ball before it could reach its target. Turning his head, Karna caught the foul gaze of a second statue beginning to move; glancing around the room he found it wasn't just those two.
"Master, for your own safety, please, remain at the other end of the hallway we came in through." The white-haired man spoke in a monotone.
"J-Just don't destroy the treasure, chest alright?! That's our ticket home!"
Six of the giants stepped forward with Karna walking ahead to meet them. Though soulless constructs he could tell in a glance that these beings had been constructed with great craftsmanship and care, it almost made him reluctant to destroy them.
Two sword wielding statues came at him first, their weapons raised and ready to strike. Karna kicked off the ground like a bird, covering the distance between him and his enemies, his spear poised for a thrust. The first statue stopped dead in its tracks feeling Karna's golden weapon drive itself into its body. There was no time for a follow up attack, Karna felt the buildup of energy coming and jumped away from the statue. Its metallic skin cackled with blue electricity, a defense mechanism against frontal attacks. He could fight through it but he'd have to limit his power.
Behind him the next statue struck with its sword, seeking to turn the demigod into a smear on the wall. Swiftly spinning on the heel of his foot, Karna peered the attack releasing a gale-like blast through the chamber. His body outlined by a red aura, he rocketed towards the statue's throat area, embers dancing around his shoulders and arms. Just as surely as it would pierce simple wood, his golden spear broke through the metallic surface of the statue, sending spider-web cracks along the rest of the body. The blue forcefield came, though Karna pushed through it. From his body into that of the statue the flames and building energy flowed, turning the giant's throat and head crimson red. A second later and an explosion of flames erupted from the throat and chest cavity, the statue's head tumbled to the ground with a thunderous boom.
Using the falling giant as a leaping board Karna rocked towards his next target, his spear pulled back with the flames shaping themselves into a larger spearhead for cleaving. To his right there was a blue flash. Acting quickly, he deflected the blue projectile, then braced himself for when the end of a staff slammed into him. His back groaned in slight discomfort as it slammed into the cold stone ceiling where Karna remained for half a second. During that brief second the other statues made their move, four of them rammed the tips of their weapons into the immobilized warrior. For a split second, the gigantic chamber went dead silent with only the cracking of sound and falling of dust being heard.
But then, the Son of the Sun God acted.
Blooming like a flower, the orange and yellow flames jetted outwards in all directions breaking apart the stone weapons of the giant sentinels. All of the giants stumbled backwards in awe and shock at the spectacle, and in that window of time Karna counter attacked. A staff-using guardian nearly lost its balance when Karna slammed into its chest area spear-first. Bellowing an inhuman grunt, it finally fell as a torrent of flames flowed from the golden pike into its body, resulting in a massive explosion that scattered ashes and embers across the chamber.
"Hey! I told you to watch it!"
Karna's eyes widened at the sound of his Master's voice, his opponents turned their eyes to the door for the second time finding a second target.
Jinako's frustration was quickly replaced with fear upon finding herself the target of several pairs of mechanical eyes. Her body froze like a deer in headlights, then it broke out into fearful shaking when the first of the giants took a step towards her. The cold look on their faces all but told her death would be fast but anything but gentle.
Karna readied to move but he never got the chance to. For the first time, he took stock of the strange indigo-colored mist flowing outward from the wreckage of the statue he'd just toppled. The strange mist rushed into him through his nose and ears, bathing his lungs and inwards as if it were a living thing. By reflex he attempted to force his body to move; however, it would not because there was no strength left in him.
Ah, I used up too much energy on the way down here and combating the giants. He realized with silent dread, still attempting to force his body into responding. Miraculously he managed to get to his feet, but taking a step forward proved to be a harder venture. His moment of weakness was quickly taken advantage of by one of the remaining guardian statues. Angling its sword, it thrust it forward with the intention of skewering the white-haired male like a fly on a wall. Quickly, he redirected his strength from his legs to his muscles. The sword never pierced his body, but the kinetic energy it carried made his bones scream in displeasure and his muscles practically tore themselves apart in attempting to hold off the stone weapon. Karna's eyes met with those of the statue. "Brahmastra!"
It was a single shot he hoped would be strong enough to cut down the giant and its fellow guardians. It failed.
The blue jewel on the statue's forehead lit up with azure light that counteracted the fiery beam. Karna put more power into the beam, as much of it as he could muster hoping any second the barrier would break and the statue would lose its head, literally.
"K-KARNA!"
For the first time, the Sun of Surya showed emotion - fear. Shutting off his eye beam, he glanced to his far left to find Jinako had curled herself up into a ball, sweat profusely falling across her body and her heart pounding at a mile a minute. She was as helpless to the approaching giants a lamb about to be slaughtered.
Silently roaring in defiance, Karna heaved with all his might, throwing the stone sword to the side. Throwing his javelin with superhuman speed, he pierced the blue jewel situated in the giant's forehead then turned his gaze to the four approaching his Master. With what little strength he was sure he had left, Karna prepared to dash in the direction of his Master, hoping against all odds he'd be able to save her in time.
"Vör Byleiptr!"
The eyes of the woman and Servant went wide hearing the booming female voice, then their eyes popped as thunder shook the underground complex.
From the darkness behind Jinako came a flash, a spear-shaped mass of blue and white lightning that soared over the woman's head and slammed directly into the adjacent statue. It took less than a second for the spear to pierce the guardian being's massive body and continue on its way to the opposite wall. The statue stood where it was for a split second with a giant gaping hole in its chest, then the hole exploded into an array of lightning that struck the other three giants.
In a panic Jinako ducked her head beneath her arms silently praying for something, anything to save her. Apparently, someone heard her as she felt an invisible force lift her body upwards and carry her away. Despite the fear racing through her veins she heard breathing, labored breathing followed by a relieved sigh when she finally touched the ground.
"You…really…need to lay off the rice balls, ya' know that? I mean come on, new world goals? Ever heard of them?" Spoke a haggard male voice Jinako recognized all too well.
Oh, great! HIM! Daring to look upward, she found her unlikely savior was…short. Well, he was average for his age, which was thirteen years old. Though she couldn't see the rest of his body clearly enough, she was able to make out the mask he wore. The featureless snow-white mask that glistened like silver in the torch's light. An invisible hand gripped the magical mask and pulled it off to reveal a young face, a dutifully young face free of any scars or worries. "Of all the people to be saved by, it had to be you."
Throwing up his hands in laughter, the youth said, "Ah, I missed you too, Jinako-senpai! Good to see this place hasn't changed your scaredy cat nature! I was getting worried you'd become reckless brave like Hakuno and the others!"
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being scared in a situation like this!" The half-German woman proclaimed. "Besides, I'd like to see how you do better!"
"Well, I do have these." Proclaimed the child, holding up his glittering mask with an ear-to-ear grin. "Hey, did you know, old style magecraft works great here! You should try it!" The smile on his face fell hearing the irritated grunting of the remaining giants. Putting on a thoughtful expression, the boy looked back to the entrance he and his fellow Master had come in through. "Hey, Karna, if it's all the same to you, could you step back and let Geiravör handle this one? I promise, I'll make it up to you!"
Letting the exhaustion bring him to his knee, the Indian Servant looked in the direction of the newcomer. Unlike him, she radiated an aura of power and divinity that filled the air with charged particles. Further in contrast to him, the clothing she wore was bright silver armor with gold highlights, ancient Nordic runes covered into the metal hummed with power. Holding out one armored hand, she recalled her spear back to her in a flash of whitish blue before turning her eyes toward the warrior. Her face was both beautiful and deadly at the same time, proving not for nothing was this woman called a Valkyrie, a harbinger of death and servant of Odin, King of the Norse Gods.
"I'll leave this in your capable hands, Spear of the Gods."
The blonde Servant shot Karna a small grin before her faced turned serious. The remained three statues stood before her, their mouths opened with spheres of electricity building within them.
To the two humans, it was over an instant. A single blue line extended from the one end to another, then came the sound of metal sliding against itself. The heads of the three giants slowly began to slid from their place on their bodies before hitting the ground in near perfect unison. In their mouths the cackling balls of energy faded away.
Stepping into the main floor of the chamber, the Valkyrie faced down the last of the sentinels with a straight frown adorning her face. "Worthless, you call yourselves guardians? The training dummies we have in Valhalla possess more skill than you lot!"
Rather or not they understood her taunt or not, the remaining four giants took up defense positions. The two statues holding the vajras began speaking in a language the Valkyrie only faintly recognized while the remaining two, a sword wielder and staff wielder, surged forward shaking the earth with their every step. Flipping her spear in hand, the Servant known as Geiravör dashed towards the sword-wielder first. Her divine crafted spear and the stone weapon met in battle, and the latter fared poorly. Shards of rock and metal exploded from the collision of the two weapons. Not one to be discouraged, the statue took a single step back then swung out with its left fist. As easily as possible, the female Servant caught the stone fist with a single hand. For a moment or two, confusion seemed to mar the statue's face. Geiravör snorted in disgust, with a shove she sent the statue fumbling backwards into the sidewall.
Behind her came the downward swing of the staff-wielder. Balling her fist, the Servant threw up her free arm upwards, parrying the blow then zooming in close with a kick to the chest. Spider-web cracks appeared throughout the statue's chest. She should have gone for the finishing blow if she didn't sense an immediate buildup of power behind her.
The spheres of the energy the two vajra holders had created weren't blue, they were bright orange and red, massive balls of searing plasma that would have cooked the flesh and liquefied the bones of a normal mortal.
Bestial grunts left the mouths of the statues before they launched their energy attacks directly for Geiravör, heedless of their fellow statue who would lively end up in the crossfire.
"I suppose some credit must be given to the craftsmen of these machines, they almost rival dwarves!" One plasma ball came within striking distance of her a few seconds faster than the other. That one she deflected upwards. It plowed through multiple levels until the energy finally ignited in a massive explosion that shook the subterranean chamber like a bell. The second sphere she sent back at its owner.
The statue summoned its blue force field just in time preventing the plasma ball from plowing straight through it. A sonic boom shook the already shaking chamber, its epicenter being Geiravör kicking off the air. Her spear rammed into the backside of the energy sphere that had previously been directed at it. Blue light penetrated the orange and red mass, causing arcs of flashing lightning to jet outward in all directions. Almost as soon as the struggle began, it ended with an explosion of fire and electricity that blew apart nearly half the chamber, including the ceiling.
"Watch it! Are you trying to bury us too!" Jinako shouted, now covering her head as pieces of the ceiling began to cascade down upon them like raindrops. She peered to her far left where miraculously the prize she and Karna had come for still lay. Should she go for it?
"Yo, heads up, this one here's got a chakra cannon!"
Geiravör looked to her back to find the statue she'd previously scarred was now standing defiantly in front of her, its chest opened wide to reveal a circular device humming with blue light. Hefting her spear, she readied it for another throw confident she'd be able to beat the blast, granted afterwards she'd immediately have to tend to her Master and Karna's Master. Still, it'd be worth it.
A fiery javelin pieced the left side of the giant's chest. Shocked, the goddess looked downward to find Karna in a position indicating he'd been the one to act.
"Still have some fight left you, eh?" She leered.
"You truly think that little of me?"
"Well, I know it's certainly not because you're out of practice." Barked the European Heroic Spirit, casting a sideways glance in the direction of Karna's Master. "Go, see to our Masters, I will secure our objective."
Without missing a beat, Karna marched over to the human pair as the ceiling above him well and truly began to give way. He'd recovered just enough energy that flying through the hole Geiravör had made wouldn't be too much trouble, nor would the remaining sentinel who'd gone to engage her.
"What? Hey, wait, what about the treasure! I told you we can't leave without it!" Jinako snapped as her Servant took her up in one hand while grabbing the Isemi child in the other.
"Relax, Geiravör's got it covered, and I promise we'll share half of whatever's in there with you." Chuckled the thirteen-year-old, sliding on a pair of goggles over his leafy-green eyes. "Alright, golden-boy, up, up and away!"
"Hey! We were here first, not you, you little brat!"
Karna ignored the bickering of the two humans in his arms as he positioned himself beneath the hole the Valkyrie had created with her deflection. Behind him, his feathery cape shimmered into existence before igniting into an array of flames that propelled him and his charges upwards. Around them the ancient temple complex cracked and gave way, dozens of floors and its contents collapsing inward burying hundreds of years of secrets. No matter what, Karna kept his gaze locked onto the dim light that lay ahead of him.
For the last half hour or so, Jinako had tasted nothing but stuffy and at times disgusting air courtesy of wondering within the depths of the earth. The second her lungs tasted clean air it felt like a godsend. Her mouth took in huge swaths of oxygen before her arms or legs even touched the ground.
Behind her Karna collapsed onto one knee again, his breathing hard and his face sweating bullets. By his estimate they'd just crossed over a mile in the span of seconds, normally a simple feat for him, but with his limited mana reserves, he felt like he'd just ran from one half of India to the other.
Beneath the feet of all three, they felt the earth tremble and shake as the underground complex they'd previously been exploring gave way.
"Heh, hope we don't get any complaints about the damages. Then again, not like we're gonna stick around long enough for that stuff." Muttered the youngest of the bunch, who got to his feet with shaky feet. Bathed in the rays of the sun, his cherry-colored hair blew freely in the wind as he stretched his arms skyward. "But man, it is good to be back on the surface!"
"G-G-G-Good?! GOOD?!" Screamed the Japanese-German Master, snapping at him with murder in her eyes. Yelping in horror the boy fled behind her Servant, who remained passive as ever in the face of her wrath. "Do you have any idea what you've done! Karna! I told you! I told you! You idiot! You Goddamn idiot! Now what are we gonna do?! Now how are we supposed to get home? Huh?!"
Spontaneous as a flash of lightning, the ground behind the brown-haired woman shattered. Falling to the dirt, she crawled over to her Servant and hid behind him while her fellow Master raised an eyebrow at her behavior. The dust settled revealing the tall and proud form of the Valkyrie, the cracked but still whole treasure chest held beneath one arm.
"Your…treasure, little jotunn." The blonde said, doing her best to keep her voice level while dropping the wooden box before her.
Immediately, Jinako scrambled away from Karna towards the artifact, her eyes lighting up. "Quick, Karna, get your tights-wearing ass over here! Now! Crack this baby open so we can go home!"
No longer attempting to hide the frown, Geiravör walked back over to wear her young Master sat, a peach-colored sack sitting in between his legs. "Yasunao, I used to have goals, do you know that?"
"Like fighting and dying in honorable combat? Come on, what's wrong with being rewarded for all your fighting?" Laughed the thirteen-year-old, eying the dozen or so jewels he pulled out from within the bag. "Just be patient, I'm sure we'll find some uber strong guy for you salivate over."
Not for the first time, the Rider-class Servant was tempted to activate her Mystic Eyes in hopes of causing her Master to at least prick his fingers on one of the rare artifacts he'd procured from that underground complex. It'd be small compensation for forcing her to shelve her warrior self in favor of excavation and archaeology. This time anyway.
The seals burned away with Karna's touch, freeing Jinako to crack open the wooden box said to contain a device able to travel between worlds. They'd searched for almost an entire week before finding the subterranean temple said hold treasures from a long-forgotten clan, one said to have mastered this world's version of the Second Magic. With a near maniac look in her eyes, she shifted through the box's scroll and paper contents for something that looked like a portal device. Finally, she found it at the bottom. With careful figures Jinako pulled it out, her mouth practically watering as she held up her prize.
In her hands lay a mirror, not really big, but not small either. Its frame was jewel-encrusted blue with wave-like patterns engraved into the artwork. Four massive green jewels stood in place of the directions on a compass with a set of smaller white-colored orbs in between them. Jinako gazed into her pristine reflection, her own tearful eyes staring back at her.
"We…we did it, we finally…we-"
CRACK!
"…Huh?"
Wide-eyed, Yasunao watched the mirror crack, then the entire thing split in half in Jinako's hands. The glassy surface of the mirror became a patchwork of cracks with the pieces falling away then turning into dust that scattered to the wind. "…Well, that was a bust."
Jinako's reaction was immediate and expected, she threw the remains of the mirror to the ground and began pounding her fist into it, the tears of joy having become tears of grief and rage. In silence the Master and two Servant looked on, neither sure what to say to comfort her.
Karna felt his mouth twitch and his body begin to move even though his mind was telling him not to do anything. His hand never even got to reach Jinako's shoulder before she threw herself into his chest, her tears staining his black bodysuit with moisture.
Standing up Yasunao scratched the back of his head and looked away, completely unsure of how to react to the shattered hopes of his fellow Master. Right now, he wanted to take one of his clan masks and disappear, that or order Geiravör to fairy them away on her Pegasus. Anything was preferable to watching another person break down in sorrow.
"Well, what will you do now? Do you still plan on continuing with this fool's errand?" His Servant, on the other hand, did not have similar thoughts.
"What the hell kind of question is that? What the hell do you expect me to do?!" In a surprising show of bravery, Jinako stood up and faced the female Servant. The frustration running in her blood had given her the strength needed to face the Valkyrie, who moments before had stood before a collection of metal guardians that had her terrified. "I'm not like you! I'm not some superhuman badass warrior! I can't survive here! Have you not noticed! We're in the fucking dark ages!"
"Actually, we're in the feudal ages, trust me, we've looked around." Chuckled Yasunao, only to fall silent seeing the brunette's gaze turn to him. "Uh, this place isn't that bad? The food's pretty nice, and we're flesh and blood here, isn't that a positive?"
"This place is scary! It's like a damn video game or comic book!"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"I'm not you! I'm not any of you! I don't have any magical powers or Mystic Codes! I don't have some stupid heroic resolve to see me through on the darkest of days! I'm normal! I'm average, I'm an otaku!" Jinako's legs gave out beneath her while tears streamed down her face. "I'm homesick! I want to go back to the Moon Cell! I want to go home!"
"You should have thought of that before you decided to chase after Hakuno and Tamamo-no-Mae." Snapped Geiravör, looking less than impressed with the outburst. "You decided to support him."
"I wasn't supporting that idiot! Besides, this is his fault! Next time I see him I'm…I'm…I'm going to blow his balls off!"
Yasunao would have laughed at the threat if he didn't believe Jinako could pull it off. During the Fox Tail War, he'd seen when backed into a corner the brown-haired otaku actually was a…credibly threat, at least when her berserk button had been pushed, and something told him Hakuno had just become hers.
"This is all his fault! All of it!" She continued to scream, picturing the face of the brown-haired Japanese youth. She hated him because whenever she thought of him she always remembered his smile, his laugh. The concern he showed for everyone, friends and enemies alike, even if they didn't deserve it or hated his guts. Why? Why did such a nice guy have to be the root of all evil in her life? It wasn't fair! "Yasunao, I know you've spent the last month raiding every tomb you can squeeze your grubby little body into, talk!"
The young redhead managed to keep his composure as the older woman in her thirties grabbed him and began to shake him back and forth until his Servant grabbed her arm and had her place him down. "Um, okay, well, not that I've verified it or anything, but I hear there's supposed to be this crystal-"
"Where?! What does it do!?" She screamed.
Throwing up his arms at the enlarged shadow before him, Yasunao nearly stumbled over his own words. "I-It supposedly has the ability to cross dimensions, or peer into them! Something like that! Legend is it's located in some place, the Land of…Land of…Snow, yeah, Land of Snow! Apparently, it's at the peak of some snow-covered mountain, hard to get to, but not impossible I think!"
"Karna!"
Well, it's been a while since I've seen snow or ice, I've never really had ice-cream, so it could be a worthwhile experience. "Yes, Master, wherever you wish to go."
"Then take these." Placing down the peach-colored sack as well as a set of scrolls, the young Master put his arms on his hips. "Hey, don't look at me like that, I may enjoy breaking and entering, but I'm not that heartless."
Walking over, Jinako looked into the bag finding it to be full of priceless jewels and artifacts, things they could sell for money and supplies. "Th…Thank you, Yasunao, I guess you're not all bad for a little brat."
Geiravör had already summoned and mounted her Pegasus. With her help Yasunao joined her; to Jinako, it should have been criminal how good the thirteen-year-old redhead looked mounted atop a mythical creature such as that. Really, she hated how she, a woman of going on thirty-one years of age, was so ill at ease while Yasunao was able to take anything life threw at him in strides. Was it a result of his youth? Or was it because he was doing things she'd never dreamed of doing when she was his age?
"Oh, and here's some friendly advice, watch out for a black knight Servant running around."
"Black knight Servant?"
"Yes, a warrior garbed in dark armor whose aura reeks of madness and hatred." Geiravör answered, taking up the reins of her mount. "There's nothing left of his mind making him little more than a wild beast with a sword."
"So, he's a Berserker? One whose identity even you weren't able to discern?" Karna inquired.
"Whatever hacking was done on the Moon Cell carried over into this world. By that logic, that serves to mean Scorn's virus made the trip as well. Granted, given your Master, you don't have anything to worry about." The Valkyrie chuckled, seeing the pouty expression on the younger woman's face. "Take care, Hero of Charity, one day I hope to cross spears with you at your best as does your dear nephew. Survive until that day comes!"
Side by side the pair watched the Valkyrie and her Master take off, leaving a trail in the sky that was quickly overtaken by the passing breeze. Jinako had to admit, it was almost mesmerized in a way, being so high up. She felt like if she wanted to, she could reach out and touch the clouds.
"Hey, Karna, you um, you wouldn't happen to have enough strength to get us down, would you?" Jinako nervously chuckled, realizing they'd basically blasted their way up a mountain and now had little idea how to get down.
"I believe the closest town is the one we passed on our way here, approximately two miles away. I can either get us down or save my strength for the walk back."
Jinako scowled hearing that. "Hakuno, I blame you for this!"
"At least this'll give you the chance to work off your excess fat."
The half-Japanese half-German woman stared long and hard at her Servant, the mountainous wind blowing her waist-length brown hair to the side, giving her a truly annoyed and vicious look, she normally couldn't muster on her own. Slowly, she held up the three red Command Seals on her left hand. "Don't make me use these."
There was your first peak at one some of the other Master-Servant pairs have been up to which will continue onto the next chapter.
I'll get this out of the way now-Karna will be nerfed for a good chunk of this story. While he does get a slight cultural boost since the Naruto-verse possesses some Hindu influence, it's still nothing to write home about. He'll be fighting just like he did in CCC-relying on hand-to-hand combat and spear-fighting and only using his Mana Burst sparingly due to Jinako's extremely limited ability to provide him with mana. Also, I have something in mind for his armor that'll keep to his character and push Jinako on the path to becoming useful.
To give a quick recap of the teams…
Hakuno Kishinami
Servant-Caster (Tamamo-no-Mae)
Kenelm Carlyle
Servant-Lancer (?)
Guo Rong
Servant-Caster (Archimedes)
Gazsi "Gaz" Mokri
Servant-Archer (Robin Hood)
Blanca Ceballos
Servant-Assassin (Li Shuwen)
Herta Ahlgrim
Servant-Saber (?)
Jinako Carigiri
Servant-Lancer/"Launcher" (Karna)
Yasunao Isemi
Servant-Rider (Geiravör)
