Arc 1: Welcome to Shibuya

4/10 Sunday, Morning

The bright light of the morning sun was irritating for Shirou's red bloodshot eyes. A low grumble escaped his throat as he sent Forte a withering glare.

"So this is the entrance point for the Labyrinth?"

Sunday mornings were supposed to be a productive time, shopping for groceries for an empty fridge, resting after a long week of school work—or more importantly spend some time with Illya. Though, all of this was impossible, except for the former two options. But staying in the plain apartment alongside the suffocating presence of the magus was not an option he would've taken. So he thought that maybe he could distract himself by buying food for the nearly empty fridge.

But the magus had other plans unfortunately. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the first steps of the entrance for the subway train station of Shibuya. Shirou dressed in his clothing scratched the scar underneath his sleeve and looked at the magus.

"Indeed, I found it yesterday." Forte looked at him, her eyes sharps as she stared down at him. "Seeing as I believe this may be the entrance to the Labyrinth, I want you to go and take the both of us inside. I wish to map out the Labyrinth as we did with the one in Fuyuki."

The redhead's eyes wonder back towards the crowded streets, the civilians walking around and passing to close to them. He raised an eyebrow at that as he pointed at the crowd. "Won't they notice if I use the Marker here?"

Normal people like them were supposed to be unaware of the existence of magic and the supernatural, much like how he and Illya had been before that fateful day. If someone who wasn't supposed to know of magic caught wind of it, then the best possible outcome would've been for their memories of the event to be erased—as it was done with Illya.

Otherwise, the situation would've been handled with more lethal means.

"They won't." Forte assured him as she opened the claps of her suit case. He immediately noticed waves going through the air, quickly disappearing as it neared the crowd and making the people avert their eyes. "My element is wind, as such my magecraft is base around it. Using the Mystic Code inside this case allows me generate sound. So if I need prying eyes away from something that I need to do, a simple spell is more than enough to cause a sound which will avert people's attention. Do not worry about them, simply do as you are told."

Shirou nodded as he began preparations to enter the Labyrinth. Putting his left hand in front, he opened the palms of his hand, and closed his eyes as he began to focus.

"Trace—On!"

The self-hypnosis worked instantly, transforming Shirou Emiya into a magus. His magical circuits flared up as his od traveled all the way to the Marker in his hand, flashing red and burning his skin. He grit his teeth at the excruciating pain, but focused on his current objective and pushed past it. When he air started to shift uncomfortably, he understood that it was time to take his first steps to enter the Distorted World.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder, but he paid no heed to it, already used to this being done in the past. The two descended the stairs, with each step the underground train station grew darker and darker until they took the final step.

A blackened, corrupted and eerie world greeted them.

Forte let go of his shoulder and walked beside him as he let his hand drop to his side. The magus looked around at the desolated and bizarre subway station, until her eyes landed on him.

"The Marker in your hand is a key, that allows for us to enter into a reality inaccessible to any other mage in record." Forte spoke out loud, her expression tight and focus at what she had witness. "At first, one of our contacts, an expert in the department of Bounded Field had thought that a place like this was just a deep, elaborate and intricate magecraft that allowed the Black Mask Assassin to come and sneak in kills toward unsuspecting targets. We were obviously wrong in this assessment, especially when you were found by the men in Marisbury employment…this is not just a simple bounded field, but much closer to a Reality Marble—no, even then it would be wrong to call the Distorted Labyrinth even that."

Shirou's eyebrows were furrowed at the words the magus had said, he clicked his tongue and looked away from her. "Another layer…"

Forte nodded as she began to walk further into the distorted subway station, reaching for another set of stairs. "Indeed, just like the layers that exist in the World. The World of Man, that which is govern by the laws of physics and science, is a layer at the top and ruled by Man. The Reverse Side of the World, that which is govern by the laws of the Age of the Gods, is layer beneath that of Man and ruled by Phantasmal Beasts or any other mystical creature. Yet, this Distorted Labyrinth seems to exist in a layer in between the two…govern by no distinctive era and ruled by what the Association has call Shades, aspects of Man that if destroyed will result in the death of someone in the real world—and the Phantasmal Shades—a name given to them for their attributes—for they are beings capable of taking the form of gods and demons for whatever reason…with the only thing capable of fighting against them effectively being—!"

"Me…" Shirou looked down at the Distorted Marker with little reaction. Forte leading on continued with no regard for him.

"Yes…the same can be applied to people with specific distortions. A Distorted Marble, while specialized to someone, it seems to act more like a Reality Marble than this entire mess we are about to face…thankfully we know what to expect of a Distorted Marble thanks to when we had you run through your father's Distorted Marble."

For a brief second, Shirou burned. His body lightened up in fire, shining bright like a sun in anger at the callous way these people had him invade his father's privacy.

For a brief second—a name howl in his mind.

"■■■■■■■■■!"

But it was swiped away in his inner turmoil as he remembered something crucial—

…Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature…

And so, his fire fizzled out. He let out sighed at that, bowing his head and followed after the woman down the stairs. The two descended even further until they reached the bottom . Upon arriving they noticed railroad tracks going off deep into the bizarre world, branching off in different directions.

"That is why we will be mapping the Distorted Labyrinth for today, from what I have investigated—the population is bigger here and the center of where the Mental Shutdowns began…as such we must tackle this place head on." She turned towards him as she brought forth an open book with a bloodstain at the very edge of the paper. "The blood shall draw us an image as we move and flip the pages if needed. By the end of the day, we should have a fully realized map."

"…got i—!"

Shirou's words were interrupted as loud, lumbering footsteps marched towards them. He and Forte whirled around to see a shadow-like masked giant lumbering towards them. The 'eyes' of the mask were blue as it neared them. The female magus narrowed her eyes at the approaching enemy.

"A Phantasmal Shade…it has the same appearance as the ones in Fuyuki? I wonder…" The woman walked forward, closed the book and pocketed it in her suit. She opened her briefcase and brought out her weapon. She brandished forth a sword, three orifices were on the body of the blade making it impossible to be use for slashing. "Let's see if their strength are the same as the ones reported in Fuyuki—Aero Strike!"

Shirou's ears picked a sound, it was small enough to be undetectable—the air shifted as the sound travel at speeds beyond what the eyes of a normal human beings could pick up. A powerful wind spell had been unleashed, dangerous and strong enough that it can be considered a one hit kill if it hit an unsuspecting target. The impact was strong enough that it could crush an entire truck.

The wind spell hit the giant directly in the chest and it bounced off harmlessly—like a cool breeze during a morning stroll.

"What!?" Forte stared in shock as the designated Phantasm Shade grew closer. Her eyes narrowed as she gnaw her teeth and a cold sweat rolled down her face. She took a step back as the giant continued its advance—and Shirou stared at the enemy calmly, then his eyes flickered back to Forte.

The woman was defenseless—incapable of attacking the approaching monster and wouldn't have enough time to escape the moment that thing started to run.

'She could die…'

A fire in him burned once again at the thought. His eyes sharpened—and time seemed to stop. If he hesitated, she would die. As he watched the Shade approach them, just a mere ten meters away, the woman would die if he hesitated for even a second the moment the Shade's blue eyes turned red.

If something like that were to happened, then—

'I could save my family…I could go to them…tell them that now that I have no one watching my every move…that we could go into hiding…'

It was so selfish, so cowardly.

But all that mattered to him was the safety of his family.

Nothing more.

But—

"Are you that selfish?"

A voice vibrated within him, asking him from the deepest part of his heart—

'No.'

Again the answer was simple.

As much as he would want to leave everything here and go straight to his family, he just couldn't. He wasn't selfish enough to let someone get killed right in front of him—but more importantly than that, he wasn't stupid. Just because Forte was gone, that didn't mean he had a clean shot to rescue his family from the endless reach of the Mage's Associations and their threats—

And above all else…

…onii-chan…

…Illya covered her mouth as she saw the gore, her pale flesh stained with blood thanks to his own injuries, crying…

…he laid on the floor bleeding out and dying, incapable of stopping the Black Mask Assassin from pointing his gun at his little sister…

The memory of his sister's pain burn to hot for him to simply let go of the grudge he had been grooming.

Time began to flow normally.

And Shirou Emiya walked past Forte.

"I'll handle this…" He said as he continued to walk towards the giant, keeping his eyes focused on the blue eyes of its masks. He waited a single second for them to change—the Phantasm Shade's eyes went red and it lunged for him, intending to crush him with its massive fist.

He remained calm as it got within two meters of him—

"Trace—"

One meter away from him, it raised its arms, preparing to crush him with an overhead strike…

"ON!"

His magical circuits fired up, the hammer of the gun firing with more force and power than ever before as power coursed through his very being—

He felt all twenty-seven of his circuits activate, reaching deep within until they brushed against something deep within his psyche.

His eyes went wide—

His mouth opened—

"■■■■■■■■■!"

A soundless name escaped his lips, deaf to his ears as power exploded from within him against the towering enemy.

The Phantasm Shade was sent stumbling back, recoiling from the brightness and intensity of his power. The giant slammed a foot down on the tracks, causing them to crack under its massive as it was about to recover its footing—

Kizing! Snikt! Sash!

Three slashes going beyond human perception shot past it. In the blink of an eye, the giant monster was cut into three pieces. Large chunks of the defeated Phantasmal Shade splattered onto the floor, disappearing into nothingness just as the pillar of power receded and revealed the victor of the confrontation—

Shirou Emiya stood straight, his stance firm and purposeful. His once casual attire was replaced by red, black and white. On his torso was a black and sleeveless piece of armor, adorned with white accents which outlined his muscles and a metal plate on his collar. Black trousers covered his legs, with straps held on his thighs and shins—metal plated boots rang loudly as he took a determined step forward. The trousers were held by a white sash tied into a neat ribbon—

Breaking the monotony of the black and white was the single red cloth on his left arm, adorned with black stripes on his shoulders and forearm. His right forearm was also wrapped in red bandages, stopping right at his wrist. Held by the white sash on his waist was an open red skirt that ended at his shins.

His hands were grasping a pair of twin swords—one black and the other white. Yin and yang, Kanshou and Bakuya—both hands were wrapped in black bandages.

Shirou blinked, his steely eyes tearing away from the destroyed enemy, towards the sound of crackling chains behind him. Within a great blue fire, a shadowy figure looked at him—judging him and nodding in begrudged approval with an audible scoff. The fire gave away and the shadowy figure disappeared as well. As this happened, his face briefly lit up with the same fire as his 'mask' was set on his face.

A red headband covered most of his face, including his eyes, effectively blindfolding him—yet he could see perfectly despite the obstruction.

Forte looked at him with her jaw slightly ajar. Her wide eyes narrowed quickly when Shirou turned towards and she began to look up and down at him. She nodded after a few second and walked towards him. "So this is your distorted form. I was expecting something more exaggerated out of you, but I can see that I was wrong…hmm, exactly as I was wrong with me thinking that your form was going to go away. Didn't you fail to transform the times the other mages were testing your abilities down in the Labyrinth?"

He turned away from her, his lips quirking down. "I… needed the right motivation to get this power up and running…if I have it, then they won't go away."

Forte passed him and nodded while she looked towards the spiraling rails of the distorted world. "I see…then I would say that the safety of your family is motivation enough for you to not fail, hmm?"

"…"

"Is that why you chose to save me? You could've left me to die and tried to take your family away to safety. With the resources in Emiya's possession, simply disappearing wouldn't be too difficult, especially with him and the Einzbern homunculus by his side." She turned towards him with her sharp gaze. "Tough, that man won't act out against us, he knows everything that it's at stake and that we have him at Check. All that's necessary for a complete Checkmate is you screwi—!"

"Can we stop?" Shirou aske bluntly as he began to walked further into the Labyrinth. "Let's just finish what we came here to do."

"… As you say, Shirou Emiya."

With that the two began to move in silence.

Running through the endless darken corridors, the two began to slowly filled out the map in Forte's possession. Stopping as the sound of loud stomping filled their ears, the two look through the corner to see two massive Phantasmal Shades. Forte clicked her tongue in annoyance, giving Shirou a look. The redhead sighed as he noticed what she wanted and he got to work.

Going at lightning speeds, he crossed the distance between the corner and the monsters in a instant. The sound of the wind being cut rang through the air as the redhead had unleashed Kanshou and Bakuya in his dash. Both blades reached the unsuspecting monsters, stabbing themselves into his face and stunning the towering creatures into the floor. Shirou opened his empty hands once more and once more they were holding the Yin-Yang Swords. Spinning his wrists, Shirou burst once more into movement and cut the enemy down before they had the chance to recover.

SLASH!

And just like that, the enemies were taken off. Black and red liquid substance exploded as the Shades disappeared, leaving nothing but a couple of trinkets and soda cans. He looked at them curiously before he turned towards Forte.

The magus looked at him with an impressed look and nodded her head. "Very nicely done. I had thought it would be much difficult to dispatch of this things."

"It is." Shirou clarify as he looked to where the Shades had been. "Back in Fuyuki, taking down those hulking things was easy, one single slash from Kanshou or Bakuya and it was done. The only time they actually became incredibly problematic was when they transformed into mystical figures or creatures—when they stopped holding back. But here..."

"They're much stronger." Forte finished for him as she looked around at the spiraling maze they were in. "If it's true that the source of the Mental Shutdown is here. Then we must be ready for anything Emiya. My faction will not allow for failures, do you understand?"

"Yeah." Shirou answered with his lips curving down at the words from the magus. Though, behind his eyes behind his mask squinted slightly when the woman once more brought up the word faction when describing the Association. He turned towards the magus as she walked past him. "Why do you keep calling the Association as faction?"

The woman stopped and turned towards him, her nose wrinkled at his question. "You were not told?"

"Told?" His lips parted slightly and behind the red blindfold his eyebrows went past his hairline. The woman's lips quirked down in distaste and scoffed.

"Of course, that man wouldn't have something like that be reveal to you now would he. But if the Lords saw fit to honor the agreement then I don't see why I should ruin that."

Shirou's early reaction melted away for a sour one very clearly. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that it is none of your business." The curt and cold answer from Forte had the young man frowning. The woman stopped for a moment, turning towards him with distracted eyes and a more relaxed expression. "But seeing as I was task with this mission I will freely give you this answer. You are property of the Animusphere Faction. In other words, this entire operation is being handle by those who followed and understood the direction the late Lord Marisbury wished to lead the Association. Does that satisfy your naive curiosity?"

The redhead gritted his teeth at the manner he was being treated, but he bared with it. "Yes..."

"Good, do you have any other question or do you want to waste more of our time?"

He looked at the woman with an unreadable look, bowing his head as his mind went into overdrive. 'I do have a question...what did she mean by the direction Marisbury wanted to lead the Mage's Association in? There's something she isn't telling me...no, there's definitely something that is not being told to me...but what? Does it have something to do with that 'man'...who could it be...dad? No...it couldn't be, it wouldn't make any sense to keep things from me...'

Despite how his thoughts he gave a simple— "No."

"Then let's go."

With that, the two journey further into the distorted maze.

.

.

.

.

4/10 Sunday, ?

"Damn…was the Labyrinth in Fuyuki full of that many Phantasmal Shades…!?" Forte grumbled as they came down the rail tracks and into a waiting station, with two trains at the sides rushing away at high speeds. "Just how many changes are present in this Labyrinth compared to the one in Fuyuki…!?""

Shirou moved behind the woman, he tilted his head to the side to get a better look at what was up front—

"Huh…a door?" He muttered as he stepped towards a massive door that impeded their progress. Forte held a hand towards him, stopping him with a scowl on her face.

"What is wrong with this place…? Reports of the Labyrinth in Fuyuki didn't mention anything like this or even the amount of Shades all hoisted here…even the depths have gone beyond what Fuyuki was capable of. It's almost as if this place truly is the origin of whatever the Shutdown Cases truly are…"

"Miss Forte, what do we do about the door?"

She didn't respond as she touched it with her free hand, examining it—but she received no response. She looked back at the redhead and gestured for him to come forward. "Try and see if your powers work on this door."

He nodded and approached the large door and placed a hand on it. After taking a deep breath he focused his thoughts.

"Trace—on!"

Circuits extended past his body towards the door, his Structural Analysis checking every nook and cranny the obstacle had to offer, yet—

"I can't read anything from it…"

"Damn it…" Forte growled, shaking her head she pulled out the notebook where the Labyrinth had been completely mapped out. "It seems that not every secret concerning this place has been disclosed. Fine, at the very least we have a map of the Labyrinth. Come Emiya, let's go."

Forte turned on her heel and went back from where they came. The two roused up the stairs, making it back to the labyrinth.

"We have to take a right, right?" Shirou asked awkwardly at repeating the same word. The mage woman paid it no heed as she checked the book and nodded.

"Yes." She said with confidence as she walked forward, only slowing down at the corner to check for enemies. She peeked around it— "Let us sneak back to th—What!? How is this possible!?"

Forte flinched away from the corner, her mouth agape and eyes twitching from left to right. Shirou quickly appear behind her and look to what the woman was gazing at. He too came to a stop, taking a step back and raised his red mask over his face just to make sure his vision wasn't failing him.

The direction they had taken was now completely sealed off. It was supposed to lead them towards a long corridor, filled with false turns towards the left and with the only real exit being the next right. However, instead of the long corridor, all they saw was a dead end.

"This…are you sure we had to take a right, Miss Forte?"

"Of course I'm sure!" She turned sharply towards him, her eyes darkening as she sneered at him. She took a step towards him, forcing him to take one back, and shoved the book right on his face. Shirou's eyes instinctively close, something missed by Forte as she pointed to the map that marked all their progress in the Labyrinth. She looked over his shoulder and then pointed in the direction, he followed her finger after a second and saw a short corridor that twisted towards the only exit in the left. "This…this is a possibility that I had feared…that this entire place is very much in fact an ever changing labyrinth…"

The redhead looked at both directions and bit his lips. "But this didn't happen in—!"

"Things change…" Forte snapped the small book close and ground her teeth. She pocketed the book, turning away from him. "This was a waste of our time. Come Emiya, let's get out of here... this place sickens me…"

The two moved quietly, once more avoiding contact with any of the shadows. Even though frustration was prevalent in the two, they were careful as they avoided the towering monsters crawling around. They rose up through the levels of the depths, darting from shadow to shadow.

They kept the same monotonous pace until they stopped for a short break with only two more levels left before they could escape. Hiding by a corner, the two maintained vigilance for any wandering monster that got too close and—

Shirou frowned as his ears started twitching as he picked up on something coming from the corridor from which they had arrived from. "Miss Forte…do you hear something…?"

"What…?' The woman muttered something and her ears perked up. "It sounds like—!"

"A bike…!?"

Without warning, turning the corner from the long corridor before them, they saw it—

A dark figure riding on an equally dark motorcycle swerving right with swiftness and careful precision. The dark figure looked up, revealing to the two explorers his—

"Black Mask!" Shirou grounded out in surprise, as Forte took out her blade.

"It seems coming here wasn't a waste after all…Emiya, liste—!" She started to relay her orders, turning just in time to see the redhead dash past her with a great burst of speed. She whirled around in surprise from the show of power, before gaining her bearings. "You idiot what are—!"

Shirou didn't listen, nor did he care as he rushed headfirst to catch up to the Black Mask Assassin, the man responsible for taking him away from his family. However, even more importantly, the one responsible for Illya's pain that day.

The cause of his family being in danger!

If he could stop that man here and now, then he would secure the satisfaction of the Mage's Association, along with his family's safety.

So there was no need for words—except for two.

"Trace—on!"

His hands were filled with his blades, Kanshou and Bakuya—the two swords that never failed to answer his call. The first time he had been forced to go into the Labyrinth and the first time he had seen a someone die right in front of him—it was these two swords that came to his mind and were used to fight for his survival.

And now they would be used to defeat the Black Mask Assassin.

"Arrrya!"

He jumped high in the air, raising both blades over his head in the form of a cross. He spiraled down like a mad hurricane down on the Black Mask. The enemy had noticed him, finally seeing Shirou in the distorted landscape of blacks and reds. He barely swerved out of the way as the redhead crashed down violently, destroying the floor and rails with his impact and leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake.

The Black Mask turned his head back as he rode his vehicle, seeing Shirou burst out of the smoke and running after him at tops speeds. The assassin moved his hand towards his mask, but stopped as his ears picked up on another incoming source.

He whirled around quickly, unleashing a powerful slash with a serrated katana that collided with the unseen wind spell. Forte clicked her tongue, frustrated and very quickly recognizing that her standing in this world was not one of power. Nevertheless she rushed forward, seeing an opportunity.

The assassin looked up in surprise as his head darted back and forth, realizing that he was trapped in a pincer position.

Forte muttered a spell, aiming for the vehicle's wheels instead of the driver. Shirou, on the other hand, went for a more aggressive approach and chose to focus on cutting away at the enemy until they had no choice but to surrender. There was no escape, if the two played their cards right, they could end the threat of the Black Mask Assassin here and now!

The dark assassin bowed his head—Shirou and Forte took it a sign of defeat as they moved for their attack—

And in a blink of an eye the assassin drifted sharply to the right, avoding Forte's spell as it crashed against the floor, while Shirou's slashes hit nothing but air. The assassin narrowly missed crashing into the edge of a wall and avoided wiping out on the rails as he headed for the direction of the exit.

"Don't let him escape!" Forte order as she skidded low on the floor, Shirou meeting with her in a similar position—though he used his blades to slow himself down. The woman glared at him, but he paid no mind as he watched the assassin escape into a another corridor filled with Shades. The assassin drove expertly, weaving left and right to avoid nine monsters from crushing him beneath their towering strikes.

Forte took a step forward, her legs glowing with a faint light as they were quickly covered in circuits as the winds began to pick up and hug them. It was a spell, that would imbue her wind affinity into her legs, allowing her to run even faster than a normal human could ever possibly hope for.

Shirou did something similar, only his method was much cruder and something he tended to get mocked for by some of the mages responsible for overseeing him. He simply reinforced his legs—

And sailed past Forte like a bullet.

He neared the lumbering Shades—the enemy took notice of him and prepared to intercept him.

"Out of the way!" Shirou jumped high as one of the masked monsters aimed to crush him with its fist. The redhead twisted over the monsters head, and unleashed a flurry of slashes that cut the enemy into ribbons. He landed on the floor, and danced away from another overhead smash—countering by letting his Kanshou swing and take the offending arms. Gritting his teeth in frustration at the escaping Assassin, he—

He needed—

He needed to hit him from a distance.

The Black Mask Assassin passed the last of the dwelling monsters, and got ready to take a right to escape. He revved up his bike and—

Crash!

He recoiled in shock as a mere meter away from him, the ground exploded. Snapping his head to see the fist size crater, he saw an arrow lodged in it and immediately his eyes looked behind him to meet those of the assailant responsible.

Shirou was in midair, his teeth bare as he held onto a black bow. The string was pulled back as he readied himself to unleash another arrow on the escaping assassin. He focused as the assassin was about to turn, ready to shoot out his wheels and—

"Aero Strike!" Shirou's eyes widened as he looked back and saw Forte being pushed back. Her enchanted legs giving her the speed she needed to avoid attacks from the Shades. Unfortunately, her attack were completely ineffective against the hulking brutes. Forte's eyes went wide as one of the monsters lunged for her.

BANG!

A sudden explosion sent the attacking monster crashing against the floor and left it disoriented. This grabbed the attention of the seven Phantasmal Shades who followed the trajectory of the arrow—and were all immediately struck in the face by two arrows each. The Shades all recoiled back in surprise and fell to the floor—his projectiles proving to be great at hitting the enemy in their critical weak spots and stunning them.

Shirou landed on the floor and looked at the surprised Forte. She stared right back at him and immediately understood that he had not only saved her, but had opened a path for her as well. He whirled around and ran after the assassin. "Hurry!"

He paid no mind on whether she was following him or not. From the little he had seen, she could take care of herself and she had an more than enough opportunity to get away. And if there was any more enemies, then he would do the same thing he had done now.

But now—now it was time to catch the Black Mask Assassin.

He ran quickly, his legs going beyond their limits as he blurred through the corridors, all while following the echoing sounds of the motorcycle. He turned a corner and saw the assassin going up the steps to the level above with his vehicle. Shirou ground his teeth and leaped forward crossing what was left of the corridor and reaching the stairs in a single bound.

He ran up the steps fast, his free and empty hand opening as he gave silent 'trace-on' in his focused state. An arrow appeared and he jumped the remaining seven steps and caught onto the assassin as he ran into a straight and empty corridor—only a single Phantasmal Shade was present. Once more jumping and keeping his eyes peeled on his target, he readied his shot.

Shirou landed on his knees, his bow never deterring from his foe and his arrow straight for a clean shot.

"It's over! Black Mask!" His finger loosened, but—

Black Mask passed near the lone Phantasmal Shade and he ripped his mask off . "LOKI!"

The Phantasmal Shade was suddenly overwhelm by a great and terrifying power. Red energy overtook the Phantasmal Shade and just as the Black Mask passed him, the Shade let out a ear-screeching roar.

The horrible sound was enough for Shirou to lose his focus, causing his arrow to miss the assassin by a few meters. He did not even have the time to curse in frustration as the Phantasmal Shade suddenly darted towards him with far greater speed than it normally showed. Shirou barely had time to dodge, the hulking body missing his frame by mere centimeters—yet the force of the charge was enough to send the redhead stumbling back.

He regained his balance just in time to see the Shade whirl around to face him, roaring again as it charged. As it got closer, he could see that its form was bubbling and turning into liquid. Suddenly, its body expanded before it exploded. The redhead flinched as his instincts screamed at him of the looming danger—

"Switch—!" His bow started to frizzle out just as the bladed end of a spear flew forward towards his face. "Off!"

His bow disappeared and was replaced by Kanshou and Bakuya—he slashed outward to defend from the blow—

BOOM!

"Gruak!" The overwhelming power of the spear thrust was far too much. His blades cracked and he was sent flying through the air, crashing violently against the wall beside him. The wind escaped him, his body continued to push through the wall until it caved in and he was sent stumbling out on to the other side—spinning out of control, he finally came to a stop as the rubble and debris crashed onto his disoriented form.

Shirou groaned, trying to get to get back on his feet. He looked up, trying to see where he was. The sound of a train going off immediately made him turn to see he was inside a somewhat normal subway station—with said train leaving through a tunnel. His eyes caught two rails leading to separate directions for the train and he analyzed that the area he was on was a train platform.

He got back on his feet, and nearly stumbled into someone. He flinched back as he saw a normal business man, with yellow eyes go to the edge of the platform and wait for the train. He immediately backpedaled when the sound of multiple footsteps echoed around him. Looking around him he noticed even more yellow eyed citizens go in and wait the line.

"…these are…normal Shades…" He commented as looked at the hole from whence he came. He quickly realized that he needed to get out of here quick. If the Phantasmal Shade came in and started attacking him, then the people whom the shades belonged to could die in the real world—

"Please…someone…help me…" He froze as a familiar voice reached his ears. He turned towards the right where he heard the voice coming from, towards a dark corner where he saw a lonesome girl curled up into a ball.

"…Suzui-san…?"

"I…I can't take it anymore…" Suzui's Shade cried as she breathed erratically. "Kamoshida-sensei…just keeps asking for more and more…he just keeps getting angrier…I can't stop him…and Ann is suffering…because someone as pathetic as me can't do anything to stop it…I…I just want it stop…I want him to leave me alone…I don't want him to hit me anymore…"

"Suzui-san…!?" For just a brief moment, Shirou forgot where he was and his current objective as he walked towards the girl. What was it that she just said? What did she mean when she said that she was getting abuse?

If what she said was indeed true, then his thoughts concerning the teac—!

BANG!

Shirou spun around to see a cloud of smoke and the platform cracking under the weight of the foe that had just appeared. The sound of neighing echoed through the platform. As the smoke cleared, the form the Phantasmal Shade had taken was revealed. What was once a giant mass of black shadows, was now a knight holding a long spear high over his head while rode on a red horse, who neighed a war cry as the red aura grew more intense. The Shade locked eyes with him and immediately charged towards him.

The redhead tensed, ready to dodge out of the way and—

"Someone…please help…"

His eyes went wide as he remembered who exactly was behind him—

Time slowed down as the attacking Phantasmal Shade approached him, its spear aiming straight for his heart.

He couldn't move, if he did, then Suzui would die.

He couldn't move, or an innocent life would end.

He couldn't move, because that girl was begging for help.

There was nothing he could do.

The girl would die no matter what he did.

If the monster attacked him—then the force of the strike would send him flying back and crush Suzui's Shade, thereby killing her in real life.

If he dodged, then the monster's attack would pierce through her Shade and kill her in the real world.

Even if he managed to push the monster back, it would just keep coming back until he had nothing left but to submit to the power of the monster's strikes.

It was an impossible task.

…a faraway sound…

There was nothing he could do.

…the sound was nearing…

He had screwed up.

He had wanted so badly to end the threat toward his family that he had acted far too rashly.

…this sound was…

But in the end he had ended up with nothing.

The assassin had probably gotten away, most likely laughing and mocking him for his weakness.

Forte would most likely deem him useless and have him turned into an obedient slave with no will or emotions. A true human puppet.

He would no longer have a family left to protect because of his foolishness.

An innocent life would be lost because of him.

All because his intentions didn't match what he could do.

This was exactly what Black Mask had said to him, wasn't it?

'...Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature...'

He felt the fire in him grow cold.

He felt his powers recede and—

…this was the sound of a train approaching…

His eyes went wide—his mask burned away as a resurgent of power willed themselves into his hands.

"TRACE—!"

There was only an option left.

At the speed of light, his arms blurred into motion. The spear was now mere inches away from his chest.

Yet—

"OFF!"

Kanshou and Bakuya cracked as they were immediately overloaded with power far beyond what their forms could take. The blades crashed against the spear—and exploded with a fierce and fiery cry. The horseman Shade cried out in shock and fury—

Meanwhile Shirou was sent stumbling backwards, quickly recovering and spinning in a tight ball until he crashed against the wall feet first—a mere meter away from Suzui, he looked down at her crying Shade.

'I will save you…'

His eyes focused back on the recovering monster and—

"TRACE ON!"

His feet were fueled with power and he jumped away from the wall and like missile he honed in on the Phantasmal Shade, twisting his body so that he could drop kick the monster right on its head. A powerful shock-wave resounded from the powerful blow and sent the monster reeling back. It could do nothing as Shirou's attack sent it falling onto the train tracks.

And in that very moment, a train came speeding by, crashing into the Shade and destroying it completely.

Shirou landed on his back, sliding on the floor until he hit the wall. He shook his head and quickly got to his feet. A sigh of relief escaped him as he noticed the danger had passed. The human Shades had ignored the fiasco and instead proceeded to board the train. Shirou watched them go, slightly surprised by their apathy, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. Instead he needed to focus on the more urgent issue, and turned towards the still tormented Suzui.

"Su—!"

"Emiya! Emiya! Where are you!?"

Shirou looked up at the hole where he had come through, recognizing Forte's voice. He sighed, knowing that there would be repercussions for his actions.

But, it was worth it. If it meant that he could help someone like Suzui, then there was no reason to regret his actions.

He sighed and walked towards the broken wall.

"Please…I just want to play volleyball…I don't want to keep getting beaten…I don't want Ann degrading herself for me…"

"You won't have to…soon." Shirou said solemnly, before he jumped up and made is way through the hole. He landed back on the black and red corridors, there he saw Forte—

He took a step back and swallowed nervously as his took in Forte expression. Her face red, jaw tight and eyes wide and bloodshot. The look on the woman's face made Shirou take a deep gulp as he took a brave step forward.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" The near shrill demand made him wince as she marched over to him.

"I—ugh!" His words failed to come out as a gasped of pain escaped his lips. A strong impact to his stomach had him doubling over and gasping for air. He fell to his knees, both hand around his midsection with a clear wince. He looked up at her, his eyes catching the distorted air from her bladed wand.

"You foolish little brat! We were so close to ending this entire fiasco…and you had to screw it all up! I told you explicitly from day one! Follow my word to the very letter! Do not disobey me…that includes acting on your own accord like this!"

Shirou looked away from her glacier-like eyes, his teeth gritted as he took on the brunt of her assault. "I jus—!"

"Not another word out you Emiya." Her flushed face suddenly lost all color and her breath became even. "You just proved to me that you are unreliable, a liability!... We will return to the apartment…and once there we will review everything that occurred here, do you understand? If I conclude that you are a waste of resources Emiya…you know what that means, right?"

"…gku!" Shirou hands clenched into fists, while his eyes went wide at the clear implication.

"…let's go Emiya, and I don't want to hear a word out of you until we reach the apartment."

With that Forte turned around and marched away towards the exit. Shirou gritted his teeth, but followed meekly behind her.

Silent and obedient.

His leash suffocating.

And his chains reminding him of his place.

It was at that thought, that his red, black and white outfit disappeared.

Leaving him cold and weak as he wordlessly followed after the furious magus.

…

…

…

…

A few meters away, hidden by the darkness an elderly man watched the entire scene curious aged and sharp eyes. His gaze was entirely focused on the redhead's left hand, very aware of what was there. A blue butterfly flew across his face, illuminating his aged sinister expression. A smirk spread through his lips, lifting up the well-trimmed mustached in his amusement.

"Well, well...I wasn't expecting to find another Command Spell bearer around this parts...I lost my chance two years ago, but now...hmhmhmhm!"

.

.

.

.

4/10 Sunday, Afternoon

The sun was setting.

It was close for the orange sky to turn into a night sky.

The cool breeze of the evening breeze passed over Shirou's form as he sullenly followed behind Forte. The woman kept a brisk pace as they moved towards their apartment.

"Hey you heard right?" Shirou heard a young man say to his friend as they walked in the same direction as him and Forte. The friend turned towards the young man.

"Yeah…about the train station incident? I heard…shit I'm just glad that I got off the train in time…"

"I heard it was another Psychotic Breakdown case…"

Shirou's eyes went wide, then narrowed as he looked to the side. "The Black Mask…"

He felt a shiver and looked up to see Forte glaring at him for speaking, he bowed his head and followed her in silence as the two young men continued to talk.

"Hmhmm…geez, seriously, but for it to affect the guy driving a damn train? Seriously?"

"I heard that a ton of people got hurt pretty badly though…now that's scary…"

"What the hell is our country coming to?"

Shirou gritted his teeth.

'…Black Mask…you…I'll stop you…for my family…and for everyone else too…'

His inner fire flickered to life at his vow.

.

.

.

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Interlude

4/10 Sunday, Afternoon

My Wild Card

He watched them leave the train station entrance.

His eyes watched them walk away.

The woman, the mage was obviously angry and frustrated by what had happened.

And the boy, the one who had received the marking on his hand…the one who was vital for all he had worked for against 'him'. He growled at the thought, but quickly smoothed his features into the typical one he showed in public.

"Emiya…Shirou…heh…yeah…" He adjusted his bicycle and began paddling away towards his own apartment. "You need some work…but it definitely wasn't a mistake to let you live. You are too important to me now…my Wild Card…"

Story Beta: Crossovernaru

Author's Note

Newest chapter in! And has you can notice, this version of the story has already diverge from its counterpart. While some things still need to happen in the same vein as Oath, this story will be handling them much more differently and taking some stuff from canon out. The thing I've noticed with the old story was that while I was working in trying to make Shirou feel be a natural part of the Persona world, I took it too far and made him feel like a side character. While I was aware of the moment where he would break away from it, you the readers didn't and that was bad mistake I made.

But here as you can see Shirou is able and can take charge if need be.

Anyway this chapter is quite important as its setting up things that will happen later down in the story. Hints of things not being right and the interest of other characters in Shirou has been set. Now let's see what comes out of it.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Don't be afraid to PM about the story if you want to discuss the story.

Until next time. Adios!