15 May 2008 a.t.b.
Excerpt from the High Magus' State of the Association speech to the Magus Association:
"Magic. The basis of both the Church's existence and ours. In the end, all we differ by is our definition of magic. The Church separates magic as an abnormality in their definition of the supernatural, an aberration in a world of aberrations. We see magic as the driving force behind our own Saint Darwin's theories. Science is merely magic's human complement, our ascension in knowledge next to powers that we are just beginning to understand. Indeed, our Association has been witness to this from the very birth of alliance with Britannia's royalty has only become stronger through the centuries.
With our guidance, Britannia has grown to be the leader in scientific and magical prowess. The future of both the Association and Britannia lies in our collaboration to create the pinnacle of mankind. Today, we are in the presence of the ultimate culmination of our cooperation, a fusion of the newest discoveries in Golem magic and robotics. Inside its heart is an infallible energy source, a cube of Imbued Sakuradite fortified by the strength of magecraft and the reliability of technology. Its heart is the Yggdrasil Drive, and it will prove to the world who exactly is the fittest.
I present the Knightmare Frame."
Chapter 4: In Shining Armor
10 August 2017 a.t.b., 1946 hours
Shinjuku District, Area 11
Davids felt his stomach sink. The incessant beeping told him that power was just restored, though at a critical low. His knightmare was still sightless, responsive only to his left controls, and incapable of firing its weapons. All he could do was hope that a reboot would restore power to his hatch, but even that seemed unlikely. The supposedly infallible ejection system was down. In event of a power loss, the ejection unit would use its own power supply to ignite its thrusters. Unfortunately for Davids, that was down as well.
He punched the HUD in frustration. "Damn!" What the hell happened to my knightmare? That reboot has to-
The HUD flickered on, returning visuals to Davids.
Convenient. He looked at his HUD again. To his surprise, that kid was still there. Along with someone else. From what he could see, the redheaded Eleven was holding a blonde girl's shoulder- wait. Redheaded? Eleven? Blonde?
The gunnery officer realized that the odds were quite slim that an Eleven would have red hair, associate with a clearly Britannian girl in a dress, and wear a Britannian schoolboy's uniform. He was smart enough to understand the consequences of even pointing a weapon at some rich aristocrat's son. Despite what had- happened to his squad, he valued his life over any sort of revenge. Following this logic, he adjusted his only responding controls to lower his knightmare's gun. And instead caused his knightmare to lunge forward.
"Dammit!" He hoped to God that they would not interpret that as an aggressive action. Thankfully, the boy wasn't hurt. The girl- where did the girl go?
And then his knightmare just dropped.
On the second step from Shirou, Saber disappeared. She never truly became accustomed with the powers that she acquired as a Servant, but the familiarity of battle lessened her uneasiness.
Reaching the giant in that single leap, she swung her invisible weapon. It was a beautiful weapon, a true pleasure to wield. If anyone else could see it, they would proclaim it as a sword from the heavens. Now, however, its invisibility was a blessing.
Her blade cleaved through the figure's leg with ease. The Invisible Air twisted and hummed, cutting cleanly as it blew the newly divided metal apart in unadulterated halves. Saber's hair and skirt whipped in the gale, the practicality of the closely cut and tied hair and the plates weighing down the skirt evident. The movement of the air created visible slipstreams, white lines emanating from the blade.
She leapt powerfully from the ground, her vision blurring with the speed. Its arm and gun were next, as she brought the blade down in an overhead slash, followed by a twist of her wrists in a double-handed grip upwards. Saber didn't even need to use her strength. She let the air encasing her blade do the work, honing the edge into an invisible fractal.
The disconnected arm she was still facing made a good platform to propel herself. Saber twisted in midair as she continued from her launch from the ground, turning her body so that her feet made solid contact with the side of the arm. She almost knelt there, coiled up in a bundle of pure combative force.
An outburst of dust and metal resonated through the alley, the equal and opposite impact of the arm slamming into the wall shaking the combatants. This was the result of her acceleration from the arm. Saber rocketed upwards diagonally.
In another instant, she was at the head of the- whatever this monstrosity is. She narrowed her eyes, deciding to leave the matter for another time. Still in the air, she decapitated it in a shower of electric sparks and torn metal with a sideways stroke. She released one hand from the pommel, allowing the sword to travel in its full arc, until her arm was completely outstretched to her side. The ferocious wind shunted the head into the wall, causing another blast of bricks, metal, and wires.
A simple twist of the wrist again, and her sword was in both her hands again, overhead. Saber brought her sword down as she fell.
This should subdue the giant.
A great shearing screech filled the air, starting low but intensifying quickly. The resistance between her sword and the giant's iron hide, as well as the conscious reduction in the strength of her Invisible Air, slowed her descent, until she kicked off of it to land in front of Shirou.
The force of her kick reversed the giant's forward movement, causing it to fall backwards.
It slammed into the ground, a titan vanquished.
Promised victory. Saber allowed herself a small feeling of satisfaction after determining that the giant was no longer a threat. As it finally collapsed, Saber was already checking up on her Master's health.
"Master?" Saber suppressed the bitter feeling in her throat. Again, the ordeals of being a Servant … That, among others, included servitude. Power with limits. "Are you alright, Master? Were you hit?"
"Shirou."
"I'm sorry, Master?"
"I have no idea why you're calling me that, but my name is Shirou. Shirou Emiya. Call me that." Saber looked curiously at her Master.
"But, Master-"
"Shirou. Please. I'm not in the mood to argue over this." Shirou was slightly taken aback by how severe he sounded, as was the armored girl called- Saber, was it?- in front of him. "I'm sorry for sounding so harsh, but this is something I will insist on. It doesn't feel right to be called 'Master.'"
"Very well. Shirou." A small smile graced Saber's face. "Yes. I like that much more than 'Master'. Shirou, are you alright?"
He checked himself over. "Besides a few scratches, I'm fine." Taking a look at the street, Shirou moved towards the end of the alley. He waved Saber over. When she was behind him, he checked that no Britannian soldiers were around or alive, and turned back to Saber.
"Saber. I have no idea what's going on, but we aren't safe here. The entire Shinjuku district is filled with Britannian soldiers, and-" He noticed Saber recoil. "Is something wrong?"
Saber looked downwards. Britannia … "It is nothing. I will eliminate all opposition to ensure your safety." She began to walk past Shirou, raising her arms again as before.
"No."
"Mast- Shirou?" Saber turned back to face Shriou.
"You saved my life. You took out a knighmare before I could blink. I'm going to return the favor."
Saber's mood completely changed. When it came to the protection of her Master … "What you are saying is completely ridiculous. I am a Servant. You are only a boy. My role is to protect you, no matter the odds. That is-"
"No way, Saber. I can't allow that. If you're going to protect me, then I should do the same for you." I don't know why, but a small girl like her shouldn't be fighting. It's wrong. I don't know why, but that I'm sure of.
"Shirou-"
"Saber, what's-"
"Shirou, you cannot argue about this!"
"Dammit, Saber, you will let me protect you!"
These were by far the strongest words that Shirou ever felt or spoke in his life. As soon as those words left Shirou's mouth, he felt the back of his left hand burn again. He raised it to eye level and watched with Saber as the outside of the sigil vanished, under the still-encrusted blood. As he lowered his hand, Shirou saw Saber tremble. "Saber?"
He found himself forcefully and suddenly pulled downwards, to meet Saber's eyes narrowed in fury. "You really have no idea what you have done, have you? Of all the commands you could have issued, this was by far the most idiotic one you could have come up with!"
He just stared back at Saber. "But you- you'll let me protect you, right?"
"It is not like I have a choice in the matter." She let him go. "My purpose is to protect you. And now, you have compromised your safety by forcing me to let you 'protect' me. That sort of impulsive behavior will get us both killed." She lowered her weapon to her side. "So go ahead."
Shirou was still disconcerted by her anger. "Go ahead? I-"
"Protect me. I cannot stop you. I have no idea how you are to accomplish this against-" She paused momentarily to close her eyes. She spoke again when she opened them. "-against ten more of these monstrosities. So tell me-"
"Shhh." Shirou draped an oversized duster over Saber's shoulders. "This should cover you."
"Have you lost your-" She stopped, wrinkling her nose. "What is this rag?"
"It was the only thing long enough to cover your dress." A distant clicking began to approach Shirou and Saber's position. Shirou unexpectedly spun Saber to face away from him and grabbed her by the shoulders, blushing slightly as he did so. "Look, just- just trust me on this, alright?"
In his hands, Saber felt small. "This is no way to treat your Servant …" Shirou was struck by a pang of guilt as he felt her tense and pull her shoulders inwards, becoming even smaller. With a moment of hesitation, he tightened his grip, pulling himself closer to her. Effectively, he hid Saber from view, unless someone removed both him and the duster from her. I'll apologize later. Right now, we have to get out of here.
He moved out of the alley, guiding Saber along before she could protest further. He navigated his way towards the border between Shinjuku and the Britannian service road. If we can just get out of Shinjuku before anyone notices, we'll be safe. Even just getting some distance from those bodies would be enough. Their travel was silent, fitting the rapid transition between twilight to evening. He was stopped by Saber, right before entering the street just beside the road.
"Shirou. Listen." Shirou paused as the marching clicks of soldier's boots drew nearer.
"Saber, I'll ask you again. Will you let me handle this?"
He felt her tremble again. For a moment, he was afraid that she would refuse- or worse, attack the soldiers on the street. Her reply- a curt, wordless nod- alleviated those fears. Sighing in relief, he whispered into Saber's ear. "Thank you."
And he moved into the street, still with Saber in his hands.
Saber still felt the pain from attempting to disobey her Master's Command. It was completely draining to even try to think about going against Shirou's order, but when she saw the Britannian force, she steeled herself to engage them. Two of those metal giants, and twenty soldiers. I still possess all of my mana, but this Command …
She actually managed to draw her weapon when the soldiers aimed their weapons and torchlights at Shirou and herself. The consequences were immediate.
It was as if a force slammed into her gut. Saber shuddered. She took another step, only to be thrown to her knees. Sickening images from her past flashed before her. Fire roared through her veins, licking and stabbing. Something corrupt was in her now. Something that was-
All the world's evil.
Her world turned red, then black. She collapsed completely, only supported by Shirou's arms as they moved from her shoulders to her back and legs. Desperately, she sheathed her sword into astralization. The pain dulled enough to let Saber observe her surroundings, but she could do nothing else. Her life was literally in Shirou's hands.
She tensed when the soldiers surrounded her and Shirou. The action almost caused her to black out, but she still held on to consciousness. A few words drifted into her ears, causing her to devote her attention to the dialogue in front of her.
"-happened? Did you two just come out of resistance territory?"
"Yeah, we tried to take a shortcut, but we got lost. Then everything just …" Shirou turned his head meaningfully at Saber. "We're not hurt, but she's exhausted."
"Bad decision, going into Eleven turf. I'd never let my kids anywhere near an Eleven. You're extremely lucky to be unharmed." Saber felt herself being lifted up by Shirou, an arm holding her back and another holding her legs. She almost didn't recognize her body, until she remembered the garment that Shirou vested her with. Turning her head up, she saw Shirou's eyes looking at her with concern. Then, he moved his head away. The soldier bent over and looked into her half-open eyes. Let there be a kind man behind that mask. Please.
"She's alright." He looked back at Shirou, apparently satisfied with Saber's health. "Say, I recognize that uniform." The soldier pointed at Shirou's chest. "You're from Ashford, aren't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"You know how to get back there? So far, it's the safest place to be for kids like you. Intel is pretty sure that there's going to be hell against Britannians for this raid. We've beefed up security there." The soldier checked his watch. "Look, we can't spare anyone to escort you back to Ashford, but the service road is completely secure. We're using it to move men and frames into Shinjuku. It's about a five minute walk to the safe zone's depot. You can rest there. After that, it should be easy to get to Ashford Academy."
"Thanks, sir. Good luck."
"To you too."
Saber felt herself being cradled closer to Shirou. As Shirou began walking away, she caught the last words of the soldiers' communiqués. "Heavy resistance … Sweep … Even women and children … Capture as many … Danger close …"
An explosion rocked the building a few blocks away. Shirou ignored it, looking back down at Saber. He looked grim, but upon meeting Saber's eyes, smiled lightly.
"How's that for being your protector?"
"Captain, we've found the missing knightmare."
"Let's take a look inside."
The captain entered his officer's override into a keypad on the side of the cockpit. The latch hissed and opened.
"Oh, my word-"
A less elegant private emptied his stomach.
Davids was missing his eyes. In their place were two gaping, red holes, the muscles inside the socket squirming. His left arm was dangerously bloated and red, the other a mess of shattered marrow and burst vessels. His stomach, unlike the private's own, emptied itself literally. It was splayed open, the intestines hanging out like a slug escaping its shell of a ribcage. His legs were the less ravaged part of Davids, but they were taken by spasms every so often. The most disturbing sight, however, was the vibrant pink glow about his skin. In any other situation, it would have looked like a practical joke. But this was war.
The captain possessed a stronger stomach, and inspected the former Britannian soldier. "It looks like Sakuradite poisoning, but this is too violent."
"Sakuradite-" The private took a moment to compose himself. "Sakuradite poisoning, sir?"
"Rumors were that the earliest knightmare pilots suffered from what Davids has. The brass said it was a result of close proximity to the Yggdrasil Drive and an overload of power." The captain lit up a cigarette, and began speaking through the puffs. "Now, it's impossible to get Sakuradite poisoning, since the Drive has been lowered in power and moved roughly two meters from the pilot, with shielding. The only way I can see this is-"
"An overload, sir?"
"Yeah. Which is bad, since that means the Elevens have a weapon that can overload the Drives." The captain thought for a moment, then spoke. "Bring this to command."
AN: This will be the last update for a week or so. I will be attending a design conference and several follow-ups, so updates may not arrive as often as they have been. I guarantee, though, that June will not be a month to disappoint.
I'd like to thank everyone for their kind and generous reviews. This is my first attempt at a fairly dramatic work, so I'm glad that I'm able to keep you entertained. There will be humor, but not as much as I'm used to. If I really wanted to have a laugh, Ninja Maid Sayoko and Spinzaku would be Servants, and Jeremiah would have a Noble Phantasm of a MOTHEREFFING STORM OF EFFING LOYALTY. Alas, if only.
Keep up the reviews. If there are any flaws in character interpretations, or prose, or grammar, or anything whatsoever, I'd love to hear from you. I may be revising the first chapter to try to fully portray the power of Immortals on humans. That's still something I'd love feedback on.
Thank you for your time.
Heavy Valor Out.