Emiya Clan Misc – Lorelei
In another time, another place, two supernatural beings played a deadly game of tag. One blue, one red, they flashed back and forth across the streets, faster than any human eye could hope to see. Light flashed as bare steel reflected the sun's rays, a high-speed game of keep away between two Servants in the Holy Grail War.
The blue knight grit his teeth and bared a smile. This rush, this adrenaline, it was everything he could have hoped for. "Aaaarcher!" he shouted, rapidly closing the distance between them.
The red knight responding by conjuring innumerable blades, throwing them against the blue knight in a last-ditch effort to maintain the distance. An expert twist of the body just barely managed to avoid the path of a spear, blood-red and glowing with malevolent energies. With all of their focus on the opponent, the red knight failed to notice the spear had cut down the light post chosen as a landing spot. Having unexpectedly missed their landing point, the red knight lost their balance and tumbled to the ground.
The contest was over in a heartbeat. Lancer quickly closed the gap, thrusting out a hand to catch the red knight's wrists and lock them against the ground. His opponent struggled briefly, then looked at him with eyes burning in anger.
"Archer," Lancer growled. "I've caught you!"
The red knight's eyes closed, knowing her life was over as she knew it.
"Please, go out on a date with me!"
Archer-ko groaned and slammed the back of her head against the pavement in frustration.
...
In yet another time, yet another place, a tall figure laid out a carefully prepared circle of steel and iron filings. The ingredients for the summoning circle had been carefully chosen from memory, the summoner had been present the last time this ritual had been performed successfully. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond her control had prevented her from reaching her goal at that time.
But this time... this time... she would succeed.
The final item, a large jewel carefully 'borrowed' from one of her step-mother's hidden locations – in the third drawer of the left-hand dresser of the master bedroom – had been placed carefully in the precise center of the field. Closing her eyes, she raised a hand over the circle and began her chant.
"Shut, shut, shut, shut, shut... Five perfections for each repetition..."
...
The chase was back on.
A blunted sword fired at speed of over one-hundred-twenty kilometers per hour was certainly a force to be reckoned with. However, even one fired at point-blank range would not be enough to disable a Heroic Spirit for very long. That is, unless one had taken care to aim it very... carefully.
Archer smirked as Lancer hobbled his way after her. She had to admire his resilience, even if she was more than annoyed in the way he had chosen to display it. She sighed as she passed through the next street over. She could have really used Saber's help right about now, but the King of Knights was still nursing a grudge ever since Archer had found her ice cream stash and plundered it.
She didn't see why; It wasn't like the ice cream had been hers, after all. It had been Shirou's money which had paid for it, which clearly meant it was Shirou's. What was Shirou's was also for everybody, right?
On her next leap, Archer suddenly felt an odd tugging sensation on her body. If she had still been slumming it in the Throne of Heroes, she might have recognized it for the summoning spell it was, but here in the physical world, already involved in the Heaven's Feel Ritual, the lack of context didn't allow her to see it for what it was immediately. Still, the contract she had with Rin held bound her to this world automatically, even as she slowed down her pace while she split her concentration between escaping Lancer and figuring out this odd feeling.
...
"Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."
The summoner frowned. All the conditions were as good, or even better than the previous times she had attempted this summoning. She couldn't understand why she felt resistance. She shrugged, best to soldier on.
Hopefully nothing bad would happen to Kaa-san's jewel, otherwise she'd never hear the end of it.
"Here, I vow..."
ooo
In another part of the building, a certain redhead was stealthily making his way out of a large room. He wasn't supposed to be there, and he hoped he could get away before the thing he had left behind developed any complications...
*BOOM*
...well, so much for that. The redhead gave up all pretense of stealth and ran away as fast as his body would take him.
His course took him past two girls seated at a table in front of a large tray of pudding. Although they both wore matching dresses of light-leeching black in the same cut and style, they were not quite alike. One was short enough where her feet didn't touch the floor, she swung her legs back and forth childishly; the other was much taller and developed, she held herself with the grace and seasoned calm of someone twice the age she appeared. Both of them looked up from their midday snacks as the redhead zoomed past them, then they both wrinkled their noses as a greasy, thready smoke filled the air.
"Ah... ahh..."
...
Archer leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding a spear-tackle from the obsessed knight. She rebounded off the alley wall, instantly tracing a wall of swords to precede her in a vanguard as she launched herself forward with a flying-kick. She smiled in satisfaction as Lancer gulped in dismay, then narrowed her eyes as his eyes suddenly widened.
"Nice view!" he suddenly cried, throwing out a thumbs-up.
Archer blinked, then remembered she was still in her civilian attire, with it's soft jacket and... thigh-high stockings... and skirt...
Displaying agility that would draw the envy of any acrobat, she flipped around in midair, snatching two of the flying swords in her hands as she spun, and continued diving at him face-first, her blades pulled back for a killing – or at least severely maiming blow.
Achoo!
Suddenly, in the back of her head, she heard what sounded like an odd, echoing sneeze. The last thing she saw as a strong magic pulled at her was Lancer's eyes widening in dismay.
Then reality fell apart around her.
...
"Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of the balance!"
Riko suddenly felt the explosion of power as a new magical presence emerged into the world. Anybody with a sliver of mage sense would realize what was going on, which meant everybody in the house now knew what she was up to, but she didn't care. Her glasses misted over and she absently ran a hand across her suddenly drooling mouth. Hehe... I've done it!
As the smoke cleared she had just enough time to wonder why the summoning circle still appeared to be empty when her danger sense suddenly flared. She looked up in surprise, then dove backwards, away from the circle as a hail of swords suddenly speared themselves into the floor, shortly followed by a petite-figure slamming to the ground after them. Riko took in her long, braided white hair, red dress-shirt, and black skirt. The young girl was very cute, Riko decided. Very powerful, but most definitely not EMIYA.
"Hauuu..." the girl struggled to her feet, grabbing at her head with both hands. "What the heck was that?" she complained. She looked up suddenly, staring at the purple-haired teen standing at the circle's edge, then dropped one hand to her chin. "Huh, is that you, Rider? I like what you've done with your hair."
ooo
(a/n) – the EC forum members have long asked for archer-ko, but nobody could think of a way to bring her in without cheating.
well... i gave up. i cheated. (r)eiko!sneeze-powers, activate!
sword dancers, ahoy!