"Guys, what's going on?" Walking out to the main office, the other's were waiting with flashlights in hand.
"Enemy intrusion, magi." Boudica quickly briefed them on the situation. "Partial Release!" Taking the small golden amulet around her neck into her hand, she casted a release spell in a foreign language. Momentarily bursting into light, the amulet formed a weapon in her hand. A one-handed sword with a golden hilt, with a blue ornamental jewel and blue grip. "Shirou, go out to the back with Ushi and Kiyohime, see if you can get the power back on."
"Got it." The trio quickly headed towards the stairway.
"Marie, Chevalier, the two of you take the second floor. The Director and I will go- Wait, where's Scathach?" Turning around, where the crimson haired woman stood moments ago was now empty. "Oh dear..."
...
"What do you mean it's not a blackout?"
"Our company building has backup generators that should've kicked in by now. Here take this, and put this on." Handing the purple haired girl a flashlight, Mashu quickly slipped on the two long black gloves on her desk. Taking off her jacket, she pulled it around the tall girl, pulling down the hood around Medusa's head. "Keep this on, Medusa-senpai. They're probably looking for you."
Peeking out into the hallway, seeing that it was clear, the lavender haired girl quickly led Medusa with her by hand. "Where're we going?"
"We'll be safer if we get to the main offices and meet up with the other-" Turning the corner, both girls halted in their tracks.
In their path, a tall man with tanned skin and dark indigo hair. Dressed in grey and golden armor along with a shredded blood red cape that matched his blood red eyes. Breathing heavily, he was letting out growls like a wild animal. Breaking in a roar, he rushed towards them, fist ready to be hurled.
"Valiant Wall of Snowflakes!" Crossing her arms, Mashu takes the attack head on, brushing it off before hurling her own first to counterattack, pushing the man back. "Even with Mana Defense and Wall of Snowflakes..." She could feel the bruising on her arm. Although she doesn't have her mystic code with her, that would've allowed her to tank a speeding truck without a scratch. Looking at the cracks on the floor, she had been backed a few inches. And her opponent, a punch enhanced with a defensive barrier that would've bent steel like paper only left a little blood on his face.
"Senpai, please stay behind me."
"Geez... talk about overkill; they sure did a number on this." Out at the back of the building with Ushiwakamaru and Kiyohime, Shirou sighed when he saw the state of the fuse box. He didn't have to use structural analysis to tell it was beyond a simple jury rig, it was as if someone took a chainsaw to the box.
"Can you fix it, Emiya-dono?" The tactician asked from behind, holding up the flashlight for him.
"Unfortunately, not right now... I'll need replacement parts to repair this kind of damage." Looking closer, two different blades turned the box into what it is. The wires were shredded apart like mincemeat, while the fuse box itself was slash and smashed in, with a really large blade of some kind. "Did someone take a greatsword to this or something?"
Turning around, the tactician found her girlfriend scanning the area. "Something wrong, Kiyo-chan?"
"The night is quite, too quiet..." Pulling out her hand fan from her kimono sleeve, the cyan haired girl continued looking around. "It shouldn't be this void of life." Although it was past midnight and they were in the alleyways, Kiyohime would still be able to sense the presence of people nearby. A group of friends out drinking, or those who work night shifts, but it was as if the entire area was dead.
Sharpening her senses, Ushiwakamaru barely caught the air shifting. Turning upwards, she immediately drew her katana. "Emiya-dono! Look out!" Grabbing Shirou by the shoulder, the tactician quickly pulled the boy backwards, her katana just barely deflected the attack, landing backwards with Shirou as the ground in front of them was crashed into.
"Huh, I thought for sure that would've worked." Landing on the ground, a man with brown hair and two flat horns on his head. His arms and legs covered with studded leather, a red mantle adorning his waist. Bare chested, his body bore unusually large, almost inhuman muscles, with veins popping out of his arms. Grabbing his weapon, he quickly dislodged it from the ground, resting it on his shoulder. A large double headed greataxe, black in color with dark red lines veining each blade, it's edges crude and uneven.
"What the hell kind of weapon is that?!" Pushing himself on his feet, Shirou couldn't believe his eyes. Though he could see the axe blueprint and structure like he normally could with most weapons, it was as if he was looking at some living creature. The weapon, it was somehow alive, like some sort of demonic creature that was leaking rage and malice.
"Anjin-sama! Emiya-san!" Getting both of them to duck, Kiyohime blasted several fireballs at the man. Blowing up on contact, the incineration flames covered the target in a smoke cloud.
"Shirou-dono!"
"Yea! Trace, On!" Kanshou and Bakuya materializing his each hand, Shirou charged alongside the tactician at the blinded foe. Swinging with all his might, his attack meant to rend flesh was instead met with a equally strong and heavy blow. The heavy force cleared the smoke cloud, shocking the trio. Although he blocked Shirou's blades, Ushiwakamaru's katana had sliced into his shoulder, reaching where one of his lungs would be, Kiyohime's fireballs had him bleeding in several spots, but the man just stood there, smiling.
"Now then, which one of you will feed the blood axe tonight?!" Retaliating, the man pushed Shirou off with monstrous strength, sending the boy flying towards a dumpster. Grabbing the katana, he pushed out the blade from his shoulder with ease. Hands still around her katana, the tactician was pulled in front of him. Swinging his weapon, the axe cutting into her shoulder, sending Ushiwakamaru flying.
"ANJIN-SAMA!" Kiyohime quickly caught the girl before she slammed into the wall. "HOW DARE YOU!" Taking a deep breath, the dragon was about to ignite the entire alleyway when a hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
"C-Calm down, Kiyo-chan. I'm fine." Although a slash branded her left shoulder, Ushiwakamaru was already on her feet in stance.
"Ho? I thought for sure I'd have taken your arm."
"Sorry, you may be strong, but brute strength alone isn't enough to best a quick-witted swallow. And if I were you, I'd take my battles a little more seriously."
"Huh? The hell are you-" From above, Kanshou and Bakuya came boomeranging straight down at him, the twin swords diving into each shoulder. In the instant he was caught off guard, Ushiwakamaru closed the distance, striking with a sword draw while Shirou came in from the other side with another set of swords. Twin swords and her katana tearing through each side of his waist, the tactician quickly switch to a thrust aimed at his heart. Following her expectations, the man was forced to jump away, where several waiting fireballs lit him up in another fiery explosion.
When the smoke cleared, the man was down on one knee, one of his arms completely burnt and bleeding. "Tch... you little bitch. How did you know?!"
"You have yourself to blame, you brute. Taking our attacks head on was impressive, I'll give you that. But then why suddenly switch and dodge my attack or sacrifice one arm to take Kiyohime's attacks?" She pointed her blade at him. "I don't know what kind of magecraft if you're using to achieve it, but a little brute strength and sturdiness doesn't make you immortal. There are certain things you still won't survive; a lethal blow to the heart, getting stab in the brain or having your head decapitated. Am I correct?"
"Heh, well then... You are more than welcome to try!"
"Did you hear that, Princess?" While seaching the second floor looking to rendezvous with Scathach, the french lady and her bodyguard could hear the distant sounds of battle.
"Yes. Sounds like Shirou-kun's group has met some opposition. I'm sure they be fine, the-" Turning around, all of Marie's attention was focused on the figure who stood at the doorway, a face she instantly recognized. "Chevalier, we have company."
"Oh? Well this is unexpected... So this really is where you've been hiding out, Princess Marie?" A man with a black duster over a formal shirt, with white hair and blue eyes. Carrying a weapon on his back, a grey claymore with the tip oddly shaped like a 'T'. The blade was exactly the same as the french lady remembered it from all those years ago.
"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Charles-Henri Sanson. So, what is an executioner from France doing in Japan?" Marie's composure stood head strong, but anger was slowly leaking out.
"I'm afraid it's just mercenary now." Charles let out a humorless chuckle. "Well then, on account of us being acquaintances, I'll make this easy for you. Tall female, long purple hair, grey eyes, is she here? Hand her over and we won't have to fight."
"There's no need for you to deal with him, Princess Marie." Drawing her rapier, Chevalier placed herself between the princess and the executioner. "Go meet up with Miss Scathach, I'll take care of him."
"Chevalier... Understood, please be careful." Wishing her luck, Marie ran off towards the stairways.
"D'Eon, still playing housemaid I see." Drawing his claymore, Charles taunted the royal guard.
"And you should lament the fact that you ever took this job." Readying herself, Chevalier took a combat stance. "I warned you what would happen the next time we crossed paths."
"By all means then, D'Eon. Let's see if time in the land of the samurai have improved your skills!"
...
"Dammit! Why does this sort of thing always happen?!" Olga yelled out in anger, launching spell flares towards Boudica's opponent. Unknown elements attack her company, and she could hear the others going at it and most likely making a mess of the offices. "ARRRGHHH! Repairing all this damage is gonna throw this months budget projections out the window!"
"Olga! Not helping!" Blocking another attack, Boudica quickly fired back a small mana projectile from her sword before going for another slash. Backing away from the redhead, the man quickly sliced at the incoming spell flares before striking again. Sparks fly as sword meets claw, meeting again and again before the secretary fired another projectile, forcing a distance between her opponent.
"Hum... Hum Hum... Hum Hmmm Hmm Humm..." A man continued humming his tune without a care. Dressed in a formal suit, half of a skull mask concealed what appears to be a grotesque face, with sadistic eyes that glowed with malice. His hands looked mutated, skin had turned orange with external tendons, large golden knives had been grafted to the edges of each finger, turning them into talons. "Ahhh... the both of you have such fine voices... will one of you finally be the one... who'll sing along... with me...?"
"And why do they all have to be freaking weirdos?!" The director yelled again as Boudica charged forward, sword meeting claws again.
"GRRRAAAAHHHH!" Caligula yelled as he took another blow.
Slamming her fist upwards into his jaw, Mashu quickly rammed into him. Arms crossed to block the next attack, she took aim at one of his shins. Downing him to one leg, the girl quickly slammed her knee into his face, sending him crashing into the wall. "Did that- Dammit, not yet..."
Pulling himself out of the indent in the wall, he charged forward again, hurling punches at her over and over. Using her small frame and speed to her advantage, Mashu had been throwing punch after punch aimed at his head and vital spots whenever the chance presented itself. The way her opponent was fighting like a wild beast certainly worked to her advantage, he was easy to predict and dodge, which worked in her favor since punches that narrowly missed her left rather large holes in walls. But no matter how many times Mashu nailed him with a direct hit, he still continued to get up. Still, the fight was in her favor, and she has more than enough stamina to continue. She just had to keep pushing till the others got here.
Ducking from a wild haymaker, Mashu targeted one of his knees, bringing him down again. Executing another uppercut, the lavender haired girl quickly spun around for a back heel kick, slamming her foot into the side of his neck, not stopping until he crashed a hole into the window wall. "There... that should do it..." As moonlight entered the now open hallway cloaking the both of them, Mashu stopped for a moment to catch her breath before turning to Medusa. "Let's hurry, senpai. We should meet up the others before he gets back up-"
"ggggggrrrraaaahhhh..." Growling again, the madman slowly pushed himself up.
"How stubborn is he- Huh?" Back turned to her, the man looked up towards the moon. Looking up at the moon, she didn't see anything special. "What is he..."
"Flucticulus... Diana..." Caligula spoke softly, almost whispering. Quickly spinning around, madman's fist was already mid-swing.
"Here he comes!" Although she barely caught what he said, Mashu quickly dismissed that thought. Raising her arms, she readied herself to block another attack and-
"MASHU-SAN!"
"Huh...?" She could hear Medusa yelling her name. Her vision just instantly blurred, her feet no longer on the ground anymore, she was in the air. Something was wrong, Wall of Snowflakes was no longer in effect, nor was it responding to her casting. "Why is-" Before she could finish her thought, another fist slammed her into the wall. "ARRRGGGHHH!" Blood was forced out her throat, this was bad. "Shit! My magecraft- What going on? It's not working!" Nothing happened, her magecraft wouldn't activate. Hand grabbing her throat, she was slammed upwards at the ceiling before being tossed head first towards to the other side of the hallway.
"...Run... Sen..pai..."
...
"Ehwaz!" Casting a reinforcement rune, Scathach quickly caught the lavender haired girl midair before she could slam head first into the wall, using her reinforced body to cushion the impact "Ugh... You okay?!"
"Mashu-chan!" Marie quickly ran up to her, the french lady bending down to tend to her friend.
"I'm- I'm fine. Never mind about- me, Medusa-senpai is-!"
Looking up, the enemy was approaching the purple haired girl. "Dammit!- Anzus!" Flame runes flying towards her target, the moment they entered the moonlight, the spell flares immediately disappeared. "What the? Anzus was nullified?"
"NO! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Tossing her flashlight at him, Medusa stumbled backwards. Being yanked painfully by her arm, Medusa tried to fight back only to be met with a backhand, slamming her against the wall. Barely conscious, she could hardly resist as she was picked up by her throat. "No... Help me... Mashu-san... Sca...thach..."
"tCH... bEGGING FOR HELP... yOU ARE SO BLOODY PATHETIC!"
"Marie, stay with her." Running towards Medusa, Scathach halted in her tracks when she noticed the man clutching his arm in agony. Medusa was holding his wrist, but something was wrong. Her hands, skin had darkened jet black with golden scales coming from her wrist up to her elbow, fingernails had now grown and sharpened into golden claws. Her hair was lengthening, and something else was growing out, hidden in the long purple threads, almost like a limb.
"gET YOU HAND OFF ME YOU BLOODY MAGGOT!" Yelling out in rage, Medusa crushed his wrist with ease, her nails digging deep into his flesh.
"GRRRAAAAAAGHHHHH!" Yelling out in pain, man hurled his other fist at her, but something chomps on it, bringing it to a complete halt. A portion of Medusa's hair had mutated, morphing into a snake-like appendage. Coming out from her back, a long golden tail slammed him into the floor. Picking him up by his left leg, she slashed directly at his face, the force sending him out the building down into the alleyway.
"Tch, dammit." From the second floor window, when he spotted Caligula being defeated, Charles quickly knocked away Chevalier before jumped out the window after him. Picking up the indigo haired fighter, he yelled out for the other two. "Eric, we're leaving! Phantom! Quit playing around, distraction!"
"Ahh... it seems our time is up, ladies." Hearing his name being called, the man in the mask bowed before quickly bolting from his battle with Boudica and Olga, crashing through the window, landing next to Charles. "Let's us sing... Farewell! Christine, Christine!"
A loud grotesque sound blared throughout the area, forcing everyone to shield their ears. Screeches, screaming and other unnerving noises could be heard among the pipe organ-like tone, causing the windows and glass to shatter. After minutes of deafening everyone, when the sound finally ended, the enemy was already long gone.
"The hell was that?! Sound magecraft?!" Though her ears were still ringing, Scathach ignored the pain, running up to Medusa. On her knees, the purple haired girl was staring off into the air. Golden scales slowly receded back into her skin, sharpened claws returning back to normal fingernails. The tail she had was no longer there, her hair returning back to it's normal length. "Medusa! Are you okay?"
Looking up at her, she quickly latched herself onto the crimson haired woman, breaking into tears. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Shh... It's okay... It's okay now... You're safe..." Gently stroking Medusa's head, Scathach slowly tried to reassure the purple haired girl.
"Alright, all done." Tying the bandage around Ushiwakamaru's shoulder, Nightingale quickly moved onto the next person.
Being called in at two in the morning wasn't exactly pleasing, but she was in the office in less than ten minutes. Fortunately, most of her colleagues got off from the night attack with just a few scratches. Ushiwakamaru and Chevalier had each taken a slash from their opponents, but nothing to keep them off their feet. Mashu probably took the worst of it, but her confidence still stood unscathed.
"Mashu, you shouldn't be moving right now." Popping into the clinic, Scathach quickly stopped the injured girl from getting out of bed. "Come on now, be good. We both know you shouldn't be trying to leave. How are you?"
"I'm fine. It's just a few bruises, I'll be healed up by tomorrow."
"It is more than just a few bruises." The mistyrose haired nurse sighed in annoyance as she rolled a bandage around Chevalier's injured arm. "Internal bleeding, several fractures, a dislocated right shoulder, two cracked ribs and a minor concussion isn't 'I'm fine'. You had better stay in that bed or I'll have you mummified to it."
"O-Of course... Nightingale-senpai..." Knowing better than to disobey the nurse, Mashu obediently laid back down on the bed. On the bedside table sat her folded clothes, and two gloves that caught the crimson haired woman's eye. Long black elbow length gloves with purple stripes, the material different from what gloves are normally made of.
"Is this the way you've been practicing to use your magecraft without Lord Camelot?"
"Yep, Boudica-senpai and I have been working on those for awhile now. They're made of a special type of material that's sensitive to magical energy, custom made but similar to the effects of salamander skin. As you know, I don't exactly have perfect control of my magecraft without a catalyst help me focus like my mystic code, so Boudica-senpai had a friend of her's make them for me. This way, I can make use of my magecraft anywhere without having to bring out Lord Camelot, and they're also easy to carry around and subtle enough. Speaking off... did you figure out what happened to me back there?"
"More or less." Turning on the small tablet she brought with her, Scathach played back the security footage when Mashu was defeated. "You're said you couldn't use magecraft in that moment right?"
"That's right. That guy, he was staring at the moon and said something, then my magecraft stopped working. I didn't hear what he said but I think it might've been a spell chant."
Skipping to another clip, Mashu watched as the crimson haired woman's rune flares die out on the screen. "You're right. It's just a guess, but I think he activated some sort of Counter Magic, disrupting magic circuits and magical energy, sealing away any form of spell casting. But it seems to only affect magical energy under direct contact of moonlight, and only limited to a small area determined by the caster. Down in the alleyway, Shirou and the others experienced no such problems while under the moon. But you're fine now, right?"
Looking at her uninjured hand, the lavender haired girl could feel her circuits working just fine. "Yes. By the way, is Medusa-senpai okay?"
"Don't worry, she's fine. She fell asleep in the lounge, Kiyohime's there with her."
*knock knock*
"Scathach-san." Boudica peeked in from the clinic entrance. "She's uhh... calling for you."
"Right. Well, if you'll excuse me." Following the redhead, Scathach made her way to the directors office.
"Oh boy... here we go again..." Nightingale sighed, bracing herself for the incoming shouting match.
...
"Absolutely not!" It has been a really long time since anyone in the office had heard Scathach yelling, and as usual, the entire office was terrified.
"Yes, it is happening! They're better suited to dealing with this than we are!" And the only other person in the country who'd dare to argue with the crimson haired monarch yelled back at her.
"I am not going to hand her over to the Association only for her to be poked and prodded like some sort of magic experiment!"
"So you'd rather put the entire company at risk, even after tonight?! We don't have any obligation to help her! That girl is nothing but unnecessary trouble!"
"She's not unnecessary trouble, she is in trouble! And she's a client! Weren't you also in agreement that we'd be better off handling this ourselves?!" Scathach argued, anger slowly rising in her tone.
"That was before a raiding party of freak shows decided to attack us!" Olga slammed her fist onto the table.
"We deal with wraiths and spirits, assist enforcers and have even taken down wanted magi before, why should this be any different?!" Scathach roared, her anger meter already hitting maximum.
Stood by the sidelines, Boudica and Marie could only watch as the two of them were at each other's throats. Quickly agreeing with each other, they had to stop the argument before it devolved into a fight.
"Now now, we've all had a rough night, so why don't we figure this out tomorrow." Marie quickly placed herself between the two woman, placing her hands on Scathach's shoulder, urging her to calm herself.
"Marie-san's right." Boudica did the same, having Olga sit back down in her chair. "Nightingale-san will be in office watching over Mashu-chan and Medusa-chan, so why don't we take the rest of the night off, we could all use a good nights rest."
"Fine!" Olga reluctantly agreed.
"I'll return to the office after I get some things from home. See you tomorrow." Scathach quickly left the office.
Far in the forested outskirts of Fuyuki, an abandoned warehouse door swung open. Turning around, the four men he hired to visit Chaldea had returned. "Welcome back. How did your find our guest."
"There were quite a few with such beautiful throats... their voices... I can't wait to join them with my ensemble!" The Phantom of the Opera chuckled in excitement.
"Well then, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Phantom. What about you, Mr Sanson?" Watching the Phantom go off to entertain himself, he turned to the executioner.
Telling Eric to carry Caligula off towards the makeshift medical bay, Charles turned back to his employee. "We failed to bring back the target. But you already knew that would happen, didn't you?"
"I expected such an outcome. It appears that Chaldea has toughened themselves, no doubt thanks to Boudica."
"You know them?"
"Let's say I used to be acquainted with some of them, like you are with Marie Antoinette and Le Chevalier d'Eon."
"We'll leave it at that then." The executioner turned around, heading off to patch up Caligula and Eric. But before he left. "One thing, what exactly are you hiring us to capture, because what I saw definitely didn't look like a simple abduction job."
"It's nothing much, Mr. Sanson. Just an investment I'd like back." His employee grinned.
"An investment, eh? Hmph, suit yourself. As long as you continue to pay me, I'll keep up my end of our deal, Mr. Lev."
A/N: And here's chapter 3! Hopefully the fights weren't written too badly or cheesy.