I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.
Bomb Has Been Planted
A muted grumble escaped Rin's lips as she made her way to the toilet. She turned on the tap and splashed the cold running water onto her face. The coldness shocked her, reinvigorating her reluctantly moving body. And then, memories of the previous night prodded her, giving way to a small sigh. Emiya Shirou was truly an exasperating individual.
"Emiya-kun, would you mind telling me why you are... Sakura? What..." she started, a rather happy smile on her face, in contrast to her anger. And yet, when her former sister appeared with the boy, her rage was quickly replaced by surprise.
"Ah, good evening, Rin-senpai," greeted the adopted Matou with a sheepish smile.
"Eh?" she sounded, but she quickly got over her astonishment to glare at the red head, "Answer me, Emiya. Why is it that when I reached your house, you were nowhere to be found?"
"I was investigating the temple," he immediately replied, "I know I shouldn't have, but I was worried for Issei and his family."
She couldn't believe her ears. What? "Just what made you think he would be in trouble?" she asked incredulously.
"Ah... about that..." he muttered, somehow losing his confidence, "I may have found out... that a Servant was there..."
"And who was it that told you?" she asked, her glare coming back with a vengeance.
"... Nii-san told him," Sakura spoke up.
She couldn't believe her ears. That arrogant brat? Oh wait... "I see..." she muttered as she narrowed her eyes in thought, "That book he found... that must be it..." A quick glance to her primary ally pretty much confirmed her thoughts. Then again, this development was worrying.
"Is something wrong, Rin-senpai?"
"Eh?" she sounded as she blinked. She shook her head and said, "No, nothing's wrong... Just remembering last night..."
"Ah..." was the girl's subdued reply as she handed Rin a plate of buttered toast.
She took the plate, muttering offhandedly, "Western breakfast today?" Still in thought, she took up a piece and bit through the buttery goodness.
"I just wanted to help..."
"Hmm?" Rin hummed in surprise, "What are you talking about, Emiya?"
"I couldn't bear the thought of Issei somehow dying because I failed to check up on him," he told them softly as he kept his gaze down on the mat. His hands were quite clenched and his body seemed tense.
Rin sighed and looked to Sakura. It seemed clear to her that there was no way she could get a proper answer from him. "So... which Servant was at the temple?" she asked her.
"About that..." the violet haired girl replied, looking quite unsure if she should tell her. And then out came the story of their night time adventure.
"Do you mean to tell me..." she started, her face twitching with her eyes closed, "That Caster summoned a Servant of her own... and that Servant... that Servant is outside the known seven classes?" She held back. She wanted to rage against the injustice of it all. An eighth class?! Really?! She finally sighed and said, "The night has obviously been too much for us. I think we should go to sleep and discuss this in the morning."
She sighed after sipping on her tea. She then realized something was off after a cursory glance. Deciding against asking Sakura, she turned to the other girl of the current group. "Saber, where is your Master?"
"I am afraid I do not know," admitted the Servant with a shake of her head, "He was missing from his bed when I woke from my slumber."
Sakura sighed and informed them, "Senpai fell asleep in the shed again. He should be done getting ready for breakfast right about now."
"Huh? That old storehouse outside? What could he be doing there..." the Tohsaka heiress muttered, her brow furrowing in thought. Then, with a brow raised, "Hmm, that... it could be possible... a workshop?" And then her eyes widened and she looked to her former sister and said incredulously, "He let you into his workshop?! Not even an apprentice would do something idiotic like that..."
"Er... I wouldn't call it a workshop... but..." the girl replied, looking uneasy under the sudden attention, "I often find Senpai there on most mornings..." And then, fear replaced her unease. "Is that why Senpai looked a bit scared when I woke him today? Because I'm a magus..." she muttered worriedly.
"Sakura, there is no reason to be scared."
All three pairs of eyes moved to look at Shirou as he seated himself at the table. "You only caught me by surprise this morning. There's nothing to worry about," he assured the near-frantic girl with a soft smile, who then had a reason to breathe a bit easier.
"I still want to know... why in the world would you let another person into your workshop? You aren't worried they might steal your secrets?" Rin questioned him, determined to get to the bottom of this.
"Huh? There isn't anything remotely connected to magecraft in there," he informed her as he spread some marmalade on his buttered toast, "I only use it for practicing reinforcement and repairing stuff."
She was aghast at his admission. "What!? Why would you casually tell another magus what you are doing in your workshop?" she grilled him, "No magus will simply reveal all their secrets like this!"
"Indeed. I would have assumed a magus would want to keep their trump cards secret as to surprise their enemies," added Saber, curiosity getting to her.
"Eh? But we're allies... what's the point of hiding it?" he asked in confusion, "Besides, my dad always said that magic isn't something you should go out of your way to hide... then again, I think he was trying to say to not to let myself get bound by rules..."
She could only stare at him in disbelief. She was sure the other two was reacting the same way... at least Sakura would be. This attitude contradicts everything she had been taught. This is not the behavior of a proper magus. Before she could voice out her concerns, she could hear loud thumping sounds coming from the hallway.
"Shirou!" shouted Taiga as she ran to her place at the table, "Food!"
Rin resisted the urge to groan in annoyance. It seems like she would have to ask later. Then again, she recalled something that Luvia mentioned a few days ago.
"Emiya Kiritsugu..." she wondered as she stirred her tea, "Who are you and why didn't you teach your son to be a proper magus?"
It was a cold morning. Yet, the condition of this well kept garden was quite impressive. As of now, pink and white blooms were on every bush in the inner courtyard. Nearby, a maid was busy tending to the still healthy plants. Illya stifled a yawn as she stepped outside, already fully dressed.
"Eh, Berserker... what are you doing out here?" she asked as the large Servant came into being off to the side of the entrance. He said nothing, but continued to observe the garden. She pouted at the lack of response and muttered, "Probably not a morning person either..."
"It is peaceful."
She blinked and looked at him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You have seen my life, have you not?" he asked as he turned his gaze back to the garden.
She nodded slowly. What was he getting at?
"I have steeped myself in vengeance. I have been used as a pawn by others. My anger drove me to unspeakable things and to amazing feats," he recounted to her, "Yet, I have only known a single moment of peace. You should know what I speak off."
Ah. That. The first time she asked him who the girl was many months ago, she almost wilted under his angry gaze. Only after giving him some space of a few hours, he suddenly decided to tell her. It was his daughter. "You are reliving your precious moment,"she guessed as she followed his gaze. The garden was indeed quite beautiful, now that she took the time to look. Then, thinking back, the past few days have been boring. The more powerful Berserker became, the more he used. Even with her vast reserves, she could actually feel the drain. He took a considerable amount, but nothing like a good rest to get it back. Yet, it felt like she was avoiding the main issue, Emiya Shirou. She still wanted him dead. But... she wanted to know, why in the world did he get in the way of Berserker's sword? Didn't he know what a Servant was?
She blinked and looked to her side. Her Servant was gone. She hummed a bit before going back inside. Time to scout the town again!
It was a school day like any other school day. Morning classes came and went. Lunch time was without incident. Classes continued. In the science lab, the chemistry teacher was writing the day's topic on the board. He was a rather large man who has yet to lose any of his short hair. Hearing muffled chatter behind him, he intoned sternly as he finished writing, "If you would please refrain from talking, I shall start briefing you on what to do." Turning around, he began, "Now. Today we shall find out... what is going on here?"
His eyes widened as all talk in the room ceased. Every student had started getting off their seats and backing away from the middle of the room, where a strange, odd spider web started to spread out on the floor. It was glowing and pulsating a reddish purple color; as it reached its brightest, it suddenly stopped and faded away. Thinking one of the students started a prank that went wrong, the teacher shouted, "Who did this!? If I find out who did this, you will be...!"
He never had a chance to complete his sentence.
The building seemed to rumble, causing all classes to cease activity. And then, screams and shouts accompanied the shrill siren rang out, many of the students semi panicking when those seated near the window pointed out that there was smoke coming from the building where science labs were. Teachers ended their classes and guided their students out and everyone went assembled at the dusty field in the middle of the school. Worry was in the air and many wondered what happened there that caused such an explosion.
"Archer, any idea what happened?" Rin asked mentally, also sharing the sense of curiosity. She got no reply at first. But...
"No survivors."
"...What?" she said, doing her best to maintain a calm demeanor as to not frighten those around her. A loud annoying sound echoed across the field as the principal used his megaphone to address the assembly.
"Assassin can confirm. Also... I believe something akin to magecraft is involved in this."
"Could it be Caster?" she questioned, "Is she making a move on us?"
"... It could be possible. There isn't any proof here, though."
She frowned. What could Caster gain by this? Was she letting them know she knew their identities? Then, to her surprise, police sirens. Many police cars and a truck rolled up to the school entrance. The officers spread out and headed towards the buildings with except one, who had leaped out from the back of the truck. He was shouting orders to the other policemen. He met up with the principal and said a few words. After that, the principal announced the end of school and that everyone should go back home and stay there... along those lines... in not so many words. With an atmosphere of relief, the student body milled out of the school, with many complaining about leaving their belongings behind. The teachers followed suit. Only a few others were somewhat lagging behind the milling crowd.
"Grr, of all the times Rider had to be on the other side of town," grumbled Luvia with a frown.
Rin smirked. Well, she would take any silver lining she could take. Then, she noticed Sakura had stopped following them. She turned around and saw her former sister facing the school. "Is anything wrong, Sakura?" she asked, drawing the attention of the others.
"Assassin stayed behind... he saw nii-san on the roof..." she muttered, still staring ahead in shock. The plume of smoke that came from the lab seemed to have thinned a bit.
"Shinji? But... that's weird, I never saw him at school today," stated Shirou in surprise.
Without warning, a loud roar came from the school. Seven more plumes rose up. The four Master's froze. The red head was the first to come to his senses and he ran towards the school.
"H-hey! Wait a minute, Emiya-kun!" shouted Rin after him, "It might be a trap!"
"Senpai!" Sakura sounded as she ran after him. The other two paused to glare each other before running after them.
"Stupid, stupid, Emiya," she rumbled mentally as she chased after them, "Has he already forgotten how dangerous it is?" She skidded to a halt when she came upon the rest of them. She could only stare in shock.
The police leader was busy shouting into a small black box while the others were busy carrying the injured officers to the middle of the field. Smoke billowed out of the nearby buildings. Most of the windows had shattered and broken glass littered the ground near the buildings. The three Master's in front of her could only stare in shock. Slowly, she walked up to the violet haired girl and whispered, "Sakura, we have to go now. Drag Emiya away if you have to."
"Rin-senpai... nii-san... on the roof... there's something wrong... why is he..." she muttered in a hushed voice.
He never wanted to laugh so much like the present time. He could feel the power. The book felt as if it was throbbing... pulsating. It was now floating open in front of him, the entire thing glowing in alternating hues of purple and red. Glancing to the side, already he could see the chaos happening due to his actions. Looking back at the book, he could see the jagged handwriting appearing on the pages.
Master, it is done.
Shinji grinned. He did it. Now that he has collected enough power in the book, he would be able to use the spells within. Magic. Real magic. Not magecraft, but magic. This will definitely make him... his name... famous. Prestigious. Maybe unlock a new ability, a new sorcery that only his own family could use. A Sixth True Magic. He ran his fingers on the page
Stretch your hand out behind you, Master.
He did so. The grin fled and gave way to fear. Did the book want to kill him!? The blade was inches away from his head. Without warning, the book flared up and an unknown language was written down by an invisible hand. An eight pointed star bloomed, touching the finger tips that were still on the book. The flare of color ran up the hand, up the arm and spread through his body, enveloping him entirely. Yellow chains burst out of the concrete floor and restrained the attacking Servant as well as the weapon.
Shinji simply stared for a moment as the Servant struggled to get out of her binds. It was the very same Servant that attacked him that night. Surprise became a grin. It then turned into a chuckle, which morphed into full blown maniacal laughter. "Such power at my finger tips!" he declared in delight as he turned to the book, "I must know more."
"You fool!"
He growled and turned back to the restrained Servant.
"You would condemn the fate of your world in your quest for power," she told his frowning face, "You know not the root of this power."
"Hah, don't presume to lecture me, Servant," he said arrogantly, "Besides, a magus walks with death. Why wouldn't I be taking the same risk?"
"This goes beyond your little mind, mon-keigh," she warned him as she strained against the chains.
"Hn. Please, I'm below such petty name calling, Servant," he retorted condescendingly, deciding against hitting her as to not injure his hands against that armor she was wearing, "Regardless, I believe it's time I took my leave." With that, the book flew into his hand and he disappeared with it.
It took much coaxing and pushing, but the girls finally got Shirou to tear his eyes away from the horrific sight and to return home. He was still tense, even in the safety of his house. Even as he sat at the table, his fists were clenched, his mind seemed to have gone elsewhere. Sakura had volunteered to do dinner shopping, since her senpai seemed to be out of it. That left Luvia and Rin with him. A potentially volatile situation. Yet, so far, all they were doing were casting occasional glares at each other while monitoring the red head to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. They kept quiet as even talking about what happened would have made the boy even more stressed. But eventually, the boredom got to her and the blonde got up and went to the television.
"... attack on Homu..."
"... explosion..."
"... an incident occurred..."
"...casualties among..."
After flipping a few channels, she quickly turned it off. But after turning around, she cringed inwardly when she saw her crush's body trembling. Rim, meanwhile, was giving her a glare that probably meant, 'See what you did, stupid ditz.'
As much as the Tohsaka's looks irked her, she tried to talk to the boy, "Shirou..."
"I couldn't do anything..."
"Shirou, it wasn't your fault," she tried to reach out to him again.
"I know... but, I feel so helpless," Shirou muttered out, the agony in his voice clear, "I know there was no way I could help. It had already been done. But why... why did it happen? Why did Shinji..."
"So you were paying attention," Rin spoke up seriously as she crossed her arms.
"...Not really. But... Sakura said something was wrong, so I tried to take notice," he replied, a wry and tired smile coming to his lips. He then shook his head as his trembling stopped, the smile wilting away, "I cannot understand why Shinji did all this."
"Grimoires sometimes have their own mana... and are able to use it," Rin stated with a bit of a pause, "Sometimes it is able to sense it... and will draw in the user against the user's will."
Shirou slammed the table and shouted in disbelief, "Are you saying Shinji is being possessed by that book!?"
She nodded. "That is the most likely possibility," she said as she held up her finger, her other hand supporting the arm, "And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the other possible reason."
Shirou fell silent with that.
"You mean that he really did intend to use whatever magecraft that occurred at the school," summed up Luvia, "After finding it in that book, that is."
"No, Shinji wouldn't do something like that," muttered the red head as he returned to staring at the tatami. The other two fell silent in thought.
"Good evening everyone," greeted Sakura with a demure smile as she stepped into the room. Taking a few steps forward, she was a little surprised to notice her Senpai getting up and approaching her.
"Sakura, sorry to bother you," he said to her with a tired smile as he reached for the groceries.
"Eh? Senpai... are you sure you are up to this?" she asked with concern, "After what..."
"Don't worry. I'm fine," he said as he took the bags out of her hands and headed to the kitchen in her stead. She stood there watching him for a moment before moving to the table and taking a seat.
"You seem a bit happier right now," commented Rin, interrupting the silence.
Sakura nodded. "Assassin was able to get Officer MacKenzie's address," she explained, "It was while I was buying food for tonight's dinner."
"He did? How did he do it exactly?" asked Luvia, her curiosity piqued.
"Ah... technically, you are still an enemy Master, so I can't tell you," the violet haired girl replied with a smile. The Edelfelt only gave a frown in response.
"Well, I suppose plans for tonight are settled," the twin tailed Master said with a smirk directed at the blonde. Her features soon became serious, muttering, "Although, it is somewhat worrying. We should still be careful since Illya and that over powered Berserker are still looking for us..."
"Hmph, I suppose I should be going now," announced Luvia as she got up, "Hopefully, we could get a little more insight later." Without waiting for a reply, she left.
Dinner was less energetic. Other than asking for food, Taiga didn't say much of anything else. What mutterings that could be deciphered, the rest of the day was spent checking up on students, placating worried and angry parents, and finally topped off with an interview at the local kōban. That left the teacher rather tired, though she did regain a little bit of strength after dinner.
Then she asked, "Shirou, are you alright? You don't seem to be eating much." Getting no response, she shook him gently while repeating his name.
"Uh? Oh, no, I'm fine, Fuji-nee," he muttered as he was shaken out of his brooding. That fact itself didn't go unnoticed either. Sakura then took the teacher's attention off him with more questions.
After dinner was over, Taiga insisted that she and Sakura stay there for a few days. For safety's sake, was her excuse. Still, it did make sense after all that had happened that day.
"Won't she be a little suspicious that all of us accompanied her to her room?" asked Shirou offhandedly with a cursory glance behind him.
"It was the only way that I could leave a minor hypnotic suggestion for her to be a heavy sleeper today," brushed off Rin, "Being that you have no idea how to do so and Sakura being reluctant to do so, that left me to do it."
"Still..." trailed off Shirou as he followed the girls and Servant out, locking the door behind him. He didn't continue as a limousine pulled up in front of the house.
"Hi!" greeted Luvia as the door window rolled down, "Please, allow me to take us where we need to go. You can give the directions to the driver."
"Just what are you doing?" questioned Rin, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she crossed her arms in front of her, "I know your family's servants are privy to your secrets, but this is ridiculous. You really want to drag them into this? Even when Berserker and his Master wandering around looking for us?"
"You really think I don't know that?" retorted the Edelfelt magus with a glare, "I would never put them in harm's way. The Edelfelt repay loyalty better than that. Besides, Rider is driving instead."
Rin made a disgruntled sound as the Servant in question materialized and opened the door for them. Slowly, they filed inside, the twin tailed magus the last to get inside in her reluctance. With a grin, Rider closed the door and shifted to spirit form, heading to the driver's seat.
A long car drove up and stopped outside the gate. A pair of eyes watched as the passengers exited the vehicle and let themselves in. Five entered the small compound in front of the house; the car seemed to stop rumbling at the same time. Shinji grinned, though he wondered why they would be making a house call at the dead of night... No matter... Whomever they are visiting will have to be sacrificed too...
He turned to his side, the book already open. On the page it showed to him was a spell, or so the book tells him. He had no idea how to say it. It didn't look like any language he knew. He frowned.
"How am I going to cast this if I can't read it?" he asked it with an annoyed tone.
My apologies, Master. My previous owner... my first Master, did not want any of my secrets to be given so freely. Sure you can understand that.
"Of course I can. However, doesn't this mean that I would not be able to understand either?" he rebutted.
Indeed... please, lay your hand on the page the spell is written. Allow this one to do the rest.
A grumbling sound issued from his throat as he did as the book requested. He pulled back a sleeve, laying his right hand on the book. The page began to glow; a hidden sign, an eight pointed star, glowed in tandem with the spell. Looking back to the house the visitors were in, he watched as glowing circles began forming outside the house compound. Five beings materialized into existence; horned human-like beings with hunched, crested backs with wiry limbs. Their skin was colored red... blood red. They were all armed with a single blade; a blade so black and dark that one could say it both shimmered and sucked in all light around it. Inhuman shrieks and growls echoed through the still night as the one nearest to the house pointed at it with its sword. Shinji could only grin in anticipation.
The door opened and the first one to get out was Shirou. He was followed by Saber, then a glaring contest between Rin and Luvia. In the end, Luvia got off ahead of her after Sakura tugged her sleeve.
"This looks like a quaint little cabin," the blonde commented as she gave the house a one over, "A cabin in the middle of a concrete jungle."
Without a word, Rin walked up to the fence and opened the wooden gate. As the others followed suit, she headed straight for the door, only pausing to take off her shoes. After a few knocks, the door opened, revealing a soon to be surprised Noel.
"Wha- Rin?" she managed to sputter out as her eyes went wide.
"Good evening, MacKenzie-san," greeted Sakura while Shirou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a smile.
"Oh, erm... please, come in... I suppose," the police officer said as she stepped aside to let them in, still in a daze. She got a smattering of thanks before she closed the door.
"This is quite nice and cozy," commented Luvia as all the guests looked around.
"We aren't here to look around, idiot," muttered Rin nonchalantly after a glance. Focusing her attention on the former Servant, "Unfortunately... we haven't exactly been successful in informing the other Masters about your concerns."
"Semi successful, you mean," interjected Luvia smugly, "While... Berserker's Master wasn't very receptive, Lancer's Master was."
"Oh, please... tell us of your exploits," grounded out the Tohsaka heiress, annoyed that the Edelfelt somehow got better results than she did.
"But of course, allow me to show you how your better can do things," the blonde gloated.
"Shirou, something is happening outside," Saber interrupted the soon-to-be-heated discussion as she noticed the electric red glow outside the house. This brought everyone running to the windows. Everyone was taken aback when the five inhuman beings materialized. Their view was suddenly blocked by a darkly dressed character.
"Eh? Assassin?" exclaimed Sakura in surprise.
He has already pulled on his mask. He watched as the beings slowly walked towards the fence. They certainly gave out an intimidating vibe, but he had faced worse. His sword came to his hand. He twirled it, revealing the sharp folded blade. He gripped his left hand, the sign giving off a faint white glow. As they leaped over the fence, he lifted his left hand, as if throwing something in the air. A grey, transparent dome suddenly appeared and expanded, covering the entirety of the fence, the road along it and part of the garden.
"Well, a bit smaller than I would like... but good enough," he judged as he saw all five beings frozen in place.
He held his hand up, stretched out to the intruders. The sign glowed once more. He was ready.
Commentary:-
Welcome back everyone! While I'm sure you are happy to read another chapter to this story... I'm sorta sad that nobody wanted to guess who the shadow puppet emulated... oh well... And back to the chapter!
Thaqif: Yes, the title is also a shout out to CS.
It is a new dawn, and a new day. Unfortunately, Shinji's little plan has reared its ugly head to stab the school in the back. The Chaos. Has. Begun. Whether Lancer is able to destroy the book or not... only time will tell, but for now, Shinji has free reign to do what he wants. And... when night falls, four Masters go to consult and outside influence. Not only are there other interested parties on the look out for that, more unexpected summoning followed soon after. But, no worries, Assassin will have something to say about that.
Speaking of Assassin...
Servant - Assassin
Identity - Corvo Attano
Game - Dishonored
Strength - C
Endurance - B
Agility - B
Mana - C
Luck - D
Noble Phantasm - B
Skills
Presence Concealment - A
Magecraft - B, Representing Assassin's Supernatural Abilities.
Noble Phantasm
Mark of the Outsider, Interest Of An Unknown - A, Self. A mark given by the mysterious Outsider, granting Assassin his supernatural abilities, some of which passively rank up his Agility and Endurance by one.
Folding Blade and Crossbow, Tools of His Trade - C~B, Anti-Unit Type. Assassin's basic equipment. Crossbow uses sleep darts. Blade ranks up when used for defensive purposes i.e. parrying or disarming.
Corvo's Mask, The Terror of Dunwall - B, Anti-Unit Type, Self. A mask modeled after a human skull with multipurpose usage. Sturdy enough to be counted as armor. Has a telescopic function for observation and targeting enemies in conjunction with crossbow. In addition to the physical benefits, because of the infamy the mask was attributed to by the authorities in Assassin's world, it will also generate an aura of fear to affect Assassin's opponents. Normal people will be overcome with hysteria and paranoia when faced with the mask. Capable magi may or may not shrug it off and some may even try to fight Assassin due to irrational reasons(Meaning: Will depend on the mentality of the magus). Servants may experience general unease and various levels of fear depending on the mental capabilities and Magic Resistance of the Servant.
I do hope you enjoy reading this, as I have enjoyed writing it. Do leave a comment or review, would you kindly. I shall be seeing you all in the next chapter. Have a nice day!
PS: Shadow puppet was Glacius from Killer Instinct.