A/N: Once again, this is a timeline where Shirou let the Valkyries go at the end of the HGW.
He was anxious. That was a new feeling for Shirou Emiya.
After the world seemed to skip an entire year, it was natural for him to investigate. Trough his contacts in the mage's association (so Luvia and Rin, basically), he managed to find the source. Chaldea, an organization created by one of the heads of the magus world. Marisbury Animusphere.
He did not care about the details, he only knew they had saved the world; with help of many Servants no less. Even if he was still out of his element, the years had made him strong. He had to go and help, that was his only choice.
Some might say he arrived at the perfect time, others at the worst. Whatever the case; by the time he was in, posing as bodyguard of Chaldea's new appointed director, everything went to hell. The base was attacked, Kirei Kotomine was alive, and the world was wiped clean with only a white desert remaining on it's surface. He was adrift, lost, with his only choice being to move forward along the remnants of Chaldea.
They managed to surmount a Lostbelt, but as they found out, things weren't so simple. Anyone inside would disappear into oblivion. That revelation itself had turned some of their allies into enemies. Shirou himself still had trouble processing it all, but there was no other choice, he had to keep moving forward. That's what Hildr would have wanted him to do.
That thought made him clutch the hem of his Swan Mystic Code. It was a gift from his Servants, along the Divine Iron Shield that was strapped to his left forearm. He was not big on defensive armaments, but the Valkyries had insisted he carry their Mystic Code and shield in their stead, so that they would protect him even if they were not at his side. It worked, at least to shield him from the extreme cold he had faced on the Russian Lostbelt.
He shook his head. Now was not the time to be melancholic. He needed to keep an eye out, for any Giants that may come near the 'Shadow Border', the vehicle the remaining members of Chaldea used to traverse their ruined world. The icy plains covered in crystal trees and a huge sun didn't seem to hold any life other than themselves.
A beep sounded, and he checked the apparatus resembling a watch that was attached to his wrist. He clicked at it's side, and a hologram of a small girl projected in front of him.
"How's it looking, Emiya?" she asked with a smile and wink.
"Nothing to report. Everything's clear," with a hum, she went back to whatever she was doing, without shutting off the comms.
"Alright! Come back in, I think I got this thing moving again," with a beep, the hologram disappeared. Shirou got up from his position on the roof of the vehicle. He took another look at the strange world of the Scandinavian Lostbelt, and felt his left hand throb slightly.
The interior of the vehicle was bigger than the outside, thanks to some kind of magecraft fashioned by Da Vinci. Sometimes he got lost, until Mash or Da Vinci or Holmes managed to bring him to were he wanted to go. Ristuka, the last master of humanity, also had that problem.
When he arrived, he found Goredolf, as always, arguing with Da Vinci and the rest of the crew members about their next course of action.
"We are sitting ducks out here! And, we need supplies from that village our advance team found!" Said the Fat Man, slightly taller than the kid sized Da Vinci.
"And I told you, we are safe inside the bounded field. Like Mash and Fujimaru said, the queen sees everything out here. If we exit, we may get attacked," her argument was met with a grumble.
"Well… maybe, but it's a calculated risk," he replied, his stance faltering slightly, while the Servant continued to glare at him. "Besides, I'm the director, what I say, goes." Da Vinci sighed, giving up on arguing with the director.
"Are you sure you can drive us fast and safely?" asked Meuniere, another crew member of Chaldea, and one of the most outspoken.
"Please. I was a racer back them. My skills are unparalleled. You saw it yourself in Russia," seeing him approach, the director smiled. "Wouldn't you say so, Emiya?" He was used to being his support beam.
"You are quite skilled, but I don't know if you can keep us safe from giants. It's better to sit tight, keep as many people safe as possible." He tried to sound calm and reasonable, but Goredolf was still angered.
"Finally! Sound minds prevail," Da Vinci puffed her chest in a cute display.
"You traitor! Scoundrel! Mercenary! Why do I even pay you?" The Director cursed Shirou as he sat in the driver seat with a huff, crossing his arms as if throwing a tantrum.
"You don't pay me," Shirou replied with a deadpan look.
"He does make a point. We need food, and to contact Mash and Ritsuka," at Meuniere's suggestion, Goredolf lit up.
"See? Even our co pilot agrees. It's two against two," he crossed his arms in victory, making both Da Vinci and Shirou sweatdrop. Emiya did not want an argument between crew members, not now, so he decided to trust his allies.
"I can protect us, if you drive. You've all seen what I can do." he stated with seriousness. He fixed his stare on Da Vinci, who still held his skills with some contempt.
"Emiya, you are only human." she said, not smiling anymore.
"A human who can project noble phantasms," he countered.
"Even so, your magic capacity is still extremely low. You may get torn apart." Upon hearing her, Goredolf hummed again.
"She's right. We cannot risk a single member of our crew…"
"I can use the magic reserves of the Shadow Border. It'd be like having your own artillery cannon," Everyone looked at him like he was insane. But he knew what he was doing.
"That's a possibility…" Da Vinci said, rubbing her chin.
"Alright! Enough dilly dallying. This is what we will do! I will drive us to the village our advance group spotted. If we run into trouble, Emiya will go out and take care of it within his ability. Does that sound good enough?!" Everyone looked at Goredolf. In the end, he had been the diplomat.
"Alright. But you'll take responsibility for any further damage to my Shadow Border. Is that clear?" Asked the little girl, pointing her staff at the fat man.
"Yes! Yes! I got it!" He pushed the staff away in annoyance before sitting once again in the driver seat.
In a few minutes, the vehicle lit up, it's engine roaring and shaking.
"Here we go," Shirou mused.
Her sisters surrounded her, like the days before Ragnarök. It was pleasant, or it would have been if they truly were their sisters. Thousands of years bridged a gap between them; but their creation was also different. Copied from her, made in the thousands, with no ability to adapt or speak. If not for Ortlinde and Thrud, Hildr would have felt… felt…
Feeling identified. Loneliness. Deemed unnecessary. Preparing to suppress.
"It's happening again, Hildr." Stated Ortlinde, flying next to her. The pink haired Valkyrie was brought back to reality, gazing upon the fields of crystal trees and fiery mountains.
"Forgive me, sister. I must need maintenance." she replied, even if it was unnecessary due to their mental link.
"We must bring this up to Lady Skadi. She'll know what to do," Said Ortlinde with a smile. Another Valkyrie approached the sisters, their third and second oldest.
"You two, get back to scanning." she said coldly, before flying off. Without another word, the black haired warrior maiden flew away without a word.
Hildr was left alone, scanning the surrounding area with her enhanced sight as her mass produced sisters flew around her, doing the same.
She would report nothing for their sixth hour, except…
She detected life. A bunch of humans moving rapidly inside a magecraft construct, near Village 23. She analyzed them. None were recognized, they weren't even part of her world.
Analyzing. Unidentified humans. Unidentified Heroic Spirits.
One human identified.
Her mind buzzed. A burst of static.
?
Goodbye; Master. I'll see you in Valhalla.
Something came to her. Memories that were not hers. An unnecessary feeling named yearning. She shook her head.
Sister. What is wrong?
I identified one human.
Impossible.
It's disrupting our network.
We must eliminate it.
Eliminate?
Yes.
Agreed.
Very well.
Memories isolated. Memories deleted. Humans detected. Must destroy vehicle, capture humans, destroy Heroic Spirits.
Valkyrie engaging.
He shot one down. Two down. The Valkyries came in droves, flinging their spears at the Shadow Border with utter abandon. The vehicle shook witch each impact.
Trace, On
Normal arrows would not do. Noble Phantasms were needed, but even minor and weak ones would do. Another volley of swords turned into arrows, and he quickly shot them skyward. The Valkyries went down with each shot, perfectly aimed at their chest. Their shields were silver. Imperfect copies that were easily broken. They had the skills of the girls he fought with, but, they were mimicry as well.
The vehicle crashed against a tree, scattering ice everywhere and making him lose his footing. They entered a grove of trees. That was enough time for the Valkyries to send another volley of spears at him.
"Damnit!" he cursed, raising his left arm. His Divine Iron Shield would not be enough. He needed more. He gathered magical energy.
"Rho Aias!" he summoned the flower shield Archer had used years ago. It engulfed the moving vehicle, and protected it. It only had six petals, and they were breaking fast under the onslaught of weapons.
His wrist watch beeped.
"How's it going, Shirou?" asked Da Vinci. The Shadow Border shook again, another bump in the road. The hologram flickered.
"There's too many! We need to lose them! Did you get in contact with Mash and Fujimaru?" he felt another petal break, his arm almost bent out of shape trying to hold his projection.
"Yes! They are on their way. We just need to keep driving, and not crashing!" the girl shouted, tough it seemed to be directed at someone else on her end.
"Okay! I'll keep at it! You stay safe!" with that, the transmission cut out.
The volley stopped, and Shirou looked at the skies, the Valkyries were gone. Suddenly, the Shadow Border shook, and abruptly stopped. The force forced Shirou off the roof, and into the ground on it's left side. He rolled a few times, and crashed against an ice tree.
Groaning, Emiya got up. The Valkyries floated above, surrounding the vehicle.
"Emiya? You still with us?" that was Meuniere.
"Are you alright? What happened?" he asked the crew member.
"Our grand director..." the sarcasm was palpable, and Shirou could hear a 'hey!' from the other side of the line. "… bumped into a Giant. I think it died, but we still crashed. We're surrounded." Shirou greet his teeth.
"Can you still move?" he asked.
"There's nowhere to go!" Meuniere answered. "But Mash and Fujimaru are on their way! And they got allies! We just need to hold on!" With that, Shirou's mind was made up.
"Alright. I'll hold them off." he answered resolutely. His side hurt, maybe a rib was broken. No matter. He could reinforce it.
"Are you insane! You can't go against them! Just hide or-or something!" Meuniere sounded desperate. He was right to be, this was a battle against divine spirits. No human could survive. But he had to try, for the sake of the crew of the Shadow Border. Saving them, keeping them safe until Mash and Fujimaru arrived was his priority. His duty, as an Ally of Justice.
He cut off the transmission, and stepped into the small clearing they had landed on.
He closed his eyes, and uttered his aria.
"Trace; On" His lifelong partners, the married blades Kanshou and Bakuya, appeared in his hands.
Four hooded Valkyries landed near him, clad in familiar white clothing, bearing silver shields and javelins made of light. He could not see their eyes, but it was easy to note their expressions where blank. They floated off the ground, like angels.
Nothing more could be said. He had to fight them to defend the Shadow Border, and they were trying to eliminate it.
They came at him, four at the same time. Charging head on, shield up and spear thrusting. He knew that technique, he knew how to counter it.
He stepped to the side, slashing at the coming Valkyries. Two were damaged, but the other two came at him.
He blocked their spears with his own shield, which did not move an inch even against their monstrous strength. Shirou countered with his own slashes, but they were either blocked or evaded.
The two Valkyries attacked in perfect unison, while the other two flanked him. He threw his blades at them to cover himself while tracing another pair to attack the two in front of him.
The two he threw were deflected, but began to come back towards their partners. Shirou went behind the two Valkyries attacking him, hoping to score a hit. But they were fast, and deflected the incoming blades.
He attacked then, but it was not enough. The other two attacked him from the flanks he thought he had covered. A shield came to strike him in the face, another in the stomach. Then two kicks in his torso sent him back flying, sliding on the snow face up.
It hurt. It had been a long time since he felt something so painful it made his vision go white. But he had no time for pain. He needed to get up.
He stood, reinforcing his broken ribcage. The group of four Valkyries stood in front of him, remaining motionless.
"You're… not attacking?" he asked between gasps.
"Human," he heard above him. When he looked up, his heart nearly stopped.
Three heavenly figures descended in front of him.
Hooded Ruby eyes. A kind and shy girl, who wanted to experience feelings.
A head of pink, adventurous and joyful. An individual that felt strange even amongst her kind, but accepting of that fate.
And finally, a golden haired beauty, conflicted about her duties and her emotions.
He… they had fought together. Suffered together. Smiled together. But in the end, they parted ways. That was… years ago. The void they left in his heart, it could not be filled by anything. And he tried to. So did Rin and Luvia.
These girls were not smiling. They held nothing in their eyes except coldness and indifference.
"You have a lot to answer for," said Thrud, pointing her spear at him. He said nothing. Hearing her voice was painful. His eyes stung. But he could not linger on that. He needed to be resolute.
"What?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level. Did they recognize him? Servants in the Throne did not remember their summons, not like normal people. They experienced them like a movie or a book; completely separated from their selves that experienced it. Yet, Chaldea's system was different, or so he was told.
"Those clothes. They belong to us. How did you obtain them? That is an ofense against the gods," Thrud's tone was harsh. Some things never change it seemed.
"You should know the answer to that, Thrud," he said. The Valkyrie's eyes widened, along with her sisters'.
"You spoke my name. You know of me. How? Answer," she said, getting close enough so her spear touched his neck. He could do nothing. These were no servants, he could feel it. These were real, semi – divine spirits.
"If I refuse, will you kill me?" he asked. He needed to buy time. Thrud retracted her spear, face still impassive.
"No. Our queen has forbidden us from killing humans. However, we can still throw you in the dungeon."
"I see. So…" he looked back, at the Shadow Border, than back at the sisters. "You don't know who I am," he stated.
"There are no records of you on our memory banks. No human like you has been born since Ragnarök," After Thrud finished speaking, it was Hildr who uttered the next question.
"Should we know of you?" she asked. At this, Shirou smiled, though it was bitter. Yes, they were not his Valkyries.
"I hoped so. But it seems I was mistaken," he sighed. He was so tired. The Holy Grail War had nearly broken him, and his parting with the sisters had smashed what remained of his heart to pieces. Now, they were back, working against him, against his duty to restore the planet.
"Are you here to destroy the shadow border?" he asked, not a hint of emotion in his voice.
"Yes. Now step aside. Do not force our hand," said Ortlinde, stepping up. She was… different. Cold, controlled. Not a hint of the one he met existed.
"I cannot do that, Ortlinde," she recoiled at the mention of her name.
"Then… you'll fight us," she stated.
"No. I won't fight you either," How could he? Even if they weren't his Valkyries, he still loved them all the same. Asking him to raise his swords against them was unthinkable.
"Then step aside," Thrud demanded again.
"No," he answered again. He dug his feet in the snow.
"Emiya-Senpai! We're nearly there! Hold on!" he heard from his wrist watch.
"Ortlinde, Hildr, seize him. He has a lot to answer to our Queen," Hildr moved. She was fast. Faster than her Servant form under his lowly mana capacity. A pink blur, then a shield to his stomach that made him expel his lunch.
His vision blurred. Hildr had attacked him, with not a hint of emotion on her eyes. She was not his Hildr.
She was not his Hildr.
She was not his Hildr.
Yet, he had to fight her. Otherwise, many people would die. Mash and Fujimaru, Goredolf and Meuniere, Holmes and Da Vinci.
Rin and Sakura.
His heart, it was breaking apart.
He gave up. He felt himself being lifted off the ground by his arms.
"But what about sister?"
"I'll deal with that. Just take him to our Queen."
He was in the air, a cold breeze hitting his face. From his wrist, he heard screams. Was it Mash, maybe?
He saw a white hood, a pink mane of hair, and then his consciousness left him.
A/N: For those confused about Shirou's outfit: Imagine EMIYA, except he is red haired and not tanned and lacks his red garments; those are replaced by the Valk white hood/cape and a white kilt of the same material; while also having the shield on his left arm.
I've been thinking about this one for a while. How would Shirou handle the Lostbelts? How would he react if he met one of his summons, such as the Valks or Artoria as enemies?
I hope you liked it. Maybe I'll do a part two, since I'm kinda tired of writing fluff for these pairing. Some drama will spice things up, I hope.
And sorry for the late update. I kinda got tired of Fate for a few weeks, almost missed the C.C.C event. As always, review and comment your likes and dislikes.
See ya around!