Update: Fixed a LOT of grammar errors. Am appropiately ashamed of myself.
His shield was strapped, the Mystic Code secured and Magical energy replenished. He was ready. Even so, he let out a shaky breath. He wanted to believe it was the cold, but in reality… he was scared, not for himself, but for the three girls he loved.
He had to try his best. They deserved that much.
Shirou Emiya looked back at the Shadow Border. Atop it's roof stood the Archer Servant Napoleon, along with Mash and Ritsuka.
"We'll keep in touch with the wrist communicator," Said the last master of humanity, cupping her hands round her mouth so he could hear her.
"And make sure to come as quickly as you can once you're done, Emiya-Senpai!" Mash screamed, waving at him.
"Good luck you two. May love and goodness prevail this day!" Napoleon shouted atop of his lungs, giving him a thumbs up and a bright smile.
Shirou turned towards his left. The Lancer-class Servant that would accompany him did the same. Brynhildr gave him a small but sweet smile, and he answered it with a nod.
He turned fully towards the direction of the mountain where Sinmara was located. He could not see it. Or maybe it was indistinguishable from the other flame covered peaks.
He looked back again and raised his hand to wave goodbye before doing a one eighty and readying his Ollerus boards, modified to operate independently from the Orteanus suit. They stuck to his feet like two skis, except they were a little bigger and outfitted with two engines on the back ends. While Mash had run him over the specifics, he still felt uncomfortable in them.
"You'll be able to keep up, right Brynhildr?" He didn't even look at her, opting to test the snow and the stability of the boards.
"Even a subdued Heroic Spirit like me would take that as a challenge, Emiya," he looked at her, and she returned the stare with a small smirk. A new expression. His chest felt warmer, just like the first time he had made Ortlinde smile.
"Oh. I was just checking, that's all," he positioned himself, legs slightly bent, hand on the communicator that would also allow for the activation of the boards. "Let's go."
The Servant behind him nodded, and he activated his 'vehicle'.
He shot forward, wind blasting him in the face along cold specs of snow that were inevitably brought up due to the speed. It was crazy, and he felt an exhilarating pit in his stomach. Even so, he needed to avoid crashing into any trees. This was perhaps too fast.
"Need help, Emiya?" he could not turn his head to his left, due to the wind and the need to avoid any crystal trees.
"I'm fiiiiine!" he shouted. "You have the cloaking device, right!"
"Yes!"
"Goooooood!"
After half an hour of super speed skiing, Shirou needed to stop to take a breath. Or throw up. Whichever came first.
They took their rest near a frozen river. The day remained bright and clear, the unnatural sun giving some heat to the frozen wonderland; yet snow began to fall upon their arrival. The first Shirou had seen since arriving in the Lostbelt.
"This snow… it's not natural, right?" he asked, leaning a covered forearm into a tree as he kept his head forward.
"No. It's a spell cast by Skadi. The Authority of Snow, bestowed to Baldur. Once he died, it would return to the world and make it snow in a winter that would last three seasons, in preparation for Ragnarök. This is… an imitation at best." Brynhildr didn't turn to face him, opting to look into the falling snowflakes.
"I see," he took one last breath, and the nausea disappeared. He checked his communicator, as apparently Da Vinci had outfitted it with a map.
With a click, a small holographic display began projecting their location and nearby geographical landmarks. A red dot marked a nearby mountain, past the river and a tight pass.
"We're close," he told her, closing the map and positioning himself to go again. He could feel the air, it was tense. Was the cloaking device really working? Or was Skadi watching? In any case, their plan would not change. "Ready?"
"Always," Answered Brynhildr with a hardened expression.
He could see an ice mountain. Taller and thinner than the others, it stood out due to the fact that no flame touched it. It was perfectly positioned in the middle of a thick crystal forest whose trees seemed to actually have leaves, even if they were crystallized.
But that had presented a problem. Once he and Brynhildr reached the boundary of the forest, it became too thick to reliably dodge the trees at high speeds.
He stopped along with the Servant, looking at the obstacle before them.
"Guess we're walking," he commented, removing the boards from his feet. They had a button so they would fold into a box, making for easy transportation.
"Yes. It seems Skadi knows about Sinmara," Brynhildr was right, of course. Against the somewhat repetitive icy landscape, the frozen forest stood out like a sore thumb. Not only that, but a cold air blew here along with bigger snowflakes. He could actually feel them hit his face and melt.
Any brightness of the day was dying off, and the interior of the forest was dark.
"Let's stick together," Brynhildr turned to him, shocked.
"W-What?" She asked.
"We could get lost," he replied nonchalantly.
"S-Shirou, I told you to abandon me if you must," She said, fidgeting. At this, he turned towards her and grabbed her shoulders, gazing into her indigo eyes.
"I won't, so stop asking such a thing from me. Now come on," before she could say anything else, he stepped into the forest, more to escape the awkwardness of touching a beautiful, dangerous and clearly taken woman.
He could hear her follow him behind.
The forest was dark and Shirou felt something wrong in it, a strange thickness in the air. Wind didn't blow, there was not a single breeze to be felt. It was very strange, and more importantly, he felt watched. He turned around for a second. Brynhildr followed silently, and when he caught her gaze, she looked away.
"Is the cloaking device still active?" he asked.
"Eh? Yes, I think so," answered the heroic spirit, pulling out a small, round metal ball with bolts and lights.
"Then… why do I feel watched?" he was talking to himself, mostly. He kept moving forward, his wrist communicator guiding him. According to the map, they were halfway trough.
"We should hurry," Said Brynhildr. Straight ahead, hidden behind the overlapping trees he could see a small light. They were close.
"Come on, I think I see a clearing," he said. Before he could get any closer to the exit, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Emiya," A voice full of sorrow said.
"What?" He asked, slightly irritated.
"What if we fail?" That question paralyzed him. There was only one way to answer it.
"We won't," he didn't turn back, instead looking at the opening in the forest.
"I trust you, but you can't guarantee that," she stated.
"So you trust me, and yet you say I can fail?" He asked. They were losing time. He felt the need to get away from her, from that conversation.
"I trust you'll do your best to succeed," he looked back at her without any kind of expression on his face.
"So what is the point of asking me what will happen if we fail?" She narrowed her eyes. An angry Brynhildr, for some reason, made him want to back down.
"Because I want to make sure you are willing to put aside your feelings, and put down my sisters if necessary." She replied. Her voice was harsh, determined, and slightly pained.
Shirou turned to her fully, fixing her with a shocked and fearful expression. That's what he had feared the most. It had been too easy so simply tag along the Chaldea Crew, and take the blame as a unit for the act of denying a Lostbelt it's existence.
But in that moment, he was alone. He had chosen to take that burden on his own, and had sent Ritsuka and the others away. And he had done it because he believed himself able to put down the phantoms of the past. Or so he believed.
"How can you ask that? Don't you want to save them?" He doesn't sound harsh, or angry, or offended. He's simply curious.
"Of course I do. Even if they are from another world, another life, another time, they are my little sisters. But I'm also a hero, I know my duty, and even if I can't put my feelings for them aside, I'll take that pain in stride to protect human history. My heart has been broken, time and time again. One more time won't matter." Shirou stared at her in disbelief. She said all of that with sorrow, but her face was only slightly contorted.
"Emiya. I can see your heart. It's not made of steel, not yet. It can be broken. Are you sure you can bear this?" He… didn't know. He touched his chest, where the organ that pumped blood into him resided. His fight with Archer came to mind. He did not pity him, but knowing he had a chance to become like that, it made his heart shatter.
He turned around, to try and appear strong.
"I accepted my fate. I knew my dream of saving everyone would never come true," he waited for Brynhildr to say something, but she did not, so he continued. "That's why I decided that I would do the best I could, accepting the pain that would come from the many times I would fail. I promised them, that I would smile and suffer while staying true to my path."
"Are you sure you can do it? Bear the pain, without throwing your feelings away?" His throat felt dry because he realized something. He could not do it.
No matter how much he tried, he could not get used to the idea of killing them. Not because he physically could not, not because it would go against his ideals, but… doing something like that… it would definitely break him.
He would not be able to bear that pain.
Brynhildr noticed this, and spoke with a foreboding tone. "If you can't do it, I will. So please, don't worry about it." That was not right. He could not allow her to bear everything on her own. Even if she said she could, putting her trough that was unforgivable to him.
"I'll do it," he lied. Still, he had to keep moving. He had to have faith in himself. Even if saving the Valkyries was impossible, he would still attempt it. He would have no regrets. Or so he hoped.
With nothing more to say, Shirou began walking with Brynhildr floating in tow. The light began to grow brighter, like a door from the darkness into the light. It was so bright he could not see beyond it. He readied himself, mentally and physically, for any obstacles that could stand in their way.
A few more meters.
However, he was still unprepared for what lay beyond.
He stepped into the light with some excitement. For a second he only saw white, but then the landscape revealed itself to him. A circular clearing with snowfall, with a mountain that resembled a spire in the middle. It was horribly jagged and disfigured in many parts, it was hard to make out any particular details. But he could see an entrance at it's base.
In their path, three individuals stood tall.
Valkyries Thrud, Hildr and Ortlinde, looked at them with serious expressions.
Shirou stopped.
The atmosphere grew ten times colder despite being once again in the rays of the sun. He did not like the looks the Valkyries gave him. He knew from experience that it was their way of being angry. He did not do much to anger them, but he could hazard a few guesses.
He grit his teeth. His plan had worked, but the girls seemed less than willing to talk. Even so, he had to try.
"You're here," he stated. The women said nothing.
"And so fast too," Brynhildr was at his side, sporting a grave expression. Then it hit him. Even if they were divine beings, unless they massively modified their output or used magic (which could be sensed), there was no way they could be alerted and be here before them.
"They were trailing us," he said. Brynhildr made a small sound of annoyance.
The girls still said nothing. Shirou was not up for games. Even if his plan was to save them, the Chaldea crew came first. They were the last hope of humanity after all.
He began walking forward with no sign of stopping, fists closed at his side. Brynhildr followed with the same determination.
They closed the distance a few more meters. Silence still reigned. But then…
"That's far enough," Thrud raised her spear, pointing at Shirou. Four meters between them.
"Are you really going to attack us? Well, of course you are. But it doesn't have to be that way," Thrud kept her spear pointed, but leaned her head left.
"Really? It's obvious to us what you want to do now," she said, with a tone that could cut steel. Ortlinde and Hildr narrowed their eyes.
"And that is?" He truly doesn't know what goes trough their minds right now, but he fears the worst.
"You want to restart Ragnarök, and destroy this world. Looking for Sinmara proves it. Once we report this to Skadi, your deaths will be justified in her eyes," Shirou tensed, sensing the killing intent in the air.
"We don't want to restart Ragnarök," he replied simply. It was a truth at least.
"Then what is it that you want, magus?" Asked the blonde Valkyrie. He took a breath. He didn't know if it was going to work, but he would try anyways.
"I want you to help us," He replied. Thrud went still, eyes widened and mouth hung open slightly. However, she quickly shook her head, resuming her defensive stance.
"Have you gone insane human? We will never. Our duty is to Skadi. To this world." Ortlinde spoke now, stepping beside her sister. Out of the three, she was the one most composed, which was strange.
"Are you sure about that? Is this really a world you want to protect?" Shirou said, waving his arm around to emphasize the landscape around them.
"You would never understand, magus. You could never understand the flames of Ragnarök, the intense heat we endured those days," Thrud said. Her voice was laced with pain, even if her expression remained steadfast.
"True, I may not have seen Ragnarök, but I've been trough a scorching nightmare too. I saw hell. And I still suffer from those memories." Even after confronting his future, and his past, he still had nightmares. Nightmares no one could take away.
"Then you understand asking us to abandon this world we were ordered to guard is fruitless."
"It's not. I know you. I know this is not what you want,"
"How would you know what we want?! You're just a human! You can not understand our suffering!" Now Hildr spoke, face contorted in anger. He had never in his life seen her like this. Heat and magical energy emanated from her.
"…" He swallowed. He knew in that moment how much pain these three sisters had gone trough. The ones he met, they probably also experienced Ragnarök and died within it, but they never spoke of it, perhaps because the world it left behind was acceptable. Worth dying for.
"I do understand. That's why… I don't want you to suffer anymore. I've seen people torn apart because they followed a duty they did not believe in. Are you really happy sending kids to a death without struggle? A death without meaning? You always wanted to find heroes to guide to Valhalla, to hear their stories, to experience what humans and emotions were like! And yet you abandoned that because somebody else told you to. Because somebody wanted to save what could not be saved. You threw your feelings away, and remained machines!" He raised his voice, he could not contain his emotions. He was in pain, too. He hated what they had to go trough, he hated this world of cruelty, this world that had gone trough so much. It did not deserve to be destroyed.
"AND WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT MACHINES!" Thrud shouted. He felt the entire area shake. Anyone's legs would have given in at the display of power. He almost did, and barely hanged on. A quick glance at Brynhildr showed an impassive face, looking at her sisters with pity.
"My entire life, I lived as someone who did not care about himself, I only ever cared about saving others. However, you saved me; In you I saw what I had become and decided to help you be human. Thus I swore to you, that I would pull you back if you strayed from the path, no matter how far you went, because that was part of being human. And you swore to do the same for me. So please, please come back." His voice nearly cracked. For a second, he was not talking to the girls in front of him.
Thrud looked down towards the ground. Hildr appeared livid, lips pursed and face slightly contorted. Ortlinde was simply shocked, looking at her sisters with bewilderment.
"S-Sisters? What are you–?
"–Please listen to him. There is no need for more suffering. But… we'll still do what we must." Brynhildr said.
Thrud lifted her head, ruby eyes glassy.
"How could you… a human… even begin to understand us? How did you get to be like this?" Her question freezed his chest. Shirou was caught between fear and happiness.
"I don't know. I guess, in some way, we are the same. Machines that could be more, but were stuck following someone else's dream." Thrud gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and allowed one tear to go down her cheek.
"Tell me your name," she muttered. Shirou said nothing. Then, Thrud's eyes opened fully. "TELL ME YOUR NAME!" She screamed. Emiya was taken aback, but answered nonetheless.
"Shirou Emiya."
"Shirou Emiya. Hero of proper human history," she said, once again wielding her spear. "We cannot abandon our feelings. You were right when we fought on that vehicle Elder Sister, we have failed as Valkyries," Her voice was laced with sorrow and shame.
"But, we are still Valkyries, the last Valkyries, we have fought hard for this world, for it's humans. Even if we don't believe in it." she lifted her spear and pointed it at Shirou.
"This is where it ends! Even if we have to abandon our feelings… even if we have to kill our dear sister… we…" For some reason, Thrud's speech was cut short, eyes darting to the ground.
"I'm with you, sister." Said Ortlinde, putting a hand on Thrud's shoulder.
"I don't care about this world. All I want is to continue being myself, a Valkyrie!" Hildr stepped forward, two handing her jagged spear unlike the other two.
Shirou's chest grew tight. He wanted to scream, to plead, to cry. But none of that mattered. It's not what was needed. What was needed... was a hero.
Yet, he could not abandon the love he felt for them. To trace his swords hurt. His soul screamed at him to turn tail and leave.
Maybe he should have, but he refused to abandon Brynhildr.
The three Valkyries had made up their minds.
The elder sister wielded her spear, and Shirou was at her side with Kanshou and Bakuya in hand.
A part of him felt numb.
Another was apologizing to Rin. He would not be able to keep his promise. He would not be able to love himself, not after this.
Both groups charged at each other.
A/N: I have the big fight ready, but this felt like a fitting end for the chapter. Honestly, this is the first time I've written characters having a confrontation of this style, so I may not have done the best job. If it's too bad maybe I'll rewrite it.
That's is all.