Shirou Emiya held no illusions of his strength. He was weak. Even with a reality marble and the ability to copy the weapons of legendary heroes, he was no match for those heroes himself. He wasn't even a match for other mages in a direct fight.
So when going against the Valkyries, true valkyries, he stood no chance. But Brynhildr did, she was powerful, the daughter of the god Odin and the killer of the great hero Sigurd. She could take on two Valkyries at once, maybe more. All Shirou had to do, was buy time.
When the two groups ran at each other, he decided to focus on Thrud, the elder sister, the veteran of the three. Without her, Ortlinde and Hildr where sure to fall on some disarray. It even looked like Thrud was going after him as well. But a clash between her and Shirou did not come to pass. Instead, Shirou found himself battling Hildr.
He had never managed to beat them, back during the Grail War. He came close once, after his battle with Archer had strengthened him considerably, but otherwise, he was always reminded of the great difference between humans and Servants.
This Hildr, alive and kicking, was a much more dangerous opponent. Every strike of her jagged spear of light came at lightning speed, her moves were a blur and without the need for footing her maneuverability made her unpredictable.
A strike came from above, intent on splitting his skull with the bladed part of the spear. He lifted Kanshou and Bakuya in a cross guard. They broke, and he was sent flying, but he was devoid of fatal injuries.
Steeling his breath, he saw Hildr float towards him, ruby eyes narrowed with the intent to kill. He got up. He had eight more pairs of Kanshou and Bakuya, or four more projections of Noble Phantasms. That would be enough to hold out until Brynhildr finished the other two.
And it seemed to be working. On the background, he could see Brynhildr twirl her spear, fighting back every attack and countering every spell thrown at her by Thrud and Ortlinde. Even with combined attacks they could not push her back.
"Trace; On!" Chanting his Aria, the married blades reappeared in his hands.
"What curious magic. To replicate the weapons of heroes so easily, It's impressive," despite her praise, Hildr's glare did not let up.
"You really have a problem with me, don't you?" He asked her with a smile. Indeed, Hildr's move to engage him had been an event unexpected by all parties. Hildr's eyes narrowed further.
"You said we strayed from our path. You said you made us love you, in another time. You've corrupted us. You expect me to take that kindly?" She pointed her spear at him, voice full of anger.
"I never…" Even as he stood, Shirou felt one of his legs give in. Still, he kept talking. While Archer had been good at angering his opponents, Shirou opted for a more peaceful approach. Even so, he did tear into his opponents from time to time. "I never corrupted you. You loved me out of your own choosing."
Hildr's gaze hardened even more. "We would never love a human. Emotions are against our programming. Even if it's hard, we always put them aside. If your influence made us fall to that, it means you broke us. It means you hurt us. Thus, I must eliminate you!" She thrust her spear. Shirou was not saved by his instincts or his experience, but by the borrowed skills from EMIYA.
He dodged to the side, raising his shield above his head to block the follow up strike. Hildr's spear struck, sending a ring throughout the area. Enough strength to tear apart steel, against an object that could not be pushed back or bent. Shirou felt the force shake his very core.
Seeing her momentary surprise and irritation, Shirou swung Kanshou at her neck. Of course, the Valkyrie blocked it with her own shield. Then, the magus pushed the spear to the side and attempted to thrust with Bakuya, which was parried by the spear he had moved away. Then he pulled back his sword and brought them back to attempt a double strike. Seeing the attack coming, Hildr was left no choice but to retreat.
However, he was not fast enough. The Valkyrie had better reactions, more speed. His minuscule opening would be enough for her to kill him. Yet the Valkyrie did not attack.
"That won't work, human." Shirou breathed heavily as Hildr scanned him with disdain. She had seen through him. He had left that tiny opening, and readied a counterattack. Hildr had to choices, continue the combat, or give him space. She chose the later.
"Tch. I thought I had you figured out, after all those fights," he mumbled, remembering the multiple training sessions they had during the grail war. The Valkyries shared a define, uniform combat style. However, tiny variations would arise depending on the woman. Hildr… she was supposed to be the bold one. The first to charge in.
"I am not the broken girl you seduced," she pointed her spear at him. Five meters were all that was between them. Shirou saw the other battle taking place. Brynhildr was evenly matched now, as Thrud fought with a ferocity he had never seen before. "Your arrogance baffles me,"
A laugh nearly escaped him. Hildr seemed to notice. "What's so funny?"
He looked her in the eye. He could see something akin to uncertainty in them, behind the veil of anger.
He could not beat her in a straight fight. He never could. He needed to buy time. Or even better, save them.
"Maybe you are different, but," he allowed himself to relax a little, to think about his words. Hildr was emotional, she always was. Even when in the company of her sisters, where she would try to be the emotionless automaton Odin designed her to be, she carried herself with bravado and excitement. His own Hildr had also been troubled by that, but she never had a chance to sort it out before the end of the war. She had gone away with doubt in her mind.
But this one, she seemed to be trying her hardest to suppress her emotions. Maybe it was her duty, maybe it was Skadi, or just the sheer trauma of surviving Ragnarok. Regardless, seeing her so pained by that hurt but also gave him hope that… maybe… he could make one thing right.
"You are indeed like the Hildr I know. I have no doubt now," he said with a smile.
Her eyes narrowed, face strained. Then, the snow was blown away as a pink blur rushed towards him. He barely had time to block. The strike was so strong Kanshou and Bakuya broke into pieces, barely moving it away from his heart and towards his shoulder.
Using his only weapon, his shield, he smacked Hildr across the face to get her away from him. It succeeded, as the Valkyrie once again flew away from him, dislodging the spear from his shoulder.
The Mystic Code had protected him a little, but now it was ripped slightly and stained red from his blood. The wound stung, but Shirou sucked the pain up.
Opposite from him, Hildr continued to glare at him. "Human. What makes you think I'm anything like her?"
Shirou grit his teeth as he regained his posture. "Because, just like my Hildr, you think you are broken…" He whispered. Hildr's eye widened.
"W-What did you just say!?" She asked, recoiling. Shirou smirked.
"You think you are broken. That because you like fighting, because you get excited about getting stronger, because you are happy when you fight for what's right or when you meet a strong hero, you believe you are not like the other Valkyries," Hildr clucked her tongue, but did nothing else.
"You… don't know–"
"–It's not wrong," he told her, fixing her with a hard stare. Her eyes caught his, cheeks lifted up, mouth pressed downwards.
"What?" she asked.
"It's not wrong to be broken." He said.
"I'm not broken!" She screeched at him. The strength and the sheer emotion of her voice made him step back. Behind her, Thrud turned away from her fight to address her.
"Hildr! Control yourself!" The blonde Valkyrie could say nothing else as she was pushed back by Brynhildr once more. Shirou decided to press on.
"Hildr…" Shirou says. It hurts her, and it hurts him to hurt her. Maybe he couldn't save her, but he wanted to at least try. "… it doesn't matter. Maybe you are not a perfect Valkyrie, but you are a Valkyrie nonetheless." She looks at him, sadness in her eyes.
"Why are you telling me this? Why are you talking to me instead of fighting!" Hildr rushed at him again. His instincts kicked in. In a second, Kanshou and Bakuya were at his side, deflecting a multitude of attacks.
Yet, he wasn't strong enough. He could barely dodge and parry thanks to his numerous spars against the Hildr from Proper Human History. Only thanks to that was he able to survive, even if it seemed to irritate the Valkyrie.
"How!? How can you still be keeping up?!" She asked, using her shield to break his defense and kick him in the stomach. It was a strong hit, making him nearly white out and spill his breakfast, as well as sending him flying backwards. He was barely able to make a roll and upright himself to trap a follow up attack between his twin swords, which left him face to face with Hildr's jagged spear.
"Because I know you! Because we trained time and time again!" He threw her spear off him, and blocked an attack with his shield. Yet, he kept talking. "I know… you doubt yourself all the time. But that's wrong! Even if you are broken, you still keep moving forward, striving to be the Valkyrie you wished to be!" Hildr's spear came from below, he dodged it by throwing his head backwards, but his block was broken was well. Another kick sent him tumbling backwards.
Shirou uprighted himself, even if his body screamed at him and blood lurched from his innards towards his mouth.
"I'm. Not. Her." Hildr said, voice cracking. Shirou looked at her. Her eyes were glassy, her face contorted.
"Even so… I still love you. Everything I love about her, is in you so…" He took a stance. "I can't give up on you. Even if… I have to do what I must to bring back my history, I won't let you rot in a world that suppresses who you are, that wants to make you… a cold machine."
At this, Hildr seemed to stop, weapon and shield lowered at her sides, eyes shadowed by her fringe.
"Human…" She whispered, biting her lower lip. "Are you telling me… to abandon everything and join you?"
Shirou's chest grew cold. That's exactly what he wanted. That's what he desired the most, to have Hildr at his side. But he had also wanted to be the perfect Hero of Justice that could save everyone in front of him, to absolve himself of guilt.
But he knew better. He wouldn't take Hildr away from this place. He could not, it would not be right. He would not talk her out of it either. Maybe make her reconsider. But in the end, he wanted her to simply… be sure of herself. To love who she was. She had gone away, probably hating herself. He could not bear that thought any longer.
"No!" he told her, raising his voice. "Not at all! I just want you to…" he was letting her go. He knew it, and it made his heart hurt. Hildr looked at him expectantly.
"… I want you to be happy. To be yourself. To be sure this is the world you want to protect, that this dream you are chasing, no matter how impossible it is, makes you happy along the way." He gave her a smile, even if tears threatened to escape him.
"But… If I followed my selfish dream, my selfish desires then… everything I've suffered, would be for nothing." Shirou's eyes narrowed. He knew that pain all too well, to the point he grabbed where his heart would be for a moment.
"Maybe. But… sometimes… horrible things happen for no reason. I know. I carry that guilt with me every day. The guilt of everyone I could not save, despite how powerless I was." He remembered still, the flames, the fire, the screams. Even if he was sure of his path, even if he had a lover at his bedside, the nightmares never went away.
Hildr looked at him. Tears were nearly overflowing from her eyes. He had never seen the Valkyries cry before. It was like watching something precious break on the floor.
"Lady Skadi…" A tear spilled from her eye, running down her cheek. "Sisters… I…" Her arms fell limp, still holding onto her weapons.
"Sister! Finish him!" Ortlinde and Thrud screamed at her. They were together, pushed back by Brynhildr. But the older sister did not push further, rather, it seemed she was keeping her in check.
Hildr looked back at Thrud, then back to Shirou. Her tears were now falling freely in the snow.
"Human…" she whispered. "Even after all I've done, even if I'm broken, even if I fall in love, you still won't give up on me?" Shirou got up, steeling his gaze.
"No. But… you need to not give up on yourself first." He told her. Despite the fight slowing down to a crawl, Thrud still screamed desperately.
"Hildr! Are you broken? Why don't you respond?" That seemed to make Hildr look back to Thrud, and the blonde Valkyrie stopped dead in her tracts.
"What if I am, Thrud? What if I always was?" She asked her, voice empty. Thrud closed her mouth, unable to utter any more words. Instead, it was Ortlinde who spoke.
"What are you saying Hildr?" Asks the black haired girl. Hildr smiles with bitterness.
"I just… I no longer believe in this world." She said. Ortlinde's mouth was left hanging agape at her sister's declaration.
"B-but Hildr! We are- we are Valkyries! We are here to protect this world!" She protests.
"Ortlinde," Hildr whispered. "You truly believe in lady Skadi, don't you?" Ortlinde was taken aback, but answered nonetheless.
"Y-Yes. I have to. I… I don't…" Hildr smiled. It's a sad smile, as if saying goodbye. For a moment, Shirou believed Hildr was really turning to their side.
"You still don't understand… your own path. That's okay," Ortlinde said nothing. Hildr then looked at Thrud. Her eyes were as pained as Hildr's now.
"You must be disappointed in me. All those years, trying to make me a good Valkyrie, trying to guide us in the right path. Watching us go astray must be painful," Thud's body tensed for a moment, shaken by a silent sob.
"That's… all I wanted was…" For some reason, Thrud couldn't bring herself to formulate words. She simply stood in place, looking at the ground, at the snow, and at her sister. Shirou said nothing, watching in disbelief.
Brynhildr, who had been watching intently for a while, decided to speak up.
"You wanted to protect them, Thrud. You may not realize it, but you love them, as sisters and companions. And they love you. You can't deny it anymore. And yet, you wanted to keep them safe from my fate." Brynhildr's words seem to shake Thrud to her very core, as the blonde Valkyrie took a step back while shaking.
"I… you…" Thrud looked at Shirou for a moment. Her eyes glowed red, a fiery anger in them. For a moment, Shirou felt like he was going to die, but as soon as that feeling came, it was gone. Thrud then looked at Hildr, expecting an answer.
"I can no longer fight at your side. I'm…" a sob escaped her. Shirou's first instinct was to run and hug her, but he contained himself. Their relationship still had not changed, even if she was so similar to the Hildr he knew, the memories were simply not there for her.
"I'm sorry," more tears fell. Thrud looked at the ground, eyes shadowed.
"We'll come back for you." Thrud said, turning in the direction of the Castle of Ice. "We're going Ortlinde." The youngest Valkyrie looked at her sister.
"But–"
"I said we're leaving! Now follow." With that, Thrud took to the skies like a shooting star, leaving everyone behind. Brynhildr didn't even try to give chase to her, opting to simply look with a saddened expression.
Alone, Ortlinde looked everywhere, fear in her eyes. It seemed as if she hadn't processed everything. Shirou also wanted to comfort her, but as soon as he took a step, Ortlinde flew away as well, following behind her sister.
They were gone, now two luminous dots in the sky. Only Hildr, Shirou and Brynhildr remained on Sinmara's mountain.
The only sound that could be heard, was Hildr's sobbing.
Shirou grabbed his shoulder, getting on one knee. His injuries were catching up to him. But he did not care about that, all he cared about was that… he had succeeded, in some way. No one had died. The Valkyries were safe for now. But… the three sisters were torn apart now. And that caused him much more pain than anything else.
He heard the sound of wind moving, and saw Brynhildr get in front of Hildr, who had fallen on her knees, as if defeated in battle.
"Finish me…" she whispered. Brynhildr let her feet touch the ground, and brought her spear to ground level.
"Why should I do that?" She asked her.
"Because I've failed. Because I betrayed everything before, and betrayed everything now. I let this world be consumed by flames, then by ice. Now, nothing remains, no heroes, no joy, no conflict, only death. Please." Shirou felt as if his heart was being held. Brynhildr was strong, she would do what she had. Hildr was not their ally. Killing her, that would be the safest and quickest option.
However, that did not come to pass. Instead, Brynhildr knelt down, dropped her spear, and hugged her sister. Hildr looked at the sky, wide eyed, tears still trailing down her cheeks.
"...what?" She asked.
"I'm so sorry… you had to go through that pain." She whispered.
"Sister?" Hildr asks. At this, the older Valkyrie's grasp tightened.
"But I'm so happy, you acknowledged that heart you had. And I'm joyful, you chose your own path."
"But if I hadn't chosen it… If I stood against you…"
"I'd sill be happy, even if after I would be filled with pain." With those words. Hildr seemed to melt into the embrace.
Shirou watched, unmoving due to his injuries, as the older Valkyrie hugged her little sister, and the other returned the hug. It made his mouth twitch upwards into a smile.
Still, Ortlinde and Thrud were out there, still fighting. And he did not know if he could save them too.
Eventually, he got up and trotted towards the two Valkyries. Seeing them embracing each other, he felt bad about hurrying them.
"We need to keep moving. Find Sinmara to stop Skadi." he said. Brynhildr separated, looking at him.
"I understand. Let's keep going," She then turned to Hildr. "What will you do, sister?"
Hildr looks at her sister, then to Shirou. Her eyes are like when they first met, judging him with determination and expectation.
"Very well," with that, Hildr stood up. "I'll fight with you, for now,"
A/N: And that about wraps up Hildr's turn. I don't know if I got it right, character wise I mean.
Now you may be wondering, why did this chapter take so long? Three reasons.
1. I got tired of fate for a while. RWBY kinda caught my attention, and since I finished Lostbelt 3 I kinda had nothing to do outside events. I loved Kama but GUDA GUDA 3 I hated.
2. I had no idea how to tackle this scene. I had to consider both Shirou and the Valks' characters and make it not too quick a turn. I don't know if I succeeded. In the end, I'll leave that up to you readers.
3. I got caught up writing Heart of Glass.
In the end, it all comes down to not wanting to make Shirou or the Valks dirty, that was my greatest fear, until I realized that if I don't try I never will. I was also rereading some previous chapters and saw a lot of errors, so I'll try to fix those.
Anyways, if you did reach this far into the chapter, thanks for reading. I'll see you in part 7 where Brynhildr and Shirou liberate Sinmara and head to battle Skadi. Chiao!