A/N: Before we begin, a million thanks to TarakavaTV721 on FFN for proofreading things. You are great!
'Say Hildr,' Shirou said, catching Hildr's attention. She had been guarding the entrance, waiting for Ortlinde to return. Her sister had not linked with her since then, and that worried her. "Are you... Still Ritsuka's Servant?"
Emiya looked at her sheepishly, as if asking that question was taboo.
"Hmmm," she said, turning to him and closing her eyes for a moment. She felt her connection to the world, taking her back to the source, Ritsuka Fujimaru.
"Yep, sorry," she said, staring at him blankly. "Ritsuka Fujimaru is still my Master. But that's ok right? We are battle partners!" She said, smiling.
"Battle partners huh?" Shirou asked. "You called me that a few times now."
"Sorry but it's the best term I can find for it. Usually us Valkyries are paired with units of similar production time and make, to train together… and you fight just like one of us. How did you learn that? Tell me please!" She said, floating around him.
The best part of collecting warrior souls for Valhalla was meeting and learning from them once their qualification was passed.
Not like Hildr got to meet them much after. Not many of her sisters liked interacting with humans, Olrün, her usual battle partner, much less so.
"Hildr, stop it," Thrùd said, frowning as she came into the scene. Her voice was tamer than usual, as if lacking energy.
"Sorry, sorry," she said. "I'm just really excited about a human battle partner!"
"That hasn't been decided yet. And he isn't even your Master," Hildr shut her mouth closed. Thrùd was right, as always.
However, "He does feel like my Master though. It's kinda strange since it only happens near you Thrùd."
Thrùd looked down, despite Hildr awaiting an answer from her. Thrùd always had answers, or was given answers that she would share later. Sometimes it bothered her. And now, it was time for payback. "Maybe you have a special connection to him?"
Hildr smiled a bit, wiggling her eyebrows. Thrùd said nothing, mouth wavering as she blushed.
As she internally celebrated, Emiya spoke. "Wouldn't that mean you also have a special connection?"
Her joy was snuffed in an instant, and with embarrassment she also looked down to the ground.
She wasn't special. She was just another Valkyrie. One more of them. She had to be.
Otherwise–
"It is strange," Emiya said, stepping into their conversation. "Do you also feel that Thrùd?"
"I do," Thrùd replied, standing firm like a good Valkyrie. "In fact, it feels as if I never separated from you."
"Maybe it's due to your spirit origin? Da Vinci said it was quite unique," Shirou replied. "You even have all the memories from this summoning."
"So... Does that mean you are my Master?" Hildr asked.
"Even if he is, it's just… one more contract," Thrùd said, looking away.
Now that was strange.
She synched with her sister.
Something wrong Thrùd? You can...
No. Do not worry.
Hng. You always do this, you know?
Do. Not. Worry.
Bu-
I'm back.
Memories flooded onto her. The flight to the village, the goodbye to Leif, the question of…
Ortlinde. Hildr asked in their network, while glaring at their youngest. Why did you ask him that?
I… he wasn't a warrior. So I see no point in–
We do not get to decide that! We just… just have to do what Father tells us!
I just… I have so many questions… is this really all we can do? Select warriors?
Who cares? Hildr asked, tone harsher than expected.
What if that was all they could do? It was fine. They were fine. There was no need for anything else. Even if all her sisters, or most of them, were gone and had been lost to the ages.
That string of thoughts made her eyes sting.
How can we protect the human order if we don't do anything else? Is that really what father-!? Ortlinde asked.
Enough! Thrùd's voice boomed in their network. We have a job to do. We have done enough thinking for one manifestation.
Maybe Qin Liangyu was right. Ortlinde added.
"Something wrong?" Shirou asked, going up to them, eyelids lowered. Had he read their minds? Not even a second had passed in their silent communication.
"Not at all," Thrùd replied. At this, Shirou frowned.
"Hey, you may not be the same, but I can still tell when you three are having a… 'talk'," Shirou said. The three sisters looked at him in shock.
He could read them that well?
A human?
Hildr wanted answers.
Looking back through her memory banks, her current ones, Hildr could see a pattern.
"So what?" Hildr asked softly.
"So… you can come to me. It does no good to bottle things up," Shirou said, and for a moment, his eyes were far away. When it passed, he looked back at her. "Besides, lives are at stake here. I think it's past time for us to still keep running around like this," he said with a gaze of steel.
What should we do?
He doubted us once!
He… only wanted to keep us safe, I think.
We did not need that!
Regardless, we did fail him. No, I failed him. And as his Servant, I must make up for it. Giving him my trust, just like he has given it to us, seems like the correct course.
B-but Thrùd…
"Shirou," a voice called to Emiya, and Ophelia approached from within the cave. She locked eyes with him, face impassive. "Are you ready?"
Shirou turned to her, and nodded.
Then Ophelia turned to them. "You three?"
They nodded. And at this, Ophelia smiled at them. "Good. Glad you all made up."
The Valkyries cocked their heads in unison.
"Made up?" Ortlinde asked, and Hildr slapped herself mentally for not forwarding the information.
"Oh. Sorry, I must have misunderstood," Ophelia said, stealing a sad glance from Shirou. "Now then, go with Beryl. He'll lead you to mount Li. From there, you should be able to go to the capital. And it also must be where most of his soldiers are stationed. Be careful."
Shirou nodded, along with the Valkyries. However, his head was held low, like a defeated warrior.
"Shirou?" Ophelia asked.
"Ah! Sorry. I'll get on it," Shirou said, before taking a breath. "Just… there's still time to back out, you know?"
At this, Ophelia gasped, and then quickly recovered. "Yes. But the plan is made," she said, before taking a step towards him and grabbing his hand. "Trust me," she said, looking into his eyes from below.
They have that much trust? They haven't fought that much together. Hildr told her sisters.
Indeed. But Ophelia has assisted him a great deal, and for humans who cannot share thoughts that's important. Besides… she never did him harm.
So that's all there is to it? Ortlinde asked. That… can't be it.
"I trust you. But I also think this is stupid and reckless," he said, frowning.
Ophelia smirked at this. "So like you."
"You said you couldn't be like me," Shirou replied.
"Well… maybe I am like you in some way, regardless," she said.
"Good grief," Shirou said, taking a moment to compose himself. "Do be safe, please."
"Will do," Ophelia said. Then she turned to the Valkyries, and Hildr couldn't help but be puzzled.
"Something to say, lady Ophelia?" Thrúd asked.
"Keep him safe," she said. Thrúd nodded silently, as did Hildr and Ortlinde.
"Ya done yet?" A new voice asked, and the fairy knight materialised herself a few metres into the cave, arms crossed.
Seeing her made Hildr's stomach knot. "They are wishing each other well in battles to come, don't interfere," she said.
"Oh no. Go ahead. When things go wrong, it will make you cry all the harder," Tristan said.
"Valkyries don't cry," Ortlinde stated, voice low, lower than Hildr had ever heard her.
"Boring," Tristan replied, faking a yawn.
"Alright. We got a job to do. Let's go," Shirou said, stepping between them and Tristan. "Thrúd, take the front, but don't be reckless."
"Understood, Master. Though I would recommend engaging enemies on sight," she said.
"Better to be safe. Now come on," he said. At this, Tristan turned to walk into the cave, and Shirou followed, along with Thrúd. Hildr stole one last glance at Ophelia. She moved to the cave's entrance and stood there, hugging her arms.
We shouldn't forget her valour.
We will not. Ortlinde replied. "Let's follow Thrúd."
Ophelia looked at the outside field. She wished to enhance her eye-sight, in order to better spot when Akuta and Xiang Yu would come chasing after them.
But the fields were so open, and barren, that she decided against it.
"Saber, are you ready?" She asked her servant. Steps could be heard from behind, and then to her side, as Sigurd appeared.
"Yes. All battle preparations are complete," he said. His expression was grave, and the veins alongside his neck were pronounced.
"Good. I've laid some surprises as well," she said.
Sigurd stole a glance at her. "It won't be enough."
"No. We just have to hope we can talk some sense into her," Ophelia said.
"She's not human. And you are a magus. As I understand, those things don't mesh into empathy for either side," he said.
Ophelia pursed her lips. She knew her capabilities well. At best, it would buy the others time. But in the end, she just wanted to act on that hopefulness Napoleon left her with. To make that view of a rainbow at the end of the road a reality.
Even if that optimism was misguided and foolish, she wanted to follow upon it. At least, it would be the path she chose for herself.
"Well, if that doesn't work, we are prepared to choose violence," she said, and that earned a chuckle from Sigurd. She looked back at him with her mouth slightly ajar. Sigurd was not one to laugh often. "What?"
"Oh nothing. Just… you really are like a Valkyrie. It's clear as day now," Ophelia closed her mouth.
She wasn't that strong. Or determined.
"Just trying to say, it is an honour to fight at your side," Sigurd added. "Weak as I am."
"Then why didn't you go with them?" She asked.
"Like I said, it is an honour. And you are my Master. If I thought this plan was not viable at all, I would have told you," Sigurd said.
Ophelia swallowed. She was not used to people relying on her so much. Or trusting her decisions. She preferred to just be a good secretary, helping as best as she could.
But this wasn't so bad either.
She only hoped Kirschtaria could see her.
Would he praise her? Reject her?
She really, really wanted to find out.
Which was why she couldn't afford to die. Not in this Lostbelt.
Thrúd, along with Hildr, Ortlinde and Shir- her Master went deep into the cave. And soon they found Mash, stepping towards them at a fast pace with Tristan alongside her, both girls seemingly in a peaceful state of affairs. Beryl followed behind, and Thrúd noted how his eyes lingered on Mash.
Moreover, Shielder 's narrowed eyes betrayed something unusual. But Thrúd could not fathom what that meant. Pain, perhaps?
Not like she could ask Mash about that. In fact, the moment they made eye contact, the Shielder's frown deepened. At least, Thrúd understood why. The memory of stabbing her now master, and him laying in a pool of his own blood, an innocent hero-in-the-making killed by her hand…
Words reached her ears long ago, of Valkyries killing heroes for Valhalla. For collection. She dismissed them as lies.
But seeing what she had done, what she was capable of; brought a void into her stomach.
"Are you all ready?" Mash asked, quickly going towards Shirou.
"Yes. Are you alright? You don't look well," Shirou asked. Mash took a step back from him, stunned.
"I-I'm completely fine!" She said, standing straight.
"We just had a small talk, about fashion, and her wonderful footwear! And how much she'd killed!" Tristan boasted.
"-while kill counts are important for warriors…" Ortlinde began.
"Don't bother Mash," Shirou told Tristan, face impassive.
"Besides, the deaths of enemies should be honoured and respected, not treated with glee," Thrúd replied, directing all her ang- disapproval at the fairy knight.
However, she only huffed.
And seeing this, Beryl sighed as he got near. "Now, now. There's no need to be so hostile."
As he approached, Thrúd noted Mash seemed to look away.
She was avoiding him. That much she knew. "Master," she whispered.
"I know," Shirou replied, before turning to their 'guides'. "You better control your servant then."
Beryl's usual smile disappeared, replaced by a raised eyebrow. "Funny you should say that. Didn't your blonde girlfriend stab you?"
Any reply Thrúd prepared disappeared in her throat.
"That's no fair!" Hildr yelled, stepping in front of her. More embarrassment. Although Hildr was just defending her own honour in her own way. "She didn't-!"
"But it happened, didn't it, little doll?" Beryl asked, nonchalant.
"Beryl…" Shirou said, voice even. "... shut your mouth, and take us to Mount Li. I'm not beyond doing something drastic if you keep being hostile."
Shirou seemed about ready to pounce on him, like a true warrior defending his maiden's…
Thrúd shook her head. He was just being a good Master, and it made her proud.
"Wow. You got spice-"
"Can we get a move on?" Mash asked, stepping beyond Beryl. "We have people to save. Please."
"Alright, alright," Beryl said, for once looking completely apologetical. "Right this way, Mash."
As he guided them deep into the cavern, he put his arm around Mash's shoulders. And despite that, Thrúd could see she tugged a little. Tristan followed them by the hip, while the Valkyries and Shirou brought up the rear.
A small wisp of crimson flame followed them, illuminating their surroundings… Thrúd identified it as witchcraft, foreign to her Rune magic, and originating from modern magecraft.
Hildr and Ortlinde followed behind, floating above the ground like she did.
They walked along a long, dark and damp tunnel. The footsteps of the land-bound humans echoed, but nothing else aside from Beryl's one-sided chat with Mash.
Glancing at Shirou, Thrúd noticed the furrowing of his brows.
"Master…" she whispered. "...something displeases you."
His eyes turned to her, and his expression relaxed. "Yeah. Something isn't right here. We have to protect Mash."
Thrúd nodded. "Understood"
Did you hear that, Ortlinde?
Yes. Heading to Shielder's side now.
Ortlinde floated to be at Mash's free side, which made Beryl tilt his head back, as if spooked by an unwanted pest.
His Servant leaned forwards, interested in both Mash and Ortlinde.
"Girl talk? You two are friends? Makes sense, robots cut from the same cloth!"
Her delight found no hold on either Ortlinde nor Mash, who frowned at the Archer.
Even Beryl was not amused, as he stared with dark eyes at his Servant. "Shut up. Mash is…" Tristan recoiled, her haughty manners momentarily forgotten, leaving only a frail maiden behind.
Beryl turned then, his eye drifting to Mash, who in return stared at him with curiosity. "I'm… what?"
I think I see something. I'm heading out to investigate.
Hildr's report interrupted her thoughts, as her sister drifted around the still-walking group and into the darkness.
She was too low, and so when investigating the widening cavern, Hildr tripped, and was then forced upside down.
"Woah! Found something!" She said, scanning the ground with her feet in the air.
Cover yourself, please! Thrúd demanded, looking away.
Hildr then turned right again, holding her waist cape over her legs with a sheepish smile.
It was not normal of her to be embarrassed. In fact, her lack of shame indicated this was premeditated.
All heads in the group had turned to her, however, their minds now focused on her stunt.
"Hildr…" Shirou said, shaking his head with a smile.
"Aren't you supposed to be robotic or something?" Beryl asked. Hildr's cheeks turned like her hair, a smile fading into an awkward stare into the ground.
A pit formed in Thrúd's stomach, eyes glaring daggers at Beryl, again.
"What did you stumble on, Hildr?" Mash asked then, going to her side and lowering her visor to look at the ground.
"An obstruction or rock is our theory," Thrúd agreed with that, and so did Ortlinde. However, the flat tone, despite being proper… was not Hildr.
Not the Hildr that Thrúd linked so often.
Did that mean Thrúd liked that brokenness?
Her thoughts were interrupted once again. "Looks like a singular metal rail," Ortlinde stated.
"A metal rail? Here?" Shirou asked, going to the same place, his circuits flaring to create a flashlight.
"Yeah. I had my suspicions. When I first scouted this place, the nature here was all fucked up. Distorted. Lotsa hate to start my work," Thrúd flew past Beryl, throwing him a warning look before settling at Shirou's side.
Now that she scanned around, Thrúd noticed the cavern opened up at the sides, edges sharp.
"But what is this for?" Mash asked.
"They probably wanted to transport something hidden, and illegal, like rats usually do. Mother always has to destroy these once in a while. It's fun to watch them fall down and the builders skitter away," Tristan said.
"So then, a railway to transport soldiers, to mount Li from the city. But which side leads to which?" Shirou pointed his flashlight to one side, and Thrúd noticed a feature.
"The ground slants master. To the west, upwards. That is our likely stop," she stated.
"Alright. So I guess we're walking more," he said.
"Boring! Can't we be carried by those three?" Tristan asked. Thrùd felt her cheeks redden with anger, anger she should be able to suppress.
"We are not transports," Ortlinde stated.
"And much less for people like you!" Hildr said, stepping up.
"And here I thought you were supposed to be mindless puppets!" Tristan spat out, smiling with sadistic glee.
Thrùd's vision glitched, tinted red for a second. "We still have our pride as Valkyries," she said, voice low.
From behind Tristan, Beryl watched with interest.
Meanwhile, his Servant rested her hand on her chin. "Do you? You are just war toys, nothing more. There is no pride, unlike me, who achieved mother's favour and love with hard work. Now that I think about it, do you even have a mother?"
Thrùd was about to answer, when Mash stepped between the groups of Servants. "Can we stop antagonising each other for a second please!?" She asked, before turning to Beryl. "Please tell your Servant to back off."
Beryl looked at her for a second, expression blank. "Tristan."
Like before, the Servant huffed.
She was defenceless, a strike would surely kill her now.
She had already entered a verbal war with them, and in doing so, tried to tarnish their honour. It was better now to let their weapons do the talking, even if against a foe not worthy of–
"Thrùd?" Shirou asked. She turned to him. When did he come to her side? "We are making a run for it. Is that alright?"
She shook her head, standing tall. "We are up and ready. Will you be able to keep up?"
Shirou tilted his head, as if annoyed, before smiling. "I could ask you the same thing."
Was he–?
"A challenge? Hmm hmm, I like that," Hildr said, butting in at his side. "Can we take it?"
Thrùd sighed as the others watched the pink haired Valkyrie with varying degrees of puzzled gazes.
"Very well. Challenge accepted," she said.
"But I never–" Shirou began.
"No backing out!"
A few minutes is all it took to arrive at the end of the tunnel, held closed by a large and industrial metal door.
Thrùd arrived first, followed by Ortlinde and then Hildr.
"Awww. I lost," Hildr said, head wings dropping.
Thrùd frowned. "This isn't a game," then she turned to the more reliable Ortlinde. That thought, thinking of Hildr as unreliable, left a bad taste in her mouth. "Are the others far?"
"Right behind you," Beryl said, making the three sisters turn their heads in a flash. From behind him footsteps echoed, and soon Mash and Emiya appeared from the darkness, breathing heavily.
"We're. Ortinax cooling," Mash said, her armour letting off steam like a Fire Giant's skin when visiting Midgard.
"Everyone okay?" Shirou asked then.
Thrùd tilted her head. "Just a little running, Master. Do not concern yourself."
"Cannot do. Now,Shirou approached the door. Thrùd did not observe any indentations or markings. No decorations. It was purely functional, dirtied by years of use.
Like everything on that Lostbelt.
It gave her a bitter taste. Her fa- Lord Thor often spoke of humanity's prowess, if their ability to always remain energised and "ahead of the curve".
To think humans had stagnated so much… even after the sacrifices of the gods to stop Ragnarök…
Thrùd, your mind's wandering.
Thrùd came back to the present, her head swimming a bit. Hildr and Ortlinde looked at her with cocked heads.
Forgive me. She told them in their network.
The door moved, its seams sliding and scratching the rock as it split apart in a second before settling on a slow, steady rhythm.
Through the small widening gap a group of barely humanoid figures stood in formation.
"Cover!" Thrùd said in a hushed tone.
In a second the Valkyries had each picked someone that wasn't a pure Servant, and slid into the small nooks at the door's edges.
The group waited until the door fully opened, leaving enough cover for them to stick to, and the group of figures marched out.
The Mechanical dolls used by the emperor to enforce his will left in a small battalion and marched down the slope until a small platform came and picked them up before dashing back down the slope.
"Is that how they move around?" Shirou asked, whispering near her.
"They all came through the air in rockets. Why would they need this now?" Mash asked in return, beside Hildr and behind Thrùd and Shirou.
"Fighting makes you smarter. This door is old. Maybe they forgot this trick until promoted," Hildr said. Thrùd looked at her in wonder. Hildr stared back with a strange look. "What?"
"It was an accurate observation. I'll take it into account," Mash said. This caused Hildr to go red.
"As expected of a mighty Valkyrie, and battle partner," Shirou added, and Hildr's ears began letting out steam.
"Ahahaha. We all would have done the same analysis. Thrùd assisted in the processing, right?" Hildr asked her, but Thrùd just stared back blankly.
"Not at all. Let's move," and so the group passed the closing door, leading them into a deeper, slated cavern.
"D-don't leave me embarrassed! We're supposed to fight together!" Hildr replied, chasing after Thrùd.
"Fight together. Not 'shame ourselves' together," Ortlinde added, passing by Hildr without a single look.
"Ortlinde!"
"They're certainly livelier," Mash commented, to Shirou, Thrùd guessed.
"That's sisters for you. It's unavoidable, really," Shirou whispered back.
Lies. That's just because we are broken. I'll check my memory banks and they'll see-
-Thrùd, you okay?
She stopped in front of an elevator. Another lapse. An unacceptable lapse.
"An elevator? Here?" Mash asked. Carved around the floor was a circular, metal platform lacking in handrails or any other distinctive way to operate it.
"Seems like it," without a second thought Shirou stepped on it, and it quickly activated, lifting them up at amazing speed towards the top and making the humans lay flat on the ground.
When it arrived, it stopped dead and almost sent the humans flying.
"Wow," Shirou said, shaking his head. "Almost like my video games."
"Usually there is a big button on them," Ortlinde said.
"And returning is a pain," Hildr added, wings dropping.
"Focus. We have a path ahead," Thrùd commented, looking at a small opening that led to a lit up chamber.
The group moved to it, and the gateway led to a large, extensive room that seemed to go on forever, a steel version of the golden halls of Valhalla, full of cables, wires, metal floors. However, it lacked the celestial roof of shields, in its place a simple rock and iron curved ceiling.
Looking back to the ground, Thrúd saw what was in place of the dining tables, weapon-laden walls and hearths.
Rows of tubes.
Followed by more and more rows of blue, leaking out a thick, condensed air that almost covered their floors.
It was an unnatural cold, brought about by magic.
"Those are… coffins. Like the ones in Chaldea," Mash said, taking a few tentative steps forward.
Thrúd kept up with her, making the frontline and observing the tubes.
Each light blue glass only had the markings of frost, and a faint humanoid figure inside.
"Well, yes. But not really. These are simply cryogenic tubes," Beryl stated.
"In this time period?" Mash asked.
"Well, not like ours. They are quite crude, but they still get the job done," Beryl said. As Thrúd continued along the hallway they had entered, her automated response triggered. There was a potential hero nearby, and so, her wings shot in its direction.
I sense heroes! Hildr said, in her usual jovial tone.
Me too. But where? Ortlinde asked.
"But what do they hold? Injured citizens? I doubt the emperor cares that much," Shirou added.
"No. These are…" Thrúd, without thinking, approached one and touched it. The cold bit her hand, but she still let her hand rest there. With a swipe, she revealed the figure. An armoured soldier, still wearing his arms, face pensive but determined. "...warriors. Heroes. Braves."
The rest of them turned to her.
"You mean…" Mash began.
"This is where Qin Liangyu came from, what she was talking about all those times. Qin Shi Huang keeps his warriors frozen!" Shirou said, going to the tube next to her and also taking a look inside.
"My…" Mash uttered, also going to a tube. "...So he keeps them here for safekeeping?"
The group continued looking at the tubes. And indeed, human figures of all shapes and sizes were lining up the cold gallery.
Every sense told her to take them away, to Valhalla. She resisted the urge.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Shirou going through the tubes on his own, as if trapped in his own world.
Meanwhile, Mash and Beryl continued discussing the heroes.
"Looks like his personal throne of heroes," Beryl said, stealing a glance from Thrúd when she turned to glare at him.
"And quite a collection I might add. Well maintained, neatly ordered, not one of them out of place. This is a monument as well as a storage closet," Tristan added, strouting about the place, nodding her head in approval.
"Man, this is sad. They should be honoured, not kept like this," Hildr lamented.
"But he keeps them waiting, just like father in Valhalla," Ortlinde said. Thrúd turned her head to the youngest sister.
"It's nothing like that!" She responded. Ortlinde cowered a little at this.
"Like Thrúd said! Besides, they get to have fun, enjoy themselves, train and are honoured and celebrated! These guys…" Hildr said, turning back to the tubes. "... they are just trapped here, forever. Nobody knows what they did, why they did it."
"I agree with the black haired girl, it's not too different. You don't need to do so many mental gymnastics," Beryl said. The three Valkyries turned to glare at him, while Mash and Tristan simply looked. "Yes it's fucked up, but it's alright. Some things are fucked up. No point in questioning, right?"
He gave them a smile, a nonchalant, evil smile.
It made Thrúd's stomach lurch.
"You're wrong. We celebrate our warriors. The emperor forgets them. The people forget them, and he hogs all their glory and honour. It's not the same," Hildr stated, voice harsh like Thrúd's own.
"Whatever," Beryl said, turning to the shielder. "Can you believe these girls Mash? They think themselves above everything."
Shielder didn't say anything, stealing a glance from the valkyries briefly. "We should move on. Do you think there is an exit?"
"There has to be. Every good paranoid megalomaniac has at least two exits," Beryl said.
"That's… very specific knowledge," Mash added.
"Comes with killing a lot," Beryl added. Mash gasped at this, while the Valkyries simply looked at him.
However, the Crypter simply looked like he always did. Nonchalant.
"Oh come on Mashy. You have killed too. Didn't you take down two Lostbelts?" Beryl asked.
Mash looked away, looking small. "I…"
"I'm going to look for Master," Thrúd said, sensing Shirou but not seeing him with all the icy vapour coming from the tubes.
You two… watch Shielder and Beryl.
Gotcha!
I'll protect Mash. She doesn't look comfortable.
Good.
Thrúd turned away from her sisters, and ventured deep into the gallery. A few metres ahead, she catched up with Shirou, who continued to look at the inscriptions on the tubes, in runes of the Chinese dialect. At least according to the information given to her by the throne.
"Master. You look… sullen," Thrúd said, identifying his facial features.
Shirou turned his head a little.
"Yeah," he said simply.
"Do you… also think the state of these warriors is less than desirable?" Thrúd asked him.
"Yes. It might sound strange but… I know how terrible it is, to only exist to kill, to clean up, if only second hand. I wish I could make it end," Shirou said.
Thrúd didn't reply. She had a vague idea. Shirou and the red Archer sometimes exchanged looks, but every time they did, an aura of conflict arose between them.
"Are you going to free them?" Thrúd asked. Shirou tensed, hands clenching.
Shirou took a moment, staring at the tube once more.
"That would be the best thing for them, no? Instead of being trapped in a frozen limbo," he said. "What do you think?" He asked her.
Thrúd looked once again at the frozen warriors.
All were brave, all were deserving of praise and glory and recognition and freedom.
"As a Valkyrie, they are of more use to us dead, as souls to take to Valhalla," Thrúd said. Shirou tensed at this, and she feared- no- she simply considered the possibility of his disapproval.
"And as yourself?" he asked her, turning to look her straight in the eyes.
That question caught her off guard. She stammered a bit before answering. Opinions of individual units were the same as each other, even if one was asked. This time, however, she avoided consulting her sisters. "There is no myself. If you want the consensus among us, then you'll have to wait. As for the tactical opinion of my individual unit, then," she looked back at the warriors. She could tell some of their history, their strengths and weaknesses at a glance, from their forms and equipment. "They are dangerous warriors for sure. A savvy fighter would take out their enemies quickly."
Shirou looked away for a moment, his eyes darkened.
Thrúd bit her lip. "However, they are sleeping and have sworn no oaths to stop us yet. And with the current enemies awaiting us, those… creatures the Crypter summoned, these soldiers are likely to be sent to their death without knowledge, or killed in their sleep. You… plan to save them, do you not?"
Shirou didn't answer, instead looking back at the tubes.
"Yeah. I should probably free them. It's not fair for them to be like this, caught in a limbo of death," he said. His voice sounded different now, exhausted.
"Alright. If that is your command-"
"-no. My command is…" he balled his fists, and Thrúd saw his body tense as if fighting with himself.
"Master?" She approached, tentatively, to see if he was malfunctioning.
"I… you know how a Lostbelt works, right?" he asked. She couldn't see his face, hidden partially by the hood of his swan mystic code.
Thrúd swallowed. "Yes. Once the tree of fantasy is uprooted, it will disappear."
"That's right. If we want to restore the earth, save humanity, and save everyone else who died in the bleaching… we'll kill them anyways," he said. His voice turned monotone, it reminded her of her early days as a Valkyrie.
No… this was different.
She forwarded a call to her sisters. In a moment, they were on their way.
"So-"
"There is no point in saving them," he said. She could see it clearly now, a darkness over his eyes, a weight on his shoulders.
"But you save people. That is what you told me, the oath we formed," she said. Winds blew by, and Ortlinde and Hildr were at her side.
"Emiya. Are you alright? Thrúd informed us-" Ortlinde said, at her left, voice soft.
"-are you not going to save these people?" Hildr asked, voice lower than usual but still holding her usual pitch.
"Like I told her, there is no point," Shirou said, looking back at them. The sisters saw the look in his eyes then. Devoid of light.
"B-b-but…!" Hildr said, stammering. "It's your purpose!"
"That's right," he said. "And what good has it done for us? For these people?"
"Does that matter?" Thrúd asked. As long as he served his purpose, why did he question himself?
"Of course it matters! All I-" Shirou said, raising his voice for a second before closing his mouth. "-I want to see people be… happy. But I cannot do that here. Whether I save them, or I kill them, the result is the same."
Shirou's eyes and face were strained now. His usual steely and fierce demeanour crumbled away.
"They die. And if I save them, if I promise them that it will be fine and that they can smile… I just make them suffer. Believe me, I tried. I really, really tried back in Scandinavia. But I failed, utterly" he said. He looked at them directly, pain running across his face.
A second later, he took a deep breath, composing himself. "I'm going to save who I can," he continued. "I cannot let any more dangers emerge."
Thrúd felt something spark in her.
Something deep inside told her it was wrong to let it end like this.
She didn't stop Brynhildr. She didn't stop Sigrún. She never did anything except her duty. She was fine with that.
But… not anymore.
Even if it broke protocol, even if it wasn't the right choice, she decided to speak up.
"Was what you told us a lie then? Is it not alright to be Valkyries? To stick to our purpose?" She said, voice harsh and steely.
Shirou stopped dead in his tracks, as if frozen.
Ortlinde and Hildr scrambled in their network, but quickly agreed with her.
"Yes. Emiya…" Shirou turned to Ortlinde, who stepped up to him. She had cut off her link for a moment, as if wanting to have a moment in private. "...when we saved Leif, when we trained him to be a hero that we could take to Valhalla, and followed our programming, I'm sure that was a mistake in some way. Our sister may have scolded us."
That statement made Thrúd and Hildr feel a cold stab in their chests.
"And?" Shirou asked.
"He was still happy. Even if for a moment he was lost, or despaired, he still thanked me. That means… it wasn't a mistake, right?" Ortlinde asked.
Shirou frowned, deeply. "I…"
"And that means!" Hildr said, flanking him. "Being a hero and saving people is not a mistake either! You said it yourself. If being a Valkyrie is not wrong, then saving everyone you can is not a mistake either!"
Shirou retreated a little.
Thrúd pressed onward. "Master, Shirou," with those words, she fixed them in place. "I don't know anything about happiness. Nothing at all. But I know that I've seen you smile, when others smile. And in return, others smile in your presence. If you tainted that, tainted your soul with mindless, honourless killing, I'm sure you'll regret it."
The three sisters looked at him, expectantly.
His shoulders sagged, as if defeated.
"I-I don't know. I want to believe you are right," he said. "But-"
A loud sound in the distance. Their heads all snapped to the sound.
"Mash!" Shirou shouted, his body springing to action.
"I'll tell Hildr and Ortlinde to–!"
"Uh… Thrúd?" Hildr asked from her side. She froze.
"We are here…" Ortlinde said. "Did you not sync with us?"
Right.
She had forgotten. Unacceptable.
She turned to her sisters, face crimson and ears fuming.
"You two…" she muttered.
"Thrúd," Shirou said, voice once again steely. "We shouldn't leave Mash with those two. We can scold Hild and Ortlinde later."
"We?!" Ortlinde and Hildr asked. "She asked us to come!"
Thrúd didn't answer, instead opting to fume in silence as she followed her Master back where they came from.
And yet, when they returned to their positions, there was nothing.
The four of them were alone, in the cold gallery of trapped heroes.
"Mash!" Shirou shouted, voice echoing through the cavern.
"Emiya!" From beyond the vapours in front of them, Mash emerged in a run, Beryl and Tristan behind her.
"What happened?" Shirou asked.
"Sorry I left you!" Ortlinde added.
Mash stopped, winded. "We… saw something. And when we went to investigate–!"
Something dropped behind Mash.
Dressed in silver, it righted itself one limb at a time.
Feet, legs, thighs, waist, torso, arms, neck, head.
When it was upright, crimson eyes with white cores stared back at her.
Dressed in white and silver, a facsimile of a Valkyrie stared back at them.
A/N: So yeah, I'm back with this, and starting up the final part of this arc. Sorry for the hiatus N 1231325234, but things have been wild. Hopefully I can start recovering my groove with this.
Also, Summer valk valentines! It was great, each Valk got their own scene. Why can't TYPE MOON give them this treatment on a normal story chapter? WHY?!
Anyways, thanks for reading. Peace!