13

Shirou woke up. He was in his bed, sweat running down his face. He checked his feet, making sure he wasn't on fire. All he saw was that he'd pulled his duvet up and past his feet, exposing them to the cold morning air. He stood up, rubbing his hair. His hands were shaking. He'd dreamt of blood and corpses, and voices screaming for help that never came.

Shirou walked to the bathroom, running cold water over his hands and splashing his face. He looked at his own face, the dried blood from his bit lip still there, but now washed away with the cold water. His thoughts soon began to drift back to last night, to the body of the woman he couldn't save. He looked down and saw his hands clenched into tight fists.

He knew it wasn't his fault. He knew he couldn't have done anything more. And he was devoted to stopping this killer before he killed any other person. But no matter what, guilt still wracked him. He couldn't help but feel like he had failed as a Hero of Justice, as the very embodiment of his ideals.

But they were broken. All of this was impossible. How was it so hard to see? He knew it, and he tried, but no matter how much he convinced himself he couldn't stop believing he could save everyone.

He shook his head. No, it was all wrong. He couldn't save everyone. But he could save as many as he could. And that started now.

Shirou wandered into the hall and bumped right into Saber. She practically leapt back, reaching for her hip. Shirou knew what she was reaching for, and frowned.

"You're ready for an attack." He said, his tone confrontational. Saber, clearly not ready to hear his protests, simply nodded.

"Yes, Shirou. We know this is a Servant at work, and what's to say they don't know we're onto them? It's possible they were watching, waiting, and if they come for us-"

"Saber." Shirou's voice was stern, but he couldn't be soft with her. She needed to know she couldn't just babysit him, no matter how much danger there was. He needed to fight, and she couldn't stop him.

"...I know you care about me. You let your emotions run too deep, though. I appreciate all you've done, but… You take it too far."

Saber's face turned to a scowl. She stood as tall as she could, raising her voice just below a yell. "You have no right to say that, Shirou! I have every reason to try and protect you from… from being torn to shreds in the street!"

"Of course you do." Shirou nodded in agreement, knowing she wasn't wrong. "But I have to do this. And you know it. We've talked before, so let me fight."

Saber scowled, but relented. "Fine. But until that monster is dealt with, I'll sleep with the sword at the ready."

"Fine by me."

Shirou and Saber left home that night, heading for the park once more. Rin had invited them to continue the investigation, and both of them agreed it was best to work overtime to end this ASAP. The body count was going to grow otherwise.

This time, the duo met Rin outside a small store. She was leaning against a wall, her red coat flapping in the cool wind. She stood up as they approached. "You made it, Shirou. Saber."

"Of course." Shirou replied. "What's the plan?"

Rin rubbed the back of her head, hesitant to speak before continuing. "I… Look, I'm not going to keep this from you." She took a deep breath. "There's been another murder."

Shirou's fists clenched once more as he fought to contain his rage. Another one, right under his nose this time. "Where…?" He said, through gritted teeth.

Rin noticed his anger immediately, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Shirou. We'll get them, I promise. But first, we need you thinking rationally. Got it? Breathe."

Shirou took a breath, managing to calm down a little. Inside he was fuming, but he was at least able to relax his hands. "I'm good." He said.

"Good. Now, while you were out, I did some research. It seems there's a pattern- all the victims were female, all of them employees or prostitutes. And the pattern seems to be geographical, too- all of them were committed in back alleys in a line. So, following that logic, the next murder will be happening right here." She gestured to an alleyway, where only the dim light of a street pole shone somewhat into the entrance of the space.

"So we wait?" Shirou asked. Rin nodded.
"We wait."

Shirou, Rin and Saber were gathered on the opposite side of the street, in a small alcove between two buildings. Several times passerby would put Shirou on edge, only for them to pass on by. The tension was killing him, as was the thought that people's lives were on the line if they messed this up.

It was about an hour later, with Shirou nearly asleep, when Rin suddenly punched him in the arm. He let out an exclamation of annoyance, but she quickly shushed him, silently pointing to the alleyway. There, he saw a figure with a woman, walking side by side. He wore a long black coat with a flat cap, and he was speaking to her, but Shirou couldn't make out what either one of them were saying. Then, the pair entered the alleyway.

"Go." Rin said, but Shirou was already moving. He ran for the alley, entering it just as he heard a gasp. The figures were just past a corner, and as he approached he heard a scream.

"HELP ME!"

He was so close. He just had to take a few more steps. He wasn't going to let this one die. Not this time, not ever. He turned the corner, yelling out.

"Hey! FREAK! Get off her!"

The sight that met him was both a relief and terrifying. On the floor was a lantern, a dim light illuminating the scene around them. The woman was pressed against the wall, a hand over her neck and with a knife to her stomach. The figure, a male, now wore a mask over his face, and his coat was open, showing a grey waistcoat and an open shirt, with knives strapped to a heavy belt around his waist. The figure's skin was pallid, like a corpse, and the only visible feature on his face through the mask he wore were two grey, beady eyes looking back at him like a vulture's.

The figure made no sound, instead slamming the woman into the wall with just enough force to knock her out. He turned to face Shirou, the knife in his hand.

"Bastard!" Shirou charged him, tracing a blade to attack with. He slashed at the figure, aiming for the throat, but he never even got close. The enemy stabbed him in the stomach, as Shirou grimaced in pain, and then struck him in the face with an elbow. Blood ran from his nose and stomach as he backed up into the wall.

By now, both Rin and Saber had arrived, Rin aiming Gandr and Saber in her armor with her sword drawn, Invisible Air cast. "Shirou!" Saber exclaimed, seeing his injuries.

"Get back!" Shirou replied, his stubbornness getting the best of him. He swung his sword again, only for the figure to deflect it with his blade. A sudden shot from Gandr flew past Shirou's head, which the figure dodged with laughable ease. Rin was about to fire another shot, but now Saber had charged in, ready to defend her Master and blocking Rin's shots.

With steely determination in her eyes, Saber struck the enemy with her blade, cutting deep into his shoulder. The outline of her blade became visible in red as she pulled the blade loose, the man falling to the ground. He was still silent as he reached for the lantern, and Saber moved to intercept him. But he wasn't going to attack with it. Instead, he snuffed out the flame with his hand.

The alley was filled with sudden blackness. "Shirou, talk to me!" Rin yelled, looking around for their attacker. Shirou, still bleeding, backed up to be by her side, more concerned for someone else than himself. "Saber!" He called out, panic in his voice. "SABER-"
She came to him, in the form of a blur thrown into the wall beside him and Rin. Saber's head lolled to the side, a bloody gash across her stomach. Shirou watched her fall into Rin's arms, leaving both distracted. And he suddenly saw red. Tracing another blade, he felt the mana coursing through his veins mix with the flow of blood, and enraged, he aimed at the shadows. "YOU BAST-"

He thrust his sword into the darkness, and it responded in kind with a sharp pain in his arm, and then another. And another. As he pulled his arm back, it came to him covered in slashes, blood dripping onto the pavement. He stepped back, as the enemy came into view.

"Shirou, we need to move." Rin said, not waiting for him to refuse. She slung Saber over her shoulder, grabbed his shoulder, and shoved him forward, running for the street. "RUN!"

It was then that the enemy made a discernable noise, one that Shirou shuddered at.

It was a scream.

A hideous cry echoed from the shadows, like a wailing banshee. At once, a black shadow erupted from the alleyway, two shining knives in his hands dripping crimson liquid behind them. He was still screaming as he tackled Shirou to the ground, kneeling above him and stabbing one knife down for his throat. Shirou caught it with his own hands, the blade cutting into his hands and spilling even more blood. He couldn't hold in the pain anymore and screamed, causing the man to make a grating, raspy wheezing from his throat. At first Shirou had no idea what it was, but soon he realized.

It was a laugh. The man was laughing at him.

"I… am not… dying here…" Behind them, Rin had placed Saber down and aimed Gandr, but the figure was already aware. He suddenly leapt off of Shirou with superhuman speed, jumping towards Rin and attempting to slash at her guts with his knives. All the while he was laughing his wheezy laugh, his eyes dilated and bloodshot as Rin tried to dodge his strikes.

"No…"

Shirou by this point was so exhausted he couldn't stand. He crawled on bloody hands towards Rin, as the figure grabbed her by the neck. He reached for her, as if that would stop him. He envisioned his last moments, imagining humiliation- failing to save his own love and his best friend, as well as his own Servant who'd mentored him like a son…

…And then he saw a light. From the distance, a small light about the size of a pin prick. The figure noticed it too, but it was moving at blinding speed. He barely had time to react as a red light suddenly passed by him.

But it wasn't just light. As it lodged into the wall beside Shirou, he suddenly realised what that was that had flown by. And as the figure began to bleed, he looked up, and he saw a red spear.

Suddenly a flash of blue ran onto the scene from across the street, the all-too-familiar red spear flying back into his grasp. Shirou felt a new wave of energy course through him as he realised he wasn't done yet, and he managed to stand on shaking feet.

The enemy clutched his wound as it poured red, unable to speak. He simply hissed at the newcomer, before leaping up at the rooftops and disappearing into the night.

Shirou was still stunned as the Servant walked over, a smirk on his face. He planted his spear in the sidewalk, leaning on it as he spoke, a thick accent to his voice. "Bet you never expected to see me again, eh?"

"Lancer…" Rin looked absolutely shocked as she stood up, shaken but unharmed from the attack. "...But… How…"

"I know, I know. I'm amazed too, but hey? Who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to save a little lady again?" He had a cocky grin on his face and he looked to Rin, and she looked back with a look of reminiscence. They all remembered the last time they'd seen him, dying to save Rin's life. She was about to speak, but Lancer stopped her.

"I think there's a lot of questions, little lady, but now's not the time. You should be getting out of here. I did you a favor because I was in the area, but you won't get so lucky next time. Now go." He waved at them dismissively, but it was clear through the grin on his face he was happy to help them.

Shirou picked up Saber, who was still heavily injured, and slung her over one shoulder, with Rin taking the other side. As they passed by Lancer, Shirou could only manage to mutter a weak 'Thank you', to which Lancer shrugged.

"Eh, don't count on this too often, kid."

And with that the blue Lancer was gone, heading for the rooftops and into the night, and in their wake was left blood, pain, and more questions than answers.

NOTES

Chapter 13 is out and we are getting good! For the first time, a favourite blue-haired Lancer makes his entrance to the scene, and a mysterious new challenger approaches with blood-soaked knives and a new kind of madness.

I kinda wrote this chapter in a passion, after getting a spark at, like, midnight. I was listening to all kinds of music from MJ to Nightcore. I have odd music taste. But enough about me- have fun and enjoy!

-Jason