As Shirou lay there, his ears ringing and skin singed, surrounded by the rubble of what used to be a building. He thought that maybe, just maybe, he could have handled that better.
Mayhaps, he could even have found a way that would not cause him to be riddled with shrapnel.
Life is in the little details like that.
He heard someone calling him over the din inside his ears. He tried to dredge up the knowledge of who that voice belonged to, but it was as if his thoughts had to crawl through a mire before they were realized.
“-oss! B-s----get u-----We ne----et going! Tha-----unt-------ime!”
Shirou heard the voice. Even recognized that it was speaking with urgency. But the clouds looked so pretty that he just wanted to contemplate them a little. Groggily, he tried to remember how it was that he came to be in this predicament.
For some reason he could not fathom, he could not really remember.
“---et up!----mit Shirou! We ne-----dy comi-------yourself to------hey’re co----!”
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Shirou liked running.
It was fun really. Moving your body. Feeling your heart pound. The feeling of breathlessness. The burning of your muscles. The heaviness of your lungs as they attempted to draw in enough air to meet your body’s demands.
But for some reason he could not fathom, most of the time he ran, it was not for enjoyment.
The explosive spell with an iron core that missed his head by a hair’s breadth and impacted against a wall reminded him why he was running.
“OS! How much longer before we can slide out of here!?” Asked Shirou as he zigzagged through a crowd, evading the people he could while boldly pushing those he could not out of his way. “I’m not sure how much longer I can shake them!” Added the young slider as he ducked into an alley.
“Twenty minutes!” Responded OS in an unusually somber tone. Normally he’d be delighted that Shirou had to run for his life, but seldom was he chased by a skilled enough group that the prismatic weapon actually worried that he might be captured. “The jewels finished charging while you were in the restaurant! As long as we are not forced to expend any prana we should be able to make the jump in exactly twenty minutes!”
Shirou was about to answer his partner, but found that his breath would better serve him in other ways. Such as helping him deal with the countless luminescent blades which erupted out of the ground and walls around him. They emerged in a chaotic pattern that sought to cage him.
Fortunately for the young slider, he had been through worse. And while the lambent cage would have trapped many a person, it had enough holes that someone reckless enough to risk being burnt or cut by the blades would be able to use those openings to slip through.
Shirou proceeded to slide, skip, hop, and jump through the components of this strange spell. Needing to make use of all five D’s of dodgeball in order to avoid getting impaled by them as they came out in an ever tightening pattern.
Unfortunately for him, the particular alley he was fleeing down was not built widely. And the ever tightening noose of luminescent blades sped past him and blocked his only exit.
A Kaleidoscopic beam of light caused by a slash made by his trusty weapon fixed this for him. Luckily for him, he was still in a largely populated section of the city. If he could lose his pursuers for even a few moments, he could activate the Assassin template and borrow its experience to lose himself in the crowd.
An arrow sheathed in fiery light grazed his shoulder as he landed, reminding him that his pursuers were not restricted by something so inconsequential as gravity.
Furthermore, the crowds were beginning to thin. It would seem that unlike most places that he ended up visiting, the people of this city were smart enough to move away from sounds of conflict.
Lucky him.
“Let’s do this! Graf Eisen!” Screamed a soprano which gave Shirou the wise notion to immediately roll to the side, a red missile sailing through the spot he had been standing upon.
With a metallic clank, a muscular man with wolf ears set down behind and to his left while Signum landed to his right All three of his assailants being careful to keep a safe distance from him.
Shirou stood motionless. He needed to find a way to stall for eighteen more minutes. If he were to call upon a trace, that time would increase by at least an hour unless he used some of his newly filled jewels to compensate.
They simply stared at one another for a few moments until Shirou decided to speak. By the tone of his voice, one would think he was relaxing among friends. “So Vita, experiencing any difficulty from having eaten so much?”
The redheaded spitfire smirked. “Maybe a little, but I’ve been through worse. I’m surprised you can run so well. You ate almost as much as I did.”
Shirou waved his hand in a negative gesture, using the movement to get it closer to one of his pockets. Hopefully in a way that did not seem too conspicuous. A movement all three of the Wolkenritter noticed. “Oh no no, I am fine, I left it all behind at least two miles ago, I seem to be doing a lot of throwing up lately.”
“Maybe you are a closet bulimic.” Said Vita with a ferocious smirk on her face.
Shirou was about to reply when Signum stepped forward. “Enough.” Her single word silencing their little debate before it could truly gain momentum.
“Shirou, I need you to come with us. I swear you will not be harmed.” Said the Blazing General in a stern, commanding voice.
Shirou could honestly say he liked people like Signum. Quick, decisive, and assertive. He had had the pleasure of working beside people like her, and the misfortune of working against people like her.
Which is why he knew she would keep her promises. She would rather lose her hand than break her word.
But her superiors likely would not feel such a compulsion. And judging by her reaction to the Trace that he’d locked away. That Trace had baggage, perhaps enough baggage to make life very uncomfortable.
Under other circumstances he would just agree with whomever and tag along, only to disappear in-transit. But she’d already seen some of the contents of his bag of tricks. She would never commit the folly of lack of oversight.
“Alright, you got me. I’ll go peacefully.” Said Shirou as he slowly brought his hands up, OS still clenched lightly on his right hand.
“Good. Now don’t move, keep your arms out, and lower your device slowly to the ground.” Said the muscle man behind Shirou as he stepped forward cautiously. Shirou’s only response was to close his eyes, clench his teeth, and tighten his grip on OS.
“COWABUNGA!” Screamed OS loud enough to wake the dead. A blinding flash of multicolored light emanated from the weapon, causing the Wolkenritter to close their eyes to shield them from harm.
Zafira activated the Steel Yoke he’d prepared, but he could feel it trapped nothing but air.
A few moments later they regained their sight, their quarry nowhere to be found.
“Dammit! Sneaky little roach! When I get my hands on him I’l-!”
The spitfire’s rant was cut short by Signum. “This is not the time Vita! Now we need to concentrate! But mark my words; we will share words over this! You spent an entire afternoon with him! This disregard of your duties proves that we’ve become too lax!”
As Vita opened her mouth to reply, Signum turned sharply away from her and called for Zafira to change into his wolf form in order to better track him.
“W-well…You’re too uptight.” Dejectedly muttered the Knight of the Iron Hammer.
Moments later a large ultramarine wolf strode past her, only to stop and sneeze.
“Argh! Pepper!” Said the guardian beast directly into their minds.
“What do you mean?” Said Signum as she walked to the side of the sniffling wolf.
“Nothing, nothing at all, he just left pepper in his tracks, I’ll pick up his scen-Ohgodchillypowder!” Zafira ended up on his belly, uselessly batting at his hypersensitive nose to clear it of the offending spice.
Now that she stopped to notice, Signum could smell cinnamon in the air.
“Wow.” Said Vita. “He…he threw a bunch of spices into the air as he ran…so Zafira couldn't pick up his scent. Pretty smart move.”
The Guardian Beast was too busy writhing on the floor in agony to answer her. Signum however, had no such trouble. “But how would he know this? He’s only fought me before. Unless…did you speak to him about us while you spent time with him?”
“No.” Said the redhead thoughtfully. “I mentioned family and having an annoying older sister and a blue pet.”
“Hey!” Said the aforementioned pet before the heavy spices in the air once more reduced him to a whining heap.
“But I didn't mention anything beyond that.” Finished Vita as if Zafira had not spoken.
The Knight of the Blade bit her fingernail. The only way for Shirou to have known about Zafira’s wolf form would be through information stored in the Book of the Night Sky. Considering that, the chances that he had somehow faked the unison were slim.
But that opened a whole new can of worms. The best thing would be to capture him and get the story out of him.
“Who the hell carries garlic powder on them!?”
Zafira’s despairing cry snapped Signum out of her revere.
“That’s enough Zafira. We’ll just have to search for him through mundane means.” As the Guardian Beast heeded her words and began to change back to the form of a man, she relayed their instructions.
“We need to split up and cover more ground! If you find him, call it in and wait for the rest of us to arrive. I can tell you from experience that he is extremely dangerous. Do not under any circumstances take him on alone.”
With that the Blazing General took off across the skies. The rest of the Wolkenritter soon following suit.
A few minutes after they left, Shirou climbed out of the large trash container nearby the alley.
“Wow boss,” Said OS. “Never would have believed that would work. Last time you tried it you just got dug out and beaten up.” Chirped the weapon with great cheer in his voice. Remembering his partner’s misfortunes was always a surefire way to lighter up his day.
“Well, they only found me because you would not stop singing.” Said the slider in a flat tone.
“Good times.”
Shirou chose not to respond to his weapon’s antics, and simply began to walk. With some luck he could check into a Motel and get a quick shower before leaving.
Much to his chagrin, Lady Luck saw fit to slap his hopes to the ground and grind them beneath her heel. Numerous green chains appeared from green circles around him and held him in place.
This caused memories of numerous templates to surface. It would appear that many Shirou’s across the multiverse did not have good experiences when it came to chains, this would require further investigation.
A blond haired, green eyed young man wearing brown trousers, a black shirt with a tan hued tabard adorned with a green arcane symbol over it, and a brown cloak stepped out of his hiding spot.
“You know. I had a hunch that you could not have gone far. You must be skilled indeed if you are able to give the Wolkenritter a run for their money.” Said the man.
Shirou’s only response was to meet the green eyed gaze of the young man.
“You see, I would normally not do this. I am a librarian, not a fighter. But when I checked in on Hayate this morning to see how Rein was faring...Imagine my surprise when I found her, Fate, and Nanoha all huddled together crying.” At that moment an undertone of fury crept into the young man’s voice.
“Not only that, but I was unable to get a clear answer out of them. Nothing other than a ‘Shirou’ had matched Signum in combat and somehow stolen the Book of the Night Sky, or found a way to appropriate its old Master Program.
“I’ll only ask nicely this once. What did you do?”
Shirou looked at him evenly for a moment before giving his answer. “Would you believe I am as confused over this situation as your friend was?” Said Shirou with the most angelic smile he could muster.
The man’s only response was to raise an eyebrow.
The slider continued. “Yeap! Completely confused I am over these proceedings! Now why don’t you let me off these chains and we can both be on our ways?”
The young man remained quiet for a few moments before answering in a flat tone. “Do you think me a fool? I will take you in for questioning, and make you give back the Master Program.”
Shirou only sighed.
“You did not honestly think that would work, did you boss?” Said OS in a condescending tone.
“It was worth a try.” Said Shirou, disregarding the angry look the young man sent at him. “Hey blondie!” Called the slider.
‘Blondie’s’ only response was to raise his other eyebrow.
“Yes you! Would you please let me off of these things? I really am not into BDSM, chains just give me the creeps man.”
‘Blondie’ flushed at the notion that the use of his restraints was something other than utilitarian. “You! My name is Yuuno! And this hasnothing to do with any of that!”
“Says the guy who chained up another guy against his will and proceeded to deliver a speech about how the one chained up deserves to be chained up by the one who did the chaining.
“No matter how you cut it, that just sounds wrong.”
“Y-You little!” The spell reacted to its Master’s emotion, and slowly tightened on the one restrained.
“Gark! I thought you weren’t into BDSM! You’re not helping your case here!”
“SHUT UP!”
“Crap! OS Blade Mater! Engage!”
Shirou hated cutting the incantation so short. The added strain on his circuits would exhaust him more quickly as well as add extra time to the slide counter. Unfortunately for him, he almost never had a chance to use his entire incantation in order to reduce the strain to almost nil.
An occasion such as the one he found himself on.
“W-What? Dimensional interference?” Said the green eyed young man as his green chains slackened. Not a moment later, finely honed instincts caused him to bring up a round, green-tinted shield in front of him. The edge of a beautiful sword impacted against it not a moment later, causing a spiderweb of cracks to blossom across its surface.
With a grunt of effort he caused the swordsman to rebound from the round shield. Not a moment after that Yuuno had to make another one, his opponent had moved with the swiftness of a storm-wind and brought his sword around in an arc to strike again.
Their battle continued as such for a few moments longer, until Yuuno found the time to once more slip a binding spell past his shield in an attempt to restrain the rogue.
To his surprise, the ornamental weapon his red-headed foe used cut through the chains with little difficulty, barely slowing in its arc to come and impact against the shield he had conjured to protect himself.
Unfortunately for him, the stronger binding spell in his repertoire would take too long to cast. It would allow his red headed foe the opportunity he needed to strike. It was all Yuuno could do to keep his enemy at bay through a combination of shields and constantly renewed chains.
The cramped quarters of their place of engagement did not favor Yuuno. He did not have the space he would require to maneuver. Were he to attempt to take to the skies, it would present his back to this ‘Shirou’. Yuuno once more remembered why he was told not to engage in close quarters combat.
A dedicated combatant would be able to overwhelm him. Yuuno truly shined when supporting the front line, not in the thick of the fight.
Yuuno was sure of his victory once he managed to wrap a chain across his aggressor’s ankle. He proceeded to yank on that chain in order to make space between them.
He did not expect his opponent to turn in midair, cut through the chain, perform a turn an Olympic gymnast would be jealous of, then kick off from the wall, and descend upon the startled young man with a wordless warcry.
Yuuno answered his opponents cry with one of his own. Bringing forth an intricate green shield to halt his foe's assault. Any sword that impacted against it would be unable to pierce it, and then momentum would do all his work for him. The sword’s innately fragile construction would cause it to shatter as if it had impacted point first against a stone wall.
Unfortunately for Yuuno, Calliburm was known as the sword of Assured Victory. A Noble Phantasm made of much sterner stuff. Wielded by its original owner, it would be able to kill the mighty Heracles himself seven times in a single strike.
Even though it was not in the hands of its original owner, Caliburn’s tip was more than keen enough to penetrate through the shield with the bodyweight of the wielder soon following through. The combined mass and momentum driving the sword through the shoulder of Yuuno’s Barrier Jacket. It was by mere chance alone the assault failed to cause more than a shallow gash across the mage’s skin.
Shirou proceeded to inelegantly land on top of his green-eyed opponent, causing the two of them to tumble to the floor in an awkward pile of limbs, Caliburn pinning the blond to the floor.
Groaning, Shirou extricated himself from the downed Librarian. Seeing that the latter had been knocked out cold by the force of the impact. Shirou quickly retrieved his weapon and was about to dismiss the template when he heard the most peculiar sound.
Someone was sniffling.
Shirou turned slowly and was surprised to see a head of flaming red hair tied into twin braided tails.
Vita stood on the street, twenty feet away, staring at the downed librarian with a dead expression.
“Y-You took it.” Said Vita in a very soft voice, tears starting to fall from her eyes. “H-How could you?” Sobbed the saddened spitfire.
To say Shirou was nonplused would be akin to saying that cheesecake was merely ‘not bad’. “W-What??”
“Y-You broke through Yuuno’s barrier…You broke. Through Yuuno’s. Barrier.”
Shirou rubbed the back of his head with Caliburn’s pommel. “Yes…yes I did.”
Vita continued, not even noticing the other red-head had spoken. “B-But…but his first time was supposed to be mine…his first time was supposed to be mine!” The second repetition of her grief changed her tone from sad to vengeful.
“What.” Was Shirou’s eloquent summation of the proceedings.
“You stole it from him! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!”
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
“--AKE UP! WA---P DAM---! SHIROU! STOP FUC----ROUND! G------UP”
Shirou groggily opened his eyes, pieces of screaming managing to dribble past the ringing in his ears. ‘What’s with the fuss?’ He wondered. ‘All I did was close my eyes for a moment.’
He groggily looked about himself, noticing that some of the fires that had been scattered around him were starting to put themselves out as they ran out of fuel.
“Shirou? SH---U! WAK----------MIT!”
Shirou wondered what was so important that this person kept whispering in his ear. He found it quite annoying. And what was with that ringing noise?
He slowly brought his hand and rubbed the back of his head, it came away covered in a crimson liquid.
‘Hu?’
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Shirou ran through the streets, weaving and bobbing in order to evade the numerous red blasts that were continually sent his way.
“Look! I’m sorry I took his first time! I didn’t know it was reserved for you!” Screamed Shirou as he ran, too busy staying alive to worry about the suggestive nature of his speech.
“NO YOU’RE NOT! YOU TOOK IT! YOU TOOK IT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HIS FIRST!” Screamed the hysteric Vita. She had been looking forward to being the first that would pierce Yuuno’s barrier. His first time was hers dammit! Now some punk had come and stolen that right from under her hammer! Unacceptable!
Neither one was aware of all the looks they were drawing. Shirou because he was too busy staying alive. Vita because she was too busy contemplating what she’d lost.
Vita was so distraught that she failed even to call in her quarry to the rest of the Wolkenritter.
“Damn! Are you trying to kill me!?”
“SHUT UP! DIE DIE DIE! YOU TOOK HIS FIRST FROM ME!”
Not that their antics would fail to draw their attention anyway.
Shirou ducked into an alley, he had to even the playing field.
Once inside, he quickly kicked off the ground with his reinforced legs and soared a solid 30 feet up unto a fire escape. There he waited.
Not long after that, the inconsolable Vita flew into the alley seeking her prey. Shirou immediately jumped off his ledge and barreled into the girl's back.
The added weight caused the two of them to impact against the ground with great force, the small girl maneuvered by her opponent into absorbing most of the impact.
When their tumble stopped they ended on the floor with Shirou straddling the smaller knight, his sword pressed firmly against her stomach, the Knight of the Iron Hammer too dazed by the impact to struggle.
Shirou knew that he needed to wound her seriously to make her drop out of the chase. Hell, from the memories of the Trace, he knew that she would shrug it off within a few days’ time, it would not endanger her life at all.
However.
‘Nice to meet you?’
He couldn’t do it.
‘That woman! I’ll kill her!’
‘No! You can’t kill Fuji-nee!’
Memories not his own were coursing through his consciousness.
‘Vita-chan, You really like Teriyaki, don't you!?’
Shirou clenched his teeth and pressed the tip of Caliburn a little more strongly at her stomach, ripping through the fabric and pricking her skin.
‘I know, it’s 'hormone imbalanced', but all those old ladies in the shopping district keep treating me like a sick little girl every time they see me outside.’
His hand began to tremble as it clenched the grip of the weapon so hard it popped his knuckles.
‘----- to boldly go where no man has gone before!’
‘Vita, maybe you should turn off the TV for a while,’
‘But this is Star Trek! They got space so wrong that it’s hilarious!’
Shirou tried with all his might to make the weapon advance, pressing slowly forward until it drew a single drop of blood from the girl’s stomach, upon which moment it halted as though steel wires were holding his movement back.
‘How relieved I feel to hear that from the boy who got his ass kicked by Taiga only this morning,’
He had to fight gastric juices as they sought to free themselves from his stomach. He could not hurt the girl bellow him, but he had to. Securely taking down one of his pursuers would increase his chances of success immensely.
‘How about target practice? Shirou can be the target!’
‘What?’
‘You can fly now but you have no idea on how it feels to fly in a real battle right? You should at least learn how to dodge some practice rounds.’
Shirou once more clenched his teeth. He would harden his heart if he had to. He knew for a fact that her life would not be in danger.
Ignoring the burning feeling in his eyes, he screamed as he put power into his arm and drove the sword down with all his strength. It was as if he feared that any less commitment would cause him to falter.
‘Surprise! Schwalbefliegen!’
His fist ‘thunked’ into the pavement a moment later, having dismissed the projected Noble Phantasm before it could draw one more drop of Vita’s blood.
The sob he had tried his hardest to choke in his throat finally escaped its confines, the tears that had made their way down his cheeks falling into the spitfire’s slowly awakening face. As soon as she realized her position she stiffened.
She was about to struggle until she felt the warm drops continually falling upon her. Surprised she looked up to see Shirou weeping as he sat atop her.
Her earlier rage was no more. She was about to ask what was wrong, when the young swordsman got off her and bolted down alley as if fleeing from her.
Remembering her earlier instruction, Vita concentrated on her telepathic link with the rest of the Wolkenritter.
“Guys…I…I’ve spotted Shi-the target.”
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Slowly, ever so slowly, Shirou turned over. The simple action causing the world to spin.
He pushed himself into a kneeling position with trembling arms that refused to hold his weight.
Panting, he looked about himself. But he could not focus, some liquid continued falling into his eyes and forcing him to close them.
His attempt to stand caused the ringing in his ears to intensify, as if the world were accommodating the wishes of that noise. The floor suddenly was not bellow him and he just collapsed back to the ground.
“—rou! Shi----! Tha-----pe yo--------. ou? Shi-------!?”
The blackness he’d tried so hard to keep at bay crawled over his vision again.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
“He had me dead to rights but he just ran off.” Said Vita of the Wolkenritter as she explained her encounter with their quarry.
“Vita,” Said Signum in a voice so calm that it would cause most to back away slowly. “What part of ‘he is extremely dangerous’ did you not understand?”
“W-Well…you see…it’s just that…I ahhh.”
“I even made sure to tell you to call for the rest of us instead of engaging him alone.”
“B-But h-he broke through Yuuno’s barri-”
“Which should have driven the thought that sense he has done something no-one to date has managed he might be a little more than you can handle Vita!” Said Signum, the anger she had tried to keep from her voice finally erupting from her.
Vita visually deflated. “Yes ma’am.”
“Not only that but you chased him, opening fire, in a civilian populated area!”
Vita’s shoulders drooped a little more. “Yes ma’am.”
“You then fell into one of the most basic traps, the literal oldest trick in the book!”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You were then at his mercy! And only lived because he allowed you to!”
By this point Vita was kneeling on the ground, were it possible, the sheer grief and humiliation she was feeling would cause a complicated series of meteorological events that would conclude upon the creation of a small localized raincloud that would proceed to hold position above her in order to better denote her sorrow.
But of course that is impossible so it did not happen.
Or did it…?
“That aside, you were able to track him here.” Said the Knight of the Sword as she looked about herself. “Now that we are in an isolated area, we should be able to fight more freely now.”
“Didn’t you say that he excelled at commando warfare?” Asked Zafira. “How do you know he did not lead us here in order to set up a trap?”
“I don’t.”
“Ahh, of course.”
Shirou had not, in fact, escaped there to set up an elaborate trap. Rather as he sought to escape his feelings of guilt over what he almost did to a braided spitfire, he had simply run to the closest empty area.
He had been so distraught that he had failed even to remember to dismiss the Blade Master template. A fact he was now grateful for. It would cost him more precious prana to call upon it again.
The moment he heard the guardian beast ask about traps, he berated himself for not having thought of that.
‘OS said that it would take 20 minutes, this was 25 minutes go, however, I called upon a trace with no incantation, which means that likely there is one hour and thirty minutes added to the slide counter.’Thought the beleaguered slider.
‘Furthermore, that number won’t decrease as long as I keep a Trace active…this got complicated. I could probably use one of the jewels I asked OS to fill in order to make an immediate jump, but in that time they will find me and swarm me…why did this get so complicated?’Lamented Shirou, he hated having to use jewels, they always took too long to replenish for his liking.
When he was done thinking he realized that he had lost track of their conversation.
“I set up a barrier. He won’t be able to leave the area. If he has a way to drill through it, he won't be able to do it without my knowledge.” Said Zafira.
“Good,” Answered the pink haired knight. “Now we need to split up and find him. Remember, do not engage him alone. Find him and call the rest of us so that the three of us can work together an-Zafira…where’s Vita?”
The wolf eared man faltered. “Uuhhh…”
“Surprise! Schwalbefliegen!” Screamed the missing Wolkenritter. Shortly thereafter a familiar mop of red hair crashed through a wall, impacting against the ground bellow them a moment later.
“Hey guys! I found him!” Called the happy spitfire with a face splitting grin adorning her features.
Without pausing to plant her face in her palms, Signum shot down like a bullet unto their foe, Zafira following close behind.
Shirou quickly shot to his feet and took off running in the direction of another building. Once more, luminescent spikes shot out of the ground in an attempt to trap him, they were easily severed by Caliburn’s keen edge.
Unfortunately for him, the spikes had been meant only to slow him. A task they succeeded at. A moment later, as if something had told him he was in danger, he turned and swatted an iron ball out of the air before it could impact against his back. The action unfortunately threw him off balance.
Signum capitalized on the distraction caused by her comrades and dove behind Shirou, bringing her weapon in an arc to cut into his hamstrings. An attack that was barely evaded as Shirou threw himself into a backwards roll.
As he sought to get his feet under him, Zafira landed behind him and threw a heavy kick. Once more, his sword’s uncanny instinct warned Shirou of the attack, and he was able to bring it over his shoulder to block the Guardian Beast’s strike before it met his spine. The action threw him forward, upon which moment the blunt head of Vita’s waiting hammer met his stomach and propelled him into a wall.
Shirou smacked into the wall and slid bonelessly from it to the ground. He needed to even the playing field somehow.
He quickly cut through the wall and dove into what looked like a warehouse, the Wolkenritter hot on his trail.
When he saw his quarry, he pushed off the wall and fell upon Vita like a heavy wind. He brought Caliburn forward in an arc only to have his attack met by the haft of Graf Eisen, the sheer force behind his strike almost buckling the knees of the deceptively strong girl.
While his weapon was occupied by the hammer, Zafira drove forward and sought to burry one of his fists into Shirou’s side. The latter brought his foot up and kicked the Guardian Beast’s arm, knocking the strike out of the way.
A moment later, Signum delivered what would normally be the deciding attack of this short skirmish. She dove from the skies like a hunting hawk, crashing through the skylight for a moment she resembled an avenging angel surrounded by glittering diamond shards. She brought Levatein down in a two handed strike that would leave Shirou with a deep cut down his back, a debilitating enough wound that he would be forced to submit to them.
The ring of steel striking steel was completely drowned out by the sound of glass impacting the ground, the pink haired warrior was surprised to see that her attack had been halted. Shirou had let go of his sword with his left hand as he turned to meet Signum, clenched tightly on his left fist, was a perfect replica of the sword he clutched with his right.
They all remained motionless for a single second. In the next, the Wolkenritter were forced to fight for their lives as Shirou became, for lack of a better description, a hurricane of razor-sharp steel.
In the few moments that their armaments met before the Wolkenritter were able to open the distance between them, Levatein lost its tip, one of Zafira’s gauntlets was shattered, and cracks blossomed across Graf Eisen’s haft.
Yet even so they all realized how lucky they were. All three of them were wounded, but by some strange stroke of luck, what would normally be a collection of lethal wounds, resulted in little more than scratches.
Zafira had a small laceration in the space between his fifth and sixth ribs, Vita had received a scratch on her neck, and Signum had a small amount of blood dribbling down from her mid-inner thigh.
Then they looked at their foe and realized the truth.
In that one small moment where they had been sure of their victory. In that one millisecond in which they had let their guard down, thinking themselves victorious, he had taken that one instant of compliance and sprung upon them a trap. Having had the opportunity to give each of them a wound that would have cost them their lives in a few minutes at most, he took it.
He had chosen to spare them, knowing that they were his enemies.
And now everyone present knew his defeat was assured.
For they would not underestimate him again, denying him another opportunity to decisively end the combat in his favor.
The four of them tensed as they prepared to spring back into action.
The instant before their battle resumed, the earth heaved below them, causing the four of them to stumble and fight to keep their balance. The left wall of the building proceeded to explode in a shower of molten steel and vaporized concrete.
As the cloud of dust cleared, Shirou and the Wolkenritter were privy to an image that would give them nightmares in the future.
Stepping through the hole she had made, Yagami Hayate stood to her full height. Six black wings spread out behind her. The magical energy she did not bother to restrain causing her white hair to move in a captivating dance not unlike the movements of countless snakes. Her blue eyes displayed only a single emotion.
Fury.
“What. Have you done. To REINFORCE!?” The enraged Lost Logia punctuated her query by throwing her arm forward, a beam of burning white light shooting towards the surrounded slider and his opponents.
Long honed instincts made the Wolenritter and the slider jump away, barely clearing the area that the spell shot through on its way to vaporize a hole on the other side of the warehouse.
Shirou felt prana begin to coalesce around him and immediately jumped away, yellow bindings forming in the places his arms and legs had occupied moments before. He quickly turned and swatted away a pink ball of energy that had sought to strike his back, the force behind the spell causing him to lose his grip on one of his copies of Caliburn.
Two more figures entered the building, one of them a blond dressed in black, the other a brunette dressed in white.
Shirou once more held his template’s preferred weapon in a two handed grip and settled into a defensive stance.
“Please do not struggle any further.” Said the blond. “We cannot guarantee your safety if you resist arrest.” At her words, the black halberd she was using changed. A blade of yellow energy erupted from the altered axe head to form a scythe.
Shirou looked about himself and took stock of his options. He had the Wolkenritter, who were a strong and experienced fighting group Two women that, from what he could deduce because of what she said, were with law enforcement. And a distraught, hyperventilating white-haired girl that could melt holes in steel at will.
Still not the worst situation he has been on, but getting there.
“Hey Signum!” Called the slider, causing everyone in the building to tense.
“Yes?” Responded the pink haired knight.
“I feel I must apologize.”
“Why would that be?” Asked the tense knight of the sword as all her allies prepared to spring forward.
“I just realized that while I know the name of your weapon, I failed to present mine.” Answered the slider in an amicable voice.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I do not see how that is important in the current situation.”
Shirou simply smiled. “Well, allow me to do so anyway.” Said Shirou as he emptied the full contents of a storage jewel into Caliburn, filling it with more energy than even its mystic frame could hold.
The Aces and Wolkenritter tensed as luminescent fractures appeared upon Shirou’s blade, springing forward in hopes of stopping him from completing whatever attack he was about to make.
They were much too late.
“Roar! CALIBURN!”
A second dawn that shamed the Mid-Childian sun in its brightness illuminated the docks that day.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The mire that was Shirou’s head finally began to clear.
As he clawed his way to a crouching position, he decided that next time, he should be smarter about causing powerful detonations too close to himself.
“SHIROU! SHIROU GET UP DAMMIT!”
“Gark! OS, I can hear you fine, don’t scream!”
“Oh thank the Kaleidoscope! Quick! Expend a jewel and open up a portal we need to get out of here!”
Shirou groggily sat up, and saw that his gambit had paid off for the most part. He’d certainly succeeded in making the space he needed.
And obliterating the building…and the building next to it, and the one after that.
And a good bit of the floor.
And walkways.
And machinery.
…
Choosing not to further contemplate the damage he had caused, Shirou quickly obeyed his partner’s instruction and emptied the contents of a storage jewel directly into OS. The energy topping off the prismatic sword and bringing his total remaining jewels to ten.
He quickly made a slash in the air, causing a kaleidoscopic rift to open in front of him.
This action did not go unnoticed.
“Dimensional interference detected!” Screamed Zafira as he felt Shirou’s spell take hold.
Signum looked up, and saw that their quarry was about to get away.
The blast had thrown everyone quite a distance. Not even Fate would be able to cross that expanse in time to stop him from escaping.
But Signum would not allow him to leave without answering her questions.
“Vita!” Screamed the leader of the Wolkenritter as she launched herself at the Knight of the Iron Hammer.
It was at moments like this, when there was no time to talk, that the Wolkenritter truly shined.
For they did not need words in order to understand each other.
“Yes! Raketenform!” Called Vita, one of the heads of her hammer transforming into a rocket which proceeded to flare and spin her entire body.
Timing her collision perfectly, Signum landed on Graf Eisen’s spinning haft, utilizing its momentum to launch herself towards Shirou with great speed. The stress this put on the embattled weapon causing the shaft to shatter.
But it had served its purpose. Signum closed the distance between herself and Shirou in but a moment’s span, barreling into the young man as he began to move forward into the rift.
This of course caused the two of them to fall through the rift together. The rip in the time-space continuum closing itself the moment the two of them were through.
The three Aces and the rest of the Wolkenritter arrived at the scene a few moments later.
“Quick Zafira! Trace the place they transferred to and get us there! Signum might need our help!” Commanded the Mistress of the tome of the Night Sky.
“Ha!” Vocalized the Guardian Beast, a moment later he frowned. “Wait…this can’t be right.” Muttered the wolf man.
“What’s taking so long!?” Demanded the distraught Hayate, the other two Aces giving her a worried look.
“T-They…they did not make a dimensional transfer.” Explained the Guardian Beast slowly.
“What! You said there was a dimensional interference!”
“I-I know Hayate…but…that was not a Belkan or Mid-Childan transfer spell.”
“What!? Then where are they!?”
“I…I do not know.”
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
*Elsewhere in the Multiverse*
“A land ravaged by war, by demons, by those who call themselves gods. A world where the hawk of light is regarded as a savior by the frightened masses. And a swordsman in black travels the land, seeking nothing more than to cut it down.”
“OS stop monologuing!”
2012-08-15, 20:25
Author
