Inhuman Resources (Grail Works Ltd. T-M/Dead Space Crossover)

[Vigilantia]

Inhuman Resources - A Grail Works Ltd. Mission

(Type-Moon/ Dead Space Crossover)


Table of Contents:

Prologue - Just Dropping In

Chapter 1 - Clever Girl

Chapter 2 - Shoulder to Lean On

Chapter 3 - Grail Works Tech Support

Chapter 4 - Passing the Torch

Chapter 5 - Into Darkness

What is the Grail Works Limited?


The GWL is a setting shared by several authors in order to facilitate crossovers between authors and allow continuity in stories.


As quoted from the Grail Works Discussion Thread:


"Now, as the history of things stand in this setting, it's fairly simple. In an alternate timeline (call it the "Ilya Route"), Shirou actually got his wish, and formed this troubleshooting agency in order to save people. They operate out of a subdimension contained within Avalon, overlapping their own world through the Emiya home. So they can leave the bubble to go shopping, etc., but are also self-contained, when necessary. Avalon does require periodic charges of prana to keep functioning, but they have enough mages and magical creatures to go around that it's not a huge problem. The Grail Works crew (from the Fate side) are Shirou, Saber, Rin, Sakura, Rider, and Ilya. They've recently added the Tohno household (Shiki, Akiha, the maids and Ren) to their ranks, along with the Tohno manor property. Through the magic of dimensional overlap, both manors are contained within Avalon, but do not appear to have moved within the physical world - so walking across the lawn could take them to either house, or outside to Fuyuki or Misaki, depending on their desire.


Typically, a client shows up (from somewhere), and one or more of them attempts to help. They prefer using their own abiltiies first (and frequently scavenge other realities for useful items to help them do so, so things like lightsabers, or enchanted armour, or other odds and ends litter their equipment room). However, if something requires a really massive change, they have access to the Holy Grail for a wish - but they need to charge it up first. Therefore, they spend a lot of time hunting for (usually magical) objects or sources that can be drained into the Grail in lieu of the souls of six Epic Spirits. The adventure of these hunts could be stories in themselves, for those who'd like to try."



Who's the new guy?

McNab is the newest addition to the Grail Works team although not necessarily the least experienced. His back story will be explained throughout the story and will act as the technical support for Tohsaka in this very tech heavy universe. Considering Dead Space's protagonist, Isaac Clarke, was a career engineer, Tohsaka will definitely need the help.

[Xamusel]

Hmm... I like what you did with this so far.

Continue please.

[Vigilantia]

Prologue

- Just Dropping In -

It was rather late at night when the portal tore through the very fabric of reality. In this one moment, the laws of physics were bent and time itself shifted as a greater force exerted its power. Light blue-shifted in the office for a moment before two bodies were finally thrown through the portal and reality returned to normal. One was a twin-tailed magus that wore a crimson sweater and a simple black skirt that left enough room for the viewer’s imagination. The other was a tall man wearing a midnight black suit with a matching dress shirt and regulation-height hair. Both of them had been unceremoniously strewn across the office floor they had been dropped into.

Grabbing a hold of the office table to steady himself, the man said, “alright. That was definitely breaking all known safety protocols, not to mention four rules on dimensional travel. Really, Tohsaka, when Shirou said you were bad with machines I wasn’t aware you were a walking technological anathema.”

“Shut up, McNab, it was your device’s fault for getting us here,” she said before coughing.

“Just be happy I got pulled in with you, or else you’d be stuck here forever. Besides, you shouldn’t have even been near that thing,” said Agent McNab as he worked out a kink in his shoulder.

“Where are we, anyways?” said Tohsaka as she looked around. The room they were in was a cross between a medical lab and an office. In one corner was what looked like a holographic computer with dozens of folders and documents strewn haphazardly across a desk. On the other was a simple blackboard with numerous unknown equations and calculations written from one end to another.

“Let me see,” he replied. He sat on the comfy office chair before starting to peruse several files.

“Looks like one Dr. Bateman’s office, judging from the files on this desk,” he replied, shuffling through several other documents on the desk. “Luckily, looking at the time, I doubt he’ll be coming back till tomorrow.” McNab pointed at the clock which clearly showed 20:00.

“I mean what universe are we in?” she said, before propping herself on what looked like a doctor’s examination table. “Since we didn’t teleport here with Ilya’s help?”

McNab looked at the metallic vambrace-like device on his forearm. “Technically, it’s not really like teleporting and more akin to tearing a hole through... Anyways... the dimensional jump drained almost all my power. I can’t tell with this low power reserves.” A holographic display popped up from the device and he swept through several displays before stopping to look at one with a timer.

“We’ve got quite some time before I can plot the coordinates back to the Grail Works and get us out of this place. Wherever ‘this place’ is. Since Dr. Bateman most likely won’t be returning anytime soon, I figure we can sit down and relax for the moment,” he reported.

"Can't Ilya just transport us back?" she asked.

"That's assuming she knows we're gone and knows where we are. Without knowing where to look, Ilya could take days before she finds us. It'll be like searching for a lifeboat in the Pacific."

Tohsaka sighed. It looks like she’d be missing lunch with Shirou. Not to mention her meeting with Ayako. It was a slight annoyance, but given her current circumstances she could bear with it; She supposed she should be thankful things weren’t worse. Tohsaka folded her arms and looked around the dimly lit office. It was definitely different from the Tohno mansion or Emiya’s home. The walls and floor looked to be different composites of plastic, or whatever material they used in this world, and they were all different shades of gray or were white. Even the lighting above was powered by what she would guess was florescent tubes that showered the room in a constant pale white glow. The place felt... cold. She turned her attention to the holographic computer and holopads on the ground.

She had been with Ilya when she looked through the many potential worlds to save. However, most of the time the worlds they saw were closer to modern day or Fantasy-based Earth. This was the second time a Grail Works team had been sent to a future-Earth; albeit unintentionally.

“I don’t suppose you can tell where we are by looking at the future tech around here?” said Rin as she looked at a holopad she was holding up.

“No, Ma’am. There are over several trillion different worlds out there,” he said with slight annoyance. “I can’t just tell what place this is just by looking... at...” the dark-haired agent immediately stopped talking as he stared at an insignia printed on the front of a folder.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She moved over to his side of the desk and looked at the symbol: It was a large gold C with a smaller circle held between the letter’s ends; kind of like a vice.

“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively. He tossed the folder back onto the desk before moving to the window and looking out past the blinds. She hadn’t seen him this worried. Even when he had suddenly landed into the Grail Works on top of Shirou’s birthday cake he'd had a smug sense of control about him; something most noticeable when Saber held her swordMorrigan against his throat. He hadn’t said anything but she could tell. It was the way he was rapidly fingering the handle of the pistol he hid under his jacket, or the worried way his eyes darted back and forth rapidly looking outside the sole window of the room; something was definitely wrong.

All of those factors by themself would have set off alarms in her head. However, there was something else that bothered her even more. The air here was bitter. Not in the literal sense but rather it was what her years as a magus was telling her. There was an innate “wrongness” with the mana in the air she couldn’t place; like someone placing salt in one’s tea or coffee. This wasn’t even due to shifting to other worlds as she had been on several missions already. The difference was in this world alone and she explained it to McNab.

His mouth twitched in annoyance as he heard her explanation. “That settles it. We’ve gotta get outta here.”

“What? That settles what?” said Tohsaka, confusion on her face. He didn’t respond, instead, he simply opened the door and walked out into the sparsely lit hall outside.

“Eh? Wait, hey! You still haven’t answered me,” she said, chasing after him.

===

Unfortunately for her, McNab refused to answer her question. All of her inquiries had been ignored or responded with a “later” or “once we’re out of this place” response. After the first several minutes, she had simply given up. If Archer had been a master at deflecting and dodging questions, then McNab’s skill at blocking would have stopped Hercules.

They had been walking through the dull white and grey halls of whatever building this was for over fifteen minutes, stopping occasionally when one of the doors would jam and the hologram on the door would flash “Etaninarqe Dolokwcn“ and he’d be forced to rip out the side wirings and override the electronic lock. She wasn’t sure what it meant but from the shining red outline, it couldn’t be good. There were similar similar messages across the building but, unfortunately for her, none of them were written in Japanese. Despite Taiga’s English lessons and her time with Forest, she couldn’t quite figure out what they meant.

By now, they had passed by several dozen offices, labs, and even one room containing what looked like a giant mining drill. She had gotten used to the building’s cold metal and plastic aesthetics; although still disliked how every door had to be opened via hologram. To her, It just seemed excessive when they could simply have a knob or handle. McNab stopped once more to look at a holographic diagram displayed on one of the many hallway walls.

As they continued walking, a certain sinking feeling began to grow in the back of her head. Maybe it way how the distant groaning of metal seemed to put her on edge or how she alway thought she could hear a scream in the far distance that disappeared when she tried to listen in; or the way bright red emergency symbols were flashing across certain bulletin boards even though she couldn’t read them. There was also the sense of unease she felt with the mana in the air; as if the air was becoming more polluted the further they went.

After travelling like this in silence for so long, she decided she had had enough. The tall agent had just finished hotwiring his third door when he turned around to see Rin staring at him, arms crossed, with annoyance. “Enough is enough, McNab. You’re hiding something from me. I want you to tell me what’s going on here,” she said. They stood there, staring at one another before taller of the two gave in.

“Fine... but let’s keep walking,” he said, before opening the door and heading down the corridor. “Have you ever been with Ilya while she browses the multiverse?”

Rin nodded her head.

The agent continued on, “Well, this would be one of the worlds she crosses off her list. It’s a world that’s too risky to save. A place that’s too far gone. At least, with the Grail Works’ current manp... staff.”

“And you'd know this how?” she said, arms crossed, “You said your device would need a few more hours to recharge before you knew where we were.”

He gave a tired sigh, and pressed the bridge of his nose before answering, “I’ve worked this location before. This place makes Saber’s assignment in Spira look like a walk through candyland. We do not want to be here and I’m really hoping against all odds that I’m mixing up this world with one of the other place I’ve been to.”

If Spira had actually been made of candy she doubted if there would be anything left of that world. Rin’s thoughts of Saber consuming a chocolate mountain came to a halt as McNab stopped and held up a fist towards her; his head craning as if listening to something.

“What is it?” she said, her voice a whisper.

“I thought I heard...”

With a loud crash, the vent in front of them shattered into pieces. Something fell from the open vent but Rin had trouble understanding just what it was. It was as if a child had taken a human body and decided to simply mash it like putty. It had all the right body parts for a human but they were all twisted and contorted. Where there should have been arms were almost meter long bone blades. The thing raised both arms blades in an angled upward fashion; ready to strike. From it’s bloody belly protruded two additional arm; both small and weak like a babies. Its face was a macabre image: it’s jaw that seems to have been dislocated and hung open, revealing rows of jagged teeth that reminded her of sharks; its mouth seemed to have been cut open and tore all the way back to the jaw with even more teeth lining the sides like a zipper; and finally, where there should have been eyes were completely black sockets with haunting pale yellow eyes that seemed to illuminate the hollow holes where they resided.

Tohsaka’s eyes bulged wide and she felt her breath catch in her chest. Whatever this thing was, it was an abomination; a mockery of life that should be destroyed. Though McNab probably couldn’t feel it, she could sense a sour presence from the creature. It’s mere proximity made her skin crawl and sent a tingle through her magical circuits as if she’d just felt an arctic wind. Whatever had created this... thing... it left a magical signature that went beyond repulsive; it was an abomination even Dead Apostles would gladly destroy.

It emitted a hoarse rasp before screeching a bone-chilling scream and charged towards them. Despite its misaligned leg joints and the bones protruding from its feet, it closed the distance between them at a worrying pace.

Panic seized Rin’s chest and she took aim with her hand. Concentrating on funneling her prana through her circuits, she let loose with a barrage of Gandr shots. The black spheres impacted and dissipated uselessly against the creature’s body, not even slowing its charge. She felt a fresh rush of panic assail her stomach and Rin’s eyes opened wide in panic.

“Wonderful,” muttered McNab. He gave a quick scoff before taking aim with his sidearm and opening fire. The sound of gunfire resounded in the narrow hallway as he emptied the magazine in quick succession, six bullets in the chest and the other half into one of its legs. It crashed into the floor and stopped moving. Rin looked on in fear at the pile of flesh on the floor, her heart hammering in her chest, as McNab reloaded his gun. His eyes narrowed in annoyance and he looked at the dead creature laying on the floor with the same disdain as a recently crushed bug.

“McNab, what was...”

The creature screamed, it’s spittle smattering on the floor, before it suddenly lunged towards them again. Tohsaka found herself screaming in a new octave as she fell backwards in fear. Even without using its legs, it was easily closing the scant meters between them; it’s drooling mouth snapping closed in hunger. McNab’s gun barked once more; each bullet embedding in the creature’s putrid flesh halted its advance for another moment. The creature was so close she almost gagged on the sour vomit-like smell that oozed from it's body.

“Rin! I need you to use your fire magecraft! Fire, Rin! Burn it!” the agent yelled over his own gunfire. Coming back to her senses, she muttered a simple incantation and conjured a floating ball of fire from her hand before throwing it forward. The sphere of magical flame burst on its chest before enveloping it entirely in flame.

Even completely immolated, it still moved towards them. Pained screams that Rin knew would haunt her nightmare issued from its melting form. Flesh and sinew merged and melted together as Rin’s magic did its work. It gave one last lunge forward before finally falling silent.

She looked at the bundle of burnt flesh on the ground and watched as it melted; the sound of charring flesh echoed in the hall. She let go of the breath she’d been holding and let out a sigh of relief. She could still feel her heart hammering in her chest and the slight twitch of adrenaline in her hands.

“What... what was that thing...” said Rin finally.

“Re-animated corpses that were mutated due to being in proximity of a radiation source unique to this world. Their official name is called Necromorphs. They’re what we’ll become if we don’t get out of here.” He offered his hand to her and she took it. “Let’s go, Ma’am. Once there’s one, odds are more of them will come; they’re a hive mind.”

Pulling herself up off the ground, they walked down the corridor and then opened the door; regretting it immediately. In front of them was an expansive atrium that led to the shattered glass front door at the other end. Upturned tables and chairs littered the floor, as well as dozens of dismembered bodies and severed limbs; blood oozed across the floor like a filling pool. In the way between them and their exit here dozens of the mutated Necromorphs, their yellow eyes turning towards the new source of sound. Rin turned white and she had to physically hold her stomach as she forced back the vomit and bile rising up her throat.

“Huh...” said McNab casually, “well this will be a problem.”

The necromorphs in the room turned towards them and gave a ear piercing scream.

"Close the door!" she screamed.

He hit the pad to seal the door and they both ran as if the hounds of hell were behind them.

"Notgoodnotgoodnotgoodnotgood," muttered McNab between his wide hurdles away from the door. If she hadn't been trying to conserve as much of her energy as possible to keep up, she'd probably be babbling in fear as well. From behind, they could hear the sound of tearing metal and shrill screams as their pursuers shredded the inch thick steel composite door.

[Vigilantia]

- Clever Girl -

Tohsaka, GWL Agent
APB13-2A Atheron Building

McNab slammed the door’s activation panel and waited as the door hologram rotated with the word “Loading...” flashing in the center. Rin looked behind them and watched as the door they had just closed was shredded into confetti. McNab opened fire behind them in an attempt to stem the tide of undead. After what felt like minutes, the door finally opened.

“Go! Go! Go!” he yelled, sliding through the door with Rin and into the deserted hallway.

Pulse pounding, she bounded down the hallway, holo-signs and windows of darkness outside rushing by them, and retraced the direction they had come from. Behind her she heard McNab’s footsteps and the muffled shrill screech of the necromorphs in the distance. They reached a T-intersection and she took the right fork, instinctively following the familiar path back.

“Wait Rin! Left, left! The other way loops around,” said the Agent.

She halted in mid stride and turn, only to feel her shoes slide on the slick metal plating. In the back of her mind, a small voice noted how her school shoes weren’t the best footwear to have while outrunning a flesh-eating horde. She reached out for something to grab a hold of but found only air. As she fell, strong hand steadied her and kept her on her feet.

“We need to get you new shoes when we get back,” said McNab. Even without looking back, she heard the humor in his voice.

“Idiot! It was your fault for not tell...” Rin’s words were cut off by the sound of a shattering vent back down the hallway. One of the necromorphs fell out with a sickening squish; it’s mutated body splattering blood on the ground underneath it. Another crash and one of the side ventilation shafts burst open revealing another warped monstrosity. Evidently, the horde had found crawling through the vents to be a faster option than simply busting down every door blocking them.

She muttered a slew of incantations. Down the hall, both necromorphs spontaneously burst into flame; the flesh searing from their bodies and they fell backwards.

“Ma’am, now is NOT the time. There’s more where they came from,” he said, before pulling her by the arm. They opened another security door which revealed a brightly lit hallway. At the end were the English words “Central Control.” Sprinting the thirty meters in mere moments, Rin hit the console she’d seen McNab punch every time they arrived at a door. The door controls flashed red and the same words from before, “Etaninarqe Dolokwcn,“ flashed up. The tall Agent slammed into the door a moment later, banged his fist against the door in frustration. She guessed the message couldn’t mean anything good.

“Can you hack it?” she asked before looking behind her in paranoia. Nodding, he went and immediately ripped off the cover and then immediately said something she guessed meant unhappiness. She glanced over his shoulders and saw the plethora of cables in the control panel before stifling a groan. This wasn’t going to be good...

“Rin, I’ll need you to cover me,” he said, sifting through the plethora of cables.

“No problem...” she said as she surveyed the empty hall behind them. “I hope...” she muttered under her breath.

“Who the hell created this system? Inefficient...” muttered McNab as he looked through the wires in the control panel. An odd silence descended on the hallway with only McNab’s tinkering and her rapid heartbeat echoing in her ears. At times like these, she wished she Archer were here. He had always been the rock she could rely on during the Grail War; not to mention his invincibility as a Servant. He would have been able to cut straight through the horde at the atrium.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Archer was gone and, more importantly, not here anymore. All she had right now were her own wits and magecraft skills... Oh, and McNab.

A cold chill ran up her spine as she heard the unmistakable sound of shuffling from inside the ceiling in front of them. A roof panel shattered and necromorphs poured from the ceiling vent; slobbering and shrieking as all matter of claws and mandibles snapped in her direction. Letting out a big breath, she calmed her mind and pushed all distractions away. Mana poured through her circuits and she let loose a spell.

Four balls of fire flew from her hands, one for each enemy, and exploded against their chest. The necromorphs staggered back, their torsos burning bright with flame.

She let loose another spell. This time, dozens of sharpened rocks formed behind her before flying forward, impaling the flaming corpses and hurtling backwards. Rin smiled at her handiwork. Her euphoria, however, was short lived as the creatures slowly lumbered back to their feet; numerous gaping holes oozed blood from their chest. Screaming from the pain, the Necromorph horde stumbled onward towards Rin and fear tingle up her spine. They weren’t dying...

“Uh, McNab...” she said nervously. Even as she spoke, more necromorphs poured from the ceiling vent. The tall agent looked back and immediately reached for his sidearm in alarm.

“Bloody... Aim for their limbs, Rin! Remove the limbs and they’ll die,” he shouted. Opening fire, his weapon roared in the small confined hallway and Rin almost had to cover her ears. One magazine later and six bloody charred necromorphs collapsed to the ground, their kneecaps now resembling something closer to hamburger meat. Still, the burnt corpses continued their relentless advance; crawling their way forward.

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me before?” she yelled as he reloaded.

“Ma’am, are you going to argue with me or are you going to help us get out of this alive?” he replied.

She fought back against the urge to yell back; if only because he was right. By now, Rin estimated over a dozen of the things were in the hallway. They were running out of room. Focusing her rage, she bottled it up and directed it towards her spell.

===

McNab felt his SIG pistol jump in his hand as he fired at the next closest Necromorph. The trio of bullets impacted and blew open the Slasher's head. Devoid of it's sight and hearing, it lashed out in confusion and impaled another one of it's fellows through the chest and they both collapsed to the ground together. Blowing out another Slasher's kneecap, he ejected the magazine. In an instant, he slid a new magazine into the receiver and racked back the slide before aiming down the sights.

One of the creatures decided to think of a smart idea and began to actually charge towards their direction. Two bullets in each kneecap put an end to that train of thought. The female necromorph screamed, at least McNab thought the necromorph was a female in its past life, and began crawling in earnest towards them. He fired another trio of rounds down the hall before looking back towards Rin.

"Anytime you're ready, Ma'am!" he yelled.
===

She could hear McNab shout something past his gunfire but she ignored it. It would take all her concentration to cast this.

“Und ich hörte... wie es war... das Geräusch des Donners... Einer der vier Tiere eines sagen... Komm und sieh... und ich sah... und siehe... ein weißes Pferd.”

Finally, Rin felt her circuits filled with mana and she grit her teeth. With a simple horizontal motion with her hands she released her spell. A whirlwind of invisible force, like an endless wave of invisible blades, flew towards the undead horde.

Bones shattered and bodies were rent asunder as the spell cut a swath through the necromantic horde. Even as Tohsaka’s magecraft did it’s work and utterly shredded the first few necromorphs, the others simply continued forward; their sunken yellow eyes never leaving sight of their target. As the wind slowly dissipated, silence descended upon them as they surveyed the results of Rin’s work.

“Huh,” said McNab with surprise, “I never knew you could do that.”

A veritable butcher’s market lay splattered on the metallic floor; the blood oozing towards them in an ever widening pool. Limbs, organs and bone intermingled with crimson chunks of unidentifiable matter and blood. Amongst the viscera and flesh she thought she saw half of a face or parts of a hand... and then... the smell hit her. It was both putrid and sour at the same time, as if someone had marinated rotten meat with vomit.

She reflexively gagged and stumbled backwards; her hand held up to her nose to stop the smell. Her back hit the security door and slid down. It was only when she tried to lift herself up and failed that she realized how much the spell had taken out of her. She grasped futilely at the door’s edge, trying to lift herself up.

In an instant, McNab was kneeling beside her.

“Ma’am... Rin... Are you alright?” He touched the back of his hand to her forehead. “You’re burning up,” he said, the worry plain on his face.

“Heh, I might... have overexerted myself there... maybe...” she responded with a forced smile. McNab instinctively looked behind his shoulder before he grasped a handkerchief and mopping the sweat from her head.

“Don't worry,” he said, “I’ll get this door open and get you to safety. Then you can rest. Okay?”

She exhaled in relief before nodding her head.

Rin spotted movement behind McNab; not from the floor but the ceiling panel up top. Pale yellow eyes stared from the vent's darkness. She just had enough time to yell out before the necromorph came crashing down from the ceiling behind McNab.

[Xamusel]

Ouch. I feel sorry for the two of them.

Not that I know what Dead Space is about, mind you, but still!

[Vigilantia]

- Shoulder To Lean On -

McNab, GWL Agent
APB13-2A Atheron Building

Metal grating bent and broke against the necromorph’s weight and the agent rolled away to avoid being crushed underneath it. Rolling into a kneeling stance, his hand immediately went to his holster. With its mouth open in a macabre smile, the slasher let out a deafening scream and sent mucus and spittle flying. From what McNab could tell, this one was a woman; possibly a nurse from the clothing she had been wearing.

McNab responded by snapping his sidearm up and pulling the trigger; blowing a clean hole through its cranium. Rounds embedded into the creature’s arms as the Agent let loose with his SIG. Each bullet was like a hammer’s blow, staggering the creature’s body backward. Brass casings clinked on to the ground as the sidearm’s slide finally locked back; empty. His left hand was already fishing for another magazine when he realized he was out. His eye twitched in annoyance.

Its right arm hung loose, sinew and fibers of flesh were all that kept that arm together even as blood seeped out from the wound. However, his fusillade of bullets had failed to dismember the other limb. The necromorph gave off a guttural growl, baring its teeth in a shark’s grin. Muscles tightened as it prepared to lunged.

Milliseconds passed as he calculated his options. Normally he’d simply dodge the slow moving necromorph and do a lap around the area; buy some time to override the door lock. However, with Rin behind him that wasn’t an option.

The slasher raised its remaining arm, the bone blade longer than his entire forearm, above its head. With an exhalation of putrid air, it lunged forward only to be intercepted by the agent as he hurled his body against the monstrosity and they both fell to the metal flooring.

Exuding a smell that made the Agent relish a restaurant dumpster, the necromorph elongated its already gaping jaw, its jagged teeth easily an inch in length, and bit downward. It closed its teeth over McNab’s shoulder... only to bite against hardened air. Bright light, like sunlight shimmering off calm water, coalesced and covered McNab’s skin and clothes as the necromorph’s jaws gnawed in failure against his shoulder. He gripped the thing’s head and backwards off his shoulder and tts jaws snapped do and bit air, its meaty prized denied.

McNab’s shoulder ached slightly but his kinetic shielding had held up for the moment; though he could hear his arm vambrace whine in protest.

“No kissing on a first date,” he said, before offering the necromorph a right hook; breaking the thing’s lower jaw.

Moving up to his knees, he used his own body weight to keep the necromorph’s body, and its snapping jaws, wedged against the floor while he grabbed the thing’s remaining arm. He noticed the three bullet holes that oozed blood from its arm. Oddly, he wondered how the thing could even still use the limb when the ligaments and tendons were shredded by his hollow point rounds.

With all his strength, McNab pulled on the blade arm. Blood poured from the wound and ligaments snapped as he pulled and wretched the misshapen limb from its socket. With a sickening pop, he ripped the arm from its gaunt shoulder and fell backwards. His relief at finally disarming his opponent, however, was ended with the sickening thud of something behind him. He looked upwards as far as his eyes would allow.

Its skin was slick and covered with an unknown oily substance that dripped and oozed from every pore and permeated the air like an unwelcome perfume. The necromorph uncoiled itself from the drop and looked downward at the prone agent. Behind the oil that coated its entire body lay the barest resemblance of a human face; stripped of almost all its humanity. Yellow eyes, like fires in the darkness, stares from their empty sockets towards him as the thing gave a quiet growl. The enhanced slasher raised its arms skywards and...

McNab thrust the blade arm through its face before rolling to the side. The slasher, now blind, swung down with its blades and dug deep into the metal flooring. To the side of his arm, he saw a small nick in his suit where he’d narrowly missed having his arm impaled. He breathed a silent sigh of relief before pulling himself to his feet.

Despite the massive blade currently residing in its head, the necromorph pulled its arm blades free from the floor and turned to face him only to receive a thrust kick that shattered its sternum and sent the black necromorph stumbling back into the wall.

It was at that moment that blinding sharp pain shot up from his right leg. Looking down, blood soaking his pant legs from the teeth and two massive incisors of the first slasher. Without its arms, the damned thing had crawled its way along the floor and bitten into his foot.

His vambrace was now sounding a drummer’s beat in protest as it tried in vain to re-establish his kinetic barriers.

“You annoying f...” he said.

McNab’s words were cut short by the enhanced necromorph as it screamed and charged towards him. Black oily drool dripped from its mouth as it raised its remaining blade upward.

McNab finished his sentence before twisting his body to the side to avoid the attack. He felt rather than heard the blade embedding into the wall to the left of his face; the blade had piercing through the plastic walling far enough to insert his own his inside easily.. A chill went up his spine at he imagined something that large piercing through Tohsaka’s body.

He bit his teeth together to bear the pain as he shifted his weight to his injured leg. The damn necromorph was holding onto his leg like a rabid dog and showed no sign of letting go. Every time the thing bit down into his leg, pain shot up his foot like an electric wave. Well... He’d find a bone for that bitch soon enough.

Grabbing a hold of the blade arm still stuck in the enhanced slasher’s head, he snapped a kick out with his good leg and grasped the blade free as it fell back against the wall. Holding the arm blade upwards, he thrust it downward and decapitated the bitch-slasher with its own arm. Its skull shattered like a ripe melon and the makeshift spear embedded itself into the ground. Finally, the damned thing let go.

A roar came from the enhanced slasher across from him and McNab sighed. Sweat dripped from his forehead and his breath was ragged from the pain and blood loss. He could feel the blood bleeding and coating his legs. He was out of cards to play at the moment.

Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a finger gun with his hand. Still shaking from the adrenaline, he pointed it in the direction of the necromorph. The slasher roared and moved in for the kill.

“Bang!” said McNab. His arm jumped upwards from the recoil.

The necromorph exploded into four pieces as bone was torn from flesh through unseen powers. Its arms and head were severed in one swift movement, leaving the body standing eerily still even as blood spilled from the open wounds. Moments later, the corpse slumped to the ground with a sickening thump.

The agent fell against the wall and slid to the ground. He felt tired, drained of energy and, quite frankly, felt like a nice cup of tea and a nap at the moment. However, duty forbade him either; he still had to ensure the girl’s safety.

===

Rin hobbled towards him and knelt next to him. She looked over at his blood soaked wound with worry. The man’s face seemed distant and tired, as if looking at some distant mirage. That wasn’t good... If there was any chance of them surviving then she would need him alert with her. She shook his shoulders trying to jostle him back to reality.

“McNab? Are you okay!? Hey! Say something!” she said.

He smiled at her. “Heh... good timing with the spell, Rin. Although, for a moment there I thought we were in trouble.”

===

[Vigilantia]

Author’s Note: Man, figuring out why Rin had her shoes on in Part 1 was hard to arrange. Anyways, this chapter is mainly for Grail Works Limited continuity so if you’re only in here for Dead Space and Rin screaming higher and higher octaves feel free to skip ahead.

=====

- Grail Works Tech Support-

Rin Tohsaka, GWL Agent
Home Base, Avalon

Two Hours ago...

It was dark outside when Rin meekly walked into the shed where Shirou normally practiced his magecraft. Empty pots, tools, and other traced items lay idly in the center of the shed. The shed was filled with hundreds of different miscellaneous items from the past. Peering past several rice paper dividers, she even saw several young school projects he’d made; probably eliciting shouts of approval and ribcage-breaking hugs from Taiga. However, that wasn’t why she was here.

Walking past the miscellaneous junk that made up Shirou’s tool shed, she approached two wooden doors at the end of the shed. Adjusting the heavy bag on her shoulder, she turned the knob and stepped through the oak doors and into the warmly lit room. Wood flooring lay at her feet and she could hear faint music playing in the background. Around her were the furnishings normally associated with a western home, with plump couches and seats arranged towards one of those new ‘thin’ TVs. The walls of the building were painted a pale white that went well with the warm chestnut floor. On the other end of the room was a tiled kitchen; the counter and floors a cool granite texture. On the stove, she could smell something spicy cooling in one of the pots on the stove. If her senses hadn’t failed her, it smelled faintly of curry.

Rin walked to the left, and looked through the glass windows and at the Shinto skyline. Hundreds of lights shone like stars from outside as Fuyuki’s nightlife began. Peering down towards the streets, she saw cars traveling by like ordered fireflies as the people down below went on their way.

If nothing else, it seemed as if the Grail Works’ newest member was settling in quite well.

Rin could hear chatter coming from one of the side rooms. Peeking through one of the doorways, she saw McNab, the Grail Works’ resident technical expert. It sounded like he was talking to someone through that new thing known as “video chat.” Despite the evening hours, the tall agent still wore his trademark business suit and reflective sunglasses. In front of him were a set of holographic monitors that flowed with diagrams and scrolling data.

It had been over two weeks ago since the Grail Works’ newest member had, quite literally, dropped in. His arrival had been during Shirou’s birthday. In one moment, Shirou had just started to pass out the rich chocolate cake when two-hundred pounds of man slammed into the table, broke all four legs and sent pieces of cake flying in all directions.

Saber’s reaction was oddly more vitriolic than Shirous, to put it lightly. Saber’s obsidian sword, Morrigan, was already out and placed at the stranger’s neck before the icing had even settled. At the time, Rin thought Saber’s anger might have been more than just for the surprise interruption.

===

Shirou Emiya, Grail Works Team Lead
Home Base, Avalon

Two Weeks ago...

In the span of milliseconds, the din of blades and weapons being drawn resounded in the cramped main room. Shirou looked around the room at all the heavily armed individuals that surrounded the table. Saber’s blade, Morrigan, was placed at the edge of the stranger’s throat. In her eyes, Rin saw anger that seemed more than just her usual protectiveness for her master. Perhaps it might have been the fact Saber had been looking forward to the dessert for the entire day.

Beside Saber stood Ashley. Unlike his usual sleeveless and shoulderless attire, the Riskbreaker wore a form-fitting white shirt that did nothing to hide the impressive muscles underneath. It had been a compromise in order for Ashley to fit in when outside the Emiya residence. In his hand he held the blade Fandango and had it pointed in the direction of the crushed table.

To Shirou’s side, Rider’s tall frame stood protectively in front of Sakura. Though Rider hadn’t changed into her combat attire, her hands held the twin nail dagger in a combat stance in front of her. Behind her, Sakura poked her head to the side of her tall protector to see what was going on; curiosity overcoming fear.

On the edge of the group were Forest and Kurai. The vampire and werewolf had each drawn their respective weapons. Kurai’s double-edged blade was held parallel to Forest’s heavy .44 caliber magnum and both were aimed at the new arrival.

Behind the mass of heavily armed people peeked Satsuki and Shiki. The twin-tailed brunette had dragged Shiki along through Avalon’s spatial barrier the moment there had been mention of cake and free food. Finally, there was Ilya who looked over his shoulder, looking in amusement at their new visitor.

The stranger seemed to stir and move before he finally noticed the slew of weapons pointed at his torso. Silence echoed in the kitchen before a voice finally spoke up.

“Hey there. You okay?” asked Satsuki. Her question brought odd glances from her heavier armed companions and she slinked back shyly behind Shiki for cover from their glares.

“Ugh... I... think so...” said the stranger.

Much to Saber’s surprise, Shirou stood up from the remains of the table and carefully motioned for the petite warrior to sheathe her sword. Reluctantly, Saber withdrew the blade from his throat and stepped back. He knew if he didn’t take charge of the situation unnecessary blood might be spilled.

“Here,” Shirou said, offering the stranger a hand.

“Much obliged,” he responded, taking the hand and pulling himself up. He looked down and his mouth changed to a frown at what Rin figured used to be a well-ironed charcoal black suit. Removing his jacket, he looked at the assembled crowd. Weapons still drawn, the group found Shirou between the stranger and themselves. Once again, Shirou took it upon himself to play the role of mediator.

“I’m Emiya Shirou. I’m the owner of this home you crashed into. It looks like you had quite the fall there,” he said, holding out his hand. It wasn’t the most elegant of introductions but even Rin had to agree it broke the icy situation.

“Agent McNab,” the man before shaking Shirou’s outstretched hand, “I think we both have a lot to talk about.”

The redhead nodded in agreement. Despite everyone elses worries and disagreements, Shirou successfully ushered everyone else out of the room except for Ilya and himself; the two ‘heads’ of the Grail Works. As much as they argued about safety, Shirou knew it’d be difficult to strike up any meaningful conversation with so much hostility in the air. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was that defenseless naive boy from long ago; the Grail War had changed all that. Brewing a pot of tea for the three of them, he sat down at the kitchen counter. Drinking from their mugs of tea in silence, Shirou wracked his mind for some way to start off the conversation without sounding awkward.

“So... you can travel between dimensions?” said Ilya abruptly. Shirou had to stop himself from choking on his tea.

“Yes,” McNab replied plainly. He put down his cup of tea. “Although today was a slight... deviation from normal.”

“I thought so,” she said. She nodded her head as if agreeing with her own theory. “We’ve had several people traveling to and from here to other dimensions, but your teleport signature was rather different to what I was used to.”

“That’s quite easy to explain, Ms. von Einzbern. I could only assume you’ve only used magecraft to travel between destinations. It only makes sense then that dimensional travel by unknown means might seem different to you.”
Shirou and Ilya recoiled at the sound of her name and both turned to look at one another.

“How do you know her name?” Shirou said in surprise.

“How do you know my name?” Ilya asked.

“I know many things,” the stranger said, “For instance, Emiya Shirou, your father Kiritsugu adopted you after the Fourth Holy Grail War. The small blonde foreigner and tall woman with violet hair from before were Saber and Rider, both Servants from the Holy Grail. Ms. Yumizuka is friends with Shiki Tohno, who happens to have an interesting pair of eyes. The twin-tailed magus that stood beside Rider was Rin Tohsaka who is sisters with Sakura Matou, despite the difference in family names. Sakura is Rider’s Master and Saber is... Rin’s Servant?

“Actually, she’s human now. Although she still considers me her master,” Shirou replied.

“A knight’s loyalty,” McNab said with a shrug. McNab brought the mug to his mouth and took a long drink.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” interrupted Ilya. Her lips twitched to one side and her crimson eyes narrowed at him in annoyance. Ever since she’d been to the grail she’d absorbed a massive repository of information in order to understand how to watch other universes and send their people into them. Normally, she was the Grail Works’ intellectual know-it-all, not to mention she’d never taken well to being upstaged.

Once again, McNab shrugged. “This isn’t my first dance between dimensions. Although, Rin and Saber certainly seem flatter than their parallel counterparts.”

The agent held up his hand to make them wait and turned his head towards the double doors that led to the hall. A heartbeat later, Shirou could hear muffled cursing and a minor scuffle break out just beyond the rice paper doors. McNab’s mouth raised into an amused smile before he turned back towards Shirou and Ilya.

“Well, let’s just say I work with an organization that deals with... how should I say... Interdimensional Security and Stability. We make sure one dimension’s problems don't spread to others. One of my previous assignments just happened to involve a parallel universe to yours,” he said.

Gripping the sunglasses that hid his eyes, McNab lowered the shades and looked towards them. For a moment, Shirou imaged a myriad of possible creepy images ranging from eyes that glowed bright crimson to cybernetic azure irises that spun and contracted as they examined him. However, when he looked towards the man all he saw were normal brown eyes.

“The only question I have,” he said, the agent’s voice pausing as if searching for the right words, “is how you all came together. Putting aside the three new individuals that were out of place in the room, I can’t even begin to fathom how all of you assembled together. The circumstances must have been quite peculiar to not only give Saber a new body but keep Rider as well as you, Ilya, alive after the war.”

“That... could take a while to explain,” Shirou replied.

“Quite frankly, I don’t think I’ll be heading anywhere at the moment,” McNab said with a sardonic smile. Reaching out, he grabbed the teapot and began to refill their mugs.

===

Tohsaka, GWL Agent
Okami Tower A, Shinto, Fuyuki

That had been two weeks ago.

With nowhere else to stay, Shirou had offered the agent one of their side rooms to stay for awhile; until he decided to relocate to Shinto. Although Shirou had been too kindly and generous to ask for pay for rent, as he always was with everyone, McNab offered his expertise in technical and technological matters. Despite his surprise arrival, they appreciated the new addition to the team.

As their experience with the SERAPH grail had shown, the Grail Works was low on personnel that could deal with technological matters. Their team could fight dragons and cast withering firestorms or blizzard but bypassing building security without Ilya’s help was still beyond them; even with the recent recruitment of Forest.

“Especially since everything electronic seems to fail within my presence,” Rin thought to herself begrudgingly.

She waited at the edge of the door as the Agent conversed with whoever else was on the line. Although her English had improved with time at the Clocktower and Forest’s help, she could barely make out their words. Both parties were talking too fast for her to keep up. Bored, she idly looked around McNab’s study.

If the room was any indication, it looked like he would be one of the rare Grail Works members that used guns... err... firearms. McNab had already chastised her several times for using the wrong term. Forest was the only other person at the Works to use anything other than swords or magic. If McNab’s study turned armory was anything to go by, she would have to guess he was a quite proficient marksman. Mounted on the walls or laying on shelves were a plethora of firearms and devices of countless origin. Some were smooth and sleek in nature, with bright LEDs at the side and chrome finishes while others were blocky and looked heavier than herself with a tarnished steel exterior. Others she could identify simply due to their familiar shape or distinctive parts she’d seen on TV but there were too many for her to name.

Rin could see him turning to close the connection and she decided now was the best time to intrude.

===

McNab, GWL Agent
Okami Tower A, Shinto, Fuyuki

Removing the soldering iron from the contact point, McNab stored the tool back into its holder before reinserting the circuit back into the rifle. Closing the M-8 Avenger’s side panel, he hefted the weapon by its grip before flicking the activation switch. Servos whirred and electronic sensors came to life as the weapon deployed into combat mode. Automated sensors gauged its user’s height and arm length before automatically adjusting for these new variables. The shoulder stock extended backwards and fit snugly into his shoulder. Taking aim with the Avenger, he noted with satisfaction the scope was finally working again after his calibrations. Twisting one of the knobs on the weapon, he cycled the weapon between IR and regular vision before putting the weapon down and flicking the safety to ‘on’, forcing the weapon back into its original compact form.

He sighed. It had been hard recently to find the right tools to replace worn or malfunctioning parts. Even parts for weapons that were common to Earth, such as the M416 or the AK-74, were difficult to come by. Thanks to Japan’s stringent gun laws, it was nearly impossible for him to obtain the necessary parts to maintain the small arsenal in his room. In fact, even seen carrying the sidearm at his side would land him into hot water with the Japanese courts. Adding into that legal quagmire would be the fact he technically had no country of origin, leading to stacks of paperwork for immigration.

As such, it was ironically easier to do maintenance on the more advanced weapons in his arsenal, which normally required only a solder and know how of electrical engineering, Gauss technology and Elkoss Combine coding practices.

Placing the assault rifle aside for the moment, he stretched his back and downed the contents of the stone cold ceramic cup on his table. Oddly, he recalled the tea had been warm the last time he’d taken a sip. Maintenance must have taken longer than he’d thought. Getting up from his chair, he picked up his mug and headed for the door.

Idly, McNab wondered if Ashley would still be going to the ‘range’ with him tomorrow. The Riskbreaker wasn’t a bad shot with a sidearm, considering he hadn’t had years of experience firing and dodging every projectile known to man like he had. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find the time to go to the range, which really was just an empty field that lay near the Einzbern property. The last time he’d been there, Forest, Ashley and he had taken bets on who was the best shot there. Of course, he’d pulled his punches on his aim and let The Law Unto Herself and Riot duke it out. The resulting show over who was the better marksman was worth the $50 admission and helped him learn some new colorful words from Forest. Of course, the stray .44 his suit jacket had caught from her Super Magnum told him he probably should wear thicker body armor next time.

A loud beeping interrupted his thoughts and he turned back to see one of his holopanels. Looking between his empty mug and the beeping coming from his computer, he finally relented with a sigh. He had a hunch who would be calling. He sat back down and opened the channel.

“McNaba-kun!” yelled a feminine voice over the video call. A massive face filled the screen and excitedly waved to him; each hand wave blotting out the screen with every pass. The zoomed-in image receded to reveal a striking young woman in her mid-twenties. Clad in only a simple white t-shirt and jeans, her blonde ponytail waved to and fro as she greeted him.

“Hello, Ma’am,” replied McNab.

The woman’s face rushed towards the camera once more as she spoke once more.“How’re you doing? Are you alright? Did you get hurt when you landed in there? That Shirou isn’t hurting you is he? They’re not doing horrible twisted torture or experiments on you are they?”

Despite himself, he smiled at his partner’s worry. “I’m perfectly fine. The Grail Works, as they call themselves, are actually really good people. If you’d read the report I sent to you, you’d have figured that out.”

“Oh... right...” his companion scratched her head, her face a nervous smile. Off screen, she casually moving something away, most likely the report he’d mentioned.

“So, how did you wind up there, anyways? I thought the Agency’s space-time travel was safe.

“It is,” he replied. “Unfortunately, this.. Grail Works universe is weird. I failed to account for the high traffic and the temporal-spatial distortions caused by Avalon so my jump ended with me stuck here. It’ll take me quite some time before I can get out. In the meantime, it looks like I’m going to be stuck here playing tech support for another week.”

The spirit in her eyes dimmed slightly. The blonde sighed and showed her depression by lowering her chin onto her hands. “Awww... I guess you won’t be able to make the meeting with Agent Wash and me?” The woman gave him her best puppy eyes look.

“Doesn’t look like it. Sorry about that ma’am.” he said, shoveling some of the holopads on his desk around to look busy. “I don’t suppose you could help me by writing up the paperwork for this mess?”

“Fine...” she said with a roll of her eyes, “but you owe me.”

“Of course,” he said with a nod. In the blonde’s background, he heard klaxons sound and the screen was bathed in crimson emergency lights. His friend looked around before grabbing a massive sidearm from outside the screen and holstering it.

“Well, it’s playtime on my end. I’ll see you later McNaba-kun!” His partner’s energetic waving at the screen clashed uncomfortably with the sound of gunfire and muffled shouts behind her. She cut the connection before he could even mutter a response.

“Watch yourself out there, Agent Sable,” he muttered to the empty screen.

Movement caught his attention and he looked through the holoscreen at the doorway. A certain twin-tailed magus stood outside the door, peering in towards him. He noted she was carrying what appeared to be a leather laptop bag on her shoulder and suppressed a groan. He had an inkling what she was going to ask. However, there was something else he had to get out of the way first.

“Ms. Tohsaka, you are aware the spatial-bridge that Ilya and I set up to the Grail Works was a result of intense calculation and calibration? It isn’t ready for normal traffic yet without several redundant power sources and a ETM buffer at the very least. Kindly use it only for emergencies in the future,” he said as he powered down his computer.

The raven-haired magus looked at him as if he’d grown another head. He stared at her confused before realizing what was wrong.

“Oh, sorry. I was speaking to another agent in English. I forgot to switch back,” he said. He reiterated his previous statement into Japanese.

“In any case, how may I help you, ma’am?” he said.

Seemingly, remembering her original task at hand she unshouldered her bag and brought out the old beaten laptop, “You have to help me. My laptop is dead! Without it, I won’t be able to finish my term project! Without that, I.. I... I’ll fail the class! I’ll be a complete failure! You have to help me McNab”

The agent shot her an incredulous look, “Tohsaka, given that your current average in class is a 97.9%, and your course project only accounts for 20% of your mark, at most you’ll be reduced to a B. About the same marks as the rest of your class.”

She opened her mouth to speak but paused as what he said processed in her brain. “Wait! How did you know that? Did you hack the school’s computer?!”

Taking off his HUD glasses, which were still displaying data being received from his nearby computer, he gave her a patronizing look. “No, Ms. Tohsaka. I read your school marks when Taiga happened to leave them on the main table when she was calculating your class’ marks.”

Rin’s eye twitched. She made a mental note to “forget” to make Taiga food the next time it was her turn to cook at Shirou’s home. “Alright fine. You’ve made your point. But if that happens, then I’ll be... average.” She said the last word in the same way as if she’d just bit into a bar of soap.

“Oh, the horror, what. ever. shall. we. do...” he replied in a monotone voice.

“Pleeeeease, McNab. Shirou’s too busy sparring with Saber. Forest and Ashley won’t be coming back till tomorrow, so you’re the only around here that knows how to fix this thing.”

He sighed, muttering something about ‘harddrives’ before finally answering. “Fine. But this better be good.”

“Woo! Thank you McNab-kun!” she shouted with glee, all the while holding the laptop bag precariously over her head. One false slip and she wouldn’t need to repair her laptop anymore. Of course, that would probably have been the better option for the two of them. He didn’t know what he’d find on Rin’s computer but he had a feeling he wouldn’t like it.

===

Tohsaka, GWL Agent
Okami Tower A, Shinto, Fuyuki

Walking through the doors that linked Avalon with the apartment in Shinto, Rin could hear the click clack of McNab typing on her keyboard even before she entered his room. Peeking a head through the doorway, she saw him still busy working away at her laptop.

“Done yet?” the twin-tailed magus asked. “Did you find out what’s wrong?” She said as she walked to him and peered over his shoulder at the pale light coming from the screen.

“Still working on it,” he replied, tapping away with his mouse. “This’ll take a while to fix. Your entire computer is a decrepit cesspool of trojans, viruses and malware. I wasn’t even aware a computer could still run with this many problems.”

“Eh?” she said in surprise, “what do you mean?”

McNab tapped one of the windows on her computer and turned it towards her. Although she didn’t recognize the program she was looking at, she knew the long list of crimson couldn’t mean anything good.

“You’re just lucky most of this is minor malware but some of this other stuff is mind boggling. You’re missing several key libraries that I can’t even imagine how could have been deleted. All of your desktop shortcuts are currently set to open a .exe compressed package and almost eighty percent of your processing power is diverted to running malware or trojans. In fact, this is such a technical anomaly I should send this thing to U of T so they can examine this thing. They’d need to take this computer apart line by line and examine it in a sterilized room... like people infected with Black Death. Who knows, you might win an award for bringing something like this in.”

Rin’s forehead twitched in anger and her face was stuck in a permanent forced smile, trying and failing to resist the urge to kill him. “Alright... very funny, I know I’m not the best with technology but...”

“And then there’s this... Which might be the cause of said problems,” McNab traversed through several folders before bringing something up on screen. In the span of several seconds, Rin’s face switched from deep crimson to sheen white back to red again.

Rin’s cheeks grew redder than her sweater as she fought a tug of war to close the laptop lid against McNab. “Eh, hehehe, I’m sure there’s no reason for anyone else to know about that, right? If you could just fix all these problems that'd be enough for me.”

He had to suppress a laugh when he looked at the extremely forced and nervous grin on her beet-colored face. “Fine. I’m sure I can forget about... your ‘History and Private Settings’ but you owe me.” Failing to contain his urge to laugh, the agent simply shook his head before continuing his work.

Grumbling something about computers, Rin sat down in one of the cushioned chairs in the study and stared out at the Fuyuki lights outside to pass the time. The Fuyuki skyline slowly began to blur as the pitter patter of rain mixed with the sound of McNab tapping on the mouse and keyboard. Taking out one of the gems from a concealed pouch, she palmed the gem between her hands. As she watched the world outside, the gridlock traffic down below slowly faded to a trickle. Rain changed from a downpour to a mere drizzle as her attention focused on the crimson gem that danced along her knuckles and weaved between her fingers.

She woke from her fugue at the sound of a loud clattering against the floor. Looking around in surprise, she saw her ruby in the middle of the room; forgotten and dropped when she’d fallen asleep. She looked towards McNab who had a bemused expression upon his face.

He shook his head, “still working on it.”

She sighed, grabbing the gem from the floor before looking around once more. Gem still in hand, she idly browsed through the various weapons and devices on display.

“McNab, do you mind if I take a look at your... collection,” asked Rin.

He shrugged, not taking his eyes from the screen. “Sure. Just try not to drop any of them.”

===

Rin looked at the collection of weapons and devices that lined the room. Behind her she could hear McNab as he clicked away at her laptop. Most of the weapons she recognized as Earth made weaponry. Even she knew the AK-47 when she saw one thanks to the media’s portrayal. Others, however, she didn’t recognize. Some had an eerie green glow that emanates inside their cobalt frame while others seemed closer to a metallic football or other odd shapes.

Rin sighed. All these weapons and not a single speck of magic for her to look at. She was sure this would be interesting for Ashley or Saber to look at, but she was never really interested in this kind of stuff. Sometimes she wished they’d gotten a mage or caster in to the Grail Works; at least someone she could talk theory with. She’d read of a universe where mages could unleash city leveling spells with a simple 5 word incantation. Unlimited power in five quick incantations.

Stuck in her delusions of grandeur, her fingers traced the edge of one of the weapons. Shaped like a rectangle yet oddly cylindrical at the edges and sides, Rin idly ran her finger upon the top of the device and accidentally flicked a switch. In an instant, both ends of the black tube shot outward and revealed a stock and a foot long barrel. From the top, what had been a simple raised ridge rose upward to reveal the weapon’s telescopic scope. Rin stumbled backwards in surprise slammed into something tall behind her. Looking upwards, she saw the agent stare down towards her.

“The Kassa M107A1 ‘Black Widow’ Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle,” said McNab’s voice right behind her. “An amazing design, how they were able to compact all those parts together while still maintaining it’s original calibrations.”

He stepped sideways to give give Rin some breathing space before holding up a large ceramic mug, On its side labelled in english read “World’s Best IFB Tenga.”
“Sorry to sneak up on you. I’m going to get some tea from the kitchen. Would you like any?”

“Uh, sure. Could you make some green tea for me?” asked Rin as she turned to look at the tall agent.

“Hmm. I’m not sure if I have green. I’ve never been the biggest fan. Most of mine is either black tea or Western so I’ll have to see,” he replied as he walked to the kitchen.

“No green tea? Even Ashley and Forest enjoyed green tea,” she thought to herself.

Panning through the room once more, something caught her eye. She walked towards the one of McNab’s holographic terminals.

On the bottom of the display was etched in the letters ‘A.I.U.M.’ and on its screen floated a sentence in English. She couldn’t completely translate all the words but it had something to do with... power. However, that wasn’t what had originally caught her interest. Beside the computer was something that looked familiar. She picked up the crimson stone and examined it keenly with her eyes.

“It can’t be...” she thought, “this looks exactly like the ruby I lost two days ago.” She’d searched her entire house high and low but she hadn’t been able to find that accursed gem. Holding it up, she recognized the familiar cut and refractions of light. Why would McNab have her gem?

Searching her memories, she vaguely recalled she’d bought this stone in a pair meaning she should still have its twin. If she could compare the two jewels that would put an end to any doubt. Sifting through her pockets, she pulled out her pouch of gems and fished through it for...

“Rin, what are you doing?” came McNab’s voice, his head poking out from the kitchen.

In that moment, several things happened. Rin panicked and the pouch of gemsher slip from her hands and topple on top of the AIUM. Electronic sensors searched, analyzed and finally identified a compatible power source to convert. In mere moments, Tohsaka’s gems began to de-materialize and evaporate as prana was converted into pure energy. With it’s operational power requirements restored, the AIUM’s screen flashed green before returning to it’s saved task: Dimensional Travel.

Rin screamed in terror at the loss of her jewels. Panic seized her thoughts and she reached desperately to save her remaining gems. It had taken her years of careful saving and stores of her prana to create them! Desperately, Rin reached down hysterically trying to collect as many of the remaining gems as she could. Had she been paying more attention to she might have seen the warning symbols on the holopanel or the flashing crimson warning message. As it was, she ignored all those and slammed her palm into the ‘yes’ option by accident.

The first warning she had that something was amiss were when the windows began to shudder and furniture rattled causing her to look around. Cups and other loose items were jostled around as gravitational eddies appeared and shifted around the room, jostling weapons and throwing the room into chaos. She tried to back away but immediately found an unseen force pull her forward, as if a chain had been attached to her stomach. Prana flowed through her circuits as she reinforced her arms and legs but it was as if she were fighting water currents. Her initial fear turned into blind panic when she felt her legs lifting off the ground.

A crash from the door turned her attention to the kitchen. Through the wooden doorframe, she could see McNab had dropped the two mugs of tea to the floor and was frantically running towards her, panic within his eyes.

“Rin! Run!” screamed McNab, his voice distorted. With amazing speed, he grabbed a hold of her by the waist. However, by then the gravitational forces were too strong. Their screams mixed with the sudden vacuum of air before they were pulled into the unseen portal; their departure leaving only a deafening silence. On the ground, the only thing left to tell their tale were two broken mugs and bits and pieces of Rin’s gems.

===

[Kieran]

Nice to see this all together - it flows so much more nicely that way.

Though it looks like you forgot to link Chapter 3 to the Table of Contents.

[Vigilantia]

Nice to see this all together - it flows so much more nicely that way.

Though it looks like you forgot to link Chapter 3 to the Table of Contents.

Yeah... blame that on the new forum features. I have to wait 10 minutes for the newest post to not count as an update. I'm still trying to get all the chapters up.

=====

- Passing the Torch -
Rin Tohsaka, GWL Agent
WAPB15-5C W. Anderson Building

With a *whump*, the heavy security doors closed from behind them. Blood trailed from the door as McNab and Rin slowly hobbled forward, the agent using Tohsaka’s shoulder for support. Although most of her efforts were concentrated in keeping the tall agent upright, she did notice a change in environment from this area compared to where the necromorphs had come from. The area seemed more sterile and cleaner, as if cleaners had gone over every inch of plastic flooring and metal siding with a fine comb.

“Where are we?” said Tohsaka.

“We’re in a newer building so we should be safe for the moment,” said McNab.The hall behind us was the only way to get to the previous building so all those necromorphs should be stuck behind us. Luckily, from the looks of things, there’s also no man-sized ventilation ducts in this place either.” McNab’s breathing was shallow and rapid and she could hear gasps of pain every time he lifted his wounded leg.

“Fucking dumb vent designs,” he muttered under his breath.

“No, I meant our actual “location” location,” said Rin as they plodded through these clean sterile white halls. She glanced behind them and traced the trail of crimson droplets that led from the door behind them.

“Oh...” replied McNab, “couldn’t say... I’d need a galaxy map to...” He exhaled a ragged breath before she felt him let go of her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw him begin to collapse and she barely caught him in time; almost being crushed herself under his weight. She gently let him down against the wall.

Rin knelt next to him. She could see his skin was beginning to pale and a sheen of sweat had formed on his forehead. Dabbing his forehead with her sleeve, she could feel his skin was flushed and hot. She rolled up his pant leg, now soaked with blood, and was met with a grisly sight. Blood leaked from the half crescent wound on his leg where the necromorph’s teeth had gnawed into the flesh. There were two gaping holes where the necromorph’s long canine teeth had punctured straight through his leg and, Rin visibly shivering at the detail, had bit hard enough to reveal bone.

“You idiot! Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad!” said Rin, giving McNab a reproachful look.

“I’m fine. Don’t bother wasting your mana on me, I can walk it off,” he said dismissively. His shallow and short breaths gave away his lie.

“You’re as bad a liar as Shirou,” she said. She squinted in annoyance. It seemed like most of the men in the Grail Works were too stubborn to ask for help until they were half dead.

“I wasn’t lying,” he muttered under his breath, although it seemed she hadn’t heard him. Rin placed her petite hands over the wound, the bite wound almost too large to cover with both hands, and let the prana flow through her body. Unseen winds buffered her raven hair and she chanted a rhythmic aria that lit up the hall in a pale blue light before fading. Rin collapsed down as weakness assailed her limbs and her circuits recharged and she was forced to use the wall as support. Opening her eyes, she saw some of the damage had been repaired. The swelling seemed to have gone down and bleeding seemed to have stopped but the wound still seemed severe... more severe than it should have been given the surge of mana she had just summoned into the spell.

“I... should have mentioned... standing operating procedure for all agents require class 3 protection against biological mutagens. That also includes regenerative magic,” said McNab.

Rin punched him in the side of the shoulder, although with her tired arms it probably felt closer to a nudge. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “I did try to tell you...”

“Shut up... stupid agent,” she said, her voice fatigued. Rin was too tired to even bother facing him. She rubbed the arch of her nose in worry as she thought about their current situation. They were stuck in an unknown building with flesh eating Dead... necromorphs pouring through the vents and doors. McNab was wounded, out of ammo, and crippled. Her jewels were gone, either stuck at home or used up getting them... wherever this damned universe was... Things couldn’t get much w...

She tried to stop her train of thought but it was too late.

With a heavy clunk, the lights shut down all around them and they were bathed in darkness. Even the doors holograms and floating bulletin boards closed down. A shiver ran up her spine as she tried to contain her breathing. As much as she tried, her imagination played chaos with her mind. Every imagined shade was one of those... things, it’s massive jagged teeth, ready to rip out her neck. Metal creaked down the hall and she failed to suppress another chill down her spine. In the distance, she thought she heard the words “nee-san” echo.

McNab gave a sigh, “this place has a disgusting lack of OSHA compliance. Backup lights should have kicked in by now. I don’t suppose you’ve got a light or something?” his voice asked.

Rin mentally smacked herself. Of course she had a light. She was a magus, not some cowering wimp. If she hadn’t been so consumed with fear she might have thought about a solution to her problem quicker. With a simple incantation, she lit up a small ball of blue flame within the palm of her hand. Blue light pushed back the darkness in the hall. Her head darted back and forth as she quickly looked back and forth down both ends of the hall; relieved to find nothing.

“Rin... breathe,” said McNab beside her.

She released the breath she hadn’t even realised she was holding and rested her head against the hallway wall; taking a moment to steady her rapidly beating heart.

“Better?” he asked. She nodded in reply.

“Good, because I need you to listen to what I’m about to say,” he said. McNab’s vambrace lit up with holographic light and he began to press several buttons on the display.

“This,” he said tapping his vambrace,” is the only thing that will get us out of here.” He tapped the device once more and a flurry of letters crossed the screen in an unknown language. However, from the few words she recognized, she guessed it was English. “This is the Armored Interdimensional Utility Mobile Unit... pronounced ‘aim’ for short. It’s what landed me on top of Shirou’s birthday cake over a week ago.”

Rin tried to suppress a chuckled at the memory. McNab’s fall from the roof of the house had completely crushed the cake both Sakura and she had prepared, as well as the entire dining table. Frosting, fruit and chocolate fell had flown from the epicenter like so much shrapnel and splattered against their clothing. She still found it fun to poke at Saber’s reaction where the petite warrior’s first response was lamenting the loss of cake rather than Shirou’s safety.

McNab continued onward, “It comes standard with a Mark IV-C Shield module rated for small arms fire, which include incendiary, direct energy, plasma and ion weaponry, as well as NACBR exposure. It’s main use is to protect the interdimensional unit housed at its core although its mostly used to shield the operator during missions.”

The agent flicked through several panels on the device and it changed to show her a plethora of information and schematics that she had no inkling how to decipher. She’d never been the best with keeping up with technology, even Shirou knew this.

“This is all interesting, McNab, but why are you telling me this now?” she said. She had a sinking feel of where this conversation was going, and she didn’t like it.

With a tap, the AIUM whirred and twitched before collapsing in upon itself. Sections of the device receded and depressed downwards before all that was left was a lump of metal; a perfect block of obsidian. She looked at it in fascination. Moving her flame closer, the light seemed to play against the metal’s mirror flat surface like turbulent water and Rin stared at its scintillating reflection; her eyes mesmerized by its shimmer.

“I’m saying this, Tohsaka, because it’s now yours,” he said.

“Wait, you... it’s what?!” Rin said looking towards him.

Without another word, he picked up the lump of obsidian and gently placed it upon her wrist. As if it had a life of its own, the small device expanded outwards once more. lacing metallic straps around Rin’s wrist and expanding outward to enclose her entire forearm. She panicked at the sudden movement, swinging the AIUM trying to dislodge it from her hand to no avail.

The device gave a slight hum before she felt the air around her pop away. A layer of light flashed and covered her body before slowly fading, leaving Rin stunned as she looked over her own body. She slid her hand down her sweater’s sleeves and feel a slight oily touch in addition to the feeling of her nylon shirt as if everything had been coated in an unseen layer of varnish.

“Shields...?” she said. Her brain was still processing what he’d told her moments before.

“Shields,” he said, confirming her thoughts, “and the keys to get back home.”

Rin continued staring at the device that was fitted on her forearm. Truth be told, the AIUM was so light that if she wasn’t looking at it, she might not have realized it was even there. Although it was clear the device was made of metal, the metal sheath attached to her arm felt like a second skin and even felt warm to the touch. In the center was a simple flat panel projected a holographic panel that displayed a dizzying amount of information to process.

Rin narrowed his eyes towards him. Although the bleeding had stopped, she could still see the trail of blood that led from the door and his blood soaked pant leg. Combined with the perspiration soaking through his dress shirt and pale skin, even Shirou would know he was in a bad condition.

“You idiot! Why would you give this to me!” she yelled. “Look at you! You’re hurt! You can barely even stand!...

“Which is exactly why I gave it to you!” he said, interrupting her. “You’re the only one out of us that can still fight. If you go down, we’re both dead. Besides... I got you in this mess. What do you think Shirou would think if I didn’t make it back with you? What about Sakura? What do you think would happen to her?”

At the mention of her sister’s name, an image formed in her mind.

Sakura was there as well as Shirou. Sakura’s face was buried into Shirou’s shoulder; her hair disheveled and unkempt. Her sister raised her head up to Shirou’s shoulder and Rin could see her face was puffed up and her eyes bloodshot from hours of crying. Standing away from them, Rider and Saber could only look onward in silence as Sakura continued to cry.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She concentrated on her anger and forced herself to focus.

“And what about you? Don’t you have anyone that cares about you?” she asked. The agent’s response shot a chill up her spine. He laughed, teeth showing in a wicked grin, as if they were relaxing at dinner with the Grail Works team and not fighting for their life in this godforsaken building. His derisive laughter ran counter to his usual controlled attitude and for a moment, took her mind off the dead horrors most likely stalking the empty corridors. After what seemed like a long moment, he finally calmed down before shaking his head.

“No, Ma’am. I do not,” he replied. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. Directly or not, I got us into this situation. It’s my responsibility to make sure you get back to the Grail Works with the highest possibility of success. Everything else is a tertiary concern. Including me.”

“And what if you die? Did you ever think of that?” she countered, leaning towards him.

“Acceptable casualty,” he said with a shrug. The tone in his voice was similar to someone ordering his morning coffee.

Anger flared and adrenaline shot through her blood at his words. Her arm clenched into a fist and she resisted the urge to smack the fool right then and there.

“No...” she said, her voice level and cold. Her eyes shot him a stare that could have cowed Berserker.

“I don’t accept that. We are both. getting. out. alive.” She said, punctuating each word with a jab of her finger.

“We are the Grail Works. We protect and save lives. That includes you! You stupid oaf,” she said before getting to her feet. Sometimes she wondered if all the males in the Grail Works were all as stubborn as Shirou and struck with the same martyrdom complex. The Grail Works had never lost an agent on a mission before and she would be damned if she’d allow that to happen on her watch. She offered McNab her hand and he took it.

“We came here together, and we are leaving here. Together,” she said. “Is that understood, Agent McNab?”

The side of the agent’s mouth curled upwards in amusement before breaking out in a smile. Unlike before, this one seemed warm and genuine. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good. Besides, I wouldn’t even have the faintest idea on how to even start using your... device if you died,” her voice warmed and returned to her usual business-like tone.

“I’m sure we can cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.

“Eh? What about bridges?” she replied, looked towards him with confusion.

McNab looked as if he were about say something but then changed his mind. “It’s an English idiom... just... nevermind what I said. Come on, let’s go. I think I should be able to limp my way along with you now.”

The agent limped onward, trailing behind Rin and the only source of light. As they turned the corner, her pale light receded and left the hall in shadows. Soon, the only light in the pitch black hall were the pale yellow eyes that peered out from behind one of the office door windows. Soon enough, those too winked out leaving the hall in darkness.

===

Author's Notes: There we go, the full collection finally uploaded. Damn forum update procedure. Next chapter we'll see Rin going at it alone. Here's hoping she doesn't start hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

[Kieran]

Yeah... blame that on the new forum features. I have to wait 10 minutes for the newest post to not count as an update. I'm still trying to get all the chapters up.

Hm - wonder if that means I'll have trouble later, then.

Author's Notes: There we go, the full collection finally uploaded. Damn forum update procedure. Next chapter we'll see Rin going at it alone. Here's hoping she doesn't start hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I need to research Dead Space to get the reference - and I see at least one instance where you made a compound word out of "Grail Works," again.

[Incarnite Azurnum]

In Dead Space, the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a recurring idiom thingy which is meant to get across how screwed up/creepy the universe is.

Also if Rin starts hearing it, it means the Marker [item of doom] is affecting her which is Bad. It means that she'll start hallucinating, and going insane. Depending on her compatibility, there are two ways this can turn out; the first one is that she just goes bonkers. The Second, and invariably worse one is that she'll have information imprinted into her brain that will allow the creation of another Marker; side effects include hallucinations of deceased loved ones (betting Tokiomi or Aoi here) which at later stages can kill you/make you kill yourself, dementia, and ridiculous arm strength (Seriously, Isaac smacks off necromorph limbs, after like 5 years of captivity).

McNab should have downloaded the map of the ship which includes the airvents. No ambushes from the airvents you didn't notice today!
Also they should pick up a few of the suits. Those things are quite nifty particularly with their stasis + kinesis modules.

[Vigilantia]

@ Incarnite: Unfortunately, getting vent information of buildings is considerably harder than just getting a map layout of the building. Besides, there's enough vents in most Dead Space universe to make it useless.

@ Kieran: Yeah, what Incarnite said. Normally, Isaac hears it when there's a lull in combat while waiting inside an elevator. Make us Wh0le, Nee-san!

Here's an example:

[Kieran]

OK, that is seriously creepy.

[ZidanReign]

....Say what.

This is a thing, and I was not notified...

WHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT

[Kieran]

Cool to see it finally up and running, eh?

[ZidanReign]

Yes it is.

It makes me wanna leave my own mark in your Grail Works Verse Kieran. (Maybe Mass Effect? Finally got the 2nd game and maybe the third at a later date. Still getting into it though.)

That would probably put off stuff I have on my own so maybe in a year or two when I got the time I'll formally ask you.

[Heart of the Star]

That could be interesting...
hmm, now i'm starting to plan out a grail works story in the Nier-verse (the problem is i likely won't get far into the writing stage).
Oh and great fic start, but am i missing something because i'm starting to wonder about the back story of Mcnab or is that going to be revealed in later updates?

But yeah great start. I think you have managed to give enough information for someone who hasn't played dead space (like me) without info dumping well so far anyway

[Vigilantia]

That could be interesting...
hmm, now i'm starting to plan out a grail works story in the Nier-verse (the problem is i likely won't get far into the writing stage).
Oh and great fic start, but am i missing something because i'm starting to wonder about the back story of Mcnab or is that going to be revealed in later updates?

But yeah great start. I think you have managed to give enough information for someone who hasn't played dead space (like me) without info dumping well so far anyway

Ah, interesting. I always thought people avoided Crossover fics when they hadn't played/seen one side of the equation. McNab's backstory will be further fleshed out further in. If there's one thing I dislike, it's needlessly spilling exposition in large chunks when it isn't strictly necessary (Gabriel Blessing, I'm looking at you).

Also, that's all good to hear. I thought I might have been giving too much exposition too early.

[ZidanReign]

Ah, interesting. I always thought people avoided Crossover fics when they hadn't played/seen one side of the equation.

I do that for good reasons. And their all logical.

Hell, if I really wanted to make a Grail Works Crossover, I would do it primarily in either Persona 3 or Persona 4. I've gone way too deep into the Persona Series as much as Nasuverse.

If you wanted a Fictional Character to become a Persona, you can have it happen. You just gotta be able to request it from Igor if it's possible and what Personae you need in order to summon them.

It's like summoning a heroic spirit unlike Arturia, its a mere copy. And the only reason fictional characters could be summoned is because since they exist within people's minds that like them, (I.E. Otaku's worshiping their Manga or Comic Characters) and when their fans becomes many, they start forming an overall existence within the minds of humanities collective Un-conciousness.

So, we could use that effect on another way as well, if one were to create something original of their own and spread it on the net, possibly, it could become popular and then become just like the above.

Oh god i'm gushing in the wrong thread sorry vigil.

[Vigilantia]

I do that for good reasons. And their all logical.

Hell, if I really wanted to make a Grail Works Crossover, I would do it primarily in either Persona 3 or Persona 4. I've gone way too deep into the Persona Series as much as Nasuverse.

If you wanted a Fictional Character to become a Persona, you can have it happen. You just gotta be able to request it from Igor if it's possible and what Personae you need in order to summon them.

It's like summoning a heroic spirit unlike Arturia, its a mere copy. And the only reason fictional characters could be summoned is because since they exist within people's minds that like them, (I.E. Otaku's worshiping their Manga or Comic Characters) and when their fans becomes many, they start forming an overall existence within the minds of humanities collective Un-conciousness.

So, we could use that effect on another way as well, if one were to create something original of their own and spread it on the net, possibly, it could become popular and then become just like the above.

Oh god i'm gushing in the wrong thread sorry vigil.

Take it to the GWL general discussion. :P I'm sure we can take a look at your idea and tear it a new one discuss it like gentlemen. Except for Elf, who is in fact a woman.