Ugh. I'm still crying for them to localize SMT Devil survivors Overclocked. Yeah, I know they aren't going to, but still TT_TT.
As I said, this means that there would be a magical circuit reparing scene (YAY~~), so REJOICE, themasterwarlord!Originally Posted by themasterwarlord
Spoiler:
Welcome to Beast Lair, enjoy your stayWe have purplehead arguments and popcorn, though both seems to be scarce at the moment. Leave your sanity far away from here, unless you don't mind it being twisted and shattered eventually.
And with the obligatory greeting of new members over, nice chapter pureauthor
'Fae is Foul' - My SAO/ZnT Crossover fanfic (SB Thread) (FFN Link)
Ack - Saber!
PleasehurryPureauthor PleasehurryPureauthor PleasehurryPureauthor PleasehurryPureauthor PleasehurryPureauthor . . .
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
Personally, I wait for the next chapter with interest, but I think my interest is different from Kieran's one. For all of us who had played the game, you know what I'm waiting. The question now is... who?
*cackle*
Spoiler:
The other question is if the choice is needed with the differences. If so, the next question becomes who wins because not all of the Servants are the same as in Extra. Although, there is a decent chance if the choice is impossible to begin with that the answer is "neither".
It is really hard to list your reasons while keeping the spirit of vagueness.
I wasn't thinking about just two characters, you know~~?
Spoiler:
And Saber is down. Great reading, it should be interesting to see what comes next. I'm definitely looking forwards to it.
I'm starting to suspect that talking with Kieran influences my rolls on Fate/Grand Order Heavily. How else can you explain me talking with him, then rolling for 30, only to get 3 Archer of Shinjuku on my second ten roll?
I write like Douglas Adams. Proof: http://iwl.me/s/696f37bd
Thus, the plot thickens like churned butter.
/terrible metaphor :X
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
Hmmm... Shiki from that world isn't interested in winning his fight if that last bit with him is of any indication. Must be because he now know that this Arcueid isn't the one he know and that this Arcueid's Shiki is here. Thus he has no more reason to remain here to fight.
But you know, here's something to think about... With that world so messed up, what became of that Shiki's friends and family? And what was that event that Aoko mentionned when she saw GW's Shiki?
I predict that Extra!Shiki will either attempt to break out of the Moon Cell or will not fight that hard.
What happened to Saber should be obvious to anyone who has played Fate/Extra. For those who haven't, though, don't worry. I'll be covering it next chapter.
Well, it's not like Kenshiro would be summoned as an Assassin anyway.
Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.
Also Waver isn't really 'backing up Rin' unless you count him taking care of her physical body. That's still pretty necessary, of course.
Announced for the 3DS is Famitsu, that's where.
Poor PAL regions never get nothing.
Yeah, might be more serious than paralysis this time around.
Thanks! Glad you liked it.And with the obligatory greeting of new members over, nice chapter pureauthor
Oh, would you look at that. An essay and a midterm next week?
We do have a spoiler tag if you need to use it, you know.
Thanks. Hope my work keeps being enjoyable.
Mm... butter...
You're predicting two wildly different things there, you know.
Don't worry, Extra!Shiki's backstory isn't remotely done yet.
Yay!
Berserker, yes. Assassin, no.Well, it's not like Kenshiro would be summoned as an Assassin anyway.
Ack! . . .Oh, would you look at that. An essay and a midterm next week?
. . .
. . . *Sigh* The worst of it is, I understand - so I'll be patient, but it will be hard.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
I might be able to get another chapter out before the week's end. No promises, though. Besides, if I let it stew it tends to drive me to distraction too.
Chapter Twenty Four: Sacrifici/Al/truism
*~*
Updates may come a bit slower for a while due to the busy season of the semester coming up. Just a heads up.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
*~*
As Shiki stepped through the portal back into the familiar corridors of Tsukumihara Academy, he hesitated. Saber was still visible in his arms, shivering slightly as she gasped for air.
His first thought was to bring Saber over to the Chapel - if nothing else, he'd at least be able to have Sensei look over Saber and quickly determine what was wrong. But the Chapel was on the other end of the school, and carrying Saber there would leave her exposed to any of the remaining Masters - even though their number had been severely cut down over this past week, there was still a decent chance of running into one of them.
Well, it was a risk he was going to have to take. He could still remember Saber carrying him through the school during the first week, when he had been incapacitated himself. Admittedly she could move a lot faster than he could, but that was really beside the point.
She really is light. Shiki noted as he shifted her into a slightly more comfortable position in his arms. Glancing down at her, he noted that she appeared to be trying to speak.
"Save your energy," he said, his voice terse.
And then he set off for the Chapel.
*~*
Setting Sun – Leonard’s Theme
"Master Harway?" As the remains of the Arena guardian that had ambushed them faded away into nothingness, Saber turned to face her Master.
"What is it, King Arthur? Did you get wounded?"
"No, I did not," she shook her head. "I was simply... wondering."
Leo did not reply, waiting patiently for Saber to further elaborate.
"About your brother."
"Julius? What about him?"
"..." King Arthur took a deep breath. "Master Harway, you have told me that you intend to be king."
"Yes, that's correct," Leo nodded. "I explained my goals for the war to you during our first day, did I not?"
"Indeed. That is not the issue. The issue is... if you are to be king, why is your brother an assassin?"
"... I'm sorry, I'm afraid I do not understand." Leo said.
"If you are to be king, why is it that your brother is given in such a lowly position? It cannot be a case of family estrangement - he is loyal to you, and I believe you care for him in turn."
"You 'believe' I care about him?" Leo smiled as he continued walking forward. "Why, thank you, King Arthur, for that vote of confidence."
"T - that is not what I meant-"
"It's all right. I understand why outsiders would be confused over whether I treat Julius as a brother or as a subordinate," Leo nodded. "To answer your question, it is entirely a matter of aptitude."
"... Aptitude?"
"Julius is older than me, of course. But when he was born, he did not have the natural ability to lead the Harways - and by extension, the world," Leo paused. "I did, and so my role was given to me at my birth. But for Julius... well, he demonstrated his ability at performing such shadowy operations at an early age, and thus he was groomed in the ways of assassins and raised to be my bodyguard."
"I... see."
"Julius is my brother. But he was raised as a servant of the king. That is how our relationship is, from out birth to our death."
King Arthur was silent.
"I see you've realized the implications," Leo said without turning back to look at her.
"So, in the event that you two end up paired..."
"Yes," a nod. "Julius will take his own life so that I may progress."
King Arthur pulled to a halt. “What?”
Leo turned back to face her, his expression set. “The rules of the Moon Cell demand that only one Master survive to claim the Holy Grail. The Harways – no, I intend to claim it to better secure my position as King. In that case, Julius cannot be the winner; as I said, he does not have what it takes to lead.”
“And so you would condemn him to death like this?”
“You act as if Julius was somehow unwilling or unaware of his role in the affair,” a pensive look briefly crossed Leo’s face. “To tell you the truth, I did attempt to dissuade him – after all I really don’t need his help. But he insisted. He said that it was his duty to watch over me, up until the very end.” Leo did not miss the stunned look on his Servant’s face.
“E – even so… you appear to be remarkably unaffected about the looming sacrifice of your brother.”
“How else would you have me act? A king cannot be overly sentimental over his subjects.”
“… Is that really what you believe?”
“It is what I have been taught,” Leo replied, his voice calm as he turned to stare away, his gaze looking beyond the Arena – beyond the digital walls of the Moon Cell. “Proper rule can only be achieved through logic and rationality. Emotion will blind you to the best course of action. Rage can cause you to make hasty acts of aggression and create rifts that cannot be mended. Pride may cause you to overextend and so fail at your moment of triumph. Grief will cloud your judgement and impair your abilities to focus. And so, as one who would be king, I cannot afford any of that.”
King Arthur was silent.
Leo was no longer smiling. “Any who seeks to be a good king must first discard their heart. It was upon that most basic of principles that I was raised.”
And he turned and continued walking further into the Arena.
After a long moment, King Arthur began walking after him.
*~*
Moon Cell, Digital Tsukumihara Academy, Chapel
“You need help again?” Touko raised an eyebrow as she stared at Shiki. “How on earth did someone like you make it to week three in the first place?”
“Is Sensei here?” he said, ignoring the rest of her statement.
“Nope. The crone went off to get some fresh air,” Touko sat back in her chair and began sifting through her papers. “Feel free to dump your Servant on one of the benches or something, though. I’m sure she’ll be willing to take a look once she meanders back. It’s not like she has anything productive to be doing.”
Hurrying to one of the pews, Shiki gently laid Saber down on it, his worried only spiking as he noted how she was gasping for air, as if she had to try to force it down her throat.
Silently, he brought out several more ether shards, breaking them and letting the energy wash over Saber. In truth he doubted that her ailment had anything to do with physical injury, but at this point it was really all he could do for her right now.
The green glow covered Saber for a brief moment, but when it faded she still had her eyes closed, and she was still making pained, shallow gasps.
“All right, I’ll bite,” came a voice from behind him. “What happened to her this time?”
Shiki whirled. “Touko-san?”
“Don’t recall letting you call me by my first name, kid. But that’s for later,” Touko placed another cigarette in her mouth. “Now, what’s the matter with her?”
“I… I don’t know,” Shiki shook his head. “We’d just entered the Arena and just finished a fight with a pair of guardians when Saber started shivering. And then she just collapsed.”
“Huh. Don’t think any of the guardians have the ability to do that to a Servant. Never seen any data like that, at any rate,” Touko frowned. “Anything happen before that?”
Shiki bit his tongue. Telling Touko about the other him would only lead him down a long path filled with uncomfortable questions, and he couldn’t see how that had anything to do with Saber’s condition anyway. After all, the other Shiki had been nothing but helpful, even making his first appearance by saving Shiki… from…
“We were attacked,” he said. “In the middle of the school. An Assassin.” Silently, he decided against mentioning that it was Julius who had done it. If it appeared relevant, it could be brought up again later.
“Huh. Well, then it’s probably some obscure Servant Skill that messed up your Servant so bad,” Touko said and paused for a moment. “You know what, get your Servant up onto the scanner. I want to see what made her like this.”
“Huh? O – oh, okay.” Hastily, Shiki picked Saber up once more and carefully laid her down on the centre of the alter as Touko walked over to the computer and began typing on it.
An awkward silence descended for several minutes until Shiki coughed.
“… Thank you for helping me, Touko-san.”
“You can thank your ability to look like a kicked puppy for that,” Touko said without looking up. “That, and you remind me of a friend I know. ‘Sides, don’t mistake me for Aoko. I’m not going to bend over backwards to provide any help for you. I just want to know what happened here. Best case scenario is that I have a more detailed report to toss her way when she comes back.”
“All right. But still, thanks.”
Touko snorted. “Go get some fresh air, kid. You won’t do anything for Red here just by hanging around and moping. I should have the full report ready in about an hour.”
*~*
Shiki stepped out into the fading sunlight, his gaze drifting past the flowers in the garden that comprised the pathway between the school and the Chapel.
He slumped down on one of the benches, gazing listlessly at the fountain.
“You need help again?”
The scorn in her voice had been unmistakeable. And frankly, Shiki was pretty sure that he deserved it.
How many ways had he messed up already in the two weeks he’d been here? First the incident with his eyes, where he’d been reliant on Sir Blackmore’s mercy not to have been shot through the back then and there. Then he’d ended up letting Saber wander the Arena alone at nights. And even after his eyes had recovered, his bad judgement call on deciding to re-enter the Arena when there hadn’t been any need to had let Assassin poison his Servant. And now this – Saber had taken the hit in his stead and was now suffering.
Two weeks.
He breathed out a long sigh and closed his eyes. I’m a pretty lousy Master, I guess. I wonder how Emiya would be doing in my stead.
Slumped against the chair, Shiki simply stared ahead, wondering if Saber would be all right.
“Shiki?”
Stargazer – Rani’s Theme
Opening his eyes, he looked up into Rani’s calm face.
“Ah, Rani!” he sat up straighter in his bench. “What’s… oh.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “You forgot our appointment. Again.” Even though her tone was gentle, there was no mistaking her reproach.
Shiki sighed and leaned lower into his chair. “I know. I just… Saber ended up badly hurt, again.”
“Yes…” Rani nodded before settling herself down onto the bench next to Shiki. “The stars told me of your encounter with the Scorpion.”
“Julius, you mean? Yeah,” Shiki nodded and sighed. “I think his Assassin did something to Saber, but I don’t know what yet.”
“Speaking of your Servant, mine cannot sense her in the vicinity.”
“Oh, she’s in the Chapel. One of the women who work there is giving her a scan, trying to find out if they can see if there’s anything wrong.”
“I see…” Rani closed her eyes. “I must admit I find it strange that Julius would go out of his way to target you. Did you do anything to draw his ire?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, aside from the fact that we’re in a fight to the death that only one person can walk away from, I can’t think of anything.”
“… You say you do not know what his Servant afflicted you with?”
Shiki shook his head in response.
“I see. Well, when you do have some information, please bring it to me. I cannot make any promises, but I will try to find some way to help you.”
“…” Shiki sighed. “Why?”
“Why? Why what?”
“Why would you try to help me? It doesn’t benefit you in any way. I can’t pay you back in any tangible sense, since I’m struggling just to stay alive and in the War. It’s not even like with Rin when I just asked her for some help with Codecasting. It’s burning up significant chunks of your time for you to help me, with all the problems I keep running into. So… why?”
Rani was silent for a long while. “Well,” she said. “Firstly, there is a practical reason for me to do this, small though it may be. Julius is a dangerous opponent in this war. If I can learn more about his Servant’s abilities by proxy, and perhaps figure out a way to counter them, then that will serve me well in the future.
“But as for the rest of it, you are right that my aiding you with your problems does not directly contribute to my success in the Grail War. But that is not the only reason I am here. I believe I have not mentioned to you before, but my master gave me the mission to learn more about what it meant to be a person.”
“… A person?”
Rani nodded. “It is as you heard. I am not human. I am a homunculus, an artificial being created for a specific purpose. Until I entered the Moon Cell, I have never known anything other than fulfilling the tasks assigned me. But my master wanted better for me, and so he sent me here. I believe he wished to prove that one of his creations would be able to successfully learn what it means to be a person on their own accord.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re helping me…”
“You are correct,” Rani said. “But that is part of it. Most of the duties I perform here are those assigned to me, whether by the Moon Cell’s directives regarding the Grail War, or my master’s requests such as the gathering of information about the participants. Those are simply duties.
But whenever I aid you… of my own volition and expecting nothing in turn… I feel happy. I cannot claim to fully understand it, but that is how it is. The relief you exhibit when I can find some way to aid you and your Servant… I feel some of it for myself too. Perhaps that is part of what it means to grow as a person. And so, that is why I continue to aid you.”
“I see,” Shiki pondered the meaning of her words. “Then… thanks.”
“It is no bother.”
“No, I mean it. Thanks,” Shiki said. “With the Grail War being the way it is, it’s nice to have a friend who’ll look out for me. I just wish I could do something to help you in turn.”
“Do you? Then continue winning. Continue surviving,” Rani looked at Shiki, her expression clear. “It would not do for you to waste all the effort everyone has put into ensuring your survival.”
Shiki smiled as thoughts of Rin, Aoko and Saber flashed through his mind. “No,” he said. “I suppose it wouldn’t.”
*~*
“Well, we could ask the obvious questions like ‘how did this happen?’ or ‘what are the principles behind that attack?’ as long as we’re scanning you.” Touko said out loud as she continued working the scanner.
Lying on the Altar, the boy’s Saber gave no response. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t surprise Touko if the Saber had fainted dead away or otherwise couldn’t actually hear her.
“But that’s not the important question, is it? The question is, ‘How are you even still alive?’”
The attack – whatever it had been – had completely disrupted the Servant’s mana – and by extension, energy – flow. Right now, her body simply wasn’t being supplied with any energy, and a Servant without energy would simply dissipate into nothing.
Under ordinary circumstances, at least. Right now the Servant was still there. She was fighting for breath, still unable to move or even function… but she was still there. And her vital signs weren’t dropping into a critical level.
“Let’s see… according to the scan, the wound was received several hours ago. Mid-morning, I’d say,” Touko murmured to herself as she continued typing. If she’d realized that her mana flow had been disrupted and immediately went into conservation mode, she might be able to last a day. Maybe two, if she’s lucky.
But according to the boy, she hadn’t done that. Hell, she’d went Arena-spelunking and even got into a fight while in that state. In that case she shouldn’t even have existed beyond two hours or so. Independent Action? No. That works on the principle of conserving the mana received from her Master. In this girl’s case she has mana, it’s just that her body can’t actually use it. Independent Action isn’t worth beans like this.
So why is she still alive?
She raised her gaze to the girl on the table, still fighting to draw in breath.
“A big bundle of mysteries,” she muttered. “And getting bigger all the time.”
So what do I tell the kid? Touko didn’t know if the boy knew about her Servant’s oddities, but even if he did know… would it change anything if she told him about it?
She tapped her chin as she looked thoughtfully at the Servant. And then from behind her she heard the door slamming.
“I’m back!”
Oh, goodie. Not her problem any longer.
“Your boytoy’s Servant’s on the Altar, running on empty,” she stood and tossed the printout to Aoko, who snatched it out of the air before looking over at the red-clad Servant. “Here, have a look. I’m gonna go call the kid in.”
*~*
“And so that’s how it is,” Aoko finished her explanation. “The Assassin’s attack disrupted her mana flow, and that’s basically the lifeblood needed to keep Servants alive.”
“All right,” Shiki nodded. “So, what do I do about it?”
Aoko frowned and looked down at the papers in her hand. “To be honest, I don’t know.”
“What?”
“A Servant’s mana – and existence – is drawn in from an external source, usually a Master,” Aoko said. “Saber still has you as that external source right now. But there’s something blocking her from actually letting her mana and energy flow through her body – Assassin’s attack disrupted her internal energy flow. So it really won’t matter if we just kept throwing mana at Saber – there’s no way for her to actually let it flow through her body. In fact,” the frown deepened. “Without any way to let the mana flow properly, letting too much of it build up like that might be dangerous for her. … Even more dangerous, I mean. The only way I can see is to properly restore her energy flow… and I’ll be honest, I have no idea how to do that.”
Shiki sighed and crumpled back onto a pew. “Damn it,” he said softly.
“She’s still stable right now,” Touko said as she lit another cigarette. “Not time for her to join the Great Database Beyond just yet. So I guess there’s still time for you to figure something out. Or maybe ask around and see if any other kind souls who’d know about this sort of thing.”
“… I see,” Shiki nodded slowly. It’s a long shot, but I guess it’s all I have to go on at the moment.
“Shiki.” Aoko said softly as she walked up to him.
“Sensei?”
“Go get some rest in your room. Saber can stay here for tonight.”
“What? But-“
“Listen, Shiki. You can’t do anything for her like this, and she needs you at your best tomorrow when there’ll be other Masters around who might know what to do. So what you need to do is get a good night’s rest in the most comfortable place for you. That’s your room,” she smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Shiki. Saber’s not biting it on my watch.”
Shiki let out a tired sigh. “I guess you’re right, Sensei.” Standing, he walked over to where Saber still lay on the Alter, her eyes closed, sweat running down her forehead.
He reached down to grasp her hand, noting how cold it felt, and how she shivered under his grasp.
“Good night, Saber,” he whispered. “Don’t worry. I will… we’ll find some way to fix this.”
*~*
Chapter End
*~*
Thank you for reading.
*is distracted by... miscellaneous stuff. yeah*
Shinryu: You're just embarassed that you bought MGS3 for 3DS.
Shut up.
Summary: in which risks are run, Extra!Arturia finds disturbing parallels, Rani is reproachful, and Red Saber needs mana badly.
Miscellany~
A living portrait, a forgotten portrait... and Yoshi.
Loved the chapter, especially the segment with Leo.
I want to hug Rani.
That is all.
... oh wait, I forgot. You got Touko down perfectly. There is/was a Mikiya in this world, isn't it.
Thank you for doing this so quickly, given your schedule . . . And yeah - I foresee Arturia smacking her Master at some point, because I don't think he's any more the type to learn from his dreams than Shirou was. I mean, lecturing one of the most celebrated kings in mythological history on what's required to do the job?
His ego doesn't need puncturing - it needs to be eviscerated.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
I've got a ladder. Will that help?
Miscellany~
A living portrait, a forgotten portrait... and Yoshi.
Well, right now, I can think of two characters with the know-how about repairing that magic circuit. So I'm still hoping for a Magic Circuit reparing scene (even if it's just a comment about it happening).
Now you know why he is on the receiving end of all that much hate. And Gawain's behavior didn't help him at all. If anything, Gawain was even worse. I'm still not forgiving him on calling Extra!Saber "Whore of Babylon".Thank you for doing this so quickly, given your schedule . . . And yeah - I foresee Arturia smacking her Master at some point, because I don't think he's any more the type to learn from his dreams than Shirou was. I mean, lecturing one of the most celebrated kings in mythological history on what's required to do the job?
His ego doesn't need puncturing - it needs to be eviscerated.
Spoiler:
... Welp, have already told what I think about Leo so... I'm just going to reiterate that yes Arthuria and Leo make an interesting pair. Also, I think I'm going to add a "poor Saber" at the end of every update you make, pureauthor.
Year 1
Salt Corner
Hard to imagine - but then, I'm still trying to figure out why he got Arturia, and not Gilgamesh.
*stops dead*I'm still not forgiving him on calling Extra!Saber "Whore of Babylon".
. . . He. Said. WHAT?!
*seethes* Death . . . Death NOW . . . ! *chokes on rage*
. . .
. . . Yeah, KuniKaiRoe, I'm definitely going to need that ladder. I need to introduce him to "Unlimited Splinter Works" after I ram it up his ass, break off whatever won't fit, and beat his head in with the pieces.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
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