Fate: Beyond the Gate

17

Silence was the only accompaniment for the words Add had spoken, but in all honesty, Shirou kind of preferred it.
G

esturing towards Tuka and Caila, the two elves understood Shirou's intentions and tacitly withdrew, giving the remaining four some privacy.
Even now, Shirou's thoughts were in a jumbled mess from seeing Gray's particular features. He reasoned that had he not encountered Arturia and Merlin prior, that his reaction now would have been far more impulsive. It didn't detract from his growing suspicion as he glanced from Waver to Gray, then back at Waver.
The two knew each other, more specifically, in regards to each other's circumstances.
Curiosity welled up within Shirou, but there was someone else with more of a right to curiosity than him.
"That's my spear…My spear is talking to me. It's never done that before."
The blue flower above Shirou's head conveyed exactly what Arturia was thinking from within the Garden of Avalon. Different from before, she was speaking such that only those that she wished to hear her, would hear her. Merlin's magic had an ephemeral element of dreams, and it just so happened that this was something he could do. Granted, one would need to come in contact with the flower being as a medium.
This wasn't much of a problem as Add gently levitated out of Gray's hands and floated forward until it stopped a foot or two in front of Shirou.
It then came as no surprise when the blue flower over Shirou's head vanished into motes of light, and remerged sprouted over the base of Add's scythe form.
No longer in contact with the flower, Shirou could not hear what was being discussed, but whatever it was, it was stunning enough for Arturia to voice her thoughts aloud rather than silently convey them.
"…I see." The voice coming flower now sounded subdued, less thoughtful, and more reproachful."Then would you let me talk to her?"
Add was a scythe, and as such didn't really have much in the way of expressions other than intonation of his voice, but the hesitation was apparent.
"It might may not be the best idea," Add tried to skirt around the issue, but what tactics had Arturia not experienced in the Arthurian Court?
"I insist." The blue flower spoke tiredly. "One shouldn't run from these sorts of things lest they bite back when it matters most. You know how Camlann's incident was caused, do you not?"
Add floated in place and constantly angled himself left and right like the movement of a pendulum to simulate pacing.
"F-Fine," Add eventually stammered at Arturia initiative before floating back to Gray's side.
The blue flower that had budded along Add's shaft tentatively shifted and appeared cupped in Gray's palms.
One look at Gray, and Shirou could tell that the girl was nervous. It didn't help that Add hadn't told Gray anything before hovering towards Shirou and conversing with a mysterious blue flower. All that she'd heard was the moment Add and the flower began speaking openly.
Gray wasn't unintelligent. She could infer that she was the topic of discussion, and that Add had some sort of 'motherly' connection with the flower? Somehow, it seemed more than just that, and Gray's reserved nature made her tuck her neck between her shoulders while waiting for the flower to convey its intentions.
It didn't take long.
No one could hear what was being said between the two, but through the point of contact, Gray and Arturia were obviously speaking in private.
At first, Gray was stunned, her features locking, jaw set, and pupils dilated. And then came disbelief, anger, and rejection all at once. She looked just short of crushing the flower in her grasp, but had the restraint to hold herself back long enough to put the flower back onto Add, and then retreat alone into the forest.
Add sort of just floated there with the blue flower before grumbling a curt 'I told you so,' then floating after Gray as the blue flower appeared back on Shirou's person.
"What happened?" He asked.
"…"
There was no answer, as if Arturia herself was conflicted. In the end, she requested him to just look out for Gray for the time being, whether she rejected it or not.
Arturia's voice sounded guilty, weighted even. Shirou could tell no matter how she tried to hide it.
When you truly love someone, you learn to read their cues even when they try to hide them.
At the same time, Shirou knew it wasn't in anyone's best interest to pry into what looked like a personal problem. More so when it might have something to do with Gray's striking similarity to Arturia.
Seeing the circumstances play out, Waver felt obligated as Gray's teacher and chased after her, whether to console her, or stop her from doing anything rash was anyone's guess.
This left behind only Reines and Shirou if you excluded Tuka and Caila keeping out of earshot in the distance.
"I say Emiya, the mysteries surrounding you only get more complicated the longer I observe you," Reines chided, her arms crossing in exasperation before she grew more serious. "Leave Gray to Waver for now. What's important is what you and I can contribute to the situation."
On this, Shirou agreed and nodded, if somewhat absently.
"You don't need to remind me." He eventually muttered, prompting Reines's ears to perk up.
This was just the response Reines was waiting for.
"Oh, no no," she chortled, poking a finger on Shirou's chest, and pushing him back away from the gate. "Forgive my bluntness, but if what you said about the Sophia-Ri and the other magi that crossed over are true, then your presence by the Gate is useless."
"Useless?" Shirou's brow twitched. Considering his efforts to get everyone to this point, to be stopped form doing anything now was nothing short of impossible. "Surely there are things that I can-"
"Consider your status Emiya. You have no authority in Association matters."
Reines quickly shot Shirou down with the reality of his circumstances, nearly causing him to choke on his response. Reines herself understood even if Shirou had one, his avenues to influence the Mage Association's decisions was zero.
"Left with no influence, what else can you do?" Reines pointed out, her brows raising as she could almost guess what was going through Shirou's mind. It wasn't hard with how expressive he could be.
"Use force?" Reines echoed some of Shirou's sentiment only to instantly shoot it down. "I'll admit that your capabilities are certainly versatile and effective, but by all means, they aren't the strongest in the Moonlit world."
Reines shrugged. "You're a special case, Emiya, so the higher ups of the Clock Tower have not personally taken action even if they are curious." She narrowed her eyes, thinking of something distant before sharing her own bit of wisdom. "To them, you are beneath them. Therefore, don't give them a motive."
The earning was in good faith.
It wasn't as if Reines found Shirou's company unpleasant. Far from it, he's forced her to re-evaluate her impression of him time and time again in this excursion. He was almost like another Waver, and she liked Waver.
In that sense, Shirou was also predictable.
"So, you're suggesting I just stay here and do nothing?"
"Essentially, yes." Shirou made a face while Reines' lips tugged into an amused grin at the reaction before she continued. "Though admittedly, you are clearly not the kind to remain idle. It just so happens that you seem to care about the errant magi that have already crossed through the Gate. Honestly, I don't understand the point as you can't stop all of them on your own when it's already a forgone conclusion, but I suppose that there's some personal merit in hunting them down."
"Personal merit?" Shirou muttered, finally realizing that the way to move a magus was not through empathy, or ideals, but through benefits.
Reines forced down a chuckle, her arms uncrossing to then rest on the sides of her hips.
"Here in this new world, the Clock Tower could hardly care less about the existence of magic being known. This world remains in the Age of the Gods, and this entails a certain level of supernatural awareness in the populace already. However, what the association would likely not stand for is the unauthorized dissemination of magecraft originating from our home world." Reines explained. "The mistakes of the past cannot be repeated, especially when the basis of the association was formed on the concept of preserving the nature of magic. The knowledge of a general craft should not be widely known to maintain the power of a magus's spells in this new world."
Reines opened her palm, and a sphere of liquid mercury formed into various shapes without much effort, or magic energy application. She then closed her palm, and dismissed the mercury, having served its role as a presentation point.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed Emiya, but our ordinary craft here is far more potent than in our home world, and it isn't simply because this place is rife with energy from the Age of the Gods. It's because of the lack of awareness this world's inhabitants have on our craft. Let it be known that True Magics were and are still considered feats that can't be replicated by mankind. The only difference is setting."
Shirou hummed.
"Oh, is it finally sinking in?" Reines clapped cheerily. "That's right. What humans can do in our modern world has drastically limited what can be considered True Magic. Alteration and Alchemy majors for example have weakened in our world through the science known as Chemistry, but does Chemistry exist here? Maybe, maybe not, but the point stands."
Reines coughed, realizing she was getting both a bit too enthusiastic and carried away at the same time. She resumed a noble demeanor.
"The most beneficial arrangement to the association is to learn and research this new world's magic systems, phantasmal species, and ecosystems while limiting the spread of our own craft. You might be thinking what this has to do with errant magi, and you'd be correct since they are unlikely to share their research, but what matters is initiative."
"Initiative?"
Reines just smiled, and didn't elaborate. Instead, she winked as if in a better mood.
"That's for my benefit and not yours. What's important is that you were going to do this anyway. Might as well make something of it for the El-Melloi family while I deal with Association matters by the Gate."
Give and take, Shirou concluded what Reines was hinting at him.
"Fine." He agreed, having nothing to really lose in the arrangement. "Good luck on your end then."
"Luck? Who needs luck? They're just Sophia-Ri bastards."
Reines snorted and walked off before suddenly pausing and calling out over her shoulder.
"Oh, and do wait for Gray. Considering your current Sealing Status, you still require an escort. The El-Melloi family will leave no room for criticism especially when dealing with Sophia-Ri. Also, please pardon Gray's earlier rudeness."
Here, Reines paused again, and shook her head.
"She's not normally the sort to just walk off like that."
The blue flower over Shirou's head seemed to wilt as if being accused.
Awkward would be the best way to describe the current atmosphere.
Shirou stood at the front, while Tuka and Caila, who were tasked to accompany him by their village elder, took up positions on his left and right. Behind the three, and the furthest away…was Gray.
True to Reines's words, Gray ended up joining the group sometime after Waver had caught up to her and word of Reines's arrangements entered her ears. She was the sort to be easily pushed around, but in this case, Gray considered Reines and Waver as friends. Therefore, the arrangement was more of a request to her than an order.
People Gray considered friends were far and in-between in her current life, which is why she didn't refuse despite her reservations.
As it was, Gray wasn't talking to anyone at all, and it was made worse as she was already the shy silent type. In fact, she was basically shadowing as far from them as she could get away with. Her hood was firmly placed over her head, the rims tightly pulled over her face with her hands such that only the eyes could be seen from a lowered gaze.
Shirou somehow felt guilty, assuming it was because of how he'd reacted to her when they'd first met.
"Are you really okay like that?" he asked tentatively.
To ensure the front of her hood was constantly blocking her face, she had to walk with one hand constantly up to grip the sides of her hood. She'd been like this from the start, and its been half an hour by now. Like it or not, her arm had to be sore.
"Fine."
Right. The curt one-word answers even as they came out muffled were still a thing.
This kind of response went far further than the misunderstanding he had had with her when they first met.
At least then, she only seemed reserved and embarrassed rather than cold.
Whatever Gray and Arturia had talked about, Shirou couldn't help but notice the traces of animosity and resentment in Gray's tone whenever she spoke despite how subdued it sounded. Of course, it was primarily directed towards the blue flower, but it meant little with it on Shirou's head. Therefore, she was glaring at Shirou by proxy.
Sighing, Shirou could only focus on what was to come ahead.
It wasn't as if he was leading the group to wander aimlessly.
His nose twitched, directing him where to go by following the lingering magic scent in the air like a bloodhound. This magic olfactory sense he had was one in which he held great confidence for.
Different magic had different scents. By filtering out the smell of magic already abundant in the new world and focusing on the scent of his own world's craft, the trail of any ordinary magus could be discerned.
Tuka and Caila praised him for being in tune with his senses, but as if grumpy, or increasingly irritable, he could have sworn he heard Gray call him a dog at the back.
As it stood, his ears likely weren't playing tricks on him because Caila and Tuka kept glaring behind them with venom.
The two elves were taking offence to anyone who badmouthed him or sought to do him harm. Then again, considering that he was apparently the Apostle of their Elven God and Merlin's ruse, it was only natural.
Shirou had no choice but to mediate, Arturia silently apologizing for his troubles through the blue flower on his head.
'It's fine. You must have your circumstances,' Shirou assured.
The appearance of the blue flower hardly flickered.
"Thank you." Arturia whispered before regathering herself.
Shirou had indicated to Arturia that the current trail they were following was getting close to the target. Before then, Arturia had been lamenting about what she could do to help. Merlin had his magic and means, while she could only watch and contribute advise. There was no way she wouldn't feel antsy or unsupportive.
In the end, she and Merlin had come up with a solution.
Using the connection Merlin's magic had with the flower, he could shift the focus of the medium to Shirou himself. Considering that Shirou's case was a mix of validation from the Elven God, a mission, and Merlin's haggling, it served as no problem to channel their power into Shirou.
Merlin's claims of being the Elven God were not entirely false. The difference was that he was simply using the channels of said God.
Arturia intended to do the same, but not with magic which was Merlin's speciality, but through a descent.
Barring the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel, spirits couldn't normally be summoned to possess bodies constructed out of magic. Instead, a medium was required as Gray and her family would know well…
In any case, Arturia intended on a partial manifestation on Shirou, something similar to what Merlin equated to a Demi-Servant.
If Arturia descended on a normal human, the strength of her soul would surely replace the host, but Shirou's current case was unique.
Apostles by nature in this world are conduits for the divinity of their patron Gods, and using the existing pathways, she could safely establish a connection. It only helped that her spiritual compatibility with Shirou was high. Her actual sheath was on his person, and his Tracing allowed him to perfectly encompass her experiences and actions.
By descending onto him, Shirou could leave the combat to her, and focus on his Tracing when needed.
It wasn't as if Shirou was against the arrangement. If he couldn't keep still, then there was no way he could expect Arturia to do the same when there was something in her means to help.
Continuing forward on the hunt, Shirou's nose continued to twitch as he led everyone closer and closer to the target. Whenever he felt as if he was losing the trail from too many smells, he'd stop, assess the direction, and was soon on track again.
This repeated up until the group ran into the remains of a destroyed town.
Fires seemed to be the chief culprit for the town's downfall, but splintered wood and bent nails spoke of a blunt impact. There were no survivors in the area, but there was a set of footprints left in the ashes.
Shirou inspected the footprints and grunted, certain that they were rather recent. With the way the breeze was blowing, and the ash lingering in the area, any longer and the prints would have been fully covered.
Contemplating to himself, he began to focus on something that he'd been ignoring ever since following this trail.
"T-This magic in the air," Tuka cowered, shoulders trembling from trauma.
"The Dragon," Caila seconded what Tuka was thinking.
Indeed. The scent of the magus Shirou was following was now heavily mixed with that of the Dragon he'd run into the moment he had first left the Gate. From here, it didn't take much to imagine what the Magus was trying to do.
A Dragon was a research material few if any magi would ever pass up.
Things were getting more complicated, but at the same time, seeing the destruction around him further convinced Shirou that he should finish what he had started.
"Let's go," he nodded to Tuka and Caila, while Gray seemed to solemnly take in the carnage.
No one lingered in the town's remains and were soon back to tracking.
This time, Gray seemed more invested in the endeavor.
She was a quiet girl, but it didn't mean she was heartless or unfeeling. Shirou only got that sort of impression due to circumstances between Arturia and Gray.
Standing closer to the group, Gray was more alert now, grudgingly choosing to stop covering her face to free up her other hand to hold up a lantern to guide the way. Nightfall had come, and without modern infrastructure to light the way, the darkness of the forest seemed never ending.
Gray's lantern was almost ghostly from a third-party's perspective, but it did its job.
Shirou would point the way, and Gray would tacitly illuminate the path with the light.
No one bothered to suggest breaking camp for the night as the location just wasn't suitable. Caila advised that the forest was rife with predators and that they'd need to find some sort of clearing first, but the elves knew that there was nothing but forest for the next few hours.
Given that none of the group could be considered ordinary, they didn't have much travel navigating in the darkness either.
It wasn't until the flower above Shirou's head shifted from blue to pink that a new variable was added to their pursuit.
"Ah, how interesting." Merlin's voice echoed for all to hear, stunning Gray who had likely expected Arturia's voice.
Gray frowned, but didn't voice any doubts.
'Merlin?' Shirou conveyed inwardly, only to be largely ignored in favour of addressing everyone.
"Head further north of here, and then travel upon the dirt trodden road. I'll explain later, just go or you'll miss them."
"I-If that's what the Elven God wants," Tuka stammered in a hurry.
Caila was already on the move, a testament to the faith of the elves.
It was all a hoax.
Shirou hoped Merlin could feel a sense of shame, but he could tell that the man wouldn't care at all. He'd probably used such a method to prevent Shirou from asking too much in the first place since Tuka and Caila had already departed.
Shirou wasn't the type to leave friends and colleagues behind. He could at least infer that Merlin was being serious about missing this encounter. There was no time for hesitation.
Chasing after the two elves, Shirou missed the conflicted expression Gray was making. Gray had been observing Shirou from the start, trying to convince herself that he and 'she who will not be acknowledged' were bad people.
Gray just frowned and kept pace; Add being tacitly silent, not wanting to ruin her mood any further.
In the rustling of the forest, Shirou was the first to perk up when the group eventually stumbled into a forest dirt road just wide enough to fit two passing cars. However, this wasn't consistent. Tree branches and vegetation were already encroaching over the path, revealing its lack of use over the years.
Still, a road was a road, the main use of which was to create an efficient path from point A to B.
This world seemed to be set in the middle-ages, so then why was Shirou hearing the unmistakable sound of an engine?
The blaring glow of a vehicles high-beams came next further down the road. Squinting, Shirou was the first to notice the details in the brightness while Tuka and Caila readied their bows to face this never seen and heard of 'monster.'
To Shirou, he had no words.
Was that…a Humvee?
No. It was a Toyota.
Shirou immediately grew taken aback, but by now, it was impossible for the vehicles to not have spotted them in the middle of the road. This was even more so Gray was holding a lantern glowing with blue light.
Was this what Merlin had intended by urging them on?
There wasn't much time to think.
Shirou's senses flared, detecting potent levels of magic energy coming off from the roof of the Toyota. The darkness made it difficult to see, but field experience gave him a clear view.
Someone had jumped high into the air from the back of the Toyota.
Narrowing his eyes, Shirou noted the figure's trajectory and immediately drew his sword when he realized he was both the target, and that the figure was the one exuding such potent magic energy.
He pushed Tuka and Caila away, while yelling out to Gray. "Get back!"
Craning his head up to the sky, he braced himself and flared his magic energy.
Rather than the ordinary blue, a swath of golden motes flickered into a flame around him, interface patterns crawling up his skin.
"Shirou."
He knew what Arturia wanted, and he gave his consent.
Through their connection and his status as an Apostle, she would descend.
The blue flower over Shirou's head vanished, and in its place, a version of Arturia's magic armour fitted itself onto him. Plated armour, heavy gauntlets, and a flowing blue mantle etched with the image of three gold crowns were worn on his person.
Meanwhile, the colour of his eyes shifted into a mix of teal and bronze.
Avalon materialized to hang by his waist, a sword appearing in his hands, the Noble Phantasms of Servant Saber, Arturia Pendragon.
Through Tracing, and his understanding of his past Servant, he was as familiar with the use of each of her weapons as she was. Even if they were no longer on the battlefield, they were still able to fight together in spirit.
Shirou hefted his sword up, the golden radiance of its blade banishing the dark and impacting against a heavy curved scythe.
A girl was on the other end; the contrast between the size of her scythe and the girl's frail-looking arms throwing anyone off. She had a large bow-tie resembling cat ears over her head, and was wearing a pleated red skirt and dark corset.
"Found you!" The girl said, licking her lips.
Shirou frowned, but put strength into his arms.
Strong as the girl was to wield her weapon, her weight was lacking.
Pushing his sword against her scythe, he swiped and sent the girl flying.
She rotated around the shaft of her scythe and hit the trees with her feet, the impact toppling the trees before she pounced straight back with a feral bloodthirst.
Appearing before him, the girl unleashed a salvo of heavy swings and overhead strikes.
Each was batted away with equal strength and speed which only caused the grin and laughter escaping the girl's lips to grow louder and louder.
Caila and Tuka pelted the attacker with arrows, but the girl just shrugged them off or annoyingly batted them aside.
Gray was more focused on the approaching Toyota and the people who disembarked from it.
"Wait! Wait hold on Ms. Mercury! Who are you attacking- n-no way."
"Code name-"
"T-That's- fuck! Don't let him properly swing that sword!"
"Kuribayashi hurry!"
"Load the blanks! LOAD THE BLANKS!"
Distantly, Shirou could hear people strangely calling out in Japanese, but he was too focused in battle to process the words until gun fire echoed out between him and his attacker.
Bullets flew and left a smokescreen of dust and dirt by their feet.
The two disengaged by instinct and turned towards the interveners.
While the attacker hardly changed her expression, Shirou had a reaction like Gray.
Modern military?
All sorts of questions suddenly came to Shirou's mind, the least of which was why they looked so apprehensive when looking at him. They were even gesturing for him to take it easy.
It wasn't as if he had a bomb on him, and he didn't expect strangers to know the capabilities of his weapon.
Merlin dammit, what sort of intentions did you have for this encounter?
Thanks for reading!
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