> continue: iteration 17, day 4, early night
Oh my God, I am so completely done with these two. As quietly as I can manage, I scramble on my hands and knees towards the back of the church, trying to avoid thinking about the mess I've just made of my pants. Beserker and von Einzbern seem to ignore me, at least.
"Miss Illyasviel. What a pleasant surprise." Kotomine's tone makes it clear he considers it anything but. "I don't suppose you might be willing consider an alliance against these heathens?"
"And deny Beserker the chance to crush three Servants at once?" The little girl smirks. "I'd never hear the end of it."
The priest sighs. "I thought you might say that. Temporary truce, Rin?"
"You suck, Kirei!" Rin snaps. But she doesn't say no.
"Rest assured, this is only until the common threat is dealt with."
"God, whatever," Lancer grouses. He pivots towards Beserker, his spear tucked behind his back. "Someone just hit something already."
It's at this point I decide I should probably take my leave. I shoot Rin and Shirou an apologetic look -- they don't even notice me -- and head out.
But I hesitate by the door. I pull the mike-and-transmitter rig out from under my shirt and slide it down across the floor beneath the pews. I leave the building just as Beserker brings down his club onto Saber's blade, hard enough that I can feel the shockwave jar some of my teeth loose.
***
> explain
I know, I know. I should be in there, taking notes or gathering intel or whatever. Beserker and Lancer are there, new stuff's happening. I guess I've just plain used up my supply of bravery for the day, though.
So I split the difference. Just as I hoped, it looks like Shirou and the rest left the receiver -- the other half of the toy that picks up the wire's signal -- right by the church gates. This was the part I modified the most heavily, adding some audio controls I scavanged from an old sound board and giving it a proper antenna. Not exactly the most portable gear ever, but it gets the job done. I turn the receiver back on and slip the headphones over my ears.
> works
I'm immediately rewarded with a painful howl of feedback as Beserker roars and a gigantic crash rips through my head. Ow x 3. A wooden support column busts through one of the windows on the side of the church. Yeah, better keep one hand on the volume dimmer here...
I make an adjustment. "Master! Stay back!" I hear Saber call out through the headphones.
"Just tell me what I can do!" Shirou says.
"You can start by staying out of my fire zone!" Rin snaps. Two of her black bolts burst through the church's other side and speed off into the night.
"Aww, what's the matter, Shirou?" von Einzbern croons mockingly at the edge of my hearing. Huh. The pickup on this mike's a lot better than I remember. "Feeling useless already?"
I hear the sounds of blades crashing into each other. More impacts. Saber grunting. Archer spits out a curse. It's a bit like listening to a drama CD. Or maybe a baseball game without the commentary.
"Watch it!" Shirou yells. "He's got another --"
"I see it --"
"FUCK --"
"I can feel it comin' in the air tonight..."
Shit! Sorry, sorry, wrong button. I hit it again and banish Phil Collins from whence he came. In the meantime, a church pew erupts partway out of the roof, where it just kind of sticks in place.
"-- got something for this," Lancer rasps as I get things tuned again. "Just gimme a second here..."
"Fine," Saber says. "Archer -- let's go."
Archer grunts. There's a bunch more clanging. Something gets crushed. I see some kind of unearthly glow start to build inside the church, its light spilling out the various holes now in the walls.
"... hey. Where'd the priest go?" Shirou asks.
Everything suddenly goes dead silent.
"That's not the same attack you used before," Saber says quietly. "Is it, Lancer."
"... sorry, everyone," Lancer admits. He sounds more embarrassed than anything. "Command Seal."
"I really don't care for that guy," Archer says flatly.
The front of the church evaporates in a burst of red and orange light. I barely have time to stand up before the blast wave hits me --
***
> restart: iteration 18, day 1, early night
Well... balls. So that's twice in a row I've gotten everyone killed, probably. Achievement unlocked, I guess. Go me.
> at least you learned something this time
There is that, yeah. Well... let's get to work.
YOU ARE READING
fate/first order derivative
FanfictionAn eccentric nerd finds himself stuck in a time loop after something weird happens down the street at Shirou Emiya's place. Tom Tomonaga doesn't know why he's repeating the same two weeks over and over again. He doesn't know anything about magic, th...
