Beta read by Opal and FabledLife
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-Midchilda-
The Time Space Administrative Bureau had plenty of different protocols when it came to dealing with certain individuals. Be they enemy or ally, anyone who could get the attention of the higher-ups could just be dismissed so easily. This included both Jail and even his numbers as a whole.
"I can't believe anyone would just let this happen!"
After having received the call earlier on from both fate and others, not knowing her initially could not believe it and even started to suspect it was some sort of misunderstanding or a joke made with bad faith. But unfortunately, her hopes were immediately shattered upon arriving at the headquarters and finding the one prisoner she wanted to keep locked away in her little corner for as long as possible and as far away from Shirou to be now present in the middle of a room surrounded by some members of the higher-ups. Granted, the girl was still locked up in a mobile cell with her face barely visible, but still! And for her to actually bring Quattro out in the woods so she could go forward with whatever nonsense she must have told the higher-ups was just the tip of the iceberg.
"Should I feel honored or scared that the famous Nanoha Takamichi has such strong reactions when it comes to me?" While they were waiting for the main group to arrive, both mages were tasked to guard and observe the main one responsible for this entire thing. From within, Quattro said those words with a visible smirk on her face. Limbs tied and any sort of movements restricted to the extreme, she could only use words to communicate with the outside world. But even that had earned her the silent treatment from the two women.
So, she continued. "If you want me mad at someone, then it shouldn't be me but rather your superiors. Believe me when I say that I was as confused and shocked as any of you about my restricted freedom, so to speak."
"Do you really think anyone here will believe you?" Nanoha said with a scoff, cutting Quattro with a rarely present hint of anger in her tone. One that even caught fate by surprise.
"You can believe me or not, I am just speaking the truth." Even though they could not see her, the two girls could practically picture the number shrugging her shoulders.
Afterwards, the conversation came to a halt, neither side uttering a single word for the next few minutes. Not because there was nothing to converse about, but because Nanoha knew full well that the more she tried to talk with this woman, the more the latter tried to push her buttons deliberately. Either out of boredom or just as a way to taunt her, not to mention that she could not trust her one bit.
Soon, the distant sounds of the helicopter's rotors spinning reached their ears. "Took them long enough," Quattro commented from within her cell with boredom. While the other two did not say anything and instead watched as the helicopter arrived and descended with the members of Riot Force 6 walking out one by one. The brunette's gaze lingered on Shirou for several moments. Just yesterday, they were having a wonderful time despite the small hiccup towards the end. But now she knew things were bound to get complicated with this person involved. What happened afterwards was to be expected, the reaction the group had overseen when the mobile Jail cell slowly opened up with the captured Number making her presence known, the look on their faces mirrored the same emotions that went through both Nanoha and Faith earlier on when they learnt about their mission.
"What is going on here? Why is she not in herself?" The first one to speak with the satisfaction clearly audible in her tone was none other than the vocal Subaru. Wasting no time in expressing her displeasure over Quattro's presence, which the others also voiced to some degree.
"How mean! Here I was, all excited to help you guys and earn my freedom!" She whined with an exaggerated tone, all of which was ignored by the group, who looked towards Nanoha and Fate for answers, which both of them gave after sighing simultaneously. "I think you all already know what's going on. We, the higher-ups, don't want to risk anything being missed when conducting research, and she has an astute amount of knowledge about this location and any possible places the doctor can be hiding."
"Why in the world would she even help us? For all we know, this might very well be a trap that she uses to distract us and free herself to then run away!" This time, Teana exclaimed, sharing the same amount of disbelief as her partner. "It's not like we are incapable of doing something simple like scouting the region and eventually finding out anything that was hidden here. It would take twice the amount of time, but we have it in spades. She has every reason to betray us and no reason whatsoever to help us."
"That's not true." Quattro intervened this time with a blank face and speaking with a serious tone. "Whether you like it or not, I am a prisoner who could easily have the rest of my life spent behind bars reading the same books they gave me for entertainment again and again. A decade or two can go by, and nothing would change for me if the higher-ups deemed it so."
"..."
Seeing their silence, it was clear that no one so much as believed a single word that came out of her mouth. "Hah, okay, look. I am in restraints, I can't use my abilities. Even if I wanted to, there are two capable mages that will be monitoring me… no, I mean three capable mages." She said while winking towards the redhead. Her attitude made several people in the group annoyed.
Visibly becoming more impatient, Shirou finally decided to speak. "Why do we even need your help if we have Lutecia in our group?" He asked a question which immediately made everyone's eyes widen upon realising that he was right, especially when recalling the kind of abilities the young girl had showcased when it came to recon on a wide area.
As if on cue, the purple-haired girl walked in front, her gloves already on with several tiny insect-like drones hovering in the air around her, the latter using it to convey Shirou's point to the number. "Your services are not required." Was all she said before making a simple gesture and sending the swarm flying into the forest in great numbers, all the while just looking at her with a smile on her face.
"Ah, Miss Lutecia, your device and ability to use such a complex summoning system with thousands of entities are remarkable as always. No wonder the doctor was so keen on keeping you around. Your changing sides really did prove to be quite the blow against us." She said casually wow the young girl completely ignored her, sending her song within the forest within seconds as they spread across with great speed. Relaying various kinds of information to their summoner, while Teana stood behind with a relieved look.
Unfortunately, that moment only lasted a few seconds. Afterwards, with a look of surprise, we fell upon Lutecia, "Something's wrong," she said, catching everyone's attention, who immediately became tense and waited for her to continue. "They are not responding. Something is jamming their signal." Due to the dense vegetation around them, it was hard for anyone to spot her summoned swarm as they disappeared beyond the green foliage.
"Jamming the connection? How is that even possible between you and your summoned insects?" With the only other summoner in the group being Caro, the pink-haired girl looked perplexed at that revelation. Since it meant the same could apply to her if that was the case. Soon, they got their answer when, finally, a few of them managed to return to her, much to her relief, one landing on her finger and communicating with its summoner. "Weird, they also mentioned something is blocking communication."
"Is it because of the Saint's Cradle that fell near this spot?" Teana theorised, but Nanoha shook her head at that notion. "No, had there been such a phenomenon, the other mages would have sensed it and reported back. It must be recent."
It did not take much to theorize as to what was going on with Shirou being the one to point it out. "He is here then after all."
There were still plenty of unknowns of Jail's current whereabouts, whether he went into hiding on another planet entirely or still remained here, hiding the whole time somewhere unknown. But for someone to go to such an extent in order to basically cripple Lutecia's summoned creatures meant one thing — Jail was close.
"Did you seriously think the Doctor wouldn't have come up with a solution against your powers?" On the other side, Quattro spoke without even bothering to hide her mocking words. "You have been working by his side for quite a while. Doing similar kinds of missions and recons whenever he wanted to retrieve a relic. Don't you think he wouldn't have thought that you would have done the same here against him?"
"You're not really helping your case here if you keep speaking," Nanoha replied, looking worried but still maintaining her composure.
Yet despite that, everyone knew that Quattro's words made sense.
"That means we have no other choice but to rely on good old scouting using our legs and eyes."
"Subaru is right, if summons are not working, then we don't have much of a choice, and who knows what other countermeasures he has put in place. But for all we know, this could also be a trap." Despite saying that, Teana looked uncertain. "But it would also be foolish for us not to investigate regardless."
Fate nodded, "She is right, at the end of the day, our objective is to catch him using any kind of clues we can get our hands on. We went days without much of a find, and this is our only lead. If we let it pass, then we may never be able to catch him again so easily." Following that, their new helper began listing off several other coordinates that all led to different hiding spots around these parts. All of which he relayed to the other members who were the closest.
With a consensus reached, even if it came bundled with frustration and lingering uncertainty, the group moved quickly. There was no time wasted on second-guessing. They split up using the same approach they had relied on during their previous mission, sticking to roles that were already familiar to them. Teana and Subaru paired up and headed north. Erio and Caro took the southern route, leaving behind only faint traces of disturbed grass and that left Shirou and Lutecia as the last to depart, though it was not just them.
Unfortunately, a third presence joined them.
"Well, would you look at that," Quattro said lightly, her voice carrying a teasing note as she glanced between them. A faint smirk rested on her lips. "It seems fate really does enjoy putting us together whenever it gets the chance."
Shirou did not rise to the bait. He did not even look at her at first. Instead, his attention shifted toward Nanoha and Fate, who were preparing to take to the air to cover separate areas. His gaze lingered there for a brief moment before he spoke.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll handle her."
Nanoha hesitated, her expression clearly troubled, while Fate crossed her arms as if weighing his words.
Despite the confidence rolling off the redhead's tone, she continued to worry. "Be careful around her, Shirou. Even bound, she's still a Number. And she's clever. Give her even a little room to move, and she will try something."
"I know," he replied calmly. "My words might not mean much, but I'm not planning to trap myself in a worse situation than the one I'm already in and have myself get captured again."
Fate nodded once, then added, "We also need to keep an eye on the sky. We can't afford another ambush by a swarm of drones."
That much was obvious to him. A repeat of the same disaster would cause serious damage, not just to Midchilda, but to their entire operation. Underestimating the enemy was not an option anymore.
"As I said," Shirou continued, "She's not combat-oriented like the other Numbers. I've dealt with her before. Trust me. I'll make sure this is over quickly."
After a brief exchange of looks, Nanoha and Fate gave reluctant nods. Moments later, both rose into the air, their figures lifting above the trees before heading off in opposite directions. Shirou watched them go until they became little more than distant specks against the sky, small enough to vanish if he blinked too long.
"It might be dangerous for you to tag along," he said at last, turning his attention to Lutecia.
The redhead paused, clearly caught off guard by his words. She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but stopped when he raised both hands slightly and continued in a softer tone.
"I'm not questioning your abilities. You know that," he said. "I'm just concerned that Jail might have done more than limit your scouting. You could be more vulnerable than you realize."
"I can do more than just send out a few insects," Lutecia replied firmly. "I'm more capable than that, Shirou."
Her voice left no room for compromise. He could tell right away that pushing further would change nothing. With a quiet breath, he let the matter drop.
Soon after, all three moved deeper into the forest. Leaves crunched underfoot, and the air grew cooler as the canopy thickened overhead. He kept his attention fixed on Quattro, never letting her slip out of his awareness for even a second.
"If you keep staring like that," Quattro said casually, "you'll miss the smaller details around us. That's how people get caught off guard and it's not like I can just run away with those two keeping watch on the perimeter."
"I'd rather that than ignore you," Shirou answered.
She laughed at that, an easy sound, and did not seem offended in the slightest.
"What an odd way to put it," she said. "Still, I have to admit, I'm surprised you and Nanoha are together."
The moment the words left her mouth, Shirou felt his posture shift. From the outside, it might have looked like a harmless conversation, but he knew better. Quattro rarely spoke without intent.
"Why does that matter?" he asked. "I don't see how that has anything to do with what we're searching for."
"It's just personal curiosity, I may have been created and grown inside an artificial womb and enhanced with mechanical parts, but that does not mean I don't have my own thought process, curiosity, and quirks. Not to mention how this is a good opportunity to create a conversation and smooth out any bumps between us."
Was she trying to get his guard down with these questions? Hard to tell, so he just ignored her while they kept heading deeper and deeper into the woods. "Since you've been granted temporary freedom, this is your opportunity to showcase your usefulness further. Since you were by his side for a while, we should be aware of any traps along the way."
If all she would do was talk all day while following them, then what was even the point of getting her out?
A point that the number was understood and did not even bother arguing against, instead dropping her smirk and genuinely starting to ponder.
"For most of our operation and bases were inside the Saint's Cradle, we still had other hideouts placed a bit everywhere in this wilderness. Some of which the doctor shared with us Numbers, and others where he kept it a secret from us."
"Mighty convenient, don't you think so?"
She shrugged, "The Saint's Cradle is a complex creation, a masterpiece that has no equal even in modern day. Without anyone possessing the king's bloodline, moving it is practically impossible. While it boasted impressive defensive capabilities, even with its auxiliary functions still able to be turned on, we were just in a bona fide spaceship-shaped building where, if someone were to find us, we would be trapped. Even if the doctor is not hidden within most of them, don't have the others let their guard down. The defence mechanism can still be activated and attack any and all intruders." She continued, giving a surprising amount of information on the type of traps Jail would use and even the kind of drones one would find within. The more he heard, the more baffled he became.
"I know I should be happy that you are cooperating, but is there a reason why you're still willing to betray the person who created you?" The issue was not that she gave them the information they required; it came from the fact that she gave it so easily that it put him on edge.
"While it's true he created us, he also taught us from a very early age that we should also be capable of looking out for ourselves. And just following his teachings, and I also trust that he won't make such a rookie mistake and not cover his tracks — then he only has himself to blame."
"..."
A simple explanation, one that, once again, Shirou could not deny. Him and Lutecia exchanged glances but said nothing, and this went on until they finally reached the first coordinates handed by Quattro of a possible hideout. The place being, as one would expect, very hidden to the point that he actually could not even see where it was.
"Strange," Quattro said, catching Shirou's attention.
"What is it?"
"Usually, this place tends to be well guarded by several drones, whether he is here or not. But somehow, we got this close, and none of them reacted? That's why I'm saying it's strange. As for the entrance, it's right ahead. The doctor uses some of his creations to create a fake illusion of boulders, trees, and some of the natural environment around us to trick any curious onlookers."
With that in mind, the group became even more cautious. If what she said was true, he tested that by tracing a sword and sending it flying ahead. Right before his eyes, the weapon flew right into the stone, not because it was sharp enough to carve its way through, but rather as if it had fallen into water, the surface of the rock rippling until it eventually went back to normal.
"See, I told you so," Quattro hummed with amusement. "I personally haven't been here, but I recall this being he frequently went with Uno. My eldest sister does not really share much with the rest of us."
After relaying this extra detail, they went inside. The place itself was quite dark, light bulbs lining the ceiling dimly lighting the surroundings, a faint stench of rot and buildup of dust reaching his nose to make it clear just how old and unused this place was. "I don't think the doctor will be in here; he would never let a place where he resides be so dirty." Lutecia commented, but before abandoning the place too quickly and moving on, he wanted to check everything out first. And his curiosity soon turned into pure shock upon opening a door leading to a major room, larger by several degrees, with a wide room where one could find several dozen glass vats lining the inside.
Filled with a strange green viscous liquid, along with being hooked up to as many computers as were surprisingly still on, showcasing an enormous amount of data on the screen. Flashing by so quickly, enough to make one's mind go numb just from glancing at it. But that was not the main reason why he had become stunned, or rather than the technology, he instead watched in horror as within those vats were actually…
"People?"
Filled with disbelief and horror, he went closer to get a better look, and upon doing so, he saw more of what was yet to be revealed. 'They are not alive, ' he thought, all of them being women who bore great resemblance to the existing Numbers, with one even being none other than Jail himself. But upon closer inspection, the bodies themselves were not right to say the least, and clearly, aside from the slight resemblance of their faces, everything else was a complete mess. Parts missing, really ground limbs, some covered in a kind of vein-like material, and finally, the complete lack of colour to their faces. No different from forgotten husks left to rot within this place. "Oh, this must have been one of his oldest labs."
"What's the meaning of this, Quattro?" Despite them and not being the people he knew, it was just far too disturbing to ignore.
"Jail wouldn't have been able to perfect his ability and knowledge to create near-perfect clones and cyborgs without some experimentation along the way. From the looks of it, this just so happens to be one of the many steps he took and errors made along the way. A bunch of failures." So she said, standing in front of another vat, this one containing a young girl with half of her body missing — one that resembled her. "So even I had begun as a failure… huh."
What was presented before him still disturbed the redhead, for these things she deemed failures resembled their counterparts and living people a bit too much for comfort. To an ignorant person, it would even look like they were tortured and left to drown and die within these giant vats. Similar to that one woman, he wants to meet, along with Tohsaka, in London, a genius known to make puppets.
Crash!
Suddenly, the sound of glass beakers breaking echoed across the room, Shirou looking around to spot Lutecia on the ground with a look of pure disbelief on her face and horror. "Are you alright?" He asked, rushing by her side and supporting the young girl, having rarely seen her make such an exaggerated face. "What did you…"
About to ask what had happened and what she had seen, Shirou was momentarily stunned upon seeing what stood before him. Yet as words started to form within his mind, at the corner of his eyes, a faint light of green flashed. "—!"
Bang!
Grabbing Lutecia and jumping away right as a powerful beam struck the ground where both of them stood earlier, melting the cement, and easily, a deadly attack had landed on either of them. "Ruben, set up!"
The habit of automatically setting up a device had not yet been truly engraved upon the man, but slowly but surely, it was getting there, as before a traced sword, the red armour appeared around him. The green light within the darkness shines ever so brightly, then, earlier, firing another powerful attack, which this time he blocked using the flat side of his Noble Phantasms. The flat surface with red hexagonal patterns of conch shows slamming against the beam, a moment of pressure building, and trying to break his grasp onto a pin, but failing before breaking apart into thousands of shards of light around him.
"Drones!"
Seeing the familiar side of those hovering machines heading towards them, and the dozens came up, and an invisible weight had been lifted from his heart, for if the information given by Quattro was of any truth, then the absence of any drones really did worry him that perhaps Jail was not here and that they were wasting their time. But with this, it gave him some hope that perhaps they were getting closer.
With him, Lutecia, and Quattro wanting to rush outside, all three of them attempt to rush outside the layer only to be blocked by another shadow, stopping them from the outside and firing a barrage of lasers. "Damn it!" A mental command ensued, so great swords burst into existence and stabbed the ground around them in a circular pattern to create a wall protecting them from the projectiles. "This was a trap after all!" he was pretty sure to have not sensed anything or even seen anything outside.
"Garyu!" The other is likely that Tisha did not stay empty-handed and doing nothing, activating her device and summoning Garu, the giant armoured insect, howling in the air and rushing towards the second drone, pushing it against a nearby wall with enough strength to shatter the stone into pieces.
"Now!"
With the window of opportunity given to them, they all ran outside, and tending to send a message to the others, only to realise that several dozens of drones waited for them outside, but rather than stopping in their tracks, shadow continued and raised his sword intending to cleave his way through them just like he had done hundreds of times with the same models.
The sound of steel meeting steel echoed, sparks flew, and his eyes slowly widened with disbelief when, rather than getting sliced apart, their attack from his noble phantasm ended up being resisted against, the edge of the blade only sinking a thin layer deep into what appeared to be some kind of shield around it.
"Hah!" Not having the luxury to question how this could even happen in the first place, he struck the drone once more with the second hand, second blade in hand, and managed to cut halfway through, meeting the same kind of resistance before jumping away and watching it explode. "Hahaha! So it worked after all!" An arrogant voice spoke from behind, from one of the drones, a small face appeared on the screen on its face, the blue-haired mad scientist grinning widely while looking back at him. Shirou started to believe that this was a common way the two of them started to interact with one another several times by this point.
"Jail."
"It's been a while, Emiya Shirou. I hope you enjoyed the sight of where the Saint's Cradle had crashed; you can still see some of its remains littering the grounds around these parts. Valuable artifacts that many would kill just to get their hands on."
The doctor said before turning his attention towards the detained Number. "I see that they have done a good job at keeping you alive, a bit unexpected from them. From my experience, they would have tried to cut you open by now to examine my finest creation."
Despite having spoken such chilling words, the woman showed no sign of offense. Instead, a faint smile appeared on her lips as she nodded once, her posture relaxed rather than guarded. "It really is good to see you again as well. They were fairly polite to me and kept me safe for the most part. Though I will admit, it became rather boring at times."
A low sound escaped from elsewhere in the room, filled with clear amusement. "Hmph. Do not let your guard down around them. But since you are here, I assume you have changed sides after all. I was not imagining things."
She turned her head slightly in that direction, returning the same smirk the Doctor had on his face to him, "You taught me well."
Jail offered no reply to that aside from a slight chuckle. Then simply shifted his attention back to Shirou, as if the small exchange with his subordinate had already lost its importance in his mind. "So then, have you encountered my latest creation? What do you think of it?" he asked. As he spoke, his hands moved around wildly, fingers spreading as the drones hovering around him adjusted their positions. At the snap of his fingers, several green, ethereal shields formed in the air, settling around most of those present. The translucent barriers hummed softly, their surfaces rippling like disturbed water. The sight alone was enough to draw a look of clear displeasure from the young man.
"You see," the doctor continued, "whether you like it or not, I have been observing you for a very long time. Longer than anyone here in Midchilda, in fact. From the day you fired your first arrow when they encountered you on that desolate planet, to your very first mission, everything has remained within my sight. Every movement, every decision, carefully observed and analyzed."
His gaze shifted briefly, acknowledging another presence. "And her as well." His lips curled into a thin smile.
"You will not be escaping this time. You talk too much," Shirou replied.
"Please," the doctor said, lifting one hand slightly. "At least listen to what I have to say. Are you not curious about how I managed to stop your weapons? Weapons that should not be so easily restrained."
"..."
In truth, Shirou was curious, even if he did not show it. Noble Phantasms were still Noble Phantasms at the end of the day. Whether it be in his own world or this one. They were not ordinary weapons that could be blocked by simple tools or common defenses. Even the strongest metal in the world, if it lacked mystery or proper magical reinforcement, would be cut apart without much resistance. That fact alone made the situation difficult to ignore.
"I finally realized my error," the doctor went on, his voice taking on a reflective note. "I was treating your swords the same way I would treat any other device in this world — ancient Belcan creations. That was a mistake, one I should have recognized far sooner. Even the most brilliant minds are not free from moments of oversight." He paused, clicking his tongue softly in annoyance at himself before continuing. "My first mistake was believing your weapons were devices. They are not. You come from a separate world, and the rules and common understanding here do not necessarily apply to you or to what you wield."
"..."
"I remember your first encounter with my drones quite clearly. An anti-magic field was active, rendering most weapons useless — especially any kind of device. And yet, yours cut through it with surprising ease." His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke, the smile on his face widening in a way that felt forced, almost unsettling. "At the time, I believed the materials used in their creation must have been extraordinary. Perhaps some unknown substance capable of holding an edge beyond reason on the subatomic scale, even. A marvel of science, but not something I can't recreate given enough time."
He stopped and looked directly at Shirou. "Yet the more you fought, especially during your last battle against my forces, the more information I gathered. It became a trove of data, one I was able to study at my leisure. That is when I finally understood."
In a sudden, almost theatrical motion, he swept his hair back, lifting his chin as if presenting a grand conclusion. A strange laugh escaped him, rough and filled with excitement. "Your weapons are made of magic itself! They are constructs! They are not physical tools retrieved from some hidden pocket dimension. They exist because of your world's magic, and that is why you can even bring out several copies of them… just like what you did against Zest."
So he was also observing that fight.
The man was surprisingly close to the truth and yet still off the mark in several places. Shirou could tell just from the way he spoke that the explanation came from observation rather than understanding. Yes, Tracing rebuilt weapons along with their recorded history using his magical energy, and yes, that reconstruction happened inside his Reality Marble before the finished result was pulled out.
"You use a continuous supply of magic to keep their existence stable," the scientist said calmly. "Without it, they break apart. Even if they are destroyed during battle, you can simply create more. That is how you fire so many arrows without carrying any physical ones or even relying on a device. That is your spell."
At that, Shirou raised his eyebrow. That explanation almost sounded more like normal Projection; his creations did not break down whatsoever. Able to stay around forever if he so much as willed it, unless someone intentionally tried to break them.
Jail, believing his silence to be just shock at how he discovered his 'secret', continued to speak. He adjusted his posture slightly, hands folded behind his back as if giving a lecture. "Due to the differences between our magical systems, my anti-magic field cannot currently unmake your weapons; not yet. That is an issue I am willing to solve later. In the meantime, I have prepared a temporary fix."
With a snap of his fingers, the drones responded instantly. Dozens of them shifted position in the air, their lenses locking onto Shirou alone. Beams of light erupted in rapid succession, filling the space with repeated flashes and heavy impacts. The ground split where the shots struck, dirt and broken roots thrown outward. Nearby trees lost chunks of bark and branches, some snapping outright under the sustained fire. The attacks came fast and without pause, forcing everything in that section of the forest into chaos.
The scientist watched the barrage with a thin smile, his expression steady and unbothered by the destruction. "The only reliable way to counter a spell affecting mundane objects is to use another spell," he continued. "In other words, magic."
The drones finally ceased fire at his signal. A dense cloud of dust hung in the air where Shirou had been standing, spreading outward and blocking sight of the ground. Leaves and bits of soil slowly fell back down, tapping against metal and stone.
"I built-in each drone with another one of my inventions," the scientist said. "With that in place, your greatest advantage no longer serves you. It is reduced to something merely persistent."
The smirk faded from his face. He did not laugh, nor did he add any mocking remarks. Instead, he spoke a single line, his tone even and controlled. "It is your move now, Shirou."
From within the dust cloud, several taut twangs rang out in quick succession. Three heavy projectiles burst through the haze one after another, tearing clear paths through the suspended debris. The cloud split apart, revealing Shirou standing firmly in place. Holding a massive black bow in his left hand, its surface dark and almost shining, his stance balanced despite the uneven ground beneath his feet.
Each arrow struck a red barrier surrounding the drones. The impacts produced a clear metallic sound before the arrows dropped harmlessly to the forest floor below. The barriers shimmered briefly, then settled back into place without any visible damage.
'So it really is similar to a barrier jacket,' Shirou thought. 'He applied it to each drone individually. That makes things more complicated.'
He did not rush forward. Instead, he lowered the bow slightly and focused on what he was seeing. The drones maintained their positions, the barriers remaining active without flicker or delay.
'Like a barrier jacket, it needs a constant supply of energy,' he reasoned. 'Since they are machines, that supply is limited. Once their reserves run dry, the barrier will fail.'
As if responding directly to his thoughts, the scientist spoke again. "In case you are considering exhausting their energy reserves through repeated attacks, I would advise against it. That approach is inefficient." He raised one hand and gestured toward the surrounding forest. "I can summon more at any time. From the moment you entered this forest, you stepped into my domain. Hundreds, possibly thousands of these units are hidden throughout the area, ready to deploy exactly where you stand."
A heavy impact echoed nearby, the sound of something large striking the ground.
Crash!
Right then and there, the insect that Lutecia had sent forward was suddenly blown back as something burst through the wall behind it. The creature tumbled across the ground, rolling more than once before its weight finally carried it into a tree. Its body struck the trunk with a dull sound before sliding down and going still.
"Garyu!" Lutecia rushed to its side without hesitation, kneeling beside it as she took in the damage. Several wounds were visible along its shell, cracks spreading where armor plates had split apart. Her hands trembled slightly as she checked its condition, then she turned her head back toward the opening in the wall, her eyes fixed on the source of the attack.
Two familiar figures stepped out from the dust-filled breach.
"It's nice to see you two again, Nove, and you too, Tres," Quattro said from behind Lutecia. Her voice was light, almost conversational, as if she were greeting old acquaintances rather than allies entering a fight.
The two women did not bother to reply. They spared Quattro a brief glance, nothing more, before their attention returned to the field ahead of them. Their focus settled on both the Instrument and Shirou, who stood nearby with his eyes narrowed, already aware of what was unfolding.
"Of course," Jail continued, unbothered by the lack of response. "Now that my little improvement to something that already existed has turned out to be a success, I thought it would be a shame not to test it properly. Using only drones would have been wasteful and would have told us very little. I wanted my daughters to see the results for themselves. It's still a barrier jacket, but improved beyond its initial design."
As she spoke, a faint shimmer began to appear around the armor and bodies of the two Numbers. The light was subtle at first, almost easy to miss, but it slowly spread until it wrapped around them completely. The glow sank inward, molding itself along their outlines, fitting every curve and edge. When it settled, it formed what could only be described as a translucent barrier field, clearly visible to anyone watching.
"And unlike those laughable drones," he added, "they are far more capable of making proper use of this little gift."
The transmission cut off abruptly.
Boom!
The sound might as well have been a signal. In the instant that followed, Tres launched herself forward, her body surging ahead like a guided projectile. His sword was already in hand, raised and aligned as she closed the distance at high speed, claw-like gauntlets aiming straight for Shirou's head.
Despite the sudden acceleration, Shirou managed to track her movement. Her speed had increased, but it was still nowhere near the overwhelming pace he had seen from Servants. He reacted on instinct, projecting Kanshou and Bakuya into his hands and swinging them forward in a crossing motion. The twin blades cut through the air in an X-shaped arc, forcing Number Three to adjust.
She changed course mid-charge, shifting her approach as she sidestepped at the last moment. The edge of one blade brushed against the barrier around her, producing a brief ripple across its surface, but failed to break through.
"So she's faster now," Shirou mumbled with a hint of surprise. "And her reaction speed has improved, too. It's fair to assume the same applies to the other one, along with other modifications I can't ignore."
To test that assumption, he summoned his bow once more and released several projectiles in quick succession. The arrows streaked toward Novi, who did not retreat. Instead, she leapt upward, crossing both arms in front of her face and letting the shots strike her directly.
The impact produced the same dull noise as before. The results were identical. None of the projectiles penetrated the barrier. As she descended, an invisible magical platform formed beneath the soles of her feet. She pushed off it hard, redirecting her momentum downward and forward.
Novi came at him like a missile, her legs extended, and her body angled for a direct hit, clearly intending to crush him where he stood.
"This is for hurting Cinque!" she shouted.
Not wanting to test the limits of his own body, nor how much Ruben could realistically shield him from sustained heavy attacks, Shirou prepared to move. He shifted his footing, muscles tightening as he weighed the timing, but Lutecia behind him clearly had no intention of letting the situation settle against him.
"Do not dismiss me yet!"
Garyu, who had been left incapacitated from the earlier exchange, forced itself upright through sheer stubbornness. Instead of chasing Novi into the air, he veered sharply to the side and slammed straight into Number Three again, dragging her down into another close-quarters struggle. The impact stopped her cold, thwarting what would have been another attempt to catch Shirou off guard from behind.
At the same moment, Novi released the stored force she had been building. The detonation tore through the space Shirou had occupied only a heartbeat earlier. He had already leapt away, boots skidding across loose stone as the blast struck. The ground collapsed inward under the pressure, boulders fracturing and scattering as Novi crashed down at the center, carving out a shallow crater from the sheer force of her landing.
She recovered instantly. Her hands moved behind her back with practiced familiarity, fingers closing around two curved blades. The boomerang-like weapons slid free, their surfaces reflecting light in a way that felt unnatural. Without hesitation, she hurled them forward, sending both spinning toward him along intersecting paths.
"This is going to be another round two after all, huh?" Shirou muttered to himself with an uneasy smile.
The overall scenario, the people, and even the spacing felt uncomfortably familiar. He remembered fighting the Numbers near this same area before. Back then, he had faced more of them at once, but the difference between that group and the one in front of him now was obvious. These were not just reinforced bodies, for they moved around faster than before. Their weapons were upgraded to be used against him.
'If I dodge them outright, there is a good chance they will loop back and stab me from behind,' he thought, jaw tightening. 'They nearly did last time. I cannot risk that.'
His eyes tracked the incoming weapons closely. Despite their unusual shape, information flooded his mind the moment he focused on them. A replica formed instinctively within his inner world, cataloged, and its history broken down piece by piece.
'Modified after all,' he thought. 'The base material has been reinforced with lighter and more durable materials. There is vein-like circuitry running along the blade, channeling mana to activate an embedded spell. It mimics reinforcement and hardens the edge beyond normal limits.'
That assessment proved correct almost immediately. He summoned several nameless Noble Phantasms, reduced to simple projectiles. They formed around him and launched in unison, streaks of light tearing through the air toward the spinning blades. Under normal circumstances, the impact would have shattered them outright.
Yet Nove proved to have foreseen his move, rushing in faster before, grabbing hold of the two boomerangs midair before throwing them in a completely different path. "Hngh!" Unfortunately for Nove, some of those weapons managed to strike her on both the shoulder and stomach. Enough to force the girl's body to ragdoll and crash through several trees.
The translucent barrier around her body dimmed significantly but soon regained its luster. That rather risky move allowed Slaughter Arms to avoid his own projectiles, with their target still being him.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm."
The boomerangs twisted mid-flight as he predicted. It was best to get rid of them once and for all.
To counter them once more, both Kanshou and Bakuya left his grasp, swirling in the air and followed a similar path to Slaughter Arms. A loud, ear-piercing, metallic clang sounded upon the first impact.
"Our strength rips the mountains."
With another pair reappearing within his grasp, Shirou gazed at the rubble that was pushed to the side by Nove, not even checking up on her teammate; she kept her furious eyes squarely on him.
'She really does hate me.' He figured with an awkward smile. Aside from that, the redhead was not particularly worried about these new kinds of drones or the particular upgrades the Numbers received. Magic barriers were a troublesome construct, but they were not impenetrable by any means.
"Our swords split the water."
From destroying one drone after another, he got a general idea of how far their barrier remained active. Regular attacks kept getting repelled. He intentionally kept attacking despite that to see just how far it went, requiring less than a dozen attacks for the armour to break. Using reinforcement drastically reduced that number down to less than a handful, sometimes even a single slash if aimed properly and used with enough force.
"Our names reach the imperial villa."
"Haaaa!"
The flurry of attacks from Nove showed no signs of diminishing; rather, her speed continued to grow, the force behind each one of her attacks became more troublesome to block, and she had thrown away every bit of defence to fully focus on an offensive approach. Fully relying on the enhanced barrier jacket to protect her from his swords.
Each block from him was retaliated with a slash. Each dodge came with a stab, and each deflection earned the Number a powerful kick to the stomach. The latter served more as a distraction since it would barely do any compared to his swords.
The girl was basically fully drowning in her own rage. Letting her mind turn red and not realising her own defenses had reached their limits.
Crack!
Her armor gave way after another slash aimed at her neck. The sound finally jolted the girl away from her bloodlusted state, long enough to realise that she had nothing left to defend against the incoming strike.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."
Both swords within his hands grew, changing shapes and taking on the appearance of a longsword. Feathered patterns visible along its surface, as if the very first layer of metal, unable to keep up with its growth, started to peel away.
Seeing the sight of Kanshou approaching reflected in her lifeless eyes, Shirou for the first time saw a new emotion reflected in her eyes that was not there before. Regret and sadness as she then muttered, "I'm sorry… Cinque."
"..."
The hold on both Noble Phantasms changed into a reverse grip. Going ahead and closing the distance between them to the point it wouldn't even be possible to slash her this closely, something even Nove realized.
His foot planted on her knees, pushing himself upwards and practically using the girl as a jumping pad. Going upwards and seeing Slaughter Arms having recalibrated its pathway a long while ago, swirling towards him just above where he and Nove fought.
And behind him, the first pair of Kanshou and Bakuya followed. With a swing of his arms, all of the copies struck the weapons simultaneously. Regardless of how big an improvement Jail had made to these weapons, just so they could survive longer against his Noble Phantasms. Despite that, they shattered mid-air, much to the dismay of its new user.
"No!"
Nove shouted, seeing her weapon shatter. The reinforced design still falls short of a Noble Phantasm at the end of the day, regardless of how much JailJail improved upon them. "Damn you!" With a burst of rage, Nove tried to create some distance between them, using the surrounding drones to shield herself and have them attack him.
"Oof!" Landing back on the ground, Shirou took a deep breath, feeling for any soreness in his body while Nove just stood there, confused.
"Why…" she asked.
Scratching the back of his head, he pondered how to answer the girl without sounding arrogant. "I didn't want to do that before, back in the Saint's Cradle. I just had no choice. You… I don't think you and the other numbers are necessarily bad people, except for a few."
"Cinque hasn't woken up yet because of you." Nove continued, clenching her hands. "I won't forgive just because you felt pity towards me!"
That was not his goal, for he was not even searching for forgiveness in the first place. Rather, he just wished things could go differently and hoped to be able to convince this person. "You saw what's in there. How can you continue alongside the doctor? If he is keeping you bound to him somehow, then I can help you with that."
If it were something similar to a magical binding spell, then he could deal with that. If it were something more physical, then it wouldn't make sense for Jail to have not used such means against Quattro, who led them here.
She's waiting for her hand, more drones coming out of the forest behind her, all aimed towards him.
"You misunderstand something. We are his tools, his weapons, and his most trusted creations. No word from you will sway any one of us, no matter how much you think otherwise."
They were getting ready to fire another barrage of destructive beams against him, not wanting to redo the same song and dance once more by depleting their reserves or just overwhelming them with a combination of strength and reinforcement. Shirou dismissed his current swords and in their place came a spear that held some resemblance to the one he used before.
"Shit, don't yo—!"
Unlike what she had in mind, the thrust attack was not aimed towards one of the drones; those were taking care of with the same weapon reappearing above them, piercing through their shields as if they were not even there. Rather, his attack went straight for Nove, just like with the drones, ignoring the enhanced barrier jacket and piercing right through her above left shoulder, pinning the girl right into a tree with blood starting to flow from her wound.
"If I can't change your mind using words, then I'll do it by force and just show you."
"B-Bastard! Kill me now if you dare! Do it!"
He did not, letting go of his hold on the spear and turning his back towards her. No matter how hard she tried to free herself, she was not able to do so.
"Is it done?" Lutecia asked, having kept the other drones busy, using the same method he had done and relentlessly depleting their reserves until eventually they were left vulnerable to be destroyed. Making sure more of them would not overwhelm him and that the other number from earlier would not launch a sneak attack.
Speaking of which, "Where is Tres?"
"She's over th—eh?" Lutecia pointed behind her, but what he saw there was nothing but an empty spot with some blood on the ground. Confused, the young girl watched in disbelief. "She was just there a second ago. Shirou!"
Right as she turned her attention back to him, she also sensed something wrong. Patterns similar to ripples of water formed behind him, a figure appearing from within the tree and behind him with a dagger in hand. Tres, bloody and wounded, showed nothing but a terrifying calmness in her eyes as she went for the kill.
That… wasn't her ability. He recalled this being used by another Number.
"Urgh!"
His hand that was in the air, ready to use the closest spear, came to an instant halt, for his target had frozen in her step. Not because she managed to reach him and finish the job — rather because someone else managed to get to her first.
Blood dripped to the ground, starting off slowly until more and more trickled down till a small puddle started to form.
Tres, with shaky hands and head, looked downwards, seeing the pointed edge of slaughter arms piercing right through her chest. Touching the weapon as if to wonder if this was even real or just her imagination. Worst of all, she turned her head to watch with disbelief at the person who jammed it right into her. Standing there, with her hair shadowing her eyes, no discernible emotions could be spotted on Quattro's face.
"Y-Y… yo-you…" Even saying a single word was a challenge for the oldest number on the scene, yet clearly it carried a presence of sadness and betrayal from someone who was basically her sister, who fought side by side not that long ago.
"Don't take this personally, Tres. You have always been a blockhead who focused more on the simpler side of things. Always take the most efficient path by using your powers to resolve your problems. But unfortunately, I don't have that luxury. So please, forgive me for what I have done, I hope one day, you'll understand." She whispered, pulling out the broken half of the weapon, with more blood pouring out of the hole until Tres started to spray on her feet before strength started to slip through her legs and finally…
Her body felt the ground with an audible thump.
"..."
Both Shirou and Lutecia stood there, stumped and unsure of what to even say at the moment. Quattro stood there, staring down at the fallen Number with a hard-to-read face.
Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention to Shirou. Wiping off some of the blood from her face, clearing her throat and saying, "There, I told you, it's either them or me. The choice was easy."
Even though she technically just helped him out in a potentially deadly scenario, he could not help but feel a strange sense of unease spread across his entire body. Something about her just felt off, a sensation he did not get with either Tres nor Nove. But then again, he only encountered them during combat, so not much there.
Still…
"Let's go back and find the others. There may be more Numbers out there waiting to ambush them or us again."
.
.
.
All the while this occurred, gel continued to monitor the events from some of the drones that still remained active despite being cut apart into half. Neither looking surprised or disappointed by the outcome at all. Instead, a mountain of information flashed on several holographic greens around him, his fingers moving at light speed across the keyboard where he kept replaying the same scene again and again Shirou's spear cleaving through the drones with ease.
"A weapon capable of negating magical barriers. System report mentions it detected no foreign object passing through it, interesting. A weapon capable of masking its very presence and fooling my barrier… so increasing output would not work. Or it might after a certain level but at that point, the drones are not equipped for such energy consumption which would hinder its combat abilities. Inefficient. Solution; yet to be tested but a few in mind."
Then came the footage of both Kanshou and Bakuya shifting from, with the moment Shirou shattered Slaughter Arms also getting replayed endlessly. "Magnetic properties as its primary ability. That chant he used… the weapons themselves turn even more sharper somehow and retain their primary ability. System did detect its presence when it cut through and just is a case of the protective barrier getting overwhelmed."
From the beginning, he had no plans or even any hopes that either of his latest creations and both Nove and Tres would have been able to kill the man.
With him having already taken on all of the numbers at once, now fighting only two of them, regardless of the enhancements, would not change the outcome. But that was not the point, for a day served no other purpose but to help him gather more information and test out if the little experiment he had done on them bore any fruits.
Not even bothering on figuring out if they were even alive, he brought his attention back to another part of his research where before him were several kinds of swords each distinct and unique from the rest. But also equally as familiar for they were both swords, bows, arrows and even some items categorised as shields being showcased. All of them were used at one point by Shirou, where he spent the last few days studying them non stop.
"Were they a success?" Uno came over with a cup of coffee, placing it near him before turning her attention to the screen.
"Only for a brief period. The new versions of the drones proved to be an improvement but still, he has the means to just ignore those shields and put us back in square one." He answered honestly, those weapons were a bigger headache than the creator himself. How that man even got the ability to recreate such dangerous creations which were no lesser than ancient Belkan technology from just energy was beyond him.
Regardless, he refused to believe that he could not counter that guy somehow.
"There is no point in adding further enhancement or changing it up with something else. I doubt those are the only ones you can create and there surely must be other types that would work in his favour against a specific type of machinery." He had learnt his lesson enough time to see the pattern. Doing it again and again and feeling each time would be no different to sanity.
Furthermore, he did not have an infinite amount of resources to waste.
"Should we just send Due after him?" Uno proposed, feeling increasingly worried about the redhead on the screen.
"Why ruin this moment given to us? It's not everyday we get to test my creations against different kinds of special weapons that counter each one of them." He knew what Uno would offer, to assassinate their target by using Due. Unfortunately, the latter had an important mission to attend to so he could not distract her with this.
"Let them continue on this goose chase. I also can't keep staying hidden forever, I'm not a sewer rat and eventually we will need to confront them. But until then, continue to have Quattro continue on her mission."
Uno nodded. "Then what about Nove and Tres?"
Jail huffed. "Ignore them. At this point, I'm just glad to see that the ability transfer experiment ended up being a success. Dispose of them, I know some people will be unable to hold back from checking out those two closer. Have this be done silently."
"Understood."
Uno left his office after that conversation, letting her creator continue diving deeper in his research involving all the Noble Phantasms used by Shirou.
And, she had a call to make to Due. The latter wasted no time picking it up.
"Time for you to act."
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