Now, onto the real fight!

Why the Moon Cell? Why only one ruler? Where are the other servants? The secrets are yet to be uncovered...

Pls Fav'N'Follow if you're reading this! Thanks for the reviews.

HERE WE GO!

Chapter 9 Moon War, The First Floor

Secrets.

Yes, there were several things he had not told Artoria yet, in fear that it would disturb her. He had always felt something searching for him-or to be precise, searching for the being residing within him. Emiya, the counterforce of Alaya.

This was the true reason that Shiro faked his death; to put some distance between him and the thing. He had hoped to spy from afar, confident that Hassan would not sell him out.

Oh yes, the blacksmith had been expecting something irregular to happen, soon enough. However, not even in his wildest dreams did he expect this.

Shiro felt himself tossed through veils of dimensions like some ragged chew-toy, and landed on his miserable back with a nasty crack.

"Man, what in hell happened!? Is this some enemy attack? A noble phantasm?"

From within his head, Emiya swore in a very exhausted tone.

'You got to be kidding me! I can't believe this war actually lead to this. What in the god damn world is wrong with my stupid rotten luck!? Not once, twice, but three fucking times!"

Shiro blinked in surprise. It was pretty rare for Emiya to lose his cool, if even for a bit.

"You've been to this…oh. MY. GOD."

Shiro's jaw hit the ground once he realized where he lay.

"Why am I in ancient China!?"

He couldn't help but gape from where he sat; on top of a small, isolated hill. Below his eyes, there was the ancient city of China. Wooden houses, great gates, patrolling soldiers clad in bronze, fire lanterns….

Shiro had never been to a Chinese city before, but he had enough knowledge to recognize one when he saw one.

'This is one of the floors of Moon-cell.", Emiya explained after endlessly cursing his 'work conditions'.

"Oook? Wait, the Moon-cell!? This place is inside the Moon-cell!? You gotta be kidding me!"

'That's what I said.'

Shiro gazed at the scenery once more, his brain going overdrive before it hit the brakes with a screech. Cold sweat dripped from his temples.

"Where. Is. Artoria?"

'….'

'Silence is definitely the worst remedy for panic', Shiro thought absentmindedly.

'Silence is definitely the worst remedy for panic', Artoria thought as she stared at the spearheads pointed at her.

She had no idea how she ended up in this mess, nor why she is in some ancient Chinese town. One thing she did know, was that she was in big trouble.

"Erm, can we…talk about this?", she meekly suggested.

The armored men stood before her like tin soldiers, emotionless and eerily still. None of them answered. Their weapons waved through the air, set on a sole purpose; to kill the intruder right in front of them.

"Ok, you leave me with no choice.", Artoria muttered.

A burst of mana rushed through her circuits and eroded her brain. Millions upon millions of microscopic tendrils of mana traversed through her brain, eager to be set free. Artoria's eyes glowed in pure blue, with a ring of red in its center.

"Begone."

With a flick of her wrist, a pristine blade was drawn. The white blade glimmered in the firelight as it danced through the night in a wild arc, weaving in and out of the men's weapons. A breath of silence, and the weapons fell to the ground, broken beyond repair.

The sound of soft clapping was heard from behind. A sweet yet venomous voice reached her ears, sending a shiver down her spine.

"My oh my! You are a capable one, aren't you~tee-hee! Splendid, splendid!"

A young girl dressed in purple and blue Chinese robes stepped out from the shadows. The girl looked at Artoria in mild interest, a finger twirling in one of her purple twin-tails. She was a high-born, that much Artoria could tell.

When her family was still alive, she had the chance to participate in dinner parties where the lords of the Clocktower ate and drank. Her father would whisper in her ear on how to observe their habits, their manners.

Therefore, she could tell from the air one carried themselves, or the way they spoke and the texture of fabric they wore to determine whether one was a noble or not.

Father, mother. For Artoria, the words seemed almost foreign. It seemed so long ago.

A hand unconsciously went to her chest. 'Shiro, where are you!?', she called out in her mind. Nobody answered. Artoria grimaced. It seemed that her fears had come true. This place, wherever it was, didn't work with the same principles on Earth.

"Aww~, trying to call for your servant~?", a voice purred into her ear. Artoria acted on pure instinct, rolling to the side as she simultaneously drew her katana upwards. That move saved her life.

Bright sparks illuminated the semi-darkness. The girl manically giggled in feverish delight as she hopped back and forth, a small black needle spinning in her hand. Her attacks were fast and precise, not to mention unpredictable.

After a few clashes of blades, Artoria realized that the girl was aiming not to kill, but maim her. She was playing with her, like when a cat plays with a mouse-before the mouse was devoured whole.

"Do be careful~", the young girl purred. "You are a servantless Master after all~"

"…!"

For a split second, Artoria's attention wavered. The girl's lips morphed into a cruel, devious smile. A smile that promised evil torture. Several wooden hands grasped her from behind, caging her in a tangle of limbs. A sharp crack echoed from her wrist.

Artoria cried out in pain as her katana fell from her grasp. 'I got to use a command seal, now!', she thought. She opened her mouth to shout-

"Too late, my beautiful doll. Too late!"

A hand knocked her hard in the back of her head, and her consciousness fell into the awaiting blackness.

"Did you feel that!?", Shiro blurted out.

'Yes, I did. Our Master definitely tried to use a command seal, except that her summoning process was hindered.', Emiya confirmed.

"We gotta go! That direction, right!?"

'Yes.', Emiya answered. 'Be careful, the enemy must have our master hostage.'

"Then I'll just need to break inside, snatch my master, and kick their asses in record time!", Shiro snarled.

'…Berserker style?', Emiya deadpanned.

"Yeah! Any ideas?"

Emiya rolled his eyes, a hand placed upon his forehead.

'…Change with me. I'll take care of them.', he groaned.

Emiya found himself crouching on top of a golden roof overlooking a grand palace. His face was emotionless, his eyes as hard as steel.

'A Chinese Imperial Palace. Artoria must have fought a servant, a servant who didn't give her enough time to use a seal, and was skilled enough to capture her alive.'

"Hmm…probably an Assassin.", he muttered out loud.

"You are right~"

In one swift fluid movement, Emiya released a round house kick, and followed up with a spin of twin blades. His kick hit the weapon he had secretly traced, plunging it into the place where the Assassin leaped to.

"Wow, nice try~", the Assassin giggled. "Too bad you missed!"

Emiya smirked.

"I wasn't aiming for you."

"Huh?"

The weapon embedded behind the Assassin's feet exploded in a terrific flash of sapphire light. The entire roof caved in as they dropped down, the assassin flailing through the air from the shock of the arcane explosion.

Emiya, on the other hand, was ready. He threw both twin katanas towards where the Assassin fell, and connected his ferocious assault by rapidly shooting seven arrows in quick succession as soon as the blades left his fingers.

White and black arks cleaved through the night sky as they flew with the grace of divine birds. The traces of blue, red, and yellow shot past them, tearing through the space like small meteoroids, striking their destination with the force of a falling comet.

'…Seriously? No talk, no negotiation, just pure destruction?', Shiro asked in a monotone.

"Do you have a problem with this method?", Emiya asked back.

'Who are you kidding!? I LOVE this method!'

Emiya chuckled, a dark grin on his usually stoic face.

"Welcome to the Moon Cell."

Who is the Assassin? Where is our girl Artoria!?

BTW, I have a new dead apostle! Shiro story, KING CRIMSON. Check it out!

X-kalibuuuur, over and out!