CHAPTER 21:

UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS

Almost instantly, Sakura was shielded by the others. Medusa and Shirou were closest, Arturia and Mordred closest to EMIYA, while Illya and Harry were sandwiched between them. Only Kuzuki didn't move. He may as well have been a statue. Only a faint difference to his eyes, a suspicious glistening, told of him being affected by Medea's death. "Was this your goal all along, EMIYA?" Kuzuki asked. "To betray us?"

"It was an option I kept open, but I needed to be certain as to whether or not Medea could purge the Grail of her taint. Once I felt that darkness within Sakura…I knew she couldn't. It's older even than her. Otherwise, I might very well have considered letting her live if the others did, using you as leverage against Medea. In truth, I was less of a traitor and more of a Trojan Horse. Rather apt, as, while she had little to do with Troy, she was a Greek hero…well, technically Georgian, given that Colchis is now Georgia, but Colchis was a Greek colony at the time."

"I see. So it was a mistake for her to recruit you. A fatal one." Kuzuki then began approaching EMIYA.

"You really wish to do this?" EMIYA asked. "If you do, I won't stop you…but she wanted you to live."

"True…and I had little desire for the Grail beyond Medea's own. But this is something I started. Best I see it through to the bitter end, even if it's most likely my own," Kuzuki said. "I joined this, not caring about moral consequences. Without her, I have literally little to live for. I am just back where I started, a discarded assassin without purpose or meaning."

And with that, he lunged. It was over quickly. EMIYA disabled first Kuzuki's left arm, before impaling him on one of his blades. Kuzuki staggered back, looking more like an automaton than a human being, before he sagged back against a pillar like a puppet with its strings cut. Collapsing masonry gave him a fitting, if makeshift grave.

"That's enough bloodshed, EMIYA!" Arturia yelled.

EMIYA scoffed mirthlessly. "Enough bloodshed, Arturia?" His steel grey eyes met her own emerald eyes with weary disdain. "I have killed millions…no, I'm not sure how many I have killed as Alaya's attack dog. I cried out the very same thing, and Alaya…well, didn't care. Alaya doesn't sneer or laugh, but it might as well have done so. Besides, we're in the middle of a Holy Grail War. There has only been enough bloodshed when there is a winner. Then again, most of the whole point of betraying Rin was to ensure you had a better Master, though when I saw Harry and Mordred, I decided, eventually, that they were my backup plans. And had Sakura not show the power she hides inside her…I may not have even bothered with killing Shirou, as I originally considered. With Mordred, Rin, Harry and Sakura keeping him from drowning in his ideals, it is clear that my plan would not work with this version."

Shirou scowled. "You were going to try and kill me? Rin was right, you're trying to create a time paradox to wipe yourself from existence."

"Exactly, but it only works if you are an existence close to my own. But…Sakura has changed the game."

"What's so dangerous about her Imaginary Numbers trait?!" Harry demanded.

"Quite a lot, but that's not what worries me. It's what feels like a tainted version of the Grail within her that's so dangerous, it's my duty as a Counter-Guardian to destroy it." With a gesture, Projected swords caged them in again. "I will do so cleanly. But I know I will have to take you all on to do this. So…it's time to show you what I am truly capable of. I will have to go all out against two Servants and their hangers-on." Suddenly, blue energy purled around him, as he began chanting.

"I am the bone of my sword,

Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.

I have created over a thousand blades,

Unknown to death,

Nor known to life.

Have withstood pain to create many weapons,

Yet these hands will never hold anything.

So, as I pray, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"

Just as Mordred, Arturia and Medusa managed to kick themselves free from the Projected swords, a massive shockwave of fire consumed the area…

…And suddenly, they were elsewhere. A blasted, twilit wasteland, swords and weapons of all sorts stuck into the ground. In the heavily clouded sky, massive gears turned, no logic to their placement.

Arturia looked around, and hissed, "A Reality Marble…"

"What, like Iskandar's?" Harry asked, before he turned his glare to EMIYA. "…So this is your Noble Phantasm, the one thing unique to you, aside from Xeroxing copies of other Noble Phantasms."

"Of course. A Reality Marble comes about because of a warped mind. Shirou Emiya had everything about his past burned away during the Fuyuki Fire, and Kiritsugu Emiya planted, inadvertently, seeds that bore bitter fruit. Not just the psychological ones, of a Hero of Justice, but he put Avalon into Shirou to save his life. Why do you think that the only magecraft he can use are specifically designed to help him analyse and recreate Noble Phantasms? He is a sheath for a milliard of swords. I could even replicate Excalibur, but replicating a Divine Construct like that would probably prove lethal, and I would only last long enough to take you with me…though the others would get caught up in the crossfire too. Of course, there are other familiar weapons…" And with that, he recreated what looked like a hooked lance.

Medusa gasped in horror. "You…recreate that damned thing to taunt me?"

"In a manner. I know Perseus used Harpe to take your head and your life, Medusa," EMIYA said. "While Kanshou and Bakuya are my preferred weapons for close range combat, I have a Noble Phantasm for every occasion. Like Excalibur, replicating a Divine Construct like Rhongomyniad would be fatal…but I have to wonder what it would do."

"Go to hell, Archer," sneered Mordred.

"Too late. I'm already there," EMIYA said, before he made a gesture, and swords began appearing in the air behind him. "I don't take any pleasure in this, but with Sakura being a danger to us all, I can't take the risk. I will…"

Mordred instantly sprinted forward using Mana Burst, sending a mental call to her Father to protect the others. Clarent blurred as the swords fired towards her, but she batted them away. And soon, she was upon him, lashing out with Clarent, and forcing EMIYA to jump back. "Die," she said as she began pressing her attack. "That's all you will be doing, Fake-Tan! You're not Shirou! Shirou would never give up! Compromise his ideals, maybe, but giving up saving people?! You only made the deal with Alaya because you were stupid. Don't get me wrong…he's stupid too, took me beating the fact that Sakura wanted to be his girlfriend into his thick skull to get him to realise it. But…he's like me, like Father, like Harry. We protect the innocent. We shield those who can't defend themselves, and help those who can. That's what a true hero is, and you…you're no hero. Even Medusa is way better than you. You don't even want to find another solution to helping Sakura. All you can think of is killing her. Whatever your version of her saw in you…it must've been as fake as every fucking Noble Phantasm in this rubbish dump of a mind you have here! Because if she really was your friend, you'd actually try to save her!"

EMIYA managed to parry one of her attacks, causing her to stumble, only for him to kick her back and send her tumbling down the small rise he had been perched on. "This coming from the bratty little girl who tore down a kingdom because her father wouldn't acknowledge her? You dare call yourself a hero after all the misery you brought upon Camelot, its people, its king?" he snapped angrily.

"Yeah, of course I do. Don't get me wrong, history's gonna call me a monster and a traitor for the rest of time, I know it," Mordred said, getting to her feet. But then, she grinned. "But you know what, Fake-Tan? I accept that. And I don't let it stop me from becoming better than I was. I am Mordred Pendragon, Knight of the Round Table, and even if Camelot is ashes and dust, I am still King Arthur's child, and a big goddamn hero, even if it'll only be known to my family and friends! I ain't proud of what I was…but I'm proud of what I am now, and I'm gonna be even prouder of myself in the future. So, tell me, you fake-tanned bitch of Alaya, what the actual fuck are you, other than a butt-hurt plagiarist with a shitty rubbish-dump of a mental world? Because from where I'm standing, you're lower than the horseshit I had to wipe off my shoes one day."

"Are you trying to buy time with your trash talk?" EMIYA asked with a sneer. "Unlimited Blade Works may consume a lot of mana, like all Reality Marbles, but I can maintain it long enough to deal with you all."

"And allow Gilgamesh a chance to get the Grail?" Medusa asked, closer than Mordred thought.

EMIYA hadn't noticed her approach, and so he turned to face her, only to recoil when he realised her blindfold was off, but her eyes were shut. "No…"

"Yes," Medusa said, before her eyes snapped open. Mordred was out of the line of fire, but she could feel the pressure coming from those eyes. "You threatened Sakura, whom I vowed to protect, as I did, and failed, with my sisters. I will not fail again."

EMIYA, even as parts of his body began to petrify, didn't need to do much. All it took was a moment's concentration. And suddenly, Harpe flung itself from the sky, ready to impale her…only for another sword to intercept it, knocking it off course. "What?!" EMIYA hissed, watching as the sword hit the ground, and dissolved into blue motes of light.

His eyes flickered over to where Shirou was, his hand outstretched. "This is my world, not just yours. Mordred was right about you. I'll surpass you. I'll save everyone I can. Sakura…my friends…even the world. Because we fight together…but you…you fight alone. You'll always fight alone."

And then, Harry had his wand out, and the Noble Phantasms stuck in the ground began to rise into the air. Mordred noticed that the area around Shirou had changed subtly…as if another version of the same Reality Marble was present. "How? This is my reality!" EMIYA snapped.

"How did Adam Savage nearly put it?" Harry asked. "We reject your reality, and substitute our own! DEPULSIO!"

Once outside of the region of Unlimited Blade Works Shirou was infecting, the blades seemed to lose some power and momentum. EMIYA swatted them aside with ease, only for Shirou to rush forward, Projecting a familiar blood red spear as the Counter-Guardian, slowed by Medusa's petrification and distracted by the swords, was unable to counter. "GÁE BOLG!" he roared.

It was not wielded with the same finesse as Cú Chulainn, or his teacher, Scathach. But it didn't need to be. EMIYA's eyes widened, and Mordred felt the same judder of reality she had felt when her father was on the receiving end of the same attack, to finally find EMIYA hurled through the air, impaled on the energy tendril the spear emitted. He crashed to the ground, just as the Reality Marble collapsed, blood gouting from his mouth.

A pained chuckle escaped his lips. "…First time that damn spear was used on me, Rin revived me. Second time…well, Lancer used it on me just outside this church…I guess third time unlucky…should've tried Projecting Rho Aias again…" He chuckled again, only to cough up more blood. "…Ahh, it hurts to laugh…"

Shirou, however, had collapsed from Projecting the Noble Phantasm, panting heavily. "…We could have used your help to stop Gilgamesh," Arturia said, glaring at EMIYA. "Why would you make us do this?"

"…I've been an attack dog of Alaya for too long," EMIYA rasped. "Sakura…she's still a threat to the world. Maybe you could stop her, but…no…I hope you can stop her. I just…one life to save many…you know that's Kiritsugu's creed, Arturia, one I've been forced to adopt."

"Just because it's not his creed doesn't mean it's mine," Shirou said. "I may have started off as a Hero of Justice…but even if my path has changed, I won't sacrifice my friends to save the world. I will find another way."

EMIYA chuckled darkly. "Even with different ideals, you're just as boneheaded as ever…not that I can talk…still…I hope you don't ever end up like me, Shirou…" With a final rasping chuckle, he dissipated into azure motes of mana.

In the silence that followed, they heard an Irish brogue break the silence. "Ugh, my head…why the hell does it feel like I've gone on a pub crawl?"

They turned to find the redhead from earlier stirring from where she was lying down. "Bazette?" Harry asked. "You're awake now? Bazette…I need you to avoid panicking."

"…Potter? Why would I need to avoid…" Bazette suddenly realised that she was missing an arm. "…Son of a bitch," she growled. "I can't believe I…oh, I'm gonna bloody kill him!"

"Who?" Rin asked.

Bazette glared at her. "Kirei Kotomine. That bastard stole my arm and Command Seals! He's got Lancer! Now, I'm guessing you lot found me, so you've got a few minutes to explain what the bloody hell is going on here…"

CHAPTER 21 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. I'm sure this chapter will prove controversial for how I portrayed EMIYA, but I don't think it's too OOC.

No numbered annotations this time.