Apple Street Agency phase II: Episode 1 :ten percent
Intermission 1 : CG
Egypt, Saqqara, a hidden cave nearby djoser's step
The full moon began it's rise as the unyielding heat of the sun gave way to the cold, chilling darkness of the night. The arid desert of Egypt, which on normal occasions would've been dotted with common sightings of Bedouin tribesmen delivering supplies to scattered Shelters along the northern seaboards or Oasis villages along the banks of river Nile, was Strangely quiet with not a single hint of footsteps heard for days.
In contrast to the silence that loomed over the Vast Stretches of sand. Saqqara, an archaeological site in Egypt located 30km due south of Cairo, was greeted with perhaps one of the biggest congregation of men it has ever seen since the fall of the first dynasty of Egypt.
The Corps of Men Meticulously dug the ground and scavenged any a archaeological remains they could find beneath the thick layers of grits and dusts; They were freelance mages, Separate sects of Magus, living by their own codes and wills who occasionally earns their living through patronage from the wealthy families of Magus, or in rare cases, through secret agreements with the higher institutions of their own kin. Namely the trinity of Atlas,Sea of Estray and the bastards of the Clock tower.
However, today, their assignments had none to do with the likes of their much hated aristocrat patrons; Today, they come to the desert for a much honorable task. Their mission; to uncover the supposed tomb of Imhotep, under the guidance of perhaps one of the world's most talented archaeologist to date.
***
“Seems we'll be having another quiet night again...”
The young blond boy in his late teens and murmured to himself as he took a sip from his half empty scotch whiskey. It's been five days since he's set foot on this dull excavation site and the days of excitement had long passed. To make it worst, he was a spotter and a partner of a Magi sniper. Which meant that they had to be the ones standing guard on this lightless makeshift concrete watchtower for the rest of the seven days left of the excavation, and already the dullness and boredom had started to take toll over them.
His jeans smelled like hell after days under the searing heat of the sun, homesickness overshadowing them, however the prospect of big money kept them up on their boots. Today, they spend another boring days on the watchtower drinking booze and staring across the vast stretches of sand. However oppressive the situations might be they were still the pros and the pros do what they do best; following orders.
“Bah, and I was all hyped up when the contractor told us to bring weapons with us. How long's it been? 5 days? And not a single bullet wasted.”
A middle aged man, in weathered underwear and tarnished nylon pants grunted, seeping the smoke of his cigar and Wiping off the barrels of his dismantled M5 sniper rifle. The excavation, as he knew, was concealed from the general public. Well shrouded under the cover of bounded barriers, this particular site was virtually unreachable to the common men. But as his years of experience had told him, barriers were meant to be broken and through broken barriers fools venture in.
It was their primary duty to shoot any such intruders on sight, however unrelated with the general orthodox mages, they were still mages and mages need mystery to survive. Over the years he's been across such cases in which he needed to accomplish such tasks. He killed people without them realizing themselves what came in the way. He was a hard built killer, people were just shooting targets and he clearly enjoyed doing what he did: sniping and killing. Until now for the past five days that he's made his stay in this dull concrete watchtower such opportunities never came by. however, today the days of boredom was about to end.
“Look, over there... I see someone...”
The man quickly assembled his gun at his spotter's prompting and quickly set up his rifle on the lower window frame. He inserted his anti-demonic bullets in the chamber and locked it in place with a click in the end. Finally he adjusted his eyes at his infrared scope, setting it at manual.
Through the scope, the sniper saw the faint vision of the intruding object. The figure he saw through the infrared scope was blurry but it was enough to catch the overall features of his target. The figure was wearing a red overcoat with a dark plate armor covering his chest, down to his abdomen, he was wearing a long black pant, locked tight with belts and a crimson cape loosely hung around his waist.
The man's skin was dark cinnamon, his hair unusually bare colored almost white even, but the sharp contours and rugged edges of the man's face wasn't really telling the same story, he was definitely not one of the tribesmen around. And his destination seemed clear; he was heading straight towards them.
The sniper pointed his crosshair at the eyes of the incoming object. As the approaching man's white
Spiky hair gave way to its forehead and to its eyes he felt himself slightly cringing. His eyes and the Crimson man's eyes met. It seemed strange, the eyes he'd usually see through his scope had no signs of expectations engraved within them. However this man looked as if he saw through him. He instinctively felt the role of the target and the targeting reversed.
“James, give me the calculations, make it quick.”
The young spotter calculated the velocity of the wind and the distance of the target through his scope, it's direction through his finger and jotted them down in his note. Within two seconds he came up with the final calculations.
“Distance 720 meters, wind speed 5m/s west to east, target approaching at 3 meters per second...Wait, the target is stopping.”
The sniper quickly adjusted his sniper scope, inputting the numbers albeit as rapidly as possible. Soon the vision became clear, The man emerged clear on the scope...he was aiming at him with a bow in his grip, The sniper made a smirk, however fast an arrow could be it's no match for a sniper rifle, the battle of snipers was his to win.
“Permission to fire...”
“1...2...fire.”
That was the end, as the man pushed his finger to launch his bullets he saw a gleam of light speeding from the target's arrow. A quarter of a second was all it took. An arrow traveling at over 15 times the speed of sound pierced through the infrared scope, puncturing through the Sniper's eyes, ripping his skulls, devastating everything inside before creating a large exit wound behind it's back and with it totally severing off his head from his neck, Finally bolting the wall behind them.
The spotter dropped to the ground in panic and overwhelming fear. Cold Shiver ran down his spine as he saw the headless neck of his comrade spraying blood all over the room, painting his clothes, the window and everything else inside the room blood red.
He frantically crawled his way to the siren just beside the window above his head and activated it. Soon the sound of blaring siren took over any remaining noise. He cringed behind the wall, he couldn't feel his legs, blankly staring at the dead body, still gushing out blood and twitching erratically. Fear was what dominated him and fear was all there was to feel before this sight. Taking out every single bit of courage he had left, the spotter peeped out of the window.
The crimson man was there, walking....walking...and walking...
The spotter ducked behind the walls, he hoped all this to be a nightmare, hoping that when he sleeps and wakes up, the blood stained all over his body gone, and the head of his friend back in place where it should be. None of this ever happening... but that was it. His visions blackened, an arrowhead protruded out of his chest, through the reinforced concrete wall the arrow punched through...he coughed blood...and the boy died, his age was 16.
Battle phase V: Counter guardian
the counter guardian kept his pace. He saw a bullet speeding towards his head at full speed, but he simply tilted his head left, avoiding it. As his gap with the site of the excavation lessened, the number of bullets raining down on him increased the night sky started flaring with bullet flashes, lighting up like fireballs, soon enough the rate of fire the bullets were coming in reached it's apex. Now there was virtually no space for him to dodge.
And with it the counter guardian picked up his speed. He summoned a giant seven petal lavender energy block from his left palm and sprinted. As the shield gave way to the massive burst of gunfire the guardian raised his right arm in front and summoned another shield he kept on going, one after the other the shields weathered and tattered but every time that happened a new set of shield kept on blooming, virtually making him impervious to any kind of attack.
The speed in which his legs moved were almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Tirelessly he ran, shrugging off the bullets as if they were nothing but a rain of dust, within ten seconds the half a kilometer gap was virtually reduced to nil.
“Dammit!!! Keep firing you bastards!!!”
As the monster kept closing in on their position, cry of desperation were heard among the team of mages. They were screaming, crying and shouting aloud in desperation but even with all their attempts, there was nothing more they could do than watch it shrug off their blow as if they were nothing. He was death itself and death can never be neutralized by deadly force. They knew it was futile. Still, as impossible as it seemed it was all they could do to keep themselves alive; Mindlessly pulling their trigger in hopes of stopping this nightmare of death from becoming a reality.
Now it was a reality.
The crimson knight jumped high on the air as he made another block of shield right in front of the reinforced barricade. In an acrobatic display, He summoned up his bow and shot his arrows in rapid maneuver. In an instant, five mages right below him were killed, all pierced in the heart by the arrows.
The Counter guardian quickly tossed his bow away from him in mid air and called upon his twin blades, One a black falchion with yinyang symbol engraved on it's blade and the other, a blade of exact opposite color, marked with the same yin yang symbol as well.
Within a split second after his landing, the slaughter started. Guns were still raining down on him but they only managed to land friendly fires. Against a heroic spirit that could avoid gunshots at point blank range, such trivial weapons were tedious at best.
With each swing people fell one by one. Brutally decapitated across the neck,legs and arms. Sometimes completely severed across in half. The number fell from hundred to eighty and seventy then sixty. The process took less than a minute; it was no longer a fight, just a virtual slaughterhouse of men.
End Battle phase V
By now most had routed, talking shelter inside the tomb, fleeing to the desert for their life. Whatever the outcome, it's mission wasn't over. Only the yard was the one that's empty, half of the men were either cut down or completely immobilized.
The crimson man drew his bloodied Falchion towards the last remaining presence of human in the yard. He was a middle aged man, his head wrapped in white turban and his dark sinewy skin, clearly obscured by the gun powder laden face, he was a local man, presumably a non-magus personnel.
The worker dropped to his knees and clutches his arms around the counter guardian's leg, incessantly kissing and licking his boots, stained with blood and sand. The local man's hands were shivering, panicked, delivering hectic prayers of salvation at no one in particular. It was an embarrassing act but in the face of death this was the natural outcome of things, the fear of death overtook everything, all the insults were secondary to survival, He wept, begged and prayed, there was nothing else he could do.
“I'm...sorry...”
To this, the man looked up on the guardian's face. He saw through it, an eternity of agony and unbearable pain, a look of sorrow and anxiety, sadness and guilt. He saw through his face, not the devils or the demons, but the face of a human.
“Why do you do this?....”
He asked but there was no response. The man released his clutch from the crimson man's leg and closed his eyes. He remembered his sons and girls back at his home in Cairo, where they'll be waiting for his return back home, he was just here to feed his children and live through his life, he never participated in any acts of violence, he was never a criminal, for all his years he served by the rules of god. Was it a crime to do what he did? Serving god to the best of his abilities and being an able father he'd been all this day?
The counter guardian held up his arms. whatever the outcome, in the end the man forgave him; for giving him a chance to reconcile with his past, for giving him a chance to look through his memories, the smile of their families, and every bits of happiness inside him.
“Allahu akbar....”
And the counter guardian powered down his swing. But in stead of the dull sound of swords cleaving through the skin, the impact was met with a loud clang; there was a sudden hindrance.
“Don’t thy think that's a bit too rough Counter Guardian? As much as I detest tee Muslims they are still humans, let us be a little softer on them shall we?”
As his blades swung down to kill. A triangular shield, its frame coated in gold and its body splayed with a red cross, obstructed his white falchion from delivering the final blow. The counter guardian ignored the intrusion and landed another strike with his other free blade, only to be blocked again, this time by a war scimitar.
“Tch, the Christians were worthless, the hired mercenaries were just big pieces of expendable rots...By the way, half of the men you killed were of my kin Counter Guardian.”
By now, the counter guardian realized he had to divert his attention to the two obstructions; the counter guardian made a short leap behind and made a quick observation. The one with the cross shield was donned in silver chainmail and a thick layer of steel plate armor, his blonde hair reached down to his neck, partially covering his well shaped, handsome baby face. Everything about him reminded the guardian of a medieval European knight, but more importantly, the surcoat that covered most of his body was splayed with a bloody red cross; a typical outfit of a Templar knight of the time.
The other one was wielding a gold ordained war scimitar, he had the face of a typical Middle Eastern man; only, it was much better built, and his eagle like eyes and the knife wound on his left cheek added a look of a fierce warrior. He was wearing a big white turban with a big red oval ruby attached on it's front, the body of this warrior was dressed in a golden metal chainmail, with a layer of leather armor equipped around it, which were slightly obscured by a thin layer of yellow silk and white sheet of cloth wrapping the lower parts of his body. Tightly belted around his back was a round shield with the mark of crescent moon splayed on top; it was a typical equipment of medieval jihad warriors. Only, the peculiar look of his turban was indicating that he was a man of noble status.
“Return to the asylum, we'll take it from here Amir.”
The warrior in turban gave a slight glance at the worker who in turn looked at the man in surprise but soon, he heeded the man's advice and nodded, the expression on his face was that of deference as if he was confronting a hero, Without thinking twice the man returned to take shelter inside the tomb, god had saved him to day.
***
Both of them made a quick battle stance as the yard turned empty. The knight belted his shield on his back and pulled out a silver broad sword from the scabbard around his belt. He grabbed the sword with both his hand and raised his arms over the shoulder and pointed the tip of the blade towards the counter guardian. The warrior did the same, only his form wasn't set, he pulled out his round shield and simply glared at the man.
“He's not a Christian.” Said the warrior as his eyes trailed on to his opponent.
“He is not a Muslim either, seems we'll have to resort to our own battle skills. Bloody hell, why are there so many atheists lying around here.”
and the knight added, tightening the grip on his blade.
Soon, they charged, the counter guardian readied his blade, preparing itself to meet his challenge. In the distance the sun was slowly revealing itself on the horizon, lighting the desert golden.
Apple Street Agency, Belfast near present day great Victoria street
December 11, 2014
The sun was dawning on the ever flourishing streets of Belfast. All over the town, Snows instead of rain, were fluttering down from the skies, painting everything white and inducing a merry sense of romance over the unsuspecting townsfolk. It was a sure sign of luck for the residents of Belfast, for one thing snowfalls had been a rare occasion around this part of the country; it's been days since they had any sign of snow, for the other, Christmas was just around the corner. Everywhere people went, they'd hear carol songs, See Christmas trees decorating the shops, the streets and even the office buildings. Friends and Families gathered, preparing to celebrate the day of the coming of Christ.
However despite the omnipresent atmosphere of celebration, Up by the pavements around the snow stacked roadsides of the great Victoria Streets, right in the middle tightly adjoined networks of old Office buildings, was a single completely undecorated five story office building, Structured via an old humble Victorian architecture. in hindsight it would've looked like an old residential building. However, the small sign post hanging above the door was giving it a slightest hint of what this place belonged to of course: it was the Base of the Apple Street Agency.
***
Saber made a big yawn as she forcefully woke herself up from her bed. It's been a whole week since they left the Ruins of Babylon for home and it was just yesterday that Saber, Shirou and Rin managed to make their way back to their crib. The trip back home itself went on very smoothly, Luvia had been kind enough to go on a search and rescue mission escorting them back to Riyadh, it wasn't always that she'd expect a help from her seemingly cruel sponsor but at least she came in the nick of time, helping them beat the dragon without any casualty.
After dropping Saber, Shirou and Rin in Riyadh Luvia’s helicopter took off again with her helicopter without saying a single word to them. Rin speculated that judging by the direction she went off, their sponsor was on her way to Atlas, of course speculation was just a speculation and they still had their own matter to care about, Deadline was tight and time was short.
Saber, Rin and Shirou immediately rushed back to the airport where they found the airport bustling with crowds and constant delays. Most of the planes they saw were instead being diverted to a new destination, often it would be Moscow or countries contingent to Russia. Unusual even, was that more often they’d see passengers arriving than departing. However, after five days the delay ended and they managed to make their way back to Heathrow and from there, to George best city airport and back to their home. The whole commotion was filled with constant stress and irritation as their deadline clause seemed as if it would end a disastrous failure.
Of course, they didn’t even care to learn of what was happening around the world. Five days stuck in the airport, living off the dried kurma fruits and canned foods they brought with them during their expedition, anxiously hoping to reach for the deadline as fast as they could. It was hectic, and in such a chaotic situation. All trivialities such as news were just things to be put aside.
Their second trial had to do with the very thing they’d risked their life to retrieve. EA, as you might expect wasn’t actually very helpful in bypassing airport security. Had it been without Rin’s Sorcery they’d have had to spend years in a local penitentiary, accused of artifact embezzling .There were definitely much safer transportation mediums around. But to reach the deadline they had to take the fastest route and by fastest there was nothing else better than to use an airplane.
Thankfully, Rin’s suggestion, Invisibility and a couple of anti penetration spells had helped them bypass every state of the art security systems available in the airport. It was ironic really; as such spells would’ve been useless had the personnel of the airport used a more traditional method of scrutinizing the contents of their packages. Technology definitely helped them in achieving their goal, as a mage of noble lineage it was both ironic and somewhat hard to swallow for Rin.
But, a work accomplished was still a work accomplished and it’d have been foolish to keep on with it so Rin made an adroit decision to let things go. Since then they’ve hastened their travel and within 48 hours they were back, just a day before their deadline.
Today they’ll face the alchemist. Exchange EA for the sum of 1 million dollars and take an early retirement, spending most on them on safe property investment and spending the rest traveling around the world nibbling on the diverse culinary cuisines around the world. The thought itself was enough to mouth water Saber. Today was a big day and on big days people wake up early. And Saber wasn’t an exception.
***
So Saber yawned, her room was still dark with the curtains still closed despite the strong light of the sun.. The small strands of light beaming from the narrow line of space hit her emerald eyes as she rubbed her eyes clean with the sleeves of her lion striped pajamas. She slowly crawled down from her bed and made her way across to the curtain and dragged them open to the side. Saber watched as the light from the window gradually shed light down to the small yet comfy room of hers.
First off, Saber went on to tidy her bed. In her past life such chores would’ve been a duty of her own servants but after living in the present world for years this activity has become a part of her routine. She confessed she enjoyed doing such things. In the present world she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, she was able to be herself and live as any woman would. Untied to her oath of kingship, Saber always thought herself as a bird released from her cage, free of any binds, free to pursue what she truly wants.
Saber moved over to the closet as she found her blanket and bed sheet neatly folded and done. She took off her clothes and looked over at her humble collection of T-shirts, jeans and dresses. Over the years she’s been accustomed to the ways of the present world and she’d managed to assimilate well with the social norms, you wouldn’t find her walking around the streets with one same dress everyday. She’s learned the fashion of the contemporary, found a new liking to the dress codes of the modern era. She even considered wearing a perfume but decided not to, at least for now anyway.
After going through a selection of clothing, Saber came across the dress that Rin gave her during the Grail war. She decided she’d wear them for today, the cloth gave her somewhat a sense of Nostalgia, It reminded her of the early days she had with both Rin and Shirou during the Grail war. The days that were both mixed with sadness and happiness. The days that she thought would be mere fleeting memories. Had it not been for Shirou and Rin, Such days would have disappeared to mere grind of dust, lost in an eternity of guilt and pain.
***
She recalled the battle between Shirou and Archer. She watched and she was mesmerized at the same time. It wasn’t the beauty of the swordplay, but it was the battle of ideals the ideal that closely mimicked her own that caught her in.
Archer decried Shirou’s ideal, seeing it as a mere sham. Perhaps somewhere within her she found the slight hope for the future to triumph, for it would’ve proven her goal to be true and just. But she felt her resolve slowly wane as she watched. The future was relentless, trying incessantly to let the past falter. But Shirou held firm, he fought back despite the overwhelming odds. There was no reason for him to continue, his ideal was wrong but logic didn’t matter to him.All the reason he needed was
The beauty of that ideal itself.
She felt every bit of her resolve and wish deteriorate with each blow they exchanged, the crimson archer was winning the fight but he wasn’t winning the battle of ideals and resolve. With the final strike on Archer’s heart, she felt the last of the belief she held firm crumble to dust. The sense of guilt and responsibility, She finally accepted the futility of her wish. And with it she promised she’d watch through the days she’ll have with them.
Rin and Shirou, they will be her guide and she, Saber, will be their guardian. The newfound belief she hold firm, never be washed away by the strongest of tides, the most vicious of flames and the deepest depths of the abyss.
***
Saber dressed herself and moved out to the living room. The rising sun was already shining the interior of the room bright, giving the interior of this commodious room a subtle sense of comfort and warmth. Saber moved over to the main door and unlocked it before pulling it open and dragged the stack of newspapers lying dormant beside her.
She, Rin and Shirou saw them on their way back from George best city airport but the drastic climate change they experienced when they arrived in England and the apparently unbearable jetlag kept them from dragging them in, plus they had to dust the place right away. Thirty days of neglect had left everything in dust. And, they even had to clean them up before sleeping
Doing such a straining work was enough a reason to leave things be. Thankfully, the newspaper delivery guy was kind enough to tie them into one big stack. That left Saber off much of the dirty work. Saber made a small smile, thankful that the human sentiments of the past had Still existed today.
It was still very heavy though, dragging a mountain of stacked newspaper inside, even with all the kindness of the newspaper boy this was still undoubtedly a dirty work. Internet would've been less painful and less time consuming than this
But still, newspapers are excellent sources of information
(Particularly when having someone as averse as to technology like Rin around the Vicinity)
And Detectives virtually live off of information.
Saber pulled them to the carpet between the Sofa and the TV and slowly untied them. Bringing a glass of water and the last remaining Pack of Barbeque flavored Cheetos from the fridge. As she was finished with the preparation, Saber read through the news paper one by one starting from the bottom to the most recent edition, nibbling on the snacks as she did.
An hour had past and by now the streets were bustling with Cars and noise pollutions. And Saber had gone through over half of the papers by now. Most of the articles involved trivial political news, it seemed that the former IRA members, after almost two decades out of their terrorist activities and a decade and a year after their complete decommission. Had been actively seeking election to the congress, an act which was being met with resistance on part of the conservative politicians and the tension had started to rise up. The news itself was interesting but Saber quickly found out, the news was just a load of propaganda pieces; A newspaper that is supposed to be on neutral grounds was actually taking sides. Quickly skimming through the load of bullshit, it all took just an hour for her to go halfway.
But the headline she found in the next edition of the paper was something she found utterly wrong. Saber read the headline it again and again. She felt uneasiness shrouding her. She immediately stood up and quickly made her way to Rin and Shirou’s bedroom.
***
“Oh, great just great, you forgot your condom!?”
“But you said you’re safe! Rin!”
“Oh yeah , Safe. Last time you did that we messed up the date and I had to take that pill!! Now where is that god damned pill!”
Rin and Shirou were Busy scouring their bedroom for the elusive contraception, as they'd decided back in the desert. They got down and straight, straight from the night down to the morning. But as they'd often experience, it had gone haywire again.
“Ugh...I knew I should have grabbed one back at the convention store!! We don't have em'!!”
“Be patient Rin, why don't you try looking at the calendar?”
Shirou made a forcible smile, and asked. He knew the last time his wife was enraged like this. For precisely the same reason. He had to sleep outside at the streets without a single money or food for nearly 48 hours!!! He wouldn't have lasted had it not been Saber's courtesy of secretive offering of food. Even then it wasn't clear cut to be considered as a food. Saber tended to eat much and leaving food wasn't very characteristic of her. Imagine a few littered bread crumbs and a single cup of hot coffee. And you get the picture.
“Let's see now... my last period was The last of november which means, thirty first of November...November thirty first...wait... thirtyone? No...November has 30 days!!!”
Shirou watched horrified at the sudden silence... Shirou saw her hands shaking violently, her face red, he saw this sight only twice in his lifetime, this was his second and he knew things weren't going to end up in a happy ending.
“Uh.. Sorry?”
“SHIIRRRROOOOOUUU!!!!!!”
***
Saber felt cold sweat dropping, the newspaper article was shocking to her, whatever it is, it had to do with something important. Saber sprinted her way up to the second floor which was immediately connected with the stairs. She ignored the paintings on the wall of this floor and abruptly turned the door knob and pushed it open, that's when she heard the scream and the figure of Rin and Shirou half naked.... And angry, Rin was angry. She Saw Rin's face in this state only twice in her lifetime. This was her second. But thankfully her sudden appearance managed to tame things down.
“Ah!!! Saber what is it?”
Shirou, quickly moved over to the Shower and locked it, taking a shower. Rin, dazed at the outcome, idly stared at Saber, her temper was definitely tempered by Saber's appearance.
Saber leaned her body by the door frame and sighed.
“We have urgent news right now. I think we better get to the office with the papers.”
“Urgent news?”
Rin decided to follow her husband and move over to the showers on the living room, still keeping her ear towards Saber.
“It has something to do with Tohko... and it doesn't look too good”
Rin stopped beside Saber, Her eyes were telling some sort of expectations, She felt this aura of mystery since the very day they set their hands on EA and she has somewhat been expecting this
“Alright, we'll get there as soon as we're done with the showers”
Rin moved over to the showers across the living room and opened it. Saber interrupted.
“By the way you look like you've gotten younger Rin, reminds me of you ten years ago.”
“Is it?”
Rin rolled her head to Saber and made a mischievous grin. She reached her hands at one of the vials with a plummy liquid from the shower and held it on her palms before winking at Saber, Who in turn looked at the item in intrigued.
“So you're really 18 right now, I saw the same thing with Shirou, you didn't feed him that did you?”
Rin folded her arms across her bra
“I'll let you try it if you want.”
“No thanks, I prefer my face as it is thank you.”
“Well, let me know if you change your mind. The youth potion is always available to us.”
And she closed the door to the shower.
***
“Let's see now, November 20? USS. Nimitz staged for decommission gone missing from the port...are you talking about this?”
“No, the November 21st headline news.”
Shirou and Rin focused their eyes on the article, it had a vivid photograph of ruinous City of Moscow printed on the paper as well as a large bold text on top , Which read:
(Moscow in ruins)
Rin and Shirou immediately knew what it implied; they weren't able to contact the puppet master, even the supposed alchemist, a member of the Magi association had no clue as to where she'd be. The evidence wasn't there but she instinctively knew this supposed terrorist attack had to have had something to do with it.
“Do you think the alchemist had something to do with this dear?” Asked Shiro
“No, if she did then she wouldn't have come to give us the job offer, It would've been less peculiar for her if she'd instead come to capture us as an accomplice.”
Rin Folded her arms below her chest and rested her back on the chair.
“But we know Touko, she is the red mage. She should be safe, unless it's an outright sister fight going on she'll be fine.”
Rin was quite confident about that. However desperate, The MA won't call upon the Blue mage for help, it's improbable that Aoko herself would abide by the calls of the MA itself. However there was still an air of sourness going on. Shirou and Saber nodded but they were still unsure about this, but they had full trust on Rin and decided not to delve themselves any further on this matter. The money is of course, their main priority as always.
“Well, anyway its lunchtime soon, let's get ready, The girl will be here any minute now.”
***
Shirou, Rin and Saber changed to their formal suit and stationed themselves in their office. On the table was EA, wrapped around a piece of clothing, ready for the change in hands. As of a last parting gift Shirou begged Rin to try and trace the Unworldly sword again but every time he did that Rin would simply say 'NO' and end the debate. For Shirou it was a personal matter of pride. Up until now there were no single swords he can't trace, until now he's never failed in tracing the swords he saw.
Tracing had become a thing he took with pride overtime but it was crushed with the appearance of EA. His feeling was like that of a student who failed to get a hundred in an elementary algebra test just because of one lame university level math question. He knew he can never do it but was always set to take on the impossible; and fry his brain perhaps. But Rin was always there to prevent it.
When their alarm clock sounded the mid day alarm a knock in the door sounded. Rin was surprised, she knew the Alchemists were very calculative but not as far as that. Arriving at precisely twelve with not a single second past. Had they been late even a single second she thought (rightly anyways) she'd never have got that million.
Once again Saber led her to the desk and returned, nibbling on the sweets as always. Sion sat on the chair. She looked somewhat surprised at what the agency had managed; She was actually seeing EA!! She calculated the odds of this happening at less than 1 percent, even putting the puppet master in the fray she doubted it would ever go further than 5 percent. Nonetheless, they came up with the package and the mission was accomplished.
“A fine specimen you got there, I am impressed... you've actually came up with the package...”
Rin and Shirou's face brightened, they were going to win the deal of a thousand grand!!!
“However, I'm deeply sorry to inform you....”
Rin and Shirou rolled their eyes at each other, perplexed. No matter what, they were getting their answer... and answer she'll give, But none of the trios would be ready to hear what would come from the mouth of this girl.
“That the Atlas has decided to cut down the reward to 10% of the original account”
“What the hell......”
Rin stared at the girl in disbelief
End Apple Street Agency Phase II Episode 1: 10 percent
***
the balls of light slowly dissipated to the air, peeling off his skin like flowers fluttering down to the sky. The Crimson Guardian blankly stared at the templar and the warrior as he felt his body slowly gave way. The sword and the scimitar pierced through his chest, and he died.
“That was some fight. Don't you agree?”
The Templar knight sheathed his sword inside the scabbard as he saw the counter guardian disappear into thin air. The warrior beside him did the same, putting back his Shield and sticking his scimitar in between his belt. From behind the cave a figure emerged, an Asian, barely forty in age and donned in a worker's suit, he ran over to the two.
“What is all the commotion about?”
The man barked at them.
“Patience Amir Norton, the barrier seems to have been weakened, you will have to send your men to fix it up or another of those monsters will re-emerge”
And the warrior left, back to the tomb. Ignoring Professor Norton
“A monster?”
“thee shall find out what I mean soon enough, look around thee me friend. The mountain of corpses around you.”
The professor felt his body stunned, there were corpses and blood everywhere. People were mutilated, body parts were torn off. Blood was virtually everywhere. The knight wiped the blod off his face and moved back to the tomb. However he stopped short of entering and returned to ask another question at the stupefied professor.
“Hath the shipments from the doll master come?”
Professor Norton drank up his parched throat and simply nodded.
“Good, then their lives could be saved. Return to your work professor Norton. The savior is waiting for your findings. Make haste, and you'll see the truth.”
And the knight moved on.
In the middle of the yard Professor Norton stood idly, as he saw the remaining Mages proceed to load the corpses in the coming truck. The workers will come to live another day, he knew It., for, in the world of magus nothing was impossible...even death, it seemed, was something trivial.
Intermission end