Fate/Tempus Odyssey

The simple fact of the matter was that who would pair with who was solved relatively quickly, and with significant derision.

"I will not be accompanying such talentless waste." Idael Archibald declared, almost sniffing. "The Einzbern has proven competent enough, and summoned a high calibre of Servant. I will take him with me into the ruins."

It was resolved that quickly. As the pair departed, leaping over the side of the Argo with their Servants, Heine merely put his hand reassuringly on Shinji's shoulder.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm actually not sure if he was referring to you or me." He admitted. Shinji just shook his head. Truly, the relationship he had with Idael could only be described as one of mutual spite.

"Jason, put us down in the foothills." Atalanta called, perched like a cat at the prow. Jason seemed all too eager to oblige her, the ship swooping down like a thunderbolt.

"We looking for survivors or what?" Shinji asked. Kayneth simply regarded him for a moment.

"Anything that might help." He answered. "Survivors, Servants, the enemy. Anything that could give us information as to what is happening inside the city. The foothills and the cliffs are likely locations for refuge camps. Make them your initial investigations." He paused only briefly, pulling out a small device that looked almost like a walkie talkie and handing one to both Shinji and Heine. "I put little stock in it, but Leonardo assures me it will work. Keep in contact."

"Roger." Heine mused, motioning his Servants over as he marched to the side. "Oi, Matou, need someone to drop you down?"

"He'll be fine." Sheba's voice cut through like a knife. "He's my responsibility." Her eyes met Heine's for a long moment. If they disagreed with each other, though, it wasn't clear, for he simply smiled.

"Sure. I'll see you on the down side." With that, he stepped off and over the side. Shinji simply swallowed hard.

"Sheba… I can't float."

"It's fine. I'll get you down." Sheba answered. Astolfo just chuckled.

"Either that or I'll have to catch you." He noted. Sheba's undignified squawk at being ignored was amusing if nothing else.

Gathering his courage, Shinji just waved what might be his last act on earth and jumped. The fall was a rush followed by a sudden stop.

Atalanta was snickering as Shinji finally drooped the last two feet, tapping down on the ground gently. His face was frozen in an expression of shock.

"Uh..."

"I'm surprised you thought that might kill you." Atalanta giggled, but as Sheba and Astolfo joined them, the Rider of the party simply smiled gently.

"The abilities of magi to fall great distances has only gotten stranger in most ways." He admitted. "I believe we haven't formally met. Master, if I may?"

"Go ahead." Heine just waved his hand. "Sheba you know. The Saber is… um..." His gaze asked the simple question of permission, and Shinji just nodded.

"He's Astolfo." There was no point even trying to hide that one. Astolfo posed at the sound of his name, but otherwise made no comment.

"Well met. Archer you are already acquainted with. My true name is Saint George." He glanced about the party. "Now that names have been revealed, it is vital that we hide them. It is not necessary to grant our enemies more then they need to know."

"Right." Astolfo made a motion of zipping his lips, but everyone knew the reality of the situation. The anonymity of the Servants in battle would last exactly how long Astolfo's reason did, and there was nothing suggesting that would last long. Heine just chuckled.

"Well, at least none of us are people who it is particularly advantageous to know the True Name of." He mused. "Ideas, ladies and gentlemen? You think the cliffs or the foothills are more likely?" He hummed, pulling a pair of binoculars as he looked around. Shinji had to wonder where, exactly, he got them, but it didn't seem to be all that important either.

"Ask Shinji, he's the native." Sheba retorted, almost shivering. Shinji had to wonder why; she hailed from a desert. "How do you put up with this?"

"Wait till it snows." He answered drily. It did seem to be that time of the year, "Kyoto's within a valley called the Yamashiro basin. The palace and the surrounding city are built the Chinese way; the palace faces south and overlooks the city. Following that, its surrounded by mountains and rivers. If someone was trying to flee, the logical way to go would be into the foothills or trying to escape past the river to the south."

He paused only briefly, finger on his chin.

"I actually don't remember if the palace is still the head of the city." He admitted. "Really should have checked while we were on the Argo."

"Not our job, kid." Heine chided gently. "Let's prod out some geography. The mountains around the basin, they particularly crossable?"

"Not really. Not unless your taking the roads." Shinji answered. "You could do it, but not with what you'd carry with you running from a burning city." He paused, thinking. "The rivers make natural roads, though."

"Right." Heine nodded, glancing in the four directions. "If you were running, which way would you go?"

"Not east." Shinji muttered. "In spite of the main road, it doesn't really lead anywhere unless there's a fishing village along the way, you'll have to change bearings anyway. South leads to the rest of Honshu. Might be able to find a port that way, and there should be enough paths. West takes you along the highlands, and again, there should be enough roads if you can get there."

"So south and west." Heine nodded. "Not north?"

"I… don't know." He answered honestly. "Depends where the attack came from, but the north side of Kyoto isn't as heavily populated. It might have occurred to those already there, though."

"Right. Right." Heine muttered a few things to himself, glancing to Archer. "Your thoughts?"

"The air is choked." She answered softly. "In the distance to the south and west, I can see what might be smoke fires. To the north is futile, the city is in the way. I would be inclined to agree with Shinji's assessment." She paused. "The rivers lack blood. It would seem that the demons have not moved far out of the city yet."

"That doesn't mean anything on it's own." Saint George noted. "Should we split up or stay together?" Heine shook his head at the suggestion.

"Together. Only together." He answered. "Too risky to split up. Much as I hate to admit it, Archibald's Berserker is in the area now. Treat that thing as hostile unless proven otherwise." Grimacing, he raised his binoculars again. "Caster, can you give any insight?"

"Not really." Came the answer. "There's a lot of restless spirits, if that's what you mean."

"Following humans, or away from them?" Heine wondered aloud. "Saber?"

"Yes?"

"Pick one. South or west?"

"Huh, why me?" Astolfo pointed a finger to himself, but Atalanta merely chuckled.

"Of course. Since he has no reason, his answer will be fuelled by his sixth sense." Atalanta noted. "That's pretty clever, Master."

"Oh, right." Astolfo just hummed, closing his eyes and placing his hand on his chin, before they suddenly snapped open. "South. I wanna go south."

"South we go." Heine nodded. "If anyone needs a jacket, say so now."

Sheba, unsurprisingly, asked for several.

Travel was quite easy. Atalanta easily picked out a path for everyone to follow. Indeed, it was quite strange to not be the slowest person in the party; that honour belonged to Rider, who simply smiled weakly and stated that 'his stomach was still weak'. The river became their trail, and they made their way along the road as best they could until Atalanta raised a hand.

"Corpses." She muttered. There was no need to say more. Heine just nodded.

"We investigate." He answered. "Objections, Shinji?"

"No." Shinji grit his teeth. Bodies were something he was going to have to deal with. The corpses in question was what looked like a small family. Astolfo just whimpered sadly as the party strode on the scene, his eyes moving between them and the cart they'd no doubt been trying to drag.

"What a waste." He muttered. Atalanta did not seem to have a better opinion of the matter.

"The hearts are missing." George spoke up. "All four of them." Heine did not immediately answer, glancing at Atalanta.

"How." She finally asked. After a long moment, Sheba answered.

"It was surgical, wasn't it?" She asked. George simply nodded.

"Yes."

Atalanta just let out a long sigh.

"You know who it is?" Heine asked. Atalanta shook her head.

"A inkling. A Servant named Jack the Ripper." She answered. Shinji glanced at Sheba, puzzlement on his face.

"Is the heart important?" He asked. Sheba shook her head.

"Not really. It is a source of magical power, and in some circles it's considered the vessel of the soul." She answered. "To a Servant, it's a means of surviving without a master, but..."

"But lethal." Astolfo answered, almost knowingly. "You think jack the Ripper is here?"

"Who knows." Atalanta admitted. "It could be any demon taking twisted pleasure, for all we know."

"The bodies are cold. They aren't recent." George noted. "Archer, which way were they going."

"South." She answered. "They were travelling south with haste." Heine just nodded.

"We should move on." He stated. George just raised an eyebrow.

"We won't bury them?" A moment passed, then two.

"One moment." Sheba began to chant, and lifted her hand. The earth scooped from the ground, as if lifted by some ethereal being. "It's crude, but-"

"No, it is sufficient. One moment, if you would." Shinji wasn't sure how to answer, but George attended to his work with all haste. "Let us be off."

It was a grim determination spread over his face.

Rushing along the river again, it was Astolfo who first spoke up.

"There's a settlement ahead, I think." He noted, smoke rising in the distance.

"That would be my thought as well." Atalanta answered. "It does seem abnormally close though."

"Should we?" Sheba spoke up. Heine glanced at Shinji.

"Your call, kid."

"Why me?"

"You live in this nation. I can't communicate with them." Heine retorted. Shinji just sighed. Heine wasn't wrong.

"We look." He muttered. "We at least look."

Looking, Shinji decided, might not have been a great idea. Atalanta led them to the settlement with ease. Calling it a settlement might have been optimistic. Really, it was more like a hastily erected military camp, a very familiar, if out of date, flag in the distance.

"The Shinsengumi?" Shinji muttered. It wasn't the wrong time period, to be fair, but he was almost surprised that any of them were still alive. Sheba raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"A special police. They protected the Tokugawa representatives in Kyoto." He muttered back. "I can't see into the camp."

"Neither can I." Sheba admitted. "Saber?"

"One moment." The sound of a servant melting away was odd, as he scurried up a nearby tree. "I can't tell if their refugees or soldiers."

"There's another flag in there." Atalanta noted. "It's some sort of crest. I don't recognise it."

"Can you show me what it looks like?" Shinji asked. Atalanta shook her head.

"I can't draw it." She admitted, almost embarrassed. "There's lots of rifles though. If a demon came through here..."

"They'd mostly die." George muttered. "Except..."

"There's a Servant somewhere in there, yeah." Sheba muttered. "Think it's your Jack the Ripper?"

"Jack was an Assassin." Atalanta muttered. "I doubt it."

Even so…

[ ] Stride in anyway.
[ ] You could always come back to the camp. Check the surrounding area.
[ ] … Why is the light glinting over there?

The truth of the matter was, as Shinji observed the camp before him, that it was not exactly set up as a military camp. While the walls were hurriedly arranged into a sort of fortress, they were only covered in somewhat thin cloth. It was not designed as a permanent structure, nor did it look like it would resist an attack very well.

"If Jack the Ripper is in there, a lot of people will die when we root him out." Sheba muttered. It was voicing what was, really, the obvious thought. Jack the Ripper was a serial killer famed for never being caught. If that was the Servant in there, then it would be difficult to find them.

Yet Shinji could feel his stomach churning. It was an oppressive feeling, like a miasma weighing down on his shoulders. Something felt thoroughly wrong, yet the world as he saw it seemed quite calm.

"There's no birds." Atalanta noted. That did not, however, seem all that unusual to Shinji. No, his gaze was situated on the walls. There was something quite odd about them.

Quite odd. Then he caught it. A glint of light, like a reflection off metal or glass. His eyes widened. His voice hitched. It was like everything was in slow motion. The reflection turned into a flash in an instant.

A gunshot rang out, and the sound of a bullet bouncing was equally loud.

"They've seen us." Saint George's voice was quite urgent, his blade flashing through the air. "Master-"

"I can't see it." Heine shot back. Shinji just grit his teeth, pointing at the wall.

"There, a reflection on something." He hissed. "It's a firearm."

"Where?"

The very idea that both Atalanta and Sheba could not see it had not even occurred to Shinji until he had pointed at the, to him, very obvious barrel of a gun. Heine's mouth twisted into a curse.

"I see it. Use my vision, Archer."

"Got it." Atalanta drew her bow and arrow, eyes closed as she aimed. It was a long, tense second, before the arrow flew through the air.

"I don't-"

"A spiritual barrier." Sheba growled, answering Shinji's half asked question. "It would seem we can't see in. No wonder we can't see humans in there. Saber must have gotten high enough to peer in over it."

Shinji simply swallowed. He had heard of spiritual barriers before. His grandfather had claimed that the Ryuudou Temple had been created to anchor one.

Yet the effects of a Spiritual Barrier were varied, except in one fact. They affected spirits most of all, and a Servant was good enough to count.

"Heine, what do we do?" The idea of fighting was not far from Shinji's mind, but most of all, he was confused. Heine just grimaced, his hands clenching, before he began to move.

"Stay right behind me." He answered. "They have us in their sights. We'll have to move forward. Caster, if you could reinforce my armour. Shinji, I'm going to need you to walk forward with me."

"What?"

"We'll call out for parley. If this is a refugee camp, then we're on their side." Heine just groaned, armour of amethyst beginning to form all over his body, transforming his form into that of a knight. "Damn, we must look so suspicious to them."

That, clearly, was not too outlandish at all. After all, they'd worried the camp enough to fire. Sheba's voice was low as she muttered, and the armour took on a brilliant azure sheen.

"That's as strong as I dare, Istari. Let Shinji come to harm at your peril."

"Understood." He lifted his left hand, forming a huge shield around it. "Stay behind my left shoulder. Slowly now."

The march was slow and torturous. Shinji winced every time a bullet ricocheted from Heine's body. However, the armour proved sturdy and steady. There was no fear of it faltering, for the moment.

Taking a deep breath, Shinji tried to calm his nerves. It was not working.

'I am going to die.'

It was a thought that resounded in his head. Some small part of him wanted to beg Shirou to descend, to bail him out of this crisis. But then, how could he face Shirou again if that was his first answer to danger?

His teeth were beginning to warm from the grinding.

"I am Shinji Matou! We have come to negotiate! Please grant us an audience with your Lord!"

His voice was not clear. In fact, it wavered and broke at least twice. Shinji could hear sounds within the camp, cries and discussion, but nothing distinct. Heine just winced.

"I hope that was a call for parley." It was rapidly becoming obvious that Heine's Japanese was very limited.

"Only if they answer." Shinji's response sounded weak, even to him. Yet for a long moment, there were no bullets, no declarations of intent. Nothing.

"Speak. Why do you stand beside Foreign Devils?"

The voice was harsh and clear. A gruff voice belonging to a man. It took Shinji a long moment to process what might be the problem.

"Shit."

"What?"

"I think they blame foreigners for Kyoto." Shinji whispered hurriedly, before raising his voice. "I stand beside allies who stand against the forces of destruction! We have come to render assistance to those fleeing Kyoto!"

The simple truth was that Shinji's hands were shaking. His lips were chattering. It was, at best, to be described as fear. More murmurs rang out behind the walls, including something that sounded like an admonishment, before something sharp stabbed through the side of the wall, carving a doorway out of the cloth.

"Really, did that blasted Onmyo not tell you anything?" It was a man, a rather tall man, absently holding one of about seven katana in his hand, the rest sheathed about his body. His right eye was hidden by a large headband, and his left had honed in on them sharply. "Names. Declare them now."

"Shinji Matou, and this is Heine Istari." Shinji made haste in bowing. "Damn it Heine, bow."

"What?"

"That's Masamune Date. Bow damn it."

It was not every day you met a figure of your own history. Masamune, if that was truly his name, just stared for a long moment.

"I do understand English, you know." He mused. "Geez. Seems you know me already. It's really weird having everyone recognise you." His eye steadily scanned the clearing, ever so narrow. "Bring your friends here. I want to see you all."

"… Rider, Archer." Heine obliged almost immediately, the two Servants melting into view. Shinji simply motioned with his hand, Astolfo appearing immediately.

It was a little unusual to watch Sheba run over, admittedly.

"Six." Masamune noted. "That's all?"

"That's all of us, my lord." Shinji confirmed. Words were not really accurate to describe the feeling in his chest. It felt like any moment, a dragon would rise up and snatch him up in it's maw, devouring him whole.

Then he felt a gentle hand on his back, and the feeling vanished.

"As a knight, I would appreciate it if you don't try to threaten my master with the desire to kill." Astolfo's voice was surprisingly venomous. His hand did not move from Shinji's back, but his other hand was conspicuously close to the horn on his belt. Masamune stared for only a moment longer, before breaking out in a smile.

"Brave and capable. You can stop shaking in your boots kid. You all have contracts with each other, that's good enough." He waved his hand. "Hijikata! Prepare a small meal for our guests."

Shinji could already hear the sound of spluttering as Masamune's sword sheathed. Suddenly the air felt significantly lighter. Really, all he could manage was a dumb 'huh'.

"Was this a test?" Heine's voice was quick to cut through the air. Masamune just winked at him.

"No." The answer was brutal and honest. "The guards of the camp were quite ready to kill you. I'm going to be having words, it seems. It feels like every problem around here is because no one talks to each other." He just shrugged, marching back into the camp. "Come, heroes! It's not much, but it will fill your belly. We can talk once your warm."

It took only a moment for Atalanta to speak up.

"He does know that we do not get cold, right?"

"Speak for yourself." It would be questionable whose voice was capable of more venom, the man within the camp, or Sheba herself. "Let's go. I'm freezing."

The camp was unusual. The second the Servants stepped past the edge, it was quite obvious that a veil had been lifted from their vision. The Mon of the Date clan was quite visible from within. Indeed, it was almost scary, seeing it in this time period.

Perhaps more scary, was the number of men who were clearly soldiers of the Date clan.

"It's not much." Masamune practically flopped to the ground, seizing a cup of soup as he did so. "But it'll warm you up." His single eye wearily followed his six guests. "Sit, drink. I suspect we have much to discuss."

That was one way to put it…

"If it's the same to you, I'll stand." Heine stated. "No offence meant, but I need a moment." Masamune seemed to understand, for he merely nodded.

"It's fine. So tell me, what brings five foreigners and a boy from the future to Japan?" He asked. "Especially while the imperial palace is burning. If I didn't know better, I'd think these things are related." He leaned forward just a little, his lips twisting into a smile. "Hijikata, come join us."

Shinji just took a deep breath. As the one who spoke Japanese, this would no doubt be left to him.

[ ] Tell the truth, that you had come from Chaldea on the Argo to resolve this singularity.
[ ] Tell a half truth, that you had come from a far away place to render assistance to people under attack from demons.
[ ] Lie, say you had merely been in the area and were seeking to render aid.

Taking a deep breath, Shini…
[ ] Drank the soup.
[ ] Did not drink the soup.

And decided to ask…
[ ] Nothing. Wait and see how this develops.
[ ] About the Onmyo.
[ ] About Masamune's own presence.
[ ] About the Shinsengumi.
[ ] Write in.