Fate/Tempus Odyssey

In some ways, a lot of things were going wrong at once, but the more he thought about it all, the more Shinji just wanted to press his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Mizukume looked at him with a gentle eye, her face almost pitying.

"I don't suppose you would help us?" He asked. The kyuubi just giggled to herself.

"Maybe." She wasn't likely to give a better answer anytime soon. Sheba did not look any less exasperated, busying herself with eating something. Shinji had to wonder if she was just distracting herself.

"Got that radio?"

"Yes." The answer from the caster was simple and soft.

"Who's it connected to again?"

"Technically? Leonardo. Why?"

"I'm going to guess we can't get Idael or Einzbern directly on that."

"I doubt it." Sheba's voice lacked the usual bite, as she pulled the small device from her sash and fiddled with it. "Only setting I actually know gets Leonardo. Maybe another could get them?"

"Just get Leonardo." Shinji grumbled. There was a long crackle of static, as Sheba began fiddling with the device, before leaning into the mouthpiece.

"Oi, Leo, you there?"

"In a manner of speaking." The voice on the other side was not one Shinji had heard before. It was soft, male, and spoke of someone who did not actually talk to others much. "What is it, Sheba? I'm a tad busy."

"We have news. A lot bad. When was the last time you spoke to Einzbern or Idael?"

The pause between Leonardo and Sheba was very long, and very heavy.

"Hours. Why?"

"We just hooked up with the Kyuubi. Mind confirming if their being chased from the capital by demons? Use the Observation Lens."

"That'll alert the-"

"We don't have time to be picky, Leo."

The silence was quite long and deafening. Shinji wasn't sure if it was something he could really tolerate. The crackling static almost felt like a herald of a bad omen.

"I'm not sure chased is the greatest word. There's only like eight of them." Leonardo's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "It's more like two hundred, actually. Idael is badly burned, and I can't see Scylla anywhere."

"Scylla?" Astolfo and Shinji both spoke as one. Sheba's face paled significantly.

"His Berserker." She answered gently. "What do you mean you can't see Scylla?"

"Exactly what I said. Something is stirring up Kyoto like a hornets nest. I don't dare look closer, lest I give the enemy a vector to attack, but I think we both know what happened." Leonardo answered darkly. "I can't raise them. There's no radio on the other side."

"Then it's broken." Astolfo muttered.

"Probably. What's the problem?"

"The enemy deployed a demon god." Sheba explained. "Mizukume… uh, the Kyuubi, thinks that it was in the court when Kiyomori arrived. It might be hiding in the refugees." Shinji wasn't sure he was prepared for the explosive, no doubt curse, in Italian that came through the line.

"Is that all, Sheba? Damn it, they should have thought of that. I'll send Jason over."

"Jason can't fight."

"How else do you expect me to get a message to them? My machinery only has a limited range." Leonardo's frustration was almost palpable. "Is there good news?"

"Well, we maybe have Mizukume on side." Shinji noted, his mind floundering for any good news. "Sorry, unless Istari got back to you, we have nothing."

"Heine has, as a matter of fact." Leonardo noted. "They're getting somewhere with the forest. Apparently they managed to convince a spirit to lead them to their local kami. It was a start."

"They don't have an army yet?"

"That was an hour ago. For all I know they're on the way back."

Shinji felt his shoulders sag. What else could they do, if anything. For a long moment, the camp was silent, before Astolfo clicked his fingers.

"I've got it." His voice was happy, almost excited. Sheba and Shinji could only stare.

"What?"

"No one is ready yet, right?" He stated. "To attack the capital."

"Not likely. Hijikata is chomping at the bit, but Masamune won't let him." Leonardo noted. "Even if you could right now, it wouldn't be advisable. The troops, so to speak, would be too tired."

"Humans are human." Shinji muttered. The truth of the situation was beginning to hit. He would have to sleep sometime. The other masters were no different. Sheba just nodded.

"Not ideal." She admitted. "But it is true. Demons don't have to, though."

"But they can't fly." Astolfo noted. "We have the Argo! Just hide them inside it!"

There was a long, pregnant pause. Not a single person answered Astolfo's suggestion.

"What, is it a bad idea?"

"I mean, the Argo technically can fit the entire Chaldea staff within." Leonardo muttered to himself. "That was some three thousand people. Considering our current staff… we probably could do it."

"But what about the demon god?" Sheba muttered. Leonardo hummed for a long moment.

"Let me worry about that." He declared. "Any other news?"

"Some bits, but its all bad news." Sheba admitted. "We found the Grail. It's inside Kiyomori's flag."

"Well, that's not too surprising." Leonardo admitted. "I take it there's more?"

"He got hit by the Sea of Life."

"Oh..." Leonardo's voice was soft. He did not immediately answer. "That's a problem."

"There's probably a lot of people in the capital who also got hit." Sheba noted. "But there's not much we can do for them."

"It's unlikely they survived." Leonardo's voice was not particularly reassuring. "Anything else?"

"Well, no. Not yet anyway. Let us know when Istari gets back. We'd rather keep the armies separate, I think, given that Kyoto has multiple entrances." Sheba seemed to be keeping the death of William to herself. In fairness, Shinji supposed, it didn't actually mean anything to anyone else. However, it was interesting that Sheba didn't mention that Mizukume had also been hit by the Sea of Life. "How did Assassin go?"

"Poorly. We know the identities of the Assassins. One is Kotaro Fuma. The other is Sarutobi Sasuke." Leonardo answered bluntly. "No serious injuries on either side, thankfully."

"I don't suppose Kayneth could work some magic?" Shinji asked sarcastically. There was a brief moment, before Leonardo burst out laughing on the other end of the line.

"I'll suggest it to him. He's the only person we've got on hand, I suppose, but he's a bit old to be going into a battle of Servants." He noted. "Who knows, his attitude is sour enough to match them."

"Don't let him hear you saying that." Sheba noted. There was a short round of giggling, between Sheba and Leonardo, before a second voice cracked over the radio.

"Quite. Do remember these go more then two ways, Leonardo."

"Right, boss. Think you can handle a pair of ninja?" Indeed, Kayneth did not answer for the longest of moments.

"Caster. You believe we would be served taking on the Japanese troops?"

"If we leave them where they are, they might not be there when we need them." Sheba pointed out. There was another long pause, before the shuffling of static.

"I will relay the message to Einzbern myself and bolster Lancer with my Command Spells. I'll assume temporary command of Assassin from my son and keep going." Kayneth finally answered. "I'll have Jason attend to picking the people up for now. You are aware, of course, we cannot take them with us?"

"Yes." Sheba's voice was very soft, acknowledging a reality she no doubt always knew.

"Good. What will your next movement be?"

"The oni." Shinji stated. "We'll try to get another army. It's the most benefit for least time, really."

"If you are sure, so be it." Kayneth noted. "You know your own limits, Matou." That statement made Shinji feel on edge. Sheba just hummed.

"Worry about your son, Kayneth." She retorted drily. There was no response but static.

"Wow, he left in a huff."

"He's bothered." Sheba noted. "When you said Idael is burned..."

"He'll live, if that's what your asking." Leonardo seemed to know exactly where Sheba was going. "You know, I saw something curious earlier."

"Are you baiting me, Leo? We are busy."

"No, I'm going somewhere with this. Oi, Shinji, did you see anything interesting about ten minutes or so ago?"

"Uh… just the Murakumo, why?"

"Archer's Saint Graph went ballistic." Leonardo noted. "If you guys burned your command s-"

"No." Sheba's voice was blunt, as she flicked the radio off. "Damn it Leonardo."

"Huh?" Shinji could only stare, as Astolfo let out a groan.

"I gotta agree. That's a pretty bad idea." He noted. Shinji was left glancing between the two.

"What is?"

"If you used the authority of master on the soul inside you, you could assume his shape." Mizukume spoke up. Shinji felt his blood run cold.

"How did you know about that?"

"I can see Shirou within you." Mizukume answered. "I'm good at what I do, Shinji-kun." Even so, Sheba just groaned, leaning back.

"It's not worth it." Astolfo stated. "It's painful, and the body won't cooperate. Do it too much and there might not be much of you left."

"It's his choice." Sheba just waved. "If he wants to be suicidal, let him." She said it flippantly, but Shinji was sure there was more to it then that. Mizukume just nodded.

"It is his choice." She noted. "One day, Shinji-kun, you might have to choose between doing what is right, and being human. I don't envy you." Glancing out at the rain, she let a small smile grace her lips. "Do you intend to go now? I can part the water."

Her words were gentle. It was pretty obvious she intended to come with them. Even so, Shinji…

[ ] Stayed and rest. Shinji had been awake far too long.
[ ] Decided to move on.

"What time is it?"

Shinji felt exhausted. That was the simple truth, his body ached and he longed to rest. The urgency of his task could only keep him moving for so long, after all. He was only human. Mizukume seemed sympathetic to that, returning to tending the fire.

"Late enough. My things have some cloths you can use as pillows." She answered softly. Sheba's hands wrung together as her eyes darted between the two, before she too let out a sigh.

"I guess there's only so far we can go." She admitted. "Objections, Saber?"

"No." Saber didn't seem bothered in the slightest, his form settled against the wall. "I can keep watch. I don't need sleep like you." His voice was also gentle, though perhaps more in the sense of a knight that was protecting his charges. Even so, it did make Shinji feel a little better.

The pitter patter of the rain falling was almost melodic, and falling asleep clearly was not difficult. However, Shinji did discover something that almost made him laugh.

Sheba snored.

The cold melted away, and before long, Shinji realised, something rather unusual was happening. He certainly wasn't within the cave anymore, nor was Astolfo or Sheba with him. No, he was within a large meadow, surrounded in works of iron, old, rusty and petrified, as if time had left them behind. In the distance was a gently rising sun.

Really, it felt like a place of peace. The nerves of being a master simply washed away as Shinji walked amongst the grass. At the same time, it felt like a place Shinji knew intimately, as if it were a deep secret that had been shared with his soul.

Even before he saw him, Shinji knew who he would find here.

"Oi, Emiya."

Shirou looked older. That much was true. His face had more lines then Shinji remembered, his body covered in what could be called the traditional garb of an archer and his torso wrapped in a large haori. His mouth twisted into a small smile.

"Oi yourself, Shinji." A gentle voice from another time. "You are a sight for sore eyes."

It felt like a reunion of sorts, even though on some level, Shinji knew this Shirou was not the Shirou he had left behind. This Shirou had come from quite a bit of time into the future, a Shirou that had seen more of the world then either Shinji or the Shirou he had known.

"And you sure showed up late. What, saying hello is too hard for the mighty Shirou?"

"Oh shush, Matou. You're the one who came squealing for help." The two friends could only smile as Shinji took a seat across from the Archer.

"It should have been you to begin with." Shinji admitted after a long moment. "I'm out of my depth."

"I don't know, you seem to be doing fine so far." Kind words from a gentle man. Shirou simply stared off into the distance, at a pillar of winds that seemed to stretch up into heaven. "I think it had to be you."

"I'm not as strong as you." Shinji's voice sounded almost like whining to himself. "I have no magic. I have no talent. I'm just..."

"You're you." Shirou's answer was quite dry. "That's all you need to be."

"Hah. If it were you, you'd have blown away your problems with an enchanted arrow." Shinji's retort was almost dark, yet Shirou just seized his right hand, revealing the Command Spell on the back.

"A Servant..." He began. "Is an existence of legend, a guide for humans. We descend when humans call for us, surrender to them words that grant them power over us, and show them the way forward."He tapped each part of the Command Spell in turn, smiling just a little. "That is what I am to you. I am the light that will show you the way."

"How? Using you might kill me?" Shinji snarled, snatching the hand away. Shirou's smile did not diminish, as he glanced to the side.

"This place is a place we share. Inside you, I can do nothing but dream." Shirou answered. "Normally, only a Master and Servant can share a place like this, but then, I suppose the situation around you isn't normal at all." He looked pointedly into the distance, to where the meadow met sand.

"What is that?"

"You are a Master to more then one Servant. Since I can only dream, the part of this place that is mine is always here." Shirou answered. "But when it sleeps, it is linked here too."

"Sheba?"

"Is that what it calls itself?" Shirou raised an eyebrow for a long moment, before nodding. "Then yes, when Sheba sleeps, she is linked here as well. Perhaps you should let that dog lay for the moment, though."

"Why?"

"Because she isn't ready." Shirou answered simply. "Here there is no lying or misleading. You would see what she truly is, and she finds that idea terrifying." He paused for just a moment. "Much like how if you found a pool of water, you would see yourself for what you truly are."

"What I truly am?" Shinji repeated. "Man, this is heavy."

Just what could Shinji truly be? On some level, he knew that he didn't really want to find out. To know oneself absolutely was something that Tohsaka had warned against, for there was only one outcome to knowing yourself.

The shattering of the illusion called the self was not something that could be taken lightly. Most people were sincerely better off not knowing their own true nature.

"Ha, so who got Sakura?" Shinji quipped, leaning his head back slightly. Shirou blinked for a long moment, before his lips turned sly.

"Why would I tell you the answer?" He asked. "Spoilers are bad for you, Shinji. Besides, I don't necessarily come from the same line of the world you will end up travelling down. I just represent a Shirou you may one day know."

"Huh. Fine, be cryptic. We both know she has it for you anyway." Shinji retorted drily. "Why the storm?"

"When you see things, they become recorded in my internal world. It's the magic of the Infinite Forge of Wrought Iron, my Reality Marble." Shirou answered. "Ame-no-murakumo-no-tsurugi isn't an exception. There isn't anything like it in here, either."

"Well, I suppose you just make what you see, then?" Shinji asked. After all, he realised, he knew the ability that Shirou was talking about instinctively. It was an ability that he possessed, to a degree, on loan by simply holding the contract with his friend. Shirou simply nodded.

"I can." He answered. "But I wouldn't make that one unless you absolutely have to." The Iron Wrought Hero simply shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "It might be a while before you work out how to make that worm work for you, but I have faith in you."

"So I don't have to become you to use your skills?"

"I don't know." Shinji knew it was the truth. After all, the magic of the Matou was not exactly easy to learn, and it was unlikely Shirou had ever encountered it in any real form. "Maybe one day. Perhaps you should ask Sheba for help. Engraving a pseudo-foundation to bridge the gap should be something she could do, given some time to prepare."

"How?" Shirou blinked for a moment, before looking sheepish.

"Sorry Shinji. I spoke out of turn. You really should broach it with her." He answered. Shinji just huffed, a hand gently tracing the hilt of an exquisite sword.

"Cast me away." He whispered. A long moment passed. "This one isn't rusted."

"No, it's not." Shirou admitted. "It's special to me. Don't try to make that one, either. It would probably kill you." Shinji could only nod, a small smile gracing his face.

"I see. I'll get that story out of you one day." He mused. Shirou simply laughed.

"You won't have to." He admitted. "You'll live it with me, if you make it through this." The two descended into a comfortable silence as the sun rose in the distance. Truly, of all the dreams Shinji had experienced in recent memory, it was easily the most pleasant.

However, a question burned on his lips.

"Why did you answer?" Shinji asked. "There are others you could have let answer. You didn't have to."

"Of course I did. That's what friends do." Shirou's retort, Shinji realised, was totally like him, leaving the young Matou chuckling to himself.

"I guess that was a stupid question." Shinji admitted. Shirou simply smiled.

"Only if you were looking for a different answer." He answered, staring into the distance. "Just remember something for me. You're not empty. You are a full vessel. If you need help, then it's perfectly fine to demand rent."

"From who, you?"

"And anything else that's here." Shirou stated cryptically. "But that's a story for another time, it's time for you to wake up."

Indeed, Shinji awoke with a start to the smell of something cooking. At some point in the night he had curled into a small ball, and now his neck ached terribly, yet as he stretched, the weariness seemed to melt away.

The sun was rising. The sky did not look great. However, it was certainly better then wondering in the rain.

"You slept well." Mizukume's voice was a statement of fact, as she handed him what looked like a bowl of stew. "Eat up. It'll wake you up."

"Tell me the sun hasn't been out long?" Shinji asked. Astolfo shook his head.

"You can't see through the clouds, but it only just got over the horizon." He answered. "We have plenty of time." While his words were kind, Shinji had to disagree. They had no time at all, except what they had borrowed when humanity had ended.

But that wasn't something he dared voice. It would simply bring down the mood.

"Sheba's still asleep." He noted. Mizukume nodded.

"I'll wake her up soon. If you go to the right, there's a stream to wash up at." Mizukume noted. "I'd recommend it, you look like you could use it." Shinji just nodded. There was little reason to even try to argue with the former member of the imperial court. Her words were like silk, you simply couldn't help but agree with them.

Unfortunately, the stream she was referring to was also ice cold. It did an excellent job of waking him up, but Shinji wished he had a shower instead.

Sheba was awake when he returned, and left almost as soon as he arrived in a huff. He could only shrug his shoulders at Astolfo, looking at him questioningly.

"What happened?"

"She didn't want to wake up." Astolfo answered. "Perhaps she was enjoying herself too much."

Shinji had doubts about that, but he also was not brave enough to question it.

"If you intend to go to the oni." Mizukume noted. "Then you need to know things about them." She glanced at Shinji, a small smile on her face. "You are desirable to them, you realise."

"What?"

"You are exotic. So is she." Mizukume nodded at the cave's entrance. "They will want to keep you. Be on your guard. I might be able to convince Shuten-chan to not do anything rash, but you will be on your own if Ibaraki-chan decides she wants to keep you." She paused just briefly. "Though knowing her tendency to break her toys, you won't last very long."

That did not make Shinji feel better.

"Let's get going." Shinji grumbled. "Time's a wasting." He paused for just a moment, before smiling. "Let's mosey."

"What are you, seventy?" Sheba's voice could only be called derisive. Shinji just laughed, and even the Caster's lips cracked towards a smile.

"Someone had to lighten the mood." He answered.

[ ] Talk to Sheba or Mizukume.
-[ ] About what?
[ ] Stay silent.

[ ] Head straight to the Oni.
[ ] Explore the foothills as you go.