"Are you sure you won't be needing Rider's help catching Assassin, nee-san?" Sakura asked while laying on her bed, much to Rin's insistence, feeling Sakura needed time to recuperate after all that had happened today. "We both want Zouken's influence gone for good."
"I'd rather she'd stay here to look after you while you rest, Sakura," Rin said as she stood over her sister and tucked in the bedsheets for Sakura. "I still don't feel right leaving you alone with Shinji."
"He hasn't done anything, nee-san," Sakura was quick to tell her, feeling Rin was being overly worried for her despite her temporarily succumbing to Dark Sakura's influence. But she could see in Rin's eyes that the whole debacle was weighing on her as she briefly paused.
"Rider told me that, but..." Rin starts, appearing solemn. "After what happened, I-"
"It's not your fault," Sakura said as she reached out and grabbed Rin's hand with sympathy. "Neither was-"
"Please don't," Rin interrupts, reluctantly forcing Sakura to let go of her. She did not want to see Sakura worrying for her sake when Rin felt her sister's wellbeing was far more important than hers. "I don't want you reliving those ten years away from home... enough damage has been done to you already."
Rin was able to see that Sakura could pick up the lingering guilt in her voice. She wondered if Sakura was also able to tell that what Dark Sakura had said to Rin about leaving her sister to suffer at the hands of Zouken Matou was still weighing on her conscience.
From the way Sakura's gaze fell, Rin wagered that she did...
"Look, nee-san," Sakura starts hesitantly, contemplating what she could say to Rin to relieve her guilt, as she did not want Rin punishing herself for pain Sakura felt she had put on her. "Whatever SHE has said... perhaps I felt that way for some time. But now that Zouken is gone, I don't feel that way anymore. You and I are family again..."
Rin looks at Sakura sadly as she sat down on edge of the bed, feeling of course her sister would say that to her just to make her feel better. But remembering Dark Sakura's words... how sick and true they were... Rin had it in her head that her abandoning Sakura must be how she truly felt about her.
Rin did not feel innocent. She happily embraced the norms of mage society; everything done for the sake of self-progress and prestige that the Tohsaka-family helped foster. It cared not for morals nor the wellbeing of members of a family. Rin followed it blindly as her (and Sakura's) father had taught her, the very same person who forced the sisters apart to bear two different fates.
Rin's hand curled into a fist, anger at her own family and herself for the fate Sakura suffered... and STILL suffering now that she had a devil over her shoulder. Rin's heart broke for Sakura who was fighting off the darkness birthed from a decade of abuse.
"What kind of a family sends one of their children off to be tortured by a demented, walking corpse of a mage?" Rin let out while letting out a tear from her eye, her voice breaking. "I still can't believe father gave you to Zouken knowing exactly what he was going to do... I should have stopped it-!"
Sakura reached out and held Rin's hand with both of hers, stopping her sister from admonishing herself further. Sakura looked at her sister with far more sympathy than Rin felt she deserved.
"Nee-san, please stop. We were only kids... there was nothing you could have done..."
Rin looked into Sakura's eyes, unable to hide her sorrow.
"But- you said-!"
"Don't listen to HER," Sakura resolutely told Rin. "SHE knows only pain... which is why..."
Rin was speechless as Sakura affectionately rubbed her hand, dispelling Rin's self-guilt as Sakura continued.
"I feel the best way to keep HER in check... is to continually prove how wrong she is..."
It took a pause for Rin to process what Sakura just said, and she responds with:
"How-?"
Sakura simply smiled at her.
"You're helping with that already, Rin. Not a day goes by when you aren't checking up on me, spending time outside of training; you're simply being my sister. SHE thinks you abandoned me, but I don't believe that."
Rin stared, lost for words as Sakura's gaze dropped, reflecting on the other good things that happened to after Zouken's demise.
"Shirou and Saber... they haven't shunned me despite what I did to them. They are here for me more than ever, and that was before... you know."
Sakura briefly looked up and gave an awkward smile at Rin, reminding her of the mishap in the study. It amazed Rin how positive Sakura was being despite the abuse she endured at the hands of Zouken and Shinji, as Sakura's gaze dropped again as she continued.
"If I can get Shinji to turn around for the better... then SHE would have nothing left to direct her pain towards. Then I can face her..."
Rin found the despair in her heart being washed away as she looked upon her sister showing optimism and resolve; a far cry from her vindictive and scornful dark half. She found herself proud of Sakura and her newfound strength and pulled her in for a big hug much to Sakura's surprise. Rin sobbed, wishing that she could be as steadfast as her sister was being now after all that had happened in their ten years apart.
"You've been so strong, Sakura..." Rin found herself saying as she hugged Sakura even tighter, her voice cracking once again. "I just wish... it never had to come to this... you having to fight HER off. If at any point I had just known where you were... what was happening to you... I would have done ALL I COULD to bring you home, even if it killed me. I'm so sorry-"
"Shh... it's alright," Sakura cut her off, returning Rin's hug in full and whispered, "We're here together now... we got through it. I know Senpai would tell us NOT to think about what-if's and just live in the moment."
Rin pulled away a bit to look at Sakura; her face stained with tears as she gazed upon her sister, her eyes eventually falling on the red hair-ribbon tied to the side of Sakura's head. It was a keepsake Rin had given her before they were separated as kids, so she can immediately recognize Sakura should they find each other again.
And Rin felt she truly found her as Sakura smiled, as if unblemished and untouched by darkness.
"So," Sakura starts. "Enough beating ourselves up?"
Rin soon wiped a tear from her eye and returned Sakura's affection with a smile of her own.
"Yes... forgive me," Rin replied, and the sisters slowly let go of each other. Composing herself, Rin admired Sakura for being so optimistic and reaffirmed that she needed to be strong like she was being despite how much of life had taken from her.
That was when a thought occurred to Rin, and as Sakura leaned back in her bed, Rin asks her:
"Hey, Sakura?"
"Yes, nee-san?"
Rin starts hesitantly, almost embarrassed as she nervously brushed her hair back with her hand.
"How...? How were you able to get over Shirou?"
Sakura looked caught off guard by this, but then again it was no secret to Rin that Sakura always had feelings for the red-haired amateur mage that she had known before Rin did. Dark Sakura was not subtle at all about that, and she expressed envy for Saber for appearing out of nowhere and stealing her Senpai's heart. Sakura herself got along just fine with Saber otherwise in recent days, and Rin had to remind herself that even if Dark Sakura was expressing the destructive thoughts of Sakura herself, it did not mean that Sakura wished to have them in the first place.
Sakura still had morals... and she knew her envy of Saber was not right of her. Still, thinking about Rin's question, Sakura answers rather sadly.
"To be honest, nee-san... I don't think I'll ever be completely "over" him..." she admitted to Rin, bringing her hand up to her heart. "I still feel an attachment to Shirou-Senpai, like everything will be okay as long as I am near him. I am disappointed in myself for not confessing my feelings to him sooner... but at the same time, I'm happy that Shirou has found someone he can be happy with."
Sakura manages a weak smile.
"I missed my chance... after how much I hurt him, I feel that was the only chance I should ever get. I don't deserve him at this point. Though obviously... SHE thinks differently."
Rin does not respond to Sakura's ill attempt at lighthearted humor. Instead, her gaze drops, and she shifts uncomfortably.
"I see..."
Sakura's face fell at Rin's reply, until she eventually realized-
"Nee-san? You don't... feel the same about him as I do... do you?"
Sakura could have sworn she saw a slight blush appear on Rin's cheeks. Having been found out, Rin does not refute. Sakura was the one person Rin could be completely honest with, unlike her friends...
"It's... complicated," Rin answers, deciding to get up from Sakura's bed and glimpse out her bedroom window in hopes of dropping the subject. "It's sunset already. Me, Archer, Emiya-kun and Saber should be setting off for Shinto. Rest up, Sakura."
Rin gave Sakura an affectionate rub on the head before leaving her room. Sakura decided not to bother Rin any further, knowing her sister had more important matters that were namely hunting down Zouken's Servant, Hassan-i-Sabbah. Sakura sees Rin off, telling her:
"Be safe, nee-san."
_____
Rin made her way downstairs to the entrance hall of the Matou mansion where Shirou, Arturia and Archer were waiting for her. Biggs and Wedge were also impatiently sitting nearby waiting as they got roped into Arturia's plan for tracking down Assassin. As soon as Rin rejoined the party, Shirou told her:
"I just got off the phone with Taiga and told her we are chilling here for the night."
"She believed you?" Rin asked skeptically.
"Yeah... she's bummed that she'll have to make do without my cooking tonight, but I'm sure Fuji-nee will manage."
"Good," Rin said as she threw on her coat and checked her surplus of spell gems. "All that's left then is to head for Shinto. Do we know where we're starting?"
"Me and Archer deliberated," Arturia stated. "The most likely place Hassan could be hiding in is the fairgrounds."
"Makes sense as redevelopment stalled in recent weeks," Archer added. "There's no shortage of places Assassin could hide in there."
"Sounds like a plan," Rin said before turning to the duo from the Mage's Association with slight disdain. "And what about your fellow cronies in the neighborhood?"
Biggs sighed before he exasperatingly replied:
"We've contacted our other Enforcers to stake out away from the place they said, sweetheart. Nobody from the Association will be scoping the entertainment district and gettin' in your way. Me and Wedge will be the only ones in the area."
"We really appreciate this guys," Shirou told them honestly. "Now there's no risk of Hassan hurting any of your pals."
"But as a reminder, kiddo," Wedge added for his colleague. "Me and Biggs are dippin' if things go south. I'm already gettin' a bad feelin' about this..."
"Relax..." Shirou stressed. "As we've gone over before, Archer will be on the perimeter of the district while me, Saber and Rin go in and smoke him out. If Hassan tries to run, Archer will nail him. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Famous last words..." Archer remarks. With that, Arturia steps in front of everyone and put her hand against her chest as she declared:
"Then let the hunt begin..."
_____
Night had fallen over Fuyuki City, with the rundown entertainment district becoming devoid of activity. In particular, Fuyuki's fairgrounds which stayed abandoned for years since the Great Fuyuki Fire until the city decided to redevelop the property once foreign tourists started coming to the city. The area remained lock-off from the public as construction work stalled as funding got redirected into more "immediate" developments such as the Hyatt Hotel and the new performing arts centre. Down on the street, Biggs and Wedge were situated in their kei-car, having a view of the fairgrounds' front gate from the next block over. Biggs spoke in a special magical device and said:
"Squad 37 checkin' in. No activity to report... carry on."
Then Wedge with his own communicator relayed to who was listening on the other end:
"Okay kiddos," his voice came through on the gem Rin was holding out for her, Shirou, Saber, and Archer to hear. "You're all clear... happy huntin'."
The group was just around the corner from the front gate of the fairgrounds, now having gotten Wedge's signal were ready to proceed. Rin pulls out a similar gem to the one she held and passed it to her Servant, instructing him:
"Go grab the high ground, Archer."
Archer nodded and disappeared into spirit form, leaving Rin alone with Shirou and Arturia.
"Ready, Saber?" Shirou asks his Servant, who replies:
"I'll need to be prepared for a surprise attack, so I'll have to take off Caster's charm for this."
Glancing down at the bracelet on Arturia's wrist, Shirou nodded in agreement.
"Good idea..."
"Can't wait to see her big chest again, Emiya-kun?" Rin joked, making Arturia blush and earning the Tohsaka mage an irritated response from Shirou.
"Rin..."
"What?" Rin asks coyly. "I'm just taking the edge off..."
"You ARE awfully laid back considering what hell we're getting ourselves into, Master..." Archer's voice came through on Rin's gem, which lit up as his voice came through. Rin brushes off her Servant's concern, assuring him:
"We've been through worse, Archer. Just keep a sharp eye up there. Assassin might try and run once we corner him."
"Are you SURE that you don't want me on the ground protecting you?"
"Me and Emiya-kun have Saber with us. Hassan is just one Servant."
"One who specializes in taking out masters I remind you..."
Rin sighs, as Archer's remarks were beginning to make her nervous. She needed herself and everybody focused.
"Relax..."
Just then, Arturia turned and spoke into Rin's gem.
"It's okay, Archer. I'm eager for a rematch with Assassin."
To add, Arturia takes off Caster's charm and transforms into her adult-form, battle ready.
"And I won't lose this time..."
Shirou, Arturia and Rin soon make their way along the perimeter fence to the entrance of the fairgrounds, which was a metal-railing gate that was locked shut. Looking back at his Servant, Shirou had no doubt that Arturia could simply break the locks open, but the trio decided that to avoid letting Hassan become aware of their presence to just jump over the gate instead. Arturia manifests Excalibur, using the flat end of the blade as a step to boost Shirou and Rin, allowing them to climb over. Once they were on the other side, Arturia simply leaped over with her inhuman agility as a Servant.
Assessing their surroundings, the fairgrounds were in a decaying state. The food stalls and stands were in disrepair and peeling paint, the flat rides were gaining rust, and the pathways were even giving way to an overgrowth of weeds. All of this was juxtaposed with the images of joyful mascots, merchandising, and signs directing would be visitors. In the dark and with few working overhead lights, the fairgrounds felt like a liminal space, having not had any activity in years thus giving off a creepy atmosphere. The only signs of recent human presence were the construction equipment left sitting on site. Shirou, Arturia and Rin were taking all of this in as they careful wandered deeper into the property, the Tohsaka mage even letting out:
"Wow... time has not been kind to this place. Hard to believe children and families had fun here."
Shirou then offered thoughts of his own as Arturia followed him and Rin.
"Aside from Fuji-Q, Nagashima Spa Land, and the western-chain* resorts, amusement parks have really struggled in Japan. Most are pretty run down like this and have only kept running due to loyal support from locals. Not so the case here..."
Arturia could not help but agree as the trio pass by a decaying merry-go-round.
"I cannot imagine a place like this without people around. Now that we're here while it's deserted, the sorry state of this place threatens to swallow you... it's uncanny."
"All funding from the site got pulled and put into recovery efforts after the Great Fire of Fuyuki," Shirou continued. "Everything has been sitting here rusting ever since. City hall has only done something about it now that Fuyuki has had a tourist boom. Seems as though they reallocated resources last minute."
Coming across excavators and a generator, Shirou then adds:
"I see construction equipment, but no workers around. Guess Biggs and Wedge called in a few favors from the Association to give them all the night off."
"They're using THESE to clear everything out?" Rin said skeptically as she glanced at a Telescopic handler. "I don't understand what half of these even do..."
Hearing that, Shirou then joked:
"Must be hard for a mage to wrap their heads around how people get stuff done without magecraft, huh?"
"OF COURSE I can understand that!" Rin huffed. "I'm not a complete techno-noob you know!"
"Keep it down..." Arturia warned the Tohsaka mage. "Or we'll lose the element of surprise."
Having explored half the property this point and with no sign of Assassin, Arturia then suggested:
"Let's try a denser area. There does not seem to be enough places to hide here for an Assassin."
Looking around, Shirou then saw a bunch of larger buildings nearby.
"Let's try near the walk-thru attractions," he said as he led Rin and Arturia to a row of tightly packed stalls, looking for a shortcut. Shirou then found a space between that was just wide enough to shimmy through. "Through here... careful, it's tight."
Shirou went through the narrow alley first, turning sideways as he walked until he made it to the other side, with Rin emerging behind him soon after. They surveyed this new area, noting the nearby haunted mansion, hall of mirrors, crooked house, and even a boat ride through a tunnel with a kiddie coaster in the center.
"This area feels more like it..." Rin remarked. "Much more places to hide."
"If Arturia's hunch is right, then Hassan should be here somewhere," Shirou said. "Let's hope he hasn't picked up on us yet..."
As they stood there, Shirou and Rin realized it was just them here and wondered where Arturia was. They could have sworn she was right behind them, and it would quickly become evident that-
"Umm... Shirou?" They turned to the sound if Arturia's voice, which did not sound like she was in distress, but- "I think I'm stuck."
Shirou and Rin's eyes widened when they saw Arturia was still between the stalls that they came out of, only Arturia was unable to move due to... her large bosom, which was pressed against the narrow wall where she was stuck. With Arturia unable to go into spirit form like most Servants, there was not much Arturia could do to free herself besides completely demolishing the two stalls she was wedged between. Arturia continued to struggle until Shirou snapped out of his stupor to act.
"Hang on, Saber. Rin, give me a hand?"
"Coming..." Rin replied before remarking to Saber, "Guess having big boobs has its downsides, right Saber?"
"Just free me!" Arturia protests as she reached out her hand. Shirou and Rin reached in and grabbed Arturia's arm, ready to pull her out.
"On three..." Shirou said to Rin. "One... Two... Three!"
"Ngh-!" Shirou and Rin heaved as they pulled, slowly inching out Arturia from between the stalls. After a few more attempts, Arturia was partway out; her head and her arm out of the passage with her huge breasts stubbornly keeping the rest of her stuck. With one final, and MIGHTY pull from Shirou and Rin later-
[BOING!]
Arturia was freed, but Shirou and Rin were unable to stop themselves from falling backwards, and as a result, Arturia fell forwards and landed where they did with a thud.
There was a collective groan from the trio, yet one of them sounded muffled...
"Ow!" Shirou let out as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, that was harder than it needed to be."
Shirou then turned to check on-
"Saber, Rin, are you two alright-?"
Shirou froze as he took in the sight right beside him. Words failed him as he observed Arturia lying directly on top of Rin, having fell on her after she was freed.
And Rin's head was buried between Arturia's breasts... which explained why she was frantically struggling to get the buxom Servant off her and yelling despite her voice being muffled. Arturia comes to just in time as Rin started flailing her fists at her.
"Oh, my apologies, Rin," Arturia said before lifting herself off the Tohsaka mage, who then stood up gasping for breath... with an evident blush on her face. Seeing her like this, Arturia felt compelled to remark:
"Be thankful that I had a soft landing..."
Rin looked at Arturia and blushed harder at the sight of the Servant's smug smile. She was getting back at the Tohsaka mage for poking fun at her bust moments before.
"Uh..." Rin let's out as she slowly turned away and fixes her hair. Shirou sighed before standing up and telling the girls:
"Enough messing around. Let's keep moving..."
"Right," both Rin and Arturia let out as Shirou helped them both on to their feet, with Arturia daintily offering her hand for Shirou to grab, appreciating the gesture. Shirou then pulled Rin off the ground.
"You good, Tohsaka?" Shirou asked, noting her silence.
"Oh, fabulous," Rin said sarcastically before adding, "Considering I almost died due to Arty's massive boobs..."
From behind Shirou, Arturia rubbed the back of her head upon hearing that. Rin, eager to hide her lingering embarrassment, then proceeded to walk ahead of them. The duo followed and entered this new area of the fairgrounds. What was apparent as they passed by several disused attractions were the number of mannequins dressed as mascots, posing and holding up signs. Everybody in the group found them creepy and unsettling, with Rin even commenting:
"They thought these would please kids? More like traumatize them. It's no wonder this place closed down years ago..."
Shirou stopped in front of a rather questionable-looking mouse mascot mannequin about the same the same size of him and saw how decrepit it looked from years of neglect.
"This place could not afford licensed characters like the more lavish amusement parks. These must be the best they could do without copyright infringement."
Shirou walked on as Arturia, who was right behind him, paused to inspect the mannequin herself. She too found it unsettling, albeit for reasons she cannot quite place besides how uncanny it looked. She dismissed it and continued following Shirou.
Once she looked away, the mannequin slowly turns its head in her direction... its eyes glowing red...
"If Hassan is hiding," Rin starts as her, Shirou and Arturia proceeded towards one of the walk-through attractions. "It would be in one of these buildings."
Out of sight, movement stirred around the compound; humanoid figures crawling on all fours congregating on rooftops and coming out of the abandoned rides and stalls... Arturia's instincts begin to flare up as Shirou observed the haunted house they were nearing.
"I'm surprised they are still standing on their own considering how ill maintained they are," Shirou remarked. "The construction guys haven't even blocked them off yet. They're underpaid-"
(Gasp!)
Shirou and Rin stopped and turn around to see Arturia frozen in her tracks, tense and alert. Shirou asks Arturia in concern:
"Saber-?"
"Shh..." Arturia warned in a hushed voice, slowly raising her arm to summon one of her weapons. Now worried, Shirou whispered:
"Is it your tingle? Is your tingle tingling?"
"Beg your pardon, Emiya-kun," Rin whispered skeptically, all while a crawling mannequin crept up on them from the roof of the haunted mansion. "Tingle?"
"Saber's instincts sense danger," Shirou clarified. "It's kinda like her Spidey-sense..."
"Her WHAT?" Rin asked in total confusion, to which Shirou rolled his eyes, and turn to retort:
"Seriously... don't you read comics-?"
(SHNNT!)
Arturia turned, and with lightning-fast reaction, sliced apart the mannequin that just attempted to jump Shirou and Rin with Excalibur.
"Whoa!" They both yell as the sparking mess that was once the animate mannequin laid sliced apart and scattered at their feet.
"What the hell...?" Shirou let out as he looked at the remains of the mannequin that almost killed him and Rin. They both saw the innards of the automaton and saw to their surprise, a mix of machination and organic anatomy. Shirou then lets out:
"That's no carnival dummy..."
Rin crouched down for a closer look. Her eyes widened as Arturia scanned the area around them for more hostiles.
"Not a dummy," Rin said. "A puppet...!"
"What?" Shirou asked, but before Rin could explain further, the group heard screeching noises from all around them. Arturia moved closer to Shirou and Rin and turned her back with Excalibur at the ready.
"Stay close!" she told them. "We walked right into a trap..."
As Arturia was saying this, puppets came crawling out of every possible hiding place in the fairgrounds, climbing down walls and walking on all fours, converging on the group like a swarm of insects. Rin stands up and readies herself a gem from her pouch while Shirou gets in a stance and traces Caliburn, uttering with annoyance as he recalled Archer's words from earlier:
"I should really follow my own advice... Why does EVERYTHING have to be a trap?!"
"Less talk... more ass-kicking!" Rin blurted out before firing a curse at an approaching puppet, blasting it away. Shirou swings at puppets attempting to jump at him, slicing them in half. Arturia tears through hordes of puppets, destroying several with a single swing of Excalibur, yet there seemed to be no end of them. She supposed that she could nuke them all at once with a Noble Phantasm, but she could not charge one while protecting both Shirou and Rin. Instead, Arturia urgently tells Shirou and Rin:
"Get inside!"
Shirou hears her and after slicing apart another puppet, grabs Rin and they run inside the haunted house. Arturia would rejoin soon right after-
(CRACK!)
The ground broke open and a dozen other arms of puppets reached out and grabbed Arturia's legs, pulling her down off her feet. She struggled as she then found her arms and neck restrained by countless more puppets that swarmed her. To Arturia's surprise, they all started sparking and ticking like they were wired to explode, and she tried desperately to get them all off her when-
(BANG!)
The sound of bullets- no, arrows rang in Arturia's ears as several puppets were struck and broke apart, giving her the opening she needed to free her arm and summon Rhongomyniad, batting them all off the Servant before a dozen of them exploded in a shower of bright sparks. Arturia gets to her feet and with her enhanced vision looked far to her side, seeing in the distance Archer with his bow drawn, having fired a swarm of arrows at several puppets that were pinning Arturia down. She saw him give her a thumbs-up and Arturia then proceeded inside the haunted mansion, determined to get to Shirou and Rin...
Only when she came up to the door... she found it was magically sealed.
"A bounded field?" Arturia said in frustration, realizing the puppets she and Archer just destroyed were only a distraction. Shirou and Rin were still in danger, and she and Archer were cut off from them!
_____
While Arturia was busy outside, Shirou and Rin made their way inside the haunted mansion, only once they made it inside the door, it unexpectedly closed behind them. They turned and attempted to bust it down but were thrown backwards upon striking the magic seal that just appeared. Both Shirou and Rin groaned and sat up.
"Well, we're not getting out THAT way..." Shirou deadpanned. Rin grunts as she and Shirou stand back up and dusted themselves off.
"We're sealed inside a bounded field," she said. "No Servant aside from a Caster can do that; CERTAINLY, no Assassin..."
"Then why-?" Shirou started to ask only to be cut off when the haunted mansion came to life and malicious laughter rang through the hallway behind them, which lit up with green light and projected fog. To Shirou, this felt scarily more ominous than any amusement ride and wondered if the bounded field he and Rin were trapped in was affecting the haunted house too.
"Rin... can you break that seal?"
"It could take all night," Rin replied frustratingly. "Whoever made this is no amateur... but if we can find the source of the bounded field, that would more easily get us out of here."
"Then we can't stay here then," Shirou affirms before checking his Command Seals. "My connection with Saber is hampered in here."
"Same with me and Archer," Rin said. "I can't summon him inside this bounded field. Guess we're left to take this field down ourselves. Let's go before more puppets swarm us..."
Shirou and Rin reluctantly made their way deeper into the haunted mansion attraction, and as they walked on, something weighed on Shirou.
"Is it just me, OR does this place feel bigger than it does from outside?"
"Like hell if I know," Rin said cautiously. "Could be the bounded field. I can't imagine a tacky ride like this being up anyone's alley... I don't see the appeal-"
(SHRIEK!)
Both Shirou and Rin jump and recoil after turning a corner and seeing a scary demon-faced creature suddenly appeared. Rin had the impulse to blast it with a Gandr curse until she and Shirou realize it was just an animatronic, which then proceeded to laugh at them in a sinister, mocking tone.
"Root almighty..." Rin let out as she breathed a sigh of relief, her nerves rattled from the jump-scare. "People actually ENJOY this?!"
"Some people get a kick out of becoming terrified, just ask Illya," Shirou remarked, reminding Rin of the time when they and Saber first went to the Einzbern Mansion to rescue Taiga from Illya. Not only did they have to deal with Berserker, but the enchanted castle was tailor-made to mess with intruders, having various traps and trick rooms. Rin lets out a sigh and wipes her forehead of sweat before separating from Shirou to lean against the wall.
"Whoever came up with this abhorrent torture house deserves to be eaten by crest worms. Such sick people they are-"
Suddenly, the wall gave way and Rin fell backwards into a black hole.
"WAAAAAAAAAAH...!"
Rin's surprised voice echoed as she fell. Alerted, Shirou runs to where Rin was only for the wall to close on him before he could go after her.
"RIN!" he yelled, pushing against the section of wall hoping to open it. When it remained stubbornly sealed, Shirou thought of projecting Calabolg to break it down, but before he could get the chance, the ceiling behind him began to warp and come down on top of him.
"Crap!" Shirou let out before breaking into a run before the hallway could eat him alive. He bolts and dives out of the hallway before the ceiling crushed him. Shirou lets out a sigh now that he was out of harm's way, but he was not safe just yet as finding himself in the grand foyer he saw distressingly puppets crawling down from the ceiling towards him. Shirou quickly got up and ran through another corridor as they chased him. He then darts into a side room, closing the door and then projecting a sword to bar it shut. Shirou steps back as the puppets bang on the door from the other side in attempt to force it open, and thought he was in clear when it appeared to hold-
(SHRIEK!)
Shirou got spooked by a zombie that just emerged out of the closet beside him, realizing it was just part of the haunted mansion. With these puppets running around, Shirou remained tense in the knowledge that he should not trust anything in this place... not with the bounded field that was no doubt put here by a mage.
Probably the same mage behind the puppets that were attempting to kill them...
What started as a hunt for a rogue Servant turned into a mystery as to who put all of these here and why... Shirou could only speculate who could possibly be messing with all of them like this as he proceeded to the backdoor out of this room, deciding it best to find Rin ASAP whilst also looking for the source of the bounded field.
_____
Back outside, Arturia was desperately trying to brute-force her way into the haunted mansion. With the front doors sealed with magic, she was having a hard time getting through. Her connection with Shirou was being interfered with by the bounded field surrounding the attraction, Arturia desperately needed to get inside and find him and Rin before anything happened to them.
From the sound of more puppets closing in, they were not about to let Arturia take her sweet time... Glancing over her shoulder, Arturia could see a horde of the creepy machinations crawling towards her quickly.
"I don't have time for this!" Arturia said in annoyance as she was preoccupied drilling through the barrier with Rhongomyniad, debating if she should stop to deal with the puppets first, as stopping now would allow the barrier to regenerate and bring Arturia back to square one. Thankfully-
(BANG!)
An explosion of energy sent several puppets flying, blowing them apart. Arturia could see Archer landing several feet from her, having used one of his traced weapons to cover her back. Archer then notched several arrows to his bow and shot them at more incoming puppets.
"Don't let me stop you," Archer remarked to Arturia behind him, prompting Arturia to turn her full attention to breaking the seal to the haunted house. Pouring more mana into Rhongomyniad, Arturia worked harder to break through. It was a very well-made seal, but Arturia was confident that she could get through now that Archer was here guarding her.
To their dismay however, the puppets Archer had just destroyed starting reassembling themselves, bunching together to make more formidable forms...
"Take your time!" Archer said sarcastically to Arturia as he shot arrow after arrow at incoming puppets.
"Just hold them off a little longer!" Arturia replied, seeing as her efforts were bearing fruit as the seal around the haunted mansion's entrance started to crack...
_____
Rin woke up to find herself alone in a large, blacked-out basement. Groaning painfully, Rin eventually rose on her feet and looked up to see where she fell from, only to realize it was too dark to see in this room. Rin ignited her circuits, illuminating the room with a soft teal glow, and to her horror, she sees more puppets standing still like statues all around her.
Who then all turned their grotesque heads at her and sprung to life...
Rin yelped before reflexively tossing a bunch of gems which then exploded before the puppets could pounce on her. Rin turns and breaks into a run, desperately trying to find the way out as more puppets chased her. The machinations chased her, crawling on all fours and along the walls and ceiling like giant bugs as they chased Rin through a hallway and up a staircase. Down to her last gem, Rin in a desperate and clever move threw it upwards behind her, blowing up the ceiling and blocking the passage.
Rin reaches the top of the stairs and turns to see if more puppets were following her. When she saw that she did indeed elude them, Rin breathed a sigh of relief and checked her empty pouch of gemstones. As she thought, it was empty...
"I should have brought more..." Rin remarked before she stiffened, sensing a looming presence behind her. She turned to see a blacked-out figure standing over and reaching its hand out.
Rin barely had time to scream before this figure covered her mouth and silenced her.
_____
At the same moment, Shirou was cautiously walking up a set of stairs when a scream echoed through the halls of the haunted house.
A very human scream...
"Rin...!" Shirou let out with worry as he quickened his pace, reaching the next floor and running through the hallways until he found himself to a pair of double doors that were locked. After trying several times, Shirou got fed up and decided to go for a more drastic brute force approach...
"Trace on," Shirou chanted as he projected a bow along with the spiral sword that was Caladbolg in his hands. Standing back, he notched the sword against the string his bow and let shot it at the doors, blowing them open. Shirou's projections dissipated as he ran through the opening, stopping when he realized where he was.
Shirou found himself standing on a balcony overlooking what appeared to be a rundown ballroom that had a glass dome on the ceiling and spooky theming and lighting everywhere, fitting for a haunted house. Shirou frantically scanned the floor from where he stood and to his horror found Rin near the main stage, tied up and breathing... barely.
"Rin?!" Shirou called out, but Rin failed to respond. His worry mounting, Shirou continued with, "Okay, Rin... don't... move. I- I'm coming down!"
As he said that, Shirou stood closer to the edge of the balcony, deliberating how he was going to get down to where Rin was safely. He was too distracted to notice "someone" sneaking up behind him. Said someone got close to Shirou and then proceeded to push him off the balcony.
"Whoa-!" Shirou yelped as he was sent over the edge, instinctively reinforcing himself before hitting the floor below him with a thud. Although he escaped injury, Shirou was left annoyed and angry by the figure who pulled such an underhanded trick on him, letting out:
"Son of a Gil'!"
Looking up, Shirou barely caught of glimpse of this figure as they disappeared out of sight. It did not look like Hassan, but Shirou could have sworn that this person had a slender appearance to them despite their cover-all attire, almost woman-like...
Before he could think about that more, Shirou's attention turned to Rin's unconscious form, getting up to his feet and walking up to her until-
(CRASH!)
Puppets came bursting out of the floor, startling Shirou, who went into a stance and projected Caliburn. Instead of immediately attacking him though, they bunched together and formed a four-legged abomination of body parts and many heads. It moved like a giant spider as it rose to tower over Shirou, who remarks in frustration:
"That's a neat trick..."
_____
"Trace on... Caladbolg!" Archer chanted as he pulled back his bow and shot the spiral sword of Fergus at one puppet amalgamation, blasting it apart. Archer starts heaving, out of breath as mana-strained kicked in, having held back the encroaching horde of puppets constantly, and still was...
"How many more of these things are there?" Archer asked himself bitterly as he then traced Kanshou and Bakuya. "They were clearly made with us in mind..."
Now forced to go melee-mode, Archer began slicing apart opponents with his twin swords as Arturia continued forcing open the seal to the haunted mansion with Rhongomyniad. With Archer running out of steam, Arturia needed to hurry. Just as Archer was being forced back, Arturia made a breakthrough as the seal shattered, and the doors of the haunted mansion were open.
"Archer, now!" Arturia called as she grabbed Archer by the arm and pulled. They jump through the doorway with puppets in tow, which shut behind them as they landed and the seal regenerated, trapping the Servants inside.
Arturia and Archer soon got back up on their feet. Being trapped here inside the bounded field was the least of their concerns now that they can look for Shirou and Rin. However, it soon became clear to them that even though they now inside the haunted mansion, the Servants' connection with their masters still felt... hindered. With no sign of them, Archer remarks bluntly:
"Rin wanted me on scouting duty. I bet she's regretting that right now..."
Arturia scanned her surroundings, finding everything she and Archer had encountered so far suspicious, considering they all came here hunting down Assassin.
"This was clearly all prepared in advance," she shared with the Servant of the Bow. "I doubt Hassan could have set all of this up by himself..."
"Think he had help?" Archer asked rhetorically. "From who?"
Arturia had no idea, but there was time to think about that later. Right now...
"Let's just find the masters. Come quickly..."
Arturia broke into a run into the hallway with Archer following close behind. After what felt like a minute of darting through corridors at inhuman speed, the Servants suddenly came to a stop when it became evident that something was not right...
"I feel like we've been this way before," Arturia let out distressingly.
"I'm getting that feeling too," Archer revealed as they looked around. Indeed, this hallway the Servants found themselves in looked like every other one they passed through. Even the props and scare-dummies looked eerily similar to ones they have passed by before. It was like they were going in circles.
"It must be the bounded field," Archer said in realization. "It's keeping us out while keeping our masters in. This was all clearly a well-prepared trap..."
Arturia grunted in frustration. Every second she and Archer were wasting was longer that Shirou and Rin were in danger. If Hassan was here somewhere, then the masters were easy pickings. Arturia's worry grew as what little connection she had with Shirou was preventing her from locating him, and that connection could be snuffed out at any moment!
"Shirou..."
_____
(CRASH!)
Shirou just barely managed to avoid getting crushed by the puppet-monstrosity's leg, rolling out of the way as it left a crater in the floor where he was just a second ago. Shirou was forced to keep evading as the big-puppet was surprisingly agile for something so large. Not only that, but Shirou was also still unable to summon Arturia with his Command Seals, leaving him to fight this artificial beast by himself with an indisposed Rin laying dangerously close to the carnage.
With Caliburn in hand, Shirou poured mana into his legs, increasing his speed as he weaved around another puppet-leg coming down at him and swings at one of the creature's back ones. In a flash of light, the puppet-leg crumbles apart, but since the automaton still had SEVEN of them, it failed to topple over, and in retaliation swung at Shirou, who was sent flying and skidding across the floor, dropping Caliburn in the process.
Groaning, Shirou quickly got up and made a reach for Caliburn, only for it to explode into sparkles as the puppet crushed it beneath its "foot."
"Trace on!" Shirou chants, projecting the eight-petalled shield, Rho Aias as the puppet proceeded to trample on him repeatedly. Shirou strains as the puppet beats down on the shield, unable to reach him. When the projection broke, Shirou rolled, avoiding getting crushed as he got up and projected his bow and Caladbolg to pull back and fire up at-
(THUD!)
"Oof!"
The puppet kicked Shirou with one of its remaining seven legs. Shirou's aim was thrown upward as he released his bow, sending Caladbolg up at the ceiling as Shirou was sent sliding backwards. The spiral-sword just happened to have exploded right beside a chandelier that was hanging and-
(SHRIEK!)
The puppet suddenly recoiled as if it was in pain. Shirou recovered in time to see the entire ballroom shift and distort before settling again. While the big-puppet was still reeling, Shirou suddenly became aware of an invisible weight being lifted off his body briefly, like that of mana concentrated in a bounded field, and suddenly realized-
That's it!
The chandelier was enchanted to hold the spell sustaining the bounded field here in the haunted mansion! Shirou needed to destroy it...
But it looked like the puppet was not about just let him do that, as Shirou saw it coming towards him again. Acting quickly, Shirou traces Durandal and reinforced his legs with all the mana he could muster. As the puppet's leg came down on him, Shirou was gone in a flash, passing under the body and slicing apart another of its legs, this time sending it stumbling as Shirou appears on the opposite side of the ballroom. Nearly exhausted of mana, Shirou falls on one knee as the puppet turned and came towards him again, limping with haste.
And passing beneath the chandelier...
With his last bit of mana, Shirou projects his bow and notched Durandal against the string, aiming upwards...
"Heads up..." Shirou utters as he let loose Durandal, watching as it sailed up and sliced the chain holding the heavy chandelier to the ceiling. The ornament fell and landed on the puppet with a resounding shatter of glass. The puppet crumbled into a heap of artificial body-parts as the breaking of the chandelier caused a surge of mana...
_____
At the same moment, as Arturia and Archer desperately made their way through the maze-like halls of the haunted mansion, they suddenly stopped when they felt that same surge of mana, then the walls around them began to distort and the halls realigned to reveal a new path. They quickly realized the bounded field trapping them had been trapping them had been lifted and the haunted mansion returned to its original state.
That was not all, as to Arturia's elation, she felt her connection to Shirou strengthening, and now that it was clear as ever, she would be able to find him. She said to Archer before breaking into a run:
"This way!"
_____
Shirou groaned again as he struggled back up to his feet. With his body aching from using so much mana, he was feeling proud of himself for taking on that multi-puppet monster alone and defeating it WHILE also shutting down the bounded field; something for him to brag to Rin later...
Speaking of whom, Shirou knew there was no time to celebrate as Rin was still laying nearby and clearly in a not-so-good state. Shirou leaves the pile of dead puppets and limps towards Rin to see if she was okay.
"Hang in there, Rin..." Shirou said as he worked to get his exhausted body to where-
Shirou suddenly stopped when he heard a crumpling noise coming from behind him. He only had enough time to turn back at the pile of puppets when one burst free and jumped on top of Shirou, pinning him down and choking him.
Shirou gagged as he tried desperately to force the puppet off him, growing weaker as he was starved for oxygen. Depleted of mana, he could not even trace a weapon to fight back with. His windpipe getting crushed and on the verge of suffocation, Shirou's vision started to grey out-
(SHRNNT!)
A golden lance came flying in out of nowhere and struck the puppet choking Shirou to death. It released its grip on the boy as it sailed across the room and got pinned against the wall, twitching before going lifeless. Shirou gasps for air as Arturia came running towards him, helping him sit up.
"Are you alright, Shirou?" Arturia asked with worry as thanks to Avalon, Shirou was soon able to speak as his throat healed.
"Yeah," Shirou said calmly, glad to see his Servant and partner. He could not help but then ask jokingly, "What took you so long?"
Arturia manages a smile, knowing that Shirou was okay.
"The bounded field had us running in circles. You managed to bring it down and just in time apparently..."
Shirou lets out a sigh before remarking:
"Guess our sparring sessions paid off, huh?"
Arturia's smile grew. She should have known better that Shirou could handle himself in a fight, long enough for her to come to his aid.
"They sure did..." she replied before pulling Shirou in for a hug. Shirou blushed as he found his face buried in Arturia's bosom. Shirou did not have the strength to free himself, but with his body aching, and feeling how good Arturia's embrace was... he could not think of why he would even want to...
This moment of respite was cut short when Archer dropped in.
"If you two are through..." he said somewhat impatiently, making Arturia and Shirou break apart. "We're not finished here."
That was when Shirou remembered.
"Rin!" he said before Arturia helped to him back on his feet. They watched as Archer walked with purpose towards the still prone Rin Tohsaka. "Is she alright?"
"She's alive," Archer stated evenly as he neared his master. "But I don't feel much mana coming from her. Looks like she's been drugged with a potion."
Rin stirred, groaning as her magic circuits flickered feebly. As Archer ventured closer, Arturia found it peculiar that Rin was left here weakened but alive for them to find, almost as if Rin was being used as bait-
(WHIR)
As soon as Archer crouched to inspect his master, a rune formed beneath his feet and projected a barrier around him and Rin, trapping the Servant much to his chagrin.
"Darn it..." Archer let out. "Why don't I follow my own advice?"
"Archer!" Arturia called out, moving away from Shirou to help him and Rin. Unbeknownst, the figure on the balcony held out its hand, flashing a Command Seal. "Hang on... Me and Shirou will get you both out of-"
-!
Arturia stops herself in a gasp as her instincts suddenly flared with danger. Turning back towards Shirou, Arturia moves at breakneck speed, barely having time to push Shirou out of the way when a black mass collided with her, sending Arturia crashing through the walls of the haunted mansion until she found herself back outside in the fairgrounds. Both Arturia and the unknown assailant fell away from each other and quickly recovered from the collision, allowing her to see what it was that was about to end Shirou's life just seconds ago...
Getting to her feet, Arturia could see this new foe, emanating a menacing aura full of killing intent. This figure was humanoid; having pitch-black skin, ragged clothing with bandages, and wore a white skull-mask over his face. The most disturbing feature of this foe was his elongated arm, ending with a glowing red claw, as if this entity could reach out and crush the soul of its victim. Arturia steels herself as she and this foe circle each other, gauging their opponent.
Then he spoke...
"Thou have changed since last we fought, Saber," this foe's bone-chilling voice was laced with a hint of contempt. "It will not save you..."
He curled the fingers of his elongated claw to illustrate his eagerness to kill Arturia, who simply glared.
"Thy am somewhat thankful for thou foiling my attempt to end your master. Would not want to end the game before it even begins..."
Arturia's glare intensified, filled with utter disgust for the foe who tried to kill Shirou in an inhumane and dishonorable way. Not surprising for a lowly Assassin-class Servant...
"I am not playing games... Hassan," Arturia shot coldly as she and Assassin stop circling each other, Rhongomyniad appearing in Arturia's grasp as Hassan-i-Sabbah readied a set of throwing knives in his other hand. Both Servants readied themselves for an intense fight.
A fight that only one of them will walk away from...
TBC