by Kilich » Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:18 am
I decided to change Day 7. Now Kotomine and Rin didn't met with Zouken when they save Ilya. Here's the changed part.
Opening them, Rin saw Ilya lying on an altar in the center of the room and no trace of Zouken.
“Rin, take Ilya. I’ll meet you in a previous room.”
-
Outside, Saber and Rider still maintained their stalemate with their enemies, but when Saber’s wind wall weakened enough for one of Sakura’s attacks to pass through, aiming at Saber, and Shiro jumped to shield her, hoping that the same power kept him alive so far would save him this time as well, everything went to hell.
Ranma saw Sakura’s attack flying to Shiro and tried to do three things at once: deflect Assassin’s dagger that targeted her leg artery, pull Shiro away with her chain and realizing that both would fail, jump away.
All it would take to kill Saber who knocked down by Shiro’s body when he struck by Sakura and Rider now was one more blow from their enemies and neither explosion that blew a hole in the wall of Mato’s residence, nor Rin and Kotomine that ran through it, nor the priest purification spell he shot at Shadow, would be able to stop it.
But, surprisingly, it never came. Instead shadow monsters attacked Assassin and in seconds his body melted into nothingness. And Sakura just stood in place with tears in her eyes.
-
Shiro, when he slowly got to his knees after Saber rolled away and stood up, saw the change in the girl’s behavior and when he noticed that Saber was preparing for Excalibur, he shouted.
“Stop! Don’t do it!”
His second command seal flared before disappearing and immediately Saber’s sword stopped crackling with energy.
“This is most foolish, Shiro!” said Saber as power of the seal forced her to kneel before her Master.
-
“No, look. She’s not attacking us anymore! She can be saved!” said the boy, trying to get up, but fell back on his knees from an intense lash of pain from the place he was touched by Sakura’s darkness.
-
Sakura looked at Shiro and Rider, two people she swore to herself to protect at any cost, but who were badly hurt by her own hands and thoughts started to form in her mind. Thoughts unrelated to killing those before her, unrelated to darkness she felt, or Zouken’s will. Thoughts that belonged to Mato Sakura, not to a vessel for Angro Mainyu.
Gathering her will, she crushed remaining familiars, inside of her body that her grandfather used to control her and thought.
‘I-I… I will help you, Sempai. I will stop this… I will stop everything.’
With that, she started to move, she passed Shiro, who was clutching his chest and Saber that didn’t move an inch from her position between her and Shiro, passed Rider and Ilya and walked into the house, homing onto Zouken’s presence she felt through the link between them.
-
Very soon she came to a wall that looked just like any other part of the house and her shadow monsters charged at the wall, creating a hole with a few mighty impacts.
Inside she saw a small room with its floor and walls covered with arcane symbols. In focus of the three biggest ones sat Zouken and channeled a spell.
“You made us suffer, grandfather. For that… you will suffer as well! You will die!” Sakura’s voice was almost calm at the start, but was filled with bloodthirsty gleefulness when her shadows broke through the barrier that surrounded the mage and started to devour him piece by piece, consuming the magically created familiars that supported his body for more the three hundred years.
-
As Zouken’s head, with an expression of unimaginable agony on his face, sank into the shadows summoned by Sakura, the girl’s thought changed from using her knowledge in magic to control the shadows inside, to imagining Saber suffering the same fate as Zouken just did,
‘I did it! I solved the problem, Sempai. Now I know I can solve any problem. Saber, Rin or anyone that will stand in the way of our happiness together, they will all die!’
-
Outside, Rin was arguing with Shiro, who was supported by Saber.
“The only way to stop Shadow is to kill Sakura! You were almost killed already!”
“Onii-chan…” Kotomine’s efforts to heal Ilya proved not to be in vain and the small girl opened her eyes and looked intently at Shiro.
“Grail is still tainted by Angro Mainyu and if Sakura completes it, then it’ll cause a disaster. Like the one that consumed this city ten years ago, but world wide.”
Shiro didn’t answer and instead he delved deeper and deeper inside of his mind, trying to find the solution. He swore not break his ideals and fight to save everyone, but if he follow this path any further, he’ll have to kill one who is dear to him.
-
“Sempai, I’m free! I can do whatever I want and now nobody will stop me. We will be together, forever! “
Sakura voice, mixed with laughter as dark the Shadow herself, came from inside of the house and soon, she stepped outside.
“You don’t have to suffer anymore. I’ll protect you for eternity!”
“Shiro, allow me to use Excalibur.” asked Saber, rising her sword.
“No, Saber. Not yet.” answered Shiro, looking at Rider’s Master that slowly approached.
“Then I’ll have to do it..” said Rin and pulled a handful of jewels from her pocket.
“Kotomine, can you do that white blast again?” asked Rider as she checked her connection to Sakura and shivered when she learned what Sakura felt now.
Kotomine stretched his hands towards Shadow, before muttering a short incantation.
“Säuberung.”
“We must run for now, Rin. Your jewels will stun them for a second at best.” said the priest when instead of engulfing the target in a cleansing fire, the white sphere only flickered for a moment before it disappeared.
-
“Rin, you said that Angro Mainyu was a Servant?” asked Shiro, who was carried by Saber, when with another jump they came close to Pegasus that carried the rest of Masters and Rider.
“Yes. Don’t tell me you want to make a contract with him, so he would free Sakura and move to you.”
“No. Caster gave a weapon that Archer used to break his contract to you and I…” Shiro couldn’t finish because Rider interrupted him.
“Hell no, you are not going in! I’ll go instead.”
“But Rider, I can survive her attack.”
“Let her go, Shiro. She wants to help her Master.” said Saber and, mentally, added that even if Rider fails, then so be it.
-
“I’m going with you.” said Rin when Pegasus landed on the street and Kotomine and Ilya got down.
“We’ll follow too.” said Shiro and looked back at Saber, who only nodded.
-
Shiro closed his eyes and concentrated on the image of Ruler Breaker, before starting his spell.
‘Trace: on’
He imagined the dagger appearing in his hand and when he felt its weight in his hand, he turned to purple haired Servant and threw the weapon to her.
“Rider, here. Stab her with this”
-
Pegasus dove to Sakura and as soon as Rider and Rin jumped down it stopped and wind from his wings scattered Sakura’s minions.
“Rider? Join me Rider!” laughed the girl, strands of darkness shooting from her body and trying to catch the Servant despite the strong wind.
As Ranma flew by, she threw the dagger at Sakura shoulder and a bright purple flash that tore apart all of the shadows in the street, even those that were produced naturally, accompanied her landing.
I wonder which one you like more, this one or the old one?