Part 3 - Summoning (Archer)
| Part 3 - Summoning (Archer) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 28 August 2015 |
| Location: | |
| Synopsis: | The fated moment is at hand - Tohsaka Rin stands poised on the threshold, ready to rekindle the power of a Heroic Spirit. And in doing so, a nameless hero will once again walk the waking world. |
| Cast of Characters: | 821 |
This was it. At last.
It was nearing the hour of 2:00 A.M. when her prana-leveks would be at their peek. The hour when a Summoning would have the highest chance of success. And while she didn't really need the help, Rin going to refuse it either. After all, she still suffered from that damnable curse of having at least one thing be neglected.
She would /not/ let that be the case this time.
Taking a stance she hadn't assumed since her days back home as Overseer of Fuyuki. A hand dipped into the pouch, withdrawing the gemstones and holding them aloft... and a bout of nostalgia crept up on her as she compared now to then.
It was the same. The same... and yet different.
Once again, she was effectively going to be part of a war, though this time she was more likely to be kept on the sidelines - an officer instead of a soldier.
Once again, she would be a Master ... but it was the Servant she would entrust to handle her fate and those around her.
Once more... fate drew her into acting for the sake of humankind, as it did against Angra Mainyu.
The only thing that really hadn't changed... was that once again, she blindly was calling out to someone to be her blade against enemies unknown. No way to guarantee who she would get. She had... well, hopes of who she'd get, but... at the same time, there was one who she didn't know if she wanted or not, yet had resolved to give him a chance if he came... for better or worse.
These were the thoughts that filtered through Tohsaka Rin's mind as she repeated the words of a long-unused ritual, going word-for-word the same lines she had used four years ago, her other hand pulling from her pocket the object she'd always kept since that final day.
A ruby pendant. The pendant that had helped save Emiya Shirou twice over. The pendant that called his reflection to her - and may do so once more - as she uttered the lines of summoning, the energy crackling around her as the circle came alive with each line uttered.
"For the elements, silver and iron." "For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Contracts." "For the ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg." "Close the gates of the cardinal directions." "Come forth from the crown, and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom." "Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill." "Repeat Five times." "But when each is filled, destroy it." "Set."
Tohsaka Rin stopped being human at that point - her body's nerves were bleached with the pure prana being drawn into her body, filling her, destroying her, flowing through her as part of the circuit to connect two different planes of existence and form the gateway between them. The circle flashed beneath her feet. Prana flowed freely and the air crackled with energy, shifting the air pressure and giving the illusion of wind as a familiar pain shot through her.
Even years afterwords, with many experiences between the two events to harden her body and mind, humans were still humans - their bodies always rejected becoming nothing more the conduits. None of it blunted the feeling of blades materializing through her nerves or her flesh feeling as though it would boil away... but at the same time, it was easier then the first. In fact, when she started to feel the sensation of a spear piercing her left hand, it was almost reassuring - it meant she was doing everything correctly, even as she became lost in the pain.
"Heed my words." "My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny." "If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me." "I hearby swear... that I shall be all the good in the world." "That I shall defeat all evil in the world." "You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power," "Come forth and form the circle of binding - Guardian of the Scales!"
The chains were set - and drew back tightly, snapping taunt as the energy, pain and all sensation left Rin for a long moment. All her prana was released in an instant and poured into the circle - into the summoning - and it responded with an explosive burst of energy that would have knocked Rin back a step had she not been expecting it. So-
"Eeeep!"
That left the thing she /wasn't/ expecting - the sound, audible over the short din, of the auburn-haired girl from before squealing in shock and surprise, followed by a small thud as the girl presumably backed into the wall reflexively.
In spite of herself, Rin couldn't help but spin around in shock - and for good reason! What the /hell/ was she doing in the summoning chamber during the ritual?! Didn't she have any idea of how badly botched things could be with two magi in the same room when it was cast?!
Oh, God almighty, she really /was/ a female Shioru, wasn't she?!
However, before Rin could indulge the sudden urge to smack the younger girl upside the head... she became aware of two things...
...
First off... that there was nothing else in the room with them. No trace of anything having been summoned. And secondly... she'd diverted her attention fro the ritual right at the end because of the girl.
For a long moment, she remained fixed in place, mind racing - panicking more like. Had it happened again? Had she ended up flopping at the finish line? And not even because of a mistake of her own but instead due to this... this /idiot?!/ +bb Had it all really been for-
... no. /No./ It couldn't have been. She knew it /couldn't/ have been.
Because her left hand hurt.
It was only a split-second after that in which a loud noise - the shattering of large objects - echoed from somewhere outside the room, electing a squeak from the auburn-haired girl. "Miss Tohsaka?? What's going on?!"
Rin didn't have the time to process the auburn-haired girl's question, let alone acknowledge it and dignify a response to it as an alarm klaxon started wailing and personnel in the hallways began rushing around like headless chickens away from the source of the disturbance - and some others in suits began rushing toward it.
Unwittingly, Rin herself joined them before she had even been sure she was involved, leaving the confused girl in the chamber. She moved before her mind even had time to process her thoughts-
He really never changed, did he? Still as big a show-off as ever.
The thought crossed Rin's mind without her realizing it, even though she had no way to know. And yet...
"Out of the way!" she yelled. Only a few actually acknowledge the request, so she forced her way around anyone that refused until she reached the short line of suited Enforcers that were standing in front of the site where the noise had come from. It wasn't easy - her body protested the actions as she had just expect a very significant amount of mana. Even now she found herself panting and short of breath. But things like that had never stopped Rin before.
The vague familiarity of the situation was another matter though, as it weighed down on her moments.
It was him, wasn't it? She'd actually ended up with...
Pushing her way past the Enforcers, Rin shoved herself through the group that had built up around what she recognized as one of the complex's two rec-rooms, absentmindedly taking note of the fragments of debris littering the floor in front of the doorway. She stepped in somewhat tentatively, anxiously raising her head with the speed of a rusted drawbridge to as to know what - know /who/ - she was going to see-
"Jeez... you really know how to make someone feel welcome, don't you Master?"
Him...
It was...
He was just sitting there, reclining against what looked like a shattered pool table that was now smashed against a bookcase as if it were natural. Debris of all kinds, mostly wooden splinters and ruined book-pages, were strewn everywhere, but the lone figure was no more concerned with this then he was with the many agitated Enforces staring at him.
And yet... in spite of herself... Tohsaka Rin couldn't help but smile at the antics of all-too-familiar Red Knight.
