Elimination Battle
Earlier than usual my alarm rings. Apparently, that forced function is making sure one would be up early for last preparations to be completely ready for the decisive fight. The Moon Cell, the unimaginably big and powerful computer running this virtual war, seems to be making sure this tournament is as fair as can be.
But that's not for something humane, such as morals, it's reasoned with the fact that the Moon Cell would only grant the promised wish to the one person worth it. And logically it can only be a person that can win even if they don't have much of an advantage, such as sneakily killing their opponent in secret.
The Moon Cell oversees everything. Without exception.
Saber is still sleeping soundly. I will not wake her up yet, it might be better to make up our strategy now that she is not awake. I find it hard to work out somethings while being watched, after all. It makes me even clumsier than I usually am.
Now… Let's go through all the information we have. It's safe to say that, should I have Saber fight completely offensively, as she just loves to, we don't have a good chance. A bullet would hit and hurt Saber before her sword would get any close to her opponent, and as this is a Servant we are fighting, it's also safe to assume she will not have to reload but she can fire endlessly.
Waiting for an opening like the last battle is hardly going to work out, they will neither underestimate us another time nor would they forget we already successfully did that. They will be too careful to leave us an opening to attack.
If we stay defensive, however, we cannot really win either. It would be stalling, Saber would hate it and we might lose either way, depending on whose stamina runs out first. And that's surely the one wielding a big sword to defend herself, not the still standing woman shooting two guns.
Adding to these difficulties, Shinji will also have dirty tricks up his sleeve, most likely Code Casts of the Debuff kind. But maybe…
That's it!
***
"So, I'll just have to wait for that sign of yours, and then go full frontal?" Saber makes sure of the plan as we are walking down the stairs, heading for the big door towards the Elimination Battle's Arena. "That is simplifying it greatly, but… not wrong." I sigh. She could at least try to be a bit more strategic about these battles…
"I know, I know," my Servants grins at me, "With that plan of yours and your preparation, I can't just mess up and have us lose this." I am glad she is trying to well to stick to my plan, despite me being fully inexperienced when it comes to battling and war. But I can see, she is nervous. So am I, however.
While walking, I turn to her and softly turn her face my way, then shortly peck her lips. "For… good luck, I suppose," I mutter. This is so embarrassing, there's so many possibilities of who might have seen. Saber's face is flushed right away.
"But… d-don't you need some, too?" I softly chuckle at the remark.
"Considering how far I got already, and considering I got paired with such a strong Servant, I think you can tell I already have a lot of luck. Sharing with you won't hurt."
Saber grumbles almost cutely, saying something like "of course you do" weakly under her breath, supposedly referring to me calling her a strong Servant.
At the door, before I can put in the Triggers to open it, stands Rin.
A faint blush on her cheeks, she clears her throat, a sign that she's going to lecture me. "You shouldn't just… Ah, forget it," she interrupts herself, "Are you fully prepared?" I nod at her. My expression must show my determination as she isn't questioning me.
"Shinji went in already. He was sweating, so I suppose you gave him a hard time?" This makes me smile. Seems like he is as afraid of battling me as I was of fighting him. I'm glad Rin is here to calm my nerves. She puts her hand on Saber's shoulder. "Make sure to protect Ritsuka, okay?"
The blonde is taken aback, but strengthens her resolve. "Of course I'll make sure my Master isn't hurt. I don't need an opponent telling me." There is hostility in her words but I might just be imagining it. After all, she has no reason to be hostile towards Rin. They are both my friends, after all.
Rin glares at Saber. "Good."
Saber returns the glare. "Indeed."
I take my Servant's wrist and pull her towards the big door, to diffuse the situation. Connecting my terminal to the door handles, it accepts the Triggers and unlocks the seal on the door.
As we step through, we find ourselves in an elevator that is separated by a barrier, Shinji and Rider on the other side. "Yo, Ritsuka," he greets me with a cocky smile, "Finally left your harem to go fighting?" At the word 'harem' Saber turns visibly furious.
"She doesn't have a harem, you pathetic freak." What is a harem anyways?
Shinji sweats nervously, seemingly regretting to have made such an irritating remark right before my Servant has the actual chance to go for his throat. But Shinji wouldn't be Shinji if he did not immediately think of a way to weasel out of this.
"H-Hey, Ritsuka? Why don't we agree that the fight is Servant against Servant? Besides Code Casts, we should stay out, right?" There is a shimmer of hope in his eyes. I know I am probably too kind and naïve for such a tournament.
"Of course," I reassure him.
Saber, slightly calmed down, adds, "We're not pathetic enough to have to resort to such means." The blue-haired is visibly angered but grits his teeth rather than letting things escalate.
His Servant, however, finally breaks out in laughter. "Such cowardice from you, Master? Even I'm surprised," Rider remarks, though coming from her, it is clear she means no offense. Like a sailor, or rather pirate, of her calibre, she just speaks her mind, not considering the consequences of offending anyone with it.
It is an open and direct approach that makes me feel like I probably would have gotten along with her well, if not for the fact that she is my opponent and thus a threat to my life as a whole. Noticing my gaze, she speaks up. "Li'l girl, don't be too rough on my Master, okay?"
Surprisingly she seems like a really caring woman after all. I cannot help but smile at that. This might be pushing my luck a bit, but I don't see a reason on why I should not ask her. "Your True Name. It's Francis Drake, right?" Rider smirks and her expression is a clear nod to my assumption.
However, especially in front of her Master, it would be disadvantageous to disclose your True Name to your opponent. Even someone like Drake can keep it to herself under such circumstances.
"Yes, she is! What about your Servant, though?" Shinji barges into our conversation, shocking Rider a bit less than me. In hindsight, it probably doesn't matter anymore. I have showed that we figured out Rider's True Name, so it is safe to assume we have some kind of strategy. They have nothing more to lose in such a conversation.
On the other hand, I messed up. If they did not know yet that we figured them out, they would have been surprised. Saber is going to be really mad later—assuming there is a later for us.
"So then, who's your Servant?"
That question catches me off-guard. Even if I wanted to, just to be fair, I could not tell him. Because I don't know that myself. Saber won't tell me.
"Why not figure that out by yourselves? We did nothing to hide any information," Saber barks at them.
Of course, they have no clue, otherwise they would have asked. She was right not telling me her identity, because most likely I would have told our enemy now. I feel bad for that, even though it did not really happen.
The elevator halts. We arrive at the Arena—it is another part under the sea, stunning to see. We step out and I look at Shinji. I do not want to fight him. I would rather befriend him and his Servant. But this is not my choice to make.
Begin the Battle!
Do not dare to insult the Moon Cell. Give it your all.
To whom did the voice speak…?
It does not matter, before I can give that a thought, guns are audibly fired. I look at Saber in shock, but she manages to fend every single bullet off with her sword.
"That tactic again?! And I almost thought you'd be a knight," Rider yells in frustration, as her attacks do not bear fruit.
Saber flashes her teeth, showing a small fang. "Me? A knight? You gotta be kidding, a knight would at least give a damn about honour."
Bullet after bullet is approaching faster and my Servant has more and more of an issue blocking them all but luckily, she manages. Until…
stun(Ritsuka_Fujimaru[Servant]);
All of a sudden, Saber seems in minor pain and is unable to move. "That dirty…" is all she manages to say, seeing another bullet heading straight for her face.
I don't know what came over me, but before I realise what happens, I am in front of her, taking the shot meant for her to my right shoulder, going down. " Master?!"
Saber catches me, in shock. Whether it is because she is still unharmed or because of my recklessness, I cannot tell. Most likely it is both.
"They… He didn't stick to the promise, huh? Letting… our Servants do the fighting," I feel my voice turning weaker.
The pain in my shoulder is strong, tears are dwelling in my eyes. It is hard to bear, but I have to get through it, even if I cannot stand up straight anymore.
"Even better! That's our chance, Rider!" Not a hint of worry in his demeanour. This attack could have killed me, and he would not have lost a second of sleep over this. This is what this tournament is about, though. This reality hits me harder now than before.
"Hunt of the Golden Hind : Golden Stag and the Eventide Tempest!" Upon calling its name, Drake's Noble Phantasm shows—a gigantic ship, the Golden Hind, leading a whole fleet of ships. Their fire power must be close to unlimited.
We expected this to happen. But we did not expect the whole fleet to be a part of her Noble Phantasm. And we did not expect me to be injured.
Still, I have to do my part or we are done for.
I close my eyes and focus. I need to ignore the pain. I have to think about Saber, I want to spend more time with her. If I lose here, I will lose her forever… and my life, too.
blind(ALL);
A blinding light envelops the whole Arena. "Now… !" Saber knows what to do now. We talked this over.
Back before the battle. Her instincts are superior, she will manage to find and slay the opponent even if she cannot use her eyes. Blinding ourselves as well also marks this Code Cast as a general one, not a Debuff. Even with a Debuff Protection, our opponents would be affected. This is our only chance.
I can't exactly see what happens, but when the light disappears, Saber's sword has impaled Rider's chest. Blood is flowing, dirtying Clarent as well as the floor, now that the fleet has vanished. Shinji is staring in disbelief.
"Tch." Saber pulls out her sword and walks back to me, panting. She has wounds as well. Rider must have hit her as well before she could put an end to this fight. She looks worse than me, although she does not show her pain.
"We… how," Shinji mutters. This is it. We… won.
"Rider! This is all your fault. How can you be this incompetent?!" He is crying now. But he does not seem afraid. He is angry, frustrated. He wanted to win this badly. Suddenly, he grips his chest and sinks to his knees. "…What…?"
Rider sighs, falling down. She doesn't have the strength left to stand or sit up. Saber must have stabbed her heart, the puddle of blood around her only confirms that. "I told you," Drake puts all her effort into keeping her voice loud enough to be heard and to not show her struggle, "This is no game. You bet your life… and this time, you lost the bet."
Shinji's tears are flowing out freely now. "This can't be. I can't die. No way, this is just an online game…?!"
My chest feels heavy and uneasy. I knew one of us would die. But I did not expect him to not know about the seriousness of this battle.
"This 'game'… as you call it… makes no exceptions," Rider croaks. "Even if you're just 8 years old."
Their bodies distort, it reminds of a glitch. Shinji is 8 years old? That can't be. He's merely a child? No way. I killed a child.
I want to reach out to him, but an invisible wall separates Saber and me from Shinji and Rider. "N-no…"
"Ritsuka… Hel—" He disappears before he can finish.
I sink to my knees, tears running down my face. The pain in my shoulder feels numb compared to this. Saber averts her gaze, seeming somehow ashamed.
"I'm sorry," is all I can mutter repeatedly. I didn't mean for this to happen.
I killed a child.