20 Chapter 20: Face to Face

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness.

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-Sainan-

Turned out Lana's inventions were more useful than he anticipated, a dangerous train of thought which he knew led to a bad habit of reliance — a future he preferred to stay away from with how frequently they tended to either malfunction or work a bit too well. 

Of course, he knew better than to say as much in her presence, so as not to fuel the alien princess's ego and have her create more devices of such chaos. But in this case — where he had no other choice but to put his trust in Lala's inventions — they fortunately delivered and in fact performed far better than anything he'd seen in the past. Though a part of it could have been because he specifically asked her for a way to reach the spaceship and slow the vessel down as much as possible without blowing it all up and killing everyone inside.

Finding Mikado's location wasn't that hard, just a lock of her hair being all that he needed to have Lala's mechanical dog track its scent. They didn't need to search for long, as when reaching the forest he'd already spotted her face through the glass window. The now bewildered nurse who kept lecturing him and giving him a disapproving gaze of his action.

Funny… the woman who always acted carefree and teased him whenever she got the chance now acted like this? A sight to behold, truly. Emiya made a mental note to use it as material against her in the future as revenge.

"You're just putting your life and your family's in danger for a stupid reason! If they had taken me, I wouldn't have died and would have eventually found a way to escape in the future. I'm more than able to handle myself, and you just ruined everything for yourself!" 

He didn't give her a response nor react much to her words. He and Rito understood this to some degree, but Mikado was a very caring person to both himself and his family — more so than anyone who wasn't already part of it. Though it made sense given her nature as a doctor, she did mention that her goal was to help and heal people. Yet even now, she made every effort to put his safety and that of his family before her own.

A wasted effort, granted, but one he made sure to remember for the future. "You talk too much. Just be glad that I'm here to save you. Also, there'll be no one back on Earth capable of treating all those aliens and providing me with some much needed mental stress relief dealing with all of Lala's antics and those around her. You see, the reason I came here was not just to save you, but because it was in my personal interest, so I'm doing this out of selfishness rather than selflessness." He said with a light smirk on his face, keeping his eyes glued on Keize and making sure none of the other aliens would try to sneak up on him.

"Who the fuck are you!" One of the crew members shouted, getting their guns ready to shoot the man but finding themselves completely immobile the following second. Though their leader immediately recognized his ship's assailant, having studied multiple images with this exact face and those of other humans associated with him to blackmail their target into coming along willingly rather than having to use force. There was confirmation that he was a particular important human, favored by the princess and intrusted to keep her safe.

But the last thing he expected was for this person to somehow manage to not only track him down but bring both the princess and the famous assassin, Golden Darkness, along with him! 'Nothing to worry about, after I beat him and take the boy hostage, his allies will be forced to back down or even surrender, and Dr. Mikado will have no choice but to help Solgam with whatever project we want while keeping her in place.' 

Perhaps this attack was actually a blessing in disguise, with an opportunity such as this presenting itself to him, which promised a far better outcome if leveraged correctly. 

Unfortunately, as he tried to move his body and grab the blaster from his hip holster, his body refused to budge. "What!?" Keize screamed in shock, a strange sensation washing over him, as if he had fallen into a vat of cement. A terrible hold that made even breathing a challenge… where every motion kept getting harder and harder to control. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed dozens of blades having stabbed the ground around them, and for some reason, none of his subordinates could move as well. 

They were all frozen in place just like him.

"Damn it, he's using some kind of poison against us!" He shouted, veins popping off his temples as he tried to free himself but to no avail. Emiya casually walked next to him and grabbed the gun in Keize's holster before slashing it to pieces right before his eyes with a swing of his blade. 

"Listen, I do not have any clue as to why you are all after Mikado nor why you are trying to kidnap her through such means. But unfortunately for you, I have a lot of use for the woman back on Earth, so her being gone is not an option. That is why we'll be taking her back."

"Yeah right," the alien leader mocked him with a sneer, relieved that he could still speak. "Our destination has already been typed into the computer, and this vessel will fly to the planet on autopilot. You may have the princess slowing us down, but I already called for backup, and they will get rid of her soon enough. The same can be said for Golden Darkness. Even one of the greatest assassins in the galaxy won't be able to take on our specially engineered super soldiers — creations made for war to battle the likes of Deviluke's elite soldiers, and to one day take down the Emperor himself. Doctor Mikado should know all too well how effective they are. After all, they were inspired by her own creation. Even if they aren't quite as… perfect, as her own prototype, they still pose a massive threat to you and everyone else on this backwater of a mud planet. So, either you surrender now or die, human."

As he finished his words, the screen on the spaceship started to beep loudly with multiple dots appearing around the radar map, making Keize's grin more pronounced. He didn't have to look behind him to know what was showing on the screen. "Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear. You're too late, I'm afraid; our reinforcements are already inbound."

As he said this, Emiya saw four other spaceships rushing toward their current position and beginning to fire at Lala and Yami. Both girls had to stop their assault on the spaceship and focus on defense. Especially for the blonde assassin, who used her hair to create a massive golden shield that protected her body, while Lala had a translucent pink barrier around herself that blocked the shots. From what he'd gathered in his time learning about her and her gadgets, that shield was using Peke's reserved battery power. So, if she wasn't careful, then the suit would run out of energy, and she'd end up defenseless.

While he had seen firsthand how durable Devilukean physiques were when he fired  a broken Mystic Code at Maul and Smutts, followed by dealing with a modified Lala who forced herself to mature physically, drastically increasing her strength to what her older self would one day wield. It did help to give him a clear image of how powerful the Devilukean race was. But he didn't want to take the risk with the current version of Lala, not really sure on how durable the princess really was. If something tragic were to befall her, then Earth was as good as gone. No amount of Broken Phantasms were going to help him protect the planet against a civilization of aliens capable of faring through space and destroying planets, especially his current human self. He just couldn't ever hope to defeat such an opponent as the likes of Emperor Gid as he currently was.

"Leave me alone, Emiya-kun," Mikado finally spoke up , her voice much more somber and resigned than before. The nurse placed her hand on the back of his head and pulled him into a gentle hug. "It's sweet that you came all the way here with Lala-san and Yami-chan to come after me, and it makes me happy that you're willing to go this far to save me. But unfortunately, we need to face reality. It's better for you three to leave this alone, and leave me behind. They won't bother to go after you if you stop now, given the commotion that has been caused. It's only a matter of time before Zastin and the other Devilukean forces arrive, so they would need to leave no before it's too late for them."

"…"

"Tell Kotegawa-san that, unfortunately, I won't be able to resume my duties as the school nurse for a while. I'm confident the young girl will manage to deal with some of the tasks I failed to help her with on her own or with someone else. I'm pretty sure the principal will find a replacement for me in a matter of days at most, given how popular and well-paid this position is; the list of candidates is quite  long, I assure you. As for my clinic, there is already someone else there to take my place. Though she's not yet at my level, I have taught her the basics on how to deal with treating minor ailments caused by a wide variety of diseases that affect all manner of species, and I have left her my books and patient files which she can use to learn more. She's a bit shy, especially around you, and not exactly human nor an alien, so do keep that in mind when you meet her, and she may also be a bit frightened of you at first. But with time and care, I know she'll manage to become a wonderful nurse and a good friend to you. So, I'm counting on you, Emiya-kun, to keep an eye on her. Though it is a shame I won't get to have another cup of coffee with you again," she spoke genuinely from the heart, knowing how capable the boy was when he set his mind on something. 

She knew he'd be able to fill the void her departure would leave behind. Though he was still a teenager, she always treated him like an equal and someone of her own age group. Just as Mikado was going to leave, she let out a cute yelp of pain as the former Counter Guardian gently tapped the handle of his weapon against the top of her head.

"Ouch! " 

"Are you done with your sad attempt at a tear-jerker of a goodbye?" he said with a dry tone, giving her a deadpan face, not at all impressed or moved by what she said and even having the gall to let out a sigh of exasperation. "You clearly haven't had your morning coffee yet; must be the reason why you're acting like that. I already told you, didn't I? I'm taking you back, and that's final. Already, I'm dealing with enough ridiculous problems in Sainan by myself, and having to juggle a rescue mission in the future for you on another planet sounds way too time-consuming, so I'd much rather just get that out of the way now, thank you very much. And I'm pretty sure if my sister or brother were to get word that I let you be taken away, they would be profoundly disappointed in their older brother. So that is another reason why I can't let that happen."

Mikado chuckled, his drive making it hard for her to contain it. "You're being too harsh on yourself, Emiya-kun. I am certain your siblings won't hold it against you for not being able to face a fleet filled with hundreds of dangerous alien soldiers from a terrorist organization just to save a simple school nurse. I know you can use magic, and a very interesting form of it at that, but there is a limit to how much you can accomplish, and I know you are aware of that as well. There are times when you need to learn to step back and let matters such as these take their course. You can't save everyone."

To her surprise though, the young man started to rub his temples with a heavy frown. "Never in my life, after a certain point, did I ever imagine someone would say these words to me of all people. I'm far more used to saying things of this nature to a certain idiot instead. Humpf, but then again, maybe Rin was right about me… hah, I can already imagine her laughing in my face for what I'm doing right now."

'Rin? Does he mean that kendo girl that hangs out with little Saki?' thought Mikado in confusion.

She didn't know Kujo Rin and Emiya were so close for him to call her by her first name. She'd seen them together before of course, but in most cases they treated each other as rivals — or at least Rin did while Emiya preferred to ignore her, But the way he spoke about her just now gave the woman a completely different impression. Maybe it was her imagination playing a trick due to the stressful situation, but he sounded surprisingly fond of the kendoka girl. 

Interesting. Perhaps something to ask either or both of them about later… if she really did manage to go back to her job at the school. Which Mikado realized with a startle, was actually starting to seem somewhat plausible to her mind.

"Alright, we'll deal with the consequences of my actions later. For now, let's go." Without wasting time, Emiya, instead of battling the aliens, grabbed Mikado and jumped through the hole in the ceiling in the next second. The shouts of those behind, calling for backup and orders to shoot him down, reached his ears — not that they'd be able to move with those Black Keys impaling all their shadows. Even before he could reach the outside though, the man and the woman he carried could already hear the sound of multiple ships firing on them with anti-personnel lasers. Lala and Yami had also been pushed into a defensive position. The damage they'd caused along with this new barrage from their own allies — while not able to pierce through the hull on their own — ensured that this ship was now ascending at a snail's pace compared to before, but now they had an even bigger problem to deal with.

The princess however, seemingly ignored that upon seeing them, and immediately jumped for a hug with both the boy that was her fiancé and the beautiful school nurse without any worries in her eyes. "I'm so glad to see you again, Mikado-san! Don't worry; Shirou and I will pound all these meanies into the ground and stop them from taking you away." she said, huffing her nose in a cute glare. 

Mikado smiled at the princess optimistic attitude, "I'm afraid you'll need to find a way to survive first instead of saving me, because this doesn't exactly look ideal for us." Even though the surrounding ships weren't using any of their more powerful weapons to avoid damaging the main ship of their battlegroup, the lesser weapons still packed quite a bit of damage for individual organic targets. Lala and Yami's defensive shields surrounded them as they all looked at Emiya to decide what to do next. 

"Moh… What is taking Zastin so long!?" Lala shouted, getting increasingly more fed up with the Solgam ships pushing them further into a corner. 

For a brief moment, he took into consideration using Rho Aias to buy time. Though Unlimited Blade Works focused on bladed weapons, it could bring forth other things as well — from the shield he used the first time Lala forcefully teleported him above school grounds and he could also just Project regular, everyday items. There were many options for him to choose from, yet this wasn't the best time nor did it require him to stand his ground. With their target already secured, he preferred to bring this conflict down to the ground rather than risking their lives in the air.

Passing Mikado over to Lala, Emiya made sure to check his surroundings once again and analyze the details to determine his following actions. "So other than the main spaceship, still four more of them, each having turrets on them firing rounds of what seems to be… compressed energy? They are not using any other weapons with more firepower thankfully. If they continue to fire though, then sooner or later, either Lala, Yami, and myself will end up using all of our stamina and get blasted by them at some point. And there is a large possibility for the enemy ships to accidentally cause more damage to the main ship, which would send us all crashing down or create an enormous explosion that would take us all out."

They were high up in the sky, above the lower clouds and were slowly but surely rising. If he wasted any more time, then breathing might become a problem with the thinning amount of oxygen. He knew that Lala, Yami and himself would be able to handle that, but with Mikado he wasn't so certain. 

"Lala, you take her away; we need to get out of here now."

"What about you, Shirou?" Lala asked, worried that the boy was about to pull a dangerous stunt and remain behind.

He waved his hands, "Don't worry about me. I don't plan on facing all of these opponents alone or anything like that. It's too dangerous up here, so Yami and I will stay here for a bit just to cover you and retreat as soon as you're in the clear."

"Got it! Stay safe, both of you!" 

Without further ado, Lala and Mikado hopped on the mechanical dog and headed over the edge of the ship. The enemy's gun turrets seemed to have noticed their strategy and started to focus their firepower on both women. Fortunately for them, both Yami and Emiya acted as a line of defense by blocking each of the rounds and projectiles. While Tracing a shield would have been a good idea, Emiya wanted to conserve his energy as much as possible. So instead, he opted to use a wall of dozens of greatswords wider than his own body, stacked next to one another edge by edge, forming a wall around them. Their nature as Noble Phantasms — even low grade ones — made them nearly unbreakable against such a level of attack. Even if they were Projected constructs, they would be able to hold up against this for quite a while before showing any traces of damage.

This protection gave the Princess and the nurse enough time to fly away from the ship and float to the ground below. "Make sure they don't follow her," Emiya said, to which Yami nodded. Her wings flapped once as she made a straight beeline towards one of the ships  that was attempting to give chase. Her hair strands turned into large spear-like protrusions that stabbed through the cockpit's windows, injuring the pilot inside. Emiya didn't remain idle either. With his trusty bow in hand, he let loose a volley of arrows, each piercing through the metal haul or getting blocked by an energy shield. 

The onslaught forced them to abandon their chase on Mikado and pay more attention to him and Yami. 

After a few more seconds went by and Lala and Mikado were no longer in sight, Emiya knew this was the perfect time to escape. 

Taking a step back while letting off one final massive volley at all the ships, he let his body fall off the edge and plummet down from the sky. The wind howled next to his ears as his body fell into the bed of clouds and emerged from the other side with a clear view of the forest below. He took control of his body, ensuring he wasn't flailing around and got into position as he spotted the yellow dot upwards heading straight towards him at great speed.

In the following seconds, as the distance between him and the ground grew ever so closer, not an ounce of fear appeared on his face. Soon enough, the yellow dot got closer and closer and showed itself to be none other than Yami. The girl flew right in time to grab onto his back and lift him up right before he had to worry about slamming into any of the trees. "How many ships are remaining?" 

"I managed to take down one of them, but there are still three more left, plus the main flagship if you still count it, though I don't know if they'd be willing to risk it in battle" She reported. A question that was quickly answered as the three remaining escort ships and the main ship were now targeting him and the blonde. Her white wings flapped frantically as they continuously dodged one shot after another. 

"Land over there," he pointed at a clearing in the middle of the forest far away from Sainan. "They are following us now, which means they're no longer going after the others. That's good. Better I handle them here than have a fleet start shooting up the city and causing chaos for all the people living there."

Following his orders, Yami disappeared into the foliage below before stopping right next to the clearing and dropping him on the ground. She retracted her wings, and though the state of her clothes were a bit rough she didn't sustain any major damage. 

"Did I do good?" she asked, her face remaining the same but an eager light shining in her eyes as she asked him that question. Emiya couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The girl didn't have the best timing to ask such a question, but given how much she helped him this entire time, he didn't mind indulging her. 

"You did amazing. Your speed and reflexes are just as good as before, and you've shown quite a bit of diversity with your arsenal."

"I'll endeavor to continue doing my best," she replied. 

He didn't know if he was imagining things or if it was a trick of the light, but a nearly unnoticeable smile had just shown up on the girl's face.

"We'll need to handle the rest of the ships now, and we can't let any of them get away. These people clearly aren't going to just give up, and will just come back with more ships, possibly a full fleet." Yami stated while pointing at the ships which were still heading in their last known direction, and were now landing at the clearing with dozens of armored soldiers walking out of them. Emiya agreed with her assessment, they seemed to be quite intent on taking Mikado. 

'10… 15… 25… 40… 49… 70… 86 of those armored soldiers in total are currently visible. Adding in Keize and his crew would put them at over a hundred. Yami and I managed to damage those ships sufficiently enough that even if they can still fly, I doubt they'll be spaceworthy anytime soon. So I have two options here, buy time for Zastin to arrive and handle them for me, or to face them myself.' He didn't like this situation. Either of those options came with their own fair share of risks that didn't sit well with him. "Still no sign of Zastin arriving yet. Weird…" 

That was another aspect of this situation that worried him. The Devilukean bodyguard, despite his clumsy nature, took his role as Lala's protector seriously, and they even sent a signal to him before heading off to intercept Zeike's ship. He should have been here by now, and so his continued absence was starting to worry the former Servant of the bow. Plenty of different scenarios flashed by his mind to explain the bodyguard's absence and none of them could be confirmed. "I'll have to go with option two, then…"

While he and Yami stayed in their stop, watching a few of those armored soldiers go inside the main spaceship, and not a second later, walk out with Keize and his men, no longer bound by the Black Keys. The man walked out with a furious scowl on his face, shouting at  his men to find him and Yami. 

"They are stealing your swords." Yami pointed out, to which he found the amusing sight of these aliens carrying a stack of his blades to the other ships and placing them inside containers. "Bad people." 

"Foolish is what I'd call them. Though I'll praise them for noticing the effect of the blades and wanting to collect them instead of just breaking them — surprisingly few go with that option." 

"Can I have one?" 

"No."

Seeing no more use for them, he dismissed the blades, earning a startled reaction from the aliens in the distance who were still holding them. Their eyes nearly popped out as the weapons within their hands disappeared right before them, with nothing they could do to stop it. And that of course got Keize screaming in outrage all over again.

Emiya shook his head.

"Yami, go back and check on Lala and my siblings. Something doesn't feel right with Zastin's lack of a response, and I'm starting to suspect that we may be dealing with more aliens involved in this incident. I'll be able to handle these fools just fine on my own. I don't want them to send another team after my siblings and use them as hostages." The chances of that were rather low since Keize was in the middle of trying to leave the planet with his target, so leaving behind agents wasn't likely, but he also wouldn't put it past the man given what he'd already attempted. 

"I can't." her swift answer caught him off guard. "I promised Mikan that I would protect you this time and you promised the princess that you won't do anything stupid by staying behind."

Why wasn't he surprised that she asked Yami to do such a thing… Oh well, he couldn't really blame her given everything that kept happening recently, and the sudden involvement of an alien terrorist organization didn't help. He imagined the reaction of both Mikan and Rito if Lala returned home with Mikado saying how he stayed behind to fight a small fleet of alien terrorists. 

"Yeah well, plans change. Also, did she really do that?" Hah, now he knew a lengthy lecture and scolding would be awaiting him back home no matter how this turned out. Hopefully Rito would be able to calm her down, though he preferred if Lala was smart enough to not reveal the whole truth to his siblings just yet. 

"Yes, she told me that I could only be her friend if I keep you safe and prevent you from getting hurt. She would hate me if I failed my mission, and I can't allow that." 

That sounded like textbook emotional manipulation, and used so effectively on an alien assassin. He didn't know whether to be proud or worried. 

"I would like to remind you that I bested you in the past already, so the last thing I need here is your protection. You know that I'm capable of wielding magecraft, but Mikan doesn't for obvious reasons — to her I'm just a regular human who got caught in this mess by accident. If she knew of my abilities, I'm certain that the girl would have been confident that her brother can handle himself."

Yami cutely tilted her head, a scenario playing inside her head where she simulated what response his sister would probably have if she knew about his magic. But no matter how many times she did it, the outcome always ended up being the same. 

"..." 

Though her deadpan face didn't convey much, it showed how skeptical she was of his words. 

Having spent more than a couple of days within the Yuki household and having also gone to the festival together, had made her quite familiar with his sister to a certain degree. She didn't know how to phrase it, or rather, she did but was unable to say it. Both Yuuki Emiya Shirou and Yuuki Mikan were very similar in many aspects. If it weren't for her being factually aware that the two of them were not related by blood, then she would have been more inclined to believe that the middle child was the adopted one. Even Yuki Rito himself had a similar tendency to worry about his brother and sister despite being the second weakest in the family, with the last one being a genuine child. 

Though the younger brother seemed to worry far less than his little sister, seemingly due to the near blinding amount of trust he possessed for his brother. 

Regardless, the assassin found herself at an impasse, struggling to choose which decision to make and whom to protect. These aliens would certainly try to aim for Mikan and Rito if left with no other alternative, but last she checked, Emiya wasn't going to be able to handle so many people. Even if there were two of herself, she knew the chances of winning here were slim against so many soldiers enhanced by highly experimental drugs and augmentations. 

She'd fought and killed similar entities in the past who used cybernetics to enhance themselves; a single one was a hassle to handle, with a few having highly regenerative bodies that even if she cut them up ten times, they would still survive and keep on attacking. So if one of them was going to be that dangerous, then with over a hundred such individuals… This was extremely dangerous. 

She imagined the face his sister would make if she returned without him, and even worse, if she were to later find out that something tragic happened to him. 

It made her sick. 

Yami didn't know this feeling inside her stomach, but she didn't want to see that outcome happen, as it felt similar to failing her mission and failing as an assassin. But if Mikan were to be placed in danger after all, and the princess wasn't strong enough to handle them, then she would also be failing Emiya and Mikan. Her mind was torn as each second, she felt a growing pressure to somehow handle both problems at the same time, yet she didn't know how.

But as her chaotic mind started to become increasingly rowdy, she felt a pair of hands rest on her head, the weight soothing her nerves as it halted all of her bad thoughts. "What are you daydreaming about?"

She looked up to find the redhead boy gazing at her with a calm smile on his face, his demeanor exuding enough confidence and certainty that it made her relax, as if a part of her knew he had everything under control. "You don't show much emotion, but in the end, you're still very naive, I guess. I understand you want to help me, but that is unnecessary. I still have more cards hidden up my sleeve than what I showed before, so don't underestimate me, okay?"

The image of him destroying Laposco's ship came back, a sight that still shocked her to this day. 

"Give me your word that you will come back. I still have a lot left to learn, and I haven't been able to surpass you yet." 

Seeing her face, Emiya for a brief moment imagined Yami's face being replaced by that of Mikan and a younger Rito. She reminded him of them, and how worried they used to get about him after that incident with Saki's limo crashing all those years ago. Whenever he went out just for a quick run to the grocery store or even to take a walk around the neighborhood to stretch his legs, both would accompany him, holding each of his hands and acting like they were his personal bodyguards. 

Though he found it quite troublesome, especially when Mikan was still too young to walk around for that long and both Rito and himself had to take turns carrying the tired girl around on their backs. The neighbors all found it quite amusing and even took pictures — much to his dismay. Unconsciously, he decided to treat Yami the same way he did for them. From the looks of it, the girl was also a worrywart.

"You know, when my siblings were young, I used to do this all the time with them as a promise between us. This," he raised a closed fist, then extended his pinky finger, "is something you can treat as a formal contract between us. A paperless contract that doesn't involve magic or anything legally binding, but rather the people involved trusting each other's words. By linking our pinky fingers together, we agree to uphold our end of the contract at all costs, and breaking that promise can and will be very costly."

"Humans are weird, it doesn't make sense." She commented quietly, continuing to stare at his extended finger for a couple of seconds, looking down at her own hand before bringing it up slowly and having her pinky finger wrap around his. "This is an official contract," she said seriously.

"Indeed it is. I promise that I'll return home within the hour once I've dealt with these idiots. I'll be alive and in good condition. You can trust me with that. But I also want you to promise that you protect my sister and brother at all costs against every kind of danger that comes their way. Understand?"

"Golden Darkness has accepted the contract, and if the clause is broken on your side, then I will kill you myself."

"Brat, you already tried and couldn't do it the first time." Emiya smirked, "But fine. You've got yourself a deal. Now get going, they are starting to get impatient, these people."

Upon finishing his sentence, Yami brought out her wings once more and bolted away straight for Sainan. The soldiers spotted her figure and attempted to shoot at her, only to get bombarded by a volley of arrows that impacted right on their heads before exploding. 

"Argh!" The shockwaves blasted their bodies away rather than killing them as Emiya would have liked. Granted, he didn't use any Broken Phantasms, but those projectiles still packed quite a bit of firepower. 

"That Keize fellow wasn't kidding when bragging about the durability of these super soldiers. They're going to be tricky to handle." Just to test how durable these people were, a nameless Noble Phantasm formed next to him which he fired without using the bow. 

"Careful!" Several soldiers rushed just in time to act as a wall and protected their leader just in time for the weapon to land on one of them and reacting the same way like last time — send the victim flying but having failed to kill the soldier. A loud bang echoed within the forest as several more blades were fired both from his arrows and the air around him. But this time, he didn't aim for the people below but rather for their spaceships. 

Fire erupted from the hulls as he quickly destroyed their only option at escaping this planet unless they called for more reinforcements. Not that he was going to let that happen. 

"Curse it! He's right there, stop him!" Even with the foliage acting as a cover they spotted him rather quickly

"All right then," he whispered. His smile died down before a neutral, nearly emotionless expression showed on his face. The clothes on his body changed, with particles of light gathering around and forming a familiar piece of black armor that hugged his upper torso, black pants, and a red shroud enveloping his arms. He swept his hair to the back into his old hairstyle once again. "Been a while since I last wore this."

He rarely actually had a genuine reason to wear his former armor in this life, having no real reason to bring it up. He doubted the shroud granted him much protection in this case, but it had long since become a standard piece of his equipment when in battle. The feeling coming from the weight of the metal resting on his chest brought forth a sensation of comfort and familiarity. A metal alloy similar to the one used for his bow that had yet to exist in the current time, one durable enough to withstand blows beyond what steel could endure and much lighter. But with the addition of alien technology and how abundant they evidently were in this world, he was certain that this exact material would have been invented on some other planet already, or at least something equivalent.

"An armor given to you by the princess will not help you escape us," Keize remarked arrogantly. Seeing the new change in clothing from Emiya, but none of them put too much thought into it, since humans in general weren't known for their technological advancement, then it meant that this would have been the work of the princess. "Go capture him!"

With his position compromised, a few started to move right towards him. "Fast," he commented, impressed by their superhuman speed. Almost as fast as Maul and Smutts had been.

But still not enough.

He fired a couple more shots and created another gap between them, using the burrowed time to bring forth a single blade. "If you liked those Black Keys then I suppose I can give you another one." 

The slender rapier-like sword with its blade and extremely short hilt measured over one meter, though the weapon looked more likely to be used to thrust than slash at the opponent. A reason why he rarely used them for close quarters combat and always relied on Kanshou and Bakuya amongst many other reasons of them being his default weapon. But they were perfectly suited to this scenario, and consumed very little of his Magical Energy. 

"It won't work on them, you idiot!" Keize shouted, grinning as he watched Emiya prepare to shoot another weird looking arrow. "You think I haven't come prepared on this planet after news or what happened to Lacospo reached my ears? These men are not only modified to handle Devilukean soldiers but their armor is made of the best material Solgam has to offer!"

In a similar circumstance to the night he 'saved' Lala from Smutts and Maul, Emiya focused his senses and applied a steady stream of Magical Energy to the blade. Reinforcement and Alteration turned it thinner and more needle-like with a small wooden end he used to pull. It resembled nothing like the Black Keys he used beforehand, so it made sense why Keiser failed to recognize it.

So as Keize continued to declare how superior his soldiers were to any weapon he could use against them, Emiya let the arrow loose. 

Crash! 

The first of the alien soldiers barely had time to react, as even his enhanced reflexes did not allow him to move his body away in time before the arrow hit his armor straight in the middle…

…Before coming straight out the other side, leaving a clean hole in the middle. "Urgh!" Blood spewed from his mouth, as a rather large explosion several times his size had his back engulfed in flames. A few seconds later after everything got cleared, a charred body fell to the ground with the face no longer recognizable. 

Keize in the back stopped, his face frozen with shock, 

"For soldiers made to topple an galaxy-spanning empire, they sure come up short when it comes to dealing with a single human. Quite disappointing, don't you think?" He asked with a smirk, intentionally taunting Keize. And with great success at that, as the alien's blue skin turned bright purple with rage. 

"You think this is funny!? A fucking human isn't worthy to even think of looking down upon Solgam! If you think a few weapons given to you by the princess will help you, then you're dead wrong! ALL OF YOU ATTACK HIM!" With his veins throbbing from fury, he ordered all of his soldiers, and they complied. 

"…"

Rather than facing a handful of enhanced soldiers, Emiya found himself facing a small army of them at this point. Nearly a hundred of them rushed towards him, their sizes coupled with the armor crushing the flora around them as they even made the ground shake from their charge. 

Yet this didn't deter the young man from calmly analyzing the situation. 'I could just use Caladbolg II… no, I won't have enough time and it won't take out all of them — they are too spread out for that. Though if I can get enough distance for that, then even if a few dozen survive, then I can hit them with another one or take them all out with close quarters combat. There is also Gae Bolg, but it may attract too much attention just like with Caladbolg and there is a chance I'm being observed... I need to end this quickly and make sure all of them are gone without missing a single one of them without giving away too much. While their durability and defenses are astonishing, they are still a good dip in quality compared to Zastin's subordinates.' 

He took a deep breath of fresh air, the bow within his hands disappearing, which made Keize smirk, believing he had given up. To his surprise though, a gust of wind surrounded the redhead immediately after. 

The air changed, as a heavy sensation spread across the battlefield. Magical Energy surging around him with his sharp eyes now gazing down on all of them with a single intent behind them. 

.

.

.

"I am the bone of my sword." 

Given his soul was mostly the same, the fact his body was that of a teenager wouldn't hinder his deployment of his Magecraft. Unlike his past self, he didn't need to train for a decade just to reach a level where he could use it all on his own without relying on a secondary source of Magical Energy. Now was the best time to see if everything was truly the same and he hadn't overlooked something and by transporting all of these individuals to a different space in reality would avoid getting spied on and revealing more of his weapons to outsiders.

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood." 

Deploying his Reality Marble felt optimal in this scenario. He didn't want to risk any additional oversight of these aliens and their diverse abilities changing from species to species — better to overestimate them. His ace in the hole, which he never actually desired to ever bring up if possible.

This was an ability that laid EMIYA's nature visible to the world, since the environment of his Unlimited Blades Works was a reflection of his very soul.

"I have created over a thousand blades." 

He didn't get the opportunity to use it last time against the corrupted version of Sakura now that he thought about it… no, rather it was impossible to do so and he doubted it would have helped much. His core damaged where prolonged battle would have ended his life much earlier and given him no opportunity to save Rin and the boy. 

"Unknown to death." 

Yet he didn't regret his decision back then, he'd become far too numb to it. Admittedly, this would also be the perfect opportunity to see how his Reality Marble interacted with this world. Without the presence of the Human Order and the many restrictions of his past world… maintaining it would technically be much easier. 

"Nor known to life.

"Have withstood the pain to create many weapons." 

They rushed ever so closer, shrinking the distance between them as one of the soldiers stood a mere five meters away from him… they were already too late to stop him.

"Yet those hands will never hold anything."

"So as I pray," his hand stretched forward, the cold golden brown eyes unnoticeably growing lighter, an increasing amount of hair strands turning pure white. "Unlimited Blades Wo—!?"

It happened in an instant.

Where one second he faced the oncoming wave of enemies, then the next second his entire vision turned completely white. The hair on his arms stood up. With the ear-shattering noise nearly bursting his eardrums. 

"Argh!"

A pillar of lightning appeared, denser and more powerful than anything he'd ever faced in this world. Unnatural and filled with killing intent, and in an instant Keize and his creations were all turned to dust. Emiya on the other hand was sent flying backwards until he crashed into a tree, the impact strong enough to push the air out of his lungs. 

"Tch, now I'm starting to get pissed off by these mongrels, and I can't even kill them again. Gotta say, kid, I thought you were going to get yourself killed and figured I oughta come bail you out, but now that I'm here I get the impression that you actually had things handled. Tch, should've waited a bit longer… You were about to do something interesting, weren't you… Oh well, you can use it against me instead!"

A loud voice spoke, one filled with arrogance that rivaled a certain golden King of Heroes with the same trace of mockery. For a moment Emiya worried that the last person he ever wanted to see had somehow managed to appear in this world, in Sainan no less.

Yet his worries were replaced with confusion as he opened his eyes and found a figure standing in the middle of the blackened field. Where not a trace or of trees, spaceships, nor aliens could be seen. Behind him, Zastin and his croons respectfully had collectively turned their gazes downward. Not saying a word even after seeing him — going so far as to show fear within their eyes, all of it directed towards the newcomer. 

"You…" Emiya let his vision fall on the figure before him, smaller than Mikan to the point their size was more akin to a gnome. Sharp teeth grinned at him like a little devil, an abundance of jewelries coupled with spiky black hair. A trident-shaped tail identical to that of a certain someone he confronted not that long ago through a video call. Yet that couldn't be him… her father was much taller than this. "...Who the hell are you, kid?" 

"Heh," that question made the small-figured person chuckle. "Still got that sharp tongue on you even though you know I can blast your brains away. Don't recognize the voice of the father whose daughter you decided to 'protect'?" 

His body still felt sore after the explosion, but he pushed it aside and forced himself up using the tree as support. Kanshou now within his grasp, the sight of the weapon making the little one grin further more twisted. 

"Hehehehehe! That's an interesting blade there, that ain't a normal weapon." 

Yes, now that he listened more closely and got his thoughts sorted out after the blast. He sounded identical to the figure he spoke to on the screen of Zastin's ship not too long ago. But one detail bugged him…

"You're a lot shorter than I expected… Gid Lucione Deviluke." 

It seemed so stupid, yet every instinct in his being told him that this little pipsqueak was the Emperor of the galaxy. 

Hah… another absurdity of this world. Then again, he couldn't complain much, his own world also had its fair share of strangeness. 

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.