Chapter Seven

Original idea by konamikode from Sufficient Velocity

Disclaimer: I do not own F S/NN nor the idea for this story.

A/N: From now on, response to reviews will be at the bottom so as to not ruin your reading experience!

"Dear, what is that thing doing here and what are you doing with it?"

An annoyed tone punctuated from beside her and Arturia turned to respond. She was dressed in tight biking leathers that had no problems showing the world her amazing body outline and handing over one shoulder was a thick leather jacket with metal cuffs. This gave the overall impression of a bike gang leader despite her small stature.

Obviously, EMIYA would not let such a small detail bother him as he stood expectantly behind the gates of his home and in front of his wife.

"I'm going for a road trip" A statement, a fact, and absolute bygone. This was a decision she had set upon and nothing was really going to stop her.

"A road trip, at this time of year?" He asked incredulously, before shaking his head in exasperation. He knew better to question his whimsical wife. He did, however, question the method with which she chose to do so in. "Never mind that. Tell me you aren't going to ride that …thing!"

A lone tanned finger pointed to the accused.

It was a motorcycle, with a purple paint job.

It's name was the Hayabusa 1999.

It was also the godfather of all motorbikes, and to compare it to any other land vehicle would be like comparing a furiously charging Pegasus to a regular horse. In an Era where phantasmal creatures rarely show up, it could be called the phantasmal version of the motorbike.

"Obviously. I'll be off then, make sure to prepare for another permanent resident when I get back" Without another word, Arturia started the monstrous engines of the Hayabusa and left the Emiya compound gates. Leaving a rather miffed husband behind the trail of vaporized premium gas.

"I wonder what's going on in that woman's shrewd mind…" Shrugging off the unexpected vacancy, EMIYA simply returned to the house hold to prepare the home for another permanent resident. The home was large and could comfortably fit several families without trouble.

The Land of Shadows, a land that despite the name, was not in perpetual shadow. It was in fact a very clear world permeated by nature and untouched by mankind's pollution. The land was in a perpetual state of autumn though, the tree leaves were browned and barely hanging, but they stubbornly refused to fall and clutter the ground, The flower buds had long since emptied and closed up, getting ready for a spring that would never come, the pollen that would never germinate. No animals or insects pervaded the area, just plants in their twilight state, perpetually on the edge.

The plants did not crowd one another for sunlight, for none had enough healthy leaves to do so, their seeds uselessly fallen on dead soil bereft of nutrients to aid in any form of growth. Instead, a timeless magic kept the land in this state, never dying, but never truly living either. It was peaceful, it was tranquil, it was the perfect place for the restless souls to be laid to rest.

In one of the many clearings of the twilight forest, a horde of ghosts could be found. These were not normal incorporeal existences that only very rarely manifested in the world of the living in mirror or poltergeist phenomena. Here, in this world, they were as real as the tress and ground.

Even so, it was rare for them to gather like this. Sure, over one-hundred-fifty-thousand people die a day in the human world, but not all of them are restless spirits. Many humans that die find peace at heart, whether surrounded by family, faithful in religion or a quick accident. Very few actually suffer long, torturous ends that fill them with enough negativity to weigh them down from traversing back to the Root and be recycled. It was this negativity that gave their tortured existences a corporeal form, it also empowered them far beyond what any normal human would be able to.

To visualize this, imagine the fastest person you know and the strongest person you know, now compare them into one creature that had a shadowy body three times stronger and faster than any human alive, attacked with a lacked self-preservation on any living creature and the ability to reconstruct its body endlessly no matter how the body gets destroyed. Now that there is the native and only inhabitant of the land of Shadows, a Ghost.

There were approximately twenty score of them congregated in an area, a number high enough to level New York in under a week if let loose in eh real world.

It was fortunate enough that their Queen was very strict in putting them in their place.

The Ghosts swung their arms like clubs, a simple touch able to drain the life of any mortal before their physical frames get crushed into a paste. There was no finesse, there wouldn't be for creatures whose touch was death and immortal to time. Dozens o the creatures kept flailing their arms near the center of the clearing they occupied, almost like a haphazard ritual for purification.

Rituals were a sequence of actions that had deep meanings inscribed into each and every action, sometimes there would be a person which the ritual focused on, and others where it did not. In a world where such powerful creatures existed, each action no matter how random was a ritual in itself. In the case of the Land of Shadows, the ritualists were the Ghosts, and their target was the person in the middle of their congregation, thrusting, sweeping and twirling in an elegant dance with a pair of blood red spears.

The blows that would shatter reinforced steel were deflected with a simple tap from one of the ends of the two spears, redirecting it to the ground or another ghost, which passed through them. The speeds wich the arms were such, the human body could not possibly react in time, yet they were nimbly dodged. They swarmed her, but the long poles of destruction kept them at bay, weapons that could not immediately destroy them, but would with enough direct blows. It was fear of non-existence that drove them to form immediately overwhelming the woman with their numbers, but it was hope of release that drew them to her like flames to a moth.

One over extended a swing as her back was turned, she reminded it why such a thing wouldn't work on her with a reverse thrust from her left hand into its head, obliterating it.

Two more made to grab her arms and lock her in place, but they too clumsy, she punished such recklessness by twisting her right spear such that it would pierce one enemy and stun the other on contact. The stunned one was quickly finished off with a deep slash across its spine.

This woman who bore the twin red spears and fought enemies beyond human ability, this was their Queen.

This was Scáthach, Immoral Warrior Queen of the Land of Shadow.

As usual, she was outnumbered against her unwilling subjects, whose negative existence drove them to hostility against their unwilling ruler. She could not rest, in a battle where a single lapse of judgement meant getting dragged down and torn apart for either eternity or until an escape was found, she simply had to endure until the horde was wiped out.

Suddenly, her instincts screamed at her to jump, it was a primal feeling that she hadn't felt for an extremely long time, not since she'd lost her mortality. A higher elevation did little good since the Ghosts would simply climb with their enhance abilities and drag her down while she fought awkwardly form an angle. Now, though, she chose the tree with the thickest branch and leaped for it.

A horrible screech of metal resounded as she made herself comfortable above. Looking below, she observed what appeared to be a slender woman in dark leather clothing crashing into the Ghosts with her strange beast of burden… and wiping them out. The metal beast screamed as it spun around to tear into the group again, the Ghosts for once ignoring her and charging at what seemed to be far easier prey to get ahold of.

A mistake.

The metal beast and its rider plowed right through the horde of supernatural creatures, a shadowy later of magic forming over it as the two forces approached. The beast grew dark spikes on its sides, jagged armor forming over the uncovered parts like a weaponized turtle. The rider took one hand off the 'reigns' and pulled out a… sword.

The two forces met, the metal beast tearing into the Ghosts like paper and the dark blade of the wielder efficiently cutting down those that attempted to converge on the pair. It quickly pivoted on its front and twisted its entire frame around several full rotations, clearing the immediate area around it with brutal efficiency.

The Queen's interest was piqued.

Never before had anyone managed to defeat so many ghosts at once. Sure, she'd faced down many phantasmal creatures and divine spirits, but it took months of struggle to bring any one of those titans down with the limit imposed on her due to her mortal body. Her spear thrust was unmatched to the point it could even bring down those outside mortal boundaries, but never able to fully express it with her body so frail an mortal.

Now as an immortal and unable to die, she'd been able to refine herself and surpassed the limits her mortal body could not endure, but it was both a curse and a blessing. The immortals, furious that their prized shield was defiled by mortal hands took her death form her. Unable to die, yet trapped in this Land of Shadow as its sole ruler and guide, a terrible fate that death could no longer save her from.

Now here was a person, whose strength exceeded her own. Her potential eclipsed anything she had ever laid eyes upon, but unlike most, it was reached. This rider, this woman could not get any stronger. However, the passive aura enveloping her told the Queen that she was not taking them seriously at all.

Such a wonderfully scary person.

"…" She said nothing, more intent on analyzing the potential of the woman in front of her.

It was… staggering to say the least.

From birth, the Queen knew she was different from those around her, more important than them on a fundamental level. Instinctively, they put her on a pedestal, either from her high status of birth or her great innate power. Either way, she was never told, and she never needed to be. Her talent told her everything she needed to know about a person, their potential, their importance in the grand scheme of things.

Now standing before her was a person that could easily match or even exceed her in potential alone. Her aura was similar to that of a ruler, one who had sat upon a throne, shouldered the burden of authority and stood tall to the end with all their talents. It was a presence greater than her now late student, one… equivalent to hers.

"I did not realize that those of equal status were required to pay more respect to one than the other" She gracefully slid down the tree branch, not even making a sound as she landed. The ruler gazed upon the darkened woman in front of her, her head covering obscuring any facial features underneath. Not bothering to even bend her knees on impact as she landed, having long since mastered the technique of leaping… and hence, landing

"I offer no apologies. My intrusion into your lands might not be an invasion, but rather an… opportunity". Finally, the dark woman unclasped the dark covering of her head, revealing breathtaking features. While she had confidence in her own beauty that would easily catch even the unaroused eyes of men in lust, hers was of a different kind, one that demanded they give their all to protect from danger. She felt no danger form the other woman, eons of being sundered form any other living creature caused normal views to warp and distort.

That same situation brought her to one simple question…

How did she get here? A land sundered from the normal flow of time?

"While I do have questions, the eons have done little but bore me with these endless monotonous battles." Her voice was cool, like a spring fresh from winter, her steps as gracefully as leaves falling to the ground as she approached the other woman, hips swaying slightly from side to side. A short pause later, she reached what could be described as personal space… and invaded it. "Please, explain"

While both women gave out an impression of majesty and had little reason to back down from the other, the smaller of the two let out a slight breath as she closed her eyes. A small retreat for a larger gain in the future.

"With my power, entering a place such as this is of little trouble. Should you accept this… opportunity, I can easily take us both back to the outside world, where time flows naturally and the gods have ceased to exist" Her bun-pinned, pale blond hair, golden eyes, and delicate features looked frigid, as frozen in space, but warmed slightly at the last part. The smaller of the two looked away to the infinite horizon as she said this as if enraptured by an idea.

An impossible idea.

"The land of Shadows is a place outside of time, with my power I have no hope to escape this eternal trap… but you… you've managed to breach what even my Leap could not cross." Her tone was somewhere between admiration and scorn, yet it remained calm, analyzing. "With such power, you could easily place it dangling as an ultimatum over my head, yet you would take me out of here regardless?"

While indeed it was possible for the woman to travel between the spaces, such a thing required vast amounts of energy, which usually left the fabrics of reality heavily weakened for some time. Enough time for her to easily follow through even without the offered help. Their discussion though already given the area enough time to stabilize so breaking out now as currently impossible, but even if the smaller woman decided to leave the Queen could easily follow her.

And yet… she had been given a choice with full knowledge that she could very easily leave very soon with no strings attached. It was such a bold move, such a vast opportunity, such a heartfelt gesture-

"Whatever you require, I would be happy to oblige" A small, unrulier like giggle escaped her. The elder woman knew the how to lay down a self-esteem trap, making those with large egos unable to refuse simple requests if it meant owing another some favors, a perfect net. One she had fallen perfectly into with little escape.

A deviously dangerous woman indeed.

"Well then, why don't we talk about our terms as we ride?" The smaller woman gave a slight victorious smile before freezing over. She placed her helmet back on and mounted the strange beast before indicating the other ruler's position with her hand." For just this time, please wrap your arms around me. I certainly would not want to lose you in the void between here and there."

A moment later, the pair accelerated beyond the speed of light before the queen of the land of shadows could comment further. Eventually reaching a point where the fabric of reality was weakest.

Then she crushed it.

The Holy Grail as designed to bore a hole through reality to reach a metaphysical plane such the Throne of Heroes, and the Root with enough energy. What was crossing a much smaller metaphysical distance using the grail functions compared that?

"Father, where is Mother?" A small boy with rust fair and golden asked, as he sat himself down on the edges of the dinner table, beside him was an equally tiny girl with purple hair and equally purple eyes. Both of them were unconsciously drooling at the steaming dish in front of them, their hunger for food wrestling with their fear of displeasing mother by not waiting for her first. It was a titanic mental struggle worthy of tales that intensifies as their father placed down an extremely large portion of X.O. fried rice on the table.

"I'm not entirely sure, but-" His whitened eye brows shot up, hidden by his no-longer spiked up hair for a moment before relaxing. His occasional Structural Grasp had picked up one familiar figure and another unfamiliar one. He summarized it was the guest she spoke of earlier. "No matter, she is here and with a guest as well."

The two children immediately got up and respectfully stood on the dining room walls to await the arrival of the guest and their mother. It was only proper after all to pay respects to those that were superior to you. Luckily for them, their wait was short lived, for the incoming pair had arrived.

"Welcome home, Mother. Honored Guest, we welcome you to our home." The pair said at once in greeting as the sliding doors parted.

One was their mother, dressed in her usual garb, while the other was a much more buxom woman she wore something that resembled a cross between a purple leotard and a battle dress, her deep purple hair seemed to catch the light in strange ways and her blood red eyes bored deeply into the younger boy's intensely despite the glance she gave him.

Once their parents had seated themselves and laid out the dishes properly, the children were invited to join.

The dinner at the Emiya-household was eaten in aromatic silence.

A/N: Sorry everyone, No Einzbern PoV, their head is currently losing his shit trying to piece things together so expect some crazy stunts from them as Jubstacheit von Einzbern tries everything he can to get the Grail. Just a little hint on what they are going to do, it is related to how Zouken stays alive for so long. Do take care to not place spoilers in the reviews, though.