The Knife of Fuyuki

Disclaimer: I do not own Dishonored or Fate/Zero. The former is owned by Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios while the later belongs to Gen Urobuchi and Type Moon.

"I killed nobles before. Why should an empress be different? For six months, the city writhed and changed. For six months, I tried to forgot what I've done to the Empress and her little girl. Whatever doom was coming, I deserved it, but not yet."

Kirei Kotomine stood in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, an intricately designed circle drawn on the ground before him. Three years earlier, the red markings of Command Seals had appeared on his hand. It marked him as a master of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The odd part was that the priest had no idea why he was chosen. He did not possess a wish or any desire that he had wanted fulfilled. Nevertheless, he agreed to train under Tokiomi Tohsaka, the head of one of the three families who created the Grail Wars, in order to prepare. They would be allies in this war, and Kirei would help Tokiomi to fulfill his wish of reaching Akasha, the root of all knowledge.

Kirei was intended the summon the servant Assassin, which was the weakest of the seven. Tokiomi had provided him with a catalyst in order to summon the servant. It was the shattered remains of a bone mask. With it, it would summon Hassan-i-Sabbah, better known as "The Old Man of the Mountain". Said remains were placed near the summoning circle.

After a few moments of silence, Kirei opened his eyes.

"It is time," he simply said before beginning the incantation.

"Silver and Iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of the contracts to the cornerstone. The Ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

- - - - I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate (doom) is in your sword.

In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the only one who becomes all the good of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance - - -!"

A bright flash of light briefly filled the room and then disappeared, causing Kirei to shield his eyes. As the smoke from the summoning circle began to clear, Kirei uncovered his face to see his servant. However, as soon as he set eyes upon him, he knew something went wrong.

The servant he had received certainly wasn't the Old Man of the Mountain.

In the summoning circle stood a man who appeared to be in his early forties. He had short brown hair and gray eyes, and his face looked like it had been scarred in the past. The man wore a short-sleeved red overcoat over a white button-up shirt, complete with brown gloves that covered the entirety of his forearms, brown trousers, and brown boots. The man kept two belts on him. The first went from his left shoulder and ended at his right side, and on the right side of the belt were three pouches. What was also on the belt appeared to be three charms that were carved from bone, with runes engraved on each of the bone pieces. The second belt went across his waist, and the remaining bit of belt had been knotted. Three pouches similar to the one on his chest were on the belt's left side. The man kept two weapons on his belt. The first was a short blade sheathed on the left side of his belt. It was too big to be a knife but too small to be a proper sword. The second weapon was a wheellock pistol kept on the right of his waist.

"I am the servant Assassin," the man announced, his voice being deep and husky.

"Are you my master?"

"I am," Kirei said as he showed the servant the Command Seals on the back of his hand. The servant nodded before he noticed that something was off with his master.

"Is there a problem," he asked as Kirei looked up at him.

"You weren't the servant I was expecting," the priest said plainly as Assassin gave off a shrug.

"Well, looks like you're stuck with me. I suggest we get out of here and go back to wherever you're operating at."

Kirei responded with another nod, and lead the servant out of the warehouse. He and Tokiomi would have to adjust their plans accordingly. He honestly could not gauge if receiving this alternate Assassin was for better or for worse. Only time would tell.

[Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki City]

Kirei and Assassin stood on top of a hill overlooking the Tohsaka Manor. The former had his arms behind his back, while the latter had his to his sides. The priest turned towards the Servant of the Shadows and addressed him.

"I have received word from the church: the final servant, Caster, has been summoned."

"And so, it begins," Assassin commented as he approached the railing on the hill, and stood before it. He took his blade out of his belt and held it in a reverse grip in his right hand, the blade to the side. He then held out his left hand as Kirei talked to him.

"You remember your instructions, correct?"

"Yeah, give them a good show," Assassin said as he ran the instructions through his head. He was to stage an attack on the house of the Master of Archer, and then fake his death at the hands of the Servant of the Bow. This would make the other masters and servants think he was dead, and allow him to do his work with everyone else none the wiser.

A mark on the back of Assassin's left hand glowed and time around him suddenly froze, as he activated one of his powers. He suddenly disappeared in a heartbeat and then reappeared 30 meters away, standing in one of the trees, on its branches. This power was Blink, granted to him by the Mark of the Outsider, one of his Noble Phantasms.

He used Blink again to go to another trees branch, and yet a third time to land on a tree near the Tohsaka courtyard. He HeHe took a spyglass out of a pouch on his belt and used it peer at the courtyard. He noticed four pedestals standing in the middle of the flower beds. On each of the pedestals was a small ruby, which were around the size of an orange.

"Hm, those must be powering the bounded field," Assassin thought as he collapsed his spyglass and put it away. It would be best to take care these now. He aimed out his left arm, revealing a device mounted on the underside of his forearm, near his wrist. It was a small weapon that resembled a compact and concealable crossbow known as a wristbow. Assassin aimed at one of the rubies and fired at it, destroying the gem with a single bolt. He twisted his arm as a new bolt was loaded into the wristbow, and he then took care of the other three rubies in short order. He then Blink-ed again to land in the courtyard, and quickly hid behind one of the pedestals. He peered out from behind the pedestal and saw another pedestal in the middle of the yard, with another ruby on it. Said gem was surrounded by some kind of ornament.

"Something's not right," Assassin said as he stared at the pedestal. He picked up a small stone on the ground and threw it at the pedestal. The stone suddenly bounced off, revealing another bounded field. His suspicions confirmed, Assassin aimed his left hand at where the jewel was, and used another one of his powers, Pull. The mark on his hand began to grow and the ruby began to levitate. It was then pulled from the pedestal and ended up right in Assassin's hand. He pocketed the gem and then tiptoed towards the Tohsaka Manor.

Sensing something off, Assassin suddenly jumped back as an ornate spear soared through the air and destroyed the pedestal and ornament. The spear impacted on the ground, kicking up bits of grass and soil. Assassin looked up at the source of the spear. Standing on the top of the manor's roof was presumably the servant Archer. Archer was a man with golden blonde hair and crimson eyes. He wore ornate golden armor complete with gold earrings. Above him were bright, glowing golden portals. Peeking out of the portals were various weapons. They ranged from swords to axes to spears, all of them made of precious metals and ornately engraved. Archer addressed Assassin, his voice loud, bold, and dripping to the brim with arrogance.

"A simple thief who thinks he can sneak past the king. Be gone from my sight, mongrel!"

With that, the weapons fired out of the portals like an artillery barrage. Thinking quickly, Assassin used another of his powers and the seal on the back of his hand glowed. The world around Assassin suddenly gained a monochrome tint to it, and everything around him suddenly stood completely still. The weapons that Archer had fired at him were now only inches from his face.

This ability was Bend Time, one of the most powerful, yet costly, abilities granted to him by the Mark of the Outsider. This allowed Assassin to stop time for approximately eight seconds. Assassin then decided to make use of those eight seconds, as he quickly Blink-ed away from the manor. He finally stopped as he reached the top of the hill where he and Kirei once stood. The priest was now gone, leaving Assassin by himself.

"Let's just hope that those who watched this bought it," Assassin said as he headed off towards the direction of the church to rendezvous with his master.

[Einzbern Castle, Fuyuki City]

Assassin crept along the hallways of the castle, surrounded by darkness. Frankly, the interior of the castle had reminded him of the manors of the many nobles he had assassinated in his lifetime as an assassin. The Servant of the Shadow then thought back to why Kirei had ask to be taken along during his reconnaissance trip to the Einzbern Castle. The priest had simply said that he wanted to find Kiritsugu Emiya, the Einzbern's representative in the war and the master of Saber. Assassin decided to humor him, seeing as the priest could take care of himself.

And Assassin had happened to pick a special night to do his reconnaissance. The servant Caster, for one reason or another, had decided to attack the castle this night, and Saber was currently engaging him with the servant Lancer helping her out. It also seemed that Lancer's master was there as well. Said master was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, an esteemed mage and nobleman and the Mage's Association's representative in the war.

Kayneth had been fighting with Kiritsugu in the castle, apparently having some beef with him. Kirei had said that Kiritsugu would not be harmed under any circumstances. Kayneth, however, was fair game. Assassin had simply followed the two throughout their battle. The two weren't even aware that he was there thanks to his Presence Concealment skill. The servant had to admit that Kayneth lived up to his reputation as a powerful magus, counter most of Kiritsugu's attacks with the blob of mercury that followed him around. However, the man was arrogant, too arrogant for his own good. The magus had an air of arrogance, pride, and superiority to him that Assassin had seen in plenty of nobles. That arrogance could end up getting him killed.

Assassin peeked around a corner and saw the two masters standing there. Kayneth was currently prattling on about how Kiritsugu landing a blow on him was a fluke and a stroke of luck. About how he was going to make Kiritsugu's death long and drawn out with his magic.

"This idiot loves to listen to the sound of his own voice," Assassin said rhetorically as he ducked back into the corner. Rather than taking the opportunity to strike the Master of Saber down while he was defenseless, he had decided to speechify to him. Assassin, on the other hand, was going to take advantage of the window of opportunity before him.

He took out a hexagonal cylinder out of his belt pouch. Said cylinder was a chokedust grenade, which would stun anyone in the grenade's area of effect. Assassin primed the grenade and then tossed it at the two masters. The grenade landed right between the two masters before it went off. Finely grinded powder emerged from the grenade and spread out, causing both of the men to cough violently. Kayneth stumbled back away from the cloud, and Assassin then took his chance. He ran out, grabbed Kayneth, and pinned him against the wall. The magus thrashed out violently against the servant, clawing his hands at him. Assassin quickly stabbed his blade through the side of Kayneth's neck, blood spurting out from the wounds. The servant then withdrew his blade and threw Kayneth's body on the ground. The magus went out a few gargled cries as he choked on his own blood. Kayneth's body then completely disintegrated into ash within an instant.

Assassin turn back to see that Kiritsugu had recovered from the chokedust grenade. The master was currently aiming his submachine gun at him. Thinking quickly, Assassin Blink-ed to a nearby window and crashed through it. Glass shattered and glisten in the moonlight as Assassin landed on the ground, slightly wounded from his impromptu escape. He quickly used one of his new powers, and a person was summoned before him in an instant. Said person had a slender frame, was a bit shorter than Assassin, and was dressed in similar looking attire as him. However, the one difference was that a gas mask and hood covered her face, concealing her identity.

"Did you spy on Saber and Lancer like I told you to, Billie," Assassin asked as the now named Billie replied with a nod.

"Yes, sir. They manage to make Caster retreat. Lancer is heading over to where you are while Saber is going over to where the grail's vessel is."

"Good. Go and inform Kirei of the news. It's time to make ourselves scarce," Assassin said as Billie went off to do her job. The Servant of the Shadow then took out a vial from one of his pouches that contained a red colored elixir. He popped off the cap and then downed the elixir in one go. With that taken care of, Assassin Blink-ed to the nearest tree and took off, heading back towards the church.

[Sewers, Fuyuki City]

Water dripped and rats squeaked as Assassin made his way through the sewers. Going through the sewers gave him a sense of deja vú. It reminded him of the time when he encountered members of the Brigmore Witches coven in the sewers of Dunwall. This time, however, Assassin was now looking for a different kind of spellcaster in the sewers.

It had recently been discovered that Caster and his master was responsible for the recent kidnappings and murders of children in Fuyuki. The overseer, Risei Kotomine, had used his emergency powers as judge of the war to declare that the first to kill Caster and his master would be awarded with an extra command seal. Despite this incentive, many had not taken this offer up. With Lancer now eliminated from the war, there were fewer servants to hunt the Servant of the Spell down. That is, until, Tokiomi Tohsaka had discovered that the master of Caster had attacked his daughter Rin. Infuriated that his child was almost harmed, Tokiomi had ordered Kirei to order Assassin to track down and kill Caster and his master.

A pack of rats in front of Assassin scattered as he activated another one of his powers, Void Gaze. He blinked, and the previously dark tunnel now became as clear as day. Asides from letting him see in the dark, it also allowed him to see through walls. Assassin saw the outlines of two figures through a wall ahead of them.

"Hm, Caster and his master are close," Assassin said as he walked close until he saw the hall he was in enter into a large spacious area of the sewers. The area was surrounded by large pillars, and a part of the area was well lit. Standing there were two people, busy cutting up the corpse of a child. The first was a youth in his early twenties with orange hair, wearing a purple jacket, white shirt, black jeans, and leopard print shoes. His accomplice, on the other hand, was bizarre looking and most likely the servant. He had greasy, wild gray hair and bulging fish eyes. He wore dark blue robe, and an oversized purple collar that petal-like folds of cloth. The master of the pair then held up a bloody scapel as he made another cut onto the child's corpse.

Assassin looked around the room and held his breath at what he saw. All around the room were the corpses of children that had been mutilated. They were all hanging around like a morbid art gallery. Assassin gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his blade. While Assassin himself was a killer, he was a professional, and would only kill his targets and those who guarded. He wasn't the type to cut up and butcher women and children for the hell of it like these two.

The Servant of the Shadow then made his move, using Blink to land right on the table where Caster's master was doing his work. This caught him off guard as Assassin pulled out his pistol, point it at the master's head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered the man's head, splattering blood and brain matter across the wall. His body dropped to the ground before disintegrating into ash. Caster recoiled in shock at the death of his master.

"RYUUNOSUKE," he shouted as he focused his attention on Assassin. Before he could land a killing blow, however, a large, aquatic like creature dropped onto the table. Assassin quickly jumped off the table before it could land on him, and got a good look at the creature. The creature looked like a starfish, with tentacles and hundreds of eyes. The creature got off the table and lunged at Assassin, who jumped back in response. Assassin aimed his wristbow, loaded with an incendiary bolt, and fired it at the creature.

The bolt lit the creature up like a roman candle, screeching as it was engulfed in flames. Assassin eyed Caster as the Servant of the Spell took out a tome that looked like it was made of human flesh. Assassin quickly Blink-ed over to Caster, and raised his blade up. He brought it down in a downward strike, and cut off Caster's arm. It fell to the floor, and the spellbook went along with it. Not giving him a chance to react, Assassin swung his blade and took Caster's head off. The Servant of the Spell immediately disintegrated into ash when his head hit the ground. Seeing that his work was done, and that the two would cause no more harm, Assassin started to make his way out of the sewers.

[Emiya Residence, Miyama Town, Fuyuki City]

Assassin crouched as he stood on the rafters of a shed. He peered down at the Grail vessel, known as Irisviel von Einzbern and Kiritsugu's assistant, Maiya Hisau. The two were currently moving boxes into the shed. From what he could guess, Kiritsugu had decided to move his base of operations from the Einzbern castle to this house, seeing as the former had suffered significant damage.

He remembered the orders that Kirei had given him. He was told to kidnap the Einzbern woman in order to draw out Kiritsugu. The servant couldn't really argue against the plan, although it seemed risky. If Irisviel was harmed or killed, then the Grail wouldn't be able to be summoned, and the war would be all for nothing. And to him, Assassin would be unable to undo the one thing that he regretted the most: killing the Empress of the Isles and kidnapping her little girl.

Assassin checked the load on his wristbow. It was loaded with a sleep dart, which contained a chemical concoction that would knock out anyone who was hit with it. Taking a deep breath in, Assassin jumped down from the rafters and landed right between the two women. Irisviel gasped as she dropped a box she had been holding. Assassin turned towards her and fired his wristbow at her. She immediately dropped to the ground as the dart hit her and took effect.

"Madam Irisviel," Maiya shouted as she rushed forward and withdrew a Glock 17 handgun from the inside of her jacket. Assassin, however, was quicker as he stabbed his blade into Maiya's forearm. Assassin forced Maiya to move her arm until the pistol was under her chin. Maiya's eyes widened as she realized what the Servant of Shadows intended to do. However, the realization came too late, as Assassin forced her to pull the trigger. The bullet entered through her mouth and exited through the top of her head. Blood sprayed from her head and stained the wall of the shed.

Assassin removed his blade from the woman's body, and sheathed it. He then picked up Irisviel's unconscious body and hefted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Before he could make off with the Grail Vessel, he heard the shout of two words that interrupted his escape.

"Strike Air!"

Assassin suddenly jumped out of the way with Irisviel as a giant gale of air slammed into the shed and destroyed it to pieces. The Servant of the Shadows gaped at the destruction of the attack while he recovered. It made Corvo Attano's Windblast look like a gentle summer breeze. The servant turned and saw the source of the attack.

Standing in the yard of the house was a girl who looked to be in her late teens. She had golden blond hair that was tied up in a bun, and emerald green eyes. She wore a blue dress, complete with an armored chest plate, armored parts of her skirt, a pair of gauntlets, and lastly, a pair of armored boots. For some odd reason, she was apparently grasping nothing but the air.

Assassin immediately recognized who she was. It was Saber, Servant of the Sword, and the most powerful of the seven classes. Saber glared at Assassin as she addressed him.

"If you think you could sneak away with Irisviel, then you are sorely mistaken, Assassin," she said as the servant placed Irisviel down on the ground before pulling out his own blade. Assassin then thought about his options. He that Saber wouldn't give him the chance to escape, forcing him to fight. With that fought in mind, he knew he wouldn't last long. Saber was his superior to him in combat. Her class was meant for direct combat while his was meant for taking out masters. However, with all that in mind, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Saber tensed as the mark of Assassin's hand glowed. Suddenly, three of his assassins appeared behind him. The first was Billie Lurk, while the other two were master assassins. The mast assassins were dressed similarly to Lurke, only with their coats being dark blue instead of red.

"Let's begin, shall we," Assassin asked, brandishing his blade, with the mark on the back of his hand glowing. The summoned assassin withdrew their own blades, with Billie Lurke loading a bolt into her wristbow. Saber, on the other hand, tightened her grip on her invisible weapon. Within seconds, both sides lunged forward to begin their clash. And at the end, only one servant would walk away alive…

"Even if Dunwall burns to the ground, one corner of the empire will still know your story: Daud, the Knife of Dunwall. Killer of an Empress."

A/N: And welcome to another one-shot that has been around a year in the making.

To be honest, my idea for this one shot began some time after I had published my previous one-shot, The Professional. At the time, I had recently completed a Low Chaos run of the Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches DLCS on my copy of Dishonored: Definitive Edition. I loved the hell out of those two DLCS, even more so than the base game, and became enamored with the character of Daud. Daud not only served as the protagonist of the DLCs, but also as a villain of the main game who provides a very awesome boss fight. I immediately thought that it would be awesome if I wrote a fic of him as Assassin in the style of The Professional. It would be interesting to see what Daud would do, since the only significant thing that canon Assassin did was to undergo the Worf Effect for Gilgamesh and Iskander.

I've sat on this fic for some time while I worked on other projects, but recently decided to continue do work on it a few weeks ago.

I mainly decided to write up and publish this old idea because I have recently beaten a play through of Dishonored 2 with Emily, as well as to celebrate the upcoming release of the stand-alone expansion game, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (I have already pre-ordered a copy for myself). And for those who are wondering, this Daud is a middle of a road version between a High Chaos and Low Chaos Daud. When taking out a target, he would prefer to kill as few people as possible to avoid attracting attention, but when push comes to shove, he is willing to fight.

Anyway, for those of you who are wondering, here are Daud/Assassin's stats:

Servant: Assassin

Identity: Daud

Titles: The Knife of Dunwall

Master: Kirei Kotomine

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Parameters:

Strength: C

Endurance: B+

Agility: B+

Mana: C

Luck: C

Noble Phantasm: A

Class Skills:

Presence Concealment - A: As a master assassin, Assassin is capable of infiltrating and sneaking through buildings and other heavily guarded places without being noticed. He can even hide himself while only a few feet away from someone. However, his efficiency in hiding his presence will suddenly decrease when preparing an attack.

Personal Skills:

Magecraft - A: Assassin is capable of using a form of magic in the form of the supernatural abilities that is granted to him by the Noble Phantasm, Mark of the Outsider.

Poison Resistance - A: Throughout his time serving as an assassin, Assassin as developed a high resistance to toxins of all kinds. Even being hit by a powerful combat sedative will not slow him down in the slightest.

Charisma - C-: While not strong enough to lead an army, Assassin had enough charisma to lead a group of assassins called the Whalers, who were all loyal to him. He took street kids, mercenaries, and refugees, trained them in the arts of assassination, and united them all in a goal of cleaning the city of Dunwall of its undesirables while turning over a profit.

Noble Phantasms:

Mark of the Outsider, A Gift from the Void - A, (Anti-Unit/Support): A mark given to him by the mysterious, otherworldly entity only known as the Outsider. This mark allows Assassin to gain access to a wide variety of abilities. These abilities are Blink (allows him to travel midsize distances in an instance via teleportation. Time will freeze while aiming it), Void Gaze (allows Assassin to see in the dark as well through walls), Pull (allows him to lift and manipulate objects large and small from afar), Bend Time (allows him to freeze time for eight seconds), Summon Assassin (allows him to summon members of the Whalers, including his apprentice Billie Lurke; the summoned assassins are akin to wraiths rather than Heroic Spirits, although Lurke has become a Heroic Spirit in her own right), and Arcane Bond (allows the summoned Assassins access to some of his abilities, such as Blink, Pull, Shadow Kill, and Vitality). The Mark also grants him passive abilities, such as Vitality (lets him recover from wounds more quickly), Agility (gives him increases to his Agility and Endurance), and Shadow Kill (all enemies killed by Assassin immediately disintegrate into ash upon death).

Whaler's Arsenal, Tools of the Trade - C-B (Anti-Unit): Assassin has full access to all of the weapons and tools he used during his time as leader of the Whalers. These include his assassin's blade, his wrist bow along from its ammunition (including regular bolts, sleep bolts, and incendiary bolts), his pistol, hand grenades, chokedust grenades, stun mines, arc mines, and health elixirs.

Bone Charms, Tribute to the Void - C (support): In life, Assassin had a habit of collecting Bone Charms, mystical objects carved from the bones of whales, humans, and animals. These charms draw power from the mysterious Void, and grant enhancement to those who wear them. These enchantments include enhancing the healing power of health elixirs, increasing the power of wristbow bolts, improving Assassin's jumping and climbing abilities, and strengthen the supernatural powers granted by the Mark of the Outsider.

So, in conclusion, Daud would be a pretty effective Assassin thanks to his supernatural abilities and arsenal.

Anyway, I plan to do more updates to my fics when I'm not busy with college. Please leave a reviews as well as favorites if you enjoyed this one shot.