Breaking the Cycle
By psychored1911
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable or Fate/Apocrypha. Yeah, you heard me. Not Fate/Stay Night. Fate/Apocrypha. That novel in the Nasuverse that somehow is set in Romania.
Also, if you don't understand some of what I'm talking about, I suggest you go to the Type-Moon Wiki to get some sense of what I'm saying.
And before we begin, I'd like to clarify some things: This is technically only the prologue, like the Unbirth Chapter for Apocrypha. It takes place right after S.E.E.S destroyed the Chariot and Justice Full Moon Shadows, so Minato is neither the complete powerhouse he is by the end of the game nor is he defenseless like he is in the beginning of the game. (He should be ~level 30). This should be fun.
Chapter 1: Rebirth
The Holy Grail War.
It is a bloody battle between seven magi for the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish granting tool.
To this end, these magi summon Heroic Spirits from generations past to fight alongside them in this intense battle royale.
However, after the eve of the Third Grail War, the dawn of the Second World War, a magus supporting the Nazis had discovered the Grail, and attempted to remove it with the help of the Nazi Party. The Three founding families: the Tohsakas, the Makiris, and the Einzberns, fought to reclaim it, but as it was almost immediately after the end of the Third War, they were weakened and quickly defeated.
With the Holy Grail in their hands, the Nazi Regime would have had the world in their clutches.
However, such a future did not come to pass; the Grail had vanished in their hands just as they were returning to Germany. The Grail, and the magus who found it, had simply disappeared.
The three founding families went into despair with the Grail's disappearance. The Makiris had seemingly perished, whereas the Tohsakas simply gave up on it. The Einzberns' reactions were the worst; they went into denial and attempted to make another Holy Grail. However, nothing had come to pass. With the Grail gone, Fuyuki City- the site of all previous Grail Wars- can finally settle in peace.
And so the seasons passed, decades go by, until the even the young became old…
8/6/2009- Late Night
An alluring woman, one who could drive men mad with a simple gaze, walked alone, aimlessly down a certain street in Iwatodai City, talking to a partner whom only she could see. To the average person, one would think the woman was mad. However, to those with much darker intents, one would think the woman was vulnerable.
23:59:57
23:59:58
23:59:59
00:00:00
"Hmm?"
The woman looked around in apparent confusion. The buildings, the sky, even the full moon turn a sickly green. Coffins now stood where humans once were. Small pools of blood formed all throughout the streets.
"Yeah, this is the first time I'm experiencing this too. I don't know what this is either…"
The woman said to her invisible partner.
If an ordinary human were to stumble upon the Dark Hour, they would easily fall prey to the Shadows, becoming one of The Lost. Only those with the 'potential' should be able to fully function within the Dark Hour. It was unknown if she was either, but there was one thing that was certain; if something were to happen to her, or to anyone, nobody would even notice. No one will even care.
Nobody would hear her scream…
After forty minutes or so, as she kept ambling down the lonely street, two oddly-dressed men approached her.
One was half-naked, wearing only a pair of faded jeans and brown boots, with a red scarf tucked into his back pocket. He had long wavy hair and tattoos on both of his arms. Disturbingly, he had a large revolver tucked into his waistband.
His friend looked just as strange. He was wearing a green jacket with detached sleeves covered in black straps, and dark blue pants. He wore orange tinted glasses and short black hair. Strangely, he was holding both a silver briefcase and what looked like a grenade in his hands.
"Good evening."
The half-naked man greeted with a grim, disturbing smile.
"Are you surprised? Truth be told, we all visit this world every night."
"…"
The woman did not answer, only acknowledging the words of her unseen companion.
"Hey! Didn't mommy teach you any manners?" the glasses-wearing man taunted "You haven't even introduced yourself!"
"…"
"You know, I have never met you before…" The half-naked man slowly drew his revolver before pointing it at the woman "Yet I already loathe you…"
Unbeknownst to them, the woman was thinking the exact same thing.
*Slice!*
"Huh?" The half-naked man uncharacteristically blurted out. He turned to his friend; his throat was slashed, his arms were cleaved right off, his chest was slashed open, and his throat looked like it was stabbed repeatedly before finally falling on the ground.
But that wasn't the disturbing part. Before his friend's fallen body, there stood a scantily-dressed little girl with white hair and silver eyes, holding two blood-stained knives in his hands, and four more sheathed on her person. However, the half-naked man knows one thing for sure…
She wasn't human…
"What should we do with him, Master/Mother?"
The little girl asked, her legion-like voice bellowing across the silent hour.
The half-naked man glared at the child "Little brat…" He clutched his head with his free hand "Hyp-"
*SLASH!*
The white haired child slashed off the half-naked man's revolver hand, disarming him and shattering whatever focus he had.
The woman, unfazed by the gore and bloodshed, took the revolver from the bloody hand and aimed it at the half-naked man.
"Hey, according to Jack here," she pointed at the white-haired girl "You have a lot of evil in you. I can tell you would band together with other people such as yourself. Mind telling me where they are?"
The half-naked man glared at the woman, before giving her a smug smile "If you think that this is the part where I tell you where my friends are in a desperate attempt to save my own life, then you are sorely mistaken."
"So be it then." The woman stood up, dusting off her designer boots "Jack? You can eat them now."
The white-haired girl known as Jack licked her lips in hunger "With pleasure, Master/Mother." She plunged her knives into the half-naked man's chest and easily carved his heart right out, letting him die in agony. However, he bit back his urge to cry out, denying the woman the pleasure of hearing his miserable screams.
Swallowing the still beating heart, Jack then went to the other body and carved out his heart, swallowing that one just as easily as the first.
"So Jack, does it taste good?"
The woman, Reika Rikudou, asked as she endearingly tousled Jack's hair.
"Yes Master/Mother, their evil hearts tasted wonderful…" Jack burped cutely "Their hearts were far more filling than the ones we ate before, though.
The woman smiled back at her "Well, that's good to hear-"
She paused as Jack's gaze suddenly shifted north.
"Jack? What's wrong?"
Jack began to drool uncontrollably.
"Master/Mother, we sense a tremendous source of prana over there. Can we eat it?" Jack pleaded like a precocious child.
Reika smiled "Of course Jack. You go on ahead, I'll catch up."
Jack smiled adorably as she dematerialized into Spirit form.
"Man, I'm beat…"
Junpei muttered as he and the rest of S.E.E.S walked down the street. Mere moments ago, S.E.E.S had succeeded in eliminating the current Full Moon Shadows, The Chariot and Justice, and now they were walking home, exhausted.
"You're telling me," Yukari moaned "I didn't expect two of them to be there."
"Eheheh," Fuuka chuckled nervously "Sorry about that…"
"Don't worry about it," Akihiko, perhaps the only one besides Aigis who wasn't visibly exhausted, reassured Fuuka "We got em', that's all that matters."
"Yes, you shouldn't blame yourself Yamagishi." Mitsuru added "We probably wouldn't have been able to find them without you."
"…" Fuuka's face blushed from the praise.
As they kept walking, Minato, who was walking behind S.E.E.S., started noticing a black fog catching up from behind them, surrounding him. In a matter of seconds, Minato was completely engulfed in this enigmatic mist.
"Strange, you are not affected by our Mist."
Minato turned around; a scantily-dressed little girl with white hair and gray eyes stood behind him, holding two blood-stained knives in her hands and four sheathed upon her person, quietly approached him. For some reason, everything in his instincts told him to run from this girl as fast as he possibly could.
"We're sorry for this. We usually go after 'evil' people, but the prana reservoir within you, it's too much not to ignore…" She licked her lips in hunger, staring at Minato like a predator at its prey.
"!" Minato drew his sword, cautiously backing away as she slowly walked towards him.
The girl spun the knives in her hands and lunged at him "Die!"
Before Minato could react, the girl slammed her foot into Minato's chest, sending him flying into a wall.
*SLAM!*
"Graaah!" Minato cried out in pain as his body slumped onto the hard ground. The kid's small size was extremely disproportionate to her strength; he could already feel several ribs cracked within his chest, obviously not helping the wounds he obtained earlier through the Full Moon Shadows.
"Do not worry, it will all be over soon." The girl, Jack, said quietly, holding her knives in an icepick grip and reeling her arms back, ready to pounce on her prey. Minato, unable to move from the pain, could only shut his eyes and await the killing blow.
"Palladion!"
The form of Palladion appeared before Minato, intercepting Jack's attack before slamming into her, pushing her back from Minato.
"…?" Jack turned around as Aigis ran over in front of Minato, her gunbarrel fingers trained readily upon Jack's small figure.
"Get away from him." Aigis declared in her cold, robotic voice, her eyes not diverting from Jack's. Her scanners allowed her to notice Jack's presence far more easily than the rest of S.E.E.S. However, in her eyes, she did not truly see Jack as Jack; all she could process Jack was something powerful. Something malevolent. Something that shouldn't exist.
Jack frowned, disliking the, in her eyes, sentient golem's words "Out of our way. We only want to eat him."
"No, I won't let you hurt him." Aigis activated her evoker and summoned Palladion, who charged at Jack again.
"We won't fall for that again." Jack weaved past Palladion and slashed against Aigis' chest, sparks flying upon contact.
"Kuh!" Aigis unleashed her guns and fired upon Jack, letting a cascade of bullets fall upon Jack's position. Surprisingly, Jack evaded every single last bullet, only mildly annoyed by Aigis' efforts.
*RATATATATATATATATATATAT!*
The sound of gunshots alerted the rest of S.E.E.S., all of whom turned around in surprise.
"What the- the hell did all that mist come from?" Junpei jumped back in shock.
Yukari looked around, worried "Hey, weren't Minato-kun and Aigis behind us?"
Mitsuru turned to Fuuka "Yamagishi, there's something wrong…"
"I-I got it!" Fuuka brought her evoker to her head and summoned Lucia. After a few seconds, she recoiled back, terrified.
"Yamagishi! What's the matter?"
Fuuka shuddered "T-There's something inhuman in there, it's producing this mist, and it has Aigis and Minato-kun cornered."
"Tch!" Mitsuru unsheathed her rapier "Come on, let's get them out of there."
"No wait!" Fuuka stopped her "That mist cloud is poisonous. If we just blindly run in there, we'll be dead within minutes."
Akihiko frowned "Then what are we supposed to do? Just stand here while Arisato dies of poison inhalation?"
"…" Fuuka bit her lip, unsure of what to do next "I… I don't know what we should do about this…"
Minato, still slumped upon the ground, watched helplessly as Aigis fought off Jack to the best of her abilities. Unfortunately, he could see it was a one-sided battle; Jack was effortlessly dodging Aigis' bullets and Palladion's attacks, while counterattacking with her knives. Also, he noticed Jack's slashing was making multiple dents and incisions upon Aigis' frame, not to mention that Aigis expended much of her bullets and energy fighting the Full Moon Shadows earlier that night. So, unless Aigis can somehow end it right now, the psychotic kid was gonna finish them off...
No, he can't let that happen. He won't let that happen.
He already lost his family ten years ago.
There was no way he was going to die knowing that another loved one died with him being helpless to stop it.
Ignoring the pain in his chest, Minato went for his Evoker and took it out of his holster.
'I don't have much energy left… better make this count…'
Barely making out Jack's and Aigis' figures through the blackened mist, he placed the evoker up to his head and steeled his resolve.
"Come forth!"
He pulled the trigger as the sound of shattered glass echoed throughout the enshrouded street.
However, no Persona emerged from his Sea of Souls.
Instead, his body screamed in agony, if only for an instant, before a blindingly white light engulfed the street.
And then, she manifested.
Before him, a beautiful girl holding an equally elegant naginata, stood before him. She had piercing crimson eyes and long auburn hair in a high ponytail. For some reason, she was garbed in the Gekkoukan High School uniform.
The girl, initially surprised upon seeing her him, gave him a comforting smile.
"Hello, you were the one who summoned me, right?"
She asked him with a sweet, comforting voice.
Minato could do nothing more than nod dumbly at her question, not even noticing an intricate mark engrave itself on his left hand.
"Okay! It'll be a pleasure working with you!"
She beamed at him before turning to Jack and Aigis, both of whom stopped mid-fight to witness the summoning.
"Alright, who was the one who hurt him?" changing her kind demeanor almost immediately, she barked at the two in an angry tone.
"She did." Aigis bluntly pointed at Jack, not even bothering to question the girl's sudden appearance. True, she did detect an impossible source of power from her, but unlike Jack, this one seemed far more benevolent, almost familiar even.
The girl glared at Jack before looking up "Huh, this mist isn't natural, is it? Is it one of your abilities, or is it part of your Noble Phantasm?" she shook her head in disgust "Regardless, I definitely can't have it here, now can I?" she snapped her fingers, and the Mist dissipated in almost an instant.
Jack flinched in surprise "What?!" the girl- no, the Servant before her dispelled her own Noble Phantasm as if it was nothing. Who was she?
"Aigis! Arisato!"
Mitsuru and the rest of S.E.E.S. ran over to them.
"What happened? Are you two okay-" Mitsuru paused as she took a glance at Jack and the other Servant, their sudden appearance (and their appearance in general) catching her off guard.
Junpei blinked in confusion "Um, I'm not the only one seeing these guys, right?" he asked, pointing at the two Servants.
"Who, the girl in our school uniform or the kid not wearing pants?" Yukari asked, just as confused as Junpei was. Indeed, the two before them, with their unique choices of clothing, would definitely attract their attention regardless of their location.
But that was not important. Before them, the two were standing only a small distance away from S.E.E.S.; close enough for them to see.
However, for some reason, they dared not get any closer to them. The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, all of whom were experienced fighters in their own right, almost unconsciously understood that they were not to set foot in there.
Only those chosen- Only Servants had the right to their battleground.
"You are Assassin of the Black, aren't you?" The naginata-wielding servant said finally.
Jack nodded "Yes, we are Assassin." Her legion-like voice boomed "And judging from your weapon, you must be Lancer of the Red, are you not?"
Lancer impaled the naginata upon the ground before leaning on it, folding her arms "And what if I am? It still makes no difference on who the victor will be."
"Says the Servant summoned impromptu by a clueless master." Assassin deadpanned.
Lancer puffed her cheeks in anger "At least my master managed to show up for battle, while yours is nowhere to be seen." She motioned to Minato, who was still bewildered by the entire situation.
Assassin growled "Do not talk of Master/Mother like that."
"Then let's end this talk and do what we were summoned for." Lancer plucked her naginata from the ground and brandished it, beckoning her opponent to come.
"Indeed." Assassin vanished into thin air before reappearing directly behind Lancer, ready to strike. "Die."
Lancer twirled her naginata behind her and effortlessly parried Assassin's attack before turning around and stabbed Assassin in the shoulder, pinning her to a nearby wall.
With Assassin temporarily immobilized, Lancer focused her attention to S.E.E.S. and yelled "What the hell are you waiting for?! Get him out of here! Go! I got this!"
Jarred back to reality from Lancer's orders, Akihiko and Junpei hastily picked up Minato's injured body and joined the rest of S.E.E.S. as they fled from the premises.
Assassin, unfazed by the pain in her shoulder, glared at Lancer "You made us lose our meal…" she muttered as she impaled one of her knives into one of Lancer's arms and slammed her foot into Lancer's gut, knocking her back long enough for her to yank the naginata out of her shoulder and toss it aside.
"Now… die!" Assassin snarled as she charged at Lancer, channeling the power of her second Noble Phantasm, Maria the Ripper. It wouldn't immediately kill her without her Mist, but crippling her for a finishing blow would suffice.
Lancer, despite being disarmed, did not falter as a gun-esque object materialized in her hands. Mere seconds before Assassin plunged her knives into her, Lancer pressed the barrel of the 'gun' against her head and steeled her resolve.
"I summon you!" she pulled the trigger of her 'gun', blue ethereal glass spraying from her head before materializing into a terrifying form.
It was vaguely humanoid, wearing a pitch-black coat, a leather belt with a buckle of skull and crossbones, and pale white gloves. Its head was wrapped underneath its black coat, with a beaked metal visor and a metal jaw taking any semblance of a face. A long, guard-less sword was sheathed upon its side. But the most striking part of it all were a row of coffins, all chained together, floating behind the humanoid akin to a cape.
The humanoid intercepted Assassin's assault, grabbing her and holding her tightly in its hands.
Assassin struggled in the humanoid's grasp as she stared into its eyes, or rather, where its eyes were supposed to be. She stared upon it, recalling her own cold, painful death all those years ago. The pain and coldness of dying resonated in her head over and over again, all from staring into the creature holding her in place. And with that death, an old emotion, fear, swelled up again in her heart.
"Thanatos…"
No!
Master/Mother is waiting for us!
We don't want to be alone!
"Let's end this…"
We don't want to die!
We don't want to be cold anymore!
"Megido-"
We want to live!
Before Lancer could finish, Assassin immediately reverted to spirit form, breaking free from the creature's grasp, before fleeing for her life.
"la…" Lancer voice trailed off, surprised at the sudden turn of events.
The creature, Thanatos, stared at its empty hands before turning to its master, its silence denoting its disappointment.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know I got too caught up in the moment. Sue me." Lancer rolled her eyes as Thanatos vanished into nothingness.
She glanced at the Full Moon as its unnatural sickly green shade slowly reverted back to pale white, almost as if hit with a haunting nostalgia. She stared at it for several moments, the world around her returning to normal.
And then something else entirely hit her.
"Oh crap! I almost forgot about my Master!" Lancer panicked as she dematerialized into spirit form.
Assassin reappeared right next to Reika, clutching the arm Lancer stabbed earlier that night.
"Jack? What happened? Are you alright?" Reika asked, worried.
"We'll be fine." Assassin answered "We just didn't anticipate our prey was another Master with a Servant. It's a mistake we won't make again."
*gurgle…*
Assassin's stomach growled "We guess that did work up our appetite a bit though…" she said, turning her head in embarrassment.
Reika smiled and crouched down, meeting Assassin's gaze "It's getting late. How about we head to our hotel room and I make us dinner, okay?"
Assassin smiled "Okay…" she said as she took Reika by the hand and walked out of the alley, the green moon turning pale white once again.
Lancer's Stats
Class: Lancer of Red
Master: Minato Arisato
True Name: Not Available
Height/Weight: 160 cm/Not Available
Alignment: Neutral Good
Strength: C+
Endurance: C+
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: D+++
Noble Phantasm: EX
Class Skills
Magic Resistance: A
Territory Creation: E-
Item Construction: A
Personal Skills
Double Summon: A
The capacity to fulfill the role of another servant. She possesses the capability to become the Caster class if she so wishes to, and can fulfill both roles with little difficulty.
Charisma: A
it has been said that many have fallen for charms, and her leadership abilities have brought her victory on countless occasions. Her high proficiency in this skill reflects her ability as the leader of S.E.E.S. and as her ability to influence the people around her, particularly her Social Links.
Soul of a Martyr: B
is a mental protection that protects against mental interference. Lancer has a high proficiency of this skill due to believing in humanity's will to survive despite facing humanity's collective unconscious desire for death.
Revelation: A
is a Skill equivalent to Instinct, a sixth sense regarding battles; however, "Revelation" accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal. At A-Rank, Lancer will have this sixth sense during anything she puts her mind to.
Discernment of the Poor: A
insight to see through the opponent's character and attribute. Lancer won't be fooled by excuses and deceptions through words, regardless if she can do anything about the outcome…
The Wild Card: EX
The ability to call forth multiple Personas from the Sea of Souls into battle. This heroic spirit, due to drawing her power from her bonds, was able to use this ability to its greatest potential while she was alive.
Noble Phantasms
Vel Vel Muruga: A (Anti-Unit)
A legendary spear said to have been used by Kartikeya, the Hindu God of War. While powerful enough on its own, calling forth its name will boost all of Lancer's parameters up a letter grade, reflecting the original Vel Vel Muruga's ability to increase its user's stats and attack power. When she's not using this weapon, she uses a regular naginata, and fights with Vel Vel Muruga as such. It requires her to make use of her Item Construction Skill and a Nihil Weapon should she need to summon it.
Persona: Manifestation of one's true self: E~EX (Anti-Self)
The aspects of one's personality in physical form. These Personas can and will fight for the one who had called them forth. Their power is significantly higher during the Dark Hour or other similar Reality Marbles. However, like other Persona users she is susceptible to Persona Break, which will not only disable her ability to use her Personas for a short period of time, but will also downgrade her Strength stat by a letter grade for that duration, reflecting her vulnerable state and shattered focus that side-effects from Persona Break.
The Great Seal: EX (Anti-God/Anti-Unit)
Using the power of the Universe Arcana, The Great Seal is an almighty attack that allowed Lancer to seal away the Goddess Nyx. This Noble Phantasm can defeat any single enemy, even those with Divinity, but since it is the symbol of her own sacrifice to the world, she will return back to the Seal shortly after it is used.
The Dark Hour: A (Anti-World)
A Reality Marble that creates an artificial "hidden" hour in the day. Whenever this Noble Phantasm is used, the Outside World turns sickly green, water turns into blood, electronics stop functioning, and people without the 'potential' will be sealed in coffins. It lasts only an hour, but for that time, Lancer's power is raised significantly and all those with the 'potential' will be able to safely use their Personas. However, once it's over, Lancer's Agility stat will lower by a letter grade for a set period of time, reflecting the fatigue that naturally occurs when exposed to the Dark Hour for prolonged periods. Lancer did not have this Noble Phantasm in life, but has it now due to it being an integral part of her myth and for being indirectly responsible for it due to Death (the actual Death, not the Arcana) being sealed within her.
Other Notes
Lancer is an unusual case amongst Servants in that she isn't from the Throne of Heroes. Instead, she is a copy of a soul that is trapped elsewhere; though there seems to be no negative effect on the original soul. Due to her unique circumstances, she cannot be identified by a Ruler-Class Servant.
A/N: And thus the first battle in the Great Holy Grail War has ended! This is something I had on my mind for a long time now, since there are all sorts of fics that have Minato as the Servant, but never the Female Protagonist. I dunno if anyone's really gonna read it, but I just wanted to post this so I had no regrets.
P.S. this is going to take place in Romania... eventually. Just give me another chapter to set it up. Can't have him in Iwatodai City one minute and have him in Romania the next. That would be cool though. Lazy, but cool.
As always, please review!