A/N: HOOOOOLY SHIT! You guys blew this story the fuck up! That's insane! So I was going to maybe do a small chapter while our main characters (For now at least) get to know each other. But after seeing you guys give all the love and support to this story, I'm all in.
As for Shirou and servants being OP. Trust me, he's not going to be able to one shot Great Red or any of the strong guys right now, in fact some of the servants he's got in his soul individually don't compare to the "Top Ten Strongest in The World". But people like Riser and Rias won't be much of a threat. But that's all later down the line.
Now some of his servants have the potential to beat maybe the lower tiers of the Top Ten, like Arturia and Cú and some of the others with quite frankly BROKEN noble phantasms would most definitely beat Sirzechs and Ajuka. While heroes like Gilgamesh will take more power than what Shirou has with his power still settling in him, and even that, an existence like Gilgamesh will take ALL of his prana. Maybe at some point in the future Shirou will be able to summon Gil and keep some other servants around as well, think those interactions could be interesting.
As for the reviewer who shares my love of Lancelot, I can't wait for you to see how I portray him. Gonna be fun!
Anyway, let's get on with the story shall we?!
Disclaimer - I own absolutely nothing. If I did, I'd make Lancelot steal me crap.
Chapter 2 - A World of Heroes
Shirou (for that's what his memories told him his name was) woke to a blue sky, his dull golden orbs greeting the calm world above.
'Where am I?' he thought to himself as he sat up. This wasn't the burning hell that he had seen just a few moments prior; this world was calm and comforting.
All around him was a golden wheat field that extended for maybe a mile in each direction. Near where he was sitting he could barely make out a sword stuck in a stone in the center of the field.
Casting his gaze further he saw what looked to be a floating garden reaching high into the clear skies. Further than that he could see a golden palace, glimmering brightly in the sunlight, a red plains, a large desert with the sounds of marching echoing from it, a forest, a desolate waste filled with weapons of all kinds, and on and on it went, many different areas, each holding their own unique little world.
Standing up Shirou caught sight of what he could only assume was the center of this strange world.
For there, in the center of this strange world, lay a giant chasm, perfectly circular and unfathomably deep. And hung in the air innocently a mile above the chasm, sat a golden chalice.
He stared at it; whispers filled his ears, a voice, soft and motherly, telling him to use it to fulfill his wish.
Wait, his wish? Now he remembered, he had wished for something and then gotten the feeling of something being pressed inside him.
That's right. He had wished for salvation hadn't he? He had wished for the power to protect, to save, and to not be hurt anymore…..to be a Hero like the ones his [ERROR: REDACTED] had read to him in bed.
And heroes fight villains.
Narrowing his eyes he racked his brain, remembering the fire, the screams, the pain…...and the beings that had ignored it all in favor of attacking each other. They were the cause of all that suffering and agony.
They would pay.
He refocused on the chalice to see it giving of a glow, faint though it was at the moment, soon it would shine towards every corner of this strange world. The Grail would fulfill the wish of a small child yearning for salvation. Those Heroes it could feel in the child's soul would help as well, whether they liked it, or not.
-Line Break-
Chiron watched the young boy who he would now call master toss and turn in his sleep. Although, Chiron was surprised he could even see the young master with the glowing golden shield around the boy healing his injuries.
The boy had started tossing and turning several minutes ago, when he had, his clothes, that were nothing more than rags at this point, rode up, exposing his burns to the servants present. Saber had immediately pulled out a golden scabbard out of nowhere and laid it and her hand on the boy.
The golden shield had popped up almost immediately, and began to heal the boy's injuries, much to the other servant's relief. Saber had quickly turned that relief into unease when she began to list out the boy's injuries, almost mechanically.
Broken ribs, third degree burns on many parts of his arms and legs, damaged ear drums, several popped blood vessels, infection on his left leg that had been lacerated by what appeared to be a large wooden splinter, the beginnings of lung cancer from the overwhelming amount of smoke he had inhaled, and a punctured kidney.
Chiron had seen many atrocities in his long life, many injuries and many gruesome deaths, but even he couldn't quite suppress his grimace.
Glancing over at his fellow servants, comrades now he supposed he could see they too were affected.
Lancer and Rider both scowled and looked off to the side, Berserker gave off a low growl (But they may have been because he was staring at Saber), Assassin tilted her head quizzically, Ruler seemed physically ill, and Caster just grimaced and drug her hood further down her face
Chiron looked back at his master (he really needed to learn his young master's name) just in time to see the golden shield fade away back into the scabbard, which Saber promptly astralized after standing up.
He looked back at Berserker to see him (it?) star at Saber and growling softly, gauntlets clenching and creaking as the bloodlust in the air increased slightly. Of course most of the other servants seemed to just find it amusing. Even his foolish student seemed to be eager for a fight to break down.
'It seems that my teachings weren't enough to get rid of his foolishness.' He mused.
Looking over to his left he saw Lancer practically vibrating in his shoes, much like a puppy waiting for someone to throw it a ball. Looking back and forth he saw that Achilles seemed to be in much the same boat.
Dear heavens there were two of them!
His horrific realization was cut short before he could start truly lamenting his lost piece of mind by the sounds of his young master waking up.
The room had gone completely silent as they all waited for the boy to wake up and (hopefully) give them the answers they wanted. Even Berserker seemed to have ceased his confrontational attitude towards Saber, though Chiron made a note to watch him very carefully.
The boy slowly sat up, all the while groaning and rubbing his probably sore body. The boy opened his eyes, and Chiron and the other servants found themselves staring into bright golden eyes.
For a second they all just stared at each other before the boy opened his mouth to speak, the servants leaning in close to hear their masters first words.
"Are you heroes?"
Whatever Chiron expected the boy to say, that was definitely not it. Lancer seemed to have the same feeling and actively voiced his disbelief.
"Are we heroes? Really kid? Out of all the things to ask when sitting in a room filled with eight dangerous people and that's the first thing that comes to your mind? Not gonna ask who we are?"
The boy looked down sheepishly, his red hair (that had a few white streaks in it Chiron noted) covering his face as he twiddled his thumbs. He mumbled an apology and Chiron felt something in him soften. He was just a child after all. That small realization was quickly cut short at the boy's next words.
"I just thought you guys were the ones who were supposed to help me beat the monsters." the boy said shyly looking at each of the eight towering over him.
Chiron's eyes widened, quickly glancing at the other servants to make sure they had heard what he heard. Unbeknownst to nine people in the room, a great number of servants were listening in from deep within the boy's soul and also seemed to share Archer's disbelief.
Ruler's voice shook him from his disbelief and spoke what was on everyone's mind, "Where did you get such a notion child? For that matter, how do you even know you can trust us?"
The boy looked at her like she had just said something ridiculous and slowly answered her questions.
"The golden cup thingy told me that you would help, and because I already know who you are?"
That shocked the servants in the room save for Jack who was just happily watching her "mommy" and Berserker who just stood, quietly staring at the boy.
Saber broke the silence tensely, "You say you know us child, but we do not know you, and for that matt-" she was cut off when the spoke up again, "OH! I'm Shirou! Nice to meet you all!" he said with closed eyes and a happy smile on his face.
So that was his name then. So his master's name was Shirou then? Chiron saw several servants turn their heads towards each other in confusion. Chiron then spoke up, prompting the boy's attention.
"You say you know of us child, but I don't think we've told you our names, seeing as how this is our first meeting."
The boy- Shirou nodded his head before pointing and naming the servants from left to right, "Yeah, you're Chiron. You're Jack, you're Arturia, you're Jeanne, you're Cú Chulainn, you're Medea, you're Achilles, and you're…" the boy trialed off as he stared at Berserker, unaware of the other servants leaning forward to try and glean who their mysterious Berserker was. Their hopes where swiftly crushed as the boy narrowed his eyes and nodded his head firmly before speaking, though Chiron did notice him glancing at Saber worryingly, "And you're berserker. Again it's nice to meet you all."
The other servants mumbled through their own greetings which in some cases was just silence.
Chiron finally spoke out, his eyes narrowed at the boy as he decided to get to the bottom of this once and for all.
"Could you explain to us how exactly you summoned us? Not only can I feel a connection to the Grail inside you, but I can also sense the Throne of Heroes. Just what did you do, and what did you mean by 'beating the monsters?'"
Shirou looked down in thought before looking up and explaining how he had wished for a miracle, how he had wanted to save people and be a hero, and then how he had woken up in another place that had a bunch of other places in it. The boy answered it quick and in a hurry, but Chiron easily picked up exactly what the boy was talking about.
It sounded to him like his new master woke up in his own soul and managed to catch a glimpse of the Throne of Heroes and the Grail itself. Chiron shared a look with some of the other servants, the boy had no way to command them, he didn't have any command seals nor did it seem like they were summoned for a Holy Grail War, but if the flashes of information about gods, devils, angels, and monsters was anything to go by, they'd landed in a war all the same.
Chiron returned his attention to the boy to watch him falter for a moment before collecting himself and continuing his explanation.
"The monsters are those things that killed all those people. I want them to go away, and quit bothering everyone. They killed people for no reason, simply for getting in the way! I want them to learn not to look down on us, and I want to protect everyone! If I become a Hero like you guys and if I have your help, then I can do that. So please" here Shirou got on his hands and knees and pleaded with the legends before him (and inside of him), "please teach me how to become a Hero!"
Chiron and the others stared at the small form in front of them in shock. Even Jack's eyes widened slightly. Chiron looked at the boy and couldn't help but see the multitude of other hero's images overlapping with Shirou's. He seemed to have the same drive that Achilles had once had, and that was nothing to scoff at considering his students tended to become Legends sometimes suppressing himself!
Chiron shared an unspoken conversation with the other servants in the room before kneeling down in front of the boy and speaking quietly, "You realize what you're asking right? You're asking us to follow you into a war and teach you. War claims lives child, are you prepared to watch people die? To watch the people you love die? What makes you so sure that we'd help you anyway?"
The child looked up at Chiron, and he was shocked by the sheer will and determination in those eyes and the strange light coming from them.
"I'm going to save humanity, if I have to wade through an ocean of blood to do so, then so be it! And you guys are Heroes! Aren't you supposed to save people too!?"
Chiron stared at the child in front of him, not really expecting such a strong response from one so young, before thinking over the child's response. He was right, he realized. Heroes were supposed to help people, to become something everyone could look up to, to slay the monsters that lurked in the shadows, and to keep other people from being afraid.
He stared at the child before asking a different question, one that would determine how he proceeded.
"And why can't you do this yourself? I'm sure that with your determination you'd be able to save a lot of people, maybe even destroy the things actively hurting humanity. So why do you need us?"
The child looked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching, before looking back up at the revered teacher of heroes and said, "Because I can't be everywhere. Someone, somewhere will be hurt doing something, and people will always die….But those things that destroyed my home...they have no right to decide when we die!" The boys eyes practically blazed as he stood tell and continued while looking down at the still kneeling Archer, his voice seeming to contain a multitude of other voices, all speaking through the same vessel. "Those things out there look at us like we're mongrels! Lower than Dirt! I won't let them continue to push us around without pushing back! But I need help. By myself, I'm not sure I'd be able to do enough to make my dream a reality…..so that's why I made a wish, and you guys appeared! I know that the road to fulfilling my dream is through you, so I ask of you….are you my servant?"
He stood up and stared at the other servants, his decision already made. If this boy truly wanted to become a hero and all the pain and strife that came with it, the he would train the child to overcome it. To be a hero that would be written into song. Glancing back at his new master he spoke to all in the room.
"If you truly want to be a hero, than I, Chiron, will teach you everything I know, and help you in this endeavor, of that you have my word master." then he knelt to the boy.
He could feel the other servants shock, then felt his own when he sensed the black clad berserker kneel next to him and growl softly. Seemed he wasn't the only one feeling a sense of righteousness today.
Next he heard his former students response, "This sounds like quite the adventure, I don't much like war, though fighting itself is fun, but sense the old man is in, then I'm with yam too master, besides, it's the job of the servant to protect the master isn't it?" He felt Achilles kneel next to him on his left and felt a sense of pride at the loyalty his student was showing.
He had trained him well.
He stumbled slightly when he saw a silver blur collide with his master, toppling him over.
Assassin hugged Shirou tight and said," We won't leave mommy, anyone that tries to hurt mommy dies, this we swear." then she resumed her nuzzling into the chest of the bewildered boy she called mommy.
Chiron almost felt like laughing, but restrained himself. A different servant had no such restraint, and lancer began shaking with the force of his laugh, leaning on his lance to keep his body upright.
"Heheh, well looks like you're the heart of the party huh master? Can't speak for these three, but count me in. So long as you let me out to fight and keep that good heart of yours, then you have my support." Lancer kneeled down next to Shirou, still quietly chuckling.
Saber was next. "Do you truly wish to save people? To do so you'd have to become a hero yes, but you'd also have to become a monster, and a king, and a god. The enemies we will fight are a great many, and there are quite a few that are stronger than even us. Do you think you can handle that responsibility child?"
Chiron saw the boy's determination waver slightly, before it returned full force and he practically glared at Saber before answering in affirmation, "Yes, I'm ready. Will you help me?"
Saber seemed to consider his master for a moment, before smiling slightly, and nodded her head, moving to stand next to Achilles, her hands resting on the pommel of an unseen sword, "Yes I think I will. I will see this dream of yours through master, and I will teach you how to properly wield a blade, though we will have to sharpen your reflexes and build muscles first….." Saber trailed off, looking into the distance with glazed eyes as she continued to mumble to herself.
Chiron felt the urge to laugh again at the almost hunted look on his master's face as he heard some of the ideas Saber had for strength training.
Lancer again had no restraint and let his mirth be heard, as did Achilles.
Their laughter was cut short by Ruler stepping forward, drawing their master's gaze to her. Softly she spoke, "If you're sure about this, then this Jeanne d'Arc will follow you master. I only ask that you keep the involvement of human civilians at a minimum." Upon receiving a firm nod from the boy she took a knee beside silent berserker.
Now for Caster, Chiron thought to himself. She was the last one, and if she declined or even attempted betrayal, he had no doubts that she would most likely be torn apart or at least sent back to the Throne.
He watched as the hooded women stared quietly at Shirou for what seemed like ages, before asking in a soft musical tone, "Do you truly see us as hero's boy? Do our past deeds not concern you?"
Shirou answered in a very childlike manner as he scratched the back of his head with a confused expression, "Why should the past matter if you can look towards the future?" his answer seemed to draw a response from Caster as her head perked up slightly, giving Chiron a clear view of an elfin face and soft blue eyes before her hood covered her face again.
He could still see her small smile though.
"If that is how you feel, then I am with you master." Caster moved to stand next to the still kneeling Rule and bowed her head.
Chiron smiled as he saw the boys bright smile that brighten the whole room and saw other servants give similar answering smiles.
The camaraderie was interrupted by the boy yawning and his eyelids drooping slightly. Ruler got up and walked forward, looking at the boy carefully before frowning and looking at her new comrades.
"He seems to still be recovering from his ordeal." turning back to Shirou Chiron saw her gaze soften as she gently rubbed the child's head, "Rest now little one, we will be here when you wake up." Chiron felt the faint touch of magic exit Ruler and saw his master nod his head sleepily before collapsing in rulers arms.
The beautiful blonde turned around and addressed the other servants in the room, being careful to keep her voice down around the sleeping child.
"I'll go put him to bed now, when I get back, we should all have a talk. It would be foolish to not begin planning immediately."
With that said she strode from the room and began to search for a place to put the sleeping master.
Chiron looked at his fellow servants and felt an old twinge of apprehension and eagerness settle into his stomach.
Yes. It was time to plan.
-Line Break-
It was the finalizing of that planning that found Lancer standing on top of a building that mimic a human structure, staring down at a large building where several large families were gathered.
'The underworld doesn't seem all that different from the human world.' he mused to himself.
After putting Shirou to bed, and assigning Berserker and Assassin to guard the young master (not that the two needing any prompting), the other six servants had gathered together off to the side and began to plan.
Five of them were warriors; one had been a princess who had stood in court with a King. All of them knew that this little war of their master's, would have to be thought out very carefully.
Saber and Ruler had argued that they should just wait until their master was at an appropriate age to join them, and then attack the biblical faction. Cú had supported this idea. Rider and Archer had suggested a hit and run tactic in dealing with the large number of the factions once their master came off age.
Caster had disagreed with both suggestions.
She had argued that waiting for the enemy to build more power was foolish and put their master in danger, something they begrudgingly admitted was a possibility. She had then gone on to suggest attacking the factions now, at least once, while they were still licking their wounds from the fight over the village.
Cú had very much liked that idea. Getting straight to the fight was something he was all for. After several hours of arguing the others had agreed with Medea's plan and split up, leaving Saber, Ruler, and Assassin to defend their sleeping master while they went to fight.
When Caster had used her knowledge that the Grail had provided for her and some of the prana from their master to open the portal to the underworld and began to single out who would go where, he was sure she would send him off to go fight one of the two angel factions.
He hadn't expected to be put in charge of assassinating the devils though. And they weren't even warriors at that!
The building he was looking down on was apparently hosting some sort of gathering for a couple of those 'Devil Pillars' or something like that. Apparently it was a large bunch of politicians that kept the war going to fill their own pockets and because of their natural aversion to the angels of course.
Lancer thought it was more the former though.
A thought occurred to him then, there wouldn't be war if the people that started them had to go.
He snickered quietly to himself. He'd have to tell that one to Rider when he got back, he seemed like the type of guy to appreciate a joke.
Shaking his head he refocused on his objective. Medea had instructed him to wreak a little havoc on some of the important families of the devil world, so he had astralized and after gathering a bit of intelligence, had learned of the Pillar gathering in the building below him.
He sighed to himself. He really didn't want his first taste of blood in the master's war to be the slaughter of devils that probably wouldn't even put up much of a fight. But he supposed he had down worse back when he was alive.
Those were the good old days.
Regardless he supposed he should get to it.
Crouching down he tensed the muscles in his legs, and in one swift move, leaped forward onto the roof of the building below.
-Line Break-
Kavera Focalor rolled her eyes at her father's blustering around the other pillar families.
Honestly the man seemed to think the world should just bend to his whims.
Sipping her glass of wine should gazed lazily around the rest of the room that was packed full of devils. Eight full pillars had gathered here tonight. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and uncles had all gathered to toast to the latest victory over those angel scum. Apparently it had taken place in some human village and after several hours of fighting, the angels had retreated back to their little Heaven.
It serves them right for underestimating her fellow devils.
Kavera hadn't taken a single moment to think about the humans that had undoubtedly been massacred in the battle between the factions. None of her fellow pillars had either. They were just happy that their fellow devils could possibly mount any offensive the next day, and with a little luck they would win that battle as well.
Unfortunately for the Pillars, Lady Luck wouldn't smile upon them that night.
Kavera's musing was interrupted when a loud crash from overhead, and her father's gurgling reached her ears.
The scream left her throat the second she turned around.
There, impaling her father through the top of his head was a long, blood-red lance...
Her scream attracted the attention of everyone who hadn't already heard the crash from something breaking through the top of the building. Fear began to coat the air when they saw the source of the scream.
Standing on the blunt end of the demonic looking spear was a blue haired - wild looking man. He was dressed in a blue bodysuit that showed off his rippling muscles. The back of his hair tied into a rat-tail His cocky grin and crossed arms were believed to be a facade when the gathered devils saw his narrowed red eyes. The aura that surrounded him was that of a beast.
And they were the prey.
The beast in human skin sniffed the air twice, and then narrowed his eyes.
And that was all the warning the gathered devils received.
All Kavera saw was a flash of red and the beast had sped behind her, slaughtering her kin. But she couldn't focus on them. She was too busy starring horrified at the sight of her father's corpse, her wine glass having long since hit the floor and shattered into pieces.
She could hear the screaming behind her. She could feel the blood splatter across her back. She could feel the lance spearing through her stomach…..wait, what was that last one?
Shakily she looked down and sure enough, caught site of the demonic spear sticking out through her chest, covered in her blood and intestines.
Robotically she turned her head to the monster behind her. The last sight she would ever see was bored red eyes peering down at her, before ripping the lance out of her, and walking away.
-Line Break-
Lancer sighed once again to himself as he heard the women's body drop to the floor with a wet splatter. His earlier assumptions had been proven true over the course of the last two minutes.
These devils were horrible fighters.
The first victim of his Gáe Bolg had been some loud devil making grand gestures to some other immaculately dressed devils. He had thrown his beloved lance into the poor fool's skull, pinning him in place. Lancer did a quick flip (mostly for style points) and landed on the soles of his feet on the top of his lance.
He assessed the gathered devils before him, ignoring the screams of the women who looked similar to the corpse he was essentially standing on top of. He watched as they all stood shock still, which he supposed was understandable, not every day you see a friend speared through the brain after all. He was mostly waiting for any fighters to come forward and challenge him.
But no one came forth.
Once he began smelling the fear in the air he quickly realized something.
They didn't have any fighters.
How unfortunate for them.
In one swift movement he had landed on the floor, ripped out Gáe Bolg, and leaped for his next victim. He re-appeared several feet from some devil with green hair and matching green suit, and in a single movement he speared him through the mouth, spun himself around, ripping out his lance and swiping it at what he could only assume was the green-haired man's sons, slicing into the two son's throats at the apex of his spin.
Not sparing the 3 bodies another glance he kept moving towards his next victims.
He was a maelstrom of death, spinning, thrusting, and swiping his lance into all the devils in the room, trusting his lance to do what it had always done.
Provide a sure proof kill.
After his quick slaughter of about forty or so devils he had turned around to finish the job with the women still standing over his first kill.
And that was where he was now, walking away from what could only be describing as a slaughterhouse. Corpses coated the floor, blood and organs occupying the space not taken up by the bodies, and his spear gleaning slightly from all the blood coating it.
Sighing again for what felt like the fiftieth time that day, he sent a mental message to Caster, explaining that the job was done and he was ready to leave.
As he waited for the portal to open idly wondered why the Devils hadn't sensed him before he was, quite latterly, right on top of them. He could only guess that Gáe Bolg's demonic presence had blended in with the atmosphere enough to hide his own presence.
He was cut off from his musings by the purple portal opening in front of him.
"Time to head home I guess." he said before walking forwards.
His master owed him a fight for making him go through all this trouble. In the back of his mind he hoped Berserker was having more fun than he was.
-Line Break-
Berserker was most definitely not having fun. The green-haired one just wouldn't shut up. Why did he have to deal with the loud one? Why was he doing this in the first place? Master certainly hadn't ordered it, and he was supposed to obey master. Berserker felt what remained of his sanity and logic adds that, while master may have not ordered it, he seriously doubted he would be opposed. The tiny she-witch had made a good point after all.
It was better to attack first in war. The knight in Berserk knew that first hand. Their king had done much the same in certain instances back when they were alive.
The sanity that had been called to the surface was instantly squashed as anger and rage came forward. Arthur... Berserker would deal with her when the time came. For now he would aid the master. Maybe the master would give him leave to kill Arthur at some point?
The thought was nice.
Berserker refocused (as much as he could anyway), the little witch had sent him against a small legion of Angels that were taking up positions in the town ahead. Apparently the moment she had been summoned she had created a large flock of birds to gather information. She was certainly crafty. Berserker resolved to watch her carefully for any signs of treachery. He assumed the angels in this encampment were likely getting ready for an assault on a devil or fallen position.
…..The green one was still talking.
The fallen knight had to visibly restrain himself from going over and squashing the spear user beneath his boot. Master certainly wouldn't be happy with him if he did that.
But still, the thought had merit.
"Oi Berserker, looks like we're here."
Berserker looked up to see that for once Rider was actually saying something useful. They had indeed arrived. The angels were camped out in the valley below, tending to the defenses and generally just waiting around.
They must have not been here for very long if the lack of bounded fields and magical defenses was any indication. That was fine though. Now there was nothing to slow him down from relieving his irritation that had been building for the past four hours of walking.
"Now Caster said that these angels can throws spear of light or some such, don't really know if that will be able to hurt us or anything, these are supposed to be some pretty low tier angels. We should be careful just in case though, so here's what I'm thinking. I'll rush in from the front on my chariot, and you rush them from the back- Hey, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"
Berserker had stopped listening the moment the word 'rush'. He dove off the cliff, tassel and black mist from his passive noble phantasm trailing behind him. He rocketed through the air towards an angel that seemed to be busy polishing his golden armor.
Berserker's landing was heard throughout the valley, as he smashed into the angel who looked up just in time to see a red visor before being crushed under hundreds of tons of force, debris flying from the crash site shielding him from the other angels for a moment.
First blood went to him.
-Line Break-
Achilles watched with exasperation as the armor clad madman exploded an angel by landing on him.
Honestly it was like the berserker had no sense of subtly. The irony of that thinking was completely lost on the green haired rider.
Achilles watched as the camp exploded into action, with around a hundred or so winged assholes taking flight and summoning a couple thousands spears into the air around them. The light from those spears was combining with the spears of the rest of the forces on the ground, numbering around four hundred or so, as they surrounded berserker, the bright light giving off a feeling of serenity, yet also a hint of the death they could bestow upon a foe.
They were beautiful weapons he had to admit, but he doubted they would even scratch the paint on Berserkers armor.
He watched with vague amusement as the cloud of dust dispensed a large black blur that began to bulldoze over the lines of angels that had formed around the impact zone. Bodies flew into the air, faces frozen in fear and pain, most likely from having their organs crushed under the weight of berserkers charge.
Achilles decided to just kick back and enjoy the show; He doubted he'd be needed here anyway.
"GrrrrAAAAHHHHHH!"
Though maybe berserkers roaring would attract some undue attention….oh well, worst comes to worst he'd just step in and take care of the problem.
-Line Break-
Berserker almost felt giddy at the amount of blood that was being shed by his hands. The angels certainly hadn't been expecting him rush theirs lines like he had that was for sure, though judging by how easily their bodies crumpled under his fists they weren't likely to have put up much of a fight even if they had been ready.
Disappointing, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He was here for one reason after all.
KiLl, KILL, KiLl thEm AlL! RiP aND TeAR TheIr HEaRtS OUt! MoRE! KILL MORE!
Berserker complied with the mad voices in his head, and with one swift motion grabbed a light spear that had been thrust at him from one of the angels, his noble phantasm taking effect and instantly corrupting the weapon, then swinging the now blackened weapon at the unfortunate angel who had just given berserker a weapon.
The angels head to clean off, soaring through the air and landing next to another crumbled body of one of his fellows, though berserker had stopped paying attention at that point. Letting the familiar rage guide his every step, every swing took a life, his corrupted weapon slicing through any defenses the angels could put up.
He leaped and twisted, bringing the spear down on an angel who had tried to stab him in the back. The weapon carved through the angel's neck, slicing him open and leaving a gaping wound. Berserker landed on another angel, killing him instantly and immediately deflecting a sword coming from the right.
Swing, deflect, twist, grab, crush, swing, smash, break, jab, throw, kill, kill, kill, kill, kiLL, KILL, KILL! Berserker was a violent instrument of death, crushing every angel that came within reach, painting the floor and walls of the valley red with the blood of angels as he continued his merciless charge into the ground troops, paying no mind to the hundred above him.
Without even looking, Berserkers hand lashed out, backhanding the angel to his left with his black gauntlet, instantly pulverizing the angels head and sending the corpse flying off to the side. He growled to himself as he continued his slaughter. That growl quickly turning into a roar as the angels in the air finally shook off their horrified stupor and began launching light spears by the thousands at him.
Berserker did what came naturally at that point, which was twist his armored form around a spear thrown at his neck, grabbing the weapon while in the middle of his twist, and bring it down on another spear. Berserker continued his slashing as he destroyed countless volleys of spears. The unadulterated violence feeding his bloodlust as the violent aura around him exploded in response to his emotions and the roar that followed, sending the few surviving angels on the ground into consciousness by pure killing intent alone.
Finally the volley stopped, the angels in the sky looking on eagerly as the dust obscured the demonic knight who had abruptly ended their brothers and sisters lives.
The dust cleared and the angels could only stare in shock and horror as the blood soaked menace walked out of the crater, entirely unscathed despite their best efforts,
The beast looked at them, red visor glowing ominously as he began to twitch and spasm before rearing back and letting out an enraged roar.
" "
The armored behemoth launched himself up into the air, and in the blink of an eye tore through the angels in front, hacking and slashing his way higher into the air before gravity took hold and he fell back to the ground again. Looking up into the sky berserker growled, fighting flying opponents really wasn't something he was good at, the madness that had consumed him subsiding for a moment as berserker tried to figure out how to get up there to kill more angels.
He needn't had bothered.
In a flash of green light the remaining eighty angels began collapsing one after another, large holes in their stomachs from spear wounds. The perpetrator grinning down on them from his chariot, lance stained with blood.
Achilles waved to the insane knight, "Oi Berserker! Sorry about that, but you were taking too long, hope you don't mind the cleanup crew ha-ha."
Berserker did in fact mind, but restrained himself from eviscerating the smug little Greek. His job was done, and in a flash of black prana and monstrous howl he was gone, heading back to his master's side.
"…Man, I can never read that guy."
-Line Break-
Medea stared across to the building across from her, unknowingly copying a certain Lancers style. Her little birds had informed her of a large amount of fallen hiding out in the small two story building in front of her.
"Hmm, seems your Intel was right Caster." a voice to her right stated.
"Of course it was Archer, my intel is never wrong." she said, turning around to face the revered teacher of heroes.
She watched him make a semi amused voice before his expression hardened and he asked her," So what now? We've found the fallen, but both of us better suited at longer range despite my proficiency in close quarters. So what do we do?"
"Why are you asking me?" she said sarcastically, she knew why and apparently Chiron did as well by his reply of, "You are the one who gave us all our missions, with rather brutal efficiency I must admit. I figured you had a plan to take the fallen out of the picture."
She made a show of considering his response before answering, "You're right in the fact that I do have a plan, and there was some forethought into sending who I sent. Lancer's noble Phantasm almost assures that he will leave none alive, Berserker and Rider were sent to take care of the Angels who, if the Grails knowledge is to be believed, like to carpet bomb from the air while sending foot soldiers on the ground, making them easy pickings for Berserker, and Rider who can take care of the ones in the sky." taking a breath she continued, "You are here with me to pick off any stragglers that somehow escape my attack. Does that clear things up for you a little bit, Archer?"
Chiron seemed to consider her response before speaking, this time his words were careful, and his gaze seemed to try and search her soul, "Why are you doing this Caster? From the knowledge of your backstory through the Grail I have a hard time believing that the infamous "Witch of Betrayal" would so willingly aid another man, even if it is a child.'
Medea looked down. Why was she being so helpful? True there had several instances where she had considered just betraying her child master and subverting his servants for her own uses, but those ideas had been swiftly crushed under something she couldn't quite name but felt all too familiar.
'Was this guilt and shame?' she wondered to herself. Maybe she just couldn't bear the thought of killing a child? A small part of her mind wondered if it was because he was so adorable, but that thought was quickly squashed by the rest of her that just wanted to prove the boy right, his first question echoing through her mind. "Are you heroes?"
Looking up she met the gaze of Chiron, someone she had a feeling would be able to kill her quite easily if her past experiences with Archers was anything to go by. She quietly answered him, "Maybe I just wanted a chance to be a hero for once, and not a witch."
She had been labeled a witch and a betrayer for centuries, being called a hero was something new, and she liked it.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Archers somewhat warm response, "If that is your reasoning, then I see no reason why we can't get along as fellow servants...Medea."
She looked up at him in shock before letting a slight smile across her face, "Thank you, Chiron."
The nice atmosphere dissolved when Arche- no, Chiron looked back at the building, "Well, shall we get started then?"
She allowed herself a small smirk before answering, "Yes, we shall."
She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the wellspring of mana in the air. Swiftly and with almost casual ease she grasped it and began to infuse it into a ten large magic circles that formed in the air above the warehouse and gave off a soft purple glow.
Opening her eyes she glared down at the building in front of her and reached forward with a staff that had materialized in a small flash of prana. Her robes flared up around her and she surrounded by a light purple glow. She then spoke the words that would see the fallen angels destroyed in but moments.
"Machia Hecatia Graea."
In an instant the Magic Circles locked on to the building and fired, the sound of which was nearly deafening. The sky was bathed in a purple hue, as the colossal beam of pure energy tore through the building and ran itself into the ground, the sound of the roar of magic being heard for miles.
Medea stopped the barrage of magic with a wave of a single dainty hand and waited for the smoke to clear.
There was nothing left. Everything had been destroyed and what remained of the building was a large chasm where it should have been. The area around the chasm was nothing but glass from the sheer heat of the blasts.
Spinning around the face Chiron who was staring wide-eyed at the destruction before him, she felt a giddy smile touch her lips as she exclaimed," Well! That certainly wraps up that! Let's head back to the master." With that she strutted past the slack-jawed teacher, a sort of twisted happiness in her steps.
What could she say? Blowing things up was fun.
-Line Break-
Zelretch watched with amusement of the antics of Shirou's Servants.
"Poor boy." he muttered to himself, though the grin on his face betrayed what he really felt.
As he continued to watch the actions of the boy's servants, he couldn't help but feel like something was missing.
He hummed to himself with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out just was wrong with the picture in front of him. He knew it was something, or rather, someone. The boy had servants and would definitely be summoning more, but there was someone else missing, someone that would give him even more amusement if he sent it to the sleeping boy.…
"AH HAH!" he exclaimed having finally figured it out.
Reaching out with the Second true magic, he grasped his metaphorical hands around a certain small, white-haired homunculus, and proceeded to "drop" her in the reality warp in front of him.
"That should do it. Wonder how the boys going to react to this little surprise, heehee…"
Sitting back down in his chair the old vampire idly wondered just what Grail was inside the boy. Was it the first? Was it the second? Was it the third? And form what reality? It had felt oddly familiar when he had watched that big red dragon insert it into the boy. In fact he was sure he knew it from somewhere. He felt like it was something important, something defining. Like there was something living inside it.
Now normally he wasn't one to spoil his own fun, but having to deal with something like Angra Mainyu would be a pain.
So gathering his powers he attempted to look into the boy's soul, only to get a glimpse of something and be immediately blasted back.
Shaking his head he stared at the boy that he had assumed would be just like every other Shirou Emiya in existence; trying to live the life of hero and dying a pointless death in the arms of someone who loved him.
However this….. This was unexpected. And it was so very, very interesting.
Settling back into his chair he summoned himself some popcorn and relaxed.
After all, it was going to be one hell of a ride.
-End Chapter-
A/N: Annnnnnd Done! That concludes chapter 2! If you can guess what I'm going for with the first part of the chapter, with the various different worlds and how it's connected to Shirou himself, I may share an important story detail with you to keep in mind going forward ;).
Got a lot of requests for certain spirits, and all I can say to that is soon. At around chapter 4 I may do a poll to see which servants you guys want to see the most. The top 2 will be summoned first in a later chapter. How'd you guys like Lancelot's little rampage? Did you like Cú's little massacre of some of the pillars? The Grigori got hit hard too, sucks to be them. Oh well, I'm sure everyone is just fine.
So the poll will be up sometime soon, everyone will have two choices from each class, though I will say that Lancer has already been chosen, though the other servants won't be added till a bit later... As for the Grail and Illya, well we'll have to see about that won't we? Overall I'm very excited for the future.
The next few chapters will be the repercussions of the massacres you all just witnessed, and training of tiny Shirou. Gonna be good. I'm going for a mix of Kiritsugu and Shirou from Fate Apocrypha. Though with the teachings and influence of the servants he has now, his personality will be greatly different then were I too just combine the aforementioned Heroes.
Like it, Love it? Review and tell me what you think, and give me more options for Servants somewhere down the line. Anyway, if you want to be my beta, I'm a PM away.
In the words of a man I see as a brother - Review to Please the Nut!