A/N So I'm sure you've noticed by now, but I'm not really that stringent about having a coherent plot. I don't mind if I fumble my way through one as long as I learn something about writing them. That being said, if you want to try and suggest some things feel free. I haven't read Worm all the way through, it's been a while anyway, and I'm sure I don't need to mention to anybody how massive Fate lore is, so if you guys wanna have a discussion on what makes sense and what doesn't, please do so. Lastly, this is my first time writing online so forgive me if I don't know the proper conventions when replying to reviews, but please, don't hold back. Hope you enjoy! Tear me a new one!

EDIT Gáe Buidhe inflicts wounds that do not heal, Gáe Bolg's wounds just don't heal competely


Ireland's greatest hero sat crosslegged on the edge of a dilapidated apartment building in an area the locals called 'the docks'. It wasn't what one would call 'well off'. This city's import/export business had apparently dried up, and this was one of those places where destitution had turned into illicit activity, and it was known for being an area of the city you didn't want to be walking through at night. More importantly, it was a place where Cú Chulainn was most likely to find the ABB. The gang led by a well known villain who had fought off scores of heroes. Lung.

His Master was terrible at gathering information. He may not have been asked to act as a scout for him, but with all the information gathering Cú had been doing for him during these nightly excursions, which were the only times he was let out, he might as well have. Why he couldn't just learn about the city's gangs during the day while he was frolicking about with that pink pipsqueak, Rider, was lost to Lancer, it would be basic common sense to familiarise yourself with a city's worst crime ridden areas so you could avoid them, and he wouldn't have to spend so many of his nights looking for people. The lack of action was killing him.

However, if the previous nights were anything to go by, then there was almost certainly going to be action tonight. A small time group of villains had crossed Lung when they hit his casino sometime ago. There was villain activity in Brockton Bay all the time, sure, but that was just mostly your regular, run of the mill, criminal gatherings, like Hookwolf's dog fights. There were no organised cape fights one could kindly ask directions to for a good tussle. No, those only happened semi-regularly and they were unpredictable scuffles between a fleeing villain and a team of heroes.

Those in the criminal underground knew for a fact there was going to be trouble in the week or so after the casino was robbed though, and Lancer had been especially diligent in prowling the last couple of nights.

He kept his ears on the city.


"Muh...Motherfucker!" Lung had just been sprayed in the face with pepper spray, which would have stung like hell for anyone else, but with him wreathed in his own flames, it acted like a flamethrower. Killing weaker foes was always only fun when they didn't cause so much pain, and this one had irritated him to no end with a seemingly never ending amount of bugs, and had just boiled his eyeball. Now, he was only concerned with snuffing this nuisance out and going about his business.

Fleeing from the irritated man, Taylor wasn't deluded about the situation. She knew that she had been the one to put herself in a position from which she was unlikely to escape. It was everything she could do to stop herself from being crushed by an A-lister.

So concerned with taking his anger out on this interloper, Lung was oblivious to the rapid clapping on top of nearby buildings. The sounds ceased seconds before Lung swung his arm back to incinerate his pest, and just as he was about to release, the ground next to him exploded into a shower of gravel and the crunch of bone reverberated right through his body as a blood red spear pierced his abdomen. He stayed screaming - an angry, animalistic, growling sound - as he was lifted up and swung so hard the force sent him sliding off the pole and crashing onto the street down below.

Taylor's whole body spasmed in fright when she heard the scream. She was prepared to be incinerated by a torrent of flames and had tripped involuntarily after she heard the loud noise, but when she turned around, she couldn't believe what she saw. It looked like Lung was being flung like a chunk of meat flicked from a toothpick. She wasn't put at ease though. The 'toothpick' looked like it belonged to the devil. It was veined all over and practically glowed red. It was unnatural.

Her sense of disbelief was taken further when she heard someone speak with what sounded like glib in this situation.

"What a shame. I thought you'd be tougher."

Only when he spoke did Taylor notice the man in the blue jumpsuit. It was skintight, and only had two metal pauldrons for protection. If he was a hero Taylor would have assumed the costume was more for aesthetic appeal than anything else. Her fear wasn't abated though. She held her breath as she watched the man lazily crouch over the edge of the roof. Despite his disappointment in how quickly Lung went down, Lancer smirked. He had heard about Lung's powers, thanks to his flunkies. He waited for him to get back up.

The thundering crash signalled his arrival on the ground. Chunks of street were now scattered around the crater beneath him. To his delight, the villain had grown more monstrous already. Lung was changing faster than ever. The countless toxins running through his body were stalling his regeneration. The stab wound in his side also wasn't closing, and it kept bleeding, but his body healed around it. He paid it no heed, eventually he would be big enough that it wouldn't matter.

"You must be one ugly bastard if you hide your face like that. Go on. Use your power, I'll wait."

For the man who had fought off Leviathan singlehandedly, this punk in front of him wasn't taking things anywhere near serious enough. The condescension in those last words alone was enough to send Lung into a rage.

Lung's arm shot forward as he unleashed a torrent of flame towards Lancer. It hit only air. His target was then right in front of him, a bright red line streaking across his vision as Lancer twirled and spun his spear tip across Lung's body. His arms and body were only a blur even though his feet were planted on the ground. The metal scales might as well have not been there. Every counter attack Lung made through the onslaught was batted away instantly. Gashes were appearing all over his body as he was pushed back.

In midst of battle, it occurred to Lancer that he had made a grave miscalculation that would end up costing him the fight.

He was too powerful...

...and if he was too powerful, it might as well not be a fight.

His cursed Lance inflicted wounds that could never be healed completely as long as it existed.

His opponent could not fully regenerate flesh taken by Gáe Bolg's cuts, he had no idea how his power would react to that.

Therefore, he might not get to fight a dragon.

That wouldn't do.

However, just as Lancer was about to hold back his lance's cutting edge, he slipped. He had not put enough strength into a step and it threw him off. Lung's claws were suddenly coming at his chest, and he barely managed to block on time. He struggled briefly against them as they pushed against the shaft of his spear, but Lung doubled down and followed through on the swing, and Lancer was launched across the street. With flexibility not unlike an animal, he righted himself midair and landed in a slide using the the metal on his feet. Sparks flew from where his soles scraped against the ground.

His mana pool had just been cut in half.

"Tch...Looks like you are capable of defending yourself." What had just happened was unthinkable for a Servant in the midst of battle, but all it meant for Cú Chulainn was that this fight just became a hell of a lot more interesting. "Don't let it get to your head, buddy! Now...show me what you can do!"

His talk was only full of confidence and fire. With a feral grin more beastial than the monster across from him could ever be, Lancer shot off, his long strides carrying him swiftly towards his opponent. This time Lung didn't even bother trying to attack from range. He set himself on fire again with an explosion of flame and stood tall at an imposing 8 feet against the fastest and most aggravating parahuman he had ever seen barreling towards him.

Lancer abruptly came to a halt and turned his head to the made Lung pause only for a second before he heard it too.

A hellish beast bounded into the fray and into Lung's side. It's teeth dug their way into his stab wound hard enough to make Lung roar in agony. There was a whistle. Lancer halted himself abruptly and braced himself against an unknown threat; there were more of these creatures on their way. His mouth was pressed into a thin line as he watched the massive boar-like creatures gang up on his opponent and interrupt his fight. His expression turned to one of confusion however as they completely ignored him. He remained aware nonetheless.

He searched around.

Back on the rooftop.

"-is getting creamed by that fuck you do to him." "Pepper spray, wasp and bee stings, fire ants and spider bites, and those cuts are scarring. He's not holding up too well. Gonna feel a helluvalot worse tomorrow."

The Undersiders watched with Taylor as the man who had been fighting Lung made his way up to them like a cat, while Lung was being dog piled on the ground.

The gravel shifted as his feet met the roof, the ominous red lance looming over his side at 2 metres tall. Lancer wasted no time.

"Oi. Those beasts, are they yours?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. They're completely tamed." The chatty blonde answered him immediately after taking a quick glance. Cu thought she rubbed him the wrong way, with the way she looked at him and her smile, it stunk. "Thanks for that by the way. We owe you one."

"Don't thank me. You shouldn't start something you can't handle." Cú's response was short. He thought the powered humans running around in this world were ostentatious. At best they looked like they were trying too hard like the skull guy, at worst they were like the kid in the frilly shirt with half his chest bared open. Not that he was one to talk. He looked over at the blonde girl.

Why the hell is a child running around in something that tight?

As if the world was punishing him for his thoughts, his mana dropped significantly again. He gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. "You interrupted my fight, and just when it was getting good. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Lancer was still pissed that he didn't get to see it through, but the kid in the black skull mask replied amicably.

"Sorry. You don't usually come across who someone who wants to fight Lung..." His artificially deep voice sounded like an attempt at being intimidating to Lancer, despite his friendly demeanour. It made sense for a villain in the criminal underworld, which Lancer assumed he was, and it hid his voice well, but it was a little laughable to him. Sure, Lung didn't scare him either, but he was more of a berserker. His actions spoke for him. He didn't really try. It only made Lancer more unimpressed with parahuman society. All these people trying so hard to form an image.

No matter what he thought of capes however, their powers were unpredictable, diverse, and on the level of magecraft, so they were technically capable of hurting him. Not these runts though. Nevertheless.

His Master didn't seem like a stick in the mud, but he made it clear that there were bigger problems to deal with, and that Cú couldn't endanger himself unnecessarily. He needed to end the night early and inform his Master of his mana suddenly being cut.

"-Someone from the Protectorate shows up, finds two bad guys duking it out, they're not gonna let one walk away. You two should get out of here." Cú turned back to the conversation just in time. A hero was about to show up too, all the more reason to leave. Cú's Master made it especially clear he was not to interfere with any heroes. The vixen and her teammates were getting on the monstrosities that had mauled his enemy after giving him and bug girl the tip. Cú didn't waste any time, he leapt off the roof with the enough force to ruffle everyone's clothes a little bit and started to make his way back to base - the dingy motel - in spirit form.


Cú opted to stroll through the front door in physical form, instead of just appearing in the middle of the room in the late hours. Better that way so as to avoid any embarrassing situations with his Master. He made his way down the corridor in his casual clothes, a Hawaiian shirt and a plain pair of trousers.

Not all of his time was spent looking for fights.

Muffled voices reached him, although he hear better than any human, he couldn't recognise them.

"-were you...doing out?"

"Nothing...was just out..."

"You've been acting weird lately! I can tell!"

"I sincerely hope I haven't caused any trouble between you two. It would make me deeply sad to know I was the end of peaceful times between two lovers-"

"NO!" "Huh? What do you mean?"

The closer Cú was getting to his Master's room the more sure he was becoming about who was disturbing the whole residence with their arguing, and what had caused his little issue.

"Master, have you seriously been summoning Servants the whole time I was out." Cú didn't bother to hide his displeasure as he opened the door. It was probably going to creak a lot more often than it usually did from now on. The slam made his Master jump, but also caught Rider unawares, and another guy at the table who was the only one smiling. "A warrior wouldn't be caught dead in something like that. I take it you're Caster."

"Oh, Cú! I had..." His Master jumped at the opportunity to address another topic, but quickly lost his voice as he thought of an explanation for his Servant. "...completely forgotten about you. Sorry, hehe?" A shrug and a sheepish expression prompted an involuntary sigh from Cu. He shouldn't have expected more.

"So why are you summoning so many Servants all of a sudden? Are we finally making a move?"

Lancer stood and appraised his Master as he said that.

"Yeah! And we're going to start by cleaning up this city!"

Astolfo's outburst caused a look of confusion on Cú's face, and one of embarrassment on his Master's. "Well..." He looked to Caster. "Caster though it would be a good idea to get me used to sustaining multiple Servants at once to increase my energy output. That way we can always make sure there's a Servant with me just in case. We're probably going to need them anyway. So, we need get you guys to fight people."

"...and there can be no enemy more fitting for heroic spirits such as yourself and Rider than the villains plaguing this city, correct?"

This Caster in front of him rubbed Cú the wrong way. He was never one for the sneaky methods their class employed in Holy Grail wars, but as long as he allowed to fight he was content with the situation. "Hey, hold up a sec. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but, what ever happened to keeping a low profile, Master?"

A pause. He looked around briefly and took a deep breath before answering. He knew that he had been putting off doing any actual work because he was unprepared.

"Well...I can't stay cautious forever." he looked to Caster again. "We're going to have to act sometime. Better late than never, hehe."

'Well, you can tick one villain off the list. Lung is pretty much done for. Last I saw he was unconscious and a Protectorate hero was on the way."

If his Master was more observant he would have noticed the scowl on Lancer's face, but he could only think of the topic at hand.

"That's great, but me and these guys here have been trying to find a way to track down other strong villains - before we got distracted a little - and I've come to the conclusion that we need help."

All the Servants in the room waited for him to elaborate, but he merely looked expectantly at Rider.

"Eh? Master, why are you looking at me like that? You're making me feel weird! Is it something on my face? Is it just my face?"

"You made a friend remember? Glory Girl."

'Master' kept smiling widely at Astolfo. After all, it was just yesterday morning they had met a member of New Wave. While they were wholly unprepared to tackle Brockton bay's atrocious villain cape population, New Wave had been on the scene for far longer and were widely respected. It made sense that they would be close to the Brockton Bay Protectorate. Fortunately for our heroes, one of them had mistaken Astolfo for a girl, to no one's shock, so it stood to reason for his Master that all he had to do was be allowed to work his charm on them and before they knew it, Astolfo would be expertly gleaming sensitive information from the Dallon sisters during their sleepovers. It's full proof!

"Oh, oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah! I should make a name for myself! I'll call myself, Hero!" "Taken actually." "I'll make myself indispensable to the Protectorate and help her fight villainy! Watch out Brockton Bay, here I come!"

"Wonderful! We can have you working with her as a new hero. Lancer can just keep prowling in the night and telling us what he finds-"

"Yeah, that reminds me. I inadvertently saved a group of smalltimers earlier tonight. They said they owed me one."

"-Perfect, we can use that. They would know about all the criminal stuff that goes on."

Before any more plans could be discussed, Caster interjected.

"Excuse me, Master, I am sorry to interrupt, but before any exciting events take off, it would be prudent for me to setup a workshop as quick as possible, no?"

"Ah, yes. Just use the...room I guess. I'll sleep somewhere else." Before he realised he had just given Caster the room the words had already left his mouth, but he didn't want to take them back.

"Wonderful! Thank you, Master."

"Really? Where are you going to sleep, then?"

"Um...I'll find a place." Cú just gave him a look.

"Oh, hey! Didn't you say some people owed you a favour?"