Fate Stay Night Umbra Bello
Slackboy101- I've had a few ideas about that. Doubt they'll ever come to anything at the rate I actually write, as I'd only do it once the Grand Order Fic was under way, but I think one of the main candidates for his Servant would no doubt be Nobu. It would be... appropriate, given his Servant in Umbra Bello. Not to mention I think she'd lend herself well to an abridged version of Extra. There are others I've considered, but I can't mention them without it being spoilers to this story.
runelt99- Oh, it's gonna be a little more canon than you'd think, especially the woes of a certain Best Goddess. Oh, you recalled correctly, but for now... let's just say there are events in motion that won't be fully revealed until the Singularities reach their climax. So, be sure to keep up until then!
Modsan- DON'T LET YER DREAMS BE DREAMS! JUST DEW IT! Even if it ain't as good as you like at first, you'll only get better as you go on. Take it from me. There's a lot about the first... eight-ish, chapters of this story I find pretty cringy. But, I pushed on, and kept getting better each chapter. Besides, it's fanfiction we're writing here. We're not exactly aiming for "New York Times Best-Seller" material.
And yeah... college, and work keep me pretty busy, so I'd say to expect about 1.5 chapters a month =/.
Chapter XXI: Taking The Plunge
Date: 02/06/2004
Time: 5:14 pm
Location: Miyama Docks
"It's… a good view, I suppose." Saber remarked.
"It's probably better for most when the weather is actually clear… but an oncoming storm… I suppose that's an acquired taste." I respond to her, looking at the aforementioned weather event in the distance.
"One I hold. The torrential downpour, and crashing waves… they remind me of the village I grew up in." the ideal King reminisces.
I nod in understanding as I scratch behind the ears of the small squirrel creature in my lap.
"For me, I've always liked the calm before the storm. Things always seemed so much... clearer, just before the chaos began." I chuckle, "Almost as if Gaia herself wanted to give us time to reflect, to fortify ourselves for the trial to come, like she's testing us… 'though that might just be looking too much into it…"
I almost ask something, but hold my tongue when I realize it might've struck closer to home than I'd thought.
"No, go on. You were about to say something?" Saber notices, and prods.
"... when your… "journey" began… how often did you think of that village? Of home?" I hesitated, knowing her wish largely involved returning to that life. Granted, that's a lot more to do with not believing she should be king than what my problem entails, but still...
"... for a while. When I came to see Ca-... my new home as, well, my new home, those feelings began to fade. And if I ever did, which became rarer over the years, I'd remind myself that I'm serving that land far more doing what I was, where I was." she answered, not sounding all too sure about the last part.
And that worried me.
"But you don't believe that anymore." Changing topics, I state, rather than ask.
Artoria was surprised by the statement, and quietly muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'he has that too?'.
She took a moment to respond.
"... my Kingship ended in ruins. Everything I'd built… everyone that served me burned in the fires of rebellion. If I were the ideal king my people needed-"
"But you're not an ideal." I interrupted. "You're a person."
"A King needs to be more than a mere "person"." She disagreed.
"Indeed. It is perhaps the highest calling of Kings, and rulers to serve as a template, and an example for their countrymen to follow. But what you say is to take this to a whole other level." I frown in disappointment, "Ideals… they're not meant to be achieved. Like this horizon."
I gesture to where the earth curves.
"A long path with no end, but that which you decide for yourself… or the world decides for you. And by that end, if it was at all worth it, if you'd gained anything by walking the path… that is for you alone to decide. And, make no mistake, there is beauty in that. Chasing the ends of the Earth…. Following the calls of adventure, and challenges beyond the world you know? Seeing past that unreachable horizon, for what could be? The attempt of attaining infinity, and actualization of concepts are gifts belonging to humanity, and humanity alone. As such, to pursue ideals is perhaps the essence of humanity… but therein lies the folly of a human becoming an ideal."
I stop when my wandering mind points out to me that my monologue is beginning to sound like a certain Star Wars villain, and shake this distracting line of thought off.
"To believe in an ideal is to be willing to betray it."
"To become an ideal is to become something unattainable. Something innately inhuman, and impossible. One might as well grab hold of the horizon."
The wind picks up again, howling loud enough to drown out my words, forcing a pause.
"For a king to abandon their own humanity for the sake of becoming an ideal would be as though they were building a castle whose foundation lay atop a mighty beasts lair. It would always cave in once that beast lashed out at being tread upon- what?"
I stopped when I realized Saber moved her hand to her invisible sword.
"S-Sorry. That analogy…"
"What? The beast is the inner humanity of the king's-" I think further explanation is required.
"N-No, I mean… nevermind." Saber lets… whatever that was go, along with excaliburs hilt.
"I-... what were we talking about?" I stopped when I realized I was in some sort of trance.
"I believe you were in the middle of a long winded monologue that could best be summed up as "yes Saber, I agree, you were a bad King, here's why-"." she sounds like she was begrudgingly considering my points, as though I were rubbing salt in a self inflicted wound.
"That's… less diplomatic than I'd put it, but yes. In not so many words, you tried too hard to be perfection. And "perfection" is both objective, and impossible." I sum up my view as the storm finally begins to pick up, and we're pelted by a slosh of rain and snow.
"... then, you know what I must do." she either states, or asks.
"I know what you think you should do." that being, erase her kingship.
"And?" she sounds annoyed at the non-answer.
"And… the way I see it, your decision is the natural conclusion to this "Ideal King"... ideal. In being unable to fulfil it yourself, you'd pass it down to someone who could … in a way, perhaps that is a trait that brought you to be summoned by Kiritsugu."
"Kiritsugu?" the Servant detested the name, but was caught off guard by it being brought up.
"Just as he passed down his impossible ideals to Shirou, you plot to pass down yours to another. I wonder, perhaps, if you succeed, if it'll end much the same as it will with him…"
"How do you mean!?" Saber sounded defensive, since I made it sound as tragic as it was, "It sounds like you know something that-"
"That I'm not telling? ...perhaps. But, I'm not the only one guilty of that right now am I?" I ask rhetorically.
The Servant was taken aback by the accusation.
"I… I don't know what you're talking about."
"That's why you've disliked me since the moment we met. And I sense it's why we're even talking like we are now." I get to the core of the ice between us. "... that, and I bought Dango, but that's probably the lesser of the two reasons we're talking."
Saber twiddles her thumbs around the bamboo sticks that hold her Dango.
"... I needed something to get the taste of Mapo out of my mouth…" she sounded like she was pouting.
"Okay, so maybe it's the greater of the two." I take another bite of sweetness when I feel the searing heat threatening to roll back in... "Point is, we're both keeping secrets, and I'm sure we both think it's for the best. At least… for us."
I briefly wonder if it would help at all if I warned Shirou of his future… if it would guide him along faster to the path he found in UBW, or if he'd deny it, and run bullheadishly into the fire and end up becoming Archer. Or if… something different would come of it. Something worse, or better.
Saber's noble visage appeared briefly cracked when I mentioned we both may be hiding our truths for selfish reasons.
"What do you know of the Servants of the last war?" she asked me something seemingly out of the blue.
"... more than you'd think, less than I'd like." I answer vaguely.
"... one of my dear friends was an enemy in that war."
Zero flashbacks intensify.
"... I'm sorry." I doubt it was an easy affair.
"That's not it." she tilts her head down. "If it were just that… just an honorable final duel between friends… I would be fine with it. It'd be… fitting even."
"But I'm guessing it wasn't that simple." I state the obvious.
"... he was the Berserker."
"... okay, so maybe it was a little too simple- 'dah!' Sorry! Sorry!" I raise my hands in surrender.
"You're not making this easier…" the Servant complains.
"... I know. I should've… sorry. Please, go on."
"... what happened at the end of my reign… my handling of the circumstance turned one of my friends… and one of my most esteemed knights into… into something that had to be put down." Saber blamed herself for that knight's state.
It was… hard to formulate a response to that.
"When I first met you… I did not trust you. Back then, it was for more… practical reasons. Although, I suspect on some subconscious level, I already knew. When I realized why you were so… familiar to me, I was worried that what happened to my knight had happened again. He was bad enough… but, your circumstance seemed so much worse that I just wanted to get it done and over with before there was any…"
"Drama?"
"Essentially." she admits.
"Well… I'll promise to try and avoid any of that. Between your Master, and Archer's, there's already too much of that to go around for my taste."
"Er… we just burned down an establishment because it offended our sense of taste... I don't think we can claim to be entirely absolved of the sin of taking things too far…" she reminded me.
I avoid the urge to look back at the trail of smoke leading into the sky that was coming from the burned down restaurant.
"And that's… a problem we can work on. Hopefully as a team." I try to enlighten the conversation with a little optimism.
"... and when this comes to an end?" Saber points out the end of the war. "This war can only have one winner."
"... I have a feeling it won't come to that." I say with a knowing smirk, then return to a serious outlook. "But if it does… let's settle, whatever this is, with honor."
"..." Saber gave it some thought, then announced boisterous- "Yes! One final duel between us, as though by providence! The battle shall be legendary!"
"For however long your legend shall remain." I remind her of her wish.
"... indeed." the king's enthusiasm was tempered by the reminder. "... rather bold of you to assume you stand a chance though..."
"Maybe. But do you remember what Illya said?"
"That it would jog your memory." she nodded in affirmation, "But even if you remembered everything, you'd need a lot more than that to defeat me."
Because that has stopped you before.
Yeah, well- ... hold the fuck up.
What's wrong?
… you're not the normal voice in my head.
Oh, he's taking a mental health day. I'll be your substitute jiminy cricket for the duration of- however long this is funny.
Mental health day?
Kyes. The union had to fight hard for that one.
… there's a union now? ... and for that matter, being a voice in someone's head is a paying job?
Apparently. But it doesn't pay as much as you'd think. I had to pick up a second shift just to pay for trading cards. Have you ever played Duel Monsters?
Hm… so, so long as we're working together, m'name's Rob. Who are you?
I don't know.
That so?
Long ago, I was known as "Pharaoh". Then I was known as "the artist formerly known as Pharaoh.". Then I got stuck in a pyramid for thousands of years, as you do, and forgot my true name. Then I possessed a passive aggressive japanese teenager with strange hair who named me after a mediocre Metroid sequel.
Huh…
However, for the time being I shall introduce myself using a name I've chosen for myself.
Oh? Then I ask again. Who are you?
You can call me... Brad Pitt.
"... we'll see." I eventually say, non-comitaly.
And like that, it was settled. Me and Saber cleared the air as best we could.
'CRACKA-BOOOOM!'
But the moment wasn't to last.
"... that wasn't us, was it?" I ask before even turning to the source of the noise.
"I don't believe so." Saber equips her armor.
I take in the storm that has finally hit. Absorbing one last meditative moment before turning to the explosion.
A new trail of smoke was rising from a few blocks away. Close to the bridge connecting Miyama and Shinto.
"... I'll contact Assassin. Let's get to work."
ThemeSong- ENGLISH "Brave Shine" Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Akane Sasu Sora)
Miyama…
"Roger that. On our way Master." Assassin let me know.
"What happened?"
"You were right about everything Master." she states, warry.
"H-Hold on! Can I get a recording of that?" I make light of the situation.
"Don't force me to find a way to slap you through telepathy." she warns me.
"Oooh, oookay~! What happened?" I get serious again.
"Does the name "Angra Mainyu" mean anything to you?"
"... I don't think so- wait, isn't that the name of… basically Satan from Zorastrian mythology?" I vaguely recall something along those lines.
"You got it."
'So they really did it then… the Einzberns summoned Basically Satan…" a fact that irritated me for some reason.
"Not quite. It's a long story, and I'll tell you later, but the moral is: don't let any Servants die. The further away we are from completing the Grail the better." Okita warns.
"Gotcha. Just get here quick. I don't know if me and Saber will be able to force a draw in whatever's happening."
"Understood. Speaking of, how'd peace talks go?"
"Well, I think the ice has melted enough that she isn't trying to provoke a fight anymore, so… well?"
"Really? How'd you overcome this glacier between you and her?" my law and order minded Servant asks.
"We found a mutual enemy."
"... okay? That's… vague."
"Just get here. And don't let Emiya out of your sight."
"Roger."
I finish the conversation as me and Saber approach the area.
The place was covered in smoke, so it was hard to tell what was going on.
"You see anything?" I ask Saber.
"... not much. Some bounded field is obscuring my vision of the battlefield. But there is a battle going on." she answers.
"Casters work no doubt. Let's figure out a plan…" I think before I leap as Fou takes off from my shoulder to parts unknown.
"This could be a trap." Saber warned.
"It would be the Caster MO… question is, how should we spring it?"
"My magic resistance should negate most Mage shenanigans. Just stay behind me, and we should be fine." she declares, confidently, as Squirrel creature #1 pouts at me for some reason.
"Don't get cocky. Any Caster worth their mana would be aware of that, and plan around it." I warn my current companion.
"... agreed. A direct attack would be too risky." the Servant strategized for a moment, "... perhaps an unexpected entrance?"
I try to follow her line of thinking.
"You thinking about death from above?" I look at a nearby eight story building.
"It would be a most dramatic method… but I would think Caster would think of that as well." true.
"Can't go at it from the sides, can't go at it from above…" I give it some thought.
Have you tried challenging the barrier to a duel?
Not sure that applies here.
Strange… that usually works where I'm from.
Look, coming at this from a direct angle ain't gonna work.
"Fou! Fou!" Fou called our attention.
"..." me and Saber came to the same conclusion about Fou's idea.
Inside the field...
"Children these days… they think so little of the elderly…" Zouken sighed in disappointment. "Not once did you even consider this to be a trap? And I thought the Matou had fallen so low… oh if only Nagato could see you now…"
"Oh, you're lecturing me on disappointment old man!? Have you met your grandchild!?" Rin Tohsaka sassed back as she squashed familiar after familiar in a rain of Gandr, although the swarm never seemed to end.
"Ah yes, let's not forget the failure she turned out to be." the old Magus mocked the girl.
This got under Rin's skin.
"Don't want her? Give her back!" A wave of her hand blew a swarm back.
"Trust me girl, I'm doing your family a favor at this point. For however long the Tohsaka will last at this point…" Zouken chuckled at the threat.
"As if I'm the one running out of time right now. In case you hadn't noticed, my Servant has yours up against the proverbial wall!"
At first glance, Rin's comment held true, but her Servant knew better.
He'd just cut down another golem when he saw another one going for his Master.
Quick on the draw, he tried to send some nameless broadsword its way-
CRASH!
"-Shit!"
"▅▆▆▇▇██!" but a new enemy appeared, smashing through a building to get to him, shakin up the earth, and throwing off his shot.
Archer ducked under a swing of a club made of concrete and rebar about half the size of Berserker's own bludgeon.
Escaping its follow up, Archer used its overreach to gut the massive form with Bakuya.
Stepping back, he took in a view of his new enemy.
In appearance, and aesthetic, it looked like the bastard child of one of the standard plant golems Caster had been throwing at them, and Earthworm Jim had been infected by The Flood.
Staggered by Archer's attack, but not stopped, it recovered, and charged back at the Servant.
More prepared for the attack this time, Archer realized it was little more than a brute force based opponent, and drew his bow again.
Shooting off a forgotten dao, his aim held true as it hit the plant monster thing in its knee-
"█▇▇▅▅▅…!" and it collapsed like a giant sack of potatoes.
It wasn't dead, but it was dissabled enough for him to redirect his attention to his Master.
Rin was holding off a couple of the golems with her proficiency in Bajiquan. Aware of the damage their poison can do however, she had to take special care not to take any direct hits.
Unfortunately, this caution was drawing the battle out. Something that did not play well with Bajiquan.
And on top of that, the golem's distraction opened her up to Zouken's bladed worms performing hit, and run attacks. And they were getting bolder. The ancient magus was likely encouraged by her faltering defenses.
Before, she was able to throw enough thaumaturgical weight around to crush the disgusting familiars just by looking at them. Now it seemed that if they swarmed her, it might just decide this battle.
Not accepting that, Archer was going to back her up, but-
ZZZZZZZZP
FWWWWOOOOOOSHH!
Caster fired a violent blast of mana that forced him to fall back.
Perched on a lightpost, the Servant wearing another's form smirked at her enemy's ever growing frustration.
Unable to defend his Master, Archer thought fast.
"Trace On."
Summoning a weapon of Irish mythology, Archer threw the sword in the general direction of the golems threatening his Master, and then drew his bow for an attack on Caster.
"Moralltach!" Upon it's true name being revealed, the blades were imbued with the concept of 'certain victory'.
Weakened by its current user not being its true master however, the sword only realized this concept by striking true, and claiming the heads of only two of the five monsters Rin faced. Not including Zouken.
Her attention freed up, Rin reinforced her limbs to the limit, grabbed one of the golems by an overextended appendage and-
"100 PERCENT MAXIMUM NO CHILL!"
Threw the offending form into one of its growing number of brothers. Along with-
CRACKA-BOOOOM!
A ruby that could buy a third world country.
The explosion eliminated- at minimum- six of the monsters that were about to join the battle.
Tohsaka followed up by casting an attack that released winds that matched speeds found in a category F5 Tornado. The force crushing the swarming worms.
Zouken grimaced at the smirk the child of Tokiomi grew at this setback.
"I'd watch that confidence girl. It never did your father any good." the old vampire mocked.
"As I'd watch that tone you're using! Like I said. Up. Against. The. Wall." Tohsaka emphasised each word with a blast of Gandr.
Zouken, being both old, and exerting himself, couldn't dodge the attack in time, and ended up with three new holes marking his body.
However, his body being as rotten as it was, the illness causing attacks mostly passed through him. If he still had his youth, they likely would have left holes the size of dinner plates.
Granted, in this form neither size would be particularly fatal to him, but it does mean he won't need a new body quite yet.
'Hmph. Don't think this is over yet." the old man warned her as he tapped his cane on the ground.
CRACKLE CRACKLE
Rin leapt back as the asphalt crumbled beneath her feet, and gave way to a new familiar.
"SCREEEEEEE!" a new large form emerged. A spider-like, chitin-armoured familiar the size of a Honda Civic.
Shaking off the pieces of road that hadn't already fallen off, the creature turned to Tohsaka with predatory intent as two more of its horrid brethren emerged from below.
Rin didn't hesitate to liberally spray the form with curses, but couldn't punch through their armor.
'I'm gonna need new boots with all the bugs I'm crushing to-!" she mocked her enemy as the
Giant Worm charged and-
THUD!
"ohmygod-!"
SLAM!
Knocked her into the steel railing that stopped her from falling into the raging sea, denting it with the force.
Wind knocked out of her, Rin took precious seconds to get her bearings before the world came into focus again.
The salty spray of crashing waves to her back, she stared down the growing army of insects, and golems that were about to swarm her.
Another priceless jewel in hand, she charged her mana for a planned follow up attack, but was shocked to find her own body's stores were nearly out. Zouken seemed to be winning this battle of Quantity vs Quality.
"... you think maybe I bit off more than I could chew..?" she found herself asking Archer.
"Well, golee-gee Rin, It's not like anyone pointed out to you that "Operation: Pest Control" had some major bugs to work out! OH WAIT!" Archer didn't hesitate to give his two cents.
Unfortunately for Rin, that's all Archer could do, as he had his hands tied with Caster, and her golems at the moment, and wouldn't be coming to the rescue.
Backed into a corner, she waited for the first giant worm to charge-
"SCREEEEEEE-EH!?"
Rin blinked in surprise as the familiar seemed to collapse to the ground.
CRACKLE
"EEEEEEEHHH!" the monster panicked as it began falling into the road, and eventually-
BOOOM!
Was launched thirty feet into the air by a golden ray of mana.
The chunks of road, and dirt that followed it obscured vision of the area, obscuring the source of the attack.
Zouken seemed just as surprised as her, and pulled his familiars back in caution.
Archer, on the other hand, could see clearly enough, and though he was surprised by the cause of the event, he felt some degree of relief. Now he could focus on Caster.
Now Caster… she was perhaps the most surprised of all. Not surprised that someone intervened… more by what, or more specifically, who had arrived. And the form they were in.
"Oh my…" her expression shifted as the dust cloud began to clear up. In those few seconds one could recognize shock, pain, fury, and finally, amusement. "Of course, you'd be here…"
"Prepare for trouble."
"And make it double."
As the dust began to settle, Rin could make out the voices.
"To protect the world from annihilation!" Orso stood in the rubble of what must've been the storm drain, back to back with Rin's waifu.
"To destroy all villains within the nation." Saber blew the last of the dust away with her invisible blade.
"To announce the power of the human heart!" The Master's circuits glowed to enunciate his words.
"To make conquest an honorable art!" Saber's left arm reached for the blocked out stars, as if to crush them in her gauntlet.
"Robert." the Master winked knowingly at… thin air.
"Saber." said Servant did much the same.
After a brief pause, they continued.
"Surrender now, or face our might!" the Servant demanded.
"And believe me, it won't be much of a fight." the Master warned, confident.
"Fou! Fou!" and to top off their bit, a small squirrel seemed to dare them from atop the Master's shoulder.
…
…
…
…
"... okay, I'll kill him first." Archer drew his bow.
"Hold on Satan! We can use this!"
Aaaand just like that, we can't be friends.
"... (the Grail taught you pokemon?)" I feel compelled to ask, baffled.
"(What's pokemon? I thought we were just doing a bit…?)" she whispered back.
"(Well- I mean we were but- look, it's nerd shit, we'll talk later, people are staring.)" I try to get back into the swing of things.
As I said, people were surprised at our unexpected entrance.
Taking quick stock of the situation…
I turn to Rin.
"... so, what's the story here? I'm thinking... "Night of the Living Geriatric." meets "Red Bowman Down"?" I judge based on what I see.
"More like "They're coming out of the goddamn walls."." Ripley- I mean Tohsaka simplified the situation.
"Use words I understand please!" Saber asked/demanded.
"Saber." I point to one of the… giant spider things standing by Archer, "Commence Operation: Raid Rage.".
"..." she just stared blankly at me.
"... fuck it. Saber Smash!" I commanded, and she obeyed.
FWOOOOSH!
"SCREEEE-!?"
CRRRRACCKK!
"YES! FINALLY!" the King declared as she ripped her blade out of the monsters shattered carapace, and moved on to the next.
Finally shaking off the confusion, the golems, and familiars in the area remember they're in a fight, and go after the Servants. Leaving a relatively paltry few to stand between me and Zouken.
However, between Saber, and Archer, I figured they could have an infinite number of bodies, and wouldn't stand a chance.
The only wild card now seemed to be Caster, who seemed more focused on Saber. She didn't seem intent on actually engaging with Artoria, but it at least appeared as though I was beneath her notice.
Whether that was a result of her confidence in her Master, or lack of concern about me and Tohsaka, well… that was anyone's guess.
Either way, this left me free to walk up to Tohsaka.
"Well, you were right. Shit's gotten real." I note, amused, as I offer a hand to help her up.
"What are you doing here!?" she sounded as surprised as everyone else.
"I was out at the docks when I heard an explosion and thought- "Oh, who could that be?", then figured you could use some help." I explained with sass.
"He's got a point!" Archer called out from across the battlefield.
"ARCHER! CASTER!" his Master demanded.
"On it!" he responded, snapping the Magi-Servant out of her lazer focus on Saber with projected projectiles.
"Right then, you were here first, how you wanna play this?" I say while sizing up the enemy force.
Zouken had a small army of flying bladed bug monsters, likely designed for swarming, and overrunning his enemies defenses. Individually, likely not very strong, but united as they are, they could probably tear me to shreds.
I also had the attention of at least five of the plant golems from the other night. That was more troubling. They were an unpredictable lot. And deadly fighters at that. Just one had me on the backfoot yesterday.
But, there's a caveat to that. Last night I was bleeding out, magically drained, and didn't have any backup. Hardly a fair fight on my end. Can't say how a one on one would've played out if I was in tip top condition.
Still, the numbers were against me here.
"This bounded field is messing with my magecraft. I need time to recharge, so you'll need to distract him for me." She runs her play by me.
"Well that's not so bad-"
"For three minutes. But seeing as he wore me down in six… I'm sure you can handle it."
Huh… pretty sure youtube isn't even a thing yet...
"... three minutes…?" I try to estimate if that was even doable…
For almost every fight up until now, I've held back to some degree.
Not as a matter of philosophical restraint. More like not wanting to show my cards, and the need to conserve energy.
That, and a lot of my energy and strategies had gone into letting Okita fight at her best, so my own strength wasn't a factor.
If I don't hold back… completely cut loose...
I can't beat them all. Hell, even Rin couldn't do that.
But I don't need to beat them.
"Ki-Ko-How ya doin~?"
"... is that all?" I declare, confidently.
"Well, I could use five, but I wasn't so sure you could keep it up for so long." she sounded like she was teasing me.
Of course, my pride couldn't let that go.
"Ten minutes it is then!"
Define Real
I flex my power to about 80% capacity. About enough to shift the air around me. My jacket lighting up in a rainbow colored array of runes.
"I didn't take you for a braggart boy. Can't say it suits you." Zouken tries to chuckle, but it comes out more like chittering.
(BGM: Tension Rising Kingdom Hearts II)
"You'll find I have many qualities for you to dislike- NAUDHIZ!"
TWWOOOOOSH!
Aided by the training wheels that are my runes, I launch a wave of mana that knocks back three of the golems that had gotten too close for my liking.
Caught off guard by the force, they were each knocked back into the nearest solid surface.
Neither Zouken or Rin had expected the force I'd let out.
"What? Were you expecting last night was the best I could do?" I smirked at him, "I was bleeding out, and holding back y'know?"
"Hmph, don't think that changes anything." the old man grimaced as he tapped his cane, and the monsters charged.
Prepared, I responded in kind with-
"-Thurisaz!"
While the familiars weren't even stopped, the golems tripped over themselves when the asphalt beneath them cracked, and began to give way to the muddy soil beneath. Their awkward gaits adding to their sudden woes.
The main threats slowed down by the runes I'd set in the storm drains beneath our feet minutes ago, I ready my first non-rune based attack.
"Okay… let's see if it works…"
Only a theory two weeks ago, I put my magecraft into practice.
I begin imposing an alternate theory layer… which is something that's hard to explain on the spot, so let's just say for now that, in theory, it's a hybrid between an illusion on steroids, a tiny bounded field, and a very poor man's reality marble.
In a way, it's the very culmination of the process of 'Defining Real'.
This spell was something I've been working on for a while. Ever since I ran out of ways to improve on my magecraft through that old book Kirei gave me.
The theory is, this Theoretical Strange Space ought to allow me to perform certain spells and thaumaturgical phenomenon I don't necessarily have a foundation to perform.
As a result, I can perform basic elemental attacks by imposing the mental concepts of heat (fire), cold (ice), and pressure (air).
The biggest downside is that this kind of magecraft was anathema to Gaia, as she seemed to go full-fuck-force on shutting it down. So it was very energy intensive, even on a micro-level.
I got it to work on a very small scale before. Smaller than a coffee table really, but it should be more than enough in this scenario.
In short, it's a thaumaturgical cheat sheet. Extreme versatility at the cost of being insanely expensive to use, and incapable of being used in anything more powerful than basic attacks.
At least, in theory. In practice…
"Aeraga!"
SNAP!
CRACKLE!
BAM!
The swarm was crushed when the pressure inside the space I created suddenly matched that of the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
Naturally, a few stragglers escaped their fate. However, having seen what I can do, Zouken pulled them back, likely to regroup.
When the first golem had finally arrived, I was more than ready for it.
Not letting it get too close, I reach for the sky, and call out-
"Laguz!"
In a very narrow area, enforced by Laguz, instead of rain, water hailed down like bullets. Ripping the first golem to shreds. Peppering the road with marks most investigators would claim originated from machine guns.
Brushing off two of its companions with another thurisaz, I hold it in place with Nauthiz, and apply enough pressure to crush whatever internal mechanism that keeps it functioning.
Dropping it after it stopped struggling, I moved on to the next targets.
The twins I'd knocked back hadn't given up. In fact, they'd seemed to try and change tactics.
One had shifted to the right, and seemed to be trying to flank me as its brother leapt to the street lamp in preparation for an attack from the high ground.
Be very very careful Robby! It's using Yewan MacGregor tactics!
Clever girl... sad for her, I'm clever….er.
Eh, jury's still out.
"Shit..!" outflanked, I warn Tohsaka- "Coming your way!"
"You call that ten minutes?!" she exclaims once she uses some fire based attack to eliminate the straggler, and rejoins the fray.
Using a breakdown spell, I weaken the street lamp enough that it bends under its occupants' weight, bringing the enemy down to my level so that Rin could blow its head off with Gandr.
"Shooting for the stars here! Can't help it if the moon gets in the way!" I make the excuse as we fight back to back.
Seeing as it was now, or never as me and Tohsaka teamed up, Zouken sent his swarm after us.
But now with backup, I saw fit to turn down my power output to about 40% to save mana. Seeing as Rin could hold her own, I decided to relegate myself to supporting her offense.
"Where's Baeber-lite?" the twintailed Master was probably referring to Assassin as she blew apart two golems I held in place.
"Babysitting. Apparently you can't leave Saber's Master alone for ten minutes without him trying to get himself killed." I informed as I used Laguz to release the electricity from the downed street lamp, and fried a part of the bug swarm. "She'll be here."
…
"Hey, Assassin? What's your ETA?"
….
"...Assassin? ...you're cut off, aren't you?" I remember we're in Caster's field.
"Eventually. She'll be here eventually." I emphasize. I found a way in, and so, I figured, will she. "So, what's the plan here..? …You planned this attack out right?"
"Uh, of course~!" she answers nonchalantly. "Group up, and HIT THEM TILL THEY DIE!"
I pause.
"... please don't'- RIN! WHY!?"
By the great whores of Horus, she just ran in!
"Last to a hundred kills is a rotten egg!" she taunts as she's tearing into them.
"Fuck sake… (... is everyone around here out of their bloody minds!?)" I wonder as I cast an Illusion to give Rin some cover in the form of doppelgangers for the golems, and familiars to chase.
…
… why was I british for a second?
"On your left!"
Thinking fast, I pull to the right just in time to avoid a charge from-
"-Shit!"
"▇▇██!"
Something that looked like an Ivy from Resident Evil, had infected a giant gorilla.
Having its attack avoided, the creature did not take long to correct its course, and came careening back to me.
I slowed it to a crawl mid-charge with Nauthiz, but without my full power, it couldn't do any damage to the ordinary golems.
"Grrr…. Archer! Got a spare!?" I called out to the voice that had warned me.
"Why would I help you!?" he sounded busy.
"... Oh no. I'm going to die. If only there was some valiant hero here to save me…" I 'cried out' as deadpan as humanly possible.
Almost instantly, my bodies early warning instincts called out for me to duck as-
Fwoooosh!
Twack!
Clang!
The monster received a homeopathic acupuncture treatment involving at least three blades.
It wasn't dead, but the three weapons penetrating its body certainly did their damage.
"... okay, we'll be having words later!" EMIYA called out, realizing I knew him too well.
Between the three weapons available, I had a choice of a wakizashi, a western longsword, and a gladius.
Considering my training with Assassin, and by extension an eastern combat style, I made the quick decision to go with-
Bzzzzzzt-Bzzzzzzt
"It's perfect ******"
"An ideal blade for an ideal king." I tell them.
The 'ideal king' swings their newly acquired weapon about to get a feel for its weight, and likes how it feels.
They'd gotten stronger since they'd pulled ********, so it seemed best to increase the size, and weight.
… not that weight really seemed to apply to magically enhanced super people like them… but I digress…
"But… it's a shame…" they surprised me by showing some genuine emotion.
"Hm?" Did they find some fault in it I couldn't?
"I liked it when ours matched."
he-BZZZZZZT-she sounded as though something nostalgic was lost.
...if I could feel pride, I'd say that I felt like a proud father.
Bzzzzzzt-Bzzzzzzt
-the longsword for… some reason, as I tucked, and rolled when the monster got free of my power.
"▅▆▆▇▇██!" it cried out as I cut its exposed back with the projected weapon.
Since it was put off balance by the attack, I used Naudhiz to push it into the raging sea.
Apparently, it wasn't a great swimmer, as the dark tendrils of the ocean dragged it under, to never be seen again.
".."
"Thank you Satan!" I called out to Archer as I test swung the weapon.
It was lighter than expected. Likely another advantage of a projected blade.
Speaking of, I seem to have misjudged its length as it was inside the monster. In truth, it was somewhere between a longsword, and an arming sword. At somewhere around 30 inches (that rounds up to about 77cm for those of you at home that don't speak freedom), it seemed better classified as a bastard sword.
Getting my head back into the action, I assumed a one handed Kasumi no Kamae stance to engage more of the simple varieties of the enemies, while keeping one appendage free to make use of magecraft in battle.
When the first enemy attacked, I was ready and waiting.
Without much strategy, and swerving like a boneless drunk, the golem attacked.
While the thorns on its limbs proved resistant to the sword, nothing else appeared armored, so I used the blade to misdirect the golem's thrust, exposing its head to an eviction from its body that Charles-Henri Sanson could have been proud of.
Using the momentum from the attack, I repeated the action with another, and another, and another...
After about the fourth victim on my way to backing up Tohsaka, I came to understand this enemy quite well.
These… Knightshades were not a true threat to anything that could actually fight back.
True, they acted erratic, and had an unusual toolset in battle. And could be hard to keep track of when they worked together. But they were rather dimwitted, and quite… squishy (that meaning they couldn't take a lot of damage.).
I had to be literally bleeding out to need to worry about them one on one.
And with Caster too busy with Archer and Saber to direct them, there was no grand battle strategy. So it was easy to control the flow of battle, ensuring they would only ever face me one on one.
The sixth bastard had gotten either wise, or lucky though, as it twisted to avoid my counter strike.
Not content to leave an enemy to my rear, I used that momentum to pull to the left, and avoid the next enemies thrust.
Leading them on, I froze one in place for a moment with Nauthiz, and used the other's attack as the energy in a move that removed its offending limb.
Not letting go of the potential energy, I strike once again, using the currently raised blade's pommel as a bludgeon. My limbs reinforced, its 'skull' caved in.
Its partner dead, the next Knightshade had slithered across the wet ground like a water moccasin before leaping out at me.
Big Mistake.
One hand still free, I 'aided' its vertical locomotion. Causing it to overshoot its jump riiiight across the battlefield into Saber's field of vision. A place it did not last longer than a moment.
I take a second to look at the ongoing Servant battle.
Saber and Archer had seemed to be working together well enough.
Gee, I wonder why?
Anyhow, Saber was keeping the area clear so Caster, and Archer could properly duke it out. And to be frank, she seemed to be having the worst of it.
Hell, Caster didn't even seem to be paying any mind to Archer's rapid volley of blades. Using her toys as meatshields just to get shots in at Artoria.
I couldn't hear them well over the storm, but things were clearly very heated, and Saber seemed… to be having a panic attack!?
The fuck is going on over there!?
"Fuck!" was all I could award the situation.
Even if I could compete with Servants, and I can't, I can't leave Rin here.
"Tohsaka! Ask Archer what's happening with Saber!" I demand as I crush another familiar, finally beginning to feel the strain of throwing my weight around.
"Baeber's in trouble!?" Rin finally notices the problem. "I'm coming Bae!"
"Yeah! She seems to- Rin!?" I nearly lost my footing in a fight with another enemy when I noticed Tohsaka just took off. "Where'd you Run-Rin? ARRGGGHH!"
"..."
I stagger as one of the golems finally breaks my defensive line, and cuts across my chest.
I chastise myself for a lapse in focus before promising the fool pain.
Not wasting an opportunity, I grasp its overextended arm, reinforce my forehead, and headbutt the solid supporting structure in its neck. Likely smashing whatever it had in lieu cervical bones to dust.
Did she just hotfoot out of here!?
"DID SHE JUST JOJO ME!?" I scream in outrage.
"You got this hotshot!" she calls back.
Daughter of a Bastard! THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS!
Zouken found himself encouraged now that I was isolated.
Once again, the insects joined the fray, and found themselves more free to attack. Covered by the golems.
Dammit… I'm gonna need to go all out just to keep up now…
Saber needed help. Rin needs a smack upside the head. Archer…
I think he just really needs a hug, but that ain't comin' from me.
So, I needed to neutralize Zouken, and quickly.
For now though, I still had more than enough energy to keep them at bay. And ~ooooh boy~, was I pissed enough to use it.
The very air around us rippled with power as I grasped three golems by their pencil necks through magecraft, and crushed their windpipes.
Apparently they needed air. Who would've guessed?
Zouken noticed something I didn't, and shifted back. A brief look of… is that fear I saw?
At 100% power, these creatures posed no threat to me. But I couldn't keep this power up for long. In fact, I'd bet I had less than a minute left at this rate.
Knowing once that time was up, I'd be as good as worm-chow, I decide 'fuck it' and threw strategy, and subtlety ought the window.
Grabbing hold of the mana in the air, I… I don't know how I did it, I just know I probably wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't pissed off, but I end up heating the air to temperatures that would turn the rain and sleet to steam upon contact.
This bubble growing, I begin approaching the damned worm with lethal intent.
"Know this old man… this is for Sakura." I say with a predatory grin.
Yeeees… he is afraid {=
"No… Some... something like you…! You can't be here! She's already it's Avatar..." he seemed more confused about what was going on than I.
I pause, ever so briefly.
"I know not what you speak of old fool." I chuckle in amusement before becoming deadly serious, "But if you harmed that girl in any other way than what I already know, you should pray I never find out. There are worse fatesthan yours, parasite."
"You think to judge me, MONSTER!? You could never understand the pain I hath- GRRRK!"
The rotten meatsack fought to avoid totally collapsing as I multiplied the pressure.
It didn't take much. Hell, I was surprised he could withstand a slight gust of wind.
"The Devil does not judge, Zolgen. He merely punishes. And your sentence is long overdue." I surmise as his robes catch fire in the air pocket.
"C-CASTER!" the poor old man cries out.
~Oh, how sweet the music is~
"..."
Reacting just quickly enough, I raise a ward to hold off the witch's blast-
TWOOOOOSH!
Hasty as it was, it wasn't as strong as it could have been, so my elevated state staved off the worst of it.
Pushed back ten meters, I deflect the last of the energy towards the sky to meet my new challenge-
BZZZZZZZT-BZZZZZZZT
"Was it worth it?"
By now, I had run out of anger. I just had to know if someone had been satisfied by the result.
"..." they did not answer me. Scanning the charred ruins in order to ignore me.
"******. I need to know. Has this path brought you any sense of joy!? Is your outrage sated!? Your jealousy satisfied!?"
"..." still, they focused only on what they had wrought.
"A kingdom in ruins, our last hope to weather the coming storm on his deathbed, your children buried, along with the hundreds of thousands your crusade hath burned in spite. ALL wrought by your 'revolution'. WAS. IT. WORTH. IT!?"
"..." they took one last look at the scarred hills of Ca***** before they found their answer.
They turned to me with a sad, broken smile.
"You stole… everything from me, and expected no retribution, devil-spawn?" she seemed almost amused at my expense, but this wasn't funny. Not to either of us.
This was her last facade before breaking down.
Her cowl fell, and I saw the innocent face that had once seemed incapable of hate.
At least, before I got involved in her life.
And… she was right.
I ruined her life.
In many ways, I was just as responsible for this disaster as she.
"I'm not asking about me. I'm asking you, ******, are you happy now that you got what you wanted?" I ask again.
"... I didn't want this…" they finally answered.
"... no. I suppose you didn't." I accepted their response as I sat next to her.
…
…
After a while, we both just… started laughing.
"... I've really ruined everything, haven't I?" they find some dark, self deprecating humor to all this.
"... well, maybe not everything… " I lost my good mood at that, and took responsibility. "It was… my choice that took yours away. And… I'll never be capable of suffering enough to pay for that."
"... no. You won't.'
SHLCK
I gazed down at the dagger protruding from my ribs.
"But I could sleep a little easier… if you died by my hands." their voice grew cold as they got up to leave.
"... as could I." I said something generally surprising to my 'killer'.
"Hm… then… perhaps that prison is enough." she wonders as I begin to fade.
BZZZZZZT-BZZZZZZT
SHLCK
I barely reacted when the golems had stabbed right through my body.
"...."
"..." I hung my head in defeat.
"..." Caster stood above me, pondering something.
"****!?" someone… shouted in the distance.
"Well… hasn't this been an interesting evening…" the woman chuckled in a sultry tone.
"..." I… I tried moving… but my body had just shut down.
"Saber-SABER! Don't let her get to you!" I… I think that was Archer?
"Caster. We… we have to go, he-he's-"
"Be Silent." her harsh command caught him off guard, "He's helpless in his state."
She smirked sadistically at this notion.
"That's right… you don't even remember yet, do you?" she asked rhetorically, brushing my cheek with her gloved hand. "That's okay sweet. Because all you'll have to do is watch as I do what you never could."
"I'm going to save the world."
I finally looked up at the enemy, and the facade was ever so briefly dropped.
Deep blue eyes stared into my very soul-
-actually, she could probably do exactly that.
An ever so familiar visage found something very amusing at my expense.
Like… something out of a forgotten dream.
"And you're going to live to see it this time." she made such a thing sound like a threat as-
BZZZZZZZZZZZT
PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN
"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHH!" I couldn't focus as foreign mana pulsed through my body, concentrated in my head.
Suffice to say, it felt like she just smacked me upside the head with a spiked baseball bat.
"But it's too early for you to find that power. No doubt summoning your Servant set it loose long before you were ready to control it again." she surmised on the nature of… something. "This world's magecraft makes for a fascinating study… but it's not completely compatible with our way of doing things."
PAINPAINPAIN
"Wh-What did you do-!? ARRRRGGHHH!"
"Saved your life." she answered simply, proud of herself, "As you are, that power would have consumed you before long. And that Just. Won't. Do. Not for anyone. So, I repaired the mental barriers keeping it in check. So, no more outbursts from you. By the time you've regained the discipline to release, and control it, it will be far too late."
"Who… are you?" as the pain begins to subside, I try to focus on information gathering.
She almost answers when her smile drops, and she notices something in the distance, behind me.
"Caster! It's here!" the old magus shouted in a full blown panic.
"Yes, I'm aware you senile old meatsack." she seemed to have run out of patience with him, "I was counting on-!"
FWOOOOOSH!
"Stand back!" Saber seemed to finally snap out of her stupor and came to my rescue, swinging her blade in a wide motion to ward Caster off, "I know not how you got here, but you will bring no further harm to this era!"
Leaping back, Caster didn't seem too threatened by Saber getting herself involved again.
"Don't be too upset Saber, we both know at least he had this coming for a while." she found something about this amusing again as she scolded Arthu-Artoria.
"No, I will get upset about this Caster. What are you doing here!? I thought we were cool now!?" Saber sounded more annoyed than anything else.
"Well… we are. It's nothing personal-" she stopped herself, and chuckled, "Okay, even I wouldn't believe that. Yes, there is a degree of catharsis and… perhaps nostalgia in this. But really, you're just in my way again-"
FWOOOOOSH!
CLANG!
Caster's monologue is cut short as she draws a baleful black blade from her robes to deflect Archer's twin swords.
"Okay, rude." Caster pouted.
"Are you here to talk, or fight Caster?" Archer challenged.
"(Always thought they were the same thing…)" I mumble under my breath as I regain my wits, and stand again.
"..."
I look around for the projected blade I had dropped at some point. Apparently it didn't last long after it'd been lost, as some nearby fading blue particles could attes-
"...guys, what's wrong with the barrier?" I make something clearly wrong known to the group.
Yeah, er… some… thing was tearing its way in here… that did not look good.
"...guys?" I look around, seeing them arguing with Caster about… male privilege-what?
"Look, you're not wrong, but you're missing the point-" Saber sounded defensive.
"You don't have a point to make!" Caster exclaimed.
"Yes! Yes I bloody well do!" Artoria objected.
"No you "bloody well" don't!" Caster respond intelligently.
"Er… Saber, now is not the time to-" I try to interject
"When WILL it be time then!?" Rin seemed aggravated about… whatever this is.
… guess it's on me for not paying attention for two seconds.
"No, Rin I'm not talking about this-!" I gesture to this…
Distraction?
"-distraction!"
"See, what'd I tell you?" Caster egged her on.
"Wha- no! You shut up- I'm trying to-"
"Ex-FUCKING-scuse you!?" Rin exclaimed, getting up in my face before turning to Artoria, "Okay, Baeber- we're gonna need a rain check on that block-bust and chill, Warpath Rin's gonna check some privilege!"
"Do you even have a VCR?" Archer interjected, "I seem to recall you don't…"
"(Fuck it), CTHULU'S HERE!" I point out the ascended being in the room.
And finally, everyone pays attention to…
BZZZZZZT
BZZZZZT
BZZZZZT
"!"
…
…
… er...
"What… the fuck isthat?" Rin finally put it into words.
….
".."
I turn around.
… nothing.
Strange… something was…
No. I was hearing things.
…
…
".."
No! Something is definitely breathing!
It was strained, like they were having problems with the action. But… why would-
"..."
"Show yourself!" I demand.
"Fou!" The squirrel creature seems to have noticed it too.
Again silence.
"Define Real."
I ready to defend myself.
…
"(yer startin' ta lose it rob…)" I let my guard down for a moment, and sig-
Gandr ready in hand, I point at the place I swear the shadows move.
I make it to the gate before I take one more look back.
…
"..."
I know.
I know, we were being watched.
With that, we left the temple behind.
"That's… the shadow… from the temple…" I recognize it… somehow.
Despite space itself being… distorted by its very presence.
Oh no, someone's corrupted Pot of Greed!
Be very very careful! Nobody knows what it does!
Oddly enough, what I was most surprised by was this… this sense of eerie beauty about it. Like some ancient leviathan of the deep sea.
Fight or flight kicked in.
Something… wasn't right about this thing…
It had no eyes… but something was staring back at me. Something… hungry.
Knowing I wouldn't stand a chance in a direct fight, I look to the Servants to gauge their responses in order to figure out whether to fight, or run.
Saber looked like a deer in the headlights. About as unsure as I was in regards to whether it was wise to fight this battle.
Archer on the other hand…
"NOPE!"
...was already gone.
"A-Archer!? GET BACK HERE!" Rin ordered. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"
"I CHOOSE LIFE!"
He shouted, disappearing into spirit form, leaving us with this mess.
Knowing his past… one could assume he knows what this is.
Making his reaction all the more… y'know, terrifying.
"(Don't. Move. A. Muscle. It's vision. Is based. On movement.)" I warn those around me, hoping the reference would hold true.
"Yeah, about that-" Caster-
Just disappeared with Zouken in a flurry of black feathers.
Before I could say anything to the event, The Shadow began to shift in response, and focus its attention on-
"(Aw, sonuvabitch…)" Rin began backing away-
"Shit-! GET DOWN!" I reacted barely in time for the dark tendrils to come shooting out at-
FWOOOOSH
BZZZZZZZT-BZZZZZZZZT
pain
Pain
Pain
Wrong…
It's staring back at me...
Pain Pain…
Pain… Pain…
Broken…. Hungry….
But… I won't blink.
Pain
Pain
Because… I know it's not wrong.
Wrong…
Pain Pain…
Pain… Pain…
Broken…. Hungry…. Wrong…
Pain Pain…
Though formless, and… thoughtless… only the most base of intent.
Pain… Pain…
It's broken…. it's hungry….
kill me…
It… looked like…
Like….
Me?
"F-f-fck- 'ack'!"
I… stumbled back as the tendril violently retracted itself from my body
My blood… sprayed across the ground… and the girl my body blocked from this fate…
"Huh… well…" I remark, almost composed, as I hold my gut. Trying to contain the innards, "Er… okay… nothing some duct tape and elbow crease can't fix, eh?"
"Why...why would you…" Rin seemed surprised about something.
You did just take a bullet for someone you met a weekago.
"Well… 'ack' 'gah'!" I can't finish the sentence as I cough up more blood.
In the end, I trip backwards but a few feet but-
creeeee...
The dented railing gave way-
"s-SHIT!"
SPLASH!
WOOOOOSH!
-and I took the plunge into the dark sea.
The raging saltwater dug itself into the wound, making fighting it impossible.
I still struggled to rise above it, but I couldn't find the power.
After what Caster did… my mana just seemed to disappear. I couldn't reinforce my muscles.
In less than a minute, my fight began to die down, and my lungs began to fill with water.
Oddly enough… I wasn't that afraid of drowning.
I guess I've come so close to death so many times this week… I guess I've acclimated to it.
… huh. How 'bout that.
I'd say that wasn't good if the alternative was being terrified out of my mind right now.
Knowing no one was really in a position to save me at the moment-
Company policy does require that I point out there is a way out of this you haven't considered.
A rather… commanding method?
…
…
...?
...it's like dealing with Joey on a bad day….
My adventures over the last couple days flashed before my eyes.
(BGM: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You)
I recall the time Okita 'killed' Heracles.
Three strikes.
Three strikes, and time itself was defied once more.
The Monster let out no sign of acknowledgement. It remained where it stood. Having ceased moving mid-swing of its mighty weapon, hovering in front of… just Shirou?
Saber stared shocked at the development from the ground she had been pushed to. Her Master having been ready to sacrifice himself to save her was strange enough… but… why had the giant stopped?
Almost in answer, Assassin declared the name of her famous technique.
"Mumyou SANDAN-ZUKI!"
Three marks appeared on the Monster. At precisely the same moment.
Three marks, and the light in its eyes died. Blood spilling from its back, and neck. Its head barely held on by a scrap of flesh, and skin.
All was still. None had expected the Assassin Servant to deliver such a blow to the mighty Berzerker.
That time I, against all odds, fought a fully fledged magus to a standstill…
Because, even though I promised to fight to the bitter end, that end would not be today!
CRACKA-BOOOOOM!
The rune grenade set at the base of the water tower went off.
FWOOOOSH!
The water was set free from its container, and swept up an unsuspecting twintailed Magus-
"Oh, CRAPBASKEEEeee!"
Oh, she says that too?
-still, she could reinforce herself. She'll live, but you can bet it's gonna bruise.
Me? I can only hope I timed this right-!
"OKITA!"
I called on her halfway to the ground-
"I got you!"
THOOOM!
SWOOOSH!
I nearly got whiplashed by the sudden shift in direction.
But sure enough, Okita had caught me.
"Okita, thanks for the save!" I thanked her before-
SHATTER!
We tumbled through the window of a neighboring building.
Or that time I learned how to use frigging magic- like actual magic- in under a month.
"Define Real!"
And like that, my body lit the fuck up.
Like I was daring the world to tell me what could be true, I remade what was true on a small level. Both, a small defiance of the truth of the world, and a command to myself to define what I could do for myself.
By feeling through the connection between me and Okita, I felt the manner in which magical energy flowed through me, and into her. That basically cut down days, or potentially weeks worth of inner searching into less than an hour to find my circuits.
Through that, I took control of the energy within me, allowing Mana to trickle into my body, and began controlling the reaction of Mana, and Od like a combustion engine (the image I used as a trigger), and then passed the resulting Prana through the Gandr rune which caused a small black orb to form before my index finger, which was firmly pointed at-
'Shatter!'
What was now a bunch of shattered glass.
"...Whoa." The idea that I did that was simply mind-blowing.
Granted, I think I didn't actually break the thing. I just sort of blew it off the stand, and knocked it to the floor, where it shattered. But hey! Progress!
"Master! Are you o-... oh." Okita came by, rushing by with concern after hearing the glass shatter.
"Y-Yeah! Never better!" I cannot truly describe how life changing the idea of being able to perform magic can be. "I think… I think there is some hope for me."
"See? What I tell you?" she said in an 'I told you so' tone. "Think you're ready to start summoning dango from thin air yet?" she continued in a joking manner.
"Let's hope… just gotta find the "summoning sweets" section of the text… although that might be a subsection of graduation air… food for thought (heh, more puns), you think someone might be able to use projection magic to make snacks? It would literally be zero calories! You could eat forever, and all the food would disappear once you wanted it gone!" Hm… might have to run that by Shirou when we do meet.
"'Heh', definitely worth looking into…
That time I met King Arthur.
PAIN!
I felt pain.
WHAM!
PAIN!
"((Quiet sounds of excruciating pain))'' There was a sense of great delirium for what felt like ages.
"s-she kicked me in the dick..? why..? why would she kick me in the dick…?"
Okay… maybe that time did not go quite so well…
Well… at least the first meeting I had with a hero went well…
I try to open my eyes. Its… It's so blurry. I think… is there someone there? There's definitely a figure.
"A** **u ok*y?" I focus in.
"I.. I think so… W-what happened?" everything clears u-
It's a girl.
A really cute girl.
And she's real close to me.
…
Ah. Social anxiety. You're back! Now with added hormones!
She was Japanese. Although she also seemed to have short, unkempt, platinum blonde hair, but with a touch of pink held together a the back by a black ribbon. Were… were those silver eyes? She was wearing one of those japanese dresses… Kimono was it?
"Ah good. I was actually starting to worry my master died within five seconds of summoning me. That definitely wouldn't look good on Okita-san." She says both relieved, and scoldingly at… herself? Is she speaking in the third person?
"Ah... um… right… wait. d-did… did you say m-master?" I stuttered out.
Master? What?
"Oh! Um, right. 'Ahem'" She backs up, and clears her throat, her voice shifting to sound deeper, and put on a serious expression. "I am servant Assassin, Okita Souji. Here to answer the summons of the Grail. Tell me. Are you my master?"
…
"Wh-What?" k, so I'm confused.
"Eh?" she is suddenly very confused too. "Did I say it wrong or something?"
"Um… I don't know? H-hold up a sec. Master? What are you talking about?" I try directing this towards an actual explanation.
"Oh. I guess you were a random pick or something? Do you… not know about the Grail War? Masters? Servants?" she tries probing me for what I do know.
"I... think I get the gist of it." I say carefully. The situation I'm in starting to dawn on me.
"Ah, were all good then." She seemed relieved at this. "Then we can get to the war?"
"S-Sorry miss, just coming to terms with what I just got "volunteered" for." I admit. Kinda disappointed in myself. That was really rude of me.
"So you really are a random pick then?" She nods in understanding. "Don't worry! Assassin-san will keep her master safe! Just count on me!"
"Robert Orso… who are you?" I try the greeting, mentally slapping myself for making the greeting sound awkward.
"Oh! I'm Okita Souji. Did… you not hear me when I did the thing?" she responded, again sounding worried she might have messed something up.
"I'll trust you- No, I have absolute faith in you Assassin. Together, we'll carve a path to the end of this-!"
Yeah… I did a lot more than I thought I ever could.
And I couldn't have done it… without The Rower.
"YES YOU COULD!"
ROWER!? I thought you sacrificed yourself in the great abridging wars of 09'!?
"... what are you talking about?"
Have you come to save me in my hour of need!?
"No, I'm just here as an oxygen-deprived hallucination."
Quick! Use your siren-like voice to call for help!
"No."
But- you're awesome!
"I- I just row man…"
Wait a minute… somethings coming down here… it worked! You never cease to blow it out of the water man!
"You're dying."
Ha! With The Rower by my side, I could never lose!
"Bye."
Like that, the voice in my head popped out of existence as a darkened shadow approached from above…
W-Wait… is that… Rin?
ENGLISH "This Illusion" Fate/Stay Night (Akane Sasu Sora)
DUN-DUN
DUN-DUN
TAIGA-DOJO!
"Is Tristan's voice a dick in real life?" Sensei asked Brad Pitt.
"Kyes." the Pharaoh held nothing back.
Well, looks like we're done here.
Anyone got any passing remarks?
"Uh… yeah, what the heck happened? Orso wasn't half this good three chapters ago, how'd he go all-" Student #1 made a bunch of hand motions resembling karate.
"And why was he acting so out of character in the beginning? He seemed a lot… older?" Tiger pointed out.
"Does this Author have any jokes that aren't references?" the cameo asked.
All in good time my friends, all in good time.
However, in the meantime, well, that's the mystery, isn't it?
No spoilers.
Oh, by the way, thanks for stealing the show "Brad".
"''swat I do." he responded, simply.
