A/N: Let's do this right.
NieR: Automata - Grandma - Destruction (Metal cover by FalKKonE, original composed by Kuniyuki Takahashi and Keiichi Okabe)
Seiko and Jinta dove in opposite directions to avoid being crushed to death. Artorias' corrupted sword smashed bricks to dust when he landed, but his attack missed them both.
Seiko struggled to get to her feet again after her roll, but Jinta was already up, chanting, and running around behind Artorias. Artorias shifted his stance to swing backhanded at Jinta, but the deliberate nature of the build-up let Jinta flip deftly over the attack. He landed slightly off balance and lost his prayer, but was still able to rejoin Seiko.
Seiko was using her katana to hold herself up, and was visibly sweating. She looked ready to collapse any second. As Jinta approached, she'd used her other hand to drink Estus but found it hardly helped at all. Now that they stood side by side again, Artorias transitioned his last attack into an uppercut. His blade nearly scraped over the bricks before curving up.
Seiko fell back when she tried to step away, while Jinta was able to hop back and keep his footing. The wind from the attack blew dust into the air and forced a chill to come over Jinta. He gripped his talisman tightly and started chanting again, but Artorias didn't let up. He let the force of his uppercut transition into a spinning step, and stabbed right at Jinta to impale him. Jinta swayed to the right and low, taking the tension out of his knees to do so. He twisted like a cat to put his free hand on the bricks and keep himself from falling over, then pushed himself back up and stumbled over Seiko.
Standing over her, Jinta cast Force when Artorias attacked again. The blast pushed Artorias back a step and kept his sword from cutting Jinta in half at the waist. Jinta blew out a breath for focus and again tried to chant a heal. This time, he rattled out only his most basic healing miracle, just so Seiko would be able to put up some kind of fight. He finished his prayer, the magic left his body, and he drew a sword in his right hand in time to put it between himself and Artorias' sword.
Jinta was thrown across the arena, ribs broken against his own sword since he was too weak to block the attack. Between the flat of his blade and the chainmail under his white cloth outfit, though, he was at least alive for the moment.
Seiko, feeling some of her strength return, flipped to her feet without her sword.
"Jinta! I'll buy you-"
She jumped over Artorias as he attacked her, twisting in the air to land on her feet and still be facing him - a moonsault.
"-I'll buy time! Bountif-"
She dropped to the ground on the tips of her toes and palms of her hands, as flat as could be as fast as possible, to get under Artorias' turning attack.
"Bountiful Sunlight!"
She popped up and threw two simple Fireballs at Artorias, one out of each hand. She started backpeddling while Artorias ran after her.
He won't attack without good footing. It's slowing him down, but even one solid hit and I'm dead! He couldn't have been that simple a fighter… Could he?
Artorias suddenly stopped, which caused his broken arm to flail upward. It flew almost straight up, as if Artorias had meant to do it, and black sludge flew from the gaps in the armor. Whatever it was, it pelted Seiko and knocked her over. It was heavy, she noticed, but she was able to roll over and get on her feet again. She batted most of it away with one hand while brandishing a Fire Whip with the other to try and keep Artorias out of range.
It didn't work, as he ignored the flames, took a big step until his shoulders were squared perpendicular with Seiko, and slammed his sword down with nearly every muscle in his body behind the swing. It was swift and smooth, dividing her flames and crushing the bricks where she'd been standing as she barely got out of the way. Her short hop did little to break her form, however. She whipped the gold-hemmed robes off from around her neck and threw them in Artorias' face.
As Artorias tried to bat the robes out of the way, Seiko briefly used Power Within to take a step forward, jump, and plant both her feet firmly on his chest in a drop kick. Artorias flew off of his feet backward and Seiko plopped to the ground. As her robes fluttered to the bricks between them, Jinta finally appeared by her side and cast Bountiful Sunlight.
"There! Now go get your sword and let's find a way to finish this!"
Seiko clenched her left fist and lit that arm on fire briefly. Her strength was quickly returning.
"Got it. Any ideas?"
"Yeah! Find a way to stop his movement! Cut his tendons! Something! I can heal him later if I have to!"
Without another word, Seiko ran for her sword. Artorias was up, but he saw Jinta first. He jumped, flipped, and slammed down his sword. Jinta dodged backward, but Artorias repeated the attack. Jinta dove aside, Artorias landed, and Jinta was barely quick enough to see the third hit coming. Artorias twisted his body in place and flipped forward a third time, a distorted roar of effort accompanying the extra strength he had to use to redirect his momentum.
Seiko stopped between the two knights and slashed with her katana to intercept the blow. An aerial attack wouldn't have Artorias' strength behind it, just his weight and momentum. Seiko didn't reason that so much as act on that assumption, and successfully deflected the blow to land beside her and Jinta. It put her and Artorias face to face again.
Seiko let go of her sword with one hand, her right hand, to snap a Great Combustion between them. The blast of fire had no physical presence and seemed to do almost nothing to the knight staring her down from inside the darkness of his helm. Seiko was briefly shocked - she'd gotten used to her flames innately having weight to them because of the Abyss - but it was long enough for Artorias to smash the pommel of his sword into her solar plexus, just under her ribs.
Seiko lost all the air in her lungs and couldn't breath properly, but Artorias wasn't done. He hit her again, in the center of her sternum, broke it, and threw her onto her back with the force. Jinta was there in front of him instead now, swords drawn, and he unleashed a flurry of strikes against Artorias. Artorias flicked the tip of his sword up, scratching Jinta's breastplate, then stepped forward and stabbed in.
Jinta swayed aside and parried with his left sword, slashing Artorias from his left hip to his right shoulder. He stepped past Artorias and slashed both swords across Artorias' chest, then continued in that direction to get some distance. He turned to continue attacking, but suddenly stumbled back in a panic.
Artorias was pulling more of the Abyss into his body, and it was displacing bricks and swirling around him as a black miasma. Artorias let out a groan and his whole body shook. Jinta saw the rents in Artorias' armor fill with the black sludge he'd thrown at Seiko.
Seiko was up and she rejoined Jinta.
"I don't think my Pyromancy will do much. I can use Power Within to try and match his strength, but he's still got more than me. I could use Iron Flesh, but I'm not too good with Carmina's other techniques and I don't know if that would save me anyway."
"You? I've got one major cast left after how this started! I can throw some bolts, but what if I kill him?"
"Jinta… It's not even him anymore. He's-"
Artorias yelled and jumped in the air. The miasma followed him, Abyss gathering, and he shot through the air as if fired from a cannon. Seiko and Jinta dodged away, but they were separated again.
"I have an idea!" yelled Jinta.
Artorias shook to whip his limp arm at Jinta and spray sludge at him. Jinta avoided the attack and kept yelling to Seiko.
"Acid Surge for me!"
Seiko ran at Artorias and scraped the tip of her katana on the bricks. The noise drew his attention and he slashed at her backhanded, twisting his hips to put all the force he could behind it. Seiko blocked, her katana in her left hand, point down, with her right forearm behind it to support it. She stopped the blow after her boots scraped over the bricks a few centimeters.
Inside Jinta's helmet, his jaw dropped. He saw Seiko breathe deep so he quickly said his last safe prayer of the fight: Great Magic Barrier.
Seiko breathed out, releasing the copper cloud of mist and jumped clear. She rolled her right shoulder and shook out her hand, watching as Jinta stepped in to fight. She could see the white streaks the tips of his blessed swords left as they crisscrossed the air inside the cloud, and Artorias' sword emerged from the cloud a few times as he tried to counter.
Jinta jumped clear of the cloud a few seconds later, some of the mist clinging to his form as he exited the mist, but it dissipated with the rest of it soon after. His barrier faded out too, but the damage was done. Artorias took a shaky step to turn and was riddled with small cuts and stab wounds. The acid didn't seem to have done much until Seiko noticed the sludge that had plugged his injuries was dripping from him like ink or blood.
Even still, Artorias wasn't breathing hard or seem exhausted. He clenched his sword in his fist, shook as every muscle in his body tensed, and he roared a quick outcry accompanied by a burst of power.
"That's it for me… I can't cast again like that…"
"Then leave him to me and go rest or something! I still need your help!"
She ran in as Artorias started to charge in too, leaving Jinta to make his own decision. As it was, Jinta felt burned out. Physically, he was fine, but it was hard to focus and keep a train of thought anymore. He decided to go with her idea and back off. He took a second to fully take in his surroundings… And saw how he would turn the tables.
Zaubrei and Artorias clashed, both swinging and locking blades. The Moonlight Greatsword gave off a blue aura, almost like a barrier, giving Zaubrei the strength to meet Artorias' strike.
"You poor fool," said Zaubrei. "I will preserve your legend, noble hero. But first…"
Zaubrei pulled his sword with him as he stepped aside and loosed a shockwave from the Moonlight Greatsword. The wave of magic exploded on Artorias' chest and caused a miasma of the Abyss to waft from him away from the blast.
"First I need to put you down so you don't ruin it yourself…"
A/N: Battle of BRS - Ryo, Okiya Ohkoshi
Seiko and Artorias clashed, swords biting into one another. Seiko used Power Within to hold her ground, but she very quickly began to lose. Artorias' darkened helm seemed to stare at her as if just the look could kill her. She took a step back and twisted, redirecting Artorias' sword into the ground and freeing her own to slash across his chest. The attack opened most of his broken arm's bicep, revealing it to be empty.
Her sword now only in her right hand, Seiko thrust her left palm forward. She released a physical Great Combustion and forced Artorias to stumble. She stepped past Artorias, turned, and slashed the rest of the way through his broken arm. The armor fell to the stone and crumpled into a metal ball, as if under extreme pressure. Artorias seemed unphased by losing his arm, turning to slash at her waist and shifting his feet to put power behind the strike.
Seiko flipped over the slash in a cartwheel, never touching the ground. It was a tighter move than normal with the weight of her sword, but superhuman nonetheless, and it put her nearly behind Artorias. She slashed at his back, but he blocked completely blind before kicking her in the chest. Seiko nearly fell back, but managed to keep her footing as Artorias turned to face her. His turn, however, was its own attack. He spun in place, twice, holding out his sword. Seiko wasn't hit, but she could feel the wind of the attack flow past her.
Seiko saw the purpose too late as Artorias pulled back his sword and thrust it at Jinta. Jinta was entering the colosseum again, swords drawn, and Artorias slid over the ground on slimy Abyss to attack him. Jinta slid under the attack in full sprint and used both swords to cut through Artorias' tricep on his way past. He was up and running to Seiko in the next instant, smoothly transitioning from sprint to slide and back to sprint. He got to her side and they had a second before Artorias could attack again from that distance.
"There's a bonfire just outside. I'm good to go again and I have a plan. We need to get him near the wall, then get him off balance."
Artorias pulled more Abyss out of the ground while they spoke. Jinta took the chance to cast Soothing Sunlight, then he backed up a bit, leaving Seiko out in front. Artorias jumped from the edge of the arena to the center where Seiko was, stabbing his sword into the ground when he landed. He kicked at Seiko when she dodged, but she blocked the kick this time. Artorias' head snapped to Jinta and he stabbed at Jinta again, sliding over the ground.
Jinta sidestepped the blow, got in close, and used Force. The blast tossed Artorias a short way through the air and into the colosseum wall. Jinta started to sprint toward Artorias, but Seiko was faster. She blew past him, trailing mist from Power Within and a deadly serious look on her face. Artorias recovered and flipped forward to crush her under his sword. Seiko stopped on a dime and raised her guard, stopped the blow, took a step, pushed it back and loosed Great Combustion from her mouth in a war cry.
Jinta didn't have time to be awed by the move, he was too busy running his talisman over the sword in his right hand. The blade glowed like the afternoon sun and Jinta stepped in past Seiko to stab Artorias in the stomach. Artorias' whole body shivered from the lightning in the blade and light flashed from all the gaps in his armor.
Jinta ripped his arming sword out and spun past Artorias. Artorias tried to turn and follow him to attack but Seiko reached up and grabbed the lip of his cuirass, yanking him toward her and stabbing him through the thickest part of his arm. Jinta jumped, pushed off the wall, twisted, and slashed through Artorias' neck with his sword. The strike barely went over Seiko's head and Jinta landed off balance… But the fight was surely over.
Seiko pulled her sword from Artorias' arm and the knight began to collapse. He stabbed his greatsword into the ground, through the solid bricks, and Abyss smoke began to leak out of his body. The armor all over his body started to dent inward loudly, like he was at the bottom of a trench in the ocean. He heaved a great sigh, and Seiko and Jinta would swear they heard him speak.
"Thank… you…"
Jinta passed Artorias' soul to Seiko as soon as it came to him. She manifested it in her hand. Unlike the Lord Souls, or any other they had seen, it was purple and had the white outline of a Humanity sprite.
"I think… I think we should keep this a secret as best we can. Artorias clearly fought hard to finish this. He deserves to be recognized for that, at least."
Seiko closed the soul in her fist and nodded her agreement. She walked over to retrieve her gold-hemmed robes. She bent, grabbed them, and straightened up to see a figure standing within arm's reach in front of her. She jumped back, katana in her left hand and up to fight, robes in her right hand.
The figure wore a white mask with a third eye and a dark blue robe with armor strapped over it. It was clearly a woman, and she appeared to be unarmed. Her eyes seemed to glow inside the mask, and her features were somehow hidden in the shadow of it despite the arena being well lit by the noontime sun.
"You two fight well together," she said, keeping still to avoid provoking Seiko. "But I'll be needing that soul."
"Who exactly are you to demand that from us?" said Jinta, walking up beside Seiko, swords drawn.
"I was a close friend to him, and that's all you need to know."
"What do you plan to do with his soul, even if we did just surrender it to you?" asked Seiko.
"I suppose it would be easier for you to let me have it if you knew who I was, but I will not identify myself without first knowing who you are. You are warriors outside time, as clearly as Chester. I sense The Dark hanging about you from your journey to this era."
"I am Jinta, of Astora."
"Seiko."
"Come now, there must be more to the both of you than that. What harm would more information be?"
"For all we know, you're some kind of sorceress who gains strength from knowledge of her enemies," said Seiko. "I've met mages who could relive my memories, and seen men driven mad by the wrong information."
The woman held up her hands slightly to show they were empty.
"I hold no spellcaster's implement, and know no magic. I am a simple knight who serves her Lord, nothing more."
Jinta spoke up first, hoping Seiko would take his lead.
"I am Jinta, of Astora, Paladin of the Way of White, follower of an outer god, and son to Estella and Virgil. We seek to stop the spread of the Abyss in Artorias' place and save Princess Dusk before returning to our own journey of keeping the First Flame perpetually lit."
"Short and to the point. Thank you, Paladin Jinta. And you? Your Pyromancy is unlike any I've seen before. You used techniques from Izalith, but that mist is new to me. You also appeared to modify your style mid-combat. You are clearly a great master of Pyromancy."
"I am Seiko. My name was given to me by Quelaana of Izalith in my time, and she taught me the ways of Pyromancy. I learned directly from the Fair Lady of Izalith to use Chaos Pyromancy, and her retainer, Eingyi, taught me to use mists. One of the mages I mentioned earlier told me I was the daughter of Artorias and Ciaran, but there's no mention of me anywhere despite them being historical figures."
The woman lowered her hands to join them in front of her stomach. She took a deep breath, then reached up to take off her mask.
"I," she said, "Am Ciaran, The Lord's Blade. And there will be no record of our child, because I intend to abandon my duties now that he is dead, so that I can be a proper mother."
There was a pause, so Jinta and Seiko had time to recover from their shock.
"I see the child will grow into quite a powerful soul herself. We had already chosen your name, you know. If it was a boy-"
"Please," interrupted Seiko, "Don't tell me that. I don't remember you or the life I lived with you. After I was afflicted with the curse, I went to the Undead Asylum to await what I can only assume was the 'prophecy' that would let me end the curse. But in my waiting, I lost hope, and began to Hollow. I was nearly completely gone before finally leaving on my journey. I don't know my old name, where I'm from, how I grew up, or why I went to the Asylum."
Ciaran listened quietly, but she was clearly holding her words, mouth held shut until her lips were a thin line.
"At Quelaana's word, I visited Ingward, a Sealer of New Londo. He examined my memories and let me decide if I wanted them back, but I chose to leave my old self in the past and move forward as I am now. That didn't stop me from seeing flashes of my past, though. I don't think I was ever sad, but I was lonely sometimes. I know I traveled far to reach the Asylum, and I stayed there of my own free will, because I was too strong for the place to truly hold me."
Ciaran put her mask back on.
"How long," she asked, "Did you travel, my daughter? Could you tell?"
"It had to be months," said Seiko, almost apologetic. "But I can't know for sure, I'm sorry."
"No," said Ciaran. "That's plenty. There are only two safe places for me in this world with Artorias dead. Only one is so far away. I will finish what I must do here, then travel. Thank you."
"Here," said Seiko. She held out Artorias' soul.
Ciaran took it from her, then produced weapons from out of her outfit, hidden perfectly before that moment. The Gold and Silver Tracers, legendary weapons that had been lost.
"Take these, please," she said. "I won't need them anymore."
Seiko draped her robes over her shoulder, then held up her hand to refuse.
"I couldn't. I'd break them."
"But-"
"This sword is made from the greatswords of two Black Knights that guarded Lord Gwyn in the Kiln. I have the strength of a monster, and I'm not the best at controlling it yet."
"Take them, regardless. I'll never raise them again, myself. I'd rather you have them than see them passed around from warrior to warrior as the spoils of many duels to come."
Seiko reversed her grip on her katana and stabbed it into the stone at her feet, then took the two odd blades. Ciaran also gave her a belt that would carry them, to hang from the waist. Ciaran also drew more blades, daggers infused with Titanite, from other places on her person.
"Don't think me defenseless without them, but they deserve to be wielded by someone… Less broken in spirit…"
Seiko set the Tracers and belt down, then stepped up to hug Ciaran. Her mother, still holding the daggers, was taken off guard for a moment. She dropped the daggers to hug back and Seiko could feel her take a shaky breath, trying not to sob.
"Have hope, mother. Things will get better, now."
Jinta picked up the daggers Ciaran had dropped. "We'll see to that," he said.
The two women parted and Jinta handed Ciaran her daggers. Seiko put her robes around her shoulders again and pulled up the hood, hiding her long hair in it like always. She strapped the Tracers to her waist on their own belt.
"Before you go, you must know more," said Ciaran.
"Let's go sit by the bonfire I found. I know it won't do much for you, but we're Undead… And, I don't about Seiko, but I'm exhausted… Physically and mentally."
-Oolacile Township-
Ciaran told them what she knew about Artorias' fight toward the Abyss. Jinta told her, as best he could while keeping back information that might cause her to try and influence the future, about what they had done so far.
"It must have been hard for you two, even together, to complete such a task. I don't imagine death is very pleasant to experience, given my own memories of mortal pain. I'm no Undead, and so my time is limited to just this life. I wish I could give you something to go on when you return to your time, but, sadly, I have no idea how you'll keep the flame lit.
As you could probably tell, Artorias did not escape the Abyss. It sent him away - to do what, I don't know - and I pursued him ever since he emerged. I was waiting for the right moment to strike him down myself, but… I let my hesitation get the best of me and he managed to elude me. I found him again because of your battle.
Whatever happened to him, he lost the use of his left arm and his shield is gone. Sif is nowhere to be seen as well. Between Artorias' great will and his enchanted shield, he was able to press on, but… Something horrible must have happened that turned the tides against him."
"Sif is still alive," said Seiko. "I met him in my time."
"If that's true, he won't last much longer on his own. Please, even if you can't stop the Abyss, save Sif."
"Of course. We should hurry, then."
Seiko stood up, and Jinta with her, but Ciaran had one more thing to say.
"For you to have Hollowed and suffered like you have… I can't help but feel responsible. I know I'll do everything I can to prepare you for this world. I'm sorry that wasn't enough."
Seiko looked down at her mother, who still wore her mask and was looking into the bonfire.
"It was enough," said Seiko. "I wouldn't have made it this far without the muscle memory, raw strength, and willpower I received from you. My memories might be gone, but the impressions they left on my self remain. My Pyromancy gives that away, if nothing else. It is a reflection of the self, after all."
Seiko, still in the bonfire's aura, drew on her full strength, Power Within and all, and raised her right hand straight up, palm to the sky. A swirling pillar of blue flame with white tongues erupted from her hand into the sky. The bonfire visibly dimmed from feeding her so much strength at once, but it only helped her recover from the effort. The power displayed was all her own.
Seiko closed her fist to stem the flames. She lowered her hand, then opened it to reveal her healing Pyromancy instead.
"I don't have perfect control yet," she continued, "But I'm adaptable and strong. I'm sure you taught me well. You let me be happy, you let me feel alone, and you knew I left for a long journey. The good is just as valuable as the bad, I think. And I think you know that too. Don't blame yourself. I'm sure I always loved you, and I do now, too."
She closed her fist again, popping the small bubble of soothing flame. She turned and started down the stairs, to continue into the collapsing city of Oolacile. Jinta bowed slightly to excuse himself and followed her.