Fate/Kyon's Order: Arcueid's Arrival
A Haruhi Suzumiya & Fate/Grand Order Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Part 12- Madness And Sanity
Her vision was blurred, only vague shapes of rooms and hallways visible... they seemed to be drenched in red... no, blood... the blood of those who would try to take advantage of her. Something wandered into her field of vision... "Noooo... You won't... you won't have your way with me! Never AGAIN! TWIIISSST!" The humanoid figure twisted, it's upper half, then it's arms... but then she saw another figure nearby...
"...by my command spell, come to your senses!" Immediately her vision was clear, the blood red fading into wooden architecture, the woman before her...
"Master?! Suzumiya, is that you?!" Asagami Fujino gasped. She then realized who she had just twisted- the recent arrival known as Arcueid Brunestud. "Oh, no! What have I done?!"
"I'm fine...!" Arc cried out, her twisting suddenly reversing, though her expression made it clear she was in pain... "Ugh, there!" She grunted, standing to her feet, her body intact once more. "...Don't look so surprised. If I could survive getting chopped into 17 pieces, I can sure as heck survive a little twisting!"
"Good thing you jumped in front, then," Haruhi sighed. "Anyone else get twisted?"
"I'm hale and hearty as ever, Suzumiya," Kiara chuckled, the others speaking similarly.
"Do I know you? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..." Asagami mused.
"Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But that's not important right now," the Alter Ego shrugged.
"I'm guessing this floor being all twisted was your doing?" Tajima-no-kami assumed.
"Y-yes... there were men, trying to... trying to rape me, like before, in my early life... So many of them... I just... twisted them all...!" She clutched her side as the hallways began to creak ominously...
"Hey, HEY! Keep it together! Don't you dare start twisting again!" Haruhi grabbed Fujino by the shoulders, shaking her a bit.
"S-sorry..." the esper shook her head. "This place... it's messing with my head..."
"Probably not a good idea to take her with us," Ritsuka said grimly. "Do you think you could send her back to Chaldea somehow, Suzumiya?"
"Yes! Please send me back!" Fujino insisted. "If... if I lose control again...!"
"All right, I get it," Haruhi nodded. "But I need you to do me a small favor. When you get back, if there's anyone still over there, you let them know that Ritsuka and I are okay for the moment, and we're on our way to confront Beast III/L. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Master. I will pass your message along," Fujino agreed.
"Good girl. Off with you, then." With that, Asagami vanished in a flash of light. "...Okay, good, I don't sense her prana anymore. It must have worked. Arcueid, you good?"
"Yes, Master, I'm fine," the vampire nodded, having shifted to her Archetype: Earth personality once more. "Were it not for your deep mana reserves, that might have taken a bit longer to recover from..."
"Well, on the bright side, the walls being all twisted apart should make it easy to locate the stairs to the next level," Parvati pointed out.
"Then let us proceed. Our destination shouldn't be too far ahead now," Munemori stated.
"Right, let's get moving," Ritsuka nodded...
*On the next floor...*
"Dammit! Why did YOU of all people have to come back?!" Haruhi cried, her black keys barely holding the spear Vajra at bay!
"Because I wanted to show you a good time, Master," the lancer known as Vritra licked her lips. "Stop resisting and be a good girl..."
"Curses! None of our attacks seem to be having any effect!" Yagyu grunted in frustration. "What trickery is this?!"
"Hmm, yes, even my attacks seem to be useless," Kiara mused.
"Don't worry, I know what to do!" Haruhi grunted, finally shoving Vritra away. "Arcueid, use your Marble Phantasm to cover her in seafoam!"
"Wait, what?!" Vritra took a step back.
"I don't understand, but as you wish," Archetype: Earth obeyed, holding out her hand, a wall of seafoam engulfing the Dragon of Drought!
"Now, Tajima-no-kami!" Ritsuka ordered.
"As you command," the saber nodded, taking hold of the hilt of his sheathed katana. "Kenjutsu Musō - Kenzen Ichinyo." In an instant, he was behind Vritra with his sword unsheathed, blood spurting from the lancer's body! "It is done."
"Guh... Well done..." Vritra grunted, falling to her knees as she began to glow. "A final word of advice, Master... without true love at your side... the Beast will... consume you..." With that, she collapsed to golden dust and vanished.
"True love... as opposed to the lust and decadence Kama is trying to lure us into," Parvati mused.
"I think she was talking about Kyon," Haruhi said. "I hope we can find him soon..."
"Strange how she gave you advice, despite her earlier betrayal..." Archetype: Earth pondered.
"I think she wanted us to beat her," Ritsuka pointed out. "She didn't bother to transform into her true form, after all..."
"So she was only going through the motions, was she?" Kiara concluded. "Perhaps she simply disliked not being top dog, so to speak..."
"It matters little now. We must press on," Munemori insisted.
"Alright, let's go," Ritsuka nodded, turning and walking off... but soon running into twin mounds of flesh, a pair of slender feminine arms encircling him! "Mmmmph?!"
"Oh, how sweet of you to come right into my arms," came the unmistakable voice of Kama, though it was slightly lower and more sinister than before.
"Kama?!" Parvati gasped at the other goddess' appearance... She was taller and bustier now, her clothing now so skimpy that her privates were only barely covered by golden flower petals and a thong. Also, her hair now seemed to show the stars, while her arms and legs were now glowing blue, cracks running up from her hands and feet. "Wh... what happened to you?!"
"As if you don't already know? Don't play dumb, Parvati," Kama's voice dripped with contempt. "This is the result of your dear husband incinerating me for doing my job. Ananga, the formless love that spreads through the cosmos... that was what I was reduced to. But now... now that I have claimed a new vessel, I can now use the concept of universal love for my own designs. And have you and Shiva to thank... how bitterly ironic, don't you think? Bonnô mujin seigan dan... I shall overcome all worldly desires, by granting humanity all that they desire."
"That's not how Buddhism works!" Parvati protested. "As Yagyu Munemori says, you must cast aside worldly desires to achieve enlightenment!"
"Such a twisted love of humanity... which makes you an Evil of Humanity!" Haruhi deduced. "So you ARE Beast III/L!"
"I am indeed. Beast III Lapse, representing depravity of the sin of pleasure," Kama replied smoothly. "But unlike that fool Beast III/R, I didn't rely on an unstable Sakura-type servant to do the dirty work for me... This is all my own effort, MY design! Even in such an infantile state, my superiority is clear! I'm sure little Ritsuka here agrees with me..." However, Ritsuka apparently begged to differ, managing to lift one leg and give Kama a knee to the groin! She gasped and hunched over slightly, her grip loosening just enough for the young Master to break free and scramble away! "Oh... that wasn't very nice..."
"Neither was almost suffocating me!" Ritsuka shot back, Parvati helping him to his feet. "And where's Gudako?!"
"Oh, don't worry, she's doing just fine," the Beast smirked. "The naive little girl thinks we can all be friends... but that's fine. Once I've dealt with you, I'll have all time in the world to show her my love..."
"Like hell you will," Haruhi growled. "And what about my friends?!"
"Oh, I already showed you how that alien was doing. Or did you mean the esper? Or perhaps... Kyon-kun?" Kama taunted.
"Hmph, how do we know you have them under your spell?" Kiara challenged. "That one you showed us of Nagato could have easily been a trick, after all..."
"Oh, you want proof, do you?!" Kama's face darkened. "Fine! Look for yourself, and despair!" A blaze of fire erupted next to the goddess, which revealed a familiar face, looking quite dazed...
"Koizumi-kun?!" Haruhi gasped in horror.
"Yes, that's right. This is no trick or illusion, but the genuine article," Kama chuckled sinisterly. "Look at him. Look at how he accepts my love. Isn't that right, Koizumi-kun...?"
"Yes, Goddess Kama..." Itsuki Koizumi muttered in a near monotone, swaying slightly. "Yours is the only love that permeates the cosmos..."
"No..." Haruhi whimpered.
"Oh, yes," Kama brought a hand up to gently caress Koizumi's chin. "All it took was a vision of his beloved to lure him into my embrace... isn't that right, Itsuki?"
"...Frankly, she left much to be desired."
"Wha-" A sudden backhand across the face, followed up with a roundhouse kick that sent her spinning and stumbling! Bringing a hand to her cheek, Kama saw that Koizumi's eyes were now clear and focused. "I-impossible!"
"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's putting up a mask to deceive others," Koizumi taunted.
"Koizumi-kun! You're okay!" Haruhi gasped in relief.
"Yes. Sorry for upsetting you, Suzumiya-san, but when you're dealing with an adversary like this, a little deception is necessary for survival."
"Why you...!" Kama growled, regaining her feet. Seeing the other servants in battle-ready stance, however, gave her pause. "...Well, this is just a temporary setback, anyway. We'll see how well you can resist once you reach the bottom of my Ooku!" With that, she vanished in a blue-hot blaze.
"Nicely done, Itsuki Koizumi," Kiara chuckled. "I could have hardly done better at scrubbing that smug smirk from her face."
"Hmph, I could tell from the beginning that he was acting," Tajima-no-kami said.
"I couldn't," Archetype: Earth muttered. Upon seeing the esper recoil in fear, she quickly said, "No, there is no cause to fear me this time. Even discounting my earlier defeat at Suzumiya's hands, Beast III/L is a much more pressing concern at this time."
"Ah, I... I see," Koizumi put a hand to his chest, sighing in relief. "Do you trust her, Suzumiya-san?"
"I'm pretty sure she wasn't lying just now," Haruhi allowed. "Koizumi-kun, have you seen Kyon anywhere? We found Mori-san and the other espers, and Director Musik, but no sign of him. I'm getting worried..."
"Unfortunately, I haven't seen him either," Koizumi shook his head. "But have you not considered the obvious solution?"
"Which is?"
"If you are so worried about him, could you not simply summon him to your side?" Koizumi pointed out.
"Ah! That's right!" Kasuga gasped. "If Suzumiya could send her servant home, she could certainly bring her lover here!"
Haruhi's eyes widened slightly, before grimacing in frustration as she brought a hand to her forehead. "Ugh... Geez, this maze is messing with my head even worse than I thought... Alright, hold on..." She closed her eyes, concentrating... (Kyon, my love, to my side!)
"Whoa-! What the?!" a familiar voice gasped from Haruhi's side. "Wait, Koizumi-san? And Fujimaru-san?! Haruhi?!"
The reality warper opened her eyes to see her lover, looking none the worse for wear. "KYON!" She cried, glomping him in joy and relief... but then she caught herself. "Wait, wait, I need to make absolutely sure." She pulled away to look him in the eye. "Say it, Kyon. Say it and mean it."
It took Kyon a moment to realize what she meant... "I am John Smith."
Haruhi heaved a sigh of relief, embracing him once more. "Okay, good, it is you. Thank gods..." She then met him in a loving lip-lock. "Mmmm..."
"...So this is what true love looks like, hmm?" Kiara observed.
"Yes, I believe so," Kasuga nodded with a smile.
After a few seconds, Haruhi broke away with some effort. "...Thanks, Kyon. I needed that. I feel sane again."
"Sure," Kyon nodded and smiled at her. "So, uh, would someone mind explaining to me what's going on here? When I woke up this morning, almost everyone was gone!"
"Ah, so you've been at Chaldea this whole time," Koizumi comprehended. "So who was still there?"
"Um, Sion, Da Vinci and Holmes, but no Director Musik," Kyon recalled. "Artesia was still in the medical ward, but Nightingale-san was missing... and I think the employees that survived the sacking of our old base in Antarctica. Oh, and Kyrielight-san was still there too."
"You didn't see Asagami-san?" Haruhi queried.
"It hasn't been that long since you sent her back," Yagyu interjected. "It could be that they simply missed each other..."
"Fair point," Haruhi ceded. "Okay, I see what happened... Kama must have deliberately separated Ritsuka-kun and I from our lovers, so we would be, um, unbalanced, from worrying about them, so she could seduce us into her embrace of pleasure..."
"Kama?" Kyon asked.
"Beast III/L. The other half of the Beast we faced on the Seraphix oil rig," Haruhi elaborated.
"Oh, hell... that explains a few things," Kyon groaned. "Sion detected a singularity in Japan, but we couldn't contact anyone over there... I assume that's where we are now."
"Right," Haruhi nodded. "Let me make introductions real quick..."
*At the bottom of Ooku...*
"Wait a minute, what is he doing here?!" Kama said as she observed the party through a scrying-spell. "Did that Suzumiya... damn, does this mean she can bypass my barrier to the outside world?!"
"Yeah, Haruhi-chan says she has extraordinary powers!" Gudako spoke up from nearby. "That Gorgon tried to turn her to stone once, and completely failed!"
"Is that so...? This could be concerning," Kama mused. "Still, it doesn't matter how much backup she decides to bring in... because no number is greater than infinity... Hmhmhmhmhmmm..."
*To be continued...*