"Easy there, master. It's over now."
Lancer's voice sounded far off in the distance, even though I was vaguely aware that he was standing right next to me. I was exhausted, in pain, and I didn't even have anything to rinse my mouth with, so all I tasted was shit.
The events of the past minute kept looping in my head.
Lancer had warned me when I'd first summoned him. Warned me that aspect of the lance, that use, was a horrid thing. That it should only ever be used in the most desperate of circumstances. I'd believed him. I only had him use it because I truly thought we were dead if he didn't.
…But that… that was not how anyone should die. Not like that. Not even Heroic Spirits…
"L-Lancer… I…"
"Deep breaths. I completely understand. You only did what you thought had to be done."
"…Never a-again. That… I can't-"
"Of course. I don't… enjoy… using it either. Only on your orders, as we discussed."
"…R-Right…"
…Never again.
I would not, could not, bear to see anything like that happen, ever again.
…Winning the war be damned.
With the reassuring presence of Lancer, I felt myself slowly beginning to settle down. Difficult as it was, I forced myself to turn back. To face the end result of this night's battle.
All that remained of Berserker, if one could even consider that as Berserker's remains in the first place, was a puddle of black… sludge? Goo? …Blood?
…Better off not thinking about it, actually…
Then, a few feet beyond that, was Zachary. Motionless. Dead. Hole right through his skull. I couldn't block out the sight of his brain matter being scattered on the road. I almost wanted to start vomiting again.
It was true that I'd never particularly liked him. It was true that, in spite of whatever Johnathan thought, the two of us had never been friends. We hated each other. Despised each other.
…But still.
Now that it was all over.
Now that all the anger and fear had subsided.
…I didn't want him to die.
I never had wanted him to die...
"How's Johnath-" I switched focus from… from that, to Saber.
"He's fine. Fainted from shock, I suspect, but otherwise, he will be fine" Saber confirmed.
"Good… That… That's good…"
He was fine. He'd live. Probably just as exhausted and injured as the rest of us, but he'd live. He'd live.
But for the rest of this mess…
"Gods… how do we deal with… with all of this…" I gestured vaguely towards the scene of the remains. "If people see this…"
"Afraid there's not much we can do about the power of the lance" Lancer sighed. "It'll disappear once it runs out of magical energy to sustain it, but… well, it's not as if Berserker was particularly starved of mana. If I had to guess, it'll be there for a good hour or so."
"…Can't you-"
"No, I can't. I don't recommend anyone try to touch it either, unless-"
"Right! Ok, got it" I swiftly cut him off, not wanting to even think about it. "…Well, we can at least take Zach's body with us then. As for what to do with it…"
"…Leave that for master, perhaps" Saber suggested.
"…Yeah" I nodded. "That. As for the rest…"
"Hope Archer's master can deal with it" I felt lancer put a hand on my shoulder as he spoke up. "Not like any of us can cast illusions."
"Or create bounded fields that repel normal people" I sighed. "Oh, why did this turn into such a mess…?"
…Mess…
…That's what this was. A mess.
…He made a right mess of things. For all of us.
…The events of tonight were his fault.
Whit hot anger exploded within me.
"Nathan" I roared, surprising even myself a bit, though I continued. "You have-"
Frantically, I spun on the spot. To the left. To the right.
…Nothing.
No sign of Nathan anywhere.
"Ugh! Where is he?!"
"…I don't see him, master" Lancer sighed.
"Neither do I" Saber muttered bitterly. "Must have snuck off while we weren't focused on him."
"Grrr… Damnit! I swear, the next time I see him-"
"I think we all have some… choice words for him" Lancer interjected. "But we can't afford to worry about him right now. Unless I'm hearing things, which I admit is a possibility after tonight, aren't those sirens getting… louder?"
"…"
…He was right. I had gotten so used to the sirens being background noise that I hadn't even realized until he pointed it out himself. They were getting louder.
The police were already on their way to investigate.
…If they saw us here…
"Master. We have to go."
"…I know" I felt my hands clench into fists. "I know, damnit, I know!"
…I took one last look as Lancer walked over and took Zach's body into his arms. The destruction. The death. I knew, even now, that it was all seared into my brain. If I was ever going to forget the events of this night, it wouldn't be for a long time.
A long, long time…
The sound of the sirens was only increasing in volume. A few streets away now was my guess. Delay any longer, and there was no guarantee we wouldn't be spotted, even if we took to the rooftops.
"Let's go…"
…I could only hope that no one else died from tonight's tragedy.
A/N
So, this next fragment bits to end this night (in the story) are going to be fairly short. Than, combined with the fact that a) I had most of this shit ready in my head since the beginning of my exam period and b) I have lots of free time now that I'm on winter break, I plan on getting a fragment out every night ideally, or at least every other night, till this night in the story is over.
…Probably only two more bits, but hey, hope you all enjoy it, regardless of their lengths.
It also allows me to answer any questions you all may have a bit easier.
Such as the question I got about Lancer's Noble Phantasm "Cursed Blood of the False Prophet".
…Can't say I didn't see questions about that one coming.
So, as for why Lancer has this Noble Phantasm, it comes down to how I wanted to deal with both Percival, and Arthurian legend as a whole.
Obviously, as Type-Moon has released an official version of Percival within FGO JP, none of this should be considered 'canon' (not that it should have ever been in the first place, but I digress).
When it comes to most legends, there tends to exist many, many versions of the stories. Makes sense, considering that stories are retold countless times, by countless different people, with different cultures and values. This holds true for all aspects of Arthurian legend as well, naturally.
Type-Moon, for better or for worse (and honestly, I can't really say which myself) works off of specific versions of Arthurian legend for their characters, typically with those being the later versions of the legends.
You know, such as Lancelot existing in the first place. Galahad being the 'true' grail knight (with Percival being relegated to a side companion).
…That also includes Longinus being a holy (or divine) relic/weapon, as it turns out.
See, within the original stories of Percival, the Bleeding Lance is actually not considered a holy or divine relic at all. In fact, it's actually depicted as a more... demonic, or rather cursed, weapon; far more in line with the Celtic weapons of legend (such as Gae Bolg).
Considering the fact that it was used in the older versions of the story as a means by which to prolong the pain of the Fisher King (by having it be stabbed back into the wound on occasion) that would, y'know... kinda make sense.
Also, considering that the land of the Fisher King, at least in the early versions of the legends, is sorta, kinda, confirmed to be located within the Celtic lands of the fey and other mystic stuff, Tír na nog (this is actually common for a lot of early versions of English folk lore as well, to 'borrow' from the Celts), it only adds to the early notion that the Bleeding Lance wouldn't be a holy weapon, but rather a more cursed, destructive weapon, alongside it's Celtic counterparts.
It really is only in the later versions that the notion of the lance being cursed (poisonous, demonic, take your pick of the term there) changes, with it being morphed into a Christian symbol and given a more 'holy' nature, with it's healing powers.
As you can tell from Percival's Noble Phantasm in FGO JP, that version there, the later, holy version, is what Type-Moon decided to go after.
But I though to myself as I was originally planning out how my take on Percival would be...
"If servants are constructed, at least somewhat, based on the perceptions of humanity, and we know of these early takes on Percival's story... well, why not include them as well?"
…So yeah, for my take on Percival, Longinus is basically both a 'holy' and 'demonic' lance, rather than just a pure holy relic, depending on what aspects of it are being used, because I wanted to play around with the older versions of the legends as well.
Of course, it's not the only idea about the grail system I'm playing around with using my take on Percival...
…That said, it's not as if I'm ONLY using the early takes on the Bleeding Lance for this. Percival does have three Noble Phantasms, after all.
The lance itself being one.
Cursed Blood of the False Prophet being the second.
…What other uses could there be for the blood within the Bleeding Lance, I wonder... xD
So yeah, it's not really about me being 'Anti God', or anything to really do with modern day religions at all.
I just thought it'd be a damn shame to cut out original aspects of Percival's stories and only work off of the versions that (I'm assuming) most of you already know.
