Fistfight for Dominance (Battle)
(Emiya estate, Shirou's room)
(Medusa)
"So," Sasaku said after the two of them were left alone, along with Sakura, of course. "Since I misdiagnosed earlier, can you explain what, or rather who's been inside your Master? Frankly, I don't like the idea of them being able to command you, or Rin and thus Kuro, after hijacking her body."
Medusa shrugged before deciding the wings were unnecessary and cumbersome. Since there was no need for flight, she simply 'removed' them. Though there was nothing to be done about her general lack of clothing, that mattered less at the moment. "My guess of some sort of heroic spirit is because they seem to be linked to the Grail in some way. The curse in the park, linked to the great fire, linked to the last Grail War's failure is also too massive to be a coincidence."
"Well, if someone tried summoning something with a really weak legend, so much so it couldn't even get a body, then I guess possessing someone would work. The question is why Sakura and how it got into her." Sakura glanced at the girl in question. "Or in any case, how to get it out, or at least prevent it from getting control. I don't suppose there's any chance she'll just wake up as herself."
"None," the Rider responded confidently. "Because she already lost when I was there, and now I'm not. If anything, we got lucky because Shirou caused her to react out of instinct, and I suppose unless I had left, you wouldn't be any the wiser. And the two of us would still lose to him."
The obvious question reared its head. "But how would you returning, in a dream or otherwise help if your presence wasn't enough before?"
Eyelids blinked over entrancing square pupils. "I wasn't fully conscious before. Ironically, due to my instinct to defend against that attack earlier, I 'woke up' so to speak."
"Sure, I see how that would would make a difference. You can have history with them? Presumably they know who you are, which is a major disadvantage." In Sasaku's estimation, the odds were not good, and Medusa agreed. However, unlike the Caster or her Saber, she could never think of giving up on Sakura without trying even one more last gamble.
"I never had any contact with them. They always spoke directly to Sakura's mind and I wasn't conscious when I was in there with them." There was another thing that came to mind, namely that since Sakura had fought back, even if she lost, now her 'friend' was definitely viewed as an enemy. Why specifically though, Medusa couldn't have known, but it was not a hard guess.
"If we're going to do this, faster would be better, our enemy is probably fortifying their position, as it were." Sasaku sighed at the thought. "Any more guidance besides trying to link your consciousness into her dream or whatever state she's in now?"
"Here," Medusa handed over a familiar-looking blindfold, only this one was black with gold markings, rather than purple with white. "You have experience with the other Gorgon Breaker, using this on me should make it easier."
"Oh yeah, I did use it, didn't I?" the Caster looked a bit hesitant while taking the Noble Phantasm. "Sorry about that, it was the best tool for the job."
"I had already passed it to Sakura, it was her decision to lend you the use of it, and I will stand by that." Medusa looked about and, lacking any better option, simply lay on the ground next to the bed where Sakura was lying. "By the way, if this doesn't work, I'm sure you'll know how to handle it."
The two of them just stared at one another for a moment. Sasaku nodded. Medusa already knew that the other Servant had all her backups and countermeasures in mind before agreeing, even if she was too tactful to prepare them right in front of her.
But in this case, it's fine she thought to herself, closing her eyes. We wouldn't want to live as not-ourselves, as monsters. No one should have to.
(Sasaku)
True to her expectations, Gorgon Breaker quickly put even the supercharged Medusa under easily, probably because she was expecting and completely willing to fall under its effects.
Sasaku raised her eyes to the ceiling, thinking briefly before laying one hand on Medusa's head. The other soon followed suit on Sakura's head. The Caster opened her mouth and began to, well, cast.
This is a day of judgment, she began, with an fair of finality, one announcing a decision. An end.
Who knows the heart of a man,
But the spirit of the man? She reached out, taking of hold Rider's 'dream,' shaping it to her will, which is to say into Sakura's mind.
But the wise understand all things,
And the diligent seek out many things.
And the child may learn much,
but the foolish stumble in the same place. There was no resistance as the flow from Medusa passed into Sakura's sleeping form. The battle, it seemed, had already begun.
Who seeks to control the heart, must first know the spirit.
That raise hands in arrogance, must be brought down by the low.
That suffer the oppression, must be let free.
Looking at the completed link, Sasaku nodded to herself in satisfaction. It was well done, so at least her part had been successful thus far. Now to maintain it. She took a breath, unnecessary for a Servant, but more habit than anything.
This is a day of judgment...
l
(Matou house, basement)
(Sakura)
The world did not extend much beyond the damp, worm-filled depression in the stone floor where her naked body was currently being gnawed on or otherwise abused by the magical familiars.
A little distance away, just out of sight, Grandfather was muttering something. A spell, a chant, an incantation, cursing, grumbling, it hardly mattered. It had long since become clear that the Matou magecraft, and the worms that went along with it, were never to be passed down to her, only to torment her.
He wouldn't let go of that mystery, those familiars, her.
She had thought about killing herself, sure. Who wouldn't? But it was impossible, not just because magic crests (and apparently this extended to crest worms) were rather powerful at healing or at least preservation of life - but because there was simply some odd compulsion preventing her from doing so.
It was definitely Grandfather's twisted binding, since it did not merely remove the ability to contemplate suicide, it simply made the thought of dying in general utterly terrifying for absolutely no reason at all. For her, it simply -was- even though she knew it was completely nonsensical.
Had she been lying when threatening her own life as a warning to Medusa to be careful with Shirou? Not quite, for the simple fact that the thought of his death terrified her even more than her own. But, if she was honest with herself, had his corpse turned up instead, she probably wouldn't be able to follow suit.
But only probably.
There was a loud sound, like something being smashed. It was the basement door, the gaping opening replacing it now allowing light from outside to peek into Grandfather's dungeon of workshop.
He stopped whatever he had been doing, probably fixing the would-be intruder with dead, yet deadly hostile gaze. In a moment, they would be cut into small, worm-bite sized pieces by a blender of teeth, some impossibly razor sharp, others backed by otherwise pointlessly strong jaws, and yet others dripping with acidic poisons.
But by the sound of it, the blender found itself against another blender. The sound of teeth smashing against teeth and flesh being ripped apart did not stop as the outsider slowly cut their way directly towards where Sakura's body lay, until standing right above it. Silence reigned.
"Get up," they said. After a moment of no response, a powerful scaled arm reached in to the worm-covered mess and grabbed their prize. Then without a further word, began cutting all about her, removing worms in whole or in parts. Some of them did not leave without carrying away portions of flesh, but considering they were killed while biting in, it hardly mattered.
When she was finally clear of the literally bloody worms, Sakura's savior looked about and then laid Sakura down behind them, stomping on a few worms that had thought to follow.
"What did you do with my Master?" Rider demanded.
There was no response except for a sudden crash as Grandfather...! Slammed into her? The crashes continued in close succession as though the two were brawling it out. But that's impossible, Grandfather took special precautions against precisely this because even he couldn't just take on a Servant without one of his own!
Though they were not hers to control, the worms already integrated into Sakura's body bore crests that began to close up the numerous small wounds marring her flesh.
(Medusa)
"Who are you?" Medusa asked in between a flurry of blows. However, she was slowly being forced backwards despite looking and sounding much larger and heavier than she should have been. "Damn you, I thought she finally gained some confidence but it was all just your manipulations?!"
Abruptly abandoning a guard to instead charge forward, she caught her opponent by surprise, sending him back several paces. Which she hastily closed, glad to be on the offensive. Although he was a furiously fast attacker, he had very little power, and her earlier blow showed he was quite literally a lightweight.
Left, right, elbow, shoulder slam. The dark figure which was definitely not Zouken hurriedly danced around Medusa as she shifted into a mix of attacks and wide cuts with her claws on the defense.
"Why aren't you dying?" he said at last in frustration. "I see, you're the one who was sapping my power. You... you snake! How dare you absorb my vengeance! I will rip it back out from your corpse!"
With that, he redoubled his assaults. The basement grew somewhat lighter as its shadows were sucked into him, fueling the onslaught. "You monster, didn't you devour your sisters, why defend some random girl now?!"
He's trying to distract me, don't listen. Gritting her teeth as she found herself forced onto the defensive by his encircling attacks, Medusa kept on cutting about wildly. Though her speed did not match his, coverage and unpredictability made it difficult for him to get a clean strike on her before being forced to pull back.
Over and over again.
(Sakura)
The increasingly desperate sound of Medusa's exertions contrasted despairingly with her enemy's confident cackles as they dueled. But almost as soon as it began, the fight's climax arrived and left.
One of Medusa's blows connected squarely, sending her opponent, mid-attack flying backwards. However, he slammed into the ground only a short distance from where Sakura was lying.
All three of them realized this at the same time, but only one was in a position to do anything about it. Reaching over, he seized Sakura by the throat and held her up triumphantly.
"I was going to carry out your revenge and let you watch, but blame your Servant for being denied even this." By the sound of his breathing as he said this, the fight had been more even that it had seemed. Apparently Medusa was far too durable for him to overcome.
Medusa came dashing, no, flying over but somehow despite picking up speed, she never got any closer. It's like the space is distorted somehow?
"Sakura!" she shouted, or perhaps sent telepathically, given that by this point she was traveling faster than sound but still couldn't reach. "This isn't real, we're inside your soul somewhere! Fight him!"
Inside? But how? Wait...
As fingers creaked, squeezing her neck with the intent to crush her life out, she remembered something. This is... him? He said there was a void inside my soul didn't he? An Imaginary Number space...
He's not the friend he pretended to be. Reaching out, Sakura grabbed his hand and began trying to pry his fingers off her neck, succeeding much to his amazement. Snarling, he responded by bringing up his free hand, but she intercepted it with her own. The two struggled.
"You promised me freedom and revenge, while plotting to rob me of both," she spat in his face without issue regardless of how much effort he was putting into choking her. "You wanted Shirou to die! I don't need you anymore."
Giving up, he flicked the arm holding her downwards, sending Sakura crashing into the stone floor and losing her breath. He immediately jumped on top of her, fists descending even faster.
"You bloody human, give it up," he snarled. "Who the fuck are you to stand in the way of my freedom and revenge?!"
That's when she realized.
It wasn't Grandfather who had impressed the terror of death into her, if he could do that, he wouldn't have had to do all the other things. No, it was this one. All along, they've both been twisting me around their fingers.
Ironically, with him and Grandfather both trying to break Sakura down and make her theirs to use, they had hindered one another. Not perfectly, but with Medusa, enough.
Punching upwards blindly, but guided by the sound of his voice, she connected with a satisfying crunch, sending the spirit staggering backwards off her.
"I'm not just a human," she muttered more to herself than him while getting to her feet. "Grandfather, you, both wanted a fucking monster and here you go!" Ignoring an incoming attack, she slammed into him with a shoulder sending him flying almost effortlessly. The worms might not be mine, but they aren't his either. The rest is all my body.
Chasing after him, she pounced as he hit the ground groaning. "Do you know where you messed up?" she asked rhetorically while slamming a fists into his gut to keep him there. "It's when you tried to convince me to reach out and take ownership of Shirou." The dumbfounded look on his face suggested that hit harder than her attacks had.
"Never!" She continued pummeling him before finally giving up and grabbing him by the neck. All the black in the room condensed around the two of them leaving the whole space an empty white as its distortion finally faded, allowing Medusa to reach the pair.
"I'm not just going to kill you," Sakura said calmly as the shadows formed themselves into dense, velvety ribbons that bound her enemy. "You weren't going to, to me, and you'd just return to the Throne or somewhere. So instead... I'm going to lock you up forever. Your screaming soul is going to work for me for literally forever!"
Medusa stopped at a short distance away, eying her now fallen opponent as he started screaming while the shadows began to break him up and absorb the spiritual essence. "This is all inside of me, so there isn't any way you can ever escape. Throne, Root, heaven, hell, it's all infinitely far away from you now."
It wasn't clear if she stopped out of respect, because there was simply no longer any threat, or because Sakura was now the more dangerous of the two in front of her.
"Now, you're mine, Count."
l
When Sakura next opened her real-life eyes, the first thing she saw was Shirou leaning over her looking concerned. She blinked. Somehow, he seems even closer than last night when we...
"You're awake," he stated the obvious before being pulled out of sight by... Sasaku, given the energy signature. Undeterred he continued, "How are you feeling, Sakura?"
"Quite well Shi-" she realized that there were several other people around. "Er, Senpai. Sorry to worry you, I don't quite remember what-" And then she remembered.
"Aaa!" Sakura jumped to her feet in a panic, bowing repeatedly to Sasaku. "I didn't mean to-! I mean it was-!"
Shirou's Caster just raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly as a pair of massive arms reached out from behind Sakura and held her upright. Wait, isn't that- is that Rider?
"Be at peace," was all she said in her usual girlish voice.
l
Notes:
At meririn83: Glad you find it interesting. While Kojirou is relatively light for a Saber (no armor, no special holy sword etc) Medusa switched types from Quick to Buster, it seems. Though Kuro is also somewhat of a heavy hitter, perhaps more of a glass cannon type. Though what's more important is keeping all those Servants/Masters on the same page and pointed in the same direction...
I remember in the past, we appended Dark/Black(kuro) to people who got blackened, though now it's Alter? Then again Kuro has a tan compared to Illya.
Yeah, so the Third Magic... using souls like a perpetual motion machine to infinitely generate magical energy... the flow itself is limited, though it will continue forever.