Disclaimer: These are works of purely speculative fiction. It is not intended to infringe on any rights by any of the companies and/or individuals involved in the production of any series mentioned here. Fate Grand Order and all the franchises and series associated with it, are owned by Kinoko Nasu, Notes Co., Ltd. and their affiliates. Similarly, Fire Emblem Heroes is owned by Nintendo Co., Ltd. and their affiliates.
I DO NOT OWN THESE FRANCHISES.
Sister Fanfic: Serious Side Reels - A Grand Order of Heroes Sidestories
The loud clunking sound of a giant stone echoed across the valley. The magical energy it was struck by was absorbed into itself and visibly spread across the intricate pattern on its surface. Then, a light bright enough to blind even a sun deity erupted from the shrine. The light did not blind Gudako, however, partly due to how used she was to it that her eyes grew accustomed to the light. Also, it was because she was wearing enchanted black sunglasses to shield her eyes.
It was one of the many precautions that professional summoners, such as herself, had to use to preserve her eyesight.
The light died down and Gudako narrowed her eyes at the summoning circle in front of her. It turned into a grimace when she noticed that she had summoned not a hero, god, or spirit but rather a steaming hot bowl of extremely spicy Mapo tofu.
'Huh. Haven't summoned one of these things in a while.' She remembered the first time she had this Mapo Tofu. She used to love it, the texture of the tofu that somehow was always perfect, and its spiciness, while overwhelming at first, was not flavor-ruining. In fact, if you can get past the spiciness, it was something truly delicious. Sadly, it was somehow the most common thing she summoned while she was in Fuyuki. With nothing else to eat, everyone was forced to eat this for every meal. And as the saying goes, too much of a good thing is bad.
"Hey... uh, you gonna eat that?" Someone called out to her.
She turned to see Hinoka eyeing the mapo tofu with sparkles in her eyes. Gudako could barely even look at the plate in front of her without feeling nauseous, let alone eat it.
"No. Go ahead, it's all yours." She gestured toward the plate of food.
"Thanks." Hinoka went over and picked it up and went back towards Camilla's side, who had her arms crossed and was looking at Hinoka with disapproval clearly written on her face.
Camilla had recovered back to her original self, but she somehow just doubled down on her personality and seemed incentivized to gain more power.
She made sure to convince every Camilla to be sent back in exchange for granting her power. It happened so often that she was now an amalgamation of all her different variants. While she still dressed like her Nohrian self, due to the skill inheritance system, she was somehow able to obtain a powerful new form that contained everything her other classes had.
She was now a jack of all trades but somehow she was better than if she was a master of one. As much as Hans's words hurt, they still managed to light a fire under her ass that got her to improve this much, but that still doesn't excuse Gudako from not being able to follow up with her end of the deal. Camilla was still owed a debt and she wanted her Corrin, yesterday.
Gudako had managed to summon a Corrin but it was not her Corrin since her baby brother was a bishonen, not a bishoujo. And so, Camilla still accompanied her to every summoning in hopes that he would arrive soon.
It isn't as if Gudako was keeping them apart on purpose, but rather, her luck was just that bad at times. So, to try and circumvent her luck, they tried multiple options of increasing her chance of getting him. First, they had some of the casters modify the summoning circle to increase the likelihood of him showing up. On top of that, they had Camilla bring a catalyst with her to increase the odds of his summoning. To which she gave them some of his hair clippings from childhood. She was not going to judge, so she accepted it without fuss.
Gudako shot another blast at the altar and the same process she had seen dozens of times repeated itself.
And it was another Wrys.
She thanked him for answering the call and immediately sent him to Chaldea to join the Wrys Corps. Or rather, the sub-division of Nightingale's Coalition of Nursing and Healing Organization that Nightingale founded after she found out about the existence of healing magic in this world and how effective it was at healing wounds.
After multiple failed attempts, and 3 or 4 Wrys and Stheno later, another figure showed up.
Her eyes widened when they saw the bombastic beauty that answered her call. She had a gorgeous, long purplish-black ponytail that reached her ankles, and her entire body was covered in a purple spandex suit that tightly hugged every part of her body. Frustratingly, her massive boobs were covered by a purple-colored cloth. Yet, despite her attire, her arms and legs were covered in armor.
Gudako gulped, she was not expecting such a hot five-star servant to appear, but it was not unwelcome.
"Ara, you are such a cutie Miss Magus. I am servant Berserker, Minamoto no Raikou. But you can call me..."
Minamoto no Raikou's words trailed off as she turned toward the presence behind her. Camilla and Raikou were now staring at each other. Everyone in the immediate vicinity stared back and forth between the two. The tension between them was thicker than a jar of frozen honey.
It was so quiet that the only sounds that could be heard were the chilly wind whistling in the background and Hinoka as she chewed the tofu in her mouth.
Both Camilla and Raikou recognized each other as the apex predators of their respective niches and were sizing each other up, both figuratively and quite literally. After a moment of silence, Raikou spoke up.
"There can only be one." She declared with a tone of finality.
"Indeed. May the best older sister win." Camilla retorted with a sly grin on her face.
Raikou simply smiled before cupping her cheek with her hand, "Ara ara, that was easier than I thought, how anticlimactic." She narrowed her eyes and turned her small smile into a devilish grin.
"I am no older sister, I am beyond such a cold and unfamiliar title, I am a mother and a proud one at that. Although I am not against the idea of adopting you, since you seem like you might need the affection."
Camilla chewed on her lip and glared at Raikou.
Okay, she needs to step in before they start pulling each other's hair.
"That's enough now. There are plenty of imoutos and Daughterus for the both of you to spoil. Now, Raikou, will you please step aside? I need to reunite her with her little brother." Raikou turned toward her and her expression turned to concern.
"Oh my. That is indeed a great cause for concern. My apologies Master… Camilla~" Raikou said the last word with an extra thick coat of sugar. Camilla in turn only snorted her fake concern dismissively but did not escalate the situation.
"You can call me Gudako."
She nodded, "Okay Gudako-chan. I look forward to spending time with you~" Raikou took one last look at Camilla before she calmly walked next to Gudako's side.
Gudako sighs and decides to try again. She grabbed some more orbs from her pocket and loaded them into her Breidablik.
A ringing sound came from her watch, it was an incoming call from her brother.
"... aren't you going to answer that?" Hinoka asked her with a mouth stuffed with Mapo Tofu. She had no idea how the princess was even able to breathe, let alone speak with a mouth full of that spicy dish.
"It's just Gudao, I'm sure he can wait."
Her assumption was proven wrong when her communicator suddenly lit up, showing Gudao in all his splendor to everyone.
"Gudako, please answer the transmission when I am calling for you," Gudao said, a slight bit of annoyance in his voice.
"Bro, don't bother me, I'm in the middle of a summoning."
"I know. But that's why I wanted to tell you. He finally decided to leave his garden."
Gudako's hand stopped before she loaded her last Orb into Breidablik. This action confused the Nohrian and Hoshidan princesses, as well as any hero who had not met the infamous golden archer. She swallowed a gulp of air, realizing that she had committed a grave mistake.
"Oh. Okay. I'll bring him over." Gudao said nothing as his face disappeared from view. She turned towards Camilla, who looked a bit taken aback by her sudden shift in demeanor.
"Sorry Camilla, I really want to summon Corrin but it will have to wait a bit longer."
Camilla stared at her for a while before she nodded, as she had grown used to so many delays.
"Wait, who was Gudao talking about?" Hinoka asked as she finished the last of her food.
She turned to everyone, "uh guys from this world before I summon him, I just need you guys to promise me something."
They all looked between each other wearily before they agreed to hear her out.
"Do not, under any circumstances, piss off who I am about to summon next. I am being serious here. Don't. He is a figure who could give Karna a fair fight and he has a much shorter fuse. So for everyone's sake, when he says something offensive, swallow your words."
Everyone seemed to be taken a bit back by how serious she was and thus, took her words to heart.
"Alright. I've wasted enough time."
She readied her Breidablik by flipping a switch and blasted the summoning circle once more.
0-0-0
The heroes of this world viewed Gudako as a weird, eccentric but lovable gremlin who always treated them as good friends. No matter their social standing, she always treated them as equals, much to the dismay of the other parties and/or their retainers. No one in the Order of Heroes could see Gudako acting formally toward royalty and many thought she couldn't have enough decorum to do it.
Until now.
For the first time since she arrived, all traces of that Gudako disappeared once the summoning light died down. Gone was the maniac who danced like a fool when she summoned someone. Gone was the vulgar girl who would dismiss etiquette like it was some outdated fad.
In its place was now a dignified woman, akin to the likes of the personal maids of kings. Her behavior, posture, and demeanor shifted to one that the Heroes would have expected from Fredrick or Jakob, not the gremlin that was their summoner!
She then did the unthinkable once more and bowed before the one she summoned, bowed! The Heroes present did a double take, others were offended that Gudako actually bowed to someone, when she had refused to give their lords and ladies the same courtesy. Yet, that was only mere ignorance, as they will soon come to learn just why she acts like this.
"Thank you for gracing us with your presence once more, your majesty. Welcome to the world of Zenith."
The crowd raised their heads to see who Gudako was looking at, only to be taken aback by the overwhelmingly gaudy, but intimidating presence before them. A man covered head to toe in golden armor was staring down at Gudako with arms crossed but with a kind smile.
"Hmmm, you may raise your head." Gudako did as was commanded.
The man continued his speech, "I have spent enough time observing, and I decided to ascertain the value of this unknown garden."
His scarlet eyes wandered toward the two royal siblings, Alfonse and Sharena, the latter of which couldn't help but flinch under the golden man's gaze. "Order of Heroes, what a cute but audacious name. You mere children are unworthy of it."
"Your majesty, I can assure you that-" Alfonse, bless his heart, tried to rebuke the golden King's statement, but it was cut off by the golden armored man's terse words.
"And who gave you permission to speak, child? Don't people in your world teach manners? You will only speak when I deem you worthy to speak!"
Alfonse felt a cold sweat fall down his neck, not expecting to see this man's hostile and arrogant attitude.
"You may be a heroic spirit, a king from another world and one of Gudako's allies, but I am still the crown prince of the Kingdom of Askr as well as the leader of the Order you are besmirching." Gudako was making a 'What the hell are you doing?!' face at Alfonse, ripping her hair out in the process when she heard Prince Alfonse say that.
Alfonse didn't care, he was not backing down. "I don't know how it works in your kingdom, your majesty, but even the maddest of kings would have enough courtesy to at least give their name before flaunting their authority on a foreign kingdom."
Gudako turned to the golden man, "Milord, please have mercy! He is young, ignorant, and inexperienced!" The golden armored man raised his palm, shutting Gudako up from her pleading. The man's face turned stoic as he stared at Alfonse.
"You are mistaken on many things, boy but I will concede this to you. You may refer to your King as Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. "
Alfonse nodded, "Well met, your majesty, Gilgamesh. As the leader of the Order of Heroes and the prince of Askr, I welcome you to my home."
Gilgamesh scoffed before speaking again, "Boy, I heard you and your lot carry the divine blood of dragon gods in your veins and were entrusted with the duty of opening and closing portals to the worlds you oversee. Is this true?"
Alfonse nods, not really sure where the conversation was going. "Yes. Askr controls the power to open portals, while Embla controls closings."
"I was also informed that the countries of 'Embla' and 'Askr' have been at war with each other on and off again for centuries, dragging unaffiliated bystanders into your pointless squabbles. Am I wrong?"
Alfonse stared into Gilgamesh's eyes, not a single hint of fear in his eyes. "No. You are correct. Both Embla and Askr have used the legendary summoner and the heroes from other worlds to wage war with each other. I am ashamed to say that our kingdoms have to rely on such methods."
"Are you now?"
"If we didn't, Embla would have used the Heroes against us. There was no other way."
"There is always a way, Boy. Your kingdoms are just too lazy to bother raising their own heroes and instead rely on the power, legacy, and gifts of others to win your wars for you."
"Even so, Embla still has the power to conquer worlds and force heroes to fight and commit atrocities against their will. At least we bother to ask for their help."
"Is that so? Well then, maybe they will not need to make that choice if I just decide to erase both of your kingdoms from existence!"
Snapping his fingers, hundreds of golden portals opened around them. Each pointed a bladed weapon toward each hero.
Multiple sounds of metal weapons being unsheathed rang out across the altar. Every hero present had pointed their weapons at Gilgamesh.
Gudako saw a lot of the Heroes from Zenith about to do something stupid and frantically made air-slashing gestures over her throat in a vain attempt to stop them.
"You can't be serious Gudako! He is literally threatening to kill us all!" Anna exclaimed as she was gripping her ax harder than usual.
She facepalmed at Anna's blatant dismissal of her warnings and looked at Alfonse with a pleading look. Which he promptly ignored as he drew his blade against the King of Heroes.
"Hmm. It would seem you mongrels are underestimating the scale of my power. Very well, I normally do not make such exceptions but since you lot are ignorant children, I will enlighten you." The portals spun and rotated before each firing a blade at Mach speed, toward every single hero present. The blades did not connect but they got close enough to the dissenters to get the message across.
Many characters flinched and gasped at the speed of the attack, save a few who did not flinch under the very obvious hazing attempt by the King of Heroes. One of which happened to be Alfonse.
"I see you are not as weak as I expected of you, Prince. Very well... I commend you for your foolish bravery." He lifted his hand and dismissed the portals.
"Consider your organization on thin ice. I will be doing periodic inspections to ensure your organization does not waste my master's time. As for the rest of you mongrels... " He turned to look at the summoned heroes, who out of respect for Gudako kept their blades at bay, but that didn't stop them from giving Gilgamesh the death glare.
None of them were as vicious as Oboro, as her face was now strained so hard in anger that it was a miracle the veins in her eyes and forehead hadn't popped yet.
Gilgamesh paid them no mind and continued to observe everyone who wasn't a servant present before him.
His eyes paused briefly on Marth before he gave a small humph of approval. "Not bad. Not bad at all. While the status of the humans of this world is still suspect, the rest of you truly are worthy of the title of 'Hero.'"
Then his eyes landed on a girl wearing a ram's crown. The steel in her eyes gave him pause as they somehow reminded him of his youth. Everyone seemed to take notice of this and wondered why she had grabbed the King's attention.
"You there, woman. Speak your name."
Edelgarde blinked before he narrowed her eyes at him, "Edelgard von Hresvelg, the Empress of the Adrestian Empire, I am pleased to be acquainted with your majesty. Karna has spoken well of you. " She somehow managed to hold back the bite from her tone, which impressed Gudako since she was someone who wouldn't let anyone walk over her.
The corners of the man's lips raised slightly before nodding in satisfaction, "Oh, did he now? Very well Edelgard von Hresvelg, I will commit your name to memory. I look forward to seeing your struggle against the odds with keen interest. "
Edelgarde's eyes widened at the sudden words of the King of Heroes, and she was about to ask what he meant before turning away from her and looking back at his master.
"Master, you may resume your summoning. While they may pale in comparison to my own, as a citizen of mine, I expect you to follow through with your promises." Gilgamesh gave a glance at Camilla, who had a conflicted expression on her face before she thanked him with a nod.
Gilgamesh closed his eyes and dematerialized from view.
There was a pregnant silence for a full second afterward.
Gudako coughs and tries to get the summoning back on track. "Crap, I ran out of Saint Quartz and Orbs."
"It's alright Gudako, I have some spares with me." Marth proceeds to bring out more Saint Quartz.
He walked over toward Gudako but his form froze when he stepped over the summoning circle. The circle glowed, catching everyone off guard, then the circle glowed brighter and brighter until finally, it unleashed a bright explosion of light that blinded everyone, even Gudako since she had forgotten to put her sunglasses back on.
Then, the light went down.
Gudako had fallen on her ass during the unexpected event. She rubbed her eyes to clear away the blurriness.
When her eyes readjusted, her jaw dropped.
Marth had changed.
Instead of wearing his normal princely robes, he was now decked out in regal attire. His Falchion was now proudly tucked inside an elegant sheath. He also now had an impressive-looking shield strapped to his other arm.
"Marth... buddy, you okay?"
Marth opened his eyes and stared at Gudako for a moment before he said, "Servant, Hero King Marth. I have answered your summons... why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
Art available on Deviantart, just copy/paste or type the following after dot com. My deviantart also had the same name as my fanfic username just beware I post images first and it will likely give spoilers if you see the image beforehand.
/ihev9sun/art/Gilgamesh-with-hair-down-in-golden-armor-941681929
Author's Note: I wasted $80 trying to get Raikou mama, and nothing to show for it. It might be less than what a whale might put out but I am not THAT irresponsible. Twas the reason I dropped FGO years ago. Though I have dived back into the gacha and got an equally great servant for less.
In any case, I decided to give the Hero summons their much-needed buff however, the side story and the main story occur at different times. So, it will still be a while before Hero King Marth or other hero summons appear there because I want to show the unmodified hero summons shine in the singularities.
Thanks again for reading.