Here we go. The finale of last week's fights. Finally, we'll start whittling down the number of combatants. Sorry it took so long. I just liked all of them, and I wanted us to get to know them a bit better. Sorry if your favourites don't make it, but in the Grail War, there can only be one winner.
Chapter 11: Curiosity Killed The Priest
(9:30pm, Abandoned Warehouse)
Lancer roared again as she charged Assassin. Though he dodged as best as he could, his shields were really taking a beating. His weapons were slowing it down, but only just. Lancer slashed again and again, shrugging off Decepti0n-enhanced hits like nothing. Assassin activated 'Skill Reset', switching to close range. Though it was suicidal, it might give him a weak-spot. He blocked a blow with his sword, but the follow-up cut deep grooves in his side. Feeling woozy, he charged forward, letting his hologram take the damage. He looked at all of Lancer with his visor, looking for something, anything.
There! A red line appeared on his HUD, right where her neck was. Running up her arm, waiting for the last moment, he slashed at the line. Lancer knocked him off in reflex. They both just stood there, until Lancer's neck spurted blood. She screamed as she returned to normal, as she faded away. Assassin hobbled off back to the church, where he would recuperate the damage.
Far away, Kayneth gasped as his command seals faded. He knew what that meant.
Lancer had been eliminated.
(11:00pm, Halo Marble)
Waver watched in awe as the two Servants clashed. Rider's UNSC seemed massive, but Archer's weapons were wiping them out. Their effects were unbelievable. They were making tornados, electric balls, electric nets, burps, lasers, robots. A couple were even playing music! He ducked as rockets smashed into a spaceship, bringing it crashing to the ground. Archer's robot flew around, destroying every spaceship in his way. Several vehicles and soldiers were being pulled into black holes even, and animals ran around squealing. High above, a giant tentacle monster pulled in anything it could get its tentacles on. Their ammo seemed limitless.
But if he looked carefully, he noticed gaps in the wall of guns. Weapons that had run out of ammo and faded away. More and more dropped with every passing second, until there were none in the sky. And there were still UNSC marines on the ground.
They charged forward, guns blazing, while Archer hid behind a shield. He reached out for a weapon that had remained hidden until now. It was a bronze gun with a blue needle sticking out the front. Rider pulled up on a Mongoose, grabbing Waver as they fled. The weapon opened up as Archer pointed it at the sky. Three sides spun as lightning charged. It exploded in a flash of light, the explosion consuming everything. Rider raced to clear it as the Halo Marble vanished from the explosion. Waver saw the Ringworld fall apart and burn. A massive section hurtled towards them. But the Marble faded before it could hit, leaving them back in the park. Rider quickly turned around, dropping Waver off by a tree. He rushed back at Archer who threw his fire-whip at the mongoose. Rider jumped as the vehicle exploded. A jet pack allowed him to fly, shooting at Archer as he flew. Archer kept dodging, throwing his whip at Rider. With a few beeps, Rider dropped down, keeping a shield between him and Archer. The shield broke, but Rider had gotten close enough. The whip faded as it ran out of ammo, but Archer switched to claws. He rushed forward with blinding speed, breaking through Rider's personal shield and slashing his armour. Rider fired off his shotgun, before a green glow surrounded him. He grabbed a fallen rail-gun, and aimed at Archer. He fired a blast, knocking Archer down. As he fired another, the robot got in the path. As he faded, Archer pulled out a flail. It smashed right on top of Rider, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh.
"Rider!" Waver cried, rushing forward to him. Rider looked at him as he faded.
"Don't worry…Sir." Rider said. "SPARTANS…never die." And with that, Rider was gone.
Waver looked at Archer, who had removed his helmet and was looking at the place his robot fell with sadness.
"Looks like we both lost someone close to us." Archer said. "I think… I think the best way we can honour them, is by keep going forward."
Waver nodded, tears in his eyes. He would do it. He would gain everyone's admiration. For Rider.
(7:00am Thursday, Miyama Town)
Saber looked at their new base in silence. While it was nowhere as defensible as the Castle, it's decrepit appearance made it less noticeable. Sometimes the best base it the one no-one ever suspects.
Besides, the Castle hadn't kept out Lancer, Berserker or Assassin.
"It's very quaint, isn't it Saber." Irisviel said, smiling as she looked at it too. "It's so very…unusual." Maiya waked closer with a set of keys in her hand. "Thank you Maiya. Saber, could you unlock the gate?"
Saber raised an eyebrow. Irisviel may have been injured recently, but his knowledge of magic should have healed her. Was there a flaw in his magic? Or was she hiding something from him? Either way, the best way to find out is to let Irisviel tell him on her own accord. As he grabbed the keys he noticed a rusty key amongst the newer one, like something from his time.
"What does this key open?" He asked Maiya. "In my time, such oddities opened ancient dungeons and vaults."
Maiya smirked at him. "Nothing quite so fancy. It just opens a storehouse in the yard. While it's nothing special, it is solidly built." As long as it could work as a panic room Saber didn't really care. "In fact the whole place is a bit lacking in necessities."
"Well, this was a rushed buy." Irisviel replied. "And as long as it keeps us out of the rain, that is sufficient." Maiya nodded, before hopping in her car and driving off. Though she clearly didn't like the Servant, she at least trusted him enough to guard Irisviel. "Come Saber. Let's explore our new place."
"I suppose." He said. "Who knows what things have moved in since it was last inhabited."
The house looked worse past the front gate. Grass grew almost to Saber's waist around a dead tree. But Irisviel didn't care. She just said that it felt like a haunted mansion, and how she had always wanted to see a Japanese Mansion. "Do you think Kiritsugu remembered?"
"Most likely this was one of the few places that could be bought on such short notice and for so little." Saber replied, bursting her bubble. "Berserker didn't give us much time to grab supplies or cash."
"True." She sighed. They walked through the house, Saber disappointed that there was nothing to surprise them. Honestly, back in Azeroth you couldn't leave your house for a day without some Murloc or Goblin or even an Ogre moving in. Irisviel sighed as they left the main hall.
"Let me guess." Saber smirked. "This isn't quite to your standards, is it?"
"Oh no. It's fine as a house, but for a Mage it has a few flaws. Though the bounded field is well-made, all these doors give the magic a lot of ways to escape. I would prefer something closed off, and made of stone or clay."
"Like a secure storehouse?" He asked as he got the keys out of his pocket. They went back to the yard, to the one place they hadn't yet explored. Once Saber got the door opened, Irisviel giggled as she went in.
"It's a bit small, but it'll be perfect for my spells. But there's a lot of work to do. Saber, if you could help me set up my circle. The mercury will be the trickiest. If you could get the ingredients in the trunk please."
"You do realise that if my magic has left invalid in any way, it would help to tell me as soon as possible?"
Irisviel sighed. "You're right Saber. I couldn't keep this hidden for much longer anyway." Irisviel stepped closer, and without the living pressing against his senses, he noticed that she seemed less alive than before. "If you could give me your hand? I'm going to squeeze it as hard as I can, with as much force as I can." Saber offered his hand, wondering as she grabbed it. He could see her fingers trembling, but he felt no more pressure than when children held him as a prince. "I assure you, I'm not pretending. This is really all I can do right now."
"It appears that I have forgotten much more of healing than I realised."
"Oh, it's not your fault Saber. I suppose you might say that this is a flaw inherent in my creation."
"Well when I create things, I at least make sure it works right. To me, there is no such thing as an inherent flaw. I would keep working until all flaws are removed."
"I'm afraid that the Einzberns are not quite as driven as you are Saber. But it does mean that I'll be depending on you for some things."
Saber frowned. He could easily tell that Irisviel was still keeping something from him. Something powerful was growing inside of her, but somehow on a separate dimension. It felt familiar. But regardless, he knew that all would come to light in due time. "Alright. But I'll leave dressing and bathing you to Maiya. I don't want Emiya getting the wrong idea." He left to get the materials from the car. Perhaps by being close to her, he could study the power source better.
(Unknown)
Tokiomi was standing on a cliff-looking world. Somehow he knew it was called Veldin. Not far from him, Archer was working on a spaceship. He was wearing only overalls and lacked a shirt. Archer sighed as a computer read out the next instruction, an item he obviously didn't possess. Suddenly, something fell out of the sky not too far from him. Archer ran to it, blasting strange creatures and robots as he went. When he arrived, he found his robot, Clank, lying in the rubble. He bought Clank back to his ship, before working on it some more. Clank woke up a bit later, and asked Archer for his help. It turned out that a 'Chairman Drek' was cutting apart planets to build a new home for the 'Blarg'. Clank hoped to find a great hero named Captain Quark to stop Drek's plan.
Tokiomi was amazed as Archer travelled to different worlds, destroying entire armies with his strange weapons. After winning a hover-board race, Archer found Quark, who invited the two of them to his secret base. But when they got there, it turned out that Quark was working for Drek. He only cared about his fame and glory, and left them to die. They killed his beast, but their friendship soured. Archer wanted to get revenge on Quark, while Clank wanted to stop Drek. Only the fact that Clank had an important part in him stopped the two from separating. Eventually, the two friends made up, and stopped Quark together. They finally found Drek back on Veldin, where he explained his plan. He had been the one who rendered his world uninhabitable. He was going to sell the new planet for millions, then ruin it and start over again and again. But despite his best efforts, Archer managed to destroy him and his new world.
Archer and Clank became celebrities in the Solana Galaxy. Word of them even reached a company in another galaxy. Mr Fizzwidget, founder of Megacorp in the Bogon Galaxy, hired Archer to hunt down a thief. Archer chased him all over the galaxy, fighting his thugs everywhere before besting him and returning the stolen Protopet to Fizzwidget. When the thief ambushed them, his mask slipped off to show that he was a she. And of the same species as Archer. 'Angela', as she was called, directed them to a top-secret video, showing that the cute little Protopet was actually a killer monster that would eat everything in sight. And Fizzwidget was going to sell it to the public.
Archer rushed to find him, dealing with more thugs and Protopets. They found him at Megacorp headquarters, but it turned out that Fizzwidget was actually Quark! After Archer's deeds destroyed his reputation, Quark decided to create a menace to beat, earning back his place as a hero. And hopefully destroy Archer's reputation. But the device he was using malfunctioned, and instead of calming the Protopet, made it even bigger than before. Archer stopped the beast, and became even more famous. And Quark was punished by becoming a Megacorp testing dummy.
After a few weeks of peace, Archer saw a news report stating that the Tyhrranoid species was attacking Veldin! Angered that someone was attacking his home, Archer rushed back to save it. He found out that they were being led by a powerful villain, who only one man had ever bested.
Unbelievably, that man was Captain Quark. Quark had escaped Megacorp, and had hidden in a forest world for so long that he thought he was a monkey. They got his memory back, and his plans were pretty much have Archer do everything while he got the credit. The villain turned out to have been a Dr Nefarious, a classmate of Quark's. Unsurprisingly, Quark's actions had led to Nefarious becoming a villain, and Quark had accidently caused him to become a robot. Now Nefarious had a burning hatred for anything 'squishy'. He built a 'Biobliterator' to turn all organics into robots. After attacking his personal ship, Quark was thought dead. Archer found him on his frozen base, where the man had run to hide from Nefarious. Disgusted with Quark's cowardliness, Archer continued onwards, destroying the Biobliterator. But he had to attack Nefarious' base to destroy a second one. They were about to be attacked when Quark came back, providing enough distraction for Archer to destroy the Biobliterator.
Weeks later, Archer was abducted for an underground arena show. He thought his way through all the challenges to rise to the top. He would've escaped, but the owner Gleeman Vox had rigged him with an explosive collar. Archer's friend Al was badly injured trying to remove the collars. Eventually, Archer began a one-man prison break, freeing everyone on the station. Vox tried to blow him and Archer up, along with all his fans, but Archer managed to stop him. He and Clank escaped as the station blew up with Vox inside.
Months later, Solana was attacked by another threat called Emperor Tachyon, who had a personal vendetta against Archer. They escaped to the Polaris Galaxy, where they found out why Tachyon hated him. Tachyon was a Cragmite, a ruthless species that was stopped by Archer's people, the Lombaxes. They sent the Cragmites to another dimension, and found Tachyon's egg all alone. They raised him like a son, but when he found out about his heritage, he was furious that they would pity him. He used their technology to chase the Lombaxes to another dimension, and then tried his best to bring the Cragmite back using the Lombaxes greatest creation. The Dimensionator. Archer managed to stop him, but afterwards Clank was taken by a 'helpful' race called the Zoni. Archer followed every clue he could find, helped by a friend called Talwyn, and found out that Clank was being kept in 'The Great Clock'.
And was being fixed by Dr Nefarious.
After even more gruelling adventures, Archer managed to get Clank back, aided by another Lombax called Azimuth. Azimuth had been the one who gave Tachyon technology, and was left behind in punishment. He planned on using The Great Clock to undo his mistake, just like Nefarious planned on using it to undo all good in the universe. But Clank explained that the Clock was meant to stabilise time, not control it.
After stopping Nefarious, Azimuth attacked Archer, determined to undo the past. Clank used to the Clock to save him from dying, and then they had a massive fight in the control room. Eventually, Azimuth realised he was making the same mistake again, dooming everyone to pain and misery. He gave his life to stop the Clock, something that always stayed with Archer.
Weeks later, Archer had to save all the Galaxies from another insane man, who was stealing entire planets to make his own Galaxy. Archer sent him to another dimension, while Quark somehow became President of the Polaris Galaxy.
"I would've picked a rock instead of him." Tokiomi thought. "At least the rock wouldn't create problems through stupidity.
Archer, Clank and Quark were attacked again by Nefarious, who had to aid them when his monster started rampaging. They were abducted again, ending up on a very strange world. After working together to find out what was going on, they found out that another evil species called the Loki were gathering dangerous creatures to inhabit and conquer the Universe. The four of them stopped the Lokis, before Nefarious was rescued by his butler robot.
After that, an ex-fan of Quark's, Zurgo, threatened the Galaxy to destroy Quark. But Archer and Clank helped to destroy his plan. Afterwards, Archer helped to transport a dangerous and psychotic villainess called Vendra Prog. Using a strange magic, Vendra and her brother Neftin planned on opening a rift to their home dimension, determined to find their people. But Vendra's friend, Mr Eye, had merely used her to enter Archer's dimension and conquer it. Archer and Neftin worked together to rescue Vendra and stop the Nether creatures. After more adventures, Archer and Neftin got the Dimensionator and used it to bring Vendra back. Archer managed to distract Mr Eye with lots and lots of firepower, while Vendra and Neftin sent all the nether creatures back home, before agreeing to go to jail. The Dimensionator was badly damaged, but Archer decided that he didn't need to find his people.
He had everything he needed where he was.
(4:00pm, Matou Basement)
Kariya coughed as he woke up. He blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He grimaced. Once again, he found himself in Zouken's basement. He stood up, noting that Berserker had cleared away all traces of his work.
"Lesson 1." Berserker's voice echoed as he walked down the stairs. "You're not invincible. It took me an hour to find your burnt carcass, and then I had to go and find you something to heal from. Pain in the ass, since you gotta find someone that nobody gives a shit about."
"What happened?" Kariya asked.
"You tell me. Burnt to a crisp and with so many holes you were barely holding together. I lost your arm partway along. Man that was a bitch to find again."
"I…I was going to get revenge on Tohsaka. For Sakura. I even told him to come alone. But…there were drones protecting him."
"Well at least try not to get yourself killed, alright? I don't plan on losing." Berserker had another needle in his hand, injecting Kariya in the arm. "This is all the work I've done on replicating Magic Circuits. Theoretically, you'll be stronger than he is."
Kariya nodded. He'll need a new plan though. Tokiomi won't fall for that trick again.
But he will have Sakura's revenge.
(5:00pm, Tokiomi Mansion)
Tokiomi was wandering the house, wondering where Archer was. He could've used a command seal to have appear, but that was a frivolous waste when he could just walk around. It took nearly an hour, but he found Archer sitting on the roof. As Tokiomi got closer, he noticed that Clank was missing.
He frowned as he put facts together. "Which Servant killed Clank?"
Archer started, not having noticed him there. "Oh. Hey Master. I…I lost Clank to Rider. He sacrificed himself so that I could kill Rider."
"I'm sorry for your loss." And he was. He had seen the two become firm friends, watched as they overcame mountainous odds to save each other. And the fact they never actually died meant that Clank might never come back. "And Rider's master?"
Archer seemed to stare at the horizon as he remembered the walk back.
(11:30pm Wednesday, Fuyuki City)
Archer didn't really notice where he was walking. He could've walked the entire planet and he wouldn't have realised. All he knew was that Rider's master, Waver Velvet, was leading the way. He looked both afraid and sad. Afraid for his safety, and sad for the loss of his friend.
"Hey, Archer?" He finally asked after a while. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you following me?"
Archer shrugged. "You're not part of this War anymore. I'm just making sure that you make it back safely."
"Oh." Waver said, and then they walked in silence again. "I'm…I'm sorry for your robot. You must've really cared about each other."
"We did. He was my best friend. I would've done anything to save him. And I'm sorry about Rider. But there can only be one winner."
"I know." Waver sighed. "You know, before I summoned Rider my wish was to show everyone that I was strong. But Rider showed me that you can't just wish for it. You have to prove you're strong. Earn their respect. I'd probably be moping about, whining instead of doing." Waver looked very determined. "I'm going to get stronger. I won't let Rider down. And maybe someday I can be a tenth as great as he was."
Archer chuckled. "You do that kid."
"What are you going to do?"
"Me? I'm going to win this thing. I'm going to bring back Clank."
"But you only get one wish. If you use it on Clank, you'll never return home."
"And I came back without Clank, I won't be able to live with myself. I'm smart enough to build a spaceship. And I'll try to get to the nearest space-faring species."
"And if they're not friendly?"
"Half of everyone I've met hasn't been friendly." Archer laughed. "I'll just keep going. I'll find another ship. And maybe the Great Clock has some Cryogenics Chambers or something. I won't give up. I never give up."
Waver smiled, looking even more determined. "Then neither will I."
"If I win, I hope to meet you again before I leave. If I don't, I hope you succeed in whatever you do."
(Tohsaka Mansion)
"He wasn't a threat anymore." Archer finally said. "I had no reason to kill him."
Tokiomi sighed. "I'm glad. Though magic must be kept secret, there's no reason to kill everyone you see." They sat there on the roof for a while, before Tokiomi decided to breach a theory he had. "Archer, I saw your memories just before. I think I might have a theory on why you're a Heroic Spirit."
Archer looked at him, removing his helmet, before signalling to continue. "Because I saw it in your memories, I assume you recall that time you died in the Great Clock?"
"Clank told me about it. And there was a feeling of deja'vu."
"Due to your past actions, when you died your soul must've been imprinted on the Throne of Heroes. But because Clank changed the past, you were both alive and dead to it. And your imprint changed to match the new legends and stories about your deeds."
"So, you think I might not be the real Ratchet? I might be the legend of him?"
"Perhaps, though I'm no expert on these things. The Einzberns made the magic to summon spirits. Who knows what your Great Clock might've done. But it could still mean hope for you. And Clank."
Archer smiled. "Thank you Sir. I'm going to do everything I can to win you the Grail. Or I'll die making sure you're safe."
Tokiomi smiled and raised his glass. "To Clank."
Archer raised his gloved fist. "To Clank."
They clinked glass against gauntlet, toasting a fallen friend.
(8:00pm, Unknown)
Kirei was seeing flashes. A man here. A woman there. All dying from bullet wounds and sword strikes.
And in every scene, Assassin was there with the killing blow.
Kirei looked on as Assassin cornered another man. Instead of killing him, Assassin was ordering him to fight back, to give him a challenge. But instead, the bandit begged and pleaded, ending only when Assassin slit his throat.
Then Assassin was in a bar, looking for bounties. But the ones on offer weren't appealing. They didn't offer a challenge. He talked to the bartender, but a loud mouth kept insulting him. The bartender offered a challenge of getting the man to shut up. Assassin silenced him by cutting his head off. The bartender, fearing for his life, offered more challenges. But none were worthy of his skill.
Until he mentioned the Vault.
A massive trove of uncountable wealth, whoever claimed it would be set for life and after. Thousands were clamouring across the Galaxy to claim it. Monsters unrivalled for centuries would stand in their way. And there might even be a guardian in the way.
Challenge Accepted.
Hyperion had trains set up for all Vault Hunters, where Assassin met five others. Axton, ex-Dahl soldier, used a standard Dahl-edition turret; Maya, Siren, used her powers to suspend enemies in the air; Salvador, Pandoran local, can use two guns at once; Gaige, cyborg, had a personal killer robot; and Krieg, psycho, used an axe, had a crush for Maya. They were an odd bunch, but they proved themselves to him when it turned out that the train was a trap. They fought their way to the back, where Hyperion's CEO Handsome Jack was. Inside, they found an entire compartment of explosives.
Assassin thought themselves lucky to have survived.
They were found by Claptrap, a small annoying robot. He led them to shelter, where his eye was removed by a Bullymong, Knuckle Dragger. As Claptrap was their only way to civilisation, the Vault Hunters had to go and get it back. At least they got some good loot from his guts. According to a helpful AI, Angel, They should meet up with the Crimson Raiders, and help overthrow Jack. Assassin agreed. Jack made a dangerous enemy. It didn't help that he contacted them to insult them all the time.
Claptrap led them to Liar's Berg, where they saved Sir Hammerlock from Captain Flynt's bandits. After helping getting the place back online and finding better equipment, The Vault Hunters followed Claptrap to Flynt's lair. They peppered him full of bullets, before taking a boat to Three Horns to find the Raider's base.
Once they got there, they had to rescue a raider before they would be allowed in. Sadly, he didn't make it, but they made the bandits pay. After being allowed in, they met up with the leader of the Raiders, Roland. He was one of the first Vault Hunters, and was trying to free Pandora from Hyperion. After completing some jobs for him, They found out that he had been captured by Bandits while out on a mission. With the help of Firehawk, who turned out to be another Vault Hunter named Lilith, they got into their base and freed Roland. Hyperion sent in some robots to get him, but they weren't even a hassle.
Later, Angel contacted them to tell them that one of the Key fragments was going to be on a train travelling through Tundra Express. With the aid of Tiny Tina and the Vault Hunter Mordercai, they managed to stop the train. After killing Wilhelm, Jack's right hand man, they found an experimental power source on board instead. Angel said that the power source could keep Sanctuary's shields up forever. They installed it, and everything was looking up.
That was when Jack ordered Angel to betray them.
Using the connection to the power, Angel deactivated the shields, letting Hyperion's loaders into Sanctuary. The hunters fended them off, powering up the city's engines, and watched as the whole thing flew away and warped somewhere else thanks to Lilith. They then had to fight their way to a Hyperion outpost so that they could link Sanctuary with the Fast Travel network again. It took forever, but the six of them blasted through everything in their way. After linking up with the other, Angel contacted them again. She said that she didn't have a choice, but if they wanted to hurt Jack, they need to get the Vault Key. Good news, it was with her. Bad news, she was in the Bunker, the most heavily guarded place on Pandora. Getting in was suicide.
Challenge Accepted.
They headed for Hyperion's city, Opportunity, to acquire Jack's double's bio-signature and voice modulator. After that, they went to Thousand Cuts to get the aid of the Slab King. Turns out that he was the final founder of the Crimson Raiders, Brick. With everything they had, they fought their way to the Bunker, which was guarded by a massive robot. They nearly died a few times, but they sent in crashing to the bottom of the cliff. Inside the Bunker they found the key and Angel, who turned out to be another Siren. And Jack's daughter. She begged them to unplug her from the network, as Jack had been pumping her full of Eridium to charge the key. Without it, she would die. But then Jack would have to wait centuries to open the Vault. They gave her a mercy kill, but Jack showed up and killed Roland in a fit of cold fury and captured Lilith. The Vault Hunters had to run away, but vowed to stop Jack. They headed for the Vault, killing everything in their way and getting stronger and better loot. They reached the inner sanctum, after having torn apart everything Hyperion. But Jack had gotten there first, holding a charged key. He opened The Vault, releasing an ancient weapon. The Destroyer.
Challenge Accepted.
The Vault Hunters worked together, chipping away at the beast. But as it was about to die, it charged at the others. Assassin had accepted them, called them friends, and he wasn't about to lose them. With his Decepti0n skill unavailable, he taunted the beast, letting off one final shot as it fell upon him. He died, knowing that they had won.
He died, knowing that Jack would die.
He died, knowing that his friends would live on.
(Fuyuki Church Basement)
Risei walked down the hall, wondering what it was he was to find down here. Kirei told him that there was something unusual here, but was too tired to lead him. He had just handed him a paper with room numbers, and went to sleep.
Risei worried for him. He hoped that Kirei would survive this War. True, no one apart from Viggato and the murderer had passed away, but the incidents with the children made him worry for his own son.
He stopped, having reached the first room. He turned the handle, surprised that it wasn't locked. He could've sworn that all the rooms had been locked when he arrived. Opening the door slowly, he shone his flashlight into the room.
And nearly screamed in horror.
Flesh and growths covered every inch of the room. Tendrils slithered round the place, twitching slightly. As he stared, a growth burst open, releasing a monster from inside. It turned to leave, when it started sniffing. It charged at the door without warning, crashing right through it. Risei jumped back, before moving to punch the beast. Though he landed a solid blow, the creature didn't even budge. Quickly punching it in the face, Risei ran down the hall. As he reached the corner, the creature nearly slammed into him, cutting his hand as it ran into the wall. Risei managed to reach the upper levels, the beast's howling following him. As he slowed down, he felt weaker than ever. Old age must be getting to him. But he looked at the wound he suffered, and nearly recoiled. Tendrils were dancing up his arm as it became monstrous.
He knew he didn't have long. Already he felt that he was turning. He scribbled a final message for Kirei, before gripping his neck and snapping it like a wishbone.
Risei corpse dropped to the ground as the tendrils stopped moving.
Damn. I had to fit a lot of memories into this chapter. Sorry if anyone expected more action, but things will be heating up as we continue. And anyone complaining about how Assassin killed Lancer, Ragnarok is about physical strength. But Zer0 had already fought the Destroyer, which is pretty much a similar creature. So he already knew what to do. And as for Archer, well he kills armies all on his own. Plus, several of his weapons are for close-combat, and can destroy tanks. No MJOLNIR Armour could survive that. Anyway, sorry for anyone rooting for Rider and Lancer. Better luck next time.
And now, here's Assassin's Stat Sheet
Assassin
Name: Zer0
Series: Borderlands
Master: Kirei Kotomine
Alignment: True Neutral
Strength: D
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Magical Power: E
Good Luck: B
Noble Phantasm: A
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment (A+)
Presence Concealment is the capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. It is a common skill to the Assassin class. At this rank it is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.
As a hitman/thing, Zer0 has had previous skill in attacking stealthily.
Personal Skills:
Clairvoyance (C)
Clairvoyance connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this skill have acquired such abilities as precognition ("future vision") and other forms of perception beyond standard eyesight (X-ray vision and so forth). At this rank Assassin is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms.
Projectile (Daggers) (B)
Projectile (Daggers) is the expertise for throwing projectile weapons; in this case, daggers. At this rank thrown projectile weapons are now comparable to bullets.
One of Zer0's skills involve throwing kunai, ninja daggers.
Subversive Activities (A)
Subversive Activities is the talent to reduce the enemy forces in the preliminary stages, before going into battle. An expert of traps. However, the higher is the ranking of this Skill, the more one's spiritual status as a hero declines. At this level it is possible to disable nearly 60% of the total military force before the enemy advances.
Zer0's main job in his group of Vault Hunters was to sabotage and assassinate key figures, causing confusion for the others.
Noble Phantasms:
Challenge Accepted (Anti-Unit)
Zer0 uses his Decepti0n skill to stealth and unleashes a holographic double. The longer he waits before it expires, the higher the damage he can inflict.
Skill Reset
Zer0 resets his skills into sniping (long range damage), Cunning (increases Decepti0n skill), or Bloodshed (close range damage)
Oh, and before I forget, here is another Omake. I've got at least another one after this, so enjoy.
Once again, all the Servants were called back to the church. They even invited Rider and Lancer, despite the fact that the two had been written off. Right now, they were bitchin about how they should've won their fight. Well, Lancer was bitchin. Rider was trying to hire Archer for his war.
They all stopped their chatter as Risei Kotomine stepped into the church room, a nervous smile on his face.
"Wait a minute." Saber said, pointing at the priest. "Didn't you just die right now?"
"I got better." Risei replied. "Anyway, I called you all here for an important announcement."
"Priest, we'd better not be broke again." Saber warned him, drawing his blade slightly.
Risei laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. We're not broke." Everyone sighed in relief. "We're bankrupt. Completely different."
"WHAT?" They all shouted at him.
"But we stole enough gold to fund this 10 times over." Caster complained.
"I know. But Halos are expensive. Especially when you miss the fine-print about extra cost in case of, oh say, some trigger-happy cat blowing the entire thing apart. And we had to cover the Dock costs, medical bills, repairing the castle, hiring all those soldiers, and lets not forget all the ammo used during that climatic fight."
"So what now?" Berserker asked. "Are we going to do more Disney parodies."
"Of course not. No one wants to see another bunch of parodies. Instead, we're going to show the spirit of giving." Everyone looked at him in confusion. "We're going to celebrate Christmas!"
"IT'S THE MIDDLE OF MAY, YOU IDIOT!" The entire city heard them all shouting at him, and anyone out and about would've seen the priest get sent to the moon by the force of their shouting. They then would've seen the moon pull out a tennis racket from behind its back, and smack him back to the church.
Weirder things have happened.
(**/*\**)
All around the house, all was quiet. Not the squeak, or a snore, or a whisper could be heard.
Except for the grunting as a large knight tried to crawl down the too-small chimney.
But Saber wasn't going to give up. If a stupid fat man could get down these, then a god like him could do the same. By the time he managed to extract himself out of the chimney, everyone had woken up, the children realising it was Christmas. They rushed to the living room, waiting for good old Santa to bring them joy. But instead, they got a grumpy undead god painted red, with what was hopefully paint.
"Ho, ho, ho." Saber grunted. "Merry fucking Christmas. Now here's your damn toys." He upended the sack over their heads, showing them with several cheap, old, broken toys. As they sat there in the mess, crying their eyes out, Saber smacked the father into the wall, raided the fridge for some beer, and smashed his way out the wall.
Which is why evil lich gods make poor Santas.
(**/*\**)
Lancer didn't seem to get the spirit of Christmas any more than Saber did. She seemed to equate the spirit of giving as giving them some love. Now, only a sick would have a grown woman give strange children some love, so we won't do that.
She went straight for the dads, as any woman would. She was even courteous enough to include the mothers too, providing they weren't attacking her with a baseball bat.
So the children sulked over not getting any toys, while the parents gave the skimpily-dressed Servant some alcohol as payment. And an apology for any damage done to the beds.
Guess heroines didn't make any better Santas either.
(**/*\**)
When Rider went out as Santa, he had two... no, three... helpful little elves with him. The lovely elves were Waver, Archer, and Clank. Which shows that Lombaxes make for good elves. They hovered high over the houses, dropping presents from cannons. The lucky boys and girls got wonderful toys and pets landing right on their bed, showering them in love and kindness. The unlucky ones, however, got broken toys landing everywhere except on the beds. And the really unlucky ones ended up with a cute little Protopet, which promptly ate them.
And so, Sci-fi war heroes made even less decent Santas.
(**/*\**)
Berserker didn't even try pretending this was in the spirit of Christmas. Instead of giving toys to the good girls and boys, he kidnapped the bad boys and girls, to be taken to his workshop to be improved.
...Wait, what?
"What? I'm the Krampus." Berserker told the narrator, dressed up as a goat man and carrying a sack full of kids. "I punish the naughty, instead of giving them coal."
... Moving on.
(**/*\**)
Finally, someone was putting an effort into the joy of Christmas. Caster and Avenger frolicked through the air, with Djinn flitting down the chimneys to greet the children. They squealed as the cute little critters handed them toys, even if it was the wrong toy. Which just goes to show, you can get away with anything if you're cute enough. The happy children rushed outside, hugging the two Servants with all their glee and giving them plates of cookies and milks.
And so the joy of giving finally got done right.
(**/*\**)
Up until Saber and Berserker, everyone thought that no other Servant could possibly mess up the season greetings any more than they did. No one could do worse than being a Grinch, or kidnapping children. Especially since Berserker sneaked back to grab all the good boys and girls.
Guess everyone forgot about Assassin.
Oh he gave things out, that's true. But somewhere along the line, he forgot he was supposed to give out the toys, not use them as bait and hand out bullets. And grenades. And knives. And honestly, no one cares if you score five headshots on children, Assassin. It's tacky.
So much for Christmas.
(**/*\**)
"Right then." Risei said after everyone regrouped. "With the exception of Caster and Avenger, you all suck at Christmas. The Grinch wishes he was horrible as you lot. But the good news, is that Fuyuki City is going to pay us to never ever do Christmas again."
"So now what?" Archer asked.
"Everyone, get on a flying creature. We're going to blackmail the shit out of them!"
And so if anyone looked up, they would've seen two dragons, Thor's hammer, a Buzzard helicopter, and a spaceship flying across the sky, dropping presents and playing Christmas carols.
And that is why the Holy Grail War is banned from ever doing Christmas. For ever.
I originally had this idea back in December, when I first started writing this story. But Christmas came and went by the time I got round to putting this up, so I'm doing it in May. Hope you had fun reading it. Sorry it's a bit short.
(For those wondering, a Buzzard is a flying vehicle from Borderlands 2. You never get to drive one, but you shoot them down like it's Buzzard-season.)