"Fate Stay Forever"
Fate Stay Night/BtVS crossover YAHF
Note : Just finished watching the 'Fate Stay Night" Anime series and just had to write a drabble/short about it. Whether or not this plot bunny is a one shot kill or not depends on you the readers.
Ethan's Costume Shop, Halloween Day, Mid-AfternoonTo say that the Xan-Man's day wasn't going very good would be quite a large understatement indeed.
First he wound up getting roped into being a chaperone to a bunch of tiny toddlers that would become ever more a pain in his ass as time went on since they'd be hyped up on sugar. Now normally he would never badmouth sweets of any kind since he was a big believer in the ability of Twinkies to brighten any day. However there was always a dark side to everything and in the case of sweets or junk food it was that in the wrong hands such delicacies could turn a pack of adorable kids into oversweet unholy terrors. Just imagining what his group of five or six year olds would likely do once they had sufficient Hershey bars and suckers in their tummies made him wish for apocalypse season to come early this year. Nevertheless he had decided that despite this torturous assignment he'd endure it for the sake of his friends who had also been forced to do it by Herr Snyder.
He should have known right then that the Harris luck wouldn't have given up so easily.
His next bit of doom and gloom came quickly on the heels of the first when an attempt by him to score some major manly points by standing up to Larry the Linebacker went completely FUBAR. The jock had approached him trying to get a feel for how asking Buffy out would go and had the nerve to imply that Buff' was an easy lay. Despite the knowledge that the football player could pound him into paste he had done his best to stand his ground and not back down. He had been about to say something chilly and warning filled, really, when the blonde girl he'd been trying to protect stepped in and slammed Larry into the soda machine. After the caveman had been scared off she hadn't had a clue as to how much she had damaged his rep by stepping in like that. HELL! She thought she had done him a favour! So naturally he had stormed off in a huff not trusting himself not to say something in anger that he would regret later. Eventually he managed to calm down and acknowledge that just as men would never completely understand what went on in the minds of women the opposite was also true. So he could forgive Buffy for not realizing that it is infinitely preferable for a guy to get the crap beat out of him than be saved by a girl that everyone thinks would have trouble lifting a stack of five phone books.
That of course led to the crowning achievement of his day that happened only a short while ago.
As a group they had all come down to the newly opened costume shop "Ethan's" to pick out their costumes in preparation for their forced assignment as 'guides' for groups of elementary students. He had been all ready to make up with his second bestest bud and was about to close the deal when fate intervened in the form of a frilly 17th century gown that was completely unappealing to him. Of course it had taken him less than a minute to clue into who, or in his opinion what, she had in mind when she had spotted the costume. From there on out she knew that trying to talk to Buffy much less reconcile with her would be impossible and that led him to where he was right now.
Combing the aisle of the costume shop for a costume that was not only in his price range but also might manage to pry the blonde Slayer's attention away from the animated corpse that currently accepted her affections. His first thought had been to dress as a soldier since he knew to find some surplus fatigues and would just need some cheap toy gun to complete the outfit. However he brushed that thought aside since he knew that a common soldier wouldn't even register on Buffy's 'potential-boyfriend' scanners much less put out enough of a signal to drag her attention away from Angel. He needed something more unique, more mysterious and definitely more dashing than this 'dark avenger' routine that Deadboy had going. Letting his eyes pass over every costume as well as every odds and ends bin in the entire shop he looked for the things that would help him come up with something truly impressive. It was just when he was about to give up and accept that a soldier was the best he could hope for at the moment when his eyes fell upon an odd looking blood red jacket.
It looks kind of familiar. He thought as he walked up to the clothes rack it was on to examine it better.
Upon closer inspection he saw that it was not a jacket per se but rather two pieces of cloth that if the tailor had finished sewing the two piece together it might have been a weird trench coat or duster. Instead it was just two red sleeves connected by a white strap on the back and a white threat in the front as well as well as something like a waist cape connected in the front by another white strap. He almost discarded it with all the other costumes he'd considered when an image suddenly popped into his head letting him know exactly what the not-coat had reminded him of. At once his face lit up like a five year old's Christmas morning and he knew that he had found the costume for him. However his glee came to a crashing halt when he looked at the price tag on the not-coat as well as added on the likely cost of the other pieces and accessories he'd need. There was no way he'd be able to afford to be able to dress as the character that had briefly come into being in his mind.
"Is there something I can help you with young man?" asked a British voice from behind him.
In another time and another place he might have jumped up startled and reprimanded the black haired store employee for sneaking up on him like that. However his disappointment at having lost the perfect costume before he'd even had it caused him to simply turn around and face the man with a depressing look on his face.
"No I don't think so. I had this great idea for a costume but there's no way I'd be able to afford all the pieces I'd need." He replied like someone who had seen a delicious chocolate cake only to be forced to eat burnt toast with a single drop of honey on it.
"Well then pick out the costume paraphernalia you require for your ideal costume and I'll simply take what money you have to give." Stated the store employee with unwavering resolve, "Never let it be uttered that a customer left my store unhappy."
"Won't it kinda be bad for business selling these costumes for less than they're worth?" Xander asked not entirely willing to jump at the proverbial carrot just yet since there was a real possibility of a catch of some kind.
"Quite the opposite young sir. By letting word spread of my generosity with you more customers than before will flock here looking for great deals." The store employee said, "Even if they don't get them the mere fact that they walked in the door will tempt them to buy something simply so that the entire trip wasn't a waste. So as you can see allowing you to assemble your costume for less than it is actually worth can only help my business."
"Well, since you put it that way, give me five minutes and I'll meet you at the cash register!" Xander said with newfound hope as he grabbed the first piece of his costume off the rack and darted in the direction he'd find the next one.
Never once did he look back at the man who had made him such an odd deal. Perhaps it would have been better if he had for if he had seen the Brit's face just ten seconds later he would have spotted the smile of a trickster rather than a friendly shop keeper.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Summers Home, Half an Hour Before the Start of the Chaperoning DutiesKnockknockknock
As Xander waited outside the front door of the Summers home he briefly adjusted the position of the two plastic Kan-Dao Chinese falchions he had tucked beneath the strap keeping his waist cape on him.
He had considered for a moment back in the store simply leaving the toy weapons behind but they were such an important part of the character's appearance that he had decided to get them. It had been a bit tricky finding a place to put them since the character he had dressed up as could make them appear and disappear at will thus not requiring sheathes of any type. So he had chosen to improvise as best he could to find a place for them and eventually settled on their present location. They'd probably fall out if he ran or did anything to jiggle them loose but hopefully he'd be able to keep his group of terrors under control. As he heard someone on the other side of the door begin to turn the doorknob he quickly did his best to get into character with a sarcastic grin and hopefully a cynical look in his eyes.
"Well hello Xander." Joyce said as she pulled the door open and got a good look at his costume, "You certainly picked out an interesting costume to wear."
"Hmph The name isn't Xander lady. You may call me Archer." He said carefully so as not to put too much sarcasm in his voice since offending Mrs. S was never a good idea, "I have come to meet with Elizabeth and Willow. Are they ready?"
Fortunately Lady Luck seemed willing to grant him some of her power since Joyce immediately understood that he was just 'in character' and didn't really intend to sound like such a jerk.
"They should be done in a moment." Joyce replied with amusement at the character the Harris teen was trying to emulate, "Buffy was just having a little trouble getting her dress on. Would you like to come in and wait for them?"
"Sure." He replied briefly as his mood soured slightly at the mention of the dress the blonde Slayer had purchased to impress her vamp boyfriend.
Knowing that his bad mood would only make the evening worse for his friends he did his best to disperse the negative emotions and put himself back into his usual upbeat mood. A few minutes later he heard the footsteps of someone upstairs approaching and looked up to behold a sight that maybe had him reassessing the merits of non-spandex materials.
"Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!" he said being completely honest yet humorous with his words, "This humble Archer swears to serve you loyally for all time!"
"Why thank you kind sir." Buffy said before turning in the direction of the top of the stairs, "But wait 'til you see…"
Looking up in the same direction of the blonde Slayer he had to wonder what had the teenage girl so excited. However when he see a sheet covered person that was distinctly Willowy in height he was able to both understand what blonde bombshell had been expecting as well as what had happened instead. Obviously Buffy had tried to bring Willow out of her shell by getting her to dress up in something daring and perhaps sexy only to leave the redheaded genius by herself for more than a minute. Internally sighing at his bestest friend since pre-school once again passing up an opportunity to change he decided he'd best step in and keep everyone from dwelling on what would probably not change anytime soon.
"Hey, Will! That's a fine boo you got there." He said with a grin meant to dispel any doubts his friend might have had that she'd done the wrong thing.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A Street of Sunnydale, Night Time, One Minute After Ethan Cast His Spell"Ooooohhhh! Feel like I've just been hit by Berserker." Groaned Archer as he regained consciousness and his senses both human and Servant came back.
Getting to his feet he found himself in an unfamiliar neighbourhood with no idea how he had gotten there. Closing his eyes he attempted to centre himself, to reach deep into his memories and recall the last conscious memory he had before awakening here. He had accompanied his Master Rin Tosaka and the Servant Sabre to a castle in the woods owned by the Master of the Servant Berserker a.k.a Heracles in an effort to rescue Shirō Emiya who had foolishly been captured by the behemoth's Master. Personally he had thought it a waste of time for him and his Master but Rin had been adamant in her desire to rescue the pathetic Shiro. Stealth had been the key as they strove to enter the castle, find the captured Master and escape without having to confront either Berserker or his Master. It had been seemingly easy to conceal their mana and enter the castle undetected and that in retrospect should have been his first clue that something was amiss. As it turned out Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master to Berserker, had deceived them and had in fact been observing their progress from the moment they entered the castle proper. Confronted with the raw might of Berserker the choices he was dealt were not good at all as Sabre was too low on mana to fight and neither Rin or Shiro had sufficient power to defeat the giant. So in the end it had been left to him to bar Heracles' path in order to give the others enough time to put as much distance as possible between them and the enemies that threatened to take their lives.
It had been then that he recalled that his initial estimation concerning what had rendered him unconscious had been accurate as his last memories had him being punched into a wall hard by Berserker. The odd thing was he didn't think that the brute had punched so hard that he would have lost consciousness. In fact he distinctly recalled letting the powerhouse get in a few shots to make certain that neither Berserker nor Illya decided to go after the easier prey of Rin, Shiro or Sabre. So why had he lost consciousness and where was he right at that moment.
I do not feel the presence of Rin's command spell or the mana of Shiro and Sabre. He thought as he looked about the immediate area only to find chaos about him.
Deciding it would be best to observe for the time being be shifted into his spirit form which would make him invisible to all save a powerful magician or another Servant. Hopefully by observing this town he could somehow discern how he was brought here as well as how he might be able to return to Rin. Leaping to a nearby rooftop he gazes about the landscape using his eagle eyes to zoom in on areas that catch his attention or hints at sorcery. All he can see though is more and more chaos as beings and monsters of various sorts are scattered throughout the town causing destruction and fear where ever they go. Surprisingly he feels a flicker of a desire to jump down from his perch and do what he can to keep the innocent people safe from harm but he quashes this feeling ruthlessly. While he does not have complete possession of his memories from his life among the living he knows without a doubt that he despised heroes and their acts of heroism. He believed them to be pointless beings because no matter how many people they saved there would always be those that died because the hero chose not to save them. In short heroes were hypocrites, allowing some to die while choosing who to save and who not to save based on their own personal values, making them little better than the villains they fought against. In a way the villains were better in that they were at least honest with themselves. They did not wrap their actions in quaint ideals like 'justice' and 'doing what was right' but rather stated clearly what they wanted and did all they could to get it.
Doesn't mean I'm willing to side with them though. He thought continuing his search of the area, It just means that that all heroes are liars in some shape or form. Whether it was to the people that they're supposed to protect or to themselves.
After several minutes of searching he thought that he would be better served to look elsewhere for a way back to his Master when he spotted something peculiar. Not far off there was a young woman, red of hair and clad in the bare minimum of cloth, running through the streets and in some cases through solid objects themselves. Who was she? Was she another Servant like himself? Or maybe a magician that had the ability to pass through solid objects like a ghost? Whatever the case might be she was his first sign of home and the life he had been taken from which meant he would follow her until something more promising came up. Leaping into the air he jumped from rooftop to rooftop trailing his prey and scrutinizing every action for some clue either to her identity or her agenda.
If she is a Servant then she is likely returning to her Master since she would have to be quite weak or quite desperate to pass through objects so blatantly. He thought as he examined each new piece of information, Even the most amateur Servant knows better than to display themselves in plain view of non-magicians.
For five minutes he followed her silently and scrutinized her behaviour until at last the redhead approached and began conversing with a brunette clad in some elaborate ballroom gown. Judging by the way the brunette was moving about it was clear that she was scared out of her mind and was only barely listening to the redhead no doubt in the hopes of some safe haven being mentioned. Apparently, much to his disbelief, there was a Master out there more inept than that fool Shirō Emiya. Still it was the best lead he had uncovered all night so for the time being he would follow the pair in the hopes that they would lead him to the information he sought.
That is if the redheaded Servant can get her Master under control long enough to go anywhere. He thought with an annoyed sigh since it seemed the brunette would require much comforting before anything productive was done.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Two Hours Later, Empty Warehouse, Warehouse District"Look at you. Shaking. Terrified. Alone. Lost little lamb." Said the unnatural creature that approached the Master of the redhead with much glee.
Looks like I'm going to have to get involved after all. Archer thought to himself as he saw that all other persons that might have been able to save the brunette Master were restrained with little chance of escape. What a bother!
Leaping forward he transformed into his more solid state just in time to knock the creature shaped like a man back several steps with a solid kick. Landing gracefully he took up a position that would provide the Master with optimum cover that would hopefully give her enough confidence to at least attempt a spell. Otherwise he was going to get his hands a tad more dirty than he had intended and he did not like that one bit.
"Well, well, well, looks like the gangs all here! Gotta say droopy I was wonderin' where you were all this time." Declared the creature cockily now that it had recovered from the kick.
"I've been here the entire time vermin. I just chose to stand back in the hopes that this pathetic Servant and her Master would be competent enough to handle you and your mob of monsters by themselves." Archer stated disdainfully making his opinion of the others on 'his side' painfully clear, "To be honest I ordinarily wouldn't give a damn if you killed them all but I'm afraid they're my only way home so it looks like I'm stuck protecting them. With that in mind I just have one piece of advice for you monster: turn around and walk away."
To these words there was shock and anger on both sides: from his 'allies' it was because he had so casually said he could care less if they lived or died and from the vermin it was due to the casual dismissal of its threat level. Both probably wanted to do something in retaliation but only the abomination of sorcery was in any position to do anything about it.
"Just who do you think you're talkin' to whelp!? I'm the Big Bad here! I'm William the fuckin' Bloody and you better show the proper respect or you'll find out just how I got my name!" the monster exclaimed angrily looking like it would just take one more thing to send into a violent rage.
"Respect? To you!? Not very likely." Archer said in the same tone one might expect to hear from a rich snob being asked for any spare change he/she might have.
With a roar of anger the vermin charged forward, fully intent on rending the Servant limb from limb, which is exactly what Archer had hoped for when he had chosen his words. With his arms out to the side and his palms facing the oncoming threat Kanshō and Bakuya, in their normal pre-reinforced forms, took shape growing outwards from his wrists as he used tracing sorcery to arm himself. Then just as both ally and enemy alike noticed this change in events he lunged forward with both falchions intent on slaying his enemy in three moves. The first was simply ducking under the creature's arms and ramming Bakuya into its stomach causing the vermin to freeze in both shock and pain. Not giving his enemy a moment to recover much less retaliate he released the blade stuck in the torso of his adversary and stabbed Kanshō through the abominations heart. Pierced in two vital spots the monster could not remain standing any longer and dropped to the ground motionless. While some might have left it right there Archer was smarted than that and after using tracing sorcery one more time he created two more falchions that he threw into the air causing them to fly around briefly before spinning downwards and neatly decapitating the vermin that thought itself superior to a Servant.
As the Servant of Rin Tosaka watched the British monster turn to ash he felt an odd wave of magic swiftly approaching his location. Like a wall of force it came and since he didn't know what it was he decided that it would be better to evade it then wait and see what its nature was or how it would affect him. Leaping into the air and transforming into his spirit form he sought to pass through the walls of the warehouse after which her would leap from rooftop to rooftop away from the anomaly in the hopes of staying clear of it until it wore itself out. However he only got about as far as the rooftop opposite the warehouse where he'd done battle before it struck him and all he knew faded to black.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It did not take the rest of the Scoobies long to locate Xander but when they questioned him as to whether or not he had retained anything from his brief time as the mysterious warrior Archer he said that nothing of the character was still in him. Buffy, Willow, Giles and the others accepted this since they were all too willing to believe that the chaos of Halloween night was over and done with. Had they bothered to look into his eyes though they would know that he was not telling them the whole truth about the possible side effects of Ethan Rayne's spell. In reality he had only told them the truth from a certain point of view rather the complete truth. The complete truth was that to him now Archer was no longer just a character from a favourite Anime series of his but as real a person as anyone around him. He could still recall vividly Archer's time in the service of Rin Tosaka as well as the few bits and pieces of his life as a human that hadn't been buried by Tosaka's incomplete summoning of the Servant. With such memories though came a rather harsh view of life and heroes in general that made him question the point of fighting the demons of the world. Prior to Halloween night he had never really considered the enormity of the forces of evil that covered the Earth, never truly understood what he and the gang were up against, but through Archer he was forced to see the truth.
The truth of the matter was that there were far too many demons and far too few people with either the skill or the knowledge to combat them. Regardless of the numerous government agencies and secret societies like the Watchers Council that existed both either lacked the resources or the wisdom to efficiently combat the threat. Add to that the fact that none of the factions played well with others and it would seem that the war with the demons and the darkness would never really improve and might actually get worse as time went on. All this brought him back to one single question: Why fight at all? The answer came to him three days later when he walked into the library at night and saw everyone he cared for gathered about the library table ready to research the latest threat. Seeing them all there and knowing what they had dedicated themselves to fighting he found his own reason to fight.
He would fight to keep his friends safe.
The rest of the world could go to hell for all he cared so long as those nearest and dearest to his heart were alive and happy.
To further this goal he kept the ability he retained from Archer, tracing sorcery, to himself and only used it when there was no other way to achieve victory. He knew that the old him probably would have come right out and told the gang as well as join Buffy on the front lines but that was not who he was anymore. Instead he would maintain the façade of the useless groupie that was only occasionally insightful and on occasion helpful in the fight against the demons and darkness. Whenever Buffy needed a weapon that she forgot to bring with her he would covertly use his tracing sorcery abilities to forge that weapon for her and make it ten times better than the original. In secret he would sneak into the weapons cage and use his skills at reinforcement to make the blades sharper and the maces more durable. Anything and everything he could do to make his friends just that little bit safer he did and always without their knowledge. He seriously doubted that anyone knew that he had transmuted a crate of munitions into the rocket launcher Buffy used against the Judge. After all he had figured that if 'not weapon forged' could kill the demon then what about a weapon transmuted or traced using sorcery. They certainly didn't suspect that he had used his reinforcement ability to triple the explosive force of the explosives they used to kill Wilkins even though the materials they used weren't capable of such a massive blast. In all he was the best secret weapon the Scooby gang had and they never knew it.
However signs of change began to appear when out of nowhere Buffy gained a little sister named Dawn and he was the only one who was aware of it. Whether it was because of the mana within him or the reinforcements he had done to his own body that had protected he did not know. Nevertheless he used the knowledge to his advantage and acted like he was under the same spell as everyone else so he could covertly watch the newcomer for any malicious intent. As time went on though the truth about Dawn Summers came out within the gang and to add to that problem an unstable yet powerful demonness arrived in Sunnydale named Glory. Both Buffy and Willow took their turns trying to defeat the demonness using their strengths of either brute force or magic but neither did more than annoy the bitch. Still they did their best to keep Dawn safe from the lunatic but in the end it was the insane jibbering of one Tara McClay that had spilled the beans forcing the gang to burn rubber out of Sunnydale in order to keep the Key made flesh safe. However just as they were about to leave the city limits a group of fools called the Knights of Byzantine or something decided that they had a better way of keeping Dawn away from Glory – kill her! While he had mentally been forced to admit that death was a sure fire way of keeping the Key out of Glory's hands the remnants of who he had once been refused to allow an innocent like Dawn to be slain for something beyond her control. So with all the might the Scooby gang could muster they holed up in an abandoned gas station and decided to wait out the crusade that had been dropped in their laps.
Should have known fate wouldn't have let us off that easy. He thought bitterly as he continued to move briskly.
In the end it hadn't been the knights that had battered down their defences but Glory who turned out to be the doctor Ben that had been comforting Buffy over the state of her mother. That of course led them to where they were now which was following the still insane Tara to where ever all of Glory's insane victims were gathering in the hope that they would be close to where the former hell goddess was and thus Dawn. In the back of his mind he knew that the time for secrets was coming to an end. With the potential destruction of all realities at stake and no guaranteed victory in sight using the usual methods he feared it might be time for him to bare it all to protect those he cared about. Half of him rebelled against the idea since it did not want to lose the tactical advantage the secret had provided him with but another part felt a growing relief that he could once more be completely honest with his friends.
Thus it was twenty minutes later when he saw Buffy try and make a break for the ramp leading up to the top of the poorly constructed tower only to be tackled to the ground by Glory that he knew he had to make a choice.
Choice!? What choice? I have none! He thought as he charged across the space between him and the former hell goddess using every evasion and aerial technique he had acquired from Archer to make it past the minions or mindless people that got in his way.
Throwing his hands to the side he used tracing sorcery to summon Kanshō and Bakuya to his hands and once close enough he delivered two vertical slashes as hard as he could to Glory's side. While the blades did not do much damage and did shatter before the slash was completed they did do enough damage to distract Glorificus enough to allow Buffy to throw the witch off of her. Apparently while normal blades didn't do squat to the former hell goddess enchanted blades, especially those created by sorcery, were at least partially effective. Not as encouraging as one might think since it meant that he would have to trace a new weapon every time he wanted to attack but it was better than nothing.
"Xander?" Buffy asked with some confusion, "Where did you get those swords? They kinda look like the ones you bought with your Halloween costume three years ago."
"No time for explanations Slayer." He said sharply in a voice that had more in common with Archer than Xander Harris, "Get up there and get Dawn free. I'll keep the hell bitch busy for you."
"You can't! You're no match for her!" Buffy protested since she no doubt still saw him as the comforting yet not a warrior friend.
"Not true. Look Buffy I'm afraid I have been lying to you and the others for a few years now." He said even as a part of him cursed the loss of a prized advantage, "I never really lost some aspects of my Halloween costume."
Knowing that she would soon ask 'what parts' he decided to show her rather than answer since he knew it wouldn't be long before Glory went on the offensive again. Crossing his arms across his chest to form an X of sorts he used his transmutation abilities to reshape and otherwise alter his clothes into something a bit more appropriate. In the space of a few seconds his jeans, t-shirt and sneakers were gone and in their place was the armour and clothes of the Servant Archer. Nearly everyone present who witnessed the sorcery were for the moment stunned and he took that opportunity to trace replacement blades for the ones that had been shattered. Now armed and afforded some protection by the Archer Armour he knew he had to snap Buffy out of her shock or she'd never get clear of the imminent battlefield that was about to be created by Glory and him.
"Now get GOING!" he yelled harshly to break her out of her shocked state, "I'll buy you as much time as I can. GO!"
"Don't you dare die on me Xander Harris!" Buffy said with complete seriousness, "Promise?"
"You got it Slayer." He replied even though he knew it was a lie.
Watching with satisfaction as the blonde Slayer turned and began racing up the tower to rescue her sister he then turned back to the ex-hell goddess who by now had completely healed from the damage he'd managed to inflict. Given that it had only been a few short minutes since the wounds had been inflicted that did not bode well for his chances and they had not been great to begin with.
"You really think you're more than an annoyance to me boy?" Glory asked with contempt and a little bit of killer intent in her voice.
"I stopped being a boy when all the harsh truths about this world were forced down my throat Halloween night." He said in a tone better reserved for glaciers, "As for my chances of beating you those are the kind of odds I live for!"
Seeing the skank's face scrunch up in rage he knew his lack of fear and small amount of arrogance had had the desired effect since it caused the blonde bimbo to attack in rage rather than with careful thought. Sneaking to the side like a matador he evaded then struck the slut drawing blood but losing a blade each time. However he knew it would not be this way for very much longer since the moment Glory stopped reacting and actually started planning her moves his ability to evade her blows would be cut in half. Add to that the fact that the fact that her wounds only seemed to stick around a little bit longer the more of them their were and the ground he was gaining was little indeed. Nevertheless he continued to fight until a flash of light in the night sky drew his attention upward and he gasped at the sight of a nimbus of energy beginning to form mid-air with bolts of energy shooting from it at random moments.
"Bad move swordsman! You don't have time to look away from me like that!" came the smug voice of Glory that sounded a lot closer than he wanted her.
Turning his head to look back in her direction he barely had a enough time to bring his two falchions up to guard before both of Glory's fists slammed into them. For a moment two forces raged against one another, Glory's power and his reinforcement sorcery, one trying to destroy his swords while the other tried desperately to keep them whole. The result was an explosion that sent him flying back into steel girder while only causing Glory to stumble back a few steps. Falling to the ground with his entire back seriously bruised up he could feel the small trickle of blood dripping down his face. Moment by aching movement he forced himself to one knee only to look up to see Glory standing smugly only thirteen feet away looking like she had all but one this fight.
"I gotta hand it to you red you actually forced me to get serious!" she said as she began her slow trot towards him, "I can't really remember the last time someone managed that in a fight with me. But now it's all over! Any last words?"
The honest answer was that he knew he was in bad shape and with Glory no longer in a state to be attacking wildly his skills at evasion would be nil especially with his injuries. That left only one option as far as he was concerned but it was one he had only practiced with once and nearly died as a result. Nevertheless it was the only card he could play that stood any chance at bringing this bitch down and just like Archer he really hated to lose. With a sigh he shook his head and placed a rueful grin on his face as he realized that history was about to repeat itself even though it was a fictional history. Looking up at Glory he glared at her with the determination borne of warrior willing to put everything on the line including his life.
As a matter of fact I do Glory!" he said as he leapt from his crouched position and landed on an I-beam twenty feet above.
Centring himself he prepared himself to speak the words that would in all likelihood be his last.
"I am the bone of my sword!" he proclaimed before he traced a unique bow into existence followed by Caladbolg the sword with a blade shaped like a drill.
Using transmutation he reshaped the sword into an arrow of light and professionally combined it with the bow drawing back the black cord until it was as tight as it could be. As if mirroring the movements of Berserker the former goddess leapt towards him with the complete intention of killing him before he could attack. All she really did was provide him with the perfect target and with a loud exhale he released the arrow allowing it to fly with unerring aim towards its target. With an explosion of force and energy that shook everything and the tower almost too much the transmuted sword detonated inflicting a massive amount of destructive energy on the ex-goddess. When the smoke cleared he was somewhat gratified to see that his attack at least had resulted in massive cuts being made criss-crossing the bitch's torso. However what elation he had vanished when the injuries seal up in of seconds rather than minutes like earlier.
She must be diverting quite a bit of her power to her regenerative abilities in order to do that. He thought and while this caused him to grimly smile inside he knew the battle was far from over.
Leaping up and up until he reached the top of the framework of metal that had been constructed separate from the tower Buffy and Dawn were on he took a moment to regain what strength he could for the next phase in his plan. Turned out he had less than two minutes since not one second later he sensed an iron rebar cutting through the air barely giving him enough time to evade it.
"You continue to impress me boy! Finishing you off will make a fitting way to end my time in this pathetic dimension!" Glory said as she stood up on the metal beam across from him.
With that she leapt across the gap between him but slower than before which led him to believe that by focusing most of her demonic energy on regeneration her superhuman physical abilities had been reduced. As a result she fell a little short of her mark and just barely managed to grab a hold of the beam he had once occupied in order to keep from falling to the ground below.
Crossing his arms across his torso he chanted "Steel is my body and fire is my blood!"
With those words two more falchions traced into his hands and with a swing of his arms he threw them like boomerangs into the arm then watched them dive and impale Glory in her shoulders. Sadly she did not fall to the ground as he had hoped which meant he would once again have to tap into his dwindling supply of mana.
"I have created over a thousand blades!" he cried as two more falchions replaced the ones he had thrown yet they went the same way as their predecessors as he threw them in Glorificus' direction.
As if being called by their younger siblings the two swords that had been embedded into Glory's shoulders took the sky to do a literal dance of the blades in the sky before they cut downwards at the ex-hell goddess like buzz saws. Like explosives they became as the arcane energy that they had been constructed with was released bombarding the bimbo with their energy on all sides. While this attack did serve to severely weaken Glory she stubbornly refused to relinquish her grasp on the metal beam and that left him with only one course of action.
Summoning into existence two more swords he tightrope walked along the metal beams at great speed while saying "Unknown to Death, Nor Known to Life!"
Crossing his blade bearing arms behind his back he could feel as they transmuted, lengthening and adorning themselves with razor sharp feathers. Closing his eyes he repeated the words that to Archer had embodied the life of a swordsman:
"Our souls, hard yet firm
Our power, tearing the mountains
Our swords, splitting the water
Our names, reaching the villa
Only one among us can stand under heaven"
Then leaping high into the air he brought both strengthened and transformed blades down hard onto the back of Glorificus this time cutting deeper than ever before. The scream of pain that she unleashed from her mouth was music to his ears but when the pain turned to rage none could have been more surprised than he when crimson light not only shatter his blades as well as throw him back but also sealed up the bitch's wounds with nary a blemish to show that they had ever been there in the first place. Dropping to one knee on a beam on the far side of Glory's position he could feel that his left arm was dangerously close to breaking. All but growling at the poor turn of luck he seemed to be getting with his opponent he watched as she almost effortlessly climbed up onto the beam she had been feebly clinging to moments before. Turning around to face him he could see that what little anger and perhaps pain he had managed to inflict on her had been wiped away and replaced with unregulated arrogance.
"Hahahahahaha! It's all over now you little monkey!" she crowed as a crimson light began to filter into her eyes, "With each moment that passes the barrier keeping me from my home weakens and more of my former power returns to me! You can't win!"
"You're still a slut though!" he said snarkily before some of the tact he had inherited from Archer could stop him.
Too bad since it probably could have spared him from some pain since with a snarl of annoyance Glory shot across the gap and kicked him off his perch sending him falling to the ground below. Dazed and disoriented he used what focus he had to reinforce the armour protecting his back and arms knowing that they would receive the brunt of the sudden stop of the fall. With pain and a force capable of driving all the air out of his lungs he finally hit the ground with an audible thump. He was barely aware of another thump marking the arrival of Glorificus to ground level and was only able to hear her words because he had managed to use his abilities to patch himself up a little bit.
"Bet you're feeling pretty stupid right now aren't ya?" she asked imperiously with her hands on her hips.
"I-I've n-never really… ungh… been accused of being all… angh… in the first place." He replied as he forced his body to get back to its feet.
"Hmph! Must have hit you too hard. You're starting to talk crazy." Glory said as she could not make sense of what her foe was up to, "I guess I'll just have to put you out of your misery!"
"Sorry bitch! I can't die just yet." he said as he finally managed to secure his stance, "'Cause before I go I intend to make it clear to everyone just who it was you faced!"
Tracing as quickly as he could two falchions, Kanshō and Bakuya, he threw one to the right of the ex-hell goddess piercing an up until now ignored drum causing it to spew its contents all over Glorificus' face. Moving to a position behind her he dropped down to one knee as he prepared for the final words of his chant that would bring his ultimate technique into existence.
"I'll tear you limb from limb!" Glory screamed with rage as he tried vigorously to wipe the drum's contents from her face.
Closing his eyes he began to gather all the mana he had left knowing that it was time for the big finale and that he'd be damned if he was going to screw things up now! Peripherally he was aware of Glorificus thrashing about, slamming her fists into things randomly, but that was all the attention he could spare given the enormity of what he was about to attempt. Therefore he did not notice when the blonde bimbo shorted out an electrical panel causing a lamp that had once been dark to turn on. With an orbit all its own it cast its light about the place before falling on him finally like a Hollywood spotlight. Then to doubly curse him it was at that moment that the bitch's vision was finally restore so it took her less than five seconds to locate him. However the Harris luck would not prevail for he now had all the mana he was going to get with the precious seconds he knew he had left.
"Have withstood pain to create many weapons!" he chanted as the strain caused images of his life to flash before his mind's eye, "Yet those hands will never h-hold anything!"
"Oh no you don't swordsman! No more tricks of yours!" Glory yelled as she charged his position.
"So as I pray, UNLIMITED BLADEWORKS!" he yelled unleashing all his gathered mana into the Servant Archer's supreme technique.
Then, as though he himself had opened a portal to Hell itself, a circle of fire grew rapidly outwards from his position engulfing not only his foe but the Scoobies still on the ground as well. All were momentarily blinded but when they were able to open their eyes they thought for a moment that they had truly died in the flames the wounded warrior had conjured. All about them, as far as the eye could see, was a wasteland littered with blades of every type sticking out of the ground like tombstones. Then they looked upwards and saw dark gears turning slowly in the sky attached to some sort of invisible framework for there was nothing holding them up in the air. It was only because they had not expected it that they noticed him returning to a standing position and saw that he now clasped in his right hand a finely crafted sword that looked quite sharp indeed.
"As you can probably tell Glory this is a realm of unlimited blades forged by my own imagination. Each is a work incapable of being copied using conventional swordsmith skills and sharp enough to penetrate even your scaly hide." He said grandly as he brought up his sword to assure himself of its quality, "So let's finish this Glorificus! No more holding back!"
"Rrrraaagggghhhhh!" Glory yelled with rage as she charged the boy who dared to think he could beat her.
Matching her stride for stride Xander ran headlong towards her fully intent on carrying out the meaning of his words right then and ending this fight for good. Like two titans clashing the air shook with the power of the conflict and light exploded from ground zero as his power was pitted against the rising power of Glorificus. He wanted to believe that his strength was enough to defeat her, that he could swagger over to the gang triumphant, but even as he thrust his sword towards his foe's heart and summoned blades from the environment to impale her he knew that he had lost. With light to rival five suns the battle ended and once more they all found themselves back in the construction site where it had all began. All that was really different was that now Xander lay bloody and broken on his back barely breathing and in no condition to continue fighting.
Looks l-like I c-can't keep my p-promise Buffy. He thought with pain and fatigue as his strength began to fade, I guess I was never more than a copy of Archer after all and we all no copies can never match the original.
"Do not give up Master!" came a voice that instantly obliterated any grief within him even as he felt a burning sensation on the back of his right hand.
Turning his head as best he could he saw a sight that should have been impossible in this world. Flying through the air at Glory, clad in the finest armour the blacksmiths of Camelot could make, was a blonde warrior straight from the same piece of fiction as Archer. With a mighty swing of her invisible blade she forced Glory to withdraw lest the bimbo find one more blade sticking out of her injured body. Even as he felt her use the restorative powers of the sheathe of Excalibur to heal the most severe of his wounds his mind was unable to grasp how she could possibly be here. To his knowledge no one else had dressed up as a character from the Anime Fate Stay Night on Halloween years ago nor had Ethan's spell been cast again since. It just didn't make sense to him yet as some of the pain and injuries left him he could not deny that she was here now and with her perhaps victory was still possible.
Helping him to his feet she asked "Shall we finish this battle Master?"
"Yes! Let's fight together and claim our victory!" he said confidence rising in his voice as he summoned the sword that held special meaning to both him and his comrade, "Let's go SABER!"
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&