I think that I might be able to update more frequently now that I have a better idea of where I want this to go. Hopefully this chapter turned out well despite the small amount of time I spent on it.
"You wanted to speak with me, Father?" Louis inquired as he stepped into Niccolo's office.
"Yes." the priest nodded. "Show me your hand please?"
Louis cautiously held up the hand with his Command Seals.
"Command Seals…" Niccolo furrowed his brow, surprising Louis at the same time.
"How do you-"
"Close the door please." Niccolo requested.
Louis obeyed and shut the door behind him.
"I am a member of an organization called Paradisum. We have been observing the Holy Grail War and are hoping to ensure the outcome benefits the Faith. I am the one in charge of our operations here in Philburg." Niccolo explained. "We were hoping that one of our members would be selected as a Master, but unfortunately, none were. Therefore, we have been looking to recruit one of the Masters instead."
"What do you want?"
"To show the world the glory of God."
"…" Louis closed his eyes to think. "…Rider, what do you think?"
"I believe we should." Rider said as he materialized. "Are we not members of the Faith?"
"You have a point." Louis said. "After all, my goal is something that can be accomplished during the War anyway."
"And what is that?" Niccolo inquired.
"The boy wants to kill Assassin of Alpha and avenge his father." Rider stated. "Personally, I believe that it's a stupid idea."
"'Be ye angry, but sin not. Do not let the sun set while you are still angry.'" Niccolo quoted. "While you would most likely have to kill Assassin of Alpha regardless, being angry with them will cloud your judgment."
"Whatever. I'll still work with you."
"Good."
Fate/new dawn
Chapter 23: For My Father
As soon as Jeffrey stepped into his apartment, he felt an extremely strong headache.
"You saw that one woman walking out of that church, right?" Kylie hissed.
"What woman? There were several women walking out of that church."
The headache then intensified.
"YOU IDIOT!" Kylie yelled. "There was a Servant among them. More specifically, a Ruler-class Servant, Jeanne d'Arc."
"That annoying holy maiden can exorcize me. You will get rid of her as soon as you can. AM I CLEAR?"
"Yes, yes." Jeffrey panted. "Now cut it out. You'll make me go brain-dead like this."
"That would actually be a decent improvement, you stupid boy." Kylie growled.
Nicholas' mother and father were arguing again.
His mother had become suspicious of her husband, coming to believe that he had another woman.
Nicholas wasn't very sure what they were arguing about because they would always send him away before arguing. But, they didn't know that their son was a Master in the Grail War and that Archer of Omega could hear them better.
"How distressing." she said disapprovingly. "It seems that thy mother believes her husband to be unfaithful."
"What does that mean, Miss Archer?" Nicholas whispered.
"It means that he may very well have another woman."
"That's awful! He and mom are supposed to love each and not anyone else. Well, at least, in that way that a husband and wife do."
"Unfortunately, not many think that way, Master."
"Were you ever married, Miss Archer."
"No. I took a vow of purity many years ago."
"So, you can't marry and have children?" the young boy inquired.
"No. The last one is unfortunate, but this vow is a way that I express my gratitude to Artemis."
"But why would dad do cheat on mom?" Nicholas asked.
"…Have thy parents ever told thee about that…special thing a married couple does?"
"Um… Go on dates?" Nicholas responded innocently.
"Close, but not quite."
"Then what?"
"Wait until thy parents tell you first."
"Okay, Miss Archer." Nicholas said. "Hey, do you think the Grail can make mom and dad make up to each other?"
"Possibly. But things are rarely ever that simple, Master."
"But Miss Archer, mom and dad are supposed to love each other. They can't be together if they don't love each other."
'Gods bless this child that his innocence may never be absolutely destroyed.' Archer silently prayed.
After his parents were done arguing, Nicholas went to the abandoned playground and sat on the swing set again.
"Miss Archer, can you push me on the swing?" Nicholas asked. "You promised me, right?"
Archer stopped to take a look around and see if no one else was around.
"You're right. I did." she then materialized. "But only just a few times."
"That's okay." Nicholas nodded. "And you can become a ghost if you do see anyone, so it works."
Archer took hold of Nicholas and gently pushed him forward. Quickly checking to ensure that no one could see them, she then caught him and pushed again. This quickly became a routine in the handful of minutes that this went on.
Louis was walking through the city that night and eventually stopped when he heard a voice call out to him.
"There you are."
Louis turned around and saw Jeffrey walking up to him.
"So, I heard that Assassin of Alpha killed your father and you want revenge, right?" Jeffrey smiled.
"Be wary, boy. I sense evil intent in this man." Rider warned.
Jeffrey handed Louis a picture of Ian. "This is their Master."
"How do I know you aren't lying?" Louis questioned.
"What reason would I have to lie?" Jeffrey replied.
"Fine. I'll trust you." the teenager said.
"Good hunting, kid." Jeffrey said as he turned to walk away. 'What an idiot.'
Saber of Alpha crossed her swords to block a swing from Rider's war hammer. She then pushed him away before swinging one blade, cutting Rider across the chest, before thrusting the other forwards. Rider managed to evade the second strike and swung his hammer down, only for Saber's superior agility to allow her to avoid the swing. Rider jumped back and used his Noble Phantasm to summon a horse and mount it.
Rider steered his horse away from Saber before quickly turning it back around to charge towards her. Saber guarded a swing from Rider's hammer, but it was swung with enough speed and strength that it broke her guard and knocked the swords out of her hands. Saber then dismissed those two swords and drew her other two, the ones symbolizing the elements of Earth and Wind. Rider charged again, prompting Saber to sidestep as quick as she could. However, Rider quickly turned the horse around and hit his opponent with yet another swing, knocking her towards a wall. Saber ran back towards the King of the Franks and her eye began glowing.
By the power of the Empyrean Eye, all possible outcomes were rewritten so that when Saber swung her sword, she would cut Rider's arm off. Rider screamed in pain as his arm was sliced off before Saber stabbed him in the side. Kicking her away, he ran down the street before stopping and turning back around.
"By the power of my Command Seal, regrow your arm."
After his Master used that Command Seal, prana began forming where Rider's arm was and became a new one. Summoning the hammer back to his hand, he then raised it into the air.
"Cavalry of Tours!"
A massive herd of armored horses was summoned behind Rider and followed him as he charged forwards.
"Oh no." Saber yelled as she began running to avoid the herd.
She ran into the nearby park and began leading Rider's army of armored horses down a path. She then saw a tree with a sturdy-looking branch extended to the side. Sheathing her swords, Saber then grabbed onto the branch and hoisted herself up so that she was perched on it.
"How do I defeat him like that?"
Rider continued to lead the horses on before veering around to charge at Saber yet again. She jumped down and began preparing to use her Noble Phantasm as Rider drew closer.
"Amen. I place my trust in Tenjin of the Tenman Shrine, deity of absolute freedom."
The four-armed asura was summoned behind Saber.
"My blade shall sever your spirit!" she yelled as the asura began swinging its swords at Rider, knocking his horses aside in the process and slaying them.
"This one blade the path of null, the cumulation of my life!" Saber drew her sword and a beam of energy erupted around the blade.
"Ishana Daitenshou!"
The sword was swung down and killed Rider. Saber panted as the rest of the horses dematerialized.
"Phew. That really takes it outta me, but I don't think I had any other options. Other than that, he was a little underwhelming." Saber said. 'Master, I'm coming back. Make sure to prepare lots of food!'
Louis began walking back home, a look of despair on his face. He had lost Rider now and couldn't fight anymore.
And as if fate wanted to taunt him, Ian just so happened to be walking down the same sidewalk at that time. Louis stopped to make sure the boy walking towards him matched the photo. When he was absolutely sure that he had the right person, his face contorted into a look of rage.
"You!" he pointed at Ian accusingly.
"Hm?" Ian said.
"You're Assassin of Alpha's Master, aren't you?"
"Yes. And I'm assuming that you're with Omega." Ian responded.
"My name is Louis du Bois. You killed my father! Even if Rider is dead now, I will still avenge him!" Louis took a pocket knife out.
"POUR MON PERE (FOR MY FATHER)!" he yelled as he charged towards Ian.
Ina pulled out his own pocket knife. Right when Louis was in front of Ian, Assassin materialized and stabbed him in the stomach. Simultaneously, Ian swung and cut Louis across the throat. Louis stumbled back, grasping the two wounds before falling forward dead.
Ian began laughing nervously, and his laughter gradually began to become more deranged as he realized what he did.
Nicholas' mother was correct. His father did in fact have another woman. She can shortly after Nicholas' father thought his wife had left to go to the store for some reason and their son was asleep. However, he didn't not know that it was a trap. She was hiding in their closet while the car was actually being driven by a close friend of hers.
"Gotcha b****!" she yelled as she burst out of the closet.
Another argument ensued. The other woman put her clothes back on and tried to leave. The other two were too angry with each other to notice she left.
But just when she opened the door, Jeffrey was standing on the front porch. He quickly took a gun out and shot her.
The others were alerted by the sudden gunshot. The wife rushed to protect Nicholas while the husband ran to the gun safe and began loading a gun.
Jeffrey walked around but was taken by surprise when Nicholas' father came out from behind a corner and shot him. Fortunately for him, he missed the vital organs and hit his arm. Berserker then materialized, the suddenness of the action combined with the Heroic Spirit of Madness' monstrous appearance making the man soil his pants. The axe-sword was swung and obliterated his head.
Jeffrey prompted Berserker to dematerialize again before continuing to search. He knew who Archer of Omega's Master was and also knew who her Master was. He figured that by taking her Command Seals and using Kylie to exploit her love for children, Archer would be easily controlled.
When he found Nicholas' room, he shot the poor boy's mother first. The boy then subconsciously used a Command Seal to summon Archer to him. Berserker then dematerialized and knocked her away. Kylie then appeared and Jeffrey prompted his Servant to go back into spirit form again. Archer began screaming as Kylie entered her mind, leaving an opening for Jeffrey to kill Nicholas.
"Please don't kill me…" Nicholas pleaded, tears in his eyes.
The trigger was pulled.
And now it hits the fan. Louis and Nicholas are now both dead, Jeffrey stole Archer of Omega, and Ian is now starting to go off the deep end.
As for Jeffrey's strategy, it will only have some success. Archer of Omega's sanity has now taken a large hit, but she hates Jeffrey now and wants to get rid of him. Unfortunately, it would not free her from Kylie's influence. And as for what was actually making her scream while Kylie was entering Archer's mind, it was Kylie showing Archer her memories. Yeah... By the time the prequel rolls around, you'll have a pretty good idea of how messed up her life was.
Now for the reviews.
PoseidonisPlayz: Yeah, the lack of mages makes a pretty big difference in the cast. While there are two psychopaths and a sociopathic ghost among the cast, majority of the cast actually possess moral compasses, including, oddly enough, one of the aforementioned psychopaths due to being similar to Kirei (rejoice, young man).
KnightOfZaku: We'll see about that first one... But as for crossing over with FGO, I think that'll be quite interesting, on Chaldea's part at least. The Fate/new dawn world is so drastically different from their own and the cast of FGO is regarded as fictional characters in this facet of the Kaleidoscope. As for what point in Grand Order that Chaldea will be coming from, it'll be at some point in Epic of Remnant. It'll also take heavy inspiration from GhostXavier's Fragments of Chaldea. I love that so much. Of course, there'll be elements to make sure that it's not completely ripping off of it.
One thing I also believe will be quite interesting to write is how they react to the fact that the (extremely (BLEEP)ing stupid) system of magic they're used to is...kinda false in this universe.
Devin sands: Thanks.
Leave a review. Constructive criticism will be accepted. Flames will be used to make s'mores. Jyaa-nee!
