Earlier that day…
Lily was not having a good day.
It seemed that after so long, Paisley was finally done with leaving her alone.
The first thing that happened was that she found various insults written on her desk. They ranged from simple ones like 'freak' to some more…colorful insults.
And then Paisley herself decided to personally insult her herself.
"You know he's just using you for sex, right?"
What a hypocrite. Paisley had absolutely no room to talk about that. She cycled through boyfriends like she was using tissues watching a really sad romance movie or something. And then there's the fact that Lily and Ian never even had sex in the first place. They never even touched any of the places that only a married couple should touch each other in. Paisley was just scrapping the bottom of the barrel.
But that did not make it any less irritating.
"You sure that you don't want to use hypnosis to make her back off?" Lily mentally asked Caster.
"While the thought is tempting, because I will admit that I find her detestable, the answer is still no."
"Why else would he even bother with a sad, lonely, little freak like you who can't see out of one eye properly?" Paisley continued. "He obviously wants to f*** because when he gets bored with you, he can just throw you away and no one'll do anything about it."
"…Do you have anything that could increase the size of her brain?"
"Unfortunately, Master, I do not. But even if I did, that would require the target of the spell to have a brain."
Lily tried, and succeeded, to not laugh aloud at that one.
"But come on, who even wants you? Your birth parents certainly didn't."
That crossed a line that no one should ever cross.
"They died in a car accident, you b****!" Lily yelled.
"Aw, did I strike a nerve there?" Paisley said mockingly. "And what about your other mommy? Oh wait, she doesn't seem to want you either."
Lily's angry expression turned into one of complete shock that said one thing.
How did you know?
"Yeah, I know. Let's just say that I have friends. Unlike you. So, I know that your mommy has cancer, in more ways than one," Paisley leaned in and smirked. "Probably got so sick of the fact that her adopted daughter is a little freak who won't amount to anything. I don't blame her honestly."
It took everything that Lily had to not attack Paisley. Tears began to fall from her eyes and she started to take deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
Paisley then leaned into Lily's ear. "You gonna cry? Tch. Weak little b****…"
Lily then got up from her seat and left the classroom before going to hide in the restroom to cry.
Fate/new dawn
Chapter 27: At the Edge
Later on, after that incident, Ian saw Lily sitting alone at lunch. While this wasn't unusual because one of them would wait for the other at the usual spot, he could tell that something was up.
"Hey, Lily, are you okay?" Ian asked, concerned. "Did something happen?"
"…Paisley..." Lily said sadly. "She and her friends wrote a bunch of mean words all over my death and then she started saying that you were only using me for sex and my birth parents didn't want me."
"And then… She knows that mom has cancer… Paisley said that mom doesn't want me either…"
That all made Ian angry. He had psychotic tendencies, but even he had standards. He would gladly kill someone but playing with someone's emotions just to get sex out of them was cruel. And taunting someone about their dead (or dying) parents was even worse.
Lily then started crying and Ian took his napkin and began wiping her tears.
"Assassin, we're going to kill Paisley tonight." he mentally stated.
"Yay! We get to dissect a mean bully!"
That evening…
Ian was going to wait until nightfall to kill Paisley, but he had had Assassin stalk her in spirit form so that they could find where she lived. Once they had ascertained where the snobby girl lived, Assassin went back to the house.
Marcus soon called to say that he was going to be running late and would grab dinner before coming home. So, he made dinner just for himself and Assassin. The small Servant was always happy when he cooked dinner and Ian could understand why that was. When Assassin was alive, she was a street urchin and the closet she could get to eating 'food' was the scraps that people had thrown out.
"We only have a few days until the War's over, right Daddy?" she asked.
"Yeah. Once the remaining Omega Servants have been killed, we'll just have to be the last ones standing and get the Grail."
"And then that means that we can stay with Daddy!" Assassin said cheerfully.
Ian smiled at Assassin. She was a good kid. She still had several loose screws, but she was still a good kid.
Ian then heard the door open and his uncle came into view with Harry following behind him. Ian recognized that man. He was the one that Ian bumped into a few weeks ago, the one who seems to have known his mother. Ian wasn't sure why that man was here, but he could tell a few things from their body language; he and Marcus did not like each other, and the man did not want to be here. So, why did Marcus bring him?
"Hey, Uncle Marcus." Ian greeted. "Who's this?"
Marcus then took a deep breath. "Ian, this is your father."
Ian then glared at Harry. "You…"
Harry then looked at Assassin and his face paled in horror before he glared at Marcus.
"That girl's a Servant! I knew this would be a trap!" he yelled as Lancer materialized, ready to defend his Master.
Archer then materialized and summoned Kanshou and Bayuka while Assassin's clothes were surrounded by blue prana particles before changing into her combat attire. She drew two of her knives and stood ready to attack Harry at any second.
"Stop! Stop!" Marcus yelled. "This was not a trap. Everyone, stand down!"
"Why shouldn't I have Assassin attack him? He knocked my mom up and ran!" Ian questioned as he stood up and slammed his hand on the table.
"Ian, that's enough." Marcus ordered.
"Why did you leave?" Ian then yelled at Harry. "And now, after over eleven years, you have the balls to come back!"
"I'm not too thrilled to be here either, kid…" Harry muttered.
"So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't have Assassin kill him!" Ian said to Marcus.
"Oh God… He's like his mother, isn't he?" Harry said to Marcus.
"What?" Ian then said. "Uncle Marcus, what does he mean?"
Marcus then glared at Harry and growled. "You idiot…"
"What does he mean that I'm like Mom?" Ian demanded.
"Ian-" Marcus started before being cut off by Harry.
"Kid, your mom was a psychotic b****."
Ian then faced Marcus with a look of despair. "No. That's not true… Right?"
"…Ian, he's right." Marcus said sadly.
"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Ian said, sounding absolutely broken.
"Ian-"
"All this time, you told me that my mom was a good person! You lied to me! You've been lying to me ever since I killed that mouse. You told me that she'd be disappointed in me, but you were lying this whole time. Why did you do it?"
"Because I didn't want you to become like her."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Ian yelled.
"Ian, I-"
Ian then started running towards the door before opening it and leaving, slamming it behind him. Assassin then dematerialized and followed after him.
"You a**hole!" Marcus yelled. "Look what you did!"
"What I did? This is your fault! You're the one who lied to him the entire time you raised him." Harry retorted.
"I was going to tell him-"
"Then why didn't you do it sooner?"
"C'mon, Lancer, we're leaving." Harry said as he turned to leave.
"But he has his Servant out. We can take one of our enemies out right now." Lancer objected.
"Lancer, we're in a sufficiently populated area and if you two did fight, it would likely spill out of the house and into the neighborhood." Harry countered.
"Fair enough." Lancer shrugged before following after Harry and dematerializing as they stepped out the door.
Marcus then pulled up a chair before sitting down and putting his head in his hands.
"What have I done?" Marcus muttered.
"To be fair, Master, this might be for the best." Archer replied.
"How, Archer?" Marcus looked up. "How could this have been for the best?"
"Well, you've seen that anime that is essentially the story of my life." Archer said sarcastically. "That boy constantly held on to his delusions of becoming a Hero of Justice and look where that led."
"It's why I wanted to kill him so that I could cease to exist. If that boy had never held on to those hypocritical beliefs, I would not have to exist. And if you let him keep thinking that his mother was a good person, it would have destroyed him and resulted in something like me."
"…I suppose you're right." Marcus sighed.
Ian roamed the city before sitting in an alley that was near Paisley's neighborhood. Now, all he had to do was wait until night to make his way to the snob's house and put his plan into action.
Sure enough, night came and Ian began progressing towards his destination and stopped when Assassin recognized Paisley's house. He then thought about what he was going to do and then he thought about what Lily would think.
"…It's not worth it."
"What?" Assassin said.
"It's not worth it. We're leaving." Ian turned to leave.
Assassin frowned. Ian was thinking about Lily and that kept him from letting her dissect Paisley. She would have to attack or else her Daddy would leave her…
Ian then decided that he was going to tell Lily that he was a psychopath and that she should leave him. It was for the best. He really did care for Lily but knew that sticking around him would only hurt her in the end. And if he just left her out of the blue, that would hurt her even more than necessary.
"Hey, Ian." Lily greeted as she opened the door.
"Lily, I need to tell you something…" Ian said sadly.
"My uncle found my father and decided that I should see him. Well, one thing lead to another, and I discovered that my father is also a Master and that Uncle Marcus was lying to me…"
"How?"
"My mom was a psychopath."
"…Oh." Lily said sadly.
"Lily, I think that we should stop talking to each other." Ian said sadly.
'What?" Lily asked. "Why…"
"Lily, I inherited my mom's psychotic tendencies. I like to hurt people, even if I know it's wrong, but I've had Assassin kill so many people already. Have you heard about all those murders that involve the victims having their hearts torn out? That's Assassin and I. Lily, I'm a monster. Sticking around me will only get you hurt and I don't want that."
"You feel guilty… Don't you?" Lily replied.
"Yeah…" Ian said sadly.
"And you really do care about me?"
Ian nodded.
"And Assassin?"
Ian nodded again.
"And Leeroy?"
Yet another nod
"And your uncle?"
And one more nod.
"Ian, psychopaths don't feel guilt. And they don't care about other people either. Yes, hurting people is bad, but you aren't a psychopath. You feel guilty about killing people. You care about me, Assassin, Leeroy, and your uncle."
"Why?" Ian muttered.
"Because you've helped me so much, so let me help you." Lily answered. "You're not a bad person. The things you've done won't go away, but I can help you become a better person."
"…" Ian was silent as tears fell from his face.
Lily then wrapped her arms around Ian.
"You're going to take our Daddy from us, aren't you?" Assassin said as she dematerialized. "We told you what would happen if you tried to take Daddy from us!"
Assassin drew her knives and was prepared to stab Lily, but Ian pushed Lily aside.
"Stop!" Ian yelled as he used a Command Seal.
Assassin then froze in place before her eyes looked towards Lily and then back at Ian, tears welling up.
"Please don't leave us, Daddy…" she pleaded. "We don't want to be alone again. Please don't leave us and make us be alone again…"
Assassin then began crying and dropped her knives.
"Assassin, I won't. I was never going to." Ian said as he knelt down to Assassin's eye level. "Because good daddies don't leave their kids; they take care of them."
Ian then wiped Assassin's tears with his hand. "But do you know what happens when a man and a woman who are both adults love each other?"
"They have sex?"
That briefly caused the tender moment to deflate like a popped balloon.
"Um, what I meant was they get married. And if one of those two has a kid, them the other becomes their step-parent." Ian said. "If I love Lily, then that means we might get married one day. And if that happens, she'll be your mommy."
"Our mommy?" Assassin said.
"Yeah." Ian said.
"So, you won't leave us?" Assassin asked.
"No. Because I'm your daddy and I love you." Ian smiled warmly.
"We love you too, Daddy!" Assassin said as she hugged Ian.
Ian returned the hug before looking over to Lily, who had recently been joined by Caster.
"I'm sorry about that." Ian apologized. "She had a very hard life."
Assassin then released Ian before walking over to Lily. "We're sorry."
"Um…"
"What we did won't stop you from marrying Ian and becoming our mommy, right?" Assassin asked.
"Um…" Lily said sheepishly, her face turning bright red.
Ian's response to hearing Assassin's question was the same while Caster chuckled lightly at this.
"W-We'll see." Lily stated.
Class: Caster
True Name: Watatsumi
Master: Lily Wright
Alignment: Lawful Good
Sex: Female
Height/Weight: 160cm/63 kg
Strength: C
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: A++
Luck: A
Noble Phantasms: EX
Class Skills
Territory Creation A
Allows Watatsumi to be able to alter the surrounding land to her will. The creation of a 'Temple', which is superior to a 'Workshop', is possible.
Item Construction A
Allows her to create any magical item or tool she needs. This is more specifically geared towards creating ofuda.
Personal Skills
One with the Waves A
This gives Watatsumi the ability to manipulate any nearby body of water. It also allows for Watatsumi and her master to breathe underwater.
Voice of the Sea B
With this skill, Watatsumi can understand, speak to, and even command any animal that lives in water.
Goddess' Divine Core EX
A Skill that expresses one being a perfected goddess from birth. A composite Skill that comprises the Skill Divinity, preserves the absoluteness of the mind and the body, repels all mental interference, prevents the body from growth and prevents the figure from change no matter how much calories are absorbed.
Watatsumi is the king of the sea, and a tutelary deity, making her more of a divine spirit than anything else. Since she is purely a bunrei, and given that it is not a possession of a human being, she attains an EX Rank in this Skill.
Gekirin B
This comes in the form of a certain spot below Watatsumi's chin that all dragons have. Should this spot be touched, Watatsumi will fly into an uncontrollable, monstrous rage, along with gaining the benefits of a B+ rank Mad Enhancement.
Noble Phantasms
Owatatsumi no kami "The Great God of the Sea" EX
In a large whirl of blue magic energy, this Anti-Unit (Self) Noble Phantasm reverts Watatsumi to her original form, that of a large, beautiful blue Japanese Dragon whose scales shimmer like newly polished sapphires, and whose gaze could make a whole army freeze in their tracks. Any spells she can cast are doubled in power, and she can shoot out blue flames. Despite her large size, she is able to fly smoothly and gracefully through the air. The only way that Watatsumi can revert back to her human form is if she turns herself back, or gets low on mana.
Ryūgū-jō "The Undersea Palace of Watatsumi" A
This Anti-Army Noble Phantasm is a Reality Marble of Ryūgū-jō, Watatsumi's underwater home, along with the ocean around it. Other Servants, unfortunately even allies, become weakened in this Reality Marble, whereas Watatsumi becomes stronger. The area even acts like water; thankfully you can still breathe, though it is harder for enemies to do so.
Ryūjin "Manifestation of the Dragon Kami" A
This Anti-Gate Noble Phantasm is a staff in the shape of a Japanese Dragon, with a pearl in its mouth and a necklace of pearls tied around it. This staff can shoot our blue flames, and, if Watatsumi puts it up to her eyes, can even give her the ability to see through walls. Watatsumi can also use Ryūjin as a close-quarters weapon.
Class: Assassin
True Name: Jack the Ripper
Master: Ian Jackson
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Gender: Female
Height/Weight: 150cm/45kg
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: A
Magic: C
Luck: E
Noble Phantasm: C
Class Skills
Presence Concealment A+
Cuts off presence as a Servant, a skill suited for espionage. Complete presence cut off makes detection near impossible.
Switching to the preparation of an attack drops the rank of Presence Concealment greatly, this weakness can be compensated by "Murderer of the Misty Night," and a perfect surprise attack is possible.
Personal Skills
Murderer of the Misty Night A
Characteristic of a serial killer not an assassin. In regard to the victim the assailant always took the first move. However, this first move can only be taken at night.
Mental Pollution C
Mental Interference magecraft has a low chance of being blocked.
In the condition that the Servant's master is of the Evil alignment, or perpetrates acts of cruelty against her, her Mental Pollution will increase in rank, further increasing the chances of blocking magecraft. However, as the Servant's psyche is inherently broken, this may result in irreversible corruption.
Information Erasure B
The very second battle is finished, eye witnesses and opponents' memories about information concerning abilities, true name, appearance, etc. disappear.
Surgical Procedure E
Using a blood-stained scalpel can medically treat Master and self.
Visually does not look sound, however, for the time being, it'll manage.
Noble Phantasms
Maria the Ripper "Holy Mother of Dismembering" D~B
Jack the Ripper's murder reproducing Noble Phantasm.
When the conditions, "it is night-time," "opponent is a woman (female)," "misty," are met and the Noble Phantasm is used the contents of the body are expelled and they turn into a dismembered corpse.
In the case that not all conditions are met only simple damage is dealt, however, as each condition is met the power rises. This Noble Phantasm is not a knife attack but a kind of curse which makes long range use available.
To defend against this Noble Phantasm, rather than physical defense resistance against curses is necessary.
The Mist "Blackened Misty Metropolis" C
Mist Bounded Field producing Bounded Field Noble Phantasm. The Noble Phantasm is the sulfuric mist created from magical energy. Servants do not take damage. Agility is one Rank-Down. The user is able to decide who suffers the effects. Because the mist causes one to lose their sense of direction, to escape, B rank or higher "Instinct," or the use of magecraft is required.
Second to last chapter before the grand finale, folks! Things are coming to a close. Ian's character arc has pretty much been resolved and things have turned out much better than Marcus thought they would. And now Assasssin has started shipping Ian and Lily. Next chapter will handle some of the remaining loose ends, though all of them will be resolved at some point in the series. Just what exactly happened in the previous Holy Grail War will be resolved in the prequel and any other plot strands that do not get resolved here or there will be resolved in the sequel.
Also, LunaRose, I thought Territory Creation and Item Construction needed some more clarification and that Mad Enhancement B+ would make a little more sense being changed into another Skill. I hope you don't mind.
Now for reviews.
Devin sands: Oh, sorry. Um, at this point, Jackie is the only Servant from canon that will appear in the prequel. However, like I said, the complete roster is not set in stone, even if Saber, Rider, Caster, and Berserker (Jackie) have already been decided. Lancer, Archer, and Assassin are still open spots, so either a canon Servant or OC.
Leave a review. Constructive criticism will be accepted. Flames will be used to make s'mores. Jyaa-nee!
