Disclaimer: These are works of purely speculative fiction. It is not intended to infringe on any rights by any of the companies and/or individuals involved in the production of any series mentioned here. Fate Grand Order and all the franchises and series associated with it, are owned by Kinoko Nasu, Notes Co., Ltd. and their affiliates. Similarly, Fire Emblem Heroes is owned by Nintendo Co., Ltd. and their affiliates.
I DO NOT OWN THESE FRANCHISES.
The White House.
One of the more famous houses known across the world. It is the seat of power where the President of the United States of America leads his country.
It is a common belief that the White House was painted white to mask the scorch marks created by the fire made by the British army during the war of 1812. This is not the case, as the building was already painted white by the time John Adams, the second president of the US, moved inside the White House on November 1, 1800.
Even at its lowest moments in history, the White House has remained firm against adversities that threatened to destroy the American way of life. However, despite having proudly stood for 200 years, it still stood no chance against the time travel machinations of Solomon and his Grand Order.
The once-proud White House, pristine and white as its namesake, was now sullied by garish hot pink paint. The color was meant as a message to the remaining Americans that their country is now under the rule of Queen Medb.
Inside the now ominously renamed "Pink House," the transformation is just as dramatic. The decor has been replaced with opulent furnishings fit for royalty, lined with gold, expensive furs, and suspiciously enticing scented candles.
Queen Medb, the queen of the Irish realm and founding mother of the new Irish Empire, was a figure that demanded attention. Her cotton candy pink hair flowed down her back, perfectly complemented by her fluffy white mantle. Despite the fact that she had been summoned centuries after her reign, her fashion sense was so modern and chic that she stood out among the crowd of dull colonials' garbs and rags her new citizens wore. It was to the point that she would easily pass off as a fashion model in a 21st-century fashion magazine.
Seated upon her imposing mahogany throne, the size of its headrest almost comical in its disproportion to her petite frame, Medb exuded an air of authority and power. No one dared to point out the absurdity of the throne's size in relation to her petite frame, for fear of being sent to the dungeons or worse.
As she worked tirelessly, Medb felt the stress of her responsibilities bearing down on her. She kind of wished she could leave this delegation to someone else and continue being a warden at her prison up North. Sadly, her minions were far from the sharpest tools in the shed, and she was forced to carry the weight of their incompetence on her own shoulders.
She stretched in her seat, hoping to find some small measure of relief.
The reports scattered on Medb's desk told a story of the ongoing war effort against Presi-King Edison and his army of machines. With furrowed brows, she sifted through the endless pages of data, trying to make sense of it all. That's when a knock interrupted her concentration. "You may enter," she said, her voice lacking any enthusiasm.
The door creaked open, and a man dressed in medieval military attire entered her office. He dropped to his knees as soon as he took a few steps inside, but Medb hardly spared him a glance.
Another moment passed before she finally spoke up, "Oh, I forgot you were here. State your report." The zombified Celtic warrior slowly lifted his head, his lifeless eyes fixated on the striking figure of his queen. Then he stood up and wordlessly presented her with a letter bearing the official seal of one of her trusted generals.
Medb extended her hand, signaling for the warrior to rise and deliver the message. She graciously took the letter and ripped open the contents of the letter, her eyes scanning each line with hawk-like precision. "It seems that pesky rebellion has found some new allies," she said, her voice laced with amusement but it quickly soured as she continued to read. "Oh? and they seemed to have wiped out a couple platoons in the past few weeks."
Cú Alter, her beloved king who was peacefully napping on a beanbag chair next to her desk, gave his opinion, "And why should we care? A few platoons is nothing to us anyway. Just replace 'em and overwhelm them like you always do," he said, his words dripping with an apathetic tone.
Medb heaved a heavy sigh, her disappointment with Cú Alter's lack of interest lingering in the air.
With a resolute shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the report in front of her. As she flipped through the pages, her eyes caught on a particular passage, causing her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.
"Listen to this, Cú," she said, her voice ringing with intrigue. "Apparently a beast is running around the southern forest and is attacking anyone who gets too close."
For the first time in the conversation, Cú Alter cracked open one of his eyes, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. "A wolf? Why are you telling me this, are you making fun of me?" he asked, his voice heavy with irritation.
Medb shook her head emphatically, her expression shifting into a deep frown. "No," she said firmly, scrutinizing the report once again.
"The report states the creature is a monster of the most diabolical kind," she whispered, her voice full of fascination. "It moves with savage grace, driven by hatred so intense that it kills without remorse. Even our mighty Celtic warriors cannot enter the forest it calls home."
Cú Alter rolled his eyes, his frustration mounting. "So, what do you want me to do? Kill it?"
Medb hummed in response to her king's suggestion and took a moment to ponder while she continued reviewing the report. As her gaze fell on the map, a realization dawned on her. With a sly grin spread across her face, she fetched a quill dipped in red ink and made some scratches on the map. "Oh no, my dear Cú. We don't need to do anything because it seems the gods have bestowed good fortune upon us."
Cú Alter's brow furrowed,"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
Medb's fingers traced a tantalizing path toward her.
Cú Alter couldn't help but feel irritated by her "come hither" gesture. Despite his annoyance, however, he obediently followed his queen's order and got up from his comfortable seat and cast his gaze upon the documents that lay on the table.
His piercing red eyes quickly moved left to right, scanning the particular part of the report Medb was talking about. Then, when he finished, his eyes focused on the surprisingly cute drawings sketched on the map next to the report.
"Oh. I see what you mean."
"Right?! It's such a lucky turn of events. A true act of divine intervention!" Her lips curved into a less malicious smile as she redirected her gaze toward Cú Alter.
Cú Alter let out a drawn-out sigh, his eyes rolling in indifference. "If you say so," he muttered, before dragging his feet back to his squishy chair and settling back into his nap.
"Oh phooey. At least pretend to be excited, Cu!"
Rather than humor her, Cu Alter just ignored her and continued his rest.
"Geez. What am I going to do with you? You loveable oaf?"
0-0-0
A blood-curdling scream shattered the chatter of the camp, causing everyone to freeze in fear. It was a sound that sounded like it came from a butcher's shop. It was a chilling, inhuman wail that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end.
Lucina was the first to break the stunned silence. "What was that?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.
But before anyone could respond, another sound pierced the air, a loud, anguished cry that belonged to none other than Paul Bunyan.
"Enemy attack!"
The camp erupted into chaos as Geronimo yelled out the warning that they were under attack.
Rama, despite his weakened state, was the first to spring into action, much to Nightingale's annoyance. Corrin and Lucina followed closely behind, their eyes blazing with determination.
Meanwhile, Gudao struggled to keep pace with the others, his footsteps echoing the frantic stampede of his companions as they rushed to provide reinforcements.
Then, Lyn's sharp and commanding voice pierced the air. "Release her!" she yelled, and the sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated. The group quickened their pace, ready to confront whatever enemy lay ahead.
When they arrived at the source of the disturbance, the sight before them was enough to make their blood run cold.
A monstrous wolf with blazing eyes and a thirst for blood had Paul Bunyan's arm in its jaws, its teeth sinking deep into her flesh.
Paul, thankfully, had increased her size to a level where the wolf couldn't snap her arm like a twig, but she was still too small to lift the beast and slam it into the ground. With her free arm, she was punching the wolf in the face, but it seemed to have little effect, as its grip on her arm was unrelenting.
In the past, Billy and Robin would have exchanged witty banter about their aim and weapon choices, even in the direst of situations.
But now?
Their faces were cold and focused, with only one goal, to kill the animal that dared harm their friend.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the air as Billy fired his pistol, followed by the crack of Robin's arrow breaking the sound barrier. But both bounced off the wolf's thick fur, causing the duo to cringe in dismay.
Undeterred, they took aim again, this time targeting the creature's weak points. They aimed for its eyes, hoping to blind it and give Paul a chance to break free. But the wolf was too quick, sensing their intentions and closing its eyes while lowering its head. The projectiles were somehow deflected by the surprisingly tough hide, failing to inflict any damage.
All of this had occured in less than 5 seconds and that's the time it took them to realize their weapons were useless against this beast. But It wasn't just their projectiles that were ineffective, but everything they had at their disposal.
Lyn had been relentlessly hacking at the beast with her Mani Katti since they had arrived. But despite its reputation as a powerful weapon capable of cutting through armor and injuring Heroic spirits, the blade had no effect on the creature.
Even Rama's Brahmastra, normally a formidable divine weapon, seemed to have little effect on the beast, aside from annoying it. Rama's recent injury had weakened both him and his sword, but he should have been able to do more to the beast than just annoy it. His attempt to kill the beast was met with a kick straight to his chest, his mortally injured chest, from the creature's hind leg.
"Gaaah!" Rama skidded across the ground but was thankfully crashed near Martha's feet.
"Fuck! What in the blazes is this thing made of?!" Billy cursed in frustration as he realized their attacks were having no effect on the wolf.
"Shut up and keep firing!" Robin Hood barked, his usual cool demeanor replaced with steely anger. He then turned to Martha, who currently had her hands full healing Rama.
"Hey! Call out that dragon of yours, we could use some backup!"
Martha was too focused on healing Rama to lift her head, but she still replied, "Can't. This forest is too dense for him! It will just cause more chaos and confusion!"
Robin clicked his tongue at the answer and notched another arrow on his string, only to be interrupted by a blinding flash of light filling the forest. A gray quadruped dragon burst forth, charging toward the wolf's back and its mouth open and ready to grapple its neck.
For a moment, it looked like Corrin's attempt would succeed, until Corrin was inexplicably launched backward like a cannonball.
The force of the attack sent her hurtling through several trees, her body crashing and breaking against them.
The wolf, as if taunting them, thrashed his head from side to side, which caused Paul to scream out in pain. The group held their breath, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.
*BANG*
But suddenly, there was a deafening bang that echoed through the forest. The wolf recoiled in pain, letting out a yelp that echoed across the forest.
Its midnight blue fur was now ruffled from the damage, and its eyes darted to the source of its injury. Then the wolf's head whipped around, dragging Paul with it, and locked eyes with Nightingale. The red berserker nurse stood with her smoking gun in hand, her expression stoic and unwavering.
It recognized her as the one who had managed to hurt it, and its gaze hardened with fury.
Gudao had been observing the chaos unfold with growing unease due to the sheer power of the wolf. His mind was racing to try and find a way to separate Paul and the wolf.
He may not be as strong as a Heroic Spirit or Summon, but upon seeing that Nightingale, out of everyone, managed to hurt the beast, he quickly connected the dots as to why that might have been the case.
Taking a gamble, he had decided he could no longer stand by and watch and called forth a Heroic Spirit he had brought in as a backup.
"Berserker!"
A sudden gust of dark wind swirled next to him in response to his call.
A figure appeared at its center, clad in full body jet-black armor. The knight's visor glowed like a furnace as it focused on the beast, its body hunched and feral much like the demonic wolf standing before them.
The wolf sensed the intense hatred emanating from the one called Berserker and shifted its eyes to meet the new arrival.
By the time its eyes reached the location, the space he had occupied was empty.
In the time it had taken the wolf to move his head, Berserker Lancelot had lunged forward.
His mighty blade, Arondight, raised high in the air and aimed straight at the wolf's torso.
The speed and precision of his attack left no room for the beast to dodge unless it released its prey, which it did.
Following its primal instincts, the wolf darted away with blinding speed and released its hold on Paul's arm, all in a matter of milliseconds.
Berserker's sword slammed into the ground with explosive force, kicking up a cloud of dirt and debris.
As the wolf and Paul were separated, Nightingale leaped into action.
She rushed to the girl's side, sweeping her up in a bridal carry, and assessed her injuries.
The nurse scowling at the condition of the girl's arm.
"I'm sorry for this, child, but I must disinfect and stitch your wound. So please bear with it," Nightingale said, her voice calm and steady as she proceeded to pour alcohol, whiskey it seemed, on her wound.
Paul hissed when the contents fell on her arm but she Gudao could hear her hoarse whispers fill the air. "Babe...Babe..."
Gudao came out of his stupor and frantically searched the area, looking for the blue ox that was always by the young girl's side.
His heart sank when he finally spotted him.
Its body laid on a pool of its own blood, dissipating into tiny motes of light.
A fierce growl yanked Gudao's attention back to the scene. The wolf stood before him, its dark blue fur illuminated by the moon's faint glow. But its coat was dyed red with Paul and Babe's blood.
Gudao refused to back down, his gaze locking with the wolf's piercing yellow eyes.
For what seemed like an eternity, they faced off, neither willing to back down. Then, the wolf sneered, as if mocking Gudao, before sauntering off into the shadows.
Gudao's rage flared, his fists clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white. But he knew he couldn't let anger consume him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on calming down. As he did, the surrounding air grew colder, and the red glow of his command seals lit up the darkness.
With steely resolve, he glared at the retreating wolf and commanded, "Berserker… kill it."
"GRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The black knight released a deafening roar, making the entire forest aware of its presence, before charging after the wolf.
Author's Note: And so, the action kicks up once again. Hopefully it's not too violent for SB, I tried my best to be as vague as possible with the violence.
It could have been anyone, but Paul got attacked because she is the embodiment of everything Hessian Lobo hates about humanity. The forest killing, animal hunting and humans was just too much for the wolf to ignore.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you wish, I would appreciate it.
