Things have been complicated. New semester and dealing with some errors with the site. Wanted to update this to see.
I know this crossover came without notice, but it's a concept I wanted to explore. Especially since its tone fits for this spooky season.
Remember I do not own Fairy Tail or Berserk.
EPISODE 2
The Black Swordsman (2)
Guts swiped again with Dragon Slayer to let the blade bisect the row of corpses in front of him. The edge of the blade cut through their stomachs and spines before they all flew out in the air. He swung again vertically to land the blade on top of another corpse on the ground.
He then heard the girl screaming… causing him to quickly turn and see a tree had been possessed and had materialized… to grab hold of the girl and hold her up in the air…
…
Guts froze at the image he beheld.
The girl being bind and strapped by the appendages of the ghoul tree in air like…
…
He had been surrounded… by them.
They outnumbered him.
They circled him as he stood in the middle of the lake of blood.
The blood of his comrades.
He was bruised, cut, and soaked in their blood. He only had the sword of his own… who had died in his arms.
But his survival mattered less… when he saw her.
Casca…
…her form was tied and held up high in the air by the tentacle appendages of the demons surrounding her…
Smiling their malicious grins at her… their claws ready… ready to…
…
…
"RAHHHHH!"
"RAHHHHH!" Guts screamed as his mind blanched out from the image and turned the venting emotion that he was feeling towards the monstrous tree.
RAGE.
"Hey, kid?" Guts went over to the fallen redhead girl, who was still lying face-flat on the ground… unresponsive. "Wake up." He grabbed her by the shoulders. "C'mon, I need you to get up. It's not over yet!" He growled with frustration quickly building in. "GET UP NOW!"
"Hey, Guts!" Puck flapped by his cheek. "Can't you see she's knocked out bad! You're not helping with your attitude!"
Guts grumbled, before looking upon the unconscious redhead in his arms. First, he took notice of the bleeding wound on her arm.
The swordsmen hurried to rip cloth from his and quickly bind it around her the wound to keep it from bleeding anymore.
"Hey, you know I can hurry and cook up some dust and she will be…"
"Ahh!" Both Guts and Puck looked toward Casca, who cried out in terror at the incoming inhuman sounds coming from beyond the trees… and of course clutching her upper chest in pain.
Even Guts felt the pain in his neck, too.
"There's no time for that!" Guts yelled. "I only managed to hold them off big, but that's not going to stop them… not until daylight." He looked around the area. "We need to leave and find a better position."
"And you say 'we' that means all of us, right?" Puck said, as he flew above the red hair. "that includes her, right? You're not… well thinking of leaving her out here…"
"Shut up!" Guts growled, silencing the elf.
He grimaced.
'Dammit. I was already having it blown to shit in trying to guard Casca… but now…" He glanced back at the small girl. 'there's this girl. A kid who pops out of nowhere in the middle of the damn woods. And I had to coordinate to guard both her and Casca's asses from those vultures.'
He glanced at Casca.
'I could carry Casca easily till we find a place to secure… but don't I'll be able to carry both her and the girl. When I'm running, I at least need one arm to defend both of us. Dammit…'
"Whatever you're think through that whack mind of yours, Guts…" Puck stated, the elf now shivering at the sounds growing louder. "You better improvise quick!"
Later…
"Aw! Ow! Awu!" Casca cried out as she felt herself shifting up and down while having her tied up arms around Guts' neck. The swordsman having secured the woman in a sort of piggyback position, while having her tied hands circling around his neck to keep her from coming loose.
As for the redheaded girl.
She didn't say much… since being unconscious… and her being wrapped in a sling to Guts' chest; similar to how a mother held her infant around chest in a sling.
…
Guts wasn't a fan of this, and carrying both girls and not able to dash as fast as he had used tiring enough as it was.
Running while carrying both girls on both back and chest, he gripped the Dragon Slayer blade with both hands; the massive slab of sharp iron being dragged across the fine grass like a plow ripping through a barren field.
He would react in time when astral ghouls flew from the trees and front to bring up Dragon Slayer strike at them. It didn't help when he started to hear the faint sound of paws. And then coming up were another pack of monstrous dogs.
One after the other, they attempt to pounce at him… before he pulled out his knives to…
KCHAK!
Then the bastards think get the decency to fall to ground and whine in pain.
"Hold on to the Black Swordsman Express, ladies!" Puck exclaimed as he held on to Guts' right ear and waved… while wearing a conductor's hat that appeared out of nowhere.
…
…
Puck turned to his chestnut form.
"What…?"
…
…
Guts made a second to glance up at the sky, and how far the moon was still up.
"Grr… this is gonna be a long night."
WHISTLE!
A small trail of paws upon a map led to a familiar figure of a blue-furred feline, with his back facing the audience till he turned around…
…to reveal it to be none other than Puck in a blue cat costume.
"And then…!"
The Black Swordsman rested a bit with his back against the tree as the sunrise blasted it rays of light through the trees. Casca had been protected and was back looking around the new surroundings.
…
"Alright… now to check up… on our uninvited guest," Guts said, as both he and Puck went over to check up upon the still-unconscious redhead girl.
The girl had head on top of Guts' rolled up blanket, her arm now bandaged up; Guts may have to replace the bandages to clean the wound. After that, Puck would do his thing that would seal up the wounds.
It was then when Guts finally noticed the shackles around her wrist. No, around both her wrists.
"Some accessories she has," Puck commented.
"No…" Guts held her arm, examining the metal bands. "These… are more like shackles." He applied a grip upon one of them, and using a bit more muscle, the shackle broke off from her wrist…
…
Guts raised an eyebrow, while Puck gasped.
The girl's skin under the shackle was sore and red… as if the shackle had not been removed in a long while or…
…
"Shackled… just like a…" Guts spoke allowed, starting to put it together… before he grimaced.
"Guts," Puck said, looking troubled. "You're not thinking…"
"A slave?" Guts said. "Why not?"
"Uh… well… it's too soon to assume that" Puck looked away uncertain. "We don't even know what those shackles really are. You don't suppose there's a chance… that her mom and dad…"
"What if it was her mom and dad who put them on her?" Guts questioned, causing Puck to balk.
"Why would think that?!"
…
Guts went back to inspect the girl.
"The only piece clothing she is wearing… is this filthy shirt piece… that looks like it has been used for too long and doesn't look it has been washed either."
"Well, that's another thing, but still," Puck flew before he came upon the girl's red hair. "Say, Guts, what do you think of her hair?"
"What about it?"
"I don't really fly into redheads nowadays," Puck said. "In fact, it's been a long time since I seen a redhead, they're pretty rare." He smiled. "Though I have to admit, her hair is the reddest I have ever laid eyes upon."
Guts scoffed. "Don't get any ideas."
It was then Guts noticed something behind the red bangs over her eyes.
He brushed aside them… causing him to raise his eyebrow.
"What's that?" Puck noticed with confusion. "A white eyepatch… over her eye?"
…
Guts didn't stop feeling this building grimace in his throat, even when dared to remove the white patch over her right eye… only to see…
…
…
Puck's form turns to a sheet of pale, as he paused midair at the sight he beheld along with Guts.
The swordsman froze, upon seeing the damage he grimaced to see. At the fresh yet grievous wound upon what was supposed to be her right eye. The dried red blood that was seeping from her open eye. A bloody gash.
None at all like the way children would get blackeyes from a club or a stone.
Guts knew it… because he had experience this very same thing himself.
The girl's right eye looked to have been…
…
"Oh, my… my goodness…" Puck brought his hands to his face in sadness. "Poor thing. What happened to her? She… She… She lost it… just like…" The flying elf turned… and paused…
…upon seeing Guts placing a finger on his closed right eye.
"!" the elf gasped. "Oh, dear!" He whispered to himself, as he glanced back and forth between his gruff companion and the sleeping redhead. "It's like Guts… is looking in a mirror…"
It was later, the trio… now four… were back on the trail again.
Guts lead up in front, with Casca walking close to the tall man. Puck would either be flapping in the air or sat on Guts' shoulder.
All the while, Guts continued to carry the unconscious redhead in his arms, wrapped with a blanket around her.
…
It wasn't what Guts preferred at all.
Carrying along with this girl with them… was by no means good at all for them.
Another responsibility… that Guts would have to stick his neck out for when night comes?
…
He knew the risks when it came to taking Casca with him. It not only meant he had to protect her… but also the burden that she carried just like he did.
That by sharing the same brand he had above her left breast.
And both together… attracted a lot more of them than before.
For years, nothing kept him back while fighting through the nights. And that came with all the sh*t that he runs into during the day. Nothing held him back, and all he could focus was on wiping out the demons out to gut him.
It got complicated now that Casca was with him.
But because it was Casca… there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. He already made a promise.
'I'm not leaving her ever again.'
And then she came into the picture.
Guts glanced at the redhead in his arms.
It was a close hassle that night in protecting them from the accursed. How it came that the girl would have been done for by the ghoul tree.
'I hate those things.'
If she had been still awake, at least by first light he would have ordered her to run as fast she could from him and Casca… farther the better before night comes. Then again…
…
His mind went back to the shackles, torn clothes, and… her right eye…
…
He didn't know her. He didn't know who she was or where she came from. Yet, it was obvious… especially with Guts experience… that the girl's past was anything but pretty.
They stopped a bit, taking a break under a tree to take a bite to eat. Guts got out the reserve of bread and the skin of water he kept in store. The girl was still out and lying on the grass, with her head under his folded blanket.
Guts went over to help Casca eat the food he gave her.
"Such a nice plain…" Puck commented as he gestured to the open area of grass and the forest beyond. "This place sure looks nicer than places we've been before."
"Hmm…"
Perhaps, Guts was inclined to agree.
The valley they were hiking through did look… tranquil. Peaceful perhaps. The grass was greener.
"Wait a minute…" Puck said.
"What?"
"Don't you think… well, it feels like winter came and gone so fast." Puck said, putting a finger to his chin. "It feels like it's already past Spring and into Summer."
…
Guts stood still, recognizing Puck's observation.
"Hmm… that… or we didn't bother to notice." He looked away. "I hardly keep track of the time."
"Yeah, well…" Puck flew near him. "Don't you think… it has been strange… ever since we ran into that monster in the mountains. He was not like the other ghouls. After that blast of fire… I thought we were all done for… but then…"
…
Guts thought about back then… and what happened after. The swordsman didn't want to pay mind on what Puck may be up to.
While the morning looked peaceful… it will soon pass. And back to the night again.
And the redhead was still out.
Guts sighed with annoyance and knew this would be a problem.
For real.
…
That, and he didn't know anything else about who she was.
Afternoon came by, and they came to another respite. There was still no sign of a road or any settlement yet.
…
Casca… while she was no longer playing with the grass or wandering around… she stayed close to the sleeping redhead. Just staring at her.
Erza was lying alone… in the darkness.
She couldn't bear to raise her head and look upon the dark fog clouding around her, very afraid of what she may see.
Or of who she may see.
...
The redhead almost thought to whimper. As much as she wanted to steel herself, she barely could.
She didn't even have anything to cover herself with. Nor any weapon to brace herself with.
She felt vulnerable… and that is what scared her the most.
…
…
The void… almost felt cold.
…
Was it really this cold?
…
…
Erza felt… somehow… that she had slept for a long time. A very long time… when she had no thought yet. It was dark. Yet, during that… she had felt warm. Safe. Protected.
…
She felt she had been sleeping in the dark. As if a fire had been keeping her warm. Warm like an embrace.
…
That time… she had been waiting…
…
Waiting so long…
…
Until finally there came light.
Light for when she opened her eyes.
…
But then the familiar warm feeling that had been around her for so long… had been gone for a long time.
…
She didn't think she would know what it was… or that she would experience that again.
…
…
Until…
…
She felt a warm presence enveloping around her in the void.
It was covering her arms and chest. Like a warm blanket covering her from the cold.
Erza was baffled by this. Nonetheless, it made her feel… relaxed. She even felt like a big pillow right next to her, and she felt inclined to hug it back.
The presence felt warmer than any pillow or blanket she felt. In fact, it had been years since she had slept with a pillow or blanket.
She finally opened her eyes to peek. The first thing she were…
Black Eyes… staring right back at her.
…
…
Erza had awoken from her long sleep. And the girl realized that her small form was being embraced by that of a woman. A woman with olive skin, messy black hair, and…
Black Eyes.
The same black eyes of the woman she had met before and tried defending from the monstrous wolves. The one the tall swordsman called Casca.
A girl's scream rung out through the small camp… the evening already on the horizon.
"So, the brat's finally up," Guts said as he made his way to the spot, before looking up at the sky with a scowl forming. "And at the near worst possible time."
"Ah, so the Sleeping Beauty finally awakens!" Puck rejoiced.
…
"What were you doing?!" The redhead had backed away from Casca, who looked confused and was still extending her arms towards her. "What were you doing lying next to me and hugging me for?!"
"Ah… awu…" Casca blathered out in response.
"I… I don't understand…" The redhead blinked. "I can't understand you…"
"Of course not," Guts made his presence known as he stepped into the girl's view. "And neither can she understand you… or anything that goes on around her."
…
Erza's eye widened.
"Y-You…!" Erza exclaimed. "You're the man… with the…" her eye drifted to his shoulder… before at the spot where the Dragon Slayer sword was set. "T-That… that… that's the sword. You're…" She paused a moment before speaking out… "Wha… what happened?! Where are they?! The monsters! The wolves! The zombies! And the tree! The walking tree! It was…"
"Dead… the lot of them." Guts grunted. "When I got back to you, you were knocked out cold, I couldn't wake you up." He walked towards her. "So, I had to…"
…
The girl backed away from him.
…
"Look kid…" Guts tried explaining… "Just slow down… you just woke up."
"Why am I here? Why have you brought me here?" She questioned, looking very suspiciously. "What was your purpose for doing so…"
…
"Believe me there were a lot of things that could happen in that moment. But I'll tell you… if I had gone with the option of just leaving you there… more of those bastards would have come out and would have started feasting your helpless corpse."
…
"But even then, you were wounded."
…
The girl's eye widened, before she glanced at her bandaged right wrist. "My… my arm…" She touched and felt the surface of it with her left hand. "Wh… it… barely hurts. But how… that wolf… he bit so hard with his teeth so deep…"
"That is unless you have a spray of dust to fix that."
…
…
"Uh!" The girl became spooked by the new voice. "Who's…" She glanced at Guts. "You weren't the one that said that."
Guts sighed. "Just come out, Puck. She's confused enough as she is."
…
"Puck?" the girl blinked.
…
Before long, Puck's flying form, glowing blue… zapped up right in front of the redhead.
"Hey-oh! I'm Puck, nice to meet you!" the elf made a gesture of an extended hand.
Guts pinched the bridge of his nose.
…
…
…
The girl blinked twice.
…
Puck was still smiling, while he was flying midair with his blue wings flapping…
…
…
…
"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH?!"
…
…
Casca looked in alarm at the girl's scream and flabbergasted expression at the sight of Puck.
"Should have known she'd had that reaction… for a kid who hasn't seen one of Puck's kind before…" Guts looked away. "Then again… she can see him… which only happens when… people do believe in…" He glanced back.
…
Erza practically fell back down, crawling back from the flying elf.
"Oh, wait, wait!" Puck tried saying, as he tried flying closer to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out! Unless… this is your first time seeing an…"
"F… F… Fairy…" the girl pointed a shaking finger at Puck.
…
"Huh?"
…
"Y… You're… You're a fairy…" the girl stuttered again.
…
"Uh… no… I'm not a fairy." Puck began to explain. "I'm a…"
…
SNATCH!
…
Guts looked in alarm, as Puck screaming shock.
"FAIRY!" The girl grasped Puck's struggling form in both hands. "I… I FOUND A FAIRY!"
Guts looked to see the girl's terrified and cautious demeanor having been perhaps temporarily replaced by wonder and excitement as she grabbed hold of puck.
"WHAT?!" Puck exclaimed as he struggled in the girl's grip. "No! I'm an Elf! Not a Fairy!"
"But you have wings!" the girl spoke with excitement, still staring at Puck like a newfound discovery. "You're small. You're glowing like stars!" the girl's face started forming a wide smile. "You're like the creatures Grandpa Rob used to tell us about!"
Guts raised an eyebrow.
'Grandpa Rob?'
"People said that… they don't exist… but Grandpa told me otherwise…" Erza recollected, ignorant of Puck's struggling in her grip, his eyes comically bulging out. "the reason why the guild he came from was named…"
"WAHHHA!" the elf screamed. "Guts, hurry up, and save me! I'm dying over here!"
"Urgh…" Guts sighed in annoyance as he walked up and patted the girl's hands away, freeing Puck… who fell dramatically to the ground.
"Aw…"
"Hey!" the redhead complained.
"We don't have time for this," Guts said, looking with grimace. "We have to get a move on… nighttime is upon us now!"
"Move on? In the middle of the night?" the girl questioned. "But it's getting dark…"
"Exactly…" Guts walked away to retrieve Dragon Slayer. "That is what allows them to come for us!"
…
"Uh…" Erza froze in place. "Wait… what are you saying… you mean… the…"
…
"Awu!" Casca cried out.
The sun was already setting behind the mountain ahead, the sky no longer brightened, and the stars already out.
The light of the stars and moon could do nothing to halt them…
"You…!" Guts growled as he grabbed the redhead by the arm.
"Hey, let me go! Don't touch me!" the girl screeched.
"I need you to get back with Casca!" He pushed her next to the crouching woman near the campfire. "Stay close to the fire!"
"What?! Why?! What for?!"
Guts glanced at the black of night above him… he felt blood seeping from his neck.
"For them…"
…
He started to see the misty form emerging from the shadows of the trees and bushes. Before long, they flew through the air above the group. Guts' one eye never leaving them.
It was then many of them seeped into the dirt ground in front of them.
…
…
The ground shifted… before it pulled back… to emerge a gruesome sight…
…plowing out of the dirt… and clawing at the open air… was the hand of a corpse…
…
Guts heard the redhead scream.
…
…
After the hand emerged, it wasn't long before the whole body of glowing-green eyed corpse emerged from the ground. It wasn't long before a dozen others did the same.
"What the?!" the girl screamed, coming near Casca's side. "The monsters are back?! How?!"
Another corpse tilted up, before it looked towards a pile of dried mud formed at it ribcage… and the hilt stuck in it. The ghoul pulled it out to reveal a chipped dagger… and aimed towards the Guts and the others.
It was revealed that the accursed corpses carried their own fair share of…
"They have weapons now?!" the girl exclaimed.
"Oh, boy…" Puck said, as he flew near the girl's side. "Seems they forgot to pack them up the other night. Guess they… learned their lesson." The elf gulped.
They ranged from carrying rusted swords, chipped axes, and dirty spears.
An undead army… growing by the seconds… now encircling the Black Swordsman and those behind him.
…
"…" Guts sighed, before gripping Dragon Slayer with both hands. "Here we go."
THE BLACK SWORDSMAN (2): END
Now this is where things will start to get building. Another night of fighting off the undead… but Guts won't be alone in this fight. The girl with red hair he has found is far from a helpless child. He and Puck will see what she can do.
He barely knows who she is, despite deducing the slave shackles on her wrist… and her missing right eye.
…
And Erza meets Puck…
…
Heehee!
…
Next chapter is another exciting battle I'm pumped to get into.
Besides, with bring Casca on the line… Guts really can use an extra hand…
…
Yeah, pun intended.
…
Stay tuned and please review.