Chapter Two: Fuyuki Troubles
"Your mother is Mordred?!"
"The Knight of Treachery?!"
"Mordred was a girl!?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," Nathaniel replied to the other three. "Shocking, I know. There are a few inconsistencies within the Arthurian tales, as it were, considering not everything known was the actual truth for one reason or another."
"Anyone else in the round table secretly a woman too, by chance?" Ritsuka mused.
"Gareth"
"Huh, well, I'll be."
"As fascinating as Natahniels' family tree must be, we must keep pushing forward to the leyline." Olga cut in, having gotten over her initial surprise.
"She's right. We had best get a move on." Agreed the blond as his helm snapped back into place. "I'll take the point. Olga and Fujimaru will be in the middle, and Mash will take the rear."
No one argued with the plan and set out through the ruined city towards the leyline's location.
They encountered a few more skeleton groups, which were quickly dispatched. Along the way, everyone carefully observed the city's ruined surroundings.
"This's so awful; what could have possibly caused this?" Mash spoke in a somber tone.
"I'm sure we'll find out before fully resolving the situation here." Olga replied, "The lack of other signs of true life has me the most thrown off. Even with this place as destroyed as it is, with the city being so large, there should be survivors of some sort roaming around, but there's just nothing."
"It's like whatever did also managed to drain the life completely from everything before anything had a chance," Ritsuka commented with unease.
"No kidding, another reason to keep up our guard as we continue," Nathaniel said. "If I had to wager what happened here, my best guess is that fights between servants got too out of hand and ultimately led to this disaster."
"That's probably far more accurate than we realize at the moment," the director mused. "We're nearing the leyline; be ready."
They approached the area that looked to have once been a church that was now destroyed. The courtyard surrounding the outside of it was littered with what looked like statues—moving steadily into the area until they reached the spot of the leyline.
Something about this area had set his instincts on higher alert. Nathaniel felt a particular sense of dread about this place. "Let's make this quick. This place feels off even in comparison to everything else."
"Agreed, though I can't say why for certain." Said the sheilder.
"Hey guys," Ritsuka said, worried as she inspected one of the statues. "These statues aren't normal," she concluded, taking a few steps back.
Nathaniel took a close look at one himself. The way it was posed, the style of clothing, the all-too-realistic look of fear on its visage—he was stunned. He felt a horrendous sinking feeling in his gut as the realization washed over him. "That's because they were once living people. Olga, Fujimaru, get behind Mash and stay close to her now!" He barked out, and not a moment later, his instincts flared up in warning.
He quickly dodged to the side as a weapon missed him and slammed into the ground, obliterating a sizeable chunk of the ground where it struck. The ground then erupted with magical energy. Some chain pulled the weapon back to its wielder as Nathaniel turned to face this enemy.
The woman was tall and wore a black and red outfit, with a red tattoo on her left leg. Her skin was unnaturally pale, with gold-yellow eyes and long pale purple hair. He noticed that the weapon she held in her hand was a scythe of sorts. "You have strong instincts to have picked up on my attack. I made sure I was as silent as possible with my strike." She spoke with a cold tone. "How nice to have such a group of individuals for me to have a rather nice amount of magical energy to feast upon. To stumble right into my clutches no less." Then her gaze turned directly to Nathaniel, and she licked her lips sensually. "You especially, boy, now that I focus on it. I can sense the vast wealth of energy within you; it's practically intoxicating. I'll take great pleasure in draining you of every little drop you have."
"No way, that isn't some sort of euphemism," the green-eyed young man thought before speaking. "Mash, guard the others while I deal with this."
A cruel smile appeared on the servant's face. "Don't go thinking it will be so easy. You're already more doomed than you realize." Her eyes lit up briefly as she stared at the Pendragon.
Nathaniel felt something once those eyes glowed, but whatever it was, the wards on his armor dissipated it before it had any effect. He saw the woman's eyes glare in annoyance as it happened. "Those magical eyes of yours allow you to turn people into stone, don't they? With that in mind, I will go on a limb and assume your name is Medusa?"
She looked at him with contempt in response. "It matters little that you have protection against my eyes and figured out my identity," Medusa spoke as she took a stance. "You'll fall all the same."
Nathaniel took a stance and readied himself as green lightning arcs went off from his armor and blade. He couldn't hold back against an opponent like this. "Don't go thinking it will be so easy."
With blinding speed, he shot forward and swung at Medusa's midsection. She responded in kind by quickly stepping back, narrowly avoiding the incoming blade. Swinging her scythe down towards Nathaniel in the process. He raised his sword, deflected the strike, and jolted forward to get within his opponent's defense. He swung an armored fist and viciously connected to Medusa's gut. Knocking the air out of her in the process. Suddenly, her hair turned into snakes and chains that shot forward. Nathaniel was forced to jump backward and swung his blade to block the incoming attacks. Skidding on his feet to stop, he quickly shot off again to engage Medusa in a flurry of blows.
The others watched the fight as it went on, or at least what little they could follow. The two moved in a collection of blurs to the eyes of Olga and Ritsuka. Thanks to her demi-servant status, Mash could keep up with the flow of the fight for the most part. However, even she had difficulties at specific points. It was clear that both combatants were far from being any sort of novice in the art of servant combat, unlike herself. Thankfully, the son of Mordred seemingly held the edge. Medusa struggled to hit any possible weak points in his armor with her scythe. Nathaniel kept up close and personal as much as he could. To limit Medusa's weapon use as much as he could. Sparks fly off of each other's respective weapons with each clash. The snakes and chains she summoned from her hair could only do so much to keep him at bay. The violet-eyed girl decided to ask Nathaniel for lessons once they returned to Chaldea.
Medusa made a swing with her scythe, hoping to slip the blade into Nathaniel's neck. That was a mistake as he ducked beneath the strike and charged some power into his legs. He shot forward, and before Medusa could react, he headed butted her full force with his helm into her skull. He heard a sickening cracking sound of bone as Medusa staggered back. Too stunned to respond in any way, she was utterly helpless as Nathaniel moved in and swung his sword upwards. Bisecting her clean in half vertically, the two halves split and dissolved into nothing before hitting the ground.
Nathaniel rested his blade on his shoulder and turned towards the group. "That was a pretty good fight, I have to say," he said joyously. He was a bit of a battle-junkie; sue him.
"I was about ready to step in and help, too. Nicely done, kid," a new masculine voice said.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice, with Nathaniel and Mash ready to move at the slightest indication of hostility.
The man in question is dressed in sky-blue robes with white trimming and patterns, a cowl obscuring most of his head. A unique staff is held in his hands.
"Who are you?" Ritsuka called out, wary of the sudden new arrival.
The unknown servant used his free hand to lower his cowl, revealing bright blue hair in a ponytail, bright red eyes, and a casual smile. "I am the caster servant for this holy grail war. I'm usually a lancer; my name is Cú Chulainn."
"The Child of Light from the Ulster Cycle?" Mash stated with mild surprise
"I am the one and only young miss, and I have some explanations about this mess. First, who might you all be, by chance?"
"Ritsuka Fujimaru, master of Chaldea."
"Mash Kyrielight, demi-servant of Chaldea."
"Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere, director of Chaldea."
Relaxing a little, seeing how he was genuinely here to help. Nathaniel willed his helm to split away. "Nathaniel Hawke Pendragon, master candidate and quasi-servant of Chaldea. I take it you know exactly what happened here and how to go about fixing this mess?"
"It turns out the grail was corrupt, and the saber summoned in this was corrupted. They slew all the other servants but me, and somehow, the slain servants returned corrupted themselves. Things went from bad to even worse at that point. Also, if I'm killed at any point, it's automatically game over."
"Fucking hell, there's even more corrupted servants running around here? Plus, if you die for whatever reason, we lose; that's some rubbish." Nathaniel barked.
"It's better than you think, between my efforts and your handling of Medusa. There are only two other servants left to deal with, is the saber that started this mess and the archer," Chulainn explained. We'll need to deal with the archer first; he's acting like a guard around the area where the saber is camped out, dealing with anything that tries to get close. It's why I haven't already dealt with him myself. I haven't been able to get near the bastard."
"With us here now to help, we can close the gap and deal with him," the redhead mused.
"My thoughts exactly," Chulainn said, looking towards the blond. "Before that, though, I have to ask. Just what the hell are you? I've never heard of such a term before."
"Dad was a magus; Mom was a servant. Long story short, holy grail shenanigans." Nathaniel answered.
The blue-haired caster raised an eyebrow at that. "That's a new one, but fair enough. You got a noble phantasm by chance?"
Nathaniel nodded, "I do, but it's on the larger-scale destructive side of things, so it's no good in spaces that are too small or where friendly fire is too much of a risk."
"I see, what about you?" Chulainn asked towards Mash.
"I'm afraid I don't know my noble phantasm yet." The shield user answered.
"What do you mean you don't know your noble phantasm!?" Olga exclaimed in disbelief.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about that." Nathaniel interjected, "If she's fused with who I think she's fused with. Then I'm sure she'll come to know when she needs to."
"You know the heroic spirit that fused with me?" Mash asked in mild surprise.
"I have a good idea as to who it is. Though I won't say who, not to be mean to you. Please don't misinterpret what I mean by that. It would be much more meaningful and better for you to learn on your own. Then to just have the answer given as it were."
"Oh...I see..."
"It's okay, Mash. I'm sure we can trust Nathaniel's word on this." Ritsuka spoke up. "So, what should our plan regarding archer be?"
"First things first, Hawke needs to try summoning a servant of his own. We came here to use the leyline for that purpose," Olga chimed.
A holographic popped up suddenly with Romani on it. "Problem with that. Medusa struck the leyline with her initial attack and is no longer suitable for summoning." "You can't be serious right now!?" Olga cried indignantly. The Doctor looked a bit sheepish. "I'm afraid so, director. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. While unfortunate, I can handle myself without a servant for now. All things considered, we don't have time to go tracking down a new one. The sooner we get this singularity resolved, the better. I can properly summon a servant once we're safely back at Chaldea," Nathaniel explained seriously.
The silver-haired woman gave a deep sigh. "As much as I find it aggravating, it's true. We can't waste any time; we'll have to push forward as we are. I take it you know where this enemy archer is hanging out?"
"Allow me to lead the way," Chulainn said with a smirk.
The group traversed toward where the archer and, by extension, saber were. They kept to shadows and ruins as much as possible to avoid archers' gaze. Soon enough, they neared a cave entrance by what had been a temple of sorts. They kept hidden as they scouted out the area.
"What's our plan?" Ritsuka asked in a whisper.
"I have an idea," Nathaniel said in a low tone, and the others looked at him. I'll head out by myself to draw him out and engage. Once there's a good opening, strike a quick and decisive blow, Chulainn. Mash, keep back, and be ready to jump in if needed." No one said anything, and the others nodded in understanding of the plan. With that handled, Nathaniel made his way out into the open. Steadily and carefully walking towards the cave, keeping alert.
"You're a new one." A masculine voice in a cold tone spoke, and Nathaniel whipped to his right to see a tall man with white hair and tan skin with red markings on his body, wearing a black and silver outfit.
"You must be the glorified guard dog?" Nathaniel retorted as he stared down the archer servant.
The enemy servant's eyes narrowed as he seemed to be studying him. "You're resemblance to saber is remarkable I have to admit." He finally spoke in a lifeless tone.
Nathaniel felt his chest tighten at that. He really did not like the implications of that statement. He willed his helm to snap into place as he took a stance. "Probably just a coincidence. Will you let me pass, or will I shove my sword through your chest?" He snapped back.
"I've been tasked with guarding this entrance, and no one shall pass. I doubt you have what it takes to beat me as it is." He spoke up, seemingly unimpressed by his opponent's bravado.
"Medusa thought something similar, and then I sliced her in half. Let's see how you fair!" he growled as his body erupted with green lightning and blasted forward. He swung his blade downward toward his enemy's head. His attack was stopped by a pair of twin concave short swords. Sparks flew off the blades as they connected. "An archer that uses swords? That's a bit of an oxymoron."
The archer said nothing as he struggled to force his opponent's blade away. Then, with a burst of strength and flourish, he got out the blade lock and tossed his blades at the mysterious saber. Who, in a display of agility, dodged them both and prepared to make his counter move. However, he was ignorant of the blades boomeranging around, and they struck him in the small gaps of his arms. The cuts were superficial, but they did their job of catching him by total surprise and breaking his concentration. He quickly summoned a bow and Caladbolg II, drawing it back, ready to fire.
"Sorry, but I don't feel like dragging this out." He spoke coldly as he prepared to finish the fight.
Nathaniel chuckled in response. "Funny thing, I was about to say the same thing to you." The blond quickly focused his power in a hand before shooting it out. A blinding light suddenly engulfed the area. Nathaniel was fine, thanks to his helm; the enemy archer, not so much.
Emiya was blinded horribly by the sudden light; he hadn't expected such a trick by a saber servant. Still, he knew his opponent was in front of him, and he could adjust with his other senses. Then, he suddenly felt a tremendous heat coming from behind him. He realized at that point that he had been played and that he was screwed.
Nathaniel watched as the fireball cast by Chulainn hit its mark. The archer immediately dropped his weapon and screamed in horrendous pain as the fire burned him. He fell to the ground and writhed about, desperately trying to put out the flames. Which he managed to do, but the damage was done. The blond approached the archer, noticing that his body was too badly burned to move so much. His breathing was ragged, undoubtedly from burnt lungs. The archer turned his vision with his remaining good eye towards the swordsman.
"A rather...dirty trick...for a... knight..." The archer accused with a raspy, hoarse tone.
"That's the neat thing," Nathaniel retorted. "I've never been knighted, so I'm no knight." He then brought his sword down and, with a sound of metal piercing through flesh. Ran his blade into the archer's chest, whose expression widened momentarily before making a wet gargle of a choking sound, and then his body stilled and faded away.
"Nice trick with the light blast, kid; it gave the perfect opening for me." The green-eyed young man turned his head to greet the others as they approached. His helm split apart to reveal his face once more as he did.
"Indeed, excellent work on your part, Nathaniel, you as well, caster," Olga stated with approval. "Now it's time to head into the cavern, beat the saber servant inside, and end this nightmare once and for all."
Seeing no reason to wait, the group entered the cave to make the final push.
The group felt an odd shiver as they explored the cave's depths. It wasn't from the cold; it wasn't cold at all, but rather, it came from the unnerving aura that seemed to permeate the cave, which only seemed to get worse as they traveled deeper into it.
"This place feels...wrong in every way seemingly," Mash commented as they traveled.
"Agreed," Ritsuka chimed in, trying not to let her unease show. "It has to be from the corrupt grail.
Suddenly, a screen appeared again, and the Doctor appeared on it. "You're about to reach the location of the corrupt grail from the power readings I'm getting. There's also a smaller but still powerful signature, no doubt the saber servant." Romani said with a worried tone.
"Guess it's about time for the finale." Nathaniel mused as the group continued on.
They soon entered a large chamber with a massive crater burned into it with blood-red light, which shot mana high into the swirling clouds—certainly one hell of a sight. Then, a figure walked over the crater's edge into their view.
They had a feminine frame akin to a teenage girl, wearing all-black armor and holding a pure black sword with red markings. Pale-skinned and pale blond hair, along with piercing yellow-gold eyes.
"Who is that?" Ritsuka wondered; she turned slightly and froze after seeing Nathaniel react to this new servant. His expression was a mixture of seriousness and concern like she had never seen before on him. He gripped the hilt of his sword in a death grip. He gazed intently at the mysterious new servant. "Do you know who that is, Nathaniel?"
The blond was silent for a moment before finally speaking, his gaze never breaking away from the all-black-wearing saber. "I've never seen them before, but I've heard their description and of that sword. Plenty of times throughout my life, to know exactly who that is, regardless of the color swapping." Then he suddenly called to the saber in a tone that sounded partially like a growl. "That's who you are, isn't it...King Arthur."
Ritsuka's eyes widened as she looked back towards the saber herself, and a single thought entered her mind.
"Well...shit..."
AN: Well, this was a fun chapter to write. I haven't had this much writing in a while. I hope all of you reading this are having fun, too. In the next chapter, Nathaniel meets his Grandfather for the first time, under possibly the worst circumstances imaginable. What could possibly go wrong? The next chapter is going to be fun to write.