Outsider Chronicles: Shielder of the Bay
Getting reborn as a side character whos only real achievement is dying is not something I had in mind for an afterlife. On the other hand, it does give me the chance to possibly do some good and its not like I'm just going to curl up and die. After all, I'm a shield to keep people safe.
And here we go with another chapter. Not much to say, so lets get started. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
There was a moments pause, before everyone turned to stare at me incredulously. I blushed at the attention and ducked my head slightly.
"Ah, so you've been talking to some of the Knights then?" said Merlin, not looking the slightest bit bothered by the nickname, "Let me guess, Moe-chan?"
I stared at him incredulously while making a mental note to never, EVER call Mordred that when I met her because she'd probably break my jaw, then shook my head.
"Galahad actually," I said.
"Ah, of course," said Merlin as he sat up with Fou clinging to his shoulder, "How is the shield brat?"
"Well enough I guess," I said, "Now what are you doing here Merlin?"
Merlins smile widened slightly.
"Like I said, I came to check up on my little masterpiece," he said, "Its been awhile since it appeared after all..."
At this point, my family managed to shake off their surprise at the Fou interrupt and stick their ores in. Or at least, Vicky did.
"Wait wait wait, time out!" she shouted, "What are you two talking about?! Do you know each other? And…"
Her expression got even more confused.
"Did you just say that you MADE Erics power?"
Merlin nodded with a smug look on his face.
"But...THATS NOT HOW POWERS WORK!"
"You are quite correct Miss Dallon!" said Merlin with a shining smile, "Thats not how Parahuman powers work!"
Vicky looked confused while Amy frowned.
"Wait, are you implying that Eric isn't a Parahuman?" she asked.
Merlins grin widened.
"Exactly!" he said and patted Amy on the head.
In response, her eyes crossed and she fell over backwards with blood leaking out her nose. That got everyone moving again.
"AMY!"
Vicky and Crystal dove for her sister, while the adults charged up again, ready for a fight.
"What did you do?!" demanded Uncle Mark, sounding a lot more animated than normal.
"I did nothing," said Merlin, completely ignoring Fou as he started jumping up and down on his masters head again, "Its just that her powers didn't seem to like my nature very much."
"You…"
"Alright, thats enough!" I shouted, slamming my shield into the ground hard enough to make a dent in the floor, "Merlin, stop being so irritatingly vague and get to the fucking point before I see if I can borrow Clarent and blow you to the fucking Moon!"
"Oh alright, fine, if you're going to ruin my fun," said Merlin, "As I said, I came to check up on Lord Camelot, just in case the new wielder needed some help, but it seems that I wasn't needed. You're already well on your way to mastering it."
"Thanks, I guess," I said, "Is that all?"
Merlin opened his mouth, but Fou interrupted him.
"Fuu fu, fuu!" he said.
Merlin looked mildly surprised.
"Oh really, is that a fact?" he asked, "Interesting…"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then looked at me and grinned.
"Very interesting indeed," he said.
I swallowed. I did NOT like that smile.
"Whats interesting and are we going to have to evacuate the city?" I asked.
"Probably not," said Merlin, "But I do suggest that you do something about the would-be biblical plague before she breaks out Oracle instead."
I blinked.
"I beg your pardon?"
Merlins grin only widened.
"Oh, you know what I mean, little Outsider," he said, "And I suggest you be quick. Otherwise Khepri will be the least of our worries."
My stomach dropped down to somewhere around Behemoths basement, but before I could ask what the flying FUCK he was talking about, Merlin flashed a salute and vanished in a shower of flower petals.
"Alright, what was that all about?" asked Crystal after a moments silence, "Eric, what were the two of you talking about? Whats Lord Camelot? And why did he say that you're not a Parahuman?"
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. How the actual fuck was I supposed to explain this? Theres no way they'd believe that I wasn't technically a Parahuman. I clearly had powers and only Parahumans had powers, therefor I was a Parahuman. It was the same logic that led to the conclusion that Fou was a cat because he had fur and a tail, but Parahumans are rarely logical at the best of times. Besides, how the hell was I supposed to prove it? Its not like I could take everyone to Camelot after all.
"Fuu!"
I looked up as Fou hopped over the back of the sofa and landed on the top of my shield.
"Wait, thats still here?" asked my Dad, "I thought it went with Myrridin. What is it anyway?"
Before anyone could respond, the little would-be extinction event placed a paw in the middle of the shield boss and the entire thing began to glow, bathing the room in a blinding light. Once it faded, the suburban living room was replaced with a very familiar hilltop overlooking the city.
"Wait, what?" I said, "How did…"
"ACK!"
There was a thump as Vicky fell out of the sky and landed in a heap.
"Ow, what happened?" she said, "Where are we?"
I sighed.
"Well, this makes things easier," I said, "You wanted to know where my power came from, well this is it. Welcome to Camelot, Humanities Dream of an eternal Utopia made manifest."
"Also known as an incredibly boring place where nothing ever changes."
We all turned to see a young woman with blonde hair and a slightly sharp grin wearing revealing red under armour sat on top of one of the ruins that surrounded Excaliburs plinth.
"Yo," said Mordred, saluting with the bottle in her hand.
She took a swig, then jumped off the wall and stalked right up to me, looking me up and down as she did. Mostly up as I was taller than her.
"So, you're the new doorman, eh?" she said, "Eric, right?"
"Thats right," I said.
"Hnn, shorter than I was expecting," said Mordred.
I snorted.
"Oh, like you're one to talk, oh great Saber of Red," I snapped.
Mordred let out a bark of laughter and punched my shoulder hard enough to send me stumbling.
"HAH, I'll have to remember that one!" she crowed, "Better than my other titles at least!"
"All right, all right, time out!" shouted Vicky, "What the fuck is going on here?!"
Mom cleared her throat.
"While I wouldn't put it like that, I think we'd all like some answers to that Eric," she said, "Where are we and who is this?"
Mordred and I shared a look and I sighed.
"Like I said before this one interrupted me," I said, jabbing a thumb at Mordred, who just grinned, "This place is the inside of my power. Its Camelot, the dream of the Knights of the Round Table made as real as can possibly be. As for who this is, well, you might not believe it, but shes actually Mordred, the only child of King Arthur Pendragon and, if you want to be technical, the heir to the Throne of Briton."
Mordred's shit eating grin only widened at her introduction and she gave a surprisingly elegant bow. My family stared at me incredulously.
"O…K, so lets assume that thats true for a moment," said Vicky, "Why does she look like me?"
I opened my mouth, then paused and looked between my cousin and Mordred a few times.
"I…have absolutely no idea," I said, "Maybe we're related to the Pendragon line?"
I glanced at Mordred, who shrugged.
"Hell if I know," she said, "Grandpa was something of a manslut though, so its not impossible. Either that or the Dick wizard did something."
Personally, my bet was on this being a cosmic joke and I'd discover that Taylor was a Rin or Sakura-face.
"Frankly, I'm more interested in the fact that shes a girl," said Dad.
Mordred twitched.
"Eh? Ya got a problem with that?" she growled, stalking forwards as Clarent appeared in her hand with a flash of red.
"Nope, not in the slightest!" yelped Dad as the tiny girl shoved the tip of the magic sword in his face and somehow managed to look incredibly intimidating instead of silly.
"A more relevant question is how did we get here?" asked Mom, trying to get the conversation back on track.
Mordred grinned.
"Oh, I can answer that," she said, "The kids shield is the manifestation of Camelot Castle itself, so it has all the aspects of the Castle, including the Gates. If you know how to open them, all you need to do is walk through."
"So I can come here when I'm awake?" I asked, "Huh, that could be handy."
"I'd stick to the dream visits if I was you," said Mordred.
"True enough," I said, then turned back to my family, "So, does that clear it up or do you have more questions?"
"Oh, I have plenty," said my Aunt.
"How about we hold off on that for now," said Mom before her sister could start ranting, "How do we get out of here? While this is certainly interesting, I'm not comfortable staying here for long."
"That…is a good question," I said, "I assume that Fou knows though."
We all looked at the little Endbringer, who shook himself off and patted my shield, which he was still stood on. There was a flash of light and we were all back in the living room as if we hadn't moved.
"Well, that was remarkably painless," I said.
"What is that thing anyway?" asked Amy, who had finally recovered enough for her nose to stop bleeding.
"No idea, but the Dick Wizard probably does if you really want to know," said Mordred.
There was a beat as everyone stared at the Knight of the Round who was now lounging in the free armchair.
"What?"
"Please pardon my french, but WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING OUT OF THE DREAM?!" I shouted, my patience with this day now well and truly shredded.
Mordred didn't seem in the least bit bothered at my ire and had the gaul to just grin at me.
"I told ya, that shield is a doorway," she said, "If you lot can get in, what makes you think we can't get out?"
I felt the blood drain from my face at the thought of that. Releasing the Knights of the Round on Earth Bet sounded like about as good an idea as giving Taylor access to the Tyranids. Mordred snorted at the look on my face and waved a hand.
"Oh, don't worry, its doubtful that anyone other than possibly the Wolf Girl will come through without being called," she said.
"So why are you here?" I growled.
"Because I'm bored."
"Well, I can't really argue with that," I said, then turned back to my family, who were all staring at me with wide eyes, "What?"
"You mean all that was REAL!?" shrieked Vicky.
"Pretty much," I said.
There was a moments silence, before Dad hesitantly spoke up.
"So wait, if thats the case, then that means that Myraddin is…"
"A genuine, half Demon Dick Wizard, yes," I said.
"That…explains quite a lot actually," said Amy, "I still have no idea what my power actually saw when he touched me, but he certainly wasn't Human."
"Why do you keep calling him a dick wizard?" asked Crystal.
I snorted softly.
"Because King Arthur is actually a girl, but needed an heir because king reasons," I said, "Merlin helped with that."
I smirked at the slightly disturbed and confused looks on my family's faces.
"And on that lovely note, I'm going exploring," said Mordred, hopping to her feet, "Later peeps!"
"Oh no you don't!" I shouted , jumping across the room and seizing the Knight by the shoulders.
The next thing I knew, I found myself upside down against the wall with a throbbing head as the door slammed shut behind the Knight. Welp, that probably wasn't good.
And ya know what? I've had this sitting here unfinished for ages and this seems like as good a place as any to stop.
Oh dear, somehow I get the distinct impression that someone potentially problematic has a very powerful weapon like Erics. Theres no way THATS going to end badly.
Its technically possible for people to go back and forth between the Dream and reality, but they can't last long in the other. A person from Camelot will return there once they fall asleep in the real world and vice versa and someone needs to open the door, with the only people actually being capable of that being Eric, Merlin, Fou and Arthur. But yes, this does mean its possible for Eric to call on some rather impressive firepower if he needs it. Not that he will, most of the Knights will only come out if the need is incredibly great. As in, world ending bad.
I see no way that unleashing Mordred on Brockton will end badly!
And with that, its time to sign off. I'm not…entirely sure if I'm going to do more of this, so we'll have to wait and see. For now, don't forget to leave a review on the way out!