Fate/Clusterfuck (Fate/Stay Night)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DW--mbGI8

[Circe, get them out. The rest of us are staying and helping the man and the innocents]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

An effort paid off.

—

There was no further time for thought, or plans… not that you put much stock in plans to begin with. "Circe, get Ayako's parents back to the mansion. The rest of us are staying and helping that servant fight the Monster. There's too many innocents in danger here."

"Shirou that-" Circe begins.

But you cut her off. "Circe, I trust you to get them there safely. I am not letting this spill into the houses around here if I can help it, I am not running away, these people have nothing to do with the war."

You turn your head towards Medea. "Can you slow that thing down?"

Caster stares at you for a few moments, saying nothing as the sound of crashing timber and crunching metal sounds out from down the street. "Leave it to me."

Then you turn your attention to Ayako. "Ruby?"

Ayako swallows, nods, then yanks the wand out of of the air where it had been floating in front of Circe. With a flash of light, the clothes she was wearing fade away, replaced instead by the same outfit she had been wearing when she kidnapped you just a short while ago.

"Are you in control?" you ask quickly, wanting to get out there

"I want to die wearing this, so yeah. I think so!" Ayako hisses.

"Ayako's in control, just point me at 'em!" Ruby cheerfully reports.

You nod your head, then you run out of the house. You leap over the rubble and debris, and land on the road. Then you look towards the ongoing battle… and…

Two buildings were already aflame on either side of the street. Flames billowed upwards from them, the smell of gas staining the air. One, to your left, had a car sticking through the second story, one wheel still turning rapidly from either the force of whatever had thrown it in there… or from the fact that someone had been driving it only moments prior.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

The beast is down the street, maybe a hundred yards away, swinging its spear with abandon toward the newly arrived servant. With every swing of the weapon, black streaks of light erupt, carving into the neighboring houses, cars, and people. People were either locking up their homes or trying to run away, those unlucky enough to be near the Monster died. Men, women, and children, their bodies cut in half or worse, falling to the ground in clumps.

Then you were sprinting down the street.

"Focus on me servant!" the white-haired man shouts as he raises his pistol and fires. The round connects, slamming into the Monster's shoulder. It… doesn't move or react as blood pours down from the open wound.

Eyes snap onto the newcomer, tongues slobbering, and then it launches itself forward.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

"Stop!" you shout.

The beast jerks at the sound of your voice, juking around the side of the white-haired man to leap towards you. It was a hundred yards away, and in as much time as it took to process it even moving at all, it was on you. You reinforce your legs on instincts, sliding down on them as you skid across the asphalt. An intense heat from the Monster's body washes over you, as does a sickening scent of death. You collide with its legs, and you begin to scramble, to dry and move.

You aren't fast enough, the spear screams down, slicing through the air with a shriek as it surges towards your abdomen.

"Fuck off from my boyfriend!" Ayako screams, and she's then standing above you. Ruby screams as it swings into the spear like a baseball bat, a loud clunk sounds out as the toy stick slams into the spear. The spear drives itself into the asphalt an inch away from your head, and you roll to the side, climbing back up onto your feet in nearly the same acti-

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

You go flying back into a parked car as the Monster bellows with enough force to push you and Ayako both away.

"It shall not leave this street!" a voice calls out, and you jerk your head to see the man who had crashed into Circe standing just a short distance away. "It is using the people here as bait."

…

"Caster, we fight this thing here and now, it's already hurt Taiga and Sakura. No more." You push yourself off the car with a grimace, your back alighting in pain. Caster appears by your side a moment later, helping you up even as the beast turns to look at the two of you.

"We shall most certainly die." Caster replies.

"Probably, but if some of the people get away… it's worth it."

"... Fool." Caster says, then raises her staff.

That, you wouldn't argue.

Your body was currently wracked with rather interesting pain, but you could move. Your mana was drained from working on Mordred earlier. But you were going to fight, and you were going to fight here and now. This thing wasn't going to hurt anyone else. The flames dance on the buildings around you, the fire spreading. People screamed, shouted, whimpered. You were back there, as you were, twelve years ago. Only this time… this time you could do something about it.

You were on a small, two-lane street, not meant for much in the way of traffic. Cars crowded the sides of it, people cramming as much they could to live in the multistory houses to either side. The Monster barely fit into it, bulging muscles and pulsing, tumorous flesh brushing against the walls and vehicles.

"Palintonos - Penelope."

The bow forms in your hand, and the Monster snarls. It leaps, Medea moves, you fire. The arrow sails through the air to slam into its neck… and snaps as it jerks its head, blood pours down from the wound, but the Monster doesn't care. Charging forwar-

The ground underneath its feet alights purple, runes painting the asphalt, before an eruption of light and energy shoots straight up. Shackles of pure energy slam around the arms and legs of the Monster, causing it to stumble. Gibbering mouths drool and send spittle all over as it roars and struggles, pulling against the restraints. You fire again, and again, your mana draining, but you don't move, pumping arrow after arrow into the Monster as it struggles against the restraints.

Then a beam of bright, pink light slams into it, causing the Monster to howl and stumble backward, the chains break from the sudden hit of energy, allowing the Monster to crash back into a car, and a wall behind it. The smell of burning meat fills the air, and you turn your head to see Ayako come to a skidding stop just beside you, panting with a sheen on sweat on her face. "Did that get him?"

"No, not hardly." The white-haired man replies.

You look his way, only to see him stand between you and the Monster. You have but another moment to draw in a breath, before it lurches up and off the car, a large hole now present in its midsection, revealing… nothing. An inky black hole in reality stood proudly where once had been flesh, and before your eyes ligaments stretch and snap over the hole, closing it like one would sew shut a hole in a shirt.

"Well fuck." Ayako says.

"Indeed," the man replies.

"Machia Hecatic Graea!" Caster's voice shouts from above.

You look up to see her floating above the battlefield, her cape extended like wings billowing behind her. Then beams of light erupt from the cape, slamming down into the Monster.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

Smoke fills the street, and then it violently blows outwards as the Monster, smoking, bleeding, and missing large chunks of its flesh, leaps clear upwards and grabs Medea. It twists, spinning into the air, then throws her down. She screams with a rush of air back towards the earth, crashing through the roof of one of the parked cars. Glass shards from shattered windows throw shrapnel across the street, pelting you as you yank Ayako and push her behind you.

The Monster lands with a crunch of asphalt a moment later, spear raised to deliver the finishing blow.

Your shoulder crashes into it, the arrow held in your hand stabbing into its back. "Don't you touch her!"

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

A mouth forms around the arrow, biting down and snapping it in half. Your hand snaps back, mana surging through your body as a blade forms in it. It's a red thing, it belonged to a goddess once, though Circe has stated that wasn't necessarily a good thing. It was short, shorter than your arm by half, with a simple unadorned hilt. The only notable thing was the fact that the blade was blood red, and as it fit into your hand perfectly, it begged to be painted yet more. "Haema!" The blade is stabbed into the mouth, then locked there, unable to be moved as you try and carve upwards. The Monster's flesh wraps around it, locking it in place, you attempt to leap back and move away. Only to find the same had happened to your shoes. Your body went rigid then, tendrils of flesh shooting out from its back to latch around your limbs.

Then there's a flash of silver, and you are falling back towards the ground. The man was in front of you now, his blade swinging with abandon, carving chunks out of the Monster as it howls and turns back around, and you find yourself in the arms of Ayako a moment later. Your girlfriend dragging you back and away from it.

The wounds on the Monster knit themselves, blood pours, but is ignored, eyes pop, but are ignored. It stabs the spear forward, and the man only narrowly leaps back and away from it.

You free yourself from Ayako and run forward. The Monster rushes past you, focused now on the man, and you reach the car and look down at your servant. Medea lays there, eyes unfocused and staring at the sky, a thin dribble of blood coming out the side of her mouth. You wrench her free, Medea letting out a grunt as you hoist her out of the ruined car. You then lay her against it, ignoring the sound of battle behind you. The shouts of Ayako and Ruby, the sound of sword clashing against spear. You are wholly focused instead on Medea.

"You are an awful master boy," Medea says. Her eyes regaining their focus as she raises a hand to wipe the blood away from her mouth. "And that thing cares little for my magic."

"Any ideas?" you ask.

Medea shakes her head. Then pushes herself to her fee-

"Shirou!" Ayako's voice cries out in alarm.

You turn your head to see the Monster charging towards you, spear raised. The man that had been fighting him was in a crater in the ground. You move on instinct, grabbing Medea and throwing her to the side. Then you try to dive yourself. Mana floods your body, reinforcing your arms, legs, and you begin to mo-

Your mana fails, drained, and you make it only a few steps to the right before its spear stabs forward.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

Your vision flashes white as it stabs straight through your stomach.

"Shirou!" this time it was Medea's voice, and your vision returns to see yourself leaving the ground, your hand moves to the spear, clutching it, vainly trying to pull yourself free as the Monster lifts you off the ground, gurgling, laughing.

You raise your hand, trying to do something, anything, but you felt… so very tired.

"Medea… Ayako… Safety!" you say through gritted teeth, fighting to stay conscious despite the pain.

But Ayako was frozen in fear, watching you die. You begin to slide down the spear, towards the Monster, towards the gaping, slobbering mouths.

"Oi! Bastard! Get away from my fucking MASTER!"

—


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7OhTeJEBik

—

A glint of silver and red rushes past you-

*Crash*

Mordred's sword swings up, slamming into the spiked, black spear. The spear holds for a moment, then cracks, breaking, and sending you tumbling to the ground.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

Mordred gives the Monster no time to react as it processes its spear being broken, she charges into it. Her armored shoulder crashes into its stomach and sends it back several feet. Then her blade swings upwards carving a gouge in it from hip to shoulder.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

It lurches back, bleeding a mix of red blood and a black ichor. It stares at Mordred, panting, then it opens its mouth to roar once more.

"▂"

It manages a syllable before a twisted, gigantic arrow whistles by your head and into its gaping mouth. The eyes along the body dart to it, then it detonates. Smoke and chunks of asphalt fill the air, clearing a moment later to reveal… the Monster standing there, chest heaving, a bloody gurgling stump where its head used to be. It stumbles forward, off balance. Before it pitches forwar-

Its hand stabs out, attempting to grab Mordred. The armored woman leaps to the side, sword swinging at the arm. It rushes past you both, tripping and stumbling. Then it turns, and… to your horror.

It's head is already back. The wound from the sword along the chest is gone, and a misshaped, bloody head is looking straight at Mordred. The pain from the spear currently sticking out of your stomach was easy to ignore as you processed that, you stumble, falling back onto the ground, but you never lose sight of it. Not as it steps forward towards Mordred, giggling, slobbering, its many mouths barking and yipping in excitement.

Ayako then is in front of you again, Ruby held in both hands as she casts a terrified look your way. Then… the Monster stops, the mouths close, the head tilts. Then ever so slowly it looks towards the south and leaps. A buffet of wind hits you, rustling your clothes and hair, and you just lay there. Listening for the sounds of battle as it chases after Archer… he had to have been the one to shoot that arrow like he did at Rin's servant.

Only… to your surprise, Archer lands in the middle of the street, Sakura tucked up against him. Circe lands besides him a moment later, both Circe and Sakura looking at you in abject horror and worry respectively.

"Shirou/Piglet!"

—

You were lying against an AC unit on a nearby roof, the spear had been removed by Mordred, none too gently. And that woman was now… idly standing in the middle of the roof, dead-eyed and seemingly paying attention to nothing going on around her. Circe meanwhile, had just finished closing the wound in your stomach.

"You seem to have a knack for attracting spears, Master." Medea comments, the witch sitting just beside Circe, watching the other woman like a hawk as she closed your wound.

"It's a gift," you reply. The wound was closed and gone, the pain wasn't. You felt cold and clammy, you weren't sure if that was the blood loss, the mana loss, or both at this point. The Monster hadn't returned, but then… the damage was already done. The street was littered with bodies, you had forced yourself to stop counting after twenty. Sirens sounded from below, the police and fire department helping people deal with something they didn't… couldn't understand.

"My apologies," the man… the newcomer speaks up, and you turn your gaze to him.

He was a mess, covered in burns, scratches, cuts and other various injuries. He still cut a rather imposing figure regardless, though it was rather difficult to feel anything resembling fear at the moment after what you had just dealt with. "I had been attempting to lead that servant away from the city since the previous night, and had been succeeding… until its way went here like a dog upon the fox straight and unerring."

There was no sign of Mata Hari, but you didn't expect her to be here. Archer however, you dimly note was looking at the white-haired man in what could only be described as 'concern and confusion'. He hadn't spoken once however, allowing Sakura to fuss over you as much as the two witches were.

"Who are you?" you ask.

The man reaches up to the top of his head, his hand closing as if to grasp a hat that wasn't there. He frowns, recovers, smiles, then bows. "Servant Ruler, I was summoned to manage this Grail War."

"You're doing great." You say tiredly.

The man grimaces. "It is to my regret that innocents have been harmed, however, I was only summoned yesterday evening… directly next to that Servant I must mention."

"This war has already gone out of hand," Circe replies slowly. "Why would a Ruler be summoned only now?"

"In response to an evil that is forming," Ruler replies. "Separate from this Grail War, but attached all the same."

"Oh, good to hear that this isn't evil yet," you reply. Then force yourself to stand on unsteady feet. Three pairs of hands halfheartedly try to stop you, and all three instead turn to help keep you steady and upright once you do manage it. "Are you going to deal with that… that thing then?"

"I fought it as it attacked me, and I attempted to limit collateral damage. However, I cannot become involved in the Grail War." Ruler replies.

You stare at him and listen to the cries from below. "We're going to need help."

"I'm afraid, as stated, I canno-"

"I know," you reply, cutting the man off. "You're tied into this Grail War, which means you are functionally useless and don't care what happens to people. Nobody does. Not the other masters, not their servants."

You move a hand to your stomach, then push yourself away from the AC unit, stumbling slightly before you right yourself. You felt sick, you felt tired… but you couldn't leave things like this. "Caster… we need help, we can't let that thing attack again. It… it dies today."

"Shirou you are in no condition to fight," Medea replies.

"Were they?" you ask, gesturing to the street below. "No, we solve this now." No more, no more. There won't be another Fuyuki fire, there won't be more bodies in the street. There won't be people you cannot save. There won't be any more running away, you don't care if you die.

But that thing could not be allowed to live.

—

But you need help.

[] [Ask Illya]
A plea for help, an answered call. A monster for a monster.

[] [Ask Kirei]
A deal with the devil, an enemy of my enemy. A god.

[] [Ask Raiga]
Men of the shadows, snakes in human guise. A machine in the form of a teacher.

—

Lemme know if y'all like. I've been worried about this story recently.