A Dishonored Demigod

Making an Impression: The First Night

As the sun dips below the horizon and night covers the city Perseus is standing at the edge of his detection fields. Sakura rests her chin on his head as she naps to regain the prana she used up doing the bala technique. He takes to the air with a sticking spell holding Sakura in place and allows her to really enjoy the flight. The wind ruffles the sleek feathers of Perseus' wings and Sakura's hair is pushed back as he circles around the the city. They continue to do this for a few minutes before Sakura nudges Perseus' head and points down at the industrial yard where he was earlier,"Look!"
Perseus does and can see a woman in armor fighting against a man wielding two spears,"Well done little master. I guess we should go introduce ourselves!"
He pulls his wings in and drops towards where he stored his sniper rifle, keeping to the clouds to remain invisible. When he lands his wings sink into his back and he picks up the sniper,"Come on little ants. It's time for some shooting practice!"
He looks through the scope while taking aim,"Come on. One good shot."
He gets his wish when the rider-class servant bursts onto the scene,"Bingo! Cover your ears little master!"
He squeezes the trigger and the recoil from the blast pushes into his shoulder. A bullet of pure Darkness blasts through the air and hits its mark, piercing through Lancer's left shoulder,"Got him!"
Down on the ground the servants are in disarray while the master's are trying to locate the sniper when a childish giggle echoes through the still night. Perseus in child form darts through the shadows on the far side of the clearing, spooking the white haired woman with Saber, the horses pulling Rider's chariot, and Rider's master. The streetlights flicker and Rider's voice booms out,"Show yourself!"
"Hahaha! You talking to little ol' me?"
Perseus darts past the white haired woman while tapping her on the shoulder,"I'm behind you!"
She starts and he vanishes into the shadows,"Well isn't this something? I never expected all you servants would gather here! It must be Christmas come early for me!"
The lights flicker again and he appears underneath one with his hair covering his eyes,"Hello!"
He waves with a childish hand and Lancer readies his other spear with his right hand,"You little monster! You nearly blew my arm off!"
He giggles,"That was the goal!" and bows,"Servant Joker at your assistance my dear enemies!"
Silence greets his introduction and he darts next to the white haired woman,"Is it something I said?"
She starts away from him and he does a backflip away from a swing from the invisible sword held by Saber,"Oi! That toothpick looks sharp enough to hurt me!"
He ducks under the spear that sweeps over him,"And that looks cursed!"
He jumps back while eyeing the two,"Aw come on! I just want to have some fun!"
He dodges as the two assault him and use his arms to block both weapons, producing a shower of sparks as he does so,"So you wanna play?"
He forces his arms away with enough strength to send the two stumbling,"Sho!"
The servants are thrown back and are forced into the shipping containers behind them while Perseus relaxes,"You know I really didn't want to fight you all just yet. I'd hoped to get along before I ripped your hearts out."
He giggles again and his hair shifts to show evil red eyes,"You, Rider! Tell me the name of my opponent!"
Rider grins,"You may call me Iskandar, King of Conquerors!"
Perseus bows,"A pleasure to be in the presence of another king! My name is Thrafsma, Slayer of Kronos and King of Monsters! I'd very much like to meet some time during the day and discuss old battles!"
He makes to leave before a new voice makes him stop,"So you're back again little worm? I'd thought our last encounter taught you something!"
Perseus snorts,"Yeah, your aim is shit for an archer."
Archer frowns,"For a king your words are that of a plebeian!"
Perseus shrugs,"Eh, whatcha gonna do? We monsters have very loose guidelines in life."
He rolls away from a spear that tries to pin him to the ground,"You already trying to stick your blade in me?! I don't do that sort of thing after one meeting, Archer-kun."
Iskandar roars with laughter while Archer's face twists into a look of absolute loathing,"You insolent worm! Look down and die!"
Perseus dodges the next few weapons before muttering,"F*** it," and draws Dyrnwyn from his shadow.
He swings it in an arc and a wave of fire surges towards Archer, burning up the weapons flying towards him,"Come on!"
Archer jumps off the light pole he's on while eyeing the blade,"How is it you posses a noble phantasm that isn't yours?! Thief!"
Perseus grins,"Again, whatcha gonna do tin man?"
He rushes forward and slashes down at Archer,"Burn!"
Archer jumps away once more while golden ripples form in the air,"Die!"
The steel explodes as it hits Perseus and Archer has a smug smile,"One less worm to stand in my presence."
"Ah, is that true little mortal?"
The dirt clears to show Perseus in his adult form with his lion skin trench coat equipped with the front open to show the shadows inside it. His face is still concealed by the smoke but his hand is seen swiping down,"Come on then, King of Heroes!"
The smoke clears to show his mask equipped over his face,"I was really hoping to just do a hit and run tonight, but what can you do? HaaaaA. I guess I'll just have to-"
He tilts his head to the side,"We can play again tomorrow. My master is asking me to take them home for some sleep. Goodnight to you all, and good luck with Berserker!"
He grins behind his mask while stabbing Dyrnwyn into the ground. A pillar of fire consumes him and he vanishes as it falls. He reappears next to Sakura as she sits on the edge of the crane,"You really like playing don't you?"
"Aye. I didn't have much of a real childhood, no matter what my mother did. Playing with my opponent for me is...fun. It's fun for me. Does that scare you at all little master?"
"Nope!" Sakura exclaims, shaking her head,"you rescued me from my grandpa and have taught me more in a day then he has in a year. I kinda understand why you do it."
They sit in silence after that and Sakura scoots over next to him when the wind blows and she grows cold. A lone wing wraps around her as the two enjoy the short confrontation between Berserker and Archer,"Your uncle has to be very strong to support a servant like that."
Sakura giggles,"Yeah uncle Kariya is the best! Can we go see him tomorrow?"
Perseus glances down at her,"Why are you asking me? You're the one in control here, little master."
Sakura nods and yawns,"But that doesn't mean I won't act in your best interest. Time to go home and for you to go to bed."
He picks Sakura up and notices she's already asleep. He chuckles and Blinks over to a nearby rooftop, turns once to glare back at the gathered servants while catching Saber's eye. He stares at her for a few more seconds before he Blinks across the city towards their home and feels the wards wash over him along with the icy feeling that accompanies them. He bounds up the steps of the temple and enters the stone structure. He quickly puts his master in her bed and takes his place at the entrance.
He closes his eyes and his shadow shivers before a creeper slides out and slithers to his side,"All servants have been accounted for save Caster and Assassin. They must exist though since the war has started. Find them and report back to me."
The creeper screeches and uses the smooth stone lining the sides of the steps to slide down to the bottom and vanish into the shadows produced by the trees. A moment later a darkling pops ups next to Perseus,"Whatcha want boss?"
Perseus motions to the trees,"Patrol the area with as many of you as needed. I want no move to go unseen in these woods."
It salutes him and jumps off the stairs into the trees before multiple shrieks are heard throughout the woods and growing fainter as they reach farther out.
****
The next day finds Sakura being pushed in a swing by her uncle while Perseus tries to strike up a conversation with Berserker,"So...? Why did you get summoned? What's your desire?"
The being remains silent but his head turns to glare at him,"I'm serious! I let the little master summon me because she needed help, and I need to check the grail for something."
The hulking figure remains silent and Perseus yells over to Kariya,"Hey Kariya-san! Can you turn off the mad enhancement?"
A moment later the armored figure slumps and a muffled voice speaks through the helmet,"I want to die. Only Saber can kill me. Nothing more and nothing less."
Perseus eyes narrow,"So it's like that huh? You two must've been close in life for you to offer yours up."
Berserker nods and Perseus runs a hand down his face,"Ugh. How about a deal? You help me keep my master safe and me and I'll do the same, including getting you a fight with Saber without interruption."
Berserker nods and returns to standing guard while Perseus sprawls out on a park bench with his trench coat draping off the edge. He covers his face with both arms and sighs while trying to soak up some sunlight. He can feel his skin start to warm up when a shadow falls over him,"Excuse me."
He grunts and moves his arms to look up,"What?"
A woman with white hair looks down at him while the face next to her makes him yelp and roll off the bench while reaching into the inside of his coat for his guns,"Saber!"
Just as his guns clear the holsters sewn into his coat the woman waves her arms,"Wait! We only came here to talk!"
Perseus freezes and eyes the two,"Lady you're lucky I wasn't really asleep. Nearly blew my apprentice's head off last time he woke me up with a scare."
He pushes his guns back into their holsters and gets up while motioning to a picnic table,"Pull up a seat and we'll talk. If you've really come to talk peacefully you don't have to worry. However if you're lying then..."
Berserker rests both of his hands on the woman's shoulders,"Tall, dark, and gruesome here will crush you."
Saber tenses but the woman waves her down,"It's fine Saber. First allow me to introduce myself."
"No need. Irisviel von Einzbern, wife of Kiritsugu Emiya and the lesser grail for this war."
Saber appears right next to Perseus with her sword held against his neck,"How do you know that?!"
Perseus grins and uses a finger to push the sword away,"Calm down Arthuria-san. I won't tell."
Saber's eyes narrow but Perseus turns his attention back to Irisviel,"How I know what I know is very simple. I make very good use of my familiars. Like I told Saber though, I won't divulge the info to anybody and instead," he hesitates,"I'd like to help you. If you're willing to trust me."
He holds up a hand to stop the questions,"Before you say anything let me explain the process. One of my noble phantasms includes a blessing from Thanatos. This," and the skin of his left arm flakes off,"is Soul Touch. With this I can interact with a living soul and even pull it straight out of the body. However after much, emphasis on much, experimentation I've found that I'm able to separate a soul into smaller parts, or rip off a piece. The process is entirely painless and the grail will still form when the time comes."
He lowers his hand,"Now I'll answer your questions."
"Why?" Irisviel bluntly asks,"why would you even offer me such a thing? What do you hope to gain?"
Perseus leans back while his eyes flick over to a tree five hundred yards away,"Well the fact your husband is aiming a very big gun at my head right now is very annoying and I hope that he wouldn't do so for the rest of this enjoyable little war. If anything I would ask that no attempts would be made on my master's life. As for why I'm offering...heh," he chuckles ruefully,"I know what it's like to be fate's b****. Born and brought up for only one reason. And the fact that a little girl would be left without a mother just makes me angry. Heck, I've even got a daughter of my own and I wouldn't ever want her to miss out on her life."
He sighs,"Just think about my offer for a few days. I got a feeling all the servants will be meeting shortly anyways. Give me your answer then."
Irisviel stands to go but Perseus asks one final question,"Many people call your husband a monster. I want to know though, what is his wish?"
Unseen by the servant Irisviel smiles,"He wants to create a world without conflict."
Perseus' shoulders shake and he erupts in laughter,"Hahahahahaha! Such a wish is unbecoming for one of my subjects!"
Irisviel leaves with Arthuria in tow and Perseus' laughter hanging in the air.