Alter Ego

Alter Ego Pt. III

"RRRAAA~AAA~AAAGH!" Connla Alter screamed as he plummeted upon Cu Alter, bearing his sharpened talons with full intent to rip him into shreds. Cu Alter leapt aside, then snatched his mutated son's wrists and tried to pin him against the nearby wall. They struggled against each other, and Connla Alter even bit down hard on Cu Alter's shoulder.

"Gh!" the Mad King snarled, realizing that he was losing a lot of blood. He wasn't worried though – this was still a dream, so he would be fine once he woke up. It was more important to him that he got Connla Alter under control somehow. If he woke up while still in this state, everyone in Chaldea would be in great danger. Desperation took him over, and he grabbed Connla Alter's fur before hurling him across the road.

The Alter Ego landed on his hind legs and got into all fours like a proper wolf. He unleashed a feral howl, then charged at his father and swiped his claws. It was blocked with Gae Bolg, but the frenzy hardly ceased as they engaged in another deadly dance of blades and bloodlust. Soon though, Cu Alter lost his balance when his spiked heel caught a broken piece of road. Connla Alter was on top of him, ready to plunge his hand into his chest and rip his beating heart out.

"ALTER!"

He instantly stopped when he heard the little girl's scream. Both Servants looked over at the side road to find Connie and Cu Caster. The Lancer stood behind the Caster, staring at her brother with sadness in her eyes.

"C... CONN... IE?" Connla Alter gasped in a guttural growl. "WHY ARE YOU... STOPPING ME?"

Cu Caster became irate as he shouted, "Why wouldn't she!? She finally gets to be with family members who love her, and yet we're going at each other's throats because we can't decide how to make her happy! She wants us to calm down and settle this with words, not with violence and hatred!"

"BUT... I HAVE TO... PROTECT HER. I HAVE TO... KEEP HER... SPIRIT ORIGIN... SAFE. I'M THE ONLY ONE... WHO CAN DO IT. BECAUSE I'M... I'M HER..."

"AAAAGH! Don't you get it!? You, me, Cu Alter, Cu Lancer, Aife, Scathach... We're all responsible for allowing so much garbage to build up inside Connie's Spirit Origin! We want to do what we can to help, but we can't do a goddamn thing if you keep pushing us away from her with these epic temper tantrums! You know what'll happen if this keeps up, don't you? More garbage will just pile up that you'll have to clean!"

"WHA...?"

"If her overworking habits created one huge monster, you think it won't be any different if some self-imposed solitude caused the same thing to happen all over again!?"

"..."

"Get it through your thick skull already! If you want to keep her safe that much, then you need to cooperate with the rest of us! Her friends, family, mentors, and even the Masters should get to know her better! That's the best way to help her unload all of her pent-up stress!"

"Uh... Uuuh... It's not fair... It's not fair..."

Connla Alter kept mumbling those words over and over again.

"It's not fair... It's not fair... It's not fair..."

"That's it," Cu Caster softly implored. "Let it out. Tell us what you really feel. Even if it hurts, shout with all your soul. You also need to unload your built-up stress too."

"Why did you abandon me, Father!? Why didn't you wait for Mother to give birth to me!? You could have taken me to Ireland with you! I could have been raised by the same people who took care of you! Instead, you just left me behind without giving a damn about me or the trauma you put Mother through! You went on to be a hero, all while leaving me to suffer Mother's wrath in obscurity! She treated me like crap, but I endured it! I figured it would be worth if I got to meet you someday!