Chapter 181 - My SI Stash #81 - Hero Complex by SpatialPhoenix (DCUXFatekaleidliner) (2/2)

But still, I found myself swallowing the pill. What? It wasn't like I had a choice anyway! I'd already decided to roll with his offer in the first place!

And when I did, I fell silent for a few minutes. I expected there to be some sort of strange sensation, something that would make my body burn or something like that, like all that stuff in movies but...

Nothing happened.

”In case you're wondering, you won't burst like that monkey boy or those people in anime.”. Zelretch said with amus_e_m_e_nt lacing his voice, making me a little fl_u_s_tered. ”Though, the idea of turning you into Magical Girl does sound tempting.”

”SCREW YOU!”

I wasn't going to hide my anger anymore. While I had enjoyed watching Fate Kaleid/Linear where Illya and Miyu acted like Magical Girls I had no intention to become one! I'm a guy! And there was definitely something WRONG with a guy wearing a skirt! EEEEWWWW! No offense to any guy or transvestite, but... EWWW! Imagining myself in a skirt was enough to make me puke! Gross! Grossssss! Super Grossss!

... Now I felt like I had to apologize to all transvestites... Maybe I had overdone it? But... Eww...

”Anyway! Now that the first round of business is done, the next step is giving you one of these!”, Zelretch said, raising his hand, and my eyes widened upon seeing what was on it.

Class-cards...

”You have strength, yes, but you don't have any skills, and trust me, you would be dead in less than month in that condition so this will solve your little problem.”, Zelretch told me, his mouth curled to wide grin while speaking.

I stared at the seven cards that he placed on the table. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, Assassin. They all looked exactly like how they were in the anime or the Type-Moon Wikia from the internet.

”Does Archer contain Gilgamesh or EMIYA? If it's a yes, then I choose them.”, I instantly said. There was no need to ask about any of the others, as it wasn't a secret that EMIYA and Gilgamesh's powers were the most wanted in Nasuverse.

EMIYA's power, Tracing, was a Magecraft that allowed you to copy Noble Phantasms and create Reality Marbles. I don't think I need to explain anymore why I wanted it; seriously, that man is undoubtedly powerful. I think the only reason why he lost in Fate Stay/Night at the Saber route, whilst facing Berserker, a freaking Heracles, the Son of Zeus, was because of a plot hole.

And then Gilgamesh... I also don't need to explain what was overpowered about him, right?

”Unfortunately for you, no.”, Zelretch replied, rolling his eyes irritably as if he was a bit annoyed at my question. ”Why? Because they're too overused, and I'm bored seeing my source of amus_e_m_e_nt shooting swords all the time!”

I certainly didn't know how to respond to that so I decided to change the topic. ”Then, can you tell me just what Heroic Spirits these cards contain?”

”Nope. It won't be fun if I tell you.”, Zelretch answered with that annoying grin still plastered on his face. ”So now man up and pick your card!”

I gazed down at the seven cards that were offered to me. Each of these cards contained power that was enough to make me, a civilian, into some kind of individual who would be able to beat an army just by himself. Alone.

Seven cards... Seven classes... Which one should I pick?

I never delved into the art of fighting before, so picking any Card wouldn't really matter, but... if my guess was right, then maybe this card gimmick was going to work like Fate Kaleid/Linear; while it wouldn't turn me into a Heroic Spirit, it will give me their power and at least the basic skills to wield the weapons of their class.

Truthfully, I was more into hand to hand combat. While I was not a fighter, I at least knew the basics of fighting if things came down to it. But I doubted the basics were going to work, so I just counted it as none.

Saber. Wielding a sword and becoming a Knight was cool. If I was lucky, maybe I could get Arturia and gain the ability to use Excaliblast! That was certainly a very powerful attack.

Lancer... I was tempted, really. Why? Karna and Cu Chulainn. Both of those guys were literal beasts, especially Karna with his anti-god nuke. If I got Gae Bolg, that would also be very useful. However, it wasn't a secret that most Lancers I knew ended dead and have Luck that quite honestly sucks.

Archer... If there was no EMIYA or Gilgamesh then no, as I didn't know about the other Archer class Servants. If I was lucky I could get Heracles but I didn't think I would. The risk was too big, but I still considered it.

Rider... Now if I got Iskandar... Man! Imagining myself spawning Ionioi Hetairo was awesome! Ha! That was an amazing thought! Having a whole army and the power to teleport my enemy to the desert like that! Or I could have gotten Medusa! I could have rode Pegasus! That would also have been pretty dope!

Caster... I wasn't sure whether or not to pick this. All the Casters I knew were clearly not good people. With Medea and Gilles de Rais, those two clearly were not a prime example of the Caster class. However, they could do Magic, and I was sure that having magic in my arsenal would only be a good thing. Of course, Solomon and Merlin were pretty cool.

Assassin... I really didn't know about this... I mean while I wasn't a slave to the whole 'heroes don't kill' moral code, I didn't want a skill set that would give me virtually no non-lethal options. I didn't know where I was going to go, but many worlds I could list off the top of my head didn't condone killing. There were some exceptions of course, but those were very low in number. Assassins also tended to be extremely fragile, like Hundred Face Hassan, whose durability was almost akin to a norma humans.

Berserker...

”Hypothetically speaking, if I pick Berserker, the Mad Enhancement... how would it work for me?” I asked.

”It can be activated and deactivated of course.”, Zelretch answered.

”You can set the timer on how long you wish to be in that state, however it also depends on your mind condition. For example, let's just say you just went through veeery bad day, and you set Mad Enhancement for fifteen minutes, due to your mind not in the right condition you will be under the Mad Enhancement for twenty minutes or so, depending on your problem.” He explained.

”I see... Is there a side effect? After I'm done with the Berserk will my mind will become more... Dark?”

”Other than a headache? Nope. The moment you enter the berserk state everything would be like a dream. And when you awaken, depending on how long you went berserk, the longer, the more painful your headache would be.”

Certainly, becoming Berserker was actually quite plausible. Of course, no sane man would be willing to trade his mind just for power. I, myself, found it as a bad idea; I still loved my sanity and wanted to keep it, thank you very much! But still... The potential the Berserker class possessed was great. As far I could recall, all Berserkers were strong Heroic Spirits. Such as Lancelot, Heracles, and... Spartan if I recall correctly? I didn't know the exact specifics, but the Berserker class contained many good Heroic Spirits actually...

Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, or Berserker. A warrior with sword, warrior of the lance, warrior of the bow, the one who rides the legendary beast, the one who possesses wisdom and knowledge that surpass humanity, the one who spend it's time to live under the shadow and can kill anyone without them realizing it, or the one who traded their sanity for the sake of more power.

Among these seven class cards was the one that would change my whole life, shape who I would become, and assist me in future... so the question was, which one should I take?

”Hey, if the Heroic Spirit I get can be summoned as multiple classes, then what will happen?”, I asked. Many Heroic Spirits had the ability to be summoned as multiple Classes, with slightly different attributes for each one. This meant, in my case, that it was possible to gain multiple talents, if I got the right Heroic Spirit. Of course, the Skills and Noble Phantasms didn't really change in those scenarios, but there were a few possible benefits.

”Depends on the Spirit, really.”, said Zelretch, tapping his chin in thought. ”I can't really say. That does remind me; don't expect all your new powers to be exactly as you remember them.”

”What do you mean?”, I asked suspiciously.

”It's common knowledge that magic is fluid, and changes between dimensions and realities. For example, a Noble Phantasm linked to a weapon in my universe would only be usable by those who carry the weapon. However, in another, the Noble Phantasm could instead evolve the weapon currently being wielded by the user to temporarily gain the attributes of their Noble Phantasm weapon at the cost of Magical Energy.”, explained the vampire, cackling with excitement.

”That's pretty cool.”, I admitted.

”It is. Now make your choice quickly. Like I said, I don't have all day.”

What to choose...

I mentally cycled through all the classes that were available to me gain, once more measuring the pros and cons of each option. As I did so, Zelretch began to tap his foot, impatience etched on every speck of his weathered features.

After about a minute more of heavy mental debating, I took a deep breath and grabbed one of the cards off of his hand.

”Saber.”, I said calmly, my decision final.

Why Saber, you may ask?

Simple really; the Nasuverse basically proclaims Saber as be the strongest class. And with monsters like Attila the Hun, Artoria Pendragon, and Charlemagne out there, I wasn't about to try and discredit that fact. Plus their Magic Resistance and Riding skills were probably the best Class Skills that one could find. Most fictional universes had magic or some form of energy manipulation that could be loosely classified as magic, so that Skill would come in handy.

Another reason was this; It had occurred to me before, but until I realized the full significance of what that meant I couldn't have made the decision.

The thing was, I had no idea where the hell Zelretch was going to send me. If he was giving me this much of a chance to become strong, it was probably nowhere good. And if I was stuck in some version of hell, then I needed to be as strong as possible to get the hell out or at least become king of the ring. Besides, apart from the fact that I may get one of the few crummy Sabers, there were no real drawbacks. It was as good of a deal as I was going to get.

The remaining cards disappeared instantly from Zelretch's outstretched hand, and he laughed as the card in my hand began to glow brightly, and floated upward, spinning.

After a few seconds, it came to a stop, hovering in mid-air in front of me. Slowly, an image began to make itself known on the card. A man who had dark red hair that was clearly graying due to age, and golden-brown eyes much like my own. I had no idea who this guy was, but his outfit was eerily reminiscent of the Limited Zero Over Craft Essence from F/GO.

Wait, did that mean-?!

”I suppose this is goodbye, Micheal Maelstrom. You'll hear from me regularly of course, as I'll have a package with some gear you could use ready for you in a few days, and I hope you try your level best to entertain me. And survive, of course. But mainly the first one. Oh, and also be sure to have fun... Muramasa. A second chance, even a short one, is more than what many receive, after all...”

I didn't have time to respond to this revelation or the implications of that statement as Zelretch immediately plucked the card out of the air and stabbed it into my c_h_e_s_t, making me black out.

”Onii-chan! Wake up!”, called a cheerful voice, bringing me back to the land of the living with a groan.

”Five more minutes...”, I grumbled, temporarily forgetting my meeting with Zelretch. I just didn't want to get up right now.

”Cannonball!”, called the voice again, before something slammed into my c_h_e_s_t, causing me to fall off the bed I was on, with my blankets on top of me along with the villain who had awoken me.

Said villain had now curled up on my c_h_e_s_t like some sort of dog, snuggling and making itself comfortable.

”Why...?”, I g_r_o_a_n_e_d, my eyes opening slowly to come face to face with... Miyu from Fate Kaleid?!

I kid you not, a twelve year old girl who looked EXACTLY like the Complete Holy Grail from the Ainsworth-infested Fate dimension was currently grinning at me, cautious both unbridled joy and mirth shining in her golden-brown eyes. As expected, she also had an innocent face and black hair that reached just past her shoulders. All in all, a carbon copy of Magical Sapphire's Master herself.

What the hell was even going on? I had no idea.

”I'm glad your okay now, onii-chan.”, she murmured, pressing her face into my c_h_e_s_t.

Where was I? Was this where Zelretch sent me? Why was an anime character calling me her big brother?!

Then time seemed to stop momentarily as my neurons fired, and memories began to flood through me.

I grit my teeth as some very painful events in my counterpart's self were brought to the surface, and within milliseconds I had processed and filed away all the memories of this reality's version of me, Micheal Maelstrom.

And it was then that I realized just how much Zelretch's 'deal' had screwed me over.

Zelretch burst into laughter at the look on Micheal's face when he realized just where he had been sent. He shook his head, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. He had certainly made the right choice when going through the selection process; Maelstrom was entertaining him without even doing anything.

He held out a hand and a sheet of paper materialized on it, showing him the character biography of the DC Universe version of Micheal Maelstrom.

'Micheal Maelstrom

Age: 18

S_e_x: Male

Species: Formerly Human, Current Species Unknown [Designation: Pseudo-Servant]

Date of Birth: July 26th, 1992

Place of Residence: A Jack Of All Trades, Gotham City Red Light District

Abilities: Formerly None, Current Abilities Unknown, Metagene Ability Present But Locked

Relations:

Senji Muramasa (paternal ancestor, mentor, currently a part of subject's soul due to the Pseudo-Servant creation process)

Shirou Emiya (interdimensional cousin, fellow descendant of Muramasa)

Gregory Maelstrom (father) (deceased)

Linda Maelstrom (mother) (deceased)

James Gordon (godfather)

Miyu Maelstrom (adopted sister)

Selena Kyle (surrogate mother, mentor)

Ted Grant (surrogate father, mentor)

Status: Formerly Deceased, Replaced with Dimensional Counterpart of True Earth; Currently Active

Bio: Born to GCPD officer Gregory Maelstrom and banker Linda Maelstrom, Micheal 'Mike' Maelstrom had a normal life as a member of a middle class family until the Joker's attack on Gotham's Financial District in 2006, where Linda nearly immediately lost her life in the initial part of the assault, and Gregory Maelstrom later followed as one of the casualties suffered by the GCPD, having saved the life of his best friend, James Gordon, at the cost of his own. During the attack, Micheal's home was destroyed, leading him to move across the virtual battlefield that the area had become, where he rescued Miyu Sakatsuki, a young girl who had also lost her parents in the event. Taking her with him, he found shelter in an abandoned store called 'A Jack Of All Trades' in Gotham's Red Light District. In the aftermath of the attack and the subsequent revelation of his new status as an orphan, Mike decided to move on, distracting himself by caring for his newest companion, who as a mark of affection, eventually adopted his last name. Deciding to put his all into raising an eight year old Miyu, Micheal dropped out of school, and repaired the store he had found himself in, and began to run it by himself, running odd jobs all around Gotham. Over the four years that had passed since then, the two children grew closer to a woman named Selina Kyle, who ran the Tin Roof Club next door. She would eventually teach them all they needed to know about surviving in Gotham City, and would train Miyu directly, while calling in a favor from an old friend, Ted Grant, in order to grant Micheal some combat training. Ted would visit from New York City several times a year in order to train Micheal, and was the only male figure in his life after the death of his father. Due to the money he earned running 'A Jack Of All Trades', Micheal was able to send Miyu to school and provide both of them with food and shelter over those years, while he himself remained without a formal education, a sacrifice he felt was more than worth it. Unfortunately for him, Micheal's exposure to the Joker's concoction of toxins, though nearly minuscule, reacted badly with his DNA, causing him to slowly undergo massive organ degradation. By the time he had realized what was happening to him, the damage to his system had become too serious and on July 15th, 2010, a couple of days before his eighteenth birthday, he died in his sleep. However, due to the interference of Zelretch, Micheal Maelstrom's True Earth counterpart, who had suffered a similarly unfortunate death, was implanted with the Class Card of the Pseudo-Heroic Spirit Senji Muramasa, his ancestor, and infused into the boy's body at approximately the same moment he died, thereby fusing both of them and bringing Micheal back to life, albeit highly modified. He is now currently trying to understand the situation he has been thrust into.'

As Zelretch drummed his fingers on the table, reading through the sheet in his hand, his mirth seemed to grow.

”Talk about a good backstory.”, he muttered. ”A little cheesy, but decent enough.”

Although the grin was wiped off his face when he remembered the true reason why he had sent Micheal to the DCU. He had lied; the true purpose of sending Micheal to Gotham wasn't actually for his entertainment, although that was a significant part of why he had gone through with it in the first place.

There was an anomaly in the DCU. One that could threaten the stability of the whole multiverse. One that had managed to disguise its true nature even from one such as himself. Zelretch had been ready to remove that cl_u_s_ter of worlds from the multiverse in order to eliminate such a threat, but realized that he could instead send a champion to that semblance of reality in order to deal with this anomaly. Of course, the entertainment he was about to get from this adventure was undeniably convenient, but it was for a good cause. After all, he had technically saved Micheal's life. In this case, Zelretch didn't feel like he was in the wrong.

Not when so much was at stake.

And it looked like this candidate would be quite entertaining. In all his multiversal shenanigans, he hadn't seen a single person who had been compatible with Muramasa of all people. The man wasn't exactly a Heroic Spirit, though he was famous enough as a smith who could rival the gods in skill. When the Card had first revealed itself to be Muramasa, he was almost convinced it had been some kind of glitch, as the legendary sword smith had only one incarnation as a Servant, in the body of Shirlu Emiya, his descendant. To his surprise, a little bit of investigation had revealed that Micheal was surprisingly a descendant of his world's Muramasa, though he wasn't an alternate version of Shirou Emiya. That had been a pleasant surprise, though Zelretch had to admit to himself that Micheal probably had the best chances of survival with this particular Spirit, whose skills were not tied to any one level of power, and could rise along with the situation. That was the beauty of Servants who relied more on magic and craftsmanship as opposed to pure power, he supposed.

Power, even that of a Heroic Spirit, meant nothing when there were beings out there who could destroy entire universes with ease.

Who knows, maybe the old man could actually achieve his dream of forging a sword that could cut fate itself in a world like that one.

The smirk slowly rose back to his lips as he moved on.

”I wonder how you'll interact with the world around you, Micheal.”, said Zelretch, before disappearing in order to find the basic gear his latest source of entertainment, and possibly the world's salvation, would need to survive.

And that's a wrap, folks! Our poor hero is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and now finds himself in too deep without even moving a muscle. What exactly are his plans? What does he want to do with this second chance at life? Will Mavis finally find out whether Fairies had tails? Will Zelretch be suitably entertained? What does old man Muramasa have to say about all this?

Find out next time on Hero Complex!

Now I'm sure some of you have recognized a part of this chapter as being from another story called 'Normal Life... Yeah Right!', a Fate and DC crossover. Like I said, it was purely a coincidence, and I asked the author for permission anyway. He or she hasn't responded, but there isn't really anything I could do about that. Like I said, it may seem like a copy of that, but it is actually very different, something you may come to appreciate more in the next chapter. For this reason, I also changed the Heroic Spirit to Muramasa, after much contemplating, because it suited the new direction I was taking the story in. I want to keep the chapter length between 5 to 10 thousand words, which seems to be my average.

Anyways, I hope you all liked the premise and I'm always open to suggestions and ideas, so don't hesitate to PM me or send a Review. I'll be sure to check them.

Thank you, and I'll see you next time!

Spatialphoenix, burning to ashes.