The Lost Ones

by Arceaion

Chapter 5 - Dark Omens

Eris groaned as she opened her eyes and looked around finding herself standing in a golden throne room, a faceless crowd gathered on either side of the crimson carpet she stood on that lead to what looked like a crystalline golden throne.

Upon the throne sat a man who looked to be in his late twenties; he wore fine robes of blue and red that covered little and jewelry of gold. His skin was pale and his crimson eyes bore into her as if he were staring into her soul. "So, you're the one using my treasures?" The man on the Throne asked as he rose and walked toward her. "And now you dare to enter my domain?" He asked as he stepped forward, a golden portal opening beside him as he drew out a very unique sword. It had an abnormal shape that wouldn't match what one normally classified as something like a sword. While it had a grip, handguard, and was the same length as a longsword, the section that should contain a blade had the shape of a cylindrical, drill-shaped pillar made up of three independently rotating segments engraved with crimson cuneiform lettering that spun slowly in an alternating direction like querns, the middle segment spinning clockwise and the top and bottom segments spinning counterclockwise.

Eris took a small step back before a golden portal similar to the mans appeared beside her as she drew out a massive sword that was made of two separate blades twisted together into a double helix, the sword of the Fierce Deity. "Gilgamesh, King of Heroes." Eris said her tone cold as she looked at him. "To what do I owe this... honor?" She asked in a cold voice.

Gilgamesh examined Eris for a moment, the shadowy figures around them watching, their gaze falling on Eris making her shift uncomfortably. "You are not ready." He said as his eyes fell on the sword at her hip and he took a step back as he returned the weapon and stepped back till he once more till he sat back on the throne.
Slowly the world began to fade and Eris frowned as she lowered her sword. "What do you mean I'm not ready? She asked. "What am I not ready for?" As the world faded away Eris grit her teeth. "What am I not ready for Gilgamesh!?" She roared in anger.

"When you have proven worthy to draw your sword we will meet again, till then you are not worthy to stand in my presence. Gilgamesh said as the dream ended and Eris shot up in her bed, the dream of Gilgamesh sitting on the throne still running through her mind.

Eris simply sat in her bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes for a moment before getting up and heading for the bathroom linked to her room. As she entered the bathroom the covering on her body crackled with red alchemical energy and pulled back till it formed into a pair of wrist and ankle bands while she turned the shower on and sighed as she felt the water running down her body.

It had been two days since she had broken Princess Luna free from the Elements control and during that time she had mostly fallen into a pretty basic routine. First was a shower and breakfast before she went down to the guard training area and running herself through several practices before cleaning her equipment, after she had eaten and trained she would head to the medical wing to check on Luna's recovery.

Eris sighed as she thought about Luna, the Lunar Princess was still unconscious but the doctors here were woefully incapable of treating her injuries sighting that due to her not suffering any physical injuries she was fine. The fools didn't know a damn thing about mental health or psychology and when Eris had been told by one of them that 'such things were considered pseudoscience' she had nearly strangled the fool. Thankfully Celestia was able to intervene before she actually killed him.

Eris sighed as she turned off the shower and grabbed her towel. While Eris couldn't be sure why she was able to, she knew for a fact that she was starting to gain a lot of knowledge; things she knew about but not in detail becoming clearer, things that she should not be able to know. It had started off small, with almost unnoticeable things like her ability to read things even though she shouldn't have been able to due to not knowing the language but recently memories and basic knowledge had begun to make itself known to her. While she couldn't be sure what had caused her sudden increase of knowledge she assumed it had something to do with her link to the Gates of Babylon.

As Eris thought about this she stopped and raised her hand opening a small golden gate however she didn't summon anything through it rather she simply looked at it with a neutral expression. The Gate of Babylon was perhaps the most dangerous power in existence however it was just that, a power. While it was controlled by the Key of Babylon, which was considered a Noble Phantasm it was not a Noble Phantasm itself. Eris let the power she used to keep the portal open disperse and watched it close, her eyes now focusing from the closing portal to her hand and then trailed up her arm till she walked to the mirror and looked at herself.

Even a quick glance at herself in the mirror was enough for her to know that this body was not the one she had before she was displaced but who had she been displaced as? Eris frowned at this thought, when Eris had gone to the convention it had not been as a character and each item she had been displaced with had come from the Merchant himself. It was obvious that her body was heavily influenced by the Ultimate Eye she had bought and as such it was that of a homunculus from Full Metal Alchemist however that hadn't been the only changes she had noted.

During her stay in Canterlot she had spent a lot of time training with her equipment and several things had been made apparent quickly. First off her strength and skill with a sword had been significantly increased and her style of combat had changed mirroring closer to that of Guts from the Anime Berserk but she also had the skills and powers from the Fierce Deity most likely due to the fact she had purchased his sword. While Eris had avoided using her guns near the ponies she had still pulled them out and she found her aim had improved as well as her military training showing she had inherited the skills of the Veteran Desert Rangers from Fallout New Vegas. This left her in a rather odd position. "And now I'm having visions about Gilgamesh, what did he mean I'm not ready?" She muttered as she stood in thought before an idea came to here.

Eris turned and quickly walked out of the bathroom, her outfit changing to its wet suit configuration as she entered her room and headed to the table she had her weapons laying on and looked at the sheathed Caliburn. Ever since she had gotten to Equestria there were a few items she had been careful too not mention or use, Caliburn was one of them, she hadn't even tried to draw it but what if she couldn't.

Eris reached out grasping the sword and looked over it carefully before placing a hand on the hilt and giving it a tug only to feel resistance, the blade not even budging. "Is it stuck?" Eris muttered as she pulled a bit harder only for it to still not move. 'I can't draw it?' She thought in bewilderment as she set it down and then sat down in the chair she had beside the table.

"But why can't I draw it?" She asked as she looked at the blade in confusion before her eyes widened and a golden portal opened beside her as she attempted to draw out another very specific blade. Reaching into the gate she felt around, her frown deepening till she finally felt a blade however as they tried to draw it out from the portal she found she couldn't. Closing her eyes she concentrated before speaking. "A++ Rank Nobel Phantasm, Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory." She muttered as she tried once more to summon the sword only for nothing to emerge from the gate. "A+-Rank Nobel Phantasm, Failnaught: Fantasia of Lamentation." She said as a glow enveloped the room and a bow with six fringes and ten spike line protrusions formed in her hand.

Eris frowned she dismissed the bow and closed her eyes in concentration. "B-Rank Nobel Phantasm, Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword" She muttered as she reopened her eyes and nothing happened. Eris's frown deepened before she spoke again. "C-Rank Nobel Phantasm, Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword" She said and for a moment nothing happened before arcs of red energy appeared from the portal as a sword that could only be described as more dazzling than any silver appeared in her hand.

Clarent was an ornate and sparkling white silver sword adorned with splendid decorations and with accents of red however despite its radiant appearance it seemed to be dull and worn down like it hadn't been properly tended to and the feeling she got just from holding it showed the sword didn't like being summoned to her and was unwilling to give her access to its full power. Of course it wasn't rejecting her either, it just didn't seem to think she was worthy of it. "Well, at least know I can access the weapons of the other Knights of the Round Table but I can't access any of Artoria's weapons'." She said to herself as she looked at Clarent. "Then again you’re meant to be a B-rank and I could barely summon you at C-Rank." She muttered in frustration. "Is it because I'm incompatible with you or am I not worthy to wield you?" She asked in confusion. Eris had the sudden feeling that Clarent was shrugging its metaphorical shoulders and she sighed. "Look, I'm not even going to pretend that I'm worthy to wield you now but perhaps I'll prove I'm worthy one day." She said as she allowed Clarent to fade away and picked up Caliburn, strapping it to her side before leaving her room and heading for the dining hall.

The walk to the dining hall of the castle was a rather quick one and as Eris entered she saw Celestia sitting at the head of the table sipping a cup of tea while a piece of untouched cake sat beside her. Eris smiled faintly and walked toward the Princess, taking a seat beside her. "Princess, how was last night?" She asked calmly as a maid came out and waited for Eris to tell her what she wanted. "Just my usual Ms. Day." She said kindly receiving a nodded from the maid.

As the maid walked away Celestia turned to Eris and smiled, sliding a cup of tea over to her. "It was rather tame compared to the past few days." She said. "The Monsters around Manehattan were recently exterminated."

Eris nodded. "Well that's good." She said as the maid returned with a plate of eggs and toast. "I'll be heading back to Ponyville today, I'd like to make sure that the Human Transmutation Circle was removed and I did tell Twilight I'd be back soon so I guess I should return."

Celestia nodded. "Very well, though I feel a bit sad." She said causing Eris to look at the princess in confusion. "Our morning chats have been rather productive." She said with a small smile.

Eris smiled as well and chuckled. "Well Princess, if you ever have need of my services then you know how to contact me." She said as she ate her food the two sitting in a companionable silence till Eris finished her food and rose from her seat turning to leave.

"Oh, before you leave I have one more thing to speak with you about Eris." Celestia said causing Eris to stop and turn to her. "When we first met you told us a great deal about the items you have in your position however there is one thing you didn't tell us; those weapons you wield, the Noble Phantasms, where did they come from?" She asked.

Eris's looked at Celestia with neutral look for a moment before replying. "They are the weapons of once great heroes who long since died, powerful relics though some could be considered to be more. I should also warn you Celestia that many of the Noble Phantasms are somewhat sentient as they often have an imprint of their past wielders personality or in some cases choose who is worthy of them."

Celestia seemed taken aback by Eris comment before nodding. "I suppose such powerful items would indeed be sentient to a degree." She said before looking directly at Eris. "Then I suppose I should warn you what I've found might cause some... disturbance." She said before taking a breath. "After what you told both I and my sister we looked into your weapons and I found reference to a certain items you have in ancient legends and myths. The item was a golden sword named Excalibur, and it was known as the Sword of Kings." She said.

As Celestia said this Eris's eyes widened as she felt the emotions of several weapons at once, all them the weapon from the Knights of the Round Table were agitated at what she had heard. Eris took a deep breath before turning to Celestia. "Alright, you have my attention what do you wish to know?" She asked in a measured tone, her message clear despite not saying it.

Celestia frowned but nodded. "Is it possible for more than one Excalibur to exist at the same time?" She asked.

Eris shrugged her shoulders. "I can tell you now that the one I possess is the Original Excalibur but that doesn't mean that this world doesn't have something that is at least similar to it." Eris said doing her best to not deny the possibility.

Celestia shook her head. "I'm not referring to your sword and this sword existing at the same time." Celestia said hesitantly. "I'm referring to multiple existing at once." She said causing Eris to freeze her eyes widening as she felt every one of the weapons of the Knights of the round table fly into a rage however Clarent's rage almost over took her and she grit her teeth as she tried to regain control.

'How dare they not only make a fake but make multiple fakes!'

Eris was barely able to retrain her anger, even though she had no connection to the Knight of the Round table or King Artoria she still felt anger that such a sacred weapon had been corrupted. "Celestia… I'm going to warn you now that if there is more than one Excalibur in this world and they did what I think they did be very carefully how you tell me because what you just said threw eight Noble Phantasms into a rage." she said in a warning tone.

Celestia visibly gulped as the circuit like pattern or Eris's clothes began to glow red. "The legends tell of six Excalibur's." She said as Eris clenched her fists, eyes glowing white for a moment before she closed them and took a deep breath.

"Celestia, what I tell you now does not leave this room." She said in a serious voice, all warmth and kindness it often held vanishing replaced cold sternness. "Excalibur is not some simple magic sword or Divine Construct." She said coldly as she turned to look at Celestia fully. "It is the pinnacle of holy swords, strongest among them whose equal is only the strongest demonic sword Gram. It is one of the ultimate god-forged weapons and the Last Phantasm forged by the planet."

Eris paused and looked down at the blade strapped to her side and took a deep breath before continuing. "It is sacred; a legend weaved purely out of hope, not a myth or inhuman work. It is the crystallization of the prayer named "glory" and everything etched in the hearts of those who are scattered at the sword's radiance; the nostalgic, sorrowful, and hallowed dream of those who were placed on the bloody hell called a battlefield, of all warriors past, present, and future fully exposed to the fear of death and despair, and who still cling to the desire to be exalted."

As Eris finished explaining the truth of Excalibur she looked at Celestia, her eyes causing the princess to freeze in fear under their gaze. They were ancient, not the eyes of the young woman who sat with her and drank tea but rather the eyes of one who had lived for far too long and seen the passing of time. "The sword Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory is not one that can be copied, nor can there be multiple of it." Eris explained in a cold dark voice.

"For there to be six is a perversion of the very nature of a fragment of the world and a corruption of the very nature of Excalibur itself." She said as she turned away from the shaking princess. "Be warned princess, if you come into contact with one of these fakes you may risk being corrupted by its power and as this is a corrupt form of Excalibur I do not know what it could do."

Celestia took a shaky breath before reaching for her teacup and taking a drink in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Is it possible for versions of your weapons to exist here on Equestria, if they are legendary weapons from your world? Could such things be here as well?" She asked in concern.

Eris didn't turn to looking at the princess before responding. "Yes it is entirely possible and I'd advise caution if you go looking for them. While I may have the original Noble Phantasm, any legendary weapon no matter who wielded it is dangerous and some in the wrong hands could even bring doom to the world." As Eris finished speaking she walked toward the doors, stopping only once she reached them.

"I apologize for bringing such concerns to you; despite this I do hope you can have a good day." She said as she opened the doors and exited the dining hall.

As the doors to the dining hall closed Eris took a deep breath and headed for the main gate and exiting out to Canterlot. The trip to the train station was rather peaceful and Eris nodded to the few morning ponies heading to their jobs and the guard patrols returning to the castle after the night. Unlike her trip through Ponyville when she came here most of the houses weren't boarded up and the ponies didn't carry weapons seeing as they were in a fortified city and the guard patrolled the nights keeping the monsters away.

That was a concerning subject, the 'monsters'. Eris stopped and looked up at the morning sun rising on the horizon before continuing to the station. From what she had learned from over hearing guards most of these monsters were undead or the rare demon but there also seemed to be other creatures, something the guard called the 'Old Ones.' Eris didn't like the sound of them and she especially didn’t like that no one seemed to know where they came from.

Eris's thoughts were interrupted as she reaching the ticket counter and paid for a ticket to Ponyville before stepping onto the platform and waiting for the train. With a sigh she sat down on one of the benches and began to wait however as she sat her eyes began to droop and she soon fell asleep.

---

Eris sat quietly behind a table in the holding cell she had been placed in after she had been taken in to custody. As she sat the sound of the door unlocking was heard and she looked up to see the Colonel in charge of her units operations. As The Colonel entered he sighed as he sat down on a chair in the room and looked at Eris. "Well this is a fine mess you got yourselves into." He said as he threw a file down on the table between them. "I've already talked to your squad and so have the higher ups, the story matched for all your men which is fortunate for you since I'd say that a court marshaling and firing squad would be what you'd receive." Eris was silent and the Colonel sighed. "Look Eris I'm sorry, I did everything I could but the brass needs someone to blame so you're taking the hit since you pulled the trigger."

Eris frowned as she reached for the folder and opened it. "By order of General Tomas L. Louis, Specialist Eris K. Helsing of the 444th Special Operations Division, Code Named Reapers Enforcers, is here by Discharged due to injuries received on honorable service..." Eris trailed off as she read the discharge orders and grit her teeth. "This is bullshit." She said as she glared at her CO who sighed.

"Look kid, it took everything I had just to get you this." He said calmly. "The brass can't have it getting out that we not only had a traitor but one who was actively selling out our troops in such a high position; they just want to sweep it under the rug and forget about it which means they got to get rid of the people who know the truth." As the Colonel explained this he could hear Eris's teeth grinding in anger and he sighed. "Look most of your squad will be receiving the same discharge orders and I know this will not go well in the end but for now I'd like to congratulate you even if I can't do it officially." He said as he stood and placed a hand on Eris's shoulder. "You did a great job even if the brass won’t admit it; they're all too prideful to do it anyway so take it from me, you did good work out there." The colonel placed his cap back on and smiled at the woman before him. "Besides, a small condolence for you and your squad is that it's gonna be a damn pain in the ass to put a team that's even half as good as you and your boys were together again and I just recently resigned due to the bullshit so they're in for a major shit storm." He said as he turned and began to leave before stopping. "I probably shouldn't say this but the 999th Special Operation Division Heavens Sent is working on this case so don't worry, it's at least in good hands. Just pack your stuff up and get ready for civilian life."

Eris stood and raised her hand in a salute. "Sir, thank you for everything." She said coldly, she was still angry but the Colonel could tell it wasn't directed at him. The Colonel smiled as he turned back to her and returned the salute before he exited the cell leaving the door open. Eris sighed and looked down at the file before picking it up just a as whistle was blown and her eyes snapping open.

Eris looked around confused before seeing the train and remembering she was about to leave for Ponyville. With a sigh she boarded the train and made her way through the nearly empty car before finding an empty seat and sitting back down. After all the passengers board the train lurched forward and slowly began to accelerate, however Eris simply sat silently waiting for her stop. It wasn't a long trip and she wasn't exactly keen to fall back asleep so soon after her previous... dream. So she simply sat in silence watching the scenery go by without much of a care.

After a while the train began to slow as they pulled into the Ponyville train station, with a yawn Eris got off the train and headed out into the town. As she walked her clothing began to spark as it transformed form her skin tight wet suit to a pair of black pants with red circuit markings and comfortable hoodie with he same color and pattern, pulling the hoodie over her head she casually walked through the market and after crossing a bridge headed for the entrance to the Everfree forest.

As she approached the forest she took a deep breath and kept going, not even paying mind to any of the forest creatures that she passed or that followed. As she walked deeper into the forest she carefully followed the path she felt would take her where she needed to go and eventually she found the old bridge crossing the chasm that lead to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Eris frowned as she saw the castle and carefully entered the ruins.

The door to the entrance was knocked down and signs showed it had been done recently by a large group. Eris nodded her head in satisfaction before closing her eyes and returning her armor to its wet suit configuration and then allowing her berserker armor to manifest around her, the sword of the Fierce Deity appeared on her back and in her hand the Ranger Sequoia was summoned. Eris gripped the ornate pistol and raised it to where she was looking down its sights before calmly entered the castle. Her head was on a swivel as the gun pointed in front of her and as she walked into the main hall of the castle she saw the massive transmutation circle on the ground.

With a sigh she cautiously approached the circle and looked it over seeing that parts of it were damaged making it no longer functional however this wasn’t good enough and as she dismissed the raised the Ranger Sequoia she drew the Fierce Deities sword from her back and allowed it to change up. The two blades began to glow as power built up in it and after several seconds it glowed brightly. Eris took a deep breath and walked to the center of the circle and raised her sword in a reveres grip before slamming it into the ground carving into the ancient stones as if it were butter and released all the magic stored in her blade. For a moment nothing happened before with a resounding crack the ground all around her fractured and broke apart creating a creator around her, erasing the floor and any evidence that the transmutation circle even existed.

Eris sighed as she withdrew the sword from the ground and placed it back on her back before turning to leave. As she walked toward to entrance she of the castle she was unaware a portal opened up behind until a scream was heard causing her to turn around and draw the sword in shock as a pegasus like creature shot out of the portal along with a human and crashed into one of the stonewalls before falling and landing on the ground. Eris sighed and walked over to the strange being and looked down at him her arms crossed as he groaned and barely managed to see her before passing out. "So this is how we first meet." She muttered grumpily.

Author's Note:

So this chapter was meant to be a Collab however do to both the author I was working with and myself both having a lot to do in Real Life we chose to postpone the Collab. As such one of my fellow authors, Redsopine, who had wanted to do a collab with me for a while agreed to let this happen with his new story It begins which is set to be a massive Displaced War Collab. For more information on this please go to Planning Stage for the Anzeik Displaced War.

Incase you don't know the Berserker armor changes for each user meaning that the armors appearance wont look like the one Guts wears. So aside from the sword and shield as well as the appearance of the woman wearing the armor this picture is pretty close to what I envisioned for Eris to wear and no it doesn't have a helmet. If anyone wants to do some fan art for Eris you are welcome to and I'll even post it in the story but I won't be commissioning any artist because I don't known any and I'm a shit drawer.

Comments

[redsopine]

Wait reptilian lol reds a Pegasus I’m confused now and I’m in this

[Arceaion]

sorry, I forgot. It'll be fixed.

[redsopine]

10840169
Read pm quick nvm

[redsopine]

Erm arc you got a grammatical error butchering your short description

[Arceaion]

10840598
I'll have to fix those... eventually.

[Der Kaiser]

the berserkers armor helmet only changes but sense she got it from the Merchant ill allow that to pass and i hope she got the Dragonslayer to.

[Arceaion]

10840598
What is the error you spotted because I've run it through several spell checkers and I can't find it on my end.

[redsopine]

10841471
It’s how you have it in your short someone in the discord was utterly put off by the short description not being grammatically correct in how it portrays If you lost your brother, what will you to get him back?

Just a thing so you can get more readers but watch out for the finicky ones

[Arceaion]

10841494
Honestly if this hadn't been pointed out I'd never have seen this mistake.

[redsopine]

10841528
They also said its a issue with all of your fics

[Arceaion]

10841546
Probably, grammar and spelling were never one of my strong points. In fact I've said on multiple occasions that my grammar and spelling are shit so the guy's complaint is irrelevant since I've addressed the issue several times.

Also if he has read several of my stories despite his dislike of my spelling and grammar skills I've apparently done something right so either way I win.

[redsopine]

10841563
Thats what i said lol you have talent just a normal issue

[Ghost Alvasa]

I would love to Edward be summoned here :D

[Arceaion]

10844741
I'd be willing later on in the story but not right now, my writing schedule is a bit erratic at the moment and I'd like to get my story further off the ground before I invite any of the bigger Displaced like Edward.