Alucard Castle

The Castle of Alucard was always an eerie place. A secluded realm that exists yet does not exist, a paradoxical location shrouded in mystery to all but those who inhabited it. Namely, the current master of the realm, Rachel Alucard, and her servant, Valkenhayn.

In a realm disconnected from all others, it was the perfect place for Rachel to observe the rest of the world. After all, that was her duty as an Observer, to serve as a watcher. Yet with her position came boredom, especially when the world was constantly forced to loop back to a designated point in time, preventing anything from continuing past a certain point.

Perhaps that was why Rachel had gotten bored enough to attempt something… New.

"Madame Rachel, the circle is complete" Valkenhayn informed as he straightened from his work, turning to his Mistress, Rachel, who was currently sitting atop a black chair, with a moving tail, and accompanied by a flying red bat… Nago and Gii, her familiars.

Currently, the group were in the large throne room of Alucard Castle, the room cleared out to leave a large empty space in the middle, perfect for what Rachel intended to do.

With Valkenhayn's confirmation on his work, Rachel nodded, pushing herself from the chair, which swiftly reverted to an umbrella with a cat's face, resting within her hand, "Wonderful work Valkenhayn.

"Do you need any assistance, milady?" The old servant asked, a worried expression coming across his face as he glanced back at his 'work', "I would only take a second for me to retrieve the book detailing the ritual, and-"

"No, Valkenhayn, I can perform such a simple task on my own" Rachel interrupted, waving her hand, "Leave, I require a semblance of quietness to insure this works" she ordered, watching the elderly beastman merely bow in response, turning to head out of the room as Rachel glanced at her familiars, "That means you as well."

Immediately, Gii fluttered up, "But Miss Rachel, what if something goes wrong with-" he began, only to be slapped across the face and sent flying across the room, barely managing to flutter back in control before hitting the ground, flying towards the now open door while screaming "ALRIGHT I'M SORRY!". A single glance towards Nago cued him in as well, the umbrella shifting back into a fat black cat, bounding towards the door as well, while Rachel looked up at the ceiling, staring at the shining moon visible through the roof windows.

Soon enough, Rachel heard the door close behind Valkenhayn, allowing her to release a breath she didn't know she was holding, bringing her head back down as she focused back on the circle in front of her.

Specifically, a summoning circle, painted onto the floor with blood stored within the Alucard Manor, crushed roses placed upon the several outer circles. The blood wasn't much of a loss, especially when Rachel was already trying to curb her innate thirst for it. Already, she was getting a tingling feeling from the scent.

But, thankfully, she was able to curb that barbaric reaction, merely bringing up her left hand, and closing her eyes as she recalled what she had learned regarding this ritual. The ritual to connect to the Throne of Heroes.

Her first memory came when she was inspecting her father's old artifacts and belongings, finding a book she was unfamiliar with, hidden away from plain sight. The only thing she had recognized was Clavis's writing on the title, which merely said 'The Throne of Heroes'.

The contents of said book, when Rachel got around to reading it, was rather straightforward. Her father had been researching something beyond the Boundary, a Throne where ancient legends manifested. A sort of database for heroes and villains, from his words. He had even figured out how to make a connection to the Throne in order to summon familiars, but why he refrained from actually doing so was lost for her, as was how he first came around to learn about the Throne. The book merely acted as notes for Clavis, but gave her enough information to do the ritual herself, if she so desired.

In a perfect world, she would've simply put the book down afterwards, and gone on with her life. There wasn't a point to it, after all, and if her father didn't do it, there had to have been a reason, right?

Unfortunately, it was not a perfect world.

Rachel let out another sigh, opening her eyes as she stared at the circle before her, clenching her hand tightly, before beginning the chant.

"Let silver and steel be thy essence."

At those words, the circle began to glow slightly, shining with a dull red light.

"Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let red be the color I pay tribute to."

A wind tore through the room, whipping Rachel's twintails back as the circle began to glow even brighter. Strangely, however, the roses never budged from their position, even as the torches placed up in the room were snuffed out.

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

In that instant, Rachel felt a sudden connection being formed with… Someone. And as she felt that, the crushed pieces of the roses began to float, a blue aura surrounding both them and the circle, along with several glowing lines beginning to carve themselves into Rachel's hand, sending a spike of burning hand to the rest of her body. However, despite that, she managed to stand completely still, not even blinking from the sudden pain,

"Hero of ancient past, answer my call and bind thyself to my will.

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!"

…

"I hear your summons.

By your terms, I shall serve you until this body collapses, Master."

A voice suddenly spoke within Rachel's mind, but before she could do anything about it, a light exploded from within the summoning circle, filling her entire vision with light, and piercing her ears with a deafening roar.

Soon enough, the light began dying down, helped by Rachel rapidly blinking to get her sight to work again, the ambient sounds slowly returning as she took in her surroundings.

Upon Rachel's still raised hand now lied red markings, resembling a circle surrounded by vines, with a single large rose in the center. It stung, but that was to be expected. It was something she had prepared for ahead of time after learning about the Throne.

But more importantly, the summoning circle was now gone, and in its place stood a single man, practically towering over Rachel… Which was, granted, not hard to accomplish. A muscular build was easily viewable through his skin tight blue outfit, with equally blue hair tied into a small rattail. But the most noticeable aspect of him was the weapon he held, held parallel to his body. A large red spear, covered in markings, resembling small thorns.

"So" the man started after scanning Rachel up and down with piercing red eyes, taking notice of her small yet elegant appearance, "I take it you're my Master?"

That was the only greeting needed to be said, and even from a simple glance, he could tell that the girl was, in fact, his Master. After all, she was present for his summon, but she also had Command Seals, the mark of a Master's control over a Servant. The chances of her not being his Master was next to impossible.

"Yes, that is correct" Rachel replied, lowering her hand as she stared back at the man, "I am Rachel Alucard. Head of the Alucard Family" she continued, flipping one of her twintails as she spoke. It seemed the ritual had managed to give her a rather obedient familiar already, which was to be expected.

In response, the man merely nodded, "I see, noble girl huh? Fits the look" he stated, glancing around the area he was summoned in. It was mostly a field of roses, clearly being undisturbed for most of their life until he was brought forth. Not the first place he'd expect to be brought to, but he couldn't complain. Regardless, the man nodded to himself, before looking back at Rachel, giving her a grin, "Well, Master Rachel, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am the Lancer Servant, Cu Chulainn" he greeted, his spear dispersing in a burst of blue particles, "A pleasure to meet you" he added shortly afterwards, giving Rachel a short bow.

Immediately afterwards, the door to the throne room creaked open, with Valkenhayn stepping back in, quickly followed by Nago and Gii, who both began rushing towards their own Mistriss, before noticing Cu's presence, shifting their focus to him, with Gii fluttering around him in curiosity, while Nago let out a strange purring noise at the sight.

Valkenhayn, however, was more direct, approaching the duo with one hand behind his back, "Marvelously done, Madame Rachel. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, humble servant of Madame Rachel herself" he greeted, extending a hand towards Cu who, after a brief hesitation, took the hand and shook it,

"Lancer. Pleasure to meet ya" Cu replied before stepping back, placing a hand on his hip as Rachel turned to Valkenhayn,

"Yes, it did, as I expected it would. Your worry was misplaced. However, there are more important matters to attend to" Rachel replied, before snapping her fingers, both Nago and Gii immediately returning to her side,

"Prepare us some tea. I need to speak with Lancer for a bit."

Five minutes later, the group found themselves sitting in the middle of a field of roses, located within the protected walls of Alucard Castle, with only two tall seats and a small circular table to their name. On both Rachel and Cu's side of the table were small cups of tea, but while Rachel was still waiting for her tea to get to the optimal taste, Cu had already downed his own cup, much to the disappointment of Rachel. He wasn't a tea person, but he couldn't turn down a meal from a lady.

But for Cu Chulainn, Ireland's Child of Light, this was where he got a better look at the girl who was his master. Small and young looking, she gave off the appearance of a child, and yet Cu could feel an aura surrounding her that he only felt around adults. Though, that might've been because of how she acted, which was nothing Cu could complain about, seeing as he was used to that type of attitude. The rich, elegant, and condescending type of woman he was all too familiar with. However, he wasn't familiar with the two creatures that hovered around Rachel, a small, fat, red bat, and then a larger black cat, which had the capabilities to morph. And was currently staring really hard at him.

Anyways, then there was Valkenhayn, Rachel's butler, standing nearby, ready for his Mistress's commands. Despite the old man's clear age, Cu wasn't blind enough to see the small parts to him that indicated a trained warrior, mostly from the way that he seemed ready to answer a threat at any moment. He could respect someone like that.

But right now, he was busy having tea time with his Master.

"So" Rachel finally began after taking a sip from her tea, finding it good enough to begin the matter at hand, "There are many things that I must inform you on…" Rachel paused, remembering how Cu had introduced himself as 'Lancer' to Valkenhayn, instead of with his actual name like he did with her. Perhaps it was a secret only she should know? Regardless, she would humor it for the time being, "... Lancer, seeing as how you are from a time long past. I do trust that you know how the world works?" she asked.

Immediately, Cu could detect the condescension creep into her voice, but instead chose to ignore it as he leaned back in his seat, "Yeah, and I know a bit about this era's history" he replied, watching as Rachel raised an eyebrow in interest, "Everything about Seithr, Hierarchical Cities, the Black Beast, and things like that are all in here-" Cu continues, tapping his temple, "-thanks to the Throne".

At his final word, Rachel nodded, taking another sip of her tea before placing it down, "I see, that saves me the trouble of having to explain everything to you. Such activities would be dreadfully boring" she commented. However, after a moment of though, she smiled to herself a bit, "Although, I am unsure of your combat abilities, Cu Chulainn. A hero of legend you may be, but that is only due to the past. I've been needed some…" Rachel continued, groaning to herself for a split second, "... Brute force in order to get things done. My position restricts me from interacting with the world. I can only observe, nothing more."

With that, Cu nodded in understanding, "So you want to test me before giving me assignments eh? Fair enough" he finished, straightening slightly when she nodded, "How do you want me to prove myself then? Take on your old man?" Cu asked, pointing at Valkenhayn, who didn't even budge at being acknowledged.

However, Rachel merely shook her head, "Nonsense, I'm not so idiotic as to waste Valkenhayn's time, nor mine having to watch you two go at it. No, there's a better choice" she began, holding out he hand for Valkenhayn, who brought out a piece of old, brown paper, placing it on her hand as she moved it to the table, giving Cu Chulainn a good look at it.

… Immediately, Cu had to do a double take. It was a wanted poster, with a man named "Ragna the Bloodedge" on it. The name was noticeable enough, but what struck him the most was how… WRONG he looked. Spikey white hair, sunken eyes, and… Gods, how was Cu supposed to describe the thing?

Had Cu been drinking the tea, he would've likely spat it out at the sight, yet Rachel continued without pause, "While this poster may give you the impression of the epitome of a brute, I can assure you that the real Ragna this poster is based on is far worse-" Cu found that hard to believe, "But what's important is that it has been a while since I've tested him. Ordinarily, I would go to him myself, but I believe this is the perfect opportunity for you to 'try out', as it were, and get a feel for Kagutsuchi" she finished.

Kagutsuchi was a name Cu was familiar with… At least information wise. One of the Hierarchical Cities, one of the bigger ones at least. But beyond that he wasn't entire sure where it was, or what it looked like.

His visibly reaction, however, was him merely nodding, "A fair decision, great" he replied, pushing out his chair as he stood up, "How do you propose I get there, Master? Not entirely sure where we are in the first place" Cu asked, summoning his spear to his hand again as Rachel sighed,

"Don't fret about getting there, I can handle that" she said, raising her hand, "As it stands now, make sure not to kill Ragna. I'd prefer keeping him alive. This is a test, for both you, and for him" Rachel explained, smiling slightly when Cu nodded in confirmation, "Then good luck, I'll be watching" she finished, before snapping her fingers. Instantly, a dark vortex swirled to life around Cu Chulainn, swallowing him up in less than a second before vanishing.

Kagutsuchi

Soon enough, Cu's vision returned to him, the dark vortex dropping him on solid ground, and allowing him to take in his surroundings. Rachel had apparently sent him to a rooftop overlooking a market district, judging from the swarm of people currently in it and the dozens of stalls set up.

"Yeesh…" Cu muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his head after his initial scan of the market district, "This is gonna be harder than I thought" he commented, before quickly dissipating into his spiritual form. He didn't need to draw attention to himself just yet, as his current objective was to observe, and find Ragna the Bloodedge. Depending on how big this city was, and how much this Ragna actually hid, Cu guessed it could take him about an hour in order to find his target.

Ah well, he had the time to spare.

With that, Cu began his hunt, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as his eyes took in every face in the crowds below.

Thirty minutes later

Surprisingly, despite Kagutsuchi being larger than he anticipated, it wasn't difficult to find Ragna. With his description given by Rachel, he knew roughly who he was looking for, and yet while he had expected the latter to be keeping a lower profile, he was doing anything but. Strolling through a more abandoned part of the city, and still being able to stand out like a sore thumb if he was in a crowd to begin with. Though, compared to the wanted poster of 'him', Cu could see why he didn't care.

Honestly, Cu Chulainn was slightly disappointed with the finding, but merely shrugged it off as he began rematerializing on a rooftop behind the Grim Reaper. He didn't seem to care much about whoever challenged him, which was something Cu could respect.

But right now, respect didn't factor much into his orders.

There wasn't a day that went by without Ragna getting disrupted.

Such was the nature of being the Grim Reaper, the S.S Class Criminal with the world's largest bounty on his head, and managing to piss off almost everyone he came across. Normally, it was a small time Vigilante trying to make a fortune by bringing them in. Though, those encounters didn't really stick with Ragna long after they passed.

Sometimes though, he got visits from bigger folk, such as today.

Prior to the encounter, Ragna had just finished getting his money picked clean by that brat Luna… Or was it Sena? Hell, he couldn't remember. Not long after that, he had gotten attacked by Kokonoe's new science project, that damn Murakumo Unit… Gah, next thing he knew, one of the Six Heroes would come out to fight him at this rate.

But, as it stood right now, he was left undisturbed in a rather abandoned streetway. Not his personal favorite place to take a stroll, but it was better than the alternative. Right now, the less people bothered him, the better, and no people around was better than-

"So, you're the Grim Reaper, huh?" a voice suddenly called out from behind Ragna, stopping him in his tracks as he sighed,

"Who wants to know?" Ragna asked, not even bothering to turn around. He never even saw anyone as he walked through the place, so how and why some new guy got around him was beyond him. Not only that, but the voice was unfamiliar, not remotely like the Masked Freak or Jin. Or, well, anyone he had come across. For all he knew, it could've been just another no name Vigilante.

A slight shift in the wind was all it took to tell him that it wasn't.

Instantly, Ragna stepped to the side, twisting his body just in time for a red spear to pierce the air where he head had been. The wielder, not far behind, was some man in blue tights, red eyes narrowed as they stared back into Ragna's. Not giving his assailant the chance to follow up, Ragna planted his foot on the ground, before letting out a swift right hook at the man's face, only the hit air as the man merely tilted his head, spinning his spear in order to vault away from Ragna's own follow up, a quick slash with his gigantic blade.

Needless to say, the man landing safely on his feet, twirling his spear again so it was parallel to his body, "Impressive, you clearly don't let your guard down" he commented as Ragna rolled his shoulder, placing his sword, Blood Scythe, on his back, before sighing to himself, "Damn, I really messed up, but to answer your question, I've been searching for you on orders from my Master. You can call me Lancer" he greeted, placing a hand on his hip.

In response, Ragna merely narrowed his eyes, "Master, huh?" he repeated. That could've been anyone. Could've been Kokonoe again, or Terumi getting a new henchman. Hell, it could've even been the Rabbit again, or someone he didn't know. Either way, it didn't matter, "Look asshole, I don't have time for this. Get out of my way, or you're dead" he threatened, bringing up a hand to straighten his collar.

For a second, the two merely stared at each other, the wind blowing gently between the two. Then, Cu merely let out a small laugh, before shaking his head, "No can do Grim Reaper. Orders are orders" he replied, before spinning his spear again, crouching down into a fighting stance, "No hard feelings for this, eh?" he continued, a surprisingly feral grin creeping into his expression.

There really was nothing else for Ragna to say in response. All he did was narrow his eyes, clenching his fists, but making no attempt to make the first move at Lancer. And, for an instant, neither did Lancer.

However, that was merely for an instant.

With a sudden burst of speed, Lancer launched himself as Ragna, crossing the distance between the two in less than a second, thrusting his spear at Ragna's chest. Like before, Ragna merely side stepped, grabbing the hilt of Blood Scythe and swinging it at Lancer's head. However, like before, Lancer avoided the slash, ducking down so it passed by harmlessly.

But that was exactly what Ragna had expected as he pulled back his fist, sending an uppercut right at Lancer as he dodged.

This time, Lancer didn't have time to avoid the strike, instead getting punched square in the face, the blow sending him flying back a few feet, getting his footing back just as Ragna began to follow up, raising his sword above his head and swinging down. Instead of dodging, Lancer merely brought Gae Bolg above him, using both hands to support his spear as it took the crushing blow of Blood Scythe, the force enough to crack the ground beneath Lancer's feet.

For a few seconds, the two stood locked in that position, Ragna putting all his weight onto his sword, while Lancer and Gae Bolg strained under the force. Then, he stepped to the side, allowing Blood Scythe to crash into the ground itself, instead of in Lancer, before spinning Gae Bolg at Ragna's own head, as retribution for his first attempted strike.

"Shit!" Ragna cursed in his head as he stepped back, wrenching Blood Scythe from the ground. However, he knew he wouldn't have time to block the strike, so instead, he tilted his head back, the tip of the spear barely grazing his cheek, yet leaving a noticeable mark. Immediately afterwards, Lancer advanced, spinning his spear to slash at the other side of Ragna's face, only to be parried by Blood Scythe, pushing the spear to the side as he went for another punch to Lancer's face, only to find his own fist being pushed aside as Lancer spun Gae Bolg to hit Ragna's arm with the handle.

With a grit of his teeth, Ragna stomped his foot down, shifting the rest of his body to match with the force of Lancer's parry, before shoving his shoulder into his opponent, pushing him away to give himself some breathing room, flipping his sword to a reverse handed grip, then slashing it into the ground,

"DEAD SPIKE!" Ragna suddenly shouted, tearing Blood Scythe out of the ground towards Lancer, a torrent of dark red energy erupting in the shape of a demonic head as it swiftly approached Lancer.

However, by the time Ragna had brought out his Armagus, Lancer had already regain his footing, noticing Ragna's own movements and advancing, shoving the spearhead into the ground just as Ragna's Dead Spike rushed towards him, using Gae Bolg as a pole in order to vault above it, yanking the spear out of the ground as he did so. Then, in mid air, Lancer spun Gae Bolg back around, before attempting to slam the spear on top of Ragna, only to be stopped when the latter brought up Blood Scythe to block the strike. Like before, the blow managed to crack the ground beneath him.

But, merely a second into the block, the gauntlet on Ragna's right arm snapped open as the Grim Reaper growed, before shouting out yet another attack,

"BURST!"

With that, a flash of light started to erupt from Ragna's hand, before suddenly exploding and sending Lancer flying off. However, the explosion was merely designed to push Lancer back, and did nothing to stop him from righting himself in midair, landing on his feet perfectly,

"Tch" Lancer grunted as he stood back up, glaring at Ragna as the late spun his sword around, keeping it at his side, while Lancer's grip tightened on his spear. At the sight, Ragna brought a hand up to straighten his collar, placing Blood Scythe onto his back once again.

However, before the blows could resume, Cu merely sighed, spinning his spear around and planting it into the ground as he fully straightened, his face quickly turning from one of annoyance to one of pride, "Quite the spar, Grim Reaper. You certainly live up to your name" he stated, leaning slightly on his spear.

In response, Ragna merely frowned, not letting his sword drop for even a second, "Giving up? I only just began trying, asshole" he growled, only to pause when Cu lifted his hand,

"My Master gave me precise orders only to fight you. Unfortunately, I don't have the pleasure of going all out" Cu replied simply, before dropping his hand, "My goal was simply to make sure you weren't getting rusty, Grim Reaper, and prove my own abilities to my Master-"

"And who the hell is this 'Master' you're talking about?" Ragna interrupted, finally dropping his sword a bit. At his question, Cu gave him another grin, and after a few seconds, Ragna groaned in annoyance, "Shit… It's the Rabbit, isn't it?" he asked.

In response, Cu gave Ragna a larger grin, "If by 'Rabbit' you mean Rachel, then yes. Quite the interesting lady, ain't she?" he answered, watching Ragna sigh even higher, "But this, unfortunately, is where I take my leave. My job here is done" he said, turning around and resting Gae Bolg on his shoulder.

However, before he started walking away, Cu paused, before looking back at Ragna, "Oh yeah, and Rachel wanted me to impart a message to you. Don't try to take on Terumi, whoever that is" he stated, the final part muttered as an addendum, before he began walking away, swiftly dissipating into thin air.

For a few seconds, Ragna stood in the middle of the street, blinking to himself as he processed everything. Then, he let out another frustrated groan, "God dammit Rachel, you too?" he muttered, bringing a hand to his face, "Yeah, like hell I'd listen to you and Kokonoe…" he added shortly after, bringing his hand down before turning on his heel, continuing on his hunt for that bastard, Terumi.

However, after a few steps, he brought a hand to his face, touching his cheek for a second before bringing his hand back out, revealing to himself that his wound was still bleeding, and hadn't patched itself up like it normally should've. For a few seconds, while walking, Ragna stared at the blood on his hand, before sighing to himself, brushing away the rest of the blood coming from his wound, then shaking his hand off. Of course he ended up with a bleeding wound, it was only fucking natural.

Author's Note: Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of Fate/Scarlet Spear. I wanted to try and do a story based in the world of Blazblue, and I thought that doing one with best doggo, Cu Chulainn, would be a good way of doing so.

I don't really… Have much else to say. This is a test run, testing the waters, as it were. The events of this story take place near the start of Continuum Shift, which I felt was a decent place to start. Personally.

So… Yeah. GodofGamingRWBY, amateur writer, signing off. Make sure to leave a review, I still love, and will always love, a bit of constructive criticism and feedback!