king "#1 shitposter" gilgamesh (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
babbylon) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
epidemiology2016-06-23 08:01 pm
babbylon) wrote in epidemiology2016-06-23 08:01 pm
Entry tags:
[closed] this is the only path.
CHARACTERS: Gilgamesh and Archer
DATE: Several days following their last conversation.
WARNINGS: ...this is gonna get real gnarly folks. Gore, violence, and character death ahead.
SUMMARY: Gilgamesh finally seeks out the truth, and finds out what happens to him in his future.
[Gilgamesh gets up one morning, and for no particular reason decides today is the day.
He wears his street clothes, which Archer will recognize him best in. He has a modest breakfast. He says goodbye to Shishi, and leaves him at the door. He summons Archer with those same words, today is the day, and waits for him by the shore, pendant in hand.
When the man arrives, he gives a short nod. There's nothing left to say, besides...]
Are you prepared?
[And Gilgamesh stands tall before him. Tall and proud and entirely unsuspecting of the humiliation that awaits.]
DATE: Several days following their last conversation.
WARNINGS: ...this is gonna get real gnarly folks. Gore, violence, and character death ahead.
SUMMARY: Gilgamesh finally seeks out the truth, and finds out what happens to him in his future.
[Gilgamesh gets up one morning, and for no particular reason decides today is the day.
He wears his street clothes, which Archer will recognize him best in. He has a modest breakfast. He says goodbye to Shishi, and leaves him at the door. He summons Archer with those same words, today is the day, and waits for him by the shore, pendant in hand.
When the man arrives, he gives a short nod. There's nothing left to say, besides...]
Are you prepared?
[And Gilgamesh stands tall before him. Tall and proud and entirely unsuspecting of the humiliation that awaits.]
no subject
He appears as he usually does, too -- clad in the red coat and armor that has likely become quite familiar. His demeanor, however, is markedly different. He has always been guarded with his feelings, but whatever laxness or emotion he might have shown before has been shuttered away.
He's as cool and distant as he was the day they first met -- stubborn, rigid, and unyielding.
He is prepared. ]
After you.
no subject
I will not find cause for regrets.
[I will not turn my back upon the past. These are the promises Gilgamesh makes, and he's not the sort to lie—not by his own standards, anyway.]
Shatter the pendant, shut your eyes... and focus.
[Those were the instructions given to him, which he recites. He tightens his fist, he destroys the gem, and the world itself melts away, rewritten and reimagined according to Archer's own thoughts and experiences. They are taken back, or rather taken forward, to the venue of a critical battle.
Suffice to say it's not the battle Gilgamesh expects. When he opens his eyes again, the first thing he sees is his himself stabbing the phantom Archer in the back.]
no subject
Silent and unmoved as Gilgamesh makes his vow, Archer simply listens and watches as the King of Heroes shatters the pendant. He closes his eyes on cue, and everything shifts in moment.
When the kaleidoscope of colors settles on a time and a place, he opens his eyes to the sight of himself -- a violent jerk brought about by the shattering impact of multiple blades ripping through his torso. His eyes flit to Rin and Saber, and then of course, lastly, to the prone, bloodied figure on the floor in front of him.
Then, a voice rings out- ]
That was most entertaining. A truly pointless fight between two fakes.
[ Hovering back as everything unfolds, Archer watches impassively as his phantom self pushes Shirou out of the way and is dispatched by more weapons from the Gate. ]
no subject
Already, this made no sense. Archer claimed to have some role in his death, yet here he lay now, vanishing into dust shortly thereafter; it's just a memory, so he can't sense anything, but to his eyes he looks as good as gone. It's not that he himself struck the blow that surprises him, that they were opposed to one another—it's that it came so soon. This couldn't have been it. There had to be more to this, some reason, some explanation...
It makes me sick to see careless forgeries crafted by fakes.
Scum.
Frauds who are only poor imitations of others should be destroyed, incinerated like the trash they are.
Gilgamesh's eyes shift blankly to the Archer still standing as his future self starts to babble. Maybe everyone else had a point about his big mouth, because even he's not appreciating it now. And you'd better believe his companion's getting elbowed in the side while these villainous dramatics are going on in the background.]
You cannot kill me if you are already dead, you imbecile.
[Technically, he has a point. He just doesn't have the full picture yet and he's severely disinterested in blah blah blah Grail blah blah blah wickedness it's mine all mine.]
no subject
Well. Until the other nudges him. ]
Archers are a resilient class.
[ Which basically amounts to, you only thought you killed me, bruh. ]
Pay attention.
no subject
But it's true, even if everything he hears just confirms most of what he's pieced together on his own. The Grail was corrupt; he knew as much. He'd bathed in its evils and emerged on the other side; of course, he would've had to survived the war somehow to go on and commit these acts, so that stood to reason. Yet some of it is also a little surprising, coming from the mouth of the man who already claimed the Grail as his possession. Who did not see it as worth pursuing beyond fleeting fancy.
He can see it in his own eyes, the hysteria, the obsession. He fell in love with it—the idea of it consuming everything, at least. He detested it—the reality of what humanity became. It's all a logical conclusion to bitter feelings he'd long since held, but even so, something strikes him as off. Not the justification, but rather the execution. It seemed classless, inelegant. Monstrous, for one who held himself high above such distinctions.
Had I really grown to hate so much? he wonders. But he already knows the answer. He trusts in himself, and still, he does not regret this path.
It's up to you to defeat him. The dying words echo in the air, louder than they ever were in real life. And this Gilgamesh pays attention to. He looks to Shirou, considers everything Archer has ever told him, and utters in disbelief, no. Archer, who guarded his past identity so fiercely, he couldn't have possibly been—
The scene changes again, to some blue-haired brat distinctly calling him stupid dumbass.]
Please tell me I kill him.
[SHRK. There goes the beating heart, inside his body.]
Please tell me he is dead.
no subject
He's accepted his past self now, but that doesn't mean looking into an old mirror is something he enjoys. He is no longer that boy, and hopefully, that boy will never become him.
Again, the scene pivots, and as the grotesque monstrosity that is the Holy Grail surges and swallows Shinji whole, still, Archer remains impassive. ]
He isn't.
[ More than likely, the first of many disappointments. He watches the writhing mass expand and grow, and he can't entirely mask his distaste.
He turns away from it, and again, the setting changes. Night has fallen, and they stand in the woods behind Ryuudou Temple. The pulsating core of the Grail remains, and a black hole has opened up in the sky.
Black mud swirls around the base of the misshapen behemoth even as more spills out from the chasm overhead. It's an ugly sight, and there again is Rin and Shirou plotting how to dismantle it.
They're interrupted, of course, by the Gilgamesh himself. It is here and now that Archer truly does pull back. He knows what's about to transpire. ]
no subject
He recognizes Rin, if nothing else, and that chain of logic connects too, why she'd been so reticent to get anywhere near him in ALASTAIR. She'd been witness to this entire show, and she calls him out once the pair confront him at the edge of the wood. Calls him disgusting, calls him a pervert for getting sick thrills from it all. He's not entirely certain if he can disagree. This was a disgusting spectacle, and even if he sought to deal humanity a firm hand, correct them in present times, he can't help but believe he would've found a better way to do it. No is the word of the day, which he continues to mutter under his breath. The dry humor from moments before has left him; now, even with company, he feels more alone than ever.
The mass grows and grows to disturbing heights. He notes the big black hole in the sky, the hole to Hell, he'd claimed. The hole that would spew a thousand curses upon the world and destroy the weak, leaving only the strong to survive, as he so boasted of. And what could he even claim in his own defense? If questioned, he would've said the same. But saying something and seeing something were very different. Seeing it now, he just wants to cover it all up, pretend like it didn't happen.
Except it keeps happening. The girl runs off, leaving himself and Shirou to one another.]
Kill him.
[But he doesn't.]
Kill him.
[But he won't. The image of Gilgamesh speaks as if to mock him; I'll go easy on you, shooting off weapons just a few at a time and watching Shirou scurry. They're not done yet, not by a long shot, but it seems Gilgamesh has already realized his fatal mistake.]
no subject
It's strange watching these events unfold for a second time, particularly with someone else and especially with a man who was about to witness his own demise.
Archer remains silent, gauging the other's reactions while showing none of his own. Of course, Gilgamesh toys with Shirou for a fair amount of time. Shirou learns as the battle continues, but even his attempts at multiple projections at once end in failure, particularly when Ea is brought forth to bat away a core-less Holy Grail. The whiplash from so small a gesture is frightening, and naturally, it knocks Shirou flat. He's a fragile human, after all. A weak, helpless mage.
Except, as the Gilgamesh standing next to him already seems to realize, underestimating him is a critical error.
The young man gets back up again, and while Saber comes to his rescue for a moment, Shirou urges her to leave, to let him fight his battle alone -- an insane, perhaps even suicidal proposition. Judging by the looks on Saber and Gilgamesh's faces, they certainly think it is.
Shirou is successful in pleading his case, however, and the battle starts anew.
This time, with an incantation: ]
I am the bone of my sword.
[ Rho Aias flares to protect his younger self, and then, the world itself vanishes in a flash of light.
What stretches out before them now is a wasteland -- a deserted space populated only by swords and rolling clouds overhead.
Unlimited Blade Works. ]
no subject
This was you.
[Is you, even. The manifestation of his soul, the origination of his Noble Phantasm he seemed to keep secret from everyone. This was Unlimited Blade Works, and though the Gilgamesh of the future thinks nothing of it, the Gilgamesh of the present feels slightly humbled. This was more than just an attack; to quote Shirou, my whole life was Unlimited Blade Works.
Gilgamesh sits dulled through the battle. His eyes become heavy. His shoulders sag. His frown deepens. You are a king, not a warrior. Gilgamesh wants to argue with the boy, but there's no sense in it. Where is Ea? Why did he put it away? Why wouldn't he employ it against this false reality and crushes it to pieces?
Because I was too proud, a phantom voice whispers in his ear, and so are you.
Shirou matches him, point for point, and goes beyond. He crashes through the air. He howls with such vengeance and determination that he has rarely seen. He dons once more the shield of Rho Aias and gives everything he has in one last charge. Gilgamesh watches himself falter, almost, almost pull Ea from its sheath, but it's too late. His arm flies off; he's stabbed through the chest. He loses. I lost, I lost, I lost, to this mongrel, to this wretch—
There's a groaning sound, on his end. Gilgamesh watches a memory yet feels as though he has been gutted in real time, and nearly keels over as a result.]
no subject
His soul, his entire life, the manifestation of his own inner world -- that's what this is, and it's for that very reason that Archer is sparing in his use of it. He has no grand or glorious army, no library filled with books from every corner of the known world, or anything so positive or lovely. No, all he has is this, a desert with blades stretching as far as the eye can see. It's sobering rather than uplifting, and as much as he dislikes showing what he really feels, this is a step beyond even that.
But so it goes. The fight carries on, and Archer watches as Gilgamesh's stature seems to shrink. It's a terrible thing to watch yourself walking down a path of destruction -- and even worse, to find yourself unable to stop it. He understands that better than most.
Still, he remains impassive as Shirou very nearly clinches his victory. At the moment it seems he's won, the world he's constructed falls apart. He's out of mana -- on his knees and unable to defend himself as a wounded Gilgamesh prepares to skewer him alive.
Except a small black hole ruptures the atmosphere.
The dark mass latches onto Gilgamesh's ruined arm and explains, trying to suck him into the vortex. Chains surge out of the Gate and wrap around Shirou's wrist -- a desperate attempt to pull himself out.
Shirou stumbles, struggles, but of course, remains as stubborn as ever. ]
I'll rip my own arm off, if that's what it takes!
[ And that's when a familiar voice answers: ]
Do so if you wish, but step to the right first.
[ A red arrow streaks past Shirou, who just manages to move to the side. It finds its mark. ]
no subject
He turns away from those final moments. He looks to the true Archer, to his Archer, with insistent eyes. He's trying to ground himself, stabilize his shaky reality with his own words. With a surprising resolve for a man who just watched his own destruction, he tells him:]
It was the "you" from another time. Isn't that what you meant? It was this boy, instead, who did not yet understand, who could not understand...
[In truth, they are just desperate excuses. He's trying, looking for reasons not to immediately turn on this man. It is almost admirable that he would even make the attempt. He is holding onto something, some piece of perceived loyalty, some shard of time spent together in contrast to this nightmare. He's honoring his promise, he's holding firm to it, I forgive you, I forgive you everything...
But then he hears it. He turns and looks over his shoulder; and this is the end. Not when they met last, in his room, but here and now. This is the end, as Gilgamesh watches the arrow zoom past, and he gasps—Archer!—along with his reflection that actually did. This is the end. This is what shatters him. Archer had not spoken false. Ultimately, it was his shot that claimed his life. Archer did it, it was him, it was him...
The world disappears, transitioning from memory to reality. Gilgamesh stares, into the nothingness. Silence prevails, but it is the calm before the storm. Within, he rages.]
no subject
The look on his face doesn't change, and he doesn't react externally as Gilgamesh tries to rationalize and excuse what's happened until reality, with cruel finality, slaps him in the face.
Yes, it was him. He told him months before, when they first arrived on Nalawi that he had a hand in his defeat. He explained then too that there was nothing he wouldn't sacrifice for the simple purpose of keeping Rin safe. Since that time, yes, something more organic developed between them -- some semblance of trust and camaraderie and yes, even real enjoyment on his end.
Still, the loyalty Gilgamesh expects simply does not exist. Nevermind the fact that what they just witnessed is Archer's past rather than his future, but it's undeniably true that his loyalties, such as they are, only completely, truly lie with the one who holds his leash.
Archer stares at the other man as the memory dissipates, watches as the rage starts to burn inside him, and yet, he simply waits.
He has nothing to offer -- no excuses, no justifications, no regrets. Nothing.
It is what it is, and he is ready to face any judgment Gilgamesh wishes to pass. ]
no subject
He knows very well why, and now, he knows the how and the what. It's not the question of why that burns away at him. It's why not? Why not side with him, instead, when it was what they both wanted, were both bound to dutifully carry out? He was a beast of Alaya, and Gilgamesh heeded its call to an extent, as well. Humanity had drifted. Humanity was in need of correction, so even if his methods were haphazard, they were right.
Even after seeing all of this, Gilgamesh doesn't feel sorry or apologetic for anything he's done, because he was right. If anything, he feels all the more committed to the necessity of this path. So why wasn't Archer? Was the leash of a Master truly more important than the wishes of his own heart and soul? Did he care for Rin so much, he would disregard everything in order to serve her?
Gilgamesh does not ask why, because he already knows the answer.]
We were on the same side, you and I.
[This is the end, and the lowest of the low for Gilgamesh. The lowest Archer will ever see him, past even the point of tears.]
We wanted the same thing. I... I wanted...
[Gilgamesh passes no judgment, other than to force Archer to look at him so pathetic.]
no subject
Archer is quiet for a long moment, and of course, he contemplates his answer. While it is undeniably true that the two of them occupy similar functions, the operate on completely different ends of the spectrum. Those who serve Alaya seek not only to correct humanity, but to preserve it. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is more of a force for life, death, and rebirth. To bring about new beginnings from the ashes rather than simply steering a ship back onto the correct and proper course. The Gilgamesh of the future like understood this and correctly identified him as a threat.
Still, there is more to it than simply the roles they occupy. For Archer, it goes deeper, to the heart of his own systemically flawed and hypocritical nature. He despises what he has become more than anything, but the long and short of it is simply this: when he lived, he lived for others, and in death, he followed the same path. He claimed to fight for himself, and it's true that her pursued his own selfish aims in breaking his pact with Rin. He wanted a way out, and he fought for it with everything he had.
Even so, at the very core of his being, Archer is fundamentally selfless. He cares nothing for himself, but the boy that he was cared so much about other people he was willing to cut of his arm to spare a friend. He's grown since then, become jaded and bitter, but some part of that stubborn child who refused to give up, who wanted more than anything to help and live for others, still remains.
It's a lengthy pause, but finally, Archer responds - softly. ]
We didn't.
[ He wanted freedom - an impossibility. Gilgamesh wanted to destroy - unacceptable. The choice was easily made. ]
I wanted them to live.
no subject
[Gilgamesh doesn't just shout it. He screams it, a nasty screech that tears its ways out of his lungs and hurts to hear. Whereas Archer was selfless, Gilgamesh was selfish. He wanted to live, he wanted everything for himself, he wanted everyone to march exactly as he pleased with not a single foot of line. The second they did, there'd be hell to pay. There almost was. Letting Gilgamesh seeing this was a mistake; more than ever, he sympathizes with that twisted plan. Not because it made sense, even if it, but because of the hurt he feels, the fear he's experienced in watching himself die.
He's out of his own mind, in this moment, and one too many steps closer to the threat Archer initially sought to eradicate. This was a mistake, as well as a tipping point, and Gilgamesh has been tipped clean over to point of all consuming insanity.]
What else was to be done with them?! They were running wild, like insects! Insects must be exterminated! They must be culled, and corrected, and...
[Wait, what was he saying? What was even the point of making arguments here? Gilgamesh runs out of breath. Almost falls on top of himself, winded.]
All that time—all along—how could you have ever allowed such a thing?! Why did you do this? To me! To me! Archer, why did you do this, Archer...!
[He's shrieking. He's flailing at Archer, trying to hurt him, to claw into him, but it's all blind. He's so, so incensed, and it's got nowhere to go but out.]
no subject
Archer doesn't waver, though. In some ways, he's used to this. He's been hated and despised before, and if he has to endure it from Gilgamesh as well, so be it. He's a monstrous sort of thing, after all, and even if he's gotten a little 'softer' since joining ALASTAIR, that hasn't changed.
Gilgamesh screams at him, beats and lashes out at him blindly...and he takes it. He winces slightly when the man actually lands a blow that hurts, but he doesn't move or offer any resistance. He just accepts it and allows the man his moment of hurt and fury.
He doesn't offer an answer. ]
no subject
[Another punch.]
No!
[Another slap.]
NONONONONONONO—
[But soon, none of it connects. Within moments, Gilgamesh tires, panting and heaving and looking as though he might shatter on the spot. He slumps against Archer, weak and weary and drained down to his bones. How he must've felt, during that false death. And like Archer, he cannot cry. All those tears were shed long ago, leaving only misery in their wake. He slips, yet in tragic irony holds onto Archer still, as if he could bring him back. As if he could convince him, mine was the right way, the only way and take that horrible why straight out of the equation.
But he can't. That's when it hits him. That's when he realizes it.
He just can't.]
I... cannot do this anymore, I...
[Gilgamesh has reached his limit. He slides away, onto the sand, overwhelmed into unconsciousness.]
no subject
Standing still and tall as Gilgamesh vents a torrent of violent emotion, in a way, he wishes he could feel something. He cannot feel sympathy or anguish over this for the simple fact that he did what needed to be done. He knows that, what happened cannot be changed, and he wouldn't, if given the choice.
The assault ends, finally, and still, Archer can show nothing of care or compassion as the man slumps against him and clings, as if pleading for all of this to be a nightmare, a lie. No answer is forthcoming, and when Gilgamesh finally collapses in a heap on the ground, even now, Archer appears unmoved.
He still feels nothing, save for a cold emptiness that settles in his chest.
He stares at Gilgamesh's prone form for a long moment, and his stomach turns briefly as the bestial instinct instilled in him reminds him how easy it would be to end it right here.
Again, he ignores it. He kneels down and picks up his fellow Servant with a surprising amount of care. Avoiding any onlookers, Archer walks him quietly back to his room and deposits him gently on his bed.
He doesn't linger after that, and when he closes the door behind him, the same, awful nothingness curls even tighter inside him.
He goes back to his room, and when he does, he picks up the egg, wrapped so dutifully and diligently, and leaves it on Rin's bed.
He destroys everything he touches, and right now, it's best if he's alone. ]