Joker was confident about his combat ability. Throughout his Metaverse adventures, he had directed and led his friends through many battles. He fought against the cognitive Shido one-on-one when the man was pushed to the corner. His Wild Card abilities allowed him to take advantage of any enemy’s weaknesses, allowing him to quickly secure openings and quickly bring an enemy down. He always had his friends backing him up, with Morgana, Futaba, and Makoto providing much-needed combat intel, allowing him to quickly form strategies.

However, that all meant nothing when faced with the Berserker. Howling, the black knight charged forward, the ice breaking underneath his grieves as he brandished his sword. Joker thought that a madman’s sword swings would be easy to dodge, but that was hardly the case – far too often, he only dodged by a hair’s breadth. The blade was wielded with precision and skill of a master swordsman. A careless dodge meant the knight gained another foot on him. Once, the tip barely grazed his front, and yet he felt all the weaker for it as his persona absorbed the damage.

He scowled. Cu Chulainn was already at the forefront of his mind with his resistance to physical attacks but that only barely helped. The Berserker’s attacks just came far too thick and fast for him to do much. He fired off a few shots but the bullets were deflected by the knight’s armor without slowing him down even a little. He needed just one small opening to finish it quickly.

Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out a smoke bomb and tossed it at his feet just as the knight lunged, roaring. Out exploded a thick, black smoke that was far more blinding than even Joker had anticipated. He aimed up and shot his grappling hook, which attached itself to the side of a roof. It retraced and pulled, moving him with only split seconds to spare as the blade came down where his head was just a moment ago.

Flipping forward, he landed on his feet behind as the knight swiveled around, roaring. It would only be disoriented for a split second, but that was all he needed.

“Cu Chulainn!”

The armored warrior once more sprang into being. It crouched down low, grinning madly, as its red spear began glowing with the power being gathered. There wasn’t any time to play around. This might be overkill, but he needed this to end with one shot. The only comfort he had with using this ability was that it was just a cognition in front of him, not the actual Servant. The knight whirled about at the feeling of power in the air, roaring in rage, but it was too late.

“Gae Bolg!”

The Persona charged forward, lunging with the red spear. The Berserker raised its blade to deflect the blow. However, it was pointless – the Gae Bolg was a spear that reversed causality. The motion of thrusting was merely a formality. Once the Noble Phantasm was invoked, the victim’s heart was pierced, with no way to defend or avoid the blow. The spear was a bending red line as it streaked past the knight’s blade, pierced the armor, and sank deep into its chest, transfixing the knight.

Neither warrior moved for a few seconds. The persona then withdrew its spear before fading away, causing blood to spray from the Berserker’s new wound that splattered onto the ice below. The knight’s only response was to shudder before going still, the red light in its visor winking out. The only sound that echoed through the streets and buildings now was the reverberating notes of the haunting organ.

Joker breathed a sigh of relief, wincing as he felt his strength drop from the use of the Noble Phantasm. It didn’t drain quite as much as he expected, but it was still a considerable drop, nevertheless. He couldn’t use it too many times in a row without incapacitating himself. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he tried to use it outside the Metaverse. Chances were good he’d drop dead on the spot.

He glanced where the armored knight still stood. With its heart pierced, the Berserker should disappear before long. He once more aimed his grappling hook toward the roof when he heard the creaking of armor again. That was the only warning he had before the knight’s visor’s malevolent light flashed and with a howl, charged at Ren. Caught off guard, he was too slow to react – the knight grabbed him by the head in a vice-like grip and lifted him in the air.

Screaming, Joker tried to pry off the knight’s hand, but it was far too strong. He tried kicking, but his boots just bounced off its armor. The pain shattered whatever concentration he needed to summon his personas. It felt like his head would be crushed like a grape! Through its fingers, he could still see the Berserker as it raised its blade. His eyes widened as he fought with renewed desperate vigor, but the knight didn’t budge an inch. He was going to be gutted like a fish-!

“SENPAI!”

Something crashed hard into the Berserker’s back, forcing it to drop Ren with a roar of pain. Taking the opportunity, Joker staggered away, his head throbbing and spinning, his vision bleary. He could hardly focus. The sounds of crashing metal behind him brought fresh waves of torment to his brain. He took his hands from his head and looked. His gloves were a bit darker now. No. They were stained. Was it… blood? His own blood?

“S-SENPAI! GET IT TOGETHER! PLEASE!”

Blinking, he turned around. Everything was a bit hazy. His eyes blinked underneath his mask, trying to focus. There was that black knight, roaring as it hacked away at a new target. She was barely fending it off, each blow sending her shield careening away before she yanked it to another position, only just blocking the next strike. Each attack forced her to give more and more ground, her face the picture of desperation. Yet despite everything, she only took her eyes off the knight once – to look at him.

It cost her.

With a roar, the Berserker’s sword slammed into the side of the shield. The sheer momentum of the blow flung her right into the side of a building, sending her crashing against the wall. Razor sharp icicles fell free from the edges of the roof. Her eyes widened, but before she could lift her shield, the knight charged her again. She knelt as she raised her shield to brace herself.

The icicles rained down, slicing into parts of her exposed skin, causing her to cry in pain as the knight battered away at her shield. “SENPAI!” she screamed.

Joker blinked, his mind quickly falling back into place. Within moments, he saw the situation: Mash was currently pinned down by the Berserker, who was madly whaling away at her, and unable to do anything. Cursing himself, he quickly raised a hand to his face once more as his mask burned off.

“Cu Chulainn!”

The persona once more sprang into existence, lunging at the mad knight. The Berserker whirled around, its profaned blade meeting the red spear of the Irish hero in a furious clash. Meanwhile, Joker dashed forward, grabbing Mash and pulling her to safety. “Mash!” he called out. “Are you alright?”

Mash blinked, then nodded. “Minimal damage, Master,” she responded quickly, turning back towards the fight. Joker glanced at the Shielder. The icicles had left cuts on her body, the wounds weeping blood. He mentally cursed himself. Letting his guard down for even one moment was a mistake, and someone got hurt because of it.

Mentally directing his persona, he made sure the knight was turned away from them before cutting the connection, the Berserker now swinging at empty air. Quickly switching, he called out another persona.

“Maria!”

The carved relief of the saint appeared once more. At the presence of the holy figure, the Berserker turned once more and roared, though it was hesitant to charge or even step forward. Joker blinked with surprise, then tossed the feeling aside. This was their opening. The relief glowed with power, illuminating both Joker and Mash in a green light as a refreshing spring breeze flowed around them. The pain of their injuries receded as all their wounds were healed. A measure of energy was restored as well, which surprised Joker, though the feeling was fleeting.

“Thank you, senpai,” Mash called out gratefully, sighing with relief as the cuts sealed themselves. Joker nodded before analyzing the situation. Neither of them were in the best condition, thanks to the infernal organ, and the Berserker was only held at bay by the presence of Maria. Thankfully it was far less taxing to keep her out in the Metaverse than it was in the real world, but it wouldn’t hold the knight for long. It was extremely strong and skilled. Fighting it wouldn’t be easy, not without the other Servants.

“Did you see any of the others?” Joker asked, never taking his eyes off the Berserker, who was currently standing stock still, staring up at the persona.

Mash shook her head. “After the ambush, I lost track of everyone,” she answered sadly. “I thought I saw one or two enemy Servants, but they moved too fast and I lost track. I heard your battle though and raced here as fast as I could.”

Joker flashed her a grateful smile. “Well, you came at the best time possible, Mash,” he said earnestly. “Thanks. A bit longer and things would’ve gotten really bad for me.” Mash blushed and nodded quickly before focusing back on the Berserker, who was steadily getting more and more impatient. The hole in its chest was still dripping out blood but that didn’t hinder it at all, seemingly. The presence of Maria wasn’t going to hold him for long.

Before he could think of anything, the sword vanished from the Berserker’s hands. Black fog started emitting from his armor as another weapon appeared in its hands. It was large, cylindrical, with multiple barrels-

Both Joker and Mash’s eyes widened at the gatling gun pointed directly at them. “Senpai, behind me!” Mash shouted as she surged forward, raising her shield. The knight howled as the gun began firing, sending an endless river of bullets in their direction. The sound of metal crashing on metal was deafening as they collided with the shield like a hail of steel. Mash gritted her teeth. It was taking all her might to just remain standing against the gun, let alone push against it. But surely, it would run out of ammo soon-!

“Cu Chulainn!”

Mash’s eyes opened at Joker’s call. Something flew past her and crashed, the sound of two metal weapons meeting much closer than she anticipated. The pressure on her shield vanished, allowing her to lower it and witness what was happening: That armored warrior she had seen Senpai summon once before, wielding its red spear, fending off the gatling gun of the Berserker who had charged in and was using it as a club.

“Mash, focus! I can’t do this by myself!”

She whirled about and saw her Senpai. Although he wore those dapper clothes, things had changed a bit. The bright red gloves he wore were stained with blood, leaving ugly dark splotches on the fabric. Underneath his mask, his normally grey eyes were a shade of almost demonic red, watching the fight. It was only a short time since she first saw him in that reality marble but to her, he had already… changed.

But there was time to contemplate that later. She whirled about, raising her shield. The armored warrior was still fending off the Berserker but was steadily losing ground to the Berserker’s onslaught as it wielded its gatling gun like a club. She charged forward, dashing to the knight’s flank as she raised her shield with a wild cry.

In response, the Berserker shoved the armored warrior away before swinging the gun down at her instead. The blow sent her crashing to her knees, but she still held. With a roar, she tilted her shield, causing the gun to smash down on the icy ground instead and throwing the Berserker off balance. It would’ve only taken a split second for the knight to simply pick the gun back up or retreat… had a red spear not shot through the air and pierced its side. The Berserker howled in rage and reached for the spear.

“Awesome job, Mash!” Joker called out. The Cu Chulainn persona, who had just thrown his spear, faded away along with its weapon, leaving the Berserker grasping at empty air – though it didn’t change the fact that now it had a second gaping wound. There wouldn’t be another chance as good as this. He needed to keep the Berserker from gaining any momentum or they would be screwed. But if the enemy was this mad, then perhaps…

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“Bugs!”

A large teddy bear burst into being behind Joker. However, its inherent cuteness was undercut by multiple features: Blood was leaking and dripping from its fanged jaws, soaking into the fabric. A bronze collar was around its neck. Its belly was torn open from its patchwork stitching, revealing a collection of skulls within as opposed to stuffing. The bear raised its stubby arms, and suddenly bright lights and shapes warped into being around the knight, causing the Berserker to clutch its head, shrieking in pain.

“Don’t let up on your attacks!” Joker barked. The Shielder blinked, then nodded. Charging in, she aimed her shield at the opening in the Berserker’s armor. The punctured armor caved in as the shield sank into the flesh underneath, causing the knight to give a gurgled squawk of pain. It growled but before it could retaliate, another explosion of colors and shapes burst into being, once more causing the Berserker to howl in agony.

His guess had been right on the mark. With the incoherent rage that Berserker had been showing, it proved to be susceptible to psychic attacks. He had thought about summoning Succubus to lull it to sleep once more, but he decided against it – he wasn’t sure if the sheer madness of the black knight would nullify it, and even if he did fall asleep, he wasn’t sure both him and Mash could finish it in one shot.

Thus, it became a pattern - Joker using Psiodyne to disorient and hurt the Berserker, while Mash took the opportunity to pummel the open Servant, and Joker striking Berserker again with Psiodyne to keep it off balance. There was no way for it to regain momentum, halted by the unorthodox magic of Joker and the sheer physical force of Mash’s blows. Before long, it was a battered, broken mess on the ground that swiftly dissolved into black ash.

Joker held his head to force back a small headache and dizziness. It was a pain he was familiar with – the backlash of utilizing his Personas extremely often. He wished he brought some coffee with him. That usually helped considerably restore some energy in the Metaverse. But all they had were the rations and it wasn’t a good time to eat right now. Especially with the organ music still blaring out in the distance.

“Good work, Mash,” he replied, smiling gratefully at the Shielder who was walking back to him. The girl wearily smiled and nodded back. Joker glanced up at the sky, frowning. “Much as I want to go after the musician, we need to find the others,” he growled. “I’m not taking our chances getting any closer in case there’s some other surprise for us.”

Mash blinked in surprise, then nodded. “Understood, senpai,” she said. “Can we contact the doctor and perhaps get their positions?”

Joker checked the communicator on his wrist. “No dice,” he grimly answered, showing it to her. It was off which caught Mash by surprise. The Chaldea communicator was designed to work with its own power supply and backup systems. It also had plenty of various stress tests to make sure it functioned in any environment possible. “Electronics don’t work for the most part in the Metaverse,” he explained. “Even my phone doesn’t work except for the Metaverse Navigator app. We’re on our own here.”

He thought about throwing a flash bomb up but decided against it. If there were other enemy Servants patrolling, it would quickly give them away. Running around blindly in the streets and alleys was just begging to be ambushed if they moved quickly or take far too long if they moved too slowly and cautiously. There was only one decent option here. “Mash, come here for a sec and hold on tight,” he told her.

Mash blinked in surprise and hesitatingly stepped toward him. Before she could ask what Joker needed, he wrapped an arm around her waist and shot his grappling hook. It quickly secured itself to a nearby rooftop and began pulling. The demi-Servant could only squeak and hang onto her senpai for dear life as they were both hoisted into the air. Joker utilized the momentum of the pull to swing up over the corner of the roof, detaching the hook as they arced upwards, before landing softly on the building.

Joker winced as the music, no longer obstructed by buildings, became a bit louder. Still, he didn’t notice anyone else on the rooftops, be it demons, wyverns, or Servants. Perhaps the music was keeping everyone under cover. He wondered if a pair of earplugs would help in this situation. He recalled an old Greek myth about a man who ordered his men to stuff wax in their ears as they sailed past the Sirens while he himself was tied to the mast so he could listen to their songs without throwing himself overboard.

Then, he finally noticed that hadn’t let go of Mash, so distracted he was. He released the Shielder. “Sorry for the suddenness,” he apologized with a rueful grin. “Thought we needed to get up here quickly so we could have a good view.”

“Th-that’s o-okay, senpai, y-you’re right!” Mash hurriedly stammered, her face as red as a tomato as she looked away, placing her hands on her cheeks to try and cool her face. Joker had to chuckle. She was rather adorable when she got flustered like that.

His mood quickly turned grim, however, as he surveyed the area over the rooftops. The ambush had been so sudden and swift that Joker hadn’t been able to gauge the exact numbers of combatants. He could only hope at this point that the others were doing alright, but that was the exact reason why his team was picked in such a manner: They were all the most combat capable and therefore would be able to handle themselves relatively well.

At least, that was the hope and plan.

Joker scowled. He was finding nothing of their companions from up here. He tried to listen for any telltale sounds of metal clashing, but the organ was drowning everything out. Though it would risk their discovery, they would probably have to patrol and search to find the others. Then he saw a flash of light flare up from a small distance away. “Let’s go, Mash!” he called out. The Shielder, who had managed to recollect at this point, nodded.

They both began running and leaping on the rooftops – Joker with ease, Mash with some difficulty thanks to the snow and ice on the rooftops. She had to use her shield once or twice to stop herself from sliding. Leaping to one last roof, Joker crouched down at the edge and Mash followed suit. She was surprised that Joker didn’t immediately jump in but quickly realized why: He was observing the fight below.

In a small courtyard underneath them, three Servants were fighting. Siegfried was matching blades with a man with long, blonde hair and beard, wielding an oddly shaped lance as his black coat fluttered with each motion. His stabs and swings crashed hard against Siegfried, who even though was putting up a good fight, was slowly being forced back. Every time, however, Kiyohime sent a flurry of fireballs at the Lancer, forcing the man to dodge or deflect the salvo and allowing Siegfried to regain ground.

His third eye activated, he watched the battle unfold. Though it seemed Siegfried and Kiyohime were holding their own, their movements seemed more strained than before. It seems they weren’t immune to the organ either. He glanced over at the Lancer, frowning. Someone who could keep pace with the dragonslayer Saber and the draconic Berserker wasn’t someone to be trifled with. He looked familiar, however. He racked his brain, trying to think of who it was – then remembered.

It was the dark Lancer the doppelganger had with them when they encountered each other the first time. The man had been caught by Satan’s ice and cut down by Archer and the Servant Cu Chulainn. A rather swift death all things considered and removed a Servant from the doppelganger’s force. And now, he was more than thankful that happened – given the Servant’s skill, if he had been present in Lyon, things could’ve gone far worse for all of them.

The combatants were far too involved with fighting and surviving each other’s onslaughts to notice the two on the rooftops, but nevertheless Joker retreated a step or two, Mash cautiously following behind. “What’s our plan, senpai?” she whispered to him.

Joker frowned as he thought, then nodded. “They ambush us, we ambush right back,” he replied with a smirk. “Wait here for now. On my signal, charge in and take him out with Siegfried and Kiyohime.” Mash nodded. Joker in turn hopped on more rooftops, keeping low so he wouldn’t be easily spotted by any of them.

Thus, he waited until the positioning was just right: the Lancer had his back turned to him, Mash was waiting on the roof by the flank, Siegfried and Kiyohime were in front of him. Switching his personas, he stood up as his mask burned off once more.

“Metatron!”

The great metallic angel appeared once more, its holy aura permeating the air. The Lancer whirled about, snarling, with eyes as wide as saucers at the sight. Siegfried and Kiyohime blinked in surprise but recovered themselves far more quickly than the Lancer did. Before he could turn around, Siegfried ran him through from behind as Kiyohime shot out a stream of fire, engulfing him in draconic flame.

The Lancer roared in pain and jumped away off Siegfried’s sword – barely dodging Mash’s shield seeking to brain him. The Servant wasn’t dead, but he looked much worse for wear. Leveling a feral glare at the group of Servants in front of him, he began emanating dark power. That was, until a beam of light shone down from right above him, burning his flesh and causing him to roar with pain. Siegfried didn’t need any further prompting, charging in and rapidly separating the Lancer’s head from his shoulders once more. The enemy Servant collapsed, its form promptly dispersing into black dust.

Jumping down from the rooftops, Ren joined the other Servants. Siegfried smiled at him. “Your timing was most opportune, Ren Amamiya,” he said gratefully. “I apologize for the trouble I have caused you. With the ambush and the music, we had been hard-pressed in our fight. Your reinforcement was most welcome.”

Kiyohime frowned. “Speaking of music, do you hear that?” she murmured, looking up. The others glanced about and heard it – or rather, the lack thereof. The organ had stopped. “It would seem the aura of your… persona had shocked whoever was playing that horrid instrument,” she observed. “An unexpected boon, but one gratefully accepted nevertheless.”

The Master nodded. “I’ll say,” he agreed. But still, it didn’t help that they were still weakened. He remembered the relief he felt when he used Maria. It wouldn’t be good to use her abilities too many times, not while they still had quite a few fights left most likely, but there were other methods. He switched personas once more.

“Pixie.”

The little fairy appeared by his side once more. Giving a whimsical point of the finger, everyone was surrounded by a green light. Their strength came back, along with much relief. Joker smiled as the fairy faded from being. “Alright, dunno how long before the organ comes back on, so we should find the others first. Let’s get going.”

“Wait, senpai,” Mash called out worriedly. “Shouldn’t we deal with the organ player first? If they start playing again, we’ll be at a disadvantage all over again.”

Siegfried nodded. “I agree with Lady Kyrielight,” he replied. “If our opponent can affect the battlefield to such a significant extent, then they cannot be ignored. We should deal with them as soon as possible.”

Joker hesitated and sighed. “You got a point,” he admitted. “But do you guys have an idea where he might be? I couldn’t exactly track his music really well in the city.” The others glanced uncomfortably at each other, which only affirmed his statement. None of them could easily find the source of the organ music.

“Do you not have something that could help track them down?” Kiyohime asked, peering over her fan at the Phantom Thief. “You have been pulling out strange power after strange power. Is tracking an unknown enemy beyond your grasp?”

The Master of Chaldea raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you’ve confidence in my abilities,” he noted, unable to keep the sarcasm in his voice. The Berserker narrowed her eyes dangerously in his direction as Mash instinctively and immediately stepped between the two, her shield half raised. “If I had an ability like that, I would’ve already been rounding us to deal with it. Or better yet, take care of it myself. My life would certainly be a lot easier if I could track someone like that.”

The two stared down each other, draconic yellow eyes meeting his stern, sharp grey ones. Finally, Kiyohime turned away. “Very well,” she accepted. “I would advise you to watch your tone, however. As dangerous as you are, kindling the wrath of a Servant is unwise. You’d do well to remember that.”

Joker gave a humorless chuckle. “Bit too late for that, Kiyohime,” he replied with a smirk. He turned back to the others. “Right, let’s find Archer and Georgios,” he stated. “The sooner we can find them before the music starts again, the better. Using Metatron again is likely to just give away our position at this point – or worse.” The other Servants nodded. Moving around in enemy territory while split up and without a lay of the land was foolish. It would be better to regroup first.

The ice and snow crunched underneath their feet in the still air.

----------

Tracking targets through alleys and buildings was never easy. There were many obstacles he had to maneuver around, his vision was extremely limited, and it was incredibly easy to get disoriented. He couldn’t take to the rooftops – not without wanting to put a metaphorical bullseye on his back. This situation wasn’t to his advantage overall.

It didn’t help that the Servant he was fighting had taken to this environment like a fish to water. Silent footsteps, moving up to the rooftops before sinking back down again, his enemy had proven extraordinarily difficult to track. This was their territory, not his. It was a battle of attrition, which consumed time, energy, and attention. None of which he could afford right now, not unless he wanted to be useless for future battles.

This was a hunt and right now, he was the prey.

Archer considered his options. There was obliterating the area and flushing the Servant out, but that would be far too flashy. It would give away his position and act as a gigantic neon sign for any allies and enemies – especially the cognitive Satan that prowled the Palace. He could track everyone else down, but that would require turning his back on the Servant, which might be a fatal mistake if she was who he suspected her to be. Then there was the third option: Give up.

So naturally, he did just that. He made clumsier and clumsier mistakes, falling for almost every decoy or false trail the Servant left behind. Not enough to instantly die but there were certainly some close shaves – an arrow burrowed into his shoulder and waist could attest to that. Hearing the whistling of air behind him, he spun around, raising his twin blade – and both of them were knocked up out of his hands as two arrows collided with them. Before he could move or do any further, a turquoise blur shot out and tackled him to the ground.

Now it was Archer, with the enemy Archer that had been killed in Lyon standing above him, an arrow knocked and pointed at his head. “Kill, kill, kill!” she snarled, her eyes feral.

The red-mantled hero chuckled as he shot a glance up at his soon-to-be killer. “Well, huntress Atalante,” he drawled as he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Truly an honor meeting you like this. But for a famed huntress, you seem to be slipping.” The huntress narrowed her eyes at Archer’s insult, then heard the whistling of air behind her. She spun around to aim upwards but too late – Kanshou and Byakuya spun down from above like buzzsaws and embedded themselves into her shoulders.

Screaming in pain, Atalante dropped her bow – and was stopped on the spot from moving. She glanced down at yet another copy of the twin swords sprouting from her chest and looked back to see Archer right behind her. Trying to speak only got her a throatful of blood. The only sound she could make was a gurgle as Archer withdrew his blades and she collapsed, soon dissolving into black dust as well.

The man sighed as the bloody swords disappeared from his hands. Plucking the two arrows from his body, he began walking again. The air was surprisingly quiet this time, though his instincts told him that it was only a reprieve. Perhaps it was time to deal with that organ player once and for all. And he had a fairly good feeling where the man would be…