Chapter Text
"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow," is what Ex had said to her soon-to-be former roommate. Graduation was next week, after all, and they would be getting their diplomas from Cosmo-Chaldea High.
X sighed heavily.
"Is it really worth that long of a trip for a limited editions Spacebucks drink?"
Ex puffed up her cheeks just slightly.
"It's not just the limited Spacebucks Totooine graham cracker 'sandslide' mocha latte, it's also the special Dune Edition mug it comes in. It's the only one I don't have."
"You really are a slave to your passions, huh? I guess it's fine, as long as you're back in time for the ceremony."
Ex nodded as excitedly as she ever had. There was no worry over finals or exams or whatever; both she and X had got more than enough extra credits with that nonsense on Planet Guntama to ensure they graduated with perfectly average grades.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, X. Come on, Black Knight-kun."
Her Voloid KX-X4 - who she had nicknamed Black Knight because she thought he looked like a black knight's helmet on wheels - chirruped merrily as it rolled along after her. Six hours later, they had touched down on Totooine, nearest planet with a Spacebucks that was guaranteed to have promotional stuff in stock. Cosmo-Chaldea had a Spacebucks attached to the campus, part of a rent-share to pay for the bills incurred by Servantverse students and the havoc they regularly wreaked, but the school Spacebucks was the kind of busy place that always ran out of limited stock within minutes.
So, sand crunching beneath her boots, Ex wrapped her red plaid scarf around her to protect from the blustery sandy winds and marched onwards.
"Lucky we only got blown a few miles off course this time. Last time, we had to walk an entire day."
Black Knight whirred with a melancholy tone. His Alterium memory banks had recorded each of their trips here, and the hellish storm they flew into last time was a particularly miserable memory amidst all the rest.
"... hmm? What's this, now?"
For just a moment, the constant Totooine winds died down and for once they could see the blue sky overhead. But in addition to that...
"It looks like a... hole? A tear in space?"
Black Knight chirped excitedly, his electronic beeps sounding oddly concerned. The tear... it was about two meters tall, shimmering near the edges as though a string of rainbow LED's encircled the entire thing. The elongated almost oval shape of the tear itself was like looking through a crystal clear pond or constantly shifting sheet of glass. Ex approached the tear slowly, cautiously, her pale fingers lightly tapping the handle of her magic sword Necro-Calibur, just to remind herself that it was there if needed.
"Aaaaughgh!"
A scream echoed out from the rip, deep and guttural and beyond that of a human. When she peered closer, Ex could see that the space on the other side was rolling sandy dunes, just like this Totooine, but it appeared to be dark. Evening. And there, in what looked to be a small camp of cloth or leather tents, here and there Ex could see flashes of bright pale blue light. It looked an awful lot like her roommate X's blue magic sword Secret-Calibur were being swung left and right.
"... I suppose Spacebucks can wait. Come on, Black Knight-kun!"
Pulling Necro-Calibur and igniting its bloodred blade, Ex charged into the rift and leapt with all her might as a Servant towards the little encampment. As she came in for a landing, she saw that pale blue blade arc through the air, cutting a bandage-wrapped person clean in half. The heat of the blade appeared to perfectly cauterize the wound, so that there was almost no blood.
Almost.
"Halt, villain! Why do you have Secret-Calibur?!" Ex demanded in the loudest voice she could muster. The wielder, a young man with shaggy brown hair, turned to face her.
"A-a red lightsaber!? Are you a Sith!?!?"
"A what? I-"
Before Ex could answer, the impudent brat leapt at her, swinging his weapon wildly, ferociously. She calmly deflected it to one side, the blades whining as they collided. Up close like this, Ex could see that this was not X's Secret-Calibur. It didn't have the gold and blue handle nor crossguard; it appeared to just be a humble silver cylinder with a rubber grip around the lower handle. She glimpsed its basic shape as the colliding sabers illuminated the dimly lit camp brighter than the nearby campfire.
"My apologies, I think I have mistaken you for-"
Ex was cut short as the wild man swung at her again, almost catching her off guard, but she blocked this second attack as well.
What a rude man, she thought. Does everyone on this side interrupt each other when they are speaking?
The young man grunted angrily as he took a step back, twirling his sword with a flourish as he spun and leapt at her again. The display was mesmerizing, certainly, but with a much simpler flick of her own sword, Ex again knocked his attack wide and countered with a quick aimed swing at his now-exposed arm. Something interfered with her attack, though, pushing it down so that she only cut through the big baggy sleeve of the man's rough brown robe.
"Hmm? What was-?"
She felt a sudden invisible wall of pure force slam against her, pushing her back into the air several feet. She recovered just enough to land on her feet, though.
"Some invisible psychic attack? Well then I guess I'll have to get serious..."
As the man performed another wild flourish with his sword before charging, Ex gathered up all the Alterium she could from deep within. The palm of her free hand began to spark with blistering red energy and with a flick of the wrist and an opening of the palm she called the red lightning down on the charging man. He shrieked in pain, falling to one knee, as the lightning ran over his skin, covering it in blisters and blood. Before Ex could even notice what was happening and call off her attack, the man's skin appeared to be badly burnt all over. A cooked crying mess, he collapsed to the sand and began writhing in pain as he howled at the night sky like a wounded animal.
"What in the name of all that is sweet?" Ex murmured to herself, brow furrowing. She had never seen another wielder of a magic sword become so incredibly injured from her red lightning before, at least not this quickly. Didn't his innate mana supply provide at least minimal protection against external attacks? If not, how thoroughly would Necro's blade have cut through him had she actually connected with an attack? It didn't make any sense, not one bit.
"Well, Black Knight-kun, can you help me carry him? I think we need to find a doctor."