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Prologue​

Sitting down at my computer in the evening I went through my typical evening rituals. Amongst these was checking my email. Amid the spam I once more noticed an unusual message. The user name this time was [email protected]. What is with all these weirdo names. How do they keep getting my address. Well, whatever. The subject line read: 'Revised Worm CYOA. Now less broken!'. Of course, I tend to take a line like that as a challenge. I cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Less broken, huh? We'll see about that." I opened the attachment and glanced over it. Just as I thought, there were indeed ways to break this. Still, I had to admit it wasn't quite as laughable as the old one. I started reading through again to pick my responses.

"Okay difficulty first." I mused to myself. No sense taking God Mode and picking the original powers. That defeats the purpose. I'll go with standard. I typed in my response. Five points to start then. Lesser and Greater powers to choose from. I dismissed the Lesser powers outright. I'd want to be a badass from the get-go. Copying existing parahumans was uninspired. Wildcard sounded interesting...maybe I'd come back to that. A little chancy though. If I was going to do this I'd want to do it based on my own choices not a roll of the dice (or pseudorandom number generator...whatever).

Okay so, Greater powers. Any crossover power within certain limits. That's certainly broken as all hell, though there was a caveat that you couldn't be stronger than a Triumvirate member no matter which power you chose. Meh. Exalted huh...glorious solar bullshit is certainly tempting. I refuse to believe that there exists something that an Exalted can't kill given sufficient time to ramp up. It seemed like everyone did this though. The others were Gamer (based on the series of the same name), Mad Talent (which meant you made no sense period), Servant (which made you a heroic spirit), and Words of Power (which made you the Dragonborn). All very interesting.

Why does Servant cost more than the rest? No Gilgamesh?! What a freaking ripoff! Karna too, huh? Well, that just makes me want to do it out of spite. I almost chose Gilgamesh. Then I stopped and thought for a second. Gilgamesh is really, really powerful. He's also kind of an asshole. If I got his memories, would I become an asshole too? Hmm, the world has enough assholes already. I erased Gilgamesh's name. Who then? Most of the other heroes just weren't up to par. Then it hit me. They'd mentioned Karna! I wasn't limited to the core series! Smirking viciously I typed in 'Saber - Prototype'. Awww yeah. King fecking Arthur as originally intended. He's got beastly stats, a potentially EX level Excalibur, and enough swag for the entirety of Great Britain. The CYOA says nothing about being weakened due to an inferior master or anything so I assumed that would mean a full power Saber. He would already be far beyond any parahuman Brockton Bay had to offer. He is also not at all an asshole. I nodded. That'll do.

Now. Advantages and disadvantages. This was interesting. Even Saber might need a little help dealing with something like Scion. I firmly believed that a fully powered Excalibur-Proto would kill him (or at least heavily damage him) if it hit him. The trouble was actually hitting him. He didn't exist in that dimension. He'd walled himself off and no parahuman could open a path to him without the sting shard so far as I knew. He'd need a way to reach him that didn't depend on parahuman powers. I placed a point into Cauldron Vials. That would let him empower people if he needed to. I wanted a few more advantages, so I took a point from Without a Map. Not being able to pick your starting point couldn't be too much of a disadvantage right? I also took Wanted points for every gang in Brockton Bay. If I showed up there, I could thrash them out of the gate. If I didn't, then who cared? That was four more points to spend. I used one each on Man of Mystery and Special Snowflake. I didn't know how exactly a Trump was supposed to nerf a heroic spirit but it wasn't worth taking chances. Same with Man of Mystery. The last two I spent on an Item of Power. Mostly for my own sense of aesthetics, it needed to take the form of something natural for Arthur to wear. I decided it would be a celtic knot pendant that granted an upgraded twin power to the sting shard. That should place Scion in reach if need be. He'd just have to make sure he didn't lose the pendant.

There. That should do it. I sent the reply. The world grew hazy and I felt as though I were falling asleep. As I fell unconscious I saw swirling visions of swords and battles.

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An Unknown Location​

When I regained consciousness, it was to the feel of the sun shining pleasantly on my face. I could hear the wind blowing through the grass and a stream somewhere in the distance. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this comfortable. Everything about this place made me feel lethargic and content. I mustered the will to open my eyes briefly. They were met with a rolling expanse of green as far as I could see. A copse of trees behind me provided a bit of shade. The strange fatigue crept through me again and a closed my eyes again, slumping back to the ground. I clanked as I did so. Clanked? As though I were wearing metal? It was hard to string coherent thoughts together. I'm sure it wasn't very important. I'll deal with it when I wake up again. Before I drifted off to sleep I heard a melodious voice. A voice so beautiful I couldn't believe it belonged to a human.

"Well now. This is a surprise." the voice said. "It's been a long time indeed since a human was last here." A human? What did she mean by that?

"You're so much like him. At the same time, you aren't very much like him at all are you?" the voice mused. "This world you're going to. They need help don't they? You're going to give it to them?" I absently nodded in assent. "Well, that's certainly a noble goal." She sighed. A beautiful, heart wrenching sigh.

"Very well. You may use our blade. For now, at least. Go with our blessing." the voice said, and I drifted off to blissful slumber.Chapter 1​

When I finally regained consciousness I opened my eyes slowly. I was still in that place I'd awoken in the first time. I looked around curiously. How had I gotten here? This place was beautiful, almost ethereal really. As I moved a familiar clanking sound got my attention. I looked down and my eyes widened. I was covered from head to toe in armor. Silvery steel mixed with blue and white cloth. I recognized the designs. Of course I did. This armor had been crafted specially for me and enchanted by Merlin himself. I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily. Okay, so unless I very much miss my guess, I've effectively just been reincarnated into the body of Arthur Pendragon. I had no clue where I was, except for the sneaking suspicion I might presently be in Avalon. Well, it was true that I hadn't specified where I wanted to end up but I certainly hadn't expected this!

"Now how on Earth am I supposed to find my way out of here?" I asked to no one in particular. Then I noticed it.

"An English accent?" I asked mystified. Then I rolled my eyes and the corners of my lips quirked. "How very droll." I said dryly. I've always wanted to say that. I just never had the panache. Getting to my feet, I started walking rather aimlessly. Having no real idea which direction was the correct one, if any were. If this was Avalon, then it might well be that I would only get out when the Fae decided that it was the proper time for it.

My thoughts began to stray to existential matters. A bit of reflection revealed that I could in fact recall events from Arthur's (my?) past life as though they had happened yesterday. I remember the pain he felt at Lancelot's betrayal and banishment. I remembered the annoyance he often felt at Merlin's antics. I remember the disdain he felt for his son, which eventually developed into outright dislike bordering on hatred. I also remembered another life. The life, I suspected, that led me here. Which was the correct life? Am I one or the other of the two or some combination of both? I shook my head. No answers to those questions were likely to be forthcoming any time soon. It was best to simply play along with this capricious deity's game for the time being. It was hard to kill something one couldn't see, after all.

I must have walked for hours before I finally heard something. A voice. Nothing like the melodious, inhuman voice I recalled from my initial awakening. This was a human voice. A pleading voice. A desperate voice. She sounded as though she sincerely needed help. Well, what manner of knight would I be if I failed to heed a lady's call for aid? As if in response to that thought, the Faerie realm vanished in a blaze of golden light.

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Taylor's POV​

I screamed. I struggled. I cried. Nothing helped. There was barely enough room to move. There was barely enough room to breathe. Every breath I took made my lungs burn. The rancid stench of decaying blood mixed with vomit was all around me. Why weren't they letting me out? Why wasn't anyone helping me? What had I done that was so horrible that I deserved something like this? I pounded at the walls of the locker helplessly. The mocking laughter had faded. They'd gone to class and left me here. I could feel the bugs start to crawl over me, getting inside my clothes. I began to hyperventilate in spite of the horrible stench.

"Please..." I pleaded. "Somebody. Anybody. Please, please help me..." I sobbed.

I saw something vast. A creature writhing in the void. Flecks of it were breaking off. One of them seemed to be approaching me. As it approached its apparent size grew. It was enormous. It dwarfed me utterly.

DESTINATION.

AGREE-

"Actually, I think we'll be trying something a bit different this time." an amused voice rang out.

The fleck that had been approaching me vanished in a burst of light that encompassed all of my senses. I felt a stinging pain from my right hand. Had I scratched it on something in the locker? That seemed so distant now. The creatures were replaced by another image. An image of a sword. I'd never really been one to appreciate weapons but even I had to admit there was something...special about this one. Blue and golden, it radiated a calming light through the darkness. A light that spoke of higher things. Of chivalry and honor. Of virtue and justice. I knew that I could place my faith in this sword and it would always be rewarded. The sword was drawn slowly from its magnificent scabbard and the intensity of the light magnified. As though in a trance, I heard my own voice began to speak. Words that made no sense. Words I had never heard before in my life spilled from my lips with a power that thundered behind them. A surety of purpose I hadn't felt in over a year settled in as I allowed the words to come.

"A base of silver and steel."

"A foundation of stone and the Archduke of Contracts."

"An ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg."

"A wall to block the falling wind."

"The gates of the cardinal directions close."

"From the Crown, come forth and follow the forked road to the Kingdom."

As I continued speaking a light began to shine. Even in here I could see it. I couldn't tell what it was since I was facing away from the vent. The light swelled the further I went. A pressure began to build. I had to finish.

"My will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall create my fate."

"Abiding by the summons, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!"

"I hereby swear. I am all that is good in the eternal world. I will destroy all evil in the eternal world."

"Thou, clad with the great Trinity, come forth from the circle of constraint."

"Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!" I finished triumphantly.

The light flared to the point it was painful to look at even from here. I heard several gasps and cries of disbelief from outside. A mist drifted in from the vent. I heard a low mumbling just outside the locker.

"You've got to be kidding." the voice said faintly. I heard the screeching of metal as the door was pried off.

I fell backward out of the filth and was caught by an impossibly solid pair of arms covered in steel. The arms lifted me up and deposited me on the ground. I turned around and saw him. The very picture of a knight in shining armor. He seemed to glow from within. This, I thought, is what a hero should be. His brow was furrowed and he seemed conflicted for a moment, then his expression cleared and he offered me a reassuring smile. Then he seemed to come to a decision. He drew himself up to his full height and stared down at me. He wasn't really that much taller but in that moment he seemed much larger than me. I reflexively shrank in slightly.

"I ask you. Are you my master?" he asked in a British accent and a voice as smooth as velvet.

I blacked out.