Chapter 38: Immortality
Jarvis and Adam got together after everyone found Blake with Yang. They set out to do their mission like everyone else did and they set out to the Catacombs under New Vale. The Catacombs were much like any form of catacombs you may have heard of, the only exception was unlike most this was used as an actual sewer system. They kept walking through in silence until Adam broke it with his curiousity.
"So why down here, why would he want to come down here?" Adam asked.
"Mate I thought we were here for Grey and Sienna Kahn?" Jarvis asked as he looked at Adam confused.
"I know but theoretically if he did come here like you said he might, why?" Adam questioned. Jarvis thought for a moment before a cross path came to them.
"Well to be honest there's only one reason he would come down here assuming he hasn't already." Jarvis said as he started walking the path to their right.
"Are you saying he might have already been down here?" Adam's questioning was getting old for Jarvis so he just kept walking.
"This is just assuming no one else has been down here, but it would be a room where the lad's father and I worked, we were researching something that no one should, and it's because of this the boy lost his parents, why you were sent to kill them all those years ago." Jarvis said as they came upon a door.
Adam stopped and thought for a moment as he recalled the memories of his young childhood. His first mission was to take care of a group that disobeyed The White Fang. It was supposed to be simple, he would go in take out the targets and prove his loyalty. That's what he told them anyways. Years ago he infiltrated what he thought was their base, a wood hut just outside the village of Milderan, only to find a woman, a man, and a child. His mission was to eliminate that family of which he knew nothing about only that they disobeyed. So he went in, he set the hut on fire and he walked away. It was then when Jarvis stepped in and tried to save the family but it was too late, all he could do is watch as the family burned and the only one he saved was the child.
"I told Anton that in order to protect him and the other children they had to clip his wings, but that was a lie, they didn't clip his wings, you burned them off, he could never fly if he wanted to from that point, so I lied I told him that lie and I … I did what I had to so the boy would live." Jarvis explained as he stopped at the door.
"Why are you telling me this?" Adam asked. Jarvis just looked at him.
"Because the boy saw hope for you, he doesn't know that it was me who took away what made him a Faunus, why the others looked down on him, and I feel like my payment for that action is coming soon so whatever happens I want the boy to know the truth, of what I did and why." Jarvis mentioned as he opened the door.
The room he opened to was rather small but suitable. Bookshelves occupied the walls safe for the one to their left where a window showed a much bigger room with a tesla coil almost as big as Beacon itself. Jarvis walked to the window and pointed to the floor of that room where Adam saw a small bit of machinery unfamiliar to him with a white light in the middle of it.
"That is a Vex gate, there are quite a few of them scattered around Remnant, Jade and I brought this one here to see if we could use, but what for we didn't know, we got it working but immediately closed it when we realized we had no idea what we were doing. It wasn't until three years ago when I realized what they for and how they could be used. Anton figured that one out with his future daughter's help." Jarvis said.
"So what are they used for?" Adam asked as Jarvis walked over to one of the bookcases.
"Time and Dimensional travel." Jarvis said as he pulled one of the books and revealed a button.
He pressed the button to reveal an elevator. Once inside Jarvis mentioned that it was deactivated but something wasn't right when they got to the bottom.
"Look there you see that white light at the center of the gate?" Jarvis asked as he pointed to the gate when they left the elevator.
"Yeah, what about it?" Adam asked.
"That means it's active, someone has been down here and I think we know who." Jarvis mentioned as they stopped in front of the gate.
"How very perceptive of you Jarvis." A voice said behind them, a voice they both recognized all to well.
"Grey, well why don't you join the party mate, share a cup of tea and have some laughs." Jarvis said as he pulled out his duel scythes.
"Well even in your old age Jarvis you can still crack a joke." Grey said as he walked out of the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" Adam demanded as he got in his battle stance.
"Oh how cute the once proud Adam Taurus is still feisty as ever." A female voice called out from behind Grey as a woman in white robes revealed herself to them.
"Sienna!" Adam growled from under his breath.
"To answer your question we're here waiting on the boy, it's been a while and Salem has been dying to see his progress." Sienna explained.
"Once he comes back through that portal we'll take him to his new home." Grey said.
"And who says that we're going to let you?" Jarvis asked in a growl that would send fear into a man.
"And who says you have a choice in the matter." Another female voice said from the shadows, a voice that sent shivers and fear into Jarvis as he turned around to her himself. Salem in the flesh.
"Your time has come Jarvis, your payment is due." Salem said as she moved around him caressing his check. Adam stood there in shock.
"Jarvis, what did you do?" Adam demanded. Shock and surprise hidden behind his mask.
"Oh go on Jarvis tell him, tell him what you stole from me that you used to save the boy who you cared for so much." Salem demanded as she moved away from them.
"I … did … I did what I needed to do in order to save the boy, I sold my soul to the devil." Jarvis said with fear in his eyes and hope draining.
Salem smiled as fear ran through them, fear and hatred now filled the room as they stood there. Salem couldn't help but enjoy this moment as the fear filled her with power and the hatred gave her strength.
"Kill them." Salem ordered as she back away towards the gate.
Grey and Sienna smiled as they ran to their petrified opponents and struck them down to the ground. Jarvis and Adam were knocked out of their state of fear as they realized how much trouble they were in. Quickly they got up and fought back. Jarvis took on Grey who revealed a set of claws where his hands used to be. Grey charged first swiping his claws left and right as Jarvis was left to defend himself as best as he could. Left and right Jarvis would block using his scythes, it wasn't until Grey tried to kick him when Jarvis found an opening. Jarvis grabbed Grey's leg and spun around using the momentum to throw Grey against the Tesla coil where the shock threw him against the wall. Adam fired his sword at Sienna who just spun midair towards Adam and grabbed his sword, forcing him to use his sheath as a weapon to block the strike. After he swatted her strike away he aimed his sheath at her and fired it like a shotgun using the momentum to swing around. Sienna blocked his shot but when he swung around Adam used his sheath like a sword to strike her waist sending her across the room onto Grey.
"Enough!" Salem called out as she reached out her hands to Jarvis and Adam who seemingly froze in place. "If you want a job done right then do it yourself."
"I can't move." Adam said.
"Of course not boy, she's using Black bloody Magic, there's no escaping from that." Jarvis said as Salem moved to them.
"The time has come Jarvis, accept your fate and I might make it easier on you." Salem demanded.
"I … I can't, The boy will not be your slave and I will make damn sure about tha-" Salem stopped Jarvis by stabbing him in the stomach.
"Enough with the petty speeches, your souls is mine, you may be immortal but you can still be killed." Salem stated as she pulled out her dagger.
"You … Bitch!" Jarvis coughed as Salem gripped his jaw.
"Oh shh, this is the end for you Jarvis accept it and become a part of me." Salem said as she pulled him closer and held his lips to hers, draining all the life out of him.
Small bits of light began to come out of Jarvis as she held in there in front of her. The bit of lights soon turned black and flowed into Salem giving her even more power.
"Jarvis!" Adam called out as Jarvis struggled to get away from her.
Soon the struggling stopped and Jarvis just stood there dangling like a rag doll as his eyes slowly started to close. It was then the portal began to spark lightning from the center as a knife came flying out of it towards Salem and Jarvis striking Salem in the shoulder interrupting her ritual with Jarvis as he fell to the ground. Salem turned to the portal in anger as three more knives came flying through. Salem just ducked away to avoid them as she looked at the portal in annoyance.
"I'm telling you man, once we get home we got a lot of explaining to do." A voice said as Wrekts came through the portal and turned to the scene in shock.
"Well it can't all be that bad, it's only been three years, I doubt that much has changed." Anton said as he came through the portal and saw the scene.
The scene in front of them sent them in shock as they saw Salem above an almost dead body of Jarvis and Adam being flung against the wall. Salem began to walk up to them giving Wrekts and Anton the signal to get into their battle stances. Wrekts pulled out his Hackshot while Anton pulled out the small sword Kirito gave him. The minute Salem saw Anton's sword she screamed and vaporized into shadow.
"Jarvis!" Anton called out as he sheathed his sword and ran to the fallen man and held him in his arms. Wrekts ran over to them as Adam recovered.
"Anton." Jarvis said as he coughed and handed Anton a slip of paper before he closed his eyes.
"Come on help me get him out of here." Anton said as he took the paper and carried the man out of the room.
With every step they took, every moment they had, it was like the world around them was gone as they left the catacombs. Everything became darker as they ran to the nearest hospital and got him to the ER. Anton just stood there outside of the room as Wrekts and Adam gathered the crew. To Anton it was like the world just threw everything in his face. Sure he was gone for three years but not all of that was his fault, and he sure had a lot of explaining to do to make up for all of that. Hours passed as he stood there watching the docs work on his father figure. Adam was first to come back, he stood there next to Anton watching the surgery go underway.
"What was on the paper?" Adam asked.
"Nothing it was blank." Anton stated as he held the paper in front of him. Adam stared at the boy in question before he sighed.
"Look Anton this may not be the best time but Jarvis wanted you to know-" Before Adam could even finish Anton threw his fist into Adam's face but stopped just before he made contact.
"Don't … just don't, he'll make it, he's survived worse and he'll do it time and time again." Anton stated. Adam just stood there, no shock, no fear, just worry.
"And if he doesn't?" Adam asked. Anton's anger was now visable to everyone who saw him.
"He will make it, he has to." Anton said. Adam just shook his head.
"Death turns to stone which will crumble to dirt, making way for new life and new stories." Adam stated as he turned away. Anton looked at Adam in shock.
"Where did you hear that verse?" Anton demanded. Adam turned to the boy as he lowered his fist.
"It's an ancient saying for the Faunus, everyone in the White Fang is required to learn it as a way of saying we will die for our cause." Adam explained before he began to walk away
Anton just watched as Adam walked away. He turned to Jarvis inside the room and sighed. What if he doesn't make it, what will he do then? Better yet what will he do when he finds Salem? After everything he's been through and all he's done, the universe was spitting at him, like everything just hated him for being alive. He always rejected what the universe threw at him he didn't care, normally he'd smile and go about his business, but this put him on edge and made him feel an anger which he only felt once before. But he swore to never go down that path again, so now he fights, just as he always has, only now he wasn't fighting for himself. He would be fighting for everyone around him, to keep them alive and happy.
"Don't beat yourself over this." Anton heard Lilith's voice behind him as he saw her ghostly angelic form sitting on a bench behind him.
"What do you expect me to do, Passerby turned out to be my darkness and because of him this happened. I was too late to help him, and now I'm guessing I'm too late to help anyone." Anton said.
"So then what do you choose Anton, what will you choose for this world?" Lilith asked.
"If that bastard wants me to choose so badly then why would he do this to me?" Anton demanded.
"To show you, to make you see that no matter where you go, no matter what you do or choose there will always be Darkness around every corner, you cannot stop it let alone weaken it, Darkness will consume everything that is immortal and mortal." Lilith explained.
"Then why does he want me to make the choice as to what happens to this world, why me?" Anton asked.
"Because you can do something that not many can do, you can judge and determine the difference between good and evil, light and dark, right and wrong, no matter who it is or what they've done. You given second chances to Cinder, Adam, Dracula, Samuel, Judah and you've shown what it means to understand on a deeper meaning to countless others. You don't just discriminate someone for being of a certain race or for having a certain opinion, you hear them out and try to understand them even after everything you've been through. So please, don't lose that because someone you cared about was taken from you." Lilith explained as she stood up and walked to him.
Anton just stood there and stared at her. He turned to Jarvis in worry, when he turned back Lilith was gone. He was alone, again he was alone in the world. Only this time it wasn't his choice it was taken from him. Now he has reason to fight harder than ever, to honor the memory of his friend and to decide what is best for this world and the next. He didn't want to make the choice but he knew that one day he would have to. But that day was not today.