Chapter 24
The food was good, the sun was up and shining, and Jason finally managed to peel himself off of Hercules back. Overall, the day was looking fine.
"Hey guys. I got a call to kill Jason." Then Roman came in and said his words without even a hint of hesitation. Just saying it automatically.
Jason's spoon dropped. Shocked that this man just went up and said it like it was nothing. Oh why he'll show him. He might be the weakest Saber in existence, however he was still stronger than this clown. Not to mention he had his pals to help him out. He then turned to see his fellow allies' reactions.
"I love pancakes. What about you Abigail?" Medea (Lily) chewed on her food. Putting extra honey on the next pile with Atalanta watching to make certain she didn't overdo it.
"Their nice Medea (Lily). But I like ice cream more like my sister Neo." Neo gave a thumbs up to her 'little sister'.
"Excuse me, but what is this about Neo being your sister?" Atalanta asked Abigail. "Last I recalled, she wasn't related to you by blood."
"Oh, but I'm adopted." Abigail said as if it were obvious, not that it actually helped. I mean, it wasn't as if Roman actually signed papers or anything of the like. Heck, Neo wasn't even his daughter. Yet the two crooks rolled with it anyway. Not the weirdest thing to happen to them.
"▂▄▄▅!" Hercules just asked for more pancakes which Hundred Persona gave to him.
"Wha-" Jason gaped at the scene before him. Then stood up and slammed his hands onto the table grabbing everyone's attention. "Um, hello!" He then pointed at Roman who was busy puffing a cigar much to Abigail's displeasure who tried removing it, only for Roman to dodge. "This guy just said he'll kill me!"
"And?" Cursed Arm spoke coldly, showing no signs of sympathy.
"And? And!?" Jason yelled. "Aren't you worried that he'll try and kill me?"
"No." Everyone went as if it were the natural answer.
"Ph!" Roman turned with a smile at the response given. Seems this guy was really hated. As for Jason, he just felt angry. He then faced Roman and took out his sword.
"Well I'm not going down without a fight!" He then heard Medea (Lily) giggle. He turned and saw her pointing at his weapon, which he then looked at. A weapon that was missing most of the metal that made up the sharp end, being what many would call useless. It seems unlike back in Chaldea where if a weapon broke it miraculously fixed itself when called upon again, here the weapon stays broken. He bet nobody else was having this problem.
"You broke your weapon, threw it, had a piece stolen, all because you just expected it to be fixed with a wave of a hand. Like something you'd see in a bad comic?" Winter stared coldly at Sigurd now questioning his intelligence. Looking at the broken pieces of his blade which he brought in.
"...Yes." Sigurd said it with a straight face with no stuttering. But deep down a part of him felt slightly ashamed. Didn't help the Ace Ops members were there giggling at what looked-and probably is-a sign of questionable choices. His 'daughters' also having 'helped' by making the story sound even worse than it actually was.
The stare he got from Ironwood for bringing kids in a Grimm infested area also made people question his judgement.
"...I'll get you a new blade." And maybe talk to Ironwood on whether this man really is a good ally.
"Oh, don't worry about my order." Roman said while still giggling. "I'm not actually going to kill you. That was just my order, which I'll ignore."
"From this woman you told us about, correct?" Cursed Arm asked with Roman giving a nod, throwing his cigar in the nearest garbage can.
"Yep."
'A real bitch.' Neo signed.
"And now she wants me to do another job involving Dust. Man she wants a lot of this crap. I mean, I'm all in for stealing Dust, but not this much." Dust! Dust! Dust! Dust! Honestly it was becoming a massive pain getting the same thing over and over again. Even worse, he couldn't go to steal those big fancy new toys Atlas made.
Sure it would have sucked being stuck with Adam and his mutts, but better than being stuck here doing nothing but robbing from stores everyday. So while he had to coordinate the plan and robbery, only Adam and the White Fang got to take part in the action. How lame.
'Dust huh.' Jason alongside Atalanta got interested immediately. Due to unforeseen problems (Jason), they were running low again. Even worse with both Jason and Medea (Lily) were running low on fumes since their small battle with the headmaster of Beacon. No way Atalanta wanted Medea (Lily) to vanish into nothingness.
"You know," Jason went as he sat down and cut into the pankake. "Maybe me and my crew can help you."
"You just want to steal the Dust I'm trying to get." Roman was no fool, and instantly knew what this guy wanted.
"Glad you caught onto the point." Jason said deciding there was no point in fooling around and just got straight to the point. "Yeah, due to certain reasons me and my gang need Dust crystals. The same goes for those fellas." He then tilted his head towards the Hassans and Abigail.
"There any reason why I should allow you to?" Roman eyed Hercules wearily. While he didn't feel intimidated by that blonde fool, the green haired girl and that monster of a man were his only real concerns. As a master criminal, he made certain to keep a good ear on the latest news, and he knew that while this Jason guy is an utter failure as a thief with a F- in terms of villainy, his allies, they were no joke. And no way he wanted them to be turned on him. He still wanted to live.
"Eh, think of it as backup." Jason drank his juice. "I mean, you complain about those White Fang guys, and my team is way better. We help you and we get some Dust."
"I agree with that." Cursed Arm then spoke up. "While their leader is an utter baboon, the other three are actually useful compared to him."
"That's right." Serenity nodded. "All three of them are master fighters."
"Only a few teams back in Chaldea could actually challenge them." Hundred Persona gave her vote.
"..." Meanwhile, Jason had to hold back his fury in attacking those Assassin Class Servants. Giant jerks. He is totally useful in a fight. Still, with their confidence in the Argonauts, it seemed Roman was considering it.
The thief then gave a look at Hercules and Atalanta. His info said the latter was so good that they were lucky to even catch sight of her from robbing whoever she targeted. The news also gave special attention to Hercules as the indestructible man. Considering how this guy breaks through walls like their made of paper, that reference is worthy of him.
'And I could use the backup in case the cops come early.' I mean, because of that clown officers were practically everywhere. So having some extra, extra muscle alongside his fellow Hassan as they call themselves just might be useful. Yeah, this could work. All it would cost him is a little Dust, which is nothing compared to the warehouse where he stored a hell lot of it.
Yeah, this could work.
"Alright, fine." Roman finally relented. "I guess you guys can join."
"Good." Jason said with a smug. "Hercules can help with the pulling, and Atalanta can be on watch-out." Atalanata huffed at being ordered but would relent either way.
"Nice." Roman agreed with Jason's group positioning. "And I'll have Hundred Persona with me. That skill she has with the multiple bodies can be useful. As for you two," He then looked at Cursed Arm and Serenity. "Just stay at the dropout point where we'll go to drop off the Dust."
"Very well."
"Yes sir."
The two Hassan nodded.
"Hey, what about me?" Medea (Lily) then asked with a pout.
"That's right father. Surely you won't leave us behind?" Abigail said also having the same thought as the Caster.
"Oh heck no." Roman said. "I ain't having two kids with us in a professional robbery."
"More or less." Jason uttered.
"It may be too dangerous for you two. Children should stay out of harm's way." Atalanta agreed. Not wanting these two to get hurt.
Neo also made a sign language showing she was in agreement.
"Mm! No fair." Medea (Lily) muttered negatively that she would be missing out on some action again. Abigail feeling much the same way. Roman then looked at Neo who then made some gestures that stated she would watch over them late on at the night. Roman would have liked Neo to come along, but then that would leave these two brats unsupervised. Last thing he needed was him coming back home only to see his little hideout having glitter, stick pancakes, and broken furniture all over again with the kids (and Neo) having stomach aches from eating too much ice cream.
He punished them for that.
"Good." Jason was glad those kids weren't coming. And now they had an opportunity to get some Dust to stabilize them. Though he was curious about one thing. "Is the Dust you're gathering being used to fuel the White Fang?"
"..." Roman stared at Jason for a bit, then just grabbed a drink and sipped at it. "Have to admit, despite all your screw-ups, you're a lot sharper than I thought." Jason just gave a smug which made Roman want to punch him. He held back. "Still, what made you figure it out?"
"You're not the only one who watches the news." Jason says to him. "And it's been stated that the White Fang have lots of fancy weapons. Makes you wonder where they get the supplies and tools for it."
"Well whoever it is, must be a smart, intelligent, and handsome man." Roman played along. "Though such a waste of tools and supplies only to be given by the lower animals." I mean, aside from Perry and a few others, most of those mutts ended up shooting stuff, breaking them, and leaving the supplies he got them ruined. Thus the need for more supplies. A vicious cycle while making him ponder the efficiency of the White Fang branch in Vale.
"Agreed." Jason said. "Which is why we should show them how to get the real work done." With a final drink, a deal was made. One that likely wouldn't end well for anybody that got in their way.
Just one week before the robbery at the docks.
"You want me to do what?" It had been a strange night for Sun. First he had to watch over Sanzang from getting eaten by some Grimm, watch his team practice against her and get beaten, and then see Neptune try flirting with her with it failing. Then, once the moon came some girl that looked like Ishtar only wearing red and a bit more modest came floating to him and Sanzang and told him one thing.
"Go to Vale." Naturally, he needed more than just that explanation to go by.
"Very well Sun." The girl calling herself Ere-something said, the monkey faunus unable to recall her long name. So he'll call her Ishatr's sister. "I have a mission that I believe only a great warrior like yourself can accomplish." She told him. "Your old friend Caster told me of your epic tales, against monsters, mad men, rivals, warriors of great power, and other foes you faced during your journey in the west."
"...Uh...cool." While the two beautiful girls smiled at his 'accomplishments', Sun wasn't sure if he had the heart to tell them he had no recollection of this journey. Heck, he was really starting to wonder if they got the wrong guy.
"Which is why," Ishtar's sister continued. "I wish for you to go to Vale and help a girl which is currently being tormented by the shackles of life. Someone is forcing her to live, and it is causing her pain."
"You mean like...slavery?" Sun asked unsure of what's going on still. Though this girl's description sounded a lot like the SDC policies.
"No." She simply told him. "Moving on, I need you to help her be freed."
"Okay, not that I don't mind helping. But, uh, why me?"
"Because Caster told me of all adventures and brave actions you've had since you joined up with her." Stopping her from eating poisoned food and tripping is an adventure? Oh boy. All this expectation was putting some stress on his shoulders. Can he refuse?
"Don't worry Ereshkigal!" Sanzang then grabbed Sun and put him by her side giving a side hug. Boy would Neptune be jealous of this. "Apprentice and I will totally help! And succeed!" So much for refusing. But then again, getting a request from a cute girl with good thighs and a one piece bottom; no way he would have refused in the first place.
"Excellent." Ishta's sister warmly said to him with a smile. Ah, was he blushing!? Such cuteness! While Sun fretted, Ereshkigal was happy someone would help her with this lost soul being kept alive. Maybe she could even get him to help with the two immortals that were at war with each other in this world.
'Really sis, are you an idiot?' Uh, Ishtar. 'Trying to get this poor guy to do more of your dirty work. My, how evil.'
'Shut it!' Ereshkigal mentally shouted back at her sister. 'It was just a thought!' While a part of her did think of having Sun do so, maybe it wouldn't be wise as he's still a young man. Best to let him get stronger, which reminds her. "For accepting my help I'll give you two gifts." She then grabbed Sun's hand where the boy blushed. Though Sun then felt something inside him grow.
"What the-This is!?" The aura around him grew-a lot! Shining a lot brighter to boot.
"I have given you an increase in your aura (NP Gain) which has also bolstered your natural durability (DEF). This is my gift to you for helping me out." Best part of all, she wouldn't lose her memories like she almost did once with Fujimaru. Ah, shame he wasn't here. She wouldn't have minded putting him in a cage for eternal safety back in the Underworld
'Your yandererness is leaking.' Ishtar teased which she ignored.
"Alright apprentice!" Sanzang happily said. "Let's go on another adventure!"
"Sure!" Vale, here they come.
Small chapter, but with a glimpse of this story getting back on canon tracks again. This one is going to focus on the ending of Volume 1, then we start Volume 2. Who knew so much adventure can happen even when Servants don't join Beacon. Still, something will change involving Beacon, and you'll see by the end of Volume 1. Here's a small hint below.
"Huh, this isn't good." A few tapping on the computer made her realize that something was wrong indeed. The data wasn't lying. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but apparently what happened really was possible. Even worse, she didn't recognize this destination. Interesting.
With a smile she continued tapping on the computer to straighten the information out. Later on, they can send others to this place when she gets the data results cleared out. Time to see what this location was.
What's the worse that can happen?
