The Pledge

For the sake of this world… for what remains, for what is left… I have no choice… We have no time, no way out… except for this one. I… bid all of you farewell… perhaps for just now, perhaps forever… Holy Grails, grant my wish… Mahapralaya!

Andersen

What the hell had he done last night… Andersen groaned, putting a hand on his head and rubbed his forehead. The light hurt, who the hell had left the lights on… keeping his eyes closed, the Caster just muttered something. "Hag what have you-" he shuffled about, he couldn't feel his leg… probably just asleep, he climbed out of bed… and instantly fell on the floor with a thump.

Andersen groaned in pain after hitting the floor, face first with the tile, and the door suddenly slammed open. Oh shit he was in a hospital… OH SHIT NIGHTINGALE!

"Andersen!" the nurse of doom screamed, and he shot his head up, wide awake.

"I'm fine dammit! Don't try and cut off my-" he started shouting at her, even as she was already at his side and… gently picking him up rather than trying to saw off his leg or something… ok that was weird… then she turned him over, carrying him in her arms, allowing him to look down… and his left leg was gone… ohhhh…

"Please tell me you didn't cut my leg off," he complained as the nurse set him on the bed, still trying to remember whatever the hell he'd done last night that had necessitated the loss of one of his own legs, and looking up at Nightingale she looked him in the eyes.

"Do you not recall the battle?" she asked calmly as he rubbed his face trying to do exactly that.

"Give me a moment," he mumbled, still rather tired, and not wanting to argue with the surprisingly sedate Nurse…

"Hey Gale! We got a visitor!" Robin shouted from somewhere, Hans not raising his head as Nightingale looked towards wherever Robin was… damn why was he so tired… Battle, battle, what battle? Had he been-

Then it finally hit him, and he very, very nearly started hyperventilating, and probably would have if Nightingale hadn't grabbed his shoulders as Andersen started hugging himself. He did not want to remember that, he did not want to process that.

"Calm down, breathe slowly Andersen," Nightingale offered gently, even as the world around him just went blank-

The control room was a goddamn mess at this point. Bodies were literally everywhere. Dissipating Servants, dead staff members. Goredolf was standing in the center of the room, fist impaled through the torso of another damn Ushiwakamaru clone… wait no that was the actual one, she was dissipating this time, rather than bursting into mud.

Gunfire, he looked to his right, EMIYA was right next to him, his left arm completely torn off and firing his calico at the doorway, nailing another Phantasy Seed in the core, causing it to sputter before exploding in said doorway. Sanson was trying to treat Salieri, who'd been fighting for a long, long time so far, ever since Mozart & Marie had been blown away, the former by a burst of machine gun fire, the latter by EMIYA Alter's Noble Phantasm, which had ended up triggering the Avenger into a rage so potent he'd provided more than enough cover for their retreat to the control room.

"I GOT MORE ON MY ASS!" Cu shouted as he rushed through the doorway, firing a revolver at someone before ducking behind the doorway as a laser fired through it, Goredolf yelping as he ducked out of the laser's way, and D'Eon pushed Nezha out of the way of the attack, jumping back at the same time herself to avoid it as it slammed into a wall, leaving a very large dent and a black burn mark.

"Where's the Master!?" Hans shouted as the next wave of allies ran into the control room, Kiara, Hundred Face, Kinoki and Napoleon, the french Archer quickly taking up a firing position at the doorway as Cu shouted back to him.

"Gale has him! Wait shit where is she!?" Cu ran back out, and put Gae Bolg into a javelin throw, chucking his spear down the hallway before dashing after it.

"Sanson…" Salieri croaked out, his mask had been destroyed, and half his face was burned, the Assassin just trying to keep the Avenger down for a few more seconds… "I can hear her… I can hear him…"

"We just need to keep fighting, stay with us Antonio," Sanson comforted him as Kintoki ran out the door after Cu, the berserker shouting for either Shuten or Nightingale.

"Andersen," Kiara started, before he looked at her before shaking his head. As dire as the situation was, he wasn't about to give her that sort of power…

"Coming through!" someone shouted, Hektor burst though the doorway, Mandricardio hot on his heels just as a wave of fire engulfed the hallway. The Lancer and Rider both panting as Hans looked towards him, and everyone else in the room.

"Märchen Meines Lebens!" he shouted, the room being engulfed with light as his quick activation of his Noble Phantasm went off, Antonio sighing in relief as both Hektor and Mandricardio stood up just a little bit taller, Goredolf putting up his fists again, still sweating as Cu and Nightingale burst through the doorway, Gudao on Nightingale's back. Kintoki ran back in as well, carrying a heavily bleeding Shuten. "Medic! Raikou, Rama and Drake are down and out!" The Berserker shouted, Sanson rushing towards him as Blackbeard burst in from behind the control room, bandages still covering his gaping chest wound.

"WHAT!?" The pervert pirate shouted, a fire in his eyes as a sudden explosion rocked the compound again, Hundred Face calling in her remaining thirty Personas and taking up positions around the room, just as the floodgates opened again.

Hans threw out a spark of red, cutting the heels of the first Servant through the door, who was promptly lit up by Napoleon, sending the rapidly dissipating corpse of what appeared to have been a Vlad the third splattered against the wall, but next through the doorway was one of the Dioscuri Twins, rushing for Napoleon, only for Cu to leap at them, kicking Castor into a nearby wall as Kintoki joined the Lancer in beating on the Avenger half of the Dioscuri dou, Pollux leaping through the door as well, flanked by a pair of Phantasy seeds, Hektor engaging her alongside Mandricardio… and then all hell broke lose.

A monstrous roar, and the entire wall was gone, as Gorgon ripped it off, revealing over a dozen other Servants all ready to open fire, Napoleon just screamed his Noble Phantasm, blasting Gorgon's head off as quickly as she appeared in view, Antonio dragged himself up as Hundred Face's clones leaped down, Blackbeard rushing into the chaotic melee as it began.

An Alter of Cu rushed for Nightingale, the turn already pulling up her gun, despite the fact many of them knew it would be futile… but Goredolf slugged the Alter in the face, slamming the Berserker into the ground, allowing Nightingale the moment to jump away, EMIYA pulling out his knife and vanishing, targeting down an enemy Medea, and appearing for just a moment with the contender… but that moment was long enough for him to get stabbed through the chest by an enemy Izou, but not before putting a cap in Medea.

Nezha rushed forward, trying to join Goredolf, only for another Noble Phantasm to smash her into a wall, Sanson and Shuten getting caught in the blast, and both were already gone when the attack dissipated, revealing the Saber Alter who'd fired it, Nezha pulling herself, heavily injured, out of the way. Kintoki went red, smashing Castor into paste before throwing himself as the Altered Saber, but more and more enemies were pulling themselves into the fight.

Kiara blasted several, and just looked to him pleadingly… Nezha unleashed her Noble Phantasm, her spear breaking… no, her body breaking as she rammed herself into the enemy, self-destructing and taking about seven Servants with her, Kintoki splattering Saber Alter and an enemy Tristain into the opposite wall as bullets started riddling him, Salieri joining him just in time for both to collectively tank a barrage of fricken missiles from down the hallway. Their numbers were dwindling as the enemies were swelling. Goredolf was still locked into melee with Cu Alter, the berserker and the current Director still swinging at each other, only for the Berserker to activate his Noble Phantasm, covering himself in armor as Goredolf braced himself.

Hans watched as the two met, Goredolf being stabbed through the chest… as the man punched Cu Alter's armored head clean off his shoulders with a heavily enhanced punch, the rather fat man wheezing as he collapsed finally from the gaping chest wound. "Keep… fighting…" he ordered… and he was gone before he hit the ground.

"Hans!" Kiara ordered, pleaded, and he closed his eyes… no choice then. He stood up straight.

"Allow me to pen the story of-" he started, his book appearing… just before a bullet was fired. Everything went slow as Kiara gasped in horror, the bullet to his chest knocking the Caster back as the assailant rushed forward… Hijikata…

"SHIN!" he slashed, taking his leg clean off, blood splattering everywhere as he tried to swing again. "SEN!" Kiara was the next to move, intercepting the swing with a summoned Demon Pillar, that getting slashed in his place as the raging Berserker spun out his rifle… pointed at Kiara. Hans could only just reach out to her… and watch as the berserker screamed "GUMIDA!" The laser fired point blank, Kiara dissipating from her sudden lack of a head, and Napoleon having to abandon his cannon or suffer being part of the backlash of the unleashed Noble Phantasm, and with his target dead, the Berseker rounded on Hans, only to receive a grenade to the face from Nightingale, who'd appeared rushed forward and smashed a stick bomb right into him.

Hijikata stood damn near unaffected, his eyes still glowing red as everything was starting to go dark… but before it did, there was a shout from someone, Mandricardio was wielding Durandal now… had Hektor died? The Rider was screaming, and Hijikata turned to him, only for his head to be taken clean off by the golden blade, wreathed in blue light… Just as the Rider was about to turn, a Saber, Gao Changgong, appeared, slashing clean through the Rider's exposed chest… only to receive Gae Bolg through his heart in return, Cu picking up Durandal as Mandricario fell to his knees… everything going black at that point… it was all happening so fast…

"Breathe you little bastard!" Robin shouted in his face, giving Andersen a good smack, the Caster, finally, stopping with trying to choke himself on air and just settling on hugging himself.

"Did… Did we win?" he asked oh so cautiously… for a few brief moments there was silence except for the ticking of a clock… silence that told him everything he needed to know. "W-who's left?" he asked… this was his fault, if he had just acquiesced to that damn woman earlier, she could have… they'd beaten her before, she was much less a threat, she could have…

"Myself, you, Avicebron, Robin… and Gudao," Nightingale said quietly, bending down on one knee to be face to face with Hans. "Arjuna… he…" Nightingale started, and someone else decided to speak, someone he didn't know.

"He remade the world… You're the last one to awaken Andersen," he looked towards the offending speaker, a man in black and green with silverish-white hair. "Greetings… I am Ozpin," the man provided, walking forward.

"Wait is Gudao?" Andersen started, hope swelling in as Nightingale picked him up, holding the little Caster in a bridal carry… he was too damn tired to argue or protest for once as she carried him over to a window, revealing Gudao laying in a bed under a blanket, an IV drip going into his remaining arm, a medical eyepatch over his lost eye. Slowly, the young Master raised his head… barely, and weakly, he raised his hand, a very, very soft smile on his face as he waved towards hands… Hans for his part just raised his hand, resting it on the glass, trying to reach out towards his Master.

"He woke up a few hours ago… you've both been out for about three days," Robin supplied, and, finally, the final person in the room spoke up.

"It is good that we are all awake," Avicebron said quietly… and Robin just stamped his foot.

"Seriously!? You've been up for a day and that's the first thing you say!?" The Archer rounded on Avicebron, who didn't seem inclined to defend himself as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ozpin called, allowing whoever it was to enter the medical room, a woman in white with white hair, dragging a part of crates behind her on a trolley.

"Ozpin," the woman said, looking around at everyone in the room, "I've brought the objects requested," she added.

"Ah, good, thank you Winter," Ozpin supplied, giving name to the woman as Hans' eyes drifted towards where Avicebron was… who was still laying on a bed, surrounded by small cracks in the floor, and there was a fly swatter on the desk next to him that seemed to be slightly cracked… he had a few guesses that someone had tried making Golems, and had been reprimanded for it.

"Both the prosthetics and the objects are here, yes?" Nightingale asked, and the woman nodded, Nightingale walking over to the bed and setting Hans down before pulling the crates off the trolley, popping one open and nodding, before pushing it towards Robin, who stopped it with his leg as she opened the second one, and pulled out what looked like a leg. "Hans,"

"Oh this is going to hurt isn't it," Hans complained, and Winter decided to speak up.

"It shouldn't, unlike more extensive prosthesis, these do not require any implants to function," she said, clearly not caring that, despite looking like a child, his voice was very, very deep.

"Hans, lift," Nightingale ordered, and he just raised whatever remained of his leg, the Berserker walking over and pushing the leg of his pants up, revealing the bandaged stump. Slowly she unwrapped it, revealing unblemished flesh, likely her own rapid work, and she set to work on slowly putting the leg on.

"Could James not come?" Ozpin asked Winter, and the woman shook her head, and Ozpin just nodded. "A shame, council on his head?"

"Just about," Winter admitted as there was a quick jolt in Han's leg, he looked down as Nightingale pulled away, and she looked at him. He tried kicking it, but it didn't go as far up as he expected… he would have to compensate.

"Avicebron, you're next," Nightingale said, before looking at Robin. "Pick him up," she ordered, and Robin just sighed.

"Gale I'm down an arm myself," he complained before Winter walked up to the bed, and lifted up Avicebron by his shoulders, Nightingale grabbing three prosthetics out of the box and moving over to Avicebron, handing the arm to him, and allowing the Caster to try putting oh his own arm as she went to work on his legs. Avicebron already being mostly metal anyway, attaching his own prosthetics went a bit faster than his own, coupled with Avicebron being used to his own maintenance, and within about two minutes he was up and moving on his own.

"Much appreciated," the Caster said, taking a moment to bow to Winter and Nightingale, who just nodded as Robin grabbed an arm out of the box himself, before huffing.

"Not much my style," he muttered, before putting the arm back, "I'll use it if I actually need it," he muttered… and then Nightingale gave him a glare and the Archer raised his remaining hand in surrender, Nightingale grabbing the arm and forcing the Archer onto a bed to attach it to his arm stump.

Winter, for her part, was just looking at everyone as Andersen climbed off the bed, rather than hopped off, since he was uncertain of how his new limb would support his meger weight and how shot his balance probably was. "...If no one minds me asking, what is this all about?"

"James didn't tell you?" Ozpin asked, and Winter just shook her head in the negative. Ozpin hummed, before looking towards Robin and Nightingale, who the former being fussed over by the later as Andersen walked over to the second crate and opened it, and then stared at the contents, before pulling out the journal on top.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered, flipping through a few pages before coming to a stop on just a random mission. The Prisma Codes Incident… these were written by Romani… at least this journal was, the others likely weren't. Where the hell had they found these. Closing the journal he looked in the box at the nine Saint Quartz and the model Earth inside… nothing too special, just interesting.

"What does it say?" Winter asked, looking towards Hans rather expectantly, and perhaps slightly confused, he huffed, could she not read it?

"It's just a mission report, someone… decorated like yourself should be able to read it, or has language completely changed since the last time I was awake," Hans shot at her, and Ozpin just coughed… and Hans quickly realized that, right… Arjuna had literally remade the world… oh, so Language probably had changed quite a bit. Still, being unable to read basic Japanese, that was funny… So wait, what Language were they even speaking?

He racked his own brain for a bit, being a Servant mean he quite literally knew almost any given language what wasn't extremely esoteric, like talking to animals, but going over what he knew… oh, so that's what it was, they were speaking, English, and only English… of course now the reports being written by Romani and Gudao had bitten them in the ass, since the pair were native Japanese speakers… technically in Romani's case. At least Romani had the sense to put the dates in imperial format.

"Nevermind, I'm going to make the wild assumption that you don't exactly speak many languages?" Hans asked, and Winter just shook her head, and Ozpin coughed again.

"My apologies, but unless you wish to share with her,"

"Just share Oz, it ain't gonna kill us- Hey quit it!" Robin said, and then pulled his arm away as Nightingale was trying to get him to test it, evidently it was working.

"Hmph, how many languages are there?" Hans asked, looking through the book again, reminiscing over the missions within…

"Just one, and miss Winter… tell Ironwood when you get back that you have clearance, I assume that's what he told you?" Ozpin asked, and Winter spoke up.

"Whatever's going on has just been declassified then?" she asked, and Ozpin nodded.

"Your ears only, alright?" he added, and she nodded as Nightingale grabbed the crate with the finally pair of prosthetics, and went into Gudao's room as Hans threw down the journal and ran in after her.

"Master…" Nightingale muttered softly as she gently began to remove Gudao's IV, Hans looking up as outside the Window, Winter, Ozpin, Robin and Avicebron were talking to each other.

"I'm awake Gale… thank you, for taking care of me," he said, that sad, sad smile on his face… he knew they had lost… or had it already been explain to him?

"You're welcome… can you move?" she asked softly as Hans came up to the side of the bed, slowly raising his hand to Gudao's own, he saw the small wooden doll sitting on the desk beside the bed, the only thing in the room that seems slightly out of place. But Gudao grasped his hand, tightly, with a firm grip.

"Barely, but I can," he affirmed, Nightingale slowly grabbing the back of his head, and raising him into a sitting position and removing the blanket, revealing his own lost leg. He'd lost the opposite leg Hans had…

The slow, slow process of attaching the two prosthetics provided for him gave the three ample time to talk, to reminiscence, and to catch Hans up to speed on things. The world of Remnant, Arjuna's prophecy… the strange fact that there was literally anything of Chaldea to be found at all, even if so far it had just been a random crate filled with their old mission reports and a couple of Quartz. And as much as they want to, it was agreed that actually attempting to use the very limited supply of Quartz should be saved. Gudao didn't want to risk summoning useless Craft Essences over getting back Servants, so catalysts alongside Quartz it would be.

But when they finally got Gudao up and moving, he was slightly unsteady. Nightingale had him wrap his arm around her shoulder to help him walk, and Hans opened the door to allow him out. When they did, Winter actually gave a small salute to Gudao for some reason, and Ozpin decided to speak.

"Well it's nice to finally speak to you, Gudao Fujimaru," Ozpin said.

"Um… you too mister… you're Ozpin right?" he asked, and Ozpin nodded.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask what you might be planning on doing?" he asked, before Nightingale spoke up.

"What is going to happen is he is going to get some more rest. He is still quite weak," Nightingale ordered, but Gudao chuckled.

"Aside from Doctor's orders… I'm not sure… I mean, what is Remnant even like… and uh," he rubbed the back of his head. "It's not like any of us have an ID or something, hehe."

"Hmm… that second part could likely be fixed, but not without questions from some people who aren't aware of the current circumstances…" Ozpin added, and Winter decided to speak up.

"Having heard a bit about your record, I must say it's rather… awe inspiring just the bit I've heard, perhaps that should be a place to start?" she offered, and Gudao shrugged.

"Dunno…" he muttered… and then Robin spoke up, looking at Ozpin…

"This is a school right, and what you say goes yeah?" Robin asked, and Ozpin raised an eyebrow before nodding. "Well… how about while we're getting this ID thing in order, we stick around here, teach or something, better than sitting on our asses. It's not like we aren't qualified," Robin suggested, and Avicbron huffed.

"I doubt that anyone would be capable of learning from me, unless you wanted to teach them mathematics," he complained, and Ozpin just chuckled.

"This might be a combat school, but I'd much prefer if my students weren't completely ignorant of other subjects," he said with a chuckle as Gudao thought about it… before looking at everyone.

"I have seen the injuries that can happen, I would prefer to continue to provide aid to others," she responded, and then Hans spoke.

"Got a library without a librarian?" he asked Ozpin, and the Headmaster just nodded, and Hans huffed. "Good enough for me."

"...Well I suppose I could put all those teachings that Waver and Chiron tried to shove in my head to good use with other people…" Gudao muttered before looking towards Ozpin. "Will this even be allowed?"

"You'd be surprised what I can allow here at Beacon. The Council generally doesn't look to closely at who's on staff, they wouldn't object to the hiring of a new nurse, Librarian, mathematics, survival-" he looked at Robin, just inferring what the archer meant by 'teaching', and given the nod in return he'd gotten it right, "and combat strategy teachers, and given your apparent… aptitude towards making reports," he looked at the crate and the journals within, which were admittedly rather thick. "I believe five days should be enough time to come up with a basic curriculum?"

"Give me six," Robin complained, and Gudao just chuckled.

"Paperwork isn't exactly my strong suit, but I could try," he said, and Hans just huffed. He was very prompt with his work even during the incidents of a lack of anyone to actually report to.

"Very well, I'll see to it that you all get a position here… welcome to Beacon then?" Ozpin offered, and Hans decided to add his own two cents.

"Where's the coffee maker?" he questioned, and just smiled a bit as Ozpin, Gudao and Robin chuckled, Winter looked confused, and Nightingale looked at him a bit disapprovingly… it wasn't great, but it was something… and well, something to work with was better than nothing… He wasn't exactly sure what the future had in store, in fact he had no damn clue… but looking forward, the future seemed just a little bit brighter.

AN: And thus, after over thirty chapter, in Pledge, we finally have the Master of Chaldea making a conscious, physical appearance, oh boy, can't believe it took this long! But hey, that's what build-up is for.

Before I go any further, I would like to ask you, my readers, if you all think I should make 'The Pledge' its own standalone story here on , or if I should just keep it as part of the Servants of Remnant anthology. Either way, I'll continue working on it, of course. But I want to hear what you all have to say, both about the chapter, and this story. See you all next time!