Chapter 53

It was cold here in Atlas. Made sense seeing that even the best of technology is incapable of stopping the cold winds that were natural here on the continent of Solitas. Still, the people of Atlas could stay warm, thanks to the power of the Hard Light Barrier and other methods. Even then though, it did nothing to stop the chill Ironwood felt, as he overlooked the 'operation' of the rogue machine Atlas had found in Mantle. Having a punk-like style with a face that looked like a mannequin with no active features and was bald, with gears being seen outside of it.

One of many that has been spotted across the world of Remnant, with many also blaming Atlas believing they were responsible for making it. If only they did, seeing as nobody knew where these things came from. Not from Atlas, that's for sure.

'And if only others believed so.' Ironwood thought as he saw some of his best scientists including Pietro, try to slowly analyze the defunctioning machine they captured. Doing scans, and attempting to remove it's pieces for further study. While it was certainly a unique machine, it was still just a machine. One that his men were slowly pulling apart and discovering interesting gears and technology in it.

That is until it then began disappearing in a golden light when they tried removing what Pietro theorized as the 'Core Drive', with many of the scientists yelling with Pietro and some of his colleagues being dissatisfied. This was the fifth time, and all that remained of the machine was just a simple gear and nothing more. That happened occasionally, and while it was interesting in guessing why it happened, nobody liked studying a simple spring.

"Hey Ironwood. How's it going." Ironwood swears that one of the reasons he's growing this beard is because of him, Astolfo. The young pretty-boy entering the room that overlooked the operation and gave a salute. Though that was more out of doing so for fun then any actual code. That, and he's wearing the Atlasion female student uniform. So much stress.

"Bad." Ironwood answers, as he sees the scientist moaning and grumbling, with even Pietro looking frustrated. "All our work in trying to figure out these things are failing. Any attempts to make more closer studies just has the machine vanish away."

With only a tiny pathetic gear left. Heck, not even Pietro could stop himself from grabbing the gear and throwing it in the garbage. They already had a few dozen of the same item. How frustrating.

"So," Astolfo looked at the general. "Then it's unsolvable?"

A door slam was then heard.

"As if!"

"Oh boy." Ironwood groaned as he and Astolfo turned to see someone walking toward them. A young woman with long, bright purple hair kept in a long braid, white skin and purple eyes. Wearing the Atlas uniform but customized with a white blouse with a purple overshirt and cap; along with a yellow scarf with a smirk on her face.

"Ah. Sion. Nice to see Atlas's own scientific prodigy here." The general comments with the girl putting a hand on her left hip while she then looks at Astolfo.

"...so we letting anybody wear the Atlasion uniform." She gave a rather sassy comment. Astolfo looking a bit offended.

"Sadly yes." With the general confirming it with the pink haired boy just pouting now. "So, Sion, any reason you are here?"

"I am in fact." The girl narrowed her eyes. "I heard you're little Ace-Ops have captured numerous of these machines for study, and yet I haven't been allowed to help out. The nerve!" For a girl who once lived in isolation because of her semblance problems, she sure did pick up fast on making people feel tense and yet calm at the same time. Guess that's a genius for you.

"Hah." Ironwood sighed. "Look, Sion, if you wish to help, then I don't mind. I admit I may have overlooked you due to being a bit busy, but sure, go for it."

"Ha!" Sion laughed with a smile. "Very well then. Then watch as I put my magic to work." Then like that, Sion left to do her work. While she was certainly a somewhat high-pride girl, it certainly helped that she backed her talk with her vast intellect. Being as intelligent as Pietro, with the man himself also admitting to it. If it weren't for the fact Ironwood was so busy, he'd be amused by the high-strung girl that once hated herself became the way she is now. No doubt thanks to those friends she made in Vale and that girl in Mistral.

Moving on," Astolfo," Ironwood called out to the Rider who leaned on the wall, ready to listen.

"Yessir!" He said.

"How are things in both Atlas and Mantle?"

"Super duper well." Astolfo told him. "While more of the Grimm and Chaldea's past foes are coming towards the cities, particularly Mantle, we've been putting a good fight against them."

"Excellent." Ironwood felt satisfied with that. A bit more glad that the rising tides of Remnants enemies weren't doing to much at the moment. Didn't mean he'd be any less vigilant though.

"Although," Astolfo then continued. "I've been hearing-"

"Eavesdropping."

Astolfo pretended he didn't hear that. "-that some of the higher-ups here are mad at you."

"Because of the embargo?" Ironwood sighed.

"That's one of them." Astolfo confirmed while checking out his nails which he did with Penny's help. "But also that they're upset we left a lot of Atlas stuff back in Vale when we left. Not wanting as they put it, 'A bunch of ruffians' messing with their stuff."

"Oh please." Ironwood rolled his eyes. "Most of it is ruined, and the few Carriers that survived the crash landing can't possibly be of any use to anybody." Only a great idiot would even consider using Atlas gear they didn't even know how to use.

"Oh yeah!" Said idiot yells in glee as he and his trusty crew grab the weapons Medea (Lily) super-enhanced with her magical runes, spells, and what-not. "Now we're talking!"

It's been about a day since Jason stupidly lost their weapons. A day since they went to get them, only to find that the people of that false charity people were gone. Thankfully, this Atlas Cruiser-or the new Argo as Jason calls it-had weapons that actually matched theirs with Mechashift options. Heck, if anything, these weapons were decent enough replacements while there's were so last season. Best to get with the times, even in another world.

Hercules had his new axe which could change into a wicked chainsaw.

Caenis had her Trident which could shoot lasers.

Atalanta had her bow which can change into a pair of swords.

The twins also had their own weapons made of some apparent super alloy metal with unique Dust functions.

As for Asclepius, he never actually had a weapon. But he did get a neat tablet with all sorts of functions.

Medea (Lily) herself also had no weapon, but along with her staff she got a second one that shot lasers.

As for Jason, he got a spanking new sword which could shoot Dust bullets. Plus, it had experimental Flame Dust that could do one thing he loved. Held in the center of the hilt of his new blade which can be swapped with other types of Dust.

"Argonauts," Jason grinned as he held his new sword. Pushed a hidden button which then coated his blade with a wonderful orange flame that actually awed his crewmates. "Looks like we got an upgrade!"

"I wouldn't call these an upgrade." Castor states as he'd rather have his old weapon back. "These things just happen to look fancy and all."

"True enough." Pollux agrees. "But you have to admit, it is a nice change of pace of using our old weapons all the time."

"I'm just more shocked Jason actually looks...okay with that sword." Atlanta says wide-eyed. As the orangey glow Jason's new sword gave off actually made him look great. Not even Caenis and the rest of the Argonauts could deny that. If anything, has the world gone mad?

It had. Which was why it was going to fix it.

Using Murphy's law, the world decided to find a way to make Jason suffer. In which case, making the small leak in the vial that held the experimental Fire Dust crack and slightly burst. In which case, causing Jason to suddenly be engulfed in orangy hot flames.

"Ahhhhhh!" Jason screamed with all his teammates then looking much more relieved. Now things felt like they were back to normal. To think they thought Jason was actually impressive for a moment there. Guess there was some truth that clothes make the man, or in this case, weapon.

"So…" Asclepius says as he watches his leader run around as he's being burned alive. Granted, his Magic Resistance will ensure he won't get burns, but Jason will definitely feel like he got them. "Should we help him?"

"After what he did to our weapons, hell no." Caenis lifted her new Trident. "This thing is pretty nice, but I miss my old one. Still," Caenis spun it around. "I suppose it'll do. Especially since Medea (Lily) enhanced it greatly.

Hercules agreed with a grunt. Normally any man-made weapons would shatter under his grip. Now, thanks to Medea (Lily)'s magic, it held under his monstrous strength.

"In that case, let us move on while our leader repucripates." Asclepius tells them while Jason then leaves the room they were using to find the showers to get rid of these damning flames. "For the time being, we now have Dust, food, and a new home. The Argo as we're calling this Atlas Carrier."

"It is better than the apartment we had." Pollux says just as a metal wall falls down and crushes a nearby chair. "It has no humans for instance."

"Definite improvement." Castor agrees.

"I now have a kitchen to cook in." Atalanta smiles.

"..." Everybody for a full ten seconds stayed quiet, and wondered if they should maybe move out.

"For my part," Asclepius moved things along. "We have an official medic ward. So if anybody has any bruises-"

"Ahhhhh!" Jason tripped on some oil.

"-or burns in some cases, come to me." He can now use modern tech to help him out compared to finding magical herbs which were break-laboring on his back. Modern times were pretty nice in that regard.

"I just like we have a wonderful home full of surprises!" Medea (Lily) sweetly states as one of those surprises was a small box full of Fire Dust which she left in the hallway to pick up later.

Boom!

Or not, as Jason accidentally lit it up with his own flamey body and made his pain much worse. As for Hercules, he was just glad he could sleep on a bed this time and not the floor like before. At long last his back met soft wonder. The mattresses on Remnant were bliss. No doubt to make people feel calm when Grimm were knocking on their door.

"I just can't wait until we get this thing flying again." Caenis can already see it. The Argo in the air and her plundering any fool of their riches. Won't that be a blast! Of course Asclepius was quick to put her dreams down. Pointing out one sad and undeniable fact.

"But how? None of us can't even fix the engine on this thing." Oh right, that. The new Argo had a powerful Dust Engine, and naturally it broke when it crashed while amazingly not exploding. However, it was also a damn mess. Wires all over, Dust fuel spilled all around. Machinery sparking that miraculously didn't light up the entire ship up. By the time everybody cleaned it up, all they had left was a giant engine none of them knew how to fix. They were doctors, archers, healers, navigators, leaders, and fighters. Not a damn mechanic. One they unfortunately couldn't call as no sane man would walk to the ruined city that was once Vale to fix up an Atlas ship where Grimm or other less savory foes may as well attack them on their way here.

In other words, as Jason once told them when they were attacked by that Kraken in the past, they were stranded.

"Maybe we should just kidnap someone and threaten to kill them." Of course Castor would suggest that. Because why not.

"Maybe the engine just needs a little magic for it's boo-boo." Medea (Lily), so sweet and yet utterly naive. This needed a scientific solution, not a magical one.

"I say we punch it." Caenis just throws out. "It works on TV." Hercules grunted with her in agreement. So those were their options huh, considering nobody was offering anything else. Three terrible ideas that could go so wrong. They needed someone who could choose the right one, and then take responsibility if it failed.

"Oh Jason." Asclepius called out to their leader without hesitation. In two minutes, a blacked Jason came out with a vial of Fire Dust from his sword out. Coughing some smoke as he then threw the vial away in anger. He'll fix that later.

"Yeah." Jason said.

"We need your expertise as a leader on what to do." Asclepius told him while Medea (Lily) did her magic and made Jason look fresh again. "We need this ship moving, otherwise we'll be sitting ducks. So, we have three-very undesirable-options which one of them needs to be picked." The Caster then told Jason the options and Jason mused it over.

"We punch it." Yep. This was going to end super badly.

And yet everybody followed Jason down to the engine room where they had done their best to fix it up only to come up with squat when it came down to it. Along the way, Atalanta decided to just ask Jason something to get it over with.

"So...why punching it?" That was on everyone's mind. Even the ones who suggested it.

"Simple really," Jason stared as he grabbed some Dust fuel and began inserting it into some tubes that led to the engines. Hercules helping out a bit by holding the crate full of big vials that held the fuel, and Caenis putting some wires where she thought they belonged in. "Even if we threaten someone, we don't even know who could have the knowledge of fixing the new Argo."

Ah. That did make sense. The Argonauts had no hint of anybody that had the makings of figuring out how to fix an advanced engine like this. Plus even if they did, they would no doubt be at Beacon. The one place they cannot enter at all. They'd be arrested on the spot.

"As for the other, well, pretty sure mixing magic with science in a haphazard way compared to a studied workshop will kill us all." Like heck they should use Medea (Lily)'s magic on something so volatile. Granted, punching an unstable engine wasn't any better, but hey, it was all they got. So after about twenty minutes of random guessing on which part goes where and some blueprints they found-but couldn't read properly-the Argonauts managed to...get some of the engine right.

"Now then," Jason walked up to the engine. "Using a combination of luck and my Epiphany in the Jaws of Death, this should let us live."

Ah. That's right. Out of everybody Jason had the highest luck, and his skill warned him of potential danger. Meaning out of everybody aside from maybe Medea (Lily), Jason had the most given chance of succeeding. Because if he failed, then clearly the rest of the Argonauts who had pretty crummy ends won't pull this off.

So with held breaths and watchful eyes, the crew observed as Jason walked around the engine. Slowly making a fist, and ready to punch before pulling back, as if sensing the danger of doing it. This lasted for a few minutes, with Jason not risking it and just taking baby steps which the Argonauts can understand. After all, with all that Dust in the engine, if it blew they're goners aside from Hercules. Though if they did vanish, then Hercules would kill himself so he wouldn't be alone.

"Okay," Jason then said after a bit, as he tapped one part of the engine. ":Guess this is the only safe part my instincts tell me is the least dangerous." Jason closed his eyes, and breathed in and out. "YYYYAAAAAAA!" Then screamed like a madman and with all his might, punched the part of the engine where the glass was. Naturally, it broke, and Dust fuel spilled all over Jason and then lit up and exploded on contact, sending the Saber into the wall and making a Jason-shaped hole in it.

"Are you kidding me." Atalanta watches in disdain.

"Engine of Atlas Carrier Number 768YX48o4 now active."

"Are you kidding me!?" Atalanta says again.

Hercules gave a small clap while Medea (Lily) cheered saying, "That's my husband for you."

"Good as always." Asclepius also complimented.

"As if that clown would die from something like this." Castor also gave praise(?) alongside the others.

"I knew my idea would work." Caenis howled with a grin forming on her lips. From the wall, a badly burnt thumbs up came. Even Jason felt proud of himself. Granted, it was still quite a cost. But hey, he got the ship to work again through sheer dumb luck and near equivalint impossible odds.

"So...what now?" Pollux asks. Her answer soon came when everyone felt the ship move, and their center of balance shifting a bit. The sound of a loud noise coming from outside the ship also gave them the realization that the new Argo was about to start flying. With nobody at the helm.

"Hercules!" Jason called out from the wall. "Get me to the command deck." Hercules abided and grabbed his injured friend and then jumped up destroying another part of the ship to make it to the deck, even though the stairs just happened to be nearby. Shrugging, the other Argonauts just decided to just follow by, though Pollux stopped as she looked at the engine that was still spilling some of its fuel. Neh. It was probably fine.

So after some ceiling bursting, the gang made their way to the Command Deck where Jason had been healed up good and nice by his small wife and looked gleeful. Already the new Argo was thirty meters in the air, so with a unique combination of his past experience and his somewhat functioning Rider skill, Jason ran to the control module and began pushing buttons on instinct. There was no steering wheel, but the Rider skill in him knew what to do.

Then, like a semi-professional, the new Argo actually began flying properly. Jason's ability allowing him to keep the damaged vessel steady and not making any reckless movement. While this vessel had crashed before, thankfully the Hard-Light shielding had kept most of the infrastructure in check and the outside well and good aside from some superficial damage like the paint-job and such. Meaning this craft was definitely still good to go.

"Ah yeah!" Jason cheered. "Look at us go!"

His fellow Argonauts were also rather impressed, as they saw themselves slowly going higher and higher in the sky. They've been on different adventurers, but never on a floating vessel. Pretty soon, they and anybody else watching at a far distance saw the de-functioning Atlas Carrier now working once more. Many with confusion, wonder, and interest.

"New enemy in sight." Along with hostility as one of the watchers observing is one of the few remaining enemies left here in the city. One who's mechanical eyes glared at the flying ship and slowly revved up her engine. Wings up and prepped as it began headed toward the ship at frightening speed. "Beginning assault."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hm." Jason, in all his excitement, checked out what he believed was radar. Ah. If only he had such a thing back in the day. Then his ship wouldn't have hit that reef that one time and left them nearly sinking. Boy was that a bummer when that happened. Pretty sure he lost some of the respect he deserved that day. Not like he could see underwater! Anyway, on the radar, a small dot is seen that seems to be going right toward them. Wait, it split into two, the dot still going at them with another dot going even faster toward them. "Hey. What's that?"

"Let me see." Asclepius looked away from the clouds and decided to check it out. "I believe it is a...oh dear."

A missile then hit the Command Deck in a fiery explosion of red.

A short chapter, but who says every chapter has to be long? Next time, a battle in the sky where certain individuals watch the air battle.

Jason and his team will get their weapons again. But until then, they're gonna be having a change of weapons for a change a pace. I always liked it when Servants got modern day weapons for some reason, so for this Act, they'll have enhanced weapons provided by the Atlas military. Sorry Ironwood, but someone will use your fancy toys.

Speaking of Atlas, we get another Fate character of Remnant. In this case, the Remnant version of Sion who had her Melty Blood past of sorts, but ended up much lighter hearted later on after meeting certain people who helped her out. In any case, Until Next Time.

"Hey, what's that?" Cardin Winchester of Team CRDL says as he and his team look at what Cardin is pointing at. They look and they see a stall selling weapons of sorts. Getting closer, they saw it was an exquisite bow, a Trident, a mighty battle axe, and some other weapons that looked super fancy. For a moment, Cardin and his team considered buying the weapons as they looked super fancy, even though they seemed to lack a mechashift option. The guy selling them saying they got it from charitable people. Though once they saw the price, they changed their minds as it was way to expensive.

The owner of the stall wasn't so happy. "I knew we shouldn't have charged Lien."

The economy was a wreck. But that didn't excuse the fact that he needed to sell these things or risk those people who gave it to his boss coming for them to get them back. So he had to get rid of them and soon. If nobody was buying them, then the man would have to do the next best thing.

DUMP!

A waste of good weapons, but nobody would see them in this garbage can.

As the man left, none other than EMIYA came by as he looked around to find any students who thought of ditching his class. CRDL was on his hit list today. They were in so much trouble for daring to skip his lessons. He'll make certain of it. So it came to a surprise to EMIYA when he saw a bunch of very familiar weapons in a garbage can.

"No...it couldn't be." EMIYA thought of getting a closer look, when all of a sudden his eyes met Winchester.

"Shit!" The boy and his team then turned tail and ran.

"Oh no you don't!" EMIYA then rushed at them intent on beating them for skipping his lessons. The weapons left behind in the dusty garbage.