Chapter 13
Training
"This is our training center."
General Ironwood's hands gestured to said room around them. It was a large thing, gray metal walls with blue holographic grid lines for obvious measurements, and solid blocks of metal and light stack as towers that created a versatile battlefield for any who wished to fight upon it.
Still it was a dreadful sight, and EMIYA let his thoughts known with a disgruntled sigh.
The General, to his credit, didn't even flinch as his less than respectful criticism, and instead replied, "it gets the job done, and is more than suited for almost any form of combat exercise. As I said, we would like a proper demonstration of what a Servant is capable of."
The man turned to face the group of children that EMIYA's master was a part of.
"If Salem has control over Servants, then she has a new power we know nothing about. If the destruction of Argus is a forerunner of what's to come, we need to know how to best combat them and save lives." The man nodded towards the group of differently dressed soldiers and the five stood at attention.
"The Ace Ops, our most elite team, will be the sparring partners for the Servants. I believe a three on five scenario will suffice to distinguish their individual strengths and-"
"Ha." The attention of those present, the Ace ops, his masters group, a few soldiers and the women with white hair and a new child with orange hair, all turned to the blond sister of his Master.
Yang.
The huntress in training stepped forward and pointed at EMIYA, "look that guy right there manhandled me without trying. No offense," she looked to the identified Ace Ops, "but I don't think your Ace ops is gonna be enough."
Once again, The General was patient and only gave the young woman a small smile, "I appreciate the insight, but the Ace Ops are the best we have in Atlas. I'm confident in their abilities."
The man looked down at his Master, "but as the most experienced in what Servants are capable of, I'll let you dictate what we do. Three on five? Or will just one of them suffice?"
His Master hesitated, her eyes flickering between the three Servants present, himself, Saber, and Rider. When her eyes landed on him, he scoffed and closed his eyes briefly as he leaned his head back against the metal wall of the so-called training room.
"As much joy as I would get defeating humans in a spar, I don't feel like expending unneeded energy right now. Ask Saber." It was easy playing off the lazy Servant sometimes, but in a new place, with no guaranteed loyalties and no signs of the other servants or masters, he wanted to be on high alert at all times.
When else would be more perfect of a time to assassinate his master with a well placed arrow or spear than when the entire group with her was focused on a spar between humans and servants?
Saber tilted her head and looked to the Ace Ops after a quizzical gaze from Ruby. She then opened her mouth to reply, most certainly to ask a question, but was interrupted by the loudest of the Servants.
Rider.
The woman groaned from the back of the group where she floated lazily in the air with her head held in her hands and her eyes half closed, "you sticks in the mud, fine I'll do it."
The General raised his eyebrows and EMIYA gave a snort. Whether Ishtar was doing this to draw attention from Saber and him, whose identities were still unknown even by their own Master's, or simply to gloat her own strength, he wasn't sure.
Rin would've done the spar for pride's sake, but she wouldn't gloat.
Of course though, EMIYA had to remind himself this wasn't Rin. This Heroic Spirit simply wore her face, as odd as that sounded.
Ishtar flipped onto the ground, her eyes opening and vibrant life returning to her as she smirked towards the Ace Ops, "ready?"
The group in question looked at one another, and after five tense nods were shared, the man in the middle, who sported a fishing rod as his weapon of all things, looked back at Ishtar and the others around her.
"We're-"
Wham!
The mans aura flared bright and he was sent flying as a bare heel slammed into his chin. He was launched straight into the air and over the towers of metal crates.
The Ace ops, specifically the four who weren't launched by a demi-goddess's less than fair kick, gasped and drew their weapons.
EMIYA frowned as the four instantly backed up and Ishtar dashed into them with a light giggle.
This was definitely not Rin Tohsaka.
Ruby bit into her finger nails as her group backed up to the sidelines with her Servant. The sneak attack had her heart racing and wondering if the Atlas soldiers would take insult, but General Ironwood had not even commented on the less than fair surprise attack by Sun's own Servant against the Ace Op's. Granted it was supposed to be a display of skill, but it felt scummy to start in such a way.
"General, the servant-" It was Winter who spoke up, but Ironwood held up a hand to silence her.
He didn't reply, and for whatever reason Ruby felt her stomach twist as Ironwood watched the fight with an iron focus.
She swallowed hard and looked back to the fight.
Ishtar. A woman dressed more obscenely than any huntress or Servant she had seen so far, was fast. Insanely, fast. Easily faster than both her and Assassin at a close range. And from the way the smaller woman had launched one of the Ace Op's into the air, she had a feeling the Servant was likely physically stronger than anyone present.
Well aside from Jaune's servant, Saber. She had felt Saber's strength herself and she doubted anyone she knew could surpass such a feat of shattering Crescent Rose with one blow.
She flinched as another one of the Ace Ops, a man with a wolf tail, was sent flying from a flip kick.
Then in the blink of an eye Ishtar was in the face of the larger woman from the Ace Ops, who in turn swung her hammer to try and force the more frail looking Servant back. Yet the Servant only grinned and ducked under the swing, wrapping her arm around the Hammer's handle before yanking it back and slamming her elbow into the Operative's nose.
Aura flared, and the woman let out a grunt before stumbling back and releasing her hammer, which the Servant threw aside before raising her foot and slamming it into the woman's gut. The woman was thrown back and into one of the stacks of gray metal boxes, which collapsed on top of her.
Ishtar spun on her heel, narrowly avoiding a strike from the operative with electricity racing down her arms and legs. The Servant smirked and jabbed twice into the woman's gut before leaping back to avoid a literal fishing hook that whipped through the air right where her legs would have been.
Two of the Ace Op's were left , but the first who had been launched away made his way over to the other two. The three exchanged a look then nodded. The bald one then whipped his semblance enhanced arms out at the servant while the short woman with electricity dashed inward and the older man leaped in right behind his fellow operative. Three sets of attacks, two simultaneous while a third set up to capitalize on any and all openings.
It was a good play when outnumbering a superior opponent, and Ruby knew no one in her team, or RNJR would have been able to withstand such an attack. Heck Tyrian and Cinder alone had proven how vulnerable they all really were, and she doubted even those two would have been able to withstand such a maneuver.
But this was a Servant. This was something the Ace Op's hadn't ever dealt with. And though Ruby had yet to see her go all out, she wasn't disappointed when the Servant pulled off the impossible.
With what had to be less than an inch left between the Servant and the first two Ace Operative's attacks, was made null when the Servant smirked, pushed off the ground with one foot, and then landed her other foot on the fist of the Operatives, pushed off again, and used the momentum to carry herself high into the air to completely avoid the maneuver altogether.
The Ace operatives were stunned, and the quick intake of air from Winter Schnee told Ruby all she needed to know about how such a maneuver should have been impossible at such a close range, with such little time to react.
Ishtar floated high above, her smile grand and her eyes twinkling with pure delight.
The woman placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm impressed. You're not all talk!"
A rocket suddenly flew from the back of the stadium, to which the Servant simply pulled her hips to the side and avoided it entirely.
She shook her head, "sneak attacks aren't so effective with such a loud weapon."
"Who said it was a sneak attack?" It was the older operative who smirked, and Ruby noticed how all five of the Ace Op's were up, and two were behind Ishtar in her blind spot.
The Servant rolled her eyes, still sporting her playful smile even as she floated a bit higher. "I won't lie, I'm not as disappointed as I-"
"Stay!"
The Servant's eyes grew wide.
The Ace Op's leaped into action, every one of them using semblances, agility, or ranged weaponry to all try and get to the Servant.
Then it happened.
Ishtar's smile instantly vanished, one hand came off her hip and she pointed a finger gun at the Ace Op's.
Suddenly, brilliant holy light appeared next to her, and what had to be streams of pure magic or lasers- Ruby wasn't sure which- shot forward at astronomical speeds and mind boggling angles. It was like watching a light show almost, except the lights moved in curve's and twists to avoid every obstacle in their way, and were far faster than even Ishtar herself had been.
The lights slammed into each Ace Operative and instantly each of their Aura's shattered.
Each one flew back with a startled cry and Ruby grimaced as they each hit the floor and failed to get up.
Had the Servant killed them? Had she-
A single groan was her answer.
Ruby let out a sigh of relief as more groans filled the air.
And General Ironwood stepped forward, waving at the other soldiers in the training center, who then rushed forward to gather the Ace Op's and likely take them to a clinic, while Winter Schnee's mask had broken with wide eyes and mouth half open.
Ruby gulped.
Sun's servant was definitely strong. Stronger, probably even than hers.
'I take offense to that Master. But, she is formidable. We would likely only benefit from defeating her master first and letting her fade from existence before letting her use her own Noble Phantasm.'
Her super weapon right?
'Mhm.'
Ishtar floated lower as the group slowly started towards her, Sun leading the pack as he rushed past General Ironwood. The Fanus had a nervous smile on his face as he raised his arms, "that was amazing! I had no idea you were so strong!"
The smirk, smaller than before, reappeared on the Servant's lips, "didn't trust in me? I'm hurt, Master." Then her eyes turned to the Ace Op's who were being carried away, "they'll be fine. A bit of magic to simply put them down for a few hours, nothing more."
"You know about magic?" Ironwood was the first to speak, his tone and face never wavering.
"All Servants possess it." Ishtar waved off his comment, "as do apparently some of you, but I don't appreciate one of yours trying to control my body without my permission. If I was the King of Hero's, I would've burnt this place to the ground for such an offense."
Ruby's eyes widened. Magic? What magic had the Ace Op's-
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," It was Winter responding now, "the Ace Op's, none of us actually, bar Qrow and Ruby Rose, have any form of magic."
Ruby blinked and looked back at her Uncle.
He wasn't paying attention to her and instead she found Jaune's eyes. The you man simply shrugged, likely just as confused as she was as to why Winter Schnee knew of both her Sliver Eyes and Qrow's transformation.
"Nope." The Servant, oblivious or ignorant of Ruby's confliction, popped the 'p' and landed on the ground in front of them with an actually genuine smile, "whoever tried to force me to stay still definitely tried it. But my own magic resistance isn't going to let that happen."
"Magic Resistance?" General Ironwood asked and Ruby felt a pull on her mind.
She glanced back as Ishtar began to explain and saw her Servant staring at Jaune's Servant, who in turn was glaring back at him.
Her Servant scoffed and then faded within motes of light. Ruby frowned, feeling her servant move away from the room, then turned her attention back to Ishtar.
"-so essentially, such simple tricks can't even affect me, or Saber here."
The blonde knight of Jaune's nodded, "Magic, unless of the highest order, has little effect on me as well."
"Truly?" General Ironwood asked, and Ruby saw the way his eyes narrowed.
"Indeed."
The General nodded and his eyes left the Servant and returned to their assembled group, "I assume then that the Servants who assaulted Argus have such… abilities as well?
"Some," It was Saber who replied, "The King of Hero's is aligned against us, and if I'm correct, I believe the Caster Servant was also against us. The King of Hero's has enough weapons' for all of us, and while Caster herself is not resistant to magic, she does specialize in it to a degree that is dangerous for all of us."
"Don't forget the lion fanus that handed my ass to me," Qrow huffed, voice tinged in annoyance as he uncrossed his arms and straightened his back, "with her we know for sure Salem has three servants. Or at least her minions do."
"I'm not sure."
Everyone's eyes turned to Ishtar who now floated lazily in the air with her legs crossed, though her eyes were narrowed at the General. She twirled her hand then continued, "we have the Saber, Assassin, and Rider classes on our side, so we're accounted for. Yet, on the… what do you call it…" She tapped her chin then looked at Sun.
"Master, what was the device we saw that was showing us the battle?"
Sun blinked, rubbing the back of his head as he shared a confused glance with Neptune, "Uh you mean the TV?"
"That," Ishtar snapped her fingers then flipped herself around and landed gently in the middle of the group, "on the TV, we saw a spear of black murder an innocent. As far as I can tell none of the enemy servants were of the Lancer Class, and none of them used a black spear."
Saber nodded, "Rider is correct. If what she says is true, it is likely the Lancer class was observing the battle."
"With that," Ishtar's eyes roamed to Ruby and Jaune for a moment before looking to her fellow Servant, "it's possible there's another player involved. Or, our enemies were unwilling to play all their cards at once."
"Doubtful," Weiss was the one who spoke up. She stepped forward but looked over all of them, "Cinder alone assaulted both Beacon and Mistral with only a handful of people and brought both down with the help of the White Fang and Grim. Do we really think the wouldn't do it again to Atlas with magical Servants at their disposal?"
"Weiss has a point," Jaune spoke up, "Cinder doesn't hesitate. We know that. She'll hit us again, and if she has Servants, then her boss does too."
The General raised his eyebrows at the slip up and Ruby flinched quickly before she stepped up, "Cinder's boss. We know."
"Ozpin told you all?" Ironwood asked, his voice ever so slightly rising in question.
"Yeah, we both did." Qrow came to their rescue and then Weiss's eyes flickered to Winter as she asked, "does my sister know?"
Winter Schnee and Ironwood spared a glance at each other, one amused, the other with a passive smile that formed. The General stepped forward, "Winter, as well as the Ace Op's and Penny, know about Salem, and as of now also know about this Holy War. Speak your mind Ms. Schnee."
"Penny?" Ruby's eyes went wide, "what do you mean Penny?"
"Do they know everything?" Qrow stepped forward, hands in his pockets as he did.
The General nodded, "from the Maidens, to Ozpin's reincarnation, yes, and yes Ms. Rose. Penny is alive and well."
Ruby's eyes grew bright and she looked at Yang and Blake who both smiled back at her in turn. Weiss even gave her a small grin and quickly took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. She squeezed back and took a deep breath as she looked back at Ironwood.
"Do they know, Master? About the secret you were told?"
It was Saber who spoke and team RWBY all turned to see Jaune with his arms crossed and lips pursed. His Servant shook her head and stepped forward, "as a Knight, it is folly to keep secrets from one's allies."
Secrets? Ruby thought to herself. Then her eyes grew even wider as she realized what Saber was referring to.
Salem. Her Immortality. She had been there when they told the rest of RNJR and Jaune snapped.
Ruby exchanged a frown with Wiess, wondering just how the individuals would respond to knowing Salem was truly Immortal. Though with an omnipotent wish granting device now on the table, it was possible they could even get rid of Salem's immortality.
Ruby cleared her throat, stepping forward as she spoke, "General Ironwood, sir, there's something you need to know."
Ironwood nodded.
Ruby grimaced.
It was time to put all the cards on the table.
A/N Honestly I tried to put other events and scenes at the end of this chapter, but this chapter was more exposition than anything, and everything else I tried made this extremely forced and kinda bland. This was the most natural conclusion without turning this into a 10,000 word monster of a chapter. The next two chapters should be longer.
Didn't help that this was probably the worst two weeks of my 2021/202 year so far. Been kind of awful, so hopefully the chapter was okay.
Also gonna be publishing original works on Wattapad by the end of tomorrow. If you're interested comment and let me know.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.
Leave a review and god bless.
-Metal4k
www. P a treon/ metal4k