Chapter 83
The flight back to Beacon had been pretty okay.
Granted, it was a shame that the Argonauts couldn't ride Sieg all the way to Beacon. Hell, that'd be awesome to ride a strong fearsome dragon and landing like a boss. But the young homunculus stated he wasn't going to bother doing that because it was tiring and a little demeaning. Apparently, while not malicious, Astolfo rode Sieg like a horse and said horse-related phrases. Obviously, Sieg didn't like that.
Anyway, the gang simply used the money the two Winter-Ops had and bought themselves a ride all the way back to Beacon. It wasn't so bad. While the ship wasn't anything fancy and a bit on the small side, it wasn't cramped and everyone had the time to simply do what they wanted. Be it looking through scrolls, checking out the window, or simply talking.
"And then I got chased out of the Schnee's home." With Astolfo sharing the little adventurers he had in Atlas. "It was crazy. I even got hit by a Noble Phantasm."
"That had to hurt." Atalanta said with Astolfo nodding.
"It did." Right below the belt too. Man, Altria (Lily) didn't hold back. It took a while for him to walk properly again.
"If I recall," Sieg then said as he looked at Astolfo. "Didn't you break some stuff there while breaking in?" The feminine boy began whistling as if he were innocent, which he wasn't.
"Yeesh. Even in another world you just do what you want." Still, Astolfo is certainly amusing in Jason's eyes. Plus he heard some interesting stuff too. "Anyway, you mentioned a bit back something about a rebellion."
"Uh-hu. A group called the Happy Huntresses with two Servants." It was a surprise to hear that two Servants had actually been in Mantle all this time. But just as cool as well. "They're fighting for equality and changes for Mantle."
"Yeah, and I'm with them on that." Even though Sieg knew that stealing was wrong, from what he knew and understood, Atlas were pretty much pricks when it came to sharing stuff with Mantle. "Truthfully, some reforms would be good for the cities." Just like what he did for his fellow homunculus back in the past.
"Hahaha. It's always nice to make some snobs pull their hair off." Caenis also liked this as well. Shame she couldn't see the entertainment herself and make fun of the ones robbed.
"It was pretty funny." It was by chance, but Astolfo saw Whitley's dad blowing a gasket when he realized some of his mines had been robbed. Maybe if he'd been a good person Astolfo would feel bad for him. But since it's clear Whitley and the rest of his family weren't really happy with that man, Astolfo let it be.
"Right. Right. The merriment of seeing the mighty fall is quite delightful." While all this was fun, Jasond decided the conversation needed to take a new turn. Facing Astolfo, Jason asked, "So, what's going to be the situation between Vale and Atlas?" Primarily, if they'll help.
"Officially." Understanding, Astolfo spoke though with none of the usual chipper he has whenever he talked. "They want no business with Vale."
"That's quite daunting." Alongside disappointing. Granted, Asclepius could see why Atlas was like that, but it still felt depressing to hear.
"So they're abandoning Vale?" Atalanta asked with a frown.
"Unfortunately, yes." Sieg didn't look happy. "With everything going on across Remnant, the remaining three…two-" Everyone else looked despondent. Recalling what happened to Mistral where the only good thing is that Adam and the White Fang took most of the residents away to other cities in Anima for safety. "-kingdoms, Vacuo and Atlas want to prepare themselves. Fortify whatever defenses they have so Salem doesn't wreck their homes."
"Tch. So much for an alliance." Jason hissed, though can understand them. I mean, the leaders of the last Kingdoms just wanted their people safe. It still sucked though.
"Hold up, then why are you here with us?" asked Medea (Lily). Looking at Astolfo and Sieg, who should be at Atlas if what they said was true.
"Ironwood sent us." Sieg replied with Astolfo smiling.
"After some convincing, we managed to get him to agree on sending us to help out. Besides," Astolfo giggled while waving his arms. "He isn't all bad and does want to stop Salem."
"Yet like any other human, only sends us the bare minimum." Castor scoffed while Pollux shakes her head at Castor's words. But even while cruel, her brother did make a bit of a point. While nice Ironwood sent these two to help out, it's just two Servants against what's undoubtedly will be a huge army of Grimm and whatever else Salem might have.
"Doesn't Beacon have some Servants already, which will soon include you guys?" Sieg asked while pointing at the Argonauts.
"Yeah, but I'd feel more secure with an armada of ships." Besides, it wasn't like they were invincible. While Jason did feel confident that he and all the other Servants at Beacon could kick Grimm butt, the Grimm's numbers can complicate things. Plus, would Beacon even have enough Dust to get the Argonauts and the remaining Servants at full strength again? Tough to tell really.
"Well, all we can do is like Avenger says. Wait and hope." Astolfo referred to Dantes, one of the strongest Servants Chaldea has under them. Which reminded Jason of something actually.
"The Masters, they're at Beacon." Maybe making a contract can help out. Plus, while Jason still wanted a bunch of ships with weapons, Chaldea should have their own fun toys to help against Salem. "I suppose at the very least, we won't be utterly defenseless."
"Plus the school does have a bunch of those Huntsmen guys." Sure those people were utter weaklings compared to those like Caenis, but hey, they fought pretty well against the Grimm. Even during the battle against Merlot Caenis saw some worth in them. So at the very least the Argonauts had loads of decent support when the Grimm army came.
"Exactly." Astolfo gave a thumbs up. "Sure Vale and by extension, Beacon, won't have the remaining kingdoms full support. But you guys have quite the backing for yourselves."
"That is true." Atalanta commented. "Even if it isn't perfect, Beacon has shown many men and women who are willing to fight in order to defend their homes."
"We even have that wizard for support." Ozpin came to Medea (Lily)'s mind.
"And with Chaldea here, our chances have improved so much." If anything, their odds against Salem and winning is almost a guarantee. Now Jason was starting to put behind his fears and worry. With the rest of the Argonauts themselves looking confident. And why wouldn't they?
After all, back in Beacon everything needed for the final fight is there.
Supplies. Dust. Fine Huntsmen. A wizard apparently along with his strongest members like Goodwitch. Servants at Beacon with now an additional two from Atlas. Chaldea who has arrived. Plus when Jason finally comes, Beacon will have the leader and king they need and deserve. With the greatest strength they all had at the moment being one thing.
'Unity.' Jason thought with a smile.
"Bastard! She can't be killed!" The moment the ship landed at Beacon, with everyone getting off and entering Beacon, immediately every single one of the Argonauts realized there's trouble. "What happened to no secrets!" Mainly because Qrow had just slammed his fist onto Ozpin's gut without hesitation.
"Woah there! The hell!" With many looking confused, angry, or betrayed even. The crowd that Jason could see consisted of Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, the two Masters of Chaldea alongside Sion with EMIYA and Ruby Rose. With none of them showing any form of unity. If anything, they just appear disputed.
"Hold up." Ritsuka raised his hands, clearly surprised by whatever news is being told. His hands held up against Qrow. "No need to fight man. I mean, aren't we all on the same side."
"Y-Yeah." Ruby then looked at her Uncle Qrow. Saying, "S-so we shouldn't be doing this now…I think."
"Now actually may be the best time." With a slight scowl, EMIYA gives an accusation expression towards Ozpin. "Especially when it seems that information we could have used is just now being told."
"Ozpin." Glynda speaks in a shaky tone, as if she had been betrayed. Which in a way, she was. "Tell us this isn't so?" All Glynda got was a solemn expression from Ozpin who then nodded.
"Alright then." Qrow growls. All while cracking his fists. "Then let's try this again and-" Before Qrow could even continue, Jason decided now's the time to speak out.
"Hold it. Hold it." Now showing himself along with the rest of the Argonauts, Jason held his hands high in the air to get people to stop. Being very much confused by what's even happening right now. As such, he needed them to stop for just a moment to get his bearings.
"You?" Qrow tilted his head while Ritsuka and Gudako recognized Jason.
"Oh, hey you guys." Ritsuka waved his hands towards everyone, with the Argonauts along with Astolfo and Sieg doing the same.
"About time you guys showed up." Gudako added in. "We were all waiting and talking when…well…"
"We learned someone has been hiding stuff from us." Qrow scoffed, giving a slight glare towards Ozpin who merely stood back up. Though accepting of the looks that he got from the others.
"Stuff? What stuff?" Now this was baffling. Just a bit ago Jason had been under the assumption everything was totally fine. I mean, last he checked nobody had been fighting before the Argonauts left. So what could have caused this argument to occur? Better to find out now than later, or their unity could be broken.
Without hesitation and walking with self-importance, Jason made way to the group and stood tall to get their attention. "Okay people, stop it. Stop it." He then called out to them while also getting their attention. Before any of them could speak or complain, Jason then pointed at Ruby. "You. Child."
"Child?!" Now that just felt insulting. Not that Jason cared and continued speaking.
"Tell me what happened here and in under a minute."
"O-Oh. That. Well…" Ruby turns her head to see her angry uncle, the stern look of EMIYA, the rather accepting glances from the Fujimaru siblings, then at Ozpin who showed no emotion. Gulping, Ruby then decided to get this over with. "Um, yeah. It seems that headmaster Ozpin had…extra information on Salem."
"Like what, her powers?" Catching up to Jason, the rest of the Argonauts alongside Astolfo and Sieg and now want to know what's up. Astolfo being especially curious.
"Ah, yeah…that." Honestly, even Ruby was surprised to hear this. And while she couldn't say she felt betrayed, she did feel shock at what Ozpin told him and wondered why he never spoke about it before. It just felt wrong.
As such, it was better to speak the truth here and now. So without any more reservation, Ruby opened her mouth and said-
"Ugh." Collapsing down, Cardin Winchester felt his sore muscles crying out. A rough day of exercising and training having reduced him to this state in just a few hours. Man that teacher EMIYA sure knew how to make a dude tired.
'But he does bring decent results.' The former bully then thought a bit angrily. Hating that EMIYA, for all his snarky jerkass attitude, knew the best way to train a student. Heck, thanks to the bastard, Cardin no longer smacked his mace onto his teammates like he did before. His team even improved their coordination ten-fold.
The results speak for themselves. To the point that when Cardin fought against Jaune, that little cheater managed to get one over him compared to the early school days. 'Still has a piss-attitude though.' Cardin mentally snarked while grabbing a water bottle on the bench he collapsed in.
Taking greedy gulps and preparing to take a shower when he suddenly heard a loud shout.
"WHAT?!"
"Indeed." Ozpin, being rather stoic despite having been punched by Qrow, nodded. "Salem is fully immortal. The attacks you've done on her, while impressive, aren't much against her at all."
"And you couldn't have told us that before we left!?"
"Why are you surprised?" Castor told the angry Jason. "It's natural humans would hide secrets. All the time." Despite saying this calmly, Castor also gave a death glare at Ozpin for not mentioning that little tablet of information. Especially since it also meant he straight up lied during the video chat they had a while ago.
"This is disappointing news to be told." said Asclepius with a small glower behind his mask. Even the other Argonauts gave dissatisfying looks towards the headmaster for not telling the truth.
Glynda for her part, while a bit conflicted, then decided to ask something that has been bugging her. "Wait a minute." She then decided to ask Jason something. "While I understand your anger, I'm confused. Did you all not face immortals back in your world?"
"They did." Sieg then spoke and pointed at Heracles. "He killed an immortal hydra."
"Exactly." Glynda affirmed. "Then what's the difference between killing that and Salem?" If the mighty Heracles could kill the immortal hydra from one of his great labors, then why not Salem.
Heracles of course couldn't answer because of his voice. Thankfully, the Masters could take over from there.
"Probably because of a difference between their immortality." Gudako, wanting to stop the conflict, quickly put in the information she knew. "From what I understand, the hydra, while fiendish and took Heracles to take down, simply had strong regeneration and the ability to regrow their head."
"But Salem's regeneration seems to be limitless, even when her brain is destroyed." Sion added, also recalling the tale. While the hydra Heracles in life faced isn't something even a regular Servant can't fight without preparation, destroying the heads is the key to ending it. Still difficult and near impossible, but Heracles eats impossible challenges for breakfast and did just that. But then again, he also knew what the hydra could do and eventually figured out a way to kill it for good. In contrast, Heracles and the rest of his team thought Salem was just the eternal youth type.
As such they were rightfully caught off guard when she came out of nowhere and escaped. Had they been warned beforehand of her actual immortality, then maybe they could have changed tactics.
"Not that we can now because you didn't tell us the truth." Crossing his arms, Jason then added, "You're fired from serving under me!" While Atalanta slapped her forehead with those in Chaldea uncertain by what Jason even meant, Ozpin just shrugged.
"Okay. Okay. So I believe that's everything we wanted to say, right?" Ritsuka then spoke, hoping that maybe all of this tension will ease up now. Not wanting any more infighting.
"Tch. Not even close kid." Qrow growled, still greatly upset of the hidden truth that Ozpin withheld. Making him realize that Raven, to some degree at the very least, had indeed been right about Ozpin. "Still," Even so, Qrow knew what was more important. "For now I guess I can relent." A glare is then given towards Ozpin. "For now." He reminded Ozpin who simply acknowledged it.
"..." For Ruby, she just looked uncomfortable. As it was quite rare to see Qrow being mad. Not that she blamed him, since it seems her uncle worked and trusted Ozpin a lot, only to hear Ozpin clearly didn't recuperate fully. Still, it felt intolerable to see him like this. Though before she could say anything in response, Sion came in.
"Alright everyone, let's settle down. Just take a deep breath so we can move on from this." Because being angry at one another won't help anyone. "Right now, we need to focus on more important matters."
"True." While reluctant, EMIYA knew what Sion meant. "Standing around and arguing won't solve the fact that Salem is coming. And while I'm certain many of us have more questions about any more secrets." Something EMIYA knew Ozpin had and still not speaking of. "At this moment we need to deal with this matter."
"Right!" Ruby agreed. "So we need to work together to show Salem we won't fall to her. Right Uncle Qrow?"
While it was reluctant, Qrow sighed before giving a slight chuckle towards his niece. 'Yeah. I suppose we have to kid."
"Great." Ritsuka smiled, glad that while things were still a bit tense, it wasn't as much as before. He then turned to Jason and then asked, "So, Jason, you faced Salem. Any ideas on her plans against Beacon."
"Other than killing us all and laughing at our demise, not much." Wasn't as if that witch was forthcoming with her real plans in dealing with everyone at Beacon. Other than figuring out she just wants them dead and likely to spread her victory, nothing more than that.
"She'll probably come for the Relic and Maiden." Ozpin then said, with everyone tuning towards him. "Tactics aside, I have no doubt Salem will use this opportunity to gather the Relic of Choice and the current Summer Maiden who's here right now."
"Erice?" Gudako whispers to Ritsuka. "He means the girl that looks a lot like our Erice, correct?"
"Yep." Still weirded out by the look-alikes, but hey, Chaldea has seen weirder stuff.
"Ah yes, the Relics." Sion nodded. "I suppose any ambitious world-destroyer would want immensely powerful artifacts to give themselves a power-up."
"So we have one of her goals then. Useful I suppose." EMIYA commented, glad that they now know a bit of what their foe may do. "Safe to assume it's secure?"
"Certainly." Glynda affirmed. "Each one is hidden within the four primary academies, with Choice being in Beacon."
"Strange?" Jason rubbed his chin. Saying aloud, "Is that why Salem was at Haven specifically? To get one of the Relics?"
"She likely was, but thankfully failed." Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief. "While she knows where the Relics are, she cannot access them thanks to each Vault needing their respective Maidens." Summer for Shade, Spring for Knowledge, Winter for Atlas, not to mention Fall for Choice. Though due to circumstances Ozpin reabsorbed half of Amber's Maiden power. And while Cinder still held the other half which may allow her access to the vault, Ozpin found it unlikely Cinder could even get Choice. After all…It wasn't as if she could find Choice anymore considering what Ozpin did long ago with it.
"Alright, so I guess we need to keep an eye on Erice." And Atalanta would never allow that witch to lay a hand on that child.
"No need to worry too much over that." Ritsuka grinned. "Cause Voyager is keeping a good eye on her." And despite his appearances, he was strong and wouldn't let a fly harm Erice, even if she is another version of the one he knew. So if Salem thought she could even lay a finger, well, Voyager will show he can throw a mean punch.
"Then we need as much firepower as possible. Which means Dust!" Jason immediately looked towards Ozpin and pointed at him. "I don't suppose you have enough for all the Servants here in Beacon?" It'd be better for the fight to begin with all of them at full strength.
"At the moment, no." Yes Beacon had quite a bit of Dust, with workers in Vale finding plenty of Dust from the ruined buildings. But they can't just be given so freely, as they were needed for the citizens' lives sake and for Huntsmen's ammunition. "But that might change, if the endorsement made with some of the Servants who were here recently fully accepted."
It was easy for Qrow to understand that part at least. Primarily, the deal made with the Gorgon Sisters who had previously occupied Patch and will now go to Merlot's former island. Where they just might be willing to hand Beacon a good chunk of the Dust Merlot had deposited in his storages. Enough for mundane uses and for the Servants.
"Great." With Jason more than pleased by this. "That means we'll be ready."
"Haha. Hell yeah." Others like Caenis were also in agreement. The Lancer twirling her weapon while giving a haughty laugh. "Means we can go full out and crush the bitch."
"That whale is big…" Archer knocked his head back before closing one eye and smirking. "But I may have a Noble Phantasm or two that can help out."
"And Chaldea will also be willing to aid." Gudako and Ritsuka have no intention of leaving and letting the people here fend for themselves. Sure Goredolf might get a little upset, but he'd also be willing to help. Either way, Chaldea will help Beacon as best they can.
"Yeah!" Ruby excitedly said. Glad that while there might still be difficulties, it seems everyone is willing to put aside their problems at the moment to stop Salem. Oh boy, this should be great.
"Then we best get ready I suppose." With a confident grin, Jason did his best to make himself look grand and imposing. "Because once we finish this, a new era will begin." His era. A knowing smirk came across Jason's expression as he wondered what stories might be of his soon-to-be victory.
"Oh. Nice to see you guys are getting good and ready." That smirk then vanished and was replaced with a shriek as Jason saw a massive shadow overcome his own and everyone else as well. Everyone then turned around where they heard the voice where three individuals were seen. The first two they recognized.
"I-Ishtar! Ereshkigal!" The two Fujimaru siblings said. Though they knew the two were here, there was a slight shock to just see them appear so suddenly.
"Grrrr." With what appears to be a massive bull the size of a two story building looking down on them. Appearing more than a little hungry while making regular Grimm look puny. Where the creature then leaned down by bending its knees, its fearsome face getting closer and closer to everyone, particularly, the Masters.
The Servants went to grab their weapons. Yet did so with caution, as this beast just radiated power. The two Masters staying in place, knowing they could do little against this creature and hoped they wouldn't get killed.
"..." The bull then finally met the two face-to-face. Snorting loudly as its eyes gazed at them like they were meat. Then…It suddenly gave the closest to what can be considered a smile, opened its mouth, and then licked the two of them with its massive tongue.
"Ewwwww." Ruby said as Ritsuka and Gudako are now covered in tongue stuff with the two and everyone else clearly thinking the same. The bull just repeated the same motions again and again whilst the two Masters pondered if getting beaten would be better than this.
As for Ishtar, she giggled before facing Jason and Ozpin. "I believe now is the time we should speak."
We're nearing the end, and it starts as a vast majority of our heroes now prepare themselves. Thankfully, they're getting cool help along the way. Granted, some slight anger as Ozpin revealed what he kept hidden, with obvious results, but nothing that will stop everyone from fighting. Until next Time.