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!

Florence

The next… perhaps five minutes, were quiet. Ozpin just took a seat, letting her have her moment as Glynda looked towards him, slowly taking her own seat as well. After those five minutes, she raised her arm, using a… relatively unstained sleeve to wipe away the salty tears before standing back up herself.

"How long," she stated, as Ozpin closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose before speaking.

"Long enough that not only have I forgotten the exact time… but also long enough that I didn't receive this part of my mission from the progenitor, but his children," Ozpin admitted, before closing his eyes. "If I had to guess… perhaps a couple dozen millenia," he said, before taking a sip.

She closed her eyes, taking her own seat beside the unconscious body of Gudao… the eternal haze of her Madness Enhancement… slowly letting her think more about the current situation… she'd done all she could for them at this point in time… so all she could do was… figure out what had changed.

"I'll explain more… after we get to Beacon," Ozpin said softly as Glynda decided to speak up.

"...Florence was it?" she nodded towards the blonde, and she continued. "...Might I ask what it was like?"

"What was?" she responded, confused as Glynda closed her eyes.

"...It is called Remnant for a reason… I… want to ask what the final moments of your world were like," she asked calmly, and she looked towards Ozpin. The white haired man just shrugged, and Nightingale closed her eyes.

"...There wasn't much of a world left, if I am to be honest… the world had already been destroyed, sterilized by the being known as Beast Seven… or the 'Alien God'... I was, and still am, a member of Chaldea. The last fighters in a hope for the world's continued future. The last… few hours of our fight happened when the 'Alien God' finally managed to fully descend upon the planet, and collapsed all of her forces onto our base at the Wandering Sea, one of the few places left that… existed I suppose," she tried to explain… Avicebron would have been better at actually giving details, or even Hans… heck even Robin would have been better… honestly, she was the worst to explain this… the horry she had seen.

"What forces did this last bastion of your fallen world have to fight this… Beast Seven?" Ozpin asked this time, raising one leg and then resting across the other before taking another sip of his coffee.

"...The Servants… a force over two hundred strong, made up of the greatest heroes of the entire world's history. And from other worlds, from other universes… and in a few cases, the future that no longer existed, and others from histories that no longer existed… the Lostbelts…" she wrapped her arms around her chest, closing her eyes… trying to hold in the tears… all those lives… "Arjuna… he… your Progenitor God… he was from one of these Lostbelts… or at least was an alternate of his far gone self… an alternate of an alternate… an Alter, as we called them."

"And he wasn't enough to turn the tide!? Nevermind a force made of up… I assume very strong individuals?" Glynda asked in shocked as Nightingale turned her head away from the woman.

"...The attack of Beast Seven… Chaldea had thwarted every plan, every attempt at the world's destruction up until the point. Lostbelts, singularities, other worlds, alterna dimensions… you name it… in order to finally best us, these Beast manifested with… a conceptual skill. The Seven Beasts… they all had these 'Nega' skills, the ability to absolutely negate a concept. Nega Summon, Nega-Genesis… Nega Savior… Nega Desire… These were all powerful skills that used the concepts, wide reaching and powerful, to attempt to bring down the world and humanity… all but one failed," she explained as best as she could remember. She still wasn't completely sure what some of those were even capable of… but she was well aware of Nega Summon and Nega Genesis… as well as the final one.

"And that skill, this, absolute negation was…" Ozpin started, and Nightingale raised her head, opening her eyes.

"Nega Chaldea."

Silence reigned in the aircraft as Glynda raised a hand to her mouth, holding in a gasp as Ozpin actually lowered his coffee cup, lowering his head and bowing it slightly to her.

"And when Chaldea, completely and utterly, had been destroyed by the summoned and spawned forces of Beast Seven… our nearly dead Leader… our commander," she started, looking towards Gudao with a sad smile. "He… decided that whatever it took, we had to win… Phantasms were broken, sacrifices were made… even when, conceptually, we were fated to lose, every centimeter was paid for in blood, and every second mattered… I still… it was only a few hours ago for me… so many… who gave their lives just to buy him a little more time…" she started… and those sacrifices went through her mind… those she saw first hand.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the King of Heroes and his faithful sidekick, standing side by side and fighting their way forward through an endless tide of white, behind them, thousands of corpses littering the white expanse, before the Beast had attempted to swat them both down… and Enkidu had sacrificed himself, turning into the chains of Heaven to bind the god for even the mere moments Gilgamesh had to fire off Ea at it… that combination attack had cost Enkidu his life, and seconds later, the expose Gilgamesh had been blasted by the heavily wounded Alien god and her own army of Servants who stood in opposition to Chaldea itself. That attack… had been only the first two sacrifices, but it had prevented the beast from simply wiping Chaldea out herself.

The next she'd seen had been the Knights of the Round, riding forward on summoned metal steeds, the Motor Curiasses, wiping out dozens of Servants together before falling to the constantly summoned tide… it had reminded her of the Time Temple… only the situation had been reversed. They were the one's being besieged by an infinite enemy, and they had no way to return, every death had counted.

The sacrifice of the knights had given the Fuyuki War veterans time to reinforce the front door, and the very next tide of nearly a hundred Servants had found themselves trapped inside a two combined Reality Marbles alongside the combined might of two wars worth of servants, minus Gilgamesh, Lancelot and Arturia. But despite that attack, more just kept coming, ignoring those caught and pushing forward.

The injuries had piled up, sacrifices were made. The Human Staff died… each deciding to use the power they had gained from Olympus, as living 'heroes' to even by a few seconds were their lives… it had surprised her when Goredolf had been the last to fall of all the human staff… including Mashu, who'd attempted to kill the Alien god with the Black Barrel… and had been destroyed in the same attack that had cost the Master his two limbs and his eye, the gun failing to even fire before her obliteration.

That the so called director had the strength in him to take down five servants, including a Cu Chulainn Alter, before finally falling, had been inspiring. Lu Bu had fought with him, and had fallen far before he did to an EMIYA Alter, trading obliteration, God Force against the Unlimited Lost Works.

The slow, steady dwindling of Chaldea's numbers, their master in a coma and heavily wounded, desperate actions were taken… by the time they'd been pushed into the bowels of the Wandering Sea, there had been only thirty Servants left standing… and most heavily injured, missing limbs, weapons, anything that could be used… the one who'd been in the best condition at that point had actually been Cu Chulainn himself… the sole survivor of the entire ambush fiasco, and had torn his way through the enemy to reach them and continue to guard them, leading Leonidas, BB of all people, and Nobunaga in a valiant attempt to buy them more time to unseal the Grail Vault.

The finally, desperate action taken before that fateful moment in the vault, had been by Moriarty, who'd taken command after Sherlock's demise halfway through the battle, down to the last of his magical bullets, he'd handed them everything they'd needed to open the vault, the calculations and codes required he'd figured out in minutes… before leading Himself, her, Robin, Hans, the now Argonautless Jason, the Grand Lancer Romulus, Boudica and Nero on one final sealing attack, using Nero's Theatre with her among them to trap as many inside as possible to by Arjuna the time he needed to make his wish. She'd watched all of them slowly fall… Boudica had fallen last, stabbing another version of herself in a mutual kill as the golden theatre had fallen moments after Nero's fourth death to that same other Boudica moments before. The Saber's valiant attempt to live as long as possible had bought her the time to retreat with the still alive but heavily wounded Robin and Hans and getting them and the Master, who'd been on her back for over three fourths of the battle at that point, behind Avicebron's army of golems he'd made out of the Wandering Sea itself.

As she was in thought, it wasn't until several snapps in front of her face finally brought her back into the present, out of those memories of heroes dying their final, heroic deaths. Ozpin was in front of her, on one knee… a solemn look in his eyes. "You've been… out for ten minutes."

She internally swore, before closing her eyes, trying to remember where she'd left off… "You don't…" Glynda started softly, but Nightingale spoke.

"I… need to… to someone…" she started, one hand going into her pouch… and pulling out the small wooden doll… crudely carved and wrapped in a tiny, red scarf. "He… Arjuna… he used the Holy Grails… the nineteen we had locked away in the vault… a single one had the power to destroy the world if left alone long enough, and given a someone with the plan to use it… all Nineteen… he used, alongside his… Noble Phantasm… Mahapralaya… to delete the world, and everything on it… the forces of the Alien God, the dead, the dying, the wandering sea, the bleached planet… and given that we are here talking… the Alien God, Beast VII herself… and then he remade it, a brand new world… your world…" she said softly… she was honestly assuming, but Arjuna Alter had been… simple, almost childlike, compared to his counterpart, Arjuna Over Gods… he'd likely made this new world to be… far better in his mind than the old one… but that had been long, long… long ago at this point. "And he'd spared the time to save me… and these final survivors…"

Both Glynda and Ozpin were silent as Florence turned towards Gudao… his labored breathing one of the few signs he still stubbornly cling to life. She slowly reached for his hand, looking down at the bare skin, his command seals having been lost 'long' ago… and slowly she put the carved doll in his hand…

To say she felt a lot of pride in his determination was to little credit… the instant the doll had reached his hand, he stubbornly clung to it, even without anything else moving. She didn't try to remove it… simply moved his arm so that he wouldn't drop it if his grip fell slack.

"That is… quite the tale, miss Nightingale," Ozpin said, clearly processing her words before standing up. "Come, let's prepare to move them to the hospital wing,"

Like a trigger, his Madness Enhancement switched on. Better facilities meant a better chance of survival, and she was already moving to get the Master and Hans on her back again, even as the aircraft came to a stop. She hefted both Robin and Avicebron over her shoulders, and would have charged straight for the facilities… if it weren't for the fact she had no idea where they were. Ozpin quickly broke into a run, seemingly sensing her determination to get to those said facilities, causing a snort of laughter from Glynda as she instantly was after Ozpin like a hound of hell. The next two minutes of chasing him led to him trying to get a door open to a building marked with was seemed to be medical signs… but that was too slow.

He nearly yelped as she rushed to door, raising her foot, ignoring her injuries and smashing it down… or rather smashing the door into nothing but fragments and splinters before barking orders at a screaming nurse. "I NEED FOUR BEDS, THESE PATIENTS MUST BE TREATED FOR BLOOD LOSS AND SHOCK! I NEED O POSITIVE, AB NEGATIVE, B POSITIVE AND A POSITIVE BLOOD YESTERDAY! I NEED AN IV DRIP, A MECHANIC, AND BANDAGES!"

The next twenty minutes of panic, mostly for the nurse she barely recognized had a fox tail, were hectic as Ozpin tried to talk her down… and failed for the most part as she went to work with the 'better facilities' to finally treat the damned blood loss. Avicebron had already been more metal than man with most of his false limbs, so he was the least concerning at that exact moment. She'd had Gudao wired up to the easily located O+ blood bags she'd taken from the medical wing's stores, and she'd already changed the bandages of all her patients. They didn't require any amputation, not at this juncture, and at some point Ozpin managed to convince her that, no, there would be no mechanic coming… and after finally managing to get all four patients set up in bed to satisfactory conditions...she finally turned towards Ozpin again.

"The patients will need further treatment. What do you have in the way of replacement limbs," she stated as simply as breathing, Ozpin coughing before finally speaking up to the point she heard him.

"I can… probably arrange that… let's go to my office please… follow me," he asked, the scared, cowering fox nurse trying to avoid her as she followed Ozpin to an elevator, and up that elevator into a very fancy clock tower office, the man sighing as he went around the desk and collapsed in a very big chair.

"...I never expected the one described as a 'headstrong nurse' to be like that…" he mumbled, before settling into a more… dignified position and leaning forward as Nightingale took a seat, sighing in relief before smiling as she looked up towards the gears in the ceiling… in her mind… they'd make it. She'd make sure they did, and with her here, and knowing the stubborn wills of three of her four patients… and the relatively decent, if currently down to one limb Avicebron, she was certain they'd all pull through. "Nightingale… I believe it's time I managed to explain somethings."

"Please… do so," she stated to him, looking the man in his eyes as he pushed up his glasses by the bridge… and started talking.

"Ignoring the legends that have no bearing on the present… I'll begin with this… whatever you world was, I doubt it was like what Remnant is today… there are four kingdoms across the entire world, and perhaps a few dozen small towns," Ozpin started… and whatever cheer she'd felt over her patients faded as her brain ran the math… if… humans had been around for several dozen millenia according to Ozpin's earlier comment, if not earlier… it seemed rather wrong that they'd only managed to build up… four kingdoms across the entire world… unless there were extreme circumstances. "Before you ask… when I say 'kingdoms', I mean it more in the sense of cities. Vale, the kingdom we are currently in, has itself, and the island of Patch."

"What is wrong with this world," she started, standing up, and slamming her hands down on his desk… cracking it as he looked her in the eyes, and spoke.

"I was afraid of that… the Progenitor god, had two sons. The god of Light, and the god of Darkness. When the progenitor vanished, after creating the world, leaving behind only his legends, his will and a few artifacts, the gods of Light and Darkness began to make the world themselves… somewhat. It's a… long story, but it ends with the god of Darkness creating the creatures known as… the Grimm. Some more… things led to another, and the magic blessed to the mortal races by the one you call Arjuna… was nearly completely rescinded," Ozpin started getting very evasive at that point… she nearly drew her pistol, but rationality decided she shouldn't pull a gun on the man who was her only source of information… probably at all.

He continued after the moment of silence. "While the two brother gods did succeed in… removing quite a bit of humanity's blessings… they failed to account for the other race of Remnant, the Faunus, who from what little I understand, bear more a resemblance to the progenitor than to than to the brother gods. While the two had forms akin to dragons… the progenitor was like a man, dark skinned, black hair… small horns and a tail," Ozpin described… Arjuna to a T.

"They took humanity's blessings?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Our magic… as a sort of Agent of the gods… I will admit, I still hold some of that spark… but far from what it used to be… there was a… rebellion against the gods, led by a woman named Salem. Her actions caused humanity to be wiped out… and had to regrow from scratch… even back then we were far from an advanced civilization… I've reincarnated over millennia… and the humans I have seen with magic are those I've managed to share a spark of my magic with… the four maidens I 'created' to aid against the creatures of Grimm… but the Faunus were different," Ozpin explained… it was very poor, very evasive, and she was getting very tempted to draw her pistol when he started talking again.

"They emerged after the rebellion against the two gods, when they left this world with a promise, and me to 'guide' humanity back towards a proper path… They would only return when humanity redeemed themselves in their eyes… but back to the Faunus… while rare, there have been Faunus with magic among them. It's a rare trait… but common enough that it is, at least, regarded as at least something to be acknowledged… most Faunus who have such magic, more likely hide it as part of their Semblance, I'll explain what that is later. They only emerged well after both the brother gods had left… and with them," Ozpin explained… before Nightingale spoke.

"These gods are sick, and require treatment… but even I cannot reach beyond the stars… what of Arjuna?" she asked… and Ozpin closed his eyes.

"...All I have of the progenitor god is… a single prophecy that may not even be right. That he would return 'When the Thirteen Seals were broken', whatever that means… I assume you know?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow… and Nightingale finally took a step back… and sighed.

"...The Round Restraints… of course he wouldn't make it simple… what was he thinking…" she started mumbling… and then realized several things. He was a Berserker like her, he was… kinda on a time crunch at that point in time, and that his power was far from infinite, even with nineteen grails backing him up… if he'd gone to rest, he wanted to make sure whatever woke him up was important… at least she knew the thirteen seals… and hell if she wasn't going to find a way to deal with those… especially since if it was like those swords, they had to be activated all at once for it to count.

"Seems you know more than I do here," Ozpin started as Nightingale sighed, then looked at him.

"I am a nurse, not a warrior, not some strategist, or philosopher or even someone who can be trusted with delicate information, sometimes… what I am going to do, is keep them alive, I will heal them… and they can start working this out… this world is in grave danger from itself… and I don't know what you hide, or why, but I will cure it… this I vow. One way or another, I am here to stay," she stated before heading towards the elevator, Ozpin just blinking in stunned silence as she pressed the button to go down, leaving him behind in his office.

A few minutes later she was back on the ground and running back towards her patients. She'd left them alone for long enough. This situation was far out of her control, so she would do what she did best. She would heal, she would protect, she would save, and she would cure. No matter what, she had a pledge, an oath to keep, the gods themselves be damned.

Now she just needed to figure out if Avicebron could remake his own limbs if he only had one left…

AN: Kinda a jumbled, all around crazy chapter. I know it's not the best, but I wanted to get a bit out of the way. Ozpin is helpful but evasive, Nightingale is still Nightingale, Faunus can end up having magic, and Chaldea did not go quietly. Long story short, if it wasn't for Nega-Chaldea, it was highly likely Beast VII would have lost that fight just from Enkidu and Gilgamesh alone, nevermind a probably full powered Excalibur to the face, but that is neither here nor there. Arjuna Alter turned the bleached, empty Earth, in Remnant, and created the Brother Gods to act in his steed while he rested and recovered. There are other things Ozpin hasn't mentioned, but those will be revealed later. Sorry this was so fast, and probably poorly done, but I hope to hear from all of you soon!