Hello once again my ever lovely and loyal peeps!
BTW, i forgot to mention, Mikasa and the 104th all have S4 looks and all are 23 to 24 years old, seeing as the events of House of Ashes happened while they were 17 years old, just to make sure everyone is up to date. The original mission during "House Of Ashes" wasn't even suppose to be a combat one, just a search and secure one.
Hence why the younger soldiers were sent, as by this point in time, the war had dragged on for three additional years so it ended in 2006 not 2003. This will be one of the many changes to the various timelines Xero and Gudako goes through in their adventures.
Not to mention, i'm going to be throwing yet another curveball that will possible fuck you all up.
And hopefully dazzle you all in the process at it's implications, as this will open up a whole new level of difficulty for Xero and Co. to deal with, not to mention open a whole new cans of worms.
So anyway, here we go once again, so as always i own nothing.
So please read, review and "What the fuc-BOOM"
Chapter 22: The Sins Of The Past Part 2
Xero looked on the those that were unable to hold their lunch in at what he said and found himself a tab bit disappointed but un-surprised at seeing Ruby joining them in the puke-festival.
Seriously, if she wanted to become a warrior, she was going to need to harden her heart and shape up.
"The only reason why it's acceptable for Historia and the others to throw up, is because they were there or in Historia's case, down in the pit with me/"
But if just HEARING about a blood bath is enough to make Ruby throw up, meant she was not ready to become a Warrior. He knew that she was young, a girl in the crisp of teenage hood despite being fifteen, she still had quite a few childish habits but then again, so did Nero, Ishtar and even X.
But there was no denying she was very skilled, in a certain way powerful and had a genius level mind when it came to making weapons and engineering. But that didn't change the fact the girl was very young, sheltered clearly and while she had killed plenty of Grimm, she hasn't killed a human or Faunus before.
That fact would get her killed, if she dared to fight a Cultist.
They would use that fact against her and she would die because of it.
"But first, i need to break this tension."
And he knew just HOW to do it.
So with a grin, Xero looked over to Historia and spoke, quite loudly,"Hey Historia, you know this reminds me how i was able to get between your legs within a day. Less then a day really. How long have Ymir and Reiner been trying to do that? Over five years and in less then a day, not even twelve hours, i was able to get my head between your-"
"BIG BROTHER!"
Dark, cherry, lobster, whatever word was used to describe the color of red, it colored the small woman's face. Historia was even shaking, either from rage or embarrassment was unclear, but Xero tackled onto it, as he leaned into Gorgon's massive bosom, a shit eating grin on his face.
"What? It's true. Hey Ymir, did you now i could barely pry Historia's legs from my head, she did not want to let go. Got to say, all that training with SHEILD has certainly made Historia's thighs well muscled with the prefect amount of softness to them. Oh and did i forget to mention, she has a well defined and prefect as-"
"SHUT UP!"
Before anyone could blink, a yellow bullet shot from the seats and aimed itself at Xero's chest. Said yellow bullet procced to beat her fist against his chest, yelling "Shut Up" over and over, all the wild being red from the tips of her ears to the soles of her toes. How she was able to sped her way over to Xero, over the many, many seats, people, climb her way up Gorgon's body and finally zip past Jaguar Man was something to behold.
But not as much, as the sight of the small blond trying and failing to bruise the much larger man with her tiny fist.
It was cute in a certain way but when Xero picked up the small woman by the back of her shirt and lifted her off the ground, while she was pouting at him, made the scene adorable.
"What? It's true and you know it Historia."
"Shut up."
The blonde muttered, face very red as he let her down, causing her to scurry back to her seat, as many laughed at her, causing him to smile, as the screen started up again.
Mission accomplished.
"Xero, son, you're being too hard on yourself. If it wasn't for you Levi, Eren, Armin, Annie and everyone else down their would have more then likely lost their lives. Fuck, Mikasa would have ended up as some high-class whore or be dying in a ditch somewhere, had you not saved her all those years ago."
The scene changed again, to show an old, wooden cabin.
Mikasa off screen felt her blood run cold, as her eyes widen and her skin paled further, as her mouth went agap.
No.
No, there's no reason to show this, there's no need to see this. Please god, don't make her relive this nightmare!
Mikasa shook in her spot, unaware of it as her eyes widen in horror, her breathing laboring as Eren and Armin, noticing her distress, gave her supportive hugs from both sides. Despite this, Mikasa's mind didn't seem to be home, as she gained the thousand yard stare while her eyes glazed over. If anyone was looking at her, they could see the clear signs of PTSD on her face.
The scene then focused on an adult Xero, in his usual attire with his cloak on and his sleeveless shirt now had a fur trimmed hood attached to it. The only change to his attire was a very familiar blood red scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Wait...did boss give Mikasa that scarf?"
Jean's mind slowly connected the dots, as he looked between Xero and the cute, small-
"Oh my god, BABY MIKASA! SHE'S SO CUTE!"
Yeah, that. Jean wouldn't be afraid to admit that little Mikasa was indeed a very cute, adorable version of herself. The scouts, humans and even a few Servants cooed at the sight of the small girl, before they noticed the look in her eyes.
Not a look, THAT look.
The Dead Look.
The look of someone who had lost everything in one fell swoop and was broken because of it. It was the look of someone who had nothing left to live for and any and all hope for a new tomorrow was gone.
"I'm alone."
Those two words hurt more then any strike from Artoria's holy spear could ever hope to inflict upon him. This shouldn't have happened, he was suppose to stop those damned Slavers from killing Mikasa's parents and saving her from slavery but all he did was play catch up. Sure, he was able to find her before it was too late but that didn't change the fact he FAILED!
"This wasn't suppose to happen!"
Xero gashed his teeth together, clenching his fist, feeling his yoki and magic response to his inner rage, as he stared at the broken girl before him. Goddess, Avenger Xero's Mikasa might have been on the short side but the girl before him was so...so small. Tiny even, just so very small and weak. Now she had the look of someone with nothing left to live for and it's all his FAULT!
"YOU were suppose to save her. YOU were SUPPOSE to prevent these fuckers from finding her and what do you do? You FUCKING FUCK IT ALL UP! YOU DUMBASS! YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO PREVENT THIS! YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO SAVE HER!"
"But you did."
Mikasa whispered, eyes glued to the screen as tears built up in her eyes, how could Xero think that? He wasn't a failure, he SAVED HER! True, her parents still died but if it hadn't been for him, she would have been sold into slavery and been broken beyond all repair. It was Xero, who saved her from the Slavers.
It was Xero, who gave her the hope of tomorrow, the light in her life after her original light was snuffed out by wrapping her beloved scarf around her neck for the first time.
It was Xero, who had installed upon her the will and the drive to survive and live her life.
It was Xero, who taught her to fight and helped awaken her hidden strength within her bloodline.
It was Xero, who brought her to her new family, the same family where she met her brothers in everything but blood, Eren and Armin.
It was Xero, who ensured she could live the life she chose, even if that meant the timeline could be Time travel was barely used, not because of how difficult it was but because of the deadly consequences and chaos that would follow if something, anything went wrong.
It was just too dangerous and the only reason Chaldea even did it, was because desperate times calls for desperate measures.
History had changed drastically and one of those changes was her, Mikasa, being able to chose how to live her life. In doing so, Mikasa was not only one of SHELD's rising stars, she was now the Summer Maiden and was now apart of Earth's mightiest.
"Plus the possibility of me being able to shape the future of our world, while saving it from an unspeakable evil may very well happen in the near future."
That last part isn't what she wanted to say to the man who made her, what she is today but the words got stuck in her throat, unable to get out. Not that anyone could say anything, as the watched the her younger self and Xero interact, as the Xero on screen seemed to get an "Ah-ha" moment, when she muttered those words of "I'm cold."
That cause Mikasa to tug her scarf up to cover her mouth with practiced ease, hiding the smile that came to her face.
Only to lose it when she remembered what came next
Young Mikasa blinked, as she felt the blood red scarf wrap around her tiny frame. Looking up to the man who saved her, Xero smiled under his fur lined hood,"Here, take it. You look like you need it more then i do."
A round of 'cooes' and 'awws' were heard all around and normally that would have Mikasa blush hotly but her blood only ran cold. When the revelation of the Multiverse theory was in fact true and the Cult Of Umber being a thing, what came next made Mikasa realize just how much trouble they were in...And how much changing the future had TRULY changed the present.
"Huh. That actually explains a lot."
For a long time now, ever since he met her, Armin had never seen Mikasa without her beloved scarf, either wrapped around her neck or around her head on a practical hot day. He noted how throughout the many videos, Xero never once relished his Rosary, no matter what he was doing.
Wherever Xero went, his golden Rosary was wrapped around his neck.
"Just like how Mikasa's scarf never once leaves her neck."
Xero and Mikasa were more alike then either of them ever realized it seemed.
Standing and towering over the very small version of hi-Avenger Xero's wife, the man known as the Grimm Reaper grabbed her very tiny hand with his own, much larger one.
"Bloody hell, she really is small. Did her parents not fed her at all?"
Shaking his head, Xero tugged the tiny girl along,"Come along Mikasa, i'll-"
MOVE
Fastest then Mikasa's eyes could follow, Xero suddenly scoped the small girl up and bolted forward!
CRASH
Narrowly dodging a fist aimed at them.
"What the?"
"Hey, what happened?! Who did that?!"
Xero had jumped a good few feet away from his original position, crouching down and holding Mikasa close to his chest, shielding her with his body. The small girl eyes widen in horror, grabbing tightly onto the shirt of her savior, as Xero looked behind him, glaring under his hood as the dust slowly settled, revealing who attempted to kill them.
"They told me you were fast but damn, you really are a speed demon Grimm Reaper. Not many heroes are able to escape my first attack, especially when they don't know it's coming."
A figure slowly stepped out of the dust induced fog, as Xero held Mikasa tightly in a protective manner. The figure was decked out in a black cloak, much like his own but much newer and had no tears in it. He wore a bone white mask with, what was that eye holes?
"Who the hell are you? What business do you have with me?"
Xero spoke, trying to figure out where he's seen this guy before, racking his brain for the answer.
"That voice, body shape and even that mask all look familiar, i know i've seen it somewhere before but where?"
"Hmmm, ya know he does look familiar and that voice? Where have i heard it from?"
Alex rubbed his chin, the younger version of the King of Conquerors KNEW he heard that voice before but damnit, where?! His master never really mentioned this part and all the Servants respected his privacy on the matter, knowing full well how much this event bothered him. Trying so hard to protect Mikasa and while he did, he couldn't stop the psychological trauma being inflicted upon the poor girl.
Sure, it all worked out in the end but his master really took it hard, marking it as one of his greatest failures. But this new guy appearing told Alex that there was something else going on here, as he KNEW this guy.
But from where?!
"It isn't like master to kept things from us."
Unless it was something he was unsure of and did the smart thing in an attempt to make sure he was right in whatever it is he said or did before speaking about it. Basically get solid proof before he did anything, rather then jump the gun and make a possible mistake.
A very smart thing to do.
The rest of the child Servants thought the same, as Ilya narrowed her eyes, as she saw the unknown attack raise his hand to his mask, revealing a well muscled arm.
Muscled...muscled...muscle...no, MUSCLE!
Her eyes widen,"No way! It's-"
Xero's eyes widen, as it suddenly clicked in his head, making him tighten his grip on little Mikasa.
"No way, that's not possible. How can, is it-"
"My name is Goto Imasuji but back in my world, i'm known as the villain: Muscular of the League Of Villains. I originally came for the girl but seeing such a big bounty, how can i resist NOT coming to collect on it? "
Taking off his mask, it revealed a villain right out of the anime, My Hero Academia, much to Xero's shock. He looked just like he did in the anime, when he fought Izuka at the Training Camp. Large, massive really, extremely muscular man set wide with short, spiky, and sandy blond hair with small black eyes. He has a large scar going across the left side of his face, his left eye replaced with a prosthetic one, and he has another, smaller scar on the right side of his forehead.
Disregarding his cloak, Xero took note how he had the same outfit as well. A red tank top that strained against his large body, a dark jacket that hangs around his waist, dark green pants, and black knee-high boots.
But the one thing that stood out to Xero, was the red light coming from his chest. Peeking out of the tank top, was what Xero could only described as a the top part of a certain symbol of the Cult.
The Pentagram.
"Well that explains why your heart rate suddenly spiked."
Da Vinic commented idly, as Mash actually sent Xero one of her rare glares, as did Gudako.
"Senpai! You should have allowed for back-up to come, not fight this guy alone!"
"Yeah! Are you crazy or did your pride win out?! You could have been seriously hurt, Oni-chan!"
"Or worse killed and Mikasa would have been next!"
Xero just put his hands up in surrendered,"Be that as it may, i told you i'll handle it and i did. Besides, it's not like you would have gotten there fast enough and even if you did come, do you really think he was just going to wait for my back up to come? No. This man was coming in hard and fast. So, despite some complications i was able to deal with him, Ika can attest to that."
"You still should have called for help."
Arthur said, even if Mikasa nodded in agreement with Xero,"If that guy is indeed who i think he is, then one good hit could have killed you, my queen."
"But it didn't."
Jalter spoke bluntly, grinning showing her fangs,"While i'll admit, i am a little...annoyed at his actions, i say it's for the best. There's no way i'd let some weakling touch me in any shape or form, so i'd say let bygones be bygones."
"Says the woman, who nearly killed my queen on several different occasions."
The Avenger glared daggers at Salter,"You got something to say cold blooded woman? As i seem to recall, you tried to kill him more times then me!"
"Because i was testing to see if my queen was a worthy master and he passed each one with flying colors. What's your excuse, besides being a dumb, bimbo titted bitch?"
"At least i have tits, you flat chested bitch! All you got is some fat ass but that's it and mine's better then yours!"
Artoria Alter and Jeanne Alter glared death at each other, as one could swear they saw lighting between the two. As this was happening, little Abby walked up to her master, teddy bear in arm and tugged his shirt,"Master, did you really fight him on your own, because of your pride?"
Sighing, Xero patted her head,"No Abby, i didn't. I wasn't lying when i said he wasn't just going to sit back and wait for back up, he had every single intention of killing me and kidnap Mikasa, so i did what i had to do."
"You promise? Do you swear it?"
"I swear, i promise."
"You better have."
Xero suddenly felt a clawed hand grabbed his chin and forced him to look at Gorgon's hissing face,"I would hate to have to punish you for doings something so reckless."
Yeah right.
Xero resisted the urge to snort, knowing full well that to him, the woman was full of it. If she were to threaten anyone else...well, she wouldn't threaten, Gorgon would just eat them then and there.
"Regardless of what happened, it doesn't change the fact my mongrel took care of the fool and died like a dog. So whether he did the smart thing or not, it doesn't matter as he took care of it, proving himself worthy to be my mongrel."
To be my master.
It went unsaid but that was how Gilgamesh rolled. While the reaction between all the Servants were mixed between pleased and approving, others where disapproving and maybe even sadden, who could say?
But hey, at least he had his magic during this fight.
Ignoring this, Rhodey looked at Xero,"So, who was he Xero? Cause it sounds like you know him."
"I do and honestly, it shouldn't be possible he exists in THIS world."
The Air Force soldier's brow furrowed at that, exist in this world? What did that mean?
"He shouldn't exist because Goto Imasuji aka Muscular is not only a super villain but he is from, what is suppose to be an Anime world called 'My Hero Academia'. He shouldn't exist because he is suppose to be fiction."
Wha?
Everyone went wide eyed at that, as Xero merely used his Focus to pull up the man from the MHA page and showed them for all to see, flipping the screen to show everyone present.
"How..."
The Russia ambassador uttered, unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing. If that was true, that a character from a fiction world is real, then what else is real?
"Multiverse."
Was all the primary master of Chaldea said, as if that would explain everything.
Which it kinda did, after all, every every single reality that is possible to exist does exist. No matter how insane, crazy or ridiculous that possible reality is, it does exist in some shape or form.
Infinity is a big number after all.
Mikasa, now looking scared beyond belief, clung to Xero tighten, as he looked down at her and have her a reassure smile,"Don't worry Mikasa, i'm here. He won't get you or me, trust me."
"This was just one of the changes that i had caused, even before i did it, it became clear that the Cult couldn't defeat me. Not with their current numbers, so the bastards found a way to gain help from other dimensions."
The scene between the three froze, as Xero and Lilith looked between the three fighters.
Lilith herself circled around the large ash blonde haired man,"Still, what are the chances of you having to face off against a villain from an anime series?"
"I'd say a combination of luck and my own devil's luck. On one hand, i know these guys, i can read and studied up on their abilities and powers. But they are still powerful in their own right and even by Servant standards, All Might and All For One could do some series damage to even my Servants...if they were still in their prime. We can outlast All Might if we have too but All For One? He's not stupid, he cunning and smart, not to mention very powerful with his jack of all trades power. But All Might is pure power, just one punch from him is a hurricane of pure brute strength but hopefully, Muscular being there was nothing more then either just a fluke, an accident or just a one time thing."
Though in all honesty, even All Might and All For One would still lose horrible to his higher tier class Servants like a certain immortal queen of the Shadow Land, the King Of Heroes, the Greek Hero, the son of the Sun God, the Beowulf, the King of Kings, the King of Knights, the Dragon Witch, the Count, the list went on.
They simply had no defense or experience against magic users and if his Casters played their cards right, even the weakest would be able to kill them off no problem.
Fighting?
Eh, might be a tab bit tricky but killing?
They'd lose hands down.
Many of the Servants puffed their chests out, both male and female, smiling at the faith one of their masters had in them to defeat the symbols of both Evil and Justice.
It was a nice feeling and helped their egos too.
"Hmmm, ya know, that i think about it, All Might and Xero are a lot alike. Both are symbols in our worlds but while All Might is the symbol of peace and justice, Xero is the symbol...of Fear."
Just like how All Might's very existence in the My Hero Academia world deterred crime for fear of being sent to jail by the man, Spider-Man's teacher and best friend, however didn't arrest people, he killed them. People like rapists, serial killers that kill for the fun of it, terrorists that kill indiscriminate, drug lords that hold entire communities thanks to their addictive drugs, human traffickers, basically the kind people no one would care to see gone.
Cultist too and now HYDRA as well.
Peter can easily see the parallels between All Might and the Grimm Reaper.
Those quirk users just had no normal defense against magic and they always, ALWAYS went in, for the kill.
Not to mention, some quirk users were just so damn arrogant in their abilities, losing to someone without a quirk is impossible to them, thus leaving them vulnerable to people like him. Whether the creators meant too or not, Xero could see the world of MHA was teetering on the brink of collapse. People, both quirkless or with a weak quirk were going to outnumber those with more powerful quirks.
Even then, those with powerful quirks would end up like season 1 version of Bakugo, becoming arrogant and having a mind set of "Might makes right" and not everyone will want to become a hero.
Long story short, in the next few choices within the coming years after the cannon of MHA would logically end in the "quirk singularity" that Doctor dude spoke of, whatever his name was.
But that didn't mean he couldn't draw his own parallels between MHA and his own world in how things are turning out. Namely how normal people are reacting to mutants and even how Magus were treated in the past and in the present.
But that wasn't the point, as unlike the MHA world, the Magus were able to make things work for millions of years and the dark ages were nothing more then a bump in the world. Attempting to reveal themselves to the world didn't work out too well and even though many of their people died, they learned from it and adapted accordingly.
"Plus, i do find it a little ironic that the heroes of MHA world are a lot like the mutants of this world, only with some more...restrains. That and it's kinda when you think about it, how Avenger Xero's Noble Phantasm is basically All Might's and All For One's power combined to create my ow-HIS own version of One For All, as his Noble Phantasm."
Only his Noble Phantasm was appropriately named, Soul Link.
The ability to link his soul with the legends of the past, the ones he'd summon and use all their abilities with no draw back or the Servant their to merged with. Be it their own unique skills or NP, using Soul Link Avenger Xero could use it.
The combined NP's of all the Servants he summoned during his time in Chaldea, creating a copy cat NP not unlike Emiya's, only his copying was NPs and their skills, not weapons.
"What?"
Everyone that didn't know about the Servants or magic up until today still didn't know what the hell a 'Noble Phantasm' was but from the way he described, it sounded very powerful.
The only way to explain how he gained such a power, was chalked up to the fact that version of him was not only reincarnated as an Avenger class Servant due to humanity's betrayal, but Avenger Xero was also a Counter-Guardian!
"Mostly likely because of me using the Class Cards all the time, their essence slowly seeped into my being, not to mention how long they we're tied to my soul for so long and how long i had them summoned."
A normal Holy Grail War only lasted a month at the longest, a week at the fastest. Xero had his Servants for over TEN years, something no other master had been able to do before till the Chaldea version of the Holy Grail War.
Hmm, little wonder how Avenger Xero was able to kick the collective asses of Chaldea with such ease, before they could start the seventh Singularity and ultimately face Solomon in his Time Temple.
That was possible but before he had a chance to ponder on that, his mother spoke again, breaking him from his thoughts.
"You don't believe this is something that should be dealt with? If the Cult has figured out a way to create interdenominational portals, then wouldn't that open a whole new can of worms."
"Yeah, it would!"
"Because, even by my standards this is sheer insanity. To this day, i'm not sure if that really WAS Muscular or not, i have to be 100% sure that he was the real deal before we do anything. What this could mean for the war would change everything and while it could be a good thing, it could be a very bad thing too. For all we known, he could have been nothing more then a homunculus for all we know, created and sent after me purposely to throw me off track and have me chasing ghost's."
"Or it could be the real deal."
"Or it could be that."
Xero nodded in agreement with his mother, despite looking very frustrated with the entire situation,"I just don't know for certain and i needed to be absolutely certain before we chose what to do. We're dancing on a knife's edge and every move we make, we have to be certain it's the right one. I'd figured things get bad but not this bad."
"A wise move, all things considered."
Glynda Goodwitch commented, making her colleges look at her in shock. Did she just compliment him, she never compliments them!
"That is of course, not including the fact that the All Might and the world of THAT My Hero Academia might not be the same one we know from the show. Hell, even All Might the great symbol of peace and justice might actually be the great symbol of evil and INJUSTICE. After all, if every possible reality exists, then it's entirely possible that kind of reality and that kind of All Might exists, Oni-chan."
Wasn't that the scary truth.
"So...anyone going to address the Goliath in the room? Since when can the Cult summon people from different and why did they wait so long to do it?!"
Sun all but yelled the last part, as Xero merely looked at the screen, as his mother spoke.
"Things always get worse before they get better. Son, what you fail to realize is that all your efforts haven't been for nothing, what they're doing now is a direct result of your actions against them."
"What?"
Xero looked at her weirdly, before Lilith sighed,"Xero, look at what you've done to them? You've beaten them, hammered them on all sides, destroyed their bases, killed entire cells of their men and stopped many of their operations, all the while stripping them of money, power and even influence throughout the entire world."
"Okay, are we seriously not going to talk about this?"
"But in doing so, you've reduced the Cultist to a powerful and patient predator, into a desperate, cornered animal making them even more dangerous then before. Even during Avenger Xero's time, they've reached a whole new threat level. Even with HYDRA's support, they're power has been reduced greatly-"
"However, they've grown desperate enough to enact an insane plan to seek help from a completely different world. One that is possible an anime in our world and by the goddess, i have no idea what we're going to do, if the veil between worlds is broken and it merges with out own. It would be chaos. Bloody hell, do i miss the old days in Chaldea, back then all i had to worry about was if i was going to survive my Servants. Now i have to constantly look over my shoulder, looking out for HYDRA, Cultist, Witch Hunters and goddess knows what else. Not to mention, even if i DO prevent the end of the world and stop the Dead War, it could end the same way it ended in Avenger Xero's timeline...with the war between Magus and Non-Magi. "
"Seriously, is no one going to ask it?"
The scene changed once more-
"STOP! JUST STOP!"
Only to in fact stop, when Winter stood up and yelled louder then she has in...well, ever actually. She hardly ever raised her voice. Hell, not even aurging with Qrow or her father ever got such a reaction out of her but then again, Xero was everything Winter hated.
Sassy, obnoxious, unclothed, loud, undisciplined(As far as she knows, Winter was completely unaware that Xero was in fact far more disciplined then her. That is, when he felt like it) disrespectful, basically he was like a younger, magical version of Qrow. But unlike the drunk however, Xero was in a much higher position of authority then her or the general she believed in and even committed cold blooded murder...And everyone lets him get away with it!
How can anyone not see what she saw?!
Mazoku was a very dangerous criminal and despite having 'good' reason to do what he did, even with everything she seen, he didn't offer any actually proof, other then hearsay. He was, in not even more dangerous then Adam Taurus, as he easily beat the best team in all of Rem-ATLAS without breaking a sweat and under less then TEN MINUTES!
It was inhuman!
What was worse, if his words were true as it would be unwise to trust anything that boy said, he had a legion of powerful followers. Followers that can easily wipe out entire armies and destroy countries like they were taking a stroll in the park and nobody is doing anything about it! Worse, these people where in fact putting him into a higher position of power that could prove disastrous if he turned on them.
"Especially if any semblance of truth from the story of Null is true, then it will mean then end of Remnant!"
Because like it or not, Atlas was the one that held the SDC, the source of Remnant's lifeblood in Remnant and if Atlas goes, so does the SDC. Her fath-Jacques would certainly be spiteful enough to do something like that. But that wasn't the point, as if and that was a very big IF, if Mazoku had magic along with the redheaded one then Jacques would do whatever he had to in order to get his hands on it.
Even if that meant going the criminal route and in doing so, would set off a war, a war they wouldn't be able to win as Remnant just wasn't use to the kind of warfare Earth could wage on them. Not to mention they wouldn't waste time fighting a long term battle, they'd go right for the jugular and with every major country in the world banding together now, there would be no chance at victory.
While that was good, as Salem was trying to divide humanity and now they had a global alliance formed, immortal or not, Salem wouldn't be able to win.
But that was beside the point, as Winter had kept her silence when this whole insane thing started. She kept her silence when more insane things like magic being real and being able to summon legendary figures back from the grave was revealed. It was hard but she kept her silence when Mazoku revealed the coming Dead War but when evidence of the Cult of Umber existing was shown, she was able to keep her silence.
But now the threat of other worlds, Fictional Worlds that belong to fairy tails and TV shows were not only real but could possible get involved in their problems finally made Winter's silence snap.
This...this was the kind of shit they needed to know and Mazoku KEPT IT FROM THEM!
WHY?!
What the hell was wrong with him?! This was the kinda of thing they needed to know and he didn't say anything!
"Does your childish distrust of authority go so far, so deep that you would doom us all, by denying us critical NEED TO KNOW information from us?"
PING
One could hear a pin drop and a fly hit the ground, as the air grew cold around them all, as the Servants, ALL the Servants and Gudako glared death at Winter as Xero's hair shadowed his eyes. Even the kinder ones like Nero, Europa, Astolfo, Moriarty, Diarmuid, Gawain and Illya of all people were glaring hatefully at her.
Hell even Armin and Historia were glaring at her.
"Why you, who the hell do you-/What the hell is wrong with-"
"Childish?"
Xero's dark, demonic voice cut Eren and Gawain off, as his yoki reacted to his anger, changing his voice once more,"Is that what you think of me and my so called 'childish' fear of human nature? You don't think i thought of every possible outcome before making a choice on what to share and what not to share? For your information, i too wondered where the Cult was able to travel to different worlds but upon learning SHEILD had the Cube and the Cult was working with the HYDRA inside SHEILD, it all made sense how they were able to do it. Losing it and the Cube being lost to Asgard, beyond their reach was a massive blow to them. Even if they did travel to different worlds with the Cube lost to them, it will several hamper their movements, even i would have a difficult time traveling to different worlds without something like the Cube. That's not even including the fact infinity is a BIG number and seeing as it's clearly hard for you to understand all this, i put this simply: It. Is. Not. Worth. Effort. To. Do. It. Anymore. Even if they tried it, seeing as most of their magic is tied to Blood Magic Sacrifice, they won't be able to do it without catching someone's attention. Now as for my so called 'childish distrust' as you put it, don't you ever wonder how and why i got to this point? No, of course you don't, you are blind because of your trust in authority that you can't see past your nose. But i don't have to explain it, the main reason why i don't trust anyone, is what your about to see."
With that said, the screen started up again but not before Winter could grit her teeth, as she heard Habetrot, not so subtly whisper to Morgan,"Ne, ne, Miss Morgan don't you think it's kinda funny to see her continuously lose to master?"
"It would be, if it wasn't so sad to watch my husband put the bitch in her place."
She would show them.
Winter sucked in her breath before putting on her professional mask into place, confident that whatever "Proof" Mazoku had would be nothing more then hot air.
Oh how wrong she was.
CRACK-KA BOOM
The sound of thunder, combined with the steady fall of rain brought Xero back to the world of the living. His entire body felt heavy, sluggish even as he tried to move but found himself feeling like his entire body was made out of lead!
"What the hell?"
Xero groaned, reaching with his metal arm to rub his forehead, only to blink as he felt something wet.
Something that wasn't rain or water.
Moving his hand back, Xero noticed how his fingers were covered in blood.
"But it's not mine."
He channeled his yoki to his forehead but felt nothing change, he was fine. The blood wasn't his yet, as his arm fell to his side, he could feel even more of it! What the hell was going on?! Lifting himself up, his ends widen as he finally caught sight of where he was.
The humans and Faunus eyes widen, as mouths dropped and many gasped in horror.
"No."
Kali gripped her husbands shoulder, tears in her eyes, as Ilia looked ill.
"Why?"
Ruby didn't bother to hold her tears back, as Ozpin gripped his newly made coffee cup, as Qrow took a long swing of his flask. As did Tony, who has summoned his own flask to try and drink away the image of what he was seeing that will no doubt be imprinted in his mind forever.
Bodies.
Blood.
Skeletons.
Everywhere he looked, he could see dismembered bodies everywhere. Looking around, the place he was in looked like some kind of junkyard/graveyard filled with bodies of...of...
"Floch."
Eyes widening even further in horror, Xero could actually see several soldiers, HIS soldiers, laid askew over literally piles of bodies everywhere. Despite feeling drowsy and in pain, Xero's sharp eyes could spot several people he actually knew, aside from his soldiers laying alongside the many, many piles of bodies.
The floor below them were just like the Pit back in the House of Ashes, a river of blood but what made it all the more worse, was the fact he knew quite a few people that laid dead. But even those that had been dead for a while or as he was told had been MIA(Missing In Action) and were presumed dead.
Moblit, Ilse, Thomas, Nanaba, William, Louise, Holger, Hannes, Rico, Marlowe, Hitch, Boris, Djel, Keith, Traute, Aurille, Deltoff, Mike, Gerald, Roderich, Frank Castle, Kaya, Karl, Sophia, Jin, Theo, Calvi, Marcel, Fergus, Wyatt, Carolina, Alex, Roger, Porco, Sebastian, Lara, Colt, Jen, Tom, Faya, Niccolo(Sasha gasped at seeing her husband bisected in half), Robin, Diana, Onyankopon, Yelena, Maxwell, Zofia, Jessie, Anya, Carlo, Luthor, Bombate, Edward, Klaus, Jason, Bruno, Ludwig, Annette, Kartin, Rip, Eric, Grace, Walter, Jack, Miranda, Julie, Abby, Victor, Jonah and that was just those he could see in his line of sight.
But one sight he caught caused his heart to sink in his stomach and his blood to turn to ice.
"Velvet."
His daughter.
The young woman, barely twenty years old was laid out on another pile of bodies, eyes glassy and otherwise in good shape...if you ignored the fact he entire lower body from her waist was completely gone.
Xero off screen stared emotionless at the scene, having more then his fair share of nightmares at the sight of his beloved daughter sliced in half and the reason why she was killed had long since dulled over the years.
"No..."
Mikasa however did not have such a advantage, as she looked ready to either cry or rage out, it was hard to tell. Not that he blamed her, as she may not be here yet, Velvet was her daughter or at least, future daughter and to see her dead, in such a bloodied way was heartbreaking for the woman.
So much, her Maiden power being to leak out but not enough to create a typhoon.
Yet.
"V-Velvet."
Struggling and moving, Xero was able to lift himself up but made the mistake of not looking where he was going and slammed face first into the river of blood, sending his body under the blood/water mixture.
SPLASH
"URGH!"
He gasped, coughing out blood, as he desperately moved towards his dead daughter, unable or unwillingly to accept the reality she was dead.
"No, no, no, no, no, come on. Move Mazoku, Velvet!"
Xero was able to swim his way towards her, noting how his other arm, the fleshy one was now gone but was healed up to the point, where it would no longer bleed. Using his metal arm, he was able to claw his way up the dead pile and reach his daughter,"Velvet, Velvet honey come wake up, stay with me baby."
He shook, begged and even smacked her but nothing worked. He was too late, Velvet was gone and there was nothing he could do, even as the rain grew harder.
"Hah...hah...AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The present Xero and Lilith watched as the future/past Xero wailed, the lighting flashing as hot tears streamed down his face, as he held Velvet's dead body to his own.
"Ya know, this really put into perspective of just how deprived and evil humans can become."
Lilith commented as Xero closed his eyes, drowning out Avenger Xero's broken screams, as his mind wondered back to what caused this. The reason why the world ended, the reason why humanity would come to an end, the reason why his family suffered so much and everything went to hell, AFTER the Dead War ended.
Betrayal.
It wasn't bandits or the men of the Cult Of Umber that killed Avenger Xero's wife and their daughters, save for Velvet. It was their own people who had turned on them, plotted the deaths of not just him and his family but all his friends and followers. But you got to ask yourself, why?
Why did they do this?
Why did they betray the man, who was able to not only kill the Six Dark Purveyors, destroy the Cult of Umber and face Baron Umber himself, stopping his evil plan and saving humanity?
Why did they so ruthless and coldly kill not just a woman who could not defend herself but slaughter her daughters and even kill a one year old baby for goddess sake!
WHY?!
WHY?
WHY?!
The answer is actually quite simple:
Power.
"W-what? What do you mean?"
Ruby rubbed her eyes of tears, as Xero simply said,"Keep watching."
It's because Xero was able to kill the Six, the Baron and wipe out the forces of Marely. It was because Xero was able to wipe out the invasion force sent to New Avalon before the war really kicked off and was called the first battle of the Dead War and humanity first real, true victory against the undead.
"I got to strong and those in power feared me because of it."
Because at the end of the day, power is what made the world go round. It wasn't hard to figure out why his so called 'allies' betrayed Avenger Xero, once you thought about it. Because power belonging to one person, who's loyalty was only to those he cared for and those in return who are loyal to him, made many people very nervous.
Especially those that can't or refuse to allow themselves to be controlled by anyone.
What ifs would drive a person crazy and hypothetical situations will cause people to do stupid things, creating self-self fulfilling prophecies to come true.
The people of New Avalon, at least the newer ones that were put in charge, after leaders like Erwin Smith and Dot Pixis were killed during the war had grown wary of Avenger Xero, as he grew not only in power but popularity as well. But seeing as he was a Magus, wielding power that only those who were born a Magus could wield had born jealousy and hate in the hearts of many, just as those who admired him.
But as the forty year waged on-
"FORTY YEARS?!"
And Avenger Xero's allies ran out, the number of enemies grew. By the end of the war, Avenger Xero had been busy with his work in trying to end the war and didn't realize the evil growing within their own walls. By the end of it, after his wife and all but one of his daughters had been murdered, Avenger Xero just wanted to settle down and spend the rest of his days with Velvet.
But not a second later, after returning home the hero who saved the human race, he was betrayed by his own people.
"And my soldiers payed the price for daring to side with me. Ya know, it was only thanks to Levi and Jean saving me from the bloodied graveyard that i was able to learn what happened to me-HIM and getting my revenge the NEO-HYDRA. Makes me wonder if humanity is even worth saving, when they decide it's okay to screw the one who saved them over, just because he MIGHT betray them, despite showing absolutely no sign of doing it."
"That is human nature my son, there will always be those who fear you, no matter what you do. Even if you save the world, there will be those that despise you, just because you had the power to do it in the first place. I thought you understood that, as you've taken up the mantle of the Reaper, doing whatever it takes to stop the Cult, while dodging all attempts of being stuck under someone else's thumb. But that doesn't mean every human is bad, just a select few."
Xero sighed,"I know but it makes it harder to keep any faith in humanity as a whole."
"I know darling, just be sure to steer clear of any and all those in authority, unless your really sure you can trust them and ya'll be fine."
Ilya then sent an uncharacteristically sent Winter a smug smile,"So, is daddy still wrong to NOT trust anyone? Is his reasoning to be wary of anyone still, as you put it 'childish'?"
Winter said nothing, just putting her hands in her head.
Done.
Okay, wanted to do more but hey, what are you going to do?
BTW, i forgot to mention, Mikasa and the 104th all have S4 looks and all are 23 to 24 years old, seeing as the events of House of Ashes happened while they were 17 years old, just to make sure everyone is up to date. The original mission during "House Of Ashes" wasn't even suppose to be a combat one, just a search and secure one.
Hence why the younger soldiers were sent, as by this point in time, the war had dragged on for three additional years so it ended in 2006 not 2003. This will be one of the many changes to the various timelines Xero and Gudako goes through in their adventures.
Still, hope the curveball of the Multiverse theory and MHA enemy of Muscular showing up, was a good shock to you all. I won't say much, just known that this won't be the last time we see the My Hero Academia world into play.
Along with the implications of just how badly this can be fucked up can get and yes, HYDRA was still alive and running around in Avenger Xero's timeline but how? Ya'll have to kept reading to find out, so hopefully you enjoyed the chapter.
Devil out!