Chapter 18: The Gathering Storm
"So, the faker will represent his team in the singles round. Not really a surprise it was always going to be between him or the cereal mascot." Mercury observed.
"During the upcoming match, all I need to do is weaken him enough to disrupt his aura regeneration. This will prevent him from summoning his troublesome allies. It shouldn't be too difficult as long as I can avoid any surprises," he explained.
"Emerald you will use your semblance to provide support to Mercury and interfere with Arc's ability to fight. Making it all easier for him to tragically mistime an attack and injure Arc."
Mercury, usually more relaxed bristled at these words. Crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, he retorted, "I don't need any help. The faker may be skilled, but he tends to stick to the backline strategy. I just have to stay on the offensive and keep him on the back foot until I can land a debilitating strike," he insisted.
Ignoring Mercury's protests, Cinder turned her gaze towards Emerald who nodded silently. "We are so close to completing our objective, we can't get careless now Arc and his servants must be dealt with before the assault commences."
Meanwhile, Neo stood silently in the corner, observing everything and taking mental notes. She knew her role as a double agent would soon come to an end one way or another.
"Once the fun begins I will break Roman out of confinement and we will commandeer the general's flagship Unyielding Resolve."
With Atlas's toy soldiers and flagship turning on the population of Vale that would provide sufficient distraction for our plan and at the same time potentially fan the flames of war. But if the need arises I can always make use of our trump card within Mount Glen."
Neo perked up at this and typed on her tablet. "What trump card? I thought the assault on Vale was the only operation taking place at Mount Glen."
Cinder's eyes twitched in annoyance at being reminded of the failed operation but she nonetheless answered her temporary ally
"There is a wyvern beneath Mount Glen that will awaken during our planned attack and head towards Beacon."
Concerned about potential risks, Neo asked, "Wouldn't that be a problem if it decides we're its next meal?"
Cinder assured her with confidence, "Don't worry; we have ways to control it."
—
The first rays of the morning were just barely making their way over Beacon as Jaune and his friends began to have their breakfast. No sooner had they entered than Nora after securing their favorite tables pounced upon the pancake station filling her plate to the brim.
Upon seeing the plate of his explosives obsessed teammate Jaune couldn't help but comment. "Do you think you have enough pancakes there Nora or should I get you another plate?"
"Oh that would be wonderful, I knew there was a reason I liked you, fearless leader."
"Me and my big mouth when will I ever learn?"
After returning with Nora's pancakes and his own breakfast he settled down to eat.
As he dug into his eggs and coffee Jaune felt an ever-present sense of unease creeping into his bones. Despite the good company and okay food (Emiya's cooking was on another level) he couldn't shake the sense of dread growing within him day after day. It had nothing to do with either Cinder or Salem rather it was something else. But what? The singularities were all dealt with. Ditto for the remnants and both the new director and investigators of the clock tower would arrive at Chaldea soon. Thus his promise to Dr. Romani would come to an end. So why did it feel like the world was about to end any minute now? Was it due to the lingering questions about why Goetia chose 2018 to enact his plan and the implications this brought on?
Mash noticing Jaune's distracted deminer nudges him with her elbow. "Is everything okay senpai? You seem a little distracted this morning. Pre-match jitters getting to you?"
Jaune forces a smile onto his face. "Yeah you're probably right, I should hopefully be fine after a quick spar to let out the nerves." These words prompted a reaction from his servants. Caster Cu quickly glanced up from his own breakfast, while Mordred sported an eager grin on her face.
"Taking nothing away from your opponent but compared to the things you've faced this should be a walk in the park fearless leader."
Weiss frowned at this it seemed that Jaune's team knew something they didn't and while they were entitled to their secrets she wouldn't help but be a little curious as to the confidence his team had in him. What had he been through to inspire such faith from not only his team but also Chaldea? Blake, meanwhile, spent the evening and the morning grappling with the realization that the white fang had fallen as an organization. Jaune's words were still playing in her mind. " The moderates in the White Fang are either dying or hanging up their coat and giving up the fight. Slowly but surely it is becoming nothing more than a terrorist organization more focused on tormenting humanity than their original goal of equality between species. Now I don't know if this is for the organization as a whole or if it is limited to the Vale branch led by Adam but regardless if they keep this up sooner or later they will cross a line and all bets will be off."
"Say Jaune do you think Emiya would be interested in potentially coming to-"
"Are you trying to poach Chaldea's head chief from us? Jaune asked with a grin on his face "Not that I can blame you. His cooking is on another level, but unfortunately for you he will not leave Chaldea no matter the salary you offer him."
" I mean can you blame her fearless leader? You know how good his food is. After all, you've had it for two years-... oops" Nora said as soon as those words had left her lips looking at Jaune apologetically
"Nora, Nora, Nora I love you but why did you have to let that slip," Jaune murmured as he lightly poked her cheek in retaliation.
"What did she mean by two years Jaune" Ruby asked looking at her sister team in confusion. Noticing how Ren and Phyrra had both tensed up.
"Cu do you mind"
"Not at all master." Came the response from Caster Cu as he used a rune to hide the conversation about to take place.
"You should be clear to talk but keep it quick master." Cu continued
Deciding to rip off the band-aid Jaune just came out and said it "While Nora should not have let it slip I suppose the cat is out of the bag now. Jaune paused to gather his thoughts and took note of the slight grin on Yang's face and the unamused expression crossing Blake's.
"Technically speaking I am 19 years old. I can't get into the exact reason right now but it will be explained later."
A moment of stunned silence followed Jaune's revelation. Yang finally broke the quiet, laughing with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. "Wow, vomit boy, you really nailed that punchline! I have to say that is the weirdest joke you've said so far."
"That's... that's not a joke, Yang," Jaune said, his face is as serious as a grave. He glanced at Pyrrha and Ren who both nodded in solemn agreement.
"What do you mean...?" Weiss asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Are you saying you've time-traveled?" she asked, her tone laced with skepticism.
At his silent look of hesitation, she began to worry. There was no way he expected them to believe that he had somehow traveled through time.
"I suppose from a point of view I technically in a way have traveled across time and space several times in the past two years."
"True after all isn't rayshifting just a very complicated version of Scrodinger's coffin? Where you're technically both in the past and present at the same time with a constant struggle taking place to prove your existence in the present." Commented Brayden Amaris the survival expert of the legion.
"Yeah, that must have taken a toll on poor Meuniere and especially Cerejeria. I don't envy any of the command staff having to deal with some of the shenanigans that have happened."
Ruby tilted her head to one side as she processed this information, her silver eyes bright with curiosity. "But how did you end up there?"
"I...sort of fell into it. It's a long story, one that'll make your head spin if I tell it all at once." Jaune admitted with a slight shrug, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Blake rested her chin on one hand, her golden eyes narrowed in thought. "But where exactly is Chaldea located, we know there is a Site Beta in Mount Arcanus, and given the way Jaune is telling events it seems that the main base is not located in Remnant at all. So did you somehow end up in another world?"
"You can be uncomfortably smart at times Blake you know that?" Jaune let out as he reevaluated his estimation of the feline faunus.
"But if that happened... two years ago..." Yang began, her gaze shifting from Jaune and Cu to Pyrrha and Ren. "Why aren't you... older?"
Jaune chuckled lightly at Yang's blunt question. "Ah well... moisturizing helps," he replied humorously with a slight grin on his face.
"Oh, so that's what takes up all of your time in the morning. And here I thought you were just a very late sleeper what with that Rem-Rem thing that tends to happen to you." Retorted Brayden as a grin broke across his face at the teasing opportunity presented to him.
"I thought we agreed you would never mention that ever again."
"What is Rem-Rem sleep?" asked Nora
"Don't worry about it!" came the exasperated reply of her team leader
"Moving on Jaune do you have any plans for our Summer vacation after the festival?" Ruby asked
At these words, Jaune and everyone associated with Chaldea felt a synchronized shudder pass through them.
"I am hoping for some rest and relaxation, after all this summer can't possibly be as hectic as the one we just had in Hawaii-" Jaune found himself stopped mid-sentence as Brayden placed one hand on his mouth.
"Oh no you don't Jaune, you are not ruining this for me this year by tempting fate. We are going to enjoy our paid leave, and nothing wacky is going to happen this summer. Nod your head if you understand."
Jaune reluctantly nodded his head. It wasn't his fault that every summer they had ended up as an insane event. Then seeing his opportunity for some minor payback licked Brayden's hand in retaliation.
"Ahh, why would you do that? What are you five?" Brayden exclaimed while wiping his palm on his jacket.
"Yes now please get me some chicken nuggets and don't forget the ketchup." Was the immediate reply
"You're impossible to deal with some days you know that right?
"Oh, I'm aware. It's part of my charm I think."
"What charm?" was the immediate reply
A silence stretched out between them until they erupted in laughter. "Oh man, what have our lives become?'
"Honestly Brayden I have no idea where it all went off the rails. I'm just holding on to the train for dear life at this point."
"Wait so is summer worse than this Guda Guda I've heard you talk about? Ren asked
"No it's honestly one of the more relaxing events most of the time."
"But how exactly –"
"It's better for our collective sanity if we just don't talk about it. So please drop it." Brayden's exhausted plea came as he attempted to get back to enjoying his breakfast.
Jaune's gaze shifted from the detailed map of the heavily fortified vault to his team, which consisted of Da Vinci and Kiritsugu. As they discussed security preparations, Jaune couldn't help but glance towards the medical bay where Amber was receiving treatment. He knew that their foe, Salem, possessed immortality, and he needed to be prepared. "Any progress on those weapons we've designed to counter Salem?" he asked
Da Vinci, her usual playful demeanor replaced with a face that reflected her slight frustration, responds, "The weapons are still in development. We need more time for completion. The intricacies of countering such a unique form of immortality are proving more complex than anticipated. Especially since we don't have much information about the limitations of her immortality so we have to find a way to hit her with as many things as possible and hope something works"
Jaune nods, though the news adds to the weight on his shoulders. "Understood. We need to ensure everything else is in place, then."
Da Vinci points to the strategic map, highlighting the security measures. "The elevator is the only entrance and exit to our base here. We've set up machine gun nests in the perfect kill spot to cover it. It's a choke point—anything that comes through will be neutralized swiftly. Additionally, Kiritsugu and Proto Cu will be stationed here with the medical team."
She pauses, then looks at Jaune with a thoughtful expression. "But Jaune, wouldn't it be better to take Cinder and her group alive? We could extract valuable information from them."
Jaune considers this, his face hardening. "Yes, that would be preferable. But given the threat they pose, I'm willing to settle for stopping her plans and removing some of Salem's forces from play. It's not ideal, but we can't afford to take unnecessary risks."
Kiritsugu, standing silently to the side, steps forward. "I agree with Jaune. While capturing them would be valuable, the priority must be to neutralize the threat. If they make a move for Amber and the maiden vault then they will be dealt with accordingly.
Da Vinci nods, accepting their reasoning. "Alright, we'll proceed as planned. The defenses are ready, and our key servants are in place for a rapid response."
Jaune looks at the team, his resolve evident. "We also have a plan to capture Cinder and her team the night before the final matches. If we can neutralize them before they make their move, we can eliminate their ability to be a threat to the festival."
Da Vinci raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "And how do you plan to do that?"
Jaune smiles, a hint of cunning in his pale eyes. "We will stage a night raid." He points at the map, indicating a smaller building located adjacent to their stronghold. "This location is where Cinder and her team are currently stationed."
Da Vinci frowns slightly, evidently concerned with the boldness of Jaune's intentions. "A night raid? That's risky."
"No riskier than letting them attempt their plan," Jaune counters with determination. "We will use mage craft and runes to mask our movements and silence any possible alarms. Then we'll strike with speed and surprise."
Kiritsugu steps in, his voice even. "It's precisely because it's risky that Cinder won't see it coming. She'll be expecting her plan to go off perfectly counting on her distractions and on injuring our master so that he can't use his "summons. She will not be expecting an attack against her the night before."
"What we have to decide now is which servants will participate in the raid and how exactly will the prisoners be moved to secure sites." Jaune mused
"Then there is the fact that Cinder's half of the maiden powers will have to be transferred back to Amber. Do we do that procedure the same night of the raid and then move them to an ASI black site for questioning and eventual internment or do we transfer Amber to a more secure location and do the transfer there?"