Nashi looked around as all of her friends landed on the hard stone floor, all in various states of injury. Michael was still out cold, Keita didn't look to hot either, and everyone else looked like they'd rather drop dead then fight a few more seconds.
"Mother will join us momentarily," a voice said. Turning, she saw a young man in white robes approaching her, a soft smile on his face. She couldn't discern much of his features given the hood over his head, but he radiated a friendly aura to her. "For now, please, rest. Take a deep breath, you are safe here."
"Rest..." Nashi mumbled. "After I see this supposed Mother. If I relax now I'll pass out." The man smiled gently at this, simply nodding.
"I understand," he said. "You have had a long road here. We have been waiting for you."
"You have huh?" Elise asked, speaking up from behind Nashi. "Couldn't have teleported us to safety a couple months ago?"
"We could not," The man replied. "Our teleportation magic has a limited range. It was only at the beach that you finally got within our range to take you here."
"And where are we?" Simon asked. "Cause I've never been anywhere like this before." Nashi took a moment to look around her, taking in her surroundings. She furrowed her brow as she saw the ancient scripts lining the walls, pulsing with magic power.
"I've been somewhere like this," she said, garnering attention. "It's an ancient church." The man smiled.
"That it is," he said. "One of the first sanctuaries created for loyal followers of Ankhseram. These runes are in the Primaglyphic language, the first spoken language of humans."
"When were you in one of these?" Simon asked her. Nashi frowned, her heart panging painfully.
"Zoka and Ruli were hiding out in one," she replied, "back when we were trying to put me back together." Simon nodded as he took this information in, before looking around again.
"You haven't answered where this church is," he said. "Are we under the water? Further North?"
"Both would be an apt description," the man replied. "Too my knowledge, this church is in the barren ice lands on the very north of the planet, deep under the ground."
"Explains why we weren't in range until we were at the waters edge," Ultear said, managing to sit up. "Why would you go all the way up there though?"
"To ensure we remained hidden until the right time."
Nashi turned as the crowd of people parted in an instant, a small figure now standing before them. She too was clad in white robes, but hers had a gold trim on the edges. She did not have a hood over her face, which let Nashi see her aged, worn face. She had short, white hair atop her head, and rings around her neck. Despite her clear advanced age, the woman's eyes radiated warmth and comfort, making her feel more at ease simply by looking at her. She walked with the assistance of a staff that had an ankh at the tip, as if to signify her devotion to the God it took it's name from.
"You must be Mother," she said as the old woman got closer. She received a warm smile in return for that.
"I am indeed," she said. "And you must be Nashi Dragneel, the one Heralded by Time." Nashi made a face at this.
"That's a new one," she said, making Mother chuckle.
"It is a term we used to describe the one seen in Chronos' future visions," she replied. "I'm sure you all have many questions, but now is not the time to answer them."
"What?" Elise demanded, scrambling to her feet. "Of course this is the time! we fought like hell to get here, so tell us what we need to know!" Mother simply smiled back at Elise, who looked taken off guard by the kindness in her eyes.
"There is no point in drowning you in information when you are tired, hungry and filthy," Mother replied. "First we must feed you, wash you, and let you sleep. Only then can we begin talks about our next steps. Don't you agree?"
Nashi had been on Elise's side until she heard the promises of food, sleep and soap. Now, she could almost feel her eyes drooping.
"That sounds really nice," she admitted.
"Doesn't it?" Mother asked.
"And we're just supposed to trust you, huh?" Elise mumbled. "How do we know you can even help us?"
"Do you have anyone else you can trust?" Mother asked, silencing her. "The situation is dire, enemies could be anywhere. I understand your hesitation, but you do not have the options available to not trust me. Come, follow me. We have many rooms prepared for you." Mother turned and began to walk away at this, leaving the rest of them to get to their feet in a hurry to follow her. The elderly woman did not get far, barely out of the room by the time they caught up. The clandestine white hallways also reminded Nashi of the church she'd been in before, only cleaner and clearly inhabited.
"How long have you been stuck inside this sanctuary?" She asked Mother.
"Since time immemorial," she replied, waving her off. "Truthfully, you are the first newcomers to arrive her since Ankhseram tasked us with our sacred duty."
"And what is that sacred duty?" Steph asked, speaking up for the first time. Mother seemed to consider her answer carefully, not answering right away.
"To be prepared when the inevitable comes to pass," she finally said. "Too offer our support to those who would fight back the darkness."
"Sounds up our alley," Elise grumbled. Mother just chuckled again as they began to descend a flight of stairs, heading deeper down into the complex.
"I'm sure I've only caused you to have more questions," she said. "But they must wait until after you have all rested. Only then will you be able to actually intake what I have to say."
"All you had to say was food, old lady," Tetsu said, causing a chuckle to pass through the group. Just being here, being safe, seemed to put them at ease. Nashi was glad to see that.
"I'm sure it was," Mother replied with a soft smile. "I am certain the road to get here was not kind. I can see the evidence of that plain as day."
After descending the steps for a few minutes, Mother eventually led them out a doorway on their left, into another pure white hallway full of doors. Mother walked up to the first one and raised her palm over the door, causing a sigil of an ankh to appear, and the stone doorway slid out of the way. Looking inside, Nashi's eyes widened as she saw a large bed, with fluffy pillows and warm looking sheets. She saw a table accompanied by a couple of chairs, and another doorway off to the right that probably led to the bathroom.
"These are our empty rooms," Mother said. "Please, do not hesitate to make yourselves at home. These rooms have never been inhabited before." No one moved forward to claim it, making Nashi sigh.
"I'm too tired to argue over this," she said, entering the room. "I'll take this one." Mother chuckled at this.
"Of course, Nashi dear," she said. "It's all yours. Come, the rest of you can choose a room." Nashi watched as her friends disappeared deeper into the hallway to find more rooms, Mother giving her a smile as the stone door slid shut. As it closed, the room seemed to grow airtight, and Nashi was left alone with her thoughts and the big bed. She contemplated getting into it now and sleeping for a week, but she needed to bathe first. Walking to the other door in the room, Nashi tried doing the same motion Mother had. The door responded and slid open, revealing a bathroom as she expected. It was a surprisingly modern looking bathroom, making her wonder how exactly an ancient church had decent looking plumbing. She didn't really care, now that she thought about it.
Shedding her filthy clothes and placing them off to the side, Nashi entered the bath. As she entered, she looked at the wall, seeing several earthen knobs staring back at her. One of them was labeled 'H', and the other 'C'. She could only presume that meant hot and cold, and pressed her palm to the hot button.
Steamy hot water shot out of the roof above her instantly, causing her to nearly collapse with relief as her hair flattened down against her head. She stood there for a moment, mesmerized by the feeling, before the tub shuddered. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the tub had created a bench for her to sit on. As she sat down, the accumulated stress in her body was washed away by the water, running down to her feet and down the drain. She exhaled slowly and leaned her head back against the wall, her eyes drooping again.
She once again wondered how this church operated before chalking it up to magic. She could think no more, as sleep quickly claimed her, and she fell asleep with the hot water cascading down her body.
"How have you not learned cards yet, Philotis?" Philotis looked up angrily at Momus, making Apate smile.
"Cause you keep changing the rules, you little shit!" She exclaimed, slamming her hand down on the table. "How is it that a ten of clubs was worth seven points a second ago, but you just gave Apate nine?!"
"Cause hers was a ten of hearts, dumbass," Momus answered as if that cleared it all up.
"Why is it not worth ten?!" Philotis demanded as she jumped to her feet. Momus just rolled his eyes.
"Dealer's rules," he answered as if that made any sense either. Philotis growled in frustration and tossed her cards, causing them to fly out over the table.
"Fuck this game," she growled. "It's stupid."
"That mean I win?" Apate asked with a cheeky grin on her face, making Philotis narrow her eyes at her.
"For now," the redhead replied dangerously. "For now, Apate."
"You sure you're not the Disciple of Pride?" Momus asked as he cleaned up the mess of cards on the table. "Because you certainly don't know how to let go of yours." Apate giggled at this as Philotis redirected her irritation at him.
"Ooh you're lucky you're funny," she said. "Otherwise I'd have sewed that mouth shut years ago." Momus just snorted.
"Like you know how to work a sewing needle," he said. "That's way too normal of a hobby for you." Philotis looked like she was ready to bite back with another insult, but they were interrupted when the door to the office they were in swung open. Looking back, Apate saw Deimos standing there, looking furious.
"What's the face for, Deimos?" Momus asked. "You look like someone just told you to take a deep breath."
"Do any of you know where Cain is?" he asked, giving the room a sweeping look. "I need to talk to him."
"No clue, I don't babysit him," Philotis replied. "Why? What's got you so anxious?" Deimos looked back at them, and Apate noted with alarm that he did look nervous.
"Those resurrected things Lord Zomrus sent out," he said. "Those revenants, they actually found those kids. But they escaped." Apate blinked in surprise, having a difficult time digesting those two pieces of information.
"They escaped?" Philotis asked. "How? When?"
Earlier this morning," Deimos replied. "Seems that this 'Mother' figure they were looking for pulled them through a portal at the last minute. We lost them."
"So now what?" Momus asked. "Does Zomrus know yet?" Apate shivered at the idea of informing the God of Death that his revenants had come so close, but failed.
"No, he doesn't," Deimos replied. "And we're going to keep it that way for now. Apparently one of them has a plan."
"The revenants?" Apate asked. "They have a plan? What is it?"
"I don't know," Deimos answered. "All I know is he wanted to know who was in charge of Fairy Tail, which is Cain. I was hoping he'd been in here with you guys, so I could tell him not too-!"
Deimos was cut off as the castle shuddered around them, dust falling from the roof as reality quivered in fear around them. Apate swallowed hard as a flow of angry magic pulsed from the center of the castle.
All of you, come to the throne room. NOW.
The silence that followed that command was deafening, the four of them quietly exchanging looks.
"So I could tell him not to pass that information along," Deimos muttered, his scowl returning. "God damn boot licker. Now we all have to get an earful."
"May as well try and calm him down," Philotis said, her shaking hands on the table betraying how frightened Zomrus' rage had made her. "Come on, let's not keep him waiting." Apate got up and followed after Deimos as he turned and left the office. Philotis fell in line beside her, and Momus brought up the rear. The four briskly walked through the hallways of the castle, the silence heavy with worry.
"...You don't think he'll blame us, do you?" Apate asked carefully, playing with the end of her cloak.
"I doubt it," Philotis replied, "we had no part in it. He's probably just going to tell us what the new plan is."
"With barely contained fury," Momus remarked from behind her.
"Fucking Cain," Deimos growled as they reached the main staircase, descending quickly. "We could have handled this without angering Zomrus, but he just had to go and open his mouth huh?"
"Now we get an earful because of it," Momus replied. "Great."
"I don't think we're in trouble at least," Apate said. "That's good."
Soon, the four of them reached the ground floor of the castle. They sped through the hallways, quickly arriving at the massive door to the throne room. Apate noted with worry it was already wide open, giving them a full view of what was happening within. Zomrus was seated on his throne in the center of the room, looking impatient and annoyed. He had one leg over the other, and was resting his head on his hand As he glared out at them. She noted as they hurriedly entered they were the last Disciples to arrive, so they quickly dropped to their knees and bowed. Usually he didn't require this, but they all seemed to know instinctively it wasn't a good idea to try and stand on the same level as him at the moment.
For a few seconds, Zomrus was silent. He made no sounds at all, but Apate could tell his eyes were scanning them. She could feel his gaze burning into the back of her head as she kept in down in reverence, trying to avoid being noticed.
"...The children," Zomrus finally said, his voice quiet but barely containing his fury. "They've reached Mother, according to my revenants."
No one dared speak, waiting for him to say more.
"Wherever this Mother and her cult are, they are outside my reach, protected by Ankhseram just like everyone else we need to catch or kill," he muttered. "Now the children will receive the instruction they need to wage a war against us. Now, there is no avoiding a conflict on the horizon. It's inevitable."
Again, no one spoke.
"Apocalypse told me he wants to take members of Fairy Tail up North back to the coast," Zomrus continued. "He wants to threaten their lives if the children do not return. I intend on letting him." Apate's eyes widened at this. He was letting this Apocalypse take people who had already capitulated to him away? Why? They hadn't done anything.
"As you say, My Lord," Cain said, finally speaking up. "I'll accompany Apocalypse when he chooses who to take. I have some people who would make his job easier." Zomrus did not reply to this, causing Cain to fall silent again and bow his head. Apate just stared at the stone floor beneath her, wondering what came next for them.
"We need to grow our ranks of human soldiers," Zomrus said. "The children and their allies will hesitate to kill human enemies. They'll know they only fight because they fear dying, which is good for us. I want all of you to expedite the conscriptions in your borders. We're going to sign up as many people as we can to hold the line when the time comes." Again, Apate paused. They were going to force people to fight? She didn't like the sound of that either.
"Easily done," Geras said from in front of her. "It will not be hard, as long as we dangle better conditions in front of them."
"Exactly," Zomrus said. "Philotis, I want you working with the conscripts. Use your magic to soothe their worries and make them trust you. The more loyal they are, the better warriors they will make."
"I can do that," Philotis said.
"Deimos, you work with her," Zomrus continued, "instill a fear of Nashi Dragneel and her friends in them. I want them horrified of a future where they win. Momus, Nemesis, I want you both in charge of our propaganda branch. I want both of you to start sowing seeds of anger and distrust towards Nashi Dragneel and her friends among the populace. Make it easier to gain recruits. The rest of you, bide your time, train, and wait. I need all of you at full strength if we're going to defeat our enemies and secure our future."
"As you say, Zomrus," Oizys said quietly, "it will be done."
"We'll make sure those children don't even make it past the walls," Moros said. "They'll never even glimpse the castle."
"Sleep easy, Lord Zomrus," Hypnos said. "We will make sure your will is carried ou-"
"Do we really need to do all this?"
Apate had said these words before she even realized she had raised her head. Her eyes widened as her colleagues all stared at her in surprise, but she bit the inside of her cheek and kept her eyes on Zomrus. "I mean, you made all of us minor Gods, right? Do we really need to involve the common folk in our fight?"
"Are you seriously questioning him at a time like this?!" Philotis hissed from her left, tugging on her sleeve. "Bow your head again!"
'Do not silence her, Philotis," Zomrus said, raising his hand. "Apate is simply asking a question. And because I value her, I will answer her. You want to know why we must involve the populace, Apate?" She swallowed dryly, but nodded.
"Yes," she said. "It just seems counterproductive. We did all this to make life peaceful for the people...But now we're signing them up for war, we're tricking them into following us, we're riling them up. What does this have to do with our ideal future?"
She could still feel all of the Disciples staring at her in abject horror, but she refused to look at them. Doubt was clawing at her stomach, making her uneasy about this whole thing. She had to know if this was the right thing to do. If this was really going to make things better.
Her eyes widened when Zomrus scoffed, a smile forming on his face.
"Look to Apate, the rest of you," he said. "Voicing her opinion, making it known she does not know if this is the right thing to do. She is braver than the rest of you combined." Apate tried not to relish in the compliment, suppressing the urge to grin smugly at the others. "You are right that this is not in line with my ideal world, Apate. It is, in fact, the opposite. I wanted a world free of conflict and war, and now you see me inciting it. You are right to question me."
"T-Thank you, Zomrus," she mumbled. "For answering me."
"It's nothing," he said, waving her off. "You are owed my reasoning, and it is this: We did not start this war. I am not doing this because I want to, nor because I wish to crush my enemies under my heel and take all that is theirs. I am doing this because Nashi and her friends are giving me no choice. They will gather their strength to fight us, and we must answer in kind to protect the world we're making. Otherwise, we may as well open the front gates and let her them all inside."
"...But, again, do we need to involve everyone else?" She asked, "surely there isn't much random civilians can do against Fairy Tail wizards and their allies?"
"Of course not," Zomrus agreed. "I am certain Nashi on her own could handle a conscripted army of thousands all on her own. It is not about defeating them, though. It is about slowing them down, about making any attempt they make to take us on uncertain and slow. There is no way Nashi and any allies she gathers would have the resources, the weapons, the numbers, to take on our own army when they don't want to kill anyone. Do you think they are the kind of person who would kill our soldiers?"
"...No," Apate admitted.
"Exactly," Zomrus said. "And it is that hesitation that will win us this battle. With the twelve of you guiding them into battle, our army will be able to hold off any attackers. We will use their morality against them and drive it through their heart like a spear. Does this satisfy you, Apate?"
Apate pressed her mouth into a thin line, weighing Zomrus' words. What he said did make some sense, and she had to admit it was probably the best route to victory against opponents like Fairy Tail. However, she could not shake the disgust that took root in he stomach at the idea of forcing everyday people to fight a war they didn't ask for, for a ruler they didn't want, against people who in any other circumstance would be regarded as heroes. How could something so foul lead to a better future?
But that was just it, wasn't it? A better future where humans did not kill each other thoughtlessly could only be achieved once Nashi and her friends were dealt with. Until then, they could not afford to take shortcuts or act superior, like there was no reality where they lost. In fact, losing was a very real possibility if they weren't careful. And if that happened, then the hell of the prior world would return. Greedy rulers, violent warriors, and a world unfair to most people.
Despite the foul feeling it gave her, Apate slowly nodded. "Yes, Zomrus," she murmured as she bowed her head again. "I am satisfied."
"Excellent," Zomrus said. "I thank you for voicing your own opinion, even if you feared retaliation. You are a strong woman." She did not feel much happiness from his compliment, too busy trying to force down the ugly feelings present in her heart. "I promise you all, within one years time all will be well. We can continue to build our ideal world once we are free from these distractions. But until then, we must fortify ourselves and make plans to fight for what we believe in. Because if we do not, it will be taken from us. Now, go, and carry out my will. See to it that every action you take leads us to our better world."
"Yes, Lord Zomrus!" All twelve of the Disciples said at the same time. All of them sounded proud and determined, except for one, who only half-heartedly affirmed her orders. As they got up to leave, this single doubter in their ranks pondered what exactly she was going to do with these feelings that would no go away, no matter what she did.
Despite her insecurity, Apate stayed within the ranks with the rest, keeping to herself as they all hurried to carry out Zomrus' will.