Chapter 34
(Wednesday, 3rd of Verdant Garden Moon, 2021)
Jack was in the docking bay with his backpack draped on his back, playing on his phone whilst sitting on one of the benches. Jack was waiting for the rest of his team to show up in order to get ready for the mission. Jack showed up to the docking station fifteen minutes early for no real reason. Simo and Jojo were with him as well, with the phantom being gods knew where, but Jack could summon them at any time. Apparently, Jack's team was going to be composed of 6 to 8 people instead of the usual 3 to 4. That includes Simo, even though he's technically not a student.
"So, you two gonna be my teammates for this mission?" A man with shoulder-length purple hair walked up to you wearing a surprisingly casual outfit. . "Name's Robin Tzu, but Robin's my go to name though."
"Jack, and my companions are Simo and Jojo." Jack introduced his summoned hero and familiar to Robin. "I'm an archeologist, Simo is a sniper, and Jojo is a rabid piece of shit."
"Ha! I can tell we're gonna get along!" Robin let out a laugh before sitting down across from Jack. "My class is a Tactician, meaning my fighting and magic skills suck ass, but in exchange, my smarts can get out of any mess!"
"So basically you're an expert in bossing people around." Simo's eyes were focused on Robin, who looked nervous.
"Yeah, pretty much, but you should note that no one under my command has ever lost a fight, or died for that matter." Robin sounded confident in his tactics. "I even did a little digging about all of our teammates to form the best possible plan for all possible scenarios. In fact, one of them showed up...now."
"Heyaaa!" The person who showed up was a short girl with rainbow colored hair, a sig pistol, and a jogging attire. "I heard y'all talking about me, so what's crackin '?"
"Iris Lancaster. Class: Speedster." Robin introduced the rainbow haired girl. "Fastest student in Sanctuary, with a top speed of 3,500 kph or 2,100 mph. Armed with a sig sauer p226, her main tactic is to knock out her opponents with her built up momentum before she gets caught. She's also adept in kickboxing."
"So you did your homework...that means you also know about my missing leg and memories?" Jack asked the tactician, and he nodded. "I hope I'm not a hindrance for you."
"Relax, I already thought of the perfect role for you." Robin smirked as two more people walked towards the group. "And here comes our bishop and rook."
"About time Headmaster Herakles gave us a job that's actually worth our time!" A small and petite woman walked alongside a massive man who looked to be around 6'9". The small woman wore purple wizard robes, had white hair, and lavender eyes. As for her companion, he wore an army uniform with black hair and eyes. "All these 'hunting' jobs were getting on my nerves!"
"I think they were fun." The much larger man looked lost in thought about something. "You looked proud of yourself when you saved that family of rabbits from that dragon that one time though, Medea."
"O-Of course I did, Bruce!" Medea had a prideful expression on her face. "I am the greatest wizard after all!"
"I know you are, Medea." Bruce appears to be going along with Medea's narcissistic behavior. "Remember, this is a Level 4 Difficulty Mission, so we need to cooperate properly."
"Fine..." Medea then noticed Jojo. "...Can someone please explain to me why there's a badger?"
"We need her crackhead courage." Jack answered before putting the badger on his lap. "How many more people are we waiting for?"
"One more, and that person is me." The person who showed up was massive, maybe around three meters tall. "I am Goliath the rogue."
"How the H E double HECK is a giant a rogue?!" Iris shouted in disbelief of the sight before her.
"You'd be surprised how effective he is." Robin smirked before standing up. "However, he can't count all that well, and he didn't even notice that we're missing a member."
"No, he's right." Behind Jack, a girl stood. The air around her gave off chills. Now that Jack looked at her, he realized Hel was a spirit. Hel's torso and arms were a transparent whispy blue color, and showed her rib cage. Hel's lower half was that weird ghost tail, and she only wore a black jacket that was open. Well, her chest only showed her rib cage, so that was fair. Also, Hel had short white hair that seemed to float as though she were in water. "Most people tend not to notice me."
"Oh right, Hel Lovecraft, a ghostly necromancer." Robin introduced the white haired girl. "Actually, I don't know much about her, but she can raise the dead."
"Top tier introduction, Robin." Hel thanked the man as the shuttle arrived. "Well, let's go meet up with the Princess of the Heliosian Empire."
"This is just an escort mission, right?" Jack asked as everyone began to enter the shuttle. "Why do we need eight people? I did the same kind of mission with only four people?"
"That's because when the news heard about how Hina was kidnapped, Herakles was under pressure, so he made royal escort missions level 4 instead of level 2 like they used to be." Hel was sipping coffee from some kind of coffee shop. "It's not your fault though, it's the threat of a possible conspiracy."
"Conspiracy?" Jack wondered as he entered the shuttle and sat down between Hel and Goliath.
"People are scared of something hiding in the darkness, and that something is most likely targeting royal families." Goliath informed Jack in a low and growl-like voice. "That fellow you took down before...it's likely that he was just a small piece."
"You do realize he had an Artifact, right?" Jack summoned Orochi to show it off to his companions. "How could someone with Orochi be a small part?"
"From reports, he was incompatible, that's why he was being turned into a gorgon by using Orochi." Robin was looking on his phone. "If someone incompatible uses Unison, their body begins to change into whatever race the weapon originally was. The shock of the sudden transformation is too much for the body to adapt to, so most people die from the sudden shock."
"If that's the case, why don't people from the enchanted forest use these artifacts?" Jack questioned as the shuttle began to take off. "If Orochi was once the leader of the Gorgon Tribe, why don't Gorgons use it? That way if they're not compatible, they can use the artifacts without the drawback affecting them?
"R-Religious reasons." Medea was sitting right next to Bruce, and was clinging onto his arm as though she were scared of riding on the shuttle. "Damnit, why'd we have to take a shuttle?!"
"Because where we're going is shuttle accessible and isn't an active war zone." Bruce informed his white haired companion. "Shuttles have less CO2 emissions."
"So you two know each other?" Iris looked at the duo of Medea and Bruce. "You two look like a couple."
"No, we just grew up knowing each other." Bruce answered, but Medea's reaction was not exactly as composed as Bruce's was.
"W-W-WHY WOULD I DATE SUCH A BIG OAF?!" Medea shouted as her cheeks were even more red than a tomato. "H-HE MAY BE SMART AND STRONG, B-BUT I WON'T D-DATE HIM IN A BILLION YEARS!"
Ah, she's a tsundere.
"Okay...say, it's weird that I haven't noticed this yet, but is there anyone in this college who is dating anyone?" Simo wondered out loud. "I haven't been here long, but I noticed that there aren't a lot of couples here compared to other colleges."
"I think that's because of the intensity of this college." Robin has been toying with a chess piece in his hand. "Like this college is the world's greatest special forces college that focuses on maximizing the talents of each individual, and that means we have more work than normal colleges. Hell, some military camps don't even compare to our training regimens."
"Well to be fair, they're usually designed perfectly for each individual, but the intensity is about the same..." Hel sweatdropped as Jack looked at her chest, and he didn't mean to stare at her chest, but it was hard not to because her chest was freaking see through and she didn't wear a shirt. Then again, Jack wasn't really sure if she had anything there. No skin or anything? Is this allowed?
"Hel, do you even have muscles that need to be worked out?" Goliath asked the phantom woman. "Most physical things phase right through you, and you make no sound unless you speak?"
"I don't do physical training, but I do train with my necromancy." Hel put her hands in her jacket.
"If things phase through you, then how do you wear clothes?" Jack raised his hand, and Hel let out a light chuckle.
"Simple, science made clothes for ghosts, and here we are." Hel answered before leaning her head back against the wall, only for it to phase through. "However, I need to be careful when I go through stuff, because my clothes don't phase with me."
"Do you even have tits?" Robin looked at Hel's chest.
"It's complicated, but basically I can make parts of my body disappear, but there needs to be something visible, so I chose my torso bones." Hel's voice could still be heard even with her head inside the wall.
"Gotta love how we're questioning the ghost how her tits work when we just accept the fact that a man the size of a truck is apparently a ninja?" Simo looked at Goliath from his seat, which was across from Jack's seat.
"I wanted to be a rogue, so I've worked hard to achieve my goal!" Goliath looked rather proud of his accomplishment. "So if we get attacked, what should we do? Most of us never worked with one another."
"First, we need to discuss my formation." Robin pointed at each of you, one by one. "Medea, Bruce, Jack, the badger, Simo, Hel, and I will make it look like we're the only people guarding Princess Catherine. Meanwhile, Goliath follows us around undetected, ready to pop in and protect Catherine using the element of surprise. However, ONLY pop out to protect Catherine, and make sure no one sees you. Iris, with your speed, I want you to scout the path ahead, scout every major location, check everything for a possible ambush."
"Got it, and I don't suppose you already have a map at the ready, do ya?" Iris asked, and without missing a beat, Robin handed her a satellite map with a yellow marker marking a path from the town to Sanctuary. "Well damn, you really prepare for everything."
"With my level of genius, I need to come prepared or people will see me as insane unless I properly prepare my teammates for my schemes." Robin smirked as he looked out the window. "The school already rented a car for us to use."
"Why can't we use a shuttle instead?" Simo knocked on the metal walls. "These things are built pretty sturdily, and could probably withstand artillery fire."
"Yeah but they're easy targets." Robin crossed his arms. "It's too risky, so we'll ride the car."
"Got it." Simo went back to adjusting his rifle, which now had a silencer. "What kind of car is it?"
"An artifact."
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"
About half an hour passed, and Jack's group landed on the Heliosian city where the Princess was staying. The shuttle slowly lowered itself until it was hovering a couple meters above the ground. The back hatch of the shuttle opened, and the first person to jump out was Robin, followed by Hel, Bruce carrying Medea, Simo, and finally Jack carrying Jojo. Jack didn't see Goliath or Iris leave the shuttle, but he didn't see them inside when he looked inside. Jack looked around as the shuttle took off into the sky. The place where his group found themselves was at the entrance of a luxurious looking mansion, with marble walls and golden frames for the pillars, windows, and doorways that decorated the palace. Jack's group was in the middle of a front yard, with a stone pathway that led to a set of gates, and on the other side of the gates was a bus. Like your average, run of the mill school bus.
"What's with the school bus?" Jack pointed at the other side of the gate, and Robin turned his head.
"Oh, that's the Chariot, the transport slayer." Robin jammed his thumbs into his pockets. "Basically it can turn into any vehicle with almost any property. However, it's kind of an unwritten rule to make those properties keep a vehicular shape."
"How the hell did someone from the Enchanted Forest turn into an artifact like that?" Jack wondered. "Like this happened 2,000 years ago, right? I would have guessed cars are a recent thing?"
"We're not sure how either." Medea was still in Bruce's arms, still a bright red color mind you. "B-Bruce, you can set me d-down now."
"Oh, right."
Bruce set Medea down on the ground, and the massive, ivory doors to the mansion opened wide. All six of Jack's group lined up to act as professional Guardians, but that failed when they remembered that none of them actually had any uniforms. On the bright side, Hel zipped up her jacket to prevent confusion about ghost tiddies. From the doors, four knights walked out and examined the group before parting ways to reveal a blonde girl around Jack's age walking out of the mansion with her eyes closed, trying to maintain a high and mighty aura. She wore a white dress with a white hooded cloak. Under the hood, Jack could see blonde hair and gold eyes.
"Here here, make way for Princess Catherine Heliosia!" The first knight cheered as the woman walked down the steps from the mansion towards Jack's group.
"Please keep it quiet, we don't want another Hinode Situation." Jack rubbed the back of his neck while staring at the guards.
"Greetings your Highness, I am Robin Tzu." Robin bowed before the girl. "My companions are Jack Grimm, Medea Lavender, Bruce Haetae, Simo Hayha, Hel Lovecraft, and Jojo."
"...Why is there a badger in the first place?" Another one of the knights aimed his glaive at Jojo, who hissed in response.
"She's our mascot." Jack picked up Jojo and held her like a larger cat. "Also a great projectile."
"Yea- wait what." Hel looked at Jack in disbelief. "You throw Jojo at things that attack you?"
"Usually it's people, but yeah, yeeting Jojo is surprisingly effective." Jack outstretched his arms to hold Jojo in front of Hel. "Like look at this thing. It's skin makes it the perfect yeeting victim."
"Guys, act more professional please!" Medea glared at both Jack and Hel, and Jack retracted his arms to hold Jojo close to his chest.
"Ma'am, this is my load bearing nonsense personality I use to cope with pressure, it ain't going nowhere." Jack then heard a light and somewhat adorable giggle, and Jack turned his head to see a smile leaking out behind Catherine's hand, which was trying to cover the smile. "Hey I got a smile, one point for team nonsense."
"Sorry, when I heard that Sanctuary Students would be escorting me, I never thought they would be so...eccentric." Catherine removed her hand to reveal a smile that was almost glowing. "Nice to meet you all, I am Catherine, son of the Emperor of Heliosia and Niece of the Headmaster of Sanctuary."
"So basically we should be fearing for our lives twice as much as normal if we mess this up, okay." Simo joined team nonsense!
"With introductions out of the way, let's get in the Chariot." Robin walked to the gate and opened it with his bare hands. "...Please tell me it was locked and I'm just super strong."
"There's a remote that can control the gate's lock." Catherine pointed at the fourth knight, who waved a remote in his hand. "I know it's out of place to ask me, but I heard there were eight of you, but I only see seven, counting the Badger..."
"Please do not count the Badger." Medea walked to Chariot with Bruce following her close behind.
"Sorry toots, but there are only us six, the other two were out sick." Robin walked to the school bus and opened the door. "There aren't enough students to form replacements in teams, so Herakles just sent us six."
"Well if that's the case, I'm in your care." Catherine walked into the bus first, followed by the rest of your group.
"By the way, Jack, you're driving." Robin handed you the keys as he walked into the bus.
Jack grumbled to himself and looked inside the bus, it looked like the average school bus. Jack reluctantly sat in the driver's seat, and started the school bus. Simo and Jojo sat on the seat right behind him, while Catherine sat in the seat across the aisle from theirs. Bruce and Medea sat in the back, Hel sat in the middle, and Robin sat behind Hel. Jack began to drive, but then Jack remembered that he had no idea where you're going.
"There's a GPS on the side, I already set it up." Robin pointed at the screen on top of the radio. "If we leave now, we'll get to the Cliff of the Rogue by nightfall. Then we'll do some camping and stuff."
"What about food?" Bruce asked the important question.
"We can just pick up a pizza."