(Sunday, 11th of Marching Legion Moon, 2021)
Jack was on the road to a beach in Dhahabu. Jack was riding shotgun in Chariot, which was in the form of a truck. Simo was the one driving the truck, while Jojo slept on Jack's lap. All of Simo's gear was behind their seats, while their bags were in the bed of the truck. Simo's attire consisted of a thin mask, a white shirt, khakis, and hiking shoes. Meanwhile, Jack wore a purple and orange Mokupunian shirt, swimshorts, and sandals. The car ride was completely silent except for the radio, which was playing 'Pure Imagination' by Anthony Newly.
"You alright, Boss?" Simo asked you out of the blue. "It was weird enough that you just wanted the two of us to travel alone while the rest of your class used a shuttle."
"I needed to think about what Kernunnosl told me to do the other day." Jack answered the sniper. "About telling my classmates about this whole freaking ordeal. Like they're way more qualified to deal with all shit than I am. So why doesn't Herakles tell them about any of this?"
"I'm not trying to insult your intelligence when I say this: but has it occurred to you that having a ticking time bomb the size of an entire continent will cause a continent wide panic?" Simo asked Jack. "His plan is pretty simple, train all these people until their final year then tell them about what's happening."
"But here's the thing; No other Guardian has a clue about this." Jack figured that much out. "If they did, then why has no one else shown up to the meetings?"
"Now that you mention it, that is weird." Simo agreed with his companion. "So what does that have to do with making your own faction?"
"These threats, from what I've seen them do with the New Messiah Cult and what they did to Kaimu." Jack recalled the effects of those events. "I know there's a barrier keeping them on Mythia, but I wonder if that will hold the disasters in."
"You're afraid they'll break out." Simo guessed, and Jack nodded. "Why do you think they'll break out?"
"They caused 12/12/12, I doubt anything can contain them." Jack sighed whilst watching the hills on the horizon from the car window. "Plus, I keep having these...dreams? I think they're dreams."
"I'm one of those people who believe dreams are nonsense, but what did you dream about to make you think that?" Simo kept on driving with his eyes glued on the road.
"It came to me in kind of fragments, there were 16 silhouettes, a tower, a giant boat, a mansion, the aurora borealis, a frozen wasteland, and a map." Jack answered the sniper.
"Like, how much of a frozen wasteland?" Simo asked. "I was raised in a frozen wasteland, so I wanna know how bad this is."
"It made Vita Bergen look like Mokupuni." Jack then remembered Simo has trouble with modern countries, so he had to use his alternatives most of the time. "I'm sorry, it made Finland look like Hawaii."
"Yikes, then my guess is that the frozen wasteland is somewhere at the pole." Simo guessed. "Or maybe not? I honestly have no clue how poles work in this universe. In mine, they're the coldest regions in the world. Plus the aurora borealis does happen around the Arctic Circle."
"So the mansion, tower, silhouettes, and boat?" Jack asked, and Simo wasn't sure. "Great, back to square one."
"Well whatever you choose to do, just know I'll be right here." Simo placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Mostly because I have no clue how this world works, and you're kind of the only guy I trust somewhat, so yeah. Undying loyalty."
After that talk, Simo and you arrived at a parking lot, and the two of them got out. Jack stretched his body and looked up at the sky to see a large shuttle landing not too far away. This beach of Dhahabu was reserved just for his class, so the shuttle parked itself on the long bank of the beach and opened its back most hatch. While everyone got out of the shuttle, Jack looked around the area, noticing how quiet it was. There weren't many buildings nearby, and the only nearby building was a rest stop. Aside from the beach, there was a set of dunes with a highway running through it. Jack's class was planning on camping at the beach for the night, so everyone brought camping equipment for themselves.
"Just a reminder, the faculty is busy getting ready for the tournament, so you probably won't be able to get to see your girlfriend in a bikini." Jack reminded Simo as you pulled a duffel bag out of the back of your truck.
"She's not my girlfriend, you jackass." Simo scowled whilst looking at Jack and grabbing his tent bag from the back of the truck.
"SIMO, DARLING!"
"God has forsaken me."
Simo turned around to see Titania wearing a sundress before getting hugged by the fae. Jack let out a small chuckle as Jojo crawled out of the car to explore the new area she found herself in. Jack walked down to the beach, where he saw everyone start setting up their tents, and Jack opted to join his fellow students. Good news; Milunka, Adrian, Catherine, Juana, and Lorelei were allowed to come too because they're technically students, just ones who enrolled later. Downside is that Catherine and Lorelei don't know how to pitch a tent. Then again, neither does Hassan apparently. Jack wasn't sure if Valerie knew how to pitch a tent, since he was hiding in Goliath's literal shadow.
"Yo, Alice, mind if I pitch my tent next to yours?" Jack asked the girl, who had her long hair tied back into a ponytail.
"Sure thing." Alice answered while she put the poles inside her tent. "Let's be sure to enjoy ourselves, since this is the last chance we have to relax before Tartarus."
"Yep, I just hope I don't get sand in my prosthetic." Jack looked down at his leg as he began to set up his tent. "I think they said my prosthetic is water proof, so I can probably swim."
"Well, be careful." Alice warned Jack while giving him a serious stare. "Just stay in shallow water for now, just in case something does happen."
"Sure thing, mom." Jack joked whilst rolling his eyes, earning himself a smile and a playful punch from Alice.
"I'm serious, you jackass!" Alice smiled as she finished setting up her tent, which was bright orange in color. "Alright, I'm done. I'll be right back to change, since I can't exactly swim in fish nets."
"In the tent?" Jack asked Alice while pointing his thumb at the bright orange tent.
"No you perv, there's a rest stop with bathrooms over there." Alice slung the strap of her bag onto her shoulder before standing up from crouching to set up the tent. "They're separated by gender, so don't get any ideas."
"Oh well darn, how cruel the fates are today." Jack sarcastically replied while Alice walked towards the rest stop to change.
"Yo, Jack, I'm gonna go peak at the girls changing, wanna come with?" Ned walked up behind Jack. "Not only are the girls from our class changing, but Elizabeth's here too!"
"Isn't peeking a crime or something?" Jack replied flatly in a monotone voice. "Also, why are you inviting me? Wouldn't Goliath or Hassan be more fitting? Since they're rogues?"
"Hassan's praying right now, and Goliath is trying to set up his tent somewhere where he won't bother anyone." Ned pointed at the two people in question. "Come on dude, let's go see us some tiddays!"
Before Ned could run off to the rest stop, a wave of pure dark energy struck him, sending him into a nearby dune. Jack looked at the source of dark magic to see Angelo hovering ominously over the water, still wearing his usual outfit, glaring at Matt. Matt stood on the edge of the beach, wearing a red speedo and nothing else. The two appeared to be fighting, and this sight caused the rest of Jack's class, aside from those changing, to shoo them away to the farthest side of the beach so their fight wouldn't bother the rest of them. Jack finished setting up his tent, and after all that, Alice walked out with Othelia and Mifu.
"Hey dude!" Alice greeted Jack with her hair was tied up into a high ponytail like earlier, except she appeared to be wearing some casual clothes over her swimsuit. "So what do you all wanna do?"
"We could have a barbecue?" Othelia's seemed to drool at the thought. "I doubt we have enough food for everyone though..."
"We could try fishing?" Mifu was wearing a lavender colored sundress from Hinode. "Then we can use the fish we caught to host a barbecue?"
"I was gonna suggest we go to those tiny pools with crabs and stuff, but I like your idea better." Alice pointed at Mifu. "Jack, input?"
"We could watch Zane nosebleed when Galahad walks out shirtless." Jack pointed at Zane, who was sitting at a nearby log.
"You're a genius." Alice complimented Jack, and the four of them hid behind Jack's tent, and the four of them kept an eye on Zane. "Mifu, can you use Sakura to add flower petals to the scene? I want this to be like an anime."
"For Zane's safety and to prevent confusion from seeing cherry blossoms fall on a beach, I will not." Mifu informed the girl.
Zane was wearing blue colored swim shorts and a black swim shirt while sitting on the log, bored out of his mind. Zane didn't have devices on him for once, so his eyes were anxiously looking around. Galahad was walking towards Zane wearing a pair of shorts that depicted the sunrise. Behind Galahad, TJ was wearing a pair of shorts paired with a black tank top. Galahad noticed Zane sitting alone, and while Galahad did have a small smile on his face, upon seeing Zane, Jack noticed how his smile only got brighter. Galahad walked over to Zane and got the hacker's attention.
"Yo, Zane, mind if I sit here next to you?" Galahad greeted the blue haired hacker, and Zane looked at Galahad. Zane's eyes looked at Galahad's face before lowering his eyes onto Galahad's abs. Zane's nose then began bleeding. "Holy crap dude, you okay? Is it too hot for you out here? Let me get you some water."
Galahad then walked off, and Zane suddenly looked extremely guilty and regretful. Zane placed his hands over his face while Galahad walked away to get a bottle of water for Zane. Alice facepalmed herself, Mifu smiled disapprovingly, Othelia bit her thumb nail, and Jack mentally sighed. Alice created a warlock magic circle in her palm. In front of Zane, writing in sand appeared. Zane looked at the note in the sand.
"No horni." The message in the sand also depicted a dog with a bat bonking the other dog.
Zane began looking around for the small group, so the four of them hid behind your tent. Alice giggled a bit, while Jack, Mifu, and Othelia simply smiled at the trick. After a while of hiding, Alice and Jack looked back at Zane to see him sitting side by side with Galahad, drinking the bottled water that the sun knight gave him.
"Maybe we should let Zane enjoy his time with his boyfriend, alone?" Othelia suggested, and it was a good idea.
"Yeah, I feel like trash watching him like this." Jack admitted whilst rubbing the back of your neck. "Kinda regret suggesting this idea."
"Yeah...let's go fish like Mifu suggested." Alice agreed, and the four of them got up from behind the tent to begin making their way towards the beach.
Upon reaching the beach, Jack saw Saorise wearing a surfer's wetsuit while walking out of the sea carrying a massive net full of trash. Saorise pulled her wet hair back to reveal her face. Not too far away, Jack saw Mary hiding behind a rock with her brother. Mary's swimsuit was more practical, a one piece swimsuit that looked like it had shorts and a t-shirt, but made of swimsuit material. James sat right next to her, wearing just a set of blue shorts. Both of them were holding water guns, and cautiously looking on the other side of the rock. On the other side of the rock, Nico and Rico both wore matching grey swim shorts, and held water guns as well.
"Hello Saorise, what did you find?" Mifu asked the tall woman, who looked at the massive net.
"Trash." Saorise answered simply as she continued to pull the giant net. "I found three cars and a bunch of other stuff."
"You left these cars at the bottom of the ocean, right?" Othelia asked, and Saorise decided to ignore this and keep walking. "Sometimes I wonder how much she can lift..."
"Hey guys!" Molly walked up to the four with a swimsuit so revealing that there were actual beams of light coming down just to add more coverage, and Mifu just looked at the blonde in disgust. "Ok, Mifu, just so you know, this is the only thing I have."
"I would say I'm disappointed, but I half expected this from you." Mifu sighed whilst pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Cover yourself woman, the great god Sol would disapprove of you flaunting your body like this!" Rasputin, who was wearing his usual priest robes, threw a beach towel at Molly, while Hassan disapprovingly nodded beside him.
"For once, I agree with the priest." Alice put her hands on her hips while Molly got the towel off her face. "Man I never thought I would say that out loud."
"Yours is pretty bad too, we just don't have enough towels to throw at you." Hassan pointed at Alice, then Mifu, and finally Othelia. "Women must cover themselves up from head to toe."
"Dude, I'm literally just wearing a crop top and shorts over my bikini, Mifu is wearing a sundress, and Othelia's got a one piece." Alice already looked annoyed with Rasputin.
"Oh right, Atitihad and Christus are super religious..." Othelia sighed before sand suddenly ensured the feet of both Hassan and Rasputin.
"FUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOUUUU!" Damini used the sand to launch both Hassan and Rasputin into the water while she wore a simple yellow bikini. "People can wear what they want so long as it isn't as bad as Molly's!"
"Wow, even the feminist is dissing me." Molly pointed her thumb at Damini, who huffed before stomping back to the campsite to join Eve, who was wearing a white one piece swimsuit underneath her lab coat. "Is my swimsuit that bad?"
"Yes." Jack, Alice, Othelia, and Mifu answered in unison of one another, and Molly looked slightly disheartened.
"Well whatever, I'm gonna go play video games in my tent." Molly was about to walk away, but Alice stopped her.
"Hey, we're about to go fishing, wanna come with?" Alice suggested, and Molly thought for a moment before running to her tent. "Eh? Is that a no?!"
"I'll be right there, I have a fishing rod!" Molly looked back while she ran, and while she ran, you saw a smile on her face.
"And come back with a little more fabric on!"
After that, the four began making their way towards the docks that were nearby to the campsite. On the docks, they saw Bruce and Medea talking to one another with their feet in the water. Bruce had a set of blue shorts on, while Medea wore a purple one piece swimsuit with some frills on it. They appeared to be just talking to one another, so Jack greeted the two of them, and while Bruce waved back in his usual chill manner, Medea looked somewhat mad. Jack looked at the two of them, and noticed how they were alone and away from everyone else in the group.
"Sorry to bother you both, are we interrupting something?" Mifu asked the two, and Bruce thought for a moment.
"I don't think so." Bruce guessed. "What brings you guys here?"
"We're here to fish, you guys want in?" Jack asked the duo, and Medea huffed and crossed her arms before shaking her head.
"Nope, Bruce and I will go spend our time alone elsewhere!" Medea grabbed Bruce's hand to pull him up, but the man didn't budge. "Eh?"
"Can we fish here, Medea?" Bruce looked up at the white haired girl, who sighed.
"Of course we can, let me conjure up some fishing rods." Medea's mood instantly changed, and she summoned a purple magic circle, summoning two purple fishing rods with it.
"I'm back!" Molly came back in a casual shirt with some jean overalls. In her hands was a steampunk fishing rod.
Molly only had one fishing rod, so Jack, Alice, Othelia, Molly, and Mifu had to use the ones Medea summoned. Jack and the girls sat on the edge of the dock, while Medea and Bruce sat a little ways from them all on the left side. While the small group of friends fished, they were soon joined by Freya, Caroline, and Luna. The three girls had fishing rods of their own, so they joined the group. Thor and Valerie were the next people to arrive. Valerie had a parasol so he wouldn't get burnt by the sun, while Thor had some javelins. Othelia was using Molly's fishing rod because she was curious, and Molly was keeping an eye on her.
"Valerie, quick question." Alice turned her head to the vampire in question. "Do vampires turn to ash when they come in contact with sunlight, or do you glisten like in those crappy films?"
"We get seriously sunburnt." Valerie answered while looking slightly annoyed at the question in particular.
"Hey guys, I got something!" Othelia, who was using Molly's fishing rod, informed everyone as the fishing line began to pull.
"Looks like it's a big one, start reeling it in!" Freya ordered the blonde Mech pilot, who began to reel her catch in. Noticing how the fishing rod was bending, Freya helped Othelia by wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist to begin pulling her back. "Keep reeling it in!"
"You can do it, Othelia!" Caroline cheered for the girl while Luna tried looking at whatever Othelia caught.
Given how Othelia was somehow skidding even with the support of Freya, Jack began to wonder how big the fish even was. Mifu, Jack, and Molly decided to help the blonde out by pulling the girl back. Once the fish was right in front of the dock, Thor grabbed the line and began pulling the line straight up until the fish was completely out of the water. Thor showed everyone what Othelia caught, a large tuna fish.
"Nice catch, Othelia!" Thor complimented the girl, who was breathing heavily after she caught the big catch. "This is fine bait!"
"I think you mean 'catch'?" Othelia asked Thor while he examined the tuna, and he suddenly pulled a larger fishing hook out from his pile of lances. "...What's with the hook?"
"Back in the enchanted forest, Thor's tribe had two stages of fishing." Thor plunged the massive hook through the tuna's head, killing it instantly. "First was fishing for bait, then Thor's tribe fish for actual food. Jack, can Jack cut the fins off this fish?"
"Sure, but what's the point of cutting its fins if it's already dead?" Jack summoned Arachne, and the urumi sword shortened its blades until it was a dagger.
"Big fish like blood, so bait must be bloody." Thor explained while Jack cut the fins off the large tuna fish. "Nice job! Who wants to try fishing big fish?"
"I'll try it." Alice had her hand raised, and Thor handed her the fishing rod, and Alice cast the line far into the open water. "Damn, Molly, this fishing line is crazy strong."
"Of course, I made it, so don't expect anything less!" Molly smiled proudly while Alice waited for a bite on her fishing line.
Some time passed without a bite, and all of them just decided awkwardly to wait for a bite. Zane and Galahad showed up, and they decided to wait along with the rest of the group. Some minutes passed, and Jack was tempted to just leave and build a sandcastle, until there was a tug of the fishing line. The tug was gentle at first, allowing Alice to grab onto it before the tugging began to get stronger. Alice almost flew off the dock, but Jack and Mifu stopped her by grabbing onto her. Mifu grabbed her shoulders, while Jack wrapped both his arms around her waist. Karl and Mifu almost flew off too, but Galahad, Freya, Othelia, Molly, Bruce, Thor, and Caroline grabbed onto the three of them to help hold all of you back on the dock.
"Molly, get your hand off my dick!" Jack shouted at the blonde who was holding him in place along with Thor.
"Hey, I need a good grip to hold you in place!" Molly shouted back at you as Alice grit her teeth to reel the fish in. "The fishing line shouldn't break, but it won't pull something this strong in by itself!"
"Zane, Medea, Luna, some help please?!" Caroline shouted at the hacker, witch, and gambler, and the three helped where they could. "Damn, we're not even budging, I think we may need to use our magic and stuff!"
"Way ahead of you." Mifu let go of Alice and everyone let go of Mifu so she could jump off the dock.
Mifu whistled and jumped over Alice with her arm extended. The long sword Sakura flew through the air until its hilt was in Mifu's hands. Mifu slowly began to fall towards the water, but Caroline extended her palm towards the ocean, and Luna's eyes changed pupils white clovers. Small chunks of ice emerged on the ocean, forming a kind of path leading to the fish. The tip of Mifu's foot landed against one chunk of the ice, and swiftly jumped to the next. Her elegance and agility reminded Jack of a ballerina as she lept from chunk to chunk, somehow not falling into the water as she went. In a matter of seconds, Mifu was above the fish, and plunged the edge of Sakura into the water. The tugging stopped, and a large body arose from the water, just in time for Mifu to land on the corpse.
"Holy heck, that fish is freaking huge!" Zane shouted in amazement. "Wait, why the hell does it look like an angler fish and a whale had a baby?!"
"Because it's a giant angler fish/whale hybrid?" Caroline sweat dropped, and Jack noticed how Mifu looked slightly uncomfortable. He looked down at the woman's feet, and noticed how they were making contact with the fish's slimy body.
"Guys, can we hurry up and reel the fish in?" Jack let go of Alice and pointed at Mifu. "Mifu looks hella uncomfortable."
"Oh, right!" Alice began reeling the fish in using the fishing line. "Looks like we're having fish tonight!"
"Was that a movie reference?"
"Maybe."
(Later)
It was now nighttime, and the class was sitting around a large bonfire. Held by Medea's magic, the fish Alice caught earlier was slowly roasted over the flames of the bonfire. The entire class was silent, tired after a long day of nonsense. Jack was sitting between Alice and Simo, the latter of whom was trying to push a drunken Titania off of him. Jack looked at the flames, and thought to himself silently. Thinking about his classmates, Jack knew them all to be stronger than he, and despite their weirdness, they're not stupid.
"Who put a bikini on Gaia's pot?!" Milunka held up Gaia's pot to reveal that the pot was indeed, wearing a mint green bikini. Milunka herself was wearing a red shirt with shorts and sandals.
"That was me, I accidentally shrunk my bikini so I gave it to Gaia." Mary had her hand raised.
Okay, sometimes they make mistakes, but so does everyone. Jack looked around the campfire, and while someone else may see a bunch of college students drinking alongside a military man, a doctor, a fae, and a honey badger, Jack saw people with potential. Jack took a breath in, and opened his mouth to say something.
"Everyone, I have something to tell you."
The person who beat Jack to the punch was none other than Catherine Heliosia herself. Catherine's attire consisted of a white sundress paired with a white sun hat and a silver ribbon. Everyone's eyes were glued onto the Heliosian Princess, and for the briefest of moments, she looked unsure about herself. Catherine looked at Jack, and he closed his mouth before giving the blonde woman an encouraging nod.
"Most of you remember 12/12/12, correct, and how it was caused by Solomon and Tiamat's powers going out of control, right?" Catherine asked everyone, and the mood of the ground suddenly went gloomy. "We all lost someone during that time, but Solomon isn't the one to blame."
"What are you talking about?" Leia wondered out loud, clearly confused by what Catherine's saying. "How would you know that?"
"Because the actual causes are a continent-wide secret that's being kept a secret to prevent a panic." Elizabeth was wearing a simple collared shirt with a skirt. "There aren't a lot of people who know exactly what they are, but there are some of us who know they exist."
"It's true, there's some kind of threat out there, but we have no clue what it is, all we know is that it exists and it's extremely powerful." Jack spoke up. "Amongst all of us, only Simo, Juana, Catherine, Hero, Jojo, the faculty, and myself know about this threat. We wanted to keep it a secret from you all, but considering this class is expected to fight these things at some point, not telling you all until graduation like Herakles originally planned isn't exactly a smart move."
So with that, Jack, Catherine, and Jauna took turns explaining everything they all knew. Simo, Titania, and Elizabeth opted to stay quiet, while Hero wasn't even paying attention. Their explanations slowly but surely scared your classmates, especially with the mention of the 'Disasters'. They instantly put together that the voices in Alice's head may be connected to these 'Disasters' and began to look fearful. Alice looked shocked, and just stared into the flames. Jack held nothing back, telling them about every little detail he has learned over his time at Sanctuary. Including the eldritch cow and Familiam ingredients. Angelo looked caught off guard by all this, but he remained quiet like all the others until Jack's explanation finished.
"So...we're expected to fight against the very monsters who wrecked our continent nine years ago?" Hel asked in surprise, and everyone was silent, trying to wrap their heads around this threat. "And we don't know exactly what their skills are? Not even Elizabeth or Titania?"
"No, none of us faculty members have any leads." Elizabeth answered. "Nikola has a few theories, but even he has nothing solid. Herakles refuses to tell us because he fears that if we learn what exactly they are, we may lose hope."
"Then they must be so terrifying they're making an old man lose his sense of reason after fighting them just once." Caroline thought out loud before Jack noticed a determined gleam in her eyes. "Why are you guys telling us this?"
"Geppetto mentioned a barrier holding them up inside Mythia, and how that barrier is weakening as the years go by." Jack recalled what Geppetto said. "If that barrier falls, we're all screwed. If you all want to be left out of this, then I recommend dropping out of Sanctuary as soon as possible."
"So that's the kind of plan we're dealing with huh?" Robin began to think. "I doubt any of us are just gonna quit after we all came this far, right?"
"Hell no, I wanna fight these 'disasters' to see who's actually the strongest!" Matt shouted excitedly, and Jack noticed how the fear in everyone's eyes began to turn into determination.
With that, all of Jack's classmates began planning. Just so the others aren't out of the loop, Elizabeth called Nikola, Simo called Sobek, you called Mansa, and Titania called Maui. The four were on their side, and all of them began planning for every thing that Herakles didn't. While Jack looked around, he noticed how everyone steeled their hearts and looked ready to take them on. While Jack doubted they could win against those threats, at least they all now had a united goal, a goal that would allow all of them to go through Tartarus.
"Maybe I should have told everyone sooner."