Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
A brief reminder that Jeanne d'Arc Alter is going to be called Joan. I'm still thinking on what to call the other Alter servants.
About the whole Ordeal Call IV, Mash will appear as her Paladin Class and that is the only change that I'm doing.
I'm droping the class names and using the servants real names.
The reason for it is that it makes easier to talk about the servants from other POV's.
I was going to put the Empire end in this chapter but I want to work some more on that.
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Myrddin is a magi.
Well, that raises a lot of questions.
Of course, the one that I want to know right now is: what does he want?
"What do you want?" Bazett asked, narrowing her eyes.
Myrddin shrugs, "I'm here to take you guys to the meeting room. Later, if possible, I would like to speak with you. It's not every day that I come across something so puzzling."
"Oh, I would also like that," I said, my mind buzzing with all the questions that I wanted to ask.
Is he the only one here?
"Morgan, is there any other magi on the building?" I asked.
Morgan discreetly scans the building for other magi.
"No, he's the only one," Morgan said after a few seconds.
If the PRT is aware of the moonlit world and they sent Myrddin here, then they finally figure it out that I'm not a parahuman.
Why only send one of their magi?
"Is he an enemy?" Joan asked, tightening her grip on her flag.
"Right now he isn't," I said.
"Hm, so the PRT does know about the occult," Thrud comments.
"I'm not so sure about that," Arash said.
"Why's that?" I asked curiously.
"Well, the reports said that Brockton Bay doesn't have a single magi residing in the city, yes?" Arash asked.
"That would be correct," I said.
"Even in that case, the ENE branch should have at least the minimum protections against mystics but I'm not detecting anything," Arash said.
"There is none," Morgan said.
That doesn't make sense.
Could the PRT not know that Myrddin is not a magi?
"Perhaps they don't possess many skilled magi that are capable of creating such protections and have to be selective of where to place the few they have," Sasaki said.
That is possible.
Just because Myrddin is part of the Protectorate/PRT that doesn't mean that there are other magi in their ranks.
With the damage that the Endbringers have caused across the world, we don't know in what state the moonlit world currently is.
"How many more magi do you guys think are doing the same as Myrddin?" Hildr asked.
That's a question we need to answer as quickly as possible.
I need to tell Da Vinci about this later. She's going to want to participate in the conversation.
"I see that you have brought more of your servants," Myrddin said, scratching his beard.
"Thought it was a good idea to bring more help," I said.
"I can see that. They are all quite powerful," Myrddin focuses on the valkyries. "And some of them are certainly unique."
"I guess so," I said, narrowing my eyes.
Myrddin chuckles in response.
We fall into a tense silence.
"Ex-excuse me," A voice said nervously to our left.
The receptionist let out a tiny squeak when all of us turned to her.
"Director Piggot is asking you to return to the meeting room Myrddin," The receptionist said.
"Oh yeah, the meeting. I almost forgot about that," Myrddin said casually.
Myrddin turns to us, "Shall we?"
"Lead the way," I said.
We follow Myrddin to the meeting room.
There's a man wearing a silver-and-gold armor waiting for us at the door.
"There you are Myrddin," the man said.
"Oh, Chevalier. Something wrong?" Myrddin asked.
"You tell me. Why did you barge out of the meeting room?" Chevalier asked.
"Couldn't help myself. It's not every day that I meet another practitioner of the mystical arts!" Myrddin said with a hearty laugh.
The hell!
I notice Bazett clenching her fist.
"Bazett stop!" I said immediately.
"He needs to be silenced and so does Chevalier," Bazett said coldly.
"Stand down, now!" I ordered.
Bazett frowns heavily but follows my order.
"He still has information that we need," I said.
"After that?" Bazett asked.
"We will see," I said grimly.
Chevalier lets out a groan and turns to me.
"I'm sorry about my colleague bothering all of you. He just gets excited when it comes to the occult," Chevalier said.
"Why do you assume that I was bothering them?" Myrddin raised an eyebrow.
"Because of what you did to Annex when got curious about the occult," Chevalier said.
"All I did was tell him about the basics of the mystical arts," Myrddin shrugs.
"It was a lecture that lasted for eight hours," Chevalier deadpanned.
"And I keep telling you that eight hours wasn't enough to cover the basics! It's a shame that Annex never asked for another lecture," Myrddin said.
Well, that is true. Eight hours isn't enough time to cover the basics of magecraft.
"...I can't tell if he's being serious or just messing with us," Joan said.
"I think it's a little bit of both," Barghest said.
"It's fine, Myrddin wasn't bothering us. We weren't expecting someone like him waiting for us in the lobby," I rub my neck.
"Told you," Myrddin said with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah," Chevalier shrugs
This must be a normal occurrence for Chevalier.
Chevalier opens the door and we enter the meeting room.
"There are some snacks and beverages on the table if you guys want. The meeting will start shortly" Chevalier said.
"Thanks," I said.
Chevalier and Myrddin join the other members of the Protectorate.
Let's see who else is here.
From New Wave, Photon Lady, Manpower, Brandish, and Flashbang are present.
From the Protectorate, Assault, Battery, Velocity, Chevalier, Myrddin and Rime.
Huh?
Those two are...Grue and Tattletale from the Undersiders.
They are quietly talking to each other.
What are the two villains doing here?
"Aren't those two part of the Undersiders?" Arash asked.
"Yes, they are," Barghest looks around. "I don't see the other two members."
"Nobody seems bothered by their presence," Sasaki rubs his chin.
"She keeps glancing at you from the corner of her eyes," Morgan said.
Tattletale freezes for a moment before quickly turning her back to us.
"I see," I said calmly.
She's trying to gather information. And there's no better opportunity for her to get this close without fear of retaliation than this whole mess.
"Hm, she's certainly bold," Thrud commented.
"Should we do something about her?" Bazett asked.
I hum thoughtfully, "Just keep an eye on her. With all the heroes here, she won't cause any problems."
"Why did they even let them in?" Joan asked.
I can ask Assault since he's coming towards us.
"Hey man, how is it going?" Assault asked.
"I'm doing better now. What about you?" I asked.
Assault shrugs, "I got as much sleep as I could. What about the rest of you guys?"
"You don't have to worry about us. We're more than ready," Joan said with a smirk.
"Oh, you brought some new faces. Hey there, I'm Assault," Assault said with a small wave.
"Yeah, let me introduce you to: Joan, Arash, Leonidas, Bazett, Sasaki," I said, pointing to the new servants that I brought. "And formerly introduce: Morgan, Barghest, Hildr, Ortilinde, and Thrud."
Assault raised an eyebrow, "What happened in keeping their names a secret?"
"We had a discussion and it was mostly agreed that there was no point in doing that," 'anymore' left unsaid.
There were some concerns about doing this. In the end, it was decided that it was up to the servant if they wanted to reveal their name.
We will have to be careful with the magi around here but that isn't anything new.
"Okay then," Assault shrugs.
"Hey, huh, what's the deal with that?" I asked, briefly glancing at the only two villains in the room.
"Yeah, about that. The director declared a truce that any cape, be they hero or villain, that wants to lend a hand is welcomed here. As long as they don't cause any trouble," Assault said.
"Those two are thieves and they want to be part of this?" I asked confused.
"I don't get it either but there isn't a reason to turn down their help," Assault shrugs.
"They want something," Morgan said bluntly.
Yes, but what?
"Hm? It seems Battery is calling you back," I said.
Assault glances back at Battery for a moment.
"All right, that's my cue to go back. Just one more thing before I leave. Be careful out there, okay. I know that you are all powerful but the Empire is going to throw everything at us so it's going to get crazy out there," Assault said, slightly worried about us.
"We will," I said with a small smile.
Assaults nod and return to Battery.
Arash chuckles, "I like him. He's a friendly guy."
"And more open-minded than his colleagues. Since the beginning, he never treated us differently," Barghest said.
It's one of the reasons why it's easy to get along with him.
"Hm, he's a strong fighter. I would like to have a duel with him," Sasaki muses.
"After this, I will see if he's up to it," I said.
We still have some time before the meeting starts.
"What do you guys make out of Myrddin?" I asked.
"He's crazy," Bazett said.
"That can also be said about a lot of other magi's," Hilder said flatly.
"No, he's a different kind of crazy. Even the most delusional of magi would never admit their origins in such a public way as he has," Bazett frowns.
"I just remembered, Myrddin has been telling that he's a magi for years to the world for years, yes?" Ortilinde tilts her head.
Yes, he has.
Bazett eyebrows twitch in annoyance at that.
"Then he isn't someone we shouldn't take lightly if he was able to defeat the enforces from the Mage Association," Leonidas said, eyes firmly on Myrddin.
"Assuming that they exist here," Morgan said.
That is one of the things that I hope that Myrddin can answer.
"Hold on, something still doesn't add up. I mean, he's a public figure and has been saying that he's a magi to anyone that will listen. The Mage Association would never stop hunting him down. So how is he still alive?" Joan asked with a frown.
"I got a guess on why he's still alive," Bazett said, crossing her arms.
I raised an eyebrow, "Go on."
"I believe Myrddin is either a mole from the Mage Association or was hired by them to infiltrate the Protectorate/PRT to pass along information," Bazett said.
Yeah, I can see them doing that.
"And with parahumans around, Myrddin is free to use his magecraft as much as he wants," Arash said.
"But why did he reveal that he's a magi to the world?" Sasaki asked. "The masses don't believe him but still."
So many questions.
"Let's focus on dealing with the Empire first, then we deal with Myrddin," I said.
Director Piggot and Deputy Director Renick entered the room, striding purposefully toward the front.
They stop at the head of the table as the TV behind them lights up, displaying images of the Empire's territory.
"Thank you all for coming," Piggot said, starting the meeting.
Everyone turned their attention to the TV.
"As you all can see, the number of clones has drastically increased in the last few hours," Piggot said grimly.
The streets are clogged full of clones.
"They haven't been able to leave Empire territory but this only makes our job much harder. For the last hour, Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Dauntless, and Dragon, have been trying to take out as many clones as possible but it hasn't been successful so far," Piggot said.
The images switch to the efforts in trying to dwindle Hydra's clones.
Miss Militia is with the other troopers shooting down clones.
Dragon, Armsmaster, and Dauntless are trying to move forward but aren't being able to as no matter how many clones they destroy, more keep coming at them.
The golems are stationary, attacking only the clones that get close to them.
"Those are some high-quality golems," Myrddin commented.
Yeah, Avicebron does a quality job.
"With the numbers of clones we will have to use the golems to have any chance of advancing into Empire territory," Rime turns to me. "Of course, if that's okay with you."
I shrug in response.
"And where would we even go to? The Empire has a lot of safehouses that they can use to hide," Lady Photon said.
"That's an easy one: they are all at Medhall," Tattletale said.
Everyone turns to her.
"And you know that how?" Brandish asked with heavy skepticism.
Tattletale tilts her head with a smile just a little too knowingly, "Oh, I could tell you...but where's the fun in that?"
Brandish narrows her eyes.
"Do even have proof to back that claim?" Battery asked.
Tattletale smiles smugly, "How about you ask the rising star of Brockton Bay over there. He can back me up," she points at me in an overdramatically way.
Everyone turns to me.
"She's telling the truth," I raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously.
Okay, you got my attention.
Tattletale's smirk deepens with smug satisfaction.
"We found a tunnel entrance outside the city that leads to the basement of Medhall. There were two unknown capes guarding the entrance. One of my servants scouted out the building and found out something interesting," I said.
"What did you find?" Piggot asked.
"Max Anders is Kaiser," I said.
"WHAT!!!" All of New Wave exclaims at the same time.
Everyone else is also shocked by this.
In the next moment, the room erupts in arguments and questions about this revelation.
"Silence!" Piggot said, slapping the table to silence everyone.
After a few seconds, the room quieted down.
"Are you certain of that?" Piggot asked, looking into my eyes.
"I am," I said, looking back evenly.
Piggot pinches her nose while muttering a few curse words.
"I met him at a charity event," Brandish said stunned before snarling in rage. "That son of a bitch! He has to pay!"
Brandish is about to storm out when the rest of New Wave stops her.
After a few seconds of tensely whispering to each other Brandish finally calms down.
"Sorry for the interruption," Lady Photon said stoically
Piggot gave a small nod.
"What of the two unknown capes?" Renick asked.
"They have been dealt with," I said bluntly.
Piggot and Renick glance at each other.
"And the tunnel? Did you collapse it?" Assault asked.
I shake my head, "I turned it into a trap. Ushiwakamaru and Cú Chulainn are going to deal with anyone that uses it."
Assault nods.
"It's a good thing you didn't. We can use the tunnel to sneak into Medhall and deal with Hydra," Chevalier said.
"Oh, you don't have to do this. One of my servants is already in a position to kill Hydra. I just have to give the order," I said casually.
Piggot stares blankly at me for a few seconds.
"...of course you do," Piggot said deadpan.
"So, what's the plan now?" Bazett asked.
"Now that we don't have to worry about the clones, all you have to do is reach Medhall and take down the Empire for good," Piggot said.
"We will deal with Kaiser," Lady Photon said at once, her posturin daring anyone to argue.
No one argued against it.
"What of Spartan and the two other capes?" Grue asked.
"We will deal with them," I said.
Leonidas wants to have some words with this 'Spartan'.
"Want some help?" Myrddin asked.
I stare at him for a few seconds.
"Yeah...that would be a good idea," I said, nodding slowly.
"Hm, someone is confident in their abilities," Sasaki said.
"Or he's looking down on us," Barghest said.
Myrddin chuckles, "Good. I can't wait to exchange mystical knowledge with all of you."
"Okay, he's definitely fucking with us," I said deadpan.
"Oh!Oh! Me too! Me too!" Tattletale waves her hand excitedly.
"No, you don't!" Grue reaches to grab her arm.
Tattletale dodges him and darts over to my side.
"Don't worry Grue. I'm sure Chaldea can keep me safe," Tattletale said cheerfully.
Grue covers his face with a groan.
"Why the hell would we take you with us? You will be just dead weight," Joan crosses her arms with a frown.
"Dead weight? Interesting take. I guess thinking three steps ahead isn't something that you bother with, my dear French friend," Tattletale said with a sly, fox-like grin.
Joan's gaze sharpens as fire erupts from her right hand.
Tattletale lets out a tiny squeak and ducks behind me for cover.
Really?
"Joan, please," I said.
Joan puts out the flames with a huff.
Now, what to do?
Even her being a Thinker isn't enough of a reason to bring her along. But she's being insistent on coming with us.
She wants something besides information.
"Master?" Arash asked.
I rub my temples, "She's coming too."
Tattletale smiles victoriously.
Joan lets out a small 'tsk' of annoyance.
"All right. Let's go," I said.
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