“I’m going out,” Jason told Chrysalis, as he got up from their bed and pulled his shirt on. “I need to get some air...”
“You had another nightmare didn’t you?” Chrysalis asked, sitting up herself. “You don’t have to suffer alone Jason, I’m here for you.” She looked at her mate with pleading eyes. A month had passed since the ill-fated Forever Knight rebellion and since then he hadn’t been the same. Gone were his sarcastic attitude and quips, only to be replaced with silence, and that scared her to the core.
He gave her a smile before pulling her into a hug. “That means a lot to me Chryssy,” he said, placing a kiss on her lips. “But I need to figure this out on my own,”
“Jason, you have to get some sleep, you haven’t gotten more than a few hours this week,” she argued, frowning at him.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, getting out of bed. He grabbed a potion off the nightstand and guzzled it down.
“You're still drinking those?” Chrysalis asked, giving him a glare. “Zecora gave those to you so you could help Dash, not so you could abuse them!”
He ignored her, dropping the empty bottle. He swiped his hypercube off the nightstand, walking out of the room. None of the drones bothered him as he walked out of the hive, which he was rather thankful for. Crossing the bridge, and walking out into the Everfree, he sighed to himself, running a hand down his face.
He took a seat under a tree, staring off into the distance for a moment before looking to his hypercube. Digging through it, he paused, staring at the Genji Gauntlets. He pulled them out, closing his eyes. “Gilgamesh... please... I need to talk to you...” he whispered, clutching them tightly.
For a moment nothing happened, making Jason wonder if he didn’t speak loud enough... or if the warrior was too busy, but a moment later a recognizable cut in the air appeared, allowing the familiar giant of a warrior to pass through.
“Hey kid, what’s... Jesus Christ, you look like shit,” he said after noticing his fellow Displaced’s expression.
“Yeah... I do,” he said, looking away and exposing the wide scar he had across the left side of his face.
“The scar is not what I was talking about, kid. When’s the last time you slept, a month ago?”
“That sounds about right...” he replied, looking at him, “I’m not... I don’t really know anymore...”
“I guess you need someone to talk to. So the question is,” he began as he sat down next to the same tree. “Why are you talking to me? What about Applejack, Twilight, or any of your other friends? Hell I think Celestia and Luna wouldn’t mind making time for you. I bet even Chrysalis would be willing.”
“Because you’re the only one who would understand-”
“Hey Jay, there you are!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cut in, interrupting Jason. She landed in front of them, smiling. “Oh hey Gilgamesh, long time no see!” she waved, her talons glinting in the sunlight.
Gilgamesh was about to respond when he noticed the sharp objects in place of her hooves. “Wha- Dash? What... What happened to you!?” he asked in a panic, rushing over to see her.
“Oh these?” she asked, sitting on her haunches, holding her arms up. From a little above the elbow, her forelegs had been replaced with mechanical griffon talons, that hummed with magic. “Jay and Twi made them for me. Cool, huh?”
“Well... I will admit, they do look pretty awesome, but why do have them? I mean, you didn’t just get cybernetic implants just because, did you?”
“Well... no...” she said, looking away. “That flank hole Trender cut them off...”
“‘Trender?’ Trenderhoof!? The stallion who checks out little known places and makes them popular? Why the hell would he do that!?”
“You remember how you told me that for some Displaced beings related to what they became would leak into their Equestria?” Jason asked, looking at the taller human. “It happened here... you’re gonna wanna sit for this.”
Gilgamesh, still looking completely shocked, sat down. “Tell me everything.”
“Ok... so, the leakage isn’t actually from me. See, these two idiot Galvans tried to use a teleporter network and they got sent here, they're stuck as breezies, and stuff from the actual Ben 10 universe started to leak out here. We got pony Charmcaster, pony Hex and... pony Forever Knights. They uh.... took over Equestria for a few days...”.
“‘They took-?’ How!? Against the Elements!? The Princesses!? Discord!? How the hell could those schmucks overcome those kinds of odds!?”
“They stole Discord’s power, used it to turn Twilight into an Earth pony, Blueblood petrified Luna and they used her to force Celestia to abdicate the throne.”
“They... They did...” he tried to say but trailed off. He looked completely stunned, like someone who’d just had been told everything they believed was a lie. “Wh-What about Chrysalis, and Slash?”
“Twilight evacuated Ponyville to the hive, which is the old castle,” Jason explained. “We didn’t leave until I woke up... Slash is still in the hospital...”
He paused a moment, and seemed to be desperately trying to catch his breath. He tilted his head down and Jason couldn’t see his eyes. “So what happened?”
“They carried out a purge.... all non-ponies had to leave Equestria, those that couldn’t or wouldn’t were slaughtered, along with any ponies that tried to help them.” Gilgamesh didn’t respond, so he kept going. “Trenderhoof was their king... he challenged me and he got the better hand, Dash tried to help and he... he cut her legs off.” He took a deep shaky breath.”I lost it... I turned him into paste... Gilgamesh, I lost myself.” He started to tear up, ”I was an animal... I almost hurt Applejack.”
“What happened next? Where is everyone now?” he asked, his tone disturbingly without the slightest hint of emotion.
“Slash is in the hospital, Twilight’s back to normal, Discord has the body of an infant, Blueblood got turned into a mare... most of the knights fled when their king died but all the ones in Canterlot were captured,” Jason paused, sighing a little. “Celestia fine, Luna’s hunting the knights, and me... I’m all fucked up...” After a moment, nothing was said, and Jason leaned in to try and get a look at his eyes. “Gilgamesh?”
“Hey, big guy, are you-?” Rainbow asked, only for them both to jump back in shock at what they felt and saw.
Gilgamesh’s eyes were burning red, like fire. His killing intent practically radiated off him, to the point they almost thought they saw the air warping around in. They could actually hear him grinding his teeth and a noise sounding like a cross between a growl and gargle came from his throat. They could even see bubbles of saliva drip down his face guard.
With a strangled scream he stood up and turned towards Canterlot before cutting open a portal and jumping inside.
For a moment all was silent.
“...I think I pissed myself a little,” Rainbow muttered.
“Stay here,” Jason said, standing up, “I’m going to stop him,” Jason shifted into XLR8, zipping toward Canterlot as fast as he could.
“WHERE ARE THEY!?” boomed a voice down the Canterlot palace halls, startling and terrifying any who heard it. “WHERE ARE THE FOREVER KNIGHTS!? WHERE ARE THEIR CELLS!? TELL ME NOW!” A group of palace Guards rounded the corner, ready to fight, until they saw the tall figure stomping towards them, hate and rage practically radiating off him.
“D-down that way...” a terrified guard, a rookie said, pointing down the hallway.
The enraged warrior stomped further on, the rookie having to dive out of the way to avoid get stepped on, until he finally reached the dungeon gates. Two guards looked at him, practically peeing themselves in fright, but still managing to hold their spears at him.
“H-Halt! Just what d-do you-!?” one of them began only for an invisible force throw them both aside.
The warrior grabbed the heavy steel doors and tore them open like paper before stepping inside.
The captured knights all stared on in terror. Not one of them was uninjured, all of them missing at least one limb, be it a leg, horn or wing.
“So, you’re them, huh? You’re the Forever Knights?” he laughed menacingly. “Oh and look, it seems a lot of you are members of the nobility as well, judging by those coats and manes. Well tell me, maggots, HOW DOES YOUR GRAND PLAN LOOK NOW!?”
They all flinched, wilting under his voice. “We almost succeeded. We could have taken back our home for our people,” one of them started, a unicorn that had lost her horn.
“OH SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Gilgamesh interrupted. “YOU SHORT-SIGHTED ASSHOLES! WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN EVEN IF YOU DID SUCCEED!? DID YOU THINK THE OTHER NATIONS OF THE WORLD, THE SPECIES THAT YOU KILLED AND FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES HERE, WERE GOING TO STAND FOR THIS!? DID YOU THINK THE GRIFFONS, THE ZEBRAS, THE MINOTAURS, THE DRAGONS, AND EVERY OTHER NON-PONY RACE WAS JUST GOING TO SIT BACK AND WATCH!? I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY ALL DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES AND WIPE EQUESTRIA OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET! DO REALLY THINK YOU WOULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THAT WITHOUT CELESTIA, LUNA, OR THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AT YOUR DISPOSAL!? FUCKING IDIOTS, EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!”
“W-we would have crushed them! We are the superior race!” she attempted to argue.
“‘SUPERIOR RACE!?’ YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! WHAT IS SO DAMN SUPERIOR ABOUT YOU!? DO YOU REALLY THINK THINK THAT YOU ARE SUPERIOR JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE MAGIC!? BECAUSE YOU CAN MOVE CLOUDS AROUND!? THAT YOU CAN GROW FOOD QUICKLY!? WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR COUNTRY HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL FOR MORE THAN A MILLENIUM!? DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE ‘SUPERIOR’!? NO! IT’S BECAUSE YOU HAD THE BENEFIT OF BEING RULED BY A MONARCH WHO HAS LIVED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, AND HAS THE WISDOM TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS! WISDOM THAT YOU IDIOTS IGNORED! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT ANY OF YOU DUMB SHITS WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE ON A GRIFFON, OR A MINOTAUR, OR EVEN A GODDAMN DRAGON ON YOUR OWN!?” He took a deep breath before continuing on. “And the worst part is, you are the nobility. You are the ones who are supposed to set an example for the common pony, examples on how to live. And what have your actions told them? ‘BEHOLD, CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA, AND OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! WE ARE THE NOBILITY AND WE ARE WILLING TO SPIT ON THE VALUES OF OUR ANCESTORS! THE SAME VALUES THAT CREATED THIS GREAT NATION! THE VALUES THAT LITERALLY SAVED US FROM EXTINCTION! LOOK ON IN AWE AS WE STAB OUR OWN PEOPLE IN THE BACK, HOW WE ATTEMPT TO USURP A LIVING GODDESS WHO HAS THOUSANDS OF YEARS MORE EXPERIENCE THAN US! WHO HAS SEEN EMPIRES RISE AND FALL! WHO ONLY WANTED THE BEST FOR US, BUT WE ARE TOO BLINDED BY OUR OWN GREED AND PRIDE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT! REJOICE AS YOU WATCH US SLAUGHTER OUR OWN RACE!’ FUCKING DISGUSTING, EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!”
“I-I never wanted this...” a soft voice spoke up from another cell. Inside of it sat a white coated mare with a blonde mane.
The warrior turned to the mare, taking a second before recognizing who she was, or rather who she used to be.
“Well, well, well. I can hardly believe it. Is that guilt I hear, Prince Blueblood? Or perhaps I should call you Princess Bluebitch?”
“It is,” she said with a solemn nod of her head.
“And tell me, what was your reasoning, Princess? Or are do you even have a title now? I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d already been stripped of everything you had. It’s what I would’ve done. Then again, maybe Celestia and Luna actually showed some mercy on you? They are better beings than I am. Tell me, how did it feel to betray your own blood? To turn a goddess to stone and use her as a hostage? To subjugate a being that only wanted the best for her ponies? Did you feel proud then? Did you feel accomplished? WELL!?”
“There are no words for the remorse I feel. I just wanted Equestria to prosper. Under my aunts we haven’t advanced at all in centuries... if they gave up the throne we could change things, break away from tradition but.... this isn’t what I wanted!” she shouted, starting to tear up.
The warrior actually stopped, his more intimidating displays fading. “I can barely believe it. You actually wanted what was best for Equestria. You were used.”
“I just want to die... all those deaths... it’s all my fault!” she sobbed, collapsing into heap.
Gilgamesh walked to her cell and stopped at the bars. “I can hardly believe I’m doing this. Lord knows you haven’t earned it, but I will give you something you need.”
“W-what?” she stuttered, looking up at him.
“In my dimension, my Equestria, I met Blueblood for the first time, rather recently. He was a pompous asshole who, even when a threat to Equestria loomed over the horizon, was more concerned with complaining about why Twilight had become an alicorn instead of him. I put the idiot in his place, but later he ended up surprising me. He stood up to an enemy he couldn’t possibly hope to defeat and nearly died defending Celestia. After the attack on Canterlot was repelled he was the one who got the nobles to stop squabbling and focus on what was important, and he convinced them to accept the Changelings’ aid to combat the new threat. Then he donated half of his entire fortune to the war effort before having every one of his estates opened as refugee homes. And then to top it all off he enlisted himself in the military to fight. And he didn’t try to use his status to get enlisted as an officer, he joined as a lowly grunt just like every other pony who had no military experience. To put it simply, he earned my respect.”
“W-What does that have to do with me?”
“I’m saying, that if you’re given the chance, there’s hope. Hope for you to help turn this around. I’m sure nopony will trust you for a while, but I think you can do it. I think you can earn Equestria’s respect, just like mine did.”
“Y-you think so?” she asked, getting to her hooves, wiping at her eyes.
“Anything’s possible. Just give it a chance.” He then turned to the other cells and the Knights. “And maybe even you can make up for your misdeeds as well. But know this, I am not so merciful to allow a third chance for you. Remember my name, maggots. I am Gilgamesh. I am he who has travelled to other universes and bested enemies you cannot even fathom. I have driven dragons to their knees. I have bested the armies of the ponies, the griffons, and the Minotaurs alone. I have slain demons of Tartarus, and I have even defeated the Princesses, at the same time. So know that if you return to your heinous ways, you have no hope of escape, because I will kill you, the laws of your country and the decisions of your Princesses be damned.”
“It’s amazing how quickly you can go from inspiring to terrifying.” Jason said from the doorway. The captured nobles took one look at him, cowering in utter terror.
“Yeah, well, my head hasn’t exactly been screwed on right recently,” he replied before turning to the unicorn mare once more. “I wish you the best,” he said before walking over to his fellow Displaced. “And speaking of ‘terrifying’, it seems you made quite the impression on them.”
“I cut their limbs off,” Jason stated bluntly.
“Ah. I was wondering about that. I didn’t think Celestia or Luna would order that kind of punishment.”
“You’re surprisingly undisturbed by that.”
Gilgamesh sighed. “Things haven’t exactly been so great back home for me either. Let’s go somewhere to talk.”
“Alright... follow me,” Jason said with a nod, moving out of the dungeons.
“This looks like a good place.” Jason said as they came to the base of Canterlot mountain.
“Yeah, good enough, I suppose,” Gilgamesh replied as he sat down, his back resting against a boulder. “Let me guess, the reason you said you were ‘fucked up’ is because of what you did to the Forever King and those Knights, am I right?”
“Gilgamesh... I lost myself. For that brief moment, I was a monster, a monster filled with rage and blood lust...”
Gilgamesh chuckled, catching Jason off guard. “Guess we have the same problem. Some dick hurt Celestia and almost killed Luna. I beat his face in until he begged for mercy. And when Celestia convinced me to let him go, he turned around and tried to stab me in the back. As much as I hate to admit it, killing him was perhaps the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done. And I’m kinda scared about that.”
“I knew you’d understand, though, it seems like we both have demons we need to exorcise. ” Jason laughed as well. He reached into his hypercube, quickly drawing his sword, pointing it at Gilgamesh.
“Oh hey, Jetstream Sam’s Masamune? How the hell’d you get that? And what’s with the storage cube?”
“Umbra,”Jason said simply.
“Huh. Haven’t met him.”
Jason kept his eyes on Gilgamesh, getting into a stance. “Stand up Gilgamesh.”
He chuckled. “You know what, I think we both need this. So I’m not holding back,” he said before standing up. He then clenched his fists and posed, holding them to his right side, before bringing his left hand to his waist and crossing his right over his chest. “Hen,” he began as he swept his arm over to the other side. “SHIN!” he shouted before bringing it back. His body flashed brightly for a moment before the light faded, revealing a form Jason was not familiar with. Gone was his face guard, instead showing off his face painted red a white a like a kabuki dancer. A red cloak hooded his head and covered the top part of his body, horns sticking out of the sides, and he had grown to at least ten feet tall. His eight arms held claws, a katana, a spear, an axe, a mace, a scimitar, and a broadsword.
“Well if you're going to be like that,” Jason said, reaching into his hypercube, instantly becoming clad in his Terminus armor.
“Well, you’ve certainly picked up some new toys. Now the question is,” he began as he took a stance. “Can you use them?”
“Well, thats what we’re gonna see.” Jason said with a smirk, a white orb appearing in his hand. “Though allow me to pick our music,” he said, tapping his wrist, a second later, the sound of violins came. He suddenly threw the orb into the ground, a second later a heavy tremor started. With a loud battle cry, he rushed forward, slashing at Gilgamesh.
“You have spells too? Interesting!” he shouted as he slammed his foot on the ground, unleashing a Quake spell. The two tremors met and slammed into each other, causing a wall of earth to rise between them. Jason cut through it and deflected a stab from his spear. “Not even using your Omnitrix?” he asked, taking a slash at his face with his claws before cutting up with his scimitar, Jason dodging the first and deflecting the second. “You’ve certainly gotten more confident!” he complimented as he brought his axe down towards his opponent’s head.
Jason blocked it, standing his ground. “Magic’s rather new to me but...” he started before blasting Gilgamesh back with a wall of wind. “I ran into Nemesis,” he slashed forward, aiming at Gilgamesh’s knee.
“That so?!” Gilgamesh asked as he leaped forwards and hit Jason in the face with the same knee he was going for. He then grabbed Jason by the head with his one free hand before striking him across the chest with his katana. “I hope you two got along!” he said as he kicked the boy in the chest, sending him flying backwards.
Jason tumbled away, his sword spinning out of his reach. “That bastard got me infected with the T-virus,” he got to his feet, rather glad he was wearing a helmet. He reached into his cube, pulling out Chaoseater, “Haven’t had a lot of practice with this one.”
“Oh! Darksider’s, right? I never got to that one,” Gilgamesh commented as he dashed forwards, his own broadsword raised. Jason and Gilgamesh swung at the same time, their blades clashing as they sparked against each other. “Also, that doesn’t sound like something Nemmy would do. I specifically made it so his version of the Genji Gauntlets made it impossible to infect others just by touch,” he said forced Jason away with push.
“Oh it wasn’t him, some weird snake headed thing followed him here,” Jason said focusing his power, creating a glyph on the ground just under Gilgamesh’s feet. As soon as he stepped inside, it exploded, sending him flying back “Omnitrix, Four Arms!” he commanded, dashing forward, laying punch after punch to his body.
“There we go!” Gilgamesh shouted, slamming his head into his opponent and knocking him back. “Now here’s a form I can hit hard!” he shouted as he quickly positioned himself behind his enemy, dispersing all his weapons in flashes of light. “Always wanted to try this,” he said as he put all four of Jason’s arms into armlocks, wrapping two more around his chest before launching skywards. As they reached the apex of their jump Gilgamesh used his last two arms to spread Jason’s legs, positioning his knee between them as they fell. “Better come up something quick, kid, or else this’ll hurt like a bitch!”
“Omnitrix, Nixie!” he shouted, his form, shrinking out of Gilgamesh’s grasp. “Catch me now!” the voice of Keith David spoke from the tiny armored Breezie, flitting off quickly. He made a rude gesture, moving as fast as his little wings would take him.
“Forgetting something, kid?” Gilgamesh asked as the gem in his armor glowed. The air around Jason warped as he began to drop like a lead weight. “Gravity powers. Now then, did I ever tell you what my favorite show was?” he asked as he used the wind to fling himself at his still falling opponent. “STOMP!”
“Gravity don’t affect ghosts! Omnitrix, Ghostfreak!” he shouted, just as Gilgamesh hit him. “Ha!” he shouted, flying away. He moved over to his swords, quickly collecting them and returning to human form.
“Not bad, kid! You’ve certainly grown. However, so have I, and I think in the spirit of this music’s source material, it’s time to pull out some cheap-ass moves. TOKE WO TOMARE!”
Before Jason could even process what language he was speaking he was struck on all sides by lasers, blades of wind, missiles, boxing gloves, lighting bolts, and needles. He struggled to rise only to be sent tumbling by a punch to the head, the sound oddly making a metallic clang. Jason got up to see that Gilgamesh had now changed colors, and it took him just a second to figure out why.
“When the hell did you absorb my Terminus armor?!” Jason shouted, raising both his swords.
“The same time I launched those spells against you. I can stop time now, by the way,” he replied with a smirk.
“Thats just lovely,”Jason said panting. He took a breath, before rushing Gilgamesh, tossing his swords to the side, thrusting his hands out at Gilgamesh’s chest. He looked up at him with a smirk. “Ultima.”
Gilgamesh’s eyes widened. “You motherfu-” he said before the explosion went off, shaking the very mountain by the sheer force.
Jason groaned as he staggered to his feet, pulling his helmet off his head. Even with all the enhancements, both magical and technological, the armor was damaged. “You still alive?” he asked, looking the crater that had formed.
Gilgamesh stood up from under the rubble, his body completely black. For a moment he stood there motionless. The next, he was right in front of Jason. Before he could react Gilgamesh punched him in the gut, send him into the air a few feet before landing on his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. Gilgamesh shook the soot off of him before cracking his neck, blood dripping from around his mouth which he wiped away. “Ow,” he said simply.
“That’s just not fair,” Jason grumbled, staring at him. Before either could do anything, Zed jumped in front of Jason, snarling at Gilgamesh. “Heh... should have known you’d show up...” Zed just snarled, shifting into Crabdozer, rushing at Gilgamesh.
“Sit boy,” he said, using his shifter powers to cause the transformed canine to fall to the ground unable to get up. “I didn’t know you had a pet,” he said as he casually walked by the creature before raising a hand at Jason. “And also, I don’t think having to cast Shell and having the extra defense of your armor’s material, not to mention the stat boosts of my second transformation is anywhere equal in unfairness to you pulling out Final Fantasy’s biggest ‘fuck you’ spell,” he said as he cast Curaga on the boy.
Jason stood up straighter, cracking his neck. He looked Gilgamesh in the eyes, his own now a bright red. He started to walk forward, his gaze full of an intense rage.
“Oh come o-” Gilgamesh complained before Jason rushed forward, slamming his fist hard enough into Gilgamesh’s face for it to shake his very bones. The enraged human unleashed blow after blow on the giant, his face contorted in fury.
Gilgamesh halted the assault by grabbing his hands by the wrists, causing the boy to freeze in ice. He then jumped back several yards before resummoning his weapons, Jason breaking out of his frozen prison almost immediately. Gilgamesh deactivated his gravity powers and let Zed go. “Better run along, little doggy. Things look like they’re gonna get nasty.”
Zed refused, returning to normal. Jason proceeded to grab his swords, unleashing a primal scream of rage before running at Gilgamesh in a storm of slashing blades.
“Tell, me Jason Hughes,” Gilgamesh began, casting Protect and Haste on himself before parrying the relentless attacks with his own weapons, managing to even out the duel. “Why do you fight? For what purpose do you wield your power?” he asked as he sent the boy away with a strike to the face from his mace, the blow knocking him back but having far less effect than it should’ve. “Are you one who seeks to overcome all obstacles? One who wishes to see everything in your path driven before you?”
Jason snarled, locking swords with his teacher. “I.... protect...” he managed to get out before kicking Gilgamesh away, slashing at his face. “Kill enemies,” he panted, locking eyes with Gilgamesh.
“Are you like me?” Gilgamesh continued, ignoring his opponent’s words as he rushed forwards. “One who only wants the thrill of the fight? Who doesn’t even care for victory?” he asked as he stabbed at Jason with his spear, who deflected it and attacked only to be smacked in the face by the flat of the broadsword. “Perhaps you seek to be the best, the strongest,” he continued as he struck Jason in the chest with an upwards strike from his axe, forcing him into the air. “Are you one who wishes to come close to death?” he went on as he jumped up above his opponent. “One who wants to experience the high of looking the reaper in the face and surviving?” He then struck Jason with all three of his swords, smacking him down to the ground.
Jason grunted as he pulled himself to his knees, looking up at Gilgamesh, panting.
“When it comes down to it, when you strip away all the reasoning and justifications,” he continued as he shot down with his spear. “WHY DO YOU FIGHT!?”
Jason reached up, catching the spear in his hand, locking eyes once more. “I fight so that others don’t have to, I fight to protect the ones I love, I fight so that I may find an honorable death on the battlefield, and I fight to forge myself anew, and cast away the imperfections.”
The two of them stood there for a moment before Gilgamesh dispersed his weapons and returned to his base form. He extended his hand to the boy. “And that’s what makes you a great man, Jason Hughes. One even better than me.”
Jason took a few deep breaths before his eyes returned to normal. “That... means a lot, coming from you,” he said with a smile, taking his hand.
“That was wonderful, the both of you,” a soft feminine voice cut in.
They both turned to see a young human woman in her late 20’s. She wore a orange and black dress, with a witch hat resting on her head and a staff that had various runes carved into it.
“Um... who... how... I’m very confused right now,” Gilgamesh stuttered.
“I’ve been looking for you for so long,” she said moving over to Jason, tears starting to well up from her eyes. She gasped, getting a good look at his face. “Oh.... you look so much like him.”
“Who? What the hell are you talking about?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.
“Sorry...” she said wiping at her tears, “This might sound out there but...” she paused for a moment, meeting his eyes. “I’m your mother.”
“...I’m sorry to make a reference, but watchoo talkin’ ‘bout, lady?” Gilgamesh asked.
“I am Jason’s mother, his real one,” she said, looking at Gilgamesh, while Jason just stood there in shock. “I’ve been looking for him for years.”
“Ok, hold up,” Gilgamesh began before stomping on the ground and causing a rock the size of a small table to spring up before sitting on it. “Ok, now before we get to the Harry Potter style past reveal, I’m just gonna take a wild guess and say you’re a Valkyrie or something which explains why this kid saw Sleipnir once and why two ravens showed up on his shoulders the last time he went into berserker mode.”
“Me? A Valkyrie?” she asked with a giggle,”No, I’m a just a witch,” she said shaking her head. “Though my father was a Valkyrie.”
"Um... Weren't the Valkyries all female?"
“My father is female,” Terra said with shrug, “My parents are weird like that.”
"Wait, your biological father was fe- you know what? Forget it, I'm just gonna chalk it up to other mythology weirdness like the world being built out of the body of a slain giant."
“Weird is just my family,” she said with a giggle. “Jason is the least weird of us all, well him and his father, all he did was turn his arms into swords.”
"That may be one of the less confusing things I've had to wrap my head around.” Gilgamesh then turned to the other human. “Hey, Jason? You gonna say hi to your mom or not?”
“But.... how?” Jason asked, staring at the woman. She sat down, gesturing for him to do the same. He did so, looking at her like a lost puppy.
“Our world has magic Jason, but... we have to hide away...” she said with a sigh, “18 years ago, we were out as a family, you, me and your father. Your sister was visiting your grandparents at the time.”
“I have a sister?” Jason asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
“Yes, Ib, she’s a shadowmancer,” she said, going back to her story, “As I was saying, we were out as a family when... witch hunters found us.” She started to tear up. “They killed your father and... I-I used a spell to send you to safety but... I didn’t set a destination. I’ve been looking for you ever since that day.” she moved forward, pulling him into a hug. He blinked a little before hugging her back. “You look so much like your father...”
Jason looked at Gilgamesh, rather bewildered by all of this.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I don’t have a backstory as interesting as this. Also, I’ve seen some bigger coincidences,” he said. “So, Miss Hughes, what’s your name? And did you call him ‘Ib’?”
“My name is Terra but my last name isn’t Hughes, that must be his adoptive family's name. And no, Ib is his sister’s name. Jason’s real name is Corypheus.”
Jason just stared at her, taking that in. “My name isn’t Jason...?”
Terra shook her head, “Thats not what I what I named you.”
“Terra, huh? And, if it’s not too much of sore subject, what’s the father’s name?” Gilgamesh asked.
“His name was Toya...” Terra said, looking into her lap, clutching her staff close to herself.
“I see. And since no one else seems to be asking the question, what now, Terra? What will you do now that you have met your son?”
“I don’t really know to be honest... I’ve been so busy trying to find him... I had no idea he’d ended up in Asgard.”
“Wait what?” Jason asked, looking at her like she was crazy.
“We’re in Asgard currently Jason,” Terra said, brushing some hair out of her face.
“Uh... you sure ‘bout that, miss?” Gilgamesh asked. “This place is called Equestria by the locals. And I’m from an alternate version of it. Are you saying Asgard and Equestria are one and the same? Or maybe that he’s been dead this whole time and didn’t know it, because that raises some disturbing implications for me and the rest of my fellow Displaced.”
“What I’m saying, Gilgamesh, is that Equestria is what’s left of Asgard after Ragnarok.”
“Oh... so you mean that the Norse pantheon... Odin, Fenrir, Thor, Loki, they’re all already... gone?”
“I’m afraid so,” Terra said with a nod. “Well expect Hel, she’s my mother after all.”
“Ugh, Jaso- er, Corypha- er Cro- um... name I can’t pronounce. A little help? Not completely familiar with every Norse deity here.”
“She’s the daughter of Loki and goddess of the underworld...” Jason said, before blinking. “I’m the grandson of the Goddess of the Underworld...”
“And the great-grandson of the God of Mischief. And your ‘grandfather’ is female. And a Valkyrie. And your mother is a witch. And your father made his hands into blades. And you’ve been adopted by a family of ponies. And are being hit on by a queen of a bug-pony race, good lord almighty, you’ve got the weirdest damn backstory ever,” Gilgamesh added.
“Actually... we’re a couple...” Jason said, rubbing his neck. “Um... I uh... plan on proposing soon...”
“Y-You... You mean that?” came a distorted voice.
The four (can’t forget about Zed) turned to see Chrysalis, Celestia, and the other Elements of Harmony had showed up at some point.
“H-how long have you been there?” Jason asked, looking at them with wide eyes.
“Since we decided to investigate a massive explosion occurring near Canterlot,” Twilight replied in a somewhat upset tone.
“Also, long enough ta figure out she’s your mother,” Applejack added. “Um... It’s nice ta meet ya, ma’am. Mah name’s Applejack and Jason’s been kinda my brother for the past few months. I hope you’re ok with that.”
“It’s nice to meet you Applejack,” Terra said with a smile, “If Jason considers you family then so will I.”
“Um, pardon me, I do so hate to change the subject, but I was quite certain I heard something about a proposal a moment ago,” Rarity interjected, her eyes having a particularly bright glint in them.
“Yeah.... you did Rarity....” Jason frowned, not liking that look at all. “I was planning on proposing to Chrysalis...”
“WOOHOO! ANOTHER ROYAL! WEDDING!” Pinkie shouted. “I’ll have to get all my cannons loaded up, and get some time off from Mr. and Mrs. Cake so I can work on the baked goods, and-oh! Chrysie, what color do you want-?”
The pink mare stopped when she noticed that Chrysalis wasn’t beside her anymore. It only took half a second to find her, passionately kissing Jason and holding him tightly.
Gilgamesh stared for a moment before turning to Terra. “Ma’am, meet your daughter-in law.”
“Well, they certainly look happy,” Terra said with a giggle, watching them with a smile.
Chrysalis finally came up for breath, giving Jason a chance to get his. “This is almost enough to make me forgive you for how much you’ve made me worry over the past month,” she said with a playful tone.
“Yeah.... sorry about that... I was rather messed up...”Jason said with a sheepish smile, brushing some hair out of her face.
“Love is blind you know,” Terra said to Gilgamesh with a far away look on her face.
“Indeed. I’ve got my own four legged crush,” he replied before sighing. “Which reminds me, I’ve got to get back. As fun as this fight was, and how much I needed it, I’ve got more pressing matters to get back to.”
“Leaving already?” Jason asked, pouting a little. “I was hoping we could talk more.”
“I’d love to kid, but wars don’t take a break just because someone wants to go hang out with their friends.”
“‘W-War!?’” Twilight shouted.
“Yup. Some assholes from beyond space and time let out the demons of Tartarus to join their own forces. Now I’m trying to unite all of Equis against them. Already got the griffons, the changelings, the zebras, the horses, and even some of the dragons to join Equestria. I’m working on getting more.”
“It must be quite the diversion to come here then,” Celestia said. “Thank you for making time for Jason. He needed it.”
Gilgamesh chuckled. “Helping a friend is not a diversion.”
Celestia smiled back. “Indeed.”
Jason got to his feet, moving over to Gilgamesh. “Thanks, for everything. This is the second time you’ve saved my ass.”
“Hey, this helped me as much as it did you. We’ve both done things we regret, but we’ve got to move on. You have to keep going, even when you’ve made a mistake you can’t fix. I’m just happy to see things getting better on your end. I’ve got a while to go before the same happens on mine.”
“Look,”Jason said, holding his hand out, “I know you can handle armies but, if you ever need help or an extra pair of hands, just call me ok? I already owe you big from before.”
“Thanks. I’ll give you a call if I do. And if you need my help, I’ll try and make time. Just, you know, make sure it’s an emergency, ok? Kinda busy as you can guess.”
“You got it master,” Jason smirked, “I’ll make sure it’s a real emergency. Oh, and if you see Nemesis again, tell him I could probably help him with a T-virus vaccine.”
“I will make sure to pass that along, I’m sure he would be thrilled,” Gilgamesh replied before turning to Celestia. “By the way, um... sorry about the dungeon. I kinda flew off the handle when I heard what happened.”
“Please don’t do that again, though thank you for speaking with Blueblood.”
“Yeah, I’ll try to keep a lid on it. And I hope he gets a chance to make things better. Or, I mean, she gets a chance, god that’s going to get confusing.” He then turned to Chrysalis. “Chryssie, you nabbed yourself a good man. Just don’t be afraid to smack him if he starts being an idiot again.”
“Oh believe me I won’t,” she said with a purr, licking Jason’s cheek, despite the face he made as she did so.
“Kinky. Ok, well, back into the meat grinder. I wish you all the best,” he said as he cut open another portal with his naginata. “I’ve got troops to train. Until next time.” And with that he stepped in and was gone.
“Well umm.... mom, why don’t we go get to know each other?” Jason asked, turning toward Terra.
“I’d like that.” she said with a smile as the group headed back into town.