CHAPTER 621: CHAPTER 561

Nicholas Fury, Director of Shield POV

I stood at the base of the Helicarrier’s ramp, boots grinding into dry, sunbaked earth.

Above me loomed the most expensive piece of military hardware ever built. Some people called it a colossal waste of money; I agreed. I also wanted it built, so I pushed it through. There are some perks to being the Director of Shield.

Parked like a damn whale that decided it was done pretending to fly.

Some of the newer agents were still staring at it like they’d just seen God land a spaceship.

I rolled my eye. "What, they think we can’t land the damn thing?" I muttered under my breath.

Honestly. For the amount of money poured into this beast, did they think we skipped landing gear? Of course it could land on dry ground. I made sure of that years ago—back when some desk jockey in the budget office called it ’nonessential.’

You don’t fly a trillion-dollar Helicarrier over half the world without having an exit strategy. And not the kind that involves splashing into the Atlantic.

I turned and took in the view.

Wakanda was picturesque; I’d give them that. Rolling plains, dry air, jagged ridgelines in the distance—it all looked untouched. Of course the sun was fucking miserable, and we were basically in the desert, and civilization was dozens of miles away, but I suppose it was nice.

Not my damn cup of tea by any stretch of the imagination. Give me smoggy air and the sound of horns waking me up in the morning.

A city boy through and through.

And then there were the dicks.

Five of them, just in my immediate view. But I knew they stretched for miles down the border. I have a very detailed dossier of their existence now.

For all my years in Shield, I never thought I would read a two hundred-page report on giant dicks, but here we are.

Apparently, from what Coulson could get out of her resident ’magic man,’ it was just him expressing his annoyance.

An agent came over and handed me my coffee as I gave him a grunt of thanks. I took a sip, sighing in my heart as the latest attempt to bring one down failed and a geyser of water—thank God it was water—shot out of the tip and soaked everyone around it.

It could be worse.

The one who erected them—as overused as that joke is at this point—did this when angered? Well, that’s far better than them going on a murderous rampage or such.

This, as ridiculous as it is, is something I’d much rather work with. And Coulson seemed to vouch for the kid, so...not my clowns, not my circus.

The internet is calling them the eighth wonder of the world.

I took another sip of my coffee.

Not my problem; the Security Council can deal with the blowup. I did my job as instructed. Not my problem if some kids start pouring the pictures all over the internet; there’s only so much we can do.

Magic dicks.

I shook my head, mentally noting everyone that was trying to touch them. They weren’t...dangerous. It seems like whatever bullshit is on them is just meant to stop people from destroying or damaging them.

First rule of modern espionage: don’t touch the weird phallic architecture. Second rule: if someone tries, pretend you don’t know them.

I took another sip of my coffee, my eyes scanning the horizon.

Funny enough, as much of a headache as this was, I think I should send Wakanda a fruit basket once the dust is settled.

Because of this whole clusterfuck, I noticed some...irregularities.

Very quiet, very subtle, very intentional.

A couple of reports that didn’t come across my desk when they should’ve. Minor asset reassignments I didn’t authorize. Budget line items shifted a few decimal points over without an accompanying signature. Nothing that would set off alarms on its own.

Nowhere can you point to and say, There, that’s the problem. No smoking gun. No rogue agent leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. That itself is what raised all the red flags in my eyes.

There’s always an origin point. Someone is saving a few million in the budgets? There’s a trail to follow. Someone messes up assignments? There are usually a dozen hands involved somehow. Certain things disappearing in their vaults? Well, that does happen from time to time, but records usually tell a story.

I only started noticing it after Wakanda decided to stop playing poor, and I had to start digging into our own systems because of the blatant cyberattack.

Due to there being blatant holes that the cyberattack opened up, a lot of things were brought to the surface. Not to mention, a lot of hands moved behind the scenes to do their best to cover it up under the guise of ’fixing the systems.’

I didn’t say anything yet; I didn’t know who I could trust other than a handful of people.

But one mess at a time.

I finished my coffee, holding it up as another agent came over and grabbed it, taking it away.

There was a group of Wakandans standing at their border, and it was finally time to get to the bottom of things.

The air was dry as hell, and it didn’t get any cooler as I crossed toward the agreed-upon meeting point—right at the border.

We didn’t cross over. They didn’t either.

A nice, polite little standoff.

Wakandan representatives stood across from us. Dressed in fine robes and armor that looked ceremonial, but I didn’t doubt for a second it was battle-ready. A few had spears; others had gadgets I couldn’t identify. That, more than anything, was what bothered me—because Shield was supposed to know everything.

Vibranium.

Their spears were made of Vibranium, and they weren’t even hiding it now. Funny how they were only supposed to have a ’little bit.’

I stepped up first. "Nicholas Fury. Director of SHIELD."

One of them stepped forward. A tall, lean, sharp-eyed man, the kind of guy who screamed trained. "N’Kosi, representing Wakanda’s diplomatic council."

We exchanged nods.

Formalities done.

"I want answers," I said, cutting right to it.

Why be specific? Let’s see what they say first.

N’Kosi didn’t flinch. "Wakanda does not recognize SHIELD’s authority in our affairs. Nor do we tolerate foreign intimidation. Your presence here is a provocation."

I glanced at the massive Helicarrier that was currently pointing its guns towards them.

I smiled thinly. "We’re in Nigeria. And Nigeria signed the UN SHIELD charter. That means SHIELD’s operations here are legally sanctioned. Maybe try keeping up with your neighbors."

Another representative, a woman this time, stepped forward. "Then leave our borders. You are not welcome. Your agents are harassing our people, poking around where they don’t belong."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about yours. You know, random cyberattacks that start deleting any and all relevant files or information on Wakanda from our secured servers. Funny how that happens right as your little hiding act comes undone." I said, not bothering to hide the bite in my tone.

They didn’t respond. Maybe they didn’t even know? Honestly, the hacking attempt was the least of their worries right now, and I genuinely wasn’t too concerned about it. Most of our important stuff was stored away so that a random hacker couldn’t get access to it.

I was most certainly annoyed; it just added to my workload. But the very advanced tech and city that shouldn’t exist were a much bigger priority right now.

"So, what about those answers? I have 102 countries all asking the same thing. Why is Wakanda not a third-world farming country as of this week? I’m being nice and asking for cooperation politely."

"We will not yield," N’Kosi snapped. "Wakanda bows to no foreign power."

I snorted. "Save the slogans for a press release. Here’s what’s going to happen: We’re starting with sanctions. Light at first. But they’ll grow. We’re going to dig into every single international incident with even a whiff of a Wakandan fingerprint." I didn’t even know if there was anything, but if they were hiding this well, they clearly had some skeletons in the international closet. "You’ve been playing the world for fools—masking yourselves as a poor third-world country while stockpiling tech that makes NASA look like a garage startup."

They stiffened, but I wasn’t done.

"And here’s the best part: The UN is preparing to serve Wakanda. You’re getting sued in international court for every cent you’ve taken through false humanitarian aid claims. Donations, grants, infrastructure deals—all built on a lie."

Right, those were the faces of people who realized they were coming out of this looking like the bad guys despite the many big guns and massive helicarrier on their front lawn.

"And that’s not just coming from us," I continued. "Dozens of nations who’ve given you money over the last few decades want a response. They want their pound of flesh. And they’re not going to be quiet about it."

Silence.

I didn’t even bother having it all calculated ahead of time. Hill had just told me what the United Nations as an organization had been giving aid previously. That doesn’t account for other aid packages or individual nations or other organizations giving donations and such.

Suffice to say, people were pissed.

Any previous international goodwill they accumulated was going right down the shitter.

They didn’t speak, just glared.

"Well, you guys can think on that." I turned around and walked away, throwing a hand up. "Feel free to reach out, considering we’re going to be neighbors for a while."

I’m sitting my ass right down here until they’re ready to play ball.

I didn’t expect to get anything right away. Let them work themselves up, see if they make any mistakes, and let them know that the world is breathing down their necks.

They’re going to have to respond eventually.

I walked back up into my private office on the Helicarrier, taking a moment to look out the windows to see the Wakanda Delegation climb up into their own aircraft.

I’d read the report from the eggheads on it in a bit, or as much as they could glean from just sight alone. It wasn’t the first time we’d seen their high-tech craft; it wasn’t going to be the last.

Instead, I called up Coulson, getting into my chair and throwing my feet up onto the desk.

"Director." Coulson’s voice came through the speakerphone. "How’s Wakanda?"

"About what you’d expect. Not talking, lots of glaring, lots of ’We don’t answer to you’." I rolled my eye. "I give it a week before they start responding to international pressure."

Coulson chuckled. "Do you want an update, sir?"

"Tell me what’s going on in Wonderland, Alice."

"Hang on, one sec, sir; I’ve got a video I’m sending over. Wanted your go-ahead before it’s attached to my normal report for level five clearance or if you wanted it deeper."

"Send it on, Agent."

It only took a moment, and I let it play.

I watched a pale woman with red eyes and black marks all over her body summon creatures out of nightmares as they tore and ripped apart what appeared to be the vampires I heard about.

"Jesus Christ."

"I had a similar response." Coulson noted.

I paused for a moment. "You offered her a job, right?"

"Consultation contract."

I nodded. "Good job, Agent. Did she accept?"

"She seemed interested. I’m waiting for her to come back so we can work out the finer details. She helped with sorting all the interviews for ’magical personnel.’ It was...interesting, to say the least. The reports are on their way if you want to read them."

"I’ll check them out later." I wasn’t in the mood to deal with magical nonsense right now. "What’s your initial profiling, other than utterly terrifying?" I snorted.

I’m pretty sure my nightmares would look under the bed for her.

"Hard to say, she’s very reserved. A certain arrogance that comes from her status, I believe. She disliked the ’charlatans’ she had to sift through, noticeably so. Detached, uncaring. Definitely competent and skilled."

"Stark arrogance?" Because I did not want another Stark to handle, his magic boy was already being a headache, and I hadn’t even met him yet.

"No, sir. The kind of arrogance that screams, ’You’re all below me and I don’t care enough to acknowledge you,’ if that makes sense."

"Ah." I nodded. "Make a note in her file and make sure any of our people working with her know."

"Will do, Sir." Coulson replied.

"Any other incidents?"

"Nothing worth your concern. There is our first instance of misuse of magical items. We’re handling it with care and using the normal guides, but I was going to outline a few recommendations for the future."

"Send it when you’re done; I’ll go over it." Sounds like things were going our way, good. I didn’t care if she was a demon or an angel at this point. If she was willing to work with us and not cause problems, I’d write off requests for virgin blood to be sent to her. "And your personal opinion?"

"Dangerous, but amicable. As long as we treat her well and don’t do anything to anger her, I believe we’ll get along well enough." He said simply.

I grunted in acknowledgement. "As far as catering goes, that’s easy enough." Hell, we’d be prepared to call her ’Your Majesty’ if she had that level of delusions of grandeur.

"I agree."

"Good work, Agent. Finish up this assignment and your other responsibilities, then tell HR where you’re going for your vacation; we’ll bump you up to first-class tickets anywhere you want to go." He has more than earned it at this point.

"Will do, thank you, sir." He disconnected.

Now, how do I go about catching the rats hiding in my house?

[Line Break]

Wilhelm POV

I stepped out of my house, and the atmosphere hit me immediately.

I think every Youkai in Kyoto—every person living here—was out on the streets celebrating. There were food stalls set up on nearly every corner, ones that weren’t there before. There were banners hung up and decorations thrown around.

It was all makeshift and haphazard, like there was just an unspoken agreement that everyone came to and no real hand guiding it.

It was nice.

And I didn’t go unnoticed. People I didn’t know came up to me, grabbing me happily, giving me their thanks, or just laughing as they slapped my shoulder.

An older lady—a Youkai I couldn’t recognize that I stuffed a snack into my mouth before I could reject it.

I had a flower necklace thrown over my head by a girl who giggled as she ran away.

People called me ’Young Lord’ with so much enthusiasm that I honestly was a little taken aback. I mean, I knew that I was welcomed in Youkai Kyoto, but this was...something else.

I sort of just awkwardly smiled and waved whenever someone called out to me.

Was I really that popular?

I just shook my head and made my way through the crowds until I found the source of everything. At the portal entrance, youkai will be spilling out by the thousands, greeted by the warmest welcome of their friends and family.

Yasaka was at the front, standing proud as the youkai kept pouring through. She wasn’t alone; Artoria was with her, as were many other figures that played important roles. Mordred looked very proud of herself too, as if she was used to this kind of reception.

Rin stood a little more awkwardly, but I could see the smile on her face as people shouted her way, with Artoria giving her a few nudges of encouragement.

Scáthach too, her usual demeanor didn’t change, even under the stares and cheers. Many of the Youkai soldiers greeted her politely or gave her a warm welcome on their return.

She had been teaching for a while now, doing standard drills and practices for months before the invasion.

Jinn was bouncing around happily, and specifically, she had a certain Viking with her who looked at everything with wondrous eyes. Like a mother hen that directed her baby chick, she refused to let him wander away out of her sight.

I’m going to need to head back in and help finish getting all the humans out. And I always planned on helping the Mother Fae Tree. But I can always talk logistics with Yasaka later; I doubt she wants to give that thought right at this specific moment.

And as much as I wanted to run up and hug them all, I held myself back. I didn’t want to spoil the moment.

Simply, when Yasaka found me and our eyes met, I gave her a smile and mouthed, Welcome back.

Her eyes narrowed, and she said something I couldn’t catch from where I was. Next thing I knew, I saw a swirling of mist under me, and I let out a sigh, letting myself fall into the spatial turbulence, only to be deposited into Yasaka’s arms.

Soma had used his Sacred Gear to pull me over.

"Hello there, Mister~" Yasaka said cheekily, literally holding me in her arms before she kissed me.

It was already loud, but the crowd erupted, and I couldn’t even hear myself think at this point as Yasaka just had the most smug look on her face.

She can really be mischievous sometimes, but that’s just one of the many reasons I love her.

She set me down, as awkward as that was, but she refused to let me go; she grabbed onto my arm and didn’t hide the affection. I thought I would make things awkward for her, but honestly, it only seemed to amp up everyone instead.

It makes me remember when I was so close to abandoning this world and never returning.

I held my hand up, catching a gourd from the air, seeing that it came from Nurarihyon. At the beckoning of a great many voices, I uncorked it and took a big drink before handing it over to Yasaka, who finished it off.

She held it up like it was a big triumph, and it just made the crowd of Youkai cheer even louder. And as if on cue, the drinks started coming out now, becoming a bit more than just a normal celebration.

The Pendragon family was also front and center; they were mingling well with the Youkai. Fighting side by side seems to bridge a lot of cultural gaps, it seems.

Artoria also inched closer to us; however, Yasaka didn’t seem to care about a sense of propriety, or maybe she was just better at reading the mood. She pulled Artoria in and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, making Artoria blush in front of everyone.

Well, if that was the name of the game, I took my turn too. I gave her a kiss in front of everyone, one that she happily accepted, even if I could see the embarrassment lighting up across her cheeks.

Though, she just smiled brightly despite it.

[Line break]

"Tired~" Yasaka kicked off her shoes as soon as we got home.

Or my home—our home. My house, I should say, rather than her giant house.

She dove face first into the couch.

And there were plenty of people here waiting. In fact, everyone was here, at least all my girls were here.

Meridia casually stood with her arms crossed, her usual emotionless mask still present, but I could tell that her being here wasn’t something she was ’bearing with,’ but rather, something she chose to do willingly.

Izzy had seemed to avoid much of the festivities; I couldn’t blame her. It didn’t seem like she enjoyed being front and center in large crowds.

Raikou had come nearly running out of the kitchen, wearing the most adorable apron, and started hugging everyone. Jinn was the first, or rather, she ran up first and wanted a hug too.

Venelana followed after her, having apparently been helping in the kitchen with whatever they had been doing, and joined in as Jinn wanted a hug from her as well.

Always so cute, they’re definitely the most affectionate of the bunch.

Though, the two who surprised me the most were Salem and Jeanne, who were here. It was because I hadn’t been the one to bring it. Not that I had forgotten about them or was neglecting them, I was just waiting until it was the appropriate time.

But I suppose it doesn’t matter; it was probably Gramps who gave them a ’lift.’

I made sure to do my rounds. I didn’t get to greet Scáthach yet, so I immediately buried my head into her chest and hugged her.

Just from the first touch, I could tell she was tired too.

"Student, we have only been separated for a short time." She lightly chided me even if she smiled softly.

Next, I grabbed Jinn, lifting her up as she giggled in my arms, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Everyone was here, my big family.

I sat down next to Yasaka, and she looked at me with pitiful eyes. She crawled up over my lap and just lay down across my lap.

"I’m tired, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I haven’t slept in three days." She whined. "And there’s still so much to do, I can only take a small break before I have to go right back into it."

There was an urge to offer myself up, to tell her that I could help with anything she needed, but that’s not what she wanted to hear right now. She would be direct if she wanted my help; she knows I would drop everything to help her.

Sometimes, people want to complain just to complain.

It helps with the stress.

She rolled over so she was looking up now. "I’m glad to be home and see everyone now, though. I missed you all so much."

"Everyone missed you too." I reassured her.

Everyone was here specifically to welcome them back home. Artoria and Scáthach, too, sat down, looking more exhausted now that it was in the privacy of their own home.

"I need to be distracted. Tell me what you’ve been doing to take my mind off things." Yasaka urged me.

"He’s been doing Salem, from the looks of it." Jinn interjected, eyeing Salem up and down.

Salem’s mouth opened, and she looked rather stunned by how blunt Jinn said that. And I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen Salem so red before.

"Are we butt sisters now?" Jinn asked, not letting up on her teasing. "Do you want to borrow my lamp? I’m sure I can make it bigger so it fits in that fat –"

"Come here, you silly girl." Scáthach grabbed her as she giggled happily.

Yasaka grinned. "I’m just happy you’re getting along~"

"Oh my." Venelana covered her mouth. "There’s no need to be shy; it’s not like we all haven’t had a little taste."

"You all are impossibly lecherous!" Salem harumphed, crossing her arms and scowling. But that red hue didn’t disappear.

Funny enough, even Meridia showed just the faintest amount of humor in what was going on. She was never one for speaking much, but she looked genuinely...content right now.

"Mind yourselves; it’s not just us." Izzy stated, and everyone seemed to remember that Jeanne was in the room.

When all the eyes fell on her, she looked a bit shy. "Um.....well....."

I shifted in my seat, and Yasaka sat up because I think she realized. "Actually, about that." I held my hand out, and Jeanne seemed happy to take it as a lifeline. I gently pulled her over and into my arms. "I’d like to introduce everyone to Jeanne, my girlfriend." It was a bit playful, but it got the point across.

Jeanne covered her face, and there was a single beat of silence before Jinn broke it.

"Kya~ New sister!" She slipped out of Scathach’s grasp and basically threw herself at Jeanne. "You have to call me Big Sister for real from now on."

"Neh?" Jeanne looked surprised, seeing all the welcoming and warm expressions. "Y-you’re not all upset?"

Yasaka’s lips twitched before she finally laughed. "Oh, sweetheart, you’re adorable." She leaned over and joined in on the hug. Raikou was also quick to add onto it, being one of the closest to her in the group.

"It was just a matter of time." Raikou smiled warmly.

"It was rather obvious." Izzy said simply.

Artoria smiled. "We were just waiting for it to happen."

"B-but, I thought...I thought I kept it a secret!?" Jeanne’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help it, but I started cracking up. "Stop, stop laughing!" She hit my shoulder, pouting.

"Welcome to the family, sweetie." Yasaka said warmly. "This is definitely great news to come back to."

"Um, well...thank you?" Jeanne was still a bit shy, and everyone could tell. She just lowered her head, looking like she was having trouble knowing what to say next.

I silently took her hand into mine to make her feel more comfortable. "Jeanne here got adopted by Freya; she’s now a princess of Asgard."

A few eyes perked up.

"Yes! We’re definitely sisters now!" Jinn cheered.

Jeanne’s lips twitched, and her big, bright smile returned quickly. "Miss Freya is very nice."

"Speaking of which, I thought you were playing around in Asgard still?"

"Well, Miss Venelana called me to say that everyone was coming back, and I wanted to be here." Jeanne responded. "I asked...Grandpa to help me come home..."

Venelana smiled. "I didn’t want her to feel like an outsider."

Jeez, she’s really good at managing all this stuff.

"Student, how much trouble have you gotten into while we were away?" Scáthach put her hands on her hips, looking at me sternly.

"I...started nothing." I chose my words carefully.

She raised an eyebrow, and I’m fairly sure my choice in terminology didn’t go unnoticed.

"Salem got a job." I quickly threw it out.

"Did that world need a Dark Queen?" Jinn asked.

Salem snorted at the jab, but not in a bad way. Honestly, it felt like how siblings bicker good-naturedly, rather than Jinn taking a real jab at her. "I was requested to consult on magical matters for some sort of mundane organization." She waved her hand flippantly.

"It’s pretty neat over there. I got some interesting new toys I want to show off. Speaking of which, when you’re rested, I need some specific training help."

Scáthach smiled. "I’m always here to assist you, student." When it came to matters of training or combat, I think she felt particularly happy when I came to her for them.

I found the specific tail of Yasaka’s that I claimed and rubbed it gently. "At the risk of adding onto any stress, we still need to deal with the humans in the Fae Realm. Just tell me when you need me, alright?"

Yasaka groaned. "I know, thank you. I’ll think about it tomorrow. But I don’t want to hear about that right now. Tell me something else, anything else fun you’ve done."

"Fought Odin, that Odin. Sort of. He was being a bastard, so I punched him once as we were sort of throwing around our proverbial dicks."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Boys."

"I got a giant magical divine robot."

"Oh, I’ll look at that tomorrow!" Jinn perked up.

".....I may also be interested in seeing such a thing." Izzy looked away with a hint of embarrassment.

"Let’s see....oh, apparently Loki and Hel—rather, Hela, over there—are Odin’s children rather than the myths here. Well, Loki is adopted, but you get the idea. And there’s a group of sorcerers that sort of police magical stuff, and I became friends with their leader—the Ancient One."

They all just relaxed as they listened to me recount some of what happened while I was away. Their interest seemed probably only a fraction of what it normally would be, considering their own states. But they seemed happy to just relax and decompress before crashing outright for the night.

"Salem joined Thorum and me in killing some vampires; that was fun." I added, deciding not to add in the part about the infants. "That was it. I did butt heads with a group over there, but it got settled, and their protector god came out to apologize on their behalf." I hummed. "Otherwise, not much else happened."

"It sounds like you’ve had fun." Yasaka said softly.

It was, I suppose. I went there half for a vacation, half for work. And, well, I can’t say it was normal, but what part of me is normal?

I feel refreshed, I made friends, and I gained some things that make my inner devil and dragon happy.

And most important, Jeanne was now officially mine.

What else could I ask for?

"Oh, and there’s that auction coming up, the Mystic Eye train thing. Gramps asked me to deal with it and all that stuff." I said casually. I forgot what was so important about it; I’ll double-check with him soon.

I didn’t say anything else because Yasaka’s eyes had already closed and she had fallen asleep in my arms.

I gently lifted her up, and everyone gave me a silent nod as I took her to bed.

She more than deserved a good night’s rest. Though, I used my head to gesture to the others too.

Jinn smiled brightly, jumping up to join us. Artoria bit her lip slightly before casually standing up, straightening out her clothing, and coming upstairs.

Lastly, Scáthach just sighed and then smiled before coming up too.

My bed was big enough to accommodate them all.

[Line Break]

A/N

Hey guys, sorry for the late Chapter. For those of you who don’t know, I was in the hospital earlier this week. I’m back home now, I’m recovering and on a lot of medication that makes me very sleepy. I’ll be trying to get back to normal here soon enough.

If you want to read 10 Chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can’t use the above under the same name.