I've been looking forward to getting into this chapter. Here we REALLY get to open up just how effective the Gokaigers can be against a single opponent. This takes a LOT of research into Super Sentai since Joe will be doing quite a number of Gokai Changes. Disclaimer: I don't own Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Metal Hero, or Fairy Tail.

Chapter 10: Joe vs Erza

Fairy Tail's triumph over Eisenwald had made all the papers, irking the Magic Council. They made an effort to save some face by trying to indict Fairy Tail for past events. This included talking to the Gokaiger to try and convince them to switch to a different guild for the sake of preserving their reputation. Marvelous just laughed at this. "You're talking to the captain of a pirate crew. Do you really think reputation is the first thing on my mind? And really, can you honestly say the incidents Fairy Tail has prevented could be done without causing collateral damage?"

The fact that this was said during a public hearing, which got people questioning the idea that Fairy Tail was a group of reckless rogues, forced the Magic Council to back down. With that settled, the entire guild was in attendance as Erza and Joe were ready to square off for their fight. "So," Gray said to Natsu, "You get to challenge her next, right?" "Only if she wins," Natsu admitted, "If she doesn't then it's clear that I still a way to go before I can consider myself the strongest."

"So the main raider of the Gokaigers versus the strongest female wizard in the guild," Elfman noted, "If Joe wins this, then it's clear he and the rest of the crew may be a match for Laxus or Mystogan." "Who are those two?," Lucy asked. "They're S-Class wizards of this guild," Macao explained, "Though seldom seen around the guild hall. Natsu, Gray, and Erza are more well-known, so it's generally believed that they're our strongest adventurers."

Nearby, Shadow Gear, a team in Fairy Tail, was talking about the fight. "Think Erza will still use her Flame Empress Armor?," Jet asked. "Doubt it," Levy replied, "She's not up against Natsu this time." "She might still use it," Droy said, "It does give her access to Fire Magic." "That won't help her," Marvelous pointed out, "While we can use different colors during our Gokai Changes, we often stick to our own colors. Me and Joe especially. And plenty of Blue Rangers give Joe access to Water Magic."

Makarov approached the area the fight was taking place. "And Round One... Begins!" The two fighters rushed at each other, Joe activating his Mobilate. "Gokai Change!" "Gokaiger!" The two started clashing swords, striking at each other. However, Erza's various swords were meant to be Requip accessible, so they didn't have as much bite to them as Joe's Gokai Saber. Needing some extra defensive, Erza decided to change armors. "Requip!"

In a flash of light, Erza was decked out in her Adamantine Armor. Using the power of the armor, Erza took to the sky in an effort to dive-bomb Joe, but he got out a new key to even the odds. "Gokai Change!" "Dairanger!" Transformed into TenmaRanger, Joe focused the signature Qi-power of the Dairangers. "Heavenly Gravity Star Inversion Wave!" Erza suddenly found her dive-bomb stopped cold as the gravity manipulation technique took hold of her.

Joe then leapt into the air. "Heavenly Gravity Star Revolving Kicks!" Joe started spinning like a top with his leg extended. Thinking, quickly, Erza switch to a new armor. "Requip!" Changed into her Black Wing Armor, Erza was able to break out of the Inversion Wave and fly out of the way of Joe's attack. She quickly swooped around to attack. "Moon Flash!" "Gokai Change!" "Kakuranger!" Seconds before Erza struck, Joe transformed into NinjaBlue.

The attack still seemed to hit as Erza landed, only to be surprise when instead of Joe, a straw dummy landed behind her. Out of nowhere, Joe made his attack. "Hidden Style: Square Formation!" Erza was struck by four slashes in the shape of a square, knocking her back. The armor still provided decent protection despite being designed to increase offense, but Joe's swordsmanship still showed. "Requip!" Erza changed into her Flight Armor, hoping to get in a speed advantage.

"Nice try," Joe said, "But I do have options for speed. Gokai Change!" "Carranger!" Now as Blue Racer, Joe sped after Erza, trading blows with her. Erza rushed in with her Sonic Claw, but Joe was able to counter with some high speed slash from his ViBlade. "Requip!" Once again Erza changed, this time into her Flame Empress Armor. "This is where you'll get to see what I was telling you about," Marvelous noted. Joe got out another key. "Gokai Change!" "Gingaman!" Joe now transformed into GingaBlue.

Erza came in with her sword flaming, Joe merely focusing on the Earth power that gave the Gingamen their strength. Slashing with his sword, he called out, "Rapids Strike!" The watery assault doused the flaming blade and cut through Erza's armor, causing her to skid to a halt. "I gotta admit," Erza said, "It's been a while since anyone in this guild has really pushed me to my limit."

"I've been forged in countless battles that tested my potential," Joe noted, "And trained in military combat. Better believe I'll give it my A-game everytime." "Since you seem to focus on water," Erza said, "Perhaps I should go in the opposite direction. Requip!" Erza changed into her Sea Empress Armor. Joe just chuckled. "Unlike Natsu, I'm not a one-trick pony. Gokai Change!" "Go-Busters!" "Let's Morphin'!"

Erza got a big surprise when Joe, as Blue Buster, launched a powerful fist into her stomach, enough to send her sailing several feet away. Joe followed up with another key. "Gokai Change!" "Denziman!" Joe, now as DenziBlue produced twin metallic knuckles that, when struck together, were shown to have electrical properties. "Denzi Punch!" The electric fist struck Erza, doing immense damage due to her armor's water affinity.

"It's like no matter what armor Erza tries to use," Lucy noted, "Joe can counter it with how many options he's got." "Erza has over one-hundred armors," Gray said, "But most of them she never uses, preferring to stick to a few reliable ones. They still come off as situational. On the other hand, discounting the keys he shares with his teammates, Joe has a mere forty keys to draw strength from, but each is useful in a variety of situations. It's like the fable of the cat and the fox."

Erza now swapped to her familiar Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Requip!" Summoning as many sword as she could, she called out, "Circle Sword!" Joe managed to dodge the initial disc attack, causing it to collide with the ground. He changed back into his Gokai Blue form, then revealed that Marvelous had handed him his own Gokai Saber, letting Joe fight in the two-sword style he was trained in. As the swords came in, Joe remembered his fight with the Action Commander Zodomas. Using those same techniques, he managed to deflect all the sword, shocking Erza when he cleaved one in two edge-first.

Erza closed her eyes. "It seems defense alone won't be enough. Requip!" The guild was shocked when her new armor had very little actual armor, being just some baggy pants with a wrapping around her chest. "This is my Clear Heart Clothing," she explained, "It relies on pure offense. With this, I can end a fight with one attack!" She charged in, sword drawn, but Joe smirked beneath his helmet as he produced an additional three sword from the other Gokaigers.

Hitting his Gokai Buckle, Joe summoned five keys which were placed inside the Gokai Sabers. "Final Wave!" "Five Sword Style: Blue Slash!" The attack summoned phantoms of the Rangers the keys represented, which attacked Erza as she approached. "Goseiger!" "Shinkenger!" "Magiranger!" "Hurricaneger!" "Gingaman!" As Erza was struck by each attack, she wound up dropping her blade, allowing Joe to get in a final spinning double slash that knocked her out. The guild cheered in amazement as Joe had done something no one thought possible, defeating the Fairy Queen.

The next day, Erza had recovered and was enjoying a drink with her teammates. "I have to admit," Erza said, "Joe really overwhelmed me." "If this is the standard Marvelous holds his crew to," Gray noted, "They could easily become S-Class during the next exam." Just then, something permeated the guild hall, causing everyone inside, except for Makarov, to fall asleep. A mysterious cloaked figure walked inside, whom Makarov recognized. "Mystogan..."

Mystogan grabbed a request from the board and approached Makarov. "I'll return later." "Be sure to lift your sleeping spell as you leave," Makarov replied. Mystogan nodded, counting down as he left. Once he did, everyone woke up. "What was that?," Ahim asked as she removed her head from Gai's shoulder. "It must've been Mystogan," Macao explained, "Only Makarov and Laxus have ever seen his face. The guy likes to put everyone to sleep when he arrives, and he only does so to grab another job."

"Looks like even the new guys got put to sleep," came a new voice from the second floor. The guild looked up to see a large blonde-haired man. "Laxus," Gray noted. "Well, given what I saw from the fight earlier, I can only assume they got caught off-guard," Laxus admitted, "This is the first time Mystogan's shown up since they signed on." "Hey, I'm new too!," Lucy noted. Laxus seemed to ignore her. "I'll be watching you and your crew with interest, Captain Marvelous," he said, "I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you really are."

Makarov sighed as Laxus left. "That reminds me. Erza, would you go upstairs and grab the job request from Galuna Island?" "Why that one, Master?," Erza asked. "I'll explain in a bit," Makarov told her, "Just get it before Laxus decides to." As she went up, Makarov motioned for the rest of her team and the Gokaigers to join him at a private table. She finally came back down. "Luckily he didn't seem interested in the job," Erza said. "Just as well," Makarov replied with a nod, "I should first mention that the second floor is meant to be off-limits to everyone except S-Class wizards. We have a second board up there reserved for jobs that normally require such wizards."

"So why bring one down here?," Lucy asked. "There is a way that lower-class wizards can take on an S-Class request without getting reprimanded," Makarov explained, "And that's if they're being lead by an S-Class wizard, which Erza is. Now the reason I suggested this mission, is because of the reason the Gokaigers are here. Those Combatant teams. If they find a suitable leader, they could take over our world soon after being done with theirs. So the way I see it, we should be proactive is hunting them down."

Erza realized something. "That's why you wanted me to get the Galuna Island mission. Because there's a strong possibility one of the Combatant teams is hiding there." Makarov nodded. "Indeed. It's a cursed island that no one has been to in a long time. What better place to hide from the public view? Plus, the reward is substantial, and there's even a Zodiac Gate Key being offered." Lucy's eyes lit up. "Then what are we waiting for! We should head for that island as soon as possible!"

"First I'd recommend traveling to the nearest port town," Makarov suggested, "Galuna Island hasn't been on any maps since rumors of its curse started spreading, and few people will travel there. Still, you should be able to find someone who at least knows where it is. Once you get there you'll have to ask for details about the curse, it was never mentioned in the request form." Marvelous nodded. "We'll set out tomorrow. Everyone be sure to pack for at least a week's trip." The group nodded.

To be continued...

Yeah, I already had plans in place for how Natsu and crew would NOT be getting in trouble for taking the request for Galuna Island, which means they can actually reap the benefits of completing it. Also, tell me what you thought about the fight scene. Read and review.