Fen: Hey guys! Fen and Striberx here for another chapter of A Wizard's Fairy Tail!
Striberx: Yup! And we got another new surprise for you all for this chap.
Fen: That's right! We have Wizard, Beast, Kyoryu, and we need to finish the line-up, so~ why not bring in Mage?
Striberx: Now I know many of you are wondering why Mage showed up now and not until WAY later. Well, we decided on that this would be a good idea for now. If we tried to introduce her during that same time as the other Mages start showing up, she could be older than the others, and we would rather have her near the same age.
Fen: Yeah, and besides, we needed some kind of filler between last chapter and the Phantom Lord Arc. And yeah, stupid reason I know, but hey sometimes trivial things may end up for the better.
Striberx: Let's just hope she's ready to debut?
Fen: Yeah, hopefully. Let's go!
Disclaimer: Same thing.
Earth
It was another day in Tokyo, Japan. Workers and students alike all woke up early in the morning to get ready for the day, and for one teenager girl, this was no exception. The girl slowly woke up and yawned sitting up from her bed and stretching out to loosen up. She was a young beautiful teenager that was sixteen years old with long, flowing burgundy hair that fell to her mid back and has hazel eyes. This was Rika Ryusaki.
She looked towards the night stand where there was a picture of her with her friends Kurogasa, Koji, and Cody. She took it off the nightstand to look at it, only to have a forlorn look on her face. It's been six months since her friends went missing in the field trip. When word got back to their parents, they were devastated and they pleaded with authorities to search for them, to not leave any stone unturned, until they were found.
But even with funds and crowd-backing to help find them, everyone soon gave up after three months of nonstop work. They stopped and assumed they all passed in some freak accident, even if there weren't any bodies. It tore up their families and friends and were given a small memorial at their school.
For Rika, this was especially devastating since she was close to them, like they were her brothers. Lovable idiotic brothers, but brothers nonetheless. However, she still believed that there was a slim chance that they were still alive. And right now, she was on summer break and next to her phone was a ticket to those ruins they traveled to. She'll do her best with her own investigation and find them.
"I promise… I will find you guys…" Rika said softly.
The Land of Fiore.
A country in a world of magic where it is bought and sold everywhere like normal items.
There are mage guilds scattered all over Fiore, but there's a certain guild where countless legends are born and will continue to make legends into the future.
It's name is Fairy Tail.
And on this day, the legend known as The Diamond of Hope: Kamen Rider Wizard will begin.
(Cue Life is SHOW TIME by Shō Kiryūin)
(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) The montage starts with Kurogasa as Kamen Rider Wizard with the entrance of Fairy Tail behind him. He scans the Dragorise Ring and raises his arm in the air before a big magic circle appears from above and WizarDragon comes out of the magic circle, flying into the sky. Kamen Rider Wizard then jumps onto WizarDragon's before the latter spew out flames, making the title: A Real Wizard's Fairy Tail appear before WizarDragon flew away, made a u-turn, and flew towards the screen before shifting to the next scene.
(Maru de tsuki to taiyou) The first scene shows Natsu in the lunch hall who got into a fight Gray over something trivial and they started fighting senselessly until Erza beat both of them to a pulp, annoyed by their antics.
(Kasanaru toki no shougeki!) The scene then changed to the bar with Lucy sweat dropping at their usual bout while Mirajane served her food, before the former looked up and noticed Kurogasa who was by himself near the window.
(Dare datte kiseki wo shinjitemitai) Kurogasa looked at his Style Rings in one hand before clenching them and looked out the window up in the sky as a solar eclipse happened and the scene suddenly shatters to pieces.
(Kitto hitsuyou~ fukaketsu no) The next scene shows Koji who was a bar drinking to his heart's content and chatting with the beautiful ladies before seeing the solar eclipse out the window in his drunken state.
(ENAJII~ kokoro tame) Then it shifts towards Cody who sighed to himself, walking around the capital with nothing to do, wishing that he had his games right now, before he looked up to see the solar eclipse as well.
(Yume to yosou ii ima de uragitte kureru mono~) The scene then changes to a quick montage of the other characters show starting with Elfman, Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Levy, Cana, Freed, Gildarts, Mystogan, Loke, Laxus, Makarov, and finally a silhouette of a Phantom before light shone on it to reveal Wiseman, before the camera shows Kurogasa, ready to transform.
(3! 2! 1! Show Time!) On "3" He flips his Hand Author to the left. At "2" Kurogasa slips on his Flame Style ring. At "1" he places the Flame Style ring in front of the Hand Author. And at "Show Time" a bright white light engulfs the entire screen before fading to the next screen.
(Magic time~! trick janai!) Kurogasa transforms into Kamen Rider Wizard and twirled around before showing his Flame Style ring.
(Mahou wo hero hanpa nee zo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) Garuda, Unicorn, Kraken, and Golem jump towards the screen before showing Wizard stuck his arm out to the side as the elements of fire, water, wind and earth spread out behind him.
(Kioku no ROOTS moguri-konde) The spell circles slide over Kurogasa, changing him into Water Style, Hurricane Style, and Land Style.
(Kibou wo tsukui dasou~) In Land Style, Kurogasa uses the Drill ring to drill down into the ground, disappearing.
(Show Time!) The guild members of Fairy suddenly pop up from the screen shouting "Show Time!" before popping down to reveal the next scene.
(Life is Show Time! tobikkiri no) The next scene shows Kurogasa riding on the Machine Winger with Lucy sitting behind him as WizarDragon flew beside them before Kurogasa revved up his Rider Machine and jumped on WizarDragon's back, letting the wheels of the machine become the wings.
(Unmei DORAIVU mucha shitemo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) WizarDragon then flies through a magic circle, appearing on the other side flying over the top of Magnolia.
(Kinou, kyou, ashita, mirai) Lucy smiled seeing the sight, but the joy was cut short when Natsu suddenly appeared next to them thanks to Happy who was carrying him as he flew, before he got in between them and Lucy got ticked off before punching off WizarDragon, sending straight to the ground with Happy diving in to save him.
(Subete no namida wo~!) As they passed the Fairy Tail guild, two silhouettes of Riders appeared, watching WizarDragon fly by, smiling behind their helmets.
(Show Time!) The members of Fairy Tail pop out of nowhere again and shouts "Show Time!" before popping back down to the next scene.
(Houseki ni kaette yaru ze) Four versions of Wizard, each one in a different style, converge on one another, merging into one in a big flash of light.
(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) Team Natsu appear and they smirked at the camera as Kurogasa smirks while putting on the Flame Style ring and transforms into Wizard one more time as he and Team Natsu freeze, the show logo appearing.
Chapter 10: A Hopeful Reunion
"Ahhhhhh… good to see that the dance studio is still up and running." Koji grinned to himself, seeing the place in front of him being busy during his absence.
"Even though you're the creator and head owner, I know you have wonderful staff." Cana smiled, as she came with him for this. "Plus seems like the one you made sure to run the place when you're not around is doing fine…. Even if she knows you a bit too much…" She then frowned with a huff.
"Oh c'mon babe, that was before I met you." Koji said in mock hurt. "Besides, you're the only one for me now."
"Koji dear!" A giddy voice called out as hugging him tightly and mosthering him in her chest was a very beautiful woman with the same bust size as Cana but with long light purple hair into twin ponytails and wearing a roller blader outfit.
"Well hey there, Foxy Mama!" He grinned.
"Mmmmngh…" Cana growled, death glaring at him.
"C'mon Cana, don't be like that."
"Hm? Who's this babe?" She asked, "Say, when are you gonna take me on that special get-away date you promised?"
"D-Date?" Cana got out, a blood vessel popping in her head.
"Is that a problem?" She asked Cana, "Just who are you? Another dancer for him? Cause… let's be honest, you look a bit too revealing to be around him, old lady."
"I'm 18 years old, thank you very much!" Cana shrieked.
"18? More like 800…" The girl groaned.
"Why you little-!"
"H-Hey, Sweet Thang, calm down." Koji sweated, gently pushing her back away from the girl.
"Why don't you 'tango' with her, you jerk?!" Cana huffed, storming out of the studio, but Koji grabbed her wrist, causing her to look at him. She then looked surprised as Koji suddenly pulled her in and held her close.
"C'mon, Cana. I may flirt, but I never cheat my way out of a relationship." Koji said. "Besides, the one I call Sweet Thang, is the one who I truly love."
"Koji…" Can muttered.
"Besides…" He turned to the rollerblader, "She just likes to tease a lot, making sure I'm not picking the wrong girl."
"I gotta watch out for my boss after all." She smiled softly, easing back and losing her giddy tone in her voice as it was now more professional. "Boss does have a bad habit with getting near some girls. Not realizing they could be playing him for money or a scam. Glad he finally found his jewel."
"Oh c'mon, you make it sound like it's a bad thing." Koji said with mocking pain.
"Eh… depends…" Both of the girls said in unison, as they smiled at one another.
"Wait what?" Koji blinked.
"Nothing." They said in unison again, giggling.
"You made contact with Kurogasa and you never bothered telling me?!" Cody gawked.
"You never asked. And don't give me that tone…" Merlin frowned.
"I wanted to give that jerk a piece of my mind!"
"You can once you're training is done." Merlin added, "Still… the Phantom within you is very interesting. Whatever spell I give you, it produces other effects than the ones that we know of. I need to study this more and find other methods, should it not react to your magic."
"Why am I suddenly your guinea pig?!" He shouted comically.
"Fine, I can stop. But it could also cause your death." He playfully shrugged.
"Oh c'mon!" Cody whined.
"Please Master Merlin. Don't be so hard on him." A familiar voice said. The two of them turned to see Hisui approaching them, with a tray of food and drink.
"While I don't mean to be, he needs to understand and be prepared should anything happen to him or his Phantom." Merlin responded. "I'm only being cautious so I don't lose any of my apprentice's again…"
"You're a lifesaver, Hisui…" Cody sighed with a smile, quickly digging into his food hungrily from hard training. Hisui could only smile at him. He had been working so hard for her ever since he came into her life. If only this could keep up forever, but of course such things can't happen. Once Cody was strong enough, he'll have to set off and look for his friends.
"Say Cody…"
"Hm?"
"Are you… sure you want to leave once you're done training here?"
"Hmm… truth be told, I wouldn't have the faintest where to look…" He noted, "And I don't think Merlin would help." He glanced at him, "So… I think I'll stay with you." He smiled at her. "Sides, I got a good place to live, some good money with this job, and of course you, Hisui."
"Oh Cody…" Hisui said, with a smile while a hint of red crept up on her cheeks.
"Hmph, at least you understand quickly than your friends." Merlin gruffed. "Now, onto the next- Hm?" He quickly shot up, turning to the left.
"What is it, Merlin?" Cody asked.
"Another person entered the world… I think from Earth to be exact." Merlin noted.
"Eh? How do you know?" Cody questioned. "I thought you only had one."
"I do. It might be the same one, so maybe it had one last charge to it." He noted. "I did make the spell after all. Of course I would be able to sense it being activated."
"But… who would do that?" Cody wondered.
"We will have to investigate it."
"Awesome! Road trip!"
Meanwhile, back on Earth…
Rika had finally arrived in England, the last place where the boys were last seen. Sure, she had the money to purchase the tickets to go on a one-way trip to England, but… she had to get the money from her parents' emergency savings. Worst of all, she snuck out of her house without even telling her parents that she was going to England to do her own little investigation. Part of her regretted to do it, but she had to. It was for the best. Besides, even if she told them what she was going to do, they would forbid her from going. And so here she was.
'I swear I'll find you guys…' Rika swore in her thoughts.
With determination, she set out for the ruins where the boys were last seen. There was of course the tourists that come to the castle site and right now, since it was early in the morning, there was very few people, meaning that it would make it easier to sneak around.
As always, the castle itself was rather spacious, made of the oldest stones that stood the test of time. It smelled musty, and somewhat creepy, but overall a sight to behold.
"Now if I were the boys, where would I be going?" Rika murmured to herself as she walked around.
If she gathered what they would be doing… They would go off the beaten path and find either some alternate way or past the restricted borders. So she looked around some before she noticed something. A sort of narrow hallway that was blocked off.
"Aha." Rika said, "Found ya."
Looking left and right to make sure no one watched, Rika went down the narrow hallway. She ventured through the ruins, walking down that narrow hallway before coming across on what looked to be a sealed off door. Which was odd since they could feel the cold air coming from within. She even noticed that some rubble had been moved away recently and that a door was smashed to reveal a new passage.
"Figures they'd go through here…" she sighed, "Those idiots…" Rika then began to crawl through the passage, following through it as she could feel this was her answer. This is where they were. 'Please… be alive you dolts…'
She continued down the corridor and went down a flight of stairs that corkscrewed downward before coming upon another door, that was opened. Going inside It was the ancient chemistry lab. The tables were recently flung over, broken glass bottles of what once contained liquids were on the ground, and the bookshelf of old books and scrolls that were covered by dust and cobwebs were scattered… Or at least it was as within the center of the circle were what looked to be ashes…
"Did the boys come through here?" Rika wondered.
She soon walked to one of the ashes as something was gleaming from it. She kneeled down and picked it up, only for her eyes to widen as she jumped back, holding her hand… In the ashes… was Kurogasa's student ID… These ashes were his.
"No… this can't be…" Rika stuttered, tears threatening to fall. "No, these can't be his… it just can't…"
She quickly rushed to the other ash piles, as she then pulled out Koji's and Cody's ID cards. This… truly was them… They all… died. Everyone was right. Her friends have all died.
"No… this can't be true… no… no…" Rika got out as more tears fell from her eyes falling to her knees. After a moment, she lifted her head up to the heavens, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
As her scream and sorrow were let out, the circle she stood in glowed and activated. Winds of gust began to form as colors appeared around her like a swirling vortex. Whatever took her friends… was now taking her as well.
But she didn't care. Her sorrow was too much to even let her notice her surroundings. And in mere moments… she disappeared.
"OH YEAH! FINALLY WE'RE BACK!" Kurogasa cheered as they finally returned to Magnolia Harbor with his friends in tow. Although… Natsu didn't look so good. His face was swelled up in so many places, bruises were noticeable, blood trickled on parts of his face due to the glass shards, and one eye was puffed up.
"I just hope there's some fire for me there…" Natsu whined.
"All you're getting is ice." Erza huffed.
"Aw come on!" Natsu cried out comically.
"Aye… this is going to be a pain…" Happy sighed.
"It will be when we get back and old man Makarov has a few words with you all." Kurogasa said, making the guilty party flinch. "Well, except Lucy,"
"Awww, thanks Kuro!" Lucy smiled, making the boy slightly blush.
"Hey! How come she gets a free pass?!" Natsu shouted angrily.
"Because you forced her into this against her wishes." Gray smacked his head. "Same goes for me too."
"But you still went along with it anyway!"
"Only because I didn't know Lyon would be there too."
"Speaking of, are you sure it's alright to leave Lyon and the rest of his friends on Galuna Island with those villagers?" Erza asked.
"I am. Knowing him? He learned his lesson and will find a new path to forge." Gray said.
"I see." Erza smiled a bit.
"Yo!" A new voice said. Everyone looked to see Koji and Cana show up.
"Koji? Cana? What are you two doing here?" Kurogasa asked. "Were you waiting for us?"
"Nah, we just got here." Koji said, "So how was the 'secret mission' Natsu?"
"Shut up…" Natsu grumbled.
"You two knew about it?" Erza glared at the couple.
"E-Ep! U-Uh um… I only heard he was doing something, Ms. Erza, ma'am…" Koji gulped, quickly knowing he was in danger.
"Yet you didn't find that suspicious?" Erza raised an eyebrow. "Let alone even tried to stop him?"
"U-Uh…"
"Oi, oi Erza-senpai, calm down." Kurogasa said, getting in front of her. "We just got back home. We can deal with it later."
"Hmm… fine…" She agreed but glared at the other rider, "But I will be watching you for now…"
"Y-Yes ma'am." Koji gulped but then noticed. "Wait, Kuro, why did you call Erza, senpai?"
"Got a problem with that?" Kurogasa glared. "She's our senior after all. You should know that from back home."
"True… but normally, you, aibou, use that for some girl you like." Koji noted.
"That's not true and you know it."
"What about the nice German girl who transferred to our school? You did the same and talked about how much you thought she was cute." Koji noted, teasing him but also trying to diverge the attention away from himself.
"Yeah, but I wasn't into her." Kurogasa said.
"What about that teacher you said you had a crush on?"
"Oi!" Kurogasa growled, ready to smack Koji.
"Hey, what's that?" Happy asked, pointing at the sky.
Above the group was what looked to be a shooting star, but it was full of color and much smaller than some meteorite as it seemed to be heading towards them.
"What the-" Gray got out.
"What is that?" Lucy wondered.
"Fire!" Natsu gleamed, quickly rushing to where it would crash.
"Natsu, you idiot!" Kurogasa groaned. "After him!" He shouted before running. The group did so as they chased after the Fire Dragon Slayer trying to catch up with him as fast as they could. As the object got closer and closer to hit the ground, Kurogasa noticed something about this strange meteorite. Inside the colorful stream was… an unconscious girl! And it wasn't any unconscious girl! It was…
"RIKA?!" Kurogasa and Koji gawked.
"Hm? You know who that is?" Lucy asked.
"She's one of our friends!" Koji exclaimed. "How did she-"
"RIKA!" Kurogasa shouted as he ran faster and went past Natsu. Soon the rainbow fire dissipated and the unconscious girl fell straight to the ground. Thinking quickly, Kurogasa slid on the ground before managing to catch her. "Rika! Wake up! Oi!" He shouted, shaking her.
"Ngh…" Rika groaned out, unwilling to wake up.
"Is she okay?" Koji asked, running up to him.
"She must be your friend if she's this weird…" Natsu said, chewing down on the rainbow fire.
"Shut it!" Kurogasa growled, "And I don't know… I think we need to get her to a hospital or something…"
"KURO! KOJI!"
Kurogasa and Koji looked up to see Merlin and…
"CODY!"
"Guys! Wait… Rika?" Cody gawked, "That's who came through the portal?" He turned to Merlin.
"I'm assuming." Merlin said.
"Merlin, what's going on?" Kurogasa demanded.
"I came to investigate whoever activated the last charge of my portal." Merlin noted, looking to the girl, "Seems she did, and must have magic."
"Wait, you're saying she's a Gate?" Koji gasped.
"It's possible." Merlin said. "Why don't we take this elsewhere? It seems we're attracting some unwanted attention." He said, gesturing to a few witnesses.
Back within Merlin's home, with those who haven't been in Merlin's lair in awe, he used his magic to fix any damages on Rika as well as checking her for the signs of holding a Phantom, "Hmm… she sure does contain a Phantom… A powerful one at that…" He noted.
"W-Which one?" Lucy gulped.
"She seems to possess a Valkyrie." Merlin noted, "A very powerful yet dangerous type of Phantom…"
"T-That's not good…." Kurogasa gulped.
"T-To think… someone like Rika would have Valkyrie…" Koji added.
"I-I'm scared now…" Cody added. "Oh… by the way. Kuro."
"Hm?" Kurogasa looked to his American friend.
*POW!*
Cody outright suckered punch Kurogasa in the face, "OW! What was that for?!"
"That's for getting us stuck in this world!"
"How is that my fault?"
"You were the one who said we should go off the beaten path! I just wanted to stay in the back far from anything than normal! You were the one who wanted to do this and forced me into it! So this is your fault!" Cody snapped.
"Wha- but I-" Kurogasa got out.
"Ng… shut up… you dolts…" Rika groaned out. 'W-Wait… dolts?' Rika then shot up, panting as she turned to the others as her eyes widen and tears up, "G-Guys…" She said, before jumping hugging her friends. "You're alive!"
"Rika…" Kurogasa muttered. Natsu and the others could look on with small smiles seeing their reunion.
"You idiots! I thought you were all dead!" Rika sobbed.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Cody blinked as she let go.
"You three have been gone for six months."
"EHHH?!" They all shouted out.
"Six months?!" Koji gawked. "But it's only been two over here!"
"Oh, I forgot to mention that time on Earth passes by much faster than here in this realm." Merlin noted.
"AND YOU REMEMBERED THIS JUST NOW?!" All three of them shouted, suddenly having big heads towering over the now chibi-sized Merlin.
"You never asked." He frowned at them.
"Look, how about we all calm down and explain all of this slowly." Lucy suggested.
"Yeah… where… have you idiots been?" Rika said, hugging them with sadness but also happiness.
"Since this is all Kuro's fault, he'll tell you." Cody grumbled.
"OI!"
"Well? I'm waiting…" Rika crossed her arms.
Kurogasa sighed at this. "I guess there's no avoiding it." He said. "Long story short, when we got transported here to Earthland and Fiore, we suddenly became Gates. I fell into despair when I found out I couldn't go back home, but… I held onto my hope and now I became Kamen Rider Wizard."
"I just slapped on Beast's Driver and gained magic." Koji shrugged.
"Mine was when the Princess supposedly died…" Cody sighed.
"Princess?!" Koji and Kurogasa shouted.
"Ugh… I rather not tell you two about it…" Cody grumbled.
"Lucky bastard…" Koji muttered.
"W-Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't possibly tell me that you all became Kamen Riders." Rika said incredulously.
"They have." Merlin informed her,
"W-What?"
"Watch." Kurogasa said as he he put on his default rings.
DRIVER ON! PLEASE!
To Rika's surprise, the WizarDriver materialized on his waist. He then flipped the Hand Author to his left.
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
"Henshin."
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
With much shock, the magic seal of Wizard appeared to his left and pulled towards and through him, before donning Kurogasa in his Flame Style armor.
"Ta-da~!" Kurogasa flicked his hand to show off the ring.
"You could've just summoned one of your Familiars, show off…" Cody rolled his eyes.
"Whoa…" Rika got out in awe.
"And this means you can do this as well, Miss Rika." Merlin informed her.
"Wait me?" Rika gasped. "But I couldn't possibly-"
"You can, the magic circle that brought you here only activates when any magic is inside that room or should it manifest." Merlin informed, "And one way to manifest magic from my experience is extreme and severe emotions and trauma."
"But wouldn't she fall into despair by now?" Erza questioned.
"Depends…" He turned to Rika, "What caused you to feel such emotion and trauma?"
"When I saw… the boys' ashes…"
"Ashes?" Kurogasa slightly paled. "W-What do you mean?"
"Oh, another thing I neglected to tell. Your essence and magic power is drain from your body before reconfigured into a new one that can handle it. Basically, destroy the original body and make a new one in this realm. So in some sense, you all did die. Same goes for me." Merlin said nonchalant.
…
…
…
…
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
"As I said, none of you ever asked or to learn about it. You just assumed that was that." Merlin shrugged, "Not my fault you guys are… What was the word she used? 'Dolts'?"
"Sounds about right." Rika nodded in agreement.
"HEY!" the boys shouted.
"Heh!" Natsu grinned. "At least I'm not the only idiot."
"Still… I'm… I'm glad you guys are alive…" Rika smiled, wiping some tears that started to build up.
"Sorry Rika…" Kurogasa muttered sadly as he went back to civilian form.
"I guess we worried everyone huh…?" Koji added.
"Yeah. But it doesn't matter." She said before hugging the boys again. "I'm just glad you're all here."
"Rika…" Cody muttered, before the group hugged once more.
"So… another Gate has appeared." Wiseman said.
"Hm? How do you know that, Lord Wiseman?" Medusa asked.
"Another human not of this world has entered Earthland." Wiseman added.
"Hehehe… Are we gonna turn this one as well?" Gremlin grinned deviously.
"Of course." Wiseman said. "And I have a candidate that will do just that. Gnome."
"About time… I've been wanting to enjoy the sun." Gnome said from the shadows. Coming out from the shadows was a Phantom that had a black bodysuit with brown edges all over. He had concave helmet similar to that of a certain purple armored magician from a certain card game and has broad brown shoulder armor. Two arm blades protruded out of Gnome's arms and he wields a trident. "Now, who's my target?"
"The one who holds the Valkyrie Phantom from within." Wiseman said, showing Rika in the crystal ball.
"Valkyrie, huh? Sounds like fun." Phoenix grinned, "Mind if I tag along?"
"You may not." Wiseman said. Phoenix was about to go on a rage again, but realized there was no point in arguing. Wiseman always had the final say when it comes to making crucial decisions. "Go Gnome, and do not fail me."
"I'll drive her into despair or kill her should she resist…"
The next day had come by, Kurogasa and Cody were in the training area of Merlin's lair while Team Natsu were lounging around as Rika watched them with a melancholic look on her face.
"You okay, soul sistah?" Koji asked, sitting next to her.
"Just… that this is where you guys were all this time… I almost lost my faith…" She said softly.
"Believe me, I'm sure the rest of us still can't believe we're all here, dancing on a new stage." Koji said.
"Yeah… even more so that magic does exist…" Rika nodded.
"Tell me about it, we all had that same thought." Koji nodded. "But you're here now and alive like us."
"Do not fret, Rika. I assure you that with your friends and the rest of Fairy Tail, you'll be at home." Erza said, trying to cheer her up.
"Thanks… I… appreciate that." Rika smiled sadly.
"Ugh…" Kurogasa groaned as he was on his back.
"Ha! Another win for me!" Cody grinned, feeling relieved to finally get his frustrations out from everything that happened.
"Shut up, Kamen Rider Barney…"
"Oh shut it, Mr. No GF's Forever." Cody responded.
"At least I have girls that are friends…" Kurogasa said, sitting up before going back to civilian form.
"True, but so do I, and she's a princess." Cody smirked, reverting back to normal as well.
"Bow-chicka-bow-wow…" Koji muttered.
"Don't make me knock your ass out too, swinger…" Cody glared at Koji, "Or should I tell your girl about the party you once had and what happened?" He threatened. Seems their friend got a bit more backbone as of late, good for him.
"Y-You wouldn't dare!" Koji gasped.
"Oh you bet I would." Cody smirked, "But only if you keep quiet about it and don't do anything to tarnish her name and my status. Got it?"
"H-Hai…" Koji whimpered, missing out on a gold mine of blackmail and more.
"Good!" Cody huffed. The teen then walked back as he sat next to Rika, patting her back gently, "How are you feeling now?"
"A bit better… though I did get here by taking my parent's emergency savings and sneaking out of the house…"
"Ohh… that may be a problem should they find out…" Cody grimaced.
"I know that… but I had to… I needed to know what happened to you three…"
"Well, now you do. And we're back together again." He smiled, gently hugging her once more.
"But now comes the problem of getting back home… which we don't have." Kurogasa said as he approached them.
"Yeah… we don't even know if Merlin ever thought of a way back home." Cody noted. "Doubt he would even tell us if there was."
"Bah, you all worry too much!" Natsu grinned as he and team showed up. "Just enjoy Fiore! It's like the best place in the world to have fun!"
Cody nodded softly, "I… can't argue with that. Especially with how Earth is going now."
"Aye!" Happy agreed. "It's lot of fun!"
"Holy crap the cat talked!" Rika freaked out.
"Okay… Now this world can't surprise me anymore…" Cody commented, also surprised by it.
"That's just Happy… Natsu's best friend and flying companion." Kurogasa told them.
"Aye!"
"So new girl!" Natsu grinned as he sat in front of her Indian style, and getting up close to her face, making her feel a bit nervous.
"Um… It's Rika by the way…" She corrected, "And… why are you so close to me?"
"Why not? We're friends aren't we?"
"We just met."
"So? Any friend of Kuro is a friend of mine." Natsu grinned wider. "So what kind of magic can you do?"
"Um… well… if what Merlin is saying is true… mine would be similar to Kurogasa's…" She answered, "But until I control my Phantom, I can't do anything."
Natsu pouted before pulling back, crossing his arms in disappointment. "Well that's boring…"
"Hey!" Rika whined with a frown.
"You'll have to forgive the flame head." Gray said. "He's just being his idiotic self."
"No kidding…" Rika said with a frown.
"Natsu, what did I tell you about 'being nice to girls'?" Erza asked, frowning as she cracked her knuckles.
"Eeek!" Natsu flinched.
"And do I need to administer your 'punishment' again?" Kurogasa threatened, holding out the bat he used on him earlier.
"S-Sorry…" He whimpered softly, hiding behind Happy.
"Wow, that scared huh?" Rika blinked.
"Trust me, I've been keeping him and the other boys in line for years." Erza smirked.
"Does that work on these two as well?" Cody asked, pointing to Kurogasa and Koji.
"OI!" They shouted in protest.
"Only when they misbehave…" She giggled.
"Oh… I so wanna see that." The blonde grinned deviously.
"Mind if I give it a turn?" A chilling voice came out, prompting those who can fight to quickly stand up.
"W-What was that?" Rika stuttered.
"Phantom?" Lucy got out.
"Show yourself!" Cody commanded, weapon drawn.
Just then the ground started rumbling, causing some of them to lose balance before finally, part of the ground shot upward, sending rock and debris flying before a Phantom jumped out of the hole and landed safely. Kurogasa's eyes widened at what kind of Phantom it was.
"Gnome!" Kurogasa exclaimed.
"Eh? You know of me?" The Phantom got out, shaking its head, "Doesn't matter! I'm here for the Phantom in that girl." It said, pointing to Rika.
"W-What?" Rika gasped fearfully.
"Lucy, Erza-senpai, Cana, stay with Rika and get her out of here." Kurogasa said. "We'll handle this."
DRIVER ON! PLEASE!
"As if we'll let some jive turkey like yourself hurt her!" Koji added.
DRIVER ON!
"If you think you can do it, go ahead and try. We'll beat you." Cody glared.
DRIVER ON! REVIVE!
The three male wizard then placed their rings on their fingers and went to do their transformation sequence.
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
SET!
"Henshin!"
"Hennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn~ shin!"
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
O~PEN! L-I-O-N: LION!
KYORYU! REVIVE! AWAKEN THE ANCIENT KING!
The three glyphs soon flew out and wrapped around the trio, donning on their armors as they glare down at the Phantom, flinching that the three wizards would even be here.
"Tch… at least I came prepared." Gnome said, before holding out… a sack? Before they could do anything, Gnome opened up the sack and threw it up in the air releasing a horde of Ghoul Stones that dropped to the ground, forming into an army of Ghoul Phantoms.
"That's a lot of Ghouls…" Koji noted.
"Koji and I can handle this, you go after the Phantom." Cody said, drawing out his own WizarSwordGun.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Cody and I will be a dancing duet for this one." Koji added.
"Alright." Kurogasa said, before using his Connect Ring to bring out his WizarSwordGun. "Saa… Showtime da!" He shouted before charging in.
"Yeah, lunchtime da!" Koji added, before joining in.
"Shall we begin their extinction?" Cody finished as the two rush to the Ghouls.
"Hey don't start the party without us!" Natsu said, his fists ignited in fire before following them.
"Hmph…" Gray scoffed, following suit with his Ice Magic in tow.
"Rika, this way." Lucy said, holding her hand.
"Let's go while the boys distract them." Cana added.
"We'll keep you safe." Erza said, summoning her sword as she defended any projectiles coming at them.
"R-Right." Rika nodded as the girls left the area.
"As if I'll let you escape!" Gnome growled, chasing after her.
"No you don't!" Kurogasa shouted, switching rings and flipping the Hand Author.
BIND! PLEASE!
Multiple magic circles appears and metal chains sprang out of them to bind the Gnome Phantom from chasing after them.
"Gah! Onore Mahoutsukai!" Gnome growled, glaring at him before it spun and drilled underground.
"Kuso!" Kurogasa gritted. "Guys, I'm going after the Gnome Phantom!" He said, before running off.
Within the hoard of Ghouls, the four mages fight against the odds, dealing with their own groups to help dwindle their forces as Gray and Koji were back to back.
"So, any ideas?" Gray asked.
"What else? We blast them!" Natsu said, before bumping his fists together, and his fiery glyph appear. "Fire Dragon~" He declared as he gathered fire in his hands and a large fireball was formed. "BRILLIANT FLAME!" He finished before throwing the said fireball at a horde of Ghoul Phantoms.
"Your friends are… odd…" Cody commented, slashing the Ghouls in his base form, while commenting with Koji.
"Oh trust me, you haven't seen anything when it comes to these guys." Koji said, as he slashed a Ghoul Phantom with his Dice Saber and kicked another one away. "Looks like I'll have to mow them down." He said, before switching rings.
BUFFA! GO! BU-BU! BU-BU-BU-BUFFA!
The maroon colored glyph passed through the rider as he soon gained the maroon mantle with the buffalo headpiece on his shoulder. Then he pointed his buffalo headpiece at a group of Ghoul Phantoms and charged in at them, sending some of them flying.
"Strength, huh? Guess I'll change it up as well." Cody responded as he replace the purple Kyoryu Ring with a neon green ring with the shape of a velociraptor as it bit down on one side as it's claws grasped the other side. He switch the levers as he placed on the ring.
RAPTOR! REVIVE! SWIFT! SLASH! DANGEROUS RAPTOR!
As the Kyoryu faceplate was removed, it was replaced with one of the shin guards as it was now on the faceplate as it clamped down onto the visor. As he moved the sword into a backhanded style, lighting began to surge around him as he vanished, only replaced by lighting strikes as it raced around, slashing and destroying the Ghouls on his end before reappearing nearby. But Cody groaned and pant from that, "C-Crap… still not use to its full power…" He got out.
"Ice Make: Sword!" Gray shouted using his Ice Magic to make two swords, one in each hand. He then ran towards the horde of Phantoms and slashed them mercilessly without pause.
"Happy! Get me high up!" Natsu shouted to his friend.
"Aye sir!" Happy said as he lifted up Natsu high into the air.
"Okay, what's the idiot up to now?" Gray groaned, as he looked up.
"I think he's about to do a kamikaze…" Cody frowned.
"A what?"
"Suicide dive." Koji translated.
"NATSU YOU FLAME-HEADED IDIOT! GET BACK DOWN HERE!" Gray shouted with soulless eyes and sharp teeth.
"Sure! Let me go Happy!" Natsu grinned deviously.
"Aye!" Happy said doing just that.
"BAKAYAROOOOOO!" Koji yelled.
"Fire Dragon: Dive Bomb!" Natsu cried out, being engulfed in flames as he raced towards the ground and upon contact, exploding in a burst of fire as it swiftly rushed outwards and incinerating the Ghouls. When the smoke cleared, Natsu stood there and the Ghoul Phantoms were nowhere to be found. "Haha, how do you like that?!"
"YOU IDIOT! THAT COULD HAVE GOTTEN US KILLED!" Koji, Cody, and Gray shouted, their heads suddenly towering over a chibi Natsu.
"What does it matter? They're done, so why does it bother you three?" Natsu crossed his arms, unsure about why they're mad.
"He's an idiot…" Cody deadpanned before sighing, "Regardless, we should hurry up and find either Kurogasa or Rika. We can't let Gnome have her fall into despair."
"Alright, just a little further." Lucy said as the girls kept on running once they were out of Merlin's lair and into the forest.
"Are Kuro and the others going to be alright?" Rika asked worriedly.
"Of course. While their friend, 'Cody' I have yet to see in action. The others I am very confident that they can handle it. And if they can, so can he." Erza reassured.
"She's right. And I know Koji's got this in the bag." Cana added.
"Well okay," Rika said. But once they were at a clearing, all of a sudden, they stopped when the ground suddenly broke in front of them and out came the Gnome Phantom.
"Hello! Time for Despair!" Gnome grinned, only for the Phantom to grip Rika by her throat and began to squeeze down on it, "Because of your lousy friends, I don't have time to drive you into despair by crushing what you hold dear! So the penalty of possible death is the much faster option!"
"Rika!" Lucy cried out, before taking out a Celestial Spirit Key. "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!"
*DING DONG!*
"Ugh… what now?" Aquarius groaned, glaring at Lucy who summoned her this time.
"I need you to help Kuro's friend! She's in danger!"
"Hmm… normally, I'd just sweep you all away…" She frowned, "But… if it's for him? Fine." Aquarius responded, as she held up her water jar, spewing a stream of powerful water at the Phantom.
"Gahhhhh!" The Gnome Phantom cried out as he was blasted by the water stream, letting go of Rika.
"There, that was your only favor for this month."
"Wait, what?!" Lucy gawked. "Oh c'mon!"
"Girls!" Kurogasa shouted, as all them turned around to see Kurogasa approach them. "Rika, are you alright?" He asked, kneeling next to her, who was coughing and trying to regain her breath.
"Y-Yeah… I thought I was going to see the light…" Rika got out.
"Hmph, whatever. Bye~ Oh and Kurogasa? Next time, ditch them for some nice hot tub fun." Aquarius smirked before vanishing.
"E-Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.
"What… was that about?" Rika questioned.
"I'm… not sure myself." Kurogasa said, before standing her up. "I'll handle the rest here. Lucy, take care of her."
"Right." Lucy said, escorting Rika away.
"I won't let you harm Rika." Kurogasa vowed, readying his weapon.
"Guhh… I will send her into despair!" Gnome growled, drilling underground before quickly reaching the teen as the Phantom popped out of the ground and struck the teen in the chest as it continued to spin. It was trying to drill through him.
"No… you… don't!" Kurogasa gritted as he managed to switch his rings.
DEFEND! PLEASE!
A magic circle appeared in front of Kurogasa and a wall of fire separated the two. The ring-wielding Wizard didn't waste time as he took out another ring and flipped the Hand Author twice before scanning it.
EXTEND! PLEASE!
Kurogasa stuck his left arm into the magic circle and his arm extended like rubber wrapping around the Gnome weapon before using his rubbery arm to wrap around the Phantom's body like a snake as he started to fling him back and forth between two large boulders near them.
*BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!*
"Gah! Guh! Gurgh! ENOUGH!" Gnome shouted out, as it began to spin rapidly. Upon doing so it began to use the wrapped arm to his advantage as it then began to drag Kurogasa in quickly, bringing him to the Phantom as it then slashed his chest, sparks and some blood spewing out.
"GAH!" Kurogasa cried out.
"Kurogasa!" Rika cried out, scared.
"Ho? So you care for him?" Gnome noted before chuckling, "Then I guess killing him will drive you into despair?"
"No, don't do it!"
"I shall…" Gnome grinned, as he spun once more, knocking the blade out of Kurogasa's hand before striking him in the stomach as more sparks and blood came out.
"KURO!" Lucy shouted.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
*BA DUMP!*
"N-No…" Kurogasa gritted his teeth, holding his stomach.
"Yes… fall into despair!" Gnome grinned, "Fall as you see your friend die…"
"Ahhhh… ahhhhhhh!" Rika cried out as she fell to her hands and knees.
*CRACK!*
The magical cracks quickly formed on Rika's body as she could feel herself dying and being replaced. Kurogasa was about to die and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't save her friends again.
"Rika, don't give up!" Lucy said, holding her. "He's not going to die!"
"I couldn't save him… I lost my friend again…" Rika said sadly.
"Don't say that!" Lucy urged. "I may not know him as much as you do, but if there's one thing I know, it's that he doesn't give up when he has his back against the wall! You shouldn't either!"
"But… is there… even healing magic that can save him?" She questioned.
"You just gotta have hope!"
"She's… right…!" Kurogasa gritted as he managed to stand. "It's going… to take more… than a hole in my stomach… to put me down… I'm not… going to die on you… I promise you that."
"Kurogasa…" Rika said softly before she nodded and closed her eyes. She groaned and cried out in pain as in moments a glow occurred from her as the cracks turned gold and quickly disappeared. She had hope.
"NO!" the Gnome Phantom roared.
"Yosh… now I can finally kick your ass." Kurogasa grinned behind his mask.
"Guh! As if you can in that condition!"
"Then how about us, bastard?!" As come flying in with a twin super punch was Natsu and Gray, striking him and sending the Phantom into the air, only to see Koji and Cody come flying in with a Double Rider Kick as they soon struck the Phantom with their magical attack.
"Gahhhhhh!" The Gnome Phantom cried out as he stumbled to the ground.
"Took you guys… long enough…" Kurogasa grunted.
"We were in a horde of Ghouls." Cody reminded.
"Doesn't matter… we can finish things here."
"Onore… I won't let you win this one!" the Gnome Phantom growled as it was about to dive underground.
"No you don't!" Kurogasa said as he managed to rush to Gnome. Then for some reason, he placed a ring on Gnome's finger. He then flipped the Hand Author before bringing Gnome's hand to it to scan the ring.
SMELL! PLEASE!
At that point, a magic circle passed through Gnome and a horrible stench that's a mix of trash and manure went into the air.
"Ughhhhhhh! That stinks!" Lucy cried out, covering her nose. Natsu and the others also had it bad.
"GAAAUGH! It smells like a wet Erza!" Natsu and Happy got out, feeling the worst parts of the effects.
"Going with that one? Seriously?" Koji groaned out, holding his nose over his helmet.
"A-At least we can end this quick!" Cody groaned out, as he too was feeling a heavy effect of the spell.
"GAAUGH! What did you do?! This smell!" Gnome cried out, only to drill into the earth.
"Not bad. I can drill it from here." Cody said, placing on the Drill Ring as he switched panels and placed his hand on his driver.
SPIRE! REVIVE!
As he got into a stance, electricity surged around him as he jumped towards the earth, as the claws on his armor formed into a drill as he began to tunnel through the earth, going through it before he caught the whiff of that stench, drilling towards it the speed of Raptor Style gave him enough time to reach under it before drilling upward into it, striking the Phantom and sending him out of the ground and into the air, "He's yours Koji!" Cody shouted from the tunneled earth.
"Got it!" He said, before switching rings.
KICK STRIKE! GO!
"I won't let you have all the fun." Erza said as she donned herself in her Heaven's Wheel armor.
"Add me into this too, babe!" Cana smirked, brandishing her cards as she tossed them into the air. They soon flew out as it made what looked to be several points. Erza noticed this as she tossed her swords, but they flew towards the cards and upon contact they were engulfed in energy before they started to bounce from each card before they shifted and sent the swords at the Phantom, impaling it with the several blades.
Koji then jumped up as he spun once before the Beast Glyph appeared in front of him. And upon going through it, his foot was engulfed in a golden fiery magical energy with a lion's head at the end of the heel. He flew towards the Phantom as his kick connected to it, with the lion head biting down on to its body.
"GGGGAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!" Gnome cried out, only for a large explosion erupted as the remnants of the magical energy were swiftly devoured by the two cannibal Phantoms within Koji and Cody.
"Ahh… so full!" Koji said with relief.
"This will tie me over at least for awhile." Cody commented.
"Auuuugh!" Kurogasa moaned out as he fell back to the ground and went into civilian form. The adrenaline left him and the pain came back tenfold. "Damn, this sucks…"
"Kurogasa!" Lucy and Rika called out, rushing to his side.
"Please don't die on me…" Rika pleaded, tearing up.
"I'm not… this just hurts like hell!" Kurogasa groaned loudly. "Koji, gonna need Dolphi!"
"Roger that, aibou." Koji said, placing on the Dolphi ring as he quickly activated the mantle.
DOLPHI GO! DO-DO-DO-DO-DOLPHI!
Upon adding the mantle, it glowed with a water glow before he patted his friends shoulder. The magic resonated as it healed the teen of his wounds before the glow stopped.
"There you go." Koji said before changing back to normal.
"Thanks…" Kurogasa groaned as Lucy helped him up. "Oh man, I'm gonna be sore for the rest of the day…"
"Well, at least you can rest safely now." Lucy smiled softly.
"Yeah… I guess." Kurogasa sighed before turning to Rika. "You okay?"
Rika nods, "I'm… just glad you're okay…" She smiled softly. "But… what now?"
"Well since you suppressed your Phantom by holding onto your hope-"
"I can now train you properly." A new voice said as they turned to see Merlin approach them.
"And where were you?" Kurogasa questioned.
"Watching."
"You could've helped…" Cody frowned.
"If I did, then you all wouldn't needed to be trained to grow stronger. I'm a mentor, not your babysitter." Merlin responded. "I can't solve all of your problems."
"Well nice to know…" Koji deadpanned.
"So, Miss Rika. Care to learn how to master your magic?" Merlin offered her.
"I…" Rika trailed off.
"It's okay, Rika. You can trust him." Kurogasa said. "He's not gonna go Fueki on us when he's White Wizard."
"Are you sure?" Rika asked.
"Yeah, we're sure. I should know, since I've been training with him until now." Cody added.
"I do not know who this 'Fueki' is, but I assure you, I don't want these Phantoms roaming around either." Merlin reassured.
Rika was silent for a moment longer, before nodding, "Okay… I will."
"Good. Follow me and we may begin." Merlin said.
"Well, I best get back to Hisui. Since Rika's being trained, this means mine is finished." Cody said as he was searching his pockets for the Teleport ring.
"Wait, you sure?" Kurogasa asked. "You don't wanna join Fairy Tail?"
"I have my duty as her captain of the royal guards. I can't leave her." Cody answered. "But should you guys ever need any more help, just message me with a Lacrima."
"Well okay if you say so." Koji shrugged. "Just behave yourself in front of her." He smirked.
"Says the swinger." Cody glared. "And should you ever do meet her. Behave… Or I'll tell Cana 'everything', including about that time in Hawaii." He threatened, making the disco mage flinch and grow pale.
"O-Okay!" Koji stammered.
"Before I go, take this." Merlin said, approaching Kurogasa. He fished into his robes and pulled out a red Magic Stone that was fiery in color.
"This is-" Kurogasa gasped.
"Figured it is time for your power to grow." Merlin said with a soft smile.
"What is it?" Erza asked.
"This Magic Stone… Once I make this stone into a ring… I can go Flame Dragon Style." Kurogasa said.
"Wait, there's a power beyond your four forms?" Erza questioned.
"And why are you trying to copy me?" Natsu frowned, arms crossed, "I'm the only fire dragon guy here!"
"Well not anymore flame head." Gray said.
"Thanks Merlin. I'll start on it right away." Kurogasa said.
"Good luck. I'll let Rika talk to you when she's not training." Merlin said, before turning to Rika. "Come with me." He said before taking out his Teleport Ring.
"Bye Kuro. I'll see you later." Rika smiled sadly. "And thank you."
TELEPORT! NOW!
With that, Merlin and Rika teleported away, with Cody doing the same thing.
"I guess we should make ourselves scarce too huh…" Koji mused.
"Let's head home." Erza smiled, as the group made their way back home to Fairy Tail.
"Gnome failed. How unfortunate." Wiseman noted.
"Grr… I should've gone instead…" Phoenix growled.
"And have you ruin our plans? I think not."
"Oh c'mon! This would've gone a lot quicker if you sent one of us to do it!"
"Fine. If you believe so… then I shall let you fight them." Wiseman offered, as Medusa looked shocked to see him agree to this.
"Lord Wiseman, are you sure this is wise?" Medusa asked.
"If he believes he can do better and end those mages? Then I'll let him. Even if he should fail, nothing is lost." Wiseman informed, "And either way, he'll learn and understand why I don't want you all to face them just yet."
"Very well. If that is your wish." Medusa bowed.
"Heheh… I can't wait to turn those mages into ashes…" Phoenix grinned, cracking his knuckles.
Fen: And scene! Another chapter down! So yeah, now we know how the transportation magic works.
Striberx: Yup! This was one of the ideas I had about the transportation magic and how it went. Basically, their bodies were destroyed and reconfigured when being sucked into that portal. Partially, they are dead and revived. That's how the spell works, especially since it's somewhat based on theories of how teleportation would work. Where the source is destroyed, reconfigured and reconstructed from one point to another. This was one idea of how teleportation would work should it actually be real. And I just took that concept and added it for this.
Fen: Yep! And now Rika can become Kamen Rider Mage! But as to when she'll have her Rider debut, that is a different story altogether.
Striberx: I even had some ideas for her later on, that I had planned for my Wizard story back then too, including a form for her.
Fen: But that's until later. For now, just wait for the next chapter! The Phantom Lord Arc is coming up!
Striberx: Hope you'll enjoy it once it comes out? Until then, later everyone!
Fen: Jaa ne!