Chapter 13

Wilman2009- No need to apologize, I understand completely. I'll try to provide an explanation for it, but I think it won't be good.

DB-20- You'll find out in this chapter.

Kinaki747- It's not Azrael.

Forest1395101- Yeah, I'll try to fix them when I can. As for the Harem, it'll be three Blazblue chicks and four Fairy Tail chicks, just not ones from the Fairy Tail guild. Oh and don't worry, I don't hate writing about harems. I just prefer to write pairing that are only between two people with some exceptions.

I mean, I could always change my mind with Flare, I guess. I'll let you know if I change my mind.

As for the Murakumo chicks…uhh…you might be disappointed. (PS. Send a psychiatrist.)

MechanicalHero36- I'll see what I can do.

Infiniteshadow72- Well Ragna mainly uses Seithr, not Ethernano, and Seithr, as far as I know anyway, doesn't have souls. So, Ragna shouldn't have any problem with fighting that guy when it comes down to it. I'll think on it though.

Ragna just sighed to himself as he watched Sting embracing his cat, the red-colored one called Lector.

"Guess the kid had a heart, after all." Thought Ragna as he watched the two cry together, happy that they're both alive and safe. Apparently, Minerva had used Lector as a sort of bargaining chip against Sting. To force to use his feelings against the other teams in order for Sabretooth to win the Grand Magic Games since Fairy Tail was way ahead of them. If they won, then Lector would be returned to Sting, but if they lost, then he'll never see the cat again. Sting, concerned for his friend, complied and followed her instructions to the letter, only engaging the enemy if it'll not require much energy. The plan was for Sting to engage any and all remaining competitors, who would have been exhausted from fighting each other while Sting was at full strength, thus winning the entire Grand Magic Games by default as only a Sabretooth member was left standing during the final day of the event.

The rule was added as a precaution should a team that was low on points prior to day 5 managed defeat all other participating teams. The rule stated should such an event happen, then the standing team will receive a hundred points, something that confused a few people who read that as it meant that all a team needed to do was just win the day 5 event, though some rationalized it as a way to give all the guilds participating a chance to win should they fall behind in points.

That was probably why Sting was so confident initially when he faced the whole Fairy Tail team. Everyone, aside from Ragna, was all exhausted and wounded from their battles with the other guilds. So, theoretically, Sting could have taken them all had Ragna been taken out of the equation. But with him, he stood no chance at beating them. Yet, despite that, Sting just stood confidently against them with his smug grin that Ragna despised. After claiming he'll beat them all by himself, he activated his dragon force, gathering energy. As the whole Fairy Tail team was watching him do this, ready for him and whatever he threw at them. But when he took a step, Sting suddenly just stopped, reverting back to his normal self. He just stood there for a few moments before going on his knees, defeated. It was if he sensed that he couldn't beat them all, not with Ragna still full of energy, and decided to just give up, deeming it pointless to fight. With that surrender, Fairy Tail was the last team standing and was declared the winner of the Grand Magic Games. As the audience and their guild celebrated this spectacular victory, Sting explained the whole reason he fought today. After finishing, he began to go in tears, knowing that Minerva will take her frustration out on Lector for Sting's failure to uphold his end of the bargain.

But as luck would have it, Millianna soon came with Lector in tow. Sleeping, but alive. Upon seeing his friend alive and safe, Sting began to rush toward Millianna, relief in his veins. Lector, who was starting to wake up, saw his friend coming at him, tears in his eyes. Upon seeing him, Lector began to cry as well, happy to see his friend again. With renewed strength, Lector jumped out of Millianna's grasp and began to run toward Sting, which ended with the two hugging each other, crying their eyes out. Something that brought a smile in everyone's face. As he watched this lovely session happen before his eyes, Ragna looked over to Gray, who was chatting with Laxus about the rescue team.

"So, you think they've run into a bit of trouble?" Asked Gray, worried about the rescue team. Laxus just shrugged his shoulders. "I mean we haven't heard from them in awhile yet. They should be back by now. What's keeping them?"

"Well, knowing Natsu, they've probably decided to go looking for payback for Lucy." Laxus then frowned. "Then again, if that happened, we'd be seeing the palace in rubble by now. Maybe they've been struggling to find her cell or something?" Gray just hummed in thought, wondering where they could be. Ragna himself was wondering the same thing as well, hoping they were all right.

"You guys better be safe." Thought Ragna as he watched the touching moment with Lector and Sting. It almost reminded him of his last moments with Noel and Jin.

Later

The Coliseum

As the people cheered at the victorious Fairy Tail team, throwing them words of praise, apologies, and flowers at them, the Fairy Tail team just waved back and enjoyed the cheering crowds.

"Man, this feels nice." Said Gray with a small smile, ignoring Juvia as she clenched his right arm, spouting words of love and devotion to him. Laxus just nodded as he waved at the crowd. Gajeel wasn't as nice toward the crowd though.

"Whatever. They better have learned a lesson after this." Said Gajeel, waving to keep the appearance that he loved this. "That Fairy Tail isn't a bunch of weaklings. Not anymore anyway." Ragna had to agree there. One day the crowd was booing and jeering at them. The next, they cheered them on and gave them their support. Granted, they proved that they aren't a force to be taken lightly with again, but the fact remained, they mocked and insulted them in the beginning. Just goes to show that people's opinions can change when they witness something that completely shakes their views. Upon arriving at the middle of the arena, the five stopped before the mascot of the games, Mato, and waited for him to give them their prize. With a bow, the mascot spoke.

"You all did well this yeah, surprising all of us. Yes, indeed you did, I honestly thought that Fairy Tail will lose like in every other year. As in, lose so badly that they shouldn't have even attempted to participate." The team just glared in annoyance at his remark, causing Mato to flinch. "Apologies. That was unkind of me to say. But, either way, what I said is true. You proved yourselves that Fairy Tail is back as number one guild in Fiore and that shouldn't be taken for granted. And now the whole nations know it as well." He then yelled out in excitement. "Now lets give a round of applause to the new number one guild in Fiore!" Everyone then began to cheer and clap again for Fairy Tail. While his teammates soaked up the applause and returning it, Ragna felt a bit off.

"So, this is what it feels like to be loved." Thought Ragna as people held up posters and pictures of him, calling out his name in not disgust or hate, but love and admiration. It felt strange to have such emotions being given to him and it felt nice. However, despite it, something felt off. Like he was missing something. He thought long and hard until he realized what it was. *Sighs. Noel. Jin. Rachel. Goddamn I miss you guys. Wish you were here." It was then that Mato looked at them.

"As for you reward, the money will be sent to your guild master tomorrow morning as well as the trophy. Now, normally we would have a big feast for the winning guild right after the games end, I've received a letter from the king. He would like all participating guild to assemble at the place gardens. For what, I've no idea, but it sounded urgent. Please, inform your guild of this immediately. Guards have been sent to inform the other guilds so you shouldn't bother with the others." With that Mato quickly left the arena.

"What does the kind want?" Asked Gajeel, suspicious. Laxus just shrugged with Juvia and Gray looking to themselves in wonder as well. Ragna just sighed, getting a feeling that he knew what was going on.

"Whatever it is, its bad. We better tell everyone else." Everyone just nodded before running towards their guild to tell them of what Mato told them.

Rescue team location

Mercurius

"Come on! We just have to deal with this last batch of cronies and we're home free!" Yelled Natsu as he mowed down another squad of guards. Lucy just sighed before telling Loke to attack, not wanting to think about of how much trouble they're guild will be in now that they've attacked the royal family's guards. The plan was so simple. While the rest of the guild was participating in the final days of the Grand Magic Games, a small team of their best wizards would rescue her and Yukino. It sounded fine, but it went awry when they all fell down a trap hole, in their cell, to a massive cave complex called the Abyss Palace. It was there that they had to fight a group of executioner wizards called the Hungry Wolf Knights. They defeated them with ease and got them to divulge the information on how to leave the palace. Things then took a weird turn when they encountered a future version of Lucy that came to warn them of a coming danger. Shocked and confused to see another Lucy, they nevertheless brought her with them once she passed out. When they found a relatively safe room to hide in, they woke her up and ordered her to explain herself. Though she teared up at seeing Natsu, she nevertheless agreed and told them in detail what's going to happen. To say they were shocked is an understatement.

She said that, within a day, a swarm of black and red creatures will swarm Crocus and devour everything in sight, poisoning people with a strange substance that even the most accomplished healers couldn't heal. She even said that Wendy's sky magic wouldn't work, having observed it in action on someone who was infected with the ungodly subject. She said that, in order to prevent this, they had to meet up with Crime Sorcière and quick, otherwise they may not be able to stop the event from occurring. Wasting no time, everyone followed the future Lucy as she lead them out of the palace. Unfortunately, Yukino disappeared and Mirajane left to go find her. Things then took a turn for the worst when a large number of royal guards found them and attacked them. Since then, they've been engaged in a never ending battle against a seemingly endless horde of enemy soldiers. If they don't end this fight soon, they'll be out of time the monsters from coming. Unfortunately, the fairies will soon have to face a far more dangerous opponent than the guards.

While everyone was engaging with the royal guards, the guards way back from the action noticed a figure coming at them. Upon looking at the figure, they noticed it was arriving with two more guards. At ease seeing the guards, the men looked at the figure, slightly unnerved at the armor it wore.

"At ease." Said one of the guards that escorted the figure. "This man has the seal of the princess with him. He's ordered to deal with the intruders by himself. Said so by this letter." The man then brought out a piece of paper containing the seal of the royal family. Upon reading the piece of parchment, the men attacking the fairies nodded and began to notify their cohorts of the what's going on. Slowly, but surely, the guards began to stop fighting, something noticed by the Fairy Tail members.

"What's going on?" Demanded Erza as she defeated another royal guard, confused at this behavior. The guards just stayed silent before making way for the new figure. Upon seeing the new combatant, the fairies went into fighting stances, seeing it as a new threat. Upon seeing them noticing him, the figure began to laugh.

"Why thank you for noticing me. I'm flattered." The armored figure then turned to the royal guards. "Grab your colleagues and get out of here. This might get messy and I rather not hear the princess complain about "unnecessary casualties." Upon hearing that, the men began to gather their fellow unconscious soldiers and began to hastily leave, sparing glares at the Fairy Tail wizards. Once they were all gone, the figure brought out a snake-like tongue, hissing at them like a snake.

"This is the mighty Fairy Tail?" Asked the figure as he paced back and forth, eyeing the small team of wizards. "From what I heard of you, you should have easily defeated them all in even a forth of the time that you've been here. You've gotten soft over the years. Or perhaps you're just not as powerful as I was led to believe." Everyone just narrowed their eyes at his insults, ready to fight him if they need to. The future Lucy, however, just widened her eyes in fear upon seeing that figure.

"Why is he here?" Thought the future Lucy as she eyed the figure, who stopped pacing to eye everyone. They couldn't see it, but he was giving them all a stare of hunger, wondering which one to take on first. He then waved his hands.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. What matters, though, is that you know about my plan. And I don't like that. It'll ruin the surprise." Upon hearing that, everyone's, aside from future Lucy's, eyes widened upon hearing that.

"You're the one that brings those monsters to the kingdom?" Asked Natsu in a rage. Upon seeing the man nod, Natsu growled at him. "Do you know how many people will die when that happens!? How many lives will be ruined!?"

"Yup." Said the man, nonchalantly. "It'll be great. All that suffering and misery wrecked upon the innocent." Everyone glared at him in disgust when he said that. Natsu was about to attack him when Erza stopped him. He protested at first, but a look from Erza told him to back off. Once he did, she turned to glare at the man in armor.

"What's your goal in bringing such destructive monsters to the Fiore? What's the motivation in doing so?" Asked Erza, wanting to know why someone would do such a thing. No one, but a deprived sadist, would do something like that just for the pure pleasure of it.

"Well," The man said, placing a hand on his chin. "Just for the heck of it. Cause why not? Its always the same thing in this country. Dark guild does something bad and the good guilds got to stop them. Why not spice things up a bit, right? Make things more complicated." Erza narrowed her eyes in rage at his explanation, not believing how uncaring the man was. It's clear to her and everyone else that he needs to be taken down.

"If that is your answer, then we'll bring you to justice." Erza then pointed her swords at the man, which chuckled at the threat.

"You remind me of another red head. She was also so idealistic that she couldn't think beyond what she saw as right and wrong. And it nearly cost her life." The man then brought out two butter knives from his person. An odd weapon to use as noted by the Fairy Tail members, but still deadly in the right hands. "Lets see if things will end differently for you." With that, the man charged right at them. He moved so fast that none of them were able to see him until he was right in top of present Lucy. Before anyone knew it, he stabbed her in the arms, digging them deep into her flesh. As she screamed in pain, the armored man threw one of his knife at Wendy with the other at the future Lucy. Both knives hit their stomachs. They clutched their wounds as they dropped to their knees or to the ground with the future Lucy's case. He then attempted to do a roundhouse kick into Erza's head, but the woman responded just in time and dodged the attack. She tried to counterattack but the man simply dodged the attack and jumped away. Upon landing, he looked at the damage and chuckled.

"I just took out three of your group with ease." Said the man as he bowed, infuriating Erza. "I'm not impressed. With this is all you can provide me, then perhaps I should go after Ragna. At least he was entertaining to fight." Upon hearing that, Erza looked at him.

"You know about Ragna?" Asked Erza. What history did this person have with their newest member.

"Oh yes. You see, he and I.." Before he could answer, he was suddenly hit in the face with a flaming fist, sending him tumbling back, but because of the surprise, not the force of the strike.

"You damn monster! You're going to pay!" Yelled Natsu as he glared at the man in anger. No one hurts his friends and gets away with it. The man just caressed his face before looking at Natsu.

"Seriously, you remind me so much of people that its making me homesick. Time to correct that." With that the man charged at Natsu and Erza, who also charged.

Meanwhile

"You're shitting me." Said Ragna as the cheers from the crowd began to subside. Just a few minutes ago, the king announced that they'll be under attack soon by a force of black creatures that'll ravage the kingdom soon. He then told them that they had a weapon to deal with them, but asked for them to stay and defend their homeland. He also said that if they didn't want to, then that will be fine, and they can flee with the civilian populace of Crocus. To no one's surprise, no one fled. Instead, all the wizard guilds that came to participate in the Grand Magic Games cheered on the king and vowed to protect the city with all they got. This was their homeland and they refused to run away when they could do something to protect it.

After a round of cheering, they all then spread out to cover the city when those black creatures to arrive, which Ragna wax certain for them to be remains of a Black Beast. There was no way for there to be that many Black Beasts coming at the same time. It just wasn't possible. As far as Ragna knew, you needed a Murakumo unit and someone with an Azure Grimoire to make one. And, as far as he knew, there wasn't that many Azure Grimoires' out there to make the amount of Black Beasts' that Meredy claimed to be coming. No, he was certain that there was only one Black Beast and the others with it were just remains, beings that a Black Beast can create to both serve and guard it. Though he kept that thinking, he was still slightly unnerved on facing any Black Beast remains.

He remembered the time that Jubei, his old master, had fought a remain. Despite his valiant efforts, the thing managed to defeat him and render one of his eyes unusable. Even Celica, the most accomplished magic user in terms of healing, couldn't bring back his eye because of the Black Beast's innate ability to inflict magic elemental poisoning with its attacks, which is shared with all its remains. Though it was most likely that particular remain was more powerful than most of its kind, it still unnerved Ragna with how powerful one of the Black Beast's remains can be. If any of the remains were as powerful as the one that engaged Jubei, then they'll have their luck cut out for them.

Looking around, he saw that everyone in Fairy Tail was just grouped up together, waiting for the king's secret weapon to do…whatever its supposed to do. Apparently, the king had some sort of contingency plan in place should the capital city of Fiore ever be threatened. He told them to wait for it to be unleashed before making their move. Ragna was a bit skeptical of this plan, not believing that this weapon can do shit against a Black Beast or its remains. With several hundred nuclear missiles couldn't do anything against the Black Beast, he doubted this weapon can do anything against it. Then again, it could be a magical weapon and Ragna knew that magical weapons can harm the Black Beast. Still, the magic here and from his world were far different from one another. Its entirely possible that this weapon will do nothing against their enemy and their forced to just rely on their them. So, they had to hope for the best, which almost never happens in Ragna's case. As he was wondering on what to do, he soon began to think about the rescue team.

"Where the heck are they?" Thought Ragna as he wondered where they were. "It shouldn't have taken them this long to free Lucy and Yukino." Even if they got caught, it shouldn't have taken long to get out and escape. Something was wrong. Walking over to Makarov, he voiced his concerns to the man. Upon hearing them, he grumbled in agreement.

"Its odd that they haven't returned yet." Said Makarov as he wondered. "With Erza, Natsu, and Mirajane in the rescue team, that should be more than enough to take care of any opposition they'll face."

"Should we send someone to find them?" Makarov just shook his head.

"Unfortunately, we can't. We need all able bodies to deal with this threat. Even if I was able to send one of you to find them, we don't know where they are. By the time we find them, these black creatures may already be upon us. If they're having trouble, I'm afraid they're on their own." Ragna just nodded in understanding. Before he could walk away, he suddenly felt the ground rumble along with everyone else.

"What is that?" Asked Levy as she tried to stay standing up. "Is it those creatures?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise we'd be hearing fighting about now." Said Gajeel as he looked around, finding nothing in sight. Soon the rumbling stopped and everyone began to look around, wondering what that was.

"Must be the king's weapon." Said Makarov as he looked around. "It must be quite large to be able to do something like that." Ragna just nodded, wondering what this weapon was and if it won't back fire on them. A few minutes later, Ragna began to feel a surge of energy coming from somewhere near the palace. Looking at Makarov, he saw that Makarov felt the surge too. His expression, however, told him he didn't like it.

"This magic." Said Makarov grimly. "It feels wrong." Ragna looked at Makarov at that.

"How?" Asked Ragna. Makarov just looked to the ground.

"Something about it…just feels wrong. Like it was siphoned off of something. If this is the weapon the kind was talking about, I'm going to talk to him about this. Whenever he likes it or not." Ragna just nodded before going back to minding his own business. As he was thinking to himself, Ragna's thoughts went back to that…thing he captured and sent to prison. That thing was made out of Seithr. Who or what made such a thing. He only of several people that could have a hand on that, but most were gone or destroyed. All except one, but he wasn't here in this world…right?

"He can't be here." Thought Ragna. "He just can't be." Eventually, he went back to the task at hand, which was waiting for whatever was coming here. His questions regarding the Seithr made man would have to wait.

As he waited for the weapon to do its magic, his grimoire suddenly began to hurt. Grabbing it, he looked to see that his arm was starting to glow.

"The hell?" Thought Ragna as he held his arm. Upon seeing his arm glowing, everyone looked at him in shock.

"The hells up with your arm?" Asked Gajeel as Ragna held his arm.

"Don't know." Said Ragna as he clutched his arm. "Never done something like this before." As he tried to get his Grimoire under control, he wondered what's causing this.

"The hell is happening to my Grimoire." Thought Ragna as he tried to stop it from glowing. "Only times it did this was back when the Black Beast was starting to take over and when I'm releasing the power of the Grimoire. Neither is happening right now, so what the heck is happening?" Before he could think, his arm was suddenly engulfed in black energy, which soon take form into a claw. His new claw hand then pointed toward the palace. A few seconds later, his arm returned to normal as if nothing happening. Looking at where his Grimoire pointed to, Ragna wondered what the heck it that was. "Was my Grimoire telling me something? That something bad is happening right now?" Before he could think on it, Makarov suddenly spoke up.

"What was that Ragna?" Asked Makarov, his voice firm but also filled with concern. Looking around him, Ragna saw everyone was looking a bit concerned for him after what they saw. Feeling a bit touched at that, Ragna just shrugged.

"Don't know." Said Ragna as he held his hand. "But I think my arm just wanted me to go to the palace. I don't know why, but I got to go there and figure out what my arm is trying to convey." Upon hearing that, Makarov just nodded.

"If you feel like its something that you need to do, then go do it. We can hold the line, even without you." Thanking Makarov, Ragna suddenly rushed toward the palace, going as fast as his legs can take him. He had just entered the courtyard when he noticed a large gate. Stopping a bit, he looked at the large gate.

"The hell." Said Ragna as he gazed at the gate. "That's the secret weapon?" Though Ragna knew that he shouldn't be judging a book by its cover, the sheer thought that the secret weapon to combatting the Black Beast and its remains was a gate just took his breath away. He was about to move on when he felt more and more power pouring into the gate. Looking back, he saw that the gate had some sort of mechanism on it that was slowly turning. He then suddenly got a bad feeling about the gate. Something about it seemed off. Walking over to it, Ragna saw the princess of Fiore, princess Hisui was standing before it with a man in white armor, an old man along with a great deal of soldiers. He heard about the princess and saw what she looked like from magazines. She was a small thing, around Noel's size. She was kind and gentle with her subjects and wanted what's best for her kingdom. She was the kind of ruler that Ragna can get behind. But seeing her here in armor, left him uneasy. Something felt wrong. When he was spotted, soldiers immediately rushed toward him and began to defend their princess. As they surrounded him, Ragna just sighed.

"Not here to fight. Was running toward the palace when I saw this giant gate. Got curious so I decided to come here." He then looked at the gate with a raised eyebrow. "That the secret weapon the king was on about before?" Before the soldiers could reply, Hisui suddenly spoke up.

"Let him through. He can be trusted." With that, the guards made way and allowed Ragna to walk toward Hisui. Upon arriving, he looked at the green-haired princess with hardened eyes. To his surprise, she starred him down, not afraid of him.

"May I ask why you're here, your highness?" The nonchalant way he said it made the man in white armor bristle in annoyance. Before he could reprimand Ragna, Hisui raised her hand.

"It's okay. I'm not offended." Hisui then looked at Ragna. "Well, to answer your question, I don't want to be away from the battlefield in a safe place while people fight for me and my kingdom. I'd rather be there fighting with them." Ragna opinion of her just skyrocketed upon hearing that. "Besides, this weapon here," She then pointed to the gate. ", is my responsibility. If anyone is going to be there when it saves the kingdom, it'll be the creator, right?" Ragna raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

"You built this?" Asked Ragna.

"Well, more like helped in the process of creating it." Said Hisui. "I built it because I felt like it would help the kingdom immensely. It wasn't intended to be used as a weapon, but an informant of mine told me that it can be used as a weapon for the threat that'll come soon." When he heard that she was informed that it can be used as a weapon, Ragna looked at her in suspicion.

"Who told you that?" Asked Ragna. "Shouldn't you know more about your gate's capabilities more than anyone else?" Before she could answer, the man in white armor spoke.

"Her informant, believe it or not, came from the future." Said the man. Ragna's eyes widen upon hearing that. Though he knew that time travel was possible, him being an example, it was only through the power of Rachel and the boundary that it was possible for him to go to the past. To hear that someone else time traveled stunned him.

"You sure he's not joking around?" Asked Ragna. Hisui just shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid that he is from the future." She looked at Ragna seriously. "He predicted events in the Grand Magic Games to happen and they all came true. He predicted that you save Kagura from Minerva. He predicted that Fairy Tail will win without losing a single member. And he predicted that Sting will surrender to you all. There is just no way that anyone can predict such events with such accuracy unless they're from the future. Right?" Ragna just nodded. "So, I believe him. That this gate can save our kingdom." Ragna looked at the gate. Despite what she said, he still felt something was off. Call him pessimistic, but this was way too good to be true. There had to be a catch.

"I don't know. This sounds suspicious." Hisui just nodded.

"I know it is, but I believe the man. Besides, what would he gain by lying? The complete destruction of Fiore? What psychopath would want such a thing?"

"Terumi to name one." Thought Ragna as he looked at the gate, still not liking their predicament.

"Whether or not you agree with my plan, I'm going to go with it. You can disagree with me on this course of action, but that gate will open. There's simply too much at stake to not do so." Ragna just sighed and nodded, giving his consent. Hisui just nodded in thanks before going back to watching her gate be open. As they were watching, they suddenly saw papers coming around them. The papers soon formed into a body of a woman. The papers then burst away, revealing a familiar woman.

"Kamika?" Asked Ragna, raising an eyebrow at the woman. Kamika looked at Ragna, shocked to see him, before looking at Hisui.

"Princess Hisui. The Hungry Wolf Knights are at the perimeter of the palace as you instructed." Upon hearing that, Hisui looked at Kamika in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I never ordered such a thing?" Kamika looked confused at that before speaking again.

"But you sent a messenger to us, telling us to secure the palace's perimeter. To forget about the fairies in the palace and to just focus on the perimeter." Hisui just shook her head.

"You must be mistaken. I never ordered such things. Who told you this?" Kamika widened her eyes in horror before speaking.

"A man in strange armor. The armor hid his features completely. It was black with green highlights. The shoulder plates were in shapes of snakes along with the helmet. The helmet had dull green eyes and a small slot where the mouth would be. He had baggy pants that looked to be connected to the armor. His hands and feet were clawed. And the armor had hair that was long and slim. The man gave us a letter with the royal seal and everything." As the two began to speak about this, Ragna was frozen in place. Aside from a few major differences, Kamika's description of this armor was almost like…

"No way…no damn way is it here. Trinity got rid of that thing. There's no damn way its here!" Though his mind was telling him its just a coincidence. That it's just someone in armor that was similar to the Susanoo unit. As much as he wanted to believe it, his gut told him that it was indeed the Susanoo unit. And that meant only one thing. That Terumi…survived. "God damnit. I thought I killed that snake once and for all! How can he be back!?" Not wanting his emotions to get out of control, Ragna ran off, surprising everyone. When he was gone and he was certain that no one followed him, Ragna slammed his fist to the ground, creating a sizable hole.

"Damnit! Just when things were getting good for me, that damn snake comes back in my life! Why can't he just die!" After yelling that out, he began to calm himself, taking deep breaths. After getting his emotions in control, he straightened himself.

"No more." Thought Ragna. "He doesn't have any influence on you anymore. Remember that. Think back to when you fought him last time." He then remembered the last time they fought. How he felt nothing when he finally ended Terumi. Or so he thought apparently. "No way am I going to lose control upon seeing him. If we fight again, it'll be as last time. With no unstable emotions. Just a want to end him and his desire to hurt people." With that in mind, Ragna began to walk toward the palace. If Kamika was telling the truth, then Terumi must be inside, likely for the Fairy Tail members there. He had to move fast and now. Rushing toward the palace, he was about to go knocking down whatever door or window he found when he spotted someone approaching. Looking back, he saw Meredy and Ultear going through another door. Thinking they knew the way, he rushed toward them, hoping to catch up to them.

Meanwhile

"*Laughs* This is great!" Yelled the man as he was put in the face by Natsu. He simply laughed again as Natsu kicked him in the head again before he grabbed his leg and threw him to the wall. He then proceeded to slam him into the ground and slam his foot into his face repeatedly. As he began to draw blood, he was suddenly attack by Loke. The spirit was glaring at him as he launched another attack on him. It was clear to everyone that Loke was enraged over the man for hurting Lucy and was prepared to give it his all to defeating him. Unfortunately, the man just laughed at his attack before rushing toward Loke and grabbing his head. Before he knew it, the man crushed his head, forcing him back into the spirit world.

"Bah. Spirits. Can't get any satisfaction with them." Said the man before going back to Erza, who was struggling to get up because a wound on her leg. To her shame, the man managed to use her own attack against her by grabbing her arm and forcing her to stab herself with her own sword. Before he could break her arm, he was suddenly attacked by Natsu. But now, with Natsu and Wendy out of commission and Loke gone, she was the only one left to beat him. Getting up, she glared at him while panting. Seeing her still being defiant made the guy laugh. "So spirited. Just like that other red head. But this time." The man then brought out another butter knife. "There's not going to be a happy ending for you." He then slowly made his way to Erza, who was clutching her sword. She can't lose. Not now. If she did, all her friends will be in danger of being killed by this monster. And that was something that Erza refused to let become a reality.

"I don't fight for myself or my own pleasure." Thought Erza as she thought of her friends and all the good times they had together. "I fight for my guilds and my friends!" As if getting energy from remembering her friends, Erza felt a surge of energy fill her up. Looking at her opponent with renewed vigor, she charged at him, who looked stunned at her sudden movement. Before he knew it, she slashed at his arm, actually cutting it, and forcing him to drop his knife. Landing a few feet away from the man, Erza looked at the damage. She saw that black blood was dripping from the armor, showcasing that she wounded whoever was inside. Seeing this, Erza went into a fighting stance, ignoring her wounded leg.

"You actually wounded me." Said the man, impressed. To Erza's shock, the wound then began to heal. In a matter of seconds, the wound was gone. As if it never happened in the first place. "It seems I underestimated Fairy Tail after all. Tell me, what's your secret? Some hidden power? Training really hard? Or just plain lucky?" Erza just narrowed her eyes at his nonchalant way of speaking.

"Its our belief in our friends. Our family." Said Erza with conviction. "We draw strength from our companionship with others from our guild. We may insult with each other, but we have each other's backs when the real fighting occurs. We may fight with each other, but we'll fight together when injustice occurs. We may even cause emotional harm to each other, but in the end, we make up and forgive each other. That's what Fairy Tail is. A family that will always be there for each other when another in the family is in need. That's something that you can never understand. You only fought for yourself and your want for violence. You don't fight for anyone but that." The man just starred at Erza for a few moments before barking in laughter.

"Oh god!" Laughed the man as he slapped his head. "You honestly believe that stuff? Dear god, I knew you fairies were naïve, but I never thought this naïve. You're even more naïve than that red-haired noble I was talking about before. But enough about her, lets deal with you." The man then picked up his knife and, before Erza could do anything, he suddenly slammed his free hand to the ground. From where his hand hit, black and green energy erupted from the floor. The energy went all out and hit everyone. Both Lucys', Natsu, and Wendy were tossed around like ragdolls as the energy forced them to through either walls, breaking them, or further into the long hallway. Erza managed to hold on by equipping her adamantium armor, but by the time the energy was gone, the armor was in pieces. Before she could recover, the man grabbed her throat and slammed her into the ground. As she tried to kick him, the man just slammed his leg into her left leg, crushing it and causing her to scream in pain, which was soon muffled when he grabbed the lower end of her head. He then starred into her eyes with his own soulless green eyes. As they starred into each other, Erza couldn't help but feel afraid as he starred down into her.

They say that the eyes were the key to the soul. And it seemed, to Erza, that his eyes showed that this person was a sadistic killer that thrived in the misery of others and that she was his next victim. Bringing out his knife, the man's snake tongue slithered out as he bought it closer to her face, terrifying her.

"What a pretty face." Said the man as he brought the knife close. "A shame for it to be…maimed a lot." The knife's surface then touched her face, its edge ready to cut her skin. "Do actually worry. This will hurt a lot." He then began to drag the blade down with Erza doing her best to not scream as her skin was being cut off by the man. It was just about done with his first slice when the man felt a familiar presence. One that he hoped to come. Actually, laughing in joy, the man stopped what he was doing and slammed Erza to the ground repeatedly until she was knocked unconscious. With that done, he began to wait for his opponent to arrive.

"Oh how I wanted a rematch." Thought the man as he waited in anticipation. "This will be fine, Ragna. A fight for the ages! Do hurry up. I don't think you'll like to see your friends' in any worse shape than right now." Sure enough, Ragna made himself known with Ultear and Meredy. Upon seeing the carnage that the man brought out, the three's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"Erza!" Cried out Meredy as she tried to rush toward the fallen fairy, only for Ultear to stop her. The man just grinned as Ragna and Ultear glanced at him, either in anger or concern. The man just laughed upon seeing the glances.

"Like what I did?" Asked the man as he looked at his mess as if it was a work of art. "They didn't provide much sport, honestly. I hope that you got some new tricks up your shelves, Ragna. Cause I got a few more tricks up mine." Ragna just narrowed his eyes at that.

"Trust me Terumi, no matter what new tricks you have, it'll end like last time. With me beating you." Ragna then brought out blood scythe and got into a fighting stance. Ultear looked at him upon hearing that but went back to looking at the man in armor. Her curiosity would be sated later. Right now, they had to stop this man now. To their surprise, the man laughed out loud.

"You think I'm Terumi?" Asked the man. "Oh Ragna. You wound me. Didn't the armor give it away that I'm not Terumi. If it didn't then perhaps these will." The man then brought out two butter knives. "Who's the only fighter you know that used these in a fight." Upon seeing the knives, and getting a closer look on the armor, did Ragna realize who it really is.

"Hazama." Said Ragna as he narrowed his eyes. Hazama's snake tongue then slithered out of its hole.

"Bingo." Said Hazama. "And you can thank another good old friend of yours in getting me this armor. I must admit, the Susanoo isn't my style, but I must say, the power it gives is amazing. I feel like I can end the world with it on." Hazama then looked at Ragna. "But enough about that, let's go into what matters now. A rematch. This time with me in the Susanoo." With that, Hazama charged at Ragna, who just countercharged.

Meanwhile

Kagutsuchi

Time: Unknown

At the very top of Kagutsuchi, in the NOL headquarters, a certain young boy was waiting for a certain two blond women to arrive. Looking at his hostage, he saw that she was as unresponsive as ever. His "men" were keeping a constant eye on her, nevertheless. She was still a Murakumo unit and thus dangerous to fight. Looking away from her, he looked at his puppet, the Nox Nyctores weapon Nirvana.

"Soon my plans will come to fruition and Ada will be reborn." Said the boy as he starred into his weapon and companion. To any stranger, the boy was just a well-dressed young man with an eyeglass with his other eyes covered by an opera eye mask. But to those who know him, he was Carl Clover, a drop out from the NOL military academy. For some reason, the boy dropped out, despite performing well in his classes. Though many don't know the exact reasons, rumors say that it had something to do with the sudden disappearance of his entire family. Since then, he's been off the grid, with most people that knew him forgetting about him as soon as they graduated, aside from a few. And Carl had just committed a horrible crime to one of the few that remembered him. As he looked at his weapon, Carl could have sworn he heard a voice, but he chalked it up to his paranoia. He soon looked toward the middle of the room, where a giant hole was in the ground. To most, it was just a hole, but Carl knew what it was. What it can do. And he intended to use it. He was about to think more into his plan when one of his servants appeared and gave him a piece of paper. Upon reading it, he nodded.

"Good." Said Carl. "Begin to restart the cauldron. When the other two arrive. Subdue them and send them all into the cauldron when I give the order. If their programming gets in the way, let me deal with it." The servant just nodded before going to do what he instructed. Meanwhile, Noel and Lambda were talking with a receptionist in the NOL HQ when they suddenly felt something was off. Their pupils suddenly dilated as they stood still.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?" Asked the receptionist as he saw them staying still. He was about to ask again when they both suddenly ran past him and into the HQ. "Hey!" Acting quickly, the man pressed an alarm button near his desk and suddenly the entire HQ was on high alert. As soldiers were approaching the two nuns, intending to arrest them, they were suddenly attack by the two, who either kicked them into submission or punched them so hard that they knocked them out. They did so without any regard and quickly rushed toward the stairs, taking out anyone that got in their way. As they made their way to the top, only one thought was in their mind.

"Cauldron has restarted. Beginning reboot of units. Orders; find cause of restart and put end to it."