Riders in Fiore

by Erzats

Shocker manage to escape the Riders by using their last invention : a gate to another world. Follow 6 of the Riders as they follow them to try and stop them before they could do whatever they are planning to do. And they'll find friends to fight with in the most famous of the Guild. Basically my take on "Neo-Heisei Rider Tail". Small risks of OOC. Rating just to be sure.

21. Chapter 21 : Raiding the Phantoms

Hello guys ! I hope you are all right, good health and everything. I don't have anything to say right now, so I'll just thank you all for your support, like Neuanfang, 910, brave kid and Cyrus the Dragonhog for their reviews and PM. I like seeing my story get so much support and I'll hope you'll like the rest of it. Also big thanks to all of you following either my stories or even myself, I appreciate.

That's the biggest chapter I've ever written so far in my life. I hope you'll like it because I spend a lot of time on it.

Now, let's get down to it, okay ?

Chapter 21 : Raiding the Phantoms

/-Magnolia hospital -/

The staff of Magnolia Hospital was used to see Fairy Tail mages come because of the many injuries they'd suffer during their mission. However, this time was different. They were, just like everybody else in the city, cognizant about what transpired in the town main park and knew that this time, things could go down dangerously. The most part of the mages were now gone, on the warpath as they were headed for the Phantom Lord guild, to make them pay for what they did. But some of them stayed behind, like Mirajane, who was no fighter, or Lucy, who was at the hospital. She was sitting silently in the room where Levy, Jet and Droy were now resting after being taken care of by the hospital staff. She was looking at the three of them, head hanging slightly.

- "Levy-chan… Jet… Droy…" she murmured their name as quietly as she could, as if she didn't wanted to wake them, looking down at her hands, folded on her lap. "This is too cruel… Those Phantom…"

- "They'll pay for that, don't worry." Lucy lifted her head, her sadness-filled eyes meeting Shinnosuke concerned ones, Belt-san on his waist also showing concern on his small digital face. "The doctors said their injuries weren't serious. There won't be any consequences for them. They just need rest."

- "That's good." Said Lucy got back to look at Levy, who seemed peaceful on her bed.

- "You both seems close." Said Belt-san. "I heard you're both booklover, right ?"

- "Yeah…" whispered Lucy, a small smile on her face as she reminded herself of the first time she met the blue haired girl. "She was one of the first who came to me when I joined the guild. She's probably one of the nicest person I know, a real sweetheart. I just can't believe that someone could do that to her and her friends. Phantom… I cannot forgive them…" When she finished, anger had fused with her sadness in her eyes as tears began to slid down of her face. But she quickly shook them off and look up at Shinnosuke, a question in her mind. "But what are YOU doing here ? Why didn't you got to Phantom with the others ?"

- "I think I already said that in my world, I'm a detective." Said Shinnosuke, looking at the street from the windows. "I feel like something's off with the way Phantom is acting. That's why I decided to stay back. But what about you ? You could have gone with them, to avenge your friend."

- "No. I felt like I had to stay beside her. I know the others will make them pay for me. I just can't go and let my future first reader alone." She ended with a smile, remembering her promise with Levy. When a nurse came to told them that visit were over for the day, they both left even if Shinnosuke was deep in thought. He felt like he had enough pieces to solve the puzzle to know what Phantom was plotting, but he was missing something. And while he was strolling back to the HQ, he understood. Stopping dead in his track, he turned around only to realize that Lucy wasn't following him, which made him worry even more as he ran back, hoping to find her before it was too late.

/- Meanwhile, town of Oak -/

The Phantom Lord building looked like some sort of medieval castle, with stones towers connected to the main building, that looked like a small church, by small bridges. Above the door, a sign with the name Phantom Lord written on it clearly indicated who was living in this building. And inside said building, it was like a party was going on. Cheers and laugh could be heard from the outside as the mages congratulate themselves for what happened with Fairy Tail.

- "DAHAAAH ! This is hilarious ! Those fairies got their asses burned bad." Said one of them, high fiving one of his friend.

- "That's not all. I heard Gajeel attacked three of their members." Added another guy, smiling like an idiot. "By the way, who's that person the master had been talking about ?"

- "No idea. He just asked us to stay way and mind our own business." Answered another, as intrigued as his friend. "Besides, ever since those guys came, it's like Fairy Tail became the only thing in his mind."

- "Whatever ! Here's to those pitiful fairies !" Said someone, his voices covering every others as he made everyone cheer once again. Everyone but one, who grabbed a bag and head to the door.

- "Hey, where are you going ? Meeting with a girl ?" joked a friend of his as the guy simply kept walking.

- "Well, she's not too shabby looking, but she's just a client. When I threatened her, she doubled the reward for me."

He and his friends snickered at that as he grabbed the door handle but when he was about to open it, noises coming from outside stopped him.

KAIZOKU ! DENSYA ! BEST MATCH ! ARE YOU READY ?

SHABADOOBI, TOUCH HENSHIN ! SHABADOOBI, TOUCH HENSHIN !

DURIAN !

MIGHTY ACTION X !

Everyone in the building stopped what they were doing when they saw some sort of ripple through the whole building and furniture, pixelating everything the wave touched for a second as blocks appeared everywhere, on the floor or floating in the air.

- "What the…. ?"

3 ! 2 ! 1 !

- "HENSHIN !"

*BOOM*

The door suddenly exploded, sending the poor guy flying back inside the building, crashing in several tables as his fellow comrades all got up to see what was happening in the entrance, where strange lights were blinding them for a few seconds, lights coming from armored guys. But even if those lights prevent them from seeing clearly, they already know who this was.

TEIKOKU NO HANGYAKUSHA ! KAIZOKURESSYA ! YEAH !

LAND, PLEASE ! DODODO DODODON, DON DODODON !

SOIYA ! DURIAN ARMS ! MR. DANGEROUS !

GASHAT ! GACHAN ! LEVEL UP ! MIGHTY JUMP ! MIGHTY KICK ! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X !

- "WE ARE FAIRY TAIL !"

Once the lights had died down, Phantom Lord was facing Fairy Tail, the fairies faces contorted with anger and fury, showing they were here to make them pay and that not a single one of them would be spared. Among them, the Riders were also ready for the fight, but even if they came along to avenge their friend, they'd make sure not to overdo it. Phantom wasn't Shocker after all. And of course, out of every Fairy Tail mages, Natsu was the first one to jump into action, his burning feet and hands sending his opponent flying and setting things off as an all out brawl began between the two guilds. And Fairy Tail was quickly getting the upper hand : Gray froze his enemies, Elfman sending them flying with his transformed arm, Erza slicing her way through their ranks, Cana, Loki, Macao, everyone was venting their anger on those Phantom punks. Even Makarov was showing no mercy to them, using his magic to grow in size until he reached the carpentry under the roof, slamming his opponent like the bugs they were.

- "M-Monster !" said one of those slammed guys, gaining Makarov attention.

- "You bastards brought the fight to the children of that monster." He said, his voice rendered very deep by his new size. "Don't even for a second think you'll be protected by human laws. José ! Show yourself !" Asked Makarov as he took a normal size once again. As for Erza and the Riders, who were basically toying with their opponents, if they even could get called like that, they had something else in mind. Only the small fry was here, which was more than weird since Phantom couldn't expect the fairies to never come for revenge.

- "Where are Gajeel and the member of the Element 4 !?" had asked Erza, not realizing that someone was looking at them from the carpentry. A long unruly mane of black hair, red piercing eyes, piercing on his nose and brows, wearing a long black coat, Gajeel Redfox, Iron Dragon of Phantom Lord, was looking at the scene, apparently slightly disappointed.

- "Erza the Titania… But no Gildarts, Laxus or Mystogan. They are underestimating us." He said as he began to smirk. "But who would have guessed that master Jose's plan would work this well… Go ahead, be your reckless selves… scum…"

And Gajeel had every right to feel happy for this situation to happen, since as he said, their plan was going smoothly. And it implied a blonde girl left behind by her friends.

/- Magnolia -/

After leaving the hospital, Lucy decided to walk back home, sighing in boredom. Since almost everyone had left the city to go pay Phantom Lord a visit, she had literally nothing to do. She was still feeling that deep anger toward that other guild for what they did, but she was also racking her mind, trying to find a reason why they did it. She was walking in the street, deep in though and next thing she knew, a downpour suddenly filled the street despite the fact that the sky was still blue and void of any clouds.

- "No way… How can it rain while the sun is still out ?"

Soon enough, Lucy realized she wasn't alone anymore. A silhouette appeared in the middle of the rain, slowly walking toward her.

- "Drip, drip, drop. Juvia brings rain. Drip, drip, drop." The silhouette was in fact a woman who seemed to be more or less the same age as Lucy. She had straight blue hair that curled suddenly at the end, just above her shoulders and sapphire eyes. Her mouth was straight, her face totally neutral if she wasn't looking so cold and distant, she would have been beautiful. She wore a sapphire dress with a navy blue shawl around her upper torso. A small umbrella protected her from the rain and a small, and pretty creepy, ghostly doll stood in the middle of her shawl. "What do you bring ?"

Her question took Lucy aback, the blonde desperately trying to protect herself from the rain by folding her arms and hands above her head, which was doomed to fail as she looked at the blue haired girl.

- "Erm… Who are you ?" Lucy however never got an answer as the girl turned around and began to walk away.

- "I had fun. Farewell. Drip, drip, drop…"

- "What was that all about ?!"

- "Non, non, non. Non, non, non. Non, non, non, non, non, non, non." A new voice echoed through the street as the blunette came to a stop as the ground in front of her began to swell, as if a big mole was about to come out of the ground. But instead of a mole, a man came out of the bump, as if he was one with the ground. He had spiky green hair that pointed upward, a pointy mustache of the same color and black eyes, the right one being hidden behind a monocle. He wore a brown formal attire with a collar that consisted of three protrusions on each side of his head, he had a red tie around his neck and a white shirt beneath it. Other than that, his other strange feature about his attire was some sort of dark brown cape that was tied to both of his elbows. But most importantly, his body was twisting as if he was made of rubber. "A bonjour with non in 3-3-7 rhythm."

- "Another weirdo !? What's happening here ?" Wondered Lucy who was even more creeped out by that man than the cold looking woman.

- "Juvia-sama, you can't just walk away from your mission." Said the weird guy, apparently named Sol, tilting his head way too much to the side, judging by what the now named Juvia when she simply said his name in answer to his remark. "My monocle is whispering to me that this mademoiselle over there is none other than our precious cible."

- "Oh my… So she's the one ?" said Juvia, turning back toward the blonde, interest now glinting in her otherwise dull eyes, as Lucy began to feel like something really bad was coming.

- "Pardon my manners ; I am Sol. You may call me Monsieur Sol. This is Miss Juvia and we're both members of the Element Four." Said Sol, doing a weird version of a bow as he introduced himself and Juvia, the name Element Four sounding horribly familiar to Lucy, who heard it the night before. "We've come from the great Phantom Lord to welcome you."

- "Phantom Lord !? So, you're the one who attacked Levy-chan !" she shouted, grabbing her key, ready to defend herself. However, before she could do anything, she was suddenly stuck in a big bubble of water that formed around her out of nowhere. She swam and fought against it, trying to get out of it, however, Juvia, who was controlling the sphere, made sure that she couldn't get out of here. And after a few seconds, Lucy's body went limp, rendered unconscious by the lack of air.

- "Très bien, Juvia-sama."

- "Let's head back now. We…"

TIRE KOUKAN : MASSIVE MONSTER !

*SLAM* When the two Element Four members realized what was happening, it was already too late. Both of them were struck by something that came at them way too fast for them to see it before, sending to the ground a few meters away from where they stood before. When they stood back up, they were faced with Shinnosuke who was in his Speed Type, with Massive Monster Tire wrapped around his torso, the two green weapons in hands. As the two mages got up, they glared at him, one of them behind more shocked than the other.

"How could he touch Juvia ?" she said to herself, a hand put on a scratch on her arm. "Juvia's water body didn't worked ? Why …?"

- "What are you doing here ?" asked Sol, looking at Shinnosuke with his head still tilted to the side, almost horizontally. "I wasn't expecting us to be interrupted like that."

- "I had a hunch so I decided to stay behind and looks like I was right." Said Shinnosuke, not letting go of his fighting stance.

- "Oh ? And what kind of hunch, if I may ?"

- "From what I've heard, it has always been… complicated between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. But I found that strange for you to attack us suddenly for apparently no reason. So I lead my own little investigation." He said, arms crossed, still holding onto the big greens jaws of Massive Monster. "I first asked myself this question : what had recently changed for you to attack us like that ? At first, I thought that this was because of me and my friend. After all, we have an enemy that could have attacked the guild in hope to reach us, maybe teaming up with you for whatever reason you, or they, may have. But this wasn't that. So I kept searching and realized that we weren't the only change the guild had undergone recently because when we joined Fairy Tail, we joined the same time as Lucy." He then said, pointing at the still unconscious mage who had been freed of the bubble after Juvia got knocked away, thus losing her concentration. "That's why you attacked us. As to why you did it like you did, I'd bet it's because you had a plan formed as soon as you realized that she was part of our guild. You attacked us because you wanted us to attack you back in reprisal. You wanted us to give you an opportunity to come and get her while we weren't all there to stop you. I'd even dare say that's why you attacked Levy. Being her best-friend, you hoped she would stay by her side while we were away. "

- "You've got a sharp mind, I'll give that to you." Said Sol, toying with his mustache. "However, I want to be clear about the fact that we aren't the one who attacked your guild or your friend. This was all the work of Gajeel."

- "That bit was kind of obvious." Admitted Shinnosuke, glaring at them behind his helmet. "Those iron pillars and shackles were definitely magic and from what I gathered, there's someone known as the Iron Dragon in your guild. That was a pretty easy deduction. There's however one thing I still don't get and that's why you're targeting her."

- "A really sharp mind, indeed. And I like that, so I'll tell you what you want to know. For us, this girl is nothing more than what we mages are paid for : a request." Shinnosuke frowned : how can a person like Lucy be linked to a job send to a guild ? "But I already said too much, and master Jose would be angry if we are late. So this is good bye, Monsieur Kamen Rider."

Hearing the name Kamen Rider coming out of his mouth made Shinnosuke stall for just a second, wondering where and how he knew that name, even if the answer was kind of obvious, which was more than enough for Sol to get rid of him.

ROCHE CONCERTO !

The ground beneath Shinnosuke began to crack and explode, sending a geyser of rocks at Shinnosuke who lost his footing because of that. And as he was trying to defend himself with the green jaws, he had forgotten the other mage on the street.

WATER CANNON !

A large swirling bullet made of water was created by Juvia and sent toward the Rider who had no way to protect himself and as such, he was struck and send literally flying away by the powerful projectile and crashing into an old warehouse that fell down on him soon after. Satisfied by the result, looking at the now ruined building were Shinnosuke had disappeared, Sol and Juvia simply grabbed Lucy and dragged her back with them, the rain following them and letting the sun come back on the street, leaving a forgotten key ring to shine brightly in the middle of a now empty street.

/- Meanwhile at Phantom Lord guild -/

The brawl between the two rival guild continued in Phantom Lord base, or maybe it should be called the pummeling since the fairies were actually stomping on the Phantom as if they were nothing. Among them, the Riders were taking care of some, but one who knew them would know they were holding back. Using the Durian Arms, Kouta was beating mages after mages, Haruto using his Land Style to either bind them with rock chains or knocked them out with his enhanced strength, Gentaro keep many of them at bay with Beat while sending some flying into others with Winch or Aero and Emu was jumping and kicking his way through the crowd while Sento was either shooting or slicing them with his Kaizoku Hassyar. But the mages weren't holding back at all, like Elfman who used his Take Over magic to transform his arm into one of a beast, greatly enhancing his punching power as he sent his opponent flying one after the other. Gray froze, Natsu burned, Erza sliced, the guild main hall became a real battlefield, one Makarov had to leave.

- "Erza ! I'm putting you in charge here." Said the old man as he looked at the Titania who looked back at her master. "Jose is probably at the top floor. I'm gonna tear him a new one."

- "All right. Take care, master." She said, just as Emu landed beside them.

- "I'd like to go with you, if you're okay with it." He proposed, much to the mages curiosity as they tilted their head. "I feel something weird. I'd feel better if I came with you."

- "If you really want it then come. But be aware, Jose is one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He's on the same level of power as me."

- "I'll be on my guard."

With that, both of them left the main room, running upstairs and leaving Erza to take care of the rest. As for Gajeel, who was still up on the carpentry, looked down with a smug smile.

- "Gihihi… Now that that pain in the ass id gone… I won't have to hold back anymore."

As he said that, he jumped down from his perch, diving into action, changing his arm into an iron pole, landing in the middle of the brawl, knocking down Nab and Warren but also a few of his own teammates.

- "So this is that Gajeel ?" said Sento, looking at his arm, seeing that it had the same shape as the pole that destroyed the guild. "So that guy is the one who did that to the guild and attacked Shadow Gear."

- "What's wrong with him ?" asked Gentaro as he send mages flying with Aero. "He's even attacking his own comrade."

- "Iron Dragon Gajeel, at your service ! Now come and get it, you scum !" he said, his voice showing his desire to fight.

- "A man is still a man even if he's scum !" roared Elfman as he threw a punch at Gajeel, who blocked it with his iron arm.

"Why the obsession with manliness, anyway ?" wondered Haruto, not looking at Elfman as he wrapped a group of mages in stone chains. At the same time, Gajeel began to attack Elfman who, despite his size and apparent sturdy body, was quite agile, dodging the iron-made arms and legs, ending the series of attack by grabbing Gajeel's leg, the latter snickering.

- "Heh… Not bad." Snickered Gajeel, slightly impressed by Elfman's performances.

- "Men must live strong." Answered the beast-man, looking down at Gajeel with a glare, not forgetting that he was facing the one who attacked his guild and friends. As for Gajeel, his smirk only got wider.

- "Then, how do you like this ?"

Suddenly, Elfman felt the iron leg in his hand move. Looking at it, he saw bumps forming on it and feeling what was coming, Elfman jumped out of the way as the bumps suddenly sprouted into many others iron pole which extended in every direction around his feet. Luckily, he struck no Fairies, only some Phantoms who were unfortunately in the way.

- "You bastard ! You are hurting your own comrades !" Seethed Elfman, not liking the idea that this guy could be so careless regarding his comrades well-being. But Gajeel only grinned, not bothering about them at all as he cocked a fist back.

- "Pay attention." He advised as he threw a punch that extended into the usual iron pole, striking Elfman and sending him flying away. But as he was still airborne, someone jumped on him and used him as a footboard to jump at Gajeel who, despite his sharp senses, couldn't dodge what was coming. Namely a fist covered in fire.

- "Gajeeeeel !" Natsu punched Gajeel in the face, sending him flying backward, much to the others Phantoms shock, not used to see their Iron Dragon being pummeled like that. As for Natsu, he was glaring at his counterpart, feeling his anger boil in him, remembering that he was the one who destroyed his home. "I'm the Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail !" He then turned to Elfman. "Elfman ! Let me have him !"

- "You bastard ! Don't get in the way of a fight between men !" shouted the tall guy in response, still pissed that he was used as a footboard by the Fire Mage. This gave an opportunity to Gajeel to give something back to Natsu for what he did to him. He quickly got close to Natsu and punched him hard in the stomach with his metallic pillar. However, unlike Elfman, he wasn't sent flying but instead, he hold his ground, his burning hot hand melting the metal, giving him a better grip on Gajeel's arm, much to the latter surprise as Natsu glared at him from his spot, fury burning in his onyx eyes.

- "For our guild, Levy-chan and the others… I'll sent you to hell !" Roared Natsu as he threw the other dragon into the air, Gajeel's body taking back his former shape as he flipped in mid-air, landing upside down on one of the wooden beam of the roof. And when he looked down, he thought he would see the ground, not a close-up of Natsu's face who had jumped after him to punch him once again, sending him flying even higher, much to the other Fairies and Riders joy, all feeling proud of Natsu. However, Gajeel wasn't done for yet, far from it. Using blades that sprouted on the sole of his feet, he stood hanging upside down on another beam, like some sort of bat, looking down (or up ?) at Natsu, arms crossed, the Fire Dragon Slayer glaring at him in return.

- "So Salamander. Is that all you've got ?"

- "This was nothing but a friendly hello. From a dragon to another." Answered Nastu, his fists covered with fire.

- "A fight between Dragon Slayer. I could learn a lot from that fight." Said Sento, looking up at the two dragon as he kept dodging and repelling the Phantoms with OctopusGatling Trial Form. "He's the Iron Dragon Slayer. Does that mean that he ate iron ? Or maybe every kind of metal ? Can he just change his body into iron or can he emit it like Natsu does with is flame ? Can he…"

- "… Is he always like that ?" asked Alzack to Gentaro who was standing beside him, shooting at their opponents.

- "He is. Don't mind him."

Up in the carpentry, the two dragons were ready to continue their fight when the whole building suddenly began to shake, stopping everyone in their tracks. And if everyone at first wondered what was happening, they Fairies began to smile as the Phantoms kept panicking, feeling a great power fill the air, The riders also feeling it even if they were half-curious and half-afraid.

- "Wha… What is that ? An earthquake ?" wondered of the Phantoms, which only made the Fairies smile even more and the Riders look at them in confusion as Erza began to explain.

- "This is master Makarov's fury. A giant's fury that no one can stop." This made the Phantoms widen their eyes in fear, not believing that the master could have such a strength. And Elfman only threw oil on the fire of their fear by taking back were Erza stopped. "That's the man. Master Makarov. You better be prepare. As long as he's here, we'll never lose."

As for the Riders, they were surprised and slightly worried. Surprised because if they knew that Makarov had to be powerful to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints, but they didn't expect him to have such a powerful aura. And because they couldn't help but tell themselves that if his aura was this powerful from the bottom floor, it would probably be on a whole new level at the source, they couldn't help but feel a little worried for a doctor who decided to follow the old man.

/- With Makarov and Emu -/

And indeed, Emu was not in the best of the places, almost regretting coming with the master. When they had reached the final floor of the building, Makarov had let his magic loose, the sheer aura around him being enough to destroy everything that could be. Cracks appeared on the walls, vase and painting exploded as if they were made of glass, and the door leading to Jose's office were blown out of their hinges and broke in half by the crackling aura of power the master was emitting. Emu even had to take a few step back, his whole body shaking as if he had swallowed a magnetic stir bar and was standing on a magnetic stirrer. But he swallowed and kept walking following the master in the room. In the back of the room, sitting on some sort of throne, was Jose. He was wearing a long black cape, a matching pointy hat and some sort of bat wings. The upper part of his face was hidden, showing only a thin face with long and thin black mustache falling on his chin, long black hair and pointy nose. Emu never met him before, but he felt something weird coming from him, something he already felt before.

- "Jose…" began Makarov, looking at his 'colleague' with hate in his eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing ?"

- "Why hello there. Long time no see, Makarov." Said Jose, ignoring Makarov question, his voice sending another shiver down Emu's spine as it sound weird for him. "It must've been since the regular meeting… When was it ? 6 years ago ? Boy, I was so stumped that day. I must've overdone it with the sake."

His little memory telling was interrupted by a giant fist crashing down on him, courtesy of Makarov who wasn't in the right mind set to play with him.

- "I'm not here to reminisce with you, Jose." He said when he realize, much to his surprise, that the 'Jose' who was standing in the rubbles of his throne was sizzling like an old TV. "An image !?"

- "So he's already gone from the building ?" said Emu aloud, now looking around, more ill at ease than before. "But then, what is that ominous feeling I have ?"

- "A battle between two of the Ten Wizard Saints can cause extraordinary natural occurrences." Said the false Jose who looked straight at his guests, revealing green eyes and a face who was filled with malice. "I prefer a rational victory."

- "Where are you !? Come fight me fair and square !" shouted Makarov, not liking Jose's game as Emu was feeling like something bad was about to happen. And never in his life he had wanted, more than now, for his instinct to be wrong. Because something shone at Jose's feet and a few seconds later appeared Lucy, still unconscious and hands tied, shocking both Mage and Rider.

- "Lucy !?" Both of them shouted, shocked to see the blonde haired girl who was, like Jose, probably elsewhere. And that's when it dawn on Emu as he point an accusing finger at the black haired master.

- "That's why you attacked us ! It was to allow you to capture her. This was all a trap !" Emu said, Jose's smile widening as Makarov widen his eyes in realization. He should have realized this sooner. This sudden attack from Phantom was too strange and sudden, he should have known they had an ulterior motive but he let his anger got the best of him and he had led his guild right in a trap. "But why targeting her ? She did nothing to you or your guild."

- "Please, don't act all innocent. You can't have her in your guild without knowing who she is." What José said made the old man and Rider frown, not getting where he was getting at. "But since you are there, I think it's the perfect moment to show you something." As he said that, the man pulled a knife from under his mantle and kneeled beside Lucy, pointing the knife at her neck, Makarov reacting as soon as he saw the knife getting closer to the blonde, Jose smiling like a dement, Makarov running toward them, only to be stopped by Emu.

- "No, stop ! Calm down !" he grabbed the master who was struggling in his arm. "This is an image, he isn't here !"

This forced Makarov to calm down, especially since Jose had stabbed the ground right beside Lucy, his smirk still present on his face as he got up, dropping the knife to stare at Makarov, looking like he had just proved something.

- "Relax, Makarov, I won't kill her. Not yet at least. " He said, his eyes shining darkly. "You are far too close to your mages. You consider every one of them like family and that's your greatest weakness. You'd give your life up way too easily for them."

- "There's nothing wrong in that !" Said Emu, taking a step forward. "Those are the kind of bond that makes you stronger and not the other way around. He is a better master than you'll ever be. That I'm sure of."

- "You've got quite the guts to dare talk to one of the Ten Wizard Saints like that." Said Jose as he snickered, looking amused, even if his eyes shown a little bit of anger. "But I guess that's because you still need to realize how petty you are in this world, Kamen Rider."

*Dooooow* Before Emu or Makarov could process what Jose just said, their bodies suddenly became heavy and slow, as if they had been hit by a slowing down magic. But Emu knew this sensation. This was something Shinnosuke knew the best but there was no need to be a genius like Sento to know what was making his body so heavy. In his slowed down state, and while Makarov was slightly panicking, trying to understand what was happening to him, Emu managed to look to the side, enough a robotic humanoid being, completely gray with some kind of red and yellow armor on the whole body. He had huge arms, with some sort of cylinder on both of them, like two hammers, his feet were just as big and his head, like a bull, with two horns pointing upwards, was aimed at him, two plate on his face where his eyes should be and a mouth where two pointy teeth were jutting out.

This was a Roidmude, and it just triggered a Donyori.

- "You see, Makarov, I consider myself to be a player. I won't make a move unless I'm sure to win. And that's what happened here. You lost the game, old friend. Aria."

A man then appeared out of nowhere in a gust of wind in front of both slowed men. The man, named Aria, was big, even bigger than Reedus, and wearing an equally large green mantle, a purple scarf and a red and white necklace, which made him look like some sort of priest. His head was topped with a green hat and, strangely, he was blindfolded.

- "So-So-So…. Sorrowful !" he then said suddenly, tears falling down his face through his blindfold as he sudden wave of magic pushed both Makarov and Emu away, the latter looking at the old man who seemed to be suffering, as if his body was withering like a dried up plant. They were pushed away up to the wooden railing who broke making both of them plummet straight to the first floor as Aria kept crying. "It's sorrowful ! Where does this sorrow comes from !? Ah ! Is this sorrow due to the world losing a great mage !?"

As soon as he ended his sentence, both Makarov and Emu reached the ground. But Emu had managed to move and catch the old man mid flight to at least protect him from the fall. Once on the ground, he rolled to the side and laid Makarov on the ground as the Fairy Tail Guild master seemed to struggle, shaking like crazy as if he had been thrown in a pool full of ice.

- "W-What's happening… My magic power…" he stuttered, completely in shock about what had happen.

Of course, their fall wasn't missed by anyone in the main hall, from Natsu and Gajeel on the carpentry to Erza and everyone else on the bottom floor. Seeing their dear master, a man that many considered their father, the fairies felt all their strength leave their bodies as they looked at the old man who was on the verge of unconsciousness, tears swelling in their eyes. Many of them came to see what was happening. All around them, the Phantoms were now smirking. Apparently, seeing Makarov being defeated like that was enough to boost their morale as they suddenly felt invincible.

- "What's going on ?!" shouted Erza as she almost literally shoved Emu out of the way to look at Makarov. "I don't sense any magic power from the master !"

- "That guy named Aria. He probably sucked it out of his body." Said Emu as he looked at the old man, trying to see if his life was in danger. As he found out that he should be alright, he could now focus on something else. Like the Phantom who were laughing at them.

- "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH ! See ? This is the power of Phantom !" said one.

- "Even your fucking geezer is out, you can't win !" said another one, laughing loudly. As for Emu, he stood there, a knee on the ground, not saying anything as he felt his heartrate multiply tenfold in anger.

- "We are too strong for you anyway ! Let's crush them !" said another one as he and his friend began to plow through the Fairies, only to be stopped suddenly when Emu, getting up from the ground, welcomed the first of them with his Gashacon Breaker, sending them flying back to their comrades, making them stop, taken by surprise as they thought the view of Makarov, now unconscious, and beaten, would be enough to kill their desire to fight.

- "You said you're strong, but yet you needed the help of a Roidmude to help you." Emu didn't spoke loudly, but the name Roidmude reached the other Riders ears, realizing what that meant. As for the Phantoms, they stopped moving, even Gajeel who was still hanging upside down on the roof. "Life is something precious. You only have one. And people who could hurt people as easily as you are my enemies. Or should I say, OUR enemies." He stopped for a second to address a message to the Fairies. "Guys, we have to take Makarov and leave this place. This was a trap."

Of course, this led to a loud protestation from the Fairies who wanted to keep fighting, for what Phantom did to them, the guild, their friends and master. However, Erza looked like she understood what happened. So she wiped her tears and, since Makarov let her in charge, gave her orders.

- "Everyone retreat ! Let's head back to the guild !" Once again, peoples weren't okay with that decision, but Erza wasn't in the mood to discuss. "We won't be able to stop Jose without our master ! We have to leave right now !"

- "Don't worry, we will get back at them for that, don't worry. But right now, we have to take Makarov to the hospital or somewhere where he can be healed."

Thinking about their master, the whole guild agreed and left the place, keeping their heads up despite the Phantoms who were laughing at them. Up on the wooden beam, Gajeel was looking down on the as he was joined by Aria, who appeared in a gust of wind.

- "Aria… You're as creepy as ever. I'm surprised you could beat that geezer." He said as he flipped up and sat beside his comrade.

- "This is all part of master Jose's plan." Simply said Aria calmly before suddenly crying his eyes out. "Wonderful !"

- "Can you stop crying over anything ?" asked Gajeel, the crying annoying him. "So… About his plan. Did we capture that Lucy ?"

- "Yes, Juvia and Sol managed to get her. She's confined at our headquarter."

Gajeel simply nodded as he looked down, Natsu looking up at him, not saying anything but fear and worry was written on his face, which only made Gajeel smile even more. "We'll settle that latter, Salamander."

And with a simple hand gesture from Aria, they'd disappeared. Emu was walking out of the building with the others, looking at the top of the building as he thought about Lucy. He said nothing about her kidnapping because as he said, they would come back and besides, he felt that if the Fairies learned about her being held by Phantom, they would have gone to save her immediately and seeing how low their morale currently was, this is something they'd better avoid. However, he failed to notice something that could be quite problematic. Natsu was gone.

Indeed, Natsu's sharp earing allowed him to hear what Gajeel and Aria were saying, and thus, he learned about Lucy being kidnapped. So he did the only thing he thought he had to do. He grabbed one of the Phantom Lord members and began to walk away from the building and away from his friends, Happy flying next to him as usual, dragging the Phantom mage behind him as he followed a little dirt path behind the building he just left.

- "Tell me. Where's Lucy ?" he asked not looking at him, his eyes fixing a point on the horizon.

- "I… I don't know what you're talking about… Who is that ?" this answer not being the one Natsu wanted, the Fire Mage set his whole body on fire without even looking at him, his body filled with nothing more than fury, with a little bit of worry for the blonde.

- "You better speak up." Seethed Natsu as he turned around, baring his teeth at the guy, veins popping on his forehead. "If she's hurt, I might burn you to a crisp."

- "HIEEK ! I… I really don't know ! I know no one by that name !" Said the guy, now crying in fear, his face all charred up by the flames that had stopped burning by now. "But our HQ is located straight ahead ! But it's pretty far from here."

Natsu growled, fearing that he might to late to save Lucy. He turned to Happy, and without a word, the feline knew what he wanted. Natsu knocked the dude out as Happy wrapped his tail around him, taking him a few meters up in the air before accelerating suddenly, gone in a blink of an eye.

/- Phantom Lord HQ -/

In the middle of the fields filled with ruins and a few trees, stood some kind of stronghold, surrounded by a half destroyed wall of bricks, an arch still holding up in the middle of it. Inside the perimeter delimited by the wall stood a building that seemed to be made of many others buildings. There were four tall towers in each corners, a large building with a dome like roof, a building that looked like a beehive with a loot of openings and, in the middle, a slightly taller building with the Phantom Lord flag on it, waving in the wind. This building was almost completely empty and devoid of any life. Except for someone who had nothing to do here.

Lucy woke up in a small room that looked like a cell, with an iron on one of the wall, small unlit candles, cobweb in the corners and the stone which composed the walls, roof and ground were outwore by the time. Immediately, as she was putting herself on her knees, Lucy knew she was in trouble, and her hands, tied up behind her back, weren't helping her feeling better as she looked frantically around her.

- "What ? What is this ?! Where am I ?!" she asked to no one in particular, her voice filled with fear and anxiety.

- "Are you awake, Lucy Heartfilia-sama ?" said a voice Lucy didn't knew, coming from behind the door as she asked for who it was. The door opened, and Jose walked in, a smug smile gracing his lips. "I'm Phanom Lord's master, Jose." The mention of Phantom made Lucy realize two things. First, she remembered the kidnapping by those two weirdos back in Magnolia and also something faint about tires and monsters, whatever that was. Secondly, she understood that she was now faced with the one who orchestrated everything that happened to them recently and she felt anger build up inside her. "I apologize for tying you up and putting you in this filthy cell, but you're still a captive. Please try to understand." Jose was explaining to Lucy the reason why she was tied and she couldn't believe how normal he made it look like.

- "Untie me !" she ordered, struggling against the rope tying her hand. "Who's a captive ?! How dare you do all of that to us ? To Levy-chan and the others ?!"

- "Please calm down, little lady." Said Jose, trying to act like some sort of mediator. "Depending on your attitude, we might treat you as a 'VIP' instead as a prisoner." This made Lucy look at him in wonder. What did he meant by a VIP ? As she asked herself that question, she felt something moving on her thigh and looking down, she saw a centipede crawling on her skin, which of course made her shriek and scurry away from the bug, which only served to prove Jose's point as he had a satisfied smile on his face. "See ? You really don't wanna stay in this jail. If you agree to behave, we'll have no problem moving you to a suite room."

The proposition might have been nice, but Lucy wasn't that easy to fool. She stood her ground, looking up at Jose with determination.

- "Why did you attack us ? I heard you weren't in good term with Fairy Tail, but this was uncalled for."

- "Fairy Tail, huh ? Well, to be completely honest, this was nothing more than an extra, and nothing more." Lucy's eyes widen at the revelation. She also understood that if Fairy Tail was an extra, as Jose said, then that meant that they had another objective. Another reason to do what they did and it had to be something huge if it justified an all-out war with another guild despite the law saying warfare between guild wasn't allowed. "Our real objective was to find and get our hands on a certain individual. Individual that happened to belong to Fairy Tail, so why not kill two birds with one stone."

- "A certain individual ?" repeated Lucy as Jose took a step toward her, sweat running down her face as she began to put the pieces together, not liking what it meant for her as she feared he knew of her secret.

- "*sigh* You're pretty slow. I have a hard time you are a daughter of the Heartfilia Family." Said Jose as he came to a stop, squishing the centipede under his foot as he did so. "You probably know what, or who, I am talking about? Isn't it, daughter of the Heartfilia conglomerate, Lucy Heartfilia-sama."

If Lucy had doubt before, she now couldn't deny it. Jose knew of her secret, something she tried to leave behind her when she left her home. Shaking and gritting her teeth, she looked down as she seethed at Jose from the ground.

- "H-How do you know about that ?" She had asked, trying to figure HOW he could have learned of her true identity when even her closest friend ignored it.

- "I heard you were hiding your real social standing in the guild." Said Jose, ignoring her question. "I wonder why the daughter of one of the richest men in all Fiore would go and undertake such cheap and dangerous jobs."

- "So then, you kidnapped me ?" guessed Lucy, looking up at Jose, her lips tight and glare hard as steal. However, she guessed wrong, and the truth won't please her. At all.

- "No, no. Don't be absurd. We aren't kidnapping you." Revealed Jose, raising a hand in a defensive gesture. "We got requested to get you by none other than your father, Mr Jude Heartfilia."

It was like someone just plunged her heart in freezing water. The revelation struck her more harder than a ton of brick falling from a 10 store building. Her own father had hired a Mage Guild to get her back. But if shock was what first came to her mind, incomprehension quickly replaced it as she tightened her fists, looking down shakily at her legs, her voice quiet, echoing with her disbelieving state.

- "No… Lies… Why did he …?" she couldn't even make full sentence, her surprise way to intense for that. As for Jose, her reaction amused him greatly.

- "Why ? Isn't it normal for a father to search for her daughter if she ran away from home ?"

- "He wouldn't !" shouted Lucy, anger overcoming her shock as she looked up at Jose, her eyes filled with a newfound determination. "He would never bother with that ! I won't go back ! I will never go back that place ! Release me here and now."

- "My, what a troublesome lady." Sighed Jose, totally unfazed by her reaction. "I'm pretty sure it's useless to tell you that I can't do that."

- "But I need to use the restroom. I… really can't hold it…" she said, squirming as she almost died in shame internally, not believing she had to use such a cheap trick. But unfortunately, Jose wasn't someone who could be caught off-guard that easily.

- "That's the oldest trick in the book. Go ahead." He said shaking his head and pointing at a old and dusty bucket that stood in a corner of the room, making Lucy gasp in shock. "what ? You thought we wouldn't thought about that ?" He added, feeling like he out-smarted Lucy. However…

- "Well, if I have to…" Lucy unexpectedly got up, setting herself in front of the bucket, slightly bending her body so her hands could reach her skirt, allowing her to lift it up, all right under Jose's nose whose eyes bulged out, not believing that she would really do it. He looked at her do as his face began to contort and become redder and redder in embarrassment up until the moment he couldn't take it anymore and turned his back at her, muttering about her shameless attitude. But that was exactly what Lucy wanted, a victorious smile gracing her lips as she took a step forward and got in a kicking position, aiming for Jose's crotch.

*Doooooow* As Lucy began to threw her kick, a sudden feeling of heaviness overcame her, making her so heavy that she had basically stopped moving. Despite her surprise and slowed down state, she struggled to try and make the kick reach its target, but no matter how much she fought it, she couldn't move. Jose also felt that heaviness but strangely, he was immune to it as he turned around to face Lucy, her legs half extended, her face contorted by the effort she put in the kick.

- "Well, would you look at that ? You think you mess with me ? I'm not stupid, so I took some precaution." He said to her, turning his head to the door he used, the same Roidmude as before sitting on the roof, just above the cell, Jose turning back his attention on Lucy soon after, taking a step closer to her. "Anyway, I gave you the chance to behave, but since you decided to be stubborn, I guess that mean you want to be treated as a prisoner. So be it. You'll… GEHAAAAH !"

IT happened so quickly that even Lucy was confused about what happened. One moment she was frozen and Jose was threatening her and the second after that, she got her speed back and her leg, who was still in mid-kick, covered the space left between it and its intended target, namely Jose's family jewels, with the same strength Lucy had put in it at first. While Jose fell to the ground, his hands covering his suffering crotch, Lucy fell on her butt, still wondering about what happened and how she could escape that thing when she felt something in one of her hand, something that wasn't here before. She didn't knew what it was, but she squeezed it, knowing that this was probably the reason why she could move again.

- "Well, everything's good, in the end." She said to herself as she got up, looking down at Jose as she passed by him, winking playfully at him. "Well, goodbye, dear sir !" she then jogged to the door, not noticing that Jose was smiling despite his pain and when Lucy reached the door, she realized that she may have done a mistake.

Wind blew strongly around her as she looked down at the ground who was at least 100 meters under her feet. Her cell wasn't a usual cell, since it was on the last story of one of the four tall tower surrounding the guild HQ, she could barely look down without feeling nausea twisting her intestine. Behind her, Jose was crawling to her, still on the ground as the pain hadn't calmed down yet.

- "It's a pity, isn't it ?" he managed to mutter from the ground, smirking victoriously. "This is our Sky Prison…" Lucy turned around, now facing Jose who began to got up, even if his body was still shaking. "How dare you… do that to me… Now, I'll have to punish you… I'll show you how atrocious the Phantom can be."

Lucy was in a really bad position. She was literally stuck and had only two possible way to get out of it, and none of them were good. If she stayed here, she'll have to face Jose's wrath and then she'll be send back to her father. On the other side, if she jumped, without her keys nor anyone to help her, she would die from the fall. In her mind, she saw her father, with his usual suit and combed hair, his hand reaching for her. It was brief but this was enough for her. She couldn't, or rather wouldn't, go back and then, her mind was set by something that came to her like a whisper. She then took a decision, faith pushing her in what was, she hoped, the right direction.

She took a deep breath… and jumped out of the building.

- "WHAAT !?" Jose couldn't believe his eyes as Lucy did what she did, the master falling to his knees once again, the pain coming back again.

Wind was roaring at Lucy's ears, her hair flailing wildly around her head as she plummeted toward the ground, toward what many would think was instant death. However, as she squeezed her hand even harder on the small thing that helped her in the cell, she had a feeling, something in her guts that was telling her that she did the right thing. She didn't knew how, but she was sure that she would be saved. That HE would save her.

"I'm sure… He's here… I heard his voice !" she thought to herself, eyes closed and teeth clenched as the ground was approaching quickly, maybe too quickly.

- "NATSUUUUUUU !"

Someone who would have witnessed her, shouting the Fire Dragon Slayer name in mid-fall when the ground was barely 20 meters away, Death waiting to dig her grave just where she was about to hit the ground like an asteroid would have though that this was cry of despair, the same kind one emitted when Death was about to harvest his soul. But Lucy had faith. She felt it. He was here and he will save her. Her hopes never wavered, even when the ground was 30 meters away.

20 meters…

10…

5…

- "NUOOOOAAAAH !"

Fate was definitely on Lucy's side as Natsu leapt at her, catching her as her head was literally 10 centimeters above the dried ground. Natsu had been so fast that some could wonder if he didn't learned Speed Magic on the way to the HQ. When he caught Lucy, he put such a sudden halt to her fall that the strength of her fall had been almost completely nullified, Natsu rolling on the ground, protecting Lucy the best he could until they both finally were stopped by one of the ruined brick wall surrounding the HQ. They were both laying out on the rubbles, Happy flying to them as they stood there, unmoving for a few seconds.

- "Lucy fell from the sky !" Shouted Happy in disbelief, eyes wide as he looked at the blonde who was laying on top of Natsu.

- "I knew it !" she said as she looked down at Natsu who was still under her, taking her time to put her breath back under control, the fall and sudden stop having proved to be too much. "I knew you'd be here."

- "No… No problem." Answered Natsu, his voice muffled and face taking a nice shade of red as her breast were pressed on her face. "But this is really dumb to just jump from a tower like that." He then helped her to sit down, immediately working on her hands. "Are you okay ?"

- "Yeah… sort of." She said, moving to nurse her wrist when she realized that her hand was still closed on the thing that probably saved her up here. Natsu and Happy saw her hands and got closer, wondering what she was looking at.

- "What is this ?" wondered Happy.

- "I don't know but it helped me greatly." Said Lucy as she finally opened her hand and discovered, much to her and her friends surprise, a little yellow car with black squares and green wheels.

- "Hey, isn't that one of Shinnosuke's car ?" Natsu got his answer when the little car began to drive away, heading to the Tridoron who was getting closer to the group. Stopping a few meters away from them, Shinnosuke got out and caught the car while walking to the three.

- "Lucy ! Nice to see you're alright !"

- "Shinnosuke ! What are you doing here ?" wondered Lucy as she stared at the Rider.

- "I was there when those guys from Phantom Lord attacked you. I tried to stop them but it didn't goes as well as I hopes, so I let Dimension Cab come with you." He explained, pointing at the taxi who beeped joyfully.

- "But I never saw it before now. Where was he hiding while I was out cold ?"

To answer that, Dimension Cab drove to Lucy and did something unexpected but who made the answer pretty obvious when he dived in Lucy's cleavage, much to her and everyone else embarrassment.

- "You hide yourself between her breasts ?!" shouted Belt-san as he scolded Cab. "How dare you do that ?!"

Ignoring the strange dispute between the belt and the car, the boys began to talk, starting with Shinnosuke.

- "So, what happened exactly ? Where are the others ?"

- "They all got back to the guild and we should to." Began Happy, hovering to be head level with Shinnosuke. "Master had been heavily wounded. Emu said something about a Roidmude."

- "A Roidmude ?!" shouted Shinnosuke and Belt-san, the latter forgetting Dimension Cab, while Lucy's eyes widen in shock when she learned about the master. "This isn't good. So they do work together."

- "Since we are here, I'm going in to beat them all down." Said Natsu, looking at the building with clenched fists. "I'll make them pay for hurting my family."

- "No, Natsu ! Erza said we have to retreat !" Reminded Happy, scowling at Natsu who just glared at him.

- "She's just afraid ! But I'm not !" Growled Natsu. "I won't let them get away after what they did to Ji-chan, the guild, Levy-chan and the others !"

- "Both of you calm down !" Shinnosuke said, trying to stop them from arguing, but this was a lost cause. However, despite the loudness of their arguing, they were stopped by an almost inaudible word, coming from Lucy.

- "Sorry…" she said, her quiet voice shaking as she tried to suppress sobs. "I'm sorry… It's all my fault…" as she said that, everything came to her mind. The destroyed guild, Levy, Jet and Droy beaten up and bloody crucified to Magnolia's great tree and now what happened to Makarov. Everything happened because Phantom Lord was after her. Which meant, at least for Lucy, that everything happened because of her joining the guild and that's a guilt she had a hard time living with. "But I … Still want to stay in the guild… I love Fairy Tail."

- "H-Hey ! What's the matter ?!" asked Natsu, his voice filled with worry and incomprehension as Lucy began to sob. Why was she acting like this was her fault ? And why was she talking as if she couldn't stay ? Strangely, the idea of Lucy leaving was something he just couldn't process. It was something that couldn't happen. "You can stay ! What's wrong with you … ?"

- "Natsu. We should head back." Said Shinnosuke as he put a hand on his shoulder, looking at Lucy. Knowing that Phantom was after her, he understood what was going on in her head right now. She felt guilty for something she wasn't responsible of. And he knew that feeling all too well, the memory of Hayase's incident the night of the Global Freeze forever embed in his mind. "We have many thing to discuss and I've got the feeling that Phantom will come after us once again. We have to be ready."

/- In the Sky Prison -/

After Lucy decided to skydive to escape him, Jose stayed where he was, the pain being too much for him to move. Every time he tried, he could only take two steps before falling to his knees, the pain overwhelming him. As that happen, the Roidmude came closer, arms crossed, which was an impressive feature considering how big his arms were.

- "She got you good." He simply said to Jose, his voice deep and rumbling as if he was talking through a didgeridoo.

- "You… I though your power stopped everyone. Why could she move ?" he seethed from his position on the ground, grinding his teeth in annoyance and fury.

- "For the same reason you aren't affected. She had one of those damned Shift Cars with her and it protected her from the freeze." Explained the Rider. "But now that she's gone, I think we'll have to be a little more… straight forward, isn't it ?"

- "You're god damn right !" Admitted Jose looking up at the open door. "This little bitch will pay, and I'll eradicate that wretched guild at the same time !"

Well, as I said, that's one hell of a chapter. I was inspired to say the least. I really hope you liked it because I would be damn disappointed in myself if a chapter that long wasn't good enough. I'll see you next time with the beginning of the end. See ya !

Next time : The fight come to the Fairies. It's 15 to Doomsday. Swarming the shade and upgrading the beast.