Journeys of the Dreamer: Nakama United

by UnitedOsprey1991

Family is Stronger Than Blood. What is Man? What is Magic? In Book 2 of the Journeys Series, the Guardians head to the Land of Fiore. But in the world of Magic, its the march of technology that threatens everything. The Guardians must enlist the help of the famous Fairy Tail guild. Can they find the guardians in this world? T. Read Riders of Aura first. Pairings inside.

25. Challengers Approach!

OSPREY….SWOOOSH

UO: And here we go with the big fights! Actor Check!
*Sees studio in a wreck*
UO: I don't even know why I bother.
Natsu: Oh man, someone beat me to it.
UO: *tilts head* This wasn't your doing?
Natsu: No, Ash said something about taking on someone in this chapter.
UO: GOD DAMN IT!
Drew: Disclaimer?
UO: YES

Drew: UnitedOsprey1991 and NorthSouthGorem doesn't own Fairy Tail, Kamen Rider or Pokemon or any other references. No money is exchanged

UO: START THE SHOW

"Speech"
Text
"Thoughts and Flashbacks"
Inner to outer
Dopant/Rider/Super form
Skill/Technique/Magic

Chapter 25: Challengers Approach! Sun Village Under attack!

The group of ten rushed through the woods, all worried about the village itself. As they reached the edge of woods, Drew told everyone to take cover behind a tree.

"Why are you stopping us!?" Natsu growled.

"We go in there without a plan, we're gonna get overwhelmed. Look at the smoke clouds. How many do you see?" Drew asked.

Lucy looked into the sky and although hard to tell, there were three distinct smoke trails. "I see three, one looks like it's in the center of town, one outside, and one looks close to where we came in."

"Then we're gonna need three teams," Drew suggested. "Friedrich, can you hold your own?"

He snorted. "Yes. Easily."

"Alright, you take Flare and get to the center of town," Drew ordered, pointing at the whiter smoke stack. Friedrich nodded as Flare scooted close. "Erza, take your team, head over to where we started." Getting nods from the mages, he pointed to himself. "Ash, Misty and I will head outside of town. Let's move people!"

"Right!" Everyone called out and separated.

With The Guardians

Drew, Ash and Misty raced to the other side of town. The outlying areas were farmlands coated with snow and ice, multiple rows of of vegetables and fruits awaiting the next harvest. They spotted several troopers standing around, laughing, cutting down vegetable stalks and setting rows of fruit trees alight. "Power's not gonna be my friend here, gotta go to DPS," Drew muttered reaching into his back pocket.

"Osceola and Renegade gonna ride again?" Ash asked amused.

"You know it!" Drew answered, pulling out a pair of matching dark red M1911's with garnet and gold micarta grips. Grinning, he pulled both triggers, instantly splitting open the heads of the two closest mooks, catching the others attentions.

Misty, meanwhile, waved her hand over the ground and pulled some of the ice to create a large wave of water. She swung her arms and commanded to crash down on the first wave of advancing troops, sweeping them away. Ash leaped behind her and swung his sword, lightning infused Bullet Seeds firing from its wake. Landing in the middle of the group, his eyes glowed white, he vanished in a blur.

"Quick Attack!"

He reappeared in front of the small group and resheathed his sword with a grin. The soldiers hissed in pain as multiple slashes appeared across their chests, before they then turned to dark dust. Misty meanwhile leaped into the air and fired off multiple Swift stars from her trident. The stars exploded around the group, causing them to yell in agony.

"Easy on the fruit!" Ash called out.

"Trying to, there's way too many!" Misty replied, landing next to her boyfriend.

Off to the side, Drew was having a field day weaving through his group and popping off several shots into his opponents. Tiring of his guns, and being more close range than he realized, he holstered his two guns and brought out Leonid. He took a wide swing and cleared out some room. He grinned and ignited his left arm. "How about we turn up the heat? Lion's Smash!" He slammed his fists into the ground, the impact causing the flames to erupt and spread in multiple directions. Then the flames quickly merged together consuming those he had missed. He was taking great care to keep property damage to a minimum, stopping the fires from reaching the walls.

As he cleared the group, he started to notice this particular group was not putting up much of a fight as previous fights, from the lack of effort in the strikes to the wide misses. Either this group was weaker than they were, which was possible, or someone was deliberately telling them to not fight. He cut through another group and caught up to Ash and Misty.

"You guys doing alright?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, these guys are too easy!" Ash boasted.

"That's what's worrying me," Drew mumbled. Just as he said that, the surviving troopers paused and began to stand at attention.

"Knew it, someone else is commanding them," Drew sighed.

"Question is, who?"

A few moments later, they heard laughter. "Who indeed, Red!" In an instant, all three tensed.

"I know that voice…Paul! Where are you!?" Ash snapped.

The crowd in front of them parted to reveal a very familiar visage, at least to the three Guardians. The man approaching had dark purple hair, tinged red and black. He was dressed in a black and red leather duster with spikes trailing down his arms. His face bore a large scar, splitting his skin under his right eye.

"Been a long time, losers!" Paul cackled.

"Only loser I see is you. What the heck did you do to yourself?" Misty asked disgusted

Paul waved his arm. "A little training, a little injection of Dark energy, now I feel like a General!

"General as a relative term, right now I see you as more a Major," Drew countered.

Paul growled. "I wouldn't be talking! You want to save this town, your gonna go through our little army of ours!

Drew smirked. "You know three on 1 is a little unfair," He turned to Ash and Misty. "Don't let me rain on your reunion." He launched a stream of fire to clear out a group in front of town. "See ya, loser!" he saluted Paul.

"I'll make you eat those words!" Paul snapped. He pulled out his belt out. It was similar in design to Ash and Misty's, only it had the image of a large flame. He held up a dark red card, showing a Charizard, and inserted it into the buckle. As the trail of cards shot out and wrapped around his waist, he raised his hand in front of him and clenched a fist. "Henshin!" he growled.

EVOLVE

Although his belt called out the same phrase as the Aura Riders', it did so in a much darker, ominous tone. A dark red shield formed in front of the young man and drifted back towards him, enveloping him in an aura of dark energy. With a pulse, the deep red force blasted away, revealing a dark, almost burnt orange figure, with black flame designs spreading up and down his torso. His boots were a crimson red with similar black flames around the the heel and and ankles. His gloves were the opposite his boots, being a black with red flames connecting into the arms. His helmet was stylized after a Charizard's head, with two orange horns sticking up in the back, blue black eyes, a red face plate and sharp fangs near where the mouth would be.

"Kamen Rider…Dante," the new Rider hissed, summoning a dark red lance with a split head and a black grip.

Ash and Misty responded by inserting their cards and go into their poses. "Henshin!"

EVOLVE

Even the shields sprang forth and enveloped the two, Dante wasted no time charging them. Both Guardians summoned their weapons and parried the blow sending a small shock wave through the field.

Meanwhile, Drew was racing through town, figuring out where to go. Natsu's team should be fine with what they got. Friedrich, enough said. Great…I'm bored.

As if to answer his prayers, a large hulking figure dropped down in front of him. He towered over Drew, almost nine feet at his full height, with a hulking frame. He had black short cropped hair, black tired looking eyes and a bandanna over his mouth.

"So….you are one of the Riders. It appears that blood bitch was right about them."

"You're associated with Yuzan," observed Drew, grabbing Leonid's hilt.

"No…I am with the Guild Succubus Eye, a guild associated with Tartaros of the Balam Alliance."

"Is that supposed to…mean anything?" asked the boy slowly, reaching behind him to grab his phone.

"They are the premier Dark Guilds in Fiore! We will crush all the light that oppose us. I am Doriate, a demon of the book of Zeref!"

There's that Zeref guy again. What is he, like some sort of Satan figure? More importantly, demons exist? God damn this world is more messed up than ours…and that's saying something. Hopefully I can get some answers. Drew pressed the Taurus button.

STANDBY: TAURUS

"HENSHIN!"

COMPLETE

Zodiac's bulkier form appeared and he pulled out his axe. "When I defeat you, I'm gonna make sure you tell me everything!"

The Demon laughed. "I would like to see you try!" He roared charging at the Rider.

With Friedrich and Flare

Friedrich took a deep breath, coolly eyeing the swarm of troopers that greeted him and his companion. The city square was jam packed with the armored, faceless minions, all with their various axes, knives and short swords drawn.

Amid the sea of dark armor and sleek weapons, from the center of the square rose a large, ornate fountain, though it was coated in a thick layer of ice like everything else. A massive dish-shaped object sat atop it. "That's…where the Sacred Flame burned," murmured Flare, her fingers curling against his sleeve.

He nodded slowly, surveying the massed forces. "Looks like they know that. My guess is, they don't want it relit. Drew didn't manage it last time, but…you said that your magic is empowered by the Sacred Flame, right?"

The redhead nodded, gazing forlornly at the empty brazier. "Yes…the Flame gave its power to me. It shared its warmth, when everyone else overlooked me."

She flinched as Friedrich tugged his hand from her grip, only for him to squeeze her shoulder. "If it gave you its power, then I have an idea. I'll clear the way for you, and you use your magic to call out to the Sacred Flame. If it's you, then it might just respond and reignite."

Flare nodded slowly, blushing as he smiled encouragingly at her. Friedrich then stepped forward and held up his hand, ring flashing. "Oi! Meatshields!"

Instantly the troopers all focused on him, tensing up.

Friedrich grinned, crossing his arms in front of him with his fingers splayed out straight. "Don't get too comfy over there! We've come along to fix the heating!" A wave of gray passed over his fingers. "Now, who's first!?"

Instead of answering, three smaller Troopers charged at the traveller, their weapons raised high in the air.

He flung out his arms, and there was a whistling sound before the three soldiers toppled to the ground, riddled with dozens of tiny blades. A layer of sharp, gleaming metal scales coated Friedrich's forearms, just barely visible under his sleeves, but pointed outwards. "Iron Dragon's Flak Scales!" he barked.

Seeing their companions falling before their eyes, a much larger group charged forward, intent on cutting down the upstart who'd barged into their midst…

Only for them to realize that he was already leaping towards them, arms clasped over his head. "Metal Make: Hammer!" He swung his arms, a massive mallet of black iron materializing out of the air and mimicking his swing. Quite a few of them manage to stop short or leap back, but the ones at the front were less lucky. There was a nasty crunch as several troopers exploded into a shower of mechanical parts.

Seeing their companions wiped out, the next group was more cautious in approaching Friedrich. Instead, they turned their sights on Flare who looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Metal Make: Harpoon Fan!"

Several wickedly barbed spikes and hooks shot out on a set of long, thick chains, spearing through the first few front rows of Troopers. With a shout, Friedrich hoisted them into the air, flinging them away. "Eyes on me, asshats!" He held out one hand, conjuring an orange magic circle. "Let's see. Explosion Magic. And…" He held out the other, summoning a red one marked with a dragon's snarling face, "Fire Dragon Slayer. Let's see what happens when I combine them…"

He crossed his hands over each other, palms facing outward, causing the two magic circles to overlap. The untamed Dragon slayer magic greedily consumed the explosion magic, the latter increasing the intensity of the fire magic

"Well what do you know, I just made a new Dragon Slayer magic." Friedrich closed his eyes and breathed in, his eyes glowing and sparkling orange. "Blasting Dragon's…!"

Sensing that something dangerous was about to come crashing down on them, the troopers slammed on the brakes and scrambled over each other to get out of the way. Friedrich grinned, Flare quickly moving behind him.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAR!"

A wall of pure concussive force SMASHED through the ranks of cyborgs, utterly eviscerating those in the direct line of attack. Those who weren't immediately pulverized by the initial blast were still tossed about like ragdolls, the shockwave shaking the buildings as they rebounded, doing even more damage. The narrow explosion tore through the troopers, forcibly carving open a path through the crowd all the way down the street until it reached the frozen fountain. The thick ice at the center of town shook as the blast struck it, a large chunk at the front cracking and shattering away.

Friedrich reached back and grabbed Flare's hand, a blue circle appearing beneath their feet. "Now go! Command V!"

The redheaded girl gasped as she felt her legs tingle with power. In an instant, as she took a step, she disappeared with a yelp, the sonic boom knocking some troopers down. She raced past the dead and melting troopers. Before she knew it, she was leaping up onto the dark, frosted brazier that held the Eternal Flame. She knelt down, hands touching the ice, while her hair came to life, swirling and twining around the ice in a crimson double helix.

Even as her hair ignited, a blue forcefield rose up around the fountain, sealing her off from the troopers. Friedrich stood at the base of the fountain, his ring glowing as he glared at the army. "You won't touch a hair on her head!"

"Then how about I take a chunk of your flesh!?" roared a loud voice. Friedrich glared up as a large figure landed between the two of them with a thud, crushing some trooper corpses underfoot. As it stood up, the traveler took in its appearance. It was a large cat, judging by its eyes and the shape of its snarling face. The spots, however, told Friedrich that it was a jaguar. He was standing six feet tall, with bulging biceps, powerful legs and long, deadly-sharp claws. Whoever had this was clearly either very strong, or was taking a lot of power from the memory.

"So, this is the third Gaea Memory you had in store?" asked the man, cracking his knuckles, "It's about time. I'm a bit of a completionist, so I've been wanting to go three for three today."

"You're the one that beat my Guild mates!?" The dopant screamed.

"Hmm…No. Only one was my doing, the other was Ash and Misty. I took out that cocky hothead with the Ember memory." For emphasis, he withdrew the Memory in question, clicking the button.

EMBER

"Grrr….You know how much money those costs? We were hoping to steal the treasure in that damn temple to cover it. Probably set us for life!"

"Probably would have, yeah," agreed Friedrich, smirking, "Unfortunately for you, we're badasses, and that temple was actually meant for one of us. Your friend in there was just a MINIBOSS."

"Miniboss?! I'll show you Miniboss! Or my name isn't Jaguar Crush!"

Friedrich shook his head. "Please. Even your friends had better naming sense than that."

"GRRR, FUCK YOU!" The Jaguar roared and charged him.

"Bring it on Pussycat!" Friedrich taunted, multicolored magic circles flaring all around him.

With Team Natsu

All four of the Riders had transformed and were clearing on the soldiers at decent clip. Pleiades had transformed into her Sagittarius Armor, her arrows finding their marks. Seeing Natsu battle several of the goons she turned and poured energy into the bow. Arrow after arrow streaked through the air, piercing both sound barrier and helmets with deadly finality and uncanny speed. The Metal Guardian leaped and spun around troopers and past attacks, letting loose arrows so fast that it was impossible to see her drawing them. As the arrows rained, Draco bisected two of the survivors causing to spark and blow up. He then slammed his axe down, channeling his earth magic into the ground. "Axe Dragon's Earth Crush!" The earth rumbled as a large claw raised out of the earth and crashed into a group of panic soldiers.

Meanwhile, Aquilla had been raising hell with her rifle, firing off shots rapidly and nailing trooper after trooper straight in the forehead. She flung her shield, using her wind magic to send it into one before letting it bounce around in an improved dance of metal and oil.

"These lessons Friedrich taught us are starting to bear fruit. But they aren't going down as fast as I want them too. Perhaps I need to change my armor." She reached down and pulled out a black object, giving it a flick and unfolding it into a black serrated knife.

"Changing Wings! Requip! Black Wing!" She shouted inserting the knife into her bracelet and grinding it through.

BLACK WING! TAKE FLIGHT!

Several spectral swords appeared and struck through the Rider, causing her bronze armor to shatter. Replacing and reforming over her body was a midnight-black armor. Her green eye lenses faded to sky blue, while her helmet darkened and gained a silver eagle beaked tiara. The rest of the armor was black, form-fitting latex, her breasts covered in armor on the top half, legs were encased in black and silver thigh-high boots. Her shoulders were protected by two large shield plates with small metallic crosses. Sprouting from her back were two silvery bat wings, formed of many overlapping, blade-like sheets of metal.

"Kamen Rider Aquilla: Black Wing Mode!" she shouted. She raised her arm and out of a magic circle, a short sword from her Heaven's wing armor appeared in her right hand. Twirling Milo in its spear form, she rushed back in, her armor's power coursing through the spear as well. She whirled and weaved and spun, slashing and stabbing through soldier after soldier.

Lupus fired off multiple shots, his ice raining down on the battle below. He kept an eye on Pleiades as she switched out her armors to her Virgo armor. "Guess we need some more juice. Let's see what Neptune gave me," he said pulling out a ring with a wolf howling into the air. He turned the hand author before slipping the ring onto his left hand.

HOWL! NOW!

A loud piercing howl echoed through the village. While everyone could hear the wolves' cry, Draco, Pleiades and Aquilla began to glow blue, increasing their strength threefold.

"HAH! This power is incredible, stripper!" Draco cheered, slamming his feet into the ground and causing several pillars of stone to erupt upwards all around him, knocking several soldiers into the air.

As they continued to clear the group, a much larger soldier stomped its way through the crowd; a towering, hulking humanoid with ashen grey skin, mechanical arms and legs. Dragging behind him was a large two edged axe. His slow lumbering walk was emphasized by the sparks and the steamed earth emerging from the dredged up earth. He paused and lifted it up. "TITAN! CRUSH MAGES!" The three mages only had a split second to brace themselves before the axe crashed down. The shockwave rocked them, making the earth buckle and launching them into the air, flailing helplessly before landed hard on their backs.

"What the hell!?" Natsu roared scrambling to his feet. One look at the giant and he grinned igniting his fists. "Finally a challenge!"

"Draco!" Aquila called out. "Don't rush in!"

"Tch…Fine! Lupus, keep up the pressure!"

Titan roared, the sound actually damaging their armors and hurting their eardrums. Whatever this…thing was, it was insanely strong, even for them.

With Zodiac

Diorate skidded back from a giant blow. Zodiac didn't let up as he drop kicked into the demon's chest and knocked him to the floor. Leaping back, he began to twirl the axe his hand. "Berserker's Axe!" He let it loose, sending a wheel of flame towards his opponent. The flames scorched the front of the demon's chest before flipping into the air and bringing it back down on top of the demon's head.

"GAHHH!" The demon yelled, the axe cutting into his scalp and causing it to bleed. "You piece of shit!"

"Don't the player, hate the game," Zodiac taunted as he transformed back into Leo form.

The demon's eyebrows narrowed. "You think this is a game. Well then…let me change the rules. Allow me to show you the power of my Curse!" He removed his bandana, revealing a set of razor sharp teeth, before taking a deep breath and letting out a dark purple mist. It spread across the ground, slowly creeping into the air and enveloping Zodiac.

"You think hiding yourself will do you any good?" asked the Rider, raising his sword. Then he noticed something wrong. Leonid, his most trust weapon, one whose weight he'd had six years of getting used to…suddenly felt like lead in his hands. "Leonid?" he asked. Then he glanced down and saw that the ground was getting closer while Diorate seemed to get…bigger? "No…you bastard! What did you do to me!?" he demanded, his voice getting squeakier as he shrank.

Doriate laughed. "Say hello to my Curse, the Law of Retrogression. Simply put, you little shit, you're a kid again. Now I get to crush you. Heh, I wonder how much they'll pay for your head!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Zodiac cried out, pulling out a white cylinder and pulling it out a metal pin. He tossed it at the demon's feet, turned on his heel and ran for it. The cylinder exploded in a dazzling display of light and sound.

The sensory overload made the demon roar out in pain, clutching his head."D-Damn YOU LITTLE SHIT! Fuck the bounty, YOU'RE DEAD!" he shouted, chasing after the shrunken boy.

Friedrich vs Jaguar Crush

Friedrich had to admit, this fight was not starting off so hot.

His gun bucked in his hand, a chain tremendous retorts echoing across the deserted square as he moved to track the Dopant. However, the muscle-bound, warped feline had leaped away with a blur, the frozen street beneath him cracking from the force.

"Okay, so you're fast," muttered the man under his breath, letting the weapon dissolve and reform in his hand. "Command V!"

This time, as the monstrous beast leaped around the area, springboarding off of buildings, Friedrich's shots began to graze him. The Dopant grunted in surprise as sparks burst from his black and gold flesh, even as he streaked between two buildings. Twisting himself, he smashed feet first into a corner and blasted off, unsheathing his claws as he dived for the man himself. "If dodging's no good, then I'll just smash you!"

"Geez, with all of that speed, you'd be smashing more than buildings if it weren't for your hide!"

"Gahahaha, you think so?! This form can regenerate faster than you can hurt me!"

That made Friedrich grimace. "A Regenerator…fuck." He glanced back at Flare, still kneeling at the frozen flame, her hair wrapped around it, before glaring back at the beast and slamming his hands together. "Metal Make!"

"It's useless!" bellowed the Jaguar, swinging wildly.

"Box!"

Just as the beast threw his punch, a massive, dark iron cube faded into existence, slamming shut around the two of them. Flare jumped, looking over her shoulder with wide eyes as a loud *BANG!* echoed from inside, the side bulging slightly. She bit her lip, looking between the box and the flame for a moment, before returning to her duty of reviving the flame.

"Grrr…You think a metal box will stop me!?" sneered Jaguar Crush, glaring into the absolute darkness. An aura of blue briefly lit up the inside of the cube, his only warning before a comparatively small fist cracked across his jaw, making him flinch and stumble. The walls clanged dully as he fell against them, the window-less space suddenly pressing in from all sides.

"As a matter of fact," drawled Friedrich, "I do." Blue and silver layered magic circles flared up. "Command V: Iron Dragon's Lightning Boxing!"

Jaguar grunted in pain as several metallic fists shot out of the dark and smashed against the massive cat. The force of each blow propelled him into the wall, bouncing him off it over and over, jarring his head and leaving him stumbling, snarling with frustration.

A left hook. A powerful straight to the solar plexus. An uppercut that smashed his skull into the low ceiling, leaving him reeling, before another hard straight plowed straight into his nose. Jaguar stumbled and fell to his knees, his breath raspy as his wounds rapidly faded away. "You asshole…you…think you're so tough?!"

"Yeah I do!" roared the man, slugging away at the monster, "I'm tougher than some jackass who's willing to ice over a village for some goddamn treasure!"

*WHAM!*

Friedrich grunted in surprise, immediately bracing his feet as his punch suddenly stopped dead, a vice grip clamping down on his wrist.

"So what? It's not like any of those freaky giants were using it. Once we find it, we'll be set for life."

"The temple's cleared out, and the right person has it," Friedrich retorted, even as he tugged at his trapped arm.

A low, rumbling growl reverberated throughout the pitch black box, and a wave of hot, foul-smelling breath rolled over his face.

"Then your heads will be well worth the compensation!" The Dopant chuckled suddenly. "Well…your friends' heads." His mouth opened wide, fangs longer than the human's fingers stretching open to engulf his skull…

Friedrich exhaled sharply, firing a bolt of flame directly into Jaguar Crush's gaping maw and down his throat. The monster recoiled, howling with pain and releasing his hand to clutch at his face.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" asked the man, taking a step back, "Burns are the worst. I'm kinda glad there weren't all that many pyrokinetics back on Earth Bet." Taking a breath, he took a stance and traced a circle with his hands, his fingers leaving a thin stream of fire. The circle of flames began to swirl the moment its ends connected. "Of course…sometimes you just gotta set something on fire. Command V!" The circle began to spin faster, flames turning blue, and a ball of blue fire welled up in the darkness, lighting up Friedrich's face, his mouth open. "Fire Dragon's Nova Blast!"

And then the Dopant's world was rocked by a brilliant blue wave of raw heat and pain. It roiled around the inside of the iron box like water, incinerating the beast and whipping around Friedrich the roaring flames, the man cracked his knuckles, sparks popping, an orange magic circle flaring up around his wrist. "Blasting Dragon's Bullet Knuckle!"

In the confined space, the retort that blasted out as his fingertips smashed into Jaguar's chest was like a cannon blast. "GHAaagh!" gasped the beast, his head slamming into the back wall.

A second fist drilled into his solar plexus, the impact exploding even further. Distantly, the Dopant felt the metal behind him dent. The barrage continued into an almost indiscernible blur. With each hit, the metal cracked and warped from the heat. Finally, hurling his weight behind one last blow and with a shout, Friedrich let fly his magic without restraint, smashing the monster clean through the wall to tumble out into the street.

"Heh…" chuckled the man, stepping out through the hole, "God damn was that satisfying. But, right now it's time for me to take what I really want."

The scorched dopant coughed up blood and struggled to lift his head. "W-What are you! Y-You're a monster!"

Friedrich shrugged. "Eye of the beholder and all that jazz. Now then," he stalked towards the downed beast, "Where're you keeping your Memory? You can tell me, or I can find out the hard way." He cracked his knuckles, orange magic circles opening around his hands. "That is to say, I test out just how much a Dopant can really take from a non-Rider. My hypothesis, by the way, is that it'll take a while."

The Dopant whimpered as the man approached with a sinister grin.

Dante vs Aura and Triton five minutes prior

SHADOW BALL

Dante put up his hand and swirled it, several dark orbs coalescing in the air above him, orbiting, before he hurled them forward, the projectiles swerving through the air in shadowy streaks. Aura cartwheeled off to the side, a couple of orbs barely breezing past, while Triton spun her trident, not even flinching as several shadow balls bounced off and careened away, before catching the shaft and stabbing out, spearing three more on the tines. With a flick, she tossed them up into the air, spun around and slapped them back towards the approaching Dante. The Dark Rider deflected the shots while scanning another.

X-SCISSOR

The split head of Dante's lance glowed before he leaped at Aura, throwing his weight into a heavy downward stab with a shout. The Guardian raised Raikou and struck back, simultaneously twisting so that the lance, as it was knocked off course, grazed past him.

"I can see you improved, Dante," Aura praised, even as he swung down at his arm.

"Better than you, loser," retorted Dante, dashing away and swinging his own weapon in response

Backstepping easily out of the way, Aura grinned and took his right hand off Raikou. "Perhaps I should show you how I trained." He charged up his arm with electricity, causing it to glow yellow, before transferring the power to his fist and adding aura to the palm.

"Thunder HAMMER!"Before Dante could respond, the Guardian's fist drilled into his stomach, causing him to wheeze in pain as he flew back by the force of the blow. Even when he found purchase and planted his feet, he still skidded back a foot or so.

"Combining attacks, bet you never thought of that before," Aura commented. "Or perhaps you did but didn't think it was worth your time." He glanced upward. "Oh yeah, your not the biggest fan of that... you can say we learned these from a good friend and based on something you thought was stupid."

"Those dumb Coordinators? Grr...Pokemon are made for fighting now showing off."

"Say what you will, but you can't deny the results. Also...your forgetting someone."

"SNOWPIERCER!" From behind Dante, Triton had combined Aurora Beam with Swift, transforming them into a barrage of icicles that caught the Dark Rider of guard as they struck his back.

Dante stumbled, grunting as several sharp points pierced the outer armor partially with bursts of sparks, before he dashed away, trying to keep his balance as the razor-like spikes caught at his legs. Damn it! They really have gotten stronger. I need to regroup.

Before the Guardians could continued the onslaught, a large explosion rocked the ground. They turned to see a large mushroom rising from the center of town.

"What the heck was that?" Aura asked.

"Looks like that might be in the center of town. Isn't that where Friedrich was?" Triton asked in curiosity.

Seeing that the two Guardians were distracted, Dante struck the ground, black smoke flowing from the bottom of the handle.. The two Riders turned away to avoid inhaling it. This allowed Dante to stagger away and towards where the mushroom cloud was.

"Damn him. Triton let's go!" Aura shouted running after him as the smoke cleared, the Water Guardian right behind him.

Meanwhile

Friedrich stood over Jaguar Crush, breathing hard. "Okay...Nothing? Man, you must've really jammed that thing in there!" It moaned in pain as its wounds steamed and slowly closed. "Well, I broke your ribs and snapped your arms. Where the heck is your Memory?"

The monster snarled, lashing out only for a blast of air to smash its clawed hand back into the ground. "Hm…keeping that jaw awful tight," noted the man, smirking, "If it were me, I'd have tried to bite me when you got close. You're a big cat after all." Pulling out his knife, he grabbed the jaw and jammed the blade into his mouth. "Blasting Dragon's Shell Buster."

There was a bang and a crack as an explosion blasted from the blade, forcing the Jaguar's jaws open and making him gurgle out a scream as it dislocated. "Hey, I don't like this any more than you do, bub. But you just tried to kill me and froze an entire village of people solid. You're getting off light." Reaching in, Friedrich seized the monster's tongue, and with a sizzle of Explosion Magic, detonated it, disintegrating it into sparks, and pulled back, a new Gaea Memory clenched in his fist. He clicked the button - JAGUAR - and watched as the Dopant flashed, morphing back into Drake, the treasure hunter flinching as he regained his human form, his jaw and limbs repaired. He began to sit up, but Friedrich's knife leapt back into his hand, morphing into a pistol. "Don't."

The treasure hunter froze, staring up at him with wide eyes, and remained where he was. Snorting, Friedrich turned away and made for the fountain, which was still shrouded in its large force field bubble. "How's it going, Flare?" he called up to the redhead.

Flare moved to answer, but out of the corner of her eye she saw something speeding towards the man. "Look ou-!"

Friedrich's breath whooshed out his lungs as something large and heavy smashed into him from the side, lifting him off his feet. The force of the blow sent him flying across the square, until he crashed into a wall with a cry of pain, bricks giving way and collapsing on top of him.

"Friedrich!" Flare screamed, inadvertently standing up.

Dante's armor crackled as the after effects of the attack kicked in. "Heh...good luck getting up from that. Giga Impact is a full powered strike on par with Hyper Beam. Unfortunately, it has the same drawback." He looked up to see Flare looking at him in terror. "I'll deal with you in a bit." Striding over to the downed fighter, he smirked as the man struggled upright. "This is the difference, between a real Rider and one of those knock offs that call themselves Guardians."

"Joke's on you, I'm not even that!" groaned Friedrich. Sharp, shooting pains splintered along his left arm and side. "Damn it, I'm left handed! Do you know how annoying it is to do something with your non-dominant hand?" Gritting his teeth, he picked his way through the rubble, glaring at Dante. "So, you're another one of those dark Riders, I'm guessing. What, did Yuzan not want a repeat of last time?"

"That bitch!? She's still recovering from the beatdown she got from some bastard that could beat her blood bending. Based on her description, I assumed you would be tougher."

Friedrich winced as his weapon leaped back into his hand. "Yeah, don't I wish." Speaking of, Parasite, you've been pretty quiet lately.

Hookwolf.

Oooh, good one! Don't mind if I do! He grinned as metal began to move from within his body, countless interlocking blades sliding out of his skin, flesh folding away as his injured arm transformed.

"Wha-?!" Before Dante could do more than flinch in surprise, Friedrich leaped across the space between them and swung, claw-like hooks raking across his armor and helmet with a grinding and sparks.

Dante yelled in pain as Friedrich whirled around, more curved blades and saws springing from his clothing as he threw himself into the Rider, digging in deep. As more sparks flew, Dante silently cursed his own hubris for using Giga Impact on someone appeared weak. One last slash finally knocked him to the ground,

"That was with my bad arm, AND after I kicked your Dopant's ass," Friedrich breathed.

Dante staggered to his feet, snarling. "Consider yourself lucky that I was still recovering from that last attack. But now…" The armor finally stopped sparkling. "Your luck's run out.

However, before he could move, the other man threw out his arm, launching his clawed hand towards the Rider on a length of chain. The claws snapped shut around him, making him curse, before Friedrich hauled his arm back, dragging the Rider towards him, arms pinned, while his chest opened up to reveal yet another set of wicked blades, poised like pincers. "Just lemme get a few more in!" he barked, drawing back his free fist, "Iron Dragon's…!"

IRON DEFENSE

"SNAPPING CLAW!"

The two attacks struck the armored young man head on, a brutal iron punch snapping his head back, even as the pincers slammed shut around him, mashing him up against a series of saw blades. The pincers grinded against the glowing armor as if it were cutting through iron itself. Eventually the blades stopped, their edges chipped from their futile cutting.

"Heh, good luck getting through my Iron Defense. I will say, you're putting up a much better fight. But…!" The air about him began to ripple, heat rolling off him in waves. While Friedrich himself remained unaffected due to his copied Dragon Slayer magic, the blades emerging from his body began to glow, the steel softening against the intense temperature. With a flex, Dante snapped the blades and lashed out with a palm strike, knocking Friedrich back with a grunt. Then he reared back and sent Aura energy into his arm, forming a large gavel over his fist. "HAMMER ARM!"

Friedrich wheezed in shocked pain as a heavy, brutal punch crashed into his chest cavity, doubling him over even as he was lifted up, his ribs cracking further. As Dante whirled around, heaving the man, he hurled him away, sending him tumbling limply through the air. He landed and rolled further along before stopping in front of Flare, coughing up blood.

"Friedrich!" she screamed, rushing down the steps to comfort him.

The man groaned, even as the hooks and blades retracted into his broken arm. "I didn't realize a Rider was this strong...damn it, I really underestimated the others." His eyes clouded over in pain. "Fuck…even I can't get up like this." Parasite! Aegis!

…

Useless-ass bug!

"You see how much power a Rider of my a caliber can bring? What can you hope to do?"

Friedrich tched. "You...gah...think you're so tough?" Internally, however, his mind raced about a mile a minute, trying to come up with something, anything that could get him out of this, but the pain in his ribs was such that he could barely even lift his head. …I should apologize to Drew for him not bringing his armor out in our training session. If...this Rider could do this much damage, then I seriously caught Yuzan off guard when we faced her.

Dante laughed. "Look at you. I can't believe you defeated that blood bitch and put her in the infirmary. All I see, is a wannabe." He unhooked his lance from his back and swung it ominously. "Now I believe Inferno will finish you off. Any last words?"

Really? Dante's Inferno? thought Friedrich with a deadpan. "Yeah…how pretentious can you get?"

That stopped the Rider's cackling. "...Die already," he snapped, thrusting forward. The lance blurred through the air. and Friedrich cursed, shakily throwing out a hand in a half-hearted attempt to block, only for the weapon to suddenly stop dead.

"What the…" Dante muttered. He shook his hand, but for some reason, his lance just wouldn't move properly. Thick red strands of hair wrapped around the conical weapon, restraining it and struggling to pull it from his grip. Following its trail with his eyes, the Rider looked over his shoulder to see Flare standing behind him, her feet planted, eyes wild.

"Don't…don't you dare hurt him!" she screamed.

Before Dante could react, he was pulled upward, cursing as he almost lost his grip on his weapon. Throwing her head back, Flare lifted him him high up into the air, spun him around and tossed him away from the altar, crashing to the ground with a loud crash.

Friedrich's eyebrows rose, a pained but impressed huff leaving his lips, as Flare's magic whipped about above her head, her entire body glowing a bright red.

Dante groaned as he sat back up. "First those Guardians, then this punk and now an under-leveled bitch. This was not how the fight was supposed to go!"

"Go figure," grumbled the other man, even as Flare ran over to him, falling to her knees at his side, "Hey Flare. That was pretty good."

Flare smiled and blushed at the praise. "Thank you. But I don't know if I can beat him. Not without some serious help." She looked around nervously for an edge. She looked back at the empty cauldron in worry, knowing that if she failed, the flame would be gone. Then her eyes widened. "Maybe...Friedrich, you said that you can absorb and copy anything you touch right?"

He grimaced. "Only copy. I can do magic pretty easily, but I'm too fucked up to do anything with it right now." Turning his head, he frowned as Dante climbed to his feet, looking relatively unscathed. "You know, I envy the Dragon Slayers. They could eat their element and get a power boost. Shame I can't eat explosions, my weapon's not for eating, and we don't have…any flames…"

Wordlessly, Flare held out her cupped hands, a lock of hair spiraling between them. She closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath, and a small flame ignited in the air above her hands "Th-then…I'll give you this. This should do for a Flame, right?"

Friedrich stilled, his eyes fixing on the scarlet ball of flame. "Flare...I can't ask you for that. It's yours."

"I know...that's why I'm doing it. If this village falls, you should be able to protect the Eternal Flame. You couldn't do worse than me. I called out so much, while you protected me, but I just…it wouldn't come out!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Even now, I can't do anything to save my village! It…it has to be you! So please, let me help you win!"

Slowly, painfully, he reached up with his good hand to pat her on the head. "C'mon…don't put yourself down like that. If you cry, it's gonna make me want to too." Then his hand drifted lower, cupping the Eternal Flame and lifting it gently from her hands. "But if you're going to believe in me this much…take my ring."

Flare blinked. "What?"

"My ring." He wiggled the finger that had it. "Take it, and use its magic to guard us. This might not be quick."

She glanced down and hesitantly slipped the ring off, blushing slightly as she put it on. "What do I do?"

"Use your will, just...buy me sometime," Friedrich grunted. He raised the crimson flame to his mouth and tipped his hand, gently breathing it in.

"You think you're all that, bitch!?" Dante roared, finally stumbling back into view, his glare apparent even behind his mask. Then he noticed the magic in her hand. "You...you still have the Eternal Flame in you. If I kill you, this town will be destroyed."

"I-I'd like to see you try!" Flare challenged. She clambered to her feet, legs trembling, but glaring firmly. The ring on her finger flashed brightly, a force field surrounding her body. Her hair responded in kind looking ready to tear the Rider in front of her apart.

Meanwhile, Friedrich finished breathing in the gift Flare had given him. He coughed as the flames flew down his throat, uncomfortable without actually hurting his throat or lungs.

Suddenly, he was gone from the frozen city, standing in a dark, mostly barren landscape. A dark, dull crystalline substance spread out as far as the eye could see, spires and towers rising from its surface here and there. Above him burned a sun that failed to hide the night sky around it, illuminated by countless other stars. "It's been a while, you all," he greeted idly.

[Agreement.]

A pulse of wordless meanings and impressions flashed into his head from the sun, the manifestation of his magical power.

He snorted, even as he reached down to rub the five-eyed patch of shadows latched onto his side; the Parasite.

"Well now…who are you?" rumbled a new voice.

Friedrich turned around and tilted his head all the way back. In front of him was a large dragon, which towered over him. Its whole form was wreathed in flames, a dark, skeletal outline just visible underneath as it leered down at him. "Um...I guess you're the spirit of the Eternal Flame I took?"

"That's young one, I am Atlas Flame the guardian. I gave a portion of my flames to the giants and to protect them. I ask you again...who are you?"

"You can say I'm a traveler," he replied, shrugging, "The name's Friedrich Holmgardt. Our guild, Fairy Tail, is trying to save your village. I…have ability to copy and enhance magic. A girl who was blessed with your Flame gave it to me, so that I might try and defeat the person who's trying to destroy everything."

"So it seems...I felt something wrong with my flames. If you will let me, I wanna take a look at your memories."

Friedrich shrugged, gesturing at the hard, flat ground. The dark, opaque surface suddenly cleared, images of his memories shining through. "Go ahead."

Atlas Flame gazed into the polished surface carefully. While he wanted to look at what led to him getting the Eternal Flame, he was curious about what else the young man had in store, as this was the first mortal he'd talked to several hundred years. Thus, he decided to go further into the man's memories. What he saw surprised him; he saw an unassuming young boy, growing up in a world quite unlike this one. Then that boy was flung across the multiverse, into the body of a mysterious man, in a world even more fraught with corruption than the world of Atlas's own era. Monsters that defied belief, both in form but also the actions of other humans…

While he gazed beneath the ground, Friedrich glanced around himself idly, only to give a double-take. Sprouting from the hard crystal was a large, leafy tree, with a multitude of fruit hanging from its boughs. "Wait, what? When the hell did this get here? What is this?"

The sun flickered and thrummed, transmitting new information. Apparently, from the moment Friedrich had crossed over from Earth Bet into this world, a new power had taken root in his already crowded soul, represented by that tree.

[Evolution.]

"And here I thought having seven powers was cheating in the extreme," laughed the man, walking towards the tree.

As he approached, a light shone from one of the branches, swelling larger and weighing it down. He couldn't quite identify it, but something told him that it was a fruit. Flames rolled up its surface, the same color as Atlas Flame, hinting as to its purpose.

[Destination.]

"Different pathways, huh?" asked Friedrich, looking around at all the differently-colored fruits hanging above him, "Oh, I can just tell this'll be fun."

Reaching up, he plucked the fruit from its branch, the flames licking harmlessly around his fingers.

"Wait," said Atlas, looking up from the images in the ground, "Tell me, Friedrich Holmgardt…why do you seek so much power to begin with?"

He regarded the blazing dragon with a sidelong look. "...I wouldn't say it's some noble, just reason. But, for as long as I can remember, I've always thought that being able to do extraordinary things is…well, just the coolest thing ever. And even besides that, I'm the kinda guy that likes to seize every opportunity I can to get what I want." He shrugged. "I guess you wouldn't want to hear that from the guy who's inherited your Flame."

The dragon laughed. "GYAHAHAHA! You remind me of Igneel, the old Dragon king! So, you just want power for power's sake. What about the girl you're protecting?"

"Well, just lemme eat this fruit and I'll go save her," snarked the man.

"Fair enough."

He bit down.

Outside the mindscape

Flare flinched as another attack slammed into her shield, gritting her teeth. She had to hand to it Friedrich, this ring was extremely versatile haven taken several blows.

"Why won't you go down!?" Dante roared, "FLASH CANNON!" Out of the tip of Inferno, a large silver grey ball expanded and fired. The ball exploded in front of Flare and while the shield took the blow, the force shoved her back, sending her skidding across the ground. She panted heavily, sweat dripping from her face.

"Heh, I knew you couldn't last forever. I'll end you, and then your boy-toy. EXTREMESPEED!"

Flare braced herself, even as the Rider streaked towards her. Her shield shattered like glass as his lance smashed through it, sending her flying back towards the unresponsive Friedrich with a scream. Dante twirled his lance, his Aura flaring wildly in anger, not helped by the defiant look of the girl in front of her. "You really are pissing me off. I was gonna just kill you, but now, I'm gonna make sure you've got some lovely scars before I do."

THUNDER WAVE

Just as Flare moved to retreat, quickly conjuring another barrier, she screamed as Dante fired a pulse of electricity at her, which passed straight through her shield and knocked her to the ground, spasming uncontrollably. "There, now you can't escape." He strolled forward relaxedly, taking his time as she struggled, wheezing on the ground. "That's a real nice look for you. Now where to start…"

Before he could attack, his body stopped dead, limbs locked in place no matter how hard he tried to move. "Wh...at…?"

"J-j-just made it…!" mumbled Flare through numb lips, smiling shakily at the enemy. "F…Friedrich told me that…my magic is strong! It took a while to get you without your noticing, but I did it!"

Dante grunted, struggling to take a step forward. As he snarled under his helmet, glaring at the young girl, something red glimmered across his visor, giving him pause. "Threads?"

"C…Crimson Hair…Spider Snare!" Flare rose to her feet, pointing at him triumphantly. "Look around you! I-I've got my hair strung up all over the place, a-and anchored to the buildings!"

Dante growled and tried to free himself, only entangling himself further. Flare giggled, the trembling in her body lessening as the stress of the battle ebbed away. "Oh, that's cute…you know, you're in the same spot I was in." An unnaturally wide grin spread across her young face, her red eyes widening even further, and the Rider found a small chill running up his spine. "Heh…eheheheheh…I wonder if Mr. Friedrich would find it funny if I turned the tables on you?"

"You think so, bitch!? You forgot to disarm me!" He tilted his lance to point directly at her, making her flinch and charged up his Aura, a ball of fire gathering between the split halves of the tip. "Start wondering how he'll like your charred corpse instead! FIRE BLAST!"

Flare froze, her giddiness dissolving into raw terror. Should she make another shield? But that would release Dante from her trap! But she'd would be safe from the attack. The more she agonized, the bigger the blast became.

Behind her, Friedrich suddenly gasped, inhaling deeply.

As the Rider released his attack, blasting forth a massive ball of flames, the attack suddenly destabilized and veered off course, barely missing the young redhead and streaking into Friedrich's mouth, whereupon it vanished.

A moment passed, before he cracked open an eye, blinking blearily at the sky and pressing a hand to his mouth. "...The hell'd I just eat…?" he muttered blearily, "Tasted like spicy cheetos."

"What," deadpanned Dante.

"Never mind." Slowly, the man dragged himself up into a sitting position, raising his formerly broken left arm and flexing it experimentally. "Well, would you look at that." He stood up, groaning and stretching. "Good job holding down the fort, Flare."

The young girl only gave a strangled, "Ah…"

"What the hell!? How could you just suck up my Fire Blast?"

Friedrich guffawed. "Well, someone didn't do their homework before coming here! See, I've got a little something called Dragon Slayer magic. Lets me eat any element that I work with, as well as change my body to produce it at will."

"Wait...there are people that actually eat other elements?" Dante asked in surprise.

Friedrich deadpanned. "I know of at least seven and, well, I can say I'm number eight. But even then, I'm kinda special. Iron Dragon Slayer, Blasting Dragon Slayer, and Fire…no…" He smirked, rolling his neck, "I've reached a new level with that, at least." The air around him rippled, vapor rising from the icy ground. "Dragonforce…"

Flare flinched as the man suddenly erupted into flames, coat and all, fire completely obscuring his face and hands.

"BLAZING DRAGON!"

A shockwave of heat rolled off of him, washing over a large part of the melted all the ice around him, revealing flattened earth and stone in a large circle around him. Steam billowed up around the three of them, obscuring Dante's vision. He cursed, sweeping his lance to try and clear the blinding steam.

The sound of pounding footsteps made him tense up, readying Inferno to stab whoever came close. Even so, when the flaming Friedrich came leaping out of the cloud from above, he froze in surprise.

Friedrich's coat billowed around him, blue flames making it look the devil had possessed him, and with a roar, threw a punch down at him with all of his weight and speed behind it.

It smashed into the Rider's shoulder, the armor sparking and cracking as the impact itself exploded with yet more flames, making him cry out from the pain of the heat. Even as the man landed, he flowed into a low crouch, spinning and shifting his weight to swing a powerful kick into Dante's side. Once, twice, three times he swirled, banners of flame whirling around him as he spun around, further obscuring the Rider's vision and leaving him vulnerable to each subsequent attack. His chestplate dented severely, making him gasp shortly as it seared hotly against him, his undersuit only mostly protecting him from the burn. With one more spin, he launched a kick into the Riders chin, lifting him off his feet and sending him rocketing upwards. Dante screamed in pain as he flew into the air before gravity reasserted its hold on him and began plummeting back to earth.

Friedrich smirked as he summoned a rapier. "Now then…" He swung, a wave of blackness tinting the steel darkly as it wooshed through the air, before raising it and running it perpendicularly over his forearm. As the darkened blade passed through the flames, it began to glow, before igniting itself, burning a vivid green. "Blazing Dragon's…" As Dante flailed about as he fell, Friedrich pulled back, rapier level with the side of his head and poised over his forearm "Heavy…!" At the last second, the Rider righted himself, aiming his lance down at the burning man. "STINGER!"

"DIE!" howled Dante, charging up a Flash Cannon in his lance and firing. However, Friedrich stamped his foot and thrust up, piercing through the flash and continuing on. With a deft flick, the deceptively slender blade knocked the lance aside, drew back his arm again and launched yet another spearing stab. The blazing blade traced an arrow of light through the air towards Dante's visor. The Rider's heart pounded as he screamed, helpless to do anything but watch as the tip drew closer and closer to his eye…

Only for a twitch to send it veering off course, followed by his shout of fear turning to agony as a white-hot line of pain ripped from his jaw down his chest, ripping through his armor.

The rapier flared as it struck true, firing a thin, but brilliant bolt of plasma into the air, before shattering with a crack. It was this sight that greeted Aura and Triton as they watched Dante skewered before crashing into the ground. What ice remained was instantly vaporized, the resulting steam blinding them momentarily. Covering their eyes, they could only wait for the the steam to clear to see the results. When it did a few moments later, they saw Friedrich slowly walking towards them, Dante's smoking body lying prone behind him.

"Wow…" Aura said in amazement.

"That...is brutal," Triton agreed.

"Glad you two approve, now I'm just gonna scream cause the adrenaline is wearing off in a minute."

"Friedrich...what the heck is all of this?" Aura asked, indicating the man's flaming appearance.

"Oh, this...just a little something I picked up thanks to Flare," he replied, letting the fire die down, "By the way, I want to apologize."

"For what? Destroying the town?" Triton quipped.

"No," Friedrich deadpanned. "Your Rider armors are way tougher than I realized. Nearly lost my arm to this guy 'cause he blindsided me." Before he could continue, a low grunt caught his attention. "You've gotta be shitting me, he's still not down!?" Indeed, Dante was slowly beginning to stand up, his armor torn away, his helmet was missing its left half and part of his chest exposed to the air. Aura and Triton quickly summoned their weapons and pointed at Dante. Before they could attack, a much brighter light appeared off to their left.

"What else could go wrong with you losers?" Dante growled before coughing up some blood.

Aura looked on as the light faded. "I wonder if Zodiac's doing okay?"

Rewind 15 minutes

Diorate snarled as he whipped his arms around. "Where are you you little fucker!?" He swiped at another building, cracking the ground and walls as he searched for the shrunken boy.

In an alleyway, Zodiac watched him tear up the town. He had changed forms while on the run; gone were the dark red colors of Leo, replaced by a shiny bronze color, with stronger armor on his left shoulder and right leg, none at all on the opposite. Affixed to his bare shoulder was a round, metallic plate, engraved with various designs and bearing a glowing blue orb, mirrored by a larger plate on his other, more heavily-armored shoulder. A larger, red orb hovered over the bigger plate. This was Zodiac Libra form.

During his training on Earth and in Fiore, his training had yielded two different results. First because of his friends skills in flying or mobility, he had moved away from the supportive aspect of this form. As a result, he tried to focus on what else he could attack with which thanks to his insatiable curiosity, resulted in the second finding, electromagnetism, its universal brother. Further training had presented him with the orbs orbiting around him, which were the armor's weapons. Under normal conditions, if he used one side enough, he could charge the other before being forced to switch. However, it also allowed him to create constructs of his other weapons and create fire based spells, making it one of two forms that were magic based,

Well, never thought I'd have to use my brain today! he thought, glancing over his shoulder. He was greeted by the sight of a second Zodiac, clad in a different set of armor. The clone wore a faded topaz and black armor, along with a specialized glove. On his wrist was a long strap that extended to his finger, attached to which was a longbow, about half of his height. While not as powerful as Gabby's, the bow could still do serious damage; the strap had cutouts for his thumb and fingers to provide extra grip. The corresponding shoulder was covered in large, yellow sleeve that cut across his chest, with a large spaulder on top with a large arrow pointing behind him. The clone was a result of Zodiac Gemini Form; with the Twins constellation, he could create a copy of himself, albeit with slightly lesser strength. Further research revealed that the clone could operate independently, even using an alternate form such as this one. Thus, while he was currently in Libra, his clone was in Zodiac's long-range form, Sagittarius.

"Alright try to distract him from up top. Get his attention!" The clone nodded and climbed the pipes to get onto the roof. A few minutes of climbing later, the clone was overlooking the carnage that Diorate was causing. He held up his bow before pulling back the string.

How do Gabby and those archers in the Olympics make it look so easy? This isn't master's best form, especially with us shrunk like this, thought the clone, grimacing as he charged up a fire arrow. "Eagle Shot!" He fired off the bolt, with it transforming into a blazing eagle as it streaked through the air. Diorate heard the cry and looked up sharply, before the eagle sliced his chest and leaving burning flesh in its wake. causing him severe pain.

"DAMN YOU LITTLE SHIT!" He roared. He looked up to see Zodiac running across the rooftops and flung out his arm. "DARK MOON SHOT!" An orb of purple magic radiated from his hand and shot towards the roofs.

Despite the shot size, C-Zodiac dodged the blast by flipping over it, pulling back the string. "Heh, how about some Piercing Rain!" Releasing the bowstring, he fired off several fiery arrows, which streaked through the air and tore through the demon's shoulders, inflicting more damage and causing internal burns.

"GET DOWN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT! CHAINS OF HADES!" Two black chains shot out from underneath the skin of his wrists towards the clone. Before the clone could escape, the metal chains wrapped around his legs and pulled him to the ground. "Got you, bastard!"

Zodiac grunted as he tried to break free the chains, which considering his current size was almost impossible. "You think you can destroy me?"

"Not only can but did, punk!" He shouted tightening the chains. Despite his lungs being constricted, Zodiac tried to laugh.

"Ever heard of clone magic?" 'Zodiac' spoke. To the demon's shock, the Rider vanished into magical energy, the excessive energy racing through the chains and shocking him.

"What the-?!" he screamed looking around in a panic.

"UP HERE!" Zodiac screamed from behind the demon, glowing red axe in his hands as he flipped through the air. "CULLING BLADE!"

Diorate roared in pain as the axe dug through his spine, creating massive burns in its wake despite not penetrating. Zodiac flipped over him and spun around swiping at his at his chest creating a large gash that caused the demon's blood to spill out.

"GAHHHH!" He yelled in pain, holding his chest. "What the hell was that?"

"Like it? This is the power of my Libra armor and what you experienced before was my Gemini armor mixed with Sagittarius. Gemini lets me copy myself and have it operate independently. Sagittarius is my archer form, while not a crack shot like another of our friends, I can hold my own with it. Libra is the power of balance. Basically, I have two forces that oppose each other on either side. As I use one side, I can charge up the other, increasing its power for later."

"How...do you have so much power?"

"When you're fighting a war, you can't be stagnant in your evolution," Zodiac squeaked, "And even if I'm a kid…I've been training since I was 8 years old, only recently have I begun to adapt. I can tell you right now...you're not surviving today to do the same."

"You kill me? HAH! What a load of tripe! I'll kill you here and now!"

"Then why give yourself a handicap...couldn't be beat me at my strongest so you turned me into my precious adorable self?" Zodiac mocked.

"Shut up!" Diorate growled.

"I mean, I heard of injuring your opponent, but to turn him into a kid, geez…you must need every advantage you've got."

"Shut UP!"

"You know...now that I think about, I can see this shrinking as a good thing-OOOMPH!" Diorate roared in madness as he rushed forward and punched the Rider into a nearby wall, cracking it. In the process, Leonid was sent sailing off to the side.

Zodiac groaned as his armor collapsed revealing his small form. "Great...Friedrich's gonna kill me for talking like that and not finishing him off. Grrk!" Any other grumblings were cut off as Diorate grabbed his throat and lifted him up.

"You'll be dead before your friends find you," the demon snarled opening his mouth wide, showing his razor sharp teeth. Drew gasped and struggled in his grip. As he flailed, his hand hit one of his M1911's. Thinking quickly, he grabbed it, pressed it against the demon's throat and pulled the trigger.

*BANG*

"GAHHH!" screamed Diorate screamed, tossing Drew away and grabbed the would. The deaged warrior bounced and rolled closer to Leonid. He took a deep breath, "Ow ow ow," he groaned, pain flaring in his legs. "Okay...now I remember when I was this age, my muscles didn't like this either." He looked at the bleeding demon. "What's it gonna take to take this guy down," he grumbled. Glancing behind him, he saw Leonid several feet behind him. Knowing that his legs wouldn't respond, he dragged himself towards his sword, hoping that it might provide him some protection.

Diorate's wound slowly closed over, the bullet falling out of his jaw as it crunched back into place. He snarled as he turned around to see Drew crawling towards his sword. "Like Hell I'm gonna let you get your weapon back!" he yelled, charging after the downed rider.

Almost there, God if you're out there, give me strength! Drew pleaded as he stretched out his hand to the hilt.

"DIE!" The demon roared rearing back his fist. Above him, something in the sky raced towards him at supersonic speeds.

*CRASH*

The impact through him back and onto his butt. "What the…"

Drew who also felt the impact turned his whole body around to see what happened and gasped in surprise at sight. It was the sheath of an extremely wide sword but had no hilt.

The demon recovered quickly and grinned while sauntering over to it. "A sheathe? All that light show for a sword sheath? And no sword either. You must be suicidal." He stepped over it and reached down to throw it away. "Here I was worried….FUCCKKKKKKK!" As he grabbed hold of the sheathe, an intense heat emanated from the leather sheath and burned his hands. He may have only held it for two seconds, but to him it felt like he was holding the sun. He quickly tossed it towards Drew, with it landing in front of his face. As he saw it, a memory resurfaced in his mind, from his training with Tsuki.

Flashback three years ago, (Drew Age 11)

Tsuki watched as Drew swung Leonid at a dummy, hacking through the fake human. The young boy was panting in exertion, having been at this for two hours now. As Drew resheathed Leonid, Tsuki approached with a smile. "You're doing great, you and Leonid are completely in sync with each other."

"Four years together, I better be in sync, other wise my shoulder would be torn off," he breathed.

Tsuki hummed. "Perhaps you will be strong enough for its next stage soon."

"Next stage? I thought I got one weapon," Drew asked confused.

Instead of answering, she raised her hand. In a flash of light, a long leather sheath appeared in her hands. "What I have here is part of your future inheritance. Much like Leonid, it's semi-sentient, so you need to be in balance with each other."

"How do I unlock it?" asked Drew

"When the sword sees you as ready and you've made the Zodiac armor your own. Once you have proven that, you will be recognized as the next heir. Only you can give permission to hold the sheathe.

"Aren't I already the next heir? Leonid's the proof right?"

"No...Leonid is designed to test the wielder if he's worthy of the burden of becoming Kamen Rider Zodiac. Regulus chooses when he's ready to assume the full power of the Fire Guardian. Until then, Leonid will continue to serve you well."

End Flashback

Drew used Leonid to hoist himself up. "Regulus...it's time, isn't it? How do I unlock you?" A glance down at his blade gave him the answer. "I see...Leonid is the prince. To become the heir, it needs to grow. It needs to...evolve." He walked over tenderly and raised Leonid to his face. "If you're ready, let's do this." He raised it above his head, which thanks to his current size nearly toppled him. With a loud cry he planted Leonid in the sheathe.

*BOOOMM*

A blinding light erupted from the point where Drew planted his sword. The light blinded Diorate, making him grab his eyes in pain. After a few moments of blindness, he cracked open his eyes to see his opponent. The first thing he noticed was his opponent had dispelled his Retrogression magic and was back to his original height. The second thing he noticed was he back in his Kamen Rider form, though he now had a longer cape and a more regal appearance. The final thing he noticed was that the sword he'd had was missing, replaced with a much larger sheathe on his back.

Zodiac reached back and grabbed the hilt, reaching into a special slot in the side of the pommel. Like unlocking a chest, the pommel suddenly unfolded, hooking onto the scabbard like a latch. Pulling it out slowly for dramatics, a much longer sword than Leonid slid out, almost as tall as Zodiac himself, enough so that when he finally swung it out, it had to slide through a slot in the side of the sheath. "The True Sword of the Fire Guardian," Zodiac intoned as he swung the large blade single handedly. "Regulus...Nimbea!" He brought down in front of him, a shockwave cracking the ice beneath him. The blade had drastically changed, the steel darkening to a shining pitch black. Unknown to either side, a shadow appeared behind the Rider as he set his stance, almost as if guiding the sword.

Now full of his usual confidence, Zodiac grinned. "Round 2, bastard, let's rock!" He yelled charging forward.

Back in Town

Titan roared as Aura and Draco latched onto his arms and tried to propel him to the ground, only for the giant to reach around, grabbed and tossed them aside like rag dolls, not even feeling their weight. Multiple gunshots impacted his shoulder, which did catch his attention, however. He turned and glared at Aquilla and Lupus, who were both firing their respective rifles at him. He stampeded towards the two his axe swinging above his head. Aquilla with her wings was able to get out of the way, however Lupus couldn't. Quickly transforming Tundra Claw back into his polearm, he barely caught the axe on the hilt, throwing up the dirt around them, grunting as he struggled against oversized blade. He could feel his heels digging into the frozen ground, slowly being driven back, but nonetheless he resisted.

The stalemate persisted, despite the serious size disparity, as the others recovered. Triton and Aura took in the situation, glanced at each other worriedly and, as one, quickly scanned in their evolution cards.

AMA

ADEPT

Their glowing died down, Aura quickly slotted in his cards and activated them.

CHARIZARD

SNORLAX

Aura quickly bulked up and unfolded a large pair of wings, already charging towards the giant. Meanwhile, Triton had activated Aqua Jet and followed right behind. They struck the giant in in side, actually dealing some damage and forced him back, though it still stood tall.

"Hehehe, Titan here is not gonna fall to anything you guys have! Our mad scientist has designed this giant to fight against anything you currently have!" Dante taunted, despite the pain in his chest. "...And you didn't bother making sure that it wouldn't just break down?" asked Friedrich skeptically.

"Of course. Though I wish we could have deployed it sooner. Look at how they're being tossed around."

The older man gave the wounded Rider an unimpressed look. Dante was slumped against a lamp-post, clutching at his burned, slashed-open side. "Hate to break it to you, but Grey just got himself a new power up. Speaking of…" He put a hand to the side of his mouth and called out, "OI! LUPUS! IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE, STEP IT UP!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?"

"OH MY GOD! WHAT DID YOU JUST GET LIKE AN HOUR AGO!?"

Still struggling to hold back the massive axe, Lupus hung his head and groaned. "I feel like Natsu…!"

"OI!" Draco growled.

Ignoring his Guardian, the wolf-themed Rider pulled out his new, forest green colored, wolf-shaped ring.

"God that thing is an eye-sore," grumbled Friedrich, grimacing at the bulky thing, "Looks like a lump of plastic…"

Lupus slipped it on and flipped his hand author, before putting the ring on right and dropping it over his waist.

FRONTIER! WINDS, BLOW! WOLVES, HOWL! LUPUS, RISE! TO THE FRONT OF THE PACK!

A cacophony of howls echoed through the town as a wind kicked up, swirling around him. Dante watched as several wolves appeared out nowhere and raced towards Lupus. For his part, the Rider looked confident as the pack raced towards their master. One by one they passed through him, his armor changing as each wolf did so. The blue segments on his gloves and boots faded, frosting over, while patches of ice formed around the edges, obscuring the grays of his armor for a moment. Then, with the howling reaching a crescendo that shook the street and made everyone else flinch back, a whirlwind spiralled around him in a spray of snow as he threw out his arms, howling himself.

The frost coating his body cracked and flaked away, revealing a new armor underneath. Where there had once been pale blue was now a brilliant white, and a set of claws adorned his fingertips, as well as digging into the ground from his boots. The gray sections flaked away as well, revealing harsher, more jagged lines wrought from pure silver, particularly in his helmet. As the last wolf merged with his helmet, the wolf ears sharpened, the edges forming jagged serrations.

"Kamen Rider Lupus: Frontier Form!"

Titan snarled and rushed at Lupus. The Ice rider grinned and charged forward, ice magic in his wake. Once he was close, he leaped up and slashed upwards, gauging a deep gash through the giant's chest, before landing and kicking it in the back. To everyone's shock, the titan gasped in pain and began having trouble moving. Those in front of the Dopant were startled to notice that, as blood and oil sprayed from the long slash, another, equally deep wound had been cloven into the giant's flesh alongside it. This other wound was slowly freezing over, as if a spectral dagger had sliced into the giant.

"What the? Stripper only hit him once!" Draco pointed out.

"Final forms grant a humongous power spike, but the actual abilities they gain are different for each Rider," explained Triton.

Aura closed his eyes and let his power flow out. Concentrating on Lupus, he saw that whenever he moved, a faint trail of snow would follow just behind him in his shape. A second such echo was forming as he watched, slightly fainter than the first. "I see. His magic is creating afterimages in the snow. Essentially, ice clones that are really hard to see and follow his actions perfectly. The more magic he puts out, the more he creates."

"Like a pack of wolves," Pleiades concluded. "A wolf pack for a wolf Rider But he needs help!" She quickly grabbed her Cancer key and placed it into her belt and twisted it.

SUMMON: CRAB!

Switching into her more aquatic form, she grabbed the sword attached and, pressing a button in the base of the handle, caused it to unfold and lengthen behind her. She rushed in, Draco and Aura flanking her, while Aquilla rained down bolts from the air.

The Metal Guardian ducked under the wild swing and sliced at the knees, continuing the strategy of slowing the beast down. The Dopant roared as electricity erupted from its joints. Lupus immediately followed up with more machine gun fire, this time with two illusions firing into its back.

Dante gritted his teeth behind his mask. "What is that giant doing? KILL HIM! Why are they doing damage now?!"

"Heh, looks like someone's adding clones to the mix," Friedrich pointed out, smirking, "I'd give it about...five more minutes and I think your titan will be dead. Less if Zodiac shows up."

Friedrich's words froze Dante. He hadn't seen the Fire Guardian since separating from his fellow Guardians. The machine had been created to counter him specifically as well, but the fact that they were turning this fight around without him was starting to scare him.

Said Giant was now taking serious damage to his limbs but he still refused to go down despite the constant barrage of attacks.

"TITAN! CRUSH! PUNY RIDERS!" He roared, his scream temporarily stunning some of them. As he reared back to swing, a loud scream echoed through the town. Before he could react, Diorate came soaring out of nowhere and crashed into him. "GUH!" Everyone, even Dante and Friedrich, turned in the direction that he'd come flying in from to see Zodiac racing towards them, carrying a large black sword on his shoulder.

"Damn, didn't think I got the distance on that," Zodiac hummed. He glanced to the side and waved to his friends. "Yo! Check out my new blade! Ain't it cool. I just got it and holy cow. Leonid was one thing, but Regulus here really brings out the Viscount form!"

The Mages were confused as was Friedrich, but Aura and Triton realized what it meant. "That's Regulus!?" she asked. "You finally woke him up!?"

"That blade looks awesome! What's it do?" Aura asked in excitement.

"I'll show you. Standby Change: Aries!" He whipped the sword back into the sheath. A dial on the sheath rotated around until it reached the Aries symbol. His armor glowed and shifted around. His shoulders, knees and joints gained spiked pads while his chest armor turned dark grey almost silver with red streaks throughout. Out of the sheath, came a much different lance than previously wielded.

The lance was much more flattened, becoming more of a triangular blade than a typical lance, with a zig-zagging pattern dividing it down the middle. A long, red bolt of cloth trailed off of one corner, while the handle was black and red, extending up to half the length of his arm. Taking his stance, he rushed forward and jabbed the lance into the ground, as if it were a pole vault, before sending magic into his legs. He rocketed into the giant and stabbed him in the shoulder, the momentum finally causing the giant to fall onto his back.

Dante growled and snapped his fingers creating a portal. "Forget this, your on your own!" He shouted, leaping through it before Friedrich could stop him.

Zodiac leaped back and landed in front of his friends. Glancing to the side, he saw Lupus had a much different look. "Awesome look, Lupus. That your final?"

"Yeah, it's been awesome, but," He watched as the titan and Diorate recovered. "It's hard enough to deal with the giant, but now the demon you were fighting is in the mix."

Zodiac chuckled. "You worried about that demon? Please, once I got through his magic and got my power up, he's been a pushover. We can win with just the two of us."

This got the mages to gasp in shock. "Are you serious? It's taken all seven of us just to wound this thing!" Pleiades screamed.

"Are you suicidal?" Aquila concurred. A hand on both of their shoulders caught their attention. They turned to see Triton looking at them confidently.

"If Zodiac thinks he can win without us, then trust him. Trust me, this isn't the worst odds he's faced."

In front of them, Zodiac swung his lance forwards and began to charge his magic. "Are you ready to Overlay?"

Lupus looked at Zodiac and then nodded unfolding his lance and doing the same. In their minds, their two emblems began to send energy towards each other merging as if they were one pack and pride. Behind them, a large red lion and silver wolf appeared behind them.

"LET'S GO! OVERLAY!" the two Rider shouted. The lion and wolf both roared and howled respectfully.

(Begin Fairy Tail Main Theme)

Diorate instinctively shielded his eyes in pain. "What the hell is with the light?!" Before he could get an answer, Zodiac was already back on him, swiping at him with the lance. A large gash appeared in its wake, first cauterizing it and then freezing it in place. To Diorate's shock the wound wasn't disappearing.

"No! My wound...it's stopped healing over!" gasped Diorate as Zodiac hacked at him at his arm.

"Regeneration only works to a point. You can either cause more damage then the regen can keep up with or make sure it never kicks in the first place. Freezing kind of helps with the latter!"

Meanwhile, Lupus was skating around the titan, firing off multiple shots from his rifle. Meanwhile his clones were alternating between icicle spears and fiery bolts. The wounds from the fire shots were beginning to burn through and hit the electric wires inside the giant's body. Titan roared and reared his axe back. Before he could hit the Rider, however Lupus was pulled out of the way by a large hook. The chains pulled him towards Diorate where he quickly turned his weapon into its guandao and swiped at his head. The demon cried out in pain, especially since the spirits also followed and dug their weapons even deeper into the first one. Lupus landed next to Zodiac, whose armor had changed. Gone were the spiked pads and grey armor; now he was sporting sapphire blue with netting around his waist His gloves and boots took on a darker and more rubberized appearance, while his helmet gained two fins on his head where his ears were.

"Like the chains? Apparently my Pisces form is no longer knives. Now I got this hook chain kind of like Argo save its way faster to move around. And I can be like a fisherman!" Zodiac gushed. He looked at their two opponents as he reached to put his hook sword back in the sheathe. "Armor Change: Leo!"

The dial on the back shifted towards the Leo symbol, causing the armor to glow and faded back into Leo's Grey and red. Glancing at their opponents, who were struggling to stand, he smirked as he raised he raised his sword to his shoulder. "Time to end this! Get your Finale Ring ready!" He ordered Lupus, reaching down to his belt and grabbed his transform phone pressing the Leo button.

STANDBY FINISH!

He popped the phone chip out and placed it into the base of the hilt.

LEO!

Meanwhile, Grey pulled out a silver ring which had multiple wolf heads on and slipped it on, before placing it on the Hand Author.

FINAL HUNT! TEAR THEM TO SHREDS!

Four ice clones suddenly dashed out of Lupus's body, pure white and formed of frost. They raced towards the giant before splitting away and leaping into the air. With a wave of their weapons, a pillar of ice erupted from the ground, the first two duplicates spring boarding off of them to launch themselves at the demon, feet first. They struck his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. Two more clones leaped past the giant, summoning two more spires that they then rebounded off of, diving at him for another round of Rider Kicks. The combined force knocked the demon towards the real one whose weapon was glowing a bright blue.

"Frontier ALPHA SLASH!" He twirled it around and hacked through the flying giant. Titan landed and struggled to get up. Before he had time to scream, ice quickly spread from the cut, and in mere seconds he was frozen solid "Hunt successful!" Lupus shouted as the giant shattered into i

Meanwhile, Zodiac launched himself towards the giant and slashed at the demon's waist bisecting him into two burning halves. Them twirling around, he kicked the top half up into the air and leaped after it. Doing a front flip, his sword erupted into white hot flames. "LEO JUDGEMENT BREAKER!" He began to spin around and slice into the remainder of the corpse before crashing the rest of it down into the ground. The impact vaporized what was left of the demon. Out of the smoke, Zodiac slowly stood up and returned the sword back into his sheath. "Bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Zodiac and Lupus powered down and walked back to their friends. "Great job, Grey."

"Thanks, now we should be able to finish this mission."

"Indeed," Erza spoke up having powered down with everyone else. "But we have no idea how to do so."

"So we're back to square one, great," Ash grumbled.

Grey humphed and turned to Natsu. "You see that, flamebrain? look who's stronger!

"Tch, we softened him for you, droopy eyes!"

"What was that?"

*CRASH*

"Don't even start," Misty grumbled. "Anyway Grey, congrats on the new form. Natsu you'll get yours...eventually."

"Now the question is...how do we get the flame restarted?" Ash asked.

"That...seems like the 64,000 dollar question," Drew realized.

"Well, while I was fighting Dante, I used Fire Dragon Slayer magic to absorb some of Flare's Eternal Flame," began Friedrich, "And I…encountered its spirit. In fact, I managed to make its power my own. If I were to use it, I could probably thaw out the original, especially since my flames are hot enough to melt the ice here."

"And you picked this up how?" Drew asked rubbing his eyes.

Friedrich squinted at him. "I just said, didn't I?"

"I meant the freakin specifics! How did you get the magic?"

"Well, the ice melted pretty easily when I was fighting," he explained, shrugging, "And as I said, Flare let me absorb some of her flame. Also…I might have unlocked another power."

"This is gonna be a recurring thing isn't it?"

"Hey, this is new to me too! Back on Earth Bet I only had that initial set; I wasn't expecting to ever get another power that wasn't copied."

"Well excuse me for being skeptical!"

"You're not excused. You may take several large steps back."

"E-Excuse me," Flare spoke up.

"Yes?" Drew asked.

"C-can we restart the flame now please?" she asked, her eyes turning big and her lip quivering.

Drew smirked. "I don't know, can we, lover boy?" He asked Friedrich.

"I don't know, can we, lover boy," the traveler mocked right back at him, "Give me a minute." He strolled up to the brazier and jumped up to kneel in it. "Alright…Blazing Dragonforce!" With a shout, he burst into flames, pressing his burning hands to the chunk of ice where the original flame had been. Almost instantly, the brazier ignited as if a phoenix had awakened within it, which in the current context was appropriate. As the flames shot higher into the sky, the ice began to melt, then evaporate, rapidly filling the village with steam. All throughout the town, the giants shattered their melting prisons, pumping their arms into the air and roaring with triumph as the spell broke. As more were freed, the cheers intensified into a roar as celebrations broke out throughout the village. Many were at least twice the height of the group, with bare chests and shaggy bears. Some even looked like they were in the middle of drinking.

Friedrich slowly pulled away and took a deep breath, wiping at his flaming brow "That...was a lot more energy than I thought. But it looks like it worked."

One the giants approached the group and knelt down. "You did all this laddie?" He asked Friedrich in a weirdly Scottish tone.

He shrugged, before glancing at Flare and throwing an arm around her shoulder, making her squeak. "I brought it back with Flare. Without her, I couldn't even have begun to do it. Everyone else took care of the monsters in the town."

The giant turned to Flare, bushy eyebrows arched. "You saved the town lassie? That's mighty brave of ya. I knew the Eternal Flame got a right owner."

She stiffened, staring up at the massive men standing around them. "You…believed in me?"

"Of course! The Flame chooses those who're worthy. An' speaking of…I can't help but notice you're lookin' rather similar to that Flame, lad."

"I…did say that Flare lent it to me, didn't I?" asked Friedrich drily.

"Hahaha!" The lead giant laughed. "Our deity must take a great shine to ya laddie. If he thinks you're good to use it, by all means! Just remember where ya got it!"

He bowed his head. "Don't you worry. I won't forget an encounter like that in a hurry."

"Alrighty then, well hopefully no one else will bother you," Drew said smiling. "Erza, we got a way to get Warren?"

The red headed knight nodded and summoned a magic circle. "Warrod, this is Erza."

"Ah Erza. I take your mission was successful?"

"Yes, we're ready to come back."

" me a few moments."

Flare approached Friedrich. "You're leaving already?"

He gave her a smile, even as he finally dispersed his flames. "Yeah, sorry. We got called in to figure out what was going on with your village. Now that it's back on its feet, we're gonna head back to our guild."

She bit her lip, casting her eyes downward. "O-oh. Okay…" Her hands twisted together for a moment, making her blink as she found something on her finger. "Ah, um, y-you'll be wanting your ring back-"

"Nah, keep it," he cut her off.

Flare stiffened, looking back up at him, her red eyes widening. "What? You- you want me to-?"

"Sure. I've got options to spare, so why not spare one for you? Pro tip, the ring's got a shield mode and a 'destruction' mode. Just twist the cap for a bit, you'll figure it out."

"B-but, it's yours!"

Friedrich shrugged. "And now it's yours." His smile softened as he reached out and patted her on the head, making her tremble. "Let's meet again some day. Maybe come find me at Fairy Tail once you're ready to take on the world outside this village."

The redhead gave an inarticulate squeak, her face flooding red, a shaky, wobbly, giddy grin stretching across her face.

"Take care of yourself, Flare." He saluted before hopping onto the rising tree. It swelled and rose into the air, carrying him and the others away.

Flare waved as the trees twisted and grew into a mighty oak, before stretching out into the distance, before looking down at her ring. "L-let's…meet again some day…" she murmured.

That Night, Warrod's Secret Spring

After the mages had reported that their mission was successful, Warrod had rewarded them with a map to his personal hot spring and a room for the night. Ash and Misty were already in the spring, watching the moon from a more secluded spot, cuddled up together.

"You don't get many nights like this back home," Ash commented, gazing up at the moon, lying back against a rock.

Misty raised her head from where she had been resting. The look on her face was one of utter bliss, brought about by the warm water lapping at her exposed model body, combined with her boyfriend's strong embrace. "And we don't get many nights alone. I love it when we're alone like this," she whispered leaning in for a kiss. If anyone knew the redhead, they would be shocked at how calm she was acting.

Ash hummed. "So apparently Paul's got a few upgrades. Guess we need to step up."

"Right, but I'm glad everything worked out," Misty replied. "We just need to get stronger." She breathed out and then laid out on her back, her face the only thing above water, what little sound being drowned out. "Some days, I just feel like floating away, not a care in the world."

"Like a mermaid?" Ash asked knowingly. "I told you, you would make an amazing one."

A few moments of quiet passed before Ash felt someone approach. He looked up to see Lucy with a towel wrapped around her voluptuous body. "Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" She squeaked.

"Nah, Misty's just enjoying the water," Ash said. Said redhead raised her hand and waved. The blonde took that as a sign to ease herself into the water, careful not to disturb the moment. "I can slide over."

Misty raised her head and giggled. "Lucy, if we got defensive over others interrupting our time, we would have probably destroyed a few stores. Just let the serenity embrace you."

Lucy blinked her eyes in surprised at how relaxed the redhead sounded. "It's like she's a different person."

"In the water, she may as well be a different girl. You should see her swim, it's like she's already apart of it."

"Interesting," Erza's voice caught their attention as she slid in and pulled Lucy closer to her. "You two look so natural like that.

Raising her body back up and stretching herself out, Misty nodded. "When you've been travelling and dating for two years, you get so used to the little quirks your partners have. Quite honestly, we've been mistaken for a couple so many times, it just never felt weird when we did start."

Before Erza could respond, Natsu's cheer rang out through the spring before he leaped in. The big splash would have knocked them back, had Misty not lazily raised her hand to block the wave.

"Man this spring is great!" Natsu cheered whipping his head back.

Lucy sputtered. "Natsu!" she shrieked. The dragon slayer smirked and swam closer to the celestial mage. He nuzzled her nose, getting her to giggle and then kiss him.

Erza smiled at the two and brought both closer, kissing both of them on the head. "You two did wonderful today."

"Not as much as Grey. He got his new form and everything," Lucy pointed out

Erza chuckled and reached lower down the blonde's body. "Nonsense, you helped cripple it and then did great against the soldiers," She squeezed Lucy's ass, making her gasp. This was all she needed to reach down and kiss her. Lucy didn't even protest even pushing back.

Natsu watched this with a smile and glanced over to Ash and Misty. "Guess this is normal for ya."

"More than you know," Ash beamed bringing Misty closer. Natsu nodded and crawled over to wrap around Lucy's stomach, the blonde pleased at the attention both of her lovers gave her.

In the locker room, Drew and Friedrich were changing out of their clothes. "Hey," Friedrich began.

"Hm?"

"I wanna…" he gritted his teeth, "Apologize."

"For what?" Drew asked curiously.

"Remember when I made light of you not using your armor against me?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...I learned you did that for a really good reason."

"Paul wrecked you didn't he?" Drew asked knowingly. "Riders from what we've noticed tend to be way stronger than normal humans. Even if your superpowered beyond belief, they will still deal big damage. Reason why I think you got lucky with Yuzan focusing on Tori, Max and Brock."

"I see, and yet you decided to not go with your armors...why?"

"It was a spar that wasn't going to be full ou. Our armors are designed to protect us from serious damage. And I had a feeling you weren't going to kill us, so I said don't activate the armors. Plus a few of us literally just got them so most of their abilities would have been...scaled down."

"I see…" Friedrich hummed.

"I don't do anything half measured. You kinda have to with these guys," Drew replied. "Changing topics, what was going on with you and Flare?"

The older man snorted. "Nothing for now. But I mean…you could tell that she was pretty lonely, right? She was surprised by the giants having faith in her. And did you see how she just…lit up when I complimented her? That girl hasn't had a lot to be happy about, I think. So I figured, why not?"

"You liked her but she's too young," Drew elaborated.

Friedrich gave him a particularly disgusted side-eye. "Can we not go there?"

"Sorry."

Friedrich grinned and pulled something from Drew's jeans. "Speaking of girls, why do you have a girl's picture that isn't Gabby or Tori?" he asked, picking up a card.

Drew looked at it and panicked. "Easy with the card!" he yelped, swiping it from him, "This card can summon the very person who gave us these belts, Tsukihime. It's a one time use."

"Tsukihime?" asked Friedrich.

"You know that whole Kingdom story? She was the last Princess, supposedly. If you think a Guardian has power, she says summoning her right now will be like Goku going Super Saiyan. Though I think she might be underselling it."

"Underselling a Super Saiyan…good lord that's a lot of power. Point taken, last resort." Nodding, Friedrich folded up his coat and deposited it in a cubby, removing a golden pin and placing it on top. Drew made to follow but noticed the pin. Watching Friedrich leave, he hung behind and carefully picked it up to examine. His eyes filled with recognition as he saw a familiar sigil: a planted golden sword, with a wedge crossed over the blade, carved with a series of birds.

What…the hell…Why does Friedrich have this? He asked to himself, Something isn't adding up with him. More importantly, is he really working with us?

"Drew you coming?" Friedrich asked coming back in. He abruptly stopped as Leonid was pointed at his neck. "Ack! Wh-hey! What's going on?"

"Explain. This!" Drew demanded tossing the pin at him.

Blinking, Friedrich caught it, glancing down at it. He raised his eyebrow for a moment. "Is there…something about this that needs explaining?" he asked, "Also, put that thing away, jeez!"

"This little thing is the emblem of the force that paid Phantom Lord to attack us and try to kidnap Lucy. For all we know, this is part of the main army. I want to know, who in the hell are you!?" The mere fact that Drew was cursing was enough to know he was not fooling around.

Friedrich squinted at him. "I told you who I am. I'm a guy from Earth who wound up on another Earth, in the body of a different person. That pin was on him from the beginning. Sure, I ran into a man who had something similar, but he never explained crap. Did you just…forget what I told you when we first met?" His mouth twisted. "That's...pretty aggravating."

"Then...perhaps Tsuki and the Generals weren't the only immortals," Drew said finally lowering his sword. "Which means...we might have a much bigger problem. For the record, this reaction was for not telling us the full story."

Friedrich glared. "I did tell you the full story. How was I supposed to know that some pin that I happen to have, which was almost never significant on Earth Bet, by the way, would be a crucial detail? Don't go blaming me for keeping quiet about shit I didn't realize was important!"

"I'm sorry okay! If you were in my position and I found out we had a potential double agent, I think your reaction would be wiping them out."

"Well, actually my first reaction would be to gather as much intel as I can to ascertain whether or not they are one, confront them if necessary, and then detain them," deadpanned the man, "Standard Master/Stranger Protocols."

"Well I can't exactly do that with our current resources. You told me that you were a hero back on Bet, and right now that's the reason I'm believing you. However, if I know anything about possession, sooner or later, the spirit of whoever you used to be is gonna come back."

He shrugged. "Hasn't happened in ten years, but anything's possible when magic's involved, I suppose." Then he blinked. "Oh, speaking of sooner or later and things that I forgot: my powers tend to bud off pretty freely."

"What do you mean...bud off...like pollen?"

"Mmmore like they grow and split off little fragments, which will seek out the people I hang around the most often, giving them powers that are tangentially related to my own. I don't even know what my new Evolution Power is gonna grant. But yeah, it's gonna happen eventually. Dunno when, or what the results will be, but if you start getting powers that you didn't have before...you know who to thank."

"Right...so more evolution...alright," Drew sighed. Then he smacked his cheeks. "Alright, less angst more relaxing. Let's not let our pals have all the fun."

Friedrich nodded. "Finally! Never got to try a hot spring before. First time for anything, eh?" The two walked out of the locker room and into a much more relaxed atmosphere. Grey was off to the side, trying to cool off from the spring but he looked much less likely to start anything. Ash and Misty were laying against each other, almost sleeping as Misty nuzzled into him. Erza was leaning against a rock, holding Lucy and Natsu to her breasts and Happy was snoozed on the blonde's chest.

"Fairy Tail is something," Warrod's aged voice spoke walking up behind them. "Finding one's family, whether through love or through friendship...that was the dream that Mavis Vermillion, our first master, had. I am glad that it continues through this wonderful generation." He slipped in and sighed, the two boys quickly following suit. "A song seems appropriate but considering how everyone is, I think the serenity is enough. Please enjoy your stay; Master Makarov knows you're here.

Friedrich hummed and observed the couple and trio. As he watched them, something twisted in his gut, which had nothing to do with his powers. He gave a sigh, biting his lip and crossing his arms, registering the empty waters around him.

No one noticed, not even Warrod, when the green halves of his eyes glowed and spread, overtaking the blue of his irises just a little.

END of Chapter

UO: Long enough for ya? Well this set up a lot of things going forward, especially that pin Friedrich had. And his Evolution? Well….NS? Care to explain why we went that route?

NSG: Originally, I was just gonna have Friedrich be a part of his own fic, in the Worm-verse. The body he inhabited would remain a mystery to him, but eventually he would learn that in that universe at least, it belonged to a Villain.

UO: Then when we were discussing his involvement, we eventually decided that the body he inhabited was even more important than just a mere assassin; thus we decided to bring him into this crossover. As a result, the Riders are gonna get some insane powers. When they show up, we'll delve more into it.

NSG: There's also the fact that, despite being a great deal older than them, Friedrich desires kinship with the Riders, but is unsure of how to show it. A decade spent in a more serious, colder world has left him unable to pursue such friendships.

UO: That's an aspect we'll explore as well as more development. Anyway,

Preview: Fairy Tail is conscripted for a fight against one of the strongest Dark Guilds on record. But something lurks deep in the minds of one of their own, frustrations slowly building until they boil over. How will Fairy Tail take them down? Find out.

Next time: Guild War: Fairy Tail vs Oracion Seis

UO: Go check out NSG's stuff here and across various other sites. Also review kindly and check out Writer's United and Soulembrace2010's Shattered Realms Discord.

OSPREY...SWOOOSH