Riders in Fiore

by Erzats

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

25. Chapter 25 : Ending of a war

Hello guys, how are you ? for my part, I'm good and happy to go and write that chapter that will mark the end of the Phantom Lord arc. I hope you'll like it and if you do, or don't, leave a review or just fav and/or follow the story so I can know what you think of it.

I'm going to sped up a little the Riders transformation sequence sometimes, shortening it since some can be quite long sometimes, but I trust you won't have any problem visualizing how it happen in reality. And for Eiji and Ankh, they won't stay with the others, but I'm going to use a little stratagem to make them stay for at least this chapter to get some Ankh moments but he won't stay with the others, but someone will.

Let's go !

Chapter 25 : Ending of a war

Wind blew gently in the lush trees, rustling their foliage as leaves flew around, falling like a green rain on the small hut of the pink haired healer as she gazed at the sky, her face solemn, eyes half closed as her mind was wandering.

"The trees… The earth… The atmosphere… They are all afraid…" she thought, feeling the elements around her shaking in fear of something to come. An angle passed and she suddenly lost her coolness, her fury back again as she swing her broom around her, fighting an invisible foe.

- "UGH, this is why humanity is such a foolish race !" she roared, kicking and knocking down crates stacked next to her spilling their content in the process. "A race of simpletons who see fighting as the only way to accomplish anything ! That idiot Makarov ! If you want to die so much then go ahead !"

Going from hating humanity to cursing Makarov, Porlyusica had sent everything around her to the ground, one of them being a crates full of apple, the fruit rolling on the ground and one of them, rolling farther than the rest and stopping next to a man, sitting on a trunk, his body completely covered by clothes who silently reached and grabbed a hold of the apple. This was an unexpected guest and one Porlyusica knew very well.

- "Mystogan." She simply said, a pretty simple greeting that didn't seemed to bother the mysterious S-Class Mage who waved the hand holding the apple.

- "May I ?"

- "I see… Now I understand how Makarov could have recovered so quickly. You gathered up all his magic back together." She deduced, looking at the back of Mystogan who, carelessly, took a bite of the apple, much to the old lady annoyance. "Don't just go around eating things !"

- "A giant has made his move…" he said between his bites, keeping in his words as mysterious as he was himself. "The war will soon reach a conclusion."

- "Though I don't like to make remarks that endorse the fighting of humans amongst one another… You're one of Makarov's nakama too. Shouldn't you get out there too ? It doesn't seems like your concerned by this conflict one bit."

True to his quiet self, Mystogan said no words to answer Porlyusica. Instead, he let the wind picked up and swipe a bunch of square clothes, all carrying the same symbol, much to Porlyusica's surprise. This symbol was Phantom Lord guild mark.

"Don't tell me… He singlehandedly destroyed all of Phantom's subdivisions ?!" she thought to herself in shock, genuinely surprise by what he did.

- "I'd like one more of your apples."

Only to go back to her anger at the sudden out of subject question.

- "I hope you're not planning on leaving your trashes lying on the ground !" she shouted, referring to the flags that now littered the ground. After a few seconds of silence during which Mystogan had sat down again, munching on another apple as Porlyusica continued her complaining.

- "Truly, you people amaze me." She began, her face showing a certain sadness. "An excess of power causes nothing but sorrows… and anger can cause one to forget that one is caught up in that whirlwind of tragedies." Mystogan listened, staying silent a moment before looking at the sky, giving his own view on this.

- "I wish to believe that those tragedies too are swathed in a sacred light. A sacred light, guiding us all." They stayed silent for a few seconds, deep in though before Mystogan finally got up, ready to take his leave. "Well, I should probably go. But there's one last thing I wanted to talk to you about." Porlyusica lifted her head, wondering what he wanted to talk about. "Did you met… Those Riders that joined Fairy Tail ?"

- "… Yes I did. Only one of them, but I immediately felt that they weren't from that world. But I don't know much." Porlyusica said, remembering her encounter with Emu.

- "From what I got told, they came in this world to fight against an evil organization from their world who have found a way to come to our own." Revealed Mystogan. "Apparently, they already helped Fairy Tail and even the council against those men but I can't help but feel worried. They say they come from another world, do you think this might affect the Anima ?"

Mystogan question tensed Porlyusica, apparently understanding his worry, but she shook her head negatively.

- "No. I don't how they came here, but Anima has nothing to do with it." She revealed. "The one I met had not a single trace of it on him. However, there's still the mystery about whether or not their presence might affect the Anima or not, and if it does, in what way."

Both of them stayed silent after that, wondering about how things will turn out while back at Magnolia, war was reaching its end.

/- Back in Phantom Lord's HQ -/

The whole place was crumbling, falling into pieces due to the damages Natsu did when fighting Gajeel, large cracks appearing in the walls, roof and ground, threatening to fall apart and flatten everyone but no one dared to move, except for three mages who, until there, were out cold.

- "Urg… What is this…" Groaned Gray as he woke up, lifting himself from the ground, a hand on his face, Elfman and Mirajane also waking up next to him.

- "Wait… This kind of warm feeling…" said Mira, her eyes widening ever so slightly. "This magic that feel almost nostalgic, this is…"

- "You must all leave this place." Came Makarov voice, catching the three attention as they realized that their master, who was supposed to be unable to fight, stood in front of Jose.

- "Master ?! Why are you here !?" exclaimed Elfman, shocked as hell, stopping when he saw Erza running toward them.

- "We should just listen to him." She said, glancing at the old man and his opponent. "If we stay, we'll just be a burden to him." She said as she helped Mira to her feet. As for Sento and Emu, they didn't moved, their hands clenching on the Hazard Trigger and Maximum Mighty X Gashat respectively, Makarov sensing their uneasiness before addressing them without turning to look at the boys.

- "Don't worry, I'll be fine. After all, if Jose really want to prove they are the best, he won't go and use a foreign power himself, am I right ?"

- "Indeed." Confirmed Jose, his smirk still present on his face. "I do admit that I was tempted at first, but I'm already powerful enough and I have faith in this strength." He said proudly, thought a sigh escaped his lips. "Which wasn't the case for some of my best elements. Aria, Sol and Totomaru accepted that power easily, Juvia and Gajeel being the only one with enough pride to refuse, even if they end up using them, albeit unwillingly."

- "See ? He won't use that kind of power, so you can let me handle it myself." Added Makarov, talking to the Riders. "Get the others back to the guild. I won't be long."

- "Alright, Emu, let's go." Sento said, accepting Makarov's decision, putting the trigger back in the box and pulling two FullBottles out of it.

- "Okay." Emu said, doing the same with his maximum level Gashat, pulling two already used ones out.

TAKA ! GATLING ! BEST MATCH ! ARE YOU READY ? TENKUU NO ABARENBOU ! HAWKGATLING ! YEAH !

GACHAN ! LEVEL UP ! BAND BANG SHOOTING ! A GATCHA ! JET COMBAT !

The Riders flew off, grabbing the girls and boys on the way, pulling them out of the room and out of the building, back to their friends, leaving the two masters alone. While Makarov was looking totally serious, Jose was almost amused by the way the event were playing themselves.

- "It has been, what, 6 years since we last stood face-to-face like that ? Who would have imagined at the time that Fairy Tail would become such a large guild in such a short time ? Ah… It's going to be nothing much but a pile of rubble anytime soon, now."

- "A guild is not a building or anything physical !" declared Makarov, a light shining on his index finger as he drew lines around him. "It's the sum of its members !"

- "Still, this does make me very happy…" continued Jose, his smile glued to his face. "For two of the Ten Wizard Saints to contest like this, to determine whom is superior."

- "Youngsters, I thank you all for your efforts. Whether you're from this world or not, you have done well." Said Makarov to himself, his drawing expanding little by little, the old man not listening to his opponent. "Take pride in being a part of Fairy Tail !"

Suddenly, the clouds swirled in the sky, covering the otherwise sunny sky with a large layer of clouds who darkened everything as if night had fallen suddenly, the ground shaking like a mini earthquake and the water of the lake thrashing like a stormy sea as Makarov summoned his magic, sending a bolt of magic at Jose, piercing him in the shoulder in a blink of an eye, which shocked Jose for a second as he got sent flying, a grin coming back to his face as the same kind of wound suddenly appeared on Makarov at the exact same place as his own wound.

DEAD WAVE !

Getting back up, Jose struck the ground, sending a powerful blast of ghosts made of pure magic at Makarov who did some quick hand gestures, ending it by putting them in a triangle in front of him, two circle of magic forming around him, the master shouting as a powerful shockwave shook the whole run down building, sending Natsu, who was still inside, back to the ground, Lucy kneeling next to him with Kouta and a still "Ankh-ified" Happy.

- "Natsu, are you okay ?!"

- "What was that just now ?" wondered Ankh, looking around, frowning a little as Natsu grinned, much to the others confusion.

- "There's only the old guy to have this kind of power." He said, looking genuinely amazed at the power his master was displaying.

- "That's Makarov's power ?!" repeated Kouta, eyes wide as saucers. "Damn, that's what I call power."

- "Fairly impressive." Said Makarov as he and Jose stood in front of each other, that last blast having them paused for a few seconds to talk. "So much power at such a young age… You have at least earned your place among the Ten Wizard Saints." Admitted Makarov, not being the one to lie. "Had you chosen to use your power for good and be a model for those still younger than yourself, the world of mages would surely have benefited greatly."

- "Is that preaching I am hearing, old man ?" said Jose, almost tauntingly as Makarov just complimented the one who had declared war on his guild.

- "As if the custom of Fairy Tail's justice system… I shall give you until the count of three." Said Makarov, trembling a little before suddenly growing until he broke the roof, towering over the other master. "Kneel."

- "Hmm ?" was Jose's only reaction as he gazed at the giant, not impressed one bit.

- "One." Began Makarov, white eyes glaring at Jose.

- "Hahaha ! I was wondering what nonsense you were spouting, but asking me to kneel ?!"

- "Two." Makarov put his hand close to each other, magic gathering to form a ball in between them.

- "You want me to kneel before you, to acknowledge you as the greatest guild in the kingdom ?! Stop fooling around ! In combat, I am your match !" roared Jose, showing his defiance by ignoring Makarov warning. "No, more than that : I am the strongest ! You even needed help from people from another world to be a match to us !"

- "Three."

- "You are the ones who should be kneeling before me ! Now die ! CRUMBLE TO DUST AND VANISH FROM THE FACE OF HISTORY ! FAIRY TAIL !"

- "That's enough." Said Makarov, slapping his hands together on the magic sphere, power surging from the ground around him as he held his hands like in a prayer.

FAIRY LAW : ACTIVATE !

Above the guild, the layer of clouds literally open up, as if the heaven themselves were looking down at what was happening as a bright light began to engulf the room Makarov and Jose were in, the light expanding even outside the building, blinding up to the mages and Riders who were eithers flying back to the guild or defending it against the Shades. And talking about the Shades, if the light was blinding the mages and Riders, it was utterly pulverizing the Shades who melted like ice in a desert.

- "What is that light ?!" wondered Haruto, shielding his eyes from the light for a few seconds before he finally got used to it.

- "The Shades are the only one affected." Noticed Shinnosuke, looking at the disappearing ghosts. "It's like… That light 'now' we aren't the enemy…"

- "It's the Fairy Law !" finally said Erza, looking at the light with wide eyes full of admiration, much to the Riders and even the mages confusion. Apparently, the name Fairy Law wasn't really known.

- "Fairy Law ? Is that some kind of spell ?" asked Sento, rubbing his chin interrogatively while standing next to Erza and the group they had brought back from the Phantom Lord guild with Emu.

- "Yes. It's a holy light that assault the darkness." She explained, her smile still plastered on her face. "It only attacks things that the caster identify as an enemy ! This is a super-magic that can be counted as one of the legendary spells !"

- "It only hurt the caster's enemy ?" repeated Emu, whistling in amazement. "I guess it has been used by Makarov, then ? If it was strong enough to wipe out all those Shades, I wonder how effective it must be a close range."

More than effective, it was fatal. As the light disappeared, Makarov had shrunk back to his former size, gazing at a Jose who was nowhere as confident. He was now completely white, from head to toes, eyes white and revulsed, his whole body shaking as he stood, completely still, what looked like cracks all over his skin and clothes.

- "Never come near Fairy Tail again." Said Makarov, turning his heels as he walked away from the vanquished master. "You've done so much damage, the council won't be quiet about this ! For now we should… Take care of ourselves."

And as he walked away, Aria appeared out of nowhere in a swirl of wind. His body was battered as if he had been stomped over by a giant, which wasn't that far from the truth, diving at Makarov from behind, the old man seemingly not noticing him.

"Just like before ! He's full of opening ! I've got him !" he rambled, his mind racing as his eyes shone out of pure madness, smiling broadly.

*BAM* But this time, Makarov only seemed to not notice him. But the fist that hit Aria right in the jaw, knocking him out in less than a second proved that he had indeed noticed him and this time, he wouldn't take any bullshit from anyone right now.

- "It's over ! We've ended this battle between us !" said Makarov without turning around, frowning as he kept walking. "If you wish to fight… I will this time exterminate you to nothing !"

While he walked out of the guild, outside, the mages and Riders were already celebrating for their victory against Phantom Lord, hugging and cheering between themselves, also welcoming back those who had gone to fought inside the giant robot-guild. Even Eiji and his double got thanked. After all, he might be a stranger, but he was a friend of the Kamen Rider and fought with them to protect, successfully at that, the guild from the Shades, which was more than enough for the mages to thank him. At the same time, Lucy had just landed among her friends, rubbing her neck sheepishly as she smiled at them, everyone happy to see her, Happy floating next to her and Kouta walking on the opposite side. However, Happy grabbed a lot of attention.

- "Hey, Happy. What happened to you ? What's that arm ? Are you imitating Elfman ?" wondered Nab as they walked to him, only to be shout at by the flying feline.

- "I'm no Happy, you dunderhead !" His voice, deeper than usual, grabbing attention.

- "Wow, talk about a bad mood. Maybe you need to eat something." Said Mira, walking to him, grabbing his attention.

- "That would please me, yes." He said, turning to the white haired barmaid, people still looking at him weirdly.

- "Okay, I'll go in the basement and grab you some fish, okay ?"

- "Fish ? Are you out of your mind ? You can keep it."

- "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO HAPPY ?!" Was the global reaction, everyone shouting and pointing accusingly at Ankh who looked around, confused on how fish could cause such an uproar while Kouta said nothing, finding this situation a little too amusing while Lucy couldn't say a thing above the noise.

- "What's the commotion ?" said Eiji, the original one in Gatakariba as he walked past the mages, noticing the floating cat with a quite familiar hairdo, hand and scowl. He stayed silent for a few seconds, Ankh, looking at him, also quiet.

- "Wait, you know that thing ?" asked Elfman, pointing at Happy while looking at Eiji who turned to look at the man, nodding.

- "That Ankh, an homunculi called a Greeed and apparently, he took over that cat."

- "TOOK OVER !?" they all shouted, now turning back at the Greeed, their magic activating and aimed at the creature. "Give us Happy back, right now !"

- "Okay, STOP !" Shouted Eiji, putting himself in between the mages and Ankh, who was feeling tensed at such animosity. "He's a friend of mine, don't worry."

- "I'll give that cat his body back when we'll leave that place, hopefully soon enough." Promised Ankh. "He won't have any sequel. Now, calm down !" The mages stayed as they were for a few moments before finally calming themselves, but not without one last warning from Erza.

- "Very well, but you better behave yourself while you're in him. Otherwise, I'll make you pay in any way I'll need to, is that clear ?" Ankh would have been as cold as he usually was and gave her the cold shoulder by telling her to go bother someone else, but the sharp sword put against his neck was strangely calming. So he simply grunted in agreement as Erza pulled her swords away, looking satisfied with the answer when she noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Natsu ?" asked Erza, frowning slightly, Lucy answering her.

- "He stayed behind. He had some business to take care off."

/- With Natsu -/

- "Oi, can you hear me, Gajeel ?"

Natsu was laying among what was left of the room he and Gajeel fought in, the other Dragon Slayer laying on the ground a few feet under him. Seeing the other mage didn't answered, he continued.

- "Fine… whatever… I intended to make it quick anyway…" he began as he rolled on himself so he was laying on his belly. "Your Dragon Slayer magic… Where did you learn it ?" Still no answer, much to his annoyance. "Hey ! It's the first time I met with someone who have the same kind of magic as me ! You could at least tell me…"

- "Metalicana…" suddenly said Gajeel, grabbing Natsu's attention. "The Steel Dragon Metalicana."

- "So you did learn from a dragon, too !?" This time, it was Gajeel who seemed surprised by his statement about it being the case for him too. "Where is he now ?!" asked Natsu, crawling to his fellow Slayer, excited about learning something that could lead him to Igneel. But Gajeel answer wasn't the one he hoped.

- "I dunno."

- "WHERE… IS… HE !?"

- "I said I don't know ! Trash !" both slayer bumped their head during their small quarrel, which made them both wince in pain. And during their forehead nursing, Gajeel gave more details. "He disappeared." He said, grabbing Natsu's attention once again. "He disappeared one day, without saying anything. What a selfish ass…"

- "Let me guess…" began Natsu, feeling like this was a little too similar to what happened to him. "Did it happened on July 7th, seven years ago ?" This time, it was Gajeel's time to be shocked, turning to Natsu.

- "Wait, you mean to tell me that two dragons disappeared on the same day, 7 years ago, year 777, on July 7th ? That's way too weird."

- "Yeah, it does." Admitted Natsu as he got up, face strained by the pain he felt. "Well, I'll go back to my friend, but if you found anything about Igneel, my dragon, tell me."

- "And why should I do that ?! Are you making fun of me ?!" shouted Gajeel, apparently not amused by what Natsu proposed, the fire Slayer turning to Gajeel with a grin.

- "Aren't we both Dragon Slayers ? Isn't that a good enough reason ? I'm sure we will see each other again."

As Natsu walked away, heading back to his friends, Gajeel looked at him go, a scowl on his face. As much as he wanted to pound that stupid fire breather into the ground, he couldn't help but be thankful he got to meet him. It wasn't much, but now that he knew he wasn't the only one who was looking for a dragon, his dream of finding it once again felt much more real.

/- Back at the guild -/

- "Hmm, it's still standing at least." Commented Makarov, standing in front of the guild who, despite everything that happened to it, was still standing. They were now all gathered in front of the building. Everyone was now calm and quiet as they looked at their master, the riders standing on the side, still transformed, looking at the scene as Lucy walked up to Makarov from behind, fidgeting around, visibly embarrassed by something.

- "Uh…Um, Master… I…"

- "Don't look like that, Lu-chan."

A new voice took Lucy out of her guilt induced sadness as she looked to the side to see Levy, standing with Jet and Droy, the three of them still bandaged, Jet with a arm in a cast and Droy on crutches. Reedus was also here, still wounded from when he had tried to protect Lucy from Gajeel? They weren't in the best of shapes, but they were okay.

- "Levi-chan. Reedus. Jet… Droy…"

- "Sorry for making you worry." Said Levy as Lucy was shaking slightly at the sight of her friends, but not because she was afraid or cold, but because she could hardly keep her emotion under control, her guilt trying to fight against the fact that no one seemed to be holding what happened against her.

- "N…No… That's my…"

- "We heard the story but no one here think it's your fault, Lu-chan." Added Levi, much to Lucy's distress, her conflicting emotion growing more and more. And Reedus excusing himself for being unable to protect her adding to her conflict.

- "Lucy…" began Makarov, his voice soothing as he addressed the girl without looking at her directly. "Happiness, sadness…. We can't share all of it, but we can to some extent. That's what a guild is. One person's happiness is everyone's happiness. One person's anger is everyone's anger. One person's tears is everyone's tears. You don't have to suffer with guilt. Our thoughts should reach you." He said, finally turning to look at her, a gentle smile on his face. "Raise your head. You're a member of Fairy Tail."

This was the last straw for Lucy who couldn't hold it back anymore and began to cry soundly, her tears swallowed by the laughter from the others mages and Riders, Levy running to her friend who had fallen to her knees on the ground, wailing like a newborn, joy and sadness mixing in her sobs.

- "THAT'S why I love you all ! Such strong bonds and friendship, I love that."

Everybody turned to Gentaro who had shouted with glee at the scene in front of him, finding this whole philosophy great. Noticing the Riders, Makarov turned to them.

- "I think I must thank you all, too. From what I got, you defended that place along them and gave us a much needed help against those reinforcement we weren't expecting." He said, looking up at the guys who where standing a little bit more straight, as if the stood to attention. "To be perfectly honest, at first, I feared that since Shocker didn't seemed to be involved, you wouldn't get involved neither, but you proved that you truly belong to this guild." He said smiling as he looked at the OOO double. "Whether you're staying or not, by the way." He then caught sight of Happy, looking at it for a moment before talking. "Happy, did you ate something bad ? You look sick."

- "You're the sick one, old man !" Shouted Ankh, sick of being mistaken for the cat, kinda forgetting that he was the said cat. But Makarov didn't pushed it and turned back to Eiji.

- "So, who you all young men are ?"

- "Well, in fact, we are all the one man." Said the original, in Gatakiriba, as he took a step forward. "My name is Eiji Hino. Kamen Rider OOO. And the Greeed who took over your cat friend is Ankh." He said pointing at the Greeed who just groaned. "And when we are called to help, we don't ask question and we help. But even without that, the Yummies kind of gave out who the bad guy was. And if I can help, it's with pleasure that I'll help." He said before looking at the building. "And talking about that, if you need help to repair the building, it will be with pleasure."

- "I appreciate the proposition, but this should be okay. After all, it's not like you have anything to make amend of." Said Makarov as he walked to shake hands with the different doubles. "But I thank you for the help." As he got to shake hands with the SaGohZo, the grey combo walked out of the ground but tripped on a stone and began to stumble, the master stepping out of the way to avoid being stomped by the large feet, the clone tripping on his feet and ending his race by falling just in front of a wall, one of the guild wall to be more precise, the horn on his head grazing the wall. And suddenly, large cracks spread from the horn all over the walls and the second after that, the whole guild fell to the ground, being now nothing more than a pile of rubbles, the Sagohzo's feet being the only thing that was still seen from the clone who was buried under the rubbles. No one said anything as they looked at the guild, or what was left of it, looking peeved. As for the Riders, they really felt embarrassed, looking everywhere but at the clone who disappeared, just like the others clones.

- "I guess that… He just did an OOOpsie ? "

Everyone turned at Gentaro, who had sunglasses on his helmet, absolutely not ashamed by his comment and pun as Eiji followed suit, now back in his civilian clothes.

- "Well, I guess I have a reason for coming back and help to rebuild, right ?" he said sheepishly. "I'm really sorry, I never intended to do that."

- "Don't worry about it." Makarov shrugged, not minding what happened. "It was so badly damaged that it was impossible to repair so we should have destroyed it anyway to build another one. Well, I guess your help is going to be welcomed, in the end."

The master and Eiji shook their hands, sealing the deal when Sento suddenly came and grabbed Ankh without a single word, much to everyone's confusion.

- "Hey. What are you doing ?" asked the Greeed, fidgeting in Sento's arm, the scientist looking at him with a crazed spark in his eyes, a tuft of air raised on his head.

- "Isn't that obvious ? I have to do some experiment on you;" he said as if this was something perfectly normal, Ankh's eyes widening in shock, just as every body else. "I mean, Exceed aren't just cat, they are some sort of magical beings and you could take one over easily, even managing to use his wings. I have to see how you did it and I'll do everything I can to discover why you could do it."

- "Wait, what do you mean by 'everything' ?" asked Ankh, frightened by what that could imply and with Sento's silence and weird smile answering him, he got his answer. "No. NONONONO ! I won't let you do whatever you want with my body ! Let me go ! LET ME GOOOOO !"

- "Let him go, you mad scientist !" Cried Natsu as he grabbed Sento's arm, trying to make him lose his hold on the Exceed, but when Sento had his mind set on something, pulling him out of it was mission impossible. "I can't let you do who know what to Happy !"

- "I ain't Happy, you dimwit !" shouted Ankh, switching target for a moment as he looked at Natsu.

- "You're in HIS body, you demon !" answered Natsu, just as pissed. "I could care less about what happen to you ! I'm only worried about Happy !"

- "Why are you reacting like that ? I'm only doing this for science." Said Sento, sighing in annoyance as he kept walking, literally dragging Natsu as he tried to stop him.

- "I DON'T FUCKING CARE ! JUST LET ME/HIM GO !"

Everyone laughed at what was happening in front of them, finding that scene very funny as Makarov looked at them, smiling, happy to see them all smile despite everything that happened.

"Yes. This is how we should all be feeling. This is the bond of Fairy Tail !" he thought proudly as darker thought crossed his mind, his face sweating and falling as they came. "On a side note, the council's going to be really angry… Wait… What if I get arrested, this time…" And with that, he began to cry, sorrow and fear about the council's future decision. For him and a few others, the next week was going to be complicated.

/- One week later -/

It has now been 1 week since the war against Phantom Lord ended with Fairy tail's victory and everything was slowly coming back to normal after a complicated period during which the council had, of course, investigated to discover what really happened. Barely a few minutes after they defeated Phantom, a whole platoon of Rune Knight working for the council came and began to investigate. They were questioned again and again, a full week of questioning that took it's toll on the mages, and even more on the Riders who were questioned a lot more than the mages, the council using this occasion to ask question that weren't really related to the event that transpired. Apparently, the council seemed to be convinced that they were hiding something huge and they wanted to get to the bottom of it, but they didn't get much information, as the Riders suddenly felt a lot more suspicious toward the council. Anyway, after one week, it was finally done, or partially done at least. The council still had to take a decision regarding what happened and give their verdict. But for now, they were all living their life without a care in the world, or at least not much, but they weren't working on jobs. Instead, they all were working on rebuilding the guild from scratch after the 'OOO Incident'.

- "Heeeeaaaavy…."

Currently, Natsu was showing off, or maybe being simply stupid, as he was straining, trying to lift more than a dozen wooden beam on his back, his face constricted by the effort. This unnecessary display annoyed Gray, who was currently carrying one of those beams on his shoulder, looking at Natsu with a glare.

- "Of course it is, you idiot. That's because you're trying to hold so many at once." he asked, before turning his head to the other side, feeling like he was being watched, only to see nothing, even though the feeling of uneasiness still lingered on him.

- "HA ! That's probably your limit since you're so weak !" Taunted Natsu, mocking Gray who tried, and failed, not to be affected by the comment.

- "Huh ? If I felt like it, I could carry twice as much as you !" And he did as a few minutes later, he was carrying twice the beams as Natsu had on his back, almost on his knees as he was bent in half, trying to hold on, his breath short as he was clearly straining.

*CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*

Once again distracted, this time by a clapping who once again seemed to be coming from nowhere, distracting him a little too much as his legs gave up, ending up buried under all the wood he was carrying, much to Natsu's own fun who was laughing his ass off.

- "AHAHAHAHAH ! So shameful, you couldn't even hold them !"

- "Shut up, ash breath ! You were already straining with half less !" countered Gray from under the pile, Natsu reddening slightly in embarrassment as he couldn't deny that he did had trouble. But her was prevented from bickering with Gray when a wide arms shadow loomed over him.

- "If you got trouble with those, you can just ask." Said SaGohZo Eiji as he came and lifted all the beams on his shoulder before walking away, followed by two others SaGohZo, carrying just as much wood, the two mages looking at them go, feeling peeved to see him lift them so easily while they couldn't even support half of them. Because indeed, Eiji hold his promise and came back to help them to rebuild what he had destroyed, even if people kept telling him that the building would have been destroyed anyway to rebuilt it. Of course, he came back with Ankh who had gone and took over Happy once again. This was the best host for him since that way, he wasn't taking over a mage whose power could be needed at some point, which would have forced him to switch hosts all the time. But this host also had some cons.

- "And what about this one ?" asked a cheerful barmaid, holding a small version of the vest Makarov wore during the war.

- "No."

He was currently sitting on the made up bar with Mirajane and he was currently wondering which was the worst : being Sento's guinea pig or being used by a barmaid who he had the misfortune to told about he missed having clothes, which had given her the perfect excuse to play doll with the Greeed. And if he wanted to fly away more than anything right now, one look at her way too sweet smile hiding a killing intent was enough to convince him that disappointing her would be worse than anything he's faced before, so he stayed silent and let her do as she pleased, much to his annoyance. Speaking about the Riders, they were all helping anyway they could. Gentaro had dug the foundation and was now sawing some beams, using his Chainsaw Module to get it down faster with the help of Emu, who had already hammered two of his fingers, showing that he knew how to use his hands when it came to healing, fighting and playing game, but nothing else. Haruto was using his Big Ring to hold together beams while Kouta and Shinnosuke were hammering them together.

- "Hey, you guys." Came Erza's voice, requipped in builder's clothes, with helmet and all, as she looked at Gray and Natsu who had yet to go back to work, a wooden beam on her shoulder. "If you've got time playing around, hurry up and help. We've got to fix the guild as soon as possible !"

- "She's really into it." Said Gentaro, lifting his head to look at her, before looking at the guild. "Then again, she's not the only one." He said as he looked at Makarov, in the form of a giant, putting large wood block into places. "He's really giving this is everything."

- "AND HE SHOULDN'T !" Sento's angry shout could be heard all across Magnolia, his face showing every form of anger and distress possible. "Not with a plan like that ! Hell, that's not even a plan !"

While his colleagues were working directly on the building, Sento preferred to take a look at the plan and God only know how much he was glad he did, because they would have gone nowhere with the plan Makarov had done. It was not a plan, it was a drawing that seemed to be made by a child.

- "Come on, Sento." Began Makarov, pouting like a child. "I pour my heart in this plan."

- "The intention was here, but as we say in our world, Hell is paved with good intention." Retorted Sento. "You don't go and make plan for a building if you know nothing about architecture. The perspective is messed up, we have not a single information about the how the basic structure should be. Sorry if I'm blunt, but this is useless."

While Sento was trying to make the stubborn old guy realize that his plan wasn't one, others people had other problems.

*GRUUUUMBLE* - "Haaaaa…. I'm hungry…" groaned Natsu as his stomach woke up, shouting his hunger at everyone nearby as the Dragon Slayer fell flat on the ground.

- "Yeah, I'm starting to get hungry, too." Admitted Gray, a hand on his stomach, feeling a rumble coming from it, albeit weaker than Natsu's one. *NYYYYYOOOOOW* in a blink of an eye, a blueish feminine silhouette had ran past Gray, disappearing as fast as it appeared, leaving behind it a package in Gray's hand, who looked at the neatly wrapped bundle with wide eyes.

- "Uh ?! What happened ?" he wondered, still shocked by what happened as Natsu looked at where the silhouette had disappeared.

- "Was that… A girl ?" he wondered, Sento looking their way, having witnessed the scene, a small smile on his face, as if he knew who did that. Meanwhile, Gray had opened the box, who appeared to be a fully packed bento, with a large rice portion with a heart drawn on the rice and a complete assortment of garnish, from vegetables to meat of many kinds.

- "Wow ! I don't know who did that, but this looks good !" exclaimed Natsu, envious as he drooled at the meal Gray was holding. He was fighting his desire to literally dive on the bento and swallow it all.

- "Well, it does look good. But how the hell am I supposed to eat all this ?" Said Gray, a little taken aback by the quantity, Natsu immediately spotting an opportunity.

- "Then, can I have it ?!" asked the fire mage, drooling even more, but as Gray was about to agree, he was stopped by Sento.

- "Come on, Gray. I don't know who did it, but this was for you." He said, glancing at the head of a blunette peaking at Gray from afar. "Even if you don't eat it all, the least you can do is to eat a part of it."

Gray didn't seemed convinced but in the end, he did just that and began to eat the bento with Natsu, the mysterious blunette looking a little disappointed.

"Juvia's a little sad ! She woke up early to make that for Gray-sama alone…" she thought to herself, small tears filling her eyes.

- "Wow, it does taste as good as it looks. That's amazing !" admitted Gray, eagerly eating the content of the box, trying to eat as much as he could before Natsu could get his hand on everything and leave him with nothing.

- "KYYYYAAA !"

- "Huh ?!" Gray once again turned his head, once again feeling like he was observed but seeing no one, much to his annoyance and slight fear, Juvia having once again hidden behind a panel to avoid being seen, her hands keeping her mouth shut.

"Gray-sama liked it ! Juvia's so happy she could die !"

- "Natsu… Gray…" A shaky voice began, grabbing the two mages attention as they turned to the source. "C… Could… you give this to Lucy ?!" asked Loki, holding Lucy's key in his hand. But this wasn't what grabbed their attention the most. He was shaking and his face was thin, as if he didn't ate anything in the last few days.

- "Loki ?! What the hell happened to you ?" said Gray, looking closely at his companion who smiled despite his apparent weakened state.

- "Haha… It's tough… being a ladies man…" he said, trying to joke to divert them from him, but Gray didn't buy it. And as he was about to add something, Natsu had walked up to him and took the keys.

- "Don't worry, I'll bring them back to her. She's probably home and now that I think about it, it's been a moment since we saw her. That will give s an occasion to go and check on her." He said, strangely joyous at the idea of going to see Lucy, already turning on his heels to go to her apartment.

- "Wait, I'm coming with you." Said Emu as he approached them, dusting his hands. "I must say that I'm a little worried about her absence, so I'd like to be here to help if she's sick or something."

- "Okay, then let's go !" said Natsu, turning to face Loki who had yet to move. "You're coming Loki ?"

- "No, sorry. It's not against her but I have a bad experience with Stellar Spirit Mages." He said with a small smile, the look in his eyes a little to dim for Gray's liking who opened his mouth to say something when Erza came back, looking angry.

- "You guys ! Where do you think you're going !? Get back to work immediately !" she roared, running after them while waving a large hammer above her head, ready to smash something, or rather someone, with it.

- "RUN !" shouted Natsu as they ran away, straight to Lucy's home, an angry Erza following them.

/- Lucy's apartment -/

- "Lucy ?! How are you doing ?!" shouted Natsu as he walked inside her apartment, only to find it strangely empty, Lucy not answering. Behind him, Gray and Emu entered the apartment, followed by Erza who was now wearing more casual clothes, Gray sweat dropping at her.

- "And in the end, you came with us."

- "I'm worried too." She simply said, the reason being quite simple, but it's not like they needed more.

- "Why am I here ?" asked Ankh, bored as hell. Natsu had snatched him from Mirajane when they left the building site and if he was kind of happy to get rid of the demonic barmaid, he still wasn't really happy to be here.

- "Because wherever I go, you go. Remember the deal." Reminded Natsu, pointing a finger at Ank who simply huffed in annoyance. He remembered the deal of course. The deal was that as long as he was in Happy's body, he had to : 1) always go where Natsu is going, just like Happy would do and 2) never do anything that could put Happy's body at risk. HE felt like a two years old whose parents always had an eye on, but with Erza's blade pointed right between his eye in a silence promise that any refusal would be synonym of eyes being gouged out, he had no choice but to agree with the deal. At least, they had agreed in making some ice sticks for him to eat, even if it was weird for them to see Happy eat something that wasn't a fish.

- "Where is he ?" wondered Emu, when he suddenly thought about what happened recently and the guilt she felt, which made fear wash over him. "Check the bathroom ! I'm afraid that…"

- "She's not here !" said Natsu, his head sticking out of the bathroom, his face slightly red.

- "You're too quick to check the bathroom !" snapped Gray and Emu, shocked that he got so little shame.

- "Looks like she's not here." Commented Ankh. He then flew around, looking for anything that might help them. "Maybe she left some kind of not…AAAARGH !" He had flew to a cupboard he had opened, only to get showered by a big quantity of letter, forming a pile under which he had been buried.

- "Letters ? She wrote all those letters ?" wondered Natsu as he kneeled before the letters, looking at the sealed envelope with Emu. He would have opened them, but this wasn't something he should do. This would be invading Lucy's privacy. So he just read what was on the envelope.

- "Dear mom… Dear mom… Dear mom… She wrote all those letters to her mother ? But why didn't she send them ?"

- "Maybe because she ran away from home." Reminded Ankh sarcastically. "Then again, why did she wrote them if she knew she couldn't send them ?"

That question stayed without answer until Emu noticed that Erza was standing in front of Lucy's desk, her hair shadowing her eyes as she stared at the desk, raising Emu's curiosity.

- "Erza, is there a problem ?"

- "I found Lucy's note." She said, holding a small piece of paper as she turned to the boys, now deadly serious. "It says 'I'm going home.'"

- "WHAAAAAAAAAT !?"

/- With Lucy -/

- "I'm glad you came back… Lucy."

While her friends were all losing it over the note she had left on her desk, Lucy had been on a train heading back to her home town and to the Heartfilia residence. After everything that happened because of her, she realized that there was only one thing for her to do. Which explain why she was currently in her father study, wearing a regal dress. In front of her stood her father, Jude Heartfilia, owner of the Heartfilia Konzern. His hands behind his back, wearing a black tuxedo, he was looking at Lucy with an angry spark in his eyes, proof that if he was happy she was back, he was still pissed by her running away from home.

- "I apologize for leaving without a word." Lucy said, bowing slightly at her father. "I shouldn't have left like that. I deeply regret it."

- "You took a wise decision. If you had been any longer in the guild… I was on the verge of using my wealth to destroy it." Declared Jude, not even a note of shame in his voice.

"Because you weren't already doing that ?!" thought Lucy sarcastically, boiling inside but staying silent and keeping her façade of the nice and sorry little girl.

- "You've finally grown up, Lucy. It seems you've learned an important lesson in just how destructive your selfish action can be." Lucy internally laughed at the irony, his own egoism at wanting to get her back having caused more damages than needed. "You are the daughter of the Heartfilia family. You live in a different world than everyone else." Lucy hung her head, those words feeling bitter to her as she remembered Natsu, telling her she belonged more to the dirty bar that was Fairy Tail, that the term of 'Lady' wasn't suiting her, a small smile gracing her lips, one her father saw but didn't paid attention to. "Anyway, if I called you back, it's because your future husband has been decided."

Lucy died a little on the inside. She had a little hope he was looking for her because a dad was worried for his daughter, but of course, it was nothing like that. He was just trying to save the future of his company. She frown but said nothing for now.

- "He's the prince Sawalu, of the Julenelles. I'm sure you remember, as he expressed interest in you before."

- "Yes, he did…" she said, frowning even more as she remembered clearly that guy. Fat and sweaty with an unbearable pronunciation default whose interest in her was only in her body.

- "By marrying into the Julenelles, the Heartfilia Railways will be able to expand south." Began Jude, his voice now professional as he turned his back at Lucy, looking through the windows of his study. "This marriage has tremendous value to the future of our family. And you must also give birth to a son to continue our family name." The word family was the only thing that really grabbed her attention, caressing the Fairy Tail guild mark on her right hand. "That is all. Return to your room."

As Jude had finished and dismissed his daughter, Lucy had decided that she had heard enough, and decided that now was the time to do what she first came here for. Something she knew had to be done as she didn't do it when she first left this place.

- "Father… Don't misunderstand me !" she began, her voice strong and decided as she looked at her father who was clearly surprised to hear her talk back, something he wasn't used to. "The reason I came back was to make myself clear ! I know it was wrong of me not to say a word. That's no different than running away. That's why I came back, to express my feelings. I'm leaving this house !" She declared, her tone not leaving any room to negotiation. Her decision was final and nothing her father, who was looking at her with wide shocked eyes, could say would make her change her mind.

- "I will walk my own path ! You have no right to decide who I marry ! And don't you dare lay a finger on Fairy Tail again !" As she said that, she grabbed the front of her dress, ripping it to shreds, leaving her in her bustier, not that she was embarrassed by that. "The next time you even try, I… No, the entire guild will see you as our enemy." Now, Jude was petrified, shocked by her daughter sudden change in behavior and by the pure anger she felt toward him. "If you hadn't interfered, we could have continued our civil conversation, but it's too late for that now, you've caused too much harm to my friends ! I don't care about money or beautiful clothes ! I want a place to be respected for who I am ! Fairy Tail is my other family ! They're much more caring than this one ever was. I admit that leaving this place is painful because of the memories I made with mother here, and I'll miss everyone here." She said, the staff of the residence in tears as they eavesdropped on the conversation. "But… If mother was still alive, I know she would tell me to follow my heart." The sweet smile on Lucy's face as she thought of her mother was full of nostalgia, but what shocked Jude up to his core was that for the span of a moment, he swore he saw his deceased wife standing next to his daughter, arms crossed, a smile on her face as if she was approving of what Lucy just said. That's also why he did nothing to stop her when she turned her back to him.

- "Farewell, father."

/- Later -/

Back in more classic clothes, Lucy was now standing in front of a large and beautifully engraved tomb, with a bunch of flower in front of it, Lucy looking up at the angel dominating the tomb with a small smile. Everything was pretty much calm until she heard a noise getting closer and closer, a rumbling noise she felt was pretty familiar. When the noise became way to loud and close, coming with people shouting at something, she turned her head to see a man in a white lab coat, riding a yellow bike. But he wasn't alone as he was followed by a flying pink haired young man thanks to a winged cat and on the bike were also a red head and a shirtless young man. To say that she was shocked by their presence would be an understatement, also dute to the fact that they were all tensed, talking about leaving the guild or others nonsense. It took many minutes to Lucy to convince them that they had nothing of the sort to fear and soon, the stress and anger they all felt was replaced by relief and joy, all laughing at the situation, all of this happening right under Jude's nose who was looking at them from his study.

- "So you came to visit your mother's grave ?" repeated Emu, as they all walked back the way they came, now relieved that Lucy wasn't leaving the guild like they first feared.

- "Yup. Sorry that I worried you guys." She said, rubbing her head in slight embarrassment.

- "It's nothing. It's our fault for jumping to conclusion in the first place." Admitted Erza.

- "By the way, I didn't realized it but this city is huge." Said Natsu, looking around him, amazed by the size of the place they were in, Lucy chuckling slightly.

- "Ah, this is just the garden." She revealed as she pointed at the mountain on the horizon. "My family own all the lands up those mountains." When she realized that they were all gazing at her with wide eyes, Lucy got confused. "What's wrong ?"

- "Your excellency ! It's an honor to know someone so humble !" shouted Natsu and Gray, standing at attention, much to Lucy's amusement and slight embarrassment.

- "And here I thought that old Kougami was rich. This family could give him a run for his money." Muttered Ankh, the memory of the CEO making him cringe a little.

- "Well, looks like we lost Natsu and Gray. Right, Erza ?" said Emu, turning to Erza was had her hands on her hips, looking at the sky with a distant stare.

- "The sky… is blue…"

- "Aaaaand we lost her too."

Lucy laughed at their reaction, feeling that she did made the right decision. This was her second family and in a way, the best of the two. She knew that starting from today, she will be able to be the one she really is without anyone telling her what to do. She was finally going to be herself, and she couldn't be any happier.

/- A few days later -/

While Makarov had gone to Era, accompanied by Shinnosuke, so the council could give their decision regarding the 'Phantom Incident', the rest of the guild was about to get some good news, coming from Mirajane.

- "Everyone ! From today onward, we can receive job requests again !" she declared cheerfully, a big smile on her face. "Though this took a long time everyone should work hard at their jobs !" Every one cheered at the news, almost everyone rushing at the request board, causing a stampede that got some people getting trampled. But otherwise, they were all in a good mood, one Lucy had a little difficulty to understand.

- "Why are they all getting excited about ? Usually, they just fool around and drink." She said, pointing at the crowd, Mirajane laughing at her statement. "By the way, have you seen Loki, Mira ?"

- "Hmm, no, not recently. Why ? Have you fallen into his hands too ?" She said with a smirk, looking at Lucy with her matchmaker smile that made even the strongest in the guild cower in fear.

- "NO ! I just wanted to thank him for retrieving my keys." She said, sighing. "Well, I guess that will have to wait."

- "Now that you're talking about it, Loki has been weird lately." Said Gentaro, approaching Lucy and Mirajane with Natsu. Gentaro was transformed as he was just back from helping with preparing the wood block for the next step of the rebuilding. And talking about repairs, Eiji and Ankh were sent back to their home world but for a good reason. According to their friends, they were about to stabilize the portal, enough to send someone to join them permanently and they needed Eiji and Ankh back to make it happen. They were now waiting for their reinforcement, wondering when they would come.

- "I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about." Said Natsu, standing next to Lucy. "He probably can't get over a girl. He'll get over… *BLAM* GAH !"

Natsu was suddenly knocked to the ground, hit behind the head by a flying table, much to everyone shock.

- "YOU DARE SAY THAT AGAIN !" Came Erza's booming voice who stood, fist balled as anger filled her voice, and seeing who she was talking to, her anger became a little bit more understandable.

- "Very well, I'll say it more clearly. This guild doesn't need weak bastards." Repeated Laxus, sitting on a bench, not seeing any problem in insulting his guildmates. "To be looked down upon by a guild like Phantom Lord… How embarrassing. I couldn't face anyone. And I'm talking about you, you three." He said, pointing at team Shadow Gear who hung their head in shame. "I heard you guys were beaten up by Iron Dragon Gajeel ? By the way, who are you guys ? You're disgrace ! AHAHAHAHAHAH !"

Laxus's laugh was too much for Levy who looked like she was about to cry, Laxus words hurting much more than she would have thought they would. And Lucy didn't liked it one bit. And neither did the Riders who all looked at Laxus with a glare, but staying silent for now, unlike Lucy who couldn't help but let some words escape.

- "He's too much…" She said, glaring at Laxus, fists balled by her side, the S-class mage noticing her.

- "Well, isn't this the princess who's the cause of all this ?"

- "LAXUS !" Mirajane slammed her hands hard on the counter, grabbing the blonde man attention. "The matter is closed. There was no talk of blame from the start. You didn't participate in the fight and you don't need to add oil to the fire. Master said that."

- "Of course this doesn't have anything to do with me." Admitted Laxus, almost proudly. "But if I was there, I wouldn't get beaten up like you did."

That last comment struck a nerves on the mages, and one of them was more pissed than the others.

- "Laxus, you bastard !" roared Natsu as he rushed to punch Laxus, who literally zapped away from him in a shower of sparks. "LAXUS ! Duel with me, you unfeeling, unreasonable bastard ! I'll make you regret all those things you said !"

- "Ahahahahah… you can't even touch me, and you still think you can beat me ?" laughed Laxus as sparks covered his hand, a nasty smile on his face. "If you really want to get fried, I'll be happy to remind you about who's the strongest !"

He pointed his hand at Natsu, a bolt of lightning coming to strike Natsu, creating an explosion which slightly blinded and when the light subsided, they all realized that the bolt didn't reached Natsu, but someone else who had stopped the bolt, a man clad in a golden suit with a shuttle shaped shield on his arm.

- "I thought in this guild, you were all like a big family. This is clearly not how you should act with your friends." Said Gentaro, holding the shield up, twirling Billy the Rod with his right hand.

- "So you're one of those guys who come from another world, the Kamen Riders, right ?" Asked Laxus, a small grin on his face. "I heard you were quite the fighters, exactly what a strong guild should be made of. Why are you wasting your time with those weaklings ?"

- "Let me think about it ? Hmmmm, no." *KRZZZ* In a flash, Gentaro took a step forward and stabbed Laxus with his rod, taking the man by surprise, sending him a few steps back as he got zapped by the rod. Since his magic was an electric one, he wasn't that affected but it surprised him nonetheless. "I don't know what your problem is, but power isn't all that matter. And if you think you can act like you can do whatever you want here, you'll have another thing coming." At that, Laxus noticed the others Rider, all ready to jump in should they need it. But that only made Laxus smirk even more.

- "I see. You think you're hot shit, huh ? When I'll succeed the guild, I'll erase all those weak shits away ! and every single one who opposes me ! I will build the strongest guild ! A guild that nobody will look down on. History's strongest guild ! AHAHAHAHAH !"

With that, Laxus left, laughing all the way as everybody looked at him, glaring at him.

- "Succeed ? What kind of nonsense is he talking about ?" asked Lucy, sitting back on her stool next to Mirajane whose shoulder slumped as she sighed.

- "It's not really nonsense." She said, looking at the glass in her hands. "After all, Laxus is master's blood and flesh grandson."

This shocked the Riders and Lucy, who just couldn't believe how a guy like him could be related in any way to Makarov. And for some of their mages friends, it didn't mattered.

- "This bastards." Seethed Natsu, still trembling in anger. "That guy think he can say all those thing and get away with it ? I'll beat his ass one day for what he said." His insistence about what Laxus said left a strange impression on the Riders.

- "Forget it… It'll be very troublesome if you have relations with that guy." Said erza, trying to calm Natsu as a smile appeared on her face. "How about this ? Want to take up a job ? Us four, just like before ?" she said, addressing Lucy, Gray, Natsu and Happy, much to the joy of the girl and Exceed and fear of the boys. As for the Riders, they all glanced at where Laxus had left, feeling like this was only the beginning of something that could become really bad.

/- A few days later -/

Natsu's team, composed of Lucy, Gray, Erza, Happy and of course Natsu, were all in Balsam, a small city known for his onsen, were they had just beaten a group of thieves hiding in a nearby castle. After taking care of that jobs, they had headed to the town to spend the night. After a nice bath in the hot source, Natsu, Gray and Erza had began a pillow fight but of course, like any other fight, they didn't knew how to hold back and after almost getting killed by a pillow who had send her through the room wall, Lucy decided to leave for a walk, with Happy coming with her.

- "They really don't know how to hold back, huh ?" she said with a sigh, Happy simply answering with a 'Aye'. "Are they even human ?"

- "Well, one of them was raised by a dragon." Said Happy, an argument that indeed could explain some things regarding Natsu. As Lucy giggled at him, she was joined by two new comers.

- "Hey there, lady." She turned around to face two young man who were looking at her wide a pervert light in their eyes. "You look great in that yukata… Sightseeing ?"

- "Wanna come with us for a drink or two ?"

- "Sorry, I'm not interested…" she said, walking away when the guys grabbed her by her arm, and when she tried to pull away, she realized with horror that her body wasn't moving. "What ? What's happening ? Are they… mages ?"

- "What was that ? Come on, play with us a little." Said the blonde one.

- "Let's make this a real funky night, yeah ?" added the other as Lucy tried to break free when she was saved by a young man she knew pretty well, who knocked the two guys out in a blink of an eye.

- "Are you alright ?" he asked, looking at the blonde who looked at him in shock.

- "Loki !? What are you doing here ?"

- "Those guys are rogue mages known for targeting women." He explain. "I was on a mission to capture them."

- "Oh. Well, thank you for saving me." Said Lucy with a smile as Loki began to drag the two criminals away when she stopped him. "Hey… I would like to thank you for saving me, but also for getting my keys back the other day. Could you come with me for a bit ?"

Loki seemed confused but accepted her proposition and follower her to an inn located not far from where they met, both sitting at the bar. But much to Lucy's annoyance, Loki decided to let 3 empty seats between them.

- "Are you for real, Loki ? I mean, I know you had an history with a Stellar Spirit mage, but I'd like to know what exactly. Why are you acting like that ?"

- "I'm sorry about that, but I don't really want to talk about it." He said, looking down at the bar, his eyes reflecting a certain sorrow that Lucy couldn't help but notice. But she didn't insisted, seeing that she would go nowhere with him right now, so she got up from her seat and began to walk away.

- "Well, I hope one day you'll be able to talk about it. Thank again for saving me."

- "Wait." He suddenly said, grabbing her arm as he got up and, without warning, pulled her into a hug and if this was already shocking for the blonde, what he said was even worse. "Lucy… I… Don't have long left to live."

- "Huh ?!" Now, Lucy felt shocked and afraid. This wasn't something she was ready to hear and she didn't knew how to react. Was that real ? Was he really about to die soon ? When he pushed her away a little, she was still petrified by what he said, but what he did next wasn't something she was expecting.

- "AHAHAHAHAH !" Loki now began to laugh, much to Lucy's shock. "You fell for it ! It's a little trick I use when I'm chasing girls. It help to get some sympathy…"

*SLAP* Of course, this wasn't the kind of joke or stratagem Lucy liked and, anger replacing the sympathy she felt as her hand left a red stinging mark on his face.

- "I hate those kind of joke !" she shouted, turning her heels in anger and slamming the door behind her, leaving Loki alone in the bar, the young man looking at the ground, balled fists by his side.

"What am I doing… I let my emotions get away from me… I can't drag Lucy into this !"

/- The next day -/

Little did Loki know, it was already to late as Lucy couldn't get his words away from her mind. She wasn't even fazed by Gray and Natsu, who managed to get covered in bandages due to their pillow fight the night before and were now trying to decide who had won that fight.

- "Why do you even have to take a pillow fight so seriously ?" asked Gray, forehead head bumping on Natsu's one.

- "I do everything with full effort !" retorted Natsu with the state of mind.

- "And you still lost !" added Gray, taunting Natsu who of course came back at full force.

- "WHAT ?! More like YOU lost !"

"How do you even determine who wins a pillow fight ?" even Juvia was trying to find some sort of logic in this dispute.

- "LUCY ! Didn't I win !?" they both asked at the exact same time, turning to the blonde who…

- "Knock it off !" Was clearly not in a mood to deal with their shit, the glare she send them calming them down immediately as if they just stared into Erza's angered eyes.

- "So…Sorry." They said, almost surprised to feel genuine fear regarding the blonde. As for Lucy, she turned back to her glass, her mind wandering back to the one she couldn't help but think about recently. Namely Loki and what he did last night in Balsam. He seemed really genuine when he said he didn't much time to live. This plus the fact that he seemed to have problem with Stellar Spirit mages, she had some questions and she knew someone who would help her in getting the answer she needed. That night, and after running away from a group of angered girls who were all some of Loki's conquest Mira had involuntarily, or maybe not, send after her, she was now in her apartment, sitting on her bed with Happy as she faced one of her spirit, the spirit of the South Cross, Crux, who was an old man with a cross shaped head and long mustaches.

- "So that's the way it is, crux-jiji." She said the old spirit to which she explained what happened recently with Loki. "I overreacted and slapped him. But as I think about it, I can't help but feel like he wasn't joking. Can you find anything about any Stellar Spirit mages who has been involved with Loki in the past ?"

With a hum, the old spirit began to wobble slightly before his arms fell limply by his side, his mouth opened slightly as he began to slightly snore.

- "He fell asleep, Lucy !" warned Happy, but Lucy didn't seemed surprised.

- "No, he's searching." Said Lucy, much to the cat shock. "He's an expert on Stellar Spirit magic. He know all that's going on between the human and spirit world. He even know which spirits had been summoned by which mages."

- "AHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !" The old spirit suddenly woke up with a powerful shout that made Happy cower behind Lucy in fear, the blonde edging closer to the spirit to listen to what he had to say. "In the Spirit world, one's activities is still a private matter, so I can't be precise." He began in with calm voice. "The Stellar Spirit mage Mr Loki has been in contact with is Miss Karen Lilica."

- "Karen Lilica !?" repeated Lucy in surprise, much to Happy's confusion. "She was a very famous Stellar Spirit mage and a real beauty who's been on the cover of the Weekly Sorcerer many times. But she died many years ago, how can she be linked to Loki ? Karen and Loki… Why do I feel so strange…"

- "LUCY !" The blonde shrieked in fear and jumped a few feet in the air as Gentaro suddenly appeared by her window, in her Rider form. "Big trouble ! Loki left the guild !"

- "What ?! But why ?!"

- "Nobody know and everyone is looking for him." He explained. "From what I could see, he had been acting strangely, recently."

- "Could it be…" Began Lucy as she got up suddenly, feeling like she had discovered something.

- "Lucy, you know something ?" asked Gentaro, looking at the blonde who was getting ready.

- "I think I know where he is. I'll go look for him." She said, putting some shoes on as Gentaro smirked under his helmet.

- "Need a lift ?"

- "With pleasure !" she answered with a smirk of her own.

ROCKET ON !

/- Later -/

While everyone was looking for him, Loki was alone, standing on some sort of cliff surrounded by tall waterfalls. In front of him was a single tomb, with a large ring on top of it with a small bell, the tomb itself standing out in this otherwise quite romantic place. Loki was looking down at the tomb, not moving one bit, a solemn look on his face which became a small confused scowl when he heard a strange noise reached his ears, one that became louder and louder, making him turn around to see Gentaro, flying toward him with Lucy under his left arm, landing behind the young man, quite surprise to see both of them here.

- "Whew. That was one hell of an experience." Said Lucy as she got her heart back under control, the rocket trip being a little too much for her.

- "Sorry. But this was the fastest way to get here." Added Gentaro, turning off the Rocket Module as Lucy turned to look at Loki, a small smile on her face.

- "Lucy ?! Gentaro !?" Was all Loki could say, surprised that someone managed to find him.

- "Everyone is looking for you." Began Lucy, her eyes carrying a pure concern for the young man in front of her. "Is this Karen's grave ?" Now, Loki was awestruck. How did she managed to know about Karen ? But it wasn't the only shocking thing Lucy had to say. "The famous Stellar Spirit mage, Karen Lilica, is your summoner." Loki's eyes widened even more for a second before becoming suddenly more serious and solemn. As for Gentaro, he frowned, wondering if he heard her right. "Stellar Spirit Loki, or should I say Leo the Lion."

- "EEEEEEEEEHH ?! The Lion !? Like, the Lion of the Zodiac ?!" asked Gentaro as he instantly began, as usual, to picture his own Leo with this one and if it was only a little strange to picture Tatsugami with Leo's clothes, it was more the idea of him acting like a ladies man that really threw him off. He couldn't believe what Lucy had stated, but Loki did nothing to correct her, on the contrary.

- "You're something, to be able to discover my secret." Admitted Loki, or rather Leo as a small smile graced his lips.

- "I'm a Stellar Spirit mage myself who's made a lot of contracts with spirits. I finally felt the real you." She said, the same smile as Leo gracing her own lips. "But I should've known sooner. Normally, when the summoner who hold your key dies, the contract is broken and you're forced to return back to the Spirit World until your next summoner call you."

- "Wait a second, let me try to understand, here." Said Gentaro, walking to stand next to Lucy. "From what I understand, your owner died many years ago, and yet you're still here. Which means that you must have a pretty good reason to stay, right ?" The smile on Leo's face answered him, a pained smile that showed that indeed, there was a really good reason.

- "Furthermore, just as humans can't live in the Spirit World, spirits can't survive in this world for long." Added Lucy. "Your life force will slowly be drained away until you die."

- "Yes, and it's been three years already…" revealed Leo, much to the two others shock.

- "Three years !? I can't believe you could even made it past one !" exclaimed Lucy, Leo's performance taking her by surprise.

- "You must have one hell of a life force to last that long." Added Gentaro, impressed by Leo's stamina.

- "Maybe, but I'm reaching my limit. My strength and my will are soon going to reach their limits." Reveled Leo, much to Lucy and Gentaro's horror, more shocked by the resignation in his voice than his statement.

- "Maybe I can help you ! Tell me why you can't return and I'll try to open the gate for you !" proposed Lucy, determined in not letting the poor spirit die. But Leo didn't wanted help. Or rather, he couldn't be helped.

- "I don't need your help. And the reason why I can't go back is pretty simple. I've been exiled forever because I broke a sacred bond between a summoner and a spirit." This stopped Lucy's rant as she and Gentaro waited, fearing what the reason might be. Ut since he got exiled forever, this couldn't be something small. "This is my sin and I'll die for it without complaint."

- "What kind of sin are we talking about here ? You made it sound like you almost destroyed the world." Said Gentaro, who racked his mind trying to find what he could have done. And saying the answer shocked him would be the understatement of the century.

- "For a spirit, what I did can be seen as equally worse as that, Gentaro." Said Leo, his face serious and voice straight as he drop the bomb. "I'm a traitorous spirit. I killed my own summoner Karen."

Silence followed his sentence as if it just killed all life in the surroundings. Lucy and Gentaro couldn't believe it. Can their friend Loki really have killed his own owner.

- "No… way…" whispered Lucy, to shocked to say anything.

- "A spirit that take the life of his summoner cannot return to the spirit world. I will simply disappear, right here."

- "Stop talking for a moment." Cut Gentaro, feeling like they were missing something that could be important. The context. "How did that happen ?"

- "It happened three years ago…" began Loki as he told them the whole story. "Karen was a famous mage belonging to Blue Pegasus. She was a good mage, but not a really good human. She was a woman who kept seducing man after man, a diva who though she was above anyone else. One day after deciding that she didn't wanted to spend time with a bunch of guys she had brought to the guild, she summoned one of my friend, Aries the Ram, and ordered her to keep them company."

- "She what ?!" cried Lucy, who cannot believe that one could use a spirit like that. As for Gentaro, he tried to stay focus on the story and not visualize Yamada, the Aries Zodiarts, entertaining a group of men.

- "She was horrible with her spirit, and Aries even more than the others. That day, Master Bob, the master of Blue Pegasus, scolded her for mistreating Aries once again and Karen didn't reacted like she should have." At that moment, Leo's face depicted a growing anger as the memories of that day came back. "She thought that Aries had told the master of how she treated her, even though anyone could see it, and punished her by beating her down and…" He took his time to breath before continuing. "… And decided to punish her by making her stay in the human world for 7 days." Lucy gasped as Gentaro scowled even more. "That's when I had enough and decided to take charge. I used my own power to close Aries door and open mine, taking her place. And since I came with my own power, Karen couldn't send me back to the Spirit World and by being in this world, I also prevented her from summoning other spirits since she didn't had the strength to summon more than one spirit at a time. And I used that to propose an ultimatum to her : I asked for her to remove the pacts she had with me and Aries, otherwise I'd stay in this world to make her unable to fight and be a mage."

- "Let me take a wild guess : she never agreed to let you and that Aries girl go, isn't it ?" Gentaro said, feeling like that Karen seemed to stubborn to give up.

- "You're right. I stayed in this and she never agreed to let us go. I held strong for all those time and after three month, I finally decided to go back, ready to forgive her but when I got back, I learned that she died, supposedly in a mission."

Lucy and Gentaro looked at him and now that they knew the whole story, they couldn't help but feel like Leo's punishment was unfair and stupid. And when Loki suddenly fell to the ground, they both ran at him, worried for his well-being.

- "Loki !"

- "Hang on, buddy !"

- "Because of me, Karen was unable to summon any other spirits and in that state, she went out on a job and lost her life." He resumed, panting and sweating as if strength were leaving him. "Ever since that day, I've been unable to go back to the Spirit World. I guess the Stellar Plane is disobeying, too; rejecting one of its own." He then turned to look at his friends, a warm smile on his tired face as his hands were starting to fade away. "This is the end of the road for me, but I'm glad I could meet such an amazing summoner like you. Thank you, Lucy. And Gentaro, I hope you and your friends will be able to stop those Shocker guys and save this world."

- "Wait ! I'll find a way to help, there has to be one !" Shouted Lucy, refusing to abandon her friend.

- "I can't be saved. It's useless." Whispered Leo.

- "She's right ! I'll never abandon a friend, you hear me ?!" Added Gentaro. "Nothing is impossible when you do it for your friend ! I have friends whose friendship was strong enough to bring me back from the dead ! We WILL save you !" While he talked, Lucy had wrapped her arm around Leo and tried as hard as she could to forcefully close Leo's door, eyes shut as she concentrate and put her whole heart in her words.

- "OPEN ! Door to the Lion ! Return Loki to the spirit World !" she chanted, refusing to give up on her friend, even more on something as unfair as that. When Loki asked her to let go, that he was fine with his fate, she felt her heart swell even more. "No, it's not fine ! How can I just sit back and let my friend disappear right in front of me ?!" At that, her own magic began to manifest, sending golden sparks out of her body as she was hurting herself in trying to send Leo back. And this time, Leo lost his composure, shouting at her.

- "Lucy ! You can't use all your power at once like that ! It won't open ! You have to stop you're starting to merge with the spirit energy ! If you keep this up, you'll disappear with me ! DON'T ADD TO MY SIN !"

- "WHAT SIN ? If that's the rule in the Spirit World, then I'll change it !"

As soon as she said that, a wave of pure energy began to swirl all around them, a wave so strong the waterfall began to collapse before the waters got sucked up to the sky who literally opened, forming a large portal showing the stellar void as the energy began to gather in the form of a gigantic man with a large mustache and a large azure plate armor with a star on his helmet, towering above the three mages and Riders who looked up at the newcomer with wide eyes, Leo being the only one to recognize him.

- "You've got to be kidding me ! That's… The Stellar Spirit King !" exclaimed Leo, not believing that the King himself would show up. In his current state of mind, this couldn't end well for them. As for Lucy and Gentaro, they were shocked, looking at the giant spirit with wide eyes. What could the most powerful Stellar Spirit want of them ?

- "Old friend, we who pledge oaths to humans… we who bear keys, we are forbidden from killing." Said the King, his voice deep and rumbling, not carrying any animosity, only a profound respect for the rules as Leo frowned sadly as he listened to his King siding against him. "Though not directly, you did cause this indirectly, Leo. It is forbidden for you to return to the Spirit World."

- "Wait a minute ! Don't you think you're being unreasonable ?" asked Lucy, not wavering in her desire to save her friend, and neither will Gentaro.

- "She's right ! He's been suffering for 3 years, stuck in a world he doesn't truly belong to ! And he did it all for the sake of a buddy !"

- "Old friend, that's the one 'rule' o cannot change." As he said that, Leo's eyes widened.

"No way… He must have heard Lucy when she said she'll change that rule… Why did he show up personally for something so insignificant ?"

- "You're really stubborn, old man !" shouted Gentaro, much to Leo shock. "He never intended to kill Karen and if she did as she was told, if had freed Leo and Aries from their contract, she would have survived ! She got killed by her own stubbornness ! So how could you blame him for helping a friend ?!"

- "This isn't about an old friend, old beard-guy !" added Lucy. "We're talking about the present and what's happening right now ! Can't you see this was just an unfortunate accident ?!" as she felt her anger and feeling of unfairness grow, she closed her eyes, feeling her power grow. "It's like Gentaro said. This isn't Leo's fault ! I'll never accept him as anything but innocent !"

- "That's enough, you two !" cried Leo, who had enough and wanted everything to stop. "I don't need forgiveness ! I want to atone for my sin ! Disappearing… Into oblivion… is fine…"

- "We won't let you do that !" shouted Lucy and Gentaro, both of their power exploding. "Caring about your friend's feeling is not a sin !"

As they shouted those words, cosmic energy seeped out of Gentaro, forming many human silhouette Leo didn't recognized but the people they represented were smiling at Gentaro while looking up at the King. But the most surprising, at least for Leo, was the fact that Lucy, in an unbelievable surge of strength, managed to summon, even for a few seconds, each and everyone of her golden Spirits, plus Plue, at the same time, the Spirits standing by her side, glaring defiantly at their own ruler. The spirits disappeared almost immediately after that as Lucy, depleted of her magic, fell to the ground, Leo running to her ad Gentaro stood his ground, the silhouette disappearing.

- "My friends all feel the same way too." Added Lucy as she struggled to get up, tiredness taking nothing out of her motivation. "As a Stellar Spirit, you should understand Loki's and Aries's feeling too !"

- "You almost bit off more than you could chew !" scolded Leo as he got to Lucy, still amazed by her multiple summoning but worried for her health. "It may have only been brief, but you could have died !"

- "… If you would go this far for my old friend… Maybe the 'rule' is the one at fault." The Kings words struck Leo's like lightning as he look up at his King, not believing what he was hearing as Lucy and Gentaro simply smiled. "You committed a sin for your comrade Aries's sake, Leo. I'll try and save that Leo, old friend. For the sake of that radiant bond, I'll consider this case an 'exception'. Leo… I'll allow you to return to the Spirit World."

Leo was shocked beyond words. He stood there, not moving, as he processed what the King just said. As for Lucy, she was all smile as of now.

- "You've got a benevolent side after all, old beard-guy." She said with a grin, the King grinning in return before looking back in front of him, seeing Gentaro hovering in front of him.

- "I knew you weren't a bad guy at heart, old man." He said, holding his hand to the King who, surprised, reached for him allowing Gentaro to do his usual handshake. Well, partially since this wasn't the kind of hand he usually shook, doing only the last part of it, bumping his fist on both sides of the King's. Once he was done, he smirked under his helmet and bumped his chest before pointing at the king with the same fist. "I guess this makes us buddies now, right ?"

- "You're fearless, old friend." Simply said the King with a smirk as the starry void began to wrap around him, looking down at Leo one last time. "Leo, you were falsely accused. Thank the guidance of the stars."

- "Please, wait… I…." Tears were falling down from his face, his whole body shaking as he took in what had just happened, not believing he was worthy of such a judgement. But the King was having none of it.

- "Even after this, if you still feel compelled to atone for your sin, then I command you to become a pillar for your friend and live on." Said the King voice, his body already gone as Leo looked at the sky with a gasp. "Those are the type of friends who have the most significance. There is much nobility in willing to lay it all on the line… To protect someone…"

And with that, the waterfall returned back to life, the water splashing the cliff they were on as Leo looked down, a small smile gracing his lips as Gentaro landed next to him and Lucy, the girl looking at him with a large smile.

- "See ? What did I tell you ?!"

Leo said nothing, his tears talking for him as he looked at his two friends, a golden door appearing behind him, opening on a bright light that began to suck his body in.

- "Thank you. I look forward to working with you… And to being your backbone…" he said as he began to slowly disappear, his body and mind going back to the place it truly belonged to.

- "Likewise." Was Lucy's answer, a small smile on her face as a light began to shine in her hand.

- "And thank you too, Gentaro. Thank you a lot."

- "Don't sweat it. I just helped a bud, you got nothing to thank me for."

With one last smile, Leo had completely disappeared and the door closed, before disappearing in turn, reappearing in the shape of a key in Lucy's hand. Leo, Spirit of the Lion, just joined Lucy's team. Everything seemed good now, but just as usual, the good times didn't lasted, a voice disturbing the newfound peace.

- "Damn it ! That humongous power is gone ! We're too late !"

Gentaro and Lucy turned their head toward the newcomer, only to see a bunch of weird guys. Clad in a black skin tight suit, their completely black head, hidden under a hooded jacket, had no face. They wore grey boot and had some sort of grey ribcage design on their torso. On their waist, they had a belt with a big purple eye on it with a red iris. Among those guys, the one who talked was quite different. His boots were a gold color, his face was red with four blue eyes and some sort of black and white headset. He wore a large white robe with light blue on the top and bottom and golden lining all over it. If his left arm was normal and covered in pieces of white armor, his right arm was basically a blade, like some sort of Katana. Lucy gasped, staring at them in shock as Gentaro squinted his eyes in annoyance.

- "Of all the kind of guy they could send, they chose Gamma." He muttered, grabbing the Elek Switch. "As if that day could get any weirder."

ELEK ! ELEK ON !

- "If you missed your target, I'd suggest you leave."

The Gammas turned their head, the sight of the golden clad Kamen Rider grabbing their attention, now turning toward the slightly stiff Rider.

- "Well, if it isn't a Kamen Rider ? Looks like we didn't came here for nothing in the end. We can always take your head." Said the Katana Gamma as he glanced at Lucy, who was still on the ground, too tired to move, clutching her new key to her chest. "And I feel some great power coming from that girl. Whether it's something in her or on her, I'll take it too."

- "Yeah, right, as if. If you want to get your hands on her, you'll have to get through me first. No one touch my friends."

- "You don't want us to lay a hand on her, but the question is : can you land yours on us ? Attack !" The Gamma commando obeyed their boss, running at Gentaro who tried to keep them away by sending electric arc at them with his rod, and by relying on others Switches.

WATER ON !

Gentaro was in a pinch and he knew it. With his Water Module, he could send the Gamma back and use his electric rod on the drenched creature to fry them, but he knew he couldn't hold them back for long and seeing the Katana Gamma slicing through the water and easily dodging the electric moon shaped attacks, he began to feel slightly desperate. When a Rider fought a monster he wasn't made to fight in the first place, he always lost a little power, they weren't as effective as they would against their own enemies. And it was even truer when it came to Gamma. They were ghosts and as such, were only truly affected by attacks that stood on the same plane of existence as them. He was swarmed and could do nothing as he got slashed by the Katana Gamma which had send him flying backward and past Lucy who was now alone with the Katana Gamma.

- "So, let's see what we've got here." He said, grabbing Lucy roughly by her arm, trying to make her let go of her keys. "Come on, little girl. Those keys seems powerful. Give them to me !"

- "Never ! I'd rather die than letting you monster get your hands on them !" She shouted defiantly, refusing to let go of those she consider like a surrogate family.

- "Defiant even through death, huh ? Well, if that is what you wish for…" he said, raising his bladed arm up while Gentaro was trying, and failing, to free himself from the others Gamma who kept him busy, the Rider starring powerlessly at the poor blonde.

- "LUCY !"

*BRAAM* Out of nowhere, something fell from the sky and landed next to Karen's tomb, a cloud of smoke covering the figure who had joined the fray. No one dared to move, too curious by what, or who, has arrived, when an unknown; at least for Lucy, voice came from the cloud, followed by a flying form.

EYE ! BATCHIRIMINA ! BATCHIRIMINA !

*SHING-SHING* A dark flying shape came and pushed the Gamma away from Lucy and Gentaro, forcing them back together as the form hovered next to Lucy who was looking at it wide eyes wide as saucers.

- "Did I got saved… by a flying jacket ?!"

Indeed, the form was in fact a strange black jacket with really thin, stick like arms sticking out of the black short sleeves, orange lining on the sides and around the hood, who had been lifted to cover a faceless head, two orange eyes shining from under it. Gentaro however was smiling at it from under his helmet, already knowing who it was.

- "Looks like reinforcement are here." He said before turning to the dust who was slowly disappearing. "So you're the one they send, huh ?"

- "Indeed I am. HENSHIN !"

KAIGAN : ORE ! LET'S GO ! KAKUGO ! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST ! GO ! GO ! GO ! GO !

The flying parka flew to the dust and disappeared inside it, a single eye glowing through the smoke before the dust finally disappeared, revealing a man Lucy had never seen before, even if it wasn't that hard to guess what kind of man he was. A black armor whit orange designs running all over his body with a blue eye on the torso. He was wearing the same orange parka that saved Lucy and Gentaro, he had a whitish belt on his waist that looked like an eye with a big orange handle on the side and his face was mainly orange with two large black spot to form some kind of eyes and a single horn on his forehead.

- "My life is burning bright !"

- "Go get them, Takeru !" Shouted an ecstatic Gentaro, Ghost running at his opponent.

What happened next would be nothing more than a blurry memory for Lucy, as she looked at the newcomer who was plowing his way through their foes, reducing them to nothing without even breaking a sweat, and Lucy swore she saw him float above the ground, giving the name Ghost a part of truth. Soon, only the Katana Gamma was left, much to the latter frustration. As for Ghost, he decided to have a little change of clothes to end this, inserting another Eyecon in his Driver.

KAIGAN : MUSASHI ! KETTO ! ZUBATTO ! CHO KENGO !

For a moment, the Rider lost his jacket, now faceless as a new one appeared, fully red this time with two long blades instead of arms. When it got on the Rider, two swords appeared in the latter hands. He and Katana began to fought, for a moment evenly until he finally took the advantage against his opponent. He blocked his opponent assault while landing each and everyone of those he threw. Gentaro, now back in civilian clothes, looked at the fight while walking to stand next to Lucy who was still amazed by this new Kamen Rider.

- "Is he… Are his powers coming from those vests ?" she asked, still trying to understand how it worked while Ghost was starting to slowly but surely pummel his opponent.

- "Yes. Those are the souls of people from our world who are considered to be heroes due to what they did. Musashi for example was a legendary swordsman who founded the art of fighting with two katanas." Explained Gentaro while Ghost, now feeling like this was enough of a fight, decided to put an end to it. With one last slash, he send his opponent rolling on the ground and put his sword in front of his driver, the eye on the sword looking directly into the one in his belt.

DAI KAIGAN ! GAN GAN MINA ! GAN GAN MINA !

The standby began as a red energy covered the blades, Ghost using them to repel the last desperate assault that Katana had tried, none of his blows reaching its target, Ghost simply pressing the trigger on the swords to finish it all.

MUSASHI OMEGA SLASH !

Ghost swung his swords at Katana, slashing him first horizontally, throwing the monster off balance before lifting the swords and swinging them down, slashing it once again and this time, the Gamma was done for, exploding with a cry of agony, a sword and a white eye-shaped device appearing for a brief moment before both shattered, leaving nothing behind. Soon after, Ghost walked back to Gentaro and Lucy, still transformed.

- "Sorry I'm late. The gate had been a little harder to stabilize than we first though." He said, addressing Gentaro who shrugged it off.

- "Doesn't matter, you came at the right time, that's all that matters."

- "So, you are one of Gentaro's friends, right ?" asked Lucy as she got up, still a little shaky due to her summoning prowess, Ghost chuckling a little at what she said.

- "Indeed I am. Let me introduce myself properly." OYASUMI ! Said the Driver as he pulled the Eyecon out of it, revealing Takeru in the same kind of clothes he wore back when he first began to be Ghost, looking at Lucy with a gentle smile. "My name is Tenkuji Takeru, also known as Kamen Rider Ghost. Nice to meet you."

First of all, I broke my record in term of chapter length. More than 17000, holy hell. Second, AND HERE HE IS ! Takeru is joining the Riders and he's ready to go ! Concerning Ankh, I received a few ideas from some of you, and I used that stratagem about the collapsed guild to make them stay so I could include some of those ideas. But they won't stay for too long now. They'll appear a little next time, and Ankh a little bit more since he might take part of the next arc, but not after that, or unless I decide to bring them back, as reinforcement (temporary or not). I hope you liked that chapter. Don't forget to review and comment, it's always nice to read what you though about the fic so far. See ya !

Next time : Introducing the newcomer. A resort for fairies. The ghosts from a painful past.