SailorStar9: Figured I might as well get this fic over and done with, so this is Chapter 27 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, will it kill you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and the pairings.
Chapter 27: Future Battle Arc, Part One
"The Vongola defense has been wiped out now." Kikyo declared, having defeated Xanxus, with Bluebell taking out Belphegor, Levi and Lussuria in unison. "Let us go to Yuni-sama then."
"What are you talking about?" Hibari's head replaced one of the Spinosaurus'. "That will never happen."
"The heads!" Zakuro gaped as the rest of the Spinosaurus' heads were also replaced.
"What?" Kikyo barely managed to dodge the charging heads. "They're attacking me?"
"What's going on, Kikyo?" Zakuro demanded, when he and Bluebell were hit.
"How can this be?" Kikyo wondered. An illusion? A hostile presence? He turned to the clearing. "There you are!" he tossed a vine dart.
"Huh?" Flan started. "Masters, you took a step forward. You always have to be in the center of attention."
"What are you saying?" Mukuro chuckled.
"Your head was blocking me." Aeon Mercury retorted, having slapped Kikyo's dart away.
"You always try to hog all the glory." Flan sighed.
"Are you done?" Hibari demanded. "Why did you fake our deaths?"
"I gave you your ten seconds." Belphegor reminded.
"That was over thirty seconds." Lussuria whined.
"Damn frog!" Belphegor glared.
"Bah." Flan shot back. "Oops, I clicked my tongue."
"We defeated a bunch of illusions?" Bluebell gaped.
"We're done warming up." the two older illusionists declared. "We swapped the illusions in during the fight."
"Hey, Flan." Belphegor started, knives in hand. "You're free to use illusions to fool the enemy, but was there any point in showing us die?"
"You don't get it, Bel-senpai." Flan replied. "We were adding some reality. Illusions are like a prank of sorts. Isn't that right, Masters?"
"No." Mukuro corrected.
"Huh?" Flan blinked. "Then it must be that. Masters' love of gore."
"No." Mukuro stabbed his trident through Flan's hat, as Aeon Mercury tossed her ice senbon at her student's hat.
"Masters, that hurts." Flan muttered. "Please stop."
"These illusions serve two purposes." Aeon Mercury explained. "To get Mukuro and myself warmed up, and to acquire data on the real six Funeral Wreath's abilities. By giving them a sense of superiority, we were successful in learning about Bluebell's defensive zone and Kikyo's underground attacks."
"Oh..." Flan nodded when Belphegor sent three knives into his hat.
"Stop playing dumb!" the Storm Varia snapped. "And how long are you going to maintain this illusion of Mukuro Rokudo? He's locked up at the bottom of Vendicare."
"Oh?" Flan blinked. "Didn't you hear? The guy in pineapple hair isn't an illusion, but Mukuro Rokudo in the flesh. My Master was released from Vendicare." he added, after Mukuro stabbed his hat with his trident.
"How do you like that?" Ken boasted. "Mukuro is awesome!"
"It's harder to explain when you talk, so please be quiet, Ken." Flan chided.
"Calm down, Ken." Chikusa voiced.
"I see," Kikyo realized what was going on. "If Hibari Ami and Mukuro Rokudo's student was the one who managed to fool the infallible Vendicare guards, it all makes sense."
"Yay, Masters." Flan stated. "We're famous."
"Shut up." Mukuro and Aeon Mercury stabbed Flan's hat again.
"I appreciate you giving us this worthless student, Xanxus." Aeon Mercury gave the Varia Boss a smirk.
"Either way, I didn't need your help." Hibari retorted.
"Don't act tough, Kyo-kun." Aeon Mercury chided. "A man like you should be fully aware. After using illusions to learn their techniques, it is clear that the real six Funeral Wreaths are very strong. Our lives are literally be on the line in this battle to the death."
"Okay!" Flan declared through his loudspeaker. "Time to start the show!"
"Very well." Hibari relented. "We can continue this discussion after they've been defeated."
"I can't wait." Aeon Mercury rolled her eyes.
"This is where the Milliefiore and Vongola will have their final battle." Kikyo announced.
"The side which controls this area shall prevail in the end." Mukuro agreed.
"But you don't get to fight, Mukuro." Aeon Mercury reminded, going into full-doctor mode. "You're still recovering; so you should at least wait for the Vongola Box to arrive."
"Destroy!" Xanxus' blasts destroyed two Spinosaurus' heads.
"Not bad." Kikyo dodged the blast.
"Bel-senpai, your attack had no effect." Flan called, Belphegor's knives missing Bluebell. "You missed. Bel-senpai, you hit the wrong person." he added, Belphegor tossing three knives on his hat.
"No way." Bluebell gaped when Ghost teleported into the battlefield.
"Byakuran-sama..." Kikyo stammered. "It's too early. Ghost..."
"That's the Ghost I've heard so much about?" Bluebell wondered. "Isn't that kind of bad?"
"Byakuran-sama," Zakuro landed. "Why did you send him out so early?"
Even his allies are uneasy. Mukuro mused.
"But he's our enemy." Levi reminded. "He's clearly one of the Milliefiore. Look at his hand. It's a Mare Ring."
"Which means..." Belphegor grinned. "First come, first serve." he tossed his knives at the Milliefiore Lightning Guardian.
"An illusion?" Gokudera gaped when Belphegor's knives passed through.
"What do you think?" Mukuro asked the other two illusionists.
"My gut tells me that it's not an illusion." Flan replied.
"Correct." Aeon Mercury agreed. "That's the real thing."
"In that case, we attack!" Levi went on the offensive. "Super Levi Volt!"
"He shrugs off Flames?" Kikyo wondered when Levi's attack went right through. "No one told us about that. What is this?"
"Flames of multiple elements might have an effect." Basil suggested. "Gokudera, Sasagawa, now is the time to use the NBox Combination."
"But that technique is difficult to control." Ryohei reminded.
"No, the enemy's just strolling along." Gokudera corrected. "It's worth a shot."
"Solarstorm Fang!" the three chorused.
"An impressive joint attack." Aeon Venus and Mars whistled.
"Something's wrong." Zakuro noted after the combination attack hit its mark.
"The Flames are faltering." Kikyo noticed the Flames from his Ring being drawn away. Has it begun? He realized.
"The hell?" Aeon Mars cursed, the three Aeon Senshi having taken to the skies to dodge the light beams.
"What?" Lussuria dodged the light beam headed straight for him.
Bluebell, on the other hand, was not that lucky as the beam hit her square on the chest. No way... the Rain Milliefiore gaped. Byakuran... why?
"What?" Aeon Mercury frowned when as Bluebell's Flames were completely drained dry.
Ghost has begun to awaken. Kikyo mused, dodging the light beams.
"Scum." Xanxus scowled, one of the beams taking out Levi's Box Weapon. He absorbed my Flames? He wondered, Ghost's shield taking in his blasts.
"This is Ghost's awakening?" Zakuro cursed, dodging the several beams Ghost shot at him. "Doesn't matter which side you're on. We're all dead!"
"It's dangerous here." Mukuro warned, having saved Chrome from an incoming light beam. "You've done well to survive so long, Chrome. No, Nagi."
"Mukuro-sama..." Chrome blushed. "I'm so glad."
"Oh?" Mukuro chided as Chrome passed out. "Losing consciousness now? That's troubling."
"Ow!" Flan's Box Weapon whined as an incoming light beam hit. "Master, your very existence is so gruesome that it's not surprising that she'd faint."
"Drop the cheekiness and ridiculous Box Weapon." Mukuro scolded.
"It hurts when my Flames are being sucked away." Flan whined. "Master, save me."
"We need to establish what that is. Mukuro." Mukuro noted. "Mukuro, Cambio Forma." the Mist Guardian put on Daemon's Devil Lens. What? He frowned. This is no living organism, but a supernatural phenomenon. We can't even touch him. A literal ghost. A phantom.
"Sawada," Yuni voiced, after Ryohei informed him of the situation, "I have Uncle Reborn here."
"Yuni." Tsuna gaped. "Thanks." he nodded.
"It's your decision." Reborn cut in before Fuuta could protest.
"Wait here, everyone." Tsuna swallowed two Dying-Will pills. "I'm off." after leaving Saori and Yuni with the rest, he shot off.
"Damn!" Zakuro cursed when one of the light beams hit, draining him completely of his Flames.
"Return to your Box, Mangaroo!" Ryohei recalled his Box Weapon.
"Hey, Kikyo!" Aeon Venus turned to the Cloud Milliefiore. "What the hell is he? Aren't you on the same side? Why's he attacking you?"
Ghost... Kikyo mused, recalling what Byakuran had told him. Apparently, Ghost was not just a person who looked like Byakuran; but in reality, Ghost was him. Byakuran further explained that he thought bringing in another 'him' would make things easier, so he decided to bring a parallel version of himself to aid him. But, this came at a very high price. Even by using cutting edge technology to help with this process, Byakuran had ended up destroying an entire world to make this possible. Ghost arrived, with some semblance of a human, but had become a mindless mutant that absorbed Dying-Will Flames from everything and anything in the process. When Byakuran-sama mentioned Ghost's talent, was he referring to the ability to absorb Flames? Then why would he send him in at this time when we would also fall under attack? Has Byakuran-sama abandoned us? Byakuran-sama, the one who saved us from misfortune? Byakuran-sama... why? "At this rate... we will also..."
"Solid attacks go through him." Basil confirmed his suspicions by tossing his boomerang at Ghost. "Only the Flames are absorbed."
"Yamamoto." Ryohei blinked when Yamamoto blocked off the two tendrils curving back towards him and Gokudera.
"Looks like it's getting crazy here." Aeon Jupiter noted.
"We got the message about the Flame absorption, but this is worse than I expected." Yamamoto admitted. "I'm getting more tired by the second."
"But we have to stop this giant somehow." Dino stated, arriving with Squalo.
"You're late, scum." Xanxus chided.
"I'm sorry!" Squalo retorted.
"This is bad." Aeon Mercury frowned, her crystal visor already scanning Ghost. "He appeared out of nowhere. As if he teleported in. It's possible that he'll use the energy he's absorbed to move far away again."
"Which means..." Ryohei gaped.
"He'll jump straight to Yuni." Gokudera finished.
"I won't let that happen!" Tsuna swore. My Flames are already being absorbed at this distance? He mused.
"Tsuna, leave him to us!" Aeon Venus shouted. "We don't use Death-Penetration Flames to fight, then perhaps..."
"Girls..." Tsuna blinked.
"Brethren-in-arms withdrawing for the distance of 8 sun and standing still; blue bolt, white bolt, black bolt, red bolt; sinking into the ocean together seeking redemption," Aeon Jupiter started making hand signs. "Ryubi no Jōmon!"
"Koko no Jōmon!" Aeon Venus continued the incarnation.
"Kikai no Jōmon!" Aeon Mercury chanted.
"Hoyoku no Jōmon!" Aeon Mars intoned.
"Shiji no Saimon!" the four Senshi finished their combination sealing spell, trapping Ghost within the prison-like barrier.
"Tsuna, now!" Aeon Venus barked.
In that case, Tsuna went into his 'Zero Point Breakthrough' stance and charged in through the 'Koko no Jōmon' opening.
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.
