Chapter 29 – Hostage Crises
Zollzero Territory, Autumn Time,
Year X792
Natsu Dragneel
We neared the secret entrance to the Zollzero mansion under the cover of the night. Edric led us through the brush quickly, and carefully. His movements, although cautiously quiet, were brimming with confidence. I was at the front of the group, with Sting just a step behind me. Every time Edric stopped to check his location, or the that the path ahead was clear, the White Dragon Slayer would bump into me. After a little whilst I grew bored of this, and turned around, whilst Edric kept us hidden away from a few of the guards. "Here, take my hand. That way you'll stop bumping into me" I whispered to the blond. Sting looked at my outstretched limb suspiciously, before smirking.
"Is that all its for?" he responded with a wry smile, and a wink. I nodded.
"Yes" I stated, before turning back to continue following Edric. Sting held my hand all the way to the meeting place, before dropping it quickly as we emerged from the darkness of the brush, to a flattened plateau of ground, on the opposite side of the mansion building to where Laxus and the others were currently fighting.
Although it didn't take us all that long to get to the rendezvous point, I still felt a little apprehensive to be so far into enemy territory, Sting's presence did comfort me a little though, and losing the warm feeling of his palm in mine was more disheartening than I would have thought. Just as we arrived, the space around the plateau warped, before Arthur and his group arrived from a Territory spatial-bubble. Erza was already wielding a blade in her hand when she arrived, I noticed, however the group didn't seem to have encountered any issues. From beside the red-head, Juvia already was moving off towards Gray. I smiled internally, amused by the obsessive actions of the Water Mage, happening just in front of Rogue. Sting noticed my smile and elbowed me. "Don't smile like that, she could become a serious issue for Rogue later" the blond whispered. I frowned, before shrugging.
Arthur looked at the assembled wizards with a confident smile on his face. "Alright, we're all here and unharmed. Excellent. From here on, though, I doubt we will face too many difficulties, since only the family members know about this passage, and our cousins have been so out of touch not even they should be aware" he stated.
Thomas frowned at this. "Well, there's a small statistic that suggests they may know about it" he corrected. Edric rolled his eyes and patted his twin on the head.
"Yes, yes, Tom. Just like there's a small statistic that we'll be hit by a meteor at this very second" the other boy laughed.
Arthur looked between his brother's, before returning his attention to the group. "Regardless, it shouldn't cause too much of an issue for us to proceed onwards from here. After that, the plan is simple, we need to isolate, preferably, but at least locate the Blade Troupe, and deal with them, before we take out our cousins. We don't have to kill them, just incapacitate and capture" he stated. Medea smiled.
"We'll take it from there" she added, her voice tainted with a vague wickedness.
I smiled in understanding; I was just fine with knocking out an opponent. Either way, after this I would get to go out with Sting again, unhindered. "Before we go in, does anyone need any reminders or info?" Arthur asked the assemblage. I shook my head, as did Gray, Rogue, Sting and Lucy; we all remembered the plan from the guildhall.
Once more Arthur smiled confidently, before turning on his heel and gesturing towards the doorway. "If that's the case, let's go" he stated.
As the Spatial Mage neared the door, with all of us in tow, a faint scent hit my nostrils. "Wait!" I called out to everyone, earning a surprised, yet intrigued look from Arthur.
"What is it?" Kenji asked in a cold, alert tone. I frowned.
"I think… Behind you!" I called out, just as a blade cut through the wooden door to aim for Arthur. Kenji reacted with lightning speed, one of his own katana, wreathed in flames, clashing against the assassin sword, just as Arthur teleported us all back a few steps from the doorway. The sudden relocation made my head spin momentarily, however unlike my regular motion sickness, this passed quickly.
"Damn" a gruff voice cursed, as from out of the explosion of splintered wood the image of the burly, silver-haired man rose.
Arthur looked to me. "Thank you for the warning" he stated. I nodded in receipt, before he faced the entrance once more.
Unfortunately, it seemed everything was not going as swimmingly as the man had just promised us, as from out of the path of destruction the Blade Troupe stood proud. "Argent, return" an all-too-familiar voice sounded out, causing the giant man to cease his continued stand-off against Kenji, both parties returning to their respective sides.
"Well, this is a surprise" Arthur stated towards the group, with their black-haired rapier-wielder leader at the front.
Hugo smiled, giving a vaguely respectively nod of greeting towards Arthur. "Hello, Arthur Zollzero. We meet again, hopefully for the last time" he greeted.
Arthur laughed. "Hello idealistic follower of the wrong path, I could say the same about you" he retorted.
Hugo frowned. "I take it that its by your doing, our new allies are being attacked out front?" he asked.
Arthur and Edric scoffed. "New allies? You mean those traitors?" the teenage Card Mage commented.
Arthur smirked. "I'm surprised you'd call them that, since they did serve we the Zollzero, the family group you despise so much" he added.
Hugo shrugged, smirking. "Even the most novice chess player knows to keep a few pawns" he replied.
Arthur nodded. "Yes, but you're neither a novice nor a chess player. Surely you have considered the possibility that once we defeat our cousins, they will no longer side with you" Arthur replied. Hugo shrugged.
"That is only if you defeat the young master's. Speaking of them, they are awaiting you in the garden" he stated. Arthur smiled.
"Well then, I guess we'll be on our way. Can't keep them waiting, can we?" he replied, before making a vague gesture for us all to move. As soon as he did this, Hugo raised his blade tip to be level with Arthur.
"No. Only the Zollzero bloodline may pass beyond this point, your guild lackeys may remain here" he stated, his voice cold and unmovable as steel.
Arthur looked toward Hugo for a moment, before looking around at the group. "What's to stop us stomping on you, and then dealing with our family matter?" he asked.
Hugo raised an eyebrow, before smiling. "Well, whilst you do have the numbers advantage, you know just how powerful we Blade Troupe are. To fight us and then the young master's would cost a great deal of your magic power, would it not?" the black-haired man replied.
Arthur pouted in thought for a moment, before looking towards us, and his siblings. "It seems he is correct, so we have a choice? How do you wish to proceed?" he asked us.
Erza held up her sword. "He is correct, you would waste time and magic power fighting here with us. Even if you leave we still retain our numbers advantage. Arthur, you go, and we will stay and fight" the red head stated, earning a nod of agreement from me.
"Yeah" I voiced. Arthur looked for a moment between our faces, before turning his attention to Kenji and Haruki.
"What about you two?" he asked. Haruki smiled.
"I will do what I must to protect Edric, however if he wants me to, I will stay here" the teen stated. Kenji scowled at his grandson for a moment, before meeting Arthur's gaze.
"We serve the Zollzero House, and so we serve you. We will stay if you ask us" he stated.
Arthur nodded at the pair. "Good, proud answers" he replied, before looking towards us. "Alright, it seems we've dawdled long enough. Shall we go?" he asked the three.
Edric and Medea nodded, however Thomas shook his head. "I will stay to coordinate things" he stated flatly. Arthur nodded in understanding.
"Okay, come on then you two" he stated, before making a move towards the entrance. Hugo and the remainder of the Troupe all stood aside to allow the three to pass. Just before he was out of sight, Edric turned back to us.
"Good luck to you all. Haruki, keep your butt alive" he beamed. Haruki blushed embarrassedly, before Edric disappeared.
Once we were alone, the five swordsmen all returned to the staring positions, forming a defiant line against of force of nine. Hugo then rubbed his hands together. "Well now, that just leaves you" he grinned wickedly.
/
Five predatory eyes gazed down on our group, their number less than ours yet their confidence still brimming. Sting shifted beside me, before looking around. "Even if they have left, we still have the numbers advantage" the White Dragon stated in a quieter voice. Although it sounded level, I could detect a faint confidence in him. Heh, he's already faced dragons and demons, why should either of us be scared of a couple of swordsmen I thought in concurrence.
Kenji, however, overhearing this, turned towards us with a scowl on his face. "We may have the numbers advantage, however do not grow complacent" he stated in a rough-edged voice. This took us by surprise, however it was Erza who responded.
"But even if they are skilled, there will be no way they could defeat all of us. Especially with a warrior like you by our side" she stated in her usual brash and brazen tone. I nodded in agreement.
Kenji shook his head. "No. They are my students, and in all their training I had them fight at least two dozen other swordsmen and wizards by themselves. They already have faced greater numbers than this and won" he explained. Haruki nodded, already taking out both of the revolvers he had stashed away in his jacket pockets.
"If what I hear is true, then they've defeated thousands as a unit, and probably hundreds each individually. This won't be easy" the teen added, before checking his guns over.
A few laughs sounded out from the assembled Blade Troupe, before the youngest, Andor, spoke out. "It's only now that you realise the power we have. You guild wizards sure are slow" the teen grinned.
Hugo looked towards the younger male, before shrugging dismissively. "You shouldn't dismiss them so quickly, Andor. Unlike those fools of the Zero Star guild, these are Mages of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail, two of the most powerful and reputable guilds in the country. Plus, they have Thomas, Kenji and Haruki on their side" he stated. "Fighting even seven of them would be an issue for us" he added, his tone tainted vaguely with sarcasm. I looked towards the black-haired rapier wielder with confusion on my face.
"But there are eight of us" I called out, "Or are you so stupid that you didn't count right?" I asked. Hugo locked eyes with me before answering, a darkness in his gaze suggested I wasn't going to like this next answer. I balled my hands into fists.
"I didn't miscount, Natsu Dragneel. I simply stated what I see, and what I see are seven opponents" Hugo replied. I frowned at this, as did the others, before Hugo laughed loudly. Looking as though he was about to elaborate, the black-haired man looked around at his own group of five, before he and Caspian drew their blades.
The scimitar and sabre tips pointed up, bright light emanating from their blades.
Then the world went dark.
/
Zollzero Mansion Grounds, Autumn Time,
Year X792
General Perspective
Hugo and Caspian held their blades aloft, a light shining from them that subsided quickly. Initially, nothing seemed to happen, however it wasn't long before the first victim of the night fell. Natsu hit the ground with a heavy thump.
Sting was the first to reach for the unconscious pinkette, using his arm to lift Natsu's head gently, whilst the others all crowded around to observe. Only Kenji and Haruki remained facing their opponent. Lucy, Erza and Thomas all leaned down to take a better look at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "What's happened to him? Was it that light?" Lucy asked in a worried tone. Sting frowned, he could smell something faintly wrong with Natsu's scent but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Thomas summoned up an Archive screen, running a quick test over Natsu's body. "It seems that he is under the effect of their curses. They are keeping him unconscious and using it to control his body and mind. Who knows what kinds of nightmares they're showing him" the teen explained quickly, as his eyes scanned over the data presented to him on the magical screen.
Sting narrowed his eyes at Thomas upon hearing this. "Is it from the cut?" he asked. Thomas didn't look up, but nodded in answer.
Lucy, Gray and Erza all looked to Sting as he mentioned the wound Natsu had received, however before he could elaborate, Natsu opened his eyes, sitting up. "What th-" Gray started, before Natsu stood up and pushed past him, moving over to stand beside Hugo.
The black-haired sabre wielder smiled brightly as the pinkette approached, leaning an arm on Natsu's shoulder as he stood facing toward the remaining group. "Well now, that should even things up somewhat" he stated in a casual, yet callous, tone.
Thomas stood and faced the leader of the Troupe. "You planned to exploit Natsu all along, since you knew that we would bring him with us?" Thomas' tone made the question sound more like a statement. Hugo nodded all the same.
"Indeed. Ever since first meeting them at the beach, Natsu and Sting over there have been quiet involved with you Zollzero. I figured it could prove amusing to me to get them to fight against each other" he stated in a gleeful tone.
Thomas scowled, before looking towards the group. "It seems Natsu has become their pawn in this" he commented. Gray shook his head.
"He may be an idiot, but Natsu wouldn't hurt us, his friends" he stated.
Caspian, the scimitar wielder, laughed upon hearing Gray's statement. "You think so? Well, let's test that theory shall we" he stated, before waving a swiping gesture in the air with his blade.
As soon as he did this, Natsu began walking back towards his allies' group. Sting stood beside Kenji at the front as the pinkette returned. "Natsu?" he called out. There was no answer, not even the flicker of a smile.
Sting reached forward to touch the Fire Dragon Slayer, however as he did so, Natsu leapt forward, with a flaming fist, swinging and punching him in the gut. Sting gasped in surprise, before Natsu turned and returned to the Blade Troupe's side once more. "Hmm… nope, looks like he will hurt you after all" Caspian mused in a half-laughing voice.
Hugo, however, cut into the scimitar-wielder's musings with a sharp tut. "We've proven out point" he stated flatly, before smiling viciously. "The question now becomes; how do we proceed?"
Lucy glared angrily at the enemy group, whilst Rogue tended to the doubled-over White Dragon Slayer. "What are you going to do? Make us fight him?" she asked, her voice demanding.
Hugo laughed. "Well, that's one possibility. We could of course make him fight you, however at the same time, we could keep him as a very… valuable hostage" the man enjoyed watching the faces of anger flare up in his opponent group as he mentioned this. Only Haruki, Kenji and Thomas seemed unmoved by his taunts.
Lucy even looked as though she was about to jump out and attack them herself, before a voice cut in that made her stop. Or rather, a thought.
"If you are all going to be led like sheep, stop and think for a moment" Thomas state telepathically.
"What's this?" Gray responded.
"My Archive's communication feature. Now, listen, quickly…" Thomas' voice was level, but tinged with a need for time. "If you want Natsu back, just follow my plan, if not… worst case scenario is they kill him" he let that idea hang in their air for a moment, before he began elaborating. They all listened intently, all the while Hugo watched and taunted them.
Then, with carefully masked confidence they faced their foes.
/
"So, what's the plan?" Sting asked silently. Thomas gave a vague look, his back to the Blade Troupe allowing him to make such faces.
"It's pretty simple; we need to drag Natsu away from them, then beat him down. After that I'll take it from there, and remove that curse" Thomas stated, even in his telepathic communications his voice sounded flat and unemotional.
"But how are we going to get him back?" Gray asked, pressing the blond teen for more information.
Thomas gave a mental sigh. "It's pretty easy. First, we just need to taunt them to get them to use Natsu against us again, then when he starts attacking, you all can fight Natsu and keep him pinned, whilst Kenji, Haruki and I keep the Blade Troupe at bay" he explained. Sting frowned slightly at hearing this, but tried to keep the action covered so that the Troupe wouldn't notice their silent communication.
"I… don't think I can fight Natsu…" he stated a little unsurely. Erza and Lucy both looked to him as he said this, questioning gaze beaming through their eyes.
"Why not?" Lucy asked inquisitively.
"You've fought him before, and you always used to enjoy sparring with Natsu" Erza added on. Sting tensed, he could feel Gray and Rogue watching him from the corners of their vision too.
"Er… how should I… those times were different…" Sting floundered for words, until he realised there was only one way out of this situation. With a deep breath, he chose what his next words would be with care. "Although now is not the time for this… I guess I should say that Natsu and me have been… well, dating" Sting said what he had to, then went deathly quiet.
It took a moment before anyone responded, as everyone processed the information. Gray and Rogue said nothing. The first person to make a move was Erza. "Well that was…unexpected. But not bad news…" the red-head commented.
Lucy gave a sly nod. "Yeah, I guess after seeing the way you two interacted at the guild for those few months it kinda makes sense" she mused.
Sting couldn't help the slight upturning his lips did as he heard their responses. Juvia, too, seemed happy. "I'm glad you're happy" the Water Mage stated.
Before anyone could say, or ask, anything else, however, Thomas butted in once more. "Okay, now that we've learned that very useful piece of information, I need to say that Sting," he paused to make sure he had the White Dragon Slayer's attention, "Although it may be hard for you, you need to be the one to fight Natsu. Not because of some emotional crap about him being your boyfriend or whatever, no… you only need to fight him because you are the only person here with a spell that can be used to paralyse a person without harming them" Thomas commented. Sting listened to this for a moment, before weighing his options.
As he considered these, a promise he made to Natsu filled his consciousness; it was the promise he made just before Natsu and he went on their little mission to the club;
"How are you so confident that nothing is gonna happen to you? That curse could be used against us at any time" Sting had said.
"I'm confident because I know that if anything happens you will be there to stop me, dummy. You, Edric and Medea are all strong, and capable fighters, right?" Natsu replied.
Those words filled Sting with confidence. With a smile, he nodded faintly.
"Alright, let's do it!" he stated. Thomas smirked wickedly, back to the Troupe for another minute, before he turned around.
/
"Even if you've gotten Natsu, there's no way he'll let himself be controlled by you for very long!" Sting barked out suddenly. Only a few moments had passed since Natsu had been sent out to attack the group, however in that short time, they had planned completely for Natsu's rescue, and the Troupe's defeat.
Hugo looked to Sting with an amused, yet still predatory gaze. "You seem to underestimate the power of our cursed blades, Dragon Slayer. Although… then again, I suppose I should expect as much from you, since it as only by yours and Natsu's foolishness that we were able to prepare this perfect situation" Hugo replied. Sting frowned upon hearing this.
"What do you mean?" he questioned the black-haired man, who then just looked to Caspian beside him.
The scimitar wielder grinned brightly. "Well, perhaps you remember a certain train journey a few weeks ago?" he asked. Sting narrowed his eyes.
"Maybe" he responded. Caspian laughed.
"Well, regardless, I was on that train, in disguise of course. My original plan had been to accidentally 'bump into' you when we were getting off the platform, and thereby scratching you and the pinkette with my blade. However… as it turns out you made it even easier, since you and your overeager boyfriend just had to go have some private fun in a hotel room at one of the stops on the train, leaving your friends to go on without you" Caspian watched Sting's face carefully as he spoke, noting the ticks revealing that Sting knew exactly to when he was referring.
"What did you do?" Sting's face contorted into more of an angry mask. Caspian grinned wickedly.
"Well… maybe I just used my sword to knock out the hotel staff, then maybe I waited outside until I heard you were asleep. Then just maybe I snuck inside, and delivered a little cut to this pink-haired idiot's leg whilst he was sleeping" Caspian paused for a moment as he watched Sting's rage bubble up to full.
Sting on the other hand allowed himself to appear angry; he figured it would be easier to get them to use Natsu the more emotional he appeared. "Then what, you cut me too?" he asked in a growl.
Caspian sagged his shoulders in an over-emphasised sigh. "No, unfortunately it seemed my cut began to wake Natsu up, and so I had to make good my escape without giving you a present too" he stated.
Sting smirked upon hearing this. "Good, looks like even asleep, Natsu still looks out for me. Which is exactly why he won't allow himself to be controlled" Sting stated in a matter-of-fact tone that he could easily see was annoying both Caspian and Hugo.
The latter male smirked slightly. "Well then… why don't we really try and see what Natsu's view on the matter is, hmmm?" he mused, before raising his blade and levelling the tip perfectly with Sting. "Go on, Natsu" he barked a moment later.
Sure enough, as Sting had expected, Natsu began following the unspoken command, walking forward slowly, at first, before picking up the pace and rushing Sting's position. In order to 'sell the illusion', as Edric had so often said to them in the many various jobs they had performed with Natsu and Sting, the blond gave a feigned look of surprise, as Natsu raised his fists in a weight-filled, fire-infused punch. Right as the blow was about to connect, however, Sting dodged below, and delivered his own magic-imbued blow to the pinkette's chest. "White Dragon Claw!" Sting barked, as the attack connected, leaving the familiar glowing white stigmata on the Fire Dragon Slayer's chest.
Hugo's once grinning face immediately dropped into an annoyed grimace. "No…" he growled lowly.
/
Zollzero Mansion Grounds, Autumn Time,
Year X792
Sting Eucliffe
The whole ordeal took no more than a few moments, however it was the most crucial three minutes of the whole exchange.
I grinned as I looked confidently back towards the Blade Troupe; Hugo was still denying what had just happened. I decided to correct him. "Natsu is staying over here, with us" I stated toward the black-haired leader, gesturing towards the now paralysed and unconscious Dragon Slayer held in my arms. Hugo's nostrils flared at my gesture.
"No… no…" he seemed to have trouble processing how he had been played by our group.
A minute or so later, Thomas stepped forward. "Yes, and we're not giving you him back" the teen added to my comment. Caspian looked worriedly towards Hugo.
"So… what now?" he asked, eyes showing his annoyance at having lost his puppet. Hugo gritted his teeth in anger, before raising his sword aloft.
"Natsu, return. Now!" he barked, he trying to gain some influence over his escaped hostage. Natsu did not budge, however I did sense some strain being placed upon the stigmata's restraints. It won't last long… Natsu can quite… easily… remove this normally, so it shouldn't take the unconscious version of him too long to work it out either I thought to myself, with more than a little annoyance that my spell was so ineffective in this situation.
Looking towards my allies, I nodded to them. "Guy's… you might need to help me pin him down" I whispered quietly, hoping that neither Hugo, nor the rest of the Troupe, could hear me. Gray, Rogue, and Lucy all came assist me, each taking a limb, whilst I maintained a grip on Natsu's right arm. Juvia and Erza stood ready over us, the pair watching carefully should Natsu escape, each prepared to recapture him as needed.
That only left Thomas, Kenji and Haruki facing the Troupe head on. "So, what will you do now that you've lost your captive?" Haruki asked, his tone level, but with a hint of venom that hit home the blunder the Troupe had just committed. I watched Hugo's face intently; his expression always seemed to be a mask for something deeper, however his scent remained neutral regardless. Weird, it's like he only shows his personality when he's angry I thought to myself, analysing things only a Dragon Slayer would understand. Rogue seemed to notice this too, as like me the Shadow Dragon Slayer was watching the black-haired male's face intently.
Hugo surveyed the scene for another moment, before smirking slightly. "Hmmm… it seems that we must retrieve the hostage ourselves" he stated, in answer to Haruki's prior inquiry, before nodding at Argent. The burliest member of the Troupe nodded back, before he flexed his muscles, drawing his greatsword from its back-sheath. "Hmph…" he exhaled once, before rushing the distance in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. I was stunned to see the bear-like male move so fast, however what surprised me more was what stopped him; Kenji stood directly in his path, katana blade, this time coated in ice, clashing against the raised greatsword. Argent stared intently at the man, but did not speak. Kenji smirked slightly.
"You always did like to deliver one attack and finish off your opponents quickly, Argent" the old man mused, before he put a bit more force to oppose the bigger male's weighty over-head blow. Argent blew air out of his nose.
"That is because I am the strongest" he commented flatly, his voice a basso rumble that seemed to drive home the great size difference between himself and all those others present. Kenji did not seem even remotely afraid to hold off the giant.
"It seems I wasted my time trying to teach you anything" the old man commented, before smirking faintly. I could see his muscles tense. He's about to do something I thought to myself, just as Natsu began to press against the magical constraint I had placed on his body once more. "Brawn makes an attack hurt, but brains… they are what makes sure that attack connects" Kenji stated, before heaving up with his katana, swiping the blade in an arc that should have sliced the upper bicep of the greatsword-wielder. Unfortunately, Argent really was as quick as he was strong, and in one swift movement, he sidestepped the upward arc of the katana, aiming to deliver another blow to the old man, this time from his open side. "I said I am the strongest" Argent rumbled as he sent the sword down in a heavy-handed attack, stopping just before it connected. "Ugh…" he groaned.
Suddenly a new scent took my attention away from the small stand-off occurring right in front of me; it was the smell of strong magic. "No, you don't!" Haruki shouted, his guns already in his hands, the light from two magic shots quickly fading from Argent's abdomen. The giant looked passed his former teacher towards the teen.
"You brat…" he grumbled. Haruki grinned.
"This brat is the best marksman in all of the Zero Star guild" he replied, before Hugo interjected.
"And he's about to lose his head" the black-haired male stated, before looking to another of his compatriots. "Vance, go and get him" Hugo barked in a commanding tone. The longsword-wielder nod in receipt of his instructions, before drawing his weapon from its sheath.
"Okay" he replied, before dashing forward. As he did this, Argent took the moment of distraction to attempt to attack Kenji once more. No longer open, however, the old man once more parried the attack, before delivering one of his own, that pushed the burly silver-haired man back. Seeing that his grandfather was okay, Haruki redirected his attention to the opponent quickly covering distance towards him.
"Alright, guess it's two-on-two" he stated, before unloading each of his guns in turn, cursing as the magical projectiles were either deflected, or dodged by the brunette swordsman. "Hmph… neat trick, but how's this?" Haruki commented, dropping his weapons and holding up the fingers on each of his hands like a child pretending to wield a weapon. Vance laughed.
"Bullet Magic? What an annoyingly dull trick!" he stated, before going wide-eyed as two projectiles were fired from the tips of Haruki's fingers and split into hundreds of tiny, needle-like blades of light that delivered a smattering of pain all over the brunette's body.
"Ha, try and dodge my Scatter-Shot… if you can!" Haruki grinned, before he gave a slight glance back towards Thomas. The two shared a look for a moment, before Haruki resumed his confrontation. Not a minute later, Thomas came up beside me.
"Alright, they will buy us some time. I'd estimate it'll take about four minutes for either Argent or Vance to give up on defeating their opponent, and instead head over here. Erza and Juvia, stay on guard" the blond Archive user stated. The two women nodded in understanding, their gazes becoming fixated on the fights before them to notice if either of the two swordsmen began heading in our direction. I fixed my own gaze upon the teen Zollzero.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" I asked. Thomas did not look to me as I asked my question, from the moment he had come over, he was already pouring over data presented on three individual Archive screens.
"In those four minutes, or rather the next three, I am going to remove the curses inside Natsu" he stated, matter-of-factly. I raised my eyebrows hearing this.
"You can do that?" I asked, before something else hit me, "Although… if you could why didn't you do it when we came back from the beach job, when Natsu was cut for the first time?" I added as an after-thought.
Thomas shook his head. "I figured it out after that, when we hired you and Natsu to do that job with Edric and Medea at the bar" Thomas replied. "Now… it should just take a few moments to scan his body and-" as a soft yellow beam of light began passing down Natsu's body from head to toe, the Fire Dragon Slayer finally began moving again, thrashing about as if in pain.
"Whoa, Natsu… calm down!" I sputtered in surprise, as I rapidly increased my grip of the pinkette's right arm, Lucy, Gray and Rogue all doing the same.
"For… goodness sake… Natsu" the Celestial Spirit Mage commented in annoyance; she had Natsu's right leg, and seemed to have some difficulty in keeping the limb still.
"Just a few more minutes" Thomas stated, his eyes still scanning over lines and lines of information presented to him at a speed only those with high-quality Gale-Force Reading Glasses should have been able to process. As the time closed in on its end, Natsu began threshing about less and less, until he was barely doing anything more than clenching his fists. My eyes never once wavered from the pinkette's face, as it went from the dull, half-awake expression he had been wearing since the moment he was taken over, to the peaceful, sleepy expression he wore after Thomas announced the scan was complete. "Does that mean it's over?" I asked cautiously. Thomas shook his head.
"Unfortunately, all I can do at the moment with the time we have is deactivate the curses, turning them into nothing more than magical energy lingering inside Natsu's body" he explained, just as a loud curse of annoyance sounded out across the plateau where we were fighting.
"Damn it all!" Hugo roared, "It looks like we won't be using our hostage plan any more. Time for Plan B, Blade Troupe… cut them down!"
/
I looked up to Thomas with a worried expression. The teen's face had gone slack and dull. "Oh dear… it seems like we've completely run out of time" he stated.
I gritted my teeth. "So, we're gonna have to fight them all off and protect Natsu?" I questioned the boy, seeking his thoughts on the matter. Thomas did not respond, his eyes had a far-away quality that proved he was more deeply thinking about matters.
Gray, Rogue and Lucy all noted Thomas' lack of attention, and looked to each other for a moment, before looking to me. "You keep Natsu safe, we'll hold them off. Once he wakes up, you two join in too" Gray stated, speaking on behalf of all those present. I nodded.
"Alright just… be careful" I responded, heaving Natsu up in my arms, princess style. Agh… he's heavy, but not heavy enough that I can't carry him I thought. Just as I began to make my way over to the edge of the plateau, where I could watch the proceedings without endangering Natsu, I felt a presence behind me. Dodging forwards, I felt a blade slice the air where I had just been.
"No, you don't!" Caspian stated, scimitar glinting viciously. "I'm not letting you get away from us" he added.
Erza and Kenji both noticed the invaders presence, however it was the katana-master who was the closest, and quickest, to react. Dual wielding katana in each of his hands, Kenji viciously attacked Caspian, pushing the male back in line with the remainder of his group. "I've had enough of this" Kenji barked suddenly, as he stood alone against the Blade Troupe, the rest of us to his back. "I was your master, and I have to take responsibility for my actions… as such… I will take you all on myself" he declared. Hugo raised an eyebrow at this statement, graciously keeping his position in line with his comrades.
"You will, old man?" he mused with a hint of predatory anger in his words. Kenji locked eyes with Hugo.
"I may be getting old, but I'm not quite in my grave yet Hugo" he replied.
Hugo laughed. "No, but it looks like you want to be in there soon" he commented, before raising his blade, "And I'm going to be the one to put you in it" he finished. Kenji laughed, before flipping the twin katana he had in his hands and placing them into the ground, where they remained active, one immolated, the other covered in a sheen of frosted ice. He then took the other two katana from his back-sheaths. These weapons were a little different than the two he had previously been using; instead of steel, they appeared to be made of different substances, one made of wood, the other made of copper or bronze.
As Kenji drew the two additional weapons he began to laugh. "I think you might be getting ahead of yourselves, since you forget… unlike all of you 'single blade wielders' I am a master of four weapons, for I am Kenji Himura, also known as Kenji who carves the Four Seasons" he stated proudly, "Sword Master of the Zollzero Family, and leader of the Zero Star guild" he finished. Hugo watched the display with vague amusement, and obvious mixtures of anger and hatred on his face.
"Hmph… well then, this will surely be a battle for the history books… the mighty Blade Troupe, versus the Sword Master Kenji Himura" Hugo responded. Kenji nodded at the black-haired swordsman.
"Indeed… now… how about we start on the count of three?" he asked, with vague cheer in his voice.
Hugo smirked wickedly. "Alright, let's make this an interesting duel" he replied.
With his opponent's agreement, Kenji began counting down. Then the first true, all-out battle, of that night began.
/
Zollzero Mansion Inner Garden, Autumn Time,
Year X792
General Perspective
Arthur, Medea and Edric made it through the mansion without running into anyone, either a a traitor or a house-hold staff member. Following the vague hint that had been left on a scrap of paper left in the corridor following on from the back-door entrance, the trio made their way over to the Inner Garden.
It had been a place they had each spent a great deal of time in over their years in the mansion. Training, playing, parties, and other such extravagant events… many things had happened there and now it seemed like one last event, probably the biggest in the Zollzero's rather dark history, was about to unfold. Needless to say, they were all anxious.
"So, we're all clear on the plan?" Arthur asked, for the fifth time. Edric rolled his eyes and nodded, secretly keeping a tight hold on the dice in his pocket trouser pocket for reassurance.
"Yes, for the fifth time, we all know what we're doing… we just need to hold them off until Thomas can finish things up on his end and activate the spell, right?" the blond teen stated, already knowing the exact answer to his inquiry before Arthur even said it.
"Correct" Arthur stated, before looking ahead. Just a little farther and they would be at the door leading out to the Inner Garden. "Looks like we're here" he added, more for himself than anyone else. Medea smiled at Arthur, noticing the obvious concoction of emotions bubbling within her brother.
"Yes, now come on Arthur. We have work to do" she said, in a firmer tone, a weak attempt to boost his confidence. Arthur looked to Medea intently, smiling.
"Yes, we do" he confirmed, before striding forward, and opening the door. Edric looked to Medea as they followed their eldest sibling, a vague smile shared between them. Then they stepped out into the night-time air, joining their brother as he stood about seven paces from a large cage, unceremoniously placed in the middle of the normally picturesque scene.
In the cage sat a bored-faced, angry eyed, mustachio'd man. "Took you long enough to get here" the Patriarch commented dryly from within his imprisonment. Arthur smirked.
"Hmm… but I'm definitely glad I came, father… if nothing else to see you locked up like this" the blond male replied.
The Patriarch's face did not falter from its severe grimace. "Laugh all you want, the credit for this scheme lies not with you but with… them" he stated, before nodding his head backwards, toward the area behind the cage. Arthur looked through the bars to the individuals that his father gestured to. "It seems you are not the only group of schemers' in our family" the Patriarch added.
Arthur smirked momentarily, before meeting the gazes of his cousins. "Yes, they are so much like our uncle it seems. If I recall correctly, he was quite the schemer too, not that you didn't make use of that, am I right?" Arthur didn't break eye contact from the pair, who were seemingly allowing Arthur and the others to talk to their father undisturbed. It didn't last long.
"You speak of our father, yet you have no right" one of the twin cousins stated aloud. Arthur smiled.
"Yes, I do, because he was also of our blood, as are you two… and who says I have no right?" he responded.
The cousins both scowled at hearing this comment, each picking a route around the cage until they were facing the trio of Zollzero children. "We say you have no right" they both replied in unison. Arthur looked between the pair for a moment, before sighing.
"What gives you right to say what we can and can't do, Adam and Aaron Zollze-"
"Those aren't our names!" the pair butted in, before Arthur could finish his sentence.
Arthur, Medea, and Edric all looked surprisingly at the duo, before making confused faces. "So then… what are you're names, cousins?" Edric asked.
The pair smiled. "I am Daichi" one answered.
"And I am Tenchi" the other continued.
"And we are not your cousins" they finished in unison.
Arthur frowned at the pair. "So, you… have rid yourselves of your birth names and taken upon a new mantle?" he asked. The two teens nodded, which in turn made Edric smile.
"Interesting…" the Card Mage murmured, gaining the attention of the duo. They wore inquisitive expressions, that were only slightly tinted with anger. For now.
"What is interesting?" Daichi asked. Edric smiled.
"Nothing, except… the notion that you came here to attack us, and that barbarian in the cage of course, in revenge for the death of your own father, our uncle… and have rid yourselves of the one thing that remained as part of your father's legacy. Namely, your names" Edric stated, using his cockiest tone. The pair seemed irritated by this statement, however they did not rise to the provocation.
"I suppose you wouldn't understand, Edric Zollzero, being a man who'll use any means to deceive others for information. You too Medea" Tenchi commented, before folding his arms over his chest "We chose to give up those names so that our actions here may not soil our uncle's legacy any further" he concluded, earning a derisive snort from the caged Patriarch.
"My brother's legacy is nothing more than a pair of failure wizards, who can't even use more than one of their mighty powers at a time, for fear of destroying themselves" he stated bitterly. Daichi looked to the caged man as he said this, waiting for him to finish, before kicking the cage and rattling it a little.
"You call us failures, yet we still caught you" he barked sharply. The Patriarch smirked.
"That was not your success to bear" he replied.
The twins both shrugged. "Perhaps… however, if you insist on calling us failures, how about we prove ourselves then?" Tenchi mused, earning an intrigued look from the Patriarch.
"How do you intend to do that?" he questioned, in a tone that showed he had very little interest in the proposal.
Tenchi smirked. "Let's settle once and for all which side of our family is rightfully the group suited most to rule… by defeating your sons and daughter right here, right now" Tenchi stated, in a deadly-serious tone. Arthur listened to this proposal carefully; it was not a surprise, since fighting this out was the very reason they had come here in the first place, however he was intrigued as to how his father would respond in this situation. The Patriarch smiled at the idea, before shrugging.
"Do what you will, I suppose it would be nice to see a good duel before I am killed" he responded. Tenchi grinned.
"Then we are agreed" he turned back to Arthur and the group, who stood at the ready, Edric and Medea both wielding their playing card decks, and Arthur with his Territory Magic already active.
"We're ready" the eldest sibling stated immediately, upon locking eyes with Tenchi.
The duo both smiled at the preparedness of their foes.
"Well then… how about on the count of three, just like in a real duel?" they asked, once again in unison. Arthur nodded.
"Okay" he agreed.
Then the second count-down began. Moments later, the second major fight of that night began, this time with the highest stakes on the line.
All, however, was still going according to plan. For now.
End of Chapter 29
Chapter Hint; Topple the Troupe
Author's comment; I had to change the order of chapters, as I decided to split what I had intended to put in chapter 29 into both chapters 29 and 30, extending my overall plan for this fic by one chapter. As such, it will probably take up to 32 chapters to finish the story. I hope this has not confused anyone :)
