Greetings my dear readers! I have a surprise for you all, and it's another chapter! But why did I decide to put it up today of all days? Well the answer is actually quite simple. It's my birthday you see, and I personally couldn't think of a better way to celebrate with all of you then releasing another chapter. I personally hope that you all enjoy it, I have some surprises that I'm really eager to get your thoughts on.

That said, it would really mean alot to me to get some feedback on this chapter. Think of it as a birthday present for yours truly.

Well, I think I've said enough. Let the chapter begin!

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shounen jump. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and Weekly Shounen Magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun!

Ten minutes. Just a mere ten minutes ago, Bambietta and her friends had been enjoying a well-deserved vacation at the Famous Akane Resort. A mere ten minutes ago, she and her girlfriend were watching Erza play a fun game of poker, and enjoying their night out. Now, however, visitors from the past of not Just Erza Scarlet, but also to Bambietta, Candice and Lilttto had come to ruin their night. For Erza, it appeared to Bambietta that she had at least been on good terms with some of the newest arrivals. It was the only way to explain her lack of hostile action against the group that had been so hostile. However, whereas Erza's feelings of comradery held her back from lashing out, Bambietta had no such restrictions on the man before her.

Quilge smirked, the quincy getting a better look at his old comrades. "Miss Basterbine, Miss Catnipp, and Miss Lampard? It truly has been too long."

"Nowhere near long enough, Quilge," Bambietta said, the quincy staring him dead in the eyes.

"Oh? Is that really the first thing you're going to say to me after so long?" Quilge asked Bambietta. "We used to spar quite often back in Silbern. I recall you even enjoyed it."

"That's because you were the only person who used a sword in the vandenreich that wouldn't have obliterated me and give me some sort of challenge," Bambietta answered. "Hatchwalth had too much on his schedule to consider sparing with little old me and would have properly handed my ass if he tried, and Gerard doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint. I used you because you were the most convenient. That's all." The quincy scoffed then, her eyes glaring at him in content. "Truth be told, I've always thought you were a real piece of crap, with your damn survival of the fittest nonsense."

"You're going to lecture me on my morality?" Quilge asked surprised. "You? The only who killed more of our fellow brethren than anyone else in the organization?"

"Oh I was a monster, there's no denying that," Bambietta admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "But you want to know the difference between you and me is right now? I know what I've done is wrong, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it. But you?" Bambietta spat at the ground then. "Given what you're doing right now, I'd say it's more than likley nothings changed."

"Such a pity," Quilge said before he looked over at Liltotto and Candice. "And I suppose you're going to follow in your leader's footsteps?"

"Bambi's got nothing to do with my choice," Liltotto told Quilge. "I knew you were a piece of shit the minute I learned you were a literal nazi who supported the dictator with a terrible mustache. So you can just fuck off."

"Wait, seriously?" Bambietta asked Liltotto, her eyes widening. "I thought he just dressed the part?! I didn't know he was an actual member of the third Reich!"

"She speaks the truth," Quilge admitted. "I served the Fuer during the 2nd world war. Unfortunately, my quincy abilities were underdeveloped, and I perished during the battle of Stalingrad." The quincy slowly shook his head before he spoke once more. "Such a pity. If I had even a quarter of the strength that I possess now, the world of the living would likely be far more preferable than it turned out to be."

"That is fucked up!" Candice yelled at Quilge "Listen, Squiggly, I lived my life after you bit the big one. I don't remember much from history class, but I do know that I could yank off your toenails one by one with pliers and it'd be about as morally complex as Duck Hunt!"

Bambietta couldn't help but raise one of her eyebrows at that. "You mean like-"

"Yup, like the NES game," Candice answered

"Heh, burn." Bambietta snicked to herself.

"Honestly, you three haven't changed a bit." One of the cloaked men said as he stood next to Quilge, though even though the cloak, one could tell that was was quite large, almost 9 feet in height and was rather broad, twice as wide as the average man, though it was more from muscle than it was fat. "It's a shame to strike down fellow quincys, but if you're going to stand in our way then so be it!" The massive man removed his cloak then, revealing he was a large man with black hair that extended down into a chin strap beard and grey eyes. Like Quilge, he also wore a variation of the Vandenreich's uniform. Bambietta knew who the insanely muscular man was almost instantly.

"Driscoll Berci," Liltotto said as she walked over to Candice and Bambietta. "Figures you of all people would join an assassination guild."

"But of course!" Driscoll said with a savage grin as he pointed at himself. "If I wish to become as strong as possible, it's only natural I join a profession that puts my powers to good use!" He took a step forward then, clearly eager for battle. "You three may have had the edge over me before, but things are different now! In the time I've been here, I've already killed over 200 mages!"

Bambietta could only roll her eyes in annoyance. "That's a lot of big talk coming from a guy who was one of the first of us to die. You didn't even last 15 minutes in the first invasion! At least Quilge died holding off Ichigo Kurosaki for a few hours! The only claim to fame you have is killing a vice-captain and 200 fodder! And that was when we were handing the soul reapers their ass! None of you guys made it into the 2nd invasion where shit really hit the fan"

"I bet you they both would have died within the first 20 minutes," Liltotto added.

"Pft, please 5 minutes max." Candice scoffed.

"Oh, do the rest of you honestly believe you would have fared better against Yamamoto?" Driscoll asked them.

"Probably not," Liltotto said with a shrug. "But the difference is none of us would have been stupid enough to go challenge him as you did."

"You seriously thought you had a chance because you had his vice-captains Bankai?" Bambietta asked him. "How freaking stupid can you be!? I never even bothered to use the one I stole because it wasn't our power to even begin with!"

"I have heard enough of your insults!" Driscoll shouted at them. "The tables have turned this time around, for I have far more power at my disposal than you could possibly dream of!"

Bambietta grinned, giving an aura of outward confidence, but her thoughts were a different story. I'd like to say I could beat Driscoll no problem, but I don't know how much power he's had taken away from him from his summoning. Not that it matters much with that shrift of his. For all we know, he's back at full power, and if he is...This isn't gonna be a cakewalk. No doubt Liltotto, and even Candice had similar thoughts. He may not have been the strongest of the stern ritter, but he was still strong enough to give most captains of the 13 court guard squads a challenge.

"I hope you three don't think you can win because of a mere advantage in numbers." One more cloaked figure said as he approached, removing his hood and cloak to reveal a dark-skinned man with black hair arranged into five fanned-out spiraling spikes. He wore a gold visor of sorts, covering his face above the nose, and wore a white shirt that stopped just above his belly and white baggy pants. The oddest thing of all, however, was his teeth. Some were white, while others were pitch black. "Because we have just as many former stern ritter as you do, more so in fact!"

Bambietta gasped as soon as she recognized him and pointed in his direction. "Its NaNaNaNaNaNa Batman!"

NaNaNa face faulted then before he got up, snarling with anger. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, THAT'S NOT MY FUCKING NAME!?"

"As many times as I have to until you get a name that's not stupid as hell." Bambietta retorted.

NaNaNa looked at her with fury and appeared to strike before another hooded figure placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't her get to you, she's just trying to get a rise out of you so you won't think straight in a fight." The newest arrival was quick to remove his cloak, revealing a man with blonde hair shaved into five parts. Glasses adorned his face, as well as some strange leopard-spotted markings on the right side of his face. His uniform was all white, save for the yellow leopard printed vest he wore.

"You!" Candice yelled as she pointed at him just like Bambietta prior...before her hand dropped, and her face quickly went from shock to confusion. "Um...Who are you again?"

The man sighed. "Figures you wouldn't remember me, so allow me to formally reintroduce myself!" He formed several black diamond-shaped knives into his hand then as he smirked. "I am Shaz Domino, expert infiltrator, and nigh-invincible stern ritter!"

"I remember him," Liltotto said. "He was one of Gremmy's creations. His Shrift used to be V: The Viability which allowed him to heal infinitely as long as he could absorb Reshi...but the bastard managed to make his own body over time with his shrift until he became his own being. His majesty was so impressed he accepted him as a true quincy and made him Stern ritter Σ: The Stigma."

"Huh, didn't know we used German letters," Candice said with a shrug. "The more you know I guess."

"Oh, I remember now, you got blown to bits the minute Ichigo Kurosaki came rushing to the rescue!" Bambietta yelled at him. "Great job you did holding him back, seriously fantastic!"

"That's impossible," Quilge spoke up. "No one can escape from "The Jail" unless I dispel it, even if I were to die the cage would not vanish!"

"Sorry to say, but all you did was awaken Kurosaki's latent quincy abilities," Liltotto responded. "Thanks for that by the way, that made fighting him so much more fun." It was clear from her tone that the petite woman was being sarcastic like Bambietta before her.

"Wait...You mean to tell me Ichigo is part quincy!?" Rukia asked. The regai never had any inkling this was the case.

"He's practically part everything," Bambietta told her, quickly taking note of Rukia's confused look on her face. "It's a long story."

"You know these guys Bambi?" Lucy asked.

Bambietta sighed. "You could say that. Their members of my old guild so to speak. But unlike Erza's ordeal from earlier, I wouldn't begin to consider them old friends. They were acquaintances at best."

"Well, so long as that's the case-" Rukia spoke as she slowly drew her sword from her sheath. "Then I see no reason why we need to hold ourselves back."

NaNaNa scoffed. "To think I'm seeing three former stern ritter teaming up with a filthy soul reaper. I can't believe you guys would ever consider trusting one of their kind!"

"Oh, you can just fuck off NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa!" Bambietta said as she formed her own sword. "She's not even a real soul reaper anyway, so it hardly counts!"

"MY NAME IS NOT THAT LONG AND YOU KNOW IT!" NaNaNa shouted back.

Just then, a mad cackle could be heard from behind the stern ritters. The one responsible slowly trodded forward and removed his own cloak, revealing a man with a rather disgusting face with small eyes, a pug nose, and crooked teeth. He had short, light brown hair and wore black short and blue jeans and what appeared to be a mask fragment covering his right eye and half of his hair, the white bony material extending above his hairline. "It's been far too long, soul reaper! I can't wait to see you bleed all over again!"

Rukia stared at the man, the soul reaper not recognizing the man at all. Yes, she had faced many foes in the past, but she was sure she wouldn't have forgotten someone so, well, for a lack of a better word, ugly. That said, there was one thing she did feel was familiar. That voice...I know I've heard that voice of his somewhere before! She repeated the memories of her original, trying to remember anyone that matched up with the disturbing voice before her eyes widened. "You're...Shrieker! But you were sent to hell!"

Shrieker grinned then as he noticed the look of shock on Rukia's face. "Unfortunately for you, a god chose me to become his most valuable warrior! What's more, he was able to turn me into a Menos Grande and removed my mask! So now I'm more powerful than ever!"

So he's an arrancar now?!" Rukia thought to herself. And a Gillian level one at that, could this get any worse!?

"Should I know this guy?" Bambietta asked Rukia before she began to mumble to herself. " Shrieker, Shriker...Oh, right, now I remember, you're that Hollow Chad beat down with a telephone pole!"

"That's what you remember about me!?" Shriker yelled back. "I'll have you know before I died, I was famous for killing several people!"

"Buddy, I hate to tell you this, but serial killers are a dime a dozen back home," Bambietta said before grinning. "I would know, I used to be one." She may not have been proud of it, but she would take any advantage she could when it came to dissing her opponent. "In this case, you're just a big fish from a small pond who somehow got into the ocean and happened to run into a great white shark!"

Shrieker became angry then and clenched his fist. "Why you-"

"Don't let her rile you up over something so trivial." A woman said as she also removed the cloak disguising her. This time, however, Rukia was able to recognize the person before her eyes. The woman had long dark green teal hair and green eyes and wore a purple qipao and tan pants. "Besides, she isn't wrong. After all, our whole entire guild is full of them."

"You're...that Bount I fought when your kind invaded the soul society!" Rukia shouted.

"Ah, I'm so glad you remember me," Yoshi said with a grin. "I may have failed to finish you off when we fought, but it appears now I'll be able to remedy that situation."

"I'll have you know, we've already dealt with Kariya." Liltotto told Yoshi. "So I wouldn't get so high and mighty if I were you."

"You speak as if that matters." Once more did a member of the assassination guild step forward. This time it was a man with short brown hair and a goatee and wore white button-up shirt, a tie, and a light vest and brown pants, a golden snake resting around his neck as he spoke. "If not for Ichinose, it would have been I who lead the Bounts, not him!"

"Ryō Utagawa." Rukia said as her hand clenched her sword once more. How many more enemies from her old world would she have to deal with!?

Candice couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Oh please, you knew you couldn't fuck with him, that's why you tried so hard to steal his Crest so he couldn't use his damn doll!"

"Wait, that Kairya guy plays with dolls?" Natsu asked Liltotto. "So how the hell did he managed to almost beat Erza with one then?"

"I'll explain later," Liltotto told the dragon slayer, not taking her eyes off of the crowd of enemies for even a moment.

"My, you're all rather confident," One last member of the cloaked mages said as he removed the cloak. He was a young man, with reddish-brown hair that was slicked back, yellow eyes, and wore purple rimmed glasses, and wore the standard Soul reaper Shihaksho with a purple sweater worn underneath. "The most powerful amongst you has been locked away. I'd say you all have a serious disadvantage."

Rukia grit her teeth as she saw the soul reaper. "Former Third Seat of squad 3, Makoto Kibune. You have some nerve wearing that uniform still after you and Kumoi conspired to kill Rurichiyo!"

Makoto could only chuckle at Rukia's accusation. "I wouldn't expect a member of the Kuchiki clan to possibly understand my motives."

Bambietta could only roll her eyes. "Oh please, you're nothing more than a social Darwinist who lacked the power to really do anything on your own, and ended up relying on that damn Bakkoto of yours to only end up as a third seat! Honestly, you're all talk!"

"Enough of this foolishness," Ulquiorra said as he finally walked before his ally, his pointer finger aimed at his enemy. "I'm going to put an end to this here and now." The tip of his finger glowed green before a powerful cero blasted out, hurtling towards Death's Head Caucus before a flash of pink appeared before the group, and the Cero was sliced in two, causing a light explosion. As the dust cleared, the Espada could see a woman standing before the rest of her guild. She had long pink hair with two buns at the top, green eyes, and wore a white kimono. She was wielding a Katana, it's hilt red and yellow in appearance, with a guard that would have been more suited for a western sword.

"My, that could have done some damage if I hadn't interviewed. It's a good thing I stepped in or some of our weaker members would have already been taken out of the fight." The woman said as she was approached by two others. They were both extremely strange in appearance. The one on the left looked like some kind of death metal band musician with pale white skin, long black hair and, purple eyeliner and lipstick while the other was a very muscular man...with the head of an owl and a jetpack.

"I was not ready for today," Bambietta said with a dumbfounded expression.

"I don't think any of us were," Jade replied, who was just as equally taken back by the newcomers.

"What's that, are you in awe of our awesome appearance!?" The owl man shouted at them. "But of course you are, for you are villains that face the wrath of a true hero! I, Fukoro, shall smite you in the name of justice!

What the fuck is this guy, Mask D Masculine reincarnated as an owl man!? Candice screamed mentally.

"What's with the punk rock?" Lucy asked. "I thought these guys were assassins, not musicians."

"Is that what you think?" The guitarist said as he slowly licked his lips. "Well, in that case, how's about I show you just how terrifying I really am, with my magic!? Can I Ikaruga!?"

"Calm down Vidaldus," The woman now identified as Ikaruga said as she pointed her blade at Ulquiorra. "We need to deal with the real threats first."

"Oh, I'm hurt that you're not taking me seriously! Big mistake!"

Looking, the members of Death's Head Caucus could see Bambietta floating above then, both of her hands glowing with the "Explodes" energy orbs. She threw down one orb, quickly followed up by another, only for each orb to by shot by Quincy arrows, Qulgie having drawn his bow as soon as he noticed her attack. He then leaped into the air, his sword drawn and attempted to slash Bambietta across the chest, but before his blade could connect, Bambietta had already formed her own blade, clashing against Quilge's as their faces were only inches apart.

"Oh, you're going to fight me in a sword fight Opie?" Bambietta asked with a grin taking over her face. "In all the spar's we've had, you've never beaten me even once!"

"Thing's aren't like they once were Miss Basterbine. I know that you've become much weaker than you used to be," Quilge responded by thrusting his blade at her, each of his strikes aimed at her head. Bambietta dodged her head to the left, then the right, before swinging her sword downward to deflect his next thrust. She swung her sword horizontally in an attempt to critically wound the side of his stomach when he disappeared with Hirenkyaku and attempted to slice her back with a diagonal swing, But Bambietta was quick to turn around and swung her sword upward to block his attack once more. "Well, I see that your skills haven't dulled at least." Quilge complimented his old ally.

Bambietta smirked once again. "Oh, I've been through a lot more than you could even imagine since I came to this world. Fighting S class monsters that hollowified, Taking on a Bakoto user that fucked with my head like he was As Nodt, fighting a wizard saint and almost dying and daily training with Erza was way worse than anything you've tried so far. If you think you can beat me with sneak attacks, you'll find them all useless, useless, useless!"

"Oh? We'll see about that." Quilge responded before the two rushed at each other once more, their blades clashing and the resulting shockwaves causing massive cracks in the casino's roof. Their blades continued to clash, each one causing more damage to the roof as they slashed away with speeds impossible to tract with the human eye. However, while it seemed that the two of them were even at first, Bambietta was slowly managing to push Quilge back, the male quincy's sword starting to shake from the pressure Bambietta was putting on it. With a powerful yell, she swung the sword as hard as she could, causing the quincy to go crashing down to the casino floor. Quilge managed to land on his feet, but he quickly sensed Bambietta's spiritual pressure behind him as she appeared with Hirenkyaku and slashed across Quilge's back, the blade cutting through his shirt and slicing his back. However, Bambietta's eyes widened as she saw that while her blade had managed to draw some blood, the sword's slash had barley managed to pierce his skin. Quilge quickly turned around and thrust his blade towards Bambietta's face, but the quincy ducked down below the strike and punched Quilge hard in the gut. Quigle groaned out in pain, and just as Bambietta attempted to swing her sword down his chest, he used Hirenkyaku to disappear several feet away from her.

Bambietta grinned then as she looked at him. "You always were one of the better users of Blute Vein. I should have known my blade wouldn't have been able to cut you that easily. But if that's all you got, you don't stand a chance!" With a burst of Hirenkyaku, Bambietta was already slashing her sword downwards at Quilge, the dark-haired man just barely having enough time to block her attack with his own blade. She continued to swing her blade at him with lighting quick blows, each one forcing quilge on the backfoot as he continued to lose ground. She swung her sword once more, her blow creating a shockwave that caused several slot machine screens to erupt from the pressure as Quilges right knee bent down.

"I see. It does appear that as things stand right now, you are the superior fighter." Quilge admitted. However, to Bambietta's surprise, he didn't look the least bit worried. "However, your guild has absolutely no chance of victory."

"Say's the man who's kneeling before the woman who's gonna kick his ass all the way to prison!" Bambietta cried out, but Quilge quickly vanished from her sight as he appeared above her once more, his bow now drawn.

"Strength isn't everything needed to win a battle you know." Quilge declared as he shot an arrow at Bambietta. The quincy quickly moved her head to the right to dodge the arrow before she formed an explode orb in her left hand. She tossed it just in the nick of time to stop another one of his arrows, the two energy constructs clashing before his arrow exploded.

"You don't think I know that?!" Bambietta told Quilge as the smoke slowly cleared. "But your shrift is completely worthless against fellow quincies. Mine on the other hand-" Discarding her sword, both of Bambietta's hands began to glow before she gave Quilge a terrifying grin, the kind she only gave to those who's immediate future were full of nothing but pain. "CAN HURT YOU JUST FINE!" Creating two orbs with her "Explode", Bambietta tossed her special power at Quilge before she continued her onslaught, a barrage of "Explode" orbs hurtling towards Quilge. The quincy quickly fired 10 arrows in rapid succession, each one stopping an orb, before he used Hirenkyaku to appear right before her. Bambietta quickly leaned her head back as Quilge's blade nearly grazed her cheek before she quickly formed her sword in her hand once more and stopped his next strike from piercing her heart. "What makes you think your team stands even a remote chance against ours!?" Bambietta yelled at him.

"Oh, you'll see in due time I'm sure," Quilge said with a smirk. "For there is no one here could hold a candle to the guild master of Death's Head Caucus."

Bambietta's eyes wandered over the last remaining cloaked figure, the man not having moved from his spot since her battle with Quilge began, and as everyone else began to go into their own battles. She couldn't quite tell how strong he was, he was hiding his power fairly well, but what she could sense...was no weakling. Still, she wouldn't let Quilge of all people get under her skin. "That guy? Please, the minute I get you to set Erza free, the minute he's gonna get his ass handed to him, just you see!"

"Oh, so that's your plan now is it?" Quilge told Bambietta. "Well I hate to disappoint you...but you have no chance of defeating me. Biskiel!"

Before Bambietta could come up with a clever retort, however, Quilge was quickly engulfed in a large pillar of light, the top of it forming into a Quincy cross. Bambietta quickly jumped back using Hirenkyaku, her eyes widening at the sight of the massive light pillar. This is...no, it can't be! I thought Liltotto was the only one who could still use hers!

Soon enough, the massive tower of light faded, and Quilge emerged. Massive angel wings of light emerged from his back and his wrists were covered by energy gauntlets. He slowly grinned then, as he pointed his sword at her. " I suppose from that surprised look on your face that you can't access your vollstandig as I can? I suspected as much. Shazz wasn't able to use his either."

Bambietta stared before she slowly grinned. "I'll admit it, you caught me off guard using your vollstandig. But unfortunately for you, it comes with a nasty little side effect! Liltotto used her's to beat down a wizard saint till it began to screw up her body, so all I gotta do is just outlast you till your body finally breaks down!"

Quilge slowly chuckled then as he slowly approached Bambietta, his spiritual pressure alone creating cracks in the floor tile as he stepped forward. "Ah yes, I had to deal with that little inconvenience myself for a while. I thought I would never be able to use my vollstandig ever again. But fortunately for me, I was able to find a way around that nasty little side effect. You see, all I had to do was get a small Lacrima implanted into my body. It's a handle magical crystal that absorbs just enough energy from my vollstandig to prevent those inconvenient issues you mention. It was, admittedly, a surgery that had a very low success rate,...but as you can see, it paid off spectacularly." He pointed his blade at Bambietta then, before giving her a smirk. "Now then, are you ready for round 2, Miss Basterbine?"

Bambietta only had one simple response. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

So much for a free vacation. Rukia thought as she noticed the damage. No doubt the Casino was going to charge them for the repairs. Even so, she didn't begrudge Bambietta in the slightest. Rescuing Erza was a top priority, and if destroying the resort was what it took to achieve that goal, so be it. She then heard the familiar static sound of a sonido and turned around and raised her blade just in time to block a strike from a large knife, Shriker grinning as he leered at her.

"Not bad soul reaper! I was worried you would go down too quickly when I got behind you so easily! I want you to beg for mercy before I slit that pretty throat of yours!"

"I would sooner die than to sully the honor of my guild like that!" Rukia shouted back as she soon swung Sheiker away, the Arrancar slowly skidding back until he came to an abrupt stop.

Shriker slowly licked his lips before he sneered. "Well, that suits me just fine. I always did like it when they squirmed!" He lashed out at her once again, waving his knife around like the crazed maniac that he was. However, Rukia was able to easily read his movements, the soul reaper constantly moving around each of his blows as if she were doing some sort of elegant dance. The arrancar attempted to slash down at her head, but Rukia quickly ducked below his strike before she placed the palm of her hand on his stomach.

"Hado# 1: Sho!" The kido did it's trick, sending the arrancar back a few feet before she ran over to her at high speed. Once more did he attempt to cut into her skin with his short blade, but Rukia quickly used shunpo to disappear from his line of sight before she slashed him across his back. The arrancar groaned out in pain and he snarled. "You damn bitch, why can't I hit you!?"

"It's because you have absolutely no skill with you how to wield your weapon," Rukia told him. "I received training from Shin'ō Academy and from the very woman your guild is trying to abduct. You on the other hand have been flailing your zanpaktou about like a neanderthal." She then scoffed as she looked at him. "You may have gotten stronger since we last met, but so have I." She then pointed her zanpaktou at him, her eyes narrowing as she did so. "You have no chance of defeating me."

"Fuck you, I'm nowhere near close to showing you everything I have!" Shrieker yelled before he pointed his right arm at her. A purple cero quickly discharged from his hand, but Rukia had dealt with plenty of Ceros in her time, and simply jumped up into the air before she looked down at him. Shriker was not pleased in the slightest, however, and he jumped into the sky to try and cut her once more. However, each of his wild strikes was casually deflected by Rukia's own sword. Not wanting to waste any more time on her foe than she already had, Rukia began to fight more aggressively. Just as she parried one of his sword strikes to the left, Rukia slashed her sword diagonally across Shrieker's chest. It was a shallow wound, just as Rukia intended. Much as she detested the being before her, she was now a member of Fairy Tail. She would not take a life, not if she didn't have to.

"Fucking...whore!" Shrieker yelled as he gasped out in pain. He looked down at his chest before his eyes narrowed. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Yes, yes, you've made that quite clear," Rukia stated, the noblewoman fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Just what would it take for him to go down? Well, she had an idea. Just as Shriker predictably ran forward with his knife drawn out, Rukia appeared behind him with shunpo before she yelled out. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudō #9: Hōrin!" Using her middle and index finger, Rukia created an orange tendril with yellow spirals before she lashed it around Shrieker, completely binding his hands to his sides before she drew out her sword.

Shrieker cursed. "If you think you can just beat me with your kido then you-"

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Her zanpaktou now completely white with a long beautiful ribbon, Rukia quickly dashed past the arrancar, a white circle appearing below him before she spoke. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" Almost instantly, Shriker was engulfed with ice, the cold element shooting up high till it hit the roof of the casino. Rukia slowly turned around then, looking at the large pillar of ice. There seemed to be no sign of movement, the soul reaper then letting out a sigh of relief. He shouldn't be dead, I lowered the power of Tsukishiro just enough for that much. I better go find the others before-

"Stab, Criatura Alada!" (Winged Creature)

The pillar of ice was destroyed with a massive explosion, Rukia having to shield her eyes from the blinding light. When she finally moved her hand down, she saw Shrieker, but he looked quite different. His face from the eyes up was now covered in a mask, very much like the one he had when Rukia first fought him. His arms were quite muscular and covered with brown fur, as was the entirety of his chest. Everything else seemed to be covered in a white sort of armor-like skin, and his feet now only had three toes each. He slowly licked his lips then, his tongue now forked. Last but not least, however, were the two bat-like wings that extended from his back that were currently flapping in the air to keep him afloat.

Rukia's eyes were wide with surprise. A ressureccion!? I thought that only arrancar's made with the Hogyoku could- She quickly shook her head then, focusing on the situation at hand. No, I should have prepared for this. We're dealing with gods that can bring beings from the dead after all.

Shrieker began to laugh like a mad man as he looked down at Rukia, countless numbers of his miniature hollows beginning to fall from his body. "Alright soul reaper, you've actually gotten me to use my full power! You remember these little guys from last time, don't you? Well this time, I'm able to make much more than last time! Try not to die too quickly on me now, ok!?"

Rukia pointed her blade at both Shriker and the many hollows he was creating from his own body, the noblewoman having no doubt she was looking at least 100 of them now, each of them slowly crawling over towards her. One thing was for sure, things weren't going to be as easy as she had hoped.

After Rukia had been attacked, the casino erupted into chaos, mages from both guilds clashing all for the desire of obtaining one person. Erza Scarlet. Erza could only watch as her friends fought valiantly to protect her, but Erza was no fool. Death's Head Caucus was the most infamous guilds in all of Fiore outside of the Ballem Alliance. To just blindly assume that victory was assured would be downright foolish. As strong as her guildmates were, victory was not guaranteed. She clenched her fists then as she watched, her eyes narrowing in anger. Curse this infernal cage! I should be fighting with them, not having them fight for me! She may have hesitated against her former friends from the tower, but she held no feelings of regret when it came down to fighting these dark mages!

She requipped into her Purgatory armor, a massive black jagged broadsword now in both of her hands and she swung her blade as hard as she could. However, just like before, the energy surrounded her did not budge in the slightest, though the resounding shockwave from the blade caused her to be bounced back to the other side of her prison. She slowly got up then, staring at the jail bar she had struck at. Bambietta had claimed the cage to be indestructible, and the Quincy had seen her upper limits before. Perhaps it would be best to save her energy for when she needed it. On the other hand, however, she had yet to use her two newest armors. The Nakagami, and Armadura. She was quick to shake her head, however. She had one the Nakagami armor only once, and just like Elizabeth had warned her, it drained her magic considerably. If she was to be of any help during this conflict, then she would need as much of her full power at her disposal as possible.

The only remaining option then was the Armadura Fairy, but Erza was just as hesitant to use it as she had been with her other option, though for an entirely different matter. If what Elizabeth said was true, then the power of her armor would be more than enough to turn the tide of battle, but at what cost? The unfortunate gamblers that Sho had trapped inside of his cards still remained scattered across the floor. The power she would need to break free from her jail would no doubt destroy the nearby cards. Whenever or not they would simply be freed from their prison upon the cards destruction, or be killed, was a risk Erza simply wasn't willing to take. Thus, solely, she turned her attention back to the battle at hand.

"Please...Just be safe." Erza whispered to herself. If any of you were to die due to me getting captured...I don't know what I would do. She had already lost Rob because of her weakness...she couldn't bear the thought of it happening to another.

Candice groaned as she dodged to the left to avoid the soundwave that had been blasted at her by her enemy guitar. Her eyes narrowed at Vidaldus then as she prepared a bolt of electricity in her right hand. "Listen here you Gene Simmons wannabe, I love me some good rock and roll, but your tunes suck ass!" She hurtled her attack towards the wannabe rockstar, but to the green-haired quincys surprise, Vidaldus strung his guitar and conjured up a barrier of sound, causing her attack to bounce off harmlessly against his newly made shield!

Vidaldus grinned then as he struck another cord of his guitar. "Was that the best you had? Because if it is, I'm not gonna lie, this battle is gonna blow!"

"Not even close!" Candice yelled as she jumped into the hair. "You want serious? You're gonna get serious! Galvano Blast!" Forming a bow in her hands, the Quincy soon fired out a powerful arrow made of electricity at her foe. Vaidaldus played another chord on his guitar, sending out yet another sound shockwave to intercept the blast, but the arrow was too powerful and burst through Vidaldus's blast, slamming past his barrier and giving the man a 5-gigajoule blast of electricity. Vidaldus shouted out in pain as his body was hammered with electricity, but with a powerful shout, and another play at his guitar, the electricity was quickly pushed from out of his body and covering the area in dust.

"Not a bad tune you played there!" Vidaldus said as the smoke cloud began to clear up. "Perhaps this won't be so boring after all! I'll be able to play such wonderful music with your screams!"

Candice was quick to burst from the smokescreen, however, one short sword in each of her hands before she swung down at Vidaldus with her blades, the musical assassin just barley managing to block her attacks with his massive guitar. "Try playing a nice tune with this!" She quickly kicked VIdaldus with her right leg, sending him lying before she used Hirenkyaku to appear behind him mid-air and grabbed his head before she roughly slammed him into the ground, the man letting out another groan of pain. "Who's making the music with screams now, asshole!?" Candice asked as she was about to slam her left foot against his head before, suddenly, Vidaldus hair shot up unexpectedly and ensnared her hands and feet behind her body! "Hey, what gives?!" Candice demanded.

Vidaldus let out a chuckle as he slowly got to his feet. "Sorry hot stuff, but my hair is much more than just for show! I can use it to attack or bind pesky enemy just like yourself before I finish them off!" He then punched the Quincy hard in the stomach, sending sound magic throughout her body, no doubt causing severe internal damage. The Quincy letting out a loud gasp of pain as her head slanted down, the woman trying her best to catch her breath. "That's why I always make sure to keep my hair nice and healthy! It's almost always moisturized! "Now then-" Vidaldus said as he picked up his guitar. "How's about I play some more music with that body of yours?"

Candice gasped and panted...before she looked back up at Vidaldus and grinned. "How's about, fuck off!?" She then let out a powerful scream of her own, electricity flowing throughout her entire body and through the rockstar's long hair!

"GAAAAAARRRHHHHHHGGGGHHHHH!" Vidaldus yelled out before he finally let go of Candice, the Quincy now standing triumphantly over her foe.

"Well, I gotta say, It's not often I run into someone who takes just as much good of their hair as I do," Candice said as she cracked her knuckles. "But unlike you, I'd never let it be used for something like that. Thanks for always moisturizing though, It made that last trick a hell of a lot easier."

Vidaldus slowly got to his feet then and chuckled once more as he grabbed his guitar. "Looks like taking this job will be worth it after all! By the time I'm done with you, I'll have a nice rock succubus by my side!"

Candice brandished both of her swords as she prepared to continue her fight. Well shit, looks like I got an actual fight on my hands.

Totamaru wasn't exactly having a good time of things. Everything had gone to hell the minute Rukia had been attacked, the group separating and scattering into their own private battles. Totamaru wasn't exactly sure who he was going to fight, but it seemed that fate had already chosen for him. The man Liltotto had referred to as Driscoll Berci had been quick to pile drive Totamaru through several slot machines. Acting quickly, Totamaru quickly covered Driscoll's face with his right hand and blasted him with fire. The giant of a man had no choice but to drop him, and as Totamaru landed on his two feet, he quickly drew his Katana from his sheath and attempted to strike the Quincy, only for Driscoll to grasp his blade with his bare hand!

"What!?" Totamaru tried to force his blade against Driscoll's hand harder and harder, hoping to draw blood, but to no avail.

"Ahahahahaha! Is that all you got!?" Driscoll yelled before he punched Totamaru hard on his stomach, the flame mage being forced to let go of his sword as he was sent careening away. "Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic! I was expecting a former S class to be at least some kind of challenge! But this won't be any harder than the previous jobs I've taken on!" He tossed the sword to the ground then, having no need for the weapon.

"We'll see about that!" Totamaru yelled out as both of his hands ignited with Flames. "Take this!" Pushing both of his hands in front of him, a massive wave of Fire charged over to Driscoll. However, if the quincy was the least bit afraid he didn't show it. Rather, he looked ecstatic!

"Now's more like it!" The flames quickly engulfed the assassin, and the surrounding slot machines began to melt from the surrounding heat. However, just as Totamaru was continuing his massive flame blast, a large blue lance came out from the blaze, Totamaru's eyes widening in shock as he jumped to the left in an attempt to dodge the powerful attack. It was too little too late, however, as the blue energy lance grazed the right side of his stomach, causing a massive wound to open up as he crashed to the ground. Totamaru groaned as he slowly got up then, as the blaze finally cleared. Driscoll was covered with a few minor bruises and burns but was otherwise totally fine, the large man still grinning like a mad man.

"Well now, it's a good thing that I'm rather proficient with my Blute Viene, otherwise that might have hurt!" Driscoll said as he formed another energy lance in his right hand. "But if this is the best you can do, I'm going to have to find someone else to play with when I take your head!" The Quincy then threw the lance, the massive weapon hurtling towards Totamaru as he struggled to get to his feet.

Move, come on, move! Totamaru screamed to himself. But his wound was too great to move easily, blood pouring out profusely as he tried to use his hands to get up. the giant weapon now only a few inches away from his head.

"Water slicer!"

Just then, a massive scythe-like blade made of water connected with the lance, causing the magical weapon to erupt and send Totamaru flying from the recoil. He was quickly caught, however, his head handing on something soft as he looked upwards to see where he had landed. It was Juvia, the woman holding him close with a stern look on her face as she stared at Driscoll. "You will not lay another hand on him!"

Driscoll chuckled then at the new arrival as he stomped over to her. "Oh? Has the Calvary arrived to save this little weakling? It figures, weaklings always tend to tag together to stand any sort of chance against a superior foe!"

"You face no weaklings!" Juvia said as she helped Totamaru get to his feet. "But 2 of the former members of the Element 4!"

"Thanks for the assist Juvia," Totamaru said as he looked at her. "But, what are you doing over here? I thought for sure you would have insisted on teaming up with your boyfriend."

"We got separated during all the chaos," Juvia informed him. "I was in the middle of looking for him when I noticed you needed a hand." She then gave him a smile before she continued. "You've always been very kind to me, ever since we met back in Phantom Lord. This is the least I can do."

"Oh, how touching," Driscoll said as he prepared another lance. "I'll make sure I'll send you two to hell at the exact same time!"

"That's a serious hit you took," Juvia said as she looked at Totmaru's bloody wound. "Can you still fight?"

Totamaru smirked as he covered his right hand with flames before he covered the wound with it, searing the flash together as he grunted in pain. "Its...Argh,...fine. I didn't become an S class mage and not learn how to take a hit like this! We can have Wendy patch me up properly later!"

The two nodded in agreement and sprinted towards Driscoll. He tossed one more energy lance at Totamaru, but this time he was ready and ducked underneath the attack. Grabbing his fallen katana as he rushed forward, the blade was soon engulfed in flames, And he jumped up into the air before he swung his sword down on the massive man. Driscoll once more attempted to use his arm to block the attack, but to his surprise, the blade was able to slice through his flesh, causing him to gasp in pain as he stepped back.

"You'll find I'm far stronger than you thought!" Totamaru declared as he swung his flaming weapon at Driscoll. Now knowing the attack could actually cause him harm, the Quincy created another lance and blocked the attack. Driscoll swung his lance at Totamaru's head, but the fairy tail mage ducked underneath as he tried to thrust his weapon forward. Unfortunately, Driscoll was able to twirl his lance fast enough to block the attempt and soon had his left hand let go of the weapon in an attempt to punch Totamaru in the face. However, Driscoll soon felt a flash of pain across his back as he felt a massive cut. Turning his head, he could see Juvia, the wizard ready to continue the attack.

Totamaru tried to swing his blade once more, but Driscoll disappeared using Hirenkyaku, and appeared right in front of Juvia, and trusted his large lance through her body! Juvia gasped out in pain then as Driscoll grinned. "So much for being a member of the element 4, I took you down with just one attack!" However, his smirk of confidence quickly vanished, as he noticed the woman he was stabbing was made not out of flesh and blood, but water! "What!?"

"You'll find that such tactics won't work on me!" Juvia declared before she jumped back, the hole in her body healing instantly. "Water Lock!" Instantly, Driscoll found himself trapped inside of a giant sphere of water, leaving him completely immobile!

What on earth is going on!? Driscoll thought as he tried to move his arms and legs to no avail. My body can't move! The pressure inside of this thing...it's too great!

"You'll find it useless trying to escape," Juvia told Driscoll. "Ever since I joined Fairy Tail, I've dedicated myself to becoming more powerful to make sure that no one could ever hurt my beloved Gray! The pressure inside of there is 100,000 psi!"

"And we're not done yet!" Totamaru said as his flames surrounded the water orb, the water inside starting to now boil. "Normally I would consider such a tactic overkill, but I think it's more than appropriate given the situation."

Driscoll's skin began to slowly burn then, the large man now finding it hard to keep his eyes open or to hold his breath. Damn it all, it's far too soon for my liking to use this, but I guess I don't have much of a choice but to use it! Using all of the strength that he had, Driscoll reached into his pocket then and pulled out a medallion that appeared to have a Quincy cross in the middle. He closed his eyes then, before finally letting out a mighty shout! A massive bolt of lightning erupted from the water then, shocking both Juvia and Totamaru with massive amounts of electricity!

Yelling out in extreme pain, the two former Phantom Lord mages fell to the ground, Totamaru kneeling on the floor as Juvia continued to cry out in pain. "What the hell was that!?" Totamaru yelled before he looked over to his downed partner. Juvia had always been especially susceptible to electrical attacks, and they had both been hit with one that was clearly far above the norm. He tried to crawl over to her, another bolt of lightning struck right in front of him. Slowly turning his head, Totamaru could see Driscoll, the man staring at him silently as he made his way over.

No, something was different now. A large purple dome was now floating well above his head, lighting constantly falling down like a cage in front of Driscoll as he made his way towards them. "I didn't think I'd have to bust this out on you two. You really caught me off guard. Sure showed me a thing or two, I'll admit it. As respect for your power, I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

"Just...what...is that?" Totamaru asked as he got to his feet, Juvia still struggling to get up behind him as he pointed his sword at Driscoll.

Driscoll gave Totamaru and Juvia a terrifying smile then as he pointed the medallion at them. "A little gift I got from the Vice Captain of Squad One all the way back home. Bankai: Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū!"

NaNaNa Najahkoop had killed many wizards during his brief membership in Death's Head Caucus, mages that were considered to be rather powerful in fact. However, almost all of them were killed without putting up much of a fight. From simple headshots from a distance to choking the life out of them, NaNaNa was positive that with the sole exception of Trinity Raven and his own Guild master, there was no one who could give him a challenge. That line of thinking had quickly vanished however when he had tried to fire an arrow at Natsu, only for the pink-haired mage to move his head to the right to avoid the arrow and promptly decked him across the face with a flaming fist.

NaNaNa skidded against the ground as he used his right hand to whip his nose, the Quincy narrowing his eyes as he stared at the blood now coating his hand. "You son of a bitch. You think you can just-"

Before NaNaNa could even finish his sentence, however, Natsu was already charging him already, his right hand ablaze with fire as he attempted to strike the quincy with a strong jab, but NaNaNa vanished from his sight, only to appear right behind Natsu thanks to Hirenkyaku, a short sword made out of spiritual pressure now in his hands as he attempted to plunge the weapon deep into Natsu's neck. To his surprise, however, he was smacked by Natsu's backhand before he could hit him, the Quincy grunting out as he stumbled back. "What!? How did you-"

"I've spared with Bambietta and Lil plenty of times to know when you guys are gonna try something with your House Men Kaku. I even memorized the sound it makes. " Natsu said as he turned to face NaNaNa. "You won't get me that easily buddy."

"It's Hirenkyaku!" NaNaNa shouted back at him.

Natsu just shrugged. "Whatever you say, NaNaNaNaNa Batman."

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME DAMN YOU!" NaNaNa said as he used Hirenkyaku to try to stab Natsu once more, only for the dragon slayer to duck underneath his attack and slammed his fist into NaNaNa's stomach. The Quincy gasped in pain before Natsu then finally gave him a powerful right hook across the face, then a left. He continued to wail on the Quincy until NaNaNa was finally able to grab one of Natsu's punches with one hand, and quickly stabbed Natsu with the other, the short sword making a few inches inside of Natsu's stomach before the dragonslayer growled in anger and slammed his head against NaNaNas. The Quincy fell back a bit and dropped his weapon before he punched Natsu across the face, but the fire mage quickly recovered and delivered a powerful right hook to NaNaNa's face.

The two warriors continued to exchange blows then, both warriors attempting to out punch the other until Natsu jumped back and yelled out "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"A massive stream of fire burst out from his mouth then, NaNaNa just barley using Blute Viene in time to protect himself from the flames, placing his arms in an X position. As the attack subsided, however, and he lowered his arms Natsu was already in front of him and cried out "FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" Before he sent the Quincy soaring through several slot machines.

Groaning in pain, NaNaNa managed to get to his feet as he stared at Natsu with contempt. "Pink hair. Use's fire. Are you related to that bastard Bazz B by chance?"

Natsu could only scratch his head in confusion. "Bazz B? Pretty sure I've heard Bambi and Lil use that name a few times. Can't say I've ever met the guy though."

NaNaNa spat out some blood from his mouth then as he prepared his bow and arrow. "That's a shame, I'd love nothing more than to make that asshole pay for stabbing me in the back just to side with some damn soul reapers. But that's fine because after I kill you, I'll find him sooner or later."

"That's a lot of big talk coming from the guy who's losing!" Natsu said as he began to run towards NaNaNa once more.

However, the Quincy could only grin as he took his aim. "Yeah, I'll admit it, you're stronger than me...but you won't be for much longer!" He fired his bow then, causing Natsu to jump into the air, only to use Hirenkyaku to appear behind him and fired another arrow, this time hitting Natsu in the back. Natsu yelped out in pain as he landed on his feet before he ripped out the arrow from his back. NaNaNa grinned. "Because now, you'll see what happens when I hit you with "The Underbelly!"

"What are you talking about? Ya hit my back not my bel-" Before Natsu could finish his retort, however, his knees began to buckle before he collapsed to the ground. "Wh...what the?!"

"Sorry Bazz B number 2," NaNaNa said as he made his way over to the kneeling dragon slayer. "I'd say it's nothing personal...but you remind me too much of that asshole."

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!"

The humanoid bovine now summoned into the human world, the spirit let out a loud Moo as he attempted to strike Ryō, but the bount was far too nimble to be hit by such an attack as he somersaulted over the spirit before he swung his doll, Friede, A snake that could turn itself into a whip across Taurus's back. The spirt was quick to turn around and tried to attack him once more, but Ryō jumped into the air once more before landing on a slot machine. "Really, is this all the so-called celestial spirits can do? I must say, I'm quite disappointed."

Lucy wasn't having any of it, however. "Hey, I'll have you know that any of his attacks could take you down!"

Ryō shrugged. "Perhaps. But what good does all of that power do if you can't hit anyone with it?" Friede could only nod her head in agreement before she spoke. "So much power. Too bad it's wasted on such a meathead."

"I'll show you just what this meathead can really doooooooo!" Taurus tried to charge forward once again, his ax raised high, but this time Ryō was ready, and Friede transformed herself into a shield, Ryō just managing to block the ax swing just in time. Quickly transforming Friede into a sword, he cut Taurus across the chest, causing the spirit to bleed from the diagonal wound as he stepped back.

"No, Taurus!" Lucy cried out.

Ryō could only grin. "If this is all your spirit can do, then I'll be feasting on your soul in no time!"

Lucy gasped. "Feast...on my soul?"

The blunt chuckled as he moved to the left, dodging one of Taurus's swings, before he transformed Friede into a whip, and bonded the snake across Taurus's feet, causing the spirit to trip before the snake bound itself tightly around his entire body, leaving him unable to move. "Ah yes, this is your first time meeting a bount isn't it, and unfortunately the last time. I suppose the best comparison that could come to your mind is...a vampire."

"Vampire!?" Lucy took a step backward in fear then. The first vampire she had ever meet had almost killed her if it wasn't for Bambietta's timely intervention. Yes, she had fought some when Liltotto had been kidnapped, but the bount before her was far more powerful than any of the vampires she had defeated. Why can't I ever get the normal enemies!? Lucy screamed internally. However, as she took another step back, Lucy was able to see Erza out of the corner of her eye. No, she couldn't afford to back down, not when Erza was at stake! "I won't let you take her away!" Lucy cried out determined as she put on a brave face.

Ryō grinned as he slowly licked his lips. "That's fine by me. I do so enjoy it when my prey struggles. I can't wait to see the life slowly drain from those beautiful eyes of yours."

Lucy gulped as she tried to reach for another one of her keys. She hadn't brought her whip with her, she hadn't felt it was needed. But now she wished she had some kind of weapon to defend herself if the bount were to somehow get past her spirits. Bambi, please, hurry! Lucy pleaded internally.

"Don't...you dare touch her!"

Ryō's eyes widened in surprise as Taurus yelled out to him, the bount slowly turning around to face him. "Oh, still wish to fight?" Friede tightened her coils around Taurus, moving up his body and coiled around him, trying to squeeze the life out of him. "Well, we'll have to fix that!"

Taurus grunted in pain, the doll slowly yet surely squeezing the life out of him. He could feel his bones starting to crack from the pressure. He wasn't afraid for his own life, any and all wounds he would take would heal instantly upon returning to the celestial spirit world, but Lucy...anything that happened to her here would happen forever. Time and again, she had always summoned him to keep her safe, and while he had been successful many a time, there were still plenty of others when his strength simply wasn't enough. Was she about to die, all because he simply wasn't good enough? No...NO! I won't...I won't fail her again! Letting out a powerful moo, the spirit began to fight back, the snake's body's coiling squeeze slowly down to a halt.

"What!?" Friede called out as she could no longer constrict her foe. What was worse though...was that she could feel her tight holding beginning to losen under Tarus's sheer power. "This isn't possible!"

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With one last, final shout, Taurus was able to force the doll off of him, the snake quickly going back to Ryō as he transformed the snake into a sword. Taurus picked up his ax and charged forward, Ryō doing just the same, and the two weapons clashed, the ground beneath them slowly cracking. "I've failed Miss Lucy one too many times! I won't let it happen again!"

Ryō grinned as he pushed back. "You really think you have what it takes!?" The bount began to push back harder, Taurus slowly losing ground as he did so. "You underestimate the power of the bounts!"

Lucy watched on as her heroic spirit began to lose ground, her hands clenching as she watched on. I can't...I can't just let sit here and do nothing! She closed her eyes then, and concentrated, her mind solely focused on one thing. Her spirit. Taurus began to glow then, the humanoid bull ceasing to slide back...and began to slowly push Ryō away.

"What!?" The bount yelled out. Taurus lifted up his massive ax before he slammed it against Ryo's sword, the bount's knee's kneeling as he felt the strike. Is this damn cow getting even stronger!? Finally lifting up the ax once more, Taurus swung it down hard, causing Ryo to go careening away before he slowly skidded to a halt as he used Friede's whip form to catch onto a nearby slot machine. The bount snarled with anger before he stared at Lucy. "I...will not be made a fool of by some cow! No more games!"

"Wait...that wasn't everything he had?!" Lucy exclaimed. Things were not looking good for her right now.

"Solid Script: Fire!"

Yoshi merely had to dodge her head slightly to the right to dodge the firey letters attack. This was a mage from the famous Fairy Tail guild? Yoshi had been hoping she would have finally found a worthy opponent when she had taken on this mission, the blunt not having found a true challenge since her time in Earthland. All she had found were a disappointment. Uryu Ishida, the man who took her life, had given her the best battle she could have possibly asked for. Since then, she craved another battle just like it, where her life was truly on the line!

"Soild Script: Water!"

A water word this time, but the difference in elements didn't make it any harder to deal with. Opening up Nider's fan, she was able to simply dispel the waterfall with a powerful gust of wind. She scoffed then as she stared at the blue-haired mage. "Please just tell me your only warming up. Because if this is all you can do, then I'm not going get any sort of fun out of this."

"Well sorry to disappoint you!" Levy shouted out. Moving her hands about quickly in the air, Levy was able to write the word "Bullet" several times in the air, each one heading towards the bount with great speed. Levy knew that she couldn't hope to take on an enemy such as this in close quarters. If she was going to win, or at least last until backup arrived, she needed to play smart.

Yoshi sighed as she pointed her fan at the oncoming attacks, and to Levy's surprise, the fan fired out several needle-like projectiles, each one stopping her bullet attacks and the rest making their way towards Levy. Thinking fast, the mage quickly wrote a large "SHIELD" in the middle of the air, causing the projectile to harmless bounce off of her makeshift defense.

"Well well," Yoshi said as she closed her fan. "I wasn't expecting you could do something like that. It seems that magic of yours is pretty versatile. However-" The blunt rushed forward then, her Jian sword now drawn and ready to pierce through Levy. "It doesn't give you any sort of close-range abilities!"

Levy grit her teeth then as she quickly prepared the words she had written on her skin earlier this morning to properly deal with her foe. Jumping backward, Levy's left fist flew with the word "Fire" as she dropped back down, trying to strike Yoshi. She was too slow however, Yoshi easily pumping backward to dodge the blow as she raised her sword above her head before she tried to bring it down on Levy's neck. Rolling to the left just in the nick of time, Levy soon tried to punch Yoshi with her right hand, the word "Ice" covering it with a cold chill. However, try as she might, the blow missed as Yoshi simply sidestepped the attack. The petite mage continued to try and strike at Yoshi, but each attack was dodged with a simple sidestep before Yoshi grabbed Levy's left arm by her wrist.

"You're not very good at this are you?" Yoshi said as she kicked Levy hard in the stomach, the wizard gasping out in pain as she kneeled down. She tried to get up to defend herself but just before she could, she was kicked across the face, causing her to skid across the floor. Yoshi scoffed as she approached, her blade pointed downwards. "Honestly, I've seen 11-year-olds who could punch better than that. That magic of yours may be good if you were in a team, but in a one-on-one fight like this, it's practically useless!"

Levy's hands moved about on the ground before her then, gasping out as she tried to catch her breath. This woman was strong! Way more so than the guild master she had thought several weeks ago. If she didn't do something soon, she was done for! Eventually, the ground below her was covered in by Yoshi's shadow, the bount's sword now pointing down at her head. She tried to get up then, but she soon felt the cold steel of the Jian pressing against her neck.

"Don't move, and I'll at least make it as painless as possible," Yoshi told her. "Hopefully one of your other friends will actually give me some kind of challenge."

Levy couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh...Don't you worry, you'll get your fight." Slowly, she looked up at the bount then, and despite her injures, her face was one of determination. "Because I'm not close to being done yet."

Yoshi chuckled before it soon turned into full-blown laughter. "Really? You think you honestly stand a chance against me!? What could you possibly hope to do!?"

Levy smiled then before she moved one of her hands from the ground. Just then, a long "Chain" word burst from the ground, binding Yoshi from her feet to her arms, causing the bount to gasp out in surprise. She strained against the long word, but to her surprise, they wouldn't budge. "What!? What did you just-"

"When I landed over here, I took the time to write a few words," Levy said as she began to crouch, her right hand still remaining on the floor. "I knew I couldn't beat you in a straight-on fight...so I had to outsmart you!" Levy quickly jumped backward then, and a large, gigantic letter "MINE" appeared below Yoshi. "And this is a trick I've seen a good friend of mine use plenty of times!"

"Damn you-" Before Yoshi could finish her ranting, however, her body was soon engulfed in a large explosion, the shockwave causing the entire casino to shake and shudder. Levy fell down on her knees then, the mage finally feeling some sort of relief. "Man...I really need to train some more after this..."

However, before she could have any sort of real rest, the dust cloud began to settle, and Levy's eyes went wide with fear. Yoshi was standing right in the crater of the explosion, though she looked much more different. Her neck and right hand were covered in some sort of armor, and her fan appeared to have been replaced with some sort of shield. "H-How?" Levy gasped out.

"I take back what I said," Yoshi said as her shield quickly transformed back into its fan state, and the armor back into the sword she had used moments ago. "Anyone who can force me to use my defensive form is clearly someone I shouldn't underestimate." She slowly walked over to Levy, her eyes narrowing at the blue-haired mage. "But if that was your best, then you're finished."

Jade had seen many a thing that she could have considered weird in her time in Fairy Tail. From two flying talking cats to an Ice mage who couldn't keep his clothes on for more than an hour at best, to a woman who loved wanton violence yet feared rabbits, Jade had thought she had seen the weirdest of oddities she would have encountered in her life. Yet none of them, none of them, compared to the levels of bizarre that was Fukuro.

"Foul villain, you and your wretched guild now face a true hero of justice! It is too late for you to repent for your life, so save me your pleas of forgiveness before I execute you!" The muscular owl man declared.

I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today. Jade thought as she quickly drew her two pistols from their holsters. Because I just know this guy is gonna be a headache. Emberella had told Jade about Death's Head Caucus, that even her own family-run guild of assassins simply didn't compare to the skill and might of Death's Head Caucus. Despite the...quite frankly, absurd nature of her opponent, Jade didn't let her guard down for even a moment. If these guys are anywhere near as strong as Emberella said they were...then we're in trouble. Just great.

Fukuro's jetpack began to ignite then before the strange owl man cried out "Justice dash!" rocketing towards her with great speed. She was barely able to jump to the left just in time to dodge the tackle before she aimed her pistols at the muscular target and began to fire. 12 bullets powered by her twin 44 magnums pelted his back, but to her complete surprise, the bullets had left little to no impact. Small, tiny specks of blood began to bleed from his back, but nothing more.

"Oh you got to be kidding m-" Before she could even finish her sentence as she began to reload, however, the emerald haired mage was quickly grabbed by her throat as Fukuro had dashed towards her once again, this time the former thief having little to no time to dodge. She grunted in pain as Fukuro crashed her body through a whole isle of slot machines before he finally stopped and threw her to the floor before he stomped down on her hard with his right foot, cracking her ribs before he began to slowly apply more pressure as she yelled out in pain.

"You see now villain, you have no chance against the raw might of justice!" Fukuro declared.

"Says...ack...the man whos...argh...part of an assassination guild!" Jade choked out as she tried her hardest to shoot Fukuro's face with her pistols, but it was no use. No matter how many bullets she fired, she could not budge him off of her. Oh fuck this, I am NOT dying to something as absurd as a damn justice spewing owl man! Jade declared mentally as she tried her best attempts to escape. Not like this!

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

Just then, Fukuro was blasted by a powerful gale of wind, the large owl man being forced off of Jade as the wind sent him flying. Jade slowly got to her feet then, clenching her stomach as she did so, feeling immense pain. "Agh! Owww...Yeah...Yeah, he definitely broke my ribs alright." She quickly fell onto her bottom then, the pain too much to bear. However, she was quick to spot the one who had just bailed her out, Wendy rushing over as fast as she could.

"Jade, are you ok!?" Wendy asked as she knelt down beside her, her hands glowing with healing magic as she applied them to Jade's stomach. "Don't worry, I'll get you all fixed up!"

"Wendy, what are you doing here?" Jade managed to ask through the pain as the dragon slayer began to slowly heal her. She had totally expected for the young mage to run away when the dark guild attacked. Fighting bandits and the occasional rouge mage was one thing, but these were expert assassins! "You...you shouldn't be here."

"I can't just run away, not when you all need me," Wendy said as she closed her eyes, allowing herself to focus on the healing and to distance herself from the loud noise of the other battles going on throughout the casino. "If any of you gets hurt, then I have to step up. We all need to work together if we're going to save Erza!"

"But...you're so young," Jade told her, shocked by the dragon slayer's bravery. "You're way out of your depth here, if that guy gets back up and attacks you while you're healing me then-"

"Then I'll fight." Wendy interrupted. "When I first met Bambi...I was scared all the time. I didn't have any real faith in myself. All I had back then really was just healing magic, and some basic dragon-slaying spells. But, when I met her...I saw what it meant to be brave. She and the rest of fairy tail fought their hardest to protect clover town...and again when Phantom Lord tried to take away Lucy!" Tears began to slowly form around Wendy's eyes then, and slowly the cracked ribs and Jade's bruised stomach began to heal. "I couldn't do anything but watch and heal back then. I was too scared.

"But, aren't you afraid right now?" Jade told her. "These aren't just your run-of-the-mill dark mages, their expert assassins!"

Wendy looked at Jade then before she spoke. "A while back, I saw a side to Bambi that I never saw before. She was scared, crying. She thought that we were all going to abandon her when we found out about her past. She did some really terrible things, but we didn't turn her back on her even after we were told all that because that wasn't the person she was anymore. She was one of us...Just like you are Jade."

The healing glow from her hands then ceased, Jade's wounds fully healed as Wendy got to her feet then. "It's all thanks to Bambi that I'm even in Fairy Tail...But when I saw her crying like that...I told myself I never wanted to see her like that ever again. So I trained with Rukia to get stronger. So that if anyone wanted to hurt Bambi like that ever again, I could fight for her." Wendy clenched her right fist then, slowly bringing it to her chest before she continued. "Bambi's been the closest thing I've had to a Mom ever since I lost Grandeeney...and I promised to myself...that I wouldn't lose her, not like Grandeeney. I'll do whatever it takes...Even if it means I have to fight people like this."

Just as she said that Fukuro burst out from the toppled slot machines he had been sent through, and struck a pose, his knee's bent and his arm pointing high into the air. "Fools! That won't be nearly enough to defeat a warrior of justice!

Jade looked at Wendy then, slowly getting to her feet as she did so. She's just a kid. But despite that, she's braver than most people I've ever met in my life. Is this...all because of Fairy Tail? It wasn't just that though. Wendy was, in some way, much like herself. They both had gotten much stronger, all for the sake of someone who was just like a mother to them, but unlike Jade who found herself now at a crossroad of loyalty between her mother figure and the guild, Wendy had no such regrets. I gotta admit I envy that about the squirt. Jade quickly transformed her guns into their Kama blade form, quickly getting into a stance alongside the dragon slayer. I think I'm starting to get it now...Just what makes this guild so special. It wasn't just how powerful it's members were...it was their comradery.

And that was something Jade didn't mind. Not one bit.

"Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gray swung his ice hammer as fast as he could in an attempt to strike the glasses-wearing soul reaper, but Makoto saw the attack coming from a mile away and simply used shunpo to avoid the attack, quickly appearing behind Gray, his Zanpaktou now drawn. He slashed with a diagonal sword swing at the Ice Make Wizard, Gray just barely having enough speed able to dodge his strike as he dodged to the left, having no choice but to let go of his hammer in the process.

"You really think you'll be able to hit me with such a slow attack?" Makoto asked as he pointed his sword at Gray. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you'll never hit me with something so clumsy."

"Yeah, so I'm seeing," Gray replied as he began his counterattack, his hands slamming together as he created another ice construct. "Ice-Make: Cannon!" Now with a long-barreled cannon made of Ice, Gray fired a powerful Ice cannonball at his foe. Makoto simply raised one of his hands, however, and cried out "Hado#31: Shakaho!" A fire orb quickly erupted from his hands, incinerating the incoming cannonball and creating a large amount of mist. Makoto smirked, thinking he had bested the mage once again. "If you think you can beat me by just keeping your distance, you'll find that you're terribly mistaken."

However, before he could consider his next move, Makoto's eyes widened in surprise as his spiritual senses warned him of an attack from above. Looking up, he could see that Gray had jumped into the air, still wielding his ice cannon as he fired multiple cannon rounds. Makoto was quick to move backward with shunpo as Gray landing on the floor before the soul reaper dashed forward. "Nice try but you'll have to-"

"Ice-Make: Floor!" Gray slammed both of his hands on the floor, quickly covering the floor with Ice. Having rushed forward too quickly, Makoto was unable to stop himself and soon fell to the floor as he slid across the surface. He was quick to get to his feet, but as he did, Gray was right behind him, once more wielding a massive hammer made of ice which was slammed against Makoto's back, the soul reaper sent across the battlefield before he landed on his feet. "Ok, so you got a lucky hit in, but I still-"

"Ice-Make Lance!" Putting his right fist of his left palm, Gray quickly fired multiple lances of Ice to fly towards Makoto. Not knowing a kido that could defend from such a barrage, he was quick to leap into the air as he looked down at Gray. However, before he could think of his next counter-attack, Gray was already preparing one of his own. as he quickly over to Makoto. "Ice-Make Geyser!" The ground before Gray froze over with ice before it expanded upwards, creating a large tower of Ice. Makoto tried to fire another Shakaho at the oncoming ice, but the fireball was quickly overwhelmed by the Ice, and the ice had already caught onto his feet.

No choice! Makoto thought to himself before he shouted "Rampage, Reppu!" and his sword instantly changed shape into large, three-bladed weapon connected with a straight pole, and with one swing of his Shikai, Makoto cut the entire tower of Ice in half. He looked down at Gray then and snarled. "To think, a mere human could actually force my hand to use my Shikai!"

"I see, so it's just like Rukia's weapon huh?" Gray said as he got his hands ready for another attack. "Well, I don't know what kind of fancy tricks you got up your sleeve with your zanpaktou, but if you think this is gonna be easy, think again!"

Liltotto moved her head to the right to dodge a black diamond-shaped throwing knife before she quickly jumped up into the air to dodge another three thrown in her direction. Of all the former comrades she would have to fight, she never thought once that Shazz Domino would be among them. This wasn't because of some bond the two had formed over the years, as only Bambietta and her clique had gotten that sort of relationship with Liltotto. On the contrary, Liltotto had rarely ever interacted with him. No, she was surprised because she was certain that Shazz was practically unkillable. Had Yhwach's Auswählen caused his Shrift to go inert?

"You can't dodge my attacks forever you know!" Shazz called out to Liltotto, the former Stern ritter appearing right in front of her with Hirenkyaku and attempted to cut her with one of his oddly shaped knives. Moving her head to the left, and then the right as he attempted to strike her face, Liltotto ducked under one of his punches before delivering a powerful right punch to his stomach, before she quickly uppercut him with her left fist. The stern ritter was reeling with pain before Liltotto used Hirenkyaku to jump above Shave and kicked him down to the casino floor. He struggled to get up, but just as he got to his feet, his eyes widened with surprise as he saw Liltottos next attack.

"Licht Regen." A barrage of innumerable arrows was hurtling towards Shazz as she unleashed her attack. There's far too many to dodge! Shazz panicked before he formed his own bow and tried to fire back any of the oncoming barrages, but while he was able to shot a few arrows out of the way, the sheer amount Liltotto had fired quickly proved to be far too much, the countless arrow's piercing his head, stomach, arms, and legs. As the smoke cleared from her recent attack, Shazz Domino looked as if he was a human pincushion, the arrows protruding throughout his body. Liltotto landed before him then, as he collapsed to the ground, completely silent. The petite quincy stared at the body for about 10 seconds, before finally speaking. "You can stop playing dead Shazz."

"Oh, what gave it away?" Shazz asked as he grinned, the quincy slowly getting up to his feet as he began to tear out each arrow that was sticking inside of his body, the wounds quickly healing as he did so. "None of you have ever seen me injured to such an extent, I was hoping to catch you by surprise."

"It's true that I don't exactly know what the limits to your regeneration capabilities are," Liltotto told him. "But I figured that if healing was the big deal about your shrift, it would have to be even better than Giselle's. She may not be able to survive a severe injury to the head, but I figured it was fairly likely that you could."

"Oh, but what if you were wrong?" Shazz asked her. "If a shot to the head could have killed me, you would no doubt face the wrath of the magic council, as well as probable banishment from your guild."

"Normally, I wouldn't have rushed to such tactics, but I figured with your ability, it was a safe bet to make," Liltotto told him. "It's why I chose to fight you in the first place. Everyone else in my guild is too used to a nonlethal fighting style, but that's not gonna cut it with your power. If you're going to be defeated, it's going to be by inflicting one mortal wound after the other."

"And if you were wrong?" Shazz asked her.

Liltotto's eyes narrowed then as she clenched her fists. "Your guild is after Erza. Far as I'm concerned, the kiddie gloves are coming off. If killing you is what it takes to keep her safe, then so be it." She slowly walked over to Shazz then, her eyes filled with rage. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Shazz stared at her before he began to chuckle. "Kill me? You actually think you can manage it!? Haven't you realized that it's all but impossible for you!?" He appeared before her then with Hirenkyaku, his knife coming dangerously close to piercing her throat. However, before he even realized just what had happened, Shazz felt a sharp and incredible pain on his right hand before he was soon flung away towards the ground. He landed with a loud thud, and as he slowly got to his feet, his eyes widened with shock as he looked at his right arm, half of it reduced to a bloody stump. "You..." Shazz began to say as he looked back at the petite woman, her jaw misshapen as it chewed on his right hand before she quickly swallowed it and stared right back at him.

"It's quite fortunate that you're the one I'm fighting actually," Liltotto told Shazz. "Ever since I've joined Fairy Tail I've hardly ever been allowed to use my shrift's powers on any enemies that weren't just monsters. It's too dangerous to eat a whole chunk out of someone normally, but with you, you'll be able to survive just fine." She slowly floated down to the ground then, her mouth now stretching out to a degree not possible for anyone else. "Now the question is, can you regenerate if every single piece of you is inside of my stomach? I guess we have only one way to find out."

Shazz had no idea if his shrift could handle it or not...and he was now very afraid that he would find out just that.

Ulquiorra Cifer narrowed his eyes as he stared blankly at the woman before him. While everyone else had seemed to have gone off into their own battles, the former Espada had chosen not to do the same, at least not in the same manner. In the few months, he had spent in Earthland, he had dealt with many opponents who sought to do him harm for various reasons ranging from petty theft, or simple stupidity. However, he had always been capable of dealing with them with incredible ease. None had managed to even so much as scratch him with his Hierro. They were trash, simple as that.

But the guild he was dealing with now was quite different. The weaker members of Death's Head Caucus were only slightly weaker than the Privion Espada, but many of the others were actually on par with some of the lower-ranked Espada. The quincy especially seemed to be rather powerful, Driscoll, and Quilge seemingly near the level of Grimmjow.

But the pink-haired swordsmen had already demonstrated a level of strength far above theirs. She had managed to stop one of his cero's with a mere swing of her sword. It wasn't quite possible to gauge her level of power just yet, but he was sure he would have his answer soon enough. Several minutes had passed since then, and all the two had done thus far was simply stare at one another. He was surprised then when she finally spoke.

"A taciturn soul..." she said softly, her voice a gentle breeze upon the air, "who dares stand against me here... cannot hope to win."She held her ground, unmoving and yet seemingly moving all the same. Not her body, but her spirit, as if the swordswoman was ready to step into action in the blink of an eye and unsheath her sword.

A Haiku? The arrancar thought to himself. How utterly pointless. If she wasn't going to make the opening move, then so be it. The sooner he defeated this woman, the sooner he could assist his allies. Thus, with a quick burst of sonido he appeared behind Ikaruga and struck with a powerful right jab!

Ikaruga turned on her geta, the heavy shoes knocking against the floor. She unsheathed her blade a mere six inches as she did so, the flat side of the sword blocking the Arrancar's jab. "An attack from behind?" Ikaruga whispered. "And I thought I was the assassin on the field of battle today."

"If I am to end this battle as quickly as possible, I see no reason why I wouldn't resort to such tactics." The arrancar said as he blankly stared into her eyes.

"Well, I suggest you step back as quickly as you came," Ikaruga said, light shining against her blade as it held back Ulquiorra's hand, "lest you wish to lose some fingers."

He wasn't about to test her bluff, however, as he soon used sonido once again to attack her from behind. He continued to strike at her, this time with both hands as he struck out at her. However, each of his blows was avoided as she moved her head just enough to dodge his attacks. Finally having enough, he kicked by her feet in an attempt to throw her off balance.

"Hm." Ikaruga faulted back, her feet skipping across the ground as she put some distance between themselves. "You seem awfully determined to make me draw my sword in full once again. Are you that upset I'm going all out against you from the start?"

"Don't think that you can fool me with your words," Ulquiorra told her. "I know that you have yet to show anywhere near close to your full abilities. But this farce ends now." If she wasn't going to take this seriously from the get-go, then fine by him. Unlike Natsu and Grimmjow, he took no joy from such a pointless battle. He once again attacked her from behind as he used sonido, but to his surprise, the woman turned around in time to not only stop his attack but as she quickly drew her blade, Ulquiorra could feel a sharp pain across his left arm and chest. He looked down, and for the first time since he had entered this new world, the arrancar could see his own blood dripping down his chalk-like skin from a diagonal cut, his own arm now sliced in half, his left hand having been sent flying through the air and crashing into one of the nearby slot machines screens.

Ikaruga swiped her katana through the air, letting the Arrancar's blood fly away from it. "Snow-white skin turned red... The scarlet stain travels far... Your fate is sealed now..." She smiled, a glint of madness in her eyes. "A fitting haiku for your final journey, yes?"

The arrancar stared at her blankly then, before looking back to his arm and chest. If he was feeling any sort of pain, he was hiding it incredibly well. After looking back at Ikaruga, he simply spoke. "Impressive. You're the first one in Earthland to have ever slice through my Hierro. I didn't believe that humans could create such powerful weapons. Should I also be correct to assume that you imbued some of your magic into that attack as well?"

"You assume right... to an extent," Ikaruga taunted. "This blade is me and I am it. Our powers are one... the power to cut through anything that stands in our way, be it fairy or a devil such as yourself."

"I see. It would appear that your sword is fairly similar to that of a zanpaktou, at least given your analogy." Ulquiorra calmly stated. "However, despite your impressive power, it won't be enough to defeat me." Just then, Ulquiorra's flesh began to form and heal over his open wounds, the long cut across his chest now fully healed, and his left hand soon burst forth from the former stump. He slowly flexed the muscles in his hand before he continued to speak. "My greatest strength isn't in my attack, it's in my ability to regenerate. I'm unique. In exchange for immense strength, most arrancars lose their ability to regenerate at ultra-high speed. I alone am able to regenerate my body parts at high speed except for two areas. My brain and internal organs."

"Oooh..." Ikaruga smirked, as she tapped the index and middle fingers of her left hand against her temple. "So I should have aimed for the head, hm?"

The arrancar didn't bother to respond to her retort then as he began to slowly draw out his zanpaktou from its sheath. Truly, this was a foe he couldn't afford to take lightly. This woman was dangerous and on the small chance that she actually managed to defeat, or even kill him in battle, the likelihood of Fairy Tail's victory would be practically zero. He could not, no, he would not allow that to happen! He dashed forward, moving faster than a lightning bolt as he thrust his blade at her head, but Ikaruga quickly drew her own weapon in response to his attack, their blades now clashing. He pressed his sword harder against hers, trying his best to budge her weapon, but to no avail.

"Is this... all that you have to offer?" Ikaruga said before she pushed forward on her left foot, intent on parrying the Arrancar's own blade. "I'm disappointed."

He took a step back, only to thrust his blade at her with great speed, his right hand stabbing forward thousands of times a second. Ikaruga moved her head to the right, then the left, continuously as he tried to strike at her. Every time it seemed like his blade was about to pierce her skin she dodged his blows at the last second, seemingly with ease. If he were anything like the average arrancar, Ulquiorra was certain would have had some sort of angry outburst. However, he was far above such pettiness in battle, and finally, his blade managed to graze her right cheek as he thrust his blade forward once more.

"You..." Ikaruga grimaced, a faint wisp of her blood going out into the air. "You devil..." She was quick to lash out at him with her blade, and the Espada was finding it hard to keep up with her immense speed, his zanpaktou only barely managing to stop her sword from slicing into his neck. His arm shook from the power she was putting behind her blade, and he soon found himself losing ground as he was pushed high into the air. He looked down at his foe, but to his surprise, she was already gone. Quickly sensing her out with his Pesquisa, he was just barely able to raise his zanpaktou above his head to block a downward swing from the swordsmen. He crashed to the ground and quickly got up before moving to the left to dodge another slice of her blade. He thrust his sword once more, but he was too slow as Ikaruga parried his blade to the right and she slashed her blade at his midsection, the arrancar having no choice but to use sonido to evade.

However, just as he thought he had gained some distance, Ikaruga appeared behind him and attempted to cut him in two with a vertical sword swing. Moving fast as he could, the arrancar was just barely able to parry her blade to the left before she struck out again with a forward thrust, the blade only barley managing to miss his stomach by a few centimeters as he moved to the left. He attempted to slice at her feet, but the swordswomen quickly jumped over his attack before she kicked him across the face. Grunting almost silently, Ulquiorra was barely able to see a flash of white and pink before he raised up his sword to block her swing, the arrancar's legs shaking from the power from the blow, and his feet slowly skidded against the ground. His eyes locked with hers before he quickly glanced at his sword. It was chipped all over and starting to show the beginning signs of what could lead to a broken sword. This woman's blade...it's almost on par with Harribels sealed zanpaktou. Ulquiorra thought. To think it was possible for mere human's to reach this level of power.

"I have to admit, that's not a bad weapon you have there," Ikaruga said as she began to sheath her blade. "Most things my Mugetsu Ryu comes into contact with are cut in half with one swing of my sword, but your blade's managed to survive multiple blows with my own." She then slightly chuckled before she spoke once more. "It's a shame really. If you were a little stronger, I might actually be a little concerned for myself."

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes then, showcasing a very rare instance of annoyance. This woman had no idea just how much power he was holding back. If he could simply release Murciélago, he had no doubt that he could turn the tide of this battle in his favor. Her strength may have been comparable to Harribel in her base state, but he was quite confident that his resurrección would be more than enough to win this battle. However, there were several issues with that plan as the arrancar considered his options. If I were to release my zanpaktou here, it could cause total collapse and put Fairy Tail at a serious disadvantage. Assasins are used to using such cover for their work, but it's unlikely Levy and the others could adjust in the midst of battle. Furthermore, with the spiritual pressure, I would release, it's possible that I may accidentally cause some of them to fall to their knees due to the sheer weight of my power and create an opening for one of the assassins.

That's wasn't even considering how it would affect the civilians within those magical cards. No, if victory was to be his, he would need to fight strategically. Power alone would not win him this battle. Using sonido, he appeared above Ikaruga's head and swung his sword down at her. The assassin was quick to draw her blade and counter his strike, his blade craking once more from yet another attack from her blade. Not finished with his attack yet, however, he dropped to the ground before he rushed her and constantly tried to stab her with his blade. However, much like before each and every one of his attacks were parried easily, and Ikaruga smirked. "If this is all you have, I think it's time I put an end to this." With a powerful swing of her blade, the arrancar was forced off of his feet and across the casino air before she jumped high into the sky, and she jumped down at him with her blade held high. Once more, the two swords clashed, and a large crack was beginning to form across Ulquiorra's zanpaktou. Ikaruga grinned then, confident in her victory. "Well, It was a fun fight, but in the end, your weapon and skills with the blade are simply no match for my own," Ikaruga stated. "At least you may die with the pride of being one of the few warriors to last this long against me."

"I could say the same to you," Ulquiorra stated. While his left hand strained from trying to keep her sword away from slicing him in two, his blade shaking as a result, the arrancars right hand pointed at Ikargua's face, his index finger glowing. "However, I doubt that even you could take this attack unscathed at such close range." A large green ray of light erupted from his finger then, his cero completely engulfing Ikarguga with its light as it fired through the entire casino, destroying countless slot machines until it finally pierced all the way through, creating a massive hole in the building. The arrancar simply stared where Ikaruga once was, the smoke slowly starting to clear as he sensed for her spiritual pressure.

"That was a rather impressive attack, It seems I made the right choice to deflect it earlier."

His eyes widened in surprise as the dust from his attack now finally cleared out of the way. Ikaruga stood firmly, her sword fully drawn. Her entire body and outfit were entirely covered in scuffs and minor burns, but nothing more. Slowly, she began to walk over to him, the woman beginning to sheath her katana once more as she did. "If I hadn't deflected that attack at the last second, you might have actually caused me some serious damage. How unfortunate for you." Her sword was quickly unsheathed then and quickly resheathed in an instant, and before the arrancar knew what had happened, he could feel incredible pain throughout his entire body. Various cuts and slashes covered his entire body, and he feels down to one knee, taking deep breaths as he looked back at her.

"You...how did you-" Ulquiorra stammered as he slowly got to his feet. He had never dealt with such an attack before. Even when he had been battered down by Ichigo Kurosaki's monstrous hollow form, he had at least been able to see the attacks coming. This was a completely alien situation for the normally stoic arrancar.

"That was just one of my Mugetsu style secret techniques. Yasha's Empty Flash. " She then clapped her hands then as her eyes looked all over his body. "I must admit, you're quite sturdy. You're the first one to have survived that technique. Let's see if you can handle this next one. Garuda Flame." Once again quickly drawing her sword, Ikaruga sent a powerful vortex of flame at Ulquiorra. The arrancar not having the chance to have fully healed from Ikaruga's last attack, could only fire a Cero in an attempt to cancel out her attack. The two attacks clashed, and for the first few seconds, it seemed that they were even. However, Garuda Flame quickly burst through Ulquiorra's cero, the arrancars eyes widening before he was hit by the flames and caught in a massive explosion. The smoke quickly cleared and Ulquiorra was barely able to stand, his body covered throughout with burns of various degrees.

"You continue to impress me, Fairy Tail mage," Ikargua said as she began to draw her sword once more. "It's such a shame I don't know your name...I would have been sure to have remembered it."

"This...is not over." The arrancar gasped out, the arrancar preparing to fight with his sword once more. "If you wish to see what an Espada is truly capable of, then so be it." However, despite what he had just said, Ulquiorra knew that his own words were no better than an empty threat.

A lone cloaked figure watched on as chaos erupted throughout the casino. This was becoming more difficult than he had anticipated when his guild had taken on this quest. It wasn't that he doubted the abilities of his comrades, quite the contrary. He was sure that with enough time, each foe they were engaged with would be snuffed out so they could procure their prize. However, time was of the essence. If the magic council got wind of what was going on before the ritual to revive Lord Zeref was finished, then this entire mission would be for nothing. It simply would not do.

He reached out with his right hand then as he focused on which one of his guildmates was in the most need of assistance. They still had their uses after all. "Shadow Gods Chain Blast!" A powerful blast of energy burst from his hand, hurtling far faster than anyone else in the casino could possibly perceive until it hit his target, the dark energy quickly wrapping itself around the small body of Liltotto Lampard, who was just in the middle of rushing towards Shazz Domino.

"What the-Mph!" Liltotto cried out before she felt the dark energy wrap itself around her mouth before she was slowly lifted into the air. The bindings around her began to tighten then, and she gasped out in pain as she felt her bones slowly beginning to strain from the tight grip which bound her. She struggled as hard as she could, and kicked about, but it was no use. The spell was simply too strong! Her eyes widened in fear then as she looked down at the one responsible as he slowly approached her, his spiritual pressure now clear as day for her to sense. This guy is...almost as powerful as Jose! Her thought process was quickly interrupted however as her bindings became that much stronger, and the bindings around her mouth subsided, if only so her allies could hear her screams of absolute pain. "Aaaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhh!"

"Liltotto!" Erza cried out from within her spiritual prison.

Bambietta, for her part, could just barely move her head enough to look as her sword clashed with Quilge's, the Quincy kneeling from the strain as she was barely able to put up any sot of struggle. "You bastard, let her go!"

"Oh, I don't think I will." The cloaked figure spoke as his eyes narrowed. "You mages have made this job far more of a hassle than it needed to be. While I have no doubt that you would all eventually met your demise, time is of the essence, so I simply decided to speed things along. Hand over Erza Scarlet, and in return, your fellow mage will be returned to you without any more harm."

"Master, I can assure you the situation is well under our control," Driscoll spoke. "If you just give us a few more minutes-"

"That is more than enough valuable time that we simply cannot afford to waste Driscoll." The man told him. "Now fall in line, or else."

"Y...Yes, Master." Driscoll reluctantly agreed.

"Like hell, we'll just kick your asses and then save her all in one swoop!" Candice told the cloaked figure.

"You really think so?" He said with a grin before Liltotto's bindings became even tighter then, a loud snap was heard before she screamed out in pain. "That time it was just her arm, but if I so chose, It could have just as easily been her neck. Now chose."

Liltotto could feel tears fall from her eyes as the pain overrode her senses. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't activate Blut Vene to defend herself or, Blute Arterie to break out. These bindings...are preventing me from using my reiatsu!

Candice's eyes widened then as she heard her old friend scream out from her broken arm. Damn it all, I know I'm fast but I don't think I'm THAT fast! If I make one mistake, then she's...then she's- She shuddered as she thought about it. She simply couldn't bear the thought of letting down one of her friends once more.

"Lil!" Natsu cried out as he tried to slowly get to his feet. He wasn't exactly sure what NaNaNa had done to him, but ever since he had been hit by "The Underbelly" he had found moving to be much harder than before. It was as if he could only use half of the power he had access to before. No, it wasn't just that he couldn't use as much magic as he was before, NaNaNa's blows seem to have been hitting far harder than they had before. She needs you Natsu, move! Come on, MOVE! He took a step forward then, then another as he slowly made his way over to his bound comrade. However, just as he took a step forward, he fell to his knees, the dragon slayer simply unable to take another step forward. "No, no, I can't let this stop me, no way!"

"I'm surprised you even have the strength to walk, Bazz B number 2." NaNaNa said as he looked down at the slayer. "Most people can hardly even move after I've hit them just once. That's some determination you have there."

"I'm...I'm not done!" Natsu yelled back. He had to get up! He had to! For Lil, for Erza, for everyone! Move damn it, come on body, Just MOVE! But try as he might, his body simply would not listen to his demands.

Rukia and Gray could only watch on helplessly. They desperately wanted to help but what could they hope to do against such a foe? If this man was truly their guild master, then any Ice attacks they could freeze him in wouldn't last anywhere near long enough to get Liltotto to safety. That was even if they could somehow get past their current foes. Juvia and Totamaru were in no better position, Driscoll's Bankai having turned the battle in his favor considerably. One wrong move and he could finish them off in a single strike, and poor Levy and Lucy, as well as Jade and Wendy, had their own problems to worry about.

That only left Ulquiorra to possibly respond to the threat at hand, and the arrancar knew it. But could he handle it? The man before them wasn't even close to using his full power, he could tell that much, and it was already at least on par with Ikaruga's. A Gran Ray Cero was out of the question, due to the damage it could cause to the surrounding area, let alone his own allies. The very same reasons placed Resurrección off-limits as well. The arrancar closed his eyes then, as the reality of the situation finally hit him. It would appear there is no scenario where we can emerge victorious without suffering a massive loss.

"I'm still waiting for an answer." The guild master said as he snapped his fingers, the bindings tightening once more as Liltotto let out a powerful scream!

Bambietta gritted her teeth as she watched on. Damn this bastard! If she wasn't so hurt already, I'd just toss my "Explode" orb on her bindings to free her, but with her current condition, I'd just be making things worse! Come on, think Bambi, think! The quincy racked her brain for a few seconds before she came up with an answer. "Lil, use your vollstandig to break out!"

"Don't you think I'd have done that already if I could!?" Liltotto shouted back with tears. "This damn power he's using...it's as if it's cutting off my access to my reiatsu!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Bambietta yelled back. Things were just going from bad to worse! At this rate, they were going to lose! No, No I'm not gonna give up on her not yet! Bambietta swore to herself. "Don't you worry Lil, we'll-"

"Do you swear that you'll release her?"

At first, Bambietta wanted to do nothing more than cuss out the one who had suggested complying with their demands for even a second, but that rage quickly gave way towards confusion as soon as she realized just who had agreed to those terms. Bambietta stared at Erza then, the S class mage looking more determined now then she had for the entire night.

The cloaked guild master slowly turned to face Erza as well as she acknowledged his demand. "Indeed. We would gain nothing to go back on our word, it would just continue the pointless conflict, and as I said, time is of the essence. at least according to Lord Jellal."

Bambietta could notice Erza's determination vanish for the briefest of moments as soon as Jellal's name was uttered, but it quickly returned to its former sternness. Whatever was going on, whatever these people from her past wanted from her, it was clear to Bambietta without a shadow of a doubt that Erza never wished to return to where she was going to be taken. This "Jellal" must-have undoubtedly been someone who had hurt Erza dearly and given her relationship with the ones who had come prior, was more than likely also a former friend. While she may now have known the suffering of slavery that Erza had in the tower, the pain of being betrayed by someone you considered a friend was something Bambietta was more than familiar with.

To think, that we actually went through something so similar. Bambietta thought as her fists clenched. All this time that I've known you, that you've spent helping me get back on my feet...you've been going through the exact same pain as I was. And now...they wanted to take her back to the man that caused it all? She could not, no, she would not, allow this to happen! "Erza...We can handle this!" Bambietta insisted. "I just need to-".

"No."

It was one simple word from Erza. One single solitary word. And yet that was all it took to crush Bambietta's spirits. To hear Erza give in at this moment. Worse, she could see... something play across Erza's face. Something subtle, something faint, but something there all the same.

The solemn and reserved expression worn by Titania Erza had let the faintest tremble play across it.

"No?" Bambietta repeated. "Erza, I-"

"Bambietta Basterbine," Erza interjected. "I have made... mistakes."

Bambietta's skin ran cold, her mind drifting back to Galuna Island, to the question that had been offered to her so long ago. "Erza, no. You... you don't make mistakes. I... I'm not a mistake."

"And you never will be," Erza said, reaching out to put a hand on Bambietta's shoulder. "But before Fairy Tail... I made mistakes. Mistakes that I will not allow to hurt my family."

"Erza, no!" Liltotto cried out from the constricting shadows, the Quincy trying to futilely escape once more. "You can't do this, please! I'm not worth it! You're far more important to the guild than I ever could be!" Tears flowed from her eyes once more, but these were not tears of pain, but rather tears of sorrow. Erza was the closest thing to a real mother Liltotto had ever had! To lose her was simply unacceptable! "If you go because of me...If I lose you because I wasn't strong enough, then-"

"Nonsense, Liltotto!" Erza said. "All those who wear the mark of Fairy Tail are equally important! And this is not your burden to bear! I will not be surrendering because of you. You did not bring this fight to us... I did. This is my burden to bear." Erza's voice lowered in tone. "You are much stronger than I, Liltotto. You have worked to make amends for those friends you felt you hurt in the past. So now it's time that I do the same and follow your example. To ask for their forgiveness."

Liltotto was having none of it however, the quincy on the edge of reaching a hysterical breakdown. "No, I can't lose you! You're-MMMMPHHH!"

Before she could say anything, however, a black orb of energy wrapped around her mouth, silencing her please, leaving her to only use her teary eyes to plead to Erza to reject the man's offer. The guild master slowly strode over to Erza's cage then as he made his way over. "A wise decision on your part. Now we simply need the compliance of everyone else."

"Like Hell!" Candice yelled at him. "I made this mistake one time too many, if you think I'm gonna just sell her out like that then you have another thing coming!"

"Your approval means nothing." He said as he looked at Liltotto. "Or do you not value her life at all?"

Any words that could have come from Candice's mouth were quickly silenced.

"Erza, You can't do this!" Natsu shouted out at her. "We can still win this, I know we can!"

"Yeah, just give us 10 more minutes and we can send these pansies running home," Gray said as he looked over towards Ulquiorra. "Isn't that right newbie?"

Ulquiorra was silent for a moment before he spoke. "...As thing's stand right now, victory is impossible."

"No, it isn't!" Bambietta yelled back as she struggled against Quilge's sword. "Yeah ok, We're not exactly doing super hot right now, but you just need to-"

"Any escalation on my part would involve a far greater loss on our side than simply losing Erza Scarlet," Ulquiorra told her. "Or would you rather risk having Wendy, your girlfriend, and Levy end up as casualties of friendly fire?"

Bambietta wanted to retort. She truly did. She wanted to think of someway, any way to overcome this...but her mind was totally blank.

"Well now, it seems that we have finally reached a deal. Quilge, you may release her. No need for you to waste any more of your power than what's needed." Quilge nodded his head then, and quickly undid the spell, freeing Erza, if only temporarily. The cloaked figure then used his dark powers to free Wally, Simon, Sho and Millianna from their bindings, the others quickly heading over to their side the moment they were freed.

Erza took one step forward, breathing deep even as she willed her armor to unequip in a bright light, leaving her to stand in her blouse and skirt. She was about to take another step then... only to stop as she felt a hand grab one of her own.

She turned to look over her shoulder, only to find Bambietta had reached out to her. Only to see Bambietta glancing down at the floor, her bangs obscuring her eyes.

"Erza, you talk about making a mistake in the past, but I don't understand it," Bambietta whispered. "You know so much about me and my life before Fairy Tail, but I don't know yours... so I can't understand this, but... You say you made a mistake and this is your penance, but the only mistake you making is the one before my eyes! We can save Lil. You, me, Fairy Tail. We can!"

Erza paused for a moment before reaching out herself. She put a hand on Bambietta's chin, tipping her face up so that they could see eye to eye.

"Bambietta," Erza said. "As long as I have worn the symbol of Fairy Tail, I have made no mistakes. This will be no different."

Bambietta's brown eyes wavered. "Erza..."

"I leave the rest to you," Erza said. "You, Natsu, Lucy, Liltotto, Candice, Rukia, Wendy... all of Fairy Tail. The future is yours. Although our path must stray, promise to live the rest of your life to the fullest."

"Don't..."

Erza stepped back, turning so that she could see all, even Liltotto. "You must all treat every day like it was your last day in this world. And I... I will never forget my Fairy Tail friends that I love. I will treasure my memories of you all for as long as I live."

The guild master finally released Liltotto, the petite woman falling to the ground with a thud as Erza finally approached him. "You were wise to accept my offer, Titania." He then looked over to Quilge and nodded, the Quincy beginning to chant a spell that Liltotto was all too familiar with.

That's...a quincy teleportation technique! Despite her broken arm, fractured ribs, and various other injuries, Liltotto used Ransōtengai to force herself up to her feet. She slowly walked over as best she could, Ransotengai doing nothing to nullify the pain she still felt as she slowly reached out with one hand towards Erza. The S class mage shot her one last small smile...and then, there was a large flash of light, engulfing the entire casino. Liltotto barely managed to shield her eyes from the intense light, and when it was finally clear...Erza, and her captors, were gone.

"No...Erza..." Liltotto spoke as she fell to her knees, the quincy having lost the will to use Ransotengai anymore. Tears flowed more than they ever had before, the guilt of losing one of her closest friends hitting Liltotto harder than any physical pain ever had. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It was all her fault. She was the one that had been captured, she was the one they used to take Erza away. She was the reason Erza would have to go back to the very same hellhole that made her a slave! The mere thought of making her relive that pain, a pain Liltotto knew all too well, nearly made the quincy vomit from despair. Instead, all she could do now was cry. They had failed. No, she had failed.

Liltotto grit her teeth as she pounded the ground. "I'm such a...I'm such a-"

"Don't you dare beat yourself up over this Lil."

Liltotto's eyes widened then as she felt a strong pair of hands embrace her, her head connecting with Bambietta's chest as she hugged her. The brunette was crying just as she was...but she was putting on a far braver front than Lil was. Her face full of determination.

"This isn't over Lil," Bambietta told the small quincy. "Not by a long shot. We'll save her, I swear it."

Well, things certainly did not go well for our hero's this time around now did they? Needless to say, however, they're far from finished. But will they be able to save Erza and pull off a successful rescue? The only way to find out is to tune into the next chapter of "A Quincy's Fairy Tail!"

MPF levels will be kept hidden till later fights.