AN: A lot of thanks to Crossovernaru for his immense help as my beta. He gives the fic the polish it needs, so you should thank him, too :P

Chapter 15: Meeting your other side

Zero took in a deep breath. It has been far too long since he was allowed to taste the nectar of freedom again. He was finally liberated from his leash and free to touch the earth beneath his feet as he saw fit. Ultimately, his liberation was only a matter of time, as Brain was getting weaker and weaker to control his true self and thought he could prevent the inevitable. So much so, that he gathered six pawns to act as buffers for his return, but now Zero was back and nothing in the world would force him back into the black void of Brain's subconscious.

'It would be a shame to party alone.' Zero thought calmly before he aimed his palm at Midnight. Still asleep on his flying carpet.

A massive green magic blast was shot towards Midnight. Engulfing him completely, while dirt and dust were kicked up into the sky. Concealing what was left of his pawn.

Not bothering to check up on his recent victim, Zero walked towards the grounded Jellal in a paced manner, before grabbing him by his jaw and easily lifting him up to eye-level.

"Hello, Jellal. I guess I never truly introduced myself. My name is Zero, Oracion Seis' true master and someone grateful for finally being freed from his prison." Jellal was struggling to free himself from Zero's grip, not that the older mage cared. "It would seem to me that you should be rewarded for your trouble. Don't you think so, too?"

"Yes, father. I would also agree." Standing behind Zero was Midnight. Completely unharmed by his father's magic blast, minus his custom magic carpet that was just a speck of dust now. "What did you have in mind?"

"A front row seat of course!" Zero tossed Jellal like a pillow towards Midnight, who used his magic in response to twist Jellal's clothes into a cocoon-like straitjacket and levitate him above the ground right next to himself. Zero then pulled out a strand of scarlet red hair from his pocket and presented it before Jellal. It didn't take a second before the young mage realized what it was for. Zero just grinned at his reaction.

"Let the hunt begin!" That strand of hair started to glow as magic was poured into it, before turning into golden dust, and like a fairy guiding the hero towards a hidden entrance, it flew into the forest with Zero, Midnight and a restrained Jellal in hot pursuit.

They passed innumerable trees, each seemingly blending into another thanks to the speed they were travelling at, until they suddenly stumbled onto an eye-numbingly white clad person with a silver mask obscuring their face. At the sight of the figure, Zero now sported a mad grin . He had waited long enough to finally bath in the blood of his victims, but he especially loved the feeling when his prey tried to hide themselves from him. Amused and with glee in his eyes, Zero lashed out immediately, airborne from his powerful jump and with hands ready to rip everything to shreds. Only to feel cold steel carving its way through his flesh from his stomach up to his left shoulder. Stopping him in his tracks by its power.

'What?' Was all that crossed Zero's mind.

Startled by this, Zero failed to notice the follow up slash aimed at his neck at lightning-fast speed. It was too late before he realized that a blade had just passed his neck, all the while his opponent was already sheathing their weapon in a way that symbolized having removed a threat.

"Father." Was all Midnight said, while keeping his gaze on this new threat that was surrounded by golden dust.

'You are really bad at this, men!'

'You are just terrible at your job!' Zoro telepathically replied to his partner in crime, while running back towards the right path he supposedly missed, without tripping on his long white robes this time. 'I just hope you are not leading me into the wrong direction or else I will shove my boot up your ass for wasting my time!'

'Easy, my hopeless sword maiden. I know exactly where you are. Just keep following my unquestionable sense of perfume and keep going.' Zoro sneered at that nickname and his perfume but refrained from commenting on it. Its not like it mattered anyway. The sooner he gets the job done, the sooner he gets to leave.

Zoro started to regret accepting this mission just to get out from the tireless waitress job, but under closer examination, two more weeks of bartending torture might be even more painful. Being pent up in one place was just not his style. Zoro preferred to wander around and see new places that might have something new to offer. Be it booze, swords or swordsmen. Everything would be better than just serving middle-aged men or hormone-driven teenagers in the nightly hours he mostly probably would have spent on sleeping and/or drinking.

Suddenly, Zoro stopped running as he reached for one of the swords on his waist.

'Is something wrong?' Zoro ignored his partner as he honed his senses. Feeling the voice of a vicious powerful beast that was going to appear on his right. Undoubtedly going for Zoro's throat, if the amount of bloodlust emitting from this entity was anything to judge by.

First a tiny golden orb, leaving behind a trail of dust emerged from the woods and surrounded Zoro for no reason, except maybe to look pretty. The next instant a beast lounged from the bushes towards him fast enough to break the sound barrier. Zoro, however, had already drawn Shigure out and carved a nasty fissure into this humanoid monster's flesh, before its full form was even visible to the naked eye.

Making use of this advantageous situation, Zoro immediately followed up his attack with another cut aimed at the neck of his opponent that appeared more humanlike the longer he looked into his blood-colored eyes. Not that it would have a changed his approach. Against someone like this, it's better to be safe than sorry. With that in mind, Zoro finished off his opponent with a clean cut and sheathed his blade with a soft clang echoing through the silent forest.

The old man was not alone. Two other people were standing right behind his first victim. The first was some flat-chested chick with spiky shoulder-length hair divided into two colors of black and white. She had five red beads on top of each other intertwined into her hair, while a prominent amount of make up was put on her lips and eyes.

The other one was someone he didn't think he would meet again so soon, but it seems like lady fate was an amusing host at this time of the year. It was Jellal, now trapped in a cocoon made of cloth and sporting anew scar over one of his eyes. Probably obtained from their last battle and suiting him quite nicely if Zoro was being honest. Other than that, Jellal was clearly being held against his will here. Just dangling there in the air helplessly like a balloon in the grasp of a little girl.

'So, it was them.' Putting two and two together, Zoro easily deduced that this group was responsible for disrupting their battle at its most crucial moment back on Aeraos.

"Father." Said the young teen, emotionless. Prompting Zoro to kind of regret his actions. Knowing now he just killed someone's parent right in front of their eyes, even if he was a bloodthirsty monster.

Not that Zoro had to feel bad about this any longer, as the father in question, against all odds, just jumped back quite a distance, before feeling his neck for any head chopping cuts that might have been lethal enough to kill him.

He was fine, much to Zoro's confusion. While Zoro did have the skills not to cut people if he so wished, this was not one of those cases. Zoro could have sworn that he did swing his sword with the intent to kill. Surely his opponents had some weird magic at their disposal that was going to annoy Zoro a little longer, if that Kuja guy from before was any indication.

"Thank you, Midnight. It seems I was a little too eager for a fight against the main course." The white-haired man's hand glowed a greenish color as his hand hovered over his wound. Sealing it with some rune-like writing like that of four-eye's group.

'What's happening on your end? Did you stumble upon some villainous scum on your way?' Ichiya made himself known to Zoro. Meanwhile, the old man readied a magic seal with his index finger pointed at Zoro.

'Some old guy and his daughter with too much makeup sprang out of nowhere and attacked me. Nothing I can't handle.' Hand rested on his swords; Zoro waited.

'Anything you can tell me about them, men?' A barrage of green finger-sized lasers came rushing towards Zoro. Not that avoiding them was any challenge for him.

'Well… One of them is called Midnight or something and the other one is her father. Not that they resemble each other one bit. You know them by any chance?' Taking out his sword, Zoro decided to retaliate with one of his own slashes to test their response to it.

'… You better watch out. Those two are without a doubt part of Oracion Seis.' Ichiya replied with a little more urgency in his voice. The same moment Zoro's slash got blocked by a wall of air, as it seemingly absorbed his slash without trouble. Growing in size proportionate to his attack, before disappearing. 'Their master has created many magic spells, so don't get cocky, men.'

'Alright then.' Having tested the waters, Zoro decided to go on the offensive and rushed towards the older man who was looking at him with his demonic red eyes.

"Dark Capriccio." A spiral beam of green colored darkness was fired towards Zoro, who in turn responded with his own air slash. The attacks canceling each other out and didn't hinder Zoro's advance in the slightest. His opponent however didn't show of the slightest hint of surprise. Instead, he revealed a giant grin, before multiple differently colored magic circles appeared in an instant.

"Mud Tomb. White Thunder. Vicious Fire Cannon. Water Slicer. Dark Impulse. Acid Rain. Kitten Blast. Air Shot. Sand Spear. Iron Doll. Plant Knuckle. Solid Script: Eruption." A massive number of spells was brought to life from every direction.

The ground under Zoro started to turn to mud, followed soon after by some orange-colored writing appearing under his feet. This was soon followed by a barrage of fire, wind, water and more being hurled towards Zoro, while a multitude of lightning and needle-shaped acid came falling from the sky. All the while fist shaped plants came to life to give him a taste of a flesh-free knuckle sandwich alternative from the side, while some weird orange rope tried to wrap itself around Zoro's arm. All this coming towards him at different speeds and sizes, making it rather difficult for most people to dodge all of them.

Zoro had to admit, this was more than he expected from one guy, but if there was one thing he did best, it was to power through stuff and worry about the consequences later. So, with excitement in his eyes Zoro took out his second blade immediately, grinding it and lighting it on fire. All with the intent to give them a taste of Zoro's own magic spell.

'720 Inferno Pound Cannon' Reciting the name of his attack in his mind, Zoro delivered a massive burning slash towards his opponents, chopping down and burning every single tree and spell in its path. It also scorched the mud around him enough to turn it back to solid earth, distorting the spell enough to disable its activation.

However, much to his surprise, just as the massive slash was about to hit its mark, a portion of his attack distorted itself into a weird upside-down U shape and passed them from above. Then it returned to its proper form and destroyed everything behind his targets. The old man was still grinning and stepped forward in a taunting manner.

Zoro didn't let that discourage him and pressed on. If ranged attacks were ineffective, letting them taste his blade up close should do the trick. Avoiding the poison needles still raining down from above, most of which ripped into his flowing robe , while occasionally redirecting the thunderstrikes with his blades into the ground. Zoro managed to close the distance in a heartbeat and burrowed his blades deep into the red-eyed old man… yet not blood came out.

"Lock." Was all the grinning mad man said after he grabbed Zoro's blades and refused to let them go as they became stuck in his iron grasp and body.

The geezer then seemingly grew another head next to his first one, before it turned into another body that grabbed Zoro by his head. Breaking apart the right side of his mask and revealing Erza's beautiful brown eye as Zero squeezed his grip hard enough to draw blood. The left-behind body then lost all its colors and turned into an iron statue of his opponent, with the swords still embedded in it.

"Titania. Don't think that disguise can fool me." He squeezed harder. "Even if you pretend to be a Blank, my spell will find you no matter where you hide. Now let's take that off and allow me to show you and Jellal the terror that is me, ZERO!"

Two slashes. One burning, and the other cold steel,both tore into Zero's body after cutting through his iron body double. This sudden attack made him lose his grip ever so slightly before he could properly rip off Zoro's head in a gruesome fashion, which in turn allowed Zoro to slip out of his grasp by stepping back.

However, Zero's hand was still entangled in the fabric of his veil and threatened to expose Zoro's true identity. Something that Zoro preferred did not happen when he still had a mission to fulfill.

Aiming for the arm, while still backing away, Zoro swung his sword to dismember the older mage, yet something unexpected happened. His blade, just like his burning slash before, was being bent so hard it avoided Zero's hand, after which it returned to its proper shape.

This mysterious force bending things was becoming a problem, but a bigger one was already beginning to manifest as Zero managed to already rip off part of his robe. Green strands becoming visible. With slight panic Zoro used his other sword to at least stop Zero from fully revealing his identity.

Pouring a thick layer of haki into his now black blade, Zoro's other sword came rushing forward. The mysterious force of course tried again to bend his sword to the side, and it did, but thanks to Zoro's sturdy armament haki it only managed to tilt the sword at a twenty degree angle, enough to cut some of Zero's fingers off.

Despite Zoro's best effort, Zero still managed to get a hold on his veil and fully exposed Zoro's face for the world to see. All the while the remnants of his mask were falling off to its last pieces.

'Damn it.' Zoro lamented to himself, not liking this mistake.

Zero however took a step back. The pain of his severed fingers not even registering, as he realized who or rather what he was fighting.

Zero was a pure believer in destruction. Anything that exists can be destroyed and finding out the exact amount of power needed to do so has always been one of his greatest joys and one he loved to study using his own two hands. Yet when faced with a threat that exceeds his human mind, like for example a person capable of withstanding the peak of destruction like Abyss Break… then even a vicious monster like Zero was hesitant to face such a threat head on alone without an army backing him up.

"This can't be! What are you doing here?!" Jellal cried out distressed, before cloth tied itself around his mouth. Preventing him from saying anything more.

"You almost had me, Titania." Zero suddenly regained his composure, while putting his hands behind his back as his chest wounds began to heal. "You are quite crafty. Using that one popular magic item to change your hair's color just to trick me… and you even cut down your hair, just to confuse me even more. Clever. I expected nothing less from you… Now perish!"

Ignoring his wound, Zero put his hand forward and send a massive gust of wind towards Zoro. The force of the wind was enough to bend the surrounding trees at quite an angle and pushed Zoro an impressive distance away. Thankfully, Zoro managed to stab his blades into the ground to slow down his pushback.

After regaining his footing, Zoro pressed on towards his opponent. Sending out a barrage of air slices towards Zero for the involuntary lift, Zoro started to quickly close the distance between them.

Zero in the meantime held out a tiny white flame in his palm. Having trouble keeping it contained in his hand, he finally crushed it, bringing forth a massive white magic circle the size of a two-story house before him, which rendered Zoro's ranged attacks useless when he unleashed it.

"Sigil of Nika: Dwarf Star Release." A massive sea of white flames came rushing towards Zoro. Eating out the forest and engulfing the scenery before it.

'Foxfire-style: Flame-Rend.'One swing was all it took for Zoro to easily cut down the massive forest fire in two. The heat burning the edges of his slightly torn outfit, while sweat ran down the side of his face the closer he ran towards the fire's origin.

The threat of the burning spectacle did not stop however as the never-ending lightshow flowed back into each other like the split sea. Trying to get back to its proper shape, akin to instant regeneration, but Zoro managed to hold his own against it as he ran towards Zero.

Swing after swing, Zoro pushed back the flames that dared to come back and stand in his way. The closer he got, the faster he needed to move his blades. Flinging back the fire that came to fill the void he left behind. His swords moving so fast they appeared like an iron dome of sharpness.

Slowly, the fire started to become unbearable as Zoro was forced to a standstill. Still swinging his blades at rapid-speed, Zoro generated enough wind to at least put out the fire burning up his clothes and helped him to withstand the intense heat radiating all around him. He could feel that he was getting extremely close to its caster, but any step further would probably overwhelm him.

'If only I were in my original body than this wouldn't take so long.' Complained Zoro. 'Anyway, this guy should almost be out of magic. Just going to have to hold out… I hope you can endure this a little longer Shigure!' The sword from the Marine captain was already starting to glow bright red from the heat, despite Zoro's armament haki covering it as best he could. Still, his sword endured the heat, muffling its screams and focusing more on holding itself together.

Medo Inferno on the other hand appeared fine. To any normal person, they would likely assume that being a sword that generates fire, Medo could thrive in those temperatures without issue, but even someone like Zoro saw through that excuse. White flames are incredibly hot and even a blade that controls the element of fire under its belt had to be sweating by such a constant stream of heat beating down on it.

Zoro had to do something quick. He couldn't just hope that his opponent will lose this fight of endurance. The risk was too high, and Zoro would rather avoid being burned to ashes in this life, even if that would be a legendary way to bite the dust.

Suddenly, a weird distortion in the sky above Zoro made itself visible. It looked like the outlines of a giant door. It even opened like a one with that distinct squeaky sound, before the same white flames came raining down from above… No, it was more like a tidal wave was crashing down to crush Zoro under its weight.

"You are kidding me!" Zoro growled, before making up his mind. It was now or never.

"Two-sword style version: Dragon Twister." Swinging his sword in a circular manner, Zoro created a whirlwind that somehow was strong enough to pick up the fire around himself. Giving birth to a massive fire tornado and an opportunity to stop this onslaught of fire.

While this move is stronger and more effective with three swords, it appeared to be strong enough to push the flames to the side and engulf both Zoro and Zero into the winds calmer center. Free from all the distractions and giving Zoro the window he needed to end the old mage.

To Zoro's surprise however, just as he was about to cut him, Zero's arms were covered with a green tinted black color. It collided with his black swords and somehow withstood its cutting prowess.

'I did not expect that.' Zoro did not let that stop him and unleashed a fury of cuts in retaliation. Each ground splitting swing getting blocked by Zero's enforced arms. This exchange continued for quite a while until Zero stomped his left foot on the ground.

A brown magic circle appeared under them and tilted the ground to the side fast enough to catch Zoro off guard and making him lose his balance. Luckily for him, Zero was enough of a gentleman to reach out for Zoro's swords and catch them both in his left hand, preventing Zoro from falling over.

"Magnetic Pulse. Lock." Having stuck the blades together, Zero pulled Zoro into his direction with a powerful tug and readied his fist to collide into Zoro's face.

In a split decision, Zoro let go of Shigure, his black fist now enveloped in a green aura of sorts, before he caught the incoming fist. He then pulverized his opponent's right hand from the inside.

"Aahh!" Zero was clutching his hand. Now just a useless piece of flesh limply hanging on his side. Fear was imminent in Zero's eyes as he, the master of destruction, failed to understand how this could happen.

"I have to thank you, old man. I was starting to wonder if anyone still uses haki in this day and age where magic seems to be the new hot shit." Zoro grabbed his Shigure that was seemingly glued to his other sword and ripped it free. Electric sparks flying between the swords as he did so. "I can even tell that the armament haki you had covering your arms was some pretty high level stuff. Great job. Still… no matter how long you would have trained and improved it, against my advanced form you wouldn't be able to do anything."

Zero was backing away. He finally realized he made a grave mistake. Even though he heard Erza's voice, saw Erza's face and looked into Erza's eye, Zero couldn't recognize her as the pathetic girl that lost against Cobra, but the entity he thought Erza pretended to be. The one that fought against Jellal. The one that managed to withstand the magical supremacy of Abyss Break… Zero was in shock.

Noticing his enemy's distraction Zoro sprang forward, blades pointed to the sky, aiming to deliver the finishing blow.

Suddenly, Zoro's clothes started to wrap themselves around him tightly. The long white robes binding him into a tight cocoon like a mummy and preventing him from moving his arms or anything else for that matter as he fell to the ground like a bag of sand.

"NOW FATHER!" Midnight screamed from the sidelines, holding out his hands and exerting himself to keep Zoro in place, while Jellal was just lying beside him.

Getting back his bearings, Zero coated his foot in as much haki as he could, while also charging his piercing spell Dark Capriccio with his foot, as he went for Zoro's head to end him.

A giant jousting lance, wielded by an armor wearing gal came crashing into Zero's side. Launching him away and preventing the head stomp that would have followed. All of a sudden, the new arrival started to glow, changing her weapon into a long polearm and her armor into a golden one with giant pauldrons and some furry bits hanging here and there.

With a grunt and a lot of skill, she launched her weapon at extreme speeds towards Midnight, forcing him to jump away just in time to avoid being pierced by the giant weapon like a shish kebab.

With Midnight losing his concentration, Zoro managed to free himself from his entrapment, but when he got a clear view of the new arrival, Zoro was surprised to see who had come to his rescue.

It was his honorable body donor in all her scarlet glory. Standing before him, with her back turned to him, while the sun shone at just the right angle to reflect the golden glow of her armor. Making her appear like a goddess of war.

"Are you alright?" She asked him, not daring to lose sight of her opponents in front of her." You can rest now. I will take them on."

'As if.' Covering his head with the excessive cloth that his robe still had at its disposal. Zoro stood up right next to Erza. Ready for another round.

"Can you still fight?" Erza asked him, transforming into her usual attire with sword in hand.

Zoro just nodded, as he held his swords before himself. Keeping in mind that he had to be careful now in her presence, as he didn't want to reveal his true self before Erza and risk the mission's success with her intervention. The moment she finds out he is her clone; she undoubtedly will not leave him alone and pester him to no end. This wouldn't be as bad if it in turn wasn't for the fact that it would make it that much harder for Zoro to take Angel's place while no one was looking and get sent to prison in order to bust out Wrack's crew.

'If it comes down to that, I can just knock her out.' With that declaration in mind. Zoro and Erza both rushed towards their opponents, who clearly were reconsidering their options.

"How are you feeling Wendy?" Lucy asked while holding her hand against Wendy's forehead.

"I'm fine, really. So please don't worry." Wendy was leaning against a tree. Exhausted from using her magic this intensely, alongside the heat around her making it harder for her to rest.

"Well, if you need anything than just tell me." Lucy smiled, before wiping away the sweat forming on her face. "Still, why is it suddenly so hot? Its like the sun was dropped right before our feet or something."

"It is getting hotter, but its probably nothing major." Hibiki said while still browsing through his archive, before it lit up in a reddish color "Someone is coming! Fast!"

"What!?" Startled by this sudden announcement, Lucy failed to turn around in time and if it wasn't for the protective barrier from Hibiki materializing between her and the sword that almost took her head off, she might have been a goner. However, even more surprising than her almost death was who it was that attacked her.

It was Erza wearing her flight armor. Its speed being a useful asset to have and one you hoped was not pointed at you, but that was beside the point. Why was Erza attacking them?! Did she get brainwashed by the enemy or did something else happen to her?! She was gone for around ten minutes so she couldn't be taken of guard this fast... could she? Before Lucy could break her head about this issue Hibiki spoke up.

"I know you are not Erza so drop the act and tell me where you are… Angel!" That last part was spit out with venom. Something Lucy did not expect such a charming man to speak in the presence of a lady as herself.

"Ah, so I have been found out?" Out of the woods came out a white-haired woman in a white feathery dress with a massive window displaying her assets in a quite provocative, almost slutty manner. "What gave it away?~" She asked innocently, while batting her eyes playfully.

"I know where everyone is located, but that is only half the truth, you devil… Since that incident 3 years ago I used everything at my disposal to learn everything about you and your methods. Sending out one of ours so that we'd hesitate to fight against them is one of your most common approaches. A quite effective one, if someone didn't know about your Celestial spirit, Gemini!"

"Gemini?!" The initial shock wearing down, Lucy jumped back before Wendy to cover her and with her trusty keys in her hand she waited for Hibiki's next move.

"My, you did your homework mister Blue Pegasus man. I truly wonder who fell by my magic that made you so fixated on me. Mr. Now single for the rest of his life Hibiki." She sent a wink at his direction, before turning away. "Guys, I think its your turn now. I'm bored."

All around them about thirty mages appeared from the woods. All grinning like maniacs at the sight of their victims.

"That's quite an army." Lucy was not happy. "Hey, Hibiki… Maybe we should- "

"LUCY!" This sudden shout startled her. "I'm going for Angel's head. You go defeat the small fries."

"Are you kidding me?! You have quite the expectation from me!"

"Look around Lucy. This is not something you can just talk yourself out of. Either you give your best or you perish."

"I get it but why do you expect me to do it alone?"

"You honestly expect her to just watch it all unfold before her? The moment you are distracted she will get the drop on you, even if she has to take out her own team. Trust me when I say it's better that I deal with her." With that Hibiki walked towards Angel, all while the enemies rushed towards them.

"Ah screw this. Open Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus." A bipedal bull with a battleax at its side materialized before her. Ready to take out some foes, as was his master, by taking out her whip to beat up her enemies into shape." Bring it on!"

While Lucy dealt with the annoyances, Hibiki stood before Angel and Erza confident in his abilities to take them down.

"So, you are going to raise your hand against a lady? I must say that's quite ungentlemanlike."

"I'm sorry, but against scum like you, I can't help but see you all in the same light. You are all blurring together into one pile of burning trash."

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Thanks for patiently waiting.

First of all let's all thank Crossovernaru for his help. The amount of improvemnts he made this time and last time proves how much i have still to learn and I couldn't be happier with his skill, talent and cooperation.

Other than that I have nothing to add. So have a great day and we see each other next time.

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