Chapter 2
A Failed Attempt At Retrieval
Inside a bar called Altair, Lucy was now dancing before several patrons that cheered for her as well as admired her beauty, even though Cody was getting annoyed at them having perverted thoughts in their minds, but he didn't want to compromise the mission, which would lead to him getting a very harsh beration from both Erza Scarlet, the greatest and strongest S-Class Mage in all of Fairy Tail, and Makarov, who was still the head of the guild. He learned his lesson about not wanting to cause a scene thanks to his bearing witness to her putting both Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster in their place multiple times. The outfit Lucy wore consisted of a bikini that had flowers on the fabric, and her hair was tied in twintails. It was worn by belly dancers, who would perform live dances for their patrons. Despite noting that she didn't want Cody getting lost in the shadow of envy.
"Beautiful dancing, Lucy," Cody said quietly as he too applauded her.
But poor Lucy turned away out of embarrassment to the backstage area after finishing her dance.
"And once again, there goes my dignity," she groaned.
"Don't worry about it, Lucy," Gray assured her.
"Yeah, Gray's right. Besides, the people in this bar seem to love your dancing, but I've got a feeling that Cody's getting pretty agitated by what he's hearing from the other patrons, thanks to the shadow of envy taking his heart. I'm guessing he also knows what it's like to be in Juvia's position when she sees another girl with him. Still, you've got this," agreed Sora.
Lucy knew that she really didn't want Cody to become so lost in darkness and envy, that it would end up turning him into something truly terrible, even after Nuno had taken a sample of his blood to recreate his alternate self, Ydoc, so that he could watch him torment the Son of Xehanort into opening himself to the darkness again, and unleash Berserker from within. Thankfully, all of his friends assured him that they wouldn't let that happen, with Erza agreeing with them, knowing that they were of sound judgment.
"From what I've gathered, Zash keeps all of his stolen goods locked away inside a tower. He unlocks it using a special ring he wears. But let's not forget, he is a high ranking official," she explained, walking past most of the patrons dressed as a bunny waitress.
"You're right, and if we did even think of taking that ring of his person with brute force, it'd lead to a really brutal civil war between both Fiore and Stella, which we'd probably have no chance of winning," added Kirito, who was seated at a table with Asuna, sharing a few drinks with her and Leafa, while Yui had to remain out of sight by hiding backstage.
"That's why, we've come to his favorite bar to steal it from right off his finger," Erza replied.
She turned to Lucy.
"Just keep him distracted," said the redhead.
"Okay, Lucy, you know what to do," whispered Asuna.
"Yeah, go and break a leg," added Leafa.
"Okay," replied Lucy, her eyes flashing with determination.
"Time to go, everyone," hissed Yang.
"Yes, my thoughts exactly, Yang," agreed Erza.
Then Lucy started dancing once more, and the crowd was now cheering. However, none of the patrons knew that she was actually going to take the ring from Zash who sat down at the bar, while the patrons made some disgusting catcalls and even wolf whistled at her, which pretty much got on Cody's nerves, causing Yumi to gently rest her hand on his shoulder.
"Just be glad that Natsu's not here to see her, Cody. Otherwise, he'd end up getting a 'knuckle sandwich' from her if he started being perverted when talking about her outfit," assured Yumi, and she silently slipped away into the backroom.
Cody nodded towards her, until Lucy gently touched his cheek as she danced before the patrons of the bar.
"Yumi's right. Just be happy that Lucy's doing her best," he told himself.
Now was the time to take Zash's ring as Lucy called on one of her celestial spirits, as she was given a brief little nod from her boyfriend.
"Gemini," she murmured with a light giggle.
Gemini appeared in Lucy's form, and began to both tease and flirt with Zash, which did make Cody relieved that the celestial mage he loved still had a few aces hidden up her sleeves, despite his misgivings about the patrons. Things were going as planned, as Erza quietly walked up to him, thanks to the false Lucy entertaining him, and the requip mage quietly took the ring from him, and walked away. When the dancing finished, the patrons cheered once more, including a somewhat satisfied Cody, who did feel a little at ease with how she both acknowledged and loved him. In the back room, Erza passed the ring to Gray.
"One copy, please," she said.
"One copy coming right up, ma'am," replied the ice mage.
Together, he and Yumi combined their ice powers to craft a perfect replica of the ring, which they hoped would be made up of ice.
"Thank you, sir," praised Erza, and she walked back to continue her work.
Once she was gone, Gray turned to Happy and Carla.
"Alright, now it's your turn," he said to the two Exceeds.
"We'll get this over to Wendy and Natsu ASAP," replied Carla.
"A special delivery," agreed Happy, and the two catlike creatures flew off to meet their companions.
"Good luck to both of you," replied Yumi.
However, unknown to them, Panther Lily had seen them fly by.
"Lily, what's up?" asked Gajeel Redfox, who was with Levy Mcgarden.
"It's nothing. I just thought I saw Happy and Carla flying down the street over there," replied Lily.
"I hope they're not taking the same job we're on," complained the steel bladed mage.
"Think of it as a joint effort by the entire guild and Team SKYYYLAARC," assured Yui.
"Yeah, Yui's right. I wouldn't judge them too harshly, Gajeel," agreed Levy.
The two cats, who were joined by Asuka soon arrived on the scene, where they saw a bamboo pipe in the dirt.
"It's showtime, Natsu and Wendy. All we need to do is get the Dragon Cry and get out of Stella. That's all we need to do," she said to him.
Natsu jumped out and stood with his hands before him in a ninjutsu sign.
"Great work, Asuka. Now let's get this train rolling," he replied.
"You heard Asuka, Wendy," snipped Carla.
"Yeah, I guess she got us good, Natsu," sighed Wendy.
But they knew that the job had to come first, as they raced up the wall of the castle of Stella, where they saw two guards protecting a door to the vault. Quick as lightning, Natsu dropped down and rendered both guards unconscious, then they raced to the vault door, where Natsu used the replicated key that Gray created and opened it. Inside, they saw loads and loads of gold, jewels, and the mineral called Stellarium. Suddenly, Natsu began to feel something that was beyond another door, and he hurried off to investigate.
"Where are you going?" Wendy asked worriedly.
"I can sense a lot of magical power beyond that door," replied Natsu.
"I feel it also, Natsu, but be careful," warned Asuka.
Natsu nodded, and went through the doors. What he saw made his blood run cold. It looked like a powerful staff, surrounded by a golden aura. The dragon slayer slowly approached it, eyes wide and filled with shock.
"That's it. That's the Dragon Cry," he murmured.
He took hold of it, and he began to feel a strange power flowing through him that made him feel another kind of cold feeling, which Sora felt as well. Quickly, Asuka, Wendy, Happy, and Carla went to check on him.
"Are you okay?" The two girls asked.
Before Natsu could respond, an alarm sounded all around them, and it echoed everywhere. They had triggered a trap. Natsu groaned in annoyance, but Asuka readied her swords, knowing full well that she had to guard her friends. They left quickly, just as the guards spotted them.
"You guys, go. I'll keep them busy," Asuka said to them.
"But, Asuka, we can't just…" Natsu tried to protest.
"Natsu, we need to trust in Asuka's belief that she can buy us time," hissed Happy.
"He's right. Now go!" agreed Hanzo's granddaughter.
The angered guards then fought furiously against her, and even made sure to stop them from using the cannons to harm them, but Wendy looked back at her friend, a sense of worry in her eyes.
"Please, come back to Sora alive, Asuka," she said quietly, as Carla carried her away.
Back in the bar, Cody stood firmly between Zash and Lucy, his Keyblade, Fairy Tail Champion, held tightly in his hand.
"Listen, buddy, you don't want to lay a finger on Lucy while I'm around. She's not the kind of girl to deal with someone who's too aggressive with women. So either step down, or face the consequences," he said bravely.
"You're a stubborn kid, but I can tell from the look in your eyes, they're just the same as your father's eyes. Yeah, I know who your father is. It's Xehanort, isn't it, kid?" grinned Zash.
"No. He knows who my father is?" gasped Cody, who almost staggered back.
"Cody, listen to me, you mustn't give into despair, otherwise Sephiroth will be after us when he senses it. Besides, we made a promise that we'd make sure that you'd never end up like your father at all. And that's something that Sora would acknowledge. That's the whole reason why I'll always love you," Lucy whispered to him, while also resting her hand on his arm.
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid we have to ask you nicely to leave our dancer alone," Gray said, with Yumi at his side.
"Even if it makes Juvia envious, I share Gray's sentiment, Zash. Step away from Lucy, or face the consequences," she added, readying her fans, while wearing her transformed outfit, consisting of a solid white furisode kimono that hung of her shoulders, had a blue double-lined trim with a blue obi on her back, white socks and a pair of flip flops, while her white ribbon with blue stripes simply carried over from her garments.
"Uh, good to know I'm surrounded by people who'll always have my back as Natsu'd sometimes would," sighed Lucy.
Suddenly, some guards came to inform Zash that some of their friends had taken the staff, which made him angry, but had been told that some of the guards had been defeated by another swordswoman.
"So like Natsu, but at the very least, I'm just glad Asuka went with him and Wendy, so that she could keep them safe," Yumi said.
Despite his judgment, Gray had to agree with her, then attacked Zash.
"Who the hell are you?" demanded the marshall of Stella, who caught his fist.
"They are part of Fairy Tail, and I'm a member of Team SKYYYLAARC. I am Yumi, leader of the Gessen Girls Academy, and Arbiter of Justice, like my grandfather, Kurokage, before me," Yumi replied, and both she and Gray encased Zash in a thick layer of ice.
"And I'm the guy who's telling you there's no smoking backstage," added the ice mage.
Luckily, Erza knocked out both the guards.
"Okay, it's time to move," she said.
"Right, you heard the lady. Let's get out of here," agreed Cody.
"Gladly," smiled Lucy, then she kissed his cheek and they raced off.
But as they left, Sephiroth appeared, and broke Zash free, with Esuna.
"Fool. You shouldn't have underestimated them, seeing that they are Fiore's own Fairy Tail guild," he said darkly.
"Yeah, you said so yourself, Sephiroth," agreed Zash.
On the way out of the bar, Lucy and Cody managed to find a temporary safe haven in an alleyway, so that they could talk in private.
"Hey, Cody, I know that this outfit made a lot of the patrons in this bar look at me in weird ways, but what do you think of it?" she asked.
"To be honest, Lucy, I always thought you were like an angel when I saw you dancing," Cody replied kindly.
Yeah. Some guys have certain tastes in what women wear. This dress was probably the only thing to help please the crowd, although I was putting my dignity at risk,' said Lucy.
"Y-yeah…" stammered Cody.
Lucy was a bit surprised to hear her boyfriend stammer, when he quickly composed himself and turned away. He looked back at her, now becoming serious again.
"Hey, wait a minute. Did Sora or Kirito ask you to give them my message?" he asked.
"The one asking me to be careful? No, I got it. I was worried about you," replied the celestial mage.
"I'm starting to think this place is more dangerous than we thought. Who knows what they'd ask you to after the manager praised you for your dancing. No way in hell would I allow you to be ravaged by anyone who'd want to 'sleep with you'," he said.
"They know better than that, so don't worry. I'd never do that. Anyway, we gotta get the dragon cry out of town," assured Lucy.
"And it's thanks to Natsu taking it?" inquired Cody.
"That's exactly what Yumi said, and I'm pretty happy that Asuka went with him, Wendy, Carla, and Happy. I still trust them, even though Natsu can be a massive pain in my neck, but he is a good friend," smiled Lucy.
"I guess, but I'd rather not do something really dumb like get dressed up as a woman after I dance in a fancy motel that's in the hands of someone who's really… cringy, like Andrea Rodea. Anywho, we should move out, otherwise the whole kingdom will be placed under martial law, much like how Atlas was because of James Ironwood's compromised morality," replied the Son of Xehanort, and they hurried away.
Outside on the streets of Stella, Natsu, Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Asuka were running as fast as they could with the guards chasing them, but saw a swarm of Heartless behind them.
"I bet a fireball would get rid of these guys real fast," he complained.
"Don't even think of killing them, Natsu! You know just as well as I do that neither Sora nor Erza would appreciate seeing any unnecessary casualties!" snapped Asuka.
"Yeah, Asuka's right. These guys aren't our enemies, they're just doing their job," agreed Wendy.
But then one of the guards fired his crossbow at her, which was about to graze her arm, only for the bolt to be deflected by Kirito who came to their rescue, armed with his Keyblade, Oblivion.
"Get going! I'll hold them back!" he cried, getting into a battle stance.
"Not by yourself, you won't! I'm helping too, Kirito!" Natsu replied, his determination flaring up.
"Asuka, you and Wendy get the staff out of here!" he called to the two girls, while the two Exceeds flew after them.
Wendy and Asuka nodded, and raced off into the distance, just as the Salamander of Fairy Tail raced back to help his friend.
"Let's light 'em up!" he shouted, and engaged the guards.
"Wendy, thank goodness Kirito saved you," sighed Carla.
"Yeah, you said it," replied Wendy, but she began to feel uneasy about the staff in her hand.
Suddenly, more guards fired at them, causing Wendy to tumble to the ground, and the staff flew out of her hand.
"I'll stall this one! Happy, Carla, you guys are with me!" Asuka said, and she lunged at another guard that was about to grab it.
"We're with you, Asuka!" replied Carla.
"Aye!" agreed Happy.
Asuka and the guard flought furiously, even with Happy and Carla providing support as best they could, which gave Wendy the edge she needed to recover the staff. She got it just in time, then passed it to Erza, who was flanked by Sora, Ruby, and Yang. Several more guards tried to stop them, but Sora knew what he had to do.
"GO, CRIMSON SUN!" he shouted.
Both half-sibling daughters of Taiyang Xiao Long, managed to weaken the guards long enough for Erza to deliver the final blow, only to see their hearts be stripped from them, resulting in their transformation into Heartless, which Sora took down in a heartbeat. The Requip-mage then tossed it to Gray who was flanked by both Asuna and Leafa, with Yui keeping a safe distance away from them, as Yumi joined her side.
"Sorry, fellas," he said to the guards that were pursuing him.
"Here, you should take a chill pill!" Leafa added, and they froze the roof, causing the guards to slip and fall in all directions, and they dropped to another rooftop that had another squad of guards waiting for them.
"Incoming!" cried Asuna.
Quickly, Gray cast aside his vest, which was struck by the arrows, then continued to run towards them. He cast aside most of his other clothes, save for his boxers, then knocked out the other guards, and tossed the staff to Lucy, with Cody trailing behind her. They soon came to another squad of soldiers.
"Open, gate of the scorpion! SCORPIO!" she called to the heavens, as she brandished one of her celestial keys.
Scorpio arrived and used his sandblaster on the guards, who also had their hearts taken by the Heartless, resulting in a similar transformation.
"Yes! Good work, Scorpio!" praised Cody, then he pointed his Keyblade to the sky.
"Ifrit, COME FORTH!" he called to the heavens as Lucy did.
Ifrit burst out of the ground before him, as the sky turned ashen gray, and the lava burbled and bubbled from the crack that formed, then he gave a mighty roar.
"Turn our foes to ashes!" he said.
Ifrit grunt in acknowledgement, even though Lucy really didn't like his demonic appearance, which was worse than her celestial spirits, but the Heartless were instantly destroyed by his ultimate attack, Hellfire, which suddenly caused their hearts to vanish into the darkness, thanks to Sephiroth taking them, while unseen.
"No, the hearts!" cried Lucy.
"Sephiroth," hissed Cody.
Ifrit vanished after defeating the Heartless, but Scorpio, not wanting to see Lucy get hurt, pushed her out of the way, and took the shot for her. He vanished after that fact, much to Cody's disdain for seeing one his girlfriends celestial spirits get beaten very easily.
"So, you're the girl who steals things, hunh?" smirked Zash, who pointed a pistol at her.
"Don't you touch her, you monster!" Cody snapped angrily, standing between her and the marshall of Stella once again, his Keyblade held at the ready.
"Get out of the way, boy, or your blood will most certainly be on my hands!" Zash barked back.
"I don't care, Zash. I'd gladly give my life for Lucy. She's someone I love very dearly, and I won't let you kill her, or any of the people I cherish!" he said bravely.
"I respectfully acknowledge Cody's sentiment, because I too won't let you harm him, Lucy, or anyone else for that matter, Zash Caine!" called Sora, who jumped to their side.
"Sora, thank goodness," sighed Lucy.
"Trying to fight back would be a very unfortunate decision," glowered the gunner.
"Hey, only we have the right to decide whether we can fight back or not. But unlike my father, Master Xehanort, I'm not letting anyone die, so that I'll end up becoming just like Ydoc was, whom Nuno was able to revive through the use of accelerated cloning after he took a bit of my blood from me," remarked Cody.
"Do you know why this kingdom put me in charge of their national defense? Take a guess. From the moment I first came here, I showed them I was both powerful and ruthless," explained Zash, right as he was about to blast them with his power, as one of his eyes turned bright red.
But he didn't get that chance to hurt them, because Natsu came to their rescue, by punching him back.
"Natsu!" they said with relief.
Enraged, Zash struck back, but Natsu quickly swung back towards him, and the battle was on as they exchanged blows with each other, until the dragon slayer was sent crashing through a building.
"Humph… destroy them all," grinned Sephiroth, who was watching from above.
"Come on!" Sora said to Lucy and Cody, and they raced after Natsu who still held his ground, even though he was pushed back into another part of the city.
Suddenly, Zash nodded towards Sephiroth, who used his powers to have the people's hearts be taken by the darkness, creating new and deadly Heartless in their place.
"Not again," gasped Sora.
"What are you talking about, Sora?" Natsu asked him.
"He's saying that Sephiroth's used the darkness to turn those people into Heartless, by filling their hearts with darkness so that they'd be taken by them," explained Cody.
"He's right. We have to let our friends ensure that their hearts are returned to the light. You have to believe me. They didn't deserve this at all," agreed Lucy.
"Why those sadistic bastards!" howled Natsu.
But then they heard the One-Winged Angel's chuckle as he dropped down towards them, making Lucy become far too paralyzed in fear.
"Return the Dragon Cry to Zash, or you and your friends will die where you stand, Lucy Heartfilia," he said with a cruel smile.
"No. It's him. It's Sephiroth," gasped the celestial mage.
"If you want to get to Lucy, you have to go through me, murderer of Nehelenia!" Sora snapped at Sephiroth, as he engaged him in battle.
Luckily, Cody took hold of Lucy's hand and held it with every fiber of his being.
"Lucy, listen to me. Just as you told me not to give into despair, I'd gladly return the favor by saying the same thing you said to me. Don't let yourself be ruled by fear and despair, because Destiny Oliver has told me time and time again, I should never be afraid of who I really am. That's the promise I made to her, and I'd gladly ask her to welcome you into my family, along with Fluttershy, Lunar, Frey, Yomi, and Ikaruga," Cody assured her.
Lucy smiled, then gently kissed his cheek, a sense of relief in her eyes.
"Okay, and thank you, Cody," she said to him.
"Return the staff to Zash, or the shiver of your flesh shall yield to cold steel," grinned Sephiroth, as he forced Sora back, and attempted to plunge Masamune through his chest once more.
"I'd listen to Sephiroth if I were you. Give me the staff, and I'll show you it's true power," agreed Zash.
"We'd rather die by our own hands than give something that will only bring mayhem and destruction to this world!" Sora barked back.
"That can be arranged, my apprentice," remarked the One-Winged Angel.
"No. I will never ever allow that to happen to anyone. You may have had Nuno recreate Ydoc after he drew a sample of my blood to bring him back, but I refuse to see the people I love be killed by you or anyone else on the side of darkness, Sephiroth. But I also know that he actually wants Vanitas to break free from within that prison which is Sora's heart," Cody said quietly to himself.
He concentrated on thinking of the one form that was given to him, thanks to his love for Fluttershy.
"Lucy, Natsu, Sora, stay back," he said.
He shut his eyes, making Zash believe that he had resigned to his fate of accepting death. Suddenly they shot open, as Cody had chosen the form that suited him for their retreat.
EQUESTRIAN!" Cody shouted, and he soon turned into a human/pony hybrid, complete with yellow wings that sprouted from his shoulder blades, yellow ears, and a yellow tail.
He gently picked Lucy up in his arms and held her bridal style, right as Sora decided to do the same by assuming his Divine Equestrian form.
"Lucy, hold on tight. It's time to retreat for now," Cody assured her.
"Yeah, what he said," agreed Natsu.
"Uh, right," replied Lucy.
She then looked at Sora.
"It's like you'd say, Sora. Let's fly in the winds of adventures!" she said to him.
"That's just what I like to hear, Lucy," grinned Sora.
Cody nodded, and with a mighty flap of his wings, he took to the sky above, with Natsu and Sora bringing up the rear, while also making sure that the Heartless would not harm them. This was the signal for both their teams to fall back and rethink their strategy. Despite her surprise, Lucy relaxed as he saw Cody smile at her, as their enemies saw them disappear.
"Such bold yet brash cowards," grinned Sephiroth, as his wing unfurled from his right shoulder blade, and he gripped Masamune tightly in his left hand.
"I agree, Sephiroth. They've angered the most powerful man in the kingdom," agreed Zash.
They soon retreated to the castle, where King Animus sat on his throne. That night, they stood in the throne room, as bolts of lightning arced across the sky, and the
"You have made quite a mess of things, Zash," he glowered darkly.
"It'll all be cleaned up soon, Your Majesty. Once Sonya locates the thieves, I will make them return what they've stolen," Zash tried to assure him.
But Animus was growing angry, and he began to telekinetically strangle him.
"Don't forget, Sonya is mine as well. I will not have her harmed by your ineptitude. Am I making myself clear?" the king said darkly.
Suddenly, they heard another dark chuckle, which was amplified by a mask that distorted this other character's voice, just as Zash was freed from his grip.
"I agree with Animus, Zash. Disappoint him once more, and Sephiroth will personally execute them all, while I recover the Dragon Cry from their cold dead hands. Both his and Sonya's time is running dangerously close to low, and we may have to use Sonya's gift, even if it means that sacrifices have to be made for the greater good of Stella," scoffed Ydoc, who had been brought back through the usage of biological replication, thanks to Nuno Harime, son of Sephiroth and Nui.
"Ydoc is right. Let's have the Three Stars sniff them out, and crush them without any hesitation under my supervision. However, Sonya will need double the protection, and I would happily oblige to do that deed, unlike you, pathetic dullard," added Sephiroth, who proceeded to blast Zash with dark lightning.
Zash screamed loudly from the unrelenting, which suddenly reached Sonya's ears, right as Animus appeared behind her, with Nuno at his side.
"Hello, Sonya," he said with a cruel smile.
"King Animus, Nuno, you startled me. Once again, you've entered my chamber without making a sound," gasped Sonya.
"Yes, yes, but you forget that Animus is one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of Earthland, just like a certain grand vizier who went by the name of Jafar, from the land of Agrabah, where Aladdin resides, until he was killed by Sora after his lamp was destroyed," replied Nuno.
"The kingdom is in great peril, and our only hope rests within the dragon cry," added Animus who approached her, and glared at Sonya with a sadistic smile on his face.
Far away on the outskirts of Stella, Team Natsu and Team SKYYYLAARC sat around a campfire.
"Now that we've acquired the staff, the real challenge is returning it to Fiore," said Erza.
"Agreed. We may have come here by different means, but I have a feeling that Natsu will become even more motion sick when we head back the same way we did," replied Kirito.
"But it won't be easy, guys. All of Stella has now been put on high alert now that its leader has declared immediate martial law," interjected Asuna.
Sora remembered that all too well, when he saw General James Ironwood become so consumed by paranoia, fear, anger, and hatred, that he placed Atlas under immediate martial law behind the council's backs, which in turn resulted in its destruction. However, he knew that by using the Staff of Creation, which housed the mystical spirit, Ambrosius, to give Penny a human form, as well as create a pathway to the Kingdom of Vacuo, by evacuating as many people there, until Cinder Fall arrived with one purpose, to eliminate all of Salem's enemies. But even though she escaped with the lamp containing Jinn, and the staff, they had been transported to the Ever After, a world that was different from Remnant in its entirety. He snapped back to reality.
"Yeah, but it wasn't really Natsu's fault. In all honesty, it was a set up to spring a trap," agreed Asuka.
"Well, at the very least, I just hope that we don't spring any more traps like last time," quipped Gray.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in my face, why dontcha, Ice King," Natsu quipped back.
"Natsu and Gray! That's enough. I will not have any more infighting between the both of you, or else I may be forced to ask Sora to contact Master Yen Sid, so that he can teach you a lesson about showing proper respect for other people, even though the two of you are rivals. Also, don't make me do something stupid that would get me severely lectured by Erza herself," Yumi said sharply to them.
This immediately put the two rivals in their place, and they quickly bowed to her, as if she were like a princess from another kingdom.
"Yes, Yumi. We won't start a social riot amongst each other," Natsu and Gray replied in fear.
They now knew that it wouldn't be right to anger Gessen's Snow Angel, or else she'd sound very much like the requip mage when angered.
"Thank you, Yumi. But, I want you to understand something. Never ever threaten Natsu and Gray with a call to Master Yen Sid, Makarov's old friend, so that he can teach both boys a lesson in humility. Sometimes I have to put them in their place for the number of times they start arguing with each other, whether it's during a training match, or against an enemy we have in common. But, I'm pleased to know that you have a no nonsense attitude as I do," Erza sighed with relief.
This earned her a friendly smile from the Snow Angel of Gessen.
"Listen, it's probably best to accept that there's really no use crying over spilled milk, guys. None of this is anybody's fault at all, even if we were better prepared for the trap we sprang, despite any and all forms of incompetence," said Ruby.
"I guess you may be right about that, Ruby," replied Wendy.
"We'll be sure to make a note of that in our personal log after we return to the guild hall," smiled Carla.
"Aye," agreed Happy.
"Still, I'm kind of surprised that this staff, the Dragon Cry, has the power to level not just an entire country in Earthland, but I'm also worried that it could also potentially have the power to bring forth the destruction of the entire world if used by someone with evil intentions like Sephiroth, his kids, Zash, or worse Maleficent," said Cody.
"Yeah, Cody's right. I don't want to see anyone use this staff to turn this whole world into a wasteland at all, or worse destroy this Kingdom Hearts Sora told some of us about," added Lucy.
"But the Dragon's Cry is too dangerous. Like Cody and Lucy said, we can't let it fall into enemy hands," agreed Yui.
Happy wanted to take a look at it, even though Carla warned him not to play with a dangerous item.
"Wait a minute. Back in that vault, you sensed an ominous power when you touched it, Natsu," Asuka said in realization.
"Yeah," agreed Natsu.
"None of this may be starting to make sense to any of us, guys. However, we must ensure that the Dragon Cry must not be used to bring the apocalypse, but I can sense a terrible power within that staff as well," replied Asuna.
"Whether we can feel it or not, I don't think the King was lying about what he said or not, which means we must be extremely careful," warned Erza.
"Good to know," agreed Yang, but then she punched Natsu hard in the stomach with her cybernetic arm, which immediately rendered him completely winded, as well as very motion sick.
"Yang, why?" he groaned.
"Uh, note to self, never ever piss off Yang Xiao Long, or else… I'm already done," shivered Gray, who winced sympathetically at his rival.
It did make Erza chuckle a bit nervously at what she heard.
"Um, hey, Cody, I hope you don't get too angry at me for asking you this, but you seemed a bit tense when I was dancing on stage for all the patrons," Lucy said to him.
"Oh, that, well, I did like your dancing, Lucy, but the reason why all those patrons were howling, cheering, as well as cat-calling, and wolf-whistling did get on my nerves pretty easily. But, it was mostly because I was haunted by the fact that Nuno was able to recreate Ydoc with a sample of my blood that he managed to collect when he slashed my arm with Essence Shard. I just… I'm worried that you might make the mistake of thinking that he's me, when in reality, he's actually a dark version of myself from another reality, because of the knowledge he's gained from his crazy grandfather, Professor Hojo Crescent," replied Cody.
But then Lucy gently cupped his face in her hands, and placed her lips on his. They had shared a passionate kiss with each other.
"Don't worry. Sora told me about that replica of his friend Riku, and how he became so confused when he mistook it for the real deal, thanks to what he relearned about that evil genius Vexen, the Nobody of Even. So I promise you, I won't be deceived by Ydoc, even if he starts talking to me without that apparatus of his over his face, which does make his voice sound pretty robotic," she assured him.
"Anyway, back on the subject of you dancing, I thought you looked like a real angel when you were dancing, even though we tried to get Zash's ring to open the vault to the Dragon Cry," Cody said to her.
This made Lucy lay her head upon his shoulder.
"Aw, that's so sweet of you to say, Cody. But, maybe in return, I'll probably sing you a song about wishing on a star," she cooed.