Chapter 70: Kiora

"Here we are..." Tyson stated as the two guilds arrived at the front door of Bob's home. "It's a lot creepier up close."

Reiss slid beside him with a mischievous face. "Not scared, are you, Mr. Sensible?" His comment caused Tyson to side eye him. "I know it's hard for you, but don't be stupid." He retaliated as Erza walked past the two. "Step aside." She said, though it was way too late for such words; the two stepping back from her making her way past them regardless. Ilaria, watching, raised a sensible question of her own. "How do we get in—"

Before she could finish, Erza slammed her boot against the door, kicking it off the hinges and sending it flying into the castle, crashing into the main room's floor a couple of times before planting against the wall and breaking apart. "—side." Ilaria finished, blinking a few times.

"You know there are people inside, right?" Takeru asked Erza after sighing. It didn't stop him from casually strolling inside however with the rest of White Eclipse right behind him. Natsu then boasted. "People that we're going to kick out anyways!"

That's when Tak turned back his way. "Don't forget who is here. This job isn't as easy as we thought it was going to be now. Keep your guards up." He then turned to Reiss and the others. "That goes triple for you guys. That woman that the skeleton explained earlier — if you see her, run away and find me. That's if we get separated, which usually happens for various reasons."

"Yes sir!" The once comical bunch of White Eclipse rookies quickly turned into Takeru's students, listening to his every word since their mission was now officially starting.

"What's this? A learning field trip? Undoubtedly Reve's doing." Erza pointed out with a smug, closed visage. "Team."

"Hai!" They all, even Cynthia herself, shouted. Walking through the front door in a unified manner, yet splitting into their usual groups, Cynthia joining Erza and Wendy, the Scarlet Knight gave her usual order to the strongest team in Fairy Tail. "Search and destroy our targets."

"HAI!" They all shouted once again, and just like that, the castle investigation was on. All gloves were off. As everyone disappeared from the main room, Cirano and Cirana could now be seen perched from the chandelier that dangled from the very high ceiling. Cirano remained silent, but it was his sister Cirana that gave a sinister smile, along with the one liner. "Game on, intruders."

.

.

.

"We're headed straight for Kiora, aren't we?" Both Reiss and Cynthia asked their respective leaders. Escorting his group through a large, darkened library, Takeru kept his hands tucked into his pockets as he walked along, shifting his eyes from left to right cautiously as he did. "You got it kid. I have her scent, which is why I wanted you to stick with me. We're not wasting time going for a wild goose chase all over this giant place. We're headed right for our objective."

"Resourceful." Lluvi noted as Micaiah chimed in with a "and a bit scary." Ilaria frantically nodded in agreement, but of course she had something to say in the matter too. "What if her scent leads us to something that just has her scent and we end up in a fight that isn't the boss fight!?"

"Boss fight?" Reiss repeated in question. "Yeah, the boss fight! The fight that ends all fights! The Kiora woman is the boss right? That makes fighting her, the boss fight!"

"Hey..." Takeru said, stopping his walk temporarily. The rookies stopped as well, and Takeru turned around with a severely scary face; the atmosphere of the castle fitting it perfectly and increasing his fear inducing levels to an all time high. "Shut up."

All five of them freaked out, shivers running down their spines as they all agreed to do so in unison.

"Besides." He noted as they began walking again. "I doubt that your theory would be correct, Ilaria. Unless they actually took the time to mask her scent with someone else, then your own scent would overpower someone else's, no matter how much theirs lingers. That, and according to a friend I used to know, Kiora doesn't like to be touched, so that whole idea would have been thrown out the window if she's her normal self." The second Takeru finished his sentence, he held

Out his right arm as he stopped walking once more, stopping the rookies in their tracks.

"What is it?" Reiss asked. Takeru suddenly hushed him as his ears perked from the sound of something moving. A few whiffs of his nose caused him to grin. "She's headed our way." Immediately everyone was on guard, covering each other's backs as they waited for her to arrive. Seconds that felt like forever passed, causing anxious pants to flow through everyone but Takeru, who was bred for moments like these.

"Shit..." Reiss whispered out. Tyson quietly responded. "This isn't the time to piss yourself,

Reiss. Watch our backs and we'll watch yours."

"Yeah, I know." The redhead replied. Just as he did, the sound of movement could now be heard by regular ears. Everyone was on high alert now, and Takeru kept his eyes forward. "A straight on attack, huh? How cocky, Kiora."

How wrong he was, for a second later, a long, pitched black tail slammed into his side, sending Tak into the far wall. Cratering it, Tak fell to his seat, rubbing the back of his head before looking up at the culprit. His eyes widened at the monstrosity before him and the rookies, for it wasn't Kiora like he expected.

"She doesn't like to be touched..." Micaiah began. "By other people... but her pets...they would smell just like her."

"Ouroboros." Takeru stated as he stood up. The Cosmic Serpent, not to be confused with Yukino's own celestial spirit, took up the height of the entire library, from floor to ceiling, which was just over two stories high thanks to the tall bookshelves. But, as it quickly vanished into the darkened aisles of the library — "Stick together! Don't fight it alone! Ouroboros is very dangerous!"

Ilaria then added an extra comment as she remained back to back with Tyson. "I just want to add that I called it. I said this would happen, didn't I?"

"Now's not the time!"

.

.

.

"H...Hello?" The celestial wizard buzzed in intimidation as she, Natsu and Happy entered a large foyer. Incredibly spacious, yet the room didn't have a lot in it. Lucy looked around along with her two partners, keeping her fists clenched and tucked before her chest. "I hate this place already. It's so dark and creepy! How does anyone live here!" She then remembered who the client to this job was, immediately dropping her expression. "Oh yeah, him."

"It's huge!" Natsu shouted, running around with Happy flying around behind him. "Why is every room so big!"

"H-hey! Stop playing around!" Lucy ordered. "We're supposed to be looking for Kiora and the gang that's taken over this place!"

Natsu stopped running, but Happy... "Happy?" She questioned, noticing that the feline disappeared. Right after, he tapped on her shoulder. "Right here Lucy." The exceed said. "You too Happy! Stop playing around and —"

"GRAAAHHH!" Happy roared with a skull over his actual face. A case of deja vu as Lucy shrieked in intense, yet comical fear.

"I'm going to die here." She said as Happy and Natsu rolled around laughing.

"You three seem to be having a great time in our home." A voice spoke out from somewhere in the room. It caught everyone's attention, and Natsu and Lucy began looking around the darkened room as Happy struggled to pull the skull off of his head. "Your Home you say? Five thousand jewel says that you stole this castle from someone!" Lucy responded, still searching for the culprit.

"Bring Kiora out here!" Natsu yelled. "Kiora? I don't know who that is, but me and Boro..." Sero began as he walked out of the shadows of a room's corner. "...We'll be kicking you out now. Right, Boro?" There was a long pause, and no answer, causing Natsu and Lucy to blink a few times. Sero then called for him again, looking around to see no one beside him. "Boro? Boro! You didn't ditch me, did you!?"

"Kiora, huh?" He thought to himself. Boro was leaning against the door behind Sero, on the other side. "Sorry, Sero, but I'm going to regain my role of leader for this gang no matter what it takes. So you take these fools on. I'm going to have a chat with Madam...or should I say, Kiora. While she isn't feeling good." His ominous words matched his expression, and Boro walked off towards Kiora's location.

"Boro?" Sero called once more. No answer. As he turned back around, he stared right into the eyes of Natsu and Lucy as they placed comically scary looks upon their features. "Oi, it looks like you're alone, huh tough guy!?" Natsu asked, looking down upon their opponent with a smug grin. Lucy joined in, arms folded under her chest with a cocky stance. "Hah! That's too bad! If you don't back down now, you'll be single handedly receiving a beating made for two! You don't want that, do you?"

Sero was scowling, balling his hands into fists as they began to glow. He would then look up toward the three again, clenching his teeth tightly. "Don't make light of me. I'll protect Madam at any cost. I'm her chair, her stool, her foot rest. I'll do anything to make myself useful for her. She's the best thing to happen to me and this gang. So don't tread so lightly around me!"

.

.

.

Reiss was seen running down one of the aisle of the darkened library alongside Tyson. "I said don't get separated!" Takeru shouted, appearing on the other side of the aisle with Micaiah and Ilaria, scaring the shit out of the boys. "Takeru!" Reiss shrieked, catching everyone off guard. Tyson began laughing, then bursted into a small fit. "What was that!?" As Reiss punched him in the stomach, Takeru shouted again. "Oi! Get serious or die! Know what you're up against!"

"That's the thing though, Takeru-Senpai." Lluvi said, hopping down from the top of one of the bookshelves. Soon, the entire group of rookies shared the same atmosphere as Ilaria did a finger gun point towards the Shadow Dragon. "We don't know what we're up against. So

There's no way for us to be that cautious!"

She tried to look cool saying it, but what she said just made Takeru give them all looks of comical disbelief. But before he could say anything back, Reiss translated. "What she means is, we don't have the same fear instilled in us as you do when it comes to this thing."

"Fear? I don't —"

"So Takeru!" Reiss continued. "We're aware that this Kiora girl is way outta our league, but this house pet of hers? Let us handle it. You should go after it's owner. Micaiah!"

"Right!" The white haired female shouted. She then extended her right hand, creating a trail of light that led to the door to the next room. "We separated just earlier just to find the door. Its yours for the taking, Takeru.."

The five of them then grinned together. "We'll cover you, then we'll defeat this giant snake. All you have to do...is trust in your juniors!"

It took a second, but Takeru simply grinned, chuckling once. "You cocky ass kids. You're definitely White Eclipse mages. Alright. Against better judgement, I'll leave Ouroboros to you. I'll see you all soon!"

Immediately, the Omega Shadow Dragon Slayer took off in a full sprint towards the shining door. As fast as he was moving,

Ouroboros was just as fast and even closer to the exit he was. As the Cosmic Serpent turned the corner to cut Tak off, it face planted into what seemed to be an invisible wall. "Just made it." Lluvi said with both hands extended forward. "Nice barrier!" Reiss and Tyson shouted together. Takeru looked the serpent in the eyes as he ran by. Even from such a close range it seemed as if nothing was there to separate Ouroboros from the passerby; a completely invisible barrier. "So that's barrier magic, huh? And Micaiah had immense concentration just now in her light magic. Heh...scary potential." He ran through the door, and Lluvi dropped the barrier, allowing Ouroboros to appear around the corner and block the rookies only exit. They didn't plan on leaving so soon anyways. "Alright guys." Reiss said as the five stood together, staring down their opponent for the evening. "Let's make our seniors proud."

.

.

.

"What is wrong with me? Why am I in pain? What's wrong with my head?" These questions ran through Kiora's mind as she gripped the right temple of her own head. Standing in the empty room she chose to declare herself in, the demoness paced back and forth. "As soon as I saw those people, these images...these came rushing into my head. Do I know those cretins? It feels like a part of me is trying to resurface or something. It's all still blurry, and that's what pisses me off the most!" As she yelled, she kicked, launching a random chair towards a wall and shattering it while cratering the wall simultaneously. As if her headaches weren't enough, just beside that broken chair, Boro appeared with a smug look. "Seems like you're still not feeling well, huh Madam?"

Kiora turned to him with much disdain, glaring Boro's way with murderous intent. "What are you doing here, and why aren't you with the others getting rid of the intruders?"

Boro chuckled as he walked forward. "I bet you especially do want them gone, hm? Ever since they arrived in this city, you seemed a bit off. Sickly. Useless even." He was trying to goad her at this point. "I was with Sero like you commanded. But, I then received some useful information. Useful to me that is, and I just couldn't wait to share it. Just by looking at those chumps that entered the city, you've been nothing but a joke of a leader, visibly in dire pain."

"Oh?" Was all Kiora said, right hand still pressed to her temple. Her left hand however, she held it out to her side as plethora of shadows manifested and formed into a long scythe. "I don't like the way you're talking to me, Boro, and it seems like you didn't learn your lesson the first time when I first took over this gang. I guess I'll have to do so now, like my better judgement told me to."

"Now now." Boro began, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but it won't be playing out that way. It's me that'll be taking what's mine this time. My respect, in my own circle. Boro's Gang will be led by Boro once more, and you can try to stop me if you want..."

Kiora took a step forward —

"Kiora."

— And then she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened as more images rushed through her head — a lot more.

{"Kiora!" A young girl with pink hair shouted. "Oi, Kiora!" A woman with white hair did the same. "Kiora..." The green haired male smirked, standing next to three other males, different sizes in stature, but each with black hair. It was all still blurry, but they were slowly clearing into full images. More and more moments she could more or less make out continued to play in her mind, causing her to freak out.}

"Look at you." Said Boro, standing over a kneeling Kiora, still holding onto her temple as she went through her episode. "Pathetic. Over some memories you had stashed away. What were you trying to do, start over? Well you picked the wrong place to do so, didn't you?" Laughing, Boro raised a right fist. Around that fist, a gust of wind appeared. (Magic: Wind Magic.) "Now then, succumb to my crushing Wind Magic and give me back my crew and my pride! Die you wretched bitch!"

"Tobias..." She murmured as Boro continued gathering the magic strength he needed for a decisive blow. "Sh...Shu..."

"Your memories, nor any boyfriend named Tobias can save you now!"

"Shut uuuuuup TOBIAS!"

{One of those three males became a completely clear visage, and it was indeed Tobias. The one demon they used to make fun of and kick around became Kiora's first complete memory, and for some reason she was unable to figure out yet, it really pissed her off. But, within the instant of Boro swinging down his fist, Kiora appeared behind him, holding her scythe as if she had just swung the blade through him...because she did, and a large gash appeared on Boro's chest. Blood poured out as the former gang leader fell to the ground lifeless.

Slow, long pants came from the demoness as she dropped to her knees, allowing the scythe to disappear as she gripped her head once more. Even sweat fell from her as she stared at the ground. The indescribable pain in her head finally caused her to let out a powerful shriek that shook the castle to its foundation, causing everyone to turn in the direction it came. Takeru quickly turned that way, running full speed as concern filled his features. "Something happened!" He said. "Something happened, and it's probably bad! Shit..I wish I knew what was going on with Kiora to assess this situation..! Still, I have to get there first!"

Natsu and Lucy looked around as the castle shook. "What power!" Lucy shouted, holding on to the wall with Happy until the shaking stopped. Natsu, who was standing over a defeated Sero stared directly above him. "She's not far away. She's right above us. Let's go Lucy. We can stop all of this now that's she's told us where she is!"

"Without Erza!?" Lucy protested. That's when Natsu turned his attention to Sero, who murmured. "Madam...is in trouble... I won't...let you touch her..."

"Huh?" Natsu, Happy and Lucy looked on cautiously as Sero rose from his disposition in an odd manner. Soon, stitches appeared all over his body, lacing around his limbs and joints. "She screams...for me... I'll protect her..."

"Wh-what's with this guy!? Lucy asked, freaked out as she backed away from Sero's creepiness. "I don't know." Natsu started, sparking his hands with his patented fire. "But we should take him out quickly, because he doesn't look like before!"

His entire frame glowing, stitches all around his body, and his eyes completely grey, Sero began walking towards Natsu and Lucy in a "zombie" like manner. "You...won't...TOUCH HER!" He shouted once more, teetering around menacingly as he readied for round two against the Dragon Slayer. (Magic: Zombie Magic.)

"I don't know what happened to you, or Kiora just now, but I'm not gonna be the last to find out you creepy bastard!" The Salamander shouted while slamming both fists together to create a backlash of fire. "Bring it on!"