Author's Note:
HAPPY NEW YEAR OF 2022! TheSavageMan100 is back again after another several months of brainstorming and revising and Wi-Fi politics, for this chapter fits the bill of one of the longest chapters I've ever written in my heyday. I appreciate everyone who has waited patiently for this next installment— the first chapter of what I believe is the most anticipated arc of Kingdom Fairy Tail so far. Grab a box of popcorn and get your sodas ready, because the adventures of Wendy Marvell and her merry Disney/Fairy Tail crew continue in Neverland! Are you ready for the action, the drama, and the comedy? I hope so! Let's dive right in, shall we?
The hidden memories resurfaced. That late morning on the second day of the seventh month, Kaze continued to revel in the sanctuary of her own isolation, working on her latest masterpiece of demolished trees, shattered rocks, and butchered animals for what seemed like forever. Only the breeze that carried the foul stench of decay in the woods, and the heat of the sun overhead, provided encouraging cheers. Two days remained before the selection ceremony, and with strong hope in her heart that Grandeeney would deem her worthy as one of the seven Dragon Slayers in accordance with the great legend, today seemed like another day of sharpening her already immense magic. The nest was just a distance away, and it was already past lunch, but that mattered little to her. Her mind wasn't cluttered with unnecessary affairs such as food, playtime, or chores— the only thing she cared about was putting the finishing touches on what she firmly believed was the ultimate magic. She didn't even want anything to do with Wendy, whom she began to resent for her innocence, for her honesty, for being the most favored child in spite of how menial her magic was. Kaze couldn't lie to herself; she had always thought of Wendy as a little sister, but if she had known that the younger girl was highly likely to be the chosen one because of all the love she hogged from the Sky Dragon— regardless of her current level of magic— she would have expected the bond between the two to be a fallacy. Yesterday proved her right. Once upon a time, her love for Wendy was genuine. But as the truth flashed before her eyes, she realized that this so-called 'love' turned out meaningless. Kaze thought Wendy loved her, but Wendy loved Grandeeney more. Even worse, Grandeeney loved Wendy more than Kaze. Did this make her the black sheep of the family? Did they think she just wasn't good enough for either of them? Did Grandeeney really believe Wendy was the better student... and the better daughter?
"No..." A voice in Kaze's head spoke defiantly as she probed her feelings. "I've always been better at magic than her. And deep down, she knows it. I'm harder, I'm better, I'm faster, I'm stronger... I'm the one and only best Dragon Slayer ever. I was born to be the best. Wendy knows it. Grandeeney knows it. All Wendy does is wave her arms around like a monkey, casting those weak, useless, redundant crybaby healing spells. Healing spells are for babies! And I think it suits her better because she IS a baby! A BIG baby! The best wizards have the best magic, and big babies like Wendy don't have the right to use the best magic." It may be true that Kaze was the superior Dragon Slayer in terms of raw power, but the single bitter fact she had to swallow was that she was no better than Wendy in healing magic. Did that make Kaze's magic inferior because it lacked the gift that Wendy possessed? What about all the lengths she went through in order to push her Dragon Slayer Magic to the next level? What about all the blood, sweat, and tears she shed amid her self-training? What about all the bold steps she took, more than often risking her adoptive mother's judgment? The same feelings of jealousy and envy that overwhelmed her last night rose again. "I've definitely done more... I've done more than her... I've done more than either of them!" Kaze opened her eyes after she subconsciously grinded an incoming pack of Vulcans into a puddle of meat with her bare fingers. "No one in their right mind would pick an insensitive pouty-face as the chosen one... I've done my best. I did what I could. She's never done anything! Nothing but baby healing magic! It's obvious she's not fit to be the chosen one because of her weaksauce power— I'm the REAL chosen one because of my incredible power." She wiped the blood from her hand and gave a small snort of laughter. "She doesn't know what Grandeeney's really thinking... She's only getting into her head. She's duping her into believing that she's the one and I'm not. But she knows deep down that I'm absolutely the one." Her face twisted into a mocking scowl, "'The most well-mannered and mature student?' 'My dear Princess?' 'A gracious, loving daughter?' Ha! A bunch of moss and nothing less! The truth will come out in two days. Wendy doesn't know... She can never know..." A second later, she felt a new confidence in herself. "Grandeeney will choose me. Oh, yeah. She will choose me. She WILL. I'm gonna be the chosen one. And then the little twerp will see just how awfully wrong she was. She'll see." Her expression turned dark and sinister, and her voice rumbled with a deep growl that embodied the dragon's thirst for blood. "She'll see..." Her eyes flickered red for a moment before she turned away from the wasteland to a new section of the forest still lush and green. Another private session was just around the corner as she crossed a straight and narrow clearing of trees, when suddenly...
"KAAAAAZZZEEEEEE!" She turned around in time to see Wendy running into her. They both fell on the grass, barely squashing a ladybug from their combined weight. Wendy stood up, and she looked down to see Kaze laying on the green patch, frowning at her. The younger girl formed an apologetic grin. "Um, oopsie?"
"Oh, happy day. It's you," Kaze said sarcastically, sitting up and brushing her clothes. Normally, she would have greeted Wendy with a bright and happy disposition, but because of what she saw and heard the other night, the dark blue-haired girl's presence merely soured her mood. Instead, she gave her a cold, hard sneer. She could already feel how precariously her insides teetered whenever Wendy was around. "What do you want? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't be giving you the biggest bonk your blueberry hair has ever felt."
"I've been looking all over for you, Kaze!" Wendy stated. "It's already lunch time, and Grandeeney wants us to come together to eat." Her smile widened, "She's making us fruit salad today. Our favorite!" Kaze didn't give a reaction, and it confused the young girl. "Um, Kaze?" Still nothing. "Kaze? What's the matter? Don't you like fruit salad?" A third pause. "Are you... hungry?"
In her mind, Kaze was hearing words laced with false pity, designed to make her go through a world of heartache in the same manner as yesterday. Disgruntled, she looked away. "What? Are you pushing another one of Grandeeney's pointless chores on me?"
"I... just thought I'd find you here..." Wendy said uneasily. "You know, so the three of us can have lunch together?" She then grabbed Kaze's hand and yanked it eagerly. "Come on, Kaze! Let's go! We don't wanna miss our fruit salad! You like fruit salad very much, don't you? Well, I do, too! You always go super excited over fruit salad that you wanna stuff a lot inside your mouth until your face goes all balloon-like. I sure like to see you make that funny balloon face again. It makes me laugh a lot." She kept yanking, "Come on! Let's go eat together! You, me, and Grandeeney!"
"Together... You and me..." Kaze suddenly broke the ice. "You're never gonna stop putting me to sleep with your squeaky toy sweet talk, are you? That same old squeaky, bothersome, annoying, irritating sweet talk, over and over again..." She pitched her voice in a ridiculing impersonation, "'Oh, Kaze, let's play together!' 'Kaze, please feed me!' 'Kaze, dress me up!' 'Kaze, read me a bedtime story!' 'Kaze, tuck me in!' 'Kaze, can I watch you train in secret every night?' 'Kaze, your magic is so scary!' 'Kaze, Grandeeney's not gonna be happy.' 'Kaze, don't do this, don't do that...' 'Kaze, Kaze, Kaze...' Ugh... When will a pipsqueak ever learn to keep her mouth shut and stop telling me what to do?" She crossed her arms and turned away, "Buzz off."
"Kaze, are you okay? You look a little... upset," Wendy pointed out.
"Upset? You got it backwards, Wendy. I'm perfectly fine," Kaze said stubbornly.
"Perfectly fine...? But... you're not..."
"Save your concern. I said I'm fine. Never been better."
"You're not smiling! I know there's something bothering—"
"I've never been better my whole life." A venomous hiss escaped Kaze's throat, causing the little girl to gulp and take a step back.
"I... I just..." Wendy stammered. "I just thought you might need some help, that's all. You don't look happy. I can see it." She noticed the scowl on Kaze's face, "Where's your smile? I wanna see your smile. That's why I'm here, to help you. Let me help you. I wanna be there for you. Because that's what sisters are for, right?" Kaze's eyes only narrowed. "Please, Kaze... Please tell me what's wrong. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Anything to cheer you up?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? For like, three times already? You don't have to give me anything, Princess," Kaze retorted. "I've got everything I needed to keep myself warmer than a pile of strawberry jelly. All the magic and power I've gained has given me more than enough. I've been doing fine out here in the wild all by my lonesome. I always have been. Out here in the wilderness, roughing it... Feels great. So I never asked anything from you. I don't even see any point of you trying to cheer me up... and I don't think fruit salad can help, either. So you can just forget it. No happy faces for you."
"No happy faces...?" Wendy squeaked.
"What about you, Blueberry? Feeling happy today?" Kaze added with a scoff. "You and Grandeeney seemed to be doing just dandy without me hanging around. I saw you two hugging and snuggling it out last night."
"You watched us? From outside the nest?"
"Every bit of it. Like Grandeeney said, 'You may be the most well-mannered and mature out of my two students. There's none among you more dutiful, more patient, and more diligent than you, Wendy.' Oh, and what else she said? 'I'd fly high in the air and let everybody know what a gracious, loving daughter I have!'?" She let out an agitated snarl, "Give me a break! Why didn't she leave out a mention of me during your conversation, besides me checking myself out? Not one teeny tiny reference of me? I'm in this family, too! I'm practically the big sister, so I deserve a little recognition! But tell me this, Wendy... If you're supposed to be the better student and the better daughter because you're pure and innocent..." She spat the words with disdain, "...and your magic can't keep up with mine..." She pointed a thumb at herself, "...then what does that make me?"
"But... aren't we supposed to be family?" Wendy asked confused.
"Of course we are," Kaze frowned. "Which leads me to this next thing I wanna get off my chest. And that is, as I progressed throughout my secret campaign of building up the perfect Dragon Slayer Magic, it seems like you've been spending more time with Grandeeney than you do with me."
"I did?"
"Well, duh! Don't tell me you don't know! An awful lot lately, you've made yourself comfortable in the nest every day. Flying up in the sky wrapped in big bubbles, barking messages about the heavens and junk, pushing dead daisies in the grass..."
"Are you talking about my enchantment lessons? With Grandeeney's help, I've improved a lot in casting Vernier, Arms, Armor, and Re-Raise. My healing spell works perfectly as usual, and I'm still getting the hang of using Troia—"
"After that, what else? Playing horsey on a talon, relaxing in that stump and perking up your ears listening to old fairy tales, going out for a lovely stroll in the safe zone... You were hogging all the love and attention from her, weren't you? Who could love a small, stuffed animal more than a big, strong dragon girl?"
"Wait... You mean to tell me that... you're feeling left out? Is that why you weren't in a good mood? Why you didn't join us the other day? Don't you like being around myself and Grandeeney?"
"Why should I? Even if I returned to the nest with you, she wouldn't care, right? Grandeeney's been weighing me down ever since she started teaching us that dumb support magic. She forced that dull, boring nursing practice on us, and you went along with it while I fail miserably at it. Since then, you became very talented at using support magic, but not me. It's plain as day that I'm not meant for that sort of thing as you are, considering I prefer a more direct approach. Hard-hitting. Bone-breaking. Fighting. That's the kind of magic I want better. But she still thinks my magic's too violent and dangerous. It's like she never gave me the right to do with it however I choose! She never appreciates me for all the effort I've put into my training. She never even listened to me! It's just expected of her because she's the great and powerful Sky Dragon who preaches mumbo-jumbo about balance and harmony!" She tightened a fist, "Why did she want me to practice a magic I didn't ask for? Why couldn't she just teach me real magic, the kind that suits me more? The kind that hurts? I know she could have!"
Wendy started to feel sorry for her friend. "You're still mad at her because she couldn't help you with your magic? If you wanted it to be better so badly, why don't you just ask her for help? Why don't you just talk to her about it?"
Kaze growled, "What difference would it make if I asked her for help? It'll just be the same thing! She'll keep insisting that dumb healing magic is more important than awesome offensive magic. Honestly, I don't think I can change her mind, no matter how many times I ask. We just move on like nothing happened, day after day. So I had to take matters into my own hands. If she couldn't help me, I had to help myself. I had to shy away from the insecure little girl I used to be. I vowed that I would be the greatest Dragon Slayer of all time. Look what I've done since I first set foot outside the nest." She thrust out her hand to gesture around herself, "I'm tougher than a thousand Vulcans. Sturdier than fifty Wyverns. Slicker than a million goblins. I'm the whole package. I'm nature's most dominant creature. And I did it my way. Many weeks ago, I wouldn't have dreamed that I'd get as powerful as I am now. I got to the point where I'm now in control. I put myself in a position where Grandeeney couldn't pressure me any longer. So here I am, developing the one and ultimate magic she should've taught me. It's that simple. And yet..." Her voice trembled, "Why do I feel that everything I do isn't enough? That no matter what I do, I'm just a small bird in a big nest while the mama bird acts like she's the biggest control freak in the woods?"
Wendy muttered, "Kaze..."
Kaze continued, "It's bad enough just waiting in her shadow; do you wanna know what's even worse? I have to wait in yours! Wouldn't you be out in the wild if you lost a bundle of respect for a mighty dragon who you thought was a great role model who's gonna lead you to adventure and glory? Not to mention taking a backseat, watching someone else steal the spotlight, just to suck it up to her. Do you have any idea how insulting this is? How humiliating it is to be shunned from the herd?" She flashed her anger towards Wendy, who gasped with slight fear. "Some 'sister' you are... You've been treating me like a fool all along! While I'm out playing cavegirl, you're in playing doctor. While I get tough love from the wild beasts I've made chopped meat out of, all you get is plenty of affection from Big Mama. While your style of Dragon Slayer Magic is subpar, mine is superb in every way. But do you know what cuts the cheese 60-40? It's that you're always Grandeeney's favorite!" Her voice rose to a shout, which added to Wendy's anxiety. "It makes me sick! You make me sick! The fact that you're the star student and a wonderful daughter because your magic's weak, and I'm the least favorite student and an awful daughter because my magic's strong, really ticks me off a mountain. I found you two going all lovey-dovey with each other that night, and you enjoyed every second of it because she's your bread and butter. I thought that wouldn't matter to me. Well, I think it does." She took a step forward, and the dark blue-haired girl stepped back. "Lately, you've been the most loved out of her precious two little daughters; what would I do to be in the same position as you... or should I say a better position than you? I'm stronger than you. You know that. Then all of a sudden, she says you're even better? I can't stand it... I just can't! The way she admired your sweet diabetes personality and your goo-goo eyes adorableness, how you followed your heart... I also had to swallow the fact that I'm a loner while you and she played and laughed together... all by yourselves." She soon loomed over Wendy, "She thinks you're better than me? YOU think you're better than me? I don't know who's more thick in the head— you or her?"
Wendy felt herself shudder from Kaze's visage dominating hers. "I'm... better than... you? W... What do you mean?"
Kaze snapped, "You know EXACTLY what I mean! You and Grandeeney were having fun WITHOUT me! You continued to flex your stupid magic spells made for soothing flowers and trees and bunny rabbits, so you'd spend more time with her! But what about ME? You should've spent more time with ME, too! Instead, you shut me out! Left me alone! Abandoned me when I needed your company! You must've known how it made me feel from being outcast! Do you wanna push me away?!"
Wendy's eyes widened with surprise. "P-Push you away? Why would I wanna push you away? I love you! We're best friends, Kaze! We're sisters! And Grandeeney's our mother! She loves you. She loves the both of us. We're a family! Why would I ever do something so horrible to you? I'm on your side. I always have been. I've been there for you when you need me the most, and you'd do the same for me, too! Grandeeney would never do that to you, either; she's just helping you. She cares a lot about you. She only wants what's best for the both of us. And you said that I'm a better Dragon Slayer than you?" She waved her hands in her defense, "Oh, no... You know I can't keep up with you because your magic's bigger than mine. You said it yourself. You've always been a better Dragon Slayer than me! A Dragon Slayer I can count on. A Dragon Slayer Grandeeney would be proud of!"
Kaze sneered, "Here's a few questions, Blueberry: If you and Grandeeney care about me, then why won't either of you help me with what I want? Why won't you give me a chance? Why can't she give me the proper Dragon Slayer training? Why are you always the center of attention when you know your magic is weaker than mine? Why can't you wait your turn when you know I'm meant to be the one? Why do you have to be such a... nuisance?"
Wendy scrambled her thoughts to think of a response, though the last question unsettled her. "I... I..."
Kaze sighed indignantly. "Let's face the music, Wendy. It's not working between us." She shook her head, "You and me."
Wendy could feel her emotional defenses breaking. She didn't wait to hear what the elder girl said next. "W... What...?"
"I don't wanna see you anymore."
Wendy's breath caught, her entire body trembling as tears welled up in her eyes. "Y-Y-You... d-d-don't... w-w..."
Kaze huffed, "You've got big ears, but you don't hear me— I don't EVER wanna see your face again. You and that cutesy mug of yours... I didn't risk my neck just to let some Dragon Slayer wannabe— a dorky baby nurse who couldn't break one boulder with her Dragon's Roar— steal my thunder and take what's rightfully mine. We may be Grandeeney's children, but it's crystal clear to me that we're just not meant to be. We're just two different people with two different magics. There can only be ONE ultimate Dragon Slayer around here..." She pointed at herself for emphasis, "...and that's ME. Whine all you want; this isn't about you. It's about me being who I'm destined to be. Who I DESERVE to be! Oh, and another thing... It was a mistake on my part letting you find out about my secret training lessons." She paused to see the pained, weeping reaction on Wendy's face. "Yeah, that's right. I didn't want anyone to find out that I was training in the wild, especially you. I wanted to do it alone. On my own, with no one to disturb me. I have to admit, if I'd been more quiet, you would've stayed asleep. You never would've followed me outside. When all is said and done, I've seen what you or Grandeeney couldn't." She paused to let this sink in, "This whole time, I've been looking out for dead weight when I should've looked out for myself! I never should've involved you into this. I never should've brought you along! I realize now that I have to start going with my gut. And my gut tells me that the only person I need to rely on is me. Me, myself, and I. Better to go it alone than with someone else. Better to go my own way! And that's what I've been doing all week! I never needed you or Grandeeney then, and I don't need you now. Besides, you just cramp my style with your weepy wimpies and your rubber duck voice. Even your cuteness writes checks that your diarrhea can't cash! Because that's who you are to me now— a total embarrassment!"
Wendy's world spun to a standstill. She was too crushed to choke out any words in her protest, and the tears kept streaming. Kaze's scornful expression grew. "Don't give me that soggy face, you little runt... Seriously, you think it's enough to get sympathy from me? If anyone deserves sympathy, it's me! Training out in the wild because you and that big oaf of a teacher have been wasting my precious time? Holding me back from reaching my full potential?! Come on! Stop your whining and wipe those stupid tears off your face!" The little girl couldn't stop crying, and it infuriated Kaze so much that she barely resisted to urge to smack her. "Do you wanna know why I hate seeing you cry? Because it reminds me of myself when I was weak! When I was pathetic! Even now...!" She swiped her arm against a nearby tree, generating a gust that sliced it in half. "That ugly face you're making right now... You're just a lowlife who's too clingy for her own convenience! You don't have a right to cry!" Another rush of wind. Another tree ripped to pieces. "You can't solve anything by crying! Why are you crying? You think that by crying, someone like Grandeeney's gonna come help you? What if she's not around to help you? What if she's gone and you're all alone? How can you hope to protect yourself if crying's the only thing you've got?! You're living in a fantasy, Wendy— there's no Easter Bunny, no Santa Claus, no Tooth Fairy— this isn't a universe where you make a wish upon a star and your silly dreams magically come true! This is the real world, where it doesn't have time for crying, and you need to GROW UP!" She released a Sky Dragon's Roar that destroyed a set of trees behind Wendy, who screamed and ducked to take cover. "Don't think it's okay to cry just because I'm right! It's the law of nature, coz— only the strong survive. You're only an idiot if you depend on anyone but yourself. The sooner you accept that fact, the better. Which means I'm better off without you. And you're better off without me." She shooed away, "So go on, Blueberry! Go back to the nest. Go listen to another one of Grandeeney's silly stories you love oh so much. Go continue your pointless healing lessons, while I complete my super-mega important training. Don't worry about me! You don't need me. You never did! And I don't need you, too. We're done." Kaze turned away and shot her former friend a spiteful glare over her shoulder. "It's over." The last two words were growled with such malice, it made Wendy's skin quiver.
Needless to say, the heartbroken five-year old girl rose to her feet. She was sobbing profusely, unwilling to accept the decree that was made for her out of disdain. "No... No... Kaze... Please... Please don't say that... You... You don't mean that... You don't mean what you say to me... Don't tell me you're leaving... You can't... You can't leave me... I need you... I would never hurt you... You know I wouldn't... I just... I just wanna help... That's all I want... I wanna be with you... We've always been together... Together forever... You can't go...!" Her pleas turned to anguished screams, "Please, you can't go! I don't know what to do without you! I need you! I... I don't want you to go!" Her chest was rising and falling from the constant blubbering, "Please... I... I know this must be hard on you... but it's okay..." She used what little vigor she had in her system to embolden herself, "It's gonna be okay... We can... We can get through this. Both of us! We can fix this! I know we can!"
That didn't convince Kaze at the slightest. "You believe it's that easy?"
Wendy cried, "You and I are sisters! We're best friends! We love each other! I LOVE you! We... We all have problems! When everyone has problems, they work it out! They... They talk to each other!" Her desperation grew. She looked around and spotted flowers on a patch of grass nearby, then picked them up and extended them to Kaze in the tiniest sliver of hope that it would change her mind. "Look, you see?" It didn't. Instead, the elder girl groaned and rubbed her temples. "You know what this is? It means I love you! I still love you! I will always love—"
That fragile display of affection only incensed Kaze further. She took it as a personal insult, as if Wendy was trying to provoke her. Her face suffused with resentment, she slapped the flowers from the dark blue-haired girl's hands. At the same time, her hand gesture emitted an unseen knife of wind that sliced the flowers to ribbons before they fluttered off in the breeze. Wendy's tear-stained face froze and her ears hummed, but she kept gazing at the dark pink-haired youth in petrified silence.
"I love you... I love you... I love you..." Kaze mocked. "Hmph! Typical of my sweet little cousin Wendy. Always bringing a ray of sunshine wherever you go, aren't you? Always being the center of attention. Always a big beacon of happiness for everybody. Always loving. Playing. Cuddling. Hugging. Kissing. Chew toy. Love puppy. Star pupil." She hissed viciously, "Liar. Cheater. Stealer." The bitterness chilled Wendy to the marrow, her mouth hanging open. "Tell me, have you gone and told Grandeeney that I was training outside? That I was working all night to build up the ultimate Dragon Slayer Magic? You're gonna tell her so you get twice the credit and then rub it in my face?" Wendy didn't respond. "When did you have second thoughts about my hyper mega-stupendous Sky Magic, huh? About my ultra serious work? Did Grandeeney put these thoughts in your head? Or have you always known that my magic's no good? Well, it stops here, Wendy. I trusted you... I even allowed to watch me strut my stuff every night..." Kaze cast a harsh finger at her, "But instead of recognizing my greatness, what did you do? Tried to tear it down! Calling my magic 'scary' and 'violent' and 'different'... Accusing it of 'flaws'... There ARE no flaws! You know darn well it's the biggest super double mega triple important magic EVER! The feel! The taste! The smell, the power! Look at how defined my muscles are!" She flexed her arms, "THAT'S what it's all about! THAT'S what it takes to be a REAL Dragon Slayer! The VERY BEST Dragon Slayer!" She kissed her muscles loudly, "My magic's a thing of beauty. A perfect extension of pure magic into the whole wide world, what magic always should've been." To demonstrate, she pulsated a purple cyclone around her hand, "The strength of a mighty dragon given form by this incredible power!" She dispelled the magic as she shook her fist, "And I have only one thing on my mind now: me being chosen for the prophecy in two days, me being the undisputed Dragon Slayer..." She pointed at Wendy again, then herself, "...and you lying in shambles before me. Time to give it shape..." She crossed her hips, "So you can spare me your tears and your useless love babbling. I have no need for any of that. Nothing's gonna stop me from fulfilling my dream... and neither will your so-called love for me, which I also realized is just another brick wall to get around. Just a short obstacle to cross over. In other words..." Her eyes narrowed, "Your love means NOTHING to me. With great power like mine, who needs love? Love is for the weak-minded."
"W-W-Weak-minded?! H-How could you say that?!" Wendy cried out in horror, her breath still heaving with sobs. "Why do you have to be so cruel?! That's not the Kaze I know! You would never say those mean things to me! Never!" She attempted to coil her arms around the elder girl's chest in a vain effort to calm her down. "I love you, Kaze! I LOVE you! And you LOVE me! For ME! You—"
"Don't touch me!" Kaze snapped, shoving Wendy a few steps back. "Piece of trash... How badly do you have to wreck my life just to satisfy yourself? Why do you always have to mess around with me? How long are you gonna keep fooling me?" Her unforgiving glare intensified, "Don't act like you love me. You stole the title of star pupil from me. You stole Grandeeney's love for me. Then you're gonna steal the spotlight— you gonna take over my spot as the chosen one on the fourth day of this month, 'cause you're her personal cream of the crop. Isn't that right?" She heard no reply, only the incessant whimpering, and her anger developed a new boil. "Isn't that right?!" At that moment, she violently lashed at Wendy, grabbing her by the shirt collar and roaring in front of her face at the top of her lungs. "HUH?! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?! HUH, BLUEBERRY?!" She released her after delivering a hard, painful slap across the cheek, dropping her to the ground.
Wendy looked up at Kaze in utter desolation. With that act of cruelty, the fabric of her five-year old life was about to be torn apart. Her heart felt heavy with the most excruciating pain. It was less than a minute before her voice croaked with deep sorrow. "K... Ka... ze... W... Why... Why..." She couldn't stop asking that simple question to her sister figure's sudden betrayal. "Why..." The waterfall kept flowing. "Why...?"
Kaze merely glanced down at her depressed fellow Dragon Slayer trainee, feeling no remorse for her brutal action. "You flower-blooming hypocrite. You think you're better than me at everything else. You think you know so much, but you can't even figure out what's going on around you, even when it slapped you in the face! But it looks to me that you're more dumber than I thought. The point is, Wendy, you're nothing without me. You were nothing before you even came into my life! I took care of you, played with you, fed you, bathed you, dressed you, protected you, scratched your back, clipped your toenails, fluffed your pillow... Do you honestly think you can do one itsy bitsy teenie weenie good deed all by yourself? Ha! The only thing you've ever done in your life is to get me to notice you! You relied on me! You depended on me! And without me if your life, to be your conscience, your guiding light, you wouldn't be able to survive! You're nothing but a completely hopeless tadpole in a big pond who relies on someone to do everything you can't do— that's who you are! Do you have the slightest clue just how much of a burden it is to look after a toddler who whines and cries all day? A little tyke who's been sticking me to the bottom of the food chain when I should be at the top? You know how many nights I stayed awake, concerned for your well-being? You know how many times I had to cover for you? How many times I had to worry about you?" She paused for a moment, then continued, "Well, not for long. You might as well find someone else to play with from here on in, 'cause I'm not gonna be your playmate anytime soon. Or ever. I understand now. You're the only person standing between me and my date with destiny, someone I don't have the luxury of being around. You'll just get in my way, trying to take it all away from me." Her hands trembled with fierce determination, "I'll show you. I'll prove to you that my Sky Magic is a billion times better! Surely, Grandeeney will recognize me then! Yeah, that's right... I'll show you... My magic's the best. Better than yours. Better than hers. She'll acknowledge me as the chosen one in two days tops. Then you'll be sorry. I'm gonna be the one. But not for your sake or Grandeeney's— it'll be for my own. I won't be waiting in your shadow any longer— you'll be waiting in mine." As she caught her breath from her last tirade, Kaze turned her back on Wendy. "And don't worry. After I finish my training, I'll return to the nest just in time for the selection ceremony. I'll be first in line before you know it. There. Satisfied? Now get lost. I've got some stuff to do. And you can forget taking me to lunch— I just ate Vulcan barbeque today." With the final word in the matter said, she crossed the path ahead.
Heedless of the dark pink-haired youth's demand, Wendy stood back up and tried to approach her. "Kaze, wait! I—"
A menacing flicker in Kaze's right eye, and a torrent of violet wind ruptured the ground just about four feet from where she stood. Wendy screamed as she ended up taking the brunt of the raging current, and she tumbled down on her knees as it receded.
Kaze took one last glance at the five year-old, her face painted with contempt. "Don't follow me." She didn't wait to see the look on Wendy's face before finally leaving.
"Kaze! Kaze, wait! Come back! COME BACK! KAZE!" Wendy cried after her, an arm extended to the eight year-old, who refused to listen and kept walking. "KAZE! KAAAZZEEE!" By the time she called out her sister figure's name even louder, it was already too late. Kaze was gone.
The young Sky Maiden, now stranded in her solitude, hung her head in despair. How could Kaze, whom she loved and admired as her big sister, act so heartless and cruel towards her? The truth was entirely difficult to process that she saw no point in wiping her overwatering eyes. "K-Kaze... Wh... Why...? Why... won't you... talk to me...? What are you saying...? Wh... Wh... WHAT DID I DO?!" Overcome with pain and sadness, she threw her head high and cried out with a deafening wail that flew past the trees and into the clouds. She couldn't figure out how it came to this... She just couldn't...
Back with Kaze, as she ventured further into the forest, she abruptly stopped to hear the echoing cries of her ex-best friend. The bitter words and harsh attitude she had just exerted earlier slowly caught up to her. For a second she stood there, wondering if she had gone too far... until her thoughts compelled her not to turn back. "Wendy says my magic's dangerous, but the runt's as crazy as she thinks. She's a rookie. She's never really good at anything. Thinks we should keep following Grandeeney's useless rules, avoiding the mud. Well, I've played in the mud more than they know. They don't know anything about real magic if it kicked them in the face! I've created the perfect magic— the greatest and most powerful magic the world has ever known. And I've done it without their help! My thought, my heart, my sweat, my blood, made it what it is today! They say it's impossible, but as Grandeeney once said, nothing is impossible. And if the fairy tales she read us almost every night taught me one thing, it's that people give their blood and their sweat in pursuit of greatness and adventure and glory. Heck, some heroes in the stories bled and sweated getting us to the moon! What I wouldn't give to be just like them, maybe even better! Every great push forward demands blood. And this next push... This push to rid myself of Wendy and Grandeeney's stink after my big promotion... It may yet be the bloodiest of 'em all..." She took a deep breath, and continued down the trail.
Later that afternoon...
"Oh, good heavens... Wendy!" Grandeeney rounded the flower field to come and nestle beside the girl who sat there, crying quietly. She expected both of her adoptive daughters to return to the nest in time for supper, but only one was present, and wracked with tremendous heartbreak. Awfully concerned for the poor child's state of mind like any mother would, the Sky Dragon gently leveled her face. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"
"Ka..." Wendy mumbled, barely able to project her voice. "Ka... ze... Kaze... She..."
"Kaze?" Grandeeney wondered. "What about Kaze? What are you on about, child?"
"Kaze... She... She doesn't..."
"Doesn't what?"
"She doesn't wanna... talk to me anymore..."
Grandeeney stared at Wendy incredulously. "Excuse me?"
Wendy repeated her answer with more volume and anguish in her voice. "She doesn't wanna talk to me anymore!" Her breathing was so fast and so sharp, it became quite difficult to continue a sentence without hiccupping between one word and the next. "She said... She said... bad things to me... Very... very bad... things... She called me... a horrible person... She called me a liar... a cheater... a piece of trash..."
Grandeeney gasped in horror, "She did...? I... I don't believe that..."
Wendy sniffled, "It's true... She called me a piece of trash... She thinks I'm pushing her away... She said she's better off without me... She doesn't even want anything to do with me... I found her outside... I asked her to come with me... and have lunch together... But she didn't want to follow me back here... She looked very upset... I wanted to help her... I wanted to cheer her up... But... But then..." A shudder strained her throat, and she was on the verge of breaking again. "...she got mad at me... She shouted at me... She grabbed me... and hit me in the face... She told me to get lost... and then she left me... So I'm... I'm the only one here..."
Grandeeney murmured, "My word... How could she do this to you?"
Wendy dabbed at the corners of her leaking eyes with her fingers. "I... I don't know... She's never this mean to me... She never even hurt me... Never ever... She promised she wouldn't hurt me... She promised... And yet... why... Tell me why... Why is this happening...? Why is she so mad at me? What did I ever do to her? What's going on? I just... I just... don't... KNOW!" With nothing left to confess, she burst into emotional sobs.
Grandeeney's final response was a blend of despair and sympathy. It broke her heart to discover that her eldest daughter had instantly devolved into a delinquent and sowed discord among the children she raised. If there was one thing she couldn't tolerate, it was to see her girls fighting each other. Seeing one of them utterly crushed by the other's cruelty was equally insufferable, if not worse. She whispered solemnly, "Oh, Wendy..." She cradled the mourning girl in her talon, praying that her comfort would be enough to mend her broken spirit. "There, there. It's okay. It's okay, love. Mommy's here. Mommy's got you. Shhh... Fall on me, little one... Let out as much as you want..." Wendy welcomed the invitation as she fell against the dragon's bosom and wept into its feathery warmth.
Grandeeney had no one to blame entirely for the incident but herself, and her overpowering sorrow and regret ate away at her. In the midst of soothing Wendy, her thoughts trailed off to a different matter— her most recent observation beyond the protection of her nest. "Kaze's bloodlust is driving her... And the dragonification process is exacerbating it... But I must admit, her magic has proven to be beyond measure, perhaps even rivaling that of Acnologia. And her ambition to become one of our seven human candidates is genuine. Unfortunately for her, she is not the one I require. The last human we need to counter the Dragon King's reign of terror is one as dangerous and aggressive as him. She has continued to grow into a much powerful and more similar threat. We cannot afford another Acnologia... It's too much of a prospect to overlook." She lowered her head somberly, "It's settled, then... Kaze Viriniam... is not worthy. She lacks several of the qualities necessary to assume her place among the seven. In favor of a fatalistic pursuit of destruction and more power, she is slowly turning into the very evil we're opposing. I cannot risk granting her such a tremendous responsibility... even if I wanted to." She glanced down at Wendy, then out into the green yonder, before a strenuous deliberation tugged at her heartstrings. There was no turning back. "I'm afraid she's even too dangerous to be around poor Wendy now. She's become a negative influence towards her. I don't know if she'll come to understand what I'm about to do. But I'm left with no choice... When the time comes, after I have chosen my Dragon Slayer..." She swallowed her throat, and a grim revolve settled in. "...I will have to separate them."
The next day...
"Wendy, breakfast is ready!" The girl in question barely heard Grandeeney's message. She just sat in the grass alone with a forlorn expression, her spirit hardly able to drag her body from the ground. The fracturing of her sisterhood with Kaze took a terrible toll. The two had always been the closest of friends, sticking together through thick and thin in pursuit of an idyllic lifestyle full of wonder and delight. They were raised by the same dragon during infancy, and throughout all the times they spent training together, their sibling bond had never been more defined, even before Grandeeney took them under her wing. Wendy and Kaze played on the fields, explored the natural land under the Sky Dragon's watchful eye, relaxed in the grass watching the stars at night, slept together in the same spot after a bedtime story, advanced their specific styles of Sky Magic while emboldening one another with words of wisdom... and now these days seemed to be over. Wendy had a harder time coping with the knowledge that Kaze severed ties with her, and that she couldn't do anything to fix it. She thought their bond was unbreakable; it only took yesterday to make her realize how hurting the truth was. She could see the vast ocean of green in the distance, Kaze undoubtedly keeping up her residence within its depths, completing the final stages of her 'superior' training before the selection ceremony tomorrow. At that point, she didn't see how it could be possible to change Kaze's mind and heart, to avert the cold and harsh attitude towards her— not even the slightest possibility of persuading her to stay in the nest just this once, just for the whole afternoon. Wendy felt her lament growing as the day's remaining hours passed her by. She couldn't stand the pain, nor could she make it go away. She couldn't see any point in living the remainder of her life in the nest without Kaze by her side. She had never felt more trapped in her own loneliness, never wished so immensely to be with her beloved big sister one last time...
"Ah, there you are..." Grandeeney approached Wendy, cautiously carrying a bowl of bread and cheese in her mouth before gently setting it down. "You're going to need to be in top form before the ceremony, so I laid out a nutritious meal for you." Wendy looked back at the dragon apprehensively. There were dark circles under her eyes, long dry from the tears she shed yesterday. Grandeeney couldn't hide her concern for the child. "Um... Wendy? Do you hear me? I made you bread and cheese for breakfast." She gestured to the food, "Are you hungry?" Cold silence. "Are you... alright?"
Wendy, who kept to herself for the duration of Grandeeney's call to a morning meal, turned her gaze to the sustenance between her knees. She then looked up, briefly making eye contact. "I'm..." For her mentor's sake, she did her best to force a smile. "I'm fine, thank you. And thank you for the food. I'm getting hungry now."
Grandeeney chuckled softly, "Of course. Now eat up, the cheese is getting cold." Wendy tore a small piece of the bread with her fingers, then took a soft bite.
As the early morning rolled on, there was serenity, not all of it bright. Grandeeney was wise to see through Wendy's façade; deep down, she was still devastated from taking the brunt of Kaze's heartless behavior, a terrible mood swing influenced by the fastening dragonification. The Sky Dragon's eyes roamed the forest, visibly shaken and almost about to leak. She knew this charade wouldn't last forever, at least until the promised time tomorrow. She struggled not to think, but there was no use straying from the inevitable storm... There was no escape... In the future, her decision would lead one little family into a terrible tragedy. The future was drawing near.
"This is the final day before the selection ceremony of my Dragon Slayer candidate."
Throughout the rest of the day, all seemed well. Whenever around Grandeeney, Wendy acted alright, although she tended to draw off on her own more. When alone, however, Grandeeney could watch her wallow in self-pity, or hear her quietly weep, when she thought her adoptive mother was minding her own business. She wasn't. The sadness, the heartache, it was all too difficult to comprehend that she wanted to intervene and comfort her daughter in any way she could, but with everything that's been going on in her mind, she felt she had no right to. Rather, she preferred to keep watch from a distance.
"Wendy... My dear child... I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you how much your cousin has changed completely. And I know how much she means to you. I just hope you understand... Kaze is not the friend you know anymore. She is turning into a creature of unimaginable brutality, an abomination beyond hope of salvation. Sometimes, you wish to believe people are something that they are not. But by the time you realize what they are becoming, and how far they fall... it's already too late. That is one of several lessons I should have taught you."
Admittedly, the nest was much less vibrant without Kaze. Though a crowd of two could not provide enough cheer in a wider space, preparing meals and dusting the huts did take a good while shorter for Grandeeney. But since her elder student wasn't around, not a single trace of joy could be found. In fact, Wendy was not in the mood for playtime today. There was no more talon riding, no more playing tag or hopscotch, no more running in the grass, just a simple, uneventful routine of practicing Sky Magic. Training all alone with no other pupil but herself. No more fun and games. No more playtime. Nothing enjoyable to do from today to the remains of the first week. And at the end of today's lesson, Wendy continued to sulk in grief. Seeing how far the girl had fallen into despair made Grandeeney more conflicted than before. But she knew what needed to be done for the greater good. She knew her mission to serve humanity had to come first, even at the cost of hers and Wendy's happiness.
"I will not ask for your approval, but please, Wendy... For your safety, you must never see Kaze again. She is quickly turning into a primitive and violent monstrosity, unlike you. I know she'll detest me for my choosing of you in the coming day. But my mind is set. You and you alone are to represent me as one of the seven. There is none more deserving of the honor than you. I have no doubts that you are up to the task, and no regrets. Please know that what I'm about to do tomorrow and before the seventh day, I'm doing what I believe is just. It may be a bit extreme, but when it comes to rapidly evolving aberrations like the Dragon King Acnologia, half-measures will never do."
Night fell, and Wendy was fast asleep, resting her head on the side of Grandeeney's body. Little did she know that her teacher had stayed awake long enough to gaze upon her sleeping form, and then out into the world beyond the nest under the glistening light of the moon.
"Of all that I risk by taking this next step in your future, the loss of our family will pain me the most."
When she was finished, she rested her head beside Wendy, providing some extra comfort in her slumber.
"I hope it will not come to pass... with the two of us on opposite sides."
The two dosed off together, even as a single tear traced down Grandeeney's cheek... and a soft, heartfelt mutter escaped her throat.
"Forgive me, Wendy..."
And as the dream reached its final moments, a series of events starting at the fourth day and leading up to the seventh day flashed at the speed of light.
The grand selection ceremony, with two young Dragon Slayer apprentices standing before their idolized teacher, brimming with hopes and dreams of a prosperous future. It was a rite of passage that culminated in the greatest moment of their lives. And then the light of the ancient dragons shone from the heavens. One was bathed in its soothing glow... and the other was not. Infuriated that she was denied the ultimate prize, the rejected student went on a total rampage, fully succumbing to the dragon's rage building within. The forest was on fire. Mountains crumbled and rivers ran dry. The sky turned black and blocked out the sun. The destruction and carnage forged from her relentless treachery was bountiful, leaving scars across the visage of nature and civilization alike.
A desperate struggle. An unexpected ally. A swift victory. The conflict ended with the immediate and ruthless banishment of the outcast pupil into the darkest pits of the Underworld.
There was Wendy, who was wracked with utter sorrow and betrayal. Kaze, who was exiled from the folds of existence and memory. Grandeeney, who made a difficult decision, one that would haunt the Sky Maiden for the rest of her life. One that would incredibly strain her relationship with whom she thought was a benevolent teacher and a loving mother. One that would leave her impossibly alone until her coming of age.
The drama and woe she had the misfortune of being dragged into.
The only member of the adoptive family she had inexplicably forgotten.
The lone child of destiny she had become.
Gummi Ship Cockpit
"Here goes nothin'!" Goofy gripped the controls firmly, wearing a vigorous expression as he locked on a column of Heartless gummi fighters, the formation half the size of an asteroid the Disney Kingdom's exclusive Highwind model recently blasted into space dust. The captain of the guard sucked in a quick breath and then pressed several buttons on the panel, the Gummi Ship's side hatches opening to pop out its modified plasma turrets. The left and right cannons conjured a horizontal wave-like energy charge, in the form of some sort of crescent-shaped particle blade around the bow. "Gummi Ship Plasma Knife special attack! Ready... FIRE!" One touch of the button, and the turrets sent the projectile flying towards the fleet. It slashed right through the middle of the column and scattered the remaining ships. It didn't take long before the Gummi Ship's plasma bombs made quick work of them, and the Highwind was free to proceed onward.
Donald, who was relaxing against the middle seat, sat up straight and knocked a fist in the air with an excited quack. "Ha-ha! That'll show 'em! That's how we Disney pros do it!" He turned to look in Goofy's direction and started walking towards him while saying, "Nice work, Goofy. The super extra gummi modifications we made to our ship's artillery did the trick! I especially liked the all-new Plasma Knife feature. With this, we can cut the cheese at any size while we're out in space. Cut the cheese. Get it? 'Cause it's a knife!" He chuckled at his own joke, then paused to hear no reaction from those present in the cockpit other than Goofy— Lucy, Lisanna, and Carla stood beside the co-pilots, with the female Exceed shaking her head with a sigh.
Lucy commented, "Yeah, thanks for pointing it out, Donald. Can't you just say this new gimmick lets you take out dozens of enemy ships and massive chunks of floating rock easily? It's not that complicated."
Donald shrugged, "What can I say? It goes with the name. It's literally shaped like one of these crescent-shaped swords that giant snake Heartless was carrying around in Agrabah."
Lisanna recalled, "The one that tried to kill us with Silence Magic and sandstorms?"
Donald nodded, "Yep, that one. And like Lucy said, blowing up many Heartless ships and bigger asteroids is way easier with a plasma knife shot. Special weapons like this one make the trip look more like a regular cruise... so long as we keep watch on our energy gauge at all times." He pointed to the meter located on the left corner of the screen, "You see this? We don't always use the ship's special weapons for free. If we spend too much, it takes a long time to recharge."
Goofy stated, "But thanks to the new gummi blocks Geppetto gave us, they can recharge in half the time. Besides the new and improved special weapons, we get a huge boost in firepower and mobility! Hopefully, this upgraded version of our high and mighty shuttle's got enough pedal to the medal in outrunnin' a certain larger-than-life whale we all know and don't love, just in case we run into him again."
Donald shuddered, "I still can't shake off the mess of trouble that overgrown tuna put us through. And getting ourselves stuck in his big belly for a second time is the last thing we have on our agenda. We've got a schedule to meet in a different world, and we don't wanna miss it."
Lisanna agreed, "He's right. We've come a long way to let anything stop us now. Mira and the others are in Neverland, and we're gonna save them. We can't let the Alliance of Evil get away with what they did. Our friends need us now more than ever. We can't keep them waiting."
Lucy grinned, "You're speaking my mind. Assuming Natsu and Mira hadn't found their own way out of that pirate ship any second now. But anything's better than guessing. We just gotta meet those creeps at their own turf, tear it up, beat 'em down, and then save everyone. Easy as pie! And I can't complain about tearing the joint, 'cause that's just how we roll."
Donald joked, "And by easy as pie, you mean easier than hanging around a Halloween version of the North Pole?"
Goofy added, "Or a journey through Monstro's stomach with all the sticky organs? A-hyuck!"
Lucy argued, "Hey! Can't a girl take a break from wacky Halloween antics for a week or two? And I don't recall being inside the belly of an oversized mammal, but I do seem to remember that time when Mard Geer transformed the Tartaros guildhall into a whale-like monster that terrorized Magnolia. Basically, I'm familiar with that sort of thing, though my experience was less gross, and the insides had more tissue than actual organs."
Donald and Goofy asked, "Really?"
Lucy nodded, "Really. And honestly, I don't think I'd ever want to find out what it's like to be trapped in a whale's innards, either. On the bright side, at least I wasn't there when you guys went through all that."
Donald noted, "Not me. I was with Goofy and the others, making repairs to our Gummi Ship. If anyone in the party's got some experience in the field, it's her." He gestured to Carla, "She had a wild, crazy adventure with Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Juvia deep inside Monstro to look for Kaze and Pinocchio. From what they told us, it's an icky, yucky maze in there. I'm betting five hundred munny she got seriously grossed out as much as everybody else who dove deep in the acids."
Carla clarified, "Truth be told, Donald, it wasn't the journey through Monstro's literally inner workings that disgusted me. It was the 'almost lured into an elaborate trap set by a sociopath who's terribly obsessed with Wendy' part."
Goofy pointed out, "The first time we tried to stop Kaze after we fixed the ship, she walloped us real hard!"
Donald grunted, "While you were out exploring, we had our butts handed to us in a way I haven't felt since that hectic food fight I had with my nephews two years ago at the Easter party! Like when they creamed me with chocolate, Kaze creamed us with cold steel. Remember that one?"
Carla said blankly, "Vividly."
Goofy smiled, "Anyway, we're still on track, and some more Heartless got blown to kingdom come, thanks to our new pilot here." He motioned to his right, "And I gotta say, the guy's learnin' pretty fast! With Wendy having her hands full at the lounge, we could use another extra hand on deck to keep the ship runnin'. I said it once, that it's excitin' to have three pilots instead of two..." His grin widened, "...but four pilots is even better! Ain't that right, partner?"
"You said it. I'm very grateful for giving me my first run on the wheel. After all, why sit back and watch the pros do their thing..." The co-pilot sitting next to Goofy turned out to be Romeo, who held onto the controls with a cheerful smile. "...when you can walk in their shoes for a change? I'm a part of this crew, so it's only fair I get to help out. I know it's not much and I've got a long way to go before I learn it all, but I'm just doing my part for the team. I'm so glad that I asked you and Donald to teach me how to pilot the ship like you did Wendy. I'll try not to slip up. I wanna be a pilot, one that's as talented as you two and Wendy."
"It's no trouble, kid," Donald smiled back. "Unlike a certain hyperactive God Slayer we know, you came to us with honest, genuine intentions, the same way Wendy did after our adventure in the Deep Jungle. We couldn't refuse when you asked us to show you the ropes, just like when we couldn't refuse her."
"You've got some heart and spirit, and there's no denying that dedication to be of good service to the royal duo who helped us with so much. Which I respect a great deal," Lucy nodded.
"Me, too! Everyone in Fairy Tail's got to have some drive to do amazing things. When did you come up with the idea of piloting the ship along with Donald and Goofy? You must've taken some of that drive from your dad," Lisanna remarked.
"Or how about that huge pirate ship you took for a spin' when we were fightin' Ursula? You gave Wendy an openin' to turn that mean ol' sea witch into cala-mary," Goofy beamed.
"Calamari," Lucy corrected.
"Oh, that, too," Goofy confirmed, then faced Romeo. "Anyway, you get what I'm sayin'?"
"Still fresh off the boat. But you know that was just luck," Romeo stated. "I knew I still had much to learn. And who better to ask how to steer the wheel the right way than you two? It's the least I can do to repay you for supporting me and the others for so long, for letting me be a part of this great adventure. I understand why you allowed Wendy to run the ship from time to time, but as time went on and I learned a lot from all this, I realized... Everything I've seen, everything I've been through up until now, it gave me a reason to work towards something better. To do something beneficial in the long run. To provide for this team a great deal. I see a chance right in front of me, and I don't wanna pass it up. That's what inspired me to be a pilot." He glanced at both Donald and Goofy as he smiled, "Thank you for taking me under your wing. I promise I won't let you down. I'll be a great pilot just like you two, just like Wendy. I'll do whatever I can to keep this boat and the whole crew running in high gear!"
"And we're glad you asked! Welcome to the pilots' club, Romeo!" Goofy cheered. "We have a feelin' someone other than Wendy would be able to keep up with us one day. All you gotta do is follow the instructions, and you're bound to be a full-fledged pilot like myself, Donald, and Wendy. You might even ride this vessel alongside her when it's down to you two!"
"Oh... Y-Yeah, of course... Wouldn't it be great?" Romeo chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed slightly. Perhaps the other half of his inspiration to operate the Gummi Ship was out of some small shred of desire to share the wheel with Wendy, whom he had a powerful bond with.
"Take it from us, you gotta love bein' a hot shot space flyer," Goofy ruffled the side of Romeo's hair, eliciting from him a small chuckle.
"Since Wendy is not in the mood of getting her hand on the wheel at the moment, I suppose someone else's hand should accommodate," Carla affirmed.
"You'll be a expert if you just keep a clear head, have faith that you'll pull through in the long run," Lucy encouraged. "Don't worry, Romeo. We know you can do it. If not for yourself, at least do it for our team. You got this." She put a hand on his shoulder, "And don't forget, we're with you all the way."
"Thanks, Lucy. I feel a lot inspired than I was already," Romeo grinned.
"Hmm... I can think of another specific reason for you to get your hand on the wheel..." Lisanna teased, stifling a giggle which added to the flush in the Rainbow Fire wizard's cheeks.
"Uhhh... I..." Romeo found it hard to answer that remark.
"So what do you think of your first experience as a pilot?" Donald asked him.
"Are you kidding? This is even better than Atlantica! The controls are easy, the buttons are recognizable, and the weapons totally pack a punch!" Romeo beamed.
"Gawrsh, you've clearly been takin' notes from that pirate ship joyride. Or is it livin' your pirate fantasies just like when you were a kid?" Goofy guessed.
"A little of both. Mostly the joyride part," Romeo grinned.
"Okay, then. Now that that's outta the way..." Goofy stared out the window, with Romeo watching intently. "That's how the brand new Plasma Knife special weapon works. Did ya get all that?"
Romeo replied, "Uh-huh. First, you hold the button to charge up energy into the cannons until it forms into a blade. Second, you tilt the joystick to adjust the direction of the blade you want it to fire. Lastly, you let go of the button, and the blade flies towards its target."
Goofy nodded, "Right! A Plasma Knife's good for takin' out loads of enemy ships at a wider margin. You can balance the cannons to shoot it horizontally, vertically, or diagonally."
Carla remarked, "I must say, Romeo has keen observation skills, and he has taken considerable steps during his first session as a pilot. That's to be expected from the son of Fairy Tail's fourth guild master; I can see how he inherited Macao's intelligence, honesty, and optimism. And why he wanted to become a member."
Romeo chuckled, "I have plenty of role models. My bro Natsu's the best of 'em all."
Lisanna smiled, "Yeah, we all know you wanted to be just like him when you grew up. And look where you are now, if not closer to being as strong as him."
At that moment, a new squadron of Heartless gummi fighters slowly approached the Highwind, poised for an assault at any given moment. As Goofy took notice, he spoke, drawing Romeo's attention back to him, "Since you got that observin' part down, how's about we see what you can do? Show us how you prep up your own Plasma Knife attack!"
Romeo nodded, "Okay!" He looked straight ahead as he pressed a hand on the big round yellow button, the cannons beginning to focus plasma energy around the ship's bow. After five seconds, he moved his other hand towards the joystick and made a few practice tilting motions with his fingers, making sure he was making a horizontal line while keeping a close eye on the targets. "Almost there..." Donald, Goofy, Carla, Lucy, and Lisanna looked on as a new crescent-shaped blade composed of the plasma charge took form. "And... go!" Finally, Romeo lifted his hand from the button, and the Plasma Knife zoomed towards the multitude of Heartless ships in its intended parallel position. All the enemy vessels were instantly vaporized, the little scraps of gummi dissipating as they broke away from each other. The audience went from looking astonished to looking very pleased for Romeo's accomplishment.
Donald and Goofy breathed, "Wow..."
Lucy commented, "That's a really big Plasma Knife!"
Carla grinned, "Well, this is a good start."
Lisanna admired, "Romeo, that was amazing!"
Romeo oversaw the result with a look of pride. At the same time, he relished in the praise from his friends as he turned to face them. "Not too shabby, huh?"
Goofy beamed, "Shabby? More like smart! You took out a whole bunch of Heartless ships with a single shot of that special weapon, and on your very first try, no less. Not to mention, the energy output is twice as big as the last one! How long have you held onto that charge button?"
Donald quipped, "Some first-timers certainly know how to do things in style. And I mean lots of it!"
Lisanna agreed, "Yeah, Romeo. You did great!"
Lucy stated, "Carla wasn't lying when she said you have some keen observation skills. I'd say you're on a good start of being a professional already."
Romeo asked hopefully, "You really think so?"
Goofy nodded, "Yup! With a keen eye like yours, who needs a strategy book?"
Lucy joked, "Does this mean you get free driving privileges like Wendy's?"
Lisanna chuckled, "For a rookie, you sure are a quick learner."
Romeo smiled with a blush, "Heh, that's very nice of you to say, guys."
Donald advised, "But don't forget, this is only a first run, and your skills still need work. Lucky for you, you came to us to be instructed in the art of piloting a first-class spaceship." He raised a finger, "But piloting is also a big responsibility. This job is not to be taken lightly. If you want to handle the wheel properly, you'll have to learn every function. You can't be a top notch flyer without knowing all the steps. Am I right?"
Romeo nodded, feeling more determined than ever. "Right. I'll keep practicing until I've fully mastered the wheel. Just you wait and see. I'm gonna be a top notch flyer before you know it!"
Lucy cheered, "Yeah!"
Lisanna approved, "That's the spirit!"
Carla smiled, "Do your best."
Donald suggested, "Just for now, we'll focus on navigation and weapons."
Goofy offered, "Next up, we're gonna teach you about radar and coordinates."
Romeo accepted, "Sounds great."
Goofy shifted his focus on the coordinate system. "Speakin' of which, we're bound to approach Neverland in ten minutes. I guess the coordinates Crane downloaded into our system don't lie. We're really goin' the right way." He faced Romeo, "Wanna take a short break and go see if the gang needs any help before we land?"
Romeo shook his head, "Nah, I'm gonna go stay and practice my piloting skills some more. I'll catch up later."
Goofy complied, "Alright, well... We've got less than ten minutes to spare."
Carla suggested, "We'd best get back to the lounge and prepare ourselves upon arrival."
Lucy smiled, "No harm in getting ready for another adventure in another world." She faced Donald, Goofy, and Romeo, "We'll be going now. We've got some warming up to do. See ya!" She gave them a friendly wave as she, Carla, and Lisanna climbed down the ladder.
"Right, uh, you were saying, Goofy?" Romeo asked him.
"A-hyuck, still openin' your mind to super important space flyin' stuff?" Goofy asked cheerily, to which Romeo responded with an excited nod. Donald stood beside the boy as the royal knight began giving his next directive on the Gummi Ship's complex but easily accessible features. "First of all, Romeo, lemme tell ya about our ship's radar system. It lets ya pick up..." The young wizard barely contained his enthusiasm, and he perked up his ears. Another pleasant chat with Wendy would come later.
Gummi Ship Engine Lounge
"Apparently, you're destined to partake in a certain event. One that will change the course of your life for better or for worse... and that involves dark, forbidden secrets of the past."
"You never know what's gonna happen... You may not even go back to the way things were."
"She might be up to something that involves you, and I doubt it's anything good."
"This has always been between Kaze and me since it all began..."
Wendy sat alone on the bed with her knees folded up and her arms wrapped around her legs as voices— Cana's, Yuffie's, Leon's, and her own— rushed through her head, her mind replaying the last hours she spent in Traverse Town before her departure. Lately, she had been rather distant from the others who minded their own business in the lounge: Gray relaxing in the armchair drinking a glass of orange juice with Juvia usually fawning over him, Elfman lifting weights to pump himself up for the upcoming mission to save his big sister's life, and Lisanna sitting on the couch watching her brother exercise while pondering what to expect in Neverland.
Wendy thought back to how Kaze became a lingering issue since she first obtained the Keyblade and set out from Magnolia. Their past experiences, the lost memories that bound them together more so than before, it was all too overbearing to get over. Ultimately, it was their first meeting that triggered a string of visions that made her recall bits and pieces of the life she once lived, slowly coming back to her within the passage of time as they clashed more than once. By receiving more visions, it would have made her more insistent on getting to the bottom of this deepening mystery, but Cana's mysterious fortune regarding 'dark, forbidden secrets of the past', coupled with Yuffie and Leon's counsel on the journey to come, abruptly turned her resolve into doubt. Even the promise she made to herself, her vow to confront her forgotten past, seemed to crack under pressure from the voices in her head. She had no desire at all to confide to her friends, nor to move from where she cradled herself in her loneliness. What made Wendy feel so conflicted was not the fact that she would one day remember everything, but how it would affect her if it actually happened. How severely it would affect her life, as Cana predicted. Her anxiety rose with every heartbeat, she almost fainted if she hadn't heard footsteps approaching.
"C'mooooooon, Lucy! One more game of checkers! I can smell another delicious chocolate chip cookie off the jar!" Sherria pleaded Lucy as they reached the bed along with Carla.
For now, it seemed to snap Wendy out of her stupor as she eavesdropped on the conversation. Lucy argued, "Well, the last time you and I played, you literally made my head spin from making a hundred piece combinations. I never ever got a single king me!"
Carla interjected, "You're just upset because Sherria is well-versed in checkers more than anyone else in this group. If you had worked more on your strategies, then perhaps one of your pieces would've made the first row."
"Wendy?" Sherria's question froze Wendy's legs before they could sit her up from the bed. The Sky Maiden turned to face her. "Are you alright?"
"Is there something troubling you, child?" Carla joined in. "You've been keeping to yourself recently, and you refused to pilot the ship alongside Donald and Goofy when they gave you permission. Why aren't you interested in getting behind the wheel today? You're generally enthusiastic about it." Wendy couldn't answer, and she hung her head dejectedly, adding to her friends' concern. "Wendy? What's the matter? Why do you look so... miserable?"
"Come on, Wendy," Lucy urged. "Can't you at least let us know what's on your mind right now? We can work this out. I'm sure we will." She looked at her with a warm smile, "There's no reason for you to keep it bottled up for long. You just gotta let it out. Romeo helped me open up back then. I think it's time you opened up, too."
"Please, Wendy," Carla implored. "You can trust us. Don't hesitate to speak your mind."
"We're your friends," Sherria smiled. "It's okay to share your feelings. We want to help you in any way we know how. So please... At least tell us what's been bothering you."
Wendy swallowed a breath before looking up to face them. "I... I've been thinking about what happened at Traverse Town. About Kaze, Crane, Neverland... She sent him to invite me there."
Carla compelled, "Yes, go on."
Wendy continued, "He asked me to come along, and when I refused, he just left. But they still want me to meet her at Neverland, anyway. I know I might be falling right into her trap, but I can't just sit back and let her have her way all the time, can I? You know I have to stop her. You know I have to settle this thing between us." She fidgeted slightly, "I thought I was ready for it. I thought I wanted to go out there and find out more about my connection with Kaze, but..." She meekly caressed where her heart was, "But now... Now I'm not so sure. I... I don't know if I can move on."
Lucy wondered, "Your point?"
Wendy explained, "Before we left town, Cana told me something about 'dark, forbidden secrets of the past'. She said my life's gonna change, for better or worse. She said it's what the cards were telling her."
Carla blinked, "The cards? Are you referring to her Divination Magic?"
Sherria guessed, "And by dark, forbidden secrets, you mean more missing memories of Kaze, right?"
Wendy's voice cracked. "Maybe... Maybe that's it. That's why..." She closed her eyes as a single tear fell from her face to the blanket with a quite tap. She sniffled and bent her head in disgrace. "I never imagined that I'd be terrified to face my past again..." It seemed like she was ever determined to face Kaze and rediscover the connection between them, but it also seemed like she was afraid of the impending conflict at the same time. Cana's fortune may have served as a tiny spark that lit up the fires of emotion within her.
Though Lucy stared at Wendy with sympathy, Carla and Sherria moved over to her, the amaranth-haired girl tenderly coiling her arms around her while the Exceed smoothed her paw around the tear-stained cheek. Sherria mused, "Oh, Wendy... You poor thing! Are you thinking about Kaze so much that you're getting scared to see her again? I thought you want to see her again! You said so, remember?"
Wendy hesitated before she gave her answer. "I... I don't..."
Carla worried, "I thought we've been over this, child. You promised you would confront your secret past, no matter how harrowing it may be. Then all of a sudden, you're scared to face it again? Why?"
Wendy confessed, "I get it, Carla. I really do. More than anything, I want to know who Kaze is, why we know each other when we were kids, and why she's always obsessed with me. But then Cana had to point out that my past is dark and forbidden..."
Carla noted, "Cana's Divination... Is that what makes you feel hesitant?"
Wendy nodded, "I think so. I'm beginning to wonder if it'll be worth it all when I know the truth. What if Cana's right? What if my past really is dark and forbidden? What if I'm not supposed to remember it all? The more I think about it, it's like..." The tension seeped into the pours of her heart, making it as heavy as a ton of lead, a grumbling terror filling her chest like some parasite aching to burst out. "...like I feel cold inside. Like there's something inside me that makes me wanna cry, to scream real loud... to break." She found herself unable to soften the pain on her expression. "I'm... I'm... I'm so confused... and angry... and most of all... I'm nervous. My heart feels funny. I might just... I might..."
Sherria pulled away from her embrace and saw the mixed feelings on Wendy's face. She gently put her hand on the dark blue-haired girl's forehead and sensed the temperature. "Hmm... You don't seem to have a fever. At your age, I seriously doubt you'd have any heart problems, and I think you'd have other symptoms in your present condition, but I'm gonna go check your heartbeat, anyway. Wait here." She walked over to a drawer next to the bed, and opened it to pull out a stethoscope amongst a well-organized collection of medical equipment.
"Since when do we have a stethoscope?" Lucy asked surprised.
"A while ago, I was reading a photo album of the Disney Kingdom," Sherria explained. "It has some of the most important historical facts about King Mickey and the kingdom itself. I was about to return the album when I stopped at a drawer packed with tons of medicine and first aid supplies." She motioned to the drawer, "It turns out that Donald and Goofy stored them in here in case of a serious health emergency." She tapped her chin curiously, "Why didn't they let us know about it before? Maybe they're too busy to even leave out a mention. Oh, and the stethoscope?" She presented the device, "It was a gift from King Mickey when he was taking his time off from his part-time job as a doctor. At least, that's what the album pointed out."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, "Doctor? I thought he's a king..."
Sherria stated, "Well, he is. But according to these photos I've read, Mickey has had multiple careers in his life even before he became king. A steamboat deckhand, a construction worker, an aviator, a fireman, a train driver, an orchestra conductor, a circus ringmaster, a magician, a zookeeper, a stage host, a sorcerer's apprentice, a musketeer—"
Lucy snapped, "Sherria! That's a mouthful!"
Sherria chuckled, "Oh, right. Sorry." Her smile widened, "But it's true! I've scanned the whole list! All his careers and accomplishments up to today, it goes to show that even a king can have more than one job, as guild wizards like us do. I don't see why anyone couldn't." She turned back to Wendy, "The doctor is in! Time for your free checkup." She put on the earpieces, then placed the chest-piece on Wendy's chest, listening to the current speed of the patient's heartbeat for a couple of seconds. "Sounds pretty normal to me. Maybe you're a bit stressed out from Traverse Town, Wendy. I guess Cana's fortune telling sort of made you feel nervous about getting to Kaze at Neverland, about trying to recall your lost memories of her."
Wendy asked, "You think so?"
Sherria suggested, "I'm pretty positive that's the source of your mood swings. We frequently experience irregular heartbeats in times of stress. I really don't think there's anything wrong with it, so that's okay." She removed the stethoscope, "Listen, we know that your previous encounters with Kaze left some sort of an impact on your life. But you can't run away from it forever. I'm not saying you should forget about her, but as hard as it is... she's already onto you long since this began, and you're slowly remembering who she is. You said she's someone from your past, and we believe you. You said it's coming to you in pieces, and we understand that. It can't be helped. There's no turning back now. But just because the two of you are connected doesn't mean you give up right away. And yes, maybe the past can often lead to tragedy, just as the truth can often bring you pain. In this case, it's only a matter of deciding whether you run from a past you don't recall, or you keep recalling and eventually discover something really important from it. The more it adds up, we have reason to believe that everything that's happened to you up to this point, it happens for a very special reason. I'm not saying that you should turn back; it's up to you. But if you dig a little deeper, take a bold step forward, then... well, you might be surprised." She held Wendy's cheek and rested her forehead on top of hers. "It'll be okay... We're on your side. Always." The Sky Dragon Slayer basked in her friend's warmth, and once they pulled away, she stared at Sherria with a nearly emotional smile.
Lucy, who remained to the side for the duration of the heart-to-heart talk, spoke, "I don't really have much to offer, but you can lean on us if you feel like you need somebody for comfort. Support from friends will always be encouraged in Fairy Tail."
Carla assured, "You're not alone, Wendy. We're in this together. All of us."
Wendy stifled a giggle as she composed herself. "You're right. I was thinking about Traverse Town so much that I probably let it get into my head. I actually feel a little better now. Thank you for that." She gave Sherria a brief embrace, sighing out of gratitude for the Sky God Slayer's words of wisdom. "Thanks for not giving up on me, Sherria, like everyone else hasn't. I knew I could count on you guys. And..." She pulled away, her expression suddenly turning excitable. "Donald and Goofy have a photo album?! I didn't know they've got one here in the ship!"
Sherria beamed, "Yes, they do! The album's in the bookcase. Care to have a look?"
Wendy shook her head, "No, I'm just curious, that's all. But thanks for asking."
Sherria offered, "Hey, if you feel the need for some neat Disney Kingdom pictures for your viewing pleasure, you know where to find the album."
Wendy nodded, "Sure thing!" She cleared her throat before continuing, "I'm sorry for worrying too much about Kaze. I appreciate you trying to help me out of that. This whole time, I've spent most of our adventure trying to figure out my past, but after learning of Cana's fortune about dark, forbidden secrets, I thought she meant Kaze. Because of that, I wasn't sure if I should go any further. I got nervous with myself."
Carla stated, "If your memories of Kaze are 'dark and forbidden' as Cana's fortune implied, then there must be a logical explanation as to why you've forgotten them in your youth."
Wendy agreed, "Yeah, there has to be. You don't think something happened to me that caused me to forget her when I was young?"
Sherria theorized, "Your memories might've been erased at some point."
Lucy added, "Or they might've been tampered with."
That struck a chord in Wendy's head. "Tampered with...?" She did recall that, in the conclusion of Fairy Tail's war with Tartaros, she learned that the dragons Weisslogia and Skiadrum altered the memories of their respective Dragon Slayers, Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, into thinking they had slain their own dragons as per the 'final stage' in completing their training. What if Grandeeney did the same to her? What if her adoptive mother rewrote her memories so that Kaze never existed in her life? She shouldn't jump to conclusions, however. Until then, the only link she had to her forgotten past was Kaze, and only through her would she discover the real truth. With that in mind, and no apprehension left to abstain her, she stopped her train of thought and looked to her friends. "I still don't know why I can't remember Kaze, but I guess going after her is the only way. At first, I didn't think I was ready since we left town..." She added with a new determination, "...but I am now! I'm serious this time. I'm ready to face her again!" Lucy and Sherria cheered in approval, while Carla smiled proudly.
Lucy grinned, "Yeah, you go, girl!"
Sherria admired, "That's my fellow Sky Sister!"
Carla remarked, "It's good to have your confidence back for..." She paused, then let out a sigh of regret. "...I've lost count of how many times you lost it. I'm sorry."
Wendy giggled, "It's okay. I even lost count of how many times you raised my spirits. And I'm still grateful that you always do. That my friends are always there when I'm down and out. I'd do the same thing for any of you."
Lucy chuckled, "Of course you would. What are friends for?"
Sherria agreed, "Friends help each other. Like Leon and the gang supporting Levy, Cana, and the Connell family during their stay in Traverse Town."
Wendy asked, "Speaking of, our last visit has been a little rough, hasn't it?"
Sherria replied, "Only during the other half of our visit. The first half was returning every single one of Pongo and Perdita's adorable little Dalmatian puppies, getting a fresh new supply of gummi blocks from Pinocchio and his father, fixing the storybook of your new friend Winnie the Pooh, and listening to Aerith's tale of Cloud as a member of SOLDIER before he became the ex-SOLDIER we know in the arena. Because he's a ex-SOLDIER of SOL..." She trailed off, "Never mind. After that, it's dark guilds everywhere on the streets. It took an incredible team effort plus Bambi's miraculous spring fever to drive them out of town."
Lucy quipped, "We sure needed some of that spring fever to help us take down a whole army of dark guilds before they hurt innocent people, huh?"
Sherria winked, "Spring fever with a big topping of adorableness!"
Wendy pointed out, "Aerith said SOLDIER is an elite fighting force for a big organization called Shinra... I wonder what's so special about it? And when have we heard that name before?"
Carla stated, "She did say that Shinra's workings span the universe, and it once had a business relationship with Ansem."
Sherria remarked, "Shinra... That's a pretty swell name for a peculiar financial conglomerate or a military syndicate or who knows what kind of organization it is. From the sound of it, you can tell it's no simple name you can buy. Or is that name oddly..." She traced a finger along the side of her head, "...familiar to me?"
Wendy repeated, "Familiar to you?"
Sherria stated, "For some reason, the name 'Shinra' makes me feel a twinge of nostalgia. It almost feels like something I known since I was a little girl, before I joined Lamia Scale." She shuddered a bit, "Why... Why does the name pop into my mind? Why do I even say it out loud? I've got a teeny tiny feeling at the pit of my pocket..."
Wendy questioned, "Sherria, are you saying that... you know Shinra?"
Sherria's eyes widened. "I-I know Shinra? Me? N-No! No, of course not!" She laughed innocently, "It's nothing. It's not that I've ever seen or heard of Shinra my whole life. It's just my imagination. A feeling, that's all." She cleared her throat, "Moving on."
Wendy complied, "Oh... Okay, then." She thought back to her recent absence from her free piloting privileges. "I'm also sorry for not joining Donald and Goofy on piloting the ship today." She added with a sigh, "I never should've worried myself too much, then I would've had some fun... They're probably upset that I'm not up there, aren't they?"
Sherria smiled, "It's okay. You just needed some time alone to get yourself ready for the next world trip, so you've earned a couple hours of R & R. And don't sweat about Donald and Goofy; they gave you the green light for your time off. They've got their hands full with the new hand on the bridge as we speak."
Wendy wondered, "New hand on the bridge? What are you saying?"
Sherria chimed, "Didn't you hear? One of ours is filling your spot while you're cozying down here in the lounge! From what a birdie told me earlier, he asked Donald and Goofy to teach him how to be pilot after we departed Traverse Town. And so far, he's done an impressive job on his first run!"
Wendy gasped in surprise, "There's a new pilot? And he's taking my place?"
Carla replied, "Just for now, until you're active and ready to fly again."
Lucy stated, "I was up there with Carla and Lisanna. We watched the new guy handle the controls with perfect timing, dodging meteors and blasting Heartless ships into space dust. He listened to every instruction Donald and Goofy gave him, and he followed them without hesitation. He's a first-time natural, if you ask me."
Sherria implied, "I wasn't with them, but they let me know of the new guy's progress. He was so inspired by the exploits of our amazing journey across the universe that he volunteered to get his hand on the wheel. He volunteered the same way you did. He wants to follow in your steps, and if fortune favors him, he might even fly with you."
Wendy exclaimed, "Really?! He wants to be a pilot, too?!" She couldn't wait to guess who assumed her place on the wheel. "Who is it, then? Who's the new pilot? When I get back up there and it's my turn to fly again, I'll be looking forward to working with this person. We'll be a great pair!"
Sherria grinned, "Oh, I know you wanna fly across the stars with the crew's latest pilot, side by side. You'll be so keen on this, and so will he!"
Wendy pleaded, "Come on, tell me! Who's with Donald and Goofy right now? Who's the pilot?!"
Sherria began, "It's—"
Suddenly, the alarm blared across the lounge, prompting every occupant to halt their present activities and look about frantically. From the cockpit entrance, they heard Donald shout out to the crowd, "Wendy! Everybody! Get up here!"
"Something's comin' this way! Y'all better come see!" Goofy followed afterwards.
"Huh?! W-What was that?" Lucy gasped.
"Are we under attack?" Sherria tensed.
"Or have we reached our destination?" Carla assumed.
"Let's go find out!" Wendy suggested. She grabbed Carla in her arms as she, Lucy, Sherria, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna raced up to the cockpit room to meet up with the others.
Gummi Ship Cockpit
Wendy would've been completely surprised at seeing Romeo taking a seat next to Goofy with his hands on the controls by the time she and the rest of the party arrived, if she hadn't fully focused on the royal knight keeping tabs on the Highwind's radar system. "We're here! What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm pickin' up multiple signatures on radar! Hundreds of 'em!" Goofy reported. "Some are big and round as a ball, and the rest of 'em are like dots on the map. And they're headin' our way!"
"Do I have to guess there are more Heartless ships?" Sherria asked.
"And you say there are big ones... Does that mean...?!" Wendy realized.
"They're flying even bigger ships?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Battleships? Like the ones we saw in Traverse Town?" Lisanna recalled.
"Sounds like the Alliance of Evil. I can think of ships at that size when I see 'em," Gray frowned.
"Yes, darling, there exists a possibility that it's their doing. We've seen more than several dark guilds capable of commandeering large battleships. Given the size of their organization, there has to more of them out there," Juvia affirmed.
"Hmph, those dark guild big shots know how to spoil our day. In this case, we best get ready to rumble," Elfman grunted.
"How do we know there are more dark guilds coming at us from out of nowhere? For all we know, the readings on the radar have got to be Heartless! Heartless don't run battleships! They're not that smart! And it's not like we expect them to come in larger groups and surround us..." Donald argued.
The entourage kept pondering the possibilities, but didn't get any farther than that before Romeo looked out the window and saw something within the blanket of stars that made his eyes go wide. "Uh, guys? You might wanna look outside..." Everyone followed his gaze, and at that instant, their mouths dropped. They caught sight of a massive number of gummi ships formed into a battalion, all consisting of various models with different shapes and sizes, each individual unit spearheaded by a dreadnought.
"I think you spoke too soon, Donald..." Wendy gulped.
"It's a... a gummi fighter battle fleet!" Goofy indicated.
"Harrowing Horaces... It's so huge..." Donald shuddered.
"Way huge! Do you see how many there are?" Sherria sweated.
"It's even bigger than what we've faced in Traverse Town!" Lucy dreaded.
"This doesn't look good..." Lisanna worried.
"Not at all. I don't know if we can survive this," Juvia breathed.
"Just our luck. A space armada getting in our way when we should've stopped at Neverland already. We've got our own business, so why don't they just mind theirs?" Gray deadpanned.
"Well, now what? We're not standing around and twiddling our thumbs all day long, are we?" Elfman questioned.
Before anyone could answer, the enemy ships readied their weapons and released a salvo of missiles and laser shots winging towards them! It didn't take long for the group to detect the incoming bombardment, and the panic escalated at an all-time high.
"HEAVY FIRE!" Romeo yelled.
"THEY'RE GONNA HIT!" Goofy hollered.
"GOOFY! EVADE, EVADE!" Donald quacked. Unfortunately, Goofy's reaction to the barrage was so slow that he barely had time to adjust the controls.
Thankfully, Romeo reacted fast, and he steered with a valiant cry, the Gummi Ship careening upward to the left as it avoided the missiles and lasers. He didn't count on some projectiles that were modded with homing functions, and as they began chasing after the Highwind, he yanked the controls and sped the ship across the vicinity. Since Goofy was preoccupied getting over his shock of almost exposing the ship to the fleet's artillery, the onus was on Romeo to take command and attempt to save everyone. With the threat of war on the horizon, he felt it was time for a real test of his budding piloting abilities. He considered it an opportunity to see if what he learned from Donald and Goofy truly paid off in this trial by fire. "I'm still new at this, but I've learned enough tricks to get us outta this jam. There's no other option... Somebody has to step up for the team. It's all on me!" His eyes narrowed with determination, "I'm not gonna let them lay a scratch on this ship! You can bet on that!"
For a short while, the Gummi Ship swiftly eluded the fleet's rampant strafing, courtesy of Romeo's skillful and highly adaptive navigation, until a missile detonated close to the engine, causing the vessel to rupture from the blast. The sudden vibration made the heroes collapse on the floor, and it even knocked Goofy off his seat. "Whooooooaaaaa!"
"Goofy!" Wendy and Romeo cried out, concerned for the royal official who bumped his back on the wall.
"Owie! That's gonna leave a mark..." Goofy cringed.
"Goofy, get up!" Romeo implored, turning from his seat urgently.
"In... In a sec... Oooh!" Goofy strained to stand on his feet while he rubbed his back.
"Get up! I need you! Who's gonna help me shake these guys off?!" Romeo frantically gestured to an approaching gummi fighter force that was moments away from engaging.
"He'll never get back there in time..." Wendy muttered, aware that the enemy ships would inflict damage on the Highwind before Goofy returned to his seat. While the current situation was growing quite troublesome, the royal knight's absence from the control panel provided some sort of window. She decided it was time to play her own part in helping the crew. As a bonus, this action would help make up for the time she lost. "Leave this to me!" She raced to the vacant co-pilot's chair.
"Wendy, wait!" Goofy shouted.
"What are you doing?!" Donald panicked.
"I'm taking over!" Wendy answered, perching on the right side of the panel and seizing the controls. A pull of the trigger, and the Highwind's main gun destroyed the enemy ships before they opened fire. "Sorry I had to miss out, but it's time I get part of the action!"
"You're takin' my place?" Goofy asked.
"They would've hit the ship before you made it back," Wendy explained. "Good thing I jumped in, or we'd be in serious trouble. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Goofy nodded.
"Rest up, Goofy. I'll handle it from here," Wendy offered.
"Okay! The ball's in your court now. Just be careful, alright?" Goofy told her. "This ain't your run-of-the-mill interstellar shootin' gallery game. It's your super intense interstellar war game! I hope you're ready, Wendy, 'cause this is the test to end all tests! It's gonna put all the steps and stops you've pulled to the ultimate test!"
"Yeah, what he said. Are you sure you're up for it?" Donald advised. "This is different from all the other practice runs you've had with us. It's your one-way ticket to real, high-flying suspense and action. You think you have what it takes to win a dogfight in outer space and make it out alive?"
"That's why I'm here. And I know I can pull it off," Wendy affirmed. "I'm a pilot, too. I'm gonna put everything you've taught me into this one! I'll do whatever I can to save everybody!"
"Good luck, Wendy!" Donald gave her the thumbs up.
"You can do it, Wendy!" Goofy encouraged.
"Yes... We can do it, Wendy," Romeo spoke quietly to himself, both excited and motivated to cooperate with Wendy in running the ship for the first time.
Soon enough, it was the Sky Dragon Slayer's turn to navigate the Gummi Ship, and in less than one minute, she eliminated the next wave of enemy vessels with little effort. Even Romeo was impressed with the way she maneuvered from her own side of the system. Then again, he knew that she learned from the best. "Wow..."
It wasn't long before more ships flew in; Wendy expected the skirmish to drag out longer, and knew she had to rely on the assistance of her fellow co-pilot. She stared out the window, facing the encroaching swarm of gummi ships, while addressing the royal court wizard, "Donald, I could really use your help right about now. We're co-pilots, aren't we?"
That comment only caused Donald to look in confusion. "But, Wendy... I'm right here."
Wendy questioned, "Huh? If you're there, then who—" Her eyes shifted to the co-pilot's seat on her left. Upon seeing Romeo taking Donald's seat, she was caught off guard, her face awash with absolute shock. "ROMEOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!" Her scream was so loud, if not loud enough to break the glass around the room. Romeo cringed at the noise, and turned to face her once his ears stopped ringing. "Y-You... You're... You're the... YOU'RE the new pilot Sherria told me about?!"
Romeo chuckled shyly, "Surprised much?"
Sherria smiled, "I had a feeling she'd leap for joy at seeing him on the wheel."
Lisanna agreed, "Obviously. Because these two are very close, and they're almost about the same age. A pair of close friends if I ever see them." Her grin widened, "Or is it a lot more than just friends?"
Sherria began, "Maybe someday they'll—"
Lucy insisted, "You can talk relationships later! We're still in big trouble here!"
Wendy couldn't contain the awe on her face as she stared at Romeo. She stammered, "B-But... But when did you... How did you... W-Why did—"
The radar buzzed, and Romeo turned his attention back outside, where the enemy fighters closed in on the Gummi Ship. "No time to explain! Gotta move!"
Wendy questioned, "What are you— AHHH!" She never finished when Romeo pushed the wheel straight ahead, hurling the vessel past the gunfire as they exploded harmlessly behind him. She could only brace herself and watch the Rainbow Fire wizard take control, the acute velocity restricting her from making a protest or even move from her seat. When the Highwind ran out of room, he dove it downward to avoid the next volley, then fired on the ships. A second group attempted to implement a sneak attack amid the floating pile of scraps, only to be consumed by grenades of explosive plasma energy at close range. Next, the Highwind rose back up to shoot down a third unit, then launched a barrage of firework-like missiles to devastate a fourth, providing a path to the first gummi dreadnought in sight. "Here goes... I'm ready for the real thing." Switching to the special weapons menu, Romeo selected Plasma Knife and began charging up the cannons to conjure a crescent-shaped blade in a vertical stance. "Lock on target, and... fire!" The knife was released, slicing the dreadnought in two, the halves exploding by the time the Highwind scurried from another incoming wave.
"Wow... Flying around and shooting down bogeys is impressive enough, but using a Plasma Knife to cut down a huge ship like pork chop is even better! These new gummi upgrades are the best! And Romeo's got 'em right!" Donald marveled.
"And I said earlier that it wasn't a shootin' gallery game! He definitely is a quick learner... Scratch that, he's the quickest learner we've ever had since Wendy. He's doin' great!" Goofy beamed.
"Carla and Lucy were right about him. This is the first time I've seen him ride the ship, and he's already amazing. Who knew he'd be so talented on his first run, even when we're presently under attack? Way to go, Romeo!" Sherria approved.
"That was quick! He took out this many in one minute flat!" Lucy breathed.
"His keen observation skills bare fruit yet again," Carla nodded.
"It's like he has a knack for this sort of thing since he first started out," Lisanna commented.
"My word, I never imagined that Romeo, of all people, would be so adapt in piloting this fine vessel, like Wendy did before him!" Juvia remarked.
"That's a gutsy move you made back there, kid. Nice shot!" Gray whistled.
"Get your man on, kiddo! It ain't over till it's over!" Elfman shouted.
As the fleet reorganized following the loss of their first battleship, Wendy remained in a state of disbelief at how quickly Romeo uprooted a portion of its strength through a seamless utilization of the ship's speed and weaponry. "How... How did you do all this? Did... Donald and Goofy...?"
Romeo answered, "I'd be happy to tell you, but it wouldn't be a proper conversation with those ships in the way, would it?" He pointed towards the fleet, "We should take care of them first. I promise you, you're in for a full explanation when we're done here."
Wendy wouldn't bring herself to argue since the threat still abided, and she put her curiosity aside. "Alright... I trust you." She looked at him for assurance, "You know how to pilot the ship like I do? Can you do just fine?"
Romeo nodded, "Uh-huh. I know most of the basics."
Wendy confirmed, "Fair enough. Listen, I know I should've talked to you first, but right now, we have to take out all these ships." She gestured to the fleet, "They'll keep attacking us unless we do something about them."
Romeo agreed, "Right. We know they won't let us by without a fight."
Wendy suggested, "If we're gonna make it through this, we'll have to work together. You and me. We're co-pilots now. Which means I have your back, and you have mine." She gripped her own controls, "Ready, Romeo?"
Romeo did the same with his. "Ready!"
Donald announced, "This is it, gang... They're doing it!"
Goofy grinned, "They're workin' together! It's their first outin' as co-pilots!"
Lisanna cheered, "I called it! They make a great pair!"
Sherria interjected, "So did I!"
Lucy cautioned, "Watch yourselves, you two!"
Carla affirmed, "I can only hope their teamwork is enough to withstand this onslaught. Romeo still needs training, yet he is able to hold his own against the fleet just now, so I suppose this will suffice. And he's not alone. He has Wendy, who is driving the ship in Donald's place, as his co-pilot. I'm already feeling a bit confident that they'll survive, perhaps even win this fight. Best to see how it goes!"
Wendy and Romeo looked to one another, then faced the rest of the gummi fleet, ready to take flight and defeat their enemies for the safety of the entourage. "Let's go!" They thrust their respective controls around the same time they cried with vigor, and the Highwind flew forth, confronting the bulk of the armada's collective power. Despite the odds seemingly stacked against them, as long as they were emboldened by their complete faith and trust in each other, the two young heroes weren't willing to yield. Not if they had their say in the matter!
Big Metal Shoe
by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams and Lamar Hall
Undeterred by the Gummi Ship's persistence, the fleet mobilized more assault units to prevent their target from sapping any more of its ranks. However, none of them proved to be a match for Wendy's experience and Romeo's versatility combined— no matter how many vessels were sent their way, they would exploit an opening before widening the cracks and then strike back. Send in ten, twenty, even thirty— they easily got blasted to bits, and not a single scratch on the Highwind's armor. The heroes actually gained the upper hand, and the action couldn't be any more fierce!
Check you out in your big metal shoe
Fighting so many kids, don't know what to do
You've got some heavy metal but big ain't bad
This little Riding Hood's just way too rad
Mirror, mirror
Who will lose it all?
Soundly whip those children
Or your cradle's gonna fall
('Cause I'm alive) Like a puppet with a heartbeat
(I'm on fire) And I'm flying off the dope sheet
(You're gonna wind) Up like that robin at your last tweet
You're heading for a fall and you're nearing the end
Like a house made of straw, no one's putting you together again
With hundreds of enemy ships wiped out, the Highwind was well on its way to cutting the head of the snake. In other words, the dreadnoughts that were issuing commands to all forces. It started down the path towards the next battleship while mowing past a barricade of gummi ships. Along the way, a handful of ships pursued the Highwind, and as Wendy and Romeo noticed that they were being cornered on all sides, they had to give each other directions in order to shoo them away.
"They're on our tail! Wendy, where are they coming from?" Romeo asked.
"Left! On your left!" Wendy answered. Romeo steered the wheel, moving the Gummi Ship towards the left. He shot down seven enemies, halting their attempt at an ambush. "Okay, what next?"
"Up! Move up!" Romeo urged. Wendy drove the Highwind upward before launching missiles at a second unit, eradicating it. "Alright, you got 'em!"
"Turn right!" Wendy cried. Romeo rolled to the right, dodging a battleship's particle beam, then took out ten gummi vessels with a plasma bazooka.
"Get down!" Romeo shouted. Wendy veered the Highwind downward, and after a quick ascent, destroyed six more ships.
"Over there! Hard right!"
"I've got it! Thanks!"
"Straight ahead!"
"Up and over!"
"Nice shot!"
"Behind you!"
"Rockets away!"
"Alright!
"Good job!"
"Nice flying!"
"We're almost there!"
"Here we go!"
As Wendy and Romeo filled the cockpit with their tag team wayfinding, the Gummi Ship had already approached the nearest dreadnought. The heroes whipped out the ship's weapons and opened fire, reducing the massive warship to an exploding, riddled mess, until finally, a blitz on the main core removed it from the equation.
Two battleships down, and six to go. The titanic dogfight was still on.
Best get nimble and you better be quick
Or I'm gonna break your bones with some stones and sticks
Run, run, run, run just as fast as you can
You better make a wish like the fisherman
Ashes, ashes
Guess who's falling down
Sparring in glass slippers
And you're bound to break your crown
(And I'm just right) Like a porridge at a nice heat
(I'm gonna fly) With the swans and show my beauty
(Gonna get popped) Like a weasel 'til you retreat
The sky is gonna fall, you'll be feeling the pain
You would be great and terrible but only if you had a brain
Donald, Goofy, Sherria, Carla, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna were nothing short of astounded and thrilled at seeing the Sky Maiden and the Rainbow Fire wizard expertly operate the Highwind as a duo, clashing against the battle fleet's towering might.
"Phew, that was a smart move! Thanks a bundle, Wendy!" Lucy beamed.
"Go, Romeo, go! This isn't the time to relax yet!" Lisanna urged.
"Give it up for our manly kiddie duo! MANLY!" Elfman boasted.
"So far, so good. I bet the others are wetting themselves at seeing how impressive these two are!" Gray smirked.
"First Wendy, now Romeo? One gifted individual does come after another!" Juvia grinned.
"Even during his first run, he has performed at a wondrous rate," Carla stated.
"Not to mention, his teamwork with Wendy is both flawless and creative! Now that's another thing to describe as wondrous, don't you agree?" Sherria smiled.
"Absolutely! Wendy and Romeo are two of a kind," Lisanna nodded.
"I wouldn't argue. They may be young, but they've got talent and a lot of heart. A fine quality in a Fairy Tail wizard," Lucy agreed.
"They're both full of surprises, aren't they?" Carla chuckled.
"Go, Wendy! Come on, Romeo! Get those palookas! Light 'em up!" Donald cheered.
"You're the best trainees we have— time for you to shine!" Goofy emboldened.
"Right!" Wendy and Romeo complied as they threw themselves back into the fray. They would not stop until they were all brought down!
Pop goes the weasel, time to defeat you
Hickory dickory, flawless victory
Carve your tail like three blind mice
Better listen up, I'm not saying it twice
Ring around the rosie, you can't oppose me
Let you know now, I'm here to take you down
You're gonna meet your end in a splendor
No more pretending, your fall pending
Your star won't twinkle, squeeze to a wrinkle
Bloody up the scene, a nightmarish fiend
London Bridge is down, you can't make a sound
The wheels on your bus have just been crushed
Eenie-meenie-my, time for you to die
Catch 'em by the toe, never letting go
No time to pray, it's your last day
A-B-C-D, you can't see me
With the battle reaching its peak, the Highwind turned to the last remaining command ship on the fleet, a round-shaped 918-0-13 Dreadnought class Reflexion. The co-pilots elected to disable the turrets, eliminate the lesser ships revolving around its perimeter, shoot an array of plasma knives to dislodge parts of the main body, and then shut down the generator.
('Cause I'm alive) Like a puppet with a heartbeat
(I'm on fire) And I'm flying off the dope sheet
(You're gonna wind) Up like that robin at your last tweet
You're heading for a fall and you're nearing the end
Like a house made of straw, no one's putting you together again
The Reflexion jolted, a yellow flicker traveling over its frame, before it erupted in a colossal bang which the Gummi Ship managed to escape from after the core was destroyed. A wave of fire spread, devouring what remained of the fleet. When the flames cleared, there was nothing left, save for a lone yellow and orange spacecraft. The battle was won! In the comfort of the ship's cockpit, the party rejoiced Wendy and Romeo's success, sharing high fives, laughs, hugs, and cries of relief. Donald, Goofy, and Sherria pulled the young pilots into an exuberant group embrace, which they didn't hesitate to return and it wasn't long before Lucy and Lisanna joined the celebratory dance. Juvia and Carla continued to applaud Wendy and Romeo's efforts, while Gray and Elfman gave each other a fist bump.
"Yeah! That'll show 'em who's boss!" Gray grinned.
"What a manly intergalactic bout!" Elfman whooped.
"Wendy, Romeo, you did it! We're so proud of you!" Donald cheered.
"That was beautiful! All the flyin' lessons we gave ya worked like a charm!" Goofy admired.
"A two-person army taking down an entire fleet. Just super!" Lucy beamed.
"We couldn't thank you both enough. You saved us all," Carla smiled.
"You aced the ship like a pro, if not a lot better than the others," Sherria implied.
"We especially liked the part where you blew up these huge ships!" Lisanna pointed out.
"You truly are wonderful, you two! We're so fortunate to have four pilots instead of three!" Juvia praised, before turning to the others. "If I'm not mistaken, Wendy's the third pilot, right?"
"Uh-huh," Donald and Goofy nodded.
"We did our math," Sherria noted.
While basking in the warmth and praise of her friends, Wendy graced Romeo with an emotional smile, which he reciprocated with his own. It was simply a lot to let skin in; one moment, they became co-pilots, and the next, they worked efficiently together in quelling an ambush by the Alliance of Evil. In the end, it was not just their knowledge and regulation of the ship's functions that ultimately won the day, but the strength of their bond, forged through the trials and hardships they endured over the course of their life-changing quest. Their connection saved everyone aboard, and it would always persevere. The fact was so solid that it made them feel more relieved than what the other party members could provide.
"Romeo... Have we..." Wendy muttered.
"Yeah. We won, Wendy. Both of us," Romeo confirmed.
"Yes... We won... We did it!" Wendy cried joyously, and she swiftly engulfed Romeo in a tight hug, the two sharing a hearty laugh as they bathed in each other's comfort. They soon pulled away, and the Sky Dragon Slayer's consolation gave way to interest. "I still can't believe that you're the new pilot. And what you did back there... that was amazing! How did you do all of this so fast?"
"You should say that I've got a keen eye and a sharp memory," Romeo shrugged with a grin. "Much like you."
"All this time, it was you..." Wendy breathed. "Why didn't you tell me that you're a pilot?"
"I'm sorry, Wendy," Romeo admitted. "I was about to tell you that I was gonna ask Donald and Goofy to teach me how to fly the ship."
"You were?" Wendy asked.
"It's the truth," Romeo explained. "After we took off, I asked them. It was my choice to be a pilot, to have my first time on the wheel. I thought it would be a perfect time to join the skippers like you did. But you were minding your own business at the lounge. I didn't want to get in your way, at least until you felt like you wanna talk to me."
"Oh, right..." Wendy realized. "I was too busy with myself when I should've asked what you've been doing up there. I honestly had no idea until now."
"I guess that makes us even for keeping ourselves in the dark, huh?" Romeo chuckled.
"Pretty much. But it's okay. I understand," Wendy giggled.
"Thanks," Romeo nodded.
"So you asked them to teach you how to fly... What did they teach you?"
"Like I said, I know most of the basics. They have yet to teach me about radar and coordinates. I still may have a few things left to learn, but with the ships attacking us, I had no choice but to use what I've learned so far to try and drive them back. And it went so well, even better with you by my side. I think it was a sign of progress that I did a fine job as a rookie pilot. You and me working together was the extra push."
"You really think so?"
"I do. And I have to admit, it felt great getting behind the wheel of this ship. It was a lot more cooler than the one I rode back in Atlantica."
"Wow, I never thought you felt so eager about this. Much like I was before I asked them..."
"Feeling's mutual?" Romeo joked, before he and Wendy chuckled at that.
"So tell me, why do you wanna be pilot?"
"Well, ever since we left Traverse Town, I couldn't stop thinking about Atlantica. Lucy said I rode that pirate ship out of sheer luck, and she was right. If only I could be better at the wheel as much as you are. That's when I decided to ask Donald and Goofy. They were more than happy to train me. I wanted to learn how to steer in the right direction. I wanted to know what it's like being at the helm. Most of all, I wanted to help everyone on this ship. After all I've been through, I couldn't imagine sitting by and doing nothing but laze around all day at the lounge anymore. For once, I wanted to do something to help you, all of you. And they agreed with me. They agreed that four pilots are better than three." Romeo held both of Wendy's hands in his own, his face brimming with sincerity. "I can even share the wheel with you, if that's alright. I'll be glad to have you as my co-pilot. We made a great team back there; we should do it again sometime."
Wendy gasped hopefully, "You... want us to be co-pilots?"
Romeo smiled innocently, "I don't see why not. I mean, if you like—"
"Yes."
Romeo looked at her with surprise. "Yes?"
Wendy couldn't stop nodding, and her voice turned happy and energetic. "Yes! A million times, yes! Yes! YES! YES!" She leapt and wrapped her arms around Romeo, shaking with glee. The idea of working alongside the boy whom she had strong feelings for was all she wanted to hear, and it sounded brilliant. Though startled at first, Romeo smiled and hugged back the Sky Maiden who squealed excitedly and swayed her legs in the air. "I'll most definitely be your co-pilot! We're gonna fly this ship together! The two of us! It'll be so much fun!"
Romeo laughed, "Oh, I have a feeling it will be. Welcome aboard, Wendy!"
Wendy teased, "Hey, I was gonna say that!" They quickly immersed themselves in a new round of laughter for a minute or two, the other heroes watching the scene with warm expressions.
Sherria cooed, "Aww, what an affectionate couple of co-pilots!"
Carla asked incredulously, "A couple? Them? I thought they're just friends! Or... are they?" She stared at Wendy and Romeo, "I hope she doesn't get any ideas, and neither should he. She's far too young for this sort of thing."
Lisanna teased, "What are you, her mom?" She snickered along with Sherria; Carla was none too amused. At the same time, though, the Exceed was worried that Wendy, in her present young age, may pursue something beyond her ambiguous relationship with Romeo. Until then, all she needed concern herself with was how cohesive the two friends were as pilots.
Goofy asked, "Hey, uh, aren't we supposed to teach Romeo radar and coordinates?"
Donald suggested, "Let's call it a day for now. He's done enough for us already, and we need some rest. If it weren't for those two, whom we picked to be our extra pilots, these jerks would've roasted us."
Lucy grinned, "We owe it all to Wendy and Romeo. They saved everyone and defended this ship. One understudy is fine, but two is a better number! And for a couple of understudies, they performed spectacularly."
Gray commented, "Even when you're young, you can still do a bunch of awesome things like driving a spaceship and taking on a battle fleet. When you're in Fairy Tail, age isn't a factor."
Elfman agreed, "Manliness is the essence of youth!"
Juvia wondered, "Really? I thought you literally have to grow from youth to be a man. Or it is just another metaphor regarding manliness?"
Lucy told Donald and Goofy, "Once again, you two are good teachers. Not just to Wendy, but to Romeo as well."
Goofy smiled, "A-hyuck, nothin' to it! Just doin' our job."
Donald winked, "They learned from the best of the best!"
Wendy and Romeo parted again and looked into each other's eyes, fueled by their aspirations of cooperating throughout the Highwind's operational period whenever Donald and Goofy required of them. The Rainbow Fire wizard spoke first, "Well, it's official. We're both partners and members of the pilots' club." He gestured to the royal officials, who nodded in agreement.
Wendy giggled, "You think you can keep up with the pros?"
Romeo smiled, "That I'm looking forward to. Say, you know about this ship more than I do. Can you teach me some of that? That way, we can work even better anytime you and I go out in the field again."
Wendy nodded, "No problem. I'll share with you my—"
At that moment, the Gummi Ship rumbled with a loud noise, interrupting what was supposed to be a respite for the entourage.
Lucy whined, "Ugh, what now?! Can't they see we're having a moment here?"
Donald pouted, "Aw, phooey. Just when things are starting to look good for us."
Wendy indicated, "I think it's coming from outside!"
Romeo wondered, "Outside? There's more of them?"
Goofy worried, "Gawrsh, don't tell me we have to..."
Wendy and her friends gazed through the window to detect a strange silhouette among the gas clouds. Soon, a gargantuan whale-like battleship colored green and purple slowly drifted out from the stellar dust, accompanied by a new fleet of gummi ships, one more massive and fifty times the size of the one that had been destroyed previously. Marked on the behemoth's sides was the Sleepy Hollow emblem, and with its superior size, it already overshadowed the heroes, who were out of breath seeing such a warship of that magnitude.
There was silence for a couple of seconds until Donald screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes widening into round orbs. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF WALT DISNEY IS THAT?!"
Goofy had the same expression. "IT'S SO HUGE! HUGER THAN HUGE! SO HUGE I CAN'T TELL WHAT'S REALLY HUGE NO MORE!"
Wendy recognized, "It's... a battleship! And a gigantic one at that!"
Romeo breathed, "Holy... I've never seen one this massive before!"
Wendy sweated, "M-Me neither..."
Sherria tensed, "And it's not alone. It's brought lots and lots of friends along!"
Lucy exclaimed, "Lots and lots?! You mean... we're facing another gummi battle fleet?!"
Lisanna stuttered, "I... I think so. And it's the biggest one yet! And I mean, ridiculously big!"
Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Lucy cried altogether, "RIDICULOUSLY BIG?!"
Gray guessed, "Given the size of that thing, it must be the leading ship."
Juvia dreaded, "Whatever it is, it's extremely larger than Monstro!"
Wendy, Romeo, Donald, Goofy, Sherria, and Lucy screamed, "LARGER THAN MONSTRO?!"
Jiminy was sitting in Wendy's shoulder as he bemoaned, "Oh, goodness me... And I thought he's the biggest fella I ever saw with my own two eyes!"
Donald whimpered, "I think I'm going to faint from stress..."
Goofy shivered, "T-T-There's too m-m-many of 'em... And that b-b-b-big s-s-ship..."
Gray scoffed, "Tch, what a pain in the ass. Wendy and Romeo should've pulverized one space fleet and then we're outta here. And now we're going toe to toe with an even bigger one?"
Juvia complained, "It's not fair! Monstro may be a terrifying force to be reckoned with because of his overwhelming size, but he only pales in comparison to the size of that... that... GOLIATH of a battleship! It could easily overpower him at this rate!"
Elfman gritted his teeth, "Gimme a break! Monstro's a freak of nature! The biggest, baddest, toughest mammal we know! There's no way he could possibly lose to that overly overgrown floating battery!"
Lisanna gulped, "Well, we don't want to find out when it happens, don't we?"
Lucy shuddered, "This is crazy... It's like Ursula and Oogie Boogie's giant forms rolled into one!"
Elfman insisted, "On top of that, the kids already took down the fleet, meaning we should be in the clear by now!"
Carla theorized, "Apparently not. Wendy and Romeo may have only just defeated a small fraction of their forces. I fear this is the fleet's full might— the fleet in its entirety!"
Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Elfman, and Gray gasped, "The entire..."
Donald, Goofy, Lucy, Lisanna, and Juvia yelped, "...FLEET?!"
Lucy moaned, "Oh, great! Don't tell me we have to get past every single one of them, including THAT one!" She motioned to the mountainous battleship in command of the gummi fleet.
Gray huffed, "As if we can deal handling one more small party of spaceships... We don't even catch a break before more come in so we can blow 'em to pieces!"
Sherria worried, "This is not good. We might need more than one ship with their own dynamic team of pilots like Wendy, Romeo, Donald, and Goofy to take on this many!"
Romeo interjected, "Wait a minute. If what we fought was just a small piece of the fleet, then why were they in hiding before they sprung up?"
Wendy guessed, "Maybe they expected us to come here. It has to be a..." She paused as a grim realization dawned on her. "...a..."
Carla finished, "A trap?" She paid close attention to the emblem on both sides of the colossus, and she let out a horrified gasp before frowning in confirmation. "It IS a trap! Wendy, do you notice the emblems on the sides of that ship?" She pointed a paw out the window, "I think we all know what it represents!"
As Wendy and company traced Carla's direction, the revelation of what the enormous warship belonged to hit them as hard as a Large Body's belly. "Sleepy Hollow..." Wendy's fists clenched upon registering who masterminded the assault. "Kaze!"
"Kaze?!" Donald, Goofy, Sherria, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna exclaimed.
"She planned this? She sent all those ships to attack us?" Romeo questioned.
"We've seen that emblem more than once as we visited other worlds," Carla pointed out. "Guilds are represented by these kinds of emblems, and it's no surprise that Sleepy Hollow has one."
"Who would've guessed that giant battleship is Sleepy Hollow's?" Sherria snapped her fingers. "We all know an emblem of that shape and color when we see it!"
"Impossible!" Juvia protested. "How could a mercenary guild under Maleficent's payroll have the resources to buy or even create a vessel of such absurd proportions?"
"They must have way too much money to afford something like that," Gray assumed.
"Why in the whole wide universe would they ever want to buy something so freakishly huge?" Lisanna wondered.
"For a guild of hired guns, they've really thought ahead," Elfman commented.
"Whatever the case, there's no denying that it's property of Sleepy Hollow," Carla affirmed. "Wendy, you said we might be falling into Kaze's trap by the time we approach Neverland." She gestured to the fleet, "What if this is the trap she laid out for us?"
"If this is the trap, then..." Wendy's eyes widened. "That must mean we already made it to Neverland! Maybe the reason she sent that fleet is because she's trying to stop us from landing there!"
"Hold the phone! Are you saying we're that close to Neverland?" Donald blinked.
"That would be my guess," Wendy replied.
"She's right! These coordinates indicate that we're just a few clicks away from the world itself!" Goofy analyzed the readings.
Once again, the group gasped. If the coordinates weren't wrong, there existed the strong possibility of tracking the Jolly Roger as soon as they disembarked. With high expectations, they would storm Captain Hook's pirate ship, rescue the Fairy Tail hostages, and undo Kaze's ambitions. "We... We made it?" Romeo seemed to be the most elated, for once he set foot on Neverland, he may finally have a long-awaited reunion with his big brother figure.
"From what Goofy says so, yes. I think we're close now," Wendy answered.
"YES! We made it!" Romeo cried excitedly. "We're in Neverland! We're here!"
"Technically, we're several clicks away," Donald corrected. "But yes, we're here."
"We're finally here? Well, that's some good news. It's about time!" Elfman smirked. "And I thought being backed to a corner by the biggest armada in the galaxy was the only piece of news that's anything NOT good!"
"We're closer to Neverland, right?" Lisanna asked hopefully. "So the Jolly Roger's got to be in there, along with Natsu, Happy, and Mira! We—" She was cut short by an urgent beep coming from the radar.
Goofy moved over to check the signal, and as he looked into it, his face turned pale. "Um, fellas? Before we make our landing, who's gonna stop that?"
Wendy asked, "What do you mean?"
Goofy answered in a distressed voice, "Another big ship's comin' at us!"
The rest of the party exclaimed shockingly, "ANOTHER BIG SHIP?!"
As the readings flared up, the unidentified object emerged from the same interstellar fog and made its presence known to Wendy and the gang. To their surprise, this was no gummi model, but rather, a large barque with three masts, one enforced by an azure barrier made up of fresh oxygen. Though obviously nowhere close to the size of Sleepy Hollow's floating fortress, the Ichabod, it was considered bigger than regular gummi fighters. Needless to say, Goofy's reaction at seeing the new vessel was as comically overwrought as his last. "AAAAAAHHHHH! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! THERE'S ANOTHER HUGE SHIP LIKE THE ONE WE JUST SAW! IT'S GOT A BUDDY! A BUDDY!" He turned to the others and waved his arms in a frenzied manner, his face wrought with trepidation. "ABANDON SHIP! ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP! EVERY DOG, DUCK, AND FAIRY TAIL MEMBER FOR HIMSELF! RUN, EVERYONE! RUN FOR YOUR—"
Donald slapped the gullible royal knight in the face with his hat before putting it back on. "Quit gawking, you dope! That's a pirate ship! It's different from all the other ships. Pirate ships can't live up to that mega-jumbo lump of metal there!" He pointed a thumb at the Ichabod.
Goofy double-checked to ensure his eyes didn't deceive him. "Huh? A pirate ship? Since when do pirate ships fly out in space?"
Donald pointed out, "If life has taught has anything throughout this whole adventure, it's that anything is possible. For example, how did Kaze and her crew afford enough money for that I-can't-believe-it's-bigger-than-Monstro spaceship?"
Wendy muttered, "Pirate ship... in space... I think it's..." She gasped in surprise, as she thought back to her last discussion with Mirajane back at Traverse Town. "The Jolly Roger! Captain Hook's ship! Mira said it's being powered by a special magic that allows it to fly through space and let everyone breathe air outside, so it has to be it!"
Donald quacked, "WAK! So the flying pirate ship..."
Goofy finished, "...is really the Jolly Roger?"
Wendy insisted, "It must be! That ship's different from the others. It's gotta be the one!"
Sherria interjected, "Did you mention it's made from strong wood and has sails?"
Carla realized, "If this is indeed the Jolly Roger, then that means—"
Romeo suddenly exclaimed, "NATSU! We finally get to see him again!"
Lisanna added excitedly, "And Mira! Happy, too! They're all aboard this ship!"
Lucy cheered, "Alright! Imminent danger doesn't count, but we're getting somewhere! We found the Jolly Roger at last!"
Juvia clarified, "Actually, it found us. We just got here."
Elfman whooped, "Now we're talkin'! Let's go crack that ship wide open! We're comin' for ya, Big Sis!"
Carla protested, "Wait! We can't just approach the ship directly while the fleet is still out there, not to mention the potential threat of Sleepy Hollow's colossal battleship! It's too risky!"
Elfman asserted, "Desperate times call for drastic measures, kitty cat. If anyone's raring to go buck wild for who you love, I'm down!"
Sherria interrupted, "Hey, guys? You do realize that pirate ship's making a beeline for us, right?" True enough, the Jolly Roger was charging towards the Highwind at a greater velocity; a new wave of terror and panic instantly swept the cockpit.
Gray yelled, "It's gonna ram us! Hold tight!"
While the party members cried out in fear and braced themselves for the collision, Wendy was quick to respond. "Romeo!"
Romeo didn't hesitate to join her again on the control panel. "Right!" The two friends jerked the controls, hoisting the Gummi Ship high into the air moments before the Jolly Roger contacted its bulky exterior.
"That was close!" Sherria breathed. "Nice save, Wendy, Romeo. We almost got bulldozed for a second there."
"We won't let anything happen to this ship. Not on our watch!" Wendy promised.
"You can count on us. After all, it's what Donald and Goofy trained us to do," Romeo agreed.
"Your personal flight instructors, at your service!" Donald saluted.
"We couldn't have asked for a better pair of extras," Goofy chuckled.
"Is everyone okay?" Wendy asked.
"Yes, Wendy. We appear to be safe for now," Carla replied.
"Unless someone else wants to join in," Romeo mused.
He couldn't be more right, as hundreds of gummi ships sprung from the fleet and united with the Jolly Roger for an indiscriminate assault on the Highwind!
"Crap! I said it out loud! I just had to say it out loud, hadn't I?" Romeo growled.
"Uh-oh... Now we have plenty more ships to deal with!" Wendy dreaded.
"Hang on, guys! Things are getting sticker!" Romeo shouted. Indeed they were, if it weren't for the villains who spearheaded this venture.
Jolly Roger: Deck
The pirates watched and hollered with excitement as missiles and lasers and space mines hounded the Gummi Ship's every move in its struggle to survive the unfair advantage forced upon the heroes by Captain Hook and Kaze Viriniam, the latter recently assuming command of the immense fleet of dark guilds. She stood beside Hook at the helm, along with Crane and Mr. Smee, the three examining the current state of the uphill battle. She gloated, "Not so stony to make the first draw when the shooting starts, are you, Blueberry? I wager you don't have it in you to shoot down this plain old sailboat, knowing I'd sink along with it. You don't wanna shoot me, because you really miss me. That's fine, because I wouldn't want to shoot down your sailboat, either! We can't sink each other's ships for the sake of this wonderful friendship. But hey, you better strap your seatbelt tight; we're bringing the fireworks. What a way to kick off the party with a bang!" She made a finger gun gesture around the same time an explosion rumbled above. "Come on, girl. You can make things easier on yourself if you quit buzzing like a housefly and let the rockets fly. Adds more fly to the prelude, don't you know? Fly, robin, fly!" She laughed at her joke, "But seriously, hold still. We're taking you in. The pyrotechnics won't kill you, but they're not gonna tickle, either."
Smee grinned, "Splendid! A fireworks celebration in the stars is the perfect way to celebrate our departure of Neverland after Cap'n Hook butter-sided Peter Pan to small smithereens with that magic bomb, Miss Viriniam. The crew hasn't been happy in years, you might say, and neither has our Cap'n." He motioned to Hook and everyone else present on deck, "Brings back the good ol' days when we was leadin' a healthy, normal life. Scuttlin' ships, cuttin' throats... The crew was gettin' a might uneasy back then. That is, what's left of it. Well, Pan is gone for good, and we're free to put to sea, see? We're leavin' this mess behind us. All our troubles, all our cares... Yes, Neverland is our home world, but we's had a bad history there. Trouble's always brewin' on that island. That's when Cap'n suggested we ought to leave. Everyone and meself agreed with him. Neverland ain't no place for a respectable pirate. And owin' our thanks to otherworldly technology, who needs sailin' seas when we can sail stars? It sure sounds wonderful!"
Kaze eased, "Don't get too excited, Stripes. We're heading out, alright, but on official A.O.E. business. The looting and throat-slitting vacation you and your shipmates oh so long for comes after."
Hook barked, "Quiet, you two! Can't you see I'm watching our invincible, indomitable dark guild fleet overwhelm Wendy Marvell and her friends for their continued insolence? Their fates are sealed the moment they arrived here before us. Well, this time, we'll make them understand their folly. We'll teach them a lesson in humility, break their spirits so they'll never have to bother us again. They'll pose a threat to us no more!" He pulled out a telescope, "A pretty sight, isn't it? We'll pot them like sitting ducks!"
Kaze smirked, "And fine ducks they're gonna make. That battalion we dispatched was only the amuse-bouche. Now's the main course!" Placing her hand on her earpiece, she checked the transmission signal connected to virtually every gummi ship on the fleet, then gave her order, "All gummi vessels, set your weapons to stun. Disable the Highwind and shut down its engines. When the ship's down, bring out every single passenger and deliver them to the Jolly Roger. I want them all alive, you hear? Under no circumstances are you allowed to destroy that ship. Is that clear? Set weapons to stun. Stun that Highwind, no matter what!"
A collective of voices answered on her earpiece, "Yes, Master Viriniam!"
Hook put away his telescope and bellowed to the pirates, "Open fire on that piece of junk!" He pointed his hook at the Gummi Ship, as it was stuck between evading projectiles and shooting any vessel that came too close. "An extra ration of gold doubloons to the lucky man who blows it out of the sky!"
Kaze snapped at Hook, "I said STUN, not blow it up! Didn't you hear me?! I want them all alive!" She groaned in annoyance, "Geez, you people are so hard-headed. What's a girl to do to keep things in order?" She touched her earpiece and conveyed a new message to the fleet, "This is Kaze again. Engage the Highwind if you have to, but don't destroy it. I repeat, don't destroy it. And I expect no passenger casualties! I don't care what you do— just stop. That. Ship!"
Smee observed the Gummi Ship's maneuvers through his own telescope, then called to the pirates setting up a large cannon positioned in front and tilted upward. "Building block ship ahoy! Man the Long Tom, and..." He put fingers into his ears and closed his eyes, "Fire!" There was a loud boom, and a cannonball streaked out towards its mark.
The Highwind veered right at breakneck speed, retreating from a pursuing unit right after it gunned fourteen surrounding ships with missiles. It barely had time to react to the cannonball that scraped the side of the hull, the shockwave knocking several party members off their feet. Wendy and Romeo remained glued to their seats, though the hit and the subsequent quaking added to the pressure. "Hey! Where's the shot coming from?" Romeo questioned.
"The Jolly Roger! It's firing at us!" Wendy spotted the pirate ship unloading another cannonball straight out of the Long Tom. "LOOK OUT!" With no time to waste, she spun the Highwind out of the projectile's firing range, only for the crew to be pelted by more enemy vessels.
"EVASIVE ACTION!" Donald yelled. The Gummi Ship vigorously underwent this recent and much perilous aerobatic exercise, even when some parts suffered minor degrees of damage. The Jolly Roger shot more cannonballs, a few detonating close to the fleeing ship's body.
"Gangway!" Goofy shouted. Three plasma knives were released, obliterating a platoon of fifty ships. A couple of bombs to ravage a nearby battleship's artillery, a charge to set up in the main core, and a quick getaway to exploit after the explosion.
"Grrr! This is bad! We won't last a minute!" Romeo gritted his teeth. "Our ship's got the best in heavy-duty weaponry, but we'll easily get blown into space dust before we destroy them all!"
"It's never easy, is it?" Wendy despaired. "No matter how many we take out, more will come. And they'll probably keep coming at us until we're done!"
"This is insane! Why won't these jerks leave us be?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"They're practically messing with the wrong guys!" Gray snarled.
"We're in big trouble here..." Lisanna uttered.
"C'mon! A real man wouldn't back down from a challenge!" Elfman hollered.
"What do we do? Getting stuck with an intergalactic armada complete with an impossibly huge space fort and a floating pirate ship is three million times the disaster!" Sherria cried.
"There may be one option to get the fleet off our backs: reaching Neverland!" Carla proposed.
The whole group gasped. Wendy asked, "Reach Neverland?"
Juvia exclaimed, "That's absurd! They'll shoot us down before we even get there! What you're suggesting is practically suicide!"
Carla stated, "Yes, I'm aware of the risks. But this may be the best way. If we can get past the fleet until we land on the world's surface, we'll have plenty of time to recover there, and strike back if we could."
Sherria confirmed, "In other words, we're running into a brick wall and then getting over it."
Carla nodded, "That's the idea. I know we're facing certain death, but we have no other choice. We must push our way through until we arrive at Neverland."
Romeo wondered, "Are you positive this is gonna work?"
Carla insisted, "It has to! Must we waste our time and energy fending off against a seemingly limitless number of ships? All the more reason we have to move before they finish us off! But are we willing to take that chance?"
Wendy and company knew first hand how vast the fleet was, and that Carla made a valid point. They wouldn't think twice about fighting to the last drop of energy in order to win an arduous battle, but sometimes the easiest option was to go their way around while they still had plenty to spare. The co-pilots smiled at their Exceed companion's idea.
Wendy decided, "Alright, let's go. We'll make our way past the fleet until we get to Neverland, then we land there. That way, we'll be safe."
Romeo affirmed, "This may be risky, like you said. But we'll take those odds! Wendy and I are not just co-pilots, but proud members of Fairy Tail. No matter what the odds, we always come out on top every time."
Wendy agreed, "That's right! We've done this thing before, and we'll do it again."
Romeo declared, "We'll face whatever comes our way together!"
Elfman grinned, "Yeah, there's that Fairy Tail spirit, kids! Keep it up!"
Lisanna encouraged, "We believe in you! We always have!"
Juvia shrugged, "No point in delaying the inevitable, I suppose. It's time for the young pilots to shine again."
Carla confirmed, "It's settled, then." She informed Wendy and Romeo, "Don't bother trying to engage the rest of the fleet. Just fly your way through. And be careful!"
Wendy and Romeo nodded, "Got it!"
Donald asked, "Wendy, Romeo, you still want to pilot the ship? You look like you've done enough already."
Goofy offered, "We can switch places. The least we can do is give you a break and do our best to get us outta here."
Wendy replied, "No, we're good. It's okay. We'll handle it."
Romeo quipped, "We took out a fleet that's less bigger than this one. How is taking on an even bigger fleet any different? What could go wrong?"
Goofy agreed, "He's right, Donald. Have our extra pilots ever let us down?"
Donald shook his head, "Of course not! They're still the best extra pilots this crew's got. We can always depend on them when the occasion calls for it." He turned to Wendy and Romeo, "Okay, then. We'll let you have your turn on the wheel one more time."
Wendy smiled, "Thanks, Donald."
Romeo promised, "We won't let you down."
Sherria cheered, "Good luck again, co-pilots!"
Lucy assured, "As always, we're putting our faith in you."
Gray advised, "Just don't go about making this a habit."
Having prepared themselves for this next test of their piloting skills, the two young pilots executed another synchronic thrust of the controls. The Gummi Ship soared deep into the heart of the blockade, the rabble of dark guilds and the imposing shadow of the Ichabod never far behind.
On the Jolly Roger's quarterdeck, Kaze, Crane, Hook, and Smee witnessed a rapid fire of burning puffs lighting up the sky a few inches from the ship. The hook-handed pirate was quick to assume that the fleet's forces had already stopped the Highwind, and laughed to himself. "Ha! Who said that bringing out our entire collection of dark guilds to ensure my safety in Neverland was a terrible idea? A silly flying toy ship cannot hold a candle to a superior fleet of ships in the vast starry yonder, and now Marvell is meeting a swift and decisive end! Exactly as planned!"
Kaze, however, knew better than to accept Hook's hunch was correct. "Huh. If it ended so fast, she would've—" A colorful streak suddenly passed by the side of the deck, emitting an intense rush of wind that caused everyone abroad to scream and take cover. As she looked up, she turned around to see the Highwind had moved past the Jolly Roger at lightning speed. Snarling, the Sleepy Hollow guild master faced Hook and pointed to the escaping vessel behind him. "Step on it, Hook!" He seized the wheel and spun it around, steering the ship into the direction the Highwind was heading. Accompanied by arrays of dark guild ships, they began chasing after it.
Taking Carla's advice to mind, Wendy and Romeo's priority was not the complete annihilation of the armada encircling Neverland's outer perimeter, but flying to the world itself in an attempt to shake the enemy off their tails. If necessary, they would have to eliminate any craft or dreadnought that stood in their way, and each successful hit bought them seconds or more to stall for time. It was a hectic, hair-raising obstacle course through a plethora of ships as the pilots flipped whatever switches or levers required to forge a safe and narrow path, all the while avoiding pursuers and deadly blasts as long as they could. The Jolly Roger took the lead in the fleet's dogging effort, its special OxyMagic Space Engine installed beneath the deck allowing it to fly faster than any of the classic gummi models. The Highwind flew forward, moving high, low, left, right, far, and wide— anything to get away from the angry mob of vessels. So far along the path, over six dreadnoughts and more than four hundred fighters were destroyed.
The Gummi Ship kept gliding across the fleet until they finally came closer to Neverland's surface— the city with the big clock tower, and the tropical island with three rainbows. A clean landing, followed by a safe refuge, was close at hand.
Wendy beamed, "Guys, we found it! It's Neverland!"
Romeo cheered, "We're almost there! We're gonna make it!"
Donald quacked, "Yes! Yes, we are!"
Goofy encouraged, "Keep goin', fellas! Keep goin'!"
The rest of the entourage chattered out, "Come on! Here we go! Wendy, Romeo! We're almost there! Don't stop! Keep going! Go for it, Wendy! You can do it, Romeo! Go, go, go!"
"It's headed for Neverland!" Kaze reported. "If she reaches the atmosphere, we'll lose her! We need some bridge work ahead!"
"I'll take care of this!" Hook declared. With a decisive twirl of the wheel, the Jolly Roger halted its advance and assumed a sideways position, the ports on the gun deck opening to reveal more cannons. "Broadside cannons! Fire!" The ship opened fire dozens of cannonballs aimed directly at the Highwind.
Most cannonballs missed their mark, but one managed to lodge its way into one of the engines, blowing it up. With that action, the Gummi Ship was gradually losing speed. The impact rattled Wendy and her friends just when they thought success was within their reach.
"Aaaah! We're hit!" Wendy panicked.
"Now what?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"They shot one of our engines! We're slowing down!" Romeo cried.
"They got us on the run! I don't think we'll get there in time!" Sherria worried.
"Wendy, Romeo, keep flying!" Carla implored.
"We're getting closer! Come on, hurry!" Gray shouted.
"We're trying, but we're losing speed! The engines aren't responding!" Wendy answered.
"Get it together, Wendy! We need to keep going!" Romeo urged.
"Ah, phooey! First we're under attack by a huge fleet, now we're running out of gas?!" Donald whined.
"What could be worse than losin' steam?" Goofy asked nervously.
"Ha-ha-ha... Bullseye! Nice work, Jimmy. Now to wrap this up." Kaze watched the Highwind's loss of speed through a set of binoculars. "Crane?" She put them away to face her right-hand man, her expression formed into a smirk. "It's time to bring out the goods." Crane smirked back as he conjured up a magic screen keyboard and began typing on it. Things were going smoothly according to the Dark Vixen's design, just the way she liked it.
The Jolly Roger flew past the damaged Gummi Ship and turned around to align each other's bows, blocking the path to the world's surface. It now became a standoff between one vessel vying to make a landing, and the other affording to prevent it.
Gray glared, "It's that pirate ship again! I bet it's the one that fired on the engine."
Lucy noticed, "The Jolly Roger! Is it trying to stop us from landing on the surface?"
Juvia implied, "Evidently so. As are all ships wanting to blow us apart!"
Donald shouted, "That does it! We better blast that stupid pirate ship to pieces! C'mon, Wendy! Let 'em have it! Bust its rump!"
Wendy protested, "No, we can't! Mira and Natsu are in there!"
Lisanna agreed, "She's right, Donald! We can't fire on that ship! They'll...!"
Elfman growled, "Damn... Those punks put us in an unfair, unmanly advantage."
Goofy dreaded, "We can't move on without blowin' up that there ship, now, can we? We know Mirajane and Natsu are aboard; if we shoot it down, they go down with it! They're toast! We'll never rescue them like this!"
Carla hissed, "Curses! Isn't there some way to save our friends without destroying that blasted ship?"
Just then, Romeo stared out the cockpit in confusion. "Huh? It... stopped!"
Sherria gasped, "It's gonna ram us again?"
Romeo responded, "I can't tell. It's blocking our way, and yet... it hasn't budged. It's not even doing anything. No cannonballs, no sailing, nothing."
The others grew perplexed as well. Wendy questioned, "But why is it trying to stop us from landing there? Shouldn't it just take us all out and be done with it?"
As if to answer her question, the monitor suddenly lit up with static. "Fellas! We're gettin' an incomin' transmission!" Goofy reported.
"Patch it through!" Donald told him. The captain of the guard nodded as he approached the computer and pressed a button. Within seconds, the noise cleared to give way to a voice, one which Wendy recognized all too well.
"Hey, Blueberry! Glad you decided to join the party! Too bad you're missing the all-you-can-eat buffet! But don't worry... We're doing party games next!" Kaze's message ended with a playful, enthusiastic laugh.
The horror on everyone's faces was evident, Wendy's even more so. She whispered, "Kaze...!"
Romeo frowned, "So she's the one behind all this..."
Carla snarled, "I knew it was a trap from the very start!"
Lucy stated, "The fleet's only a piece of her ingenious plan..."
Gray snarked, "Somebody's gonna get pounded for making us fall for that trick."
Sherria questioned, "Then... what about the transmission?"
Soon enough, the static disappeared, and in came a sight that gravely dismayed Wendy and her companions. It was the visual of two of their dear friends from Fairy Tail, captured and at the mercy of a cold and disciplined squadron of Sleepy Hollow wizards. It was Mirajane and Happy! The groaning Take-Over wizard was savagely beaten like a sick dog, her body bound in chains, while the teary-eyed Exceed was gagged, tied up in ropes, and had his tail clamped to a wrecking ball. Ultimately, they were both prisoners aboard the Jolly Roger, with a Sleepy Hollow minion grabbing Mirajane by the chains and raising her up for the group to bare witness.
"MIRA!" Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Elfman, Lisanna, Gray, Lucy, and Juvia yelled in horror.
"Happy...!" Though he was spared the brutal punishment, seeing him captured like this almost made Carla's heart stop.
"Oh... my..." Goofy couldn't believe his own eyes.
"Those heartless jerks! What did they do to deserve this?!" Donald quacked furiously. "Wendy, we gotta do something!" He heard no response, and he started to look confused. "Wendy?" As he looked at the Sky Maiden's mortified face, his puzzlement turned to worry. "Wendy!"
Wendy paid no mind to Donald's concerns; she merely stared at the screen in wide-eyed shock, her mind jumbling with a possible theory behind Mirajane's downfall. Not long after Sleepy Hollow's successful attack on the Fairy Tail guildhall, Mirajane formulated an elaborate strategy to outwit the Alliance of Evil amid the time she was 'held hostage'. She entrusted Elfman and Lisanna to convey a communication lacrima over to Wendy, so she would provide her and the others some sensitive information on the Alliance's plans. Also, Ursula claimed that Maleficent used her evil sorcery to hypnotize Mirajane into being a servant for the villains, but the fact that her Take-Over Magic made her highly resistant to dark ailments beckoned otherwise. Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Lucy suspected that the eldest Strauss sibling was feigning servitude to the council in order to learn more of their sinister schemes. All in all, she remained the brave, smart, and loyal person they knew, one who was willing to fight the good fight for her Fairy Tail family and many others that suffered the Alliance's wrath. Everything was going well... until at some point, Kaze rained in on Mirajane's parade and subjected her to acute torment, rendering her the broken heap she was now. It became apparent to Wendy that the She-Devil's ruse didn't last long, and thus had been exposed to the eyes of the enemy. She then perceived a scenario even worse than being thrust into Kaze's web of intrigue. Something that made the Sky Dragon Slayer's skin crawl with terror.
Wendy said in a shuddering whisper, "She... She knows..." Her voice grew alarmed and more louder as she turned to the rest of her friends. "She knows! Kaze knows!"
Donald quacked, "Wak! Kaze?!"
Goofy asked, "What does she have to do with it?
Sherria added, "And what do you mean, 'she knows'?"
Wendy explained, "About Mira! Kaze's onto her!"
Elfman blinked, "Kaze? She's onto Big Sis?"
Lisanna questioned, "What are you talking about?"
Wendy reasoned, "Don't you see? Mira's been digging out information on Maleficent, the Alliance of Evil, and the Princesses of Heart before sharing it with us. We keep in touch with her using the lacrima she sent us."
Carla nodded, "Yes, so? What are you getting at?"
Romeo gasped, "Wait... Don't tell me... Has she..."
Wendy replied, "That's what I mean! Kaze must've found out that we've been contacting each other in secret! She must've known all along that she's been helping us behind the scenes! Right under their noses!" Her panic rose, and her heart was beating rapidly. "She's onto her! She's onto us! She KNOWS! And now she's gonna use her against us!"
Everyone else yelled in complete disbelief, "WHAT?!"
Kaze couldn't hide her amusement at seeing the heroes' skeptical expressions taped on an astral projection connected through the Highwind's computer, courtesy of Crane's Archive. She especially liked the part where her minions set them an example of her superiority. "Well, isn't that nice? You're very clever to discover the fruit of this grand celebration I've hosted for just such an occasion. The bad news is, Blueberry, you just left yourself wide open!" She then called with a loud shout, "NOW!"
Crane declared, "Acknowledged! Now preparing the Jolly Roger's special weapon!"
The crew stood clear from the center of the deck as it split open into a giant hatchway, allowing a metal barrel ten times lengthy than the Long Tom to steadily extend from it. Vast clusters of energy swirled and coalesced around the end of the barrel until they concentrated into a single sphere, the electricity sending jolts along the sails. During the process, the personnel in charge of the cannon outlined its present status. "Cannon set! Magic Energy output secure!" "Gummi-lacrima synchronization locked in!" "Target sighted! Ready to engage!"
Crane ordered, "Magic Focusing Cannon Jupiter... Fire!" In a massive boom, the cannon shot a powerful energy beam at the defenseless Highwind.
"AAAAAHHHH! BIG LASER! IT'S HEADIN' RIGHT FOR US!" Goofy freaked out.
"WENDY! ROMEO! EVADE! EVADE NOW!" Donald hollered.
"PUNCH IT, WENDY! IT'S COMING THIS WAY! MOVE! MOVE!" Romeo yelled.
"No use! Engines are down! We can't—" As the Jupiter blast came closer, Wendy's eyes popped wide. "WATCH OUUUUUUUTTTTTT!" In the midst of the group's tightening hysteria, the beam scraped the Gummi Ship's belly, causing it to explode. Lightning danced across the body of the ship where the blast struck, including in the cockpit, where the surge overloaded the system. Before long, the Highwind made a scorching hot descent into the world's atmosphere, spinning through the clouds like a drill, and making the heroes tumble and fall about the place while they screamed their heads off and held onto each other for dear life.
"CRITICAL DAMAGE! WE'RE GOING DOWN!" Donald exclaimed hysterically.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE! SOMEBODY HOLD ME!" Lucy sobbed comically.
"HOOOOOOOOOLD OOOOOOOOOON!" Gray shouted desperately.
"BRACE YOURSELVES, BOYS AND GIRLS! WE'RE IN FOR A VERY BAD LANDING!" Elfman bellowed, hugging his frightened little sister in anticipation for the expected crash-landing.
"FASTEN YOUR SEEEEEAAATTT BEEEEELLLLLTS!" Goofy screamed, looking for something to grab on even with the rampant gravity in the cockpit.
In the end, the ship dove headfirst into the open sea, making a huge splash before re-emerging from the surface as a floating, inoperable lump of metal. Everyone aboard was saved, but they were knocked unconscious when the vessel impacted the water.
"Master, we have a confirmed visual," a Sleepy Hollow wizard reported to Kaze, presenting her the footage of the Highwind's crash site on a screen tablet. "The Highwind has resurfaced in the ocean. It appears to be out of power when it took the shot from the Jupiter Cannon."
"And everyone on that ship?"
"We're now sending in a force to investigate the crash."
"Excellent," Kaze grinned. "Retrieve the passengers and bring them aboard the Jolly Roger. Throw them all in the brig, except for Wendy. I wanna speak to her on deck. She's our guest of honor, and we're only just getting to the start of the main event."
"At once, Master," the wizard nodded, and he left with the tablet.
"This is Kaze Viriniam to all dark guilds," Kaze announced through her earpiece. "Cease fire and resume your surveillance of Neverland's outer perimeter. If you see any intruding vessel, you have authorization to shoot them on sight. We're proceeding to Phase 2." She switched off the communication, then faced Crane with an energetic beam. "Duck season's over! We owe it to the best Earth-land souvenir anyone can ask for!" She gestured to the Jupiter Cannon, which was now lowering back into the hatchway before it closed up. "We needed some mementos of our former world, and collected only the best. Who would've guessed that this Jupiter Cannon can be your trusty friend in the hunting game?"
Crane pointed out, "The weapon was heavily damaged when we salvaged it from the remains of an airship owned by the defunct Grimoire Heart dark guild. After the guild disbanded, the Magic Council confiscated the ship. Extracting it from the vault was no small feat." He cast an Archive screen containing a sketch of the cannon's design, "Normally, it takes fifteen minutes for Jupiter to fire a fully-charged magical blast, but with the advances of gummi technology, we can do it in only half the time." He made the sketch disappear.
Kaze remarked, "One single shot is enough to crumple that Highwind model into a plastic bottle drifting in the ocean. It's safe to say we didn't ruin the environment with a single piece of junk. Still, isn't it our responsibility to make the environment clean and smooth like a banana smoothie I drink every Sunday? The hardest part of the job is the recycling. But no beating around the rush; the labor is what makes the hard part worthwhile. And the reason I'm getting hyped for this recycling business today is because we have plenty to stockpile. Now that the junk's out of the trunk, there's room for us to sit up front. Let's get to stockpiling!" She crossed her hips as she addressed Captain Hook and the rest of the crew, "Ahoy, mateys! Our business high in the sky is done. Let's return to Neverland and rendezvous with the team that will fetch Wendy and her friends. The fleet's handling everything else from here." She clapped her hands, "Move it, people! Time to land! We're going back down!"
The pirates and Sleepy Hollow wizards, including Mr. Smee, all responded and did as they were ordered. "Aye-aye, ma'am!"
"Show-off..." Hook grumbled at Kaze's bolstering speech with a slight glare. He seemed rather disturbed that she had the audacity to once again give orders to his own crew without his consent. Despite himself, he spun the wheel, and the Jolly Roger was on its way back to the waters of Neverland.
Kaze's blood boiled with excitement at the thought of reuniting with Wendy for the first time since Monstro. Her lips curled into a devilish smile. "I'm back in the playground again, Wendy. And this time... no screwups."
NEVERLAND
Wendy didn't know how long she was out, only that the back of her neck stung when she came to. Giving off a weak groan, she sat up and shook her head free from whatever drowsiness she had left. "Wh... Where...?" As she stood up, she slowly registered her new surroundings. "I'm... I'm in the Jolly Roger!" Faced with the discovery that she was on the deck of the ship that attacked the Highwind earlier, she walked along the place in search of her friends. "Romeo? Donald? Goofy? Guys!" Not a single soul occupied the deck to answer her call, and she started to feel concerned. "Where is everybody?" By the time she stepped in the middle, she was suddenly ambushed by a pack of Pirate Heartless, their swords raised menacingly at her. "Heartless!" Next, the ship's original crewmates burst out of their hiding spots and advanced on the lone Keyblade wielder, armed with their guns and knives. "And... pirates?" The deck was no longer desolate, and it flourished with an audience of bloodthirsty buccaneers. "Well, that doesn't look good," Wendy grimaced. "I'm gonna have to fight them!" She made a backstep to create some distance from the overwhelming number of pirates while pulling out her Olympia Keyblade, expecting an all-out brawl to escalate...
"Avast, ye Blueberry! Let me be the first to welcome ye aboard the Jolly Roger, be there finest starfaring vessel in yonder the seven starry seas! Arrgh..." A familiar voice worked an attempt at a stereotypical pirate language before it laughed and cleared its throat. "Forgive me if I don't sound pirate-y enough..." Wendy gasped, and she turned to find a certain someone up on the quarterdeck with her dark pink hair and her usual cockiness. "...but I knew you'd come find me here, Wendy. Now that we can get this awesome festival up and rolling!"
"Kaze!" Wendy recognized.
"Good to see you again, Blueberry," Kaze greeted. "I bet you're wondering what I've been doing in my 'extended leave of absence'. Three things:" She raised three fingers, "A couple of business arrangements, some changes in management, and a girls' night out. I needed to tie up some loose ends in the Alliance before going back to work. To the point, I've been kinda busy."
"I should've known you'd do something like this to bring me here," Wendy narrowed her eyes.
"On the contrary, I just gave away the invitation," Kaze stated. "I wanted you to come, and I expected you to say yes, because we're both dying to see each other again. It's been burning in our hearts and minds since our first playtime. And now here we are."
"This was all a setup, isn't it?" Wendy asked. "Another one of your tricks?"
"Oldest in the book: hook, line, and sinker!" Kaze beamed. "Let's be honest, this recent heartwarming reunion between us wouldn't have come true if you hadn't received my message from Crane, my adjutant in Sleepy Hollow."
"Crane? He's your..."
"Adjutant, confidant, financial advisor, image consultant, a trusted member of my inner circle, yadda yadda yadda. As you've already noticed, I sent him to lead the dark guild invasion force into Traverse Town. We confirmed it through a signal we picked up from your ship."
"So that they would pick me up and deliver me to you..."
"Bingo! A shame all the heavy hitters except Crane never made the trip back home, but at least you got the message, right? You were gonna refuse to come along quietly, and would prefer to meet with me on your own, anyway. That's fine, 'cause it's more entertaining that way! I kinda hoped you'd take the long way by yourself than being escorted. Still, I knew I could trust Crane to be the deliver boy, the same way I trust my Horsemen to deal with the mother lode when I couldn't do so with my own ten fingers."
"What about the fleet? Is this your doing, too?"
"Including the Ichabod and this ship you and I are standing on?" Kaze gestured around the ship, then to herself. "You said it! Me and one other, we're both in charge of this operation!"
"The Ichabod... That's the name of that enormous ship we just saw?"
"Uh-huh. The Ichabod is the pride of my guild, our colossal floating masterpiece. Once upon a time, this baby could fly us anywhere in Earth-land. But with the magic of gummi technology, it can fly us anywhere in the universe! Tell me, were you and your friends so stunned at catching a first glimpse of its bewitching, eye-popping, and incredibly huge-as-heck design that your jaws dropped on the floor?" Kaze chuckled.
"A little bit... And we know it's way bigger than Monstro could ever be," Wendy admitted.
"With the Ichabod's sheer size and massive firepower, we can easily turn that whale into a mountain of tuna. What do you say about that? It's about time you realized that Sleepy Hollow isn't your plain, run-of-the-mill mercenary magic guild, don't you think? Never judge a book by its cover!"
"Well, I..."
"But statistics aren't important right now. Let's talk about how I came up with this highly coordinated strategy to drag you out in the open and into our turf. The idea was to bring you over to Neverland by any means necessary."
"I knew it... This was all your doing..." Wendy said indignantly. "Why, Kaze? Why did you have to attack Traverse Town just to try and draw me out? All these people in the streets, the people who have supported my lost Fairy Tail friends... When our world disappeared, they helped us. They wanted to help us when we couldn't find our way back home. They provided shelter and hospitality, then you and Crane were putting them in danger!"
"You expect me to confess?" Kaze quipped. "I knew you'd react and still swoop in as the cute little heroine I know and love. You haven't changed one bit. I hope you stay that way. It suits you."
"Why did you even use the fleet against us?" Wendy demanded. "You should've just asked Crane to inform me that you were waiting for me in Neverland instead of trying to force me to go there by invading the town. Then again, you should've just tracked me down yourself!"
"I wanted to, but the big sneeze made it impossible for me to maintain my schedule," Kaze confessed. "You see, I had to take a long shower after the whale rudely slopped me in his big, smelly drool, and then I made some alterations to the list. Don't be so surprised, though. I'm only following the schedule. Except my method was a lot more efficient."
"I should've seen that one coming..." Wendy muttered.
"Yet you fell for it, anyway," Kaze taunted. "Were you so focused on tracking me down that you let yourself get swamped by our ginormous gummi fleet? How cliché! You must've known by now that I'm a resourceful girl, Wendy. Normally, it's the best quality of being me."
"Enough of this!" Wendy snapped. "You didn't have to stoop that low to get me! I'm right here, aren't I?! I'm what you want! So stop what you're doing right now—"
"And let's get down to the fun and laughter! Oh, yeah!" Kaze cheered. "Now there's the response I was waiting for!"
"No! That's not what I meant!" Wendy argued. "Listen, I don't want another fight between us. We don't have to fight! Can't we just calm down and talk to each other? Settle things peacefully? I wanna know for certain, about the special bond between us, about you and me going way back when we were young. Please, Kaze..." Her expression turned pleading, "Let's at least talk! Let's talk stuff, just the two of us!"
"Heh, still running the fantasy parade, aren't you?" Kaze smirked. "It's funny you should bring up our special bond, because I was taking a very long nap back at headquarters. I've been having dreams about you and me playing together in some forest in the middle of who knows where. Surprisingly, in those dreams, you and I were kids. But I don't know exactly when we had fun in the wild green."
"You... You were having dreams, too...?" Wendy gasped softly. Considering the fact that Kaze was the girl she saw in her visions, she had expected the latter to recount her own experiences, and that was the confirmation she needed.
"Honestly, it's like going back in time for us both," Kaze commented. "We explored the forest, relaxed in the grassy fields, tumbled down the hills, stayed up all night gazing at the stars above, listened to bedtime stories as told by a nanny before falling asleep, ate fruits, fish, and fresh meat, did exercises, made a house of cards, and so on... It's hard to count the fun times we had, really. But they're still fun. Then suddenly, the peaceful scenery changed. We had a heated argument concerning dragons and Dragon Slayer Magic. Not just any argument, but one that's between you, me, and a funny-looking dragon with white feathers." That added to Wendy's growing shock. "I don't know what our deal is about Dragon Slayers, but the debate was so solid, it almost drove me insane. Made me mad with envy, hatred..." The Dark Vixen trailed off for a minute, "...revenge... I was the most critical of the bunch. The most incensed. The center of attention for pretty much the whole drama." She added with a shrug, "But who am I kidding? They're just dreams. Dreams usually come at random, you know what I mean? Sometimes I'm a little girl, sometimes I hang out with you, sometimes I see dragons, sometimes we talk Dragon Slayers..." She chuckled slightly, "I've had dreams crazier than those. Us being best friends since childhood? I don't think I've ever known you my whole life. We first met at Earth-land, remember? Since then, I'm hopelessly attracted to you like a magnet. I knew from the beginning you'd make the perfect playmate. I think that's what you meant about the bond tying us together. But sad as it is to say..." She took a deep sigh, "You don't look familiar to me. I don't know you at all."
"You and I WERE best friends!" Wendy exclaimed in realization. "We played together in the same forest! And that dragon you mentioned, the one with white feathers... You were talking about Grandeeney, weren't you?! We were both raised by her, an actual dragon!"
"Huh?! A dragon... raised US? Why would a dragon ever care for two kids, especially you?" Kaze asked incredulously. "And you said her name was... Grandeeney..."
"Because she taught us Dragon Slayer Magic!" Wendy stated. "Grandeeney took us in when we were little. She was our mother! She took care of us, she protected us, she trained us to be Dragon Slayers! And you weren't just my friend— you were like a sister to me! We were family!"
"For the last time, I DON'T KNOW you!" Kaze suddenly lost her temper. "I never met you when I was young! You weren't even in my memories! We were NEVER friends a long time!"
"But you were having dreams about us being friends, same as me!" Wendy asserted. "You told me so! Don't you see, Kaze? It all makes sense! I know you, and you know me! For some reason, we both forget that we knew each other, and then all the memories come back to us piece by piece! We've gone through the same thing!"
"The same... what?" Kaze asked warily.
"It's not too late, Kaze!" Wendy reasoned. "We can work this out! Please, let's just stop fighting and talk! About who we were! About who we used to be— best friends, Sky Dragon Slayers, Grandeeney's own children!" Her desperation grew, "Kaze, please...! I don't want us to fight again! I'm thinking maybe we can be..."
"FRIENDS?!" Kaze bellowed. "When will you ever learn that we're not—" Her mind flashed with random visions of her lost past before she finished her sentence. She cried out as she staggered backwards, holding her forehead in sharp pain. She tried to empty her mind from unnecessary thoughts, tried not to think, or remember, or feel...
Grandeeney graced Wendy and Kaze with the comfort of her benevolence... They were a happy family, looking towards an idyllic future... The two students were perfecting their own styles of Sky Magic... A pillar of heavenly light descended on the younger pupil instead of the elder one, cementing her place as one among the seven... The flames that consumed the forest lit up the sky... Kaze, overtaken by the dragon's bloodlust, attempted to take the lives of her own mother and little sister... An emotional Grandeeney invoked a sacred incantation that led to Kaze's banishment to the depths of darkness... And the last thing she saw was Wendy's face, laden with tears, wracked with misery, mourning the departure of her beloved friend...
Kaze let out another agonized shriek, and she grasped the side of the quarterdeck with one hand, her face buried in the other. The aching kept persisting, as if the images attempted to shove themselves into her brain through her skull.
Wendy stared at the dark pink-haired youth expectantly. "Kaze?"
Kaze looked back again, her heart thumping wildly as though she had taken part of the horrific events. Her face turned paler than normal, and much angrier. A low growl strangled her throat, then it evolved into a roar that manifested as a dark purple gust of wind, though not nearly the size of a regular breath attack. Wendy yelped, and she jumped back to avoid the spell before it hit the floor.
As she regained herself, Wendy looked more surprised than she was before. Another piece of evidence of her uncanny bond with Kaze had just revealed itself. "It's a Dragon's Roar... But not just any roar— Sky Dragon's Roar!" At that moment, her astonishment turned to exhilaration. "I KNEW it! It's REALLY you! You ARE the one! After all this time, it was YOU!"
Kaze spoke through clenched teeth, "Nice try, cuz..."
Wendy cried, "Kaze, you're the girl I can't remember! The girl from my past! You and I, we're both Sky Dragon Slayers! We're best friends from a long time ago! We're—"
"Stop!" Kaze silenced her, lifting a hand as she quickly smothered her anguish with a new positive attitude. "Can we drop the subject and save it for when we get down to the real business? Don't want to kick off the finale prematurely by having you light my fuse this instant. For now, let's talk about how we have you right where we want you."
Wendy began, "But—" She squeaked when the pirates and Heartless drew their weapons in front of her face, growling viciously.
Kaze grinned, "You can convince me a hundred times, persuade me as many times as you like, and it won't matter. Nothing's gonna stop me from squeezing you like a rubber ducky. I admit, I got carried away when you distracted me with your sweet talk back inside the whale. But not today. I won't fall for your tricks again. My mind's as sound as sugar!" She knocked on the side of her forehead for emphasis, "Now are we gonna focus, or are we're just wasting our valuable limelight giving each other headaches all night long? If I get one more, I'd collapse, and those Pirate Heartless would walk all over me on their way to the bathroom!"
Wendy raised an eyebrow, "Heartless can go to the bathroom?"
Kaze clarified, "It's a figure of speech. Heartless don't pee or poo. Their only appetite is hearts, and they don't stop no matter how much they eat."
Wendy asked curiously, "Oh, really?"
Kaze continued, "Anyway, don't you wanna hear that I'm on a joint venture with my good pal, Captain James Hook?"
Wendy echoed, "Captain James Hook... You mean the owner of this ship, the Jolly Roger?"
Kaze nodded, "And a member of our leading council, yes. I've been with the good captain on a special assignment. He's the one who commissioned our dark guild forces to set up the Neverland blockade, which is half of our awesome plan to trap you, by the way. Seeing as this is his ship and we shot yours out of the sky, we had you and your friends shanghaied. And by shanghaied, I mean forcing you aboard a vessel using underhanded tactics. Uh-huh, we did just that after we brought down your ship. But we mean everyone no harm. Yet."
Wendy wondered, "Where are the others?"
Kaze smiled coyly, "Emphasis on 'others'. I know how much your friends mean to you. Please don't be mad at me for taking them away and leaving you here on deck by your lonesome. I'm only making a point across. If you're really worried about them, well, I don't blame you. But if you're so incredibly PO'd that I snatched them from you, then I guess the party's over and we're going back home." She added sarcastically, "Oh, woe is me. Woe is me! What to do? That aside, are THESE TWO the others you're asking for?" She moved over, showing the captive and powerless Mirajane and Happy crumpled on the ground beneath her feet, overseen by Sleepy Hollow guards.
Wendy screamed fearfully, "MIRA! HAPPY!"
Still worn out from the relentless beating she endured as punishment for her defiance against the Alliance of Evil, Mirajane used what little energy she had to raise her head and take a glance at the Sky Maiden. "W... Wendy..."
A Sleepy Hollow grunt removed Happy's gag to make his sob-filled voice clear enough to listen. "Wendy... Please... Help us..."
Wendy shouted at Kaze, "What have you done to them?!"
Kaze answered, "All I was doing was chastising them for ratting out on Maleficent and our entire Alliance. They can't keep secrets forever, so don't blame me!" She chuckled a bit, "Isn't it ironic that I'm not the only live bait on the boat? There's more where that came from!"
That remark confirmed Wendy's worst fears; Kaze may have indeed seen through Mirajane's ruse and attacked her. Desperate to save both the S-Class wizard and Happy, the Sky Dragon Slayer made a dash for the quarterdeck when a silver hook blocked her path. She screeched to a halt, and turned to face the man whom Kaze had partnered with. "Not so fast! No shenanigans aboard my vessel, girl."
Wendy gazed at the appendage before making her assumption. "You must be Captain Hook!"
Hook smirked, "Yes, Miss Wendy Marvell. A pleasure most rare to finally meet you in person. It is I, Captain James Hook. The world's most famous crook, now the most famous crook in all the worlds!" His loyal crewmates cheered in approval.
Kaze rolled her eyes in amusement. "Keep telling yourself that, hot stuff."
Hook warned Wendy, "Now, me dear, you would be wise to show me and me crew the proper respect, lest you suffer as they did!" He motioned his hook towards Mirajane and Happy, who were getting pushed to the front by Kaze's minions so Wendy could see them up close.
Happy whimpered, "Wendy... Help us... You must help..."
Wendy uttered, "Wh... What happened to you guys?"
Mirajane could not help the guilt and disgrace that aroused within her. She told Wendy that she would assist her in defeating the Alliance of Evil, vowed that she would never fall victim to the villains' power as the rest of her Fairy Tail comrades had. And she failed miserably. She let out a small cough as she gazed down at the mortified Sky Maiden. "I'm sorry, Wendy. I'm so sorry..." She waved her head at Kaze, "She was onto us... She... She found out..." Tears streamed down her face, "I'm sorry... I just... I'm sorry. I really am... I did my best... I did everything I could to help you... but it wasn't enough. I couldn't stop her... And now, it's all ruined..." She lowered her head, unable to look Wendy in the eyes. "I let you down... I let everyone down... Forgive me..."
It broke Wendy's own heart to see her friend wallow in despair. "Mira..."
Kaze remarked, "I gotta hand it to her, the mole's got moxie using her position to dig her way into the upper echelon and feed classified information to the fairies that flew away. If only she kept quiet and obeyed us like she was supposed to, she wouldn't be my scapegoat."
Putting two and two together, Wendy faced Kaze in a blend of shock and outrage as she asked, "Tell me, how did you know it was her?"
Kaze gasped in a mocking manner, "Oh, I'm shocked, Miss Keyslinger! Mirajane's a Fairy Tail collaborator working to sabotage us, and you don't have a clue? I thought you and she were in cahoots! I mean, do I have to list out some of the things she's been doing that made your ultra fantastic adventure work better on your account? Let's see here..." She counted her fingers, "Communicating with you and your team through a magic lacrima connection, divulging some of the Alliance's inner workings, enlightening you with the purpose behind our grand operation with the nine Princesses..." Her eyes narrowed, "Trying to kill me."
Wendy's eyes widened, "Kill you?"
Kaze explained, "I'm talking about her sad, unlucky bid to cover her tracks by taking me out of the picture, right here in Neverland." She pointed downward, then let out a soft laugh. "Mira thought she was one step ahead of me just because she's the almighty She-Devil, that she's smarter and more clever than I am. How wrong she was! It's so embarrassing she didn't realize that I stepped ahead first!" She laughed again, "Typical of Mira, so unbearably and impressively predictable. Not at all what I expected from a Fairy Tail wizard pretending to be Maleficent's hand-picked commander of our wide dark guild collection."
Wendy didn't anticipate hearing that specific part of Kaze's tale. "What?!"
Kaze commented, "You know, I'm surprised she never told you what really happened to her after we invaded your guildhall. Though I understand why she was plotting to tear the council down to the last foundation after all the power, the prestige, the recognition we so generously bestowed her. Do you?"
Wendy questioned, "She's... a member of the Alliance of Evil?"
Kaze answered, "Was. Until I discovered that she was never loyal to us at all. You see, after we captured your guild, Maleficent asked for an S-Class wizard among your ranks to serve as a general and mediator for our seemingly limitless dark guild armies. The position required someone who befitted the qualities of a strong, independent, and intelligent leader. And who would fit the bill nicely but the She-Devil herself?" She gestured to Mirajane, "Maleficent knew she wouldn't cooperate, so she used her magic to brainwash her. But then I found out that she was immune to the brainwashing thanks to her Take-Over Magic. I didn't realize it at first... until the whale." She gritted her teeth, "My plan was to pit her against you so I could hit you where it hurts, to test your loyalty to both your Disney pals and Fairy Tail. Regretfully, she didn't have the guts to stick to my plan. She downright refused to play along, and she abandoned me."
Wendy gasped in surprise, "Wait... Is that what you were trying to do inside Monstro? You tried to have Mira fight me?!" The fire in Kaze's glare was answer enough, and she stared up at the Take-Over wizard. "So that's what you meant about a member of our guild who thought we turned our backs on them. We didn't know she was brainwashed at the time when she really wasn't."
Kaze continued, "Sometime after that, Mira returned to the Jolly Roger and kept playing the double-agent role. Then Maleficent paid her a visit and unintentionally..." She made an air quote at the word, "...imbued her with a portion of her sorcery— a new Satan Soul Take-Over that not only boasts incredible magic power, but a special ability to summon and manipulate the Heartless at will."
Wendy asked curiously, "She got a new Take-Over... from Maleficent? And she controls the Heartless now?"
Kaze replied, "Through Satan Soul: Dark Fey, the latest dress in her demon closet? You know it."
Wendy breathed in amazement, "Wow..."
Kaze stated, "The Heartless would've swallowed her heart if her Take-Over Magic hadn't made it resistant to such overwhelming dark power. It's way too strong and too pure to surrender to darkness, almost like the Princesses of Heart. And the fact that she's an incorruptible force makes me a little jealous, I wish I'd get some of that juju so I can properly control my own dark power. I'll go voice my complaint after this is over and done with."
Wendy nodded in confirmation, "So we were right all along... Mira did more than just help us stop Maleficent and the Alliance of Evil. She was actually working undercover! We knew she wouldn't turn bad. We just knew it! She's still the same! But the part where she received a new Take-Over here at Neverland? I swear, I had no idea!"
Kaze crossed her hips with a grin. "Brilliant deduction, Blueberry. You're sharper than what she lets on. Which brings us to the last chapter of this amazing bedtime story I've written, where I confronted Mirajane aboard this ship. It happened long before you arrived here. We had one heck of a brawl all over the place. She almost squashed me like sour grapes with her ridiculously dynamic Take-Over Magic, taken up even higher with Dark Fey. She was a tough cookie to gnaw my teeth on, she even kept up with me when my Dark Drive's at its maximum level!"
Wendy blinked, "She did?"
Kaze nodded, "Yeah. Pretty crazy, huh? She was really tough. But then, as if by a miracle..." She hammered a fist into her open palm, "POW! The She-Devil's wings just got clipped! I've finally put an end to her attempt at an uprising within this Alliance, and now I'm cleaning up the mess she made by assuming control of every dark guild we have left. And I lived happily ever after... Well, more or less! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Wendy's face paled as she understood the truth about Mirajane's failure. "You found out... and then she lost... She couldn't beat you... Are you really that strong?!"
Kaze quipped, "Am I pointing out the obvious, Detective Squeaks? Didn't you know I'm the hardest acorn off the tallest tree? It would've been a simple lesson for you to learn if you were there watching the action, putting too much of your hopes up with a living wardrobe of demon clothes. While we slugged it out on the island, Mira told me that Fairy Tail wizards like yourself always find a way to bring down a tougher enemy. Finding a blind spot, exploiting a weakness and stuff. I respect that fiery dedication you Fairy Tailers have. Really, I do. But she forgot to check my health certificate, which clearly stated that I have no weakness in my game. None whatsoever. I'm not just strong— I'm a billion, trillion times strong. She did put me through a world of hurt during our fight, though. But in actuality, it was the opposite. The thing is, I was playing her the whole time. I let her take the lead, fooled her into thinking she was in control. I bid my time. I was patient. And like a thief in the night, I snuck into the barn and ripped the horns off the bull's head. That's what happens when you live in the moment too much. That's what you get for being so smug. On a side note, she should've used her Take-Overs to destroy me, not just break me. She left off the finishing touch, and she put herself in a bind. Talk about bad karma!" She knelt down to Mirajane's level, "And if I were her, I'd be ashamed that an adorable little angel melted a fearsome, form-shifting devil into ice cream at the end of the day. Yippie for you." She gave the white-haired woman a teasing clap before standing back up, "Let's face the facts, Wendy. No matter what creature big or small, no matter the circumstances, I'm always one step ahead. The moment I step into the game, it's not theirs to win— it's mine. And I have absolutely zero problem with removing one pawn or more off the board."
Wendy exclaimed angrily, "Mira has nothing to do with this!" She eyed the two hostages on the quarterdeck, "Let her go! And Happy, too!"
Kaze asked slyly, "Excuse me?"
Wendy repeated her demand, "You heard me! Let them go! NOW!"
Kaze laughed, "Let them go? But these two are gonna be our co-stars for our main event!" She gestured to Mirajane and Happy, "Just think of all the ratings we'll get! Your cuteness and my cunning, together with their helplessness, will make this show we're putting together a smash hit. We're giving the folks something to remember— a jaw-dropping, heart-pumping performance! You know, some people often go so far as to accuse geniuses for crimes like assault and trafficking, but there's no one who can blame this genius for punishing the traitors, for mobilizing the dark guild fleet, and for setting up Mirajane and the cat as bait to reel you in. Following the script is a good thing, but at times, we have to improvise to make the show look cool. Mira saved me the trouble of having to fix what went wrong in this organization. For all the trouble I've gone through, Maleficent was very kind to promote me as master of operations. I'm nothing short of honored for being given this important position. It wasn't easy for me to formulate such an ambitious project, but I promise you that we'll all start singing and dancing when the curtain rises."
Wendy glared, "And what makes you so sure this new plan of yours can work?"
Kaze assured, "It will work. Because you have no choice. I said I have zero problem with removing any pawn from the board, and believe me, I'm ready to do it!" She clutched the back of Happy's neck and hoisted him in the air, making him squeal in terror.
Wendy shouted, "Happy!"
Happy screamed hysterically, "WENDY! WENDY, HELP! HELP! HE—"
"Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh..." Kaze whispered, covering his mouth with her other hand. "It's okay, furball. I won't bite. We're only doing this for giggles. Don't be nervous. Just stay calm and stick to the cue cards, 'kay? Good boy." Though still shaking with fear, he was persuaded to keep silent.
"Put him down, Kaze!" Wendy demanded.
"On the other hand, I could hand them over to you and let you get back to your merry Fairy Tail quest," Kaze told her. "But as you can see, I'm serious. And now it's all up to you. All you need is a little incentive to come at me."
"What do you want?" Wendy gritted her teeth.
"I want you to play with me. It's quite simple," Kaze bargained. "Give me the fun I want, and I'll surrender Mira and the cat. But one false move and they go..." She removed her hand from Happy's mouth and drew a Soul Eater Revolver with a ball of fire forming over the barrel.
Wendy's eyes widened in alarm, and she screamed, "NO! STOP!"
Kaze shot a Meteor Bullet that struck the floor mere inches from a startled Mirajane. The crew flinched at not only the size of the magic projectile, but the loud nose it made when it hit. "AAAAAAAAAHHHH! SHE MEANS IT!" As for Happy, his paranoia relapsed the moment the Sleepy Hollow guild master emphasized her threat.
Wendy couldn't believe what she saw. She knew Kaze was a devious, ruthless strategist with a terrible obsession to fight her. She would do anything to have them battle each other, but was she willing to threaten the lives of two innocents just to pressure her?! She narrowed her eyes at the arrogant Dark Vixen as a seething expression took shape, yelling, "STOP IT!"
"Wow, I'm getting you all riled up, huh?" Kaze taunted. "You probably wanna do something, don't ya? Maybe throw a punch? Maybe hit me with your Keyblade? Ha-ha-ha, what I wouldn't give to get this cute little wild animal over here to come swing at me..."
"SHE'S GONNA KILL US! SHE'S GONNA—" Happy yelled at the top of his lungs, only to have his mouth covered again.
"Happy, no!" Mirajane cried.
"Leave them alone!" Wendy warned, swinging her Olympia for a battle stance. Her rival's cruel actions almost tempted her to get revenge for her friends' attempted murder.
"You see, Blueberry? That's the point of this wonderful stage play we're having!" Kaze elaborated. "You are the knight in shining armor rescuing the princess and her cat from the evil sorceress. If you deviate from the script or act out of place, I'll feed them to the sharks. Simple plotline, no? Or I can just kill them off right now."
"You're bluffing!" Wendy argued.
"I told you, princess, it's all up to you," Kaze asserted. "That's how it works. You either fight me for their lives, or watch as I snuff them out."
"No... I don't think she's bluffing!" Mirajane worried.
"Help... Help... Help..." Happy muffled tearfully.
"I've really put you through a lot, haven't I?" Kaze smiled. "I'm saying this because I'm your best friend; they always know which buttons to press!"
"You...!" Wendy's anger neared boiling point.
"Wendy, don't listen to her!" Despite the chains around her body, Mirajane rose slightly from the floor to snap the Sky Maiden out of her vexation. "She's just trying to provoke you! Do that, and you'll fall right into her hands!"
"I know..." Wendy sighed deeply as she calmed down. "I should've done something... I saw you and Happy right there. We all did. I just can't stand it if you're in trouble like this."
"I'm really sorry, Wendy," Mirajane apologized. "If I paid more attention and watched my own steps, Kaze wouldn't have found out that I was leaking information on the Alliance of Evil— that I was providing you aid on my end." Her regret settled in once again, but not with the same sorrow as before. "This is all my fault. I wish I could've done better, then none of this would've happened..."
"It's okay, Mira. You couldn't have known she was gonna find out. None of us could've known, either," Wendy understood. "But don't worry, I'll think of something! I'll find a way to get us all out of here! I promise!"
"I trust you, Wendy," Mirajane nodded. "I'll think of something, too— Aaahh!" She was cut off when Kaze's underlings dragged her away.
"So what's it gonna be, Wendy?" Kaze asked. "Their fate is in your hands. Or, to spice up the show, I'm thinking we should bring in the rest of your entourage. How about we draw a lottery to see who auditions first? Will it be Romeo? The royal stooges? Your white cat? Either way, the stage could use plenty more actors besides Mira and Natsu's furry sidekick. The more company we have, the spiffier the stage gets!"
"Where are the others?" Wendy didn't like the idea of her teammates being drawn into Kaze's ultimatum. And then the mention of a certain fellow Dragon Slayer struck a chord in her. "Where's Natsu?!"
"Well, aren't you perceptive?" Kaze grinned. "If you're looking for Natsu, he's locked up in a special cell we made just for him and a few others. But I wouldn't take you to see him right now. He's taking a nap, and he mustn't be disturbed at this time. Why don't you come by later? But if you'd like to make an appointment—"
"Natsu IS here! He's on this ship!" Wendy exclaimed. Motivated by this confirmation, she gave Kaze an adamant glare. "Thanks for the tip, Kaze. If you'll excuse me, I have to go save him and everybody else here. And then we'll stop you together!"
"You stop me? I'm flattered," Kaze chuckled. "But don't assume that I was portraying the role of a mastermind drawing up a blueprint in the comfort of an intergalactic cruise without reason. From the goodness of my heart, I'm simply giving you the privilege to exist in my world. A world where things are less complicated. Where girls can be girls, butter is churned, and berries are blue." She failed to notice that she inadvertently detached her fingers from Happy's lips. "Where anthropomorphic cats like yours and Natsu's are the new black. I mean, how wonderful is a kitty plushie?" At that moment, the Exceed bit on her index finger, and she winced from the slight pain. "OUCH!" He bumped the back of his head against her chest, allowing him to break free from her grip and tumble to the floor. "What the—"
Not wasting this small window of opportunity provided by Happy, Mirajane shoved herself with all her might onto Kaze's body, slamming her to the ground. She then yelled out, "NOW!"
Happy likewise hollered, "GO, WENDY! GO!"
The Sky Maiden hastily focused her magic into her legs and made a straight pounce towards the quarterdeck. "I'm coming!"
"Not so fast!"
Wendy paid no heed to the menacing growl that stagnated the air, and was prepared to attack the distracted Kaze with her Keyblade when a torrent of ethereal electricity sprung from a red vortex that appeared before her. The jolts stunned her in midair, and before long a spiked chain ball hit her square in the stomach, drawing a massive intake of breath from her mouth. She peered through the abyss well enough to detect her assailant, and as the figure leapt out of it, she recognized him as Wrecker Xalemon, the Mad Demon of the Headless Horsemen. "Master Viriniam isn't the only one you need to worry about!"
"Wrecker?!" Wendy couldn't hide her surprise.
"We meet again, Wendy Marvell! The raging demon within me has hungered for this day!" Wrecker rapidly slugged the young Keybade wielder with his spiked ball in a 16-hit combo, the last hit sending her high in the air. "I owe you MUCH for my humiliation!" He discharged a hundred Doomsday Jolts to keep her airborne, and jumped up to deliver a Megaton Crush and a Rolling Thunder to hammer her back down to the ship.
A second portal identical to the one Wrecker came from popped up at Wendy's side, and out emerged Diva Ferham, Sleepy Hollow's self-proclaimed fashionista, who was chaperoned by her personal array of Divaroids. Wendy was shocked to see her as well. "Diva?!"
"Hello, Wendy! Did you miss me? Nothing personal, honey; I'm just following orders. You made it this far, but I'm afraid this is the end of the line!" Diva snapped her fingers, commanding her Divaroids to assault Wendy in a Glamorama Flash which she eluded in spite of her waning dexterity from the damage Wrecker dealt earlier. When the furious fusillade settled, she seemed ready for a counterattack, never to realize that she had been ensnared in an encircling maw of Cherry Bombs secretly conjured beneath her feet. "You say stop, but I say GO GO GO!" The Aeon Spirit Wizard clenched her fist energetically, detonating the bombs. The ensuing round of explosions blasted Wendy up past the ship's mast.
Next, a spiraling white comet streaked out of a third portal from the ground and struck Wendy in the back. The crystal-shaped ambience dissipated to reveal Silver Ornithurae, the leader of the Horsemen and master of the Ten Birds of Prey. Wendy performed a quick aerial recovery in time to cross the Olympia with his Falcon Lance. "Silver!"
"There is no escape this time, Marvell! Your constant meddling in our affairs ends tonight!" Silver and Wendy engaged in a brief but spirited clash with their respective blades. The aerial dance lasted until he executed a Falcon Tempest that not only breached a Stun Impact, but smashed her in a total of fifty hits. "The Ten Birds of Prey shall tear you asunder as penance for your transgressions! Justice! Is! ABSOLUTE!" He invoked a second Falcon Comet, constantly walloping Wendy at lightning speed. Silver ended the combo by launching a salvo of Silver Rays that sent her pummeling to the deck.
The last Horseman to arrive from the same vortex was Zeppelin Borock, the Machine of Death whose left arm had converted into a Laser Gun, his right arm a Rocket Launcher, his hips mounted with Hadron Blasters, and his back supplied with two Grenade Launchers and two Burning Big Bang Turrets. Amid her descent, Wendy gazed down at the psychotic Maker wizard entering the fray. "Zeppelin!"
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you again, Wendy! Shall we celebrate our reunion... with a BANG?!" Zeppelin pulled the trigger, and his Hybrid Weaponry swiftly decimated the Sky Dragon Slayer by the time she touched the floor. While she did avoid most of the explosions and gunfire, some managed to connect, allowing the rest of the ammunition to overwhelm her in short order. "Cry, babies, cry— you better run for your life if you can, princess, because you just called down the thunder! Are you ready for the boom?" When he ceased fire, Wendy dropped wearily to her knees. Zeppelin proceeded to digitize his arm weapons and combine them into a Stark Hadron Cannon. "The lightning will come down and leave you SPLAT!" He released a gigantic proton laser at Wendy, who hastily snapped out of her stupor and rolled away from the blast radius. Once the attack flew by the deck and rocked the ocean in a massive splash, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, she had little time to recuperate as all four Headless Horsemen loomed over her with their dominating presence; given how moderate her injuries were, she appeared to be at a disadvantage.
While her Sleepy Hollow minions went to restrain Mirajane and Happy in order to prevent further mishaps, Kaze stood back up and glanced at her four top henchmen with a proud smile. "I see you all took your time, didn't you?"
Mirajane recognized, "I know them... They're the Headless Horsemen! A team of Sleepy Hollow's most elite wizards, and Kaze's personal guards!" She gritted her teeth in anger, "Somehow I get the feeling she brought them here, knowing Wendy would try and retaliate..."
Happy protested, "You're kidding me! She had to bring them here, of all places?"
Kaze overheard the two and turned to face them. "I'm so glad you noticed that Wendy isn't the only insightful person in this relationship. With friends like these, who needs do-overs?"
Happy exclaimed, "You mean you've planned everything right from the get-go?!"
Kaze winked, "Hey, we geniuses always have a backup plan, Fluffster. You should know that by now."
Happy sweated, "Okay, you do make a solid point there."
Mirajane admitted, "Kaze never mentioned that part of her plan before... Then again, that's to be expected. After all, she's both a stronger fighter and a genius, so good at figuring people out. Besides the fact that she's a Sky Dragon Slayer, of course..."
Meanwhile, Wendy strived to remain bold in the face of a threat posed by the Horsemen. "What are you all doing here?"
Wrecker smirked, "Isn't it obvious, Marvell? We have some unfinished business to take care of! We each owe you for the indignity you've caused us and the rest of Sleepy Hollow! We've been waiting to get our own taste of revenge."
Diva taunted, "Tick-tock, your thirty seconds of fame are slowly ticking away, sweetheart. You wanna get to her and get thirty more seconds, you'll have to deal with all of us. Ready or not, you've still got a shocking reality check coming!"
Silver declared, "You made a foolish choice coming here, and now it's too late to turn back. In the name of justice, the fury of all four Headless Horsemen united shall smite you! Don't think for one minute we'll let you slip away from our net— your judgment awaits!"
Zeppelin grinned, "Ah, you're just in time for the party. You should stay with us and rejoice. It's definitely going to be a night to remember! On behalf of our beloved Master, please allow us to give you a... proper welcome! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"
Wendy swallowed her throat as she felt a foreboding sense of unease combating all four of Sleepy Hollow's top dogs at once. She thought to herself, "This doesn't look good... I've fought these guys before, but never when they're together as a team. I don't know how long I can handle all four of them by myself... What do I do...?!"
Suddenly, the familiar crimson gateway materialized in the vacant space between Diva and Silver, and making his appearance was Crane, Kaze's right-hand man and the wizard behind the Horsemen's sneak attack. "So you arrived, just as you promised you would."
Wendy gasped, "Crane! You, too?!"
Crane advised, "Our apologies for the interruption, but we can't allow you to pass. As you can see, this is all part of the plan. Master Viriniam predicted your coming here, and so ordered that Mirajane Strauss be utilized."
Wendy asked, "Mira?"
Crane continued, "And now, the Horsemen and myself have been asked to stall you until further notice. I know how much you want to confront the Master— unfortunately, you'll have to wait a little longer!" She spread out his arms, and ruby electricity coursed through his being.
Wendy frowned, "I get it... You're all involved in this. And I take it you're the one who sent that transmission?"
Crane nodded, "Precisely. I used my Archive to download the live recording onto your ship's computer screen. We were well aware that you were on your way to save the hostages, so we decided to show you a demonstration of our authority. Your attachment would ultimately lead to your undoing, courtesy of the Jolly Roger's enhanced firepower."
Wendy snapped, "How could you? You use people as bait to take advantage of others, and you did just that to me? So that you'd force me to fight Kaze?! That's insane!"
Crane stated, "A necessary compromise to ensure the plan's success. That is the will of our Master, and we strictly follow it without any other recourse." A clench of both fists, and the lightning around his muscles stopped emitting. "You made your choice, just as we made ours."
Wendy growled at this affront. "Sonic Blade!" With deadly speed, she propelled herself with her Keyblade, only for Crane to sidestep the attack in a flash of red static, much to her dismay. "Huh?!"
"Whoa! How did that guy move so fast?" Happy remarked.
"He moves faster than Wendy!" Mirajane pointed out.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Are you really the Keyblade's chosen one? Didn't your mommy teach you how to use a sword?" Crane mocked.
Some of the crewmates went 'Ohhhhh' at that insult. Others, if anything, were slightly amused. "Burn!" Diva laughed.
"Nice one!" Zeppelin snickered.
"Hey, I was gonna ask her that," Kaze stated.
"Get out of my way!" Wendy yelled. She tried slashing at Crane, who kept bolting from one spot to another until she was forced to catch her breath. "Hold still...!"
"You've lost, Marvell! Do everyone a favor and give up... while you still can!" Crane boasted as he floated in the air, surrounded in his crimson aura. "Gravity Magic: Anomaly Sphere!" He summoned a set of spiraling globes brimming with unstable spatial energy above his palms, then tossed them at Wendy. By making contact with any solid substance, the spheres exploded into event-horizons composed of quintillions of tiny red cubes that spread and warped the surrounding matter for short periods of time. The Sky Dragon Slayer was quick to elude every Anomaly Sphere sent her way as they stained the deck with blood red distortions the more she rolled, jumped, and cartwheeled. "Cosmo Disruptor!" She hopped at Crane for a swipe, but he brushed her chest with an electromagnetic graviton beam from his hand. He kicked her high in the air, then smashed her against the wall of the quarterdeck, nearly fracturing the wood from the impact.
"Blast it, Viriniam! One in your own guild of hooligans is ruining the deck with his magic!" Hook snapped at Kaze. "Look at this!" He waved frantically at some of the gravitational fields in some sections of the main deck, "How are we supposed to clean this up?!"
"Whoa, calm your treasure chests, Captain," Kaze eased. "The stains are only temporary. Crane's one of my number twos. They're professionals. They know what they're doing. It's not like they're slipping up on the job." She spotted one event-horizon infecting a mast for a few seconds before it faded away, then motioned Hook to take a look. "See? They're not destroying the ship. They're just having fun with Blueberry here."
"Well, I hope so, for your sake," Hook grumbled. "Because if your galley rats wreck this ship, I'll hold you responsible for it. You hear me? There will be repercussions!"
"Whatever you say, Hooky," Kaze rolled her eyes with a playful smile.
It took Wendy less than a minute to stand up when she found herself surrounded in a circle by Crane, Wrecker, Diva, Silver, and Zeppelin. "Remember, the Master asked us to keep her alive," Crane reminded the Horsemen, his next salvo of Anomaly Spheres at the ready.
"Injure her if you can, wound her if you must, but do not kill," Silver ordered, stancing with his Falcon Lance.
"I think that's a good idea. In fact, we don't have to do this at all if you don't want to..." Wendy said timidly.
"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee... We DEFINITELY want to!" Zeppelin giggled, morphing his arms into a Zantetsu Sword and Chainsaw respectively.
"It's what makes the game more fun, pumpkin! Divaroids, Darling Sweet Diamond Formation!" Diva announced, compelling her drones to hover in a diamond-shaped formation.
"Are you prepared for the worst?" Wrecker mocked, massaging his fingers around the spikes of his iron ball while charging ethereal power around himself.
Without warning, the five Sleepy Hollow wizards charged at the Sky Maiden, who exerted the best of her speed and agility to try and fend off this ruthless offensive. She engaged Silver in a short clash and then smacked him with a 5-hit combo, got blown to the side of the deck by Zeppelin's Grenade Launcher after casting Stun Impact to block a Megaton Crush, performed a Sky Dragon's Wing Attack to deflect Silver's Falcon Tempest, swung around the ship's rigging to deliver an Ars Arcanum to the Machine-Make wizard, dodged Crane's Anomaly Spheres and Diva's Gorgeous Showtime, attempted a Strike Raid before Silver launched her in the air with an upper slash, landed in time to parry the Warmonger's close-ranged arm weapons, steered clear from a rapid cannonade of Laser Guns, Drop Shots, Iron Lizards, and Shotguns, cast Aeroga to lessen the damage of Doomsday Jolts, Silver Rays, and Cosmo Disruptors, countered a base version of Wrecker's Senkugoshoha with Sky Dragon's Claw, jumped to attack Crane in midair, stomped back down upon detecting an approaching Falcon Comet from the flank, implemented random spells to repel the Divaroids' deadly weaponry, and so on... Given that Kaze's henchmen relentlessly stalked her like ravenous wolves, it seemed that no matter how hard she struggled, she was nowhere close to getting the upper hand. Three minutes after, just as she landed near the quarterdeck after jumping away from Wrecker's Ashura Field and Zeppelin's Unibeam, Silver appeared out of the blue and grappled his weapon with hers.
"Why? How could you— AGGGH!" With that distraction, Crane kicked Wendy in the stomach, knocking her across the floor.
"Nice!" Kaze smiled, clenching her fist in approval.
"Wendy!" Mirajane shouted.
"C'mon, you can't give up! Keep going!" Happy cried.
Another kick from Crane fell upon Wendy before she had a chance to rise to her feet, and she was bumped into the same wall. It felt like an hour to slowly peel off the splintering wood when it was only a few moments. When she did, Crane was already upon her. "You made a grave mistake coming here! Hyper Gravitation!" He released a clump of gravity to bind the Sky Maiden and drag her high into the sky. "And now you're going to wish you hadn't!" His hands surged with gravitational magnetism as he prepared his next spell. "Nebula Tempest!" He unleashed a bombardment of planetoid-shaped energy projectiles on the defenseless Wendy, who screamed in agony as they pelted her in every direction. Finally, with a downward swipe of his hand, the Hyper Gravitation slammed the weakened heroine to the floor.
"WENDY!" Mirajane and Happy could only watch in horror as their friend tried to get up on shaky legs and ragged breath. She was unable to do so, however, and was left at the mercy of the four Horsemen, who each took turns beating the living life out of her. Crane didn't join in the torment, having decided he had already dealt enough damage, and instead opted to watch with a smug grin that matched Kaze's own. Wendy's agonized cries pierced the air of the evening sky, nearly drowning out Wrecker, Diva, and Zeppelin's sadistic laughter. The torture was too much for the poor prisoners to bear that it drove them to tears; even their desperate pleas for Wendy's life to be spared fell on deaf ears. The brutal blows kept landing. The magical waves kept rolling. The screams. The pain.
And then, Zeppelin walked up to her, holding up his transformed hands. "Machine-Make: Zapper!" The crippling voltage from his electrodes made contact, subjecting her to an even greater degree of suffering. The shrieking grew louder, though not as loud as the Machine of Death's maniacal laugh. It carried on seemingly without end...
"Enough!" ...until Kaze's voice thundered around the ship. Everyone turned to see Sleepy Hollow's guild master outstretching her hand towards the Horsemen, who immediately ceased their assault. "Finishing her off like this is such a waste. Besides, this isn't the way I want her to go out. When it all ends, it's gotta be on my terms." She pointed a thumb at herself, "You know she and I will clash, but I prefer to face her when she's 100%. If we're gonna go at it one more time, I want us to be at our full strength. Still, you did a great job at softening her up, you guys. Though I admit it was a little too much."
"I concur. After all, it is your wish that she be maintained and well-prepared for your inevitable rematch. How fitting that this long-drawn rivalry between the two of you will end by your hand. In turn, you redeem the dignity and honor of this guild," Silver encouraged.
"I think I've drawn enough blood to keep me sated for the night. It's gratifying to see Marvell be put in her place for the mess of trouble she's put us through," Wrecker affirmed.
"You mean we're not playing with her for the rest of the night and letting Master have all the fun? But I'm not finished with her! Can I at least zap her some more? Pleeeeeaaaase?" Zeppelin pouted, holding up his still conducting Zappers.
"Crazy request from the metal maniac aside, what should we do with her now, Boss?" Diva questioned, gesturing to the fallen Wendy. "She doesn't pose much of a threat to us anymore."
"The party ain't over yet, folks! There's still more to come!" Kaze announced happily. "Does our V.I.P. deserve anything less than the buffet and the games? Draw the makeup. Sponge the dirt. Comb the hair. Let the pampering begin!" She took a Shadow Step over to the main deck, thus joining the crowd that had gathered there.
As for Wendy, she feebly crawled to the edge of the quarterdeck with her remaining stamina when she saw Kaze crouching in front of her, cheeriness and all. The dark pink-haired girl picked her chin up, holding her face to level each other's eyes. Wendy said shakily, "K... Kaze..."
Kaze cooed, "Aww, bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Do you even remember the last time you outwitted me? I couldn't think of a better way to outwit you back than a galaxy-sized game plan cooked up by Hook and myself. You're not gonna have to worry about Crane or my Horsemen, because at the end of the night, you and I will spend plenty of quality time together. Just you and me, like old times. All else is under the rug. We're gonna have so much fun, over and over again. Oh, and about Mira and Natsu's kitty buddy? It's not in my best interest to leverage their lives. I can easily hand them over to you..." She raised her finger, "...but it'll cost you. My generous offer still stands. Are you in, or are you out?"
Tears fell from Wendy's eyes as she croaked, "Please... I don't wanna fight you, Kaze. Please, you have to stop this! There's no reason for us to fight! Not now, not anymore! Didn't you hear everything I just told you? We're—"
Kaze checked her imaginary watch and responded in a silly accent, "I'm sorry, this session is over. Please make another appointment with the receptionist." She changed back to her normal voice, "Didn't you take my word of advice, Blueberry? You better save the hoo-has for the big finale, or you'll spoil it." She stood back up, "Rest and relax, Wendy. Heal up. I expect you to be in top shape the next time we meet, and then it's back to the see-saw for both of us. And remember, my offer still stands. I'm giving you all the time you need to consider. Until then, you can go see the other others." She finished with a wide smile, "Catch ya on the flip side, slick!" She pressed an invisible switch beneath her foot, and the next moment, a trapdoor opened underneath Wendy's sprawled form. With a startled scream, she fell through it before it shut.
"Wendy, no!" Happy exclaimed hopelessly. "WEEEENNNNDYYYY!"
"I don't believe it..." Mirajane shuddered. "They overpowered her... and she's a prisoner now, just like us... She was our best chance at getting ourselves out, and they threw it out the window! I know the Headless Horsemen are strong and lethal in their own right, but what about Kaze? Her magic is incredibly powerful; she nearly devastated Neverland and beat me in my new Take-Over, Dark Fey. Can all four Headless Horsemen be enough to stand up to her? Or maybe Wendy? They're both Sky Dragon Slayers, and they can replenish each other's magic by consuming air. But... Kaze's Dragon Slayer Magic is just... way too much... We've seen it firsthand. Wendy... couldn't possibly..." Her mind was riddled with worry and doubt as she struggled to come up with an idea, and with every possibility squandered by the sheer scale of Kaze's magical power, her frustration grew. "How could this have happened? We just... don't stand a chance against them? I couldn't even bring her down! Is there nothing we can do...?!"
"It... It can't get any worse than that... R-Right, Mira?" Happy shuddered.
"I think it just did, Happy. Not just for her, but for us, too," Mirajane replied nervously.
"Okay, now I'm getting all freaked out again," Happy dreaded.
Kaze turned her attention towards the Jolly Roger crew, shrugging her shoulders with a coy chuckle. "And there she goes, like a reed in the wind. That wasn't so hard, was it, bucko-buccaneers?" All the pirates and wizards (minus Hook, Crane, Wrecker, and Silver) immediately burst into cheers over the success of their grand scheme, some hoisting their swords and guns up in the air. Zeppelin enjoyed it so much that he laughed loudly and did the wacky dance of a clapping monkey, much to Diva's annoyance. And though Wrecker, Silver, and Crane were more in control of their emotions than anyone else, they acknowledged the crew's triumph with prideful smiles. The victory celebration encompassed the entire deck, filling it with jubilation. It lasted up until Kaze cleared her throat and addressed everyone present, "Alright, listen up! This is a big win, but we still got a lot of work to do. Our toast will have to wait." She looked at the Horsemen, "You four, return to the Ichabod and keep a close eye on things from your end while Hook and I sort out everything else. I'll join you shortly."
Silver complied, "Very good, Master. We will await your orders until then."
Wrecker declared, "Anyone who dares to challenge our supreme fleet of dark guilds, or any of us in the comfort of our mighty flagship, they will suffer the same fate as Strauss and Marvell. No matter what fools stand in our way, we'll squash them like cockroaches!"
Zeppelin moaned, "Nice going, Master. You just made the night dull by excluding us from the rest of the party." He then shrugged, "Oh, well. At least I had the pleasure of beating the princess to a bloody pulp along with my merry friends."
Diva groaned, "At least we didn't get to tear up a body part or two. Figure before beauty, you know?" She interrupted Zeppelin before he could interject, "Utter so much as one suggestion, and I'll slap you silly with Bahamut's wings." He simply snickered in reply.
Kaze quipped, "The Headless Horsemen have officially left the stage, ladies and gentlemen, and the floor is now ours. Crane, if you would?" The gravity wizard in question summoned a portal that teleported the four back to the Ichabod, and she refocused on the ship's crew. "Okay, let's move on to Phase 3!" She crossed her arms over, pointing in opposite directions, "Half of you, get the ship ready to set sail. Half of you, double security in the hold. Make sure Wendy doesn't go anywhere near the hostages until we're ready to land. Got it?"
The pirates shouted, "Aye!"
The Sleepy Hollow wizards saluted, "Yes, ma'am!"
Kaze ordered, "Move it, double time, up and at 'em! You know what to do! Let's go, let's go! Move, move, move, move!" With that, the shipmates scrambled to carry out their orders, while Mirajane and Happy were being dragged back inside the hold. "And Crane?"
Crane asked, "Yes, Master?"
Kaze wondered, "Is my casserole out of the oven yet? I'm hungry."
Crane offered, "I'll go get it right away." He vanished through a portal behind him.
The Dark Vixen was later joined by Hook and his first mate Mr. Smee, the former clearly upset that she overstepped his position as captain yet again. He growled, "Who do you think you are, you pink-haired scalawag? I'm the captain of this ship, and that gives you the right to order me crew around just because us two share the same operation? This is unjust! Unjust, I say! And worst of all, I didn't get to do ANYTHING!" He waved his arms furiously.
Kaze grinned, "Oh, relax, Jimmy. I'm just sparing you the pressure of leadership labor. You've been working really hard at keeping this whole pirate club together; I figured you might need a short break from it all."
Hook barked, "I had it under control! And who said I needed a break? I'm perfectly fine! I never tire from my work! I was issuing orders to my men, and then you had to steal my thunder!"
Kaze stated, "Hey, I'm doing you a favor, dude. That's what partners are for. Wendy and her friends are our prisoners now, and the hold is well-guarded by Heartless, my finest troops, and some of your swashbuckling buddies. Nothing to worry your gold doubloons about. Best let them do the working while we do the unwinding. This special benefit of hard work, I like!" She set up a recliner chair and lied down, folding her hands behind her head with a content sigh. "No work means free time to embrace our inner cozy. You should, too. I'm not one to complain about having some cozy time."
Hook whined, "Well, Captain Hook would prefer having some brat-spanking time. I wanted my own piece of that little wench, Wendy Marvell, when we captured her aboard this ship. But you had to leave me out of it and instead let your goons do all the roughhousing!"
Kaze shrugged, "Not that I blame you for being left out, but we would've let you take part of the roughhousing if you just asked us. It's that simple. You were watching Crane and the others having a piñata party with Blueberry the whole time, so it's safe to say that you left yourself out."
Hook argued, "I left myself out?! That's ridiculous! I didn't leave myself out of the action!" He then looked puzzled, "Or... did I?"
Kaze pointed out, "Speaking of Wendy, I hear you're taking an interest in the Keyblade, and you'd like to get your hands on it. Why's that?"
Hook smirked, "I thought it would be obvious, Viriniam. The Keyblade is such a magnificent weapon. One that can lock and unlock anything in existence, possessing potent magical power... How could I not have it for myself when it is terribly wasted on a child? When we've finished exploiting Marvell, I'll seize the opportunity to pry that Keyblade from her cold carcass and make it my own. All the forces of nature in one trinket, right in the palm of me hand!"
Kaze questioned, "You think it's that easy? You should know that the Keyblade's picky about its owner. I don't see the point of it happening anytime of the day."
Hook scoffed, "Not with that attitude! Marvell apparently knows the Keyblade better than I do me own ship. And I can tell she is not the kind of brat to indulge secrets. Well, no one keeps a secret from Captain Hook! I have ways of making her talk. A little persuasion might be in order. Now, let me see..." He began thinking of various methods of coercion, "Boiling in oil? No, no... Keelhauling? Marooning?"
Kaze commented, "Sounds like a lot of—"
"HOOPLA!" An unknown voice hollered out loud, interrupting her and distracting Hook from his thoughts.
"Sounds like a lot of—"
"HOOPLA!" She was interrupted again by the same voice.
"Sounds like a—"
"HOOPLA!" They looked up to spot a Scuttle Edge pirate sitting near the crow's nest. "HOOPLA!" Annoyed by the constant shouting, Hook whipped out his gun and shot a bullet into the pirate's throat. "HOOP— AAAAAGGH!" The last Kaze and Smee heard of him was a strained death howl and a splash of his corpse into the water.
"You were saying?" Hook asked, putting away his pistol.
"Sounds like a lot of hoopla to make over having a Keyblade as your best friend, right?" Kaze laughed, then urgently rose from her chair, speaking in a loud, harsh tone, "WRONG!" Her abrupt change of personality nearly frightened Smee, and it was only a second before the positivity returned in full force. "Having your very own Keyblade is no walk in the park; your heart's gotta be exceptionally pure like Wendy's. I'm sure as heck glad that I fit the bill perfectly. I've got all the pureness right here!" She thumped her heart proudly, "A real human being chosen by the key is held to a higher standard. Fair's fair in standards, and I say I've lived up to every one of 'em."
Hook stared at her in confusion. "You say that... like you have a—"
"But seriously, don't you think that was a little extreme?" Kaze changed the subject. "I mean, shooting your own guy in the windpipe? Not what you'd call a prime example of showing respect and compassion to your subordinates. You should've given him an honorable discharge from the crew, instead you made him swim with the fishes." She clicked her tongue in disappointment, "Not good form, Jimmy. Not good form."
"She's right, Cap'n," Smee chucked. "It ain't good form, y'know."
"Good form, you say?" Hook spoke calmly, before he flipped over Kaze's recliner in a fit of rage. "BLAST GOOD FORM! Did Peter Pan show good form when he did THIS to me?!" He showed her his namesake appendage.
"So this Peter Pan guy cut off your left hand and you had to replace it with a hook," Kaze assumed. "Well, ain't that a kick in the head? No wonder you got that surname, which is also a nickname! Has a nice ring to it, huh? Better yet, a nice 'hook' to it?" She slightly laughed at the joke she just made.
"Hook IS my actual surname, you idiot!" Hook yelled. "It's been in the family for generations!"
"Okay, okay! Chill! I'm just saying!" Kaze eased. "I understand you and Peter Pan have a bad history... Well, had a bad history because you blew him up with a bomb lacrima just a couple of hours ago... But cutting off your hand was probably just a childish prank."
"Aye, but throwing it to that crocodile!" Hook cried in agitation. "That cursed beast liked the taste of me so well, he's followed me ever since, licking his chops for the rest of me! And even with Pan's demise, he's still OUT THERE!" He pointed out to the ocean with his trembling hook.
"And he'd have had you by now, Cap'n, if he hadn't swallowed that alarm clock," Smee noted. "But now when he's about, he warns you as you might say, with his—"
Hook shushed his first mate, and he trembled in fear as he looked around. "Did you hear that, Smee? Oh, that dreadful sound!"
"I hear nothin' at all, Cap'n," Smee shook his head. "Except that tickin'." True to his words, a fast ticking noise filled the air, adding to the captain's paranoia.
"TICKING?!" Hook exclaimed hysterically. "HE'S HERE! SMEE, HE'S—"
DING! The pirates looked to discover Crane, who returned via a portal, holding a miniature oven. The timer had just struck zero, and he took out the freshly heated casserole wrapped in a clean napkin before serving it to Kaze. "Your dinner, Master."
Kaze retrieved her meal with a gracious smile. "About time. My tummy's rumbling!"
"Why, it's just the oven, sir," Smee giggled.
"The oven?" Hook gasped, shaking Smee's shoulders. "Are you quite sure? Is it really not him? Did I imagine it?" He let go and held a hand to his aching forehead, "Oh, my poor nerves..."
"This guy must be majorly hallucinating," Kaze thought out loud, resting her shoulder on the edge of the deck and gnawing a bite out of her casserole. "He's freaked out because a crocodile ate his left hand after it got chopped off? Talk about crazy..." She was taking another bite when a new sound drew her attention.
A dark purple cloud appeared and gradually expanded to take on the form of a new type of Heartless, one with a spherical body that was pitch black and had dark blue streaks. The inside of its mouth was blue, the mouth itself a jagged toothy opening. It had three thick black and blue tentacles with frayed pink tips sprouting out of its body: two on the top, and one on the underside.
"A Darkball, huh?" Kaze identified. "So this is the Heartless she sent to scan the purity in Wendy Darling's heart. I assume you've done your research already?"
The Darkball made an unsettling, audible purr as it floated beside the Dark Vixen, who leaned in and perked up her ears. The more she deciphered the creature's raspy whispers, the more it stirred her interest. She held a free hand around her chin and stroked it. "Hmm... I see." With that confirmation, she finished her dinner in one single bite.
Just as soon as she reported Maleficent's findings to Hook, a change of plans would come into effect.
Brig
Down in the hold, Wendy found herself in the same prison as her companions when she fell through the trapdoor. After she drank an Elixir to fully restore her health and Magic Energy, she told them everything that had transpired while she was up on the deck— her encounter with Kaze, the fruit of the villains' ingenious plot, the indisputable proof of the connection between the two rivals, Mirajane's downfall and subsequent capture, the ambush by Crane and the Horsemen, and last but not least, the implication that Natsu was stationed in an unspecified section of the Jolly Roger.
"Ya don't say?" Goofy asked.
"Do our ears deceive us, Wendy? Are you certain?" Juvia questioned.
"Uh-huh. I asked Kaze, and she told me," Wendy nodded. "There's no doubt Natsu's on this ship along with Happy and Mira." She added with a bright smile, "Can you believe it, guys? We finally found them, right here in Neverland!"
"Right here? Seriously?!" Romeo gasped excitedly.
"I heard it right out of her mouth," Wendy answered. "I saw Mira and Happy. She didn't bring out Natsu, but she confirmed it to me. He's definitely here!"
"YES! He's here! He IS here!" Romeo exclaimed happily. "We found him! I knew we could find him here! I just knew it! Woo-hoo! Alright!" He juggled his legs with an exhilarating whoop.
"That's great news, Wendy!" Sherria beamed. "We should've gotten up there ourselves to try and save you, but we were knocked out cold from the crash. And the next thing we knew, we got thrown into the rickety old brig. Give or take a holding cell or two, this room is big enough to fit a crowd."
"We're sorry we couldn't be there when you needed us, child," Carla apologized. "If we hadn't lost consciousness when the ship fell into the sea, we would've been at your side, keeping you safe from Kaze's treachery. Speaking of, is this true? When you mentioned your lost memories, and she referenced hers, she reacted by..."
"Yeah. She used Sky Dragon's Roar at me," Wendy replied. "Exactly the same as mine, except it's purple." Her friends gasped at the revelation. "That's when I knew she's definitely the real deal. She's the girl from my lost memories."
"Is that so?" Romeo asked curiously.
"She had dreams of our past, just like I did," Wendy continued. "We both forgot that we knew each other. That we were raised by Grandeeney, that we were the best of friends..."
"She couldn't remember her own past, just like you?" Romeo questioned.
"I believe so," Wendy replied.
"Kaze using an actual breath attack on Wendy? I find that hard to believe," Lucy mused.
"I'm telling you, it's no lie. I saw it with my own two eyes," Wendy insisted. "She literally used a breath attack on me!"
"Gee, I wish we were all up there to catch a glimpse of Kaze's Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. A brief demonstration would've blown our minds away!" Sherria imagined.
"Yes, it certainly would've, if it weren't for the fact that we were knocked out and locked away in this cell," Carla pointed out.
"Hey, how come Wendy's the only person to see Kaze use Dragon Slayer Magic like her, and not any of us?" Donald complained.
"Gawrsh, if only they brought us up on deck so we'd watch the whole thing. That would be pretty swell!" Goofy mused.
"Even so, the fact that Kaze is a Dragon Slayer like Wendy is honestly not that surprising, since we are aware of how you and she were tied together in the distant past," Juvia stated. "And here lies the other undeniable sign that you two were trained by the same dragon. Grandeeney, is it?"
"Uh-huh," Wendy nodded.
"Earlier on, you were discussing with her about the dreams you were both having," Carla noted. "You then tried to convince her of the special bond you shared, and if luck favored you, patch things up between you two."
"That depends or whether or not she wants to patch things up," Gray said skeptically. "The first time we met her, she was a sneaky, ruthless egoist. I still remember the crap she's put our guild through, as well as many worlds."
"You did say she dreamt of you and Grandeeney, though," Romeo pointed out. "What if she's remembering you, too? If it's coming back piece by piece, then maybe there's a chance you can patch things up with her. To resolve this rivalry that's been going on for a while now."
"That's the thing. I tried to," Wendy said sadly. "But she didn't listen to me. She's too stubborn to hear what I have to say. At this point, I think the only thing she cares about is having us fight each other again..."
"I stand corrected," Gray sighed.
"And this time, she's putting Mira and Happy's lives on the line for your next fight," Elfman finished with a sneer. He clenched his fists in anger, "Damn it! How dare she does that to Big Sis! Setting her up along with Natsu's best friend as trophies just to get under a little girl's skin?"
"I know she'll do anything to get to me," Wendy muttered. "But forcing me to choose between fighting her or watching them suffer... It's just so... wrong."
"Wendy..." Romeo felt sorry for the Sky Maiden. At the same time, he felt unsettled by Kaze's scheme.
"Has Kaze's obsession gone this far?" Carla frowned. "Is she willing to exploit our friends so she would make you submit to her demands? Such cowardice!"
"You're telling me," Gray agreed. "Taking our friends hostage and then threatening to kill them if we don't do what she says? Some 'brilliant strategy' this is. She's just begging us to smash her face in!"
"This is awful," Lisanna worried. "If Kaze goes through with her plan, Mira and Happy are in danger. We've got to find a way to save them!"
"How did it all get like this?" Wendy stared morosely at the ceiling. "I don't want us to fight again. I don't want to fight her at all. I just wanna talk to her. To clear the air, to try and help each other find what we've lost. To fix everything. But all she cares about is fighting me. She doesn't want anything else other than fighting me. I don't know if she'll listen, no how many times I get through to her. I... I don't want that anymore." She was almost brought to tears as the crushing reality of another impending duel with the Dark Vixen weighed heavily upon her. "I hate this... I hate fighting her. I don't want to fight her. Why can't she just stop and open up for once? Why can't we just get along... instead of more fighting?"
"We know how you feel, Wendy," Lucy sympathized. "No one should have to go through something as cruel as this. But if there's one lesson I've learned out of life, it's to expect the unexpected when it comes to people like Kaze. A lot can happen in one moment. People can change for better or for worse. I mean, some people like my father, Jellal, and Flare Corona acted pretty horrible to us in the past. Look at how much they've changed since then. Because they realized the error of their ways, they want to make things right for everyone. And Kaze, well... It all comes down to whether or not she'll listen. If she's still the same power-hungry creep who forced Fairy Tail apart and caused so much suffering to others, we won't hesitate to try and stop her. But let's say she does listen to you when things blow over. Who knows? Anything can happen. If anyone can see the light..." A small smile formed on her face, "...maybe Kaze can, too."
"I feel the same way," Wendy smiled back. "Like you said, if she ever tries to hurt anyone, I'll have to stop her. But... I want to help her somehow. She's someone from my past, and we both forgot that we were friends a long time ago. I wish I could bring it all back."
"No guarantees, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Romeo replied. "Lucy's right. A lot can happen in one moment. There's a chance Kaze might open up to you... or she doesn't want to. But if you give it time, you might get that chance. And when the time comes that you both do remember everything, we'll find some way for you to solve your problems WITHOUT fighting each other. You were friends a long time ago, weren't you? This really means that much to you?" Wendy nodded sincerely. "In that case, we'll do something about it. We'll straighten this out." He whispered to himself, "At least I hope so."
"Romeo..." Wendy said softly.
"What do you say, Wendy?" Lucy smiled. "You look like you could some friends to help you hash things out with Kaze."
"We're right here with you," Sherria assured. "I told you that we're helping you in any way we can." She added with a wide grin, "And don't forget to smile!"
"Yup, 'cause this whole group runs on smiles!" Goofy chirped.
Wendy was most pleased that the majority of the entourage voiced their consent over the possibility of Kaze's redemption and the end of their rampant contention— though Elfman and Gray appeared to have doubts. A tear streamed down her cheek, and she sniffled.
"Hey, don't cry," Sherria said warmly, patting Wendy's head.
"It's okay. I'm just happy to know that you're all here with me," Wendy giggled. "Where would I be without you guys..." She faced Romeo, "...especially you, Romeo? Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Romeo chuckled with a slight blush.
"You okay, Wendy?" Lucy asked.
"Feeling better now?" Sherria questioned.
"You bet!" Wendy responded confidently. "I'm doing this. I have to face Kaze and find a way to put a stop to this constant fighting between us for good. I have to!"
"There we go!" Romeo approved.
"You got it!" Lucy beamed.
"You've got your smile back!" Sherria cheered.
"And if we still have time, we should rescue Happy, Mira, and Natsu," Wendy suggested.
"That's the thing I've been wanting to suggest," Sherria proposed. "What if we save our friends before Kaze has a chance to carry out her crazed hostage scheme? Have you ever considered that option?"
"Of course!" Wendy gasped in realization. "They might still be in the ship! If we can reach them before she does..."
"...Then no one has to be a hostage!" Romeo finished. "That actually sounds like a great idea!"
"Every plot has a blind spot, especially evil ones," Sherria informed. "There always has to be a plot twist, which means things always go wrong once before we get to the happy ending. First, we rescue our three friends. Then we take down the bad guys, get back to the Gummi Ship, and head home. Easy!"
"Um, did you forget that those palookas blew up our ship?" Donald reminded.
"But nothin' our auto-repair system can't fix!" Goofy chuckled.
"What a nasty landing we had," Elfman recalled. "But we're safe and sound, and that's all that matters. It's a manly miracle." He faced Goofy, "Yo, Goof! How long are your ship's auto-repairs gonna take?"
"My watch says it'll take one hour and a half at best for our vessel to get back into shape again; the armor plating and engine took too much damage," Goofy checked his wrist watch.
"What's the good news?" Lisanna asked.
"The good news is, with the new gummi blocks we installed, the auto-repairs are faster than ever! It normally takes a whole day or two to make a full fixer-upper. But thanks to our gummis, we won't have to wait for days anymore," Goofy stated.
"That's a relief," Sherria breathed. "Can you imagine if we ended up stuck here for days with a broken ship? It'll be like the Deep Jungle all over again."
"Yeah, we can't have that, can we?" Donald mused. "It's bad enough that I'm a stuffed animal for wild animals in one world; who's to say this world will be number two?" He shook his head in refusal, "I'm not going through that again! Nuh-uh, no way! Forget it!"
"Really? I always thought you looked as adorable as a stuffed animal," Sherria joked. "Because you're literally the size of a teddy bear! That's probably the reason why some gorillas like to fluff your feathers during our Deep Jungle adventure, and who can blame them for doing so?" She added with a giggle, "Terk was attracted to you the most."
"Oh, cut it out, will you?" Donald snapped, his face flushing red. "I just don't want it to happen to me again! If Daisy thinks I'm mingling with a stranger from another world, she'll be so cross with me!"
"Whoa, hold your horses, Donald," Sherria eased. "You don't have to be so modest about it. We all know your heart belongs to Daisy, and Daisy alone. But if it pleases the court, all those who think you're a fuzzy, loveable duck with fluffy feathers and a short attention span, raise their hands." Wendy, Romeo, Goofy, Lucy, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna did so in agreement. "Would you look at that? Seven out of eleven cast their vote, so it's unanimous. You should be proud!"
"I didn't raise my hand..." Donald mumbled as he looked away, unconvinced. That prompted a round of snickering from Sherria and several party members, adding to his irritation.
"Anyways, you get what I'm sayin'?" Goofy smiled. "The new gummi blocks are speedin' up the auto-repairs, and it's only one hour and thirty minutes before the ship's back at 100%."
"Well, thank you, gummi blocks!" Sherria grinned. "We couldn't have survived without your technological innovations. You're a lifesaver!"
"Gummi blocks are so convenient these days, aren't they?" Lucy asked.
"They sure are," Lisanna nodded.
"Gummi blocks are manly! Wish we had some of these back home," Elfman commented.
"That aside, isn't it great?" Romeo chimed. "Three of our friends in one place, including Natsu! I miss him so much!"
"We all do, Romeo," Wendy beamed. "And now we can bring him back to us!"
"Where are they keeping him?" Sherria asked the Sky Dragon Slayer.
"I don't know," Wendy admitted. "She said he's locked up in a special cell, but she didn't tell me exactly where."
"Then I guess we'll have to search the whole ship for him," Romeo determined. "I don't care how or where; I won't stop until I bust him out with my bare hands. My bro needs me!"
"You mean he needs us," Lucy clarified. "We miss him just as badly as you do, you know."
"Natsu may be the strongest member we need on our team right this instant," Carla stated. "His Dragon Slayer Magic is beyond measure, and no one dishes out more destructive power than he does."
"That's right," Lisanna agreed. "He's the toughest Dragon Slayer Fairy Tail's got. We've got to set him free! With him on our side, the Alliance of Evil doesn't stand a chance against us."
"Leave it to Salamander to turn up the heat in this place," Gray smirked. "The sooner we get to him, I'm gonna give him a chilly wake-up call."
"Bold words from my beloved Gray!" Juvia admired.
"Chilly wake-up call? What does that even mean?" Donald blinked.
"I think he means a chilly reception, literally but not figuratively," Sherria answered.
"Does his ice magic have anythin' to do with it?" Goofy wondered.
"Natsu's like a brother to me, too. So we both want to bust him out," Wendy told Romeo. "You wouldn't leave me hanging, would you?"
"Of course not. Why would I forget you? We both want to bust him out," Romeo smiled.
"Right. We're busting him out, you and me and everybody else here," Wendy smiled back.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Romeo gave her the thumbs up.
"Hey, don't forget Mira," Elfman interjected. "That's one more we gotta add to our manly team. My sis is the most badass Take-Over wizard in our guild. What I wouldn't give to take her back and bring the Strauss family back together!"
"That's right. We can't leave her on her own, not in the state she's in. She needs us, and we need her!" Lisanna implored. "And just when things looked dull in this lonely cell, we learned that she acquired a new take over from Maleficent. Wendy told us the whole story. About how she infiltrated the Alliance of Evil, worked her way up to the council and used her position as a ruse to gather information... You know, double-agent stuff? We know our sister would do anything to help us out, but this?" Her expression turned to astonishment, "We never thought she'd dig that deep!"
"Yeah, I mean, pretending to serve the heads of the table while giving away classified intel?" Gray commented. "A stroke of genius, if you ask me."
"I especially liked the part with her new Take-Over," Lisanna pointed out. "She almost took down Kaze with its incredible magic power. What's it called again? Dark Fey?"
"Name sounds intimidating. Has a nice ring that lives it up to the hype," Elfman stated. "Overall, a fine Satan Soul addition. Not a bad name for a new Take-Over. Would've been even more awesome when we see her transform into that."
"Good gravy! Can you believe it, gang? One spectacular thing comes after another, and we didn't get the chance to see them with our own eyes!" Sherria remarked. "First Mirajane tricked Maleficent into imbuing her with a portion of her terrifying magic before cropping it into a new and unique Take-Over, then challenged Kaze to a devastating fight across Neverland, and now Wendy alone witnessed Kaze's Sky Dragon Slayer Magic come into play? Somebody record every bit of it in a lacrima!"
"Things sure were happenin' fast down in Neverland," Goofy chortled. "Too bad we missed 'em 'cause we were either busy or just plain oblivious!"
"Oblivious?! This is unfair!" Donald quacked. "How come something interesting happens in one day or another while we were out risking our butts somewhere in the universe?"
"Events occur at random, whether we expect to bare witness or not. What's done is done," Carla shrugged. "But at least Wendy was honest in telling us what she saw and learned on her end. I believe her."
"As should we," Romeo agreed.
"No harm in havin' a look see when that sort of thing happens again," Goofy noted.
"Dark Fey, Mirajane's new Take-Over, and Kaze's Sky Dragon Slayer Magic: They make the top two in our list of things we'd like to see for ourselves. For now, we have to believe in Wendy," Sherria suggested.
"Yes, we should trust her. That's what it means to be a part of Fairy Tail; we trust one another," Lucy agreed.
"Well, okay. If you believe in Wendy, then I do, too," Donald shrugged.
"Thanks, guys," Wendy smiled in appreciation.
"And we now know for sure that Mira was never working for the Alliance of Evil," Lucy grinned. "She was doing more than just providing intel. She was tearing them apart from the inside! We guessed it this whole time, and Wendy's story proves it!"
"That's Mira for ya; she knows how to come up with a plan!" Romeo beamed.
"Leave it to Big Sis. She's got both manly brains and manly brawn!" Elfman boasted.
"She wanted to stop the bad guys as much as we do. She was helping us from her side of the lacrima. So of course she'd refuse to join their side!" Lisanna smiled. "We know Mira. She's always on the straight and narrow, and we trust her for that. We knew we could count on her to do the right thing."
"Well, that run was good while it lasted," Juvia bemoaned. "In the end, Mirajane lost to Kaze, and she's become her hostage. I suppose it's only a matter of time before she endangers hers and Happy's lives in order to coerce Wendy into playing her sadistic game."
"Not if we get to them first!" Wendy said resolutely. "We're gonna find and rescue them before that happens!"
"She's right," Romeo agreed. "If we don't do something fast, they'll surely be in hot water!"
"Innocent lives are at stake here," Carla asserted. "We're not about to let them suffer because of one person's fatalistic obsession with Wendy. But we must make haste!"
"Alright! A-hyuck! Then let's go up there and save our pals," Goofy smiled.
"Yeah, let's do it!" Wendy nodded.
"You don't have to tell us twice," Romeo grinned.
"It's settled, then! We're rescuing Mirajane, Natsu, and Happy..." Sherria confirmed.
"...and demolishing some punks while we're at it. I can get behind that plan!" Elfman smirked.
"Time to show 'em what happens when they mess with Fairy Tail," Gray declared.
"Looks like there's gonna be more living posts for us to scratch on," Lisanna quipped.
"Another foiled fiendish plot to add to our resume. Why not? If it pleases Gray, I'll gladly make it happen!" Juvia decided.
"Sounds great!" Donald beamed.
"Okay, but first thing's first..." Lucy requested.
"...HOW ABOUT GETTING OFF!" Donald and Lucy exclaimed in a fit of exaggerated irritation. As it turned out, Wendy's fall through the ceiling added to the pileup of bodies on the floor, with herself, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, and Lisanna on top, Goofy, Gray, Juvia, and Elfman at the middle, and Donald and Lucy being crushed under their combined weight.
Wendy scratched the side of her head with a sheepish giggle. "Sorry."
Sherria thought out loud, "How long have we been piling up on each other?"
Romeo guessed, "We must've been knocked out for so long that we didn't notice."
Carla sighed, "That was a very unpleasant experience."
Lucy wheezed, "Hey, could you please... get off me... I can't... move!"
Donald grunted, "My... spine... It hurts... It hurts...!"
Wendy sweated nervously, "Oh, right..."
Later...
Once everyone got up off the floor with Lucy and Donald cracking their sore backs, Wendy and Romeo stood on top of a few barrels they discovered nearby to peer through a window in the door, joined by Carla floating on wings. There were plenty of Heartless, wizards, and pirates patrolling the hold outside, and two Scuttle Edge grunts stood watch over the brig. Romeo indicated, "There's a whole lot of guards out there. We can expect a full-on brawl on our hands if we break out right away."
Carla stated, "Even if they present themselves as the only obstacle standing between us and rescuing our friends from the villains' clutches, defeating them all is going to be such a chore. It's trivial, but otherwise the best way. We have two choices in this scenario: Either we fight them, or we simply get past them."
Wendy suggested, "How about we get past them? It's more quicker that way, right?"
Elfman slammed a knuckle into his palm. "Or we can just beat the living daylights out of them until they spill the beans on where our friends are. That's more the style of real men!"
Gray agreed, "Now you're talking. I think they've kept us in the slammer long enough. Time we get some payback!"
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Geez, you guys seriously wanna go buck wild? You know fighting's not the only solution to your problems."
Regardless, Elfman focused his magic around his right arm, transforming it into Beast Arm: Iron Bull. "You kids stay back. I'll break the door down, no problem. Then we get down to business!"
Lucy protested, "Hey! Didn't you hear me?"
Carla shrugged, "Well, I suppose subtlety is out."
Wendy beckoned, "Romeo!" She and the Rainbow Fire wizard immediately bounced from the barrels, while Carla flew away from the window.
With a vicious shout, Elfman charged straight at the door, his Beast Arm balled to a fist. "HERE I COME, BIG S—" The Iron Bull smashed the barrels, but when it slammed against the door, a sudden vibration crept over its metallic casing, and eventually spread throughout his entire body. The impact made him shake and wobble in midair, the shock in his voice likely so. "...i-i-i-i-i-i-s-s-s-s-s-s?!"
"Hey, what gives?" The moment Donald laid a hand on Elfman's still vibrating figure, it made his own body shake as well. "W-W-W-W-W-a-a-a-a-a-k-k-k-k-k!"
"Donald? Elfman? What's all the fuss—" Goofy touched Donald's shoulder, and he experienced the same reaction. "...a-a-a-a-a-b-b-b-b-o-o-o-o-u-u-u-t-t-t?!"
Like tuning forks humming in unison, the three kept wobbling in the air until Elfman fell on his chest, squashing Donald and Goofy under his muscular size. "Ooof!"
Lisanna gasped, "Big Brother Elf!"
Sherria asked, "Are you okay?"
The royal court wizard cringed the most, considering he had his spine crushed once. Though not as strenuous as the strength of nine people altogether, the pain still smarted. "No! Not again...! I just... fixed my back..."
Goofy paid no attention to the pressure applied to his back and examined the door. "Uh, fellas? Why's that door still here? Didn't Elfman break it down?"
Wendy nodded, "Yeah, we noticed, too. When he hit the door, it just bounced him back."
Sherria echoed, "Bounced him back? Like a bumper on a pinball machine?" She stared at the door with intrigue, "So that explains how he got all wobbly after he hit the door with his Beast Arm. What I don't get is how it bounced him back. It's like he hit a big bell or something..."
Elfman exclaimed, "A bell?! Don't be silly! It's just a plain old door and nothing else!" He stood back up, allowing Donald and Goofy to recover from their predicament.
Donald rubbed his aching back and said, "I swear, this is the last time I let somebody fall flat on my back like a dumbbell."
Elfman decided, "I'll give it another go! This is just a warm-up. No playing around!" He clenched his Beast Arm and viciously pounded on the door, trying to bust it open, but it wouldn't budge. Sure enough, it was enforced by a invisible, powerful constraint that allowed it to withstand the Iron Bull's raw strength. After so many hits, he fell on one leg, panting. "Why... Why won't it break? How... can an overgrown... piece of balsa wood... get so rough?"
Wendy interjected, "Here, let me try. Fira!" She shot a fireball from the Keyblade, but the spell had no effect on the door. "Blizzara! Thundara! Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" She tried different spells, and was met with the same result. "My magic can't bring it down, either!"
Sherria cast Sky God's Boreas on the door, but the black tornado merely pressed against the wood. "Mine's not working! Not a single dent in it! What kind of door is that?"
Lisanna guessed, "Do you think it's invincible, just like that huge statue we ran into at the Cave of Wonders?"
Elfman complained, "WHAT?! Don't tell me we're going through that again! Last time I tried to bring down a statue, my Beast Arm broke! First I couldn't destroy a statue, now I can't break down a door?" He angrily waved at the doorway, "A DOOR, of all things! Made from wood! Nothing but WOOD! How can a piece of junk be as sturdy as a freaking statue? Just... HOW?!" He slumped down to the ground with a distressed groan. "What's wrong with me? Am I really powerless against a door? It is really too strong? Or am I just too weak? It makes me feel ashamed to call myself a real man..."
Lisanna comforted, "Aww, don't beat yourself up, Elfman. You did your very best, that's all. You were just trying to break down the door for us."
Elfman stood up as he composed himself, his Beast Arm still intact. "Right. I knew that. Thanks for the encouragement."
Lisanna stated, "There's got to be a reason why it won't let us out. Why don't we try and make a guess?"
Juvia theorized, "It could be that the door is made entirely out of a special type of wood that's highly resistant to magic, or some kind of enchantment or anti-magic equipment is applied to it from the outside."
Carla flew back to the door window, and as she looked down at the glowing crystal on an iron conduit bound to the exterior, which included the crystal's magic transmitting along the walls as a network, her eyes widened in realization. "It IS anti-magic equipment!" She urgently faced the rest of the party, "They installed the cell door with a lacrima that suppresses magical power. Worst of all, the lacrima's energy is being sent all over the walls through the device outside the door, making virtually the whole place magic-resistant!"
Wendy, Romeo, Donald, Goofy, Sherria, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna exclaimed shockingly, "The WHOLE place?!"
Gray realized, "If that's the case, then..."
Lucy started to freaked out, "There's no way out?! WE'RE STUCK HERE?!"
Carla dreaded, "I'm afraid the lacrima's anti-magic power may be too strong to break, even in a wider area." She flew into Wendy's arms, "Forgive me if this sounds troubling, but I thought I'd inform of the situation we're in."
Romeo complained, "Oh, great! Just when we were up and ready to save our friends!"
Lucy whimpered, "Thanks for the being the bearer of bad news, Carla. We're trapped in the brig of a pirate ship surrounded by freaking anti-magic lacrima power!"
Wendy worried, "How are we gonna get out of here now?"
Elfman yelled, "No way! This cell can't contain us! One way or another, we're getting out of here!" Refusing to accept that he and his comrades were locked in a holding cell augmented by anti-magic restraints, he focused his attention on the walls. "If I can't break down the door, I'll just have to BREAK DOWN THE WALLS!"
"Elfman!" Wendy, Donald, Goofy, Romeo, Sherria, Juvia, and Lisanna cried out.
"Didn't you hear me?! We can't—" Carla began.
Elfman didn't listen. He roared vigorously and proceeded to batter the walls with his Iron Bull. That wasn't a better alternative, however, and his effort only succeeded in tiring him out. But he kept slugging the barrier, anyway. Everyone was either baffled or confused by his futile yet overly dramatic persistence.
"What's the matter with you?! You wanna make a racket?!" Lucy snapped.
"Man, and I thought Natsu's the only rabble rouser in the guild!" Gray groaned.
"Geez, get a hold of yourself, Elfman! You don't have to go too far!" Romeo urged.
"He's so stubborn! I just stated the facts, and he refuses to accept reality!" Carla scowled.
"Well, that's my big brother for you. He's a incredibly straightforward kind of person," Lisanna laughed nervously.
"He calls himself a real man, but he's acting like a goofball. Good grief!" Donald moaned.
"How long is he gonna keep this up? Does he even have a plan?" Goofy wondered.
"When it comes to big brutes like Elfman, he doesn't need plans. And that makes me feel a little sorry for his mindset," Gray mused.
"Yes, that is most pitiable to say the least," Juvia agreed.
"Gawrsh, I sure hope he doesn't push himself punchin' those walls all day," Goofy sighed.
"Take this... and that... and some of this... and some of those... I'm gonna... I'm... gonna..." Elfman kept trying to demolish the wall to no avail, and eventually collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, his Beast Arm reverting to normal.
"Big Brother Elf, are you okay?" Lisanna rushed to the aid of her elder brother, whose breaths came in heavy pants.
"I'm... so close... I just... gotta..." Elfman wheezed, a dazed, desperate look on his face.
"Please, Big Brother. You have to stop. There's no point in keeping this up; it's not going to work right now. I think you've done enough. Just take it easy and save your strength, okay?" Lisanna suggested. She knelt down and smoothed a warm, gentle hand across Elfman's sweat-filled forehead.
"You don't understand... I just... gotta bust us out... Or else... Mira..." Elfman groaned.
"I know..." Lisanna nodded, barely keeping her own emotions in check. She longed to reunite with Mirajane just as badly as her brother. but in spite of herself, she steeled her resolve. "We'll save her, Elfman. No matter what. Just... hold on a little longer, okay? We'll find a way out of this somehow." She grabbed hold of his hand, caressing it firmly, "We will."
Goofy and Sherria joined the Strauss siblings, the royal knight patting Elfman's shoulder. "Easy there, Elfman. No reason to lose steam now. We're with ya, pal."
"We'll get ourselves out. We have to. It's not like we're staying here forever, right?" Sherria smiled. Those words of encouragement seemed to ease a bit of Elfman's conscience as he inhaled and exhaled steadily.
"It's about time he chilled out. This hot air is getting us nowhere," Lucy breathed.
"I guess that settles it. We might need to figure out a different way out of this place instead of using force," Gray confirmed. No sooner did he say that than he had no shirt or pants on, save his black trunks— a prime example of the stripping habit he picked up from his younger years as an Ice-Make wizard.
"WAK! Where are your clothes?!" Donald quacked.
"How'd ya lose 'em so fast?" Goofy gasped.
"What the..." Gray took notice, and he smacked his face in annoyance. "Ugh, not again!"
"Well, at least there are two other people besides me who appreciate common decency," Lucy affirmed.
"A-hyuck, nice boxers you got there, Gray! They look like the ones Archimedes wore at Merlin's house!" Goofy grinned.
"How can you say that? He's naked! In front of EVERYBODY!" Donald shouted.
"Oh, Gray! What a handsome hunk of a man you are!" Juvia said affectionately.
"Hmm, Goofy seems to be taking Gray's stripping habit pretty well," Lisanna pointed out.
"I can deal seeing him in his boxers, but an owl's? Not so much," Romeo stated.
"Put some clothes on, you dingus! It's embarrassing if you're naked!" Donald demanded.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Gray snapped, as he picked his clothes up one by one.
"Okay, make that one person besides me who appreciates common decency..." Lucy sweated.
"It's funny that Gray isn't the only person I've seen lose their clothes," Sherria remarked. "Then again, it's one of the old laws of wizardry. Some Ice-Make wizards allow their bodies to adapt to cold temperatures."
"And that's where Gray and Lyon picked up that habit when they trained together as kids," Lucy sighed. "I get that it's traditional, but can't those two act more normal for a change?"
"Hold on a minute... Am I hearing things? Is that true?" Donald shuddered. "He's an ice wizard, and you're saying he has a habit of stripping BECAUSE he's an ice wizard? And somehow, you're OKAY with it?!"
"I don't know! Just because he's more than your average ice wizard doesn't mean he has no tendency to strip on occasion!" Sherria protested. "It's just an old wizard's tradition! It's either cheesy at best or pervy at worst! He probably got it from somebody else, not me!"
"Just who are you people...?" Donald asked flustered.
"Don't worry, Donald. You'll get used to it someday, though I doubt you will. Trust me, I know," Lucy groaned.
"Ah, phooey..." Donald muttered.
While Gray was putting his clothes back on, Wendy and the others continued to stare at the seemingly unbreachable cell door. "There's got to be a way out of here," the Sky Maiden thought to herself. "Carla said our magic won't work on that door because there's an anti-magic lacrima outside. I don't think my Keyblade can help, either. I don't even see a lock in it. I still can't shake off the feeling that Natsu, Mira, and Happy are in trouble... because of me." A twinge of worry was etched in her expression, "I know Kaze will use them to take advantage of me, and she'll hurt them if I don't do what she says. I'm worried about what's gonna happen, and I don't wanna find out." She then sighed, "I just wish they could hold out for a while till we get there. At least before she does."
Just then, the group heard an unfamiliar voice clearing its throat, and they traced it towards the batch of barrels in the corner of the room. "How ya doin' there? Looking for a way out?"
"AAAAAAHHH! A GHOST!" Donald and Goofy screamed in terror, and they instinctively jumped into Lucy's arms, flattening her under their combined weight.
"Urk! Not again! I just stretched my bones!" Lucy winced.
"Ha! How does it feel to feel what I've felt?" Donald boasted.
"Shut it, duck!" Lucy snapped.
"Hey! Who's there?" Wendy called out.
"Show yourself!" Romeo demanded.
Out of the barrels jumped a young boy with black eyebrows and short orange hair. He wore a green cap with a red feather, a light green short-sleeved tunic, green tights, tan pointed shoes, and a thin brown strap carrying a dagger in a scabbard at his waist.
Donald noticed, "Wait, that's no ghost. It's just a guy!"
Goofy breathed, "Phew! We thought there was a creepy ol' ghost in the room, but that sure scared the Steamboat Willies out of us. This is just like when we mistook Juvia for a ghost the first time we met her inside Monstro." Grateful that the brig wasn't haunted, he and Donald got off Lucy, who stood back up.
The celestial wizard huffed as she dusted herself, "I am never letting more than one person fall on me again."
Wendy asked the newcomer, "Excuse me, but who are you?"
The boy smiled, "Who am I, you ask? I'm the answer to your prayers. A light at the end of the tunnel, a ray of hope for when things seem to be at their bleakest."
Everyone paused, expecting an introduction from the boy. Donald crossed his arms and tapped his foot, giving off a disbelieving squawk that sounded like a sigh. Carla broke the ice, "And I assume you have a name that comes with the title?"
The boy replied, "Oh, sure. I'm Peter Pan. Neverland extraordinaire, Big Chief Flying Eagle, and leader of the Lost Boys. And when I say I'm the answer to your prayers, I mean you look like you could use a hand. I don't think you'll be able to escape this cell on your own."
Sherria confirmed, "Oh, so you're one of the locals."
Donald questioned, "Did you say you're a Neverland extraordinaire?"
Goofy guessed, "Then you must know more about this place than we do."
Peter nodded, "Yep. Everything from Mermaid Lagoon to the Indian Camp to Hook's pirate ship. Which we're all in, by the way."
Gray grimaced, "Yeeeeeeeeeeah, thanks for letting us know where we are."
Peter continued, "Any visitor who asks for a tour of the place comes to me. Lucky for you, I'm the best tour guide as best can be. I know everything in this island like the palm of my hand."
Donald, Goofy, and Sherria gasped with intrigue. "Everything?"
Peter repeated, "Everything."
Donald, Goofy, and Sherria breathed in amazement, "Wow!"
Wendy asked, "You know about the Jolly Roger as well?"
Peter quipped, "Same goes for the grumpy old pirate who owns it. Only a codfish like Hook would be so giddy about blowing me to pieces with a bomb sent as a surprise package. Thankfully, we took cover before we got buried under the rubble, and we came out fine."
Donald and Goofy asked in confusion, "We?"
Sherria blinked, "Who's 'we'?"
Carla wondered, "I presume Captain Hook attacked you recently?"
Peter chuckled, "Hook may be smart enough to make a bomb that can wipe out the chunk of a whole island in a heartbeat, but he doesn't realize that I'm still alive and kicking. I'd like to keep it that way for now."
Lucy interjected, "Wait, what? Just now, a bomb wiped out the chunk of a whole island?"
Wendy guessed, "And by island, you mean Neverland. Am I right?"
Peter nodded, "That's right."
Lucy continued, "And you, of all people, survived the explosion?"
Peter quipped, "Of course I did. It wasn't easy digging out of Hangman's Tree, but I was able to get a taste of fresh air. It's gonna take more than even a mountain-sized explosion to drag Peter Pan down into the dirt."
The group couldn't contain their astonishment at Peter's remarkable feat, especially Wendy and Lucy. "Whoa...!"
Donald smiled, "I don't know if he's crazy or a genius..."
Goofy added, "...but this Peter Pan fella's pretty good!"
Sherria wondered, "Is he a wizard, too?"
Juvia deduced, "He said it was a mountain-sized explosion, so it clearly was no ordinary bomb. It must be magic-powered or something."
Lucy's eyes widened, "Magic-powered? Don't tell me..."
Sherria finished, "...they used a bomb lacrima?"
Carla scowled, "Captain Hook is in league with the Alliance of Evil; of course he would resort to do something as drastic as setting up an explosive that could obliterate the chunk of an entire island. Why else wouldn't it be plain as day?"
Wendy confirmed, "I guess that makes sense..."
Gray asked Peter, "This Hook guy tried to kill you, didn't he? Shouldn't you go out there and get payback?"
Peter grinned, "If I did, I'd be spoiling the big surprise. I've got all the time I need to pay that old codfish back for the mess he just made, so don't worry."
Gray smirked, "Heh. We only just met, and you've got more brains than moxie."
Peter smirked back, "Oh, you think?"
Wendy asked, "So Peter, how do you and Captain Hook know each other?"
Peter explained, "We've been rivals for a long time. For all his attempts to give yours truly a taste of his own medicine, he has yet to win." He pointed a thumb at himself, "Because I always win! No matter what he does, I always stop him before he gets a chance to stop me. And I'll be honest; he's so full of himself, constantly bragging that he's the most vicious pirate in the seven seas, which makes him so easy to outsmart in his own game."
Wendy smiled, "Really?"
Romeo whistled, "Sweet!"
Sherria grinned, "A talented extraordinaire from Neverland with an impressive record of besting a dreaded pirate captain, who is also his archenemy... How surprising is that?"
Juvia stated, "Not for me. It's an old-fashioned scenario of rivals going at each other's throats." He cast a dry glance at Lucy, "Which is something I can relate to."
Peter continued, "We've had so many scuffles over the years. Some were dead serious, some were just for laughs... Overall, it's been the best fun I ever had since the day I chopped off his left hand and fed it to that crocodile."
Nearly everyone exclaimed in shock, "You WHAT?!"
Sherria winced, "Oooooh! That was nasty, even for a tour guide!"
Lisanna gasped, "You literally cut off his hand?"
Peter smiled, "Yeah. I did it. It was funny."
Lucy grimaced, "No, that was morbid!"
Peter clarified, "But don't get the wrong idea, it's not that I want to be friends with a nasty crook like Hook, and I don't think he wants to be friends with me, either. It's just that he's awfully bothersome for me and most folks in Neverland. Plus, he's a pirate. His hobbies include scuttling ships, cutting throats, and looting for treasure chests. That's more than one reason not to trust a big bad buccaneer."
Romeo confirmed, "Okay, so you purposely cut off his left hand because he's basically a bad guy."
Peter nodded, "Very much so."
Romeo assumed, "And he had to replace it with a hook. I'm thinking that's how he got the name."
Peter chuckled, "You're sharper than you look, kid. How'd you figure it out?"
Romeo shrugged with a grin, "Intuition, I guess?"
Lucy breathed, "Well, that's good to know that Peter isn't as cold-blooded as he implied."
Lisanna pointed out, "He doesn't look like a bad person. He sounds so earnest and positive. And he did say he cut off Captain Hook's hand because he knew he was a very mean pirate."
Gray stated, "And considering he works with the bastards who took Mira and Natsu, that makes more sense."
Peter affirmed, "Okay, with that out of the way, let me explain why I'm here in your hour of need. After I survived the explosion and got out of the rubble, I followed Hook and his men to the Jolly Roger to see what they're up to. I snuck inside, and I found you people trapped in this cell. So here we are. Thought you might need help from me."
Wendy wondered, "But... aren't you trapped in this cell, too?"
Peter scoffed, "Me? Ha!" He crossed his arms, "Only fools get thrown in this rickety brig. I'm an extraordinaire, remember? No one can possibly lock me up. I actually slipped my way in through a hole in the wall."
Romeo asked, "Where's this hole in the wall?"
Peter answered, "Right there, behind the barrels." He pointed at the barrels, then pushed them away to reveal the secret entrance he accessed earlier.
Wendy and her friends couldn't hide their awe over Peter's resourcefulness. "Ooooooooh..."
Goofy remarked, "Gee, who'da thunk there's a super secret entrance here?"
Wendy beamed, "And Peter found it right under our noses!"
Romeo grinned, "Cool! He really is an extraordinaire."
Carla suggested, "Which reminds me, the next time we get locked up and we stage an attempt at escape, perhaps we should consider searching the whole room for an opening we can use to get out. That way, we would've escaped without any effort."
Lucy whined, "You're suggesting it now? Oh, why didn't we think of this before? We've been lying down on our butts, talking all the time, when we should've looked EVERYWHERE for an opening in this stupid magic-restraining cell!" She rubbed her forehead in exasperation, "Just how dense were we? Why didn't we come up with that idea earlier?!"
Gray sighed, "Geez, Lucy. Simmer down, will ya? Acting all paranoid isn't gonna do you good."
Lucy protested, "I'm not paranoid! I'm just taking this seriously!"
Sherria noted, "Truth be told, we didn't come up with the idea. We didn't even know there was a secret opening at the time."
Lucy groaned, "Ugh, who am I kidding? Sherria's right. Our eyes just aren't clear enough to see the bigger picture. Or maybe it's me?"
Elfman grumbled, "Still doesn't beat my manly approach. It's way better and more direct."
Lisanna reminded, "You do know that your 'manly approach' failed, right? We could've busted out of this cell so easily if it weren't for that magic-restraining lacrima outside. It's their idea, not ours. We didn't know."
Juvia commented, "Regardless, there's no denying Peter Pan's cleverness. Basic and obvious, but clever."
Elfman crossed his arms and muttered under his breath, "Glory hog."
Lisanna gave her brother a teasing smile, "Pouty face."
Donald raised an eyebrow, "Wait a minute... We were thrown in this rickety brig first, so does that make US the fools?"
Wendy asked Peter, "Why are you here, anyway?"
Peter replied, "Besides rescuing the lot of you, I'm waiting for someone."
Wendy asked again, "Who?"
Her answer came in the form of a ball of bright light that flew into the room and swirled around the startled Sky Dragon Slayer, leaving a trail of magical dust in its wake. "Ah!"
"Tinker Bell, what took you so long?" Peter addressed the ball gliding up to him. The light surrounding it dimmed to reveal a very tiny female pixie with pale skin, black eyebrows, blue eyes, blue wings, and blonde hair tied to a bun by a blue ribbon. She wore a leaf-like strapless dress and a pair of green slippers, each sporting a white puffball on the front. She also exuded a golden glow around her, possibly the result of the dust she was contrived of. The heroes were all struck with intrigue at the sight of this creature. Sure, Wendy, Donald, Goofy, Romeo, Sherria, and Carla had seen a fairy before, but the one they met in Traverse Town wore a cloak and barely showed her wings. Even if the Fairy Godmother did have wings, she was only referenced for her description, appearance, and usage of magic. Now they were actually seeing the perfect image of a fairy-like creature in the flesh for the first time, and it felt so familiar.
"A fairy?" Wendy asked curiously.
"No, it's a pixie! Pixies are smaller than fairies!" Sherria corrected.
"WOW! A pixie!" Wendy, Romeo, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed in unison.
"Amazing!" Lisanna admired.
"My goodness!" Juvia breathed.
"I've heard about the Fairy Godmother in Traverse Town, but I've never seen that kind of fairy before," Lucy stated.
"Same here!" Wendy nodded.
"Every creature has its similarities and differences, both on the inside and the outside. Fairies and pixies are no exception. This one looks like a fairy at first glance, only smaller," Carla described.
"Fairies, genies, merpeople, Halloween creatures, and now pixies... How can our quest get any more thrilling?" Romeo remarked.
"Every world has its own wonders beyond our wildest imaginations, so of course we'd end up encountering tiny little magical creatures like pixies!" Sherria beamed.
"What else are we gonna run into when we visit a new world? Gargoyles? I'd be super stoked if I saw one in real life!" Romeo smiled.
"Who knows what we'll expect? It depends on the quality of that world," Sherria noted.
"And I think it makes it more fun that way. Each world's got its own wonders, like Sherria said. We can expect something incredible at any moment, and there's no complaining about it. Honestly, I like being surprised myself. Just not that much," Wendy grinned.
"Guess that makes you, me, and a fortunate few here," Romeo quipped as he, Wendy, and Sherria shared a brief laugh about it.
"Aww, would ya look at that little sprite? She's so pretty!" Goofy cooed.
"She looks all glowy like a firefly or a light bulb," Donald commented.
"And she shines as bright as Cana's Fairy Glitter spell," Lisanna added.
The wings of the pixie known as Tinker Bell fluttered softly behind her hair as she communicated with Peter through a light and sound dialect that was indiscernible to the human ear, except perhaps for the boy in green. "Great job. So you found Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys?" She made more chiming noises, and he frowned hearing the details. "Hold on. There were others, too? A blue talking cat, a girl with white long hair, and a guy with spiky salmon hair?"
That drew surprised and hopeful reactions from Wendy and her friends, as they knew exactly what Peter and his pixie companion were referring to. Romeo gasped, "That's Happy, Mira, and Natsu!"
Sherria confirmed, "They're aboard this ship after all!"
Wendy stared at Peter in confusion. "Did he just... say my name?"
Peter asked the group, "I take it you know these others?"
Romeo responded, "Yeah, they're our friends. We're here to rescue them."
Peter affirmed, "Okay, then. Looks like there's a reason for all of us to meet here in the same room. We're both on a mission to save some shanghaied friends of ours." Tinker Bell crossed her arms indignantly and spoke up to him again. He asked in surprise, "Ditch Wendy? Are you crazy? There's no way I'm gonna leave her there!"
Wendy gasped, "He said my name again!"
Donald asked her, "You know this guy?"
Goofy wondered, "Is he lookin' for ya?"
Wendy replied, "I've never seen him before. We only just met. But if he is looking for me..." She added anxiously, "...then how does he know me?"
Goofy guessed, "Maybe he's lookin' for somebody else in this ship who has your name."
Donald agreed, "He's right. You can't possibly be the only Wendy in this universe. He and his pixie friend came to rescue a different kind of Wendy, so you can't be the one."
Juvia questioned, "But what are the chances of him really knowing you, and you him? He might be another person from your forgotten past. Besides Kaze, of course."
Lucy stated, "I don't think she's ever seen anyone like Peter Pan in her memories." She turned to Wendy and asked, "Have you known him your whole life? Met him a long time ago?"
Wendy shook her head, "Uh-uh."
Tinker Bell abruptly flew around the cell, pointing at each of the female party members one by one as she rang furiously. Peter grew puzzled by the pixie's erratic behavior and tried to reason with her, "They needed rescuing, too! So what if there's more than one girl in this ship besides Wendy? They don't seem to be a problem to me!"
The girls looked from Peter to Tinker Bell, who cast them a contemptuous glare before twisting her head to the side. Sherria asked, "Did we... do something wrong?"
Donald realized, "Aha! I get it! Tinker Bell apparently likes Peter Pan, and she must be pretty jealous that there's lot of girls here!" He began laughing out loud, which caused Tinker Bell to turn around and stamp her foot in the air. That comment not only drew her ire, but the mixed reactions of almost every female present.
Lucy crossed her hips and frowned at the royal wizard. "And what's so wrong with girls, Donald? If there were more girls than boys in this team, it wouldn't be our fault! Besides, you sound like some big jerkface from a drama-romance play."
Donald ignored the comment and continued to laugh, clutching his sides. Soon, Tinker Bell couldn't tolerate it any longer and decided to teach the insensitive duck a lesson by kicking him on the beak, making him dizzy. "Ow!"
Sherria berated, "Hey! That's just uncalled for!"
Juvia pointed out, "Even though what he said was uncalled for to begin with."
Lucy affirmed, "Well, he kinda deserved that for his lack of tact."
Tinker Bell stormed out the door in a huff, since she couldn't stand being in the presence of girls other than herself for a minute longer. Peter called out, "Come on, Tink! Open up the door!"
"Um, excuse me..." Wendy interjected. "You mentioned you have a friend named Wendy, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "And my other friends are John, Michael, and the Lost Boys. They're the ones I gotta rescue."
"Well, my name is also Wendy. I'm Wendy Marvell," Wendy introduced herself.
"Your name is Wendy, too?!" Peter exclaimed as he rushed in front of the Sky Maiden as quick as a flash, shocking her. "Well, what a coincidence! First I brought home a Wendy to read us stories, then I found another one here in the brig? Now that's something you don't see every day. We have two Wendys in one place! I know you're not the Wendy I'm looking for, but still, isn't it great to have two more Wendys than one? Count 'em, two Wendys!"
"I think I'm hearing a mouthful of Wendys," Donald muttered.
"Who would've guessed we'd have two Wendys in one place?" Gray remarked.
"Yup, we heard it straight out the tongue," Goofy nodded.
"It's actually not that confusing, to say the least," Lucy stated.
"But whose Wendy is what Wendy?" Sherria questioned.
"Well, our Wendy belongs to a prestigious magical guild in Magnolia, wields a mystical key-shaped weapon that dispels evil forces, and is the center of attention for her adorable and impossibly cute figure," Juvia described.
"Our Wendy— and by 'our', I mean 'mine'— she's way taller than this Wendy..." Peter implied, gesturing to the Sky Dragon Slayer. "...and she doesn't have blue hair. But she does wear a blue nightdress. She also has two little brothers, and they live in a nursery together."
"Oh, they do?" Wendy wondered.
"Yep. Not every day I get to meet two people with the same name, but I won't argue," Peter quipped. "It doesn't matter if your name is Wendy and her name is Wendy; what's most important is the way you are."
"You're taking this remarkably well, aren't you?" Wendy giggled.
"I have my ways. Comparisons don't confuse me," Peter smiled.
"Say, what are the names of your Wendy's brothers?" Wendy questioned.
"John and Michael," Peter replied. "John's the middle one who wears a white nightshirt, eyeglasses, and a hat, and he brings an umbrella with him. Michael's the short one who wears a pink nightshirt, and he doesn't go anywhere without his teddy bear."
"Are you rescuing them, too?"
"Yeah, all three of them. Along with my men, the Lost Boys. Hook captured them all, and I gotta go get 'em out."
"Okay, then... Is there anything else you want to say about your Wendy?"
"Well, she sewed my shadow back on, almost got shot out of the sky, had a splash with the mermaids at Mermaid Lagoon, flew with me to Skull Rock, fetched firewood for an Indian woman, and sung a mother song at Hangman's Tree," Peter rubbed his chin. "That song was unusually heart-rending, it almost brought tears to my eyes."
"Wow..." Wendy remarked.
"That's a load of info!" Donald stated.
"But it sure sounds interestin'," Goofy added.
"Oh, well," Peter shrugged. "Backgrounds and appearances aside, we'll just have to have two Wen—"
Carla cleared her throat, "If you're done, we should focus on getting out of here, and fast."
Romeo agreed, "Yeah. Our friends are in this ship, too. We have to hurry and save them."
Lisanna decided, "We both want to rescue someone in this ship, so we're going. And we might as well help each other out."
Elfman offered, "So what's it gonna be? The sooner we leave this dump, the sooner we can find the others, then we bash the punks who captured them. For taking away my Big Sis and our guildmates, they're in for a manly ass whoopin'."
Gray quipped, "Looks like you're not alone in this, Peter. Welcome to the party."
Peter grimaced, feeling like the spotlight was hogged by a group of random new faces, but eventually complied. "Sounds reasonable." He held out his hand with a smile, "Good to meet you and your friends, Wendy."
Wendy smiled back, "Good to meet you too, Peter." She moved her hand to shake Peter's, only for him to pull back.
Peter placed his hands on his hips petulantly. "Okay, we're in this together, but only 'til we find our friends."
Wendy replied uneasily, "Uh... Fair enough?"
Romeo shrugged, "If you say so."
Carla confirmed, "I suppose we have no choice but to depend on your guidance. You know all about the Jolly Roger more than anyone else here."
Peter replied, "I practically know everything there is here in Neverland. Just leave the directions to me. If any of you wants to go in front, I won't mind. But you gotta follow my lead. You might get yourself lost."
Wendy nodded, "Sure thing."
Peter grinned, "And I believe I didn't catch the names of everyone else here. Wendy told me hers. What about yours?"
Romeo stepped in first. "I'm Romeo."
The rest of the group followed afterwards. "And I'm Donald."
"Name's Goofy."
"I'm Sherria."
"My name is Carla."
"I'm Lucy."
"I'm Gray."
"I'm Juvia."
"I'm Lisanna. This is my big brother, Elfman."
"Sup?"
Peter grinned, "Okay, it's settled. Let's get a move on!"
Wendy agreed, "Right!"
Romeo declared, "Time to rock this joint, Fairy Tail-style!"
Gray concurred, "Damn straight we will!"
Sherria asked, "Where do you suppose they're keeping our friends?"
Peter answered, "Tink said they were thrown in the galley."
Romeo nodded, "Galley, huh? Doesn't sounds hard to find."
Wendy determined, "But we're going there. That's where they all are."
Lucy suggested, "But first, we have to bust out of this cell." She motioned towards the hidden opening on the wall, "Why don't we use that? We squeeze ourselves in one by one—" She stopped to find her other teammates looking out the door window alongside Peter, much to her chagrin. "Hey! Is anyone listening to me?"
Wendy and company cautiously peered out the room to observe the hold's mounting defenses, most particularly the tight lock on the cell door. The Sky Dragon Slayer whispered to Peter, "That door's got an anti-magic lacrima, and we can't open it unless we do so from the outside. How are we gonna get it to open?"
Peter whispered back with a confident smirk, "Don't worry. I have a plan."
As she witnessed her friends huddling together for Peter's proposed strategy, Lucy face faulted into the floor, utterly confounded that her own escape plan was ignored in favor of following a more proactive approach. "What about MY plan?! It's more sensible!"
Three minutes later...
"AAAAAAAH! AAAAGGGH! IT HURTS! IT HUUURRRTS! SOMEONE! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY! PLEASE! PLEASE HELP! HELP ME! HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!" A loud, painful scream suddenly echoed from the brig, nearly startling the Scuttle Edge guards out of their posts.
"Hey, pipe down, will ya?! I'm tryin' to get some shut-eye!" the first guard dshouted.
"Ignore him, Jim. They're prisoners. They're not goin' anywhere," the second guard mumbled.
"MY ARM! I DISLOCATED MY ARM! IT'S BROKEN! I CAN BARELY MOVE AN INCH! IT HURTS! IT REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HURTS! AAAAAHHH! MEDIC! MEDIIIIICCCCC!" That tortuous shrieking came from Elfman, who faked having a severe arm injury in order to lull the guards into a false sense of concern for the prisoners, as per Peter's elaborate scheme. It kept resounding past the door, irritating the guards further.
"WAAAAAAAAAK! MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN! SOMEBODY'S HURT! GET A DOCTOR! QUICK!" Donald joined in on the agitation, and he sounded like he was in total panic.
"OH, MY GAWRSH! HELP US! SOMEBODY HELP US! HE'S HAVIN' A BUSTED ARM! HE'S DYIN' OVER HERE! WE NEED A DOCTOR! SOMEBODY GET A DOCTOR! WE NEED HIM NOW!" Goofy bellowed in the same manner.
"What in the blazes?! They're screamin' too loud, Tim!" the guard named Jim grimaced.
"They're just overreactin', Jim. Leave 'em be," the guard named Tim moaned.
"HELP, FELLAS! HEEEEELP! OH, NOOOOOOO! HE DOESN'T LOOK SO GOOD!" Goofy exclaimed.
"MY ARM IS BROKEN! I NEED A DOCTOR! SAVE ME! SAVE ME FROM THIS PAIN! MAKE IT GO AWAY! C'MON, PLEASE! PLEEEAASSEEE! HELP A BROTHER OUT, HUH?!" Elfman wailed.
"HEEEEEEELP! IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?! IS THERE ANYBODY?!" Donald squawked.
Soon, the constant whining and screaming became too unbearable for the guards to block out, and they glanced at the door. "Man, the noise is killin' my eardrums! We hafta check on 'em?" Jim complained.
"And do somethin' to shut 'em up? Yeah, let's do that," Tim nodded. "Come on, get the door open!" As they disabled the lock and the anti-magic lacrima that powered it, they entered to find Elfman lying on the floor, grasping his 'broken arm', with Donald and Goofy attending to his 'poor state'. "Alright, what's the matter with you crybabies? This better be—"
At that moment, Elfman's agony instantly shifted to ferocity. "Gotcha!" He flipped himself back to his feet, having transformed into his Beast Soul form.
"WHAT THE—" A massive punch silenced the guards in one swift move, slamming them against the door and breaking it in two.
"And bye-bye, mean ol' lacrima! Goofy Bash!" Goofy tossed his shield as a flying disc to shatter the crystal for good measure, thus deactivating the magic-restraining network that immersed the ship's hold.
"Alright! The plan worked!" Romeo cheered.
"And the lacrima's broken!" Sherria added.
"Now we can get out!" Wendy beamed.
"Let's go! We gotta man up and save Mira, Natsu, and Peter's friends!" Elfman yelled.
"Finally, some action! We're outta here!" Gray announced.
"It's payback time for those nasty old pirates!" Donald declared.
"It figures they'd have to trick the guards. One of the oldest tricks in the book. I could've done it myself, but whatever," Lucy sighed.
"Come on, gang! We haven't got all day!" Peter urged, and they charged out of the brig without a second to waste. The great rescue mission aboard the Jolly Roger had begun!
Hold
Alerted by the heroes' escape, several squadrons of Heartless (Pirates, Shadows, and Soldiers), Sleepy Hollow wizards, and Scuttle Edge pirates swarmed the hold in all corners, barring their path to the next area. "It's a breakout! Wendy Marvell and the Fairy Tail wizards have escaped! Surround them!" a Sleepy Hollow captain yelled.
"This is your only warning! Return to your cell at once! Orders from Captain Hook and Master Viriniam!" the Scuttle Edge leader commanded.
"Typical of Kaze and Hook, doing whatever they can to try and keep us down!" Romeo tensed.
"Yeah, why else would they throw in the Scuttle Edge dark guild?" Sherria glared. "They're a gang of vicious buccaneers known for using magic to terrorize port towns, vandalize harbors, and sink down naval ships. According to the Magic Council, the biggest score of their criminal record was when they stole Hargeon's entire treasure hoard in X789. Sabertooth stole it back not long after. Even so, if you're looking for the biggest, baddest pirate wizards around, Scuttle Edge is the best choice."
"Are they a dark guild that used to work for the Balam Alliance, too?" Wendy asked.
"No, they're independent. But there's no denying they're a special case," Sherria answered.
"Well, now they work for the Alliance of Evil. It's painfully obvious they would sell their services to those fiends!" Carla growled.
"So what? It's just another band of buffoons for us to beat!" Donald retorted.
"We've fought plenty of dark guilds, so this should be easy!" Goofy agreed.
"Couldn't have said it better. I've been itching to kick some butt around here," Gray huffed.
"It takes more than your average dark guild to bring down real men like us!" Elfman boasted.
"Hey, don't you notice they are girls here, too?" Lucy deadpanned.
"Seize them! Throw them back into the brig!" the commanding Sleepy Hollow wizard issued orders to the defense forces. They made their advance, compelling Wendy and company to prepare their magic and weapons.
"Well, we just checked out!" Wendy said defiantly. "We don't intend to go back there!" Despite her claim, a trio of Scuttle Edge gunners brandished their mini magic cannons and opened fire on the Keyblade wielder, causing a smoke cloud of blazing elemental power to erupt where she and her friends stood. However, they leaped high above the multicolored smog and gazed down on the enemies with fierce anger. "And you can't make us!" With that said, Wendy began charging the Olympia with Magic Energy. "Ars Arcanum! Strike Raid! Sonic Blade! Gravira! Thundara!" Utilizing an amalgam of various Keyblade spells, she effortlessly dispatched the first wave, then shifted to her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"Sky God's Wave Attack!" Sherria blended her spell with Wendy's to make a Unison Raid, blasting a group of wizards backwards in gusts of black and white.
"AAAAAAH! SO WINDY!" they all screamed.
"Rainbow Slash!" Romeo swished his arm, conjuring a rainbow-colored crescent slash to sear an incoming Sleepy Hollow attack force in an explosion of colored flames.
"YEOW! SO HOT!"
"Ice-Make: Gesyer!" Gray shot a gigantic spike of ice out of the floor, freezing solid an entire Scuttle Edge regiment.
"BRRRR! SO COLD!"
"Water Jigsaw!" Juvia dashed forward as a swirling vortex of slicing water, mincing a significant number of Heartless and wizards.
"OW! SO SHARP!"
"Open, Gate of the Sea Goat! Capricorn!" Lucy swiped the air with her selected Gate Key, and the Sea Goat himself was summoned from the Celestial World, ready to serve his mistress in the heat of battle.
"At your service, my lady. Do you need assistance?" Capricorn asked.
"Let's you and me take 'em down!" Lucy took on a fighting stance by the time she changed into her Capricorn Star Dress.
"With pleasure," Capricorn complied, and the duo proceeded to engage the encroaching baddies in a no-holds-barred beatdown.
"Thundara!" Donald vaporized twelve Shadows in a lightning storm.
"Goofy Tornado!" Goofy bashed six Soldiers in a spinning attack.
"Hyaaah!" Carla smacked six Pirates with basic melee strikes before exposing them to Wendy's Keyblade.
"MANLY!" Elfman, still in his Beast Soul form, thrashed seven Sleepy Hollow grunts.
"Animal Soul: Cat!" Lisanna scratched five Scuttle Edge fighters with her claws.
Needless to say, the ship's hold was quite spacious and had a few levels to it, giving Wendy and her teammates elbow room to move about and exploit more than a few blind spots among the enemy squads. In a span of three minutes, they had defeated all the ground forces in the vicinity. Everyone was most pleased with the results, except for Peter, who didn't get to do anything during the battle. Luckily for him, the fighting didn't end there, as a horde of Air Pirate Heartless stormed into the hold and glided through the air like a pack of vultures.
"They've got flyers, too!" Romeo exclaimed.
"Like the ones we fought at the Coliseum!" Wendy noticed.
"Somebody must've forgotten to bring them in," Sherria stated.
"Flyers, huh?" Peter eyed the Air Pirates with a cocky smile; a clear indication that this was his opportunity to prove his worth in battle. "Leave 'em to me! I'll chase 'em down!" He unsheathed his dagger, and did something that no one in the party expected him to do...
"He can fly!" Wendy cried.
"He can fly?!" Donald, Goofy, Carla, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Elfman shouted.
"He flew!" Romeo, Sherria, and Lisanna gasped.
Indeed, Peter Pan was flying with the grace of a hummingbird and the speed of a falcon, swerving his way around the hold's complex spaces and outpacing the Air Pirates one by one. He slashed the Heartless rapidly with his dagger; to compensate for his low strength, his attacks landed at a deadly pace, and thus proved sufficient to beat them into submission. On top of that, he would use his flight to confuse several Heartless between delivering blows, making him a flexible combatant in spite of his low attack power. During the aerial brawl, Peter spun around an Air Pirate and dazed it before slaying it in a 25-hit combo, chopped off the wings of a second and kicked it to the ground, rushed through a third with a dagger charge, slammed a fourth into the wall, bumped a fifth against a sixth, and parried the assault of a seventh prior to making a swift counterattack. Soon, there were three Air Pirates left. They converged and soared around him in a howling halo, about to unload a combined triple hook when the Boy Who Could Fly held his dagger high. "Time-Out!" His weapon surging with Stop Magic, time froze around the first Air Pirate, allowing him to slice it in thirty hits. The spell wore off in a couple of seconds, and the Heartless expired from all the damage it sustained. "Storm's Eye!" Next, Peter wrapped himself in a protective Aero barrier, both boosting his defense power and making the second Air Pirate's martial arts moves ineffective. When it lacked the stamina to raise an arm, its end came quickly. "Hummingbird!" Lastly, letting out a strong battle crow, he darted in to rain a 100-hit dagger strike upon the final Air Pirate, destroying it at the last jab. Satisfied that the hold was cleared of enemies, Peter flew back down to meet with Wendy and her friends, who were nothing short of fascinated by his formidable fighting style.
"Whooooooooa!" they breathed in unison.
"Nice moves, Peter! You've got some swagger with a dagger!" Romeo remarked.
"And you flew really fast! Where'd you learn to do that?" Wendy beamed.
"He must've practiced a unique form of flight magic," Sherria theorized.
"Yes, it almost even matches the same speed as my Aera," Carla nodded.
"Not only that, he uses magic similar to Stop and Aero," Donald pointed out.
"Another guest party member who's also a mighty fine wizard. It's like seein' Jack in Halloween Town again!" Goofy smiled.
"All in a day's work for good ol' Peter Pan. Get on my bad side, and they're in for the flight of their lives. Literally! And I mean me," Peter grinned, pointing a thumb to himself.
"Gosh, what an extraordinaire you turned out to be!" Sherria admired.
"And you don't use enchantments to make yourself fly, either. It makes me wish I could do that sometime. Wouldn't it be nice if that happens?" Wendy imagined.
"We watched you slip past these tight spaces and over these boards up high on the ceiling while you were fighting those Heartless. And you didn't even break a sweat. You do know your stuff!" Romeo smiled.
"Pretty slick flying, huh?" Peter chuckled.
"Slick? I'd call that smooth!" Donald grinned.
"Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" Goofy quipped.
"Does that make me a stinging butterfly?" Peter joked, provoking a friendly laugh from the party members.
"Not that I wish to compete with you for your speed, I'm just very impressed with the way you maneuvered in the air. There's not a single slip up amid your flight. Effortless, if not flawless," Carla commented.
"Thanks. It's been a while since somebody complimented me for my flight. I'd go for a straight five out of five any day," Peter approved.
"Would you be surprised if someone gave you a higher number than five, given your flight was on a completely different level?" Carla chuckled.
"Nah, not really," Peter shrugged with a smile.
"I thought so," Carla smiled back.
"Well, we've defeated all the guards. There's no one left here, unless we expect reinforcements on the other side," Juvia confirmed.
"Boy, Kaze and her crew sure don't give up so easily," Lucy sighed.
"For a simple vessel, it has plenty of space to fit in an entire a-a-a-army," Capricorn bleated.
"True, we've got some space in this place that flies in space... Feelin' lucky?" Gray joked.
"Hey, this ain't the time to be joking around!" Elfman scolded.
"We still have to save our friends in the galley," Lisanna reminded.
"Alright, let's go!" Wendy nodded.
"Why do I get the feeling that we're gonna get sucked into something outrageous other than an anti-magic brig?" Lucy muttered.
"That happens on a regular basis for us, Lady Lucy. Anything can happen," Capricorn stated. He paused for a quick survey of the hold, "This area is secure, as Lady Juvia reported. Shall I return to the Celestial World?"
"No, I'm borrowing you for a while. Might need backup," Lucy responded.
"As you wish. Say the word, and I will lend you as much of my strength as I am able," Capricorn declared, bowing his head respectfully.
"Thanks," Lucy appreciated. She then followed the others to the next room straight ahead, the Celestial Spirit walking alongside her.
Freezer Entrance
They entered the room to find that the hole leading down into the ship's freezer was patrolled by a force of eight dark wizards and no less than a dozen Barrel Spiders. The leader demanded, "Who goes there?! The OxyMagic Space Engine is off limits to non-personnel! No one is allowed to enter the freezer except for the maintenance crew!"
Romeo shot back, "We're Fairy Tail, and we say we're going in! Yellow Fire!" He produced darts of yellow flame around his palms and flung them at the Barrel Spiders.
"Fira!" Wendy and Donald implemented their own fire spells, every Barrel Spider burst in a rhapsody of explosions that nearly engulfed the room in a heartbeat.
"You better get outta the way, the freight train's coming through! Sky God's Tempest!" Sherria threw a rising uppercut, unleashing a black cyclone that smashed all the wizards in one blow.
"Good work, you guys!" Lucy gave the thumbs up.
"Where can we find the galley?" Wendy asked Peter.
"Down there. It's a one-way path," Peter replied, pointing towards the entrance to the freezer. They either jumped through the hole or climbed down the ladder to get inside.
Freezer
The Jolly Roger's cold storage room harbored more Sleepy Hollow and Scuttle Edge wizards, coupled with Shadows and Pirates, though the numbers were less than those encountered at the hold. They were definitely a pain in the rear for Wendy and company, but no matter how many stood in their path, they wouldn't rest until they reached the galley and freed their friends from Hook and Kaze's grasp. The freezer also happened to contain the ship's specialized OxyMagic Space Engine, a device capable of creating a huge field of oxygen around the entire vessel and enable it to fly anywhere in outer space. If destroyed, the Jolly Roger would lose its only means of interstellar travel, and therefore remain grounded in Neverland forever. The party was unaware of the fact until they had to take out every enemy in the freezer. Wendy executed Stun Impact, Strike Raid, and Sky Dragon's Roar, Donald cast Blizzara, Fira, and Gravira, Goofy applied Goofy Rocket and Goofy Bash, Romeo conjured Blue Fire and a Purple Net, Sherria enabled Sky God's Maelstrom and Sky God's Windmill, Peter used Time-Out and Hummingbird, Carla performed a White Moon, Gray sculpted Ice-Make: Saucer and Ice-Make: Ice Impact, Juvia cast Water Nebula, Elfman and Lisanna flexed their trademark Take-Over abilities, and Lucy and Capricorn favored standard fighting techniques. The only enemies left were the four Sleepy Hollow underlings running the OxyMagic Space Engine at the center of the freezer, and they set out to confront them.
"Oh, Oxy Doxy Great OxyMagic Space Engine, spewing out the oxygen, giving us lots and lots of air so we can breathe in space! Freshen it all up! Yeah!" the first wizard sang cheerily.
"OxyMagic Space Engine? You mean this one?" Wendy referred to the square machine with flashing light bulbs, spinning gears, and a line of exhaust pipes on either side.
"Yeah, it's a device we built that not only allows the Jolly Roger to fly, but creates a barrier of fresh oxygen around it so we can breathe freely while we're out in space," the second wizard explained.
"So that's why everybody in this ship's been breathing air during space travel lately," Wendy realized.
"Huh, so no one's head popped like a balloon. Mira and Happy were right," Sherria remarked.
"Man, Kaze and her goons think up the strangest ways to make even a pirate ship fly anywhere in the universe, huh? They're really quite creative," Romeo commented.
"Master Viriniam is the wo-man with the plan, all right," the third wizard nodded.
"'Wo-man'?" Lucy repeated in confusion.
"I mean, we love oxygen. Love it. And so installing a magic engine that makes an ordinary pirate ship fly in outer space AND cover the deck in oxygen is pretty cool, considering Captain Hook requested to have his own interstellar cruise since he first joined the council. He wanted to turn the Jolly Roger into a ship that can sail the stars, and we all agreed it was a great idea. Better than to have our lungs sucked dry on deck. So there you have it, our OxyMagic Space Engine," the fourth wizard implied, gesturing towards the engine. "If we lose this baby, the Jolly Roger won't be able to sail in outer space, and no more free oxygen for us. We better take good care of it. How about you? You like oxygen?" Wendy and company's snickering spoiled the moment. "Hey, what's so funny?"
"Thanks for telling us how the Jolly Roger was able to fly in space. We just have to destroy that engine to make sure this ship stays grounded, right?" Wendy smiled.
"Sorry, guys, but your space-traveling days are numbered!" Romeo announced, his fists igniting with Purple Fire.
"HUH?!" The Sleepy Hollow minions barely registered their shock when they fell victim to Wendy's Keyblade, Romeo's Purple Fire Fists, Donald's staff, and Goofy's shield as a consequence for letting out too much.
"Sky God's Wind Slice!" Sherria swiped her arms, releasing a flurry of crescent wind blades to tear the OxyMagic Space Engine apart. It then exploded, depriving the Jolly Roger of its only method of interstellar transportation. The Sky God Slayer dusted her hands and said, "There we go! This ship won't be having another trip to the stars anytime soon."
Wendy cheered, "Yeah!"
Romeo beamed, "Alright!"
Goofy chimed, "You betcha!"
Donald huffed, "Good riddance, you piece of junk!"
Wendy confirmed, "That should hold them long enough for us to get to Natsu, Happy, Mira, and Peter's friends before Kaze does. I hope this buy us some time..."
Carla stated, "Knowing Kaze, she would do anything to ensure her devious plots go off without a hitch. Even so, we shouldn't let her have the chance."
Lucy sweated, "Geez, would you believe those idiots? They just gave away the only means for this pirate ship to fly, and we've already taken out the power source. This is too easy."
Gray scoffed, "Who cares? They got what's coming to them. It's their fault for gunning us down earlier. It's only fair we leveled out the playing field."
Elfman asserted, "Those Alliance of Evil punks are the reason we're all in this mess. Let's teach 'em a lesson they won't forget..."
Lisanna finished, "...just as soon as we free our friends!"
Peter suggested, "Let's keep moving. The galley's on the other side." He and his companions climbed the ladder on the right, the flaming wreckage of the OxyMagic Space Engine mingling with the storage room's flowing chill.
Freezer Exit
As soon as they stepped out of the freezer, the next batch of foes they faced were a simple pack of Heartless consisting of Pirates and Barrel Spiders. No Scuttle Edge or Sleepy Hollow member was present, leading to the assumption that all the human staff on the lower deck had been eliminated. With that advantage, Wendy, Donald, and Romeo detonated the Barrel Spiders with their Fire Magic, while Sherria, Carla, Goofy, Peter, Lucy, Capricorn, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, and Lisanna dispatched the Pirates in short order. While the heroes were accessing the next section of the ship, Donald happened to spot a muscular man with a tan beard, a black eyepatch, a hat with a skull and crossbones symbol, and a blue pirate jacket. That man was Dirtybeard, the former master of the disbanded Scuttle Edge guild who sat on the floor and curled up into a ball, silently weeping to himself. He wept not simply over the fact that his own guild turned against him, but dumped him and dissolved the very guild he led to become members of Captain Hook's pirate crew. He was only a sobbing wreck now, a shell of the man he used to be. "Why me... Why me... Why me... They can't do this to me... They can't... I'm their captain... I'm a pirate... I'm a real pirate... I'm a real pirate... Why won't they believe me... Why won't they believe me... Why me... Why me..."
Donald stared at the ex-guild master with pity, but then turned to the door with an indifferent shrug. "Eh, he's just a mop guy."
Galley
Wendy and company arrived at the galley, a separate hold of the ship's interior, as Peter floated above them. Speaking of, the Sky Maiden had a question concerning her new ally's unspecified flight ability. "Say, Peter, how is it that you can fly? Is it some kind of magic you're using?"
Peter replied, "I wouldn't exactly call it 'magic', but yeah, I can fly."
Lucy snarked, "Uh, yeah. We noticed. For like, ten and a half minutes ago?"
Wendy grinned, "This is so wonderful! You fly without any wings and move your way around the place. That's pretty fast, if not faster than Carla or Happy!"
Romeo nodded, "We all watched the whole thing. But you already knew that."
Carla assured, "Like I said, I have no desire to compete with you. I don't see it as a challenge."
Wendy sighed dreamily, "I wish I could fly like you, Peter. You know, without using wings or having to rely on enchantments? That would be a waste of magic. But still, wouldn't it be great to know what it's like? To fly without spending too much magic?" She added excitedly, "Oh, I'd be so happy about it!"
Donald smiled, "Same here. I wanna fly like you, too! For once, I'd like this flightless duck to take flight." He gestured to himself, "Sure, wings are fine, but flying without wings? That, I can get behind! Because if spending lots of magic doesn't make you fly, I don't know what will!" He added mischievously, "Hey, maybe I get to walk in her shoes for a change!" He pointed a thumb at Carla, "Better yet, fly in her shoes!" He laughed at the joke he made.
Carla sighed, "I have no say in this, but he does have a point. You fly without draining much of your magic, even when you cast your spells."
Goofy imagined, "Gawrsh, if we were flyers, we'd be zippin' through hoops and knockin' Heartless off course like you did!"
Lisanna implied, "I was about to do the same thing with Animal Soul: Bird, but I guess you beat me to it, huh?"
Sherria remarked, "You have the speed and flexibility of a trapeze artist, only you're not using the trapeze. Not to mention you fly as gracefully as Dumbo." She made a finger salute, "If you were a circus star, the crowd would salute you for your unmatched command of the sky. Floating just out of reach, but near enough to catch a glimpse of your untamed beauty."
Peter raised an eyebrow, "Untamed... beauty?"
Sherria inched a palm below the foot of the Boy Who Could Fly levitating up and down, and music began to play as a microphone lowered in front of her. The amaranth-haired girl cleared her throat and sang a song.
Sherria: If only I could join you there in the air
Floating free without a care
I wish I could fly
And see things with a different eye
The Sky God Slayer soon imagined herself flying through the blue sky.
I would fly so very high and touch the sky
And never have to ask why it is that I can fly—
"Hey!" With a record scratch, the backdrop turned back into the galley once Peter snapped her out of her fantasy. "What are you singing about?"
"Oh! Sorry," Sherria chuckled sheepishly. "I was just daydreaming and singing a song from Sky Sisters: The Musical. It's titled 'I Wish I Could Fly'."
"I remember it very well," Wendy giggled.
"And I remember something Dad used to say:" Romeo lowered his voice for an impersonation of Macao's voice. "'If we were meant to fly, we'd have propellers on our heads or jet engines on our backs.'"
Donald wondered, "When have we heard that before?" He turned to Goofy, who shrugged.
Peter insisted, "Um, if any of you are done rambling, you should ask how I was able to fly."
Romeo nodded, "Okay, sure. How were you able to fly? Your flight ability is clearly nothing out of the ordinary."
Peter answered, "Anyone can fly. You wanna try?"
Wendy, Donald, Goofy, Romeo, and Sherria looked enthusiastic. "Would we?!"
Peter saw their eager expressions, and smirked. "Would you? Oh, I bet you do!"
They nodded, their muscles shaking with anticipation. "Yes! Yes! YES!"
"I'm not asking again. You wanna try flying in my shoes? Is that what you want?"
"YEEESSSSS!"
Peter's smile grew as wide as theirs. "Okay! Request granted!" Wendy, Donald, Goofy, Romeo, and Sherria cheered and gave each other hugs and hi-fives.
Juvia commented, "Well, those five look rather excited."
Lucy smiled, "I guess we should give that a try, too."
Gray quipped, "They've got the right to take flight, alright."
Elfman grinned, "Flying like Peter Pan, huh? Sounds like a manly offer."
Lisanna agreed, "It wouldn't hurt to give it a try."
Carla stated, "I have my wings, so I'm very much able regardless."
Romeo asked eagerly, "So when do we get started?"
Wendy smiled, "Yeah! How can we fly like you?"
Peter replied, "Just a minute..." He made a whistle, and Tinker Bell flew into the room and over to his side, still looking irritable. "Aw, haven't you cooled off yet, Tink?" The pixie gestured to all the girls in the party, voicing her displeasure towards them. "What do you mean, we shouldn't bring those girls with us? They're our friends! They even helped me fight off Hook's men. I don't see a reason not to have them on our side." She pouted at his response.
Sherria whispered to Lucy, "Maybe she's against all kinds of girls except herself."
Lucy whispered back, "I don't blame her. She's heavily entitled to her own opinion."
Peter requested, "Now come on, Tink. Help a crowd out, will ya?" Tinker Bell initially refused to lend her assistance to the group, especially Wendy and the other girls, but reluctantly agreed after some persuasion from her best friend. At heart, she would rather fly away and leave them alone, not caring if any of the girls fell into one of Hook's traps.
Wendy questioned, "Anyway, how are you gonna get us to fly?"
Peter answered, "It's easy. All it takes is faith and trust. And best of all: dust!"
Wendy repeated, "Dust?"
Everyone else followed, "Dust?"
"And I'm gone," Tinker Bell thought to herself, realizing what Peter meant. She attempted to fly away, but he caught her by the wings.
"Yep. Just a little bit of pixie dust." Peter held Tinker Bell over the heroes and patted her back repeatedly, sprinkling her magical dust all over them like falling snow, covering them from head to shoulder. "Now, think of the happiest things. It's the same as having wings."
For starters, Donald jumped into the air, flapping his arms up and down; his ideal vision of being a 'flying flightless duck' would come true... for only seven seconds. Instead, he fell flat on the floor, making everyone cringe. Tinker Bell, on the other hand, got a kick out of the duck's futile attempt, and she flew down and laughed at him. Several group members, including Peter, couldn't help but laugh as well. Others merely showed concern for their hapless friend.
"Hey, what's the big idea?! Why can't I fly?!" Donald complained.
"I guess it takes a little practice," Lisanna giggled.
"Could use some manly work!" Elfman chuckled.
"And now you're laughing at me because I can't get it right on the first try... Typical!" Donald bemoaned, tapping his finger on the floor. "How come it's not working? I'm supposed to be up in the air longer than that!"
"Sorry, Donald. We didn't mean to laugh at your expense. We're just wondering how it works," Sherria smiled.
"You're just giving this flying business a try, and I don't blame you for it. None of us are," Lucy stated.
"It's still pretty funny seein' ya drop like a lump of cheese!" Goofy chortled.
"Don't sweat it, Donald. It's your test run. And for the record, we're laughing with you, not at you," Gray clarified.
"That was a nice test run, though!" Peter commented. He and the others laughed again, but not as hard and mocking as Tinker Bell, who took great delight in seeing Donald act like a dumbbell.
"Oh, I see. You were encouraging me," Donald confirmed, before his face turned sour once more. "But I still didn't get to fly."
"That's odd," Wendy stroked her chin. "Even with all that dust, we can't fly. It didn't work like it should've."
"Well, that's a bust," Romeo sighed. "I always wanted to try and fly like Peter, Happy, Carla, and even Dumbo."
"Oh, well. I guess we'll work on that later," Peter shrugged. "Best if we keep moving for now."
"Good idea," Wendy nodded with a smile. "Looks like flying will have to wait."
"Right," Romeo agreed. "We still have to find the others."
Meanwhile, in the Captain's Cabin...
"WHAT?!" Captain Hook exclaimed in surprise after hearing what Kaze had learned from her recent communication with the Darkball on the deck. "After all our efforts, all the strategies we made, and a number of complaints I registered to the council, I get a moment's rest when I hear that Wendy Darling is not one of the chosen ones! Are you certain?"
Kaze answered, "While you were getting all chicken over crocodiles, I had a little chat with that Darkball Maleficent sent here to evaluate her. He's run some heart tests, and then confirmed it to me. Wendy #2 isn't one of them. Her heart isn't pure enough to designate her as a Princess."
Hook blinked, "You're joking! The Heartless are simple-minded creatures whose only instinct is to eat hearts, and yet they're able to tell who's a Princess?"
Kaze rubbed the back of her head, "It's so unusual. Even I can't tell how they read hearts. It's more of a sixth sense, so don't ask me! Ask the lady who sent the Darkball! We never know what the Heartless are truly capable of. Well, you and me, anyway." She put her hands around her hips, "Maleficent was right about the current eight we have at the moment, though. We volunteered Darling to be one of them, only to find that she isn't... This is gonna set us back a week. Maybe half a week."
Hook frowned, "Such a disappointment... What shall we do, then?"
Kaze proposed, "Simple as a pimple; we press on. As soon as we seize this world's Keyhole, we raise anchor and set a course back to Hollow Bastion. Dump the cargo we don't need, including her and her pajama party posse."
Hook argued, "After the trouble of capturing them? Just when I was about to induct these children into me crew now that Peter Pan is out of my life for good! And you want me to just let them go?!"
Kaze quipped, "You're never the kind of guy who gets nice things, are you, Jimmy?" That earned her an irritated growl from the captain, and she laughed slightly. "Lighten up, buddy! I'm only suggesting. If you want Wendy #2 and her pals to sign the book and join your buccaneer band, then be my guest. I won't force you."
Hook grinned, "Hm, that's what I thought. My personal schedule remains unchanged." He made a serious look, "But riddle me this; why those nine? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"
Kaze replied, "If you've been attending council meetings regularly than going out on space sentry duty aboard the Jolly Roger, you would've read the whole blueprint. Supposedly, there are nine Princesses of Heart, and by bringing them together, a final door will be revealed. Beyond that door, untold wisdom and ultimate power to rule the entire universe." She raised a finger, "But there's a catch. The Princesses have the power to expose the seal, not open it. Only Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, the pure fire of a dragon, can break the enchantment." She turned to face the window, "The other catch, and by far the most complicated, is that his heart is missing. As long as he sleeps, he can't use his magic, and the door stays sealed even with all nine brought together. So whether we find his heart first, or the Princesses can help bring it back, it makes no difference. Anything that benefits us will do just fine."
Hook frowned, "All this in search of nine maidens and the heart of Natsu Dragneel, that salmon-haired scalawag?" He then scoffed, "Hmph! This is an absolute waste of time! Even if we did find them all, what good will it do? As for Natsu, he's been in a deep sleep ever since you brought him in. The Heartless may have devoured his heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever."
Kaze said resolutely, "We'll keep looking. We have all day. All month, if that's what it takes."
"Uh, Cap'n..." The voice of Mr. Smee came from a speaking tube.
"What?" Hook asked, as he and Kaze walked over to it.
"The prisoners have escaped," Smee informed. "Our OxyMagic Space Engine is destroyed, and all hands on the hold have been taken out!"
"They WHAT?!" Hook shouted.
"Why am I not surprised?" Kaze remarked. "She shut down the engine and cut the Jolly Roger off from the fleet, knowing we'd make a run for it." An impressed smile fell on her face. "Well played, Blueberry."
"If that isn't bad enough, Peter Pan is with them!" Smee continued.
"PETER PAN?!" Hook yelled hysterically. The volume and terror in his voice was enough to startle Kaze a little, and his body trembled at the thought of his nemesis returning from the grave. "No... No! No, no, no, no! It can't be! How is he still alive?! He's supposed to be dead! He should be dead! This is not possible!"
"I-I-I don't know, Cap'n!" Smee stammered. "It's his b-b-blinkin' ghost what's wanderin' around! No one c-c-could've survived that huge explosion on the island!"
"So the bomb plan was a dud, huh?" Kaze asked amusingly. "Can this night possibly get any interesting?"
"Blast that Peter Pan..." Hook growled, his expression changing from horror to annoyance. "How many times do I have to kill the same accursed little monster? Even from beyond the grave, he still taunts me!" He regained his composure, then ordered his first mate, "Alright, then. Bring the hostages to me cabin, Smee! Hop to it!"
"Aye-aye, sir!" Smee complied.
The cabin door suddenly burst open, and four Sleepy Hollow wizards ran into the room to bring urgent news. "Master Viriniam!" the lead one cried, coming to a stop in front of the young guild master with a screen tablet.
Hook turned to face the guards, gritting his teeth. "Don't tell me there's more bad news!"
Kaze wondered, "What's the matter? You guys in a rush?"
The lead wizard reported, "We received a message from the surveillance parties. We've lost contact with every dark guild squadron universe-wide, including the ships that ventured beyond the Neverland blockade. They've all been wiped out!"
Kaze and Hook exclaimed in unison, "ALL OF THEM?!"
Hook protested, "H... How can this be? I thought we had every ship positioned outside of Neverland's atmosphere! Not a single one out of place! What's wrong with them? Have they lost their nerves? Is it so hard for these doddering imbeciles to just stay where they are and be on the lookout for irregular activity?!"
Kaze implied, "Well, some units decided they had to sweep other parts of space for irregular activity. There are things that needed checking out there besides the blockade, you know! The enemy could be planning a surprise attack ten to thirty miles from here! It's basically one of the fundamentals of being a watchdog, James; you gotta check everything inside and out."
Hook gave the Dark Vixen a puzzled look. "Sometimes I can't comprehend your logic, Viriniam."
Kaze mused, "But every single dark guild squadron spread across the universe, gone in the blink of an eye? That's quite the bombshell." She narrowed her eyes, "And I can think of only one suspect at the scene of the crime..."
The lead wizard nodded, "Yes, Master. We identified and confirmed the attacker as a single 978-4-06 Gummi Fighter class Raijin, the one that's been active in various space sectors as of late. It's come to the attention of our intelligence units since after the Deep Jungle expedition." He handed the tablet to Kaze, who flipped open the file to examine the picture of the black and yellow armored vessel that floated past the remains of ravaged illegal guild spacecrafts.
Kaze stared intently at the image. "So this is the flying troublemaker I heard so much about at the library..." She turned to the guards, "What's the current structure of our dark guild collection? What are our losses?"
The lead wizard responded, "We can only estimate about 95% of our reserves."
Kaze murmured, "Ninety-five... percent? No way... You mean to tell me..." As she came to a conclusion in regards to the situation at hand, her eyes popped into white round eyes, and her voice turned extremely frantic. "WE'RE THE ONLY ONES LEFT?!"
Hook whined, "I knew it! I knew it was a mistake handing control of the dark guilds to Viriniam! It should be ME!"
The lead wizard apologized, "Forgive us, Master! We weren't fast enough! The blockade remains secure for now, but we can't contact our fleet divisions all over the universe; the Raijin destroyed each and every one of them! The ships we have left are those encircling Neverland's perimeter, including the Ichabod! We're cut off! We're completely on our own!"
Kaze pouted as she replied with mock disappointment, "Really? Well, that's a shame. I guess we'll just have to pack up and go—" The sarcasm disappeared, and she exploded in a dark aura, scaring everyone around her. "OF COURSE WE'RE ON OUR OWN! YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THE MATH?!" Upon seeing the frightened looks on Hook and the Sleepy Hollow wizards' faces, she relaxed with a groan, allowing her magic to stabilize. "What else is new? Is Mr. Smarty Pants Raijin coming to get us next?"
The lead wizard straightened himself, then answered, "And more. We did a cross-analysis on the Raijin's intricate design, and found something engraved on the ship's bow. We would like your take on the situation, though. If you zoom in the photo, you can see it clearly."
Kaze did as she was asked, and paid close attention to the Raijin's bow, particularly the emblem of a fairy with a tail in the middle. It was only twelve short seconds before she recognized that symbol. "Fairy Tail...?!" All at once, she ascertained that her past discovery at the library was spot on; there may be more misplaced Fairy Tail members at large besides the few that went with Wendy. Filled with outrage, she turned to her subordinates. "More Fairy Tail runaways?!"
The lead wizard reasoned, "We believe so. If the Raijin is indeed piloted by more Fairy Tail wizards who have stowed away to other worlds after our attack on their guildhall, it's highly likely they will approach the blockade. We are currently monitoring every entry point."
Kaze murmured, "So the theory about another ship run by Fairy Tail and gunning down dark guild ships one by one wasn't just a rumor. If they're behind the collection's unexpected and unfortunate upheaval, then..." She contemplated the prospect before a horrified expression crossed her face, as she became convinced that the Raijin would soon be targeting what was left of the dark guild armada at any moment. At the same time, a desperate anger boiled inside, prompting her to crush the tablet under her fingers and then throw the broken device away. She immediately barked commands to the Sleepy Hollow officials, "Double outer perimeter surveillance! I want EVERY tiny little boat up in the air on patrol! If you happen to encounter that Raijin or anything suspicious, don't waste time! Shoot them! Use all tactical weapons, everything you got, I don't care!" She balled a fist into her palm, "Do whatever you must to enforce that blockade! Am I clear?!"
The wizards affirmed, "Yes, Master!"
Kaze yelled, "Now GO!" Her minions hurried out of the room.
Hook snapped, "This is a disaster, Viriniam! Our dark guild forces are falling out of line, and it's all because of you! It's your fault!"
Kaze asked incredulously, "My fault?"
Hook barked, "Yes, it is! This one's on you! If you hadn't insisted on taking command of the fleet I commissioned for my protection, if you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong, none of this would've happened! I should never have agreed to work with you! I should've been in charge of this whole operation, but no! You wouldn't let me! You persuaded Maleficent to dismiss me and make my dark guild bodyguards YOUR dark guild bodyguards!" He shook his fist furiously, "You boasted all night that your plan was perfect, and now look how it worked out! Everything falls apart on your watch! This is YOUR mess, not mine!"
Kaze deadpanned, "NOW you noticed it? A few hours later, and you just told me that I screwed up big time tonight?" She stroked her forehead, "God, this is getting messed up than I thought. At this rate, Wendy will have the edge she needs, and it's party fouls all around. The main event will be ruined. I'll be one blueberry short off the basket!"
Hook mocked, "Oh, what's the matter? Not enough Sleepy Hollow hippies involved? I suppose you have a contingency plan of some kind to make up for these untimely setbacks? Well, spit it out! I'm dying to know what new idea you're concocting in that grubby brain of yours! Go on, I dare you!"
Kaze rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm... Now that you mention it, Hook, I might have one. Here!" She reached into her skirt and pulled out a lacrima crystal before tossing it to the captain, who caught it in his hand. "Take this. In case I might not be around and things go south on your end, rub this lacrima three times. Just give the word, and dark guild reinforcements will converge at your exact position faster than you can say Ten Birds of Prey. They'll come and lend you a hand. Or a hook, if you so prefer."
Hook asked suspiciously, "Why are you assisting me now? This doesn't have another insulting backbone to it, does it?"
Kaze crossed her hips behind her back and grinned, "Nope, it's a favor I'm doing for a partner. All in the contract. No strings attached. Range should be close to the atmosphere at least."
Hook mumbled, "Scurvy brats driving a hard bargain, and here I am, agreeing to it if it means ridding my presence of more scurvy brats..." Nonetheless, he accepted the offer, "Very well, I'll keep that trinket with me." He put the lacrima under the pocket of his coat. "I'll use it to bring in more men to overwhelm those fools." He added sinisterly, "In fact, it's the perfect tool with which for me to wreak me wrath on Marvell and her pathetic friends! They will all tremble before the brilliance that is Captain Hook! I know I don't say that often, but really, they will all tremble before the brilliance that is Captain Hook!" He paused to see the stern look on Kaze's face. "What? You think I'm going to crank call those bilge rats from above?"
Kaze warned, "For emergencies only. The fleet's running low, and we don't have plenty of ships and/or dark guilds to spare. I'm only dispatching a small force to assist you. No more, no less. The rest of the fleet is needed for the blockade. That cool with you?" Her smile returned, "Still, when life gives you lemons, be sure to give your partner a shout!" She strode over to Hook and flicked his nose with a jovial laugh.
Hook almost felt the urge to smack the Sleepy Hollow guild master for her offensive behavior, but he relented and instead made a retort, "Thanks, but no thanks! Young women, always poking into people's business when they should be..." He kept grumbling under his breath as he marched for the door and stepped outside for some fresh air at the deck.
With Kaze left on her own, she was about to take a seat on the couch when she spotted an oval swirl of ruby magic beneath her feet. "If you've come to be the bearer of bad news, I wouldn't," she quipped.
"I heard everything," Crane's voice echoed from the vortex.
"Our dark guild reserves are depleting fast, a new cruiser's on its way, and there's such a small window that we only have one shot," Kaze mused. "They just don't know when to quit. If we can't stop them all, we can at least make sure they don't ruin everything we've worked our tails off to climb to the top of this very mountain."
"Sometimes failure can be a powerful motivator. It's just a matter of looking in the right places," Crane stated.
"Heh, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Kaze smirked.
"Let them try to bumble their way here. Mr. Smee and the Pirates will have already retrieved the hostages before they reached them. Because after tonight..." Crane rose from the portal, his arms crossed over his chest, a dominating look on his face. Before long, the mass from where he floated off spread into a single event-horizon that contaminated the entire cabin, covering it in a blanket of pitch red darkness. His blue eyes glowed amid the expanding distortion, which made his expression all the more threatening. "...Wendy Marvell will finally meet her end!"
Kaze's smirk widened at her adjutant's steadfast dedication. She was confident that he would be the one to subdue Wendy on her behalf, before she could proceed to the final phase of her plan. First, she would take control of the hostages— and then, with the aid of her followers, the Dark Vixen would ensure that the Sky Maiden could never escape her again.
Finally, the redness turned to black. Her insidious laughter rang quietly.
Author's Note:
Phew, that's a ringer! It was a long and winding road, but this concludes the first chapter of the Neverland arc. Once again, I thank you all for your patience. What do you think of the twists and turns I've added to this chapter? Allow me to list them one by one, but only the important bits:
While the heart-rending secrets behind the wedge between Wendy and Kaze during their childhood years are slowly revealing themselves, Romeo has had his time to shine as a co-pilot in training under Donald and Goofy's guidance, and is by far an experienced first-timer. There are three reasons why he volunteered to get behind the wheel of the Gummi Ship— one is to play a bigger role in the crew, two is that he's inspired by the pirate ship he rode in Atlantica during the final battle with Ursula, and three is so that he can spend time in the cockpit with a certain Sky Dragon Slayer he's fallen for. *wink, wink.* Wendy discovers he's the new trainee, but she has no time to ask questions when the dark guilds of the Alliance of Evil under Kaze's command commence their attack. Wendy, a veteran, and Romeo, a rookie, work efficiently together to repel the dark guild aggressors without suffering a single casualty, and I even added a rock song from my favorite web series RWBY to pump up the adrenaline! What an epic intergalactic dogfight this turned out to be! And when Romeo explained to Wendy his reasons for wanting to pilot the Gummi Ship, she's ecstatic— she can't refuse when he asks to become her co-pilot, and she his. Possibly because of the strong feelings they have for each other, they're going to make a great team in sharing the wheel. And they're still going to be. On a side note, more RoWen flavor as teased by Sherria and Lisanna!
Oh, and as for Sherria's brief mention of Shinra ringing familiar to her? That's a story for another time and another installment.
But the heroes' troubles are just beginning. Vitriolic villainous allies Kaze and Captain Hook have carried out their well-laid strategy, and by revealing their capture of Mirajane and Natsu via Crane's Archive, the Gummi Ship suffers heavy fire from the Jolly Roger, especially the Jupiter Cannon that Sleepy Hollow salvaged from the Grimoire Heart airship back at Earth-land and stored under the pirate ship's deck. You notice the reference I wrote there? Luckily, everybody is unharmed and knocked out by the crash. Unfortunately, Wendy is at the mercy of Kaze, Crane, and the Headless Horsemen, who overwhelm her in a curb-stomp battle before sending her into the brig.
Crane also has his chance to shine in this chapter by demonstrating the aggressive might of his Gravity Magic, only it's colored red and he fights like Infinite from Sonic Forces and Magneto from Marvel vs. Capcom all together. But this is also a preview of the challenge he's going to bring when he and Wendy clash. You'll see.
Finally, as Wendy and her friends join forces with Peter Pan to save Natsu, Mirajane, Happy, the Darlings, and the Lost Boys, the villains are receiving worrisome news that the Raijin gummi ship has eradicated 95% of their dark guild reserves, and the fleet above Neverland's surface is the only army they have left. Uh-oh! Kaze's plan is about to take a downward spiral, but she's not ready to fold just yet. No matter what the odds, she will stop Wendy and her allies from having their way by any means necessary. Either way, the Raijin is definitely on its way to Neverland. The Fairy Tail cavalry (which Gajeel and Panther Lily belong to) is coming soon!
Up next, the FIGHT and FLIGHT of the NIGHT begins! I can't wait for that! With the heroes and the villains gathering, you can expect plenty of action and swashbuckling excitement. Wendy and her friends square off against Crane (the Anti-Sora), along with Captain Hook and his pirates. Don't expect the Raijin crew to join the battle right away; it's gonna be a HUGE surprise that strikes you as fast as lightning. As a matter of fact, I have a load of surprises for the second chapter of the Neverland arc, so keep your eyes peeled!
Until then, this is TheSavageMan100 signing out. Don't forget to fav, follow, and review. Check out my other awesome stories. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Nuff said. Peace!
