Scenario I—A New Threat
Chapter I-The Journey Begins
The crystal clear water splashed under their feet as they made their way to a group of people in a large space filled with crystal clear water and immaculate white rocks. The eight figures turned as they joined the group among them:
Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy of seventeen wearing a red shirt with sleeves that fell down to his elbows, blue pants, and sandals. A straw hat with three strings embraided with beads rested atop his head of messy black hair. A short scar rested underneath his left eye.
Ichigo Kurosaki, a boy of around 16, with orange hair, wearing a hooded black kimono over a white shirt, wooden sandals, and wielding an enormous sword, with no hilt or guard.
Edward Elric, a short boy of 16, with blond hair tied into a short ponytail, and yellow eyes, wearing a long sleeve red coat over a black shirt and pants. Strings of cloth hung from the end of the sleeves like a shaman robe. The mechanical fingers of his mechanical right arm were barely visible under the sleeve of his coat.
Haru Glory, a young boy of 17 with spiky silver hair, purple eyes, wearing a sleeveless black jacket over a white shirt and pants with chains tied to his pockets, with several rings on his fingers and two earrings in his left ear, with a large broadsword tied to his back, turned to face the goddess.
Allen Walker, a boy of around 17, one wore a black suit, with white fur around the shoulders, and a red tie over a button up white shirt, black pants, polished black shoes and white gloves. The ends of his gloves and his coat had a tattered look to them. A cross shaped scar crossed over his left eye, while his silver hair swayed in the light breeze. He also had a golden, cross shaped earring, dangling by a chain thread from his left ear.
Inuyasha, a young man appearing fifteen, with waist-length white hair, dog-like ears on top of his head, and amber eyes with vertical pupils, wearing a long red kimono, with fur on the collar and sleeves, over a white yukata, wielding an enormous sword with fur wrapped around the hilt.
Naruto Uzumaki, a boy around 16, wore a zip-up black and orange shirt and pants, blue sandals, with no sleeve on his left arm. A head band with the image of a leaf carved into it, was tied around his forehead, nestled around his blonde hair, with two tattered strings of cloth coming off the head band. He also had three lines on each side of his face like fox whiskers.
And Gajeel Redfox, a man in his mid-twenties, wearing a long tattered black cloak, baje pants, and black boots, fingerless gloves, with iron bracelets around his wrists. He had long shaggy black hair, red, reptilian eyes with vertical pupils, and multiple bolt piercings in his nose, ears, neck, eyebrows, arms, and chin.
Kaede made her way through the group to the figure sitting on the throne. The goddess before them wore a long white dress and veil, with long, golden blond hair and blue eyes.
Cosmos stared at her warriors, then held out a hand. Orbs of light glowed around her hands, and flew into the air, circling around the 14 warriors, who stared in awe. Kaede held out her hand and caught one of the orbs, starring at it before it dispersed.
"I implore you…find the crystals, that even in a broken world could never fade." Cosmos said. The warriors turned and hurried off. Luffy did a slight bow to Cosmos, then left, straightening his beaded hat. Kaede glanced at Cosmos, then set out on her own.
"You must defeat the God of Discord. Stop Chaos, and end this conflict." Cosmos said to her leaving warriors…
Kaede walked through Alabasta Kingdom, accompanied by Kyoko, deep in her thoughts…
Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, imbued us with the power she said we would need in order to fight Chaos. What she gave us was something we had no way of using on our own—divine energy that would rest inside us, awaiting the proper catalyst. According to her, it was a strength that would be tempered through battle—by our own wills—and would eventually coalesce to form a crystal. As she told it, that crystal would then grant us, her soldiers, power to rival that of the gods themselves. So, simple as that. Fight the armies of Chaos, collect your crystal, and go take down the god of discord. At least…that was the plan, as we all headed back to the field of battle once again. What we found when we got there was something else entirely: opposition of a form we never could have expected.
Kaede stopped, a swarm of manikins stood before her, snarling, shrieking, and roaring. Each of the creatures had a long serpentine body, with reptilian legs, covered in boar fur. They had a pair of bat wings, and a long tail covered in spines. Their face was short and stout, with long pointed ears, and beady eyes. Razor sharp teeth protruded from their mouth, strings of yellow saliva traveling between the fangs.
"What a bunch of creeps." she spat.
Kyoko looked fearful. "What are they?"
"Manikins. We just got Cosmos's powers, and now—some new enemies, huh?" Kaede said.
"You think Cosmos might have any ideas about them." Kyoko said.
"Who knows? Just stop them!" Kaede shouted as the manikins attacked. Kaede's vectors surged forward, slicing the manikins in half. The Blue Dying Will Flames appeared on Kyoko's forehead, and she launched forward, and unleashed a blazing kick to the skull of one manikin. There was a crunch of bone as its skull shattered from her kick.
"Kyoko, get down!" Kaede shouted, and Kyoko ducked, as Kaede's vectors spun, creating a tornado that sliced apart the manikins. Kyoko stared in horror and fear as the head of one manikin landed next to her.
"Let's go, before more come!" Kaede shouted, and the two fled.
Chapter II-Unshared Memories
Two figures sat on the roof of a building in Magnolia Town.
One of the boys, Tsunayoshi Sawada, of around 15, with brown eyes and brown hair shaped like a star, wore a tattered hooded black jacket, blue pants with torn knees, and bluish-white gloves , with a yellowish-orange pacifier tied around his neck, and wearing a silver ring with a crest on it on his right index finger.
The other boy, Sasuke Uchiha, of around fifteen, had a slightly muscular build. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt which was open at the torso, with a red and white crest on the collar of his shirt. He wore black pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore a purple rope around his waist, tied in a bow, with a sword held in place against his back by the rope. He also wore an open long, black coat with red clouds painted on it. He had chin length, spiky black hair, and cold black eyes.
"Did you go to battle with you nemesis, and claim glorious victory?" Sasuke asked.
"No. Not yet." Tsuna said.
Sasuke smirked. "Still tip-toeing around the idea of committing yourself to the fight?" Tsuna closed his eyes, but did not speak.
"All of a sudden, you find yourself dragged to this sorry place." Sasuke continued. "And all of a sudden, a familiar face appears before you. Not a friend, no. An enemy whom you have no choice but to fight. A misguided prank of fickle gods. The person doesn't matter, only the connection. Even if that person is not the enemy you once hated."
"Even if that person was never an enemy to begin with. Right?" Tsuna said.
"But if you do nothing, your 'enemy' falls prey to one of the others. Can you live with that?" Sasuke said.
Tsuna glanced over. "And what about you, Sasuke? You're decided? You're not going to fight anyone?"
Sasuke shrugged, folding his arms. "Why fight when the outcome is so obvious? We warriors are simply playing the same part over and over. Even without me, the part of Chaos will not falter the slightest bit."
"But, still… Isn't there one here you once called your best friend, but is now an enemy?" Tsuna asked.
"Him? It no longer matters what happens to Naruto. All the encounters and memories in this world—none of it counts for a thing. If I'm to treasure any memories at all, I shall content myself with those I brought with me." Sasuke said. The two sat in silence for a moment, watching the birds in the sky. Sasuke stood up. "Well, I believe I'll go. That beast woman, Diva, has been harping on me for some assistance. I might as well get it over with so she'll shut up and leave me alone. Besides, who knows when some eager hero will appear and start clamoring for a duel. Perhaps you should be on your way as well. If someone sets their sights on you, then quiet time is over." Sasuke said, and started to walked off.
"Yeah, you're probably right. And Sasuke?"
Sasuke stopped and glanced back. "Yes?"
"Those memories you have, I hope you manage to keep them." Tsuna said with a smile.
Sasuke smirked. "We are far from being friends, but I suppose it does no harm for me to wish the same for you." Sasuke said, and began leaping across the roofs, as orange Dying Will Flames appeared on Tsuna's forehead, and he flew off in the opposite direction.
Chapter III-First Encounter With A Warrior of Chaos
Kaede and Kyoko made their way through the moonlit Symphonia Kingdom, now accompanied by Ikki and Miroku.
"This is getting us nowhere." Ikki complained loudly, after they fought off a horde of manikins.
"What good is having Cosmos's power, if we can't even make it out of here to use it?" Miroku wondered, scratching his head. Suddenly, Kaede stopped.
"Kaede?" Kyoko said.
"I sense an unrivaled evil…" Kaede said, looking around.
"Well, well…if it isn't Cosmos's warriors, marching straight into my arms of their own accord!"
The four looked up. Sasuke stood on the spire of Symphonia Castle, accompanied by a woman who had knee-length black hair, bright blue eyes, and wearing an ankle length dress with blue lining.
"Been a while since we've seen anything but puppets." Kaede said coldly.
The woman next to Sasuke giggled. "Really? Could it be you're…out of steam? Oh, you poor dears! Turn around. You still have more manikins waiting for a chance to play!" Diva laughed, tossing back her hair. The manikins stepped forward, snarling. Suddenly, Kaede's vectors struck them down.
"Go! Now! I'll deal with these two." Kaede said, staring at Sasuke and Diva.
"You better come back in one piece." Miroku said, and hurried off, carrying Yoh and Kyoko under his arms.
Diva wrapped her arms around Sasuke, smiling. "Well, Sasuke-kun… It looks like now's the time to show us what you can do. There's only one of them too, you know. This is your chance to shine!" she exclaimed.
Sasuke scowled, and shoved her away. "Will you stop talking? It gives me a headache every time you open that mouth of yours. I do not take orders or cues from you, Diva. I will engage them when I choose, and how I choose."
Diva merely laughed. "Fine, fine, fine, fine, whatever. I'll shut up and watch you do your thing, okay? Just get on with the showing-me-that-you-can-actually-put-up-a-fight part already!" Diva said, and sat down, as Sasuke leaped off the building, landing before Kaede, as he drew a sword from a sheath on his back. Suddenly, his eyes turned red, with three flame shaped symbols around his pupils.
"A poor soul, ever alone… No choice but to fulfill your destiny…and fall."
The two ran forward. Sasuke tucked the sword under his left arm, and weaved hand signs together, and inhaled deeply.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" he shouted, and expelled a stream of flame from his mouth. Two of Kaede's vectors stepped on the ground, and raised her into the air, out of reach of the flames. As she landed back on the ground, Kaede twitched her head, and three vectors launched forward. Sasuke drew his sword back, and began swinging it, spinning it in circles, blocking the vectors. Sasuke leaped through the air, and lashed out a kick. Kaede held her arms up, blocking the kick, and barrel-rolled through the air, as her vectors attacked. Sasuke leaped back, dodging and weaving between buildings, as the clawed hands grasped at him, eager to slice him open. Kaede gave chase.
"Get her! Get her!" Diva cheered, applauding as she watched. Sasuke scowled at her.
"Shut up!" he shouted. His lapse in concentration cost him. He gasped as one of the vectors grabbed his legs. With a yell, Sasuke was pulled back, into the midst of the vectors, which unleashed a violent barrage of blows. With a yell, Kaede raised her vectors into the air, and slammed Sasuke into a building, and released him. Sasuke fell to the ground, gasping in pain, as he began to vanish into white smoke. A shadow fell over him, as Diva smirked.
"Oopsie! Someone went and lost, didn't he?" she giggled. Then an ugly scowl crossed Diva's face. "You know what they say about second place: completely pathetic! Don't sweat, a little thing like that's not gonna be the end of you." she said. Sasuke scowled, and made a rude hand gesture at her, as he finished vanishing into smoke.
Diva smiled, showing rather sharp teeth. "Should be the end of that rebellious phase of yours, though! The next time you fight, it'll be study time! All over again! Oh, what kind of deliciously depraved memories should I fill you up with this time around?" Diva looked up suddenly, and jumped back as the vectors closed, inches from her head. "What? You're still here?"
Kaede scowled. "You'd let your friend die? You're not very different from the manikins."
"And that is the reason you're still standing now. Shouldn't you be kissing the sole of my shoes in appreciation?" Diva stated, her blue eyes gleaming.
"How dare you…" Kaede snarled.
"Besides, it's not like he's really gonna die from that. Let him be, he'll be back." Diva said, tossing back her long black hair.
Kaede stared. "He's not dead?"
"Now now, don't you go prying into that. Even if I went to the trouble of explaining, you'd just forget! Well, it's been lovely, but being me doesn't mean I'm free. Good-byeeee!" Diva sang, and vanished into thin air, leaving behind a blue rose.
Kaede stared at the rose. "What in the world was that all about?"
Chapter IV-"Forgive Me."
Musica watched the moon rise from inside one of the castles in feudal Japan, his lance resting against his shoulder.
"Hey there, Sir Stands-alone!"
Musica glanced over as Gajeel approached him.
"Need something?" Musica said with a smile.
"Nah, nothing in particular. Just saw you over here, all by your lonesome, thought you might need some company." Gajeel said, leaning against the wall.
Musica snorted. "How touching." he said with a smirk.
Gajeel chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. But since I'm here anyway… We need to chat about a thing or two."
"More of your memories have returned?" Musica asked interestedly.
"Nah, nothin' like that. It has to do with right now. With allies. With trust. With you." Gajeel said. Musica turned to look at him. "Now don't go getting' all aggravated with me. It ain't that serious. To put it bluntly, choosin' to spend all this time by yourself ain't makin' you popular." Gajeel explained.
"I wasn't trying—"
"It's not so much what you're tryin' or not tryin' to do. It's more how it looks to all the others. Especially the kids—they take your actions the wrong way. If you let 'em simmer for too long, there'll be trouble." Gajeel stated.
Musica raised an eyebrow. "There's been talk?"
"The thing's I've heard man, you have no idea." Gajeel said.
"Is this…some kind of jest?" Musica said, a slight tenseness to his tone.
"Too obvious, huh? Okay, so that last bit was a joke. Heh. Nothing's really happened yet, but still…that doesn't change the fact that everyone's worried." Gajeel said.
"Worried? For me? How cute." Musica said.
"I don't have all the answers. Though it'd help if you tried to fit in a little more." Gajeel said, and started walking off. "Maybe add to the banter; join in the laughter. That's all it'd take to put their little minds to rest. Well, I said all I came here to say. Guess I'll be off." Gajeel waved a hand in farewell.
"Gajeel!" Musica called out.
"Yeah?"
"Your concern…I appreciate it." Musica said, smiling.
Gajeel laughed slightly. "Anytime." he said, and walked off.
Musica turned back to look at the moon. Then movement caught his eye. "Edward…and Haru…" Musica stood up, and gripped his spear tightly. "Forgive me, my friends…" Musica said, and leaped out of the building, and threw the spear at the two.
Chapter V-Traitor?
Kaede stood in the throne room of Alabasta Castle. She stopped as another manikin stood before her, swinging from the arms of a statue. Kaede scowled, summoning her vectors. A shriek made her glance over, as two more manikins appeared, knuckle-walking towards her.
"No matter how many you take down, more spring up…" Kaede muttered.
Suddenly, the two manikins struck the wall, a silver lance impaled through their heads. Kaede stared, as the figure tore the lance out of their heads, and struck down the remaining manikin.
"Musica?" she gasped.
Musica glance at her, but remained silent.
"You made it out. What about the others? Yoh, Kyoko…?" Kaede broke off suddenly as she spotted Allen tucked under Musica's arm. "Allen! Someone got him?" Kaede gasped, as Musica set him down.
"Yes." Musica said, and started to walk away.
"Allen! Who did this to you?" Kaede said, staring at the multiple cuts and injuries on Allen's body. Allen stirred slightly.
"M…Musica… Why…"
Kaede's eyes widened. "Musica!" she gasped. She looked up, and quickly rolled to the side, as Musica made to attack her with the spear. Kaede summoned her vectors, as Musica turned to face her, spinning the lance around so that the tip was aimed at her heart.
"Musica? What are you doing?" Kaede demanded. Musica was silent. Then he launched forward. Kaede leaped back, using her vectors for support, as Musica struck the ground.
"Musica! Stop this!" Kaede shouted, as a vector grabbed the lance, and twisted it away. Musica leaped into the air, his eyes narrowed, and thrust the lance down, slicing through one of Kaede's vectors. Musica and Kaede leaped back, staring at each other. Then Musica drew back the lance. Two of Kaede's vectors grabbed the ground for support, as two more readied themselves.
"Silver Strike!" Musica shouted, and threw the lance. Kaede lashed out her vectors and caught the lance, while forced back. Two more of her vectors grabbed the lance, while another two dug into the ground. With a scowl, Kaede twitched her head, and the vectors threw the lance. Musica leaped into the air and caught it.
Chapter VI-An Enemies Warning
A high-pitch cackle sounded from the air.
"Oh ho, if it isn't our double-crossing young disturber of peace."
A black hole appeared, from out which stepped a figure resembling the grotesque caricature of a Victorian gentleman. A rotund figure, he had sickly gray skin and was dressed in a large coat and top hat decorated with mistletoe and a crescent moon, with an enormous grin plastered on his face, revealing every single one of his fang-like teeth. The figure wore a pair of pince-nez, half moon spectacles over his yellow eyes, which appeared to have slitted, vertical pupils, like a snakes. In his hands, the figure held an umbrella shaped like four conjoined bat wings. There was a whooshing noise as the black hole vanished.
The Millennium Earl snickered as a cloud of sand appeared next to him, and formed into an exceedingly large man of around 6 feet wearing a button-up, long sleeve orange plaid shirt stretched over his wide chest, an indigo velvet scarf, and a silk black and gray fur coat draped over his broad shoulders, ironed black pants and polished Italian shoes with buckles. Several beads hung from his scarf. There was a flushed, grayish-tone to his skin. He has slicked back, purplish-black hair. The man's eyes are half closed, with a long, stitched up scar running horizontally across his whole face. Several gemstones are worn on his fingers, with a pair of earrings in each of his ears. A sudden burst of wind blows the man's coat aside, revealing the loss of his left hand to have been replaced by a large, golden hook. The second figure lit a large cigar.
"Tell me, how many friends whom you've betrayed does that now make?" the Millennium Earl cackled.
"What?" Kaede gasped.
Musica turned suddenly, picked up Allen's body, and ran.
"Musica!" Kaede shouted, chasing after him, but Musica was already gone.
The Millennium Earl grinned, showing his pointed teeth. "This may be well worth hunting. I shall pursue him for the time being."
The second figure removed his cigar. "Suit yourself." Crocodile said, and the Millennium Earl vanished in a black hole.
Crocodile turned to Kaede, who readied herself to fight.
"A manikin army will soon sweep across the very place we stand. I needn't bother lifting my hand against the likes of you. The beasts have served their purpose better than you know. They may have…imperfections…but they are more than capable of defeating you." Crocodile said, expelling a stream of cigar smoke.
"Says who?" Kaede spat.
Crocodile smirked, as he placed his cigar back in his mouth. "Most of your friends have already departed. You'd best enjoy what precious time you have left."
"Departed? What's that supposed to mean?" Kaede demanded, as Crocodile began to walk away.
"Manikins are merciless. They know only how to deliver death and destruction, from which there can be no return. I suspect that we shall not see each other again. Fare thee well, soldier of Cosmos." Crocodile said, and vanished into a cloud of sand. Kaede scowled.
The world calls on strong wills.
Those wills then search for still more…
A warrior is chosen only on strength.
One considers not the warrior's own will…