Hello again people. I know I know it's been a while. But in my defence I finally started and finished Fate Hollow Ataraxia *starts foaming at the mouth* Sooooo gooooooooooood.
I could not control my fanboy.
Oh and I wrote a one shot battle between Saitama from One Punch Man and Koro-sensei from Assassination Classroom, so check that out.
As usual please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto, they are owned by people who don't compare themselves to a vegetable. I think... Do they compare themselves to vegetables?
"If you EVER attack an ally in front of an enemy, you are ASKING to be killed." Naruto was knocked unconscious from the surprise blow delivered by his supposed ally. It was the morning after and they stood outside the village waiting for everyone else to awaken before they say their goodbyes.
"Using a forbidden spell like that is unforgivable. I would have dealt with you and then dealt with the enemy." Erza Scarlett has her arms crossed just as furious at him as he was with her. To her, he had crossed a line that should never be crossed.
"So what is the alternative? Continuing to fight him in a way that wasn't working at all, while not knowing how many companions he had, not knowing if you had succeeded in your part of the mission. Oh and the fact that I gave him a piece of information I was unaware he was looking for." Naruto wasn't raising his voice just yet. Rage would not get through to the red head and he knew that, although apparently nothing gets through to her.
"You trust in your allies to succeed and come give you the assistance you require. What if you killed him using such a powerful spell?"
"So what if I killed him?" Naruto's words shocked Erza. She shouldn't have been so surprised knowing he was from Phantom Lord, but still. Having something as serious as death ignored.
"SO WHAT IF YOU KILLED HIM!?" She snapped.
"He's a member of a dark guild using Complexion Carve Magic. He terrorised the town we are here to protect and was so close to killing them all. If his death will save the lives of others, then how is that not a good thing?" Naruto could see Erza become a little slack jawed. "It's not like I go off and kill literally every bad guy I see. I believe in redemption, however there are some things that people just can't come back from. There is no way for some people to regain their humanity once it is gone. For example if a person enjoys the killing of innocents, or is attempting a mass genocide ritual, or is a part of a slave ring…" Naruto noticed Erza visible wince at that last one. He learnt a little more about her then she probably wanted him to. Naruto continued. "These people are too far gone and will cross a line they shouldn't again. If by killing one person who has it coming, I can save even just 1 person, it is worth it."
"I see your point however; killing should never be the go to. You talk about it like it is an option, no matter the circumstances, you will consider it. That is where you are wrong. It should never BE an option. You should ALWAYS find the other way."
"And if someone gets hurt during that 'other way' you speak about? What if someone else dies? What if they get away and many more die? That is not a risk I am willing to take. The man I fought will now go off and do something. Maybe try this ritual again; maybe try to get revenge on my guild or yours. I believe he will come after me for that journal I mentioned I have. Anything he does from here on out, could have been prevented, if my attack killed him. I want you to remember that when whatever happens next happens." Naruto chose then to end the conversation as the majority of the villagers were finally awake. Erza noticed this and thought it would be a good idea. He had gotten his point across, as had she. It would be up to both of them to decide how much they will adopt into their thoughts from now on.
"So what next?" Erza asked as she looked over to the village centre, where the two horns of the demon were being decorated. "Do we call in Rune Knights for the captive?" Erza motioned to the unconscious girl with long blonde and a long white sleeveless dress with two slits in the front for her legs. This was the woman Erza had fought. She was still unconscious and tied to a pole which Naruto hammered into the ground.
"Na no need. I'll take her straight to the Magic Council myself. I've got business there." Naruto grinned at his companion.
"Okay. Although I will later check with the council to make sure she got there." Naruto grinned when Erza gave him a questioning look.
"I don't kill in cold blood. Oh and would you mind taking Vivi-chan back with you? You only need to take her as far as Onibas. There is a Phantom sub guild around there she can stay until I pick her up."
"I don't see why not… It will be fun." Erza thought for a second. "I have a question. Vivi-chan is a five year old right?"
"Yeap." Erza looked a little downcast with the answer, even though she already knew the answer, she hoped that maybe she heard wrong.
"Her magic has accelerated her growth has it not?"
"Yeah… both physically and mentally." Naruto looked sad as he answered. He wasn't surprised Erza picked up on the side effect of mental trauma and Acceleration Magic. So he hoped she would look after Vivi and let her be the child she should be. It wasn't something he could easily ask the others in Phantom Lord to do, since Vivi was just as much of a professional as the rest of them, however Erza was not a work colleague and so she could become that caring figure Vivi can be herself around. Only Naruto and George currently fit those conditions.
"I'll look out for her. Just get the prisoner to the council unharmed."
XxX
It took Naruto two days to get to the Fiore branch of the magic council. He had cast Sleeping Magic on his captive the entire trip so she had yet to wake up. He had given Erza a small lacrima so he could communicate with her if the need ever arose. He also made a few calls from it to others, including someone who would check up on the village to make sure it would be okay, and to examine the patch of lush grass. Erza and Vivi were taking it easier, so they were still a day away from Onibus.
"Should I be concerned that you have a young woman draped over your shoulder Naruto-kun?" A tall elderly woman was the first to greet Naruto as he arrived. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore a purple turtleneck with the council cloak hung over it.
"Belno-sama, I'll have you know I have had no impure thoughts towards this attractive sleeping lady." Naruto cheekily smiled at the elder woman of the council. She was one of 3 members of the council he enjoyed the presence of. Naruto dropped the horn he was carrying, he would come back for it when he leaves.
"Dark guild?"
"Solomon's Children."
"Oh? That's a new one."
"Never heard of it either."
"Interrogation room?"
"Please."
The two walked and made small talk. Being the most laid back among the elder members of the council, Belno was someone Naruto would consider a friend.
"Seigrain or Ultear-chan in?" The two other members of the council Naruto would consider friends. Although there was something off about Seigrain that he just couldn't put his finger on.
"Seigrain is at a different branch, Ultear will be in later today so you'll have to wait to see her." Belno may be fellow council members to those two, but also knows their involvement in the council was purely to diversify their ranks. Ultear was added to join her as the only female members, while Seigrain was added as a young Wizard Saint.
"Need a hand with the interrogation?" Naruto rarely helped with them; however his magic was unsurprisingly useful at doing so.
XxX
She slowly cracked open her eyes. A dark unfamiliar room. Wait a second. What is this ominous feeling? Why does she feel disgusted and scared by the room? She rubbed her eyes and realised what was wrong. The room wasn't supposed to be dark. The light above her was bright, and the room should have been well lit. However the darkness that covered the walls was sucking up the light. What happened? How did she get here?
"The mission…" She held her head which hurt. This room was messing with her.
"You failed." An elderly blonde council member sat on the only chair in the room. She picked herself up off the floor to finally realise she wasn't bound by anything. She shook her head to finally clear her vision and realised this was a chance.
"Leaving me untied. How stupid." She leapt forward ready to strike the council woman, but her hand stopped right before contact. The darkness on the wall had leapt out and latched itself on her hand, pulling her back and slamming her into the wall. "Aaah… AAAAHH" She started to scream as the darkness slowly started to crawl on her. The darkness crawled up her neck, and into her open mouth. You could see the fear in her eyes.
"Enough." At Belno's word, the darkness pushed the captive off the wall freeing her from its clutches.
"How can it see me?" The woman asked as she coughed and struggled to breath.
"You mean that carving on your back?" The words caused the woman to jolt. "Solomon's Children aren't the only ones who know about those crests."
"How do you…?"
"I'm the magic council sweetheart. We're just not so pathetic to sacrifice the lives of others to use them. Although I bet you wish you had the one that frees you from your binds right about now." The key to this was to make the captive believe you know a lot more then you really do. This becomes easier when their state of mind is erratic because of the darkness that surrounds them. When they think you know a lot, they become more likely to give you information they believe you already have. That was one part of a Naruto style interrogation. However he could not be the one asking questions as he needed to focus on the fine movements of the darkness when he needs to protect Belno or scare the woman.
"I've never heard of Solomon's Child before today, however I am no stranger to a certain mad scientist journals. It is simple work erasing one." Naruto did this not Belno, but a simple lie won't hurt. "Now… you have two options. Tell me everything about Solomon's Children, or I will leave you with this darkness for a while longer."
"Ha… I won't tell you anything." She half spat out, yet she couldn't shake the fear from her voice. The more important part of the Naruto style interrogation was the fact it is a carrot and stick approach. The darkness instantly lashed out and started wrapping itself all around her. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She managed a scream just before her mouth was covered by the darkness. She could still breathe from her nose, but her mouth and eyes was no longer usable.
"It is a shame. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Belno grabbed the chair she sat on and walked out, leaving the woman pinned to the wall with darkness crawling all over her. She was left alone in the room with the darkness only to be visited again in a day's time.
"This is easier than I thought. I expected more from a guild I have never heard of." Belno spoke to the blond who was concentrating while seated in the adjacent room. This room had a one way mirror so they could see into the room. Naruto's darkness was thin enough of this wall to make it see through, yet thick enough so the captive wouldn't notice.
"She's not battle hardened. If anything she seems pitiful." Naruto didn't like torturing people. But this wasn't something he could half ass. This was important. She had slept for another 6 hours after Naruto's arrival, and now Naruto and Belno would spend 2 hours waiting before Belno would re-enter the room. She said she would wait longer, however in a room with nothing but darkness, time loses its meaning. A few minutes will feel like an hour by that time.
"It's a necessary evil."
XxX
"Hello Naruto-kun." It was around 90 minutes into the wait before Naruto was spoken to again.
"Ooooh Ultear-chan. Finally back from wherever you were." Naruto smiled at his long dark purple haired friend. Her short white kimono held in her curvaceous figure. When he saw a slight roll of her eyes Naruto's grinned. "Annoying business?"
"Very annoying business." Ultear sat on a chair beside Naruto and put her feet up on his knees. "It was the geezer's task, but it got pushed onto me because they're lazy." She wasn't speaking to him in a professional capacity so a relaxed tone like this was okay.
"Naaaw… poor Ultear-chwan." Naruto mocked the girl who gave him an annoyed glance. "If it's council business it must have been important."
"It was a meeting with a lacrima dealer because this branch is running out of water lacrima for the bathrooms and we have yet to be resupplied."
"Seriously? I know this is the Magic Council and all, but you don't have pipes here?"
"Urgh… It'd be a lot easier." Ultear rubbed her temples. Naruto smiled at his friend. He'd known her since she joined the council and he would like to think they had gotten closer. But he could tell she was still hiding things from her. Then again, everyone had things they would rather hide.
"How's Seig?"
"Very busy. He's all the way in Midi on business. There hasn't been a council member there in years, so they've become a little too anti-us."
"I honestly don't get how you can do this sorta stuff. Don't you miss the quests, the freedom?" Naruto was once offered a position in the council at the same time as Seigrain and Ultear. He had made quite an impression from his time in Phantom Lord. However he instantly refused. The amount of paperwork might have killed him by had
"Someone's got to do it." Ultear drove her heel into Naruto's leg as it does annoy her that he didn't join. She wouldn't have been the lowest on the totem pole if he did. Then she remembered. "Oh by the way, about that thing you asked."
"The strange power thing?" Naruto asked. He had requested that Ultear alert her sources the council was looking for people who use a power similar to magic, yet not magic. Naruto wanted to know if someone from his world ever reached this one.
"Yeah. The walking on water thing you said they would be able to do is what gave them away. There are two people with black coats with red clouds on it seen Bosco. They were asking around for a person, who uses a power similar to theirs. They're now making their way towards Fiore. Will you tell me why you're looking for them yet, and if you're the one they're looking for?"
"Nope. I told you this is personal."
"Fine, but don't forget this isn't for free. I'm going to ask you to do something you really don't want to do eventually, and you will have to do it. No questions asked."
"Yeah yeah." The two of them sat in mostly silence. Naruto was still focusing on his power, making it move just the right amount to send fear through the captive woman. It wasn't long before Belno walked back in nodding at Naruto to signal it was time. When Belno walked back into the room, Naruto released the captive, making her believe it had been almost a full day since she was last free.
She should be completely wrapped in fear, so that Belno's face would be a relief to the poor girl. Now Belno would offer her a deal that she would remove the darkness as long as she is cooperative from now on, and unsurprisingly that is what happened. Naruto made the darkness crawl away meaning his job was done. If she stopped being willing to supply information, Naruto would be called back, but for now his business was done. Saying goodbye to Belno, he started to walk with Ultear towards the exit.
"You should really stop by the guild some time, Ultear-chan. Vivi-chan would be thrilled to see you."
"You should bring her by more often then. You know taking a few days to visit a specific guild would cause a ridiculous number of problems." For one the few days NOT spent on council work would pile up, and other guilds would see it as favouritism if a council member visited a specific guild for whatever reason.
"You know I won't do that. This place would suck the life out of her." This place would suck the life out of anyone who doesn't understand bureaucracy. The lifelessness of the place is intentional since any action by any individual will reflect on the institution as a whole. Guilds are much looser when it comes to this as pretty much all of them don't care about image and let their work speak for them. "Anyway, I'll see ya when I see ya." Naruto waved goodbye to his friend just before picking up the horn sprinting away. He should be able to make it to Onibas before sundown, so he would stay at the sub guild for the night.
XxX
Naruto and Vivi had finally returned to the main guild headquarters. It was around midday. There was nothing eventful during this time. Vivi filled Naruto in on how much fun she had with Erza, even though the latter was a little unusual.
"Yo George." Naruto spoke to the white haired boy who sat in the centre of the Phantom Lord's VIP room. George nodded his head in response. He isn't known as the Phantom of Silence for nothing.
"Hey Naruto and Vivi-chan are back." Totomaru waved at the two while holding onto cards. He sat across from Sol and Aria who also held cards. They were playing a game of poker.
"Sup." Naruto greeted the three of them. "Are the other two on a job?"
"Non non non. Juvia-sama is in her room." Sol answered in his French accent.
"Gajeel is out on a job." Aria spoke next just before the three of them placed their hands on the table. "I lost again. So-so-so sorrowful." Aria started to cry over losing again. Vivi had run over to George and was telling him everything that happened on the job.
"I'm in for the next hand." Naruto sat down beside Aria. Totomaru picked up the deck and dealt the cards. "I learned about a new Dark Guild called Solomon's Children on this mission. They're doing some seriously messed up shit. I hope I can rely on you guys when I find their base."
"Of course Naruto. In fact, you better not leave us out of the next Dark Guild you destroy. Just because you're a Phantom of Ruin or whatever." Totomaru continued to deal as they spoke. They all discarded cards and picked up other ones.
"Yes yes." Naruto waved his hand casually. The four of them placed their cards to show Sol's victory. Aria started crying again. They continued to play until they were interrupted.
"Hey Naruto. We got a problem." The four playing cards quickly turned towards George. Whenever George speaks, you know something serious is going down.
"Um…" Vivi looked down as if she was ashamed. But a quick nudge from George got her to speak. "On our way back, at the bar in Onibus, before you got there. There were a group of guys. They were annoying, and they mentioned something called Lullaby…"
"Lullaby? Are you sure?" Naruto knelt down and looked at Vivi straight in the eyes.
"Yes… They said it was for someone named Erigor." Naruto pat Vivi 's head.
"Thanks Vivi. You might have just saved a lot of people." Naruto stood up with a dangerous look in his eye. "Get Juvia. We're going to destroy a Dark Guild."
XxX
A girl with long blue hair that curls at the base stood in the centre of an empty guild hall. The girl listened to the rain showering the guild. She wore a navy blue coat and hat. She held onto a bright pink umbrella even though she was indoors. A fur shawl hung over her shoulders and a teru teru bozu in the centre of her chest. If you had to describe this girl in a single word, then gloomy is probably the most suitable.
"Have you found anyone Juvia?" Naruto appeared from a door on the higher floor.
"Juvia has not seen anyone Naruto-sama." Juvia coolly responded.
"George what about you?" Naruto called out. George appeared from a trapdoor behind the bar. Vivi was grabbing onto his back.
"No one here Naruchi." Vivi answered for George. It seemed like the guild was empty.
"Dammit. They must have made their move already." Naruto rubbed his forehead. "SOL, ARIA, TOTOMARU GET IN HERE!" Naruto called the final three members of the Element 4 who were guarding all the exits. As soon as they had all assembled Naruto spoke again. "If no one is here, then they would have made their move on Clover Town and have Lullaby in their possession. We're close to Oshibana town so let's catch a train from there. If we move fast enough we can make it in time to stop them."
"Hey Naruto, it doesn't really matter but, what exactly is this Lullaby thing you're so worried about?" Totomaru asked. All he knew was that a dark guild called Eisenwald was going to use this Lullaby at a Guild Master conference.
"Lullaby is a demon flute mentioned in the Book of Zeref. It's not Eisenwald I'm worried about. It's what the demon will do now that it is freed."
"Ara. You seem to be well informed." A new voice appeared on the second story of the guild. Everyone looked up to see a girl that could only be described as white. Her short white dress was covered in white feathers which also had white bird like wings hanging from the back. Her white hair was short and framed her face.
"And who might you six be?" Naruto politely asks the six people spread out across the second floor.
"How rude of us, my name is Brain." The dark skinned man had neat shoulder length silver hair, and rather menacing eyes. He wore a white overcoat with blue fur lining that left his chest and stomach revealed. Unusual markings were lined over his face and chest. "But you will not need to remember that, Naruto Uzumaki."
"You're thinking of running. I can hear it." The man with upward spiking dark crimson hair spoke next. He wore a white coat over a black shirt as well as red pants. He stood beside a large purple snake.
"Don't even try. I'm too fast for you." This man had a long yellow mohawk while the shaved parts were black. He wore goggles to cover his eyes and had a long pointed nose. He wore a red and white racing outfit.
Another of the men was sitting hunched over on a floating carpet. It was clear that he was asleep. This man had spikey black hair on the top of his head with longer white hair at the back. He wore a sleeveless black vest and yellow pants with black stripes.
The last man standing up there was larger than the rest. He had long flowing orange hair and his face was very geometrical. He wore a loose black shirt with a large white collar. He also had a beaded necklace with an eye at the base. "Money makes…"
"Hey Aria. This character clashes with yours. I think we need to get rid of him." Naruto jokingly said as he nudged the large loose shirt necklace wearing member of his own guild. He quickly turned his attention to the six again. "I take it you're not members of Eisenwald."
"No we are not. But we will not let you interfere with them." Brain seriously answered. "Now it is time for you to die."
"Before that." Naruto lifted his hand to stop Brain. The entire Phantom Team now prepared for combat. "Judging by the fact that there are six of you, and that this is Eisenwald's guildhall, you guys are the infamous Oracion Seis… correct?"
"You're too smart for your own good. You may cause us problems later, you can die here." Brain raised the staff he was holding and launched an attack of green darkness at Naruto.
"Interesting." Naruto smiled at the sick feeling he felt from Brain's magic as he raised his own hand to deflect his attack. Orange darkness appeared and destroyed Brain's attack. "As a fellow darkness user I warn you, do not underestimate my darkness." A chill fell over the Phantom Lord members as Naruto's attitude iced over. They understood that Darkness magic wasn't something to be taken lightly. A simple misstep and the magic could consume them.
"Don't get me wrong. I have not underestimated you." Brain smiled. At that moment Naruto felt a chill behind him.
"Aria what are you doing?" Totomaru asked shocked as he saw Aria prepare an attack.
"Metsu." Aria spoke as his hands approached Naruto. This was a spell to drain its targets magic power. If this hit Naruto, he would be out of action for a while, and now was not a good time for that to happen.
"HOW SORROWFUL." Another Aria dashed out of nowhere and smashed into the other Aria. "To use my image to attack my ally, HOW SORROWFUL!" Tears started streaming down this Aria's face. He looked battered and in pain, but he still managed to save Naruto.
"What the hell was that?" Totomaru asked stunned while he drew his sword.
"The snow woman there attacked me with my own face." Aria stopped crying and took his actual position in the formation.
"I'M NOT A SNOW WOMAN!" The girl yelled as she jumped down to the first floor. The fake Aria stood beside her. "I am Angel."
"You failed to end this quickly." The man with a yellow mohawk said with a disappointed tone.
"Shut up Racer. Why don't you kill them then?" The girl known as Angel barked back.
"…as long as you have money then all your problems will be solved." The taller man of Oracion Seis was still speaking.
"Shut up Hoteye. You're noisy."
Naruto lowered his voice and whispered. "We need to stop Eisenwald. Can I leave these guys to you?"
"Oui. We have this." Sol answered for the group.
"George, I'll leave Vivi to you."
"I can hear you." The man with dark crimson hair charged forward with his snake.
"Cobra be careful." Brain quickly warned, but was too late. Naruto also jumped forward and punched Cobra in the face causing him to double back.
"What the…"A look of disbelief spread across the members Oracion Seis, excluding Brain and the sleeping one.
"Someone was able to hit Cobra."
"Fast."
"Naruto Uzumaki is not someone we can take lightly."
"Good luck guys." Naruto said before quickly charging out of the building. He was heading to stop Eisenwald.
"Cobra." Brain said as he jumped onto the giant snakes back. "Let's go after him, the two of us. He needs to die!"
Cobra clicked his tongue. "He moves before he thinks." He also jumped onto the snake. "Let's go Cubelios." The snake sprouted wings and flew out of the building.
"You don't want to stop them?" Angel asked the remaining members of Phantom Lord.
"Fighting one of the Balam Alliance might be a little much for us, but just you is fine." George's thought was shared by the Element 4. Just from the two attacks they saw, they saw that Cobra and Brain were at least at Gajeel's level. And none of them could beat him in a one on one fight. These 2v1 odds would be more in their favour.
"Shall we begin?" George asked as he drew his sword.
XxX
"So you are coming after me. Should I feel honoured?" Naruto mockingly said as he ran at the same speed as the flying snake.
"Do you mind stopping? It's hard to aim while flying this fast." Brain commented as he sent a few more attacks of his green darkness.
"I would but you know…" Naruto said as he moved slightly to avoid the attacks. "Lullaby takes current priority. If you'd like we can make an appointment to kill each other later."
"Now you're just being silly." Brain commented dryly. "Why make an appointment, when I can kill you now?"
"That's fine then. When I catch up to Eisenwald we can fight. But for now I run." Naruto smiled as he picked up his pace.
"Just tell him about Fairy Tail. He's thinking of them already." Cobra told Brain as he nudges Cubelios to go faster.
"Fairy Tail? Are they trying to stop Eisenwald?"
"Yes. Eisenwald won't be able to defeat both you and Fairy Tail, so we decided to help our subordinate guild. Killing the Element 4, the 3 Phantoms of Darkness, Titania Erza, and the Salamander in one hit will help us when you light guilds decide to fight us head on."
"Why didn't you say so?" Naruto suddenly stopped causing the giant snake to fly past him. "If Fairy Tail is involved then I have more time to fight you." Brain and Cobra stepped off Cubelios.
"Are you really so simple minded? So you really think that Fairy Tail can stop Eisenwald?"
XxX
"Th…THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! SHE'S THE STRONGEST WOMAN IN FAIRY TAIL! ERZA THE TITANIA!" A large amount of Eisenwald members were sent flying into the air.
XxX
"HOW SORROWFUL! WE TWO OF THE SAME CHARACTER TYPE MUST FIGHT!" Aria was bawling out tears as he stood across from Hoteye.
"Juvia thinks that this is fine. Defeating the same character type will prevent a character clash in the future." Juvia stood on the other side of Hoteye, essentially surrounding him.
Hoteye held his two fingers over his eyes. "With money, not even love is needed." The ground around Juvia and Aria melted causing them both to sink into it.
"The ground melts?" Aria questioned as he pushed the soft earth around him away, causing him to stand safely on solid ground.
"Juvia isn't affected by this attack. Juvia's body is made of water." She turned into water and slid out of the soft earths grasp. No emotion rose to her face. For her this was just another fight. "Juvia is a rainwoman."
Across the room Totomaru and Sol looked a little battered. They were up against Angel who had the fake Aria beside her. Except the bandage around Aria's eyes was removed.
"He even has Aria's strength. This sucks." Totomaru commented.
"Non non non." Sol merely shook his head. "This is stronger than the real one."
"Totomaru and Sol information retrieval complete." The fake Aria spoke with a smile.
"How boring." Angel sighed as she sat down at a nearby table.
Meanwhile, Vivi was hiding under a table while George stood across from Racer. George cringed as Racer disappeared from sight. George was hit from behind, then in front, then from the side, then from in front again. It felt like Racer was playing pinball with his body.
"Why do I get the slow children?" Racer was clearly upset by his underwhelming opponent.
"It's not Acceleration Magic…" Vivi commented under her breath.
George was thinking to himself.
[Vivi is right. Maybe it's just speed magic or something like that. He doesn't seem to travel in straight lines with it either, so his brain can keep up with his movements. Wha…]
Vivi ran out from her hiding spot as soon as Racer let up. She climbed onto George's back and hung on tightly.
"We can win if we fight him together. Accelerate."
George reluctantly nodded his head as he prepared for the next attacks. Fighting with Vivi wasn't something he enjoyed doing, but he currently didn't have a choice.
"Having a little girl fight with you. That's just not cool." Distaste could be seen on Racer's face.
"I don't have to. I want to." Vivi smiled at Racer. Even though he was from a Dark Guild he showed concern for her which made her happy. George would have shared the thought if he wasn't busy analysing the magic used.
"Fine by me then. Just don't cry when I hurt you." Racer reluctantly agreed and quickly disappeared from sight. George flipped the sword in his hand so it was pointing down, and spun around cutting the air directly behind him. Racer's eyes watched the blade barely miss his goggles and jumped back. "You're faster."
"Almost got him." Vivi's eyes were blank, but they looked directly towards Racer.
"Oooh. She's the faster one. But you're not fast enough." Racer once again dashed forward, and punched George in the gut before he could block.
"He's gotten even faster." Sweat started appearing on Vivi's forehead.
Juvia and Aria once again dodged the melted ground, and attempted to approach Hoteye. But once again they were stopped by a wall of earth.
"Juvia thinks this fight is pointless." Juvia was completely unharmed from this battle but is annoyed that none of her attacks worked on their larger opponent.
"How sorrowful." Aria was legitimately sad that nothing had worked so far. "To think that I can't take this fight seriously." When Aria removes his blindfold he can afford to go all out, but he has trouble controlling his magic when he does. If he did so now then he would put everyone inside the guild's life in danger.
"Whether you can go all out or not doesn't matter, for the ones who are victorious are the rich, desene." Hoteye smiled brightly towards the two before pointed at his eyes again. Hoteye hadn't moved from his spot but neither Juvia nor Aria could break through his defence.
Juvia didn't move this time and allowed the soft ground to pierce her with a splash, however she quickly moved elsewhere and reassembled the water. "Water Slicer" She waved her hand multiple times to attack Hoteye, but the liquid earth rose to stop the attack.
"Zetsu." Aria opened his palm sending a wave of airspace towards Hoteye, but that was also intercepted by the liquid ground. Whatever was blown away in the attack was quickly replaced.
"This fight may indeed be a pointless one." Hoteye continued to smile.
"Zetsu." The fake Aria opened his palm sending a wave of airspace towards Totomaru.
"Dammit." Totomaru pushed out a purple fire from his hand, and pulled himself away from Aria's attack. "You weren't kidding Sol. He has complete control over all of Aria's power."
Sol didn't reply. Instead he narrowed his eyes slightly. If he could get Angel to touch him, he would be able to use her memories against her. What would it take? Then he realised.
"Juvia-sama. Switch." Juvia instantly nodded as she leapt towards the fake Aria with a water slicer.
"You will not escape my eyes." Hoteye pushed his palm forward towards Juvia who now had her back to him. Sol jumped in between the two, but appeared to turn himself into earth and was picked up by the liquid earth rushing towards Juvia.
"Stop it Vivi." He just made eye contact with Sol and saw as he started to make his move. George reached over his shoulder and touched her forehead. "Don't overexert yourself."
"But… haa…" Vivi's heavy breath was because the sheer amount of magic she needed to force out to match Racer was enormous. She tried to slow him down, but her magic couldn't stay on him.
"Don't worry Vivi-chan. You've done enough." George placed down the girl. He appreciated that Racer was waiting for him, however he was going to use it. He leapt towards the liquid earth attack and used the back of his sword to smash it so it wouldn't hit Juvia. Upon contact, a magic circle appeared on the sword causing a blow similar to a hammer which was enough to redirect the attack into Angel who wasn't prepared for it. Racer took that opportunity to appear behind the swordsman, and prepare his attack. But this was blocked by Totomaru, whose retaliation was easily avoided. What Racer didn't expect was Aria to appear literally out of thin air beside him when he stopped.
"Metsu." Aria's airspace was about to trap Racer, but he still had enough time to escape. However he ran straight into the wall of fire that surrounded him.
"HOTEYE! YOU HIT ME!" Angel yelled as she angrily stood back up. At that same time, Hoteye tried to attack the Phantom Lord members again, but his attacks were countered by an equal amount of Juvia's water. The fake Aria leapt towards her with his unbreakable airspace, or so Angel thought. George had a magic circle appear on his sword again, and this time, literally rend the airspace around the fake Aria giving him enough room to step in and cut across its chest.
"Non non non, Sorano-chan. What would poor little Yukino think of her big sister like this?" Sol was a part of the liquid ground around Angel, and started to reform half wrapped around her. His words were enough to shake the unsuspecting girl, giving him enough time to launch a flurry of kicks and punches at the girl, ending his combo with a giant earth fist appearing from his palm. "Platre Sonata."
"It appears their teamwork is quite rich, desene." Hoteye softened the fist before it made contact with Angel, as well as the ground she crashed into. The injured fake Aria rushed to her side and picked up the girl, before saluting and disappearing. Racer had quickly put out his flames and now stood beside Hoteye.
"Good job everyone." George praised his comrades while not dropping his ready stance. He hoped they would have dealt more damage with their teamwork, hopefully taking two of them out of the fight, but only Angel was injured enough to be unable to fight from now, and she doesn't fight head on. This was bad. Really bad.
"Aaaah. I'm pissed off. That creepy thing looked at my memories." Angel stopped her foot annoyed, as she pointed at the no longer stretched out Sol.
"About that… I have questions about this Tower of Heaven…" Sol had say a lot more than he expected when he searched for her worst memories. He would definitely need to tell Naruto about this.
"Tch…They need to die fast." Racer was visibly annoyed by the mention of the tower. Hoteye and Angel shared this look. George started to panic. There was no way they could beat these 3 if their surprise combination attack dealt minimal damage. And this was with Naruto fighting 2 somewhere else, and one sleeping. How on earth could they get out of this alive without Naruto's help?
It was then everyone froze. A wave of disgusting darkness magic washed over them.
XxX
"I see why both of us were required." Cobra commented as he was once again knocked away by a darkness forged hammer made by Naruto. Cobra could hear Naruto's muscles move and pre-empt all of Naruto's attacks. But if the sheer number of darkness based weapons in the sky were anything to go by, it was impossible to avoid all of the fast paced attacks. Whips were constantly cracking in random directions. Spears, swords, and hammers flew around with no real direction, until Cobra or Brain got close than it would target them. Naruto also constantly shot out bullets at both of them, while attacking with his fists every other time. This was a costly way of fighting quickly draining his magic reserves, and it doesn't really target an enemy, only the area around them, which is why he couldn't use it on his opponent from Solomon's Children.
"How do you have so much magic?" Brain asked intrigued. As a scientist, it was only normal for him to be amazed by this feat of pure strength.
"I'm just that good?" Naruto shrugged as he leapt upward to avoid Brains spiralling darkness attack. Cobra's pet snake whipped its tail and slammed Naruto's back sending him flying towards Cobra who sent a poison fist at the blond.
"Oh shi…" Cobra started as he heard Naruto think [Perfect]. Just before the attack it collided, he clamped his hands together, created gauntlets out of darkness and pummelled the top of Cobra's head. Sending him flying to the ground. Cobra's fist managed to graze Naruto letting his poison finally start spreading. Naruto used a darkness whip to push his back, helping him avoid another of Brains attacks and fly towards the ground, landing directly on Cobra with quickly made darkness boots. The boots wrapped around the poison dragon slayer and dug him further into the ground. It would be impossible for him to get out of that without help.
"So it's just me and you." Naruto looked towards flying mage and grinned. Brain felt one of his markings disappear meaning Cobra was not coming back this fight. "I thank you for approaching me like this. It will be good to take down one of the Balam Alliance, and then learn about the other two."
"As much as I would like to defeat you, it appears I am not strong enough just yet. And as much as I would like to let him out to defeat you, I do not imagine the others being defeated." Brain was honestly contemplating his options. When he finally decided he sighed. "It is a shame, but I will have to kill your teammates before dealing with you." Brain tapped his staff on the air, and a blinding wave of darkness shot out everywhere temporarily blinding Naruto.
"Dammit." Naruto cursed as he felt the mage run back towards the Eisenwald guild hall. Naruto looked behind him as his vision cleared up to see the flying snake pick up Cobra and fly in the opposite direction. Naruto would have to choose between chasing and catching Cobra or saving his guild mates.
"Hehehe." Naruto chuckled a bit as he created a thought projection to chase Cobra. It's funny how often people forget such a useful trick. The real Naruto chased after Brain. The thought projection was still laughing. It had the easy job of chasing the snake. He would follow it until its base, then the real Naruto would come with strong reinforcements from the council and other guilds to defeat Oracian Seis for good. A constant thought link to the real Naruto means both Naruto's were receiving the same information, so the thought projection had to make sure to not do anything that could distract the Naruto who currently stands in between his guild members and 5 members of one of the three strongest dark guilds.
"So… I assume you won't just drop dead for me if I asked?" Naruto's casual comment was met with a flurry of attacks from Racer. When George and Totomaru prepared to charge Naruto raised his hand. "I got this. You guys need to leave."
[Oho… So you're going to use my power are you?]
[I don't have much of a choice do I?] Naruto questioned his captive as he ducked under a darkness attack from Brain just to be met with rising ground from Hoteye. George signalled to the other members to run. Reluctantly the Element 4 agreed and picked up Vivi as they tried to escape. However Racer wasn't going to let that happen without a fight.
"Not so fast." He said as he appeared in front of the group. He was preparing to attack all 6 of them simultaneously, but was stopped when he felt a massive surge of power.
"They will leave when they want."Naruto's red slit eyes met Racers own instantly and smashed his head into the ground. Naruto was now surrounded by a bubbling red coat shaped to a fox with 4 tails.
"I wonder what that is?" Brain curiously asked, but when he felt one of the markings on his face recede he started to worry. Sure Racer hadn't seen the attack coming, and his magic wasn't activated, but even so, a one hit. The rest of Phantom Lord had long since gone, but Naruto remained at the doorway to prevent anyone else going through.
"Are we done? Or would you like to continue?" Naruto asked. His friends were safe, and his projection was still in pursuit. He was confident he could beat everyone who was awake, but there was something off about the sleeping one. Naruto couldn't afford to risk it now.
"We would very much appreciate you letting us leave." Brain's words came as a surprise to the others.
"But…" Angel started to complain, but then she looked down at Racer and realised Cobra wasn't around. She knew she was battered and wouldn't be able to take a hit from that either. They were done.
"Good." Naruto made the cloak disappear. "Phew… I expected more resistance. Apologise to Cobra and Racer when they wake up for me. From what I hear they don't kill needlessly." Naruto left those parting words before leaving. Naruto hopped from tree to tree for a bit until he caught up to the Phantom Lord group.
"Naruto-sama?" Sol questioned Naruto who looked very pale for some reason.
"Yo… Status report?" Naruto asked the team.
"Juvia is unharmed, Naruto-sama." The rainwoman was the first to reply.
"Vivi-chan is exhausted and has a fever, I am two spells down and a little battered, but nothing serious." George answered.
"My performance was so sorrowful." Aria started to bawl his eyes out again. He was the most injured from the group, having taken the most damage from Angel's clone of him.
"Unharmed…" Totomaru grumbled.
"I am unharmed Naruto-sama. I have some information we need to discuss." Sol bent awkwardly as he eyed the seriously pale blond. "How are you?"
Instead of a reply, the blond collapsed. Cobra's poison was still spreading through his body. Kurama's chakra was fighting the poison and slowing its spread, but it wasn't stopping it completely. Kurama once told Naruto that it had to do with magic vs chakra, and if it were a chakra based damage he could flush it out instantly, but magic based damage would need time to recover. Unfortunately for Naruto, his projection also felt the effects of the poison and was unable to follow Cobra all the way.
XxX
"So that's everything Sol got from her memories." Naruto had just finished telling Ultear everything that had happened. It was important the council get all the latest information especially since it was a member of the Balam alliance. He left out quite a number of details, including Angel's real name, Sorano, and the power Naruto used at the end.
Naruto found out that Fairy Tail had in fact stopped Lullaby, saving a number of guild masters as they met for one of the occasional meetings. Although he heard that they had destroyed an important building in the process, much to Naruto's amusement. The rest of his team were back at HQ recovering from their battle. The worst injury would be Vivi's fever, but they were all mentally beaten. They were supposed to be the strongest guild, yet they were beat back by a dark guild with ease. Things would have been different if Gajeel and Jose were there, but even so…
"Being able to scare off Orcaion Seis is quite a feat Naruto-kun." She had made notes of everything Naruto said as a member of the council. The information was only a few days old, and there were a couple of details previously unknown to them.
"I couldn't have done it without my comrades." Naruto couldn't take credit for Kurama's chakra and so he preferred to divert attention. "But I do have a question. A Tower of Heaven, or R-System, didn't the council have them all destroyed?"
"I'm surprised you know about that. But yeah there shouldn't be any more of them. It must have been an old memory." Ultear's instant response convinced Naruto, or so she thought.
"Yeah you must be right." Naruto didn't notice a slight grin appearing on the woman's face when Naruto commented. "If not I would personally kill everyone involved." Naruto wasn't so convinced. A man named Jellal who apparently had a striking resemblance with Seigrain was in charge of the one Sorano was a captive of. Naruto knew Ultear was hiding something from him, but would ie be something this big and evil?
He shrugged it off. It was an issue for another time. He would give his friends the benefit of the doubt.
It was then Naruto felt the communication lacrima in his pocket activate. He waved to Ultear who nodded and walked off understanding the need to privacy.
"Hello?" Naruto spoke into the orb to see Jose's face appear.
"We're having a Phantom meeting of all the higher ups. Get back here at once." Jose hung up after those words causing Naruto to roll his eyes.
