It was the night after the Black Phoenix tournament ended. Ace and Lisanna saw all they needed to. "They might just have the strength to do it after all..." Ace said while walking alongside Lisanna. The two of them still had their hoods up, just to avoid any immediate detection. They were walking along an empty road. "It is a shame that tournament got cut short, but I saw some real potential out there."
"I told you they were strong." Lisanna placed her hands behind her back. "I just...feel really bad about having to hide from them for so long. I know they're acting upbeat, but my absence is really hitting them hard. Especially my siblings. I don't know if I can keep this secret from them much longer..."
"Don't worry," Ace said while shaking his head. "I'm not gonna make you hide in the dark for much longer. Dealer could make their next move at any moment, so it's best for all of us to be on the same page. The bigger the force, the better the chance we have to actually beat them. So we'll be meeting with them soon."
"What are you going to do?" Lisanna looked over at Ace, giving him a skeptical look.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! I know what I'm doing." Ace said while rubbing the back of his neck. Lisanna pouted in response, but before she could say anything else, a group of wizards surrounded them. "Eh?"
"What?" Lisanna was on high alert.
"Big mistake comin' along the road at this hour! You were beggin' to be attacked!" One of the wizards spoke, giving a sinister grin.
"We'll make this simple on ya. Give us all your jewel, and we'll consider leavin' only a few bruises on you." Another one spoke.
"...Is this a shakedown?" Ace lifted a brow, not feeling very threatened at all. A visor appeared on his head, scanning the magical power of the wizards surrounding him and Lisanna. "Huh...not too shabby. You guys are actually decently strong compared to the average wizard..."
"So you know you're in trouble!"
"Erm..." Lisanna glanced at Ace.
"This is the perfect opportunity!" Ace said while looking towards Lisanna. "These guys are about A-class in strength. Not quite as strong as your friends in Fairy Tail, but still strong enough to put up a decent fight. So I'll time you."
"Time her!?" One of the wizards growled. A magical aura appeared around them. "You think we're some kinda joke? We'll make you wish that-!" And before they could finish their sentence, Lisanna was already in her Tigress takeover, slamming her foot into the wizard's face to knock them down and out in an instant. The others didn't even realize what happened until she took a second one down.
"What the!? She's way too fast!" The attacks began, multiple magical blasts being unleashed in Lisanna's direction. Ace was caught in the crossfire, but he simply leaned to the side occasionally whenever something came close to hitting him. Lisanna, on the other hand, was effortlessly evading the attacks aimed at her. She circled around the opposing wizards a single time, clawing at them before returning to her starting position. They all collapsed.
"Whew." Lisanna took a breath.
"30 seconds, not bad!" Ace nodded. "You've shown a lot of growth these last few weeks, Lisanna!"
"...I still don't feel strong enough." Lisanna couldn't accept the praise. She wasn't fast enough. The words Joker spoke about her stuck deep into her mind. "..."
Ace sensed this. "Don't let Joker get to you like that. You're not getting stronger because he called you weak, remember?"
"I know..." Lisanna said with a small nod. She simply couldn't help but recall those cruel words Joker spoke after he thought he killed her. But she wanted to get stronger to ensure something like that never happened again. So her siblings wouldn't have to worry about her. "When I see my siblings again, I'll surprise them with my new strength. I won't drag them down a third time!"
"That's the spirit!" Ace said with a grin.
"This means we're doing more training when we get back." Lisanna balled her hands into fists. "I may not get as strong as Mira-nee, Elf-nii, or even Natsu...but I'm going to do my best to become someone they can rely on!"
Ace appreciated Lisanna's resolve on the matter. "I like where your head's at. I'll give you the usual, and I won't be holding back either."
"That's fine!" Lisanna nodded firmly. "When I train against someone as strong as you, I start to understand why Natsu is the way he is. And with that in mind, I'll be sure he's the one who can rely on me, too!"
.
.
Gildarts, Evanee, and Sidney approached ruins on the outskirts of Fiore. Gildarts looked around with a confused expression, and then looked towards the other two aces. "Eh…Isn't someone else supposed to be joining us?"
"How unprofessional…" Evanee sighed before crossing her arms. "They're late."
"We'll just keep moving then." Sidney said, taking charge of the small group. But before he could, a figure dropped before them. "..?"
"It's not nice to talk about people behind their back…" The male said while rising up. This male had a rather unique outfit. A green costume with a red shirt, white gloves, gold epaulets with strings, a large green hat, white pants and brown stylish boots, followed up with the green and purple mask over his face.
"…What's with the getup…?" Evanee asked while raising a brow towards the male.
"Getup? This is what I usually wear! Anyway, Name's Roy, ace of Shaman's Heaven." Roy nodded. "I already know who all of you are, so let's skip the introductions and get down to business."
"Don't get in the way now…" Sidney said while continuing to walk forward.
"I agree…" Evanee replied while following right behind Sidney.
"Wow, they're kinda rude…" Roy sighed before rubbing the back of his head.
"Ah, don't worry about it! They're just in job mode, I assume. This is pretty important, you know!" Gildarts laughed while patting Roy on the back. To any other mage, it probably would've sent them into the ground, but to Roy, it was just a normal pat on the back. "Now c'mon, we don't wanna fall behind. We are on the clock here."
"Aye," Roy gave a simple nod and followed behind the other three aces into the ruins.
"They've fallen right for out trap…" Daityas grinned slightly as he watched the four aces walk into the ruins.
"Kieheh…" Arcturus gave a twisted grin, licking his lips after. "That female is a virgin…"
"Let's see how things play out first…" Daityas said a blue flame surrounded himself and Arc, flaring up for a few seconds before vanishing, the two demons vanishing as well.
.
.
Though it was night time, Fairy Tail was in its usual uproar, moods lifted considerably from winning the tournament hosted by Black Phoenix a few days ago. Natsu was clearly enjoying himself by dancing on the table in a rather ridiculous fashion, Happy right next to him. "This is how you do it!"
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed while mimicking his dragon slayer partner.
"It's great to see everyone so happy…" Mirajane said with her usual smile as she wiped down the counter. "It's been a while since everyone's been like this…"
"It's nice, isn't it?" Lucy said while sitting back in a chair while looking over to Mirajane. "Winning that tournament also helped Fairy Tail out a lot…! Though I could do without the mobs of fans…aheh..."
"I'm ready for more action!" Cynthia shouted, raising her fist high into the air. "I'll take on anyone who comes at us!"
"I think she's a little too riled up…" Carla said with a sigh.
"Cynthia…calm down…" Wendy urged with a nervous smile, a sweat drop appearing on her forehead.
"Oh, come on, Wendy!" Cynthia exclaimed while grabbing the sky dragon's hand, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Let's go out and do something!"
"I don't have a say in this do I…" Wendy sighed heavily.
"Nope!" In the next second, Cynthia dragged Wendy out the front doors of Fairy Tail.
"Those two will never cease to amaze me…" Erza gave a slight smile as Cynthia dragged Wendy out the door. "Their bond is something else…"
"They can be a handful sometimes…" Carla shook her head with a slight smile. "I'm following them…who knows what kind of trouble they might get into…" Carla sprouted her wings and flew out the front doors.
Lucy looked around a bit after Carla left, noticing a certain pair wasn't inside the guild at all. "Huh..? Where did Gray and Juvia go…?"
"I think Juvia dragged Gray out of her faster than he could object…" Cana replied while chugging down a barrel a beer nestled between her arms.
"I hope they're okay…?" Lucy let out a sigh once hearing Cana's response.
.
.
"There they are…" Lisanna said to Ace while watching Juvia and Gray walk through the streets of Magnolia from the rooftops of the town.
Ace wore a yellow visor, first scanning Gray. "Gray Fullbuster, student to Ur Mlikovich, candidate for the wizard saint…Ice Make wizard…" Ace then moved to Juvia, scanning her as well. "Juvia Lockser…Water mage and former member of Phantom Lord…"
"What are you planning on doing, Ace?" Lisanna asked while raising a brow. This was one of those times he never told her exactly what he was thinking.
"Just a little test…didn't really get to see these two in action in the tournament, so I have to see if their strength is the real thing…" Ace replied while tilting his visor up. "I'm not going to hurt then too bad…"
"Ace…" Lisanna whined somewhat. "I thought you said were going to talk to them!"
"Relax…! I'm gonna do that. I just wanna see where they stand right now. Don't worry, I won't hurt them too badly." Ace said with a grin. "Kanso!" A heavenly light wrapped itself around Ace's body. Before it faded, he jumped down to the ground below.
"Ugh…" Lisanna let out a heavy sigh, making sure to keep herself out of eyesight Gray and Juvia. "He's so stubborn..."
"Juvia is so glad Gray-sama decided to go out with her!" Juvia swooned over Gray as hearts comically arose from her body.
"I didn't agree to anything…!" Gray replied, but by this point he already knew it was useless to resist. Not even seconds passed before a bright light landed before the two, causing Gray and Juvia to go on guard immediately. "Who the hell…?"
The light faded, revealing Ace in his armor. Pointed ends on his feet, followed by black and gray leggings with yellow lines tracing along in a diamond shape pattern. The bulk of the armor was red and yellow with a symbol in the middle. Ace had a protective helmet that covered his face (minus his lips) and his yellow visor covered his eyes. Finally, he had a pair of wings on his back that were currently folded up. "Lightning Flame Armor…"
"Who the hell are you?" Gray asked while immediately sliding into his ice make position.
"Black Ace…" Ace replied, not feeling the need to hide anything.
"Black Ace…?" Juvia thought for a moment before it hit her. "Wait…that's similar to Red Joker…don't tell Juvia…!"
"A member of Dealer? Ha…" Ace merely smirked before sliding into a stance.
"Just when we thought we've had enough of you bastards and your shit…" Gray groaned in annoyance before getting serious; a cold fog surrounded Fullbuster's legs. "Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" Gary threw his arms forward, sending enlarged ice lances in Ace's direction.
Juvia knew Ace would dodge the attack sent by Gray somehow, so she readied her own attack. The water mage swung her arm forward, sending multiple slashes of water strong enough to cut through steel in Ace's direction wherever he may dodge.
At the incoming ice lances, Ace slid to the side, equipping a sort of gun (similar to a pistol) in his hands; he brought it forward and clicked the trigger, unleashing a massive wave of fire that overpowered the lances with ease. Next were the incoming Water Slicers. "Easy…" Ace mumbled to himself as he took off at an amazing speed, appearing as a blur as his body swayed from left to right in a zig-zag motion, avoiding the Water Slicers with such ease that not one even grazed him.
"He avoided damage completely?!" Juvia's eyes widened for a second before narrowing at the incoming Ace. "Gray-sama…!"
"I'm on it!" Gray placed his hands on the ground, prompting a giant geyser to shoot up, aimed towards Ace to either trap or throw him into the air. "Ice Make: Geyser!"
"Heh!" Ace grinned, feeling the sudden drop in temperature blow his feet. He bent his knees and took off into the air, quite high at that. The geyser missed him completely as a result, and the assailant was in the perfect position for his next attack. Ace spun around quickly, generating a vortex of fire around his person which quickly flew towards Gray and Juvia. "Fire Dance!"
"What!?" Gray crossed his arms, creating a large shield of ice before him and Juvia.
"Water Cyclone!" Juvia exclaimed, creating a large whirlpool of water that clashed with the Fire Dance. The two attacks briefly struggled due to opposing elements, but ti was clear that Ace's attack was much stronger, and powered through Juvia's attack and Gray's shield, engulfing both of the Fairy Tail Wizards in the cyclone of fire. When the cyclone faded, Gray was on his back, his skin and clothing terribly burnt, but Juvia was relatively okay due to her Water Body, which reduced the damage she took.
"Is it true…?" Ace asked while landing on the ground, a saber of sorts appearing in his right hand. "Does Water Body really defend against most everything?"
"Juvia is made of water…your attacks won't work…" Juvia said while giving a deep glare towards Ace before extending her hand, shooting a beam of water towards Ace. "Water Beam!"
"We'll see about that, now won't we?" Ace smirked slightly before dashing forward while bringing his sword forward, stabbing right through the Water Beam with ease. In the next second, he was in front of Juvia, and slashed her, but his blade passed right through her Water Body. "Oh…"
Juvia was unfazed nor was she damaged by the attack. She merely drew a fist back, water surrounding it. "Water Punch!" She threw her fist towards Ace's helmet, though the impact was not was she expected. A surge of electricity flew through her body once her fist made contact with Ace, causing her to let out a yelp of pain as she staggered back. Ace, however, did slid back from the impact.
"Heh…" Ace grinned before raising his blade into the air, gathering a large amount of electricity on it. "Thunderbolt!" Ace then swung his blade at Juvia twice who failed to dodge either, leaving her on the ground with electricity paralyzing her every second. "Blade!" Ace brought his bolting blade down towards Juvia, watching as an electric explosion engulfed that small section of Magnolia. When it cleared, Juvia was in clear KO, a look of distress on her face as she laid on the broken ground.
"Bastard…!" Gray said as he finally brought himself to his feet, glaring hatefully at Ace. Gray's fist met with his palm once more as a rage took over him from seeing his comrade her. "Ice Make!" A large cannon then appeared on Gray's shoulder, and he held it steady with his hand. "Cannon!" Gray clicked the trigger of the large cannon, sending a powerful blast of ice towards Ace.
Ace cocked an arm back, a her of fire appearing around his arm. "Heat Upper!" Ace propelled himself forward while extending his arm, dashing towards Gray at an unbelievable speed. Within seconds, Ace was in Gray's personal space, and swung a flaming uppercut that sent Gray flying yards back, hitting the ground with a thud, barely conscious from the impact.
"G-gray-sama..." Juvia groaned as she forced herself awake and up, her body trembling from the Thunderbolt Blade she took. Now she was in a fit of rage; her latent power showing as she took control of the water in the river way nearby, forming a large column of water. "J-Juvia won't stand...for this..! Water Nebula!" Juvia threw her hands forward, unleashing the large vortex of faster towards Ace.
"Interesting..." Ace gave a nod of approval before he drew his green saber once again, lightning sparking around it. He swung his blade towards the Water Nebula, clashing with it. To his surprise, Ace actually slid back a few feet from the force Juvia was using. Eventually, he cleaved through the Water Nebula, but Juvia had already fallen unconscious. "These two are ready..." Ace nodded, dragging Gray's body over to Juvia's. "now..."
"Hey...!" Cynthia exclaimed as she noticed Ace from afar.
"That's Cynthia...!" Lisanna whispered to Ace with widened eyes.
"Time to scram..." Ace snapped his fingers, creating a magic seal under himself, Gray, and Juvia. Before Cynthia and Wendy could reach him, they vanished into thin air.
"They're gone..." Wendy blinked, finally realizing the seriousness of the situation after a few seconds. "T-they're gone!
"Who was that?!" Carla asked.
"I-I don't know...!" Cynthia groaned before a familiar scent caught her nose. With a raised brow, she turned to the rooftops, only to see nothing there. "I'm smelling things..." She shook her head before dashing off with Wendy and Carla. "We have to tell the others!"
After she was sure they were gone, Lisanna let out a heavy sigh before watching the two girls and the exceed princess run off. "That was close..." She then frowned because she had to keep her family in the dark for a while longer. "I'm sorry..."