"Ugh…" Hisui awoke slowly, rubbing the back of her head.
"Hey, I think she's waking up…" Sting said with a small grin.
"You're…Sabertooth's guild master, right…?" Hisui stood up, dusting off her dress. "Wait…! Where's Arcadios!? Father!?""
"They're both fine, don't worry," Sting reassured the Princesss. "He's unconscious but other than that, he's fine."
"I see…What happened…?" Hisui then asked, looking around. "This is Magnolia…right? The last thing I remember is a bright red light…we were evacuating as quickly as possible."
"Mhm," Freed nodded. "Luckily, we happened to have a speed mage. But...you knew what was going to happen?"
"Yes..." Hisui nodded slowly.
{Flash back}
Several hours before Aiden even challenged Fairy Tail, Hisui was making her way to the throne room. When she stepped inside, she saw an unfamiliar guest speaking to Toma E. Fiore, her father. "Huh? Who is this?" The guest? It was none other than Jikan Calium. He was alone, but there were guards surrounding him, all of their weapons pointed at the guild master of Silent Sanctum.
"Hisui, step back!" Toma quickly warned. Toma recognized Jikan, but it was too late.
"Finally, everyone important is here." Jikan said calmly. In the next instant, the guards vanished. Their clothes crumpled on top of them, causing Hisui and Toma's eyes to widen. Time then froze around them. "There."
"W-What did you do...?" Hisui gasped.
"I isolated us within time." Jikan replied. "But I won't take too much of yours. I simply came to warn the two of you. Crocus will be under fire in a few hours. It will destroy the entire city excluding the Palace."
"A-Are you threatening us?!" Toma said while narrowing his eyes, although he was scared out of his wits, he couldn't back down. "We will not back down to threats, you see!"
Jikan sighed. Clearly this old man didn't know respect. As such, he waved his hand at Toma, causing him to vanish as well. Hisui's eyes widened.
"Father...!" Hisui took a step forward, but Jikan held his hand out. He reached into the pile of Toma's clothes, pulling out a young infant and cradling him in his arms. "W-What did you...!?"
"I don't have the patience for those who don't understand humility." Jikan looked to Hisui, who was scared stiff. "Now, Princess. You'll listen to me, won't you? Your place in history is important. You are not meant to die at this time, but you will if you stay here. I know what happens if you perish on this day, and it won't go well for the rest of this country. If you value your life, your father's life, and the lives of your people, you will do what I say. Do you understand?"
Hisui gulped, but she nodded slowly. She didn't really have a choice but to comply those commands...Plus, she did want to save her people if she could. So she would make an effort to call Siegrain and the Council to expedite the evacuation effort. "...Yes."
Jikan grinned. "You're just as wise as I thought."
[Around a few hours later...]
"That is a BIG magic seal…!" Yukino said with a gasp. "Where's he going to fire it!?"
"Only one place I can think of…if he wants to make a statement…" Makarov began with narrowing eyes.
"FLYNN, GO." Evanee ordered the speed mage.
Flynn was already crouched down, a red magic seal appearing underneath his feet. "Watch my time! Mach 2" And he was off, not even appearing as a blur. He just vanished, as though he teleported. Within no time, he appeared just in front of the castle, where Hisui, Tom, and Arcadios where just about to leave. They were the last people out of the city after making sure the citizens were able to evacuate safely. He quickly grabbed them and returned to Magnolia, all within the time it took for the beam to suddenly drop from the sky.
{End flashback}
"Everyone else made it out okay," Jura reassured Hisui with a stern nod. "Nobody was caught in the destruction of the capital."
"That's good to hear…" Hisui flash a small smile and nodded, bringing a hand to her chest. "I still can't believe this…that King would do such a thing…"
"He's certainly off his rocker and on his high horse…" Rogue commented. "Ace said he was a mad man, but I never imagined he would go so far..."
"How are we going to stop him…?" The princess asked with a concerned tone. "If we can't…"
"There's already a squad out there," Sting exclaimed with a widening grin. "If anyone can stop Dealer, it's gotta be Natsu-san and Fairy Tail!"
.
.
"How much longer is this trip gonna take…?" Gajeel asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the ship's floor.
"We've been flying for hours now…I'm getting a little sick of waiting!" Natsu said with a groan.
"Shouldn't be too much longer." Ace replied.
Luke was leaning on the side railing of the ship, staring out into the distance. He kept his distance away from everyone else as they got closer and closer to Dealer's hideout.
"Yo," Selene said, propping her elbows onto the railing right beside Luke.
"Hey," Luke replied, though he didn't even glance at Selene or anything.
"What's up? You've been all by yourself this entire ride…" Selene asked, a small frown appearing on her lips. "I can tell when something is bothering you, you know."
"Shouldn't you be reassuring Takeru that he isn't gonna die on this ship…?" Luke asked, but this only caused Selene to nudge him. "Okay, okay, fine…Guess I can't get anything past you, eh? Well, it's about Dealer, or rather, Heartless."
"What about her?" Selene questioned.
"Because of her, I had to kill Heather. I swear, when we get there, I'm going to…" Luke began, but Selene cut him off.
"You can't do anything if she pounds you into the ground like I heard she did last time…" Selene replied, causing Luke to go quiet. She then patted her friend on the back and gave him a reassuring smile. "We're all going together, don't worry."
"When we get there, I'm going to make that Joker pay!" Elfman shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'll show him what happens when you mess with the Strauss Family!"
"Now, now, Elfman…" Mirajane said with a malicious grin. "You have to let me get a shot at him first. I still owe him from last time."
"Seeing these two like this is honestly a little unnerving…" Lisanna said with a nervous laugh.
"They are doing it for you, though," Kairi said while crossing her arms. "You're lucky…"
"Huh?" Lisanna turned to Kairi, raising a brow. "What do you mean…?"
"You have siblings that would do anything for you, and they do everything they can to protect you…" Kairi sighed, now walking away, just leaving Lisanna dumbfounded.
"I see something off in the distance!" Hibiki exclaimed while pointing forward. Just over the mountains they crossed was Dealer's Base. The one and only.
"There is it…" Natsu's visage changed into a glare, both hands balled into fists. "Joker…King…Heartless…We're coming for you!"
"There's something else off in the distance, too…" Wendy said while pointing to the left of Dealer's base. "It looks like a tunnel of some sort…"
"A tunnel…?" Reve raised a brow. "That doesn't sound quite right or look like a tunnel…" He then requipped a sniper rifle, staring through the scope. "…It's an anti-air cannon. GET DOWN."
"MEEEEN…!" Ichiya exclaimed in a panic, the ship suddenly dropping in altitude, though there was no cannon shot fired. "Eh…?"
"They didn't see us." Reve stated. "If they saw us that would be it."
"A little more warning would suffice next time…" Cana grumbled, adjusting her jacket sleeves.
"We're just about here anyway," Ace said. "Blue Pegasus, you guys stay behind, alright? We might need a little quick exit plan or something."
"Of course. Now get in there and make Dealer smell the parfarm of defeat!"
"Right!" Ace nodded, looking to everyone else. "Let's go!"
Little did the group realize, that the anti-air cannons were meant to fire. There were numerous lacrima dolls, infused with stolen magic across the past year. However, these lacrima dolls were completely destroyed thanks to Future Rogue. "Hmph..." Future Rogue glanced around, and then looked up at the sky, where the Christina was beginning to land. So, without saying much else, he dipped into the shadows once more.
.
.
Dealer's Base had more than enough space on the outside for the group to land. Blue Pegasus then flew off, but stayed nearby. "Well, here we are…" Ace said while looking at the base up and down. "King never changes…This looks just like the old one a few years ago…"
"Hey, look!" Cygnus pointed to the front door. "Hey, Reve! I think King has you beat in an ego contest! His face is the front door!" And true enough, it was. King has his face on a card as the front door.
"Tch," Reve merely scoffed.
"Won't budge…" Cynthia said while trying to open the door. "I think it's locked from the inside…"
"That would make the most sense…" Alexander said with a nod. "If that's the case, there must be another way inside from out here."
"Another entrance…?" Lucy questioned. "It doesn't look like one's around here…"
"Start looking and maybe we'll find one," Taya replied to Lucy.
"I have a better idea!" Natsu said while allowing his fists to ignite in flames. "I'll make an entrance by busting down this front door!"
"You idiot! They aren't supposed to know we're here yet!" Gray shouted to Natsu, but Natsu was already bolting towards the door. "I swear to…"
"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted as he swung his fiery fist at the door (specifically at King's face). His fist in the door, but nothing happened, leaving him confused. "Eh?" And then an invisible force blew Natsu back, causing him to roll across the ground before hopping back up. "Gah…!"
"HA!" Takeru laughed. "You got your ass kicked by a door!"
"You wanna go!?" Natsu snarled, immediately face to face with Takeru.
"Now isn't the time…!" Lucy said while pulling Natsu away from Takeru.
"Takeru, now isn't the time to antagonize him…!" Selene said while pulling Takeru away from Natsu.
"This is making me uneasy…" Aira admitted while everyone else began to split off and search for an alternate route inside.
"Why's that…?" Jaxon asked.
"We've been at their front door step for longer than 10 minutes and there hasn't been a single effort made to "greet" us or anything…" Aira explained her bad feeling, occasionally looking around. She wasn't paranoid, but she could tell something was nearby.
"Nah, don't worry about it." Ace said to Aira. "King's not expecting us, and he would least of all expect a frontal assault."
"Right…" Aira only replied with a small nod.
"Anything yet, Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked while feeling around the walls (pretending they were Gray's abs) in hopes of finding a secret button or something of the sort.
"Nope…" Gray replied.
"Nothin' here…" Gajeel responded with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
"We'll be here all day at this rate…" Evanee scowled.
"If only…" Cana began with a mumble. It was then a cold wind struck her from above. She shivered and looked up, spotting an open air vent. "An air vent…and it looks pretty big. Maybe I can fit in there and crawl into the other side. Hey, someone give me a boost!"
"Man!" Elfman hurried over to Cana and lifted her up.
"Right, see you guys in a second!" Cana then crawled inside the air vent. "Man…this is cold…I should've let Gray do it…oh well…"
"Hey, hey…"! Flynn sped to the front, waving his hand around to gather everyone's attention. "I think I found a side entrance!"
"Did you, shorty?" Ceaser asked.
"Yeah! It's a little small, but I think Twilight Zone could take it." Flynn responded, before scowling at Ceaser's words. "Also, I'm not short! You're just a damn giant!"
"It wouldn't look too good if a large group just waltzed inside, after all," Rylo said with a small nod. "We'll take that, then. I guess the rest of you are sticking with the front door, then?"
"Looks like it. Good luck, you guys…" Chelia said with a small wave as Twilight Zone followed Flynn.
"So we wait on the drunk?" Draco asked while kicking a rock.
"Looks that way…" Waiston shrugged. "Hey, Zalen…" Waiston turned to Zalen, only to see the male examining the building's structure.
"I've never seen a design like this…I wonder how he managed to build this. I wonder what the interior looks like…" Zalen said to himself. "The material here, where did King even find this!?"
"Yup…" Waiston just sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
After a few moments passed, the front door made a clicking noise, as if something had been deactivated. "Hey!" Natsu immediately ran to the door, grinning with excitement as he pounded his fists together. "The door's open! Now it's time to crush Dealer!"
"Hold on…" Ace said while taking the lead, standing right beside Natsu. "I should be the one to go in first, and look around for traps." As he spoke, everyone began to gather around in the front door.
"Should we wait for Cana…?" Lucy asked while looking at the vent Cana crawled into.
"She's already inside," Gray stated. "We'll just meet up with her inside.
"Fair enough…" Lucy replied with a nod. "It's finally time…" She brought a hand to her chest, a look of determination crossing her face. "Taurus…Gemini…I'm going to rescue you…so please, just wait for me a little longer…" After she said that, the doors began to open slowly, causing everyone to go on guard. "….Did you open it?"
"No…" Ace replied, going on guard instantly. Right after that, a large club came rushing down to the ground in front of Ace and Natsu, causing them to job back. "That club…!"
"Hehe!" Strong walked out the front doors, grinning while holding his club in preparation for another swing. "Nice to see you all managed to drop by! Now, let's see you drop a little farther!" Strong hit the ground with his club again, causing a massive pit fall to form under the group's feet, and they all fell in. "Heh!" Strong felt good, because they walked right into HIS trap!
"OI!" Natsu shouted while springing up with Happy on his back, alongside Gajeel and Pantherlily, Takeru, and Ace. Happy flew forward, while Natsu aimed a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist at Strong's face, but Strong blocked the strike with his club, only sliding inside the base. The pitfall was then covered by a magic proof barrier preventing anyone from getting in or out.
"Come on in!" Strong said with an inviting tone, though he really wanted to crush the group right then and there.
"Oh, you can bet I will!" Natsu shouted. "Happy!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy exclaimed, flying forward along with Gajeel and Pantherlily.
"Catch me if you can!" Strong grinned, running inside the base.
"Oi, don't fall behind!" Gajeel told Pantherlily.
"You can bet I won't!" Pantherlily said while keeping pace with Natsu and Happy, while Ace and Takeru had their own methods of keeping up; Ace with his armor and Takeru by using the shadows.
"Strong, get back here!" Ace commanded, but like Strong was going to listen to him.
"He's fast for someone so stupid…" Takeru said to himself. Strong led the small group into a dimly lit room. "Okay, I think we're exactly where he wants us…"
Happy and Pantherlily set their respective dragon slayers down, not looking around. "Where'd he go?" Happy asked while keeping his own guard up.
And then the lights lit up, revealing not one Club Strong, not two, but three, all surrounding Natsu, Gajeel, Takeru, Ace, Happy, and Pantherlily. "Three of 'em!?" Pantherlily said while shifting into his Battle Form, standing back with Gajeel.
"Fine by me!" Gajeel said with a cocky grin. "This one's the only grunt I haven't had the chance of fighting yet!" And Spade managed to beat him in Magnolia, so now he had to get his revenge somehow. "And there's three of him, this couldn't be better!"
"Outta the way!" Natsu said while pounding his fists together, causing sparks to fly from the fire around them. "We're on the way to stomp King!"
"And you're not going to stop us!" Ace said while pointing his blade to one of the Strong's.
"Haha!" Strong's laugh echoed throughout the room, since all three of him were laughing. "That's a good joke, Ace! But I'll crush you all flat before you can even reach King, that's a bet!"
.
.
"Here we are!" Flynn said while directing Twilight Zone to the side entrance.
"Whoa, nice job, Flynn!" Melanie said with a joyous nod.
"Now, let's get inside," Evanee said while taking a step forward, only for the entrance to open on its own, revealing Daigo.
"Hey, it's that one guy!" Ceaser shouted. "Get him!" And before he could run, the floor fell out from under them. His legs kept moving for a while until he finally got it and looked down. "Oh."
"Ta, ta…" Daigo cooed as Twilight Zone fell down the hole, a magic barrier preventing any means of escape. "Silly mages, you can't just sneak in like that! You need to put a little more gusto into it!"
.
.
Cana continued crawling through the vent, shivering. "Is it me or is it getting colder in here…?" She questioned to herself, feeling as though she may just freeze over soon. As she crawled, she stopped in place, she literally couldn't move anymore due to the frost covering the vent. "W-What the hell…? I-I can't…m-move…?"
"Nice and cold, ain't it…?" Diamond asked while phasing through the bottom of the vent, popping her head in to great Cana.
"W-W-W-What t-the!?" Cana stuttered.
"I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to fall for the air from the vent trick!" Diamond let out a laugh, but she didn't notice the card Cana managed to pull out of her pocket.
"S-Shut up…!" Cana shouted as the card she laid down caused an explosion that destroyed the air vent. Both Cana and Diamond fell to the floor below, landing on their feet. "Ugh…that was close."
"Hey, I wasn't done with you yet!" Diamond grunted before swiping her hand forward, shooting out several diamond lances towards Cana, who was still getting over the cold.
"G-Gah…!" Cana quickly rolled to the side, throwing out three cards in response to Diamond's attack. "Ice Lance!" From the three cards, three lances of ice shot out towards Diamond.
"Heh…" Diamond giggled at Cana's attack, then just waved her hands in the air. The ice lances turned into a ball of ice within Diamond's palms, which she toyed with a bit. "Silly girl, ice doesn't work on me!" She cooed before winding up, throwing the sphere of ice she made back at Cana, using her ice manipulation to triple the size of the ball.
"Ah…!" Cana yelped in surprise and dropped to the floor, allowing the sphere of ice to crash into the wall behind her. "Okay, now it's my turn…since ice doesn't work on you…" She drew three more cards, preparing to throw them.
"Ah, ah…" Diamond waved her finger in a taunting manner before punching the air. The action seemed strange to Cana, but she soon saw the meaning behind it. The ball of ice morphed into a fist of ice, punching Cana in the back and sent her flying through a few walls. "Oops…" Diamond blinked a few times before giving a subtle shrug. "Looks like I went a little overboard with it…Oh well…~"
.
.
Heartless made her way back into the "throne" room with King and Joker, a satisfied smile on her lips. "King, Joker."
"Oh, Heartless, you've returned," King said with a grin on his lips as well. "How did things fare? Did they take the bait like I expected?"
"That's right," Heartless nodded. "It's funny how Ace always believed that a sneak attack from the front would prove to be successful. Though it did have its uses in the past, there's just no way that he would be able to pull that trick on us."
"We don't have time for silly games…" Joker said while crossing his arms, keeping the serious tension within the room as always. "We're to just hold them off or destroy them until the Princess, King, and or Council come to a decision. I could help them decide a little faster."
"Joker, hold," King ordered. "I gave them a fair amount of time. Now, we just sit back and wait for an answer. And it doesn't matter what they decide. Either way, I'm the winner!" King grinned, letting out a boisterous laugh. It was around then that Cana came flying through the walls, tumbling across the floor that largely resembled some things one would find at a casino. She sprang up and dusted herself off. "Who the…!?"
"Geez…" Cana shook her head a few times before looking up, realizing she was ahead of everyone else. "Oh, well what do we have here?" She said with a sly grin, staring down Joker, Heartless, and King.
"How did this worm get in here?" King asked.
"Cana Alberona of Fairy Tail…that is a good question indeed…" Heartless placed a hand on her hip. "You know, we'll gladly sit and wait for the rest of your friends to arrive…it would be a shame if you all didn't go out together…"
Joker just pounded his fists together, his signature red magic flowing around his hands. He didn't have the time to deal with weaklings, and he didn't want to waste King's time either. "King, give the word, and I'll exterminate her."
"Hah!" Cana laughed at the top dogs of Dealer, keeping her confident grin. "I won't need my friends for what I'm about to do to you!" She then threw off her jacket, placing her right arm in front of her face, showing off the signature Fairy Glitter tattoo, which already began glowing somewhat. "Because I'm going to blow you away! Get ready to pay for all you've done to Fairy Tail!"
"What is that spell!?" King asked while placing his hands on the arms of his "throne". "Joker, Heartless, stop her!"
"As you wish," Joker said calmly.
"You won't be getting that spell off!" Heartless shouted.
"Oh yeah!?" Cana yelled while dashing forward, the tattoo on her arm glowing even brighter. "Get ready to face the light of Fairy Tail!"
.
.
Cynthia: "This place is like a walking death trap! Everywhere you step something's coming out to kill you!"
Natsu: "I don't care! I'll get through a thousand traps if it means I have to get to King and Joker! They will pay!
Erza: "First, we have to get through this place…wait a second, where am I exactly…?"
Lucy: "See! We'll never get anything done at this rate!"
Aira: "Just keep your wits about you and you'll be fine!"
Cana: "Don't worry guys, I got this!"
Next time: House of Cards!
Writer's note: At the time of writing this, I just learned this fic got its own TV tropes page. Honestly, I'm completely and utterly blown back. For those who've read over the years, thank you so much!