Huntresses of Fairy Tail
It was a bright and sunny day, as Natsu, Grey, Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Team RWBY were playing at the beach of Akane Resort, while Raion and Seras were manning the grill, with Raion dressed in diving trunks, and Seras wearing a zip up hoodie as they worked on the food, and a smile on their faces as they watched the others having fun.
"Why don't you go out there, and have some fun yourself Seras?" Raion asked.
"I'm good on that front." Seras said. "I might match you in age, but I have no clue how to swim, especially in Grimm infested waters."
"Akane Resorts waters are Grimm free. This beach, for as far as it stretches, is the only place that Grimm steer clear of. An' no one really knows why." Raion said. "Then again, there are the waters in Elmina that are free of Grimm. I wonder why that is though?"
"Either way, I don't know how to swim. I never learned how before I died." Seras said.
"That's right, we never got swimming lessons did we?" Raion asked.
"You know how to swim?" Seras asked.
"Nope." Raion said. "I just use my flying technique whenever I'm in the water."
"You gotta teach me that technique then." Seras said.
"No problem." Raion smiled. "But you're gonna have to catch up. I've been teaching Natsu in case he ever gets separated from Happy, and he's a fast learner. But despite that, he still doesn't quite have a handle on it yet."
"Guess that makes sense." Seras smiled.
Raion chuckled, flipping some burgers. "Why don't you go and have some fun in the sun? I'll handle the barbecue from here."
"If you insist." Seras cheered, throwing off her zip up hoodie, revealing the upside down pentagram bikini top, with a see through leaf skirt and bikini bottoms on. "I'll be play in the shallow waters though. I haven't unlocked my water element yet."
As Seras joined in, the gang began enjoying themselves, and did everything, from playing volleyball, chasing each other in a game of extreme tag, to building sand castles. Seras and Lucy, along with Yang and Ruby, turned Grey and Weiss into sand mermaids with big tits, when they fell asleep on the beach.
"There, now Weiss doesn't have to glare at us with jealousy." Yang snickered.
"They're gonna be so mad when they wake up, I just know they will." Ruby smiled.
As if on cue, both Grey and Weiss ended up, being jolted awake as Erza and Natsu were playing a game that involved a wooden katana and a watermelon, with one of them being blindfolded. Erza ended up causing Grey some pain in the spot that's most precious to a man, causing Raion to cross his legs, as he could feel the phantom pains from where Grey was struck. This just caused Seras and Yang to laugh while Weiss chased Ruby around angrily.
"I can sympathize man." Raion sighed, giving Grey a drink.
"Man I am having so much fun, we really owe Loki one for this." Seras smiled as she laid back into the lounge chair on the beach.
~Flashback~
"You're a Celestial Spirit?" Natsu questioned.
"No way really?" Happy asked.
"Sorry I didn't tell you before." Loki smiled as Natsu was staring at him from all over.
"Gotta say, I'm surprised we never caught on to ya." Grey said. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised Raion knew about you."
"Well, I only knew because I worked the same job that Karen died on, and I was the one who told Master Bob about Karens death, before we both went and told Loki." Raion explained.
"That must have been hard for you to do." Yang said.
"The first time I failed on a job to be honest." Raion sighed. "But hey, that's the life of a Huntsman and a Huntress."
"So hey, how come you're not a cow, or a horse, or a crab, you're just a dude?" Natsu questioned.
"Virgo has a human form to." Loki said. "It's not like we're all animals."
"You say that but I've seen her turn into a gorilla." Natsu stated.
"She's not really a gorilla." Loki explained.
"Loki's actually the King of the Zodiac's, Leo the Lion Spirit." Raion smiled. "An' he's currently in a contract with Lucy being his Huntress Master."
"Seriously?" Natsu asked.
"A lion's like a grown up cat right?" Happy questioned.
"Yep you got it." Loki stated.
"Don't lie to him." Lucy shouted.
"Ah, let it be Lucy." Raion said. "He's just having fun with Happy, giving him someone to look up to, other then Natsu."
"Still, that doesn't mean he has to lie to him." Lucy said.
"Anyways, what are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be back in the Celestial Spirit Realm, resting? You've been in our world on your own for three years, I doubt you're fully recovered, are you?" Raion asked.
"I'll be fine." Loki said. "Where's the Celestial Saber?"
"Right here." Raion said, patting a new addition pouch in the small of his back. "Wanted to leave it for, last resort type things." Raion smiled.
"Celestial Saber?" Grey asked. "What's that?"
"A powerful artifact. Essentially, a national treasure within the Celestial Spirit Realm." Lucy said.
"How the hell did you manage to score items like those?" Natsu questioned, looking to Raion.
"The Celestial Spirit King." Loki answered.
"Say what?" Seras asked. "We're gonna need a bit more details then that."
"Because of the way Raion stood up to him, and fought for my life, the Celestial Spirit King respected what Raion said and did in my defense, and in turn gave him the Celestial Saber as a sign of his respect to him."
"What, no way." Grey gasped.
"Dude that's so awesome, you've got some mad street cred to you now." Natsu smiled. "What can you do with it?"
"Well, according to CSK, I can use it to create any weapon I can think of, while calling upon both his physical and magical strength, so long as I have the strength of will to do so. But I gotta be careful, if I push myself past my limits one too many times while wielding the Celestial Saber, I'll shatter like a plate of fine china falling to the ground." Raion explained. "He also said, it's the equivalent to his gate key. Meaning if I need to, I can summon him, like how Lucy summons her spirits."
"Essentially, Raion has a contract with the Celestial Spirit King, the same way Lucy has one with me and all the others she's contracted to." Loki explained.
"Well, back to Loki. I mean it is great you managed to get everything worked out between you and the Celestial Spirit King, and you're able to return home again, but shouldn't you be resting up back in the Celestial World right now?" Grey questioned, his brain putting what Raion and Loki said about the contract on the back burner, as he couldn't handle processing it.
"I'm doing a lot better than I was. I just wanted to come say hi." Loki smiled. "Well that and, I couldn't wait to see Lucy again." He said, causing the blonde to blush as he wrapped his arm around her.
"He loves you." Happy said in a mocking tone.
"Shut it cat or you're gonna get hurt." Lucy glared.
"Excuse us, we need to have a little chat about our future together." Loki stated taking Lucy away in his arms, bridal style.
"What are you doing? Put me down this instant." Lucy complained struggling in his hold.
"Aw man, I wish I had a Celestial Spirit." Natsu complained.
"What kind of Spirit would it be?" Happy asked.
"A Dragon duh, 'cause then I could practice my magic on it." Natsu shouted.
"Yeah." Happy cheered.
"Are you two idiots or something?" Raion questioned, hitting Natsu with a chop to the head, sending him face first into the ground. "Celestial Spirits aren't objects you can just summon to beat up like they're living punching bags. They're actual people, they have hearts, souls, and emotions. You two are just as bad as Laxus if you think you can do that to a Celestial Spirit."
"We're sorry." Natsu and Happy said, prostrating themselves on their hands and knees.
"That's right." Loki smiled as he was standing beside Lucy with his arm around her shoulders again. "You summon them when you need something."
"I think you better go back now." Lucy said holding up Loki's key. "You gotta be careful, you're not back to full strength yet."
"Hold on, I got you something." Loki said reaching into his pocket pulling out ten tickets. "Here you go."
"What are these?" Lucy asked.
"They're tickets to this awesome beach resort. You've done so much for me it's the least I can do." Loki smiled. "Plus, I don't really have a use for this worlds money anymore, and it had to go somewhere, so I bought enough for Raion, Team RWBY, Seras, and you guys."
"The beach?" Lucy questioned as they each took their tickets.
"These are for Akane Resort." Seras gasped.
"I've always wanted to go." Ruby squealed.
"I've never been to a place like that before." Grey added.
"I already gave Erza her ticket; I hope you guys have a good time." Loki smiled.
"Come on, chop-chop, no lollygagging. Now hurry or we'll leave you behind." Erza stated.
The ten of them turned around to see Erza with a blue and white flower patterned shirt, red shorts, and a red star floating doughnut around her waist, a sun hat, and a beach bag over her shoulder, while hauling her cart filled with beach stuff.
"So much stuff." Lucy and Grey said in unison.
"Alright I'm ready to go." Natsu cheered.
"This is gonna be awesome." Ruby cheered as Team RWBY were excited.
"First thing's first, we gotta get Seras and me some proper swim wear." Raion said.
~End Flashback~
"Man I never knew beach resorts could be so much fun." Seras smiled, before looking to Raion while lying on a lounge chair, with Ruby and Yang next to her on their own lounge chairs. "Don't look now, but I think we're being tailed."
"We are?" Ruby asked.
"I don't see anyone." Yang said, looking around.
"We are. We're being tailed by Jason. A reporter for Sorcerer Weekly." Raion said. "He and his team are getting materials for the next issue of their new monthly Fairy Tail exclusive magazine. The theme for this one must be, beach life. He's been obsessed with making me the star of the exclusive, since the first issue came out."
"Oh no, he's not even trying to hide. I'm talking about a certain blue haired Water Huntress, who's been stalking around the Guildhall construction sight." Seras said, directing Raions attention to the palm trees.
Raion looked to where Seras was talking about, and saw Juvia just standing there watching Grey from a distance.
"Can she even afford to come here right now? I thought she was out of a job, like Gajeel?" Seras asked. "I heard that she was part of Phantom Lord. Didn't they disband?"
"They did, and she should still be able to do Huntress work, she just can't do it at a Guildhall unless she joins another Guild." Raion said, putting a plate together. "Flying solo, she has to get her jobs from city hall, and those jobs tend to be slim pickings at best. She must have dipped into her savings to be able to afford the ticket here."
"You think she budgeted out some money for food?" Ruby inquired.
"I doubt it." Raion said, before heading for Juvia. "Which is why I'm putting this together. B-R-B."
"Wait, let me come with you. I got the drinks." Ruby said, running after him, wearing a simple red bikini.
The Water Huntress just stood in the purple and lavender polka-dot bikini, looking at Grey from behind the palm trees, as Natsu was teasing him.
"Give me back my bathing suit." Grey shouted at Natsu, using Happy to cover himself up.
"No way man." Natsu cheered.
"I don't think Happy likes being used as a cover up." Lucy laughed as Happy whined.
"My beloved Grey, what a hunk." Juvia said.
"If you're not to busy fawning over my Guild Mate, we have some food and drinks here if you'd like them."
Juvia eeped and twisted around, spotting Raion and Ruby standing behind her. Raion had a smile on his face, and Ruby was trying to keep herself from snickering.
"How did you know I was here?" Juvia asked.
"Well, you weren't being very inconspicuous to begin with, wearing that bikini, and hiding behind palm trees." Raion said. "Seras spotted you from all the way over there."
"So, who you spying on?" Ruby asked.
"You've been around Yang way too much Ruby." Raion sighed, putting the plate of food in Juvia's hands. "Look, if you like Grey, then just talk to him. I'm positive he's not mad at you about the war, and something tells me he'd actually be happy to see you doing so well."
"You really think so? My Darling Grey would be happy to see me?" Juvia asked.
"I'm positive." Raion said. "But, just to clear the air, he doesn't have romantic feelings for Lucy, and she doesn't have any for him."
"But how can you be certain?" Juvia asked.
"Because I've been around Grey long enough to know when he's got feelings for someone. An' trust me, nothing's sailing between those two." Raion said.
"But doesn't Lucy have feelings for him?" Juvia asked.
"Oh no way, Lucy's got the hots for the fire dragon holding Grey's swim trunks hostage." Ruby smiled. "I've read enough of Yang's gossip magazines to know that at least."
"Okay that's enough of Yang's hand-me-downs for you Ruby." Raion said. "The point is, just speak up about how you feel, and give him a chance. He might surprise you."
~Era~
"Are you saying it still exists?" One of the members of the Magic Council questioned, with clear and evident fear in his voice. "But that's impossible."
"About a decade ago, construction began on the R-System. A structure designed by a cult of Black Magic users."
"But we had all seven of those towers destroyed. There shouldn't be any ruins left."
"Evidently there was an eighth tower we missed in the waters of Ka Elm. Some of our scouts who were studying the waters, as to why it wasn't Grimm infested like the rest of the oceans."
"How did we miss it? Is the structure close to completion?" One of the members asked.
"According to the report, it's less then days away from completion, and that report came in sometime ago, so I'm afraid it's been completed already, so we sent a team to investigate. Unfortunately, our team mysteriously went missing after sending these images." Org said, producing the images, of a completed tower.
"Well it looks finished to me."
"But why would they revive the R-System after all this time?"
"The Tower of Heaven. It's not the R-System, it's the Tower of Heaven. To be clear."
"It makes no difference what it's called. It utilizes forbidden magic. There would be chaos if word got out it even existed."
"We'll have to find a way to subdue those behind this catastrophe. I suggest we dispatch the military."
"That's not an option."
"What do you mean?"
"We'd be putting our soldiers in danger because we don't know who we're dealing with here."
"According to our latest intelligence, the black magic cult thought to be responsible for the R-System is no longer occupying the tower."
"They're not? Just who is then?"
"It's a group of rogue Huntsmen, Zeref worshipers, apparently led by a man named Jellal." Everyone looked over to Siegran.
"Jellal?"
"But that's the name of your twin brother. Is it not Siegran?"
"Yes, unfortunately. Though I've had not contact with my brother, that would be him." Siegran said. "I can only imagine the horrors he endured that drove him to such madness."
~Akane Casino~
"An' royal flush, I win." Raion smirked, showing his cards at the table.
Raion sat at the poker table, wearing a black three piece suit, with a red dress shirt underneath. His hair was mostly slicked back with some bangs styled downward on the right side of his face. He wore, what looked like an expensive watch on his left wrist, and a pair of nice looking dress shoes.
"Whoa, that's the twenty-fifth game in a row Raion." Yang said. "How are you winning?"
"I don't know. Let's just be glad we're not playing blackjack, I'm a monster at card counting." Raion chuckled, putting his winnings in a bucket.
"You've certainly got one helluva poker face, that's for sure." One of the poker players said. "What's your secret to that?"
"Well boys, I'm a Fairy Tail Huntsmen, so my line of work often requires me to not show any emotion, depending on the job. So I guess you could say my poker face came with job experience." Raion said. "I'm gonna cash in my winnings, and check out the rest of the casino."
Getting up from the poker table, Raion cracked his neck, and sighed.
"I got what I needed and then some." He said, using slight of hand to reveal a thumb drive that had been sneakily handed to him.
Cashing in his chips, Raion easily made his way to the WiFi area where casino and theme park goers would hang out, when they just wanted to chill and relax. Here, Raion was accessing the hard he'd managed to get from one of the other poker players, thanks to some slight of hand from Seras, and Team RWBY.
"This vacation aligned perfectly, with the business trip of one of the SDC's lawyers. I'm so glad, I've been keeping tabs on them, because now I know that they've been tampering and transferring all the evidence to a single drive. An' they were gonna do something pretty shady with it." Raion said, scratching at his cheek a bit under his scar. "Everything needed for sentencing Jacques Schnee with the Death Penalty, is right on this drive. An' he was about to make it disappear for good. Well, I think a quick Email to General Ironwood would beg to differ."
With a final click, Raion sent the Email through an anonymous account. The instant he got notified that Ironwood had received the Email, he deleted the account, and shut down his computer, putting it away with a smile as he pocketed the thumb drive.
"Game, set and match." He smiled, lighting a cigar.
"Mind if I join you big guy?"
Raion looked up from where he sat, and saw a young woman around his age, with long black hair, her bangs covering her right eye, wearing a red with gold designs long sleeved open shoulder crop top, leaving her abdomen exposed, with black leather archer gloves on her hands. Around her hips she wore a qipao style loin flap, over what he could only assume were black bike shorts, with high-heel knee-high open toed boots. She had a book bag over her shoulder, a wine glass in one hand, and a closed locket around her neck.
"That is, if this seat isn't taken." She said.
"No, go ahead. The seat's all yours." Raion said, letting out a puff of smoke from his cigar.
"Thanks." She smiled.
There was a moment of silence between the two as Raion relaxed, with a waiter bringing him a drink, before the young woman spoke up again.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but aren't you Fairy Tail's God of War?" She asked.
"You read Sorcerer Weekly huh?" Raion asked.
"I mean, there isn't a soul alive who doesn't." She smiled. "I'm Cinder Fall."
"Raion, but you already knew that from the magazine, didn't you?" Raion asked.
"I don't normally do this, but since you're here, could I get your autograph?" She asked, pulling the Sorcerer Weekly magazine from her bag.
"Sure thing." Raion smiled, using a marker to autograph the cover.
"So, what brings a big shot like you to Akane Resort?" Cinder questioned.
"I'm on vacation with my friends. So far, we've had the time of our lives." Raion said. "An' we've kinda needed the break, as rebuilding our Guildhall is taking some time."
"My, that sounds interesting." Cinder smiled.
"What about you, what are you doing here?" Raion asked.
"I'm here researching on why the shores of Akane are Grimm Free." Cinder said. "I've found several myths and legends that could be the cause of such phenomena."
"Oh really? What's one of these legends?" Raion asked.
"Well… have you ever heard of the Titan?" Cinder asked.
"The Titan, as in the Legendary Demon Grimm Zeref made, that was so powerful, Zeref himself feared it?" Raion asked. "Isn't that beast nothing more then myth and folklore?"
"Supposedly, the Titan was sealed away beneath the waters of Ka Elm, it's power so great, so terrifying, that even the Leviathan, the Apex Grimm of the Oceans, is too scared to roam these parts." Cinder explained.
~Grey~
"Man they are such sore losers." Grey said, annoyed at having to listen to Natsu and Happy whine about having lost to the machine.
"No kidding, they should at least keep that kind of behavior at the Guildhall, and not act like that out in public." Weiss said.
With her hair down straight, and the addition of a circlet around her forehead, Weiss wore an open leg shin-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation going from white, to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her deep sweetheart, neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes. Over the dress, she had a wide open bolero jacket that hugged her back, and the Fairy Tail emblem sewn into the fabric next to her left breast, and a gem on the end of each sleeve, resting on the back of her hands, accompanied by a pair of combat heels.
"Now you're just asking for the impossible." Grey said.
"I suppose you're right." Weiss said. "It's about as impossible as convincing Ruby into eating something other then Oreos and milk for breakfast. I swear, if it weren't for her slayer metabolism she would have gotten fat, diabetes, or both. I still have a hard time believing such a childish girl was made leader of our Team."
"I'm sure Ozpin knew what he was doing." Grey chuckled.
"Grey my Darling."
Grey and Weiss looked up to see Juvia, wearing a blue dress, with a golden Fairy Tail necklace hanging from a gold chain around her neck.
"I'm Juvia, do you remember me?" Juvia asked.
"Yeah, you're that chick from Phantom." Grey said.
"Calm down Grey, she's not here as an enemy." Weiss sighed. "You'll have to forgive him Juvia, he's a little testy when it comes to the war that my father helped start."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Juvia said. "Actually, I was hoping I'd be able to talk to you both about something."
"Well, I'd say this is a conversation to have over some drinks." Weiss said, showing her hand. "I win, so let's hit the bar."
"No fair, I had a lot of money riding on that round." Grey said.
"Too bad. I still win." Weiss smiled, looping her arm through Juvia's. "C'mon Juvia, drinks are on me tonight."
Grey, Weiss, and Juvia all sat comfortably at the bar, with Weiss and Juvia on either side of Grey.
"We heard that Phantom was disbanded." Grey said. "That had to have been tough on you."
"Yes, but now I'm a free Huntress, and I can join any Guild I want." Juvia said.
"Oh really, any Guild in particular come to mind?" Weiss asked sarcastically as the light gleamed off Juvia's Fairy Tail necklace. "Like say, Fairy Tail?"
"Oh yes, very much so." Juvia said.
"I don't know, I mean after everything that went down between our two Guilds. I mean I don't mind, but who knows what the Master will say?" Grey said.
"I'm sure she'll be allowed to join." Weiss smiled. "I even heard Raion gets a say in who joins now."
"Really? That must mean he's high on the list of Gramps's successor candidates as Guild Master." Grey said.
'Crap, nearly let it slip. Can't forget that we all promised to keep his offer from the Master a secret.' Weiss mentally screamed.
"Either way, I promise I'll do whatever it takes to get into Fairy Tail." Juvia said.
"If I were you, I'd be careful about making promises like that." Grey said, none of them paying any mind to the shadow washing over them.
"Grey Fullbuster, Weiss Schnee?"
~Natsu~
"Come back 17, I'll do anything, I swear." Natsu whined as she hit the machine.
"Sir please don't do that." The attendant said, trying to get Natsu to calm down.
"Cool your jets boy."
Natsu, Happy, and the attendant turned to see who had spoken up, and saw an angular man, as if his body was made entirely out of building blocks.
"Either play nice like the rest of the grownups, or hit the bricks, you get me?" The angular man asked.
"Square?" Happy questioned.
"Blockhead?" Natsu gasped.
"Now I'm gonna give you, some friendly advice pal." Blockhead stated, raising his hand and holding up two fingers. "In life, you got one of two paths to take." He said, before his body began to glow.
"Hey, what the hell?" Natsu questioned, as he suddenly found himself pinned to the machine he was complaining about losing to. He looked to the blockhead, and saw that his body, from the waist down, was gone, indicating the blocks that made those parts, were keeping him pinned to the machine. "What's your deal?"
"Natsu." Happy cried out in shock and fear.
"You can either live a dandy life." The Blockhead said, pointing his finger at Natsu, before his entire forearm turned into a gun, with the laser guided target aiming for the center of his forehead. "Or die a jealous poser."
"How about you die a jealous poser."
The blockhead turned to who spoke, before he instantly had to back away as Yang came in, swinging her fist at him, covered in purgatory flames. Looking Yang up and down, Blockhead whistled when he saw Yang was dressed in a slim fitting gold dress shirt, with the top two buttons undone, showing plenty of cleavage, sleek black dress pants, and a thin chain necklace with her amethyst pendant hanging from the string of chain links. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up, showing Ember Celica was fully activated.
"Yang?" Natsu questioned.
"Hey, you doing okay Natsu?" Yang questioned, looking over her shoulder to him.
"I'm fine." Natsu said. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for Raion and Seras, but I stumbled across this scene instead." Yang said. "What's this guys deal?"
"I don't know. I've never met him before." Natsu stated.
"Hey Doll, it's rude to ignore someone once you've started a conversation with them." The Blockhead stated, aiming his weapon at Yang.
The instant he fire, Yang brought up her Ember Celica, deflecting the shot, resulting in it rebounding to the ground near the gate of the machine.
"Never, call me Doll." Yang glared, her lavender eyes turning red, just as an explosion went off in the background behind her.
~Erza~
"What's all the commotion about?" Erza questioned, as she turned with Lucy, Ruby, and Blake from their table.
"I think the nightly parade is starting outside." Blake said, one of her cat ears twitching.
"Makes sense then." Lucy said.
"I wanna go see it, but I've got such a good hand." Ruby whined. "No, I'm gonna see this game through to the end."
Both Ruby and Blake had gone all out, dressing themselves up for the night, with Ruby wearing a sleeveless, open leg slim figure hugging dress, with a necklace of small pearls, and low-heel slippers on her feet, with arm length gloves on her hands.
Blake wore a short sleeved, dark purple qipao dress with a white dragon design sewn into the fabric, martial arts slippers on her feet, and her hair braided into a rope, with a cherry blossom hair pin.
"Oh wow check it out, you totally got a straight." Lucy said.
"Looks like today's my lucky day." Erza smiled.
"No fair. I was so close to winning." Ruby whined, as the dealers changed.
"I have a feeling that this hot streak, is just getting started." Erza said.
"Oh really?" Blake asked with a smile.
"In that case, I've got a special game for you folks tonight." The new dealer said.
~Raion~
"So you're telling me, the Titan Grimm, is the reason why there aren't any other Grimm in the waters of Ka Elm?"
"It's only a theory at this point." Cinder said. "But still one to consider."
"Still, it's one helluva theory." Raion said, looking at her.
"I'm sorry, but do I have something on my face or something?" Cinder asked, with a laugh.
"Nah, I was just wondering, what exactly you were planning on doing, once you opened up that locket filled with Kryptonite." Raion said, the atmosphere between them getting tense.
"I'm sorry, I don't…"
"You can drop the innocent fan girl act." Raion said. "I'll admit, you took me by surprise when you first showed up. But I'd recognize the face of the woman who hurt Amber, anywhere."
The moment passed by with an intense air between them, before Cinders face fell from a confused look, to one of annoyance.
"Impressive, you're not just some random meathead." Cinder said. "I honestly thought I had you fooled."
"I've been known to have my fair share of brains." Raion stated, blowing out a puff of smoke from his cigar. "But what really gave you away, was your Ki."
"My Ki?" Cinder asked.
"Yeah, you see your hair might have gotten longer, and your skills might have improved significantly, but no matter how hard you'll try, the energy signature of your life force, will always remain the same. The trouble is, I could never figure out, why someone would be stupid enough, to attack and cause a member of Fairy Tail's elite, to become catatonic. You had to have known that you would be hunted down, from then on to undo what you did." Raion said. "But you might as well ditch the Kryptonite, it's not gonna have that strong of an affect on me."
"You never know, until we try." Cinder said, reaching for the locket.
Before Cinder could touch the Kryptonite filled locket, Raion's hand raced up, and grabbed it. The girl just smiled as she instantly brought out a can of pepper spray, and pressed the top, causing a glowing green cloud to be sprayed right in Raions face. This sudden intrusion of Kryptonite spray, caused Raion of cough, as he breathed in the harmful mist, and clutched his chest in pain.
"A girl can never be too careful, with her protection these days." Cinder said, opening the locket, showing every corner of it filled with Kryptonite.
Removing the locket from around her neck, Cinder smiled as she put it around Raions, and pushed him to the ground.
"That was easier then I thought." Cinder smiled, using a card to imprison Raion. "Now, to head back, and deliver this thumb drive to my client. But I gotta make a quick pit stop and deliver you to my other client. He's got some questions for you." She said, holding both the thumb drive, and card locked Raion in her hand.
"Hey Bitcherella." Seras called out to Cinder, causing the villainous girls head to turn to her with an annoyed glare.
Seras stood there, wearing an enticing open front and back dress, with a silver sash tied around her waist, and fishnet stockings covering her legs, with high heeled sandals.
"What do you think you're doing with my man?" Seras questioned with a glare.
~Erza~
"It can't be." Erza gasped, looking up from the cards dealt to her, and then to the dealer. "Sho, is that you?"
"So you do remember me."
"You know him?" Lucy questioned.
"Seems like they do." Ruby said.
"Erza, are you okay?" Blake asked.
"You're… You're alive?" Erza questioned Sho, her face filled with horror.
"Alive?" Sho asked questioningly.
"I… I mean."
"Erza, hey are you okay? Snap out of it." Ruby said, before everything went dark. "What the?"
"What's happening?" Blake questioned, before she was forced to cover her ears, as a loud bang rang out through the air. "What was that?"
"A gunshot?" Lucy questioned in fear.
"What's going on?" Erza questioned before the lights turned back on.
Lucy, Ruby, Blake, and Erza looked around, finding that everyone else in the casino, as well as Sho, had vanished.
"Where'd he go?" Erza questioned.
"I'm right here, sister." Sho said, from behind.
The four turned around to face Sho, as multiple playing cards, screaming with fear and terror, fell to the ground from his hands.
"Those are… people." Blake gasped, having only seen this kind of magic once.
"Oh no." Erza gasped.
"He trapped them inside the cards?" Lucy questioned.
"He's got the same magic as Cana." Ruby stated.
"Cool huh?" Sho questioned, holding up the card that held the mascot inside it.
"You use magic?" Erza questioned.
"That's right." Sho stated. "You're not the only one, with powers anymore."
"But who taught you that?" Erza asked.
"Does it really matter at this point?" Blake asked.
"Blake's right, these people are in trouble, and he's the only one present who can undo their imprisonment." Ruby said, reequipping Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud into her hands, before tossing the katana bladed gun to Blake.
"Meow." A voice echoed through the air, before three magic circles formed under Lucy, Ruby, and Blake's feet, and the trio found themselves tied up in orange rope.
"Let them go." Erza demanded.
"Well aren't you all rosy." The cat eared girl said.
"A Demi?" Ruby questioned.
"Millianna?" Erza gasped. "You can use, magic too?"
"It's been a while Erzie-Werzie." The now named Millianna said, before glaring at Blake. "I see you got yourself another kitty friend. I was that easy to replace, huh?"
"No, she is a friend, but she's a student from Beacon Academy." Erza said. "But no one could ever replace you."
"Beacon Academy huh?" Millianna questioned. "Then in that case, once we get what we want, it'll be the first to FALL!" She declared kicking at Blake, aiming to take out an eye with her pointed slipper.
"No don't." Erza cried out.
The instant Millianna's foot made contact however, Blake vanished into smoke, causing Millianna to gasp.
"What the, a decoy?" Millianna questioned, before a shadow popped up on the poker table behind her, and a ribbon wrapped around her throat.
"My Semblance Shadow, allows me to make shadow decoys of myself. An' they can last quite a while, depending on how much damage they take." Blake said. "It's actually the perfect compliment to my Shadow Demonslayer Magic."
"Bad kitty." Millianna choked.
"No, stop Blake, don't hurt her." Erza cried out.
This caught Blake off guard, and made her lose her grip, giving Millianna the perfect opportunity to cast a spell.
"Bad Kitty: Restraint Bindings!" Millianna shouted.
Blake was fast enough to adjust however, before she vanished into the shadows, freeing Millianna completely.
"Are you okay Millianna?" Sho questioned.
"Where'd she go?" Millianna gasped, looking around, before she coughed out and dry heaved as Blake emerged from the shadow of the poker table.
Blake was standing on one arm, with her right foot buried in Millianna's stomach, before she pulled it back, in time with extending her left foot, and hitting Millianna with a second kick. The force of the strike, caused Millianna to be sent flying back, zipping past Sho and slamming into a second poker table, rendering her unconscious.
"Millianna." Sho cried out.
"What's this? Don't tell me your aura isn't unlocked." Blake said. "You're relying on nothing but your magic? That's so amateur hour. Everyone knows, that ones Magic and Semblance are meant to go hand in hand, working together like a well oiled machine. To rely on only one, means you're depriving yourself of the benefits of the other."
"You bitch." Sho growled, reaching for something in his pocket, but stopped when he realized they weren't there. "What the?"
"Looking for these?" Blake asked, holding up Sho's deck of tarot cards. "That's the problem with Huntsmen like you. Relying too much on your tools, and winding up helpless when you either run out, or you lose the tools you rely too heavily on."
"There's no way, you're just a Beacon Academy student." Sho glared. "You're too skilled."
"You're right." Blake said, using Gambol Shroud to shred the cards. "I used to be in the White Fang Guild. Back when my father, Ghira Belladonna was its Master, and for five years after he left it."
"The daughter of Ex-Master Ghira Belladonna?" Sho gasped.
"I've been fighting with the blade, and training to be one with the shadows, since I was old enough to spell my name." Blake stated. "So I guess you could say, I've gone through an evolution in my life since I left the White Fang."
"Blake, hold on." Ruby said, before she was knocked to the ground, with a gun barrel pointed at her face.
"Drop your weapon Kitty Cat. Or the redhead gets it."
Blake looked over her shoulder, to see the Blockhead, scuffed up and covered in minor burns, with his foot on Ruby's hip, and his weapon pointed at her face. The Faunus glared at Wally, her fists clenching tightly, as violet markings formed on the back of her hands, and began traveling up her arms, before she took a breath and the markings receded back into her skin. Raising her hands, Blake turned around to look at the Blockhead, before she gripped her weapon and dropped it to the ground, knowing her weapon could take a beating worse then a simple drop.
"That's a good kitty." The Blockhead smirked.
"What a Blockhead." Lucy gasped, seeing Wally.
"Very nice. Life on the outside's been good to ya, huh Doll?" Wally questioned, turning his gaze to Erza.
"Wally?" Erza gasped. "Is that you?"
"I've gone through some changes myself." Wally said. "Old Mad Dog Wally you grew up with, has seen a lot since the old days. You see, I'm much smoother now."
"I'd say you're more ridged then smooth jackass." Ruby grunted, before she cried out in pain as Wally shot her, point blank range in the shoulder.
"I'd keep your yap shut if I was you girly, unless you wanna end up six feet under like that blonde fire bimbo I put down with that pink haired tool." Wally said.
"Blonde fire… Yang?" Ruby gasped.
"Is that what her name was?" Wally questioned. "Didn't really care to learn it, seeing as she was a pain in my side."
"What the hell did you do to my sister?" Ruby questioned, angrily glaring at Wally.
"Oh, she was your sis huh? Well let me do you the kindness of reuniting you two, in the afterlife." Wally smirked.
"Shadow Demon: Dancing Threads of Death!" Blake chanted, her body covered in shadow as she was instantly behind Wally, her eyes glowing with power.
Wally didn't even have time to react, as his body became wracked with pain, before he jolted in every which direction, with threads of shadow moving through his body, before he fell back, his brain having shut off as he was knocked out by the pain.
"I held back because you're Erza's friend, but there's no way Yang could have died so easily." Blake said. "If you used fire against her, and Natsu, then just you wait. They'll both be back up and on their feet in no time."
"Too bad you're not gonna live to see that."
Blake's eyes widened, before twisting around, seeing only the palm of a gloved hand, right before she was doused in flames, crying out in pain.
"BLAKE!" Ruby cried out.
The torrent of flames died down, revealing Blake in burnt clothing, turning to ashes, barely able to stand as her body was shaking, before her aura shattered, and she fell unconscious herself.
"Oh, too bad kitten." Cinder smirked. "You just weren't strong enough to handle my weakest spell."
"That… was her weakest spell?" Lucy gasped.
"How are Millianna and Wally?" Cinder asked.
"Both unconscious and probably in pain. Thankfully Millianna's spell is still holding strong." Sho said. "What took you so long, where's Simon?"
"I'm right here Sho. No need to worry." Simon said, appearing from the shadows. "Hello Erza."
"Simon?" Erza gasped. "You and Wally practice Magic as well?"
"Why do you seem so surprised? It's not that hard once you get the hang of it." Simon said. "Although, you probably know all about that, don't you?"
'His voice, there's an edge to it suggesting he's not happy with the circumstances unfolding.' Ruby thought, her ears picking up on Simon's tone.
"Erza, who are these people, and why is he calling you sister?" Lucy questioned.
Erza was silent for a moment, looking at Blake with a worried expression on her face, before she sighed and gave in, knowing there wasn't anything she could really do, to hide her past from Lucy, or Ruby any longer.
"He's not actually my brother." Erza began with a sigh. "But, we all grew up together."
"But… What do you mean Erza? You told us you joined Fairy Tail when you were just a little kid." Ruby said.
"This was before I joined the Guild. But I have no clue, who this woman with them even is." Erza said, before looking to Sho, and Simon. "Why did you find me? What do you want?"
"We're here, to bring you home, Sister." Sho said. "Back to the Tower of Heaven."
Before Erza could say anything in response, the redhead was hit from behind with a powerful spell that knocked her out, and sent her forward. As she fell, the smoke cleared to reveal it was Cinder who was the one that hit her with the spell.
"Did you have to be so rough with her?" Simon asked, catching Erza, and taking her into his arms.
"She wasn't gonna cooperate otherwise." Cinder said, grabbing Wally and Millianna in a couple of tarot cards of her own.
"I guess it doesn't really matter." Simon sighed. "We got what we came for, let's go home."
"Sure she's okay?" Sho asked.
"She's just taking a nap." Cinder said. "Nothing to worry about."
"Hold it, where do you jerks think you're taking her? I hope you know, you're not gonna get away with this." Lucy stated, as she and Ruby continued to struggle in their restraints. "Raion, Seras, Natsu, and Grey are gonna find you. An' when they do, they're gonna make you pay."
"Sorry blondie, but the big guy's right here." Cinder said, holding up the card Raion was trapped in, showing his weakened state. "Thanks to the Kryptonite mist he breathed in earlier, that locket on him is gonna be just as effective on him, as it would be on that mother of his."
"As for Salamander, Wally took care of him alongside your sister. While I took out Fullbuster, Schnee, and the water woman with them." Simon stated.
"No, that can't be true."
"An' as for that girl… well let's just say that she's a little preoccupied at the moment." Cinder smirked.
"Don't count me out just yet!" Seras shouted, leaping through the air.
Seras landed on the ground between the group who had Erza, and the restrained duo of Huntresses, before she leaned forward onto one hand, and kicked back with one foot extending far out, hitting Cinder in the stomach.
"What the? How the hell did you get past all those Grimm I unleashed from my tarot cards?" Cinder questioned.
"It's easy to get past them, when they show respect to their superior!" Seras exclaimed using her other leg to hook behind Cinder's back.
Pulling forward with her legs, Seras straightened them up in the air and spun around several times, before she slammed Cinder into the ground, causing it to crack and web out, before she flipped back onto her feet, and snatched the card that had been knocked out of the brunet girls pocket.
"I've got Raion back, now return Erza, or I won't be so gentle with the rest of you." Seras glowered.
"I don't think so." Sho stated, helping the pained Cinder back to her feet. "We're taking Sister back home, to the Tower of Heaven."
"The Tower of Heaven?" Seras gasped.
"An' you might wanna take another look at that card you snagged." Cinder smirked, as a magic circle opened up above them. "It isn't the God of War."
In the blink of an eye, they all vanished from sight, while leaving Seras glaring at where they stood, before she looked down at the card in her hand, her ears twitching and tail flicking in annoyance, before she gasped, when she saw it was Happy, inside the card she was holding.
"Happy?" Seras questioned.
"Seras, mind giving us a hand here?" Ruby questioned, her body cracking a bit.
"Right, sorry." Seras said, cutting their bindings with a falchion, before she used healing magic on Ruby's shoulder and Blake's wounds. "Damn it, they got away. Are you two all right?"
"I'm fine, but they just took Erza, and Raion." Lucy stated as she got up and rubbed her wrists.
"Do you have any idea why they might want Raion?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know. But he was able to face off against someone with power equivalent to one of the Ten Wizard Saints and come out standing. He fought Jacques Schnee, someone on the same level of authority as Jose, so maybe that has something to do with it." Lucy sighed getting up before her eyes widened in fear. "Oh no, Natsu, Yang!"
"They're fine. I ran by them earlier. I also ran past Grey, Juvia, and Weiss." Seras said. "They're all okay. They're waiting for us in the lobby. We'll have to explain to them what's going on, but I'm gonna have to stay behind to tend to Blake's wounds."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ruby questioned, getting to her feet, with Crescent Rose in her hands. "We'll get back at those jerks for taking our friends, and for hurting Blake so badly."
~Erza~
The scarlet haired mage began to awaken, only to see an old childhood friend of hers, standing before her, dressed in a completely different attire to what he had worn when he kidnapped her and Raion, with Cinder at his side.
"This place, where are we?" Erza asked.
"Inside the hold of a ship at sea." Sho stated.
"A ship?"
"That's right." Cinder smirked as she began to leave. "I'll leave you two, to hash things out."
"Our course is set for the Tower of Heaven." Sho said, not even acknowledging Cinders words.
"I see." Erza said in defeat. "I should have known where we were heading to. Would you please untie me, I won't cause any trouble."
"I'm afraid I can't. You've proven yourself untrustworthy." Sho stated as Erza struggled in her bindings. "That won't help, Millianna's ropes conceal magic; you're struggling in vain. You'll find you'll have no luck in breaking free from them. The effort will just tire you out."
"Fine I won't resist. But please Sho, will you allow me to requip into my armor? The Tower… I'm afraid of going back there. I just wanna have it on so that I feel safe." Erza explained.
"But the outfit you have on now, is so lovely." Sho said before going to his knees and crawling over to hug her. "Honestly I didn't want it to happen like this."
"It's okay." Erza said.
"I missed you so much." Sho stated, tears streaming down his face. "It hurts me."
"Sho…" Erza sighed.
"Tell me, why, why did you do it? Why'd you betray Jellal?" Sho shouted, anger clear on his face as he pulled away from her, and looked right at him.
Erza remained silent, not wanting to anger him or reveal the truth, out of the fear that it would break his mind.
"Jellal."