"I have to admit, Ace isn't half as bad as I thought he was going to be!" Cynthia gave a nod while walking in front of the group as they made their way through Magnolia, facing backwards with her hands behind her back.
"He's kinda annoying…" Gajeel scoffed, his arms now crossed over his chest. He turned to Lisanna while raising a brow. "And you worked with him for how long again?"
"A few weeks," Lisanna replied. "It was hard to work with him at first because he wanted me to stay hidden from you all. He wanted to see if you would get stronger because of my "death" and he was right to an extent."
"I'm just glad you're okay…" Mirajane commented while giving her usual sweet smile.
"Everyone at the guild really misses you, so they'll be glad to see you!" Natsu grinned.
"You're right!" Lisanna nodded, giving a wide ear to ear smile. "Let's hurry back! I have to see everyone!"
As the Fariy Tail group made way back to their guild, Hyde kept his eyes locked on Cynthia, a sinister grin on his face. "Let us begin…" Hyde snapped his fingers, creating a dark portal under the omega fire slayer.
Wendy immediately caught the portal under Cynthia's feet, and her eyes widened once spotting it. "Cynthia look out!" Wendy shouted before stepping forward, shoving Cynthia out of the way, causing Wendy to fall victim to the portal and fall inside, only for it to close shortly after.
"Wendy!?" Cynthia exclaimed after falling on her butt from the push, now frantically looking around after the portal closed.
"What just happened?!" Carla asked as she entered a panic. Eventually, her eyes found Hyde on the top of a building, holding an unconscious Wendy by the back of her shirt. "Wendy!"
"Target acquired…" Hyde smirked. "She fell for it."
"Hey…that's…!" Lucy gasped, remembering Hyde from the incident with Tartaros.
"HEY!" Cynthia shouted with a hateful glare, red flames erupting around her body. "You give her back!" Cynthia lunged forward with her fist pulled back, but before she could do anything a bolt of purple lightning struck her, sending her rocketing back down to the ground, unable to move after landing. "G-Grah!"
"Oi!" Natsu and the other shifted into a battle ready position. "Who the hell?!"
Hollow appeared beside Hyde with his hand extended, purple lightning still sparking around it. "Ah, perfect timing, Hollow…" Hyde said with a grin.
"You want a fight?!" Natsu lunged forward with his fist pulled back, but he was immediately cut off by a small flaming meteor slamming into his abdomen, sending him rocketing back into the ground. The rain of meteors continued, causing the group to spread out. "Grah!? What now!?" Natsu roared out in annoyance.
"Oh dear…" Apollo said as he dusted his hands off, appearing to Hyde's left. "We meet again, Fire Dragon. What a pleasant surprise…"
"You again?! Fine, I've got some unfinished business with you anyway!" Natsu said while pounding his fist together.
"Natsu!" Lucy called out to the dragon slayer. "We have to rescue Wendy first!"
"Leave it to me…" Mirajane said as her expression darkened. A magic seal appeared above her head as she entered her Satan Soul takeover. She spread her wings and took off into the sky, aiming straight for Hyde.
"I don't think so…" Hollow said as he pointed his hand forward, but Hyde stopped him.
"Oh no, I think this'll funnier…" Hyde said with a chuckle.
A figure leapt into the air, a magic circle appearing over their body as they too entered a takeover spell. Their body changed from human to a large red and white bird with exceptionally large wings. This figure sped towards Mirajane with its wings spread out. "Flying Impact!"
"Wha-?!" Mirajane's eyes widened for a split second, the attack was so fast she had no time to react. The right wing of the bird slammed into Mirajane's stomach, sending her hurtling through a few buildings.
"Mira-nee!" Lisanna yelped at the sight of her older sibling tossed away like that.
"Terra Condor, how good of you to make it…" Hyde chuckled.
"How many of these guys are there!?" Gray groaned before placing his fist into his palm, throwing his hands forward. "Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" From a crystallized magic sphere, enlarged ice lances fired out towards Hyde, Hollow, Apollo, and Terra Condor.
"Gray, watch out, you could hit Wendy!" Lucy shouted.
"Yukidama Rush!" Yeti Blizzard exclaimed from a taller building ahead. His chant caused an avalanche to appear, rushing down towards the Fairy Tail wizards at a dangerous speed.
"Get to higher ground!" Lily shouted, immediately sprouting his wings along with his fellow exceeds. Erza used her Black Wing Armor to fly up while Lily lifted up Gajeel, Carla lifted up Cynthia, Happy lifted up Lucy and Natsu merely jumped to higher ground and Lisanna flew up with Gray and Juvia, landing on a tall building.
"Lucy, you're so heavy…!" Happy strained himself to speak while setting Lucy down.
"Now isn't the time for this!" Lucy yelled at Happy in comedic fashion before turning to Hyde and his crew. "They still have Wendy…"
"Not for long!" Natsu exclaimed while puffing his cheeks out. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" The Salamander unleashed his signature roar towards the opposing group, watching as the funnel of flames rocketed towards them. "Drop her or get burned to ash!" Another finger stepped forward, holding his hand out. A barrier of water appeared around him, completely blocking off Natsu's roar, leaving the fire dragon shocked. "Huh!?"
"Excellent, Brachio…" Hyde nodded.
Erza flew forward with her sword, swinging down towards Hyde, but she was stopped by Apollo and his flaming swords. "Tch, you again…!" Erza snarled at the Sun God before flying back, causing Apollo to jump back.
"How many people are in this group…?" After landing, Gajeel sprinted forward, his cheeks puffing his cheeks out. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel opened his mouth, allowing the momentum he was carrying to exit in the form of his roar, which now rocketed towards Hyde and his group.
"And last but not least…" Hyde said while placing Wendy over his shoulder.
Suddenly, another figure came barreling through. This one, however, was quite different. His lower body was replaced with a chariot type machine, and he had a sort of roman-type getup in the form of his helmet. This male charged right through Gajeel's roar with his lower body, shocking the Iron Dragon. In the next instant, the general steamrolled Black Steel, sending him flying away. "The Unstoppable Charge strikes again!"
"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia screeched out as Gajeel hit the ground hard, struggling to get up.
"General Aurgria…Glad you could finally make it to the set on time…" Hyde gave a nod of approval. "Fairy Tail, meet your fellow set of actors. Yeti Blizzard, Apollo Flame, Brachio, Terra, Hollow, and yours truly…"
"I don't care…" Cynthia snarled as she started to overcome her paralysis. "Give Wendy back, or suffer the consequences!"
"Oh?" Hyde raised a brow. "Pray tell, what kind of consequences do you have planned?"
Before Cynthia could respond, Juvia went for an attack while Hyde was distracted, swiping her hand across the air multiple times. By doing this, she conjured up multiple scythe's of water that hurtled towards Hyde. "Water Slicer!"
"Oh, foolish Fairy Tail…" Hyde let out a sigh, but he grinned nonetheless. Hyde then swung his cape, unleashing a tornado of energy that cut right through the Water Slicer and struck the group. "Phantom Slash!"
"Dammit!" Natsu slammed his fist into the ground, becoming highly annoyed.
"I've had enough…!" Lucy said as she pulled out a golden key. "Gate of the-"
"We won't be having any of that…" Hollow said as he extended his hand, shooting a purple bolt of lightning at the ground at and near the building Fairy Tail was. The paralyzing bolt of lightning had a surprisingly large range, which caught the wizards off guard as they found themselves glued to their spot.
"I-I can't move…" Gray grunted while he glared up to Yeti Blizzard, wanting to wipe the smug look of the beasts' face.
"Now that the introduction is over with…" Hyde's subordinates vanished into the thin air as though they teleported, while Hyde turned his back, beginning to walk off. "If you want your precious Wendy back, come to the tower in the center of Fiore. The exact same one where Fiore's End took place."
"G-Give her back!" Cynthia screamed as her flames flared dangerously around her body. She broke free of her paralysis and lunged towards Hyde with a fist drawn back, but just as she swung, the Dark Phantom vanished into nothing with Wendy. "W-Wendy…! NO!"
"Bastards…" Gray grunted as the electricity finally wore off. He stood up straight, looking around. "Is everyone okay…?"
"I think we've all clearly had better days…" Gajeel replied with a snarky tone as he finally stood up. "Unstoppable Charge my ass…"
"Center of Fiore…" Cynthia thought on it for a moment before shaking her head."
"I leave you guys alone for like 10 minutes and all things spike to hell…" Ace said as he walked forward, looking around. "Geez, what the hell happened here!?"
"Ace?" Carla tilted her head. "What are you doing here? We just left."
"I was going to come by and drop in with an important message but…" Ace said as he looked around at the numbers. "Aren't you missing someone…?"
"Wendy!" Cynthia exclaimed, her fist tightening. "That stupid Hyde took Wendy!"
"Hyde…?" It was now Ace's turn to be confused. "I don't know who he is…"
"We don't know either, but all I know now is that he's an enemy of Fairy Tail!" Natsu said while hitting the nearest wall to vent the frustration he had.
"Slow down…tell me what happened…" Ace said while looking towards Erza and Mirajane.
"We were on our way back when we were ambushed," Erza stated. "It looked as though he was going for Cynthia, but it seems as though Wendy was his intended target…"
"I see…" Ace tapped his foot on the ground before coming up with an idea. "I got it. If he went for Wendy, then Cynthia would've been the captured one, but that's not what he wanted."
"Well it's clear he wants a fight with Fairy Tail, and me!" Cynthia exclaimed. "I'm going to that tower again!"
"Don't be stupid," Ace immediately said in a serious tone. "It's a trap; he's using Wendy to lure you there."
"I don't care!" Cynthia replied, her eyes cutting towards Ace as she gave him a snarl.
"If you go, you'll be putting everyone in danger in the long run, Cynthia," Ace said while keeping his calm composure, though Cynthia wasn't having any of it.
Cynthia stepped forward to Ace, a faint red aura appearing around her body as she glared into Ace's eyes, the area trembling a bit. "Are you going to try and stop me from saving Wendy, Ace?" Cynthia's voice reached a tone it never had before. There was a small hint of intent to seriously harm or even kill in her voice. Ace sensed this, and backed off.
"…Fine, I'll accompany you all then." Ace said.
"We don't need your help for this," Gajeel stated. "Dealer, maybe, but this? No, this is our issue."
"Don't be like that, Gajeel!" Lisanna protested to Gajeel's attitude. "You're going to help?"
"Of course." Ace nodded. "But first, I think bringing you guys some backup might be helpful. I'll be there shortly after you." Ace nodded and ran off.
"Carla!" Cynthia shouted as her magical aura completely calmed. "Let's go!"
"Right…!" Carla nodded, picking Cynthia up by the back of her shirt and flew off.
"Max Speed, we don't have a moment to lose!" Cynthia exclaimed.
"We better get going." Erza said before leaving with everyone else to return to that dreadful tower.
The shadows of a nearby alley way started to move. Future Rouge dipped out of the shadows, rubbing his chin with a slight smirk. "The tower in the center of Fiore, huh…? I think it'll be in my best interest to follow along…"
.
.
"There it is!" Cynthia shouted, pointing to the somewhat renovated tower. "It looks brand new…!"
"Probably because this was planned…" Carla grumbled.
"…Hey! I got an idea!" Cynthia said while pointing to the top of the tower. "He's probably there! Let's just go straight to the top!"
"Ah, yes!" Carla nodded, soaring towards the top of the tower. However, before the two could even reach, a magical barrier halted their progress. They slammed into it and fell straight into the snowy ground.
"Oof…" Cynthia groaned. "What was that…!?"
"A magical barrier…" Erza said as she and the others finally arrived. "He must've known we'd try going for the top…"
"Then I guess we're going for the bottom." Gray said while staring up at the store, scowling from all the bad memories it left him and the others.
"We'll keep you back up." Ace said while approaching with Luke, Selene, Takeru, Leon, Aira, Taya, and Rylo.
"Wait, that's why you brought us here!?" Luke gawked. "Since we were we reduced to playing back up for Fairy Tail! I refuse!"
"I agree…I didn't know this is what you were going to bring us here for." Taya scoffed at Ace. "I'm not playing backup for the Fairies."
"Don't think of it as backup then!" Ace said with a sly grin. "Just think of it as holding a position for a group of people."
"That's kinda the same thing!" Luke flailed.
"We're already here…" Selene said while crossing her arms. "We might as well do it."
"No use in complaining now." Rylo commented.
"Exactly," Ace nodded, turning to Fairy Tail. "In case they try anything, we'll cover your back."
"Thanks, Ace!" Cynthia nodded and rushed inside.
"Wait up!" Lucy exclaimed while she and the others followed Cynthia.
"This'll be fun!" Leon grinned while looking around…eventually spotting a butterfly. "Oh!" Leon ran over to the butterfly, trying to catch it. "I'm gonna get ya!"
"…Weird kid." Ace shrugged.
.
.
Inside the tower, the group walked into a large, open room. Just before them were a set of 8 elevators. "Huh…?" Lisanna blinked. "Was it like this before…?"
"No…" Mirajane replied.
"Hey, you three," Gajeel said to the exceeds. "Go see if you can find some other way up. I don't have a good feeling about all of this…"
"Aye…" Lily nodded, leading Happy and Carla down a hallway to find another way up the tower.
"This entire building seems different…" Lucy said while walking forward.
"Wait…" Erza narrowed her eyes and halted Lucy, now taking the lead herself. "Something seems off about all of this…"
"We don't have a moment to lose!" Cynthia groaned before catching onto something just as Erza did. "Wait…There's nine of us…and only eight elevators…?"
Hyde's voice echoed throughout the room. "That is correct. When one goes up an elevator, there will be an opponent waiting for them. If you can defeat your opponent you rise all the way to the top, where you can meet me and my new star!"
"Leave her alone!" Cynthia screamed, but it seemed that Hyde didn't hear her, and the voice cut off.
"That still doesn't explain…" Erza started, but before she could finish a blur lifted her off the ground, causing a yelp to escape her.
"Erza?!" Lucy looked up, eyes widening.
Knightwalker was riding a floating platform, her spear gripped around Erza's leg, holding Titania upside down, a smirk on her face. "Scarlet!" Knightwalker exclaimed while flying high into the air, slamming Erza into a wall. "It's so good to see you again, it's been so long~"
"There are TWO ERZAS!?" Cynthia flailed.
"Knightwalker…!" Lisanna gasped.
"What do we do!?" Lucy asked while frantically looking around.
A bright light surrounded Erza's body for a few seconds, and when it faded, she was in her Giant's armor. The size of the armor alone caused the grip of Knightwalker's spear to release. Erza flipped her body and landed an uppercut on Knightwalker's jaw, sending the Fairy Hunter flipping back off the platform. The two Erza's managed to catch themselves and landed on the ground just a few yards away from each other. Erza changed back into her standard armor, but this time she had two swords in hand, while Knightwalker reuipped into her basic Ten Commandments Spear. The two Erza's rushed at each other and slashed, but ended in a deadlock. "Knightwalker…!"
"I see you've gotten stronger…" Knightwalker said as a dark smirk curled onto her lips.
"I'll take care of her!" Erza shouted towards the others while trying to overpower her Edolas counterpart. "You guys go ahead and get to Wendy!"
"R-Right!" Lucy nodded, walking to the first elevator. "I'll take this one…!" The door opened, and Lucy stepped right in. The elevator ascended shortly after.
"I'll take this one…" Natsu said in a serious tone as he stepped into elevator number two.
"This one's mine!" Gajeel declared while running into elevator three.
"Be careful, Lisanna," Mirajane said while taking elevator four.
"You too, Mira-nee…" Lisanna said while taking elevator five.
"Doesn't leave me with many options…but I know which one I'm taking…" Gray said and rushed into elevator six.
Juvia was going to try and join Gray but she really didn't have time to do so. Instead, she took elevator seven, but to her surprise it was going down. "W-What?!"
Cynthia rushed to elevator eight…but noticed something was off. She sniffed it before deciding to take an alternate route; the stairs. "You're not slick, Hyde…the elevator would malfunction and leave me with motion sickness…that's the same one "he" took me in…"
Erza and Knightwalker jumped back, sliding across the floor. Erza requipped into her Flight Armor, while Knightwalker changed her spear into her Velocity Spear. The two Erzas then sped across the room at sonic speed, the only thing visible from them to the naked eye were the shockwaves of their attacks clashing. "I thought you reformed!?" Erza questioned while aiming a slash at Knightwalker, but she blocked it with the length of her spear.
"Reformation was just a needless façade!" Knightwalker replied, pulling her spear back and swung her leg at Erza's side for a roundhouse kick which landed, causing Erza to slide back. Knightwalker then entered a fighting position, her spear extended as a malicious grin appeared on her lips, her whole body radiating a black aura. "As for what I want this time…I want to prove that I'm the better Erza; right here, right now."
.
.
"C'mon, hurry up…" Gray whispered to himself as he waited for the elevator to stop. It wasn't too long after he spoke that it did, and when the doors opened, a gust of cold air blew in front of his face. The cold didn't bother him; it was just the intensity of the wind. "Tch…!" Gray walked into the room, which was filled with snow. "Just as I thought…"
"Yukidama rush!" Yeti Blizzard exclaimed from the top of a snowy hill, beating his chest. This caused a large avalanche to appear on the tip of the hill he was standing in and rush towards Gray.
"You're not getting me with that again!" Gray exclaimed as he leapt onto higher ground, watching as the snow covered up the elevator. "No turning back? Fine with me…"
"Oh!" Yeti Blizzard exclaimed once spotting Gray. "I almost forgot about you! You were that pathetic ice mage who couldn't even take a single hit from me!"
"Try hitting someone when they're expecting it then you cocky asshole!" Gray exclaimed, sliding into his ice make position.
"You won't beat me this time either!" Yeti Blizzard shouted to Gray with a grin.
"That's what you think…" Gray said while gesturing to the Fairy Tail mark on his chest. "Ever since I got this crest, I haven't lost to the same opponent twice…That's not going to stop now."
"Then come at me!" Yeti Blizzard bellowed while leaping into the air, pointing his foot out first. "Big Stamp!"
.
.
Lucy nervously paced around in her elevator. "What if I can't beat my opponent…? What if I slow everyone down…"
"Pathetic…" Heartless said as she appeared right in front of Lucy, causing her to yelp.
"H-Heartless!?" Lucy's eyes narrowed as she took a step back. "What do you want now?!"
"Hmph…" Heartless held her hand out, causing two of Lucy's keys to glow. The spirits of Taurus and Gemini returned to their keys after the glow. "There…"
"Huh…? You…You gave them back…?" Lucy asked while staring at her keys.
"Not exactly." Heartless replied. "This is a loan…you won't be able to win your upcoming battle without them."
"What…!? A loan!?" Lucy clenched her fist in anger. "They're MY spirits!"
"Take it or leave it." Heartless said as she turned her back to Lucy. Lucy stayed silent, which Heartless took as a sign of her agreement. "Very well. Good luck, Heartfilia. Don't let them down." With that, Heartless vanished.
"Tch…" Lucy sighed after Heartless left. After, her elevator door opened, and she stepped into a room that resembled the room she and Luke fought Tobias in. She shuddered as the memories of that fight filled her mind. "Egh…"
"You're here…" Hollow said as he floated down from the ceiling.
.
.
Natsu stepped out of his elevator into perhaps the strangest room of all. It was an open, grassy field with a strong influence from the sun overhead. Possibly a skylight? Or was it garden of some kind? "Hm…" Natsu looked around until his senses kicked in. A meteor nearly crashed into him, but he rolled to the side, allowing the meteor to create a few foot crater in his place. "I knew it."
"Well, well!" Apollo said as he walked forward, clapping his hands. "We meet once again, Fire Dragon!"
"I knew you'd be here, Ropollo!" Natsu exclaimed with a grin on his face. "We have some unfinished business!"
A comical vein appeared on Apollo's face from Natsu getting his name wrong. "It's APOLLO! Just for that, I'm going to show you the full extent of the power of the sun!"
"Bring it on!" Natsu's grin widened as his flames erupted around his body. "I'm fired up!"
.
.
Two elevators opened on opposite sides of the room. Mirajane and Lisanna stepped out quite surprised that they were in the same room. "Mira-nee?" Lisanna blinked a few times.
"Lisanna…?" Mirajane too blinked before smiling. At least she knew Lisanna would be safe now.
"Glad you could make it…" A tall male with a ragged getup said with his hands in his pockets.
"You are…?" Mirajane asked.
"You don't remember? How hurtful…" The male chuckled before a magic circle appeared over him. Within seconds, he turned into Terra Condor.
"Him…!" Lisanna shouted.
"You again…?" Mirajane's expression darkened as she entered her Satan Soul, once again. "You don't want to go down this road, since you're all alone now."
Lisanna followed suit in terms of takeover, entering her half bird form, her arms now multi colored wings. "You won't beat us!"
Terra Condor let out a lout caw, shaking the open air room for a few seconds. "We'll see about that! You will bow down before me!" With that, the large bird took off into the sky, Mirajane and Lisanna following right after him.
.
.
"What's going on!? Why is Juvia's elevator going down!?" Juvia entered a slight panic. "Did Juvia choose the wrong one!?" Eventually, the elevator stopped, and the doors open, flooding over with water. Juvia wasn't in foreign territory at all, and she was surprised she didn't have to hold her breath. She swam up, treading water once she surfaced. Before her was the one known as Brachio. "You are…?"
"Ah, Juvia of Sea…" Brachio smirked as he swam around a bit on his back. "I've always wanted the pleasure of fighting you fair and square. And what better place to fight Juvia Lockser than water?"
Juvia's eyes narrowed somewhat. "Where is Wendy-san?"
"She's at the top…" Brachio said as a magic seal appeared over his person. "But…you won't make it there…" The magic seal's power intensified, causing the water to start moving rapidly, almost sweeping Juvia away from the sheer power. Brachio entered a takeover as well, his body changing to something that resembled the Lock Ness Monster, though is body was orange and yellow, and he had sharp fangs. "Because I'm going to bring you under!"
.
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"Giheh…" Gajeel stood off against Aurgria in a room with deadly iron spikes around the walls. Needless to say, what was about to happen was going to be messy.
"Gajeel Redfox…Black Steel, as I should say…" Aurgria chuckled somewhat. "You've grown soft. I don't even think you're worth the fight anymore…"
"Oh?" Gajeel raised a brow at Aurgria's statement. "The only thing that's changed about me are who I believe to be my allies. I still stand by my statement of if you get in my way, I'll kill you. And you happen to be in my way."
"Is that right?" Aurgria grinned, the wheels on his lower half of a chariot body beginning to spin, a loud motor sound coming from them. "Well then, Black Steel…do you think you can take on the Unstoppable Charge?!"
"Bring it on!" Gajeel exclaimed, a green magic seal appeared under his feet, bringing forth his signature iron scales. "As Fairy Tail's Iron Wall, I won't fall…"
.
.
From a cliff nearby, Tia watched as Ace and his small group took positions in front of the tower. She shook her head slowly, letting out a sigh. "I knew it…" She then cracked her neck as a slight smirk appeared on her face. "Very well…it's time for the mission to begin…"