Nexus: Heroes Will Rise

by tmb1112

Universal borders have been erased and beings from thousands of universes now live on the same world: Nexus. In the first Saga of Nexus, Awul was saved, but the mysteries of Nexus remain. Now our heroes sail across the sea to Aebrith to search for lost loved ones and save the world. MCs from DBZ, KH, Soul Eater, FT, Blue Exorcist, Bleach, 7DS, OP, Ben 10, SAO, HxH, and many more!

128. Nexus HWR 18-9 The Tower of Babel

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the sources I got characters and other proper nouns from.

Nexus HWR 18.9 The Tower of Babel:

"Oi! You're not gonna tip the man? What's wrong with you, Long Nose?" Numbuh 4 snapped at the pirate who leaned back from the blond-haired kid who pulled out a dollar bill and smacked it into the open hand of the coyote behind him. "For your trouble," Numbuh 4 said with a nod of his head up at the blue-skinned troll-ish figure who had a bright red mohawk over his head.

"Much appreciated sir," the troll replied with a grateful nod of his head at the boy before they both gave Usopp a sideways look together.

"I thought-" Usopp turned towards Natsu who shrugged his shoulders but smirked at the kid's attitude towards Usopp that he continued to find hilarious.

"Heh, 'Long Nose,'" Natsu repeated under his breath but loud enough for the sharpshooter to hear and get a tick mark on the side of his forehead.

"I thought Kaneki had it," Usopp snapped. He looked over towards where Kaneki paid off the group of coyotes who just smuggled them over the Catacylsm on the giant eagle mounts that their riders started climbing back onto now.

"I didn't even ride one and you've got me tipping for you," Numbuh 4 muttered in annoyance. He pocketed his own pokeball with the Pidgeotto back in it that he flew over the Cataclysm on with Numbuh 3 sitting behind him. "What are you laughing about, Metal Head? Didn't see you tip the guy either," Numbuh 4 snapped at the larger pirate who just laughed at Numbuh 4's nickname for his comrade.

Franky's red eyes widened for a second. Then he turned to his right and cracked a big grin at the younger boy next to him who also smiled wide after a second. "Haha, that actually isn't a bad nickname," Franky admitted to the white-haired teen who nodded in fast agreement as he was thinking the same thing.

"It sounds like a rockstar name!" Bell exclaimed.

"Yeah yeah!" Ruby adamantly agreed with her head nodding too.

Kaneki stood over with the leader of the coyote group who he paid a little extra to on top of what they were already charged. This was not a tip though but an extra payment for something else. "You never saw us," Ken told the man who was not a troll like the others. He was a short hairy figure covered head to toe in blond hair. The top of that hairy body nodded, and an arm reached up out from below the hair towards where the figure's mouth was hidden below his hairy exterior. The short creature pretended to zip its lips and lock a key, then it put up the inter-universal 'ok' sign with his hairy fingers that Kaneki nodded back at after seeing.

The coyotes got back on their mounts and flew off with the short hairy creature calling out orders at the others. It's smart to stay on the good side of these smugglers, Kaneki thought while watching them fly off. It's the best way to avoid guards by staying away from the official crossings. Groups like those run the line with mainly animal mounts in PBs, so they don't show up on radars either. Though it's time for us to get back in the truck now, so we can only hope to reach a highway soon to try and blend in on.

Numbuh 3 ran from Misaka back over to Numbuh 4 after talking to the older girl for a minute. "She's actually 16, Numbuh 4," Numbuh 3 told her friend who cocked his head to the side in surprise and stared skeptically back towards Mikoto. Misaka bit down on her bottom lip and sparked angrily at the sight of him giving her a look of disbelief like he did not believe she was actually that old.

"That boy is driving me nuts," Misaka hissed. Her forehead was wrinkled up and she needed to practice deep-breathing techniques to cool herself down. "Why did you let him come with us?" She growled towards Kaneki who walked up to her left side.

"He didn't really ask me," Kaneki muttered back at her. Natsu said he was coming up here anyway. And those kids came here to travel with him. I don't actually know if I can tell them they can't be here. Kaneki frowned deeper at that thought. It's not good being deep in enemy territory without knowing if you can rely on your team listening to you. Alpha's already unpredictable as it is. All I can hope for is a smooth ride to the Tower from here.

"Where are you going?" Renji called ahead to the group walking in the front who kept heading off as if leading the way.

Numbuh 4 and Natsu each turned inwards and back towards Renji. "Ehh?" They rose their eyebrows at him and wondered at the shinigami who ground his teeth at their annoyed expressions.

Kaneki tossed a capsule in front of them though and popped out their truck. "We're driving from here," Kaneki told the two who lost their annoyed expressions and then started walking back, ignoring Renji's smug look which made it drop back down in frustration at how much these two were pissing him off.

"Awwwnn," Numbuh 3 stretched her arms up in the air and then leaned to her side to bump into Numbuh 4 as they walked back towards the truck. "That's good. I'm still tired. Why'd we have to get up so early anyway?"

"Wasn't my first choice," Numbuh 4 agreed with her. He noticed Natsu looking sideways at him and he quickly shrugged his shoulders and nudged Numbuh 3's head off him. "Get off," he muttered. "You can go back to sleep in the truck."

Numbuh 3 rubbed her eyes with her human fist and the metal one that she bumped her head with and winced. "Hey!" Numbuh 4 snapped at her. "Get used to that damn thing already. I'm gonna tell Numbuh 2 to make you a plastic one if you keep bonking yourself with it."

"It's fine," Numbuh 3 waved him off but smiled at the boy sounding worried about her. She lifted her gaze from his face up to his hair styled in its old bowl-cut style again. Numbuh 4 looked suspiciously back at her as she smirked at him before spinning around and running to the truck. "First pick of seat!" Numbuh 3 called out.

"I've got shotgun," Franky announced.

"Crap," Bell was ahead of the cyborg closer to the front of the truck already, but he snapped his fingers and shook his head that he forgot to call it. "Alright," Bell moved out of the way of the pirate who laughed before patting a hand down on his back.

"Got to be quicker than that," Franky told the kid.

Numbuh 4 still hesitated while watching Numbuh 3 climb up into the back of the large transport. Why'd she look at my hair like that? "Why's your hair all spiky, Numbuh 4? Everybody's got spiky hair! Your old look was cooler." I didn't do this for her, he aggressively countered his own memory of the blunt comments she made about his spiky doo after they met again. The fact that he was remembering what she said about his hair felt like he was considering her as the reason, and he snapped at himself for even thinking of that. I just don't want to bother styling it anymore. That's all. This is my natural look! Not all the strongest guys have spiky… Wally glanced to his side at Natsu who yawned himself after the girl in the green sweater made him think about it too. He frowned at Natsu's spiky hair style, but then he kept walking and thought, It's better letting it fall like this anyway though. Makes less questions for me when people can't see my eyes behind my bangs.

Don't know why Kaneki was bugging about getting moving when it was still dark, Natsu thought absent-mindedly while getting into the truck himself. He found a seat and leaned back on a comfy chair while the vehicle loaded back up with the people who had gotten a little sleep on it the night before. Now we're deeper inside Alvarez and it's light out, and we're still taking the truck. Didn't even matter.

Kaneki got in the driver's seat and then leaned over to Franky's side. "Excuse me," he told the pirate who tried pulling his huge body back into his chair a bit. Franky reached to the side and slid the seat backwards to give himself some more room, and to give the driver room between him and the glove box that Kaneki reached into. Kaneki pulled out some papers and flipped through them. He grabbed out one license in particular from a file and then an acquisition form with an Organization symbol on the top of the page that Franky recognized seeing back at the Dread Fort. "What's that?" Franky wondered.

"Cover," Kaneki replied. He closed back up the glove box and handed the form to Franky while pocketing the license himself. He turned on the truck and put it into drive while Franky read the sheet of paper. "I'll still have to pay a bribe if we get stopped, but it's easier if they can at least claim that we had some paperwork that they can pretend like they believed. If we get caught later on and their comrades know that we must have passed them, they'll need the excuse. Not that we would get caught, but they don't know who we are so it's what they'll be thinking about."

Franky nodded his head in understanding about all of that. "I feel you. I used to deal with some shit just like this back home." Kaneki looked sideways at the pirate who saw his curious look and then started talking about Water 7 and the gang he used to run there.

The back of the vehicle was quieter as most of the group were tired after the day of traveling before and early that morning. The truck sped up more and more over the barren black landscape outside that was not what Alpha were expecting to land on when they reached this side of the Cataclysm. Misaka mentioned, "I wonder if it was Eileen. The Cataclysm didn't move at least, but maybe her magic just only affected surface terrains? I don't know. Weird that Alvarez is Scorched like this though."

"Yeah," Ruby mumbled in agreement, but she caught the contagious yawning as well. She did not continue the conversation and instead just tilted her head to the side with her eyes closed. "Wake me up in an hour, Mikoto. Awww, I think, aww, I'm gonna nap."

"Sure," Misaka muttered. She lifted her right wrist and set a timer on her watch below her PB-5.

"I'll head up top," Renji started.

"I'll come!" Renji turned to the long-nosed man who volunteered emphatically to do so as well. "Ah- I mean, my eyes are really good. I can help," Usopp offered the shinigami who shrugged his shoulders and just pressed a button on the wall next to him to drop the ladder down and open the hole in the truck's roof. Renji jumped up and Usopp climbed up quickly after him.

Numbuh 3's head tilted to the side as she nodded off again. Numbuh 4 took a seat on her left side, so when her head bobbed that way it came to rest on his right shoulder. He frowned and turned to the girl with his mouth opening to snap at her to get off again, but Numbuh 3 was quietly snoring as she rested there. He grumbled but just leaned his head back and fidgeted in an uncomfortable way as he felt like everyone was watching him. Then he looked across the back of the truck though and relaxed himself, as he met the gaze of the uncomfortable girl across from him who Ruby's head had nodded off onto as well.

Misaka and Numbuh 4 shared a look of mutual understanding for their positions. The one moment of respect they felt did not last before Misaka frowned deeply remembering this kid's comments about her age, and Numbuh 4 smirked at her at the annoyed look she suddenly regained while glaring at him. Neither of the two moved though, allowing Ruby and Numbuh 3 to get some sleep even if it meant they had to get leaned on.

Numbuh 4 closed his eyes too after a minute though. He reached his left arm that was free up to his eyes and rubbed over them, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes that squeezed shut in discomfort. Numbuh 4's lips curled down at the corners as he tried to get some sleep after staying up late the night before with Numbuh 3 talking to the group from Awul about how they had been close on their trail since Dressrosa. Head hurts, Wally moved his hand from pinching his nose to just pressing some fingers against his forehead. The better I get with these cruddy things the more I've been using them. Thought that'd make it hurt less. Boy was I wrong.

Natsu glanced sideways back towards the blond kid on the other side of the girl sleeping between them. Numbuh 4's bangs were pushed up when he rubbed his forehead and pinched his nose, showing off the scars all around his eyes that looked like someone's fingernails had dug through his skin. Misaka was staring closer from across the back of the truck too and her eyes got softer as she stared around at the dark burn marks and scratches surrounding both eyes. Natsu looked back away before Numbuh 4 could open his eyes, and Misaka closed her own while Numbuh 4 dropped his hand and let his bangs fall back over those eyes again.

"Hey Cranel," Sanji started towards the kid sitting just in front of him. The truck was lined with seats on either wall, and Sanji was on the side with the girls but closer to the front of the vehicle to his left where he looked at Bell who looked back to his right. "The Catacylsm's about a third of the way up Aebrith, yeah?"

"More or less- well, more. There's a little more than a third of the land below it, even including the Northern Continent-" Bell started in response. He stopped himself and then added, "Also, you can call me Bell."

"Alright," Sanji nodded back at him. "If we're heading to the center of the continent, isn't it going to take us over a day?"

"We're going to fly for a bit of it when we hit the more populated areas," Bell replied. "We'll be able to pick up a lot more speed that way. Since south of here is Resistance territory it's suspicious for flying vehicles to be coming up. Coming from any other direction we could be imagined as merchants or friendly mercenaries to Alvarez. From the south? Suspicion suspicion."

"Makes sense," Sanji nodded in understanding. "Once we can fly though, we'll reach the Tower before day's end?"

"Yeah. Flying's the fastest means of travel," Bell tilted his head to the side and gave Sanji a curious look wondering why he was asking.

Sanji just shook his head back though and then leaned into his seat. Wonder why we never do it? Luffy'd probably say: "The journey's half the adventure!" Or something corny like that. Sanji lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead while his eyes closed. Guess we're never really in much of a rush. I get why Gray was always annoyed by how slow we were moving though. Our different paces were never going to be compatible. It was no wonder we split up so quickly… after Sora left.

That kid's an enigma. Sanji grinned and shook his head again for a second before frowning and biting down thinking of a red-haired girl always with him. He calmed himself down with a deep breath though. Sora's in such a rush sometimes too. Bouncing from group to group and making sure everyone's okay. Then Kairi-chan gets taken and he's ready to take a month off? Except he wasn't, and he rushed right back out to save her? I can't tell if he's too laid-back or if he's in a rush. Which is nuts, considering I think he's the only person who actually knows why the hell we're here- don't think about that. Sanji opened his eyes back up and stared down at the floor in the middle of the truck. Some of the stuff he said at the Wizard King's castle was… I mean, he's said some crazy stuff before. But that stuff? Fairy Godparents and Gods. The power to go back to the worlds we came from. "Poofing" magic. Heaven. Hell.

Heaven? Sanji started drooling and leaned back in his seat again with a pleasant smile spreading over his face making it look like he was having a good dream. He drifted off from his daydream straight into a dream that continued it. The beautiful half-naked ladies dressed only in underwear made of clouds danced around him while he floated through the bright happy dreamscape.

A truck speeding north-northwest over Scorched Alvarez territory kept up a steady pace through the morning hours. Kaneki had hoped to reach some areas he knew about and towns that would have people in them already. He mentioned to the cyborg in the passenger seat up front with him while they drove, "I think Eileen must have used her magic up here. Either she extended her world-rearrangement magic, or maybe she used it again."

"To do what?" Franky wondered.

"Well, I don't think these Scorched lands should be here," Kaneki said in mild confusion as he did not recognize the landscape around them. "I've been up here before. We should be in an arable fertile river valley about now. Alvarez tech is advanced enough that the population would still be real low here, as they have the machines to do most of the work for them. But it would at least be rural grounds by now, with some guard outposts and watch towers, and radio towers to call in stronger assistance, to protect them from monsters…"

"But nothing," Franky responded while looking around the desolate expanse in front of him.

"Looks almost as bad the Deadlands up here," Kaneki muttered. He off-handedly added as he figured Franky did not get even that reference, "Arachne shredded the land she conquered that we call the Dead or Southern Wastes. Blackened the skies and the earth. And the water," Ken muttered darker and shook his head at the thought of her territory. "Makes it harder for us to make advances back into that territory when large troop movements can't sustain themselves on the little resources she's left. Supply lines are needed…"

A beeping light on the console in between Ken and Franky made the driver quiet down. Kaneki put on a headset from the compartment between them then twisted a knob on the console and responded with his name. "…yeah, yeah I understand. He told you? Yeah. That's what we're hoping for," Kaneki nodded while responding to the voice over the line again. "Sounds good. I'll let the Squad know."

Kaneki ended the call and put the headset back in the compartment. Then he continued to Franky, "Arachne needs to incorporate total burn tactics like that because it's really only the Kishin that allows her-"

"You know I heard all that, right?" Franky wondered to the man who spun back to him in surprise before looking out the windshield and at the terrain ahead. "Sorry bro. Couldn't help it. Picked up the signal- being this close, and seeing the call coming in… well, wasn't hard for my super systems to hear your buddy's voice," Franky grinned and then laughed at the anxious look that formed on Kaneki's face. "Chill. I don't care. Think it's probably worth a shot," Franky admitted.

Kaneki glanced sideways at him in surprise before shifting his eyes more to look towards the back of the vehicle. New orders to just continue on with the mission Quon gave me. Now I have "permission" to continue on to the battlefield against Father. In order to assist our comrades, and to recruit Natsu Dragneel. "Your systems must be very sophisticated," Kaneki admired the robot next to him rather than stay upset over the eavesdropping. He appreciated that Franky mentioned it as it made him wonder about the strength of their own encryptions. He decided not to doubt their own scientists though and instead to just be impressed that Franky's were apparently better. "Who made them-"

"Super me!" Franky called back. He tried to raise his arms to pose, but it was a bit cramped inside the vehicle to throw his arms up so instead he stopped and just put his hands behind his head while boasting about it.

"You… made- to yourself?" Kaneki was confused at the statement.

"Yes sir! Was pretty tough to fix myself the second time, but I was used to it since I had to do it once before when I was a lot younger-"

"Are you originally human?"

"Hey, just 'cause I'm made of metal doesn't mean I'm not still human. That's why they call me 'Cyborg' Franky. I'm only half, bro!"

"Half?" Kaneki whispered softer back to Franky. He lifted the right corner of his lips closer to Franky, "Me too." He froze and then flattened back out his lips while Franky looked confusedly at the younger man who said that. Kaneki glanced sideways back into Franky's red eyes, and after a second his own flashed the same color before shifting to stare back out the front windshield again. "Really though. That tech is very impressive. The Resistance could do with your help too. If you're ever interested."

"Ah, I see," Franky smirked at the driver who sounded like he was going for more than just recruiting Natsu out here. He laughed and looked back out the windshield himself. "Doubt my captain would ever be for it. Actually, haha, I know he wouldn't," Franky countered his last thought that was only sounding half-sure. Only person I think he'd ever agree to follow besides himself is Sora. And that still blows my mind.

"Well, then we'll pay you for your services instead," Kaneki mentioned. This made Franky more interested and shifted a look sideways with his smirk growing wider again. Ken chuckled at Franky's look and added, "I figured I'd go for the cheaper route first. I heard you guys talking last night about the one month period you're taking before regrouping for another push north. After this mission but before your month ends, I'll get you some work orders back at HQ. If you can handle them, we'll pay handsomely. The pay could help your crew on that push north you make. Or you could just, add it to a pile of treasure? I don't know what pirates do with money."

"Booze and women mostly," Franky replied. Kaneki nodded but Franky laughed after a second then added, "Parts. Weapons. Repairs for the Sunny- the SUPER ship I built for Luffy! Oh, and Cola!"

"Cola?" Kaneki wondered.

Franky tapped his chest with a big metal fist. His chest opened up and a spinning wheel pushed out of it. There were a couple of bottles of purple drink in the wheel, but most of the bottles were empty. Franky tssked as he looked down at the fuel source for his body. Of everything Franky was doing and saying though, the sight of cola bottles filling his chest made Ken's jaw finally drop. "You power yourself with soda?"

"Of course. Don't you?" Franky asked back. Kaneki leaned closer to him and tilted his head to the side, wondering if Franky was being serious as the pirate absolutely looked to be for another two seconds before grinning at him and laughing. Kaneki shook his head around and sighed while Franky shut his chest again. Then the two of them looked back out the front windshield together, and Ken slammed on the brakes.

Natsu jolted forward and then slammed back into his chair. "Hey! What gives?" He stood up and jogged up towards the front seats.

The panel in the ceiling on the back of the truck opened up. "Come take a look at this, you guys. It's amazing!" Usopp called down.

The Alpha members getting ready for a potential fight relaxed hearing Usopp's amazed tone rather than a worried one. They also got interested though at what that look was for and either jogged to the front of the truck or climbed up to the roof too.

"Well I'll be," Franky leaned his head out of the passenger side window. "That is a sight to see."

What is this? Kaneki looked back and forth over the landscape ahead of him. "It goes for miles," he whispered.

"Does someone in Alvarez have a power like that?" Natsu asked while stepping up between the two of their seats and leaning forward.

"No wonder they're the 'bread-basket' of the continent," Usopp said in awe while looking out to the horizon that was turning more green by the second.

Renji shook his head back and forth next to Usopp though who gave him a curious look as to why that was. Kaneki mentioned it down in the front of the truck that he opened the driver's side door of. "I don't get it." Natsu looked at the man who glanced back at him and replied to Natsu's question, "That's not magic from any of Alvarez mage- or, at least I'm pretty sure it's not. I recognize that power."

Kaneki hopped out of the truck and started forward in front of the vehicle that he felt he might need to protect in a second. Trees were rising out of the greening earth ahead of them. The Scorched landscape was turning more beautiful as a grassy field stretched out to their west, while a dense forest rose in the east. Bright flowers stemmed and bloomed out of the ground. Fruits dangled from the branches of trees lifting up in the merged plains and forest that spread straight towards them. Trees were more scattered than in a forest but did exist unlike the wide fields. A light-cover of tree canopies made some shade for the flowers below and bushes that shot up out of the ground in seconds.

"Someone's terraforming the whole Scorched area," Usopp whispered in awe as the greenery just did not stop coming towards them.

"Not just someone," Misaka mumbled in confusion. "I know this power. I've seen it a hundred times."

"Where do you recognize the power from?" Franky wondered while stepping up behind Kaneki.

The two of them watched as the grass spread towards them and then rose up below their feet. It lifted under their truck too, and Kaneki frowned after a second while looking ahead of them and realizing that trees were just put in the direct path he had been taking their vehicle through. Guess I'll go around to the west. Still annoying.

"The League of Assassins killed King Oakheart Sheran of the Sadida at Pon-Gatso," Kaneki started while a few others were stepping up closer to him in front of their vehicle. Trees stopped growing their way and left a clearing around their truck that only had grass lifted out of it, though some flowers started blooming just in front of Ken's feet. "Which is why seeing Sadida power up this far doesn't make any sense. The new King, Armand, took his people and brought them south in rage at Resistance tactics that included Scorching land up here…"

"Not all the Sadida agree with my brother," a high-pitched voice called out on their right side, coming from the thicker forest but not far inside it like the person who called out was already close to them. A young woman sliding down a vine that moved through the forest turned the glowing green vine to swerve towards the clearing. The boy standing on the vine behind her kept a glowing blue hand pressed on her upper back between her shoulder blades. That glow was fainter now though and the green-haired young woman glanced over her shoulder and noticed the dimming light, so she stopped terraforming the world past the truck while sliding out of the forest in front of this group of people.

"Princess Amalia," Kaneki bowed his head respectfully to the woman who slid down the vine and landed in front of the group.

"And not all of us have abandoned the Resistance," Amalia added.

"Our condolences about your father, Princess," Ruby mentioned towards the girl who looked around her own age. Amalia was still sixteen like Misaka though, unlike Ruby's seventeen years. The green-haired young princess wearing a dress of leaves over her tan skin nodded back in appreciation towards the people in front of her. "And we are Resistance too, if you're wondering," Ruby added before cocking her head to the side as she wondered if Amalia already knew that.

"I figured you guys wouldn't have been traveling with Spriggan's people," the boy behind Amalia spoke. He had landed behind her and took his glowing hand off her back to stop transferring his huge amounts of Wakfu into his girlfriend. The short boy in an orange long-sleeved shirt and long blue hat smiled at the group in front of him, four of whom recognized him and stared forward in shock at the sight of the kid.

"Yugo!" Natsu yelled out and ran forward. "Haha, you made it here!"

"Before you guys did," Yugo countered as he was the one who should be saying that.

"You guys know this pipsqueak?" Numbuh 4 wondered at the pirates who all smiled too as the surprise wore off from who they just bumped into.

Yugo looked over towards Numbuh 4 and rose his eyebrows that the kid shorter than him just called him a 'pipsqueak.' "What are you guys doing up here in Alvarez?" Yugo wondered at Natsu who he gripped by the forearm when Natsu stuck his own arm out in front of him.

"Heading up to the Tower of Babel-"

"That's where we just came from!" Yugo called back in surprise and smiled back at Natsu.

"Princess," Misaka started hesitantly to the girl in front of her who glanced back Misaka's way. "No offense," Misaka hesitated again. "But if you haven't given up on the Resistance like you say, why are you terraforming Spriggan's territory?"

"That was amazing, by the way," Bell added. "I've never seen Sadida power do so much at once before!"

"Yugo helped me out," Amalia said with a look back towards the boy who smiled her way. "And just because I haven't given up on the Resistance doesn't mean I agree with the tactics of torch-and-burn of the land. That is against everything I believe in," Amalia said sternly to the Resistance members in front of her. "This world cannot be allowed to be turned to ash by warring factions. I'll restore it wherever I can. And Alvarez has no problem with me doing so in their lands. High Lord Spriggan was more than happy for my help."

"Oh," Misaka did not know how to respond to that. "Um… we don't, usually torch the land on our missions?" Misaka said as if hoping that would keep her on Amalia's good side.

I knew her name because I know of the Sadida royal family. Never met her before, but she's got a strong personality, Kaneki nodded at the Princess himself when she refaced him to see what he thought about that. "We're Alpha Squad," Kaneki told the Princess whose eyes opened wide as she was not expecting that response herself. "If you believe you're safe up here I won't interfere with you. I would like to offer you our protection though until we return to Resistance lands, as a courtesy."

Izayoi darted a look over towards Kaneki and rolled his eyes at Ken's offer. She just said Spriggan doesn't mind that she's here. What would she even be in danger of? Might win you some brownie points, I guess. Trying to stay on her good side so we don't lose the last Sadida support we've got? Guess it's better than losing her to those Elven kings like Armand went and joined in the enclave in Leam. The elves were smart setting that place up before all their coastal cities in the west fell to the Emperor so they still have a bit of autonomy against Titus.

"Hey Yugo," Natsu smirked at the boy he was talking to who leaned his head back and smiled sheepishly as he had expected this from the second he recognized Natsu in the distance. "I want a rematch!" Natsu declared at the small Eliatrope who laughed as he knew that was coming. Natsu smirked more menacingly at Yugo though when he laughed, and Natsu threatened, "I've gotten a lot stronger since our fight out on the ocean."

"Haha, I bet you have. So have I though," Yugo countered. His eyes narrowed a little and he added, "A lot stronger." Natsu's eyes widened at that statement which surprised the pirates behind Natsu too.

He was already really strong, Usopp thought in amazement and a bit nervously too. Why'd he specify that it was 'a lot' like he's gotten some epic upgrade?!

"Anyway, wouldn't be nice to Amalia to fight out here after she just terraformed the landscape-" Yugo continued.

"I know you, Natsu Dragneel," Amalia snapped back towards the Dragon Slayer who leaned away at the Princess's angry voice. "And you will not be using your fire magic in my forests!"

"Uhh, yeah, got it," Natsu replied with a bead of sweat dripping down his face. "Hmm," he hummed and frowned frustratedly though as he wanted to go prove that he could kick Yugo's ass now unlike how their last fight turned out.

"So Yugo," Usopp started while walking forward towards the Eliatrope. "Is this one of the friends you were looking for?"

"Yeah!" Yugo called back to him. He ran up towards Amalia who smiled to her side and down at the shorter boy who held her right hand with his left when he reached her. Usopp's eyes re-widened while Sanji bit down in fury on the front of his button-down shirt that the Princess was apparently taken. "Amalia's the one I told you was the most important person to me who I was looking for. I almost couldn't believe I found her so soon after reaching Aebrith…"

Yugo continued to talk excitedly to the old friends he made on the Great Ocean. He did not notice the girl on his side go bright red in her cheeks though while looking at him with wider eyes at that comment he just made so emphatically. I was the most important? She pursed her lips when he glanced back at her for a second and just nodded so he would continue on talking and not stop to notice her eyes were starting to get teary again.

Ever since getting to Nexus I just did whatever my father and brother said. I helped lead the Sadida and carried out my role as the Princess. Yugo came though when I least expected him. He protected me when the League attacked Pon. Saved my brother's life and mine. You told me it was my choice, Yugo. And I chose you. Amalia smiled at the boy who was continuing on in a somewhat more serious tone to the others he was happy to reunite with again.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? The more the merrier," Natsu told the boy, annoying some of Alpha behind him who were not as much for picking up strays every few hours.

"I wish I could come with you, but Amalia and I are on a quest," Yugo countered his friend who looked interestedly back at him.

"I found some of what I was looking for, but I'm still missing a lot. No sign of the other Eliatropes either," Yugo added. Though if I can find some more Dofus, and the Eliacube…

"His journey took us to the Tower, where we received more clues," Amalia said. "But when we met High Lord Spriggan after, he mentioned that Eileen had moved some Scorched lands here."

"You met Zeref?" Natsu wondered, his tone darkening.

"Recently?" Renji was more focused on that part, glancing up over the heads of the couple in front of him. They said they just came from the Tower but it sounds like they met Spriggan afterwards. Hope he's not lingering around here to see how the terraforming went!

"He didn't seem that bad to me," Yugo admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Though his dragon…" Yugo's expression darkened and he finished, "I've never felt anything more powerful. Or evil."

A few of the others nodded along with Yugo at the mention of Bahamut's terror. Natsu just frowned deeper thinking of how Yugo felt about Zeref. "Speaking of Spriggan though," Yugo continued and got a bit more hesitant while looking around the group in front of him. "I guess Riku isn't with you guys right now."

"Why do you bring him up?" Sanji wondered seriously, stepping closer to Yugo and giving him a serious look.

Everyone focused in on Yugo a lot more seriously, though Numbuh 3 leaned to her side and cupped a hand to Numbuh 4's ear. "Who's Riku?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he had no idea. "Well, we heard some people at the Tower talking about what he did in Vistarion," Amalia brought up. She glanced next to her at Yugo who nodded, and she went on, "Yugo told me he knew Riku. That he met him with the rest of your group-"

"What did he do in Vistarion?" Usopp asked quickly, beads of sweat dripping down both sides of his face. "Also, what's Vistarion?"

"The Capital of the Alvarez Empire," Kaneki said in a low voice. "You heard that he was there?" Ken asked.

"Apparently it's the talk of Alvarez. Or of the whole Cooperative," Amalia said with a shake of her head.

"Riku attacked Vistarion," Yugo told the others who stared at him in shock to hear that. "Apparently he made it all the way to face High Lord Spriggan himself. No one really knows what happened with the fight but he's wanted big time so it looks like he escaped afterwards. We, uh, didn't ask Spriggan about it when we met though." Yugo admitted with a scratch of the side of his head and glance to Amalia who nodded with his look as she had also felt too nervous at the time to question about it. "He was just interested in us, because he could sense my power-"

"I didn't even notice Yugo wasn't wearing a Power Blocker until that moment," Amalia muttered with a shake of her head. She rubbed her forehead in frustration that it had taken her that long to realize.

"I've got one now though!" Yugo held up his right arm to show off the metal wristband he slid out from under his sleeve. He still sweatdropped though and whistled innocently while looking away from Amalia's look.

The conversation about Yugo traveling around for weeks without a Power Blocker would have been more interesting if everyone was not still stuck on what they just said about Riku. That sounds like a suicide mission, Usopp bowed his head and curled his fists in such guilt at his sides. Just charging straight into the capital of Alvarez?! What were you thinking- he wasn't thinking. He's just mad. That was stupid. I pushed him to...

Franky sighed but had to speak up as he stared at the side of Usopp's scrunched-up expression full of guilt. "Riku-bro was probably trying to get Ben's Omnitrix back." Usopp lifted his head and spun to Franky who the others all looked at too.

"Ben lost his Omnitrix?" Yugo wondered, as Ben had told him all about that awesome watch when they talked back on the Thousand Sunny.

"That, makes a lot of sense," Sanji admitted, though he had lit up a cigarette thinking of the insanity that must have ensued in Vistarion. He added in a darker voice, "You forget sometimes that Ansem took on all of us, Gohan and Timmy too-"

"And Riku's even stronger than Ansem ever was," Natsu added with a grunt. He shook his head though and then admitted, "I doubt Riku's that dumb though. That might've actually, been where Ben ran off to himself." The others' eyes opened even wider as they spun to a frustrated Natsu. "That watch meant everything to him."

"Yeah, probably," Sanji agreed. He frowned deeper and glanced Usopp's way again before relaxing himself. He had feared the same thing as Usopp at first, but he nodded to himself while concluding that Ben just ran to Vistarion to get his Omnitrix. "Riku had to go bail him out," Sanji muttered. He tilted his head to the side and finished, "Maybe they even got the Omnitrix back before using the darkness to get out of there."

"That'd, be great," Usopp said. He lifted a small hopeful smile that his friends shared with him to hear him say that even when Sanji specifically mentioned the darkness. I mean it, Usopp thought. Anything to get Ben out of the funk he's in. It's been rough for him for too long now. He needs a win!

"Princess Amalia-chan! Would you like to eat lunch with us?!" Sanji exclaimed like he just realized something.

"Oh Amalia, you have to try Sanji's cooking…" Yugo started to the girl with him who nodded quickly as Yugo had already told her about this in particular before.

The group ate lunch in the flowery field which naturally lifted everyone's moods from traveling over a blackened dead landscape. Their meal turned into a fun picnic as Yugo and Natsu decided on a game to play rather than fighting each other as Natsu's competitive spirit had not died down but they needed something that would not upset Amalia. The others watched and cheered, (all of the Straw Hats rooting for Yugo to Natsu's annoyance), but as Yugo was not allowed to use his portals during the game because Natsu could not use his flames, the Dragon Slayer's physical abilities came out on top and he was left throwing his arms up in the air victoriously at the end.

Lunch packed up and the groups got ready to leave. Amalia and Yugo were heading south though while the rest of the group was continuing northwest themselves. "That makes us 1 and 1 now, Natsu," Yugo shook hands with Natsu again who gripped him firmly back and nodded at the boy he was sad they only got to meet again for such a short time.

"Looking forward to that tiebreaker," Natsu replied back before letting go.

"Good luck with your 'quest,'" Bell told the pair. "I'll pray for your success."

"And thank you for terraforming the world," Ruby added just to Amalia who looked back in the darker-haired girl's eyes. "I think that's really cool of you to fix everywhere without caring about borders!"

Figured Alpha Squad might have more of a problem with that, Amalia thought while a bead of sweat dripped down the side of her face. She smiled back at Ruby though and nodded at the cheerful girl in response.

"It sounds like a noble purpose," Kaneki agreed to the Princess who looked back in his eyes. Then he looked at Yugo and added, "I hope you find what it is you are looking for. And, should the time come that we ask you to join us to fight for the Resistance-"

"Amalia told you, right?" Yugo cut Kaneki off. "She hasn't given up on the Resistance. And I'll always fight for her, so-"

"That's enough Yugo. It's time we do get going," Amalia cut off the boy and cleared her throat as she could feel her cheeks brightening red again as he declared such embarrassing stuff too freely in front of her. Amalia waved her left hand in front of her, and the ground under her and Yugo's feet rippled then shot up a long green vine that the two lifted into the air on top of.

Everyone watched the two of them head off into the south together. After ten seconds Numbuh 4 mentioned, "You just run into all sorts of weird characters traveling around up here."

Is the kid fucking with us? Kaneki looked towards Numbuh 4 actually curious if Numbuh 4 was making a joke, which he was not.

The fact that Numbuh 4 wasn't joking made the people surrounding him burst out laughing after looking down at the kid's serious face. "You're a riot, Numbuh 4," Natsu laughed before turning and heading back towards the truck.

"What? What'd I say?! Why are you all laughing?!" Wally yelled at the people. He looked to Numbuh 3 who shrugged her shoulders up at him in just as much confusion as the irony went right over her head too.

"Might as well take us up in the air now," Franky told Kaneki who glanced back at him then ahead at the light forest in their path. Ken looked to the west where there was a better path to drive, but the driver hummed to himself while thinking of the time they just wasted having that picnic. Kaneki nodded back at the pirate cyborg who grinned as he was excited to see the design of their truck once it transformed into a flying vehicle as Kaneki suggested it could.

"Everyone back on board! We're taking off."

---

"HOLY CRAAAAP!"

"Pull up-" Franky yelled across the front seats at Ken.

Ken rolled down the window next to his head. His eyes flared red. The white-haired man's upper back rippled and a red bump glowed through his clothes. Franky leaned his head away while Kaneki glared out the window towards the huge beam of white light about to smash into their truck-jet. The red bulge on his back extended down his left arm and out the window. A huge arm-like appendage of glowing red substance somewhat appearing like mass but also an energy just wrapped around the side of their vehicle and then hardened before the beam collided.

The truck still jolted hard to the right when the explosion went off against the shield. Ken cut their forward momentum while pushing out more of his kagune to block the powerful Roar that nearly tore their flying vehicle apart. "Whoaaa! That's crazy bro!" Franky leaned forward and looked around Kaneki's side at the strange power he had not seen the Alpha Squad member use before. The entire red mass sucked back in through the window and into Kaneki's body in the next instant, giving them a clear view out the driver's side and towards the ten dragons flying in the air to their southwest.

"ROGUE!" Natsu screamed.

"Natsu! You know that guy?!"

"Why do you know everyone we run into?!" Misaka yelled ahead towards the pink-haired Dragon Slayer flying off with jets of flames pushing back behind his palms.

"Whoa- whoaaa-" Numbuh 3 wobbled around on the roof of the truck and grabbed onto one of the railings that had popped out to help them hold on Usopp was also grabbing onto the railing right next to her and had his arms looped over it as he struggled to find good footing. "Numbuh 4 wait- aww," Numbuh 3 shouted but was too late to get Numbuh 4 to take her with him.

"Make me a badass, Kargath!" Numbuh 4 dove down off the side of the ship while swinging out his ray gun. The weapon flashed with red light and a pentagram-like symbol that glowed gold on the hilt of the gunblade extending out in front of him. The red glow got brighter as the energy surged through his barrel and pushed out the back of the stock behind him while Numbuh 4's hair got longer and spiked over his head. The boy grew taller and surrounded in a thin gold glow as well, and he flew forward while aiming his gunblade towards one of the ten dragons he shot off towards.

"Natsu! Who is that guy?!" Sanji yelled to his right towards his comrade who had shouted this psycho's name.

"It's Rogue- a version of him from the future!" Natsu yelled back while spinning around over a giant fireball that shot at him from the north. Natsu darted his gaze over for a second before snapping it back on his enemy riding the back of the massive turquoise dragon, Motherglare. Natsu's gaze snapped back towards the dragon that had just blew fire as he recognized the creature attacking him. "Atlas Flame?!" Natsu spiraled himself around in the air and blasted towards the fiery dragon surrounded completely in raging orange flames. Natsu dove through the aura and avoided a claw of fire to grab onto the back of Atlas Flame's neck. "Hey! It's me- NATSU! You hear me in there?!"

"It's no use, Natsu Dragneel," Future Rogue Cheney declared in a voice that bellowed across the sky towards his old foe. Atlas Flame turned and flew back towards Rogue who glared down his nose towards the Fairy Tail mage who glared right back up towards him in fury. "My Dragon Supremacy Magic is more powerful than ever." Motherglare flew by Atlas Flame's side so Rogue could stare from the back of its neck onto the back of the fire dragon's where Natsu stood. "In order to prevent any rebellious thoughts this time around, I have obliterated all of their minds to the point of no return. Had I found Igneel…" Natsu's eyebrows narrowed down further and his body erupted in bright orange flames of rage. Rogue continued towards him though, "I would have pit your own father against you as well. That would have been more than amusing. As should you defeat me and my control ever be lost over these creatures, they will be no more than brain-dead husks anyway."

"You lie!" Natsu yelled back. "Atlas Flame! FIGHT IT!" Natsu roared down at the dragon whose flames he was sucking in off the dragon's body in his next breath. Natsu started coughing, and Rogue smirked while the fire on Atlas Flame's back flashed purple for a second at the same time the villain from the future did. Whatever magic Rogue used caused Natsu to fall off his dragon's back and start plummeting for the planet below. "Now watch as your old ally turns on you, and takes your own life!"

"Uncle! RaaaAA!" Natsu yelled up at the dragon engulfed in fire that snapped its head down and started filling its throat with a bright white and orange glow.

"Uncle?" Oh shit Natsu, Sanji grimaced while darting a look down towards his falling comrade then back at the dragon aiming at him. You're not giving up. You mean 'uncle' as in the brother of your dad? Sanji snapped his glare towards the man on the back of Motherglare who noticed his hostile intent and cupped a hand up to his own mouth.

Rogue smirked behind his hand as he saw the look of recognition on Natsu's companion's face of the stance he was taking. "Roar of the…" White light rose up as well as darkness in a huge aura around Rogue up to the sky above his dragon, Motherglare. "WHITE SHADOW DRAGON!" Rogue snapped his body forward and fired a humongous beam of white and black light towards Sanji who kicked the air below him faster and faster then flipped through the sky while barely avoiding the massive beam of light searing the back of his neck.

Kaneki slammed down on the controls in his jet-truck and dove to avoid the beam firing above them. "Got to keep this fight in the air," he muttered frustratedly with a dart of his eyes towards the passenger side. Kaneki glared past Franky though and out the passenger side window to the east in the direction of Vistarion. "If Zeref actually cares about what Princess Amalia was doing here like she said, we don't want to mess up the land below."

Franky nodded his head but was just staring past Kaneki and out to the battle of ten dragons still going on out of Kaneki's window that the cyborg was astonished anyone could be distracted from. What are you even thinking about at a time like this? Franky thought with a look back at the driver who checked some scanners and radars on his console rather than watch the exciting battle outside. Or, are you not actually worried? Franky wondered when he realized why it was that Kaneki had not started focusing solely on this yet.

"I've got you!" Bell moved in a blur of white underneath Natsu. He caught the older man in both arms then skid across a field of tall red grass when he landed. He skid too far that he almost went right over a ledge of a riverbank that he would have fallen into with the Dragon Slayer had he not dug his heels down at the last second to jolt to a stop. "Fwew," Bell placed Natsu down on his feet then looked back up towards the dragons above. "Who is this guy, Natsu? Is he one of Zeref's? I don't recognize him."

"I don't, think he's with Zeref," Natsu started. He did not say it with assurance though as he became unsure of it himself after hearing the question.

"You know him though, right?" Izayoi wondered. Natsu turned around and only just then noticed that Izayoi had come up behind them. "What's his deal? Old friend of yours turned villain? Is something messing with his head? Or can we just bust him up no questions asked?" Izayoi lifted an eyebrow at the Dragon Slayer in front of him. I know Ken's mission. Don't wanna piss off this guy and make his job harder, Izayoi thought. He imagined if he killed Natsu's friend right here they might lose their chance at getting the Dragon Slayer to join them, so he figured he would ask first.

"He's a friend, but he hasn't turned evil yet- or," Natsu shook his head around and glared back up in the sky towards the dragons above. His glare narrowed and his gaze shifted around at the dragons whose magical powers he could feel. "That's his future self. From a different timeline. One I fought not long before teleporting to Nexus."

"Wait, so he is from your universe, but not from your timeline?" Bell wondered in confusion.

"Not actually the first time I've seen this on Nexus," Natsu admitted while cracking his neck to either side. Vegeta's son from the future was one of the leaders of the NEG. While Trunks is still a kid back in Pao too. Just like I know Rogue's off in Rhodar right now, no idea that his future self is brainwashing- or brain-killing dragons. Natsu snarled at the thought while glaring up specifically towards Atlas Flame but also around at the other dragons too. "I don't think he was lying about destroying their minds either. Those dragons… he's already killed who they were."

"I'm sorry," Bell whispered to the other boy who sounded upset over that.

"That's good to know though," Izayoi added with a nod back at Natsu who said that for a reason. Izayoi cracked his knuckles in front of his chest. "So you won't mind me taking them apart." Izayoi bent his knees and leapt hundreds of meters up in the sky.

Zirconis the Jade Dragon turned its fat head to the right. Natsu recognized this one too, but its eyes were blank and had no emotions in them as it turned towards Izayoi and opened its jaw wide. The giant green dragon chomped towards Izayoi who twisted his body to the side and let the snapping jaws pass by him. He slammed his right fist forward with a big smile spread across his face, and Izayoi's arm surrounded in wind that became more visible as more force got put into the blow.

His fist connected with Zirconis' cheek and shattered the teeth in the dragon's jaw. The dragon's skull cracked and blood splashed out all around it. Zirconis' neck snapped too, and the dragon went spinning out through the air in a dozen barrel-rolls.

"Hey Sanji! Give Crescent Rose a kick!" Ruby called out to the pirate who just watched Izayoi's punch in disbelief. Sanji spun to his left though and saw the blackish-red-haired girl flying towards him by firing sniper rounds out the back of her weapon. She was standing on the shaft of it while hunched forward over the bottom and pulling the trigger, but she pressed a button and spun the transforming sniper around while flipping in front of Sanji who heated up his right leg and started a front-flip of his own. "Here we go- Hi-YAA!" Ruby flipped her scythe around and pushed the bottom of it into Sanji's foot as he was kicking up.

Sanji launched Ruby through the sky with the girl firing a few more shots to keep up her speed as fast as she could at a black dragon slimmer and smoother than most of the others. Right as she was about to reach it, her red cape seemed to wrap around her body as she turned into nothing more than a pointed red blur that sped in spirals around the body of the dragon. Her scythe slashed all around it in circles until she reached the dragon's tail and came out of her Petal Burst Semblance that gave her a boost in speed and made her appear on the other side of the dragon before Future Rogue had a moment to blink or order it to dodge. Cuts appeared all over the dragon's body and blood splashed out from all sides while its legs and wings got even deeper gashes in them too.

"Shadow Dragon's Blade!" Rogue yelled at the annoying girl who just disposed of another of his powerful dragons. "You will not foil my-"

"HAAA!" Ruby yelled at the black blade of magic flying towards her in the sky. She held her scythe in front of her body to block it at first, but her eyes flashed silver and then bright white as she felt the magical attack pushing into her. The dome of white light that came out the front of her body pushed back against Rogue's attack and made the dragons' master flinch and pull backwards with his eyes squinting shut.

Motherglare rose up one of its giant wings and swatted a flying metal coin out of the air. "Tsk," Misaka lowered her right hand and then pointed both behind her. "Guess that wasn't going to work," she muttered while using the steel of the truck-jet as a magnet for her electrical powers. Misaka flew off using the magnetism of the ship's steel and then pointed her hands down at the ground and blasted more lightning at the ground. She softened the earth below where she was going to land and dropped into a roll before sprinting forward towards some of the others ahead in the red grassy field.

"Natsu wait!" Bell shouted as Natsu covered both hands in fire and bent his legs. Natsu glared to his side at the teenager for stopping him, but Bell just pointed his right palm up in the air first. "Eat my Firebolt magic on your way up for a boost!" Bell had asked Natsu more about how he ate the Supernova the night before when they started traveling inside the truck. The group had gotten more acquainted with each other, and that included learning that Natsu powered up by eating strong fire-like energies and magics. Bell's right palm ignited with fire and then blasted a massive fireball up in the air above them.

Natsu lost the annoyed look he gained at first, thinking that Bell thought he was injured or something and was trying to stop him. The fact that Bell was just giving him some extra strength to fight with made the Fairy Tail mage smirk again. "Alright. Thanks Bell," Natsu started sucking in a huge breath while leaping into the sky. The magical firebolt that Bell just blasted above them sucked down into Natsu's mouth as he flew up, and Natsu's body ignited five times brighter in the next second while jets blasted out the soles of his feet and flung him up over the top of Motherglare.

Rogue Cheney from a future timeline of Natsu's world snapped his glare up towards the mage arcing above him with scales forming all over his face. White and black aura surrounded Rogue and flared up above his body. "You don't yet understand the extent of my Dragon Supremacy Magic!" Rogue yelled while raising his right hand up to his mouth. Instead of blasting another Roar of the White Shadow Dragon though, every other dragon in the sky turned towards Natsu and opened their mouths wide before the pink-haired mage could target an attack down on Rogue.

Future Rogue's hair was half black and half gray. It fell straight down his back and was all slicked back with none of his signature bangs, so his lack of a right eye was clear to see. He had an eyepatch on over that eye instead and scars covering the right half of his face down to just above his lips. Rogue grinned up towards Natsu whose own eyes snapped around at all the dragons aiming Roar attacks at him at the same moment.

"Natsu! Yo, look out-" Numbuh 4 stopped shouting towards his new comrade who cupped his own hands to his mouth but was too slow as eight dragons all fired towards him at once.

Izayoi punched one of those dragons in the bottom of its jaw. The dragon's mouth slammed shut and the blue energy firing out exploded so violently that the entire dragon was surrounded in a bright sphere of light. Izayoi was unfortunately engulfed by the blast too and sent flying out of the sky with smoke trailing off him, though he just grimaced and looked towards Natsu who he only prevented one of eight beams from flying towards. Izayoi's eyes snapped back to a blond kid though who was holding his giant gunblade to the side in his right hand, while he held his left palm towards Natsu. "PULL!" Numbuh 4 yanked backwards and a trail of blood spilled from the inner corner of his right eye and down to his lips.

Natsu felt an invisible force pull on his body before he could try forcing out a Roar of his own down into Rogue at least before he got hit by all those other attacks. He just suddenly flew through the air towards Numbuh 4 who reached his left palm to his face and rubbed away the trail of blood that just spilled from his purple eye. The kid was panting but flew forward past Natsu and slashed his gunblade in front of him. "Kargath- Alhazam!" Numbuh 4 yelled while slashing the blade across the front of his larger body with all his strength. He had grown a foot in height, but he was still shorter than Natsu who spun himself around with flames coming out of his hands and feet to fly himself back towards Numbuh 4. Natsu stared past the kid with huge eyes though as a red beam fired out the end of Numbuh 4's gunblade and slashed across four different dragons in the air ahead of them including the one Rogue was riding on.

The red beam faded away with Numbuh 4 panting heavily but smirking behind it as he lowered his weapon. Then the kid's jaw dropped. He stared at the dragons he had just slashed with his Djinn Equip's strongest attack, all four of which turned their faces directly towards him looking unscathed. The white one he had slashed did have to lower its scaly wings that it used to protect a more feathery face than the other ones had, but the other three just tanked the attack without taking any damage.

Ruby had slowed herself down with one more shot when she neared the ground but stopped flying as it was wasting all of her ammo. She turned her head though and got a bead of sweat on the side of her face as she noticed a bloody black dragon that slowly staggered up onto its front left leg despite three deep gashes in it that Ruby knew she had cut all the way to bones inside. "They don't feel pain, at least," Ruby mentioned softly. But they are so durable!

"They're pretty strong," Bell admitted while staring up in the air towards a dragon that just flapped its wings in a way that made him plant his legs down harder so as not to stumble backwards from the wind. He reached down to his waist and pulled out a dagger and a shortsword that he held in front of his chest pointed opposite directions. He did not even need to look to his right and over towards where a smoking figure landed on his feet and was checking out his clothes that had a few rips in them that Izayoi was annoyed about. "Weren't expecting this one today!" Bell shouted while lifting a smile.

Izayoi chuckled and checked out the durable headphones around his neck. He lifted them over his ears and tapped a button on the side to skip a few songs before he hit one that seemed like a good start for a battle mix. "Should've guessed traveling with a Dragon Slayer meant slaying dragons!" Izayoi yelled back for his friend. The two of them bent their knees, and then they shot back up into the sky at a dragon each.

"It's like we said yesterday," Kaneki told the man in his passenger seat who was gawking past his head while watching the epic battle outside. "It's not that Alpha is just the strongest people in the Resistance. The team itself is great for a lot of reasons. Bell and Ruby are S tier for their cooperativeness," Kaneki examined the battle going on outside and just kept the truck hovering in place under his protection. Only Numbuh 3 and Usopp were still on board up on the roof where Ken could hear out his window the young girl cheering her friend on from.

Franky closed his mouth and focused on Kaneki for a second before thinking of what he just said. He imagined Ruby having Sanji help her out reach the dragons faster by kicking her scythe. Then he thought about that giant fireball he saw Bell make just so that Natsu could get a burst of power. Kaneki continued while Franky watched with a closer eye trying to be less shocked by it and more analytical like the driver was being apparently. "Izayoi loves fighting, and what's even better is that he has a natural gift for it exceeding what most people could reach even training their whole lives. Misaka's utilization of her powers takes a lot more skill, but she has a mastery in the scientific understanding of her abilities and all they can do-"

"And what about you?" Franky wondered.

Kaneki paused for a second but did not turn to the cyborg staring at the back of his head. "My defense is good," Kaneki mentioned. Franky nodded as he had just seen as much. "My kagune can create a very strong protective barrier. It can also be used offensively, but in this situation I think protecting the transportation is better for me." Franky tilted his head to the side and looked suspiciously at Kaneki's face or of what he could see of the right side of it.

Kaneki glanced sideways and noticed Franky's skeptical look that that was all he could do. "I have what the Resistance Commanders described to me as a 'leader's disposition' as well," Kaneki added. "Which allows them to leave the team under my command when our real leader is off doing impossible missions that honestly, keep the Resistance alive today."

"Roar! Zabimaru!"

Franky looked off through the front windshield where he caught sight of a black-cloaked shinigami swinging his sword towards a dragon that tried diving to dodge the extending blade. Renji's Zanpakuto disconnected into hundreds of smaller blades though that were connected by a much more flexible steel between each blade, and the blade itself waved around looking like a snake as it snapped down through the air towards the diving dragon. Renji's Zanpakuto wrapped around the dragon and then pulled tightly all its limbs and its wings to its back. The blade pulling tight like that caused sharp edges to slice along the dragon's scales and opened up gashes all over its body too, but the dragon thrashed powerfully inside the wrapping of Zabimaru and aimed up its mouth that it fired a beam from towards the shinigami.

Renji Abarai blurred out of Franky's sight and made the cyborg dart his eyes all directions. He could not pick up on him anywhere though, and he had to follow Kaneki's point more downwards towards the ground where Renji yanked on the hilt of his Zanpakuto and lifted the struggling dragon back up into the air. Renji swung over his shoulder and down onto his other side, slamming the dragon down into the ground and making a giant crater in the red fields of grass.

"His Shunpo is insanely fast even for our Squad," Kaneki said. "Flash Step," he clarified in simpler terms to the robot who nodded his head up and down while looking down towards the shinigami below. "But Renji's best quality is his loyalty. Excessively loyal to our cause," Kaneki added. "To the extent that when the new Captain Commander showed up after the old one fell in the Second War of the Gods, and ordered Renji to take a neutral stance in the war as was decided of Soul Society after Yamamoto's death, Renji ignored the order. The Second War of the Gods took a heavy toll on the shinigami; any worse and it could have left Nexus at the mercy of the monsters most people can't see. Renji refused to stand down though."

Kaneki smiled while looking down towards the red-haired man who rose up his Zanpakuto that shrank to its normal size again. He lifted it over the squirming bloody dragon's neck, and then Renji slashed it down. "His loyalty to the Resistance came over his loyalty to Soul Society," Kaneki finished.

"Yet… he's still going back to report?" Franky wondered quietly. He did not know how refusing orders worked for their organization though so he was hesitant to even ask as apparently Renji's refusal had not gotten him banned from the group.

"They didn't really have the manpower to kick him out for it. He's not the only shinigami who's a rule-breaker but is still a part of their society though, by the way." Kaneki glanced back and at Franky again who stared at him in confusion at first but then gradually in more shock as Ken nodded at him.

"Mikoto!" Ruby yelled over towards her friend who had a huge beam of sparking light coming down towards her.

Misaka reached her hands up above her head and split the beam with a much thinner bolt but far more condensed that shot up the middle of the wider one. The ground to her sides exploded though and made the girl in the middle of it all wince. She lowered her arms and looked around after the beams had faded. She sweatdropped to see that she stood on a small dirt tower that got thinner below the tiny surface platform she stood on to be a fragile structure looking like it might collapse at any second. Misaka leapt up in the air and made that tower fall behind her, and she called out, "These things have so much power! I can't even aim one attack at the asshole when his army of dragons gets in the way every time."

Bell and Sanji kicked off the air towards Motherglare and the evil mage standing on top of it. The two of them shot towards the dragon that rose its wings on either side to block them. Sanji's leg burst into flames and was engulfed in Haki. Bell's swords slashed back and forth a dozen times before the white-haired boy stopped and pulled his arms back. Sanji winced and yanked his leg away too. Both of Motherglare's massive wings shimmered and the two stared with growing eyes at the sight of the diamond scales hardening on the wings of the beast.

"Diamond Form, Motherglare," Rogue growled. He glared straight ahead but slammed both arms up to his sides. Rogue's hands swirled with darkness that made the sky around him turn black as his shadow extended over Motherglare's back to each wing. The shadows shot down the wings to the tips and then leapt off, wrapping around the backs of the enemies who twisted their heads and looked around to see the attacks coming. "Shadow Dragon's ABYSS!"

Sanji and Bell started sinking into the shadows that they pulled against as hard as they could. Bell slashed down near his legs to try and break apart the shadows around them. Sanji tugged his body forward as his back sank into the evil-feeling magic. Future Rogue snarled as he kept glaring forward even as he had gotten two of his enemies in his attack. His eyes darted nervously left and right at the sight of Natsu and Izayoi swinging their right and left arms across their bodies.

The two dragons between Rogue and those men got smacked to the sides. One Natsu clawed with a hand glowing so bright white that it looked to be pure energy surrounded in a deep orange glow. That one spun to the side with a huge gash tearing through its chest with the after-movement of Natsu's arm looking like a visible claw that continued to shred deeper even while Natsu himself was already focused on Rogue ahead. The other one that Izayoi punched at had pulled its torso away on Rogue's mental command before the boy's knuckles could connect. The force from the punch that missed in front of it created a dent on the dragon's armor and cracked all of its scales. Blood poured out of the dragon's mouth as it spun to the side looking as bad-off as the one Natsu had torn through using a Supernova Claw. The two of them kept racing on towards Rogue and Motherglare.

Rogue slammed his arms in front of him. The shadows he had gripping around Bell and Sanji to his sides yanked in front of him and his dragon mount. "Motherglare, Diamond Dragon's Roar!" Rogue released his enemies in front of Motherglare's head where they flung towards Natsu and Izayoi who pulled up short to catch their friends. Natsu caught Sanji while Izayoi caught Bell who started coughing up dark shadows that had sank down into his throat.

"ROOOOOAAAAAAA!" The sky flashed bright white around the beam that fired from Motherglare's mouth.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Usopp grabbed onto Numbuh 3 with one arm and ducked down with the girl on top of the truck that went spinning out through the air at the force of the pull from that beam just passing over them.

The beam fired so far that Usopp spun his head around and looked over the back of the truck into the distance where he never saw it end. That might've flown right back over the Cataclysm- Usopp's eyes darted up towards a second flash he saw up in the sky. Ripples of bright purple shot across the atmosphere as a dome still looking enormous even from down here blasted on the atmospheric boundary. A hole was ripped in the gray cloud cover that started getting pushed down by the wind that hit the top of the clouds from that explosion a few seconds later.

Natsu fell to the side out of the air holding Sanji who coughed up liquid shadows and then finally gasped for air. His head shifted sideways and he looked past Natsu and up into the sky where the pulsing light of that explosion was shaking apart the clouds. Sanji looked closer though in the next second and just saw Natsu glaring up towards Rogue in fury without even looking back at that explosion himself. "Oi Dragon Slayer, mind living up to your name already?" Sanji snapped.

Natsu let go of the man who coughed a few more times while dropping before kicking the air to slow himself down. Natsu flipped himself around and waved his arms out to the sides with long red whips of fire extending out of them. Natsu swung his arms up towards Motherglare and wrapped his whips around the front left leg of the dragon that just missed all four of its targets to Rogue's infuriation.

"Motherglare can fire again right away!" Rogue yelled down at his falling enemies who had managed sudden bursts of speed in order to avoid the beam and save their friends. As if to prove his point, light glowed up from Motherglare's chest into its throat while Natsu was swinging himself right back into the air too.

"Crap- should, have, dodged- AH!" Renji's parrying Zanpakuto got knocked away and the enormous fiery claw slammed into the man who gasped out before getting launched miles across the terrain. Renji bounced and dragged a hundred meters of field up into the air on either side of him before lifting up in the air again, then coming down in another bounce that blew a crater apart in a different pasture.

Renji had tried to block the claw rather than dodge it again. Atlas Flame had twisted its body though into the force of its slash, and the ground under where Renji just stood got shredded and fell apart as an earthquake shook the region. "Renji!" Ruby yelled before spinning around and watching the trail of destruction into the distance where Renji went bouncing.

"Take Bell," Izayoi called down to the girls who glanced up for a second. Ruby yelped in surprise then leapt up and caught Bell in her arms while Izayoi flew back up into the sky towards the other dragons still up there. Izayoi hesitated though with his eyes suddenly shooting open huge. He spun his head and stared up towards the clouds above. Is he here?

"Ruby! Take Bell and get behind me!" Misaka yelled at her friend who was not paying enough attention to the dragon diving in front of her.

The huge blue-scaled dragon covered in a flaring darker blue aura as it dove towards the surface. Misaka's heart rate skyrocketed at the sight of such speed and sheer power behind the dragon's mass. She spun around while darting in front of Ruby in a burst of speed with her body sparking with electricity. Misaka rose up her hands towards the diving dragon. Not just the electrons in the air between us. It's too precise! Try only in my fingertips! The tips of her fingers started to glow bright white. A flaring whip of white energy wrapped around Misaka's body and spun around her wildly as she flew up off the ground towards the diving dragon that slammed into the front of her aura. TOO MUCH!

Five lightning bolts shot out of the sky and struck the girl in a violently flaring aura of electricity that engulfed her body. The core of that aura showed a pure white veil around Misaka whose hair shot up and whipped around in the powerful energy surrounding her. "Careful Mikoto!" Ruby yelled at her friend's back even as she was skidding on her heels away from her.

Bell shook his head around and stood back up on steady feet next to Ruby. "We have to help her. She can't control this power yet!"

"AHHHH!" Misaka's mouth opened on the thick white veil pressed into her. She screamed while her clothes glowed brighter white and her skin started to shred to glow brighter than ever. The tips of her fingers turned from pure white to pitch black while a halo of energy formed over the top of her head…

Animus opened its mouth while pushing back against the girl inside its own huge blue aura. A thought projection emerged on top of Animus' dragon head and showed the beast in its human form that he could once take. His expression was nearly blank and the thought projection itself was staticky and unstable. Bell and Ruby stopped yelling towards their friend while snapping their gazes above the dragon's head itself to the strange figure who appeared there in a translucent form. The blond-haired man wore an orange suit of armor and a crown, and he growled at them through a shaky voice, "K-kill… m-m-urg-meee," the dragon head of Animus pulled back and stopped slamming into Misaka with such force. The human who had appeared out of the dragon's skull and had blank eyes and no emotion on his face had just barely moved his mouth, as if whatever tiny piece of his brain was barely intact was begging them for release from this torture.

Misaka's mouth started closing while the transformation on just her fingertips spread down to her hands, and to her forearms… "Still not enough control, Railgun!" Izayoi dove down at the fight below that he had wanted to leave to go join the one above. Something up above was really intriguing him, but he darted a look down a few seconds ago and had to change direction. Izayoi did not dive at Animus though. His right fist glowed white too but with a bright blue flare of energy rippling off it as he punched towards Misaka and then opened his fist at the last second and swept up in the air.

The force of his punch lifted her, Ruby, and Bell all up into the air, while at the same time shattering the aura around Misaka that the girl gasped out of and started coughing in a fit of pain. "Ack- ak- kah-"

"Mikoto!"

"Misaka! You alright?!"

Level 6 manual is still so far. I have to keep trying as long as I've got Izayoi around though, Misaka thought while squinting her eyes back open and looking down towards the older boy who landed and turned towards Animus that had stumbled itself from the force of his last swing. Izayoi had spotted the same astral projection that had begged for release from the others, and he nodded while looking into the eyes of the dragon and wondering if somewhere in that creature's head there was someone looking back and thanking him. The dragon itself roared though while filling its throat with bright light and then firing down into the boy who leapt straight into that energy Roar.

"ROGUE! You- you claimed to do what you did for the sake of our world! You were just an evil bastard though!" Natsu dodged a claw and then had to fire jets of flames out his soles to dodge the dragon flying at his back that nearly chomped down on him. That dragon bit through his flames though and messed up Natsu's flight so he went spinning out in the air. Natsu slammed both palms down at his sides and blasted back towards Rogue on Motherglare's back where the villain twisted and dodged Natsu's first strike.

Natsu planted his missed right fist down onto the back of the dragon though and kicked his left leg up into Rogue's face. Future Rogue's head snapped to the side, then he slashed his own right hand down in the shape of a black and white claw that grew twice then three times in size while extending away from Rogue's body. Rogue swept Natsu across the air above Motherglare and straight into the swinging claw of another dragon diving above them, ripping Natsu from Rogue's White Shadow Dragon Claw and sending him spinning through the air with blood splashing out of a few distinct cuts.

"You've allowed Zeref to run wild all this time, Natsu," Rogue snarled through the air towards his enemy who squinted his eyes back open while falling upside-down ahead of Rogue. They met gazes as Rogue continued to his shocked enemy, "You may hate me for what I did to the dragons, but don't call me 'evil' because you disagree with my methods. Do you see how none of them disobey me?! Even Igneel would be a mindless puppet in my control!"

"RAAA!" Natsu spun himself around and flashed straight into Dragon Force. Scales ran up his arms to his face while his eyes flared red. A core of bright orange glow surrounded him. "Arcosian Dragon Slayer Mode!" Natsu roared, pulling out the energy that he and Laxus had devoured in Metropolis. His body flared with that orange light through the sky, and Natsu cupped a hand to his mouth. Rogue and Motherglare each opened their own mouths too though. "ARCOSIAN FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu's beam collided with both of the other Roars between all their heads.

A brilliant explosion of blue, black, orange, and white light swirled larger and larger in the sky. It pushed away the other dragons up there and made the attackers on both sides reel back from the strength of their equally-matched blows, shocking Rogue more as he squinted then stared through shaking eyes at the explosion and the unwavering silhouette on the other side. "YOU'LL FAIL!" Rogue roared. "Only I can take him down!" Rogue screamed at his enemy whose body reignited and then shot towards him again. "I am the new Dragon King!" Rogue kicked off the back of Motherglare that just flapped its own wings down to fly at Natsu, and Rogue slammed his left knee up into Natsu's jaw when the Fire Dragon Slayer was just coming through the smoke of their last explosion.

Natsu was not expecting Rogue to leave his dragon's back like that, and his head spun to the side with blood splashing out of his tongue he accidentally bit down on. Rogue spun in a three-sixty and kicked his other leg into the opposite side of Natsu's head this time, sending him flying through the sky while Motherglare turned below him and curved up so that Rogue landed perfectly back on its neck and in full-speed flight after Natsu. Rogue's eyes did dart down towards the surface though as he felt the connection between him and another of his dragons get cut. This time his eyes really did bulge and shake though, Even Animus?! Who are these allies that Natsu brought with him? "Rr- RRRra- You! You fool!" Rogue screamed towards Natsu who was still trying to recover after those last kicks.

"With my dragons I could have done it! What only the Dragon King could!" Rogue roared at his opponent, his voice echoing over the sky for all to hear. "My Dragon Supremacy Magic could even control the strongest dragon, Bahamut!" Rogue screamed at Natsu who spun himself around with a fiery aura re-surrounding him. Natsu stared in shock though back towards Rogue at what the version of his friend from the future just yelled. Natsu ground his teeth in anger but also stared at Rogue in slight hesitation too behind his disbelief as he considered all that he had heard about Bahamut…

"Would you like to repeat that?"

Izayoi was already staring up past Natsu and the enemy chasing after him. "That's not Zeref," Izayoi whispered in surprise. The other three on his Squad standing behind him looked up in more shock than him at the dark clouds that voice just bellowed out of. "Who…"

Rogue started lifting his head just like Natsu did to the clouds between them. Those clouds pushed down surrounding some massive form that opened its mouth as it descended and roared straight towards Rogue, "WHO IS THE STRONGEST DRAGON?!"

Sweat poured down Future Rogue's face. "A-Acnologia-"

"ROOOAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Acnologia dove at Rogue whose shock made him hesitate for too long to pull Motherglare's body to the side. Acnologia's dive towards him was too fast… and then Acnologia flinched. The roaring giant dragon whose power could be felt by everyone there, bit down hard with blood spilling out the left corner of its bared lips between its teeth.

Rogue had pulled back late, but Acnologia's flinch slowed its own attack too. Future Rogue finally regained a little composure while focusing on part of what had scared him so much at the sight of Acnologia. I thought it was a zombified version of him! Rogue stared at the giant black dragon with swirling light-blue patterns on its back, legs, and wings. Acnologia's front left leg was gone, as was the shoulder above it and a chunk of the dragon's upper left side. Its face had deep claw masks through it that looked to result in it losing its left eye, as well as losing most of its scales around the left side of its head. The left corner of his lips were scarred too straight into its thinner cheek that looked to strain when the beast opened back up its mouth and showed the razor-sharp teeth inside all looked fine.

Acnologia's left side was scarred and clawed-up. His left wing was tattered with holes. But after he flinched, Acnologia flapped both wings down behind it and shot towards Motherglare who it dug its own claws into and tackled back through the air. Rogue went flying off the back of his dragon, only for another one to swoop down that he landed on while upside down. That dragon finished its barrel-roll and put Rogue back upright, then it fired just like Rogue did. Two huge beams of energy shot at Acnologia who spun from Motherglare towards its true enemy.

The beams slammed into Acnologia's massive form and created a huge explosion in the sky. Then, every single other dragon up there that fired too connected their beams with Acnologia. "RAaa- RROOOOAAA!" Acnologia's roar sounded to be in agony inside of all those explosions.

Rogue Cheney smirked then started laughing himself while staring into the multi-colored blast that filled the sky with the largest explosion yet. "See that?! Even the great Acnologia cannot face the might of the Dragon King! HAHAHAA!"

Even Natsu gawked up past Rogue who he was trying to fly up at using more flames. Natsu faltered in midair while feeling just how powerful that explosion surrounding Acnologia was. Even injured, that's still Acnologia! Those injuries I saw he had in Dressrosa. They're not something he's recovering from- Natsu's eyes bulged again and then snapped closer to Rogue who had gotten too cocky that he stopped sensing out magical powers for a second while staring at the brilliant explosions he and his dragons had created.

Rogue did not see any reason to be worried though. Acnologia was a massive beast and he saw no sign of the dragon flying towards him out of that explosion. Natsu could already sense it though, and he had seen the smaller version before back in Dressrosa. He knew that there was another form Acnologia could take. Rogue snapped his head up too late when he saw the dive-bombing blur above him. Acnologia's human form was still missing a left eye and left arm, but the muscular tan-skinned dragon-man covered in blue tattoos smirked ear to ear while pulling his right arm back at his side.

Rogue pulled away…

He was too late.

Acnologia slashed his right arm down and hit Rogue in his left shoulder when the self-proclaimed "Dragon King" was still dodging. Acnologia's right hand surrounded in a dark blue aura that was sharpened on each finger as it slashed into Rogue's skin. "YAaAaAAHHH!" Rogue screamed in agony as Acnologia's claw ripped his arm off then continued down into the back of the dragon below Rogue that got a chunk ripped out of its side too.

"Heh heh heh," Acnologia lifted a mouth full of blood into a smirk at the terrified and agonized expression of his enemy falling away from him.

Rogue reached for his left shoulder with his right hand and was screaming while grabbing it. His right hand glowed bright white though, and he flash-cauterized the skin before pointing that palm towards Acnologia while still stumbling back and while Acnologia was the one too busy being cocky this time to attack again quickly. Acnologia spun and pointed his right hand back at Rogue's, and the two of them fired at each other. Their palms were too close so the explosion went off between them and blasted both off different sides of the dragon.

Future Rogue got blasted towards his dragon's head though, while Acnologia was flying over the dragon's long tail. That dragon itself was missing a chunk out of its side and bleeding badly, but it still had more than enough strength to obey Rogue's order and whip its tail around into Acnologia's side. Acnologia went flying off through the sky with blood pouring out of his mouth. He arced down out of the air towards a river below cutting between the red grasslands. As Acnologia fell, his head turned sideways towards Natsu who glared back towards him out the corners of his own eyes while still chasing after Rogue.

Natsu did not change targets. Acnologia's squinted eyes focused up on Rogue whose dragons all started flying the same direction. Motherglare had bloody gashes in its stomach and chest where Acnologia had dug its claws, but it managed to fly around and catch its one-armed master who yelled at it to fly off. "Grrrr…" Acnologia snarled after Rogue before shifting his gaze to the side back at Natsu again.

"Another time," Acnologia growled while passing Natsu who he saw was going to keep chasing down Rogue. His threat to Natsu told the Fire Dragon Slayer that Acnologia expected him to go finish this, but as frustrated as that made Natsu who wanted to stay and take on Acnologia himself, he glared back towards Rogue who was his main target.

"I won't let you escape," Natsu snarled. His eyes locked on his dead uncle's body that flew away as a pawn of Future Rogue. I'll free you, Atlas Flame. "ROGUEEEEE!" Natsu roared into the sky to the west where Rogue was flying off with his remaining pack of dragons. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM MEEE!" A white light erupted around Natsu and then exploded behind him in a shockwave that sent the falling Acnologia spinning around before he could hit the river. It put the dragon slightly off track so that he hit the bank of the river instead and bounced once before actually falling into the water, cursing Natsu's name in gargled fury as he went under.

"Natsu! Natsu wait!" Sanji yelled after their comrade who did not slow in the least while chasing after those dragons all on his own. "Damn it," Sanji glanced behind him but shook his head then kicked the air behind him to chase Natsu as fast as he could.

"I'm coming too!" Numbuh 4 yelled and shot off in a blur of red light after Natsu.

"Can't let him go off on his own," Izayoi said with a chuckle before sprinting over the land after the others.

"W-Wait a second," Bell reached a hand after Izayoi, but he was only reaching towards a dust cloud in his friend's place.

A truck lowered down out of the air and landed next to the members of Alpha Squad who did not instantly chase off after Natsu like Izayoi did. A flying figure soaring back their way hesitated over their truck, but Ken leaned out the window and nodded his head after the others. Renji looked down in an annoyed way with dirt all over him and a couple cuts in his black hakama. The shinigami nodded at Kaneki's silent order though and then flew off to chase the others following their scaly foes.

"Everyone get on!" Kaneki called out the window to the other three just outside.

Bell jogged up to the driver's side while the girls leapt up onto the roof of the jet themselves. "This'll probably cut the time we have left," Bell told Kaneki through the window. He looked upset but smiled in a way accepting that fact too. "So it's fine, if we go back after-"

"Our next deployment has been postponed," Kaneki countered Bell with a short shake of his head. Bell looked at him in surprise but then smiled wide as that meant they would still have time to visit the Tower even if they did get distracted by this fight for a bit longer. "Now get on, Bell. Don't want to miss the rest of the fight." Kaneki stared past Bell interestedly to the west where flashes of white, red, and blue light got his attention. "Looks like they caught up…"

---

A group of 12 walked down a dirt road that stretched north-to-south between farmlands growing tall on either side of them. The stalks of corn rose ten feet high just for the shorter ones closer to the edges of the farms where they were walking. There were short wooden fences separating the properties from the grassy dividers on the sides of the brown dirt path that cut between them. The dirt road was wide enough that two vehicles could drive past each other if they were headed different directions. That road was pretty crowded with people though and not many rode vehicles, and those who did had to move slowly and honk the horn sometimes to get the larger groups to move to the sides.

Natsu had his hands interlocked behind his head and a smug smile on his face as he headed down the road. Sylar was a fluke. I'm in tip-top shape, Natsu flexed his biceps on either side of his head and chuckled to himself thinking of the fight he just had. You can rest now, Uncle. That bastard couldn't match up! Natsu's smile lowered a little and he imagined the slower attacks Future Rogue landed in the later part of their fight. Though he was weakened… I would've finished him anyway. Wish Acnologia didn't get involved though. He felt as strong as he did in Dressrosa, but no stronger. I think it was Bahamut that weakened him. I don't get it though, Acnologia hates dragons so much for a guy who's a dragon himself!

"I still don't get it," Ruby said confusedly while walking on the right side of the group. She was looking in towards Usopp who glanced back to his side and down at the shorter girl who wondered, "You say there's another version of that guy who's younger? But they're the same person?" Ruby glanced ahead towards Natsu for a second before quickly darting her gaze back to Usopp who nodded at her.

"It's not even the first time that this has happened," Usopp said. He looked back at Franky and mentioned, "Vegeta's son from the future was a totally different guy from that kid Trunks back at your town."

"Different timeline, same guy," Natsu said back with a nod that Usopp was right about that.

"That's wild," Renji muttered under his breath, shaking his head at the thought of it.

"Alternate realities in time, huh?" Izayoi wondered with a huge grin over his face.

"You thinking about fighting yourself?" Misaka asked the older boy whose expression was way too easy to read. Izayoi laughed that she called him out on it but then nodded his head and smirked as he imagined how he would take on a guy who thinks exactly like him and has the same powers. She shook her head and sighed at that competitive expression he rose just thinking about facing himself.

Ruby pursed her lips for a few more seconds but could not keep herself from asking. "Hey Natsu. Have you, met the other Natsu?" Ruby wondered. Natsu looked back at her and a few of Ruby's squad members also looked at her in confusion wondering what she was talking about. Ruby glanced towards Izayoi and Misaka on her left who did not recognize what Ruby was talking about, and then she turned to Natsu who cocked his head to the side confusedly. "There's another guy named Natsu in the Resistance, who kind of looks… a lot like you!" Ruby finished quicker at the end than the hesitant way she started, and Natsu stared back at her with wide eyes while coming to a stop.

"Are there alternate versions of all of us here?" Bell wondered in surprise.

"Oh man, Negative Numbuh 4 is totally gonna be here," Numbuh 4 muttered in annoyance. A few of the others looked to him and then at Numbuh 3 who blew a raspberry and stuck a thumbs down in disapproval. "That guy sucks," Numbuh 4 added. "He's from our opposite universe. Complete opposite of me," he told the group who stared back in surprise that the youngest kids had actually experienced something like this before.

Natsu's eyes widened in sudden realization at Numbuh 4's description of his opposite. Franky was already staring towards Natsu though, and he mentioned to his comrade whose face was lighting up, "To tell you the truth, Natsu. Me and Kirito-bro bumped into another Natsu after we all got separated in that magic," Franky told the surprised mage who spun to him in shock that he had. Sanji and Usopp also spun to Franky wondering what he was talking about. Franky hesitated and then added, "He was part of this Resistance biker gang-"

"Yeah! That's the Natsu I already knew," Ruby exclaimed, glad that Franky was talking about the same one and that this was not a third version.

"Said they were from a place called, Edolas," Franky told the Dragon Slayer whose big eyes glistened as he smiled huge to hear that. "They helped the two of us get to that base we all met up at after Pyraxas."

"Why didn't you guys bring it up before?" Natsu asked in surprise while still smiling back at the cyborg, though lowering his smile as he wished Franky had mentioned it earlier.

Franky hesitated again. He frowned and glanced away for a second as this was exactly what he wanted to avoid by not telling Natsu in the first place. He figured Ruby might be bringing them up anyway though and figured he should tell him first instead. Franky scratched the back of his head with a big metal hand then looked Natsu back in the eyes. "That Natsu, had this girl with him. This blonde girl…" Franky said it in a low voice and watched Natsu's smile fade from his face.

The Dragon Slayer glanced off to his side then turned back forward and kept walking at the front of the group. Franky picked up his own speed to be closer to Natsu's back, while Usopp and Sanji's expressions also fell a bit behind Franky. "I'm sorry, bro," Franky told Natsu in a lower voice to the back of Natsu's head as they kept walking. Franky remembered seeing the same girl he was talking about during the Perfect Day they had back on the Thousand Sunny. He recalled how Natsu reacted to seeing her. "I'm just… I'm just sorry," Franky repeated as he did not really know what to say here.

"Thanks," Natsu muttered back. Franky stared at the back of Natsu's head in surprise at that reaction instead of the Dragon Slayer getting pissed at him like he thought Natsu would. "I get what you're saying," Natsu admitted after being quiet for a couple seconds. He glanced sideways back at Franky and looked upset, even angry, but Natsu glared down at the floor between them and took another breath to cool himself off even more. "I uh, I got no idea how I would have reacted had I just bumped into Lucy myself without realizing it was her Edolas version."

Franky walked right up on Natsu's left side and then pushed his big steel hand down on top of Natsu's head. A grin covered the robot's face while Natsu stumbled forward and got annoyed, reaching up and grabbing Franky's hand to push it off. "Oi! What the heck- stop that!" Natsu shoved the arm off and frowned at the cyborg who laughed while Natsu snapped out of his more depressed mood into his usual self. His annoyance at Franky pushing down on his hair like that and tousling it worked to get his mind off what they were just talking about fast.

Sanji and Usopp noticed what Franky just did though and lifted small smiles back up as the mood shifted back cheerful again. They've got good chemistry. That's not great, Kaneki thought while watching Franky and Natsu with a flat lip unlike some of his squad members who smiled to see Natsu getting back out of that dark mood. That depressing mood had Ruby similarly getting sadder as she realized what must have happened to the other Lucy who she had almost asked him about but was glad Franky brought up first. The girl brightened back up herself though and continued talking with the group who she told again that they were almost at their destination.

The fact that the group with Son Goku split apart after leaving Dressrosa told me that the ones who went with Gray would be most likely to join us. Natsu's prospects were good in that regard, Kaneki thought. But the ones who left with Monkey D. Luffy and attacked the Dread Fort are still very close to Natsu. I do not know the relationships of all in their group, but they have scattered again around the continent yet plan to meet back up in a month. I'm beginning to doubt that any recruitment I do could change Natsu's plans and prevent him from just joining back with that group rather than remaining a part of the Resistance.

Perhaps the long play is not what I should be working for then, Kaneki started changing up his strategy. Even getting him to carry out Resistance missions just for this month alone would be enough. We'll work around their actions in the next month. Using Son Goku's movements to our advantage.

Numbuh 3 turned her head to the side and pushed her lips together into an 'o' shape. "Ooooh," she watched as a group of five walking the other direction on the road went by them. They all wore different styles of armor. There was a small girl half of Numbuh 3's height, a taller woman who had a bow on her back and a pointy hat, two men in heavy suits of armor with one of them much bulkier than the other, and there was a man whose face was shadowed over under his black hat and in the hood of his dark purple cloak. "Where do you think they're going, Numbuh 4?" Kuki wondered to her friend who cocked his head to the side and watched the party of adventurers go by too.

"Who cares?" Numbuh 4 replied with a shrug after a second. Numbuh 3 pouted at the side of his head then humphed and turned away. "What? What do you care? Why do you care?"

"Well they have cool armor. Why don't you have any armor?" Numbuh 3 pointed at Numbuh 4's outfit. "That cloak is so dirty!"

"It's not like there are washing machines on Nexus," Numbuh 4 retorted back at her.

"Huhhh?" Numbuh 3 tilted her head and looked at him in an even funnier way. "Yeah there are. I've seen them before."

"You've never washed your clothes?" Ruby wondered down towards the top of Numbuh 4's head in shock.

"Not once… the whole time you've been here?" Misaka whispered in disbelief.

"Psh, this cloak is river washed-"

"That's probably why it's so full of holes!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and pointed down towards the bottom of it.

"Nah, the guy this belonged to just got torn up while he was wearing it," Numbuh 4 responded and shook his head back at the girl in a green hoodie who closed her mouth and gave him a curious look. Numbuh 4 waved her off though and then looked back past and to another dirt path intersecting the main one they were on. I got his blood stains out at least, Numbuh 4 thought with a glance down to his feet and the tattered bottom of his cloak. He snapped his gaze back down that intersecting path though and snapped, "Is that a cruddy tractor? What the Hell is- wait wait, how? How is there a tractor?"

"Why does that surprise you?" Usopp wondered in a baffled tone at the kid who was way too surprised about seeing a normal tractor.

"I mean, come on!" Numbuh 4 snapped back at the pirate who rose his eyebrows up and started nodding his head as if that was a sound argument.

"You've got me there," Usopp admitted with a sigh then just kept going.

"What? No he doesn't!" Numbuh 3 shouted at Usopp who sweatdropped as he was trying to just butt out of the argument early.

"How'd they make a tractor?" Numbuh 4 wondered. "And, who's out here farming? I mean, we're on Nexus! Who popped up on this stinkin' world and went 'you know what, I'm gonna make a farm!'?" Numbuh 4 snapped in a dorky tone while staring towards the farms. "And a tractor!" He added as he watched more tractors driving over the croplands near them.

"Did you just think your food magically appeared on your plate?" Kaneki muttered, mostly to himself.

"Goku spends a lot of time farming," Natsu mentioned. Everyone there looked towards him and most of them had skeptical looks doubting what he just said. Natsu lifted his eyebrows at those disbelieving looks. "Saiyans eat a lot. They needed a ton of farmland just for the five of them. He plowed all the fields of Pao by himself though."

"Of 'Pao?'" Ruby wondered.

"The town we live in," Natsu told her.

Ruby blinked a few times, then her eyes bulged huge. "Wait! You lived with Son Goku?!"

"In his town-" Natsu started back.

"That's where he's been all this time?" Renji asked. His tone got darker as he repeated, "'Farming?'"

"Not the whole time," Natsu responded. He looked confused for a moment but then frowned back at Renji himself. "What's it to you what Goku's been up to?"

"Think about it in these terms, Natsu," Kaneki began to the Dragon Slayer who looked back towards him and into his eyes. "These fields around us? All this beautiful lush farmland?" Natsu nodded his head slowly, his expression flattening and his eyes just shifting around as he listened to Kaneki who always explained stuff really easy for him to understand. "It exists here because the Tower of Babel is here. The Tower is well-guarded itself. Monsters have really thinned out around here due to the amount of demigods and shinigami always lingering around these parts, the location of the nearby Dungeon that draws in warriors from all over the continent for training, and the general centrality of the location on the landmass. Fewer monsters and more powerful warriors makes the area perfect for agriculture."

"When farmers don't have to worry as much about monsters they can spread out over huge expanses," Misaka agreed with a nod and still a slightly annoyed look on her face at what Natsu had been saying. "There are trading hubs and towns all over this region that are just considered generally safe."

"The Tower of Babel is in Alvarez territory and doesn't actually own any land around it," Bell mentioned. "But High Lord Spriggan has declared that he doesn't mind its presence as the Tower does provide some protection for his people." This statement made the four from Awul and Numbuh 3 all stare towards Bell a bit more nervously. Bell's voice lowered, "His expansion just curved around the Tower when he conquered other lands in the past, and the Gods did nothing to slow him down."

"No one really knows why," Numbuh 4 mentioned. He sounded cocky as he brought it up and showed that he also knew how stuff worked around there even if he was not a part of Alpha. He looked to Natsu and smirked while telling his new comrade, "But Spriggan scares the crap out of the Gods."

"I know why," Bell told the boy who spun back to him in frustration but then surprise. He could see Bell was not just countering him but actually did know the reason, and Numbuh 4 stared at him with wider eyes too wondering what the reason was. "It's Bahamut," Bell explained with a glance to the right out to the east. Bell quickly looked back forward as if just looking in its direction might make the dragon show up. "The dragon that made the Cataclysm scares everybody…"

"Well, everybody except for those who are protected by him," Numbuh 3 mentioned. The others all looked to the girl who looked the youngest there due to her time as a toy making her appear a couple years younger than even Numbuh 4. "What?" Numbuh 3 wondered at all the looks they were giving her.

Renji tilted his head to the side and admitted to himself that she had a point there. He glanced around again to all these farms and thought to himself, Is it really their proximity to the Tower that makes them feel safe? Or is it the fact that Zeref and Bahamut could fly down here and wipe out anyone who attacks them that makes them really feel protected? I don't know.

"Hmph, well it probably scares them too," Izayoi countered Numbuh 3, though he was thinking on similar lines as Renji while glancing around the fields near them again. They were walking on a slight incline up a hill that Izayoi looked towards the top of again but still could not see what he was looking for over it. He mentioned off-handedly while gazing up ahead, "I tried to fight Bahamut that day. Day 11," Izayoi specified. "Craziest battle I've ever seen."

"You did?" Ruby wondered softly towards Izayoi in some amazement that told the newer people he had never brought this up to her before.

Misaka just glanced away. Franky looked her way and thought it was because she had heard this story before. He tensed up though at the anxious look on Misaka's face with a bead of sweat dripping down it like she was thinking of that same day Izayoi brought up. "Craziest?" Scariest thing I've ever seen more like it, Misaka thought. She forced down memories of the day though and lifted back up a stronger and more apathetic facade that Franky glanced away from before she could realize he had caught her last expression.

Izayoi nodded back towards Ruby though after she asked. "And even you couldn't…" Ruby trailed off and just gawked that he shook his head with a low chuckle at the idea of it. Ruby gulped after a second, while a few of the others looked towards Izayoi even closer since Ruby was somehow most shocked by the fact that even he couldn't do it.

"I don't think there's a force on the planet that could take out Bahamut," Izayoi admitted. He put his hands down in his pockets then added, "But if that idiot Brainiac wasn't causing so much havoc we probably wouldn't have freed Bahamut in the first place. The second the world cracked though, and the skies opened up and all those Gods and angels started yelling at everyone to flee…" Izayoi stopped at a look he saw on Kaneki's face, and the blond teen's eyes darted to Misaka for a split second before he just turned his head back straight ahead. He was still grinning even as he stopped describing the scene though. He shook his head and admitted to the people gawking at his back at the description he had already given alone, "I've never had more fun in my life before that day."

The world cracked open? Was Bahamut inside of the planet- did the Gods put it down there?! Is that why the ground is so much harder deeper down? Franky had a million questions as did everyone who just got their first descriptions of the Day of the Cataclysm. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Misaka who was struggling to get her own mind off the events of that day, Renji interrupted the conversation bluntly, "Anyway. When Bell and I go in, Ken, you going to take them to the market in Orario or-"

"What do you mean, 'when Bell and I go in?'" Natsu muttered. His face started getting angrier and he turned more towards the brown-haired girl behind him who lifted her eyebrows at the Dragon Slayer. "Wait- we're all going in, right?" Misaka shook her head back at him and Natsu bit down in fury. The conversation switched from the Cataclysm quickly, but Renji sweatdropped as that had not made things any better.

Natsu snapped, "I'm going in that Tower!"

"Uh, please don't do anything that-" Bell started.

Natsu turned directly to Bell and glared into his eyes. "Ehhh?" Natsu growled. Bell leaned back. "Why wouldn't I be allowed in? Why do you get to go inside, and I don't? Huh? I came here to give the Gods a piece of my mind. Whether or not they were the ones who brought us here I'm doing it!" Natsu yelled.

"That's not a good idea," Bell began while waving his hands up at Natsu.

"But you get to go inside?!" Natsu yelled.

"Only to the second floor though!" Bell exclaimed back at Natsu who leaned towards him while shouting that. All Bell's friends just stepped away from him to let him handle this on his own. Renji's smirk wiped from his face though as Bell pointed at him and called out, "Renji gets to go to the second highest level! He's the one making the rules."

"EHHH?" Natsu spun towards Renji who made the same noise while looking back at Bell with a pissed-off look covering his face. Bell whistled and looked away from Renji's pissed look, then flashed a grin at Ruby as he got out of getting grilled by Natsu.

"I don't make the damn rules," Renji snapped at the pink-haired idiot who marched up to him now and was getting in his face.

"Ohh? So none of you Gods make the rules. And you didn't bring us to this world either? How convenient!" Natsu exclaimed and then glared harder at the shinigami who leaned back as Natsu's last shout did not come out sounding very sarcastic, more accusatory. Natsu's thoughts were as dark as his glare, I've dealt with Sora for months. Whatever secrets he's got, he and Riku and Kairi can get away with it just by saying they made vague "promises" not to talk about it… which Sora lets slip a lot anyway.

Not letting you off the hook like we'd not pressure those three, Sanji thought while giving a sideways and suspicious look towards Renji himself at the shinigami's responses. I'll let Natsu handle it, but I'm here for the same thing. I want answers for why so many precious ladies had to suffer on this damn world.

Renji glanced around and noticed darker looks coming his way than he had expected initially. Bell looked back too and flinched as Sanji darted him an intense look for a second telling him he was still part of this even if he passed on the pressure to his comrade. "Heck, we're almost at the Tower already anyway," Izayoi brought up while the group was tense around him. He did not seem to care about the tense situation at all though, but he did suggest, "Might as well summon him and have him answer Natsu's questions." Izayoi looked back to Kaneki who frowned but continued to the temporary boss anyway, "If he's in the middle of something, he can just fly back over there real quick. I doubt he is though. He's probably watching tv."

"Ten bucks he's napping," Misaka countered at Izayoi who shrugged then held a hand back towards her. She hesitated and then said quickly, "But I only give you ten if he's watching tv."

"Fine," Izayoi replied, and Misaka shook his hand with a grin as she still bet she would win this one. "You got a nickel?" Izayoi asked the Railgun who smirked and pulled a coin out of her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Natsu questioned the two of them. "Who are you 'summoning?'" He asked.

"We did tell you that one of our other members is a God, right?" Kaneki asked Natsu who spun back to him in surprise then darted a look at Renji who just glared back for another second before looking away, seeming pissed about that last interaction still. Natsu spun back to Kaneki who nodded to confirm what he was suggesting, and Natsu came to a full stop and stared at Misaka who lifted up a nickel from her pocket.

Izayoi put his palms together in front of his chest in a prayer stance. "Oh God Yato," Izayoi prayed, opening the connection that made someone start yelling in his head right away. A smirk spread over Izayoi's face while Misaka flicked up the nickel in the air. "Answer my prayer. We've paid the five cent toll, now teleport to us and answer our questions!"

"Ah! Not the time! Wait- wait Hiyori! You stay here I'll be- No! Wait don't make me- give me a… second! I'm not dr-" Yato appeared in midair in between Misaka and Izayoi still shouting out loud. He had one hand on the waistband of his pants he was pulling up and the other reaching out that he snatched the nickel out of the air with. "Eeek!" Yato rose his arms and crossed them over his face in embarrassment. Letting go of his pants that were still unzipped at the fly made his loose pants drop to his ankles and reveal his white boxers with red polka-dots on them.

"That's a God?" Usopp muttered while Yato panicked and pulled his pants up, then started snapping at Izayoi while Misaka looked away and coughed a few times with slightly red cheeks of her own.

Bell laughed and Renji snapped back towards Yato, "Stop pretending! We know you just pulled your pants down so that next time we'll give you more warning!"

Izayoi was laughing already and wondered at Yato who feigned a shocked look towards Renji, "I saw Hiyori back in Remano a week ago." Izayoi scratched his chin and then asked the God who spun back to him, "She said she was heading to New New York afterwards. Did she just get to the Tower herself?"

"Yes! Yes she just came from New New York, very long trip, and you were just interrupting-" Yato began while snapping his fingers in front of him. He froze though at the smug smirk on Izayoi's face. Yato's expression soured and he pouted at the look telling him that Izayoi just made up all of that. "You dick," Yato muttered. He finally turned his head from Izayoi and looked to his right at the pink-haired man who was staring at him from a few feet away. "Aha!" He jumped backwards and put two fingers in a peace sign sideways over his eyes to look through them while smiling at the new faces. "Delivery God Yato! At your service! Now… I'm leaving," Yato made his introduction to the people staring at him whose service he just claimed to be at before immediately telling them he was leaving.

"Hey, you teleporting here was not all we paid you for," Misaka snapped at the God.

"Also Yato!" Ruby called out. She glanced around the Delivery God and wondered at him, "Where's Yukine?"

"Not your whole order?" Yato asked in shock back at Misaka. He tilted his head to the side then thought about what Izayoi had shouted at him while he was relaxing back at the Tower.

"Also, what were you doing specifically?" Izayoi wondered. "That's part of the questions we need answers to," he added, as they had paid for Yato to come there and answer their questions.

"You really need to raise your prices," Misaka mocked the God who tskked and spun back as he had no choice but to do what they requested. That stupid slogan of his is pretty helpful for us though. Five cents and he'll do whatever we ask! It's ridiculous.

"Well if you must know, Hiyori and I…" Yato began. Everyone stared at him skeptically, and Yato looked away and started whistling before continuing on with that lie. "Alright, I was watching a Kryptonian soap opera on tv."

Misaka frowned and pulled out a ten dollar bill that she smacked into Izayoi's outstretched hand in annoyance. Yato rose an eyebrow at that action but then spun to his right again at the pink-haired guy who stomped towards him. "Hey! Why'd you bring us all to this world?!" Natsu shouted at him.

"Because I'm EVIL!" Yato yelled while leaning towards Natsu and bowing his head a bit so his dark hair shadowed over his eyes. Wind blew across the road and an eerie silence fell over the group staring at Yato in varying degrees of shock and disbelief, or just deadpan expressions at Yato's joke. "Muuhahahaha," Yato laughed menacingly before lifting his head and cracking up in a much lighter tone. "HA! Pssh- hahaha, you, you think I brought us here? Where'd you find this guy?" Yato wondered back towards Kaneki who pinched the bridge of his nose as he was tired of all these eccentric people making his day more difficult.

"Can we keep walking while we talk?" Kaneki wondered to the large group around him. He started walking and hoped everyone else would just move as well, which he was lucky they did as Yato spun too. The God was glad to be heading back towards the Tower that he caught a glimpse of the top floors over the crest of the hill they were rising.

Usopp put a palm up perpendicular to his forehead and whistled in surprise at the width of the Tower that he could tell from there was massive even if he could also see how far away they still were. "How many stories tall is it?" Usopp wondered at Renji on his left.

"On the outside or inside?" Renji asked back. Usopp gave him a puzzled look that just made Renji roll his eyes at him. "Seriously? How much magic and technology that makes things larger on the insides have you've seen? Honestly, we've got pokeballs and capsules on us right now."

"The Wizard King's castle too," Sanji reminded Usopp who he agreed should not have been surprised to hear Renji's question.

"Alright alright, the inside then?" Usopp wondered. "There are more floors in there than we can see on the outside?"

"Yeah, floors between floors. Some Gods who stayed down here wanted the space of Heaven despite choosing to remain on Nexus," Renji replied. "Some of the shared floors are just more massive to give them rooms and offices that big, but a few Gods are pretty P-R-I-D-E-F-U-L and can't stand the fact that others get whole floors while they don't have one."

"You know, I'm pretty sure the Gods can spell," Kaneki told his comrade who just shrugged. Renji was only acting like he was being polite by not saying it outright while in close proximity to the Tower.

"Yatooo, where's Yukine?" Ruby asked again as Yato had not given her an answer yet.

"Who's Yukine?" Usopp wondered to the girl pestering this God about it. Usopp was still anxious about speaking directly to the figure who really scared him when he claimed to be "evil" even if Usopp was pretty sure he was just joking. The look the God had on his face while saying it was still seriously creepy to him.

"Come! Sekki!" Yato swung his right arm out to the side. A sword appeared in his grasp, and then the sword lit up with bright light and a blond boy in a gray hoodie appeared in its place on Yato's right side. "Here he is," Yato said back to Ruby who smiled and ran up to Yukine but stopped short when the boy with a piece of toast in his mouth frowned behind the bread at her.

Yukine chewed quickly and took the rest of the bread out of his mouth. "I didn't even get to pause the show-"

"You unpaused it?!" Yato yelled back at Yukine who spun anxiously at Yato's angered look. "Why did you do-"

"I wasn't just going to sit and wait for you! You should have just brought me along in the first place!" Yukine snapped back.

"Yukine!" Ruby finally dove into the boy and hugged him, making Yukine stumble forward and go red in his cheeks too. "Wait, were you enjoying the soap opera?" Ruby smirked suggestively at the boy who leaned away quickly and shrugged her off before darting looks around and seeing some smirks from the other Alpha members too.

"N-No! It was just- it's what's on right now! And Yato's always watching them so… so, you kind of, just get invested," Yukine finally admitted with a sigh as he could not hide it. "It's actually really good. It's about these Kryptonians who live on Mount Vegeta with fake tails on their butts to hide that they're not really Saiyans. Every episode you think someone's going to catch them-"

"I swear last episode, King Carrothead was so close to learning Zel-Nor's identity," Yato exclaimed in a giddy tone at Misaka who just sweatdropped at him as she had never seen an episode and had no idea what he was talking about.

"Are you… his sword?" Usopp finally asked. The shorter kid in front of him turned and looked surprisedly at the guy standing there.

Yukine frowned at the guy and snapped at him, "Your face has a sword sticking out of it- oh, that's just your nose? My bad," Yukine smirked at the astonished and insulted expression that covered Usopp's face.

Bell covered his mouth with the back of his hand and turned away to hide his laughter with Franky doing the same beside him. Natsu was trying to stay accusatory but was really struggling to keep up a straight expression with this goofy excuse for a God being the person he had to direct his frustration onto. "Oi, I've got questions for you."

"Did you pay me five cents?" Yato wondered at the guy to his left while he was walking towards the Tower of Babel himself. He put his hands down in his sweatpants' pockets and told the rude person walking next to him, "Because if you've got a wish, I'll grant it for just 5 cents!" Yato put his left hand in front of Natsu's face with all five fingers extended.

"Any wish?" Usopp asked in amazement.

"No, don't get your hopes up," Misaka told the long-nosed man in front of her who sounded too excited. "And Yato, our wish is for you to answer some questions. Those questions are the ones that he asks you, got it?"

Yato frowned but then sighed after a second. "Alright," he conceded. "What do you want to know…?" He trailed off with his tone raising like he wanted to say the person's name at the end of the question. Natsu opened his mouth to respond but Yato finished, "Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. I know your name, because I'm a God and I know everything!" Natsu bit down as he got interrupted before he could speak, and he shook where he stood in frustration at the smug God who marched forward confidently at the front of the group now.

"Is it blasphemy if I kick him?" Sanji wondered in a low voice.

"Reallllly not a good idea," Bell warned. He was still smiling but there was an anxious look in his eyes that he felt like Sanji might ignore him and do it anyway.

Sanji noticed that look in Bell's eyes though and quickly erased any idea of kicking the idiotic God when he was able to see the Tower of Babel just ahead too. He pulled out a cigarette instead to calm his nerves, and to try to clear his head of imagining what Bell might be thinking would happen if Sanji decided to kick him. He's a God. A real God, Sanji told himself while lighting up his cig. Don't let that act fool you. Or you might get erased from all existence. Maybe he's not one of the stronger ones, but right next to a tower full of Gods you really shouldn't be talking about kicking one. Renji spelled out a word before like they're listening. Aren't they always listening?! Do we have to be close to their Tower for them to hear us at all times?! Fuck! This is stressful.

Natsu was not as deterred as Sanji while they got closer to the daunting Tower. They could see more of the building every step they took towards the crest of the dirt road ahead before it started a descent to the town of Orario below. "So you know my name? Do you know what floor in the Tower I'm allowed to go up to?" Natsu asked in a low voice.

"Hah! You think you can go in the Tower?" Yato asked him skeptically. Natsu bared his teeth and Yato opened his eyes wider, "You do? Oh, well… huh," Yato cocked his head to the side and looked Natsu up and down. Natsu's expression lit up as Yato stared at him in surprise for a second. "Nope. You can't." Yato's face flattened back out and the annoyance flashed back over Natsu's as he was led to false hope by that momentary expression Yato showed him.

Franky grabbed Natsu by his arms and held back the Dragon Slayer who blew smoke out of his nostrils while Yato laughed at him. "Yato!" Izayoi called out and made the God stop laughing to look back towards him. "Could you just explain to Natsu the 'rules' so that he doesn't start a war with the Gods?"

"I'm seriously considering it," Natsu snarled without pause after Izayoi's question.

"Haha, he's serious," Yato laughed at the tone in Natsu's voice with that snarl right there. "You honestly think you could do something. Amazing," Yato mocked.

Franky loosened his grip on Natsu's arms. I'm just gonna let him go, the cyborg glared at Yato while considering just letting this happen. "Oh, you don't think I can?" Natsu wondered while bowing his head a bit more so his eyes shadowed over and glowed red out at the Delivery God. "You stuck-up God?" Yukine sweatdropped behind Natsu and glanced around at the rest of Alpha wondering with his gaze 'who the hell is this?' Misaka just shook her head in response to the Shinki- the spirit and weapon of God Yato.

Yato turned and his expression shifted again. He was still smiling but his eyes looked more serious. It was a hint of the expression and stature that he had when he shouted his initial response about being 'evil' at the group as a joke, but this time he did not seem to be joking when he looked down at Natsu whose arms Franky let go of. "You think you can do something because you humans always think you can do something. But try as you might, you'll never get into the Tower. Not unless you're allowed into the Tower. Which you are not."

Wind blew over the dirt road again and waved around both Yato and Natsu's hair as they glared into one another's eyes from a couple feet away. They stood at the front of the group who all just stared towards the two of them, neither backing down from the other. "You know," Natsu started. His voice was lower and he kept a dark expression while glaring at the God before him. "I ate Zancrow's flames before. The Flame God Slayer. I'm sure my fire has retained some of that power," Natsu growled at Yato. He cocked his head back and glared intensely down at the God while curling in his knuckles at his sides into fists. "I wonder if that magic works against puny Gods like you."

You could hear a pin drop on the hill. Yukine gulped and darted a look from Natsu back to Yato whose hand closer to him twitched. "Guys! Stop it," Ruby snapped. She ran forward and squeezed right between the two who she pushed her palms out into their chests and made both step back and look down at her.

Kaneki had remained silent and was just silently watching the intense exchange. He finally shook his head around and wiped off the invested look on his face as he realized a few seconds later that he had been too interested to see if Natsu could back up his words at all. Nice, Ruby. Kaneki stepped forward himself and spoke up before the two men looking back up over Ruby's head could regain their intense looks. "Yato, stop antagonizing Natsu."

"Me?!" Yato exclaimed in disbelief. "You always blame me!"

"Well you antagonize everyone," Renji added while walking forward again himself. "Don't let him get to you, Natsu. Just ignore him and-"

"Oi! I'm right here," Yato exclaimed in shock at the disrespect. His squadmates all just started walking forward again, except for Ruby who lifted her hands and patted him sympathetically on the shoulders a few times almost in pity that made Yato drop his jaw.

"Get over it," Yukine muttered while shaking his head in embarrassment and walking past Yato's back.

Usopp finally slouched his shoulders and relaxed. Alright, he's just an idiot, Usopp thought in relief while walking forward too. The Tower they could see more of felt a lot less intimidating now that he had actually met one of the Gods from inside it up close. Usopp walked up to the top of the hill and could properly take it all in with a gasp as he looked around the massive valley they had a good view of from the hill's crest.

Everyone else stopped when they were on the top of the hill too. The dirt patch widened right there and there was a small building on one side of the road that had lookout points and bolted-down binoculars for people to pay to look through and admire the pristine landscape in the vicinity of the Tower of Babel. Bell Cranel stepped up to the other side of the top of the hill and smiled towards the Tower. He lifted a hand and put it over the steel breastplate he wore over his long-sleeved shirt, and he still felt a warmth through his armor and clothes anyway. I'm back, Lady Hestia. I'll see you soon.

"There's gotta be hundreds of floors even on the outside," Franky admired the work of architecture that stuck out like a sore thumb from the middle of a minuscule town in comparison. He frowned though and thought, Though I doubt anyone actually "built" that place. Gods can just create at will, right? Maybe not this guy, I don't think, Franky darted a sideways look at the God who he saw smiling and stretching his arms up in the air off to his right.

Natsu relaxed a bit too and decided not to fight the God on Alpha Squad, even if the guy did rub him the wrong way. If I ever decide to kick his ass, I should at least wait until Timmy and Goku are with me. Might be a little hard to take on all the Gods just myself. Not that you guys wouldn't help out a bit, as much as you could… Natsu tried not to disparage the pirates he glanced at but doubted they would have been able to help him had he actually got in a fight with the Gods right now. Don't want to put you guys at risk just 'cause he's pissing me off.

Renji looked towards the Tower ahead and frowned himself. That got tense right there. This is going to be tense too. I hate making reports. It makes sense to have us all do it no matter what we're doing, but the Captain Commander's always so intense.

"You guys have to see the market down in Orario," Ruby said with a bubbly expression on her face while spinning to a couple pirates on her side. She looked down to Numbuh 3 too who looked interested and added to the younger girl, "It's huuu-uuuge! Stretches halfway to the Dungeon and has everything you could think of for sale."

"So to answer your question from before, Renji," Kaneki brought up as he remembered the shinigami asking him. "Yeah, we'll spend some time down in the market. Try not to take too long with your report." Kaneki added it as much for their sake as for Renji's, and his comrade gave him an appreciative nod that Ken just gave him the excuse to give his superiors in the Tower for why he needed to rush back out of there. Ken knew that his friend did not like being in there any longer than necessary anyway, and Renji let out a heavy breath after a second as that alone made this next ordeal a bit easier.

"And Yato," Kaneki added. The God admiring the area and stretching up in a relaxed manner looked towards Kaneki and then lifted his left hand and caught the coin that the white-haired man tossed him. "You're coming with us when we head out. Alright?"

Yato bit down on the coin as if checking if it was real. Then he stuck a thumbs up at Kaneki and shoved the nickel down into his pocket. "You've got it!" Yato responded.

Great, Sanji thought sarcastically. Why couldn't the God they were talking about have been some super sexy Goddess?! I would've prayed to her every day. He bowed his head dejectedly and sighed in disappointment. Well maybe their Squad leader is a girl… the one they called the "Strongest Man in the Resistance?" Damn it, Sanji took a long drag of his cig while shaking his head as he knew it was a lost cause.

"This is the last place we'll be able to rest up before heading into an active battlefield," Kaneki reminded the group with him before they could start down the hill for Orario and the Tower in the middle of it. The others all looked towards the young man who sounded serious as he warned, "After this we won't have anywhere to resupply or get a good night's sleep. Take your time. Prepare yourselves." Kaneki looked a bit to the left of the Tower of Babel and out into the distance farther northwest. Yato and Yukine spun to him in surprise and opened their eyes wider along with the others as Kaneki finished, "Because when we leave, I don't plan on us coming back until we've defeated Father."

The sour mood Natsu had been in for a few minutes now flipped in an instant. A huge smirk spread over his face. His fists burst into flames and he punched them together in front of his body in excitement to hear Kaneki declare that without beating around the bush this time. It had been vague up until that very second, and Natsu laughed when he punched his fiery fists together. "Alright! Let's do it!"

"I'm all fired up!"

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A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The group finally arrives at the Tower of Babel to end this arc. We meet Yugo again who has joined up with his friend Amalia (also from the show Wakfu). Then Future Rogue appears with big plans that get foiled by Natsu and the others, and by Acnologia who rolls up despite his terrible injuries we caught a glimpse of back in Dressrosa when he was released from being a toy. Then we meet two of the last 3 members of Alpha Squad who've been mentioned throughout the chapter but only revealed now! Yato and Yukine join up with the group arriving at the Tower. Hope you guys enjoyed their introduction and the intense stand-off between Yato and Natsu. Luckily Ruby was around to break it up, since everyone else seemed to be looking forward to watching the fight! XD Anyway, leave me a review below telling me what you think of the chapter. Predictions for the coming chapters ahead as we look in on our other characters and see how they've started out this month. And questions about the story in general! Thanks again, review response time:

Smlluffy67 chapter 127 . Jan 9

you know I always say to myself there no way that this cartoon is going to be in Nexus or this cartoon is to crazy to be on Nexus BUT YOU KEEP PROVING ME WRONG AND I LOVE IT FIRST WITH FOP THEN WITH BILLY AND MANDY THEN WITH GUMBALL AND SPONGEBOB AND KNOW KND WHATS NEXT REGULAR SHOW? PHINEAS AND FERB? SAMURAI JACK? ADVENTURE TIME also probably should have figured that knd would show up considering that they had a crossover with Billy and Mandy also hope you make a reference to that like you did the timmy jimmy power hour also we see how law and his crew ended up as slaves WHY KID WHY he got lucky that Nexus happened before kaido got to him also loved that you put the knd weapon description in here a little bit also wow I didn't see that the person killu helped out was actually Number 3 Amazing chapter as usual can't wait for the next one.

DOES NUMBER 1 HAVE SENGOKUS FRUIT THE BUDDHA

NUMBER FOUR HAS A RINNEGAN

Hahaha I'm really glad you liked the introduction of the KND into the story! Also you remembering Gumball characters back in Metropolis made me laugh too. We'll see about those other characters and if they appear any time soon... ;) The crossover with Billy and Mandy was super cool, and I think I'll probably incorporate that at some time too since Timmy Jimmy power hour is canon! Also... nice catch on Numbuh 1! Tried to hint at it and you picked up on that perfectly! The fight with Gold Roger was pretty early on in Nexus, and Numbuh 1 got his Devil Fruit after like 100 days or something, but the time definitely works out where Sengoku had already been killed. How does Numbuh 4 have a Rinnegan. Will they meet up with Mandy at any point? So many possibilities! XD Thanks for reviewing!

Guest chapter 127 . Jan 11

I am glad to see the rest of knd, can't wait to see morre

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!

Espada-001 chapter 127 . Jan 9

Thanks for another great chapter! XD
I wasn't expecting to see the KND used in this series but it does have a large cast of interesting characters. I'm surprised that KND Father was killed since he's actually a really strong character but I guess there are just too many powerful contenders around him. I was also glad to see that Chad is still being a master infiltrator for the good guys. I'm kind of hoping to see him down the line again. One thing I can't quite understand is how the flood are able to infect the Grimm since a Grimm's body dissolves after taking to much physical damage? And I had completely forgotten about Stan! I'm sure you already have your own plans but if you were planning on using Starkiller then giving him some time with Stan would be the perfect time. Stan the student of a reformed Anikin and Starkiller the student of Vadar that actually surpassed him! Just an idea that came to mind.
Unfortunately I missed out on reviewing a lot of the previous chapters so I have a bunch of thoughts that came to mind. I loved watching Heroes when I was younger and Sylar genuinely scared me back then. But didn't he loose his deep killer instinct when he was trapped alone in his mind for years? Or is this a Sylar from before that happened? It's to bad Gaara fought inside the base where he couldn't draw on his full potential. As for other characters I wonder if Misaka has learned how to enter her level 6 form on her own yet. And I was wondering if Ruby's silver eyes would effect vampires similar to the Grimm since they are both soulless creatures?
Well the message is getting a bit long so I'll go ahead and end it here. Until next time I wish you a good day!

You're welcome! XD KND Father was definitely a strong contender as we hear that he had a lot of land up until at least the Third War of the Gods. Homunculus got him though. Glad you remembered Chad and that he's been infiltrating for a long time. I always loved his character back in C:KND. As for that question about the Flood... honestly, I was on the fence about letting them infect the Grimm. I think maybe since infecting bodies doesn't really break apart those bodies and keeps them functional enough that the Flood can use them to kill people, I was imagining that the Flood hadn't damaged the Grimm's bodies enough to break them apart into the dust that they destroy into in RWBY. It's tough sometimes incorporating different monsters, weapons, powers, and technologies from so many different worlds. I think with the way I've set up the Flood though, it really shows why everyone considers them so terrible when they have the power to infect pretty much every monster, Pokemon, and hero or villain we've seen. Anyway, lots of cool ideas for the Sith chapters. We know Gray's heading into the Emperor's territory, so we'll see how that turns out soon... We don't know enough about Sylar's past to say when he came to Nexus, but I guess just assume it was before then, or maybe after but he relapsed into his psycho tendencies as he did a few times during the show too even after it looked like he was getting better. Would Ruby's eyes work like that? I don't know. Is Misaka ready for Level 6 on her own though? Well, you got me thinking about it and I decided to show where she's at with that in this chapter during her fight scene. Izayoi has the power to cancel/destroy people's "Gifts," which somehow he and Misaka have worked out to him being able to stop her from losing it when she's powering up. Hope you liked that development! XD Thanks for the review, always like to discuss this stuff! 'Til next time everyone!