A/N Currently at a writer's conference in San Francisco. Figuring out how I might publish one of the novels I've been working on that are not fanfiction. Hoping I learn a lot and set myself up for a great career in the field!
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything! Support the official releases.
Nexus HWR 24.8 Chewed Out:
Resistance HQ
"70% losses among the clone troopers. 90% among the Jedi. Around half of the Tontatta, and 60% losses for the elves- including their leader Haldir whose evacuation vessel was blown up. The Poké squad lost 80%, possibly 100% if Skyla succumbs to her injuries, like her Togekiss did. The Black Knights lost 100%. An entire squadron of elite fighter pilots, all dead."
Gray stood in the middle of a circular room on the third floor of the surface building of Resistance Headquarters. Seven of the Resistance's Commanders sat around him, while the other three were also present but in the form of hologram images sitting on the empty chairs. A television on the east wall was also on with King Titus's appearance. Standing behind Titus were two others: the King's Chief Advisor Ignatius Alexius on his right, and on his left stood the third of Titus's King Vessels, Prince Nerva Julius Caluades.
Nerva shook his head with a scoff and an "I-told-you-so" smug expression that the Prince of Leam felt was very deserved hearing the losses the Resistance sustained. He had already said as much twice in this meeting.
"…Half of the portal users. Half of the espers," Jura Neekis continued to read off a report in his right hand that his fingers curled into as the losses just kept going. Gray tried to keep standing still, but his eyes squinted for a second. "Half," just means Knov and Teru. Making them numbers. They're not, and Jura doesn't think so either. Gray lowered his gaze when Jura looked back up and met his eyes again. He had to straighten back up though and accept what was being said, even as Jura went on, "40% of the two Elite Squads' already few remaining members, as well as most of our elven Resistance members who were vital in bringing in Haldir…"
Taizo Hori, Gray thought of the digger whose body he saw on the battlefield but unfortunately was left behind. Stormrage and Alleria, he thought of the elves who had been Resistance members and some of the strongest individuals in his army.
"The reinforcements who came to support you were all but wiped out," another Commander in the room like Jura added. Gray looked regretfully to Klaus V. Reinherz whose fierce expression just glared back at him under his dark red bangs. His eyes were impossible to see under a glare on his glasses, but Gray felt the anger coming off Klaus as he added, "Zapp Renfro would have been my recommendation for a role as General, or a Commander should I myself fall." Klaus paused for a second and then said in a lower tone, "Leonardo Watch almost died in the retreat as well. I suggested you take him despite how I believe that his All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods will be a vital power in ultimately defeating the Ant King. You left him undefended, and he nearly died, only surviving thanks to Blossom's decision to defy orders and fly Finral to the battlefield."
Death the Kid grumbled under his breath that she was given credit for that. He had been outvoted in the decision to punish her for her decision, as more of the Commanders accepted that the results justified her decision. Her explanation about the vampire civil war was shaky, at best, but it gave valid justification for her brief desertion of her post in the east.
"You also lost half our Special Operatives, and half of their mech squad partners," Kiryuin Satsuki scolded. Gray opened his pursed lips for a second but slammed them back shut. He had a question on the tip of his tongue, but it was not time to ask them anything. He was being chewed out. It was not a two-sided conversation. She glared at him for even opening his mouth for a second there. Kiryuin paused and then admitted, "Sagara Sousuke is in stable condition." Gray felt relieved to hear that. He suspected as much when she said only half of the mech squad was dead, as he knew Kurz and Belfangan had not made it. He also felt relieved that only half of the Spec Ops were dead, as he knew about Yoshino Somei and Yu Ominae, but he was unsure if Jean Jacquemonde had survived like Tea Flatte.
"With the loss of the Arbalest, the ECS technology is lost as well," Sasuke added. His voice was more calculating. "Next time they'll be able to lock on to any of our mechs using the tech, while at the same time we may struggle to target their vehicles if they find a way to reverse-engineer it into their vehicles."
"You should have made sure it was destroyed," Hiei's hologram scolded. The Commander visiting Sunagakure in the Resistance's northeast and protecting it after Gaara's death glared at the Fairy Tail mage who lost such valuable equipment. "Rather than fleeing, you should have given your life to destroy it."
"Hiei," Quon scolded in clear disagreement. "We are glad you survived," Quon shook his head.
"Yet with all those losses mentioned already," another hologram said softly. The softest spoken of the three female Commanders, the black-haired woman on the southeast border holding the line against Arachne shook her head. "The fact that you, and the two Elite Squad captains who you took with you…"
"The three highest ranked members of the Resistance taking part in the invasion survived while the majority of your force were wiped out," Yusuke Urameshi agreed louder. The last of the three Resistance Commanders calling in remotely as a hologram, Gray grit his teeth harder as a man he thought of as a friend scolded him for their survival. Yusuke snapped his head to the side and looked away himself as it felt weird criticizing Gray just for surviving, but he did not think he would have fled if he took part in the battle himself, even if he lost. "And it's not the first time with you," Yusuke added darkly.
Gray flinched. He turned to the hologram of Yusuke with wide eyes and opened his mouth this time. "Kuwabara was-" Yusuke glared back angrily that Gray said his name. "I didn't run when Delta Squad was taken down," Gray said quickly but then sealed his lips again as the Commanders mostly just glared at him for speaking up at all during this dressing down.
"And you were the last one on the battlefield from Leam's accounts," Lexa admitted. The other female Commander besides Kiryuin who was currently at Resistance HQ, she gave Gray credit for that much. His eyes shifted towards Leam's monitor where he saw Ignatius nod his head as he had seen that himself. "You stayed behind and guarded the retreat of your army despite your injuries. According to your men, you led from the front as well and took down many Sith including members we believe to be on the Sith Council."
"But you were the leader, not the tank," Jura scolded. Lexa liked fighting her enemies herself but nodded in agreement with the older bald-headed mage. Jura went on, "Fighting from the front is admirable, but it gives you a limited view of a battlefield and distracts you from command.'
Gray wanted to argue. He wanted to bring up that he only went to the front himself after his command ship had been taken down. He could have stayed back at the new command post though, so it was not much of an argument. He suspected Klaus would yell at him for abandoning Watch again if he mentioned that.
Around him sat the leaders of the Resistance. Two of the chairs in the room were empty even of holograms. Gray met the gazes of each of the ten surviving Commanders, considering Jon and Gaara's deaths which left unfilled positions. He looked around them all: Quon, Klaus, Jura, Sasuke, Hiei, Yusuke, Kiryuin, Lexa, Akame, and Death the Kid. Death the Kid spoke flatly when Gray met his gaze, "You lost Kid Cosmic." The other Kid who Gray thought of after looking at Death the Kid brought a sadness over the room as the leadership thought of the young child no longer among them.
"You used the MPC on a single Star Destroyer," Kiryuin added to Gray's mistakes. "You used it shortly after the battle began, when you could have had your Jedi teleported onto the ship to take it down or commandeer it instead. Rather than waste it so soon while the enemy had yet to bring their Sith forces to the battle."
"Especially after Master Yaddle warned you about Darth Nihilus before the battle. She said to save the MPC for him," Quon reminded the General.
Gray simply nodded and accepted in hindsight that he should have made that decision. Fubuki must have brought it up. It was only myself, Jakku, and her who were at that meeting with Yaddle. I don't think Jakku is the type. He felt it important to add though, in case Fubuki had left it out, "She also suggested that if all the Jedi fought together they could stop him, and they did-"
"At the cost of their own lives," he was countered harshly by Kiryuin.
Gray nor Kiryuin nor the other Commanders understood exactly what had happened with the Planet Eater. The Jedi were fighting him though and he was defeated. The exact details were hazy. The Jedi had been nearly wiped out though. Their loss was a crushing one for a Resistance that desperately needed experienced and powerful leaders that the Jedi almost all were.
The television on the west wall was also on and showed a small white mouse-like figure in a fancy white shirt and black vest. Principal Nezu had a long scar over his right eye but did not look a menacing figure. The little principal of the Hero School spoke up, "Captain Rex joined the battle knowing the risks." Gray turned to the school administrator who even smiled softly out at the young man they were being very harsh towards. "You did not leave him or any of your comrades behind, and that is admirable. You were the last one on the battlefield for the Resistance. Staying any longer would have been needlessly throwing your life away. Do not regret your survival."
Gray's lips pursed tightly and his eyes squinted for a moment as the principal called out his own inner thoughts. "Principal Nezu is correct," Quon agreed. "Gray, you are a valued member of the Resistance. What you and your comrades have done since your return to Aebrith has been nothing short of remarkable. You yourself defeated members of the Sith Council, adding to the one you already defeated in Darth Bane. Revan and Malgus. Among other Sith. Your skill as a fighter has definitely improved from when you were last on the continent." Quon sang Gray's praises, but only because what he was about to follow up with was going to be much harsher. "On the other hand, your leadership leaves much to be desired. I regret giving you command."
"Leadership is not easy. It is a responsibility," Quon reminded him. "Leading others means more than just taking it hard when they die. I can see that it weighs on you. Not one among us does not feel that same pain." Quon's words shook Gray out of his own self-loathing for a moment. He looked around and saw cold gazes from the other Commanders who had to harden themselves in order to be in this position. He was new at it, they were not. They were experienced in losing comrades. Sending friends to war and losing them. Still, Gray could see the pain in Jura's eyes, and the way that Yusuke's fists shook at his sides in the hologram.
"Regret does not absolve you," Hiei said in a dark voice. "If there was a next time, you would have needed to learn from this and do better. There won't be a next time though."
Quon nodded his head slowly as Gray looked from Hiei back to him. "You are hereby demoted. Your rank as General was dependent on your success in this mission. You will return that cloak and your hat," Quon added, as Gray was wearing the General outfit that he was bestowed before the mission for this commission. Gray reached up and unclasped the cloak. He removed his hat and lowered it down to his side, then he dropped it. "We gave you independent control over this mission's planning because you assured us that you would win. We needed to believe in something, and you and your comrades inspired the Resistance. We chose to believe in you. I did, when I signed off on this invasion. So it is on me as well," Quon accepted responsibility for Gray's failure. "And though my comrades did not accept my resignation," he went on. Gray's eyes widened huge as did Titus's on one monitor as they each heard for the first time that the Resistance's leader tried to resign over this failure.
"There is enough responsibility to go around," Quon continued. "You have been demoted and will return to Delta Squad in your old capacities as an Elite Squad member. Fubuki and Jakku have also been demoted and will be replaced by new captains of Kappa and Iota Squads. Your failures and the loss of your army are unacceptable to the Resistance."
Gray swallowed hard. He had questions. He had things he wanted to say, to get off his chest. He nodded though. He was demoted, reprimanded, and told to return to a squad that he knew barely existed. It's just Cloud, isn't it? That's what Hiei said at Pon-Gatso. That doesn't really matter right now. "I understand," Gray responded.
His tone was dark but accepting of the punishment. Hiei glared even harsher at him though that Gray would react this way just to what they were giving him. "I would have had you arrested and thrown in prison for your failure," Hiei said. Gray glanced at the spiky-haired demon who stared deep into Gray's eyes in an unforgiving way.
"But that was rejected, by everyone," Jura added on while giving Hiei a darker look this time.
"We are not going to arrest you for doing the best you could," Quon told the young mage who he did feel bad for, as he knew exactly how Gray felt already without Hiei needing to add anything else.
Even Klaus nodded his head in disagreement with Hiei and agreeing with Quon. "We could not fault you when you were acting under the assumption of false information about the Sith's fleet."
"As well as the long-range artillery that Tarkin had zoned in on the trenches, or the hidden fourth line of defense," Quon added on top of that. "Our intel was severely lacking."
"Yet you needed to take into account that it may have been inaccurate," Sasuke countered the others. "Expecting the unexpected and having contingencies is also a part of leading." Itachi always had a hundred backup plans. Only the Ant King was ever a step ahead of him, Sasuke thought and bit down himself in anger as he pictured his fallen brother.
"You tried your best," Kiryuin stated. "But it is clear that your best was not good enough," she tilted her head back and stared down her nose at the boy.
"You will go join Cloud and take part in the fight against Father," Jura informed Gray. "Some of your comrades: Franky, Usopp, Sanji, as well as Natsu Dragneel, are already on their way there with Alpha Squad. Join them and fight as a foot soldier in an Elite Squad again. It is where you are needed now."
Gray was hesitant. He nodded at what Jura was telling him though. What about Juvia? I need to ask. "And, Juvia?" Gray asked. Before he had even left Resistance HQ to the forward staging base of his invasion, the girls and Timmy had already disappeared from Resistance HQ. So had others in his group, but Juvia was the one that mattered most to him.
A few of the Commanders glared at Gray for asking questions right now instead of just obeying quietly. Yusuke responded before anyone could criticize him though, "She came to one of our bases out east with a few of the others in your group. They went to the Magic Kingdom. Finral, one of Gamma's members who got your army out of there, used his portals to help them get north."
"What- why would…" Gray trailed off. His Commanders were glaring at him. Yusuke had a dark expression on his face though that Gray could read even through the hologram. Yusuke thought of what Hiroomi had reported about the group who he sent north. Gray's heart rate started speeding up at that look of uneasiness on Urameshi Yusuke's face. He saw the knowing look in Hiei's eyes too.
"They were looking for the Library," Yusuke responded to what Gray started to ask.
"You are dismissed, Gray Fullbuster," Quon interrupted. There was a meeting that needed to continue between the Commanders, Nezu, and Titus, but Gray was no longer needed for the rest of that meeting. Quon did not want someone else shouting at him first either, so he dismissed Gray and motioned towards the doors.
Gray turned and moved for the exit. His breath had already hitched though. Why would they go so deep into the Cooperative? I know. I know why. I pretended like it wasn't a problem. Even when she nearly killed Yonji. I tried to ignore it rather than face it! Because, I didn't want to believe that what we did could possibly have been a bad thing. It saved Juvia!
Gray left the room and closed the door behind him. He gasped out a breath and hyperventilated in the hallway for so many reasons. his demotion, the loss of his army, and the understanding of why his friends had gone deep into the enemy's territory. It's the Lazarus Pit. Hiei knew. Yusuke's expression, Juvia was acting strange. She's not alright. As much as I told her that everything was fine, there were side effects! Killua's dad warned us! I didn't listen.
"Juvia," Gray whispered hoarsely. Invading the Sith? Losing my life on the battlefield? What was I thinking?! What would she have done if I did that? Juvia? The thought scared Gray. The dependency she had on him had never scared him more than this moment. He knew just how close he was to throwing his life away. The Commanders gave him credit for not leaving the battlefield until all of his comrades had been evacuated, but Gray knew the truth that he did not bother explaining to them. I didn't do it intentionally. I was disoriented. I had no idea where my men were. I could have been abandoning them for all I knew. I flew away on Articuno and didn't learn that my men had escaped until after I was back at my base.
Juvia has been obsessed for a long time, but I love her. I love her, and I know that if I died… It would kill her. That's not unique to her though, Gray reminded himself. He reminded himself of just how lost he was when he lost her. It was a jarring reminder, as he saw himself in Terra Base about to cut Kirito's throat. I was so desperate to save her that I ignored the warnings and brought her back with the first method I could find. I could have searched elsewhere. I could have gone to the Library myself to find another way! Instead, I put a curse on her. A bloodlust that she has to sate-
The doors behind Gray opened back up. He jolted with a start and spun around with huge eyes and still taking heavy rapid breaths. Jura stared in surprise and stopped moving so quickly as he was going to try and catch up with Gray before he got too far. Jura glanced behind him and saw a few Commanders looking out and frowning, but he just closed the doors behind him and walked up to Gray's side. "Jura," Gray started hoarsely, then coughed a few times to find his voice that cracked when he spoke up.
"Walk with me," Jura said. His arms were held together in front of his chest with both hands slid into the opposite sleeves of his beige robe. Gray turned as Jura walked by him and then jogged for a second to catch up and start walking with the taller man who had longer strides than Gray.
"I'm sorry, Jura," Gray started as they reached the elevators at the end of the long hallway the pair walked down. "I should have-"
"Enough of that," Jura interrupted and removed a hand from his sleeve to make a stop motion with his palm. "I am not here to criticize you. I simply wish to talk."
Gray bit down but nodded acceptingly after a moment. "About what?" Gray asked.
The two of them stepped into the elevator. Jura pressed a button for a floor far down in the deep HQ basement, and Gray did not have a destination in mind himself so he did not press any other button. "That arrogant Leam Prince is the very reason why we did not give them control over the mission in the first place. He is wrong when he says that it would have gone differently under them. The only difference is that their initial force would have been the ones caught off guard when they discovered that their initial information was wrong. They also would not have had the head's up about Darth Nihilus that you received before the battle."
Gray nodded along solemnly. Even with Yaddle's warning though, it did little to help them. He agreed that Leam would have been worse off without the Jedi, however. "Quon's decision to bring in Leam was a difficult one. A deal was made to give the land to Leam so that it would not get pushed back by the Emperor, but even that was a trick by Leam who abandoned the territory we gave them all the way back to the Anduin without even trying to fight and hold it." Jura was frustrated at the decision Leam had made. He paused though and took in a deep breath, "Or perhaps, I am wrong. And perhaps Leam only made that choice after seeing the difficulty of trying to hold those sectors."
"Muu Alexius parlayed with Sidious after you and your army left the battle," Jura described. "Maybe it wasn't his goal from the start to abandon those lands. I think he just did not want to risk severe damage to his fleet by remaining on the battlefield. Or maybe there was concern that the Sith still held even more of their Star Destroyers back, as they sent wave after wave in. Until we have better intel, it is not worth taking on the Emperor and his unknowns."
Better intel, like a Sith on the inside, Gray thought. He shook his head around though. Stan's not some double agent. He's an actual Sith Lord who just happens to be a friend. "Romeo Conbolt," Gray said in a low voice. Jura glanced sideways at Gray and rose his eyebrows in surprise at the name he just mentioned. Gray was about to explain who he was too, but Jura seemed to know already which surprised him.
"An Exceed and member of your guild, Panther Lily. He asked me to keep an eye out," Jura mentioned. He looked curiously at Gray and wondered, "Did you find him?"
Gray was unsure. He wondered why Lily never brought up Romeo in the past. Did he think Romeo was dead? He and Gajeel had a falling out before he was enslaved, so I didn't see him much after we freed him. Was he really looking for Romeo, all this time? "I may have," Gray answered Jura after a moment. He hesitated and did not know how to explain Stan or why he would trust the word of a Sith that Romeo was at the Order of the Sith. It would sound too ridiculous.
"I hope you do find him," Jura said with a soft smile at the younger mage. "I have other good news that you will want to hear," Jura continued. The elevator dinged and they reached the floor that Jura was heading to. Gray walked out with him and looked curiously at the former member of the 10 Wizard Saints from his world. "It's about Delta Squad." Jura led Gray down a connecting hallway to the one with the elevators and pressed his hand into a scanner outside of a sliding white door on the wall. They were in a normal narrow hallway of the barracks, and Gray glanced into the room in surprise to see that the Commander lived in a small studio apartment in Resistance HQ.
Jura did not tell Gray to follow him inside, but he was not staying in there for long. Jura picked up some papers off his desk and walked back to the open doorway that Gray stood in. He held out the papers that Gray took from him and looked down at with eyes growing huge as he recognized all four of the faces on the wanted posters. "They escaped?" Gray wondered in disbelief. "From the Capital?"
"They may be the first ones who ever have," Jura replied and chuckled as he said so. "Which explains each of their hundred million dollar bounties." Gray nodded his head dumbly while reading off the huge $100,000,000 number at the bottom of all four posters. He smiled too when he looked past Maka, Liz, and Soul's posters, stopping on King's. King of the Seven Deadly Sins had the name "Harlequin" on his poster rather than his nickname that the Sins used, as did Gray when he used to meet up with them.
"Do we know where Soul and the others are?" Gray wondered while handing back the posters. Jura held up a palm though which suggested to Gray that they were his to keep. Gray hesitated but nodded in appreciation and then folded up the posters to pocket and take with him.
"Not yet," Jura replied. "However, with bounties like those on their heads, we can assume they have not been killed or caught. Otherwise, it would have been reported." Gray nodded and felt relieved. If they could find out where Soul was so easily, then the Cooperative could have found him even better. He knew firsthand just how lacking their own information network was in comparison.
A nagging feeling tugged at Gray's chest even as he thought about his relief at learning that Soul had escaped from the Capital. "It's, great that they escaped," Gray said. He did not sound all that thrilled though. Jura stared at him and saw where Gray's mind was. He opened his mouth to tell Gray something encouraging about his new mission, but the ice mage before him curled his right hand into a shaking fist while biting down in a pained way so frustrated and regretful.
Gray looked darker than ever. Soul is alive! The thought should have made him feel so much better. It did nothing to help. Seeing Cloud again, I know he'll just blame me for not coming back sooner. Soul, Liz, Maka, I'm glad they're alright. King too. But, I can't even feel excited about that. Or about the friends I traveled here with. Not while Juvia is suffering. I should have chased after her when she left with the girls. I put the war before her.
"Your invasion was not for nothing," Jura told the mage who looked back in surprise. Jura did not know exactly what was on Gray's mind and got it wrong in his assumption, but his words did shake Gray out of it a little. Gray's face scrunched up, as it felt exactly like it was all for nothing. Jura shook his head though in a way telling him he was not just saying so to make Gray feel better and that Gray misunderstood him. "Teru," Jura told the dark-looking mage before him who winced at the name of his fallen comrade. "He destroyed what we now believe to be half of the entire Sith fleet. Maybe fewer than half of the Destroyers, but he nearly wiped out the Sith's fighter aircraft in his last stand."
"It will take the Sith a long time to rebuild all of their fighters and carriers," Jura continued with no doubt in his own voice. Gray looked away though. It was a small consolation. "The death of Moff Gideon will also have an effect on the strength of the Sith's eastern regions."
"Moff Pandion has already taken over the eastern governorship," Gray countered. Valco Pandion was a Moff known to both of the mages. Gray had looked into all of the Emperor's forces who might arrive on the battlefield. Moff Pandion was a successful administrator who governed over the rich lands of Camelot, Narnia, and the Reach, former Resistance kingdoms taken over by Byakuran's Millefiore Famiglia, before the Sith turned on and conquered them too. "He'll run it better than Gideon."
"Several other Lords were also killed during the battle," Jura reminded Gray. "Sith and otherwise."
"But Pre Visla escaped back to Elvengard," Gray growled frustratedly, his right fist clenching even tighter at the mention of the traitorous Mandalorian.
"Yet Queen Azshara was killed," Jura countered Gray's pessimism.
"And Sylvanus Windrunner swept in and took her position as Queen," Gray retorted right away. "After killing her sister Alleria, and proving her allegiance," he added in a dark voice with a thought of his powerful elvish comrade who fell. He had seen Vereesa since the battle too, but she would not speak a word to him, or to anyone for that matter. "The Emperor's elves are still under the control of a strong leader who stands against us."
"But the Planet Eater is no more," Jura added. Gray could counter him all he wanted with the others, but this one could not be denied as a great victory. "One of the most powerful Sith and a key reason why the invasion failed, according to yourself and others' reports. Darth Nihilus's destruction is a key victory."
"But-" Gray cut himself off. He tried to just accept this one. He ground his teeth and seethed out though, "But we didn't even know Nihilus was that much of a threat until this invasion started. The power we thought the Sith had before this, and the power we think they have now, hasn't changed. The only difference is that instead of 4 Star Destroyers, they probably have nine or ten."
"Then at the very least, we've seen the gap in our information network," Jura relented. Gray was not accepting the small victories, and he could not force Gray to see it a different way. He let the younger man know though, "We now have a better idea of how quickly the Sith can construct their Star Destroyers. We know that the Sith and the Organization are not at odds with one another. We know that many of the most powerful Sith have fallen, and we have seen how they respond against a large invasion force. We also know what it takes to draw out Sidious and his Super Star Destroyer, and that the Sith are willing to deploy him all the way to the border to prevent even an inch of territory from falling. We know far more now than we did before."
"And that makes it worth it?" Gray asked.
Jura did not respond. Gray looked down at the floor. Jura would not say that. Gray would not say that. It was all useful information, but they should have had better ways of finding all that information than sending an army at the Emperor and seeing how he would respond. "All of the 'victories' came at too high a cost. Unacceptable losses," Gray declared.
Jura could not deny it. He thought about the youngest of Gray's forces who had fallen and was reminded of his own recent visit to the Hero School. He reminded himself how he needed to return to that school in a few weeks for their 100 student graduating class, a day that he dreaded every single night and kept him awake into the late hours. They have one less teacher to train those 100 students, now that Captain Rex is dead. Tiplee will recover, though she is also out of commission for the moment. "Find a way to rationalize those losses," Jura finally responded to the despondent younger man before him. "You will need to do so if you ever plan to lead again. You are demoted, but I do believe that not all decisions you made were wrong. It was, unfortunate, the way things went."
Gray shook his head but decided not to argue with Jura anymore. "I'm sorry," he just apologized. "I should never have accepted the promotion. I… I'm no leader, Jura." Gray turned from the towering man who watched him walk away back for the hall to the elevators. Jura stayed in his own doorway, as he needed rest himself. He lifted the corners of his lips a small amount at the dark way in which Gray Fullbuster carried himself. It was the kind of way only someone who cared so much would carry themselves after such a defeat. You may not think so, Jura thought after the Fairy Tail mage. But I believe you will lead again.
Lower down in the headquarters's basement than Jura's apartment's floor, a large number of Gray's forces had been evacuated all the way to HQ to be treated at the main base of the Resistance. Not everyone had been brought all the way back. Some soldiers were stationed at the new border between Resistance-controlled territory (what was left of it), and the new southwestern region of Leam that Muu Alexius's sister Myron had been put in charge of fortifying and stationing troops in. The entire Kappa and Iota Squads had been brought back to Resistance HQ for debriefing though, as had the remaining Jedi.
Jakku walked by the infirmary door. He did not go inside, but he was not walking by on accident, as much as it appeared to be the case. His eyes did a quick dart to the window that gave him an angle towards a bed that one of Kappa's surviving members lay on. Still there. Still alive. All he needed to see.
Inside the infirmary, more members of Iota were gathered than just their wounded. Rufus Lore placed a hand on the shoulder of the red-skinned Togruta warrior he was speaking to who nodded back in gratitude for his kind words. The Sabertooth mage walked away from Ahsoka Tano who looked back down at other similarly red female Jedi laying still on an infirmary bed before her. A short elderly woman sat on a stool next to that bed and was closely looking over Tiplee's semi-sealed wound. Recovery Girl wiped her brow then spun her stool and rolled it to the next bed over.
Ahsoka looked away from Master Tiplee. The Hero School had sent their school nurse to Resistance HQ to help their badly wounded teacher but also the other wounded from the battle. Ahsoka stepped closer to the bed the younger girl missing her right arm from her empty shoulder socket down. Yaz flinched away when Recovery Girl tried to turn her on her side to get a better look. The old nurse whispered something soft to the girl who flinched again but slowly turned onto her left side so Recovery Girl could examine her.
Ahsoka opened her mouth. She hesitated. I barely know Yasmina. I saved her for Serra's sake. That's enough. Ahsoka looked away. "Nn-snf, nnn," Ahsoka's eyes squinted. She heard the pained whimpering and sniffles of the girl who just lost her master. Does she have anyone else in the world? Did, Stan? Ahsoka thought of the kid who had screamed in rage when Anakin asked what he was doing on the battlefield. "I did it, for you. Because he KILLED you! GIN!"
Ahsoka had seen the pained look of her own master at the time. They knew that Nihilus's influence was making the Dark Side stronger, and Anakin stopped that Sith Lord to free his apprentices. Yet Ahsoka knew that Stan was already with the Sith before the Planet Eater had been released. "HAAA! I hate him!" He loved Anakin, and losing him twisted him to the Dark Side. If I just leave this girl here, would I be condemning her to the same fate?
Ahsoka sighed. I don't owe you this much, Serra. But, Ahsoka looked back to the one-armed girl. I'll at least continue training her in your stead, for now. Ahsoka walked over and sat down on the edge of Yaz's bed. She reached a hand to the girl's face and brushed the Padawan braid back to tuck it behind Yaz's ear. Yasmina's watery eyes opened up. The girl glared angrily through blurry vision at the woman who sat next to her and touched her braid that Serra had helped her tie. Ahsoka just looked back into those eyes though and waited as the anger and hatred filling them was overtaken again by sadness, and Ahsoka kept her hand softly on the girl to just let her know that she was there.
Rufus walked back over to the hospital beds that his comrades lay on. Another doctor in the room who had been called back to HQ for this carefully lifted up Metal Bat's right arm. The muscular man with bandages wrapped all around his torso and both arms pulled his right arm back from the short furry doctor's grasp. "Stop that, stop, stop I said," the doctor complained over and over as Metal Bat moved his arm up, down, and up again to stop the pesky doctor who kept checking on him. "STOP!" The little doctor in a blue and pink hat buffed up and grew over six feet tall. He slammed a palm into Metal Bat's chest and pinned him to the bed which also pushed all the air out of Metal Bat's chest.
"Careful, Doctor T.," Rufus laughed as he walked closer to the bed. "Haha, just let the doc get a good look at you," Rufus scolded with a big smile at the sight of Metal Bat getting manhandled. The injured hero was flipped over as the shape-shifting doctor with antlers sticking off his head checked on more of his wounds.
"Ugh, enough already," Metal Bat stopped struggling but complained at his doctor who was treating his wounds as worse than he felt they were.
"How is your wound, Rufus?" Dr. T wondered to the mage who lifted his shirt and rubbed around the bandage on his lower right side. The blaster shot that hit him during the retreat went straight through his back and out his front. Rufus smiled though and gave a thumbs up to the doctor who helped bandage him early that morning. "Good," the doctor said with a relaxed sigh.
"Doctor Tony," a cheerful voice greeted near the entrance of the infirmary.
"Ah! There you are!" Dr. T transformed back into his small form only three feet tall and ran over to look up at the pair who just entered. He smiled at the boy with shiny blue eyes behind his orange goggles. Leonardo had greeted him, and Dr. T only looked him over once before looking back at the woman who he shouted at when he saw them enter the room. "What are you doing up? You need to lay back down," he reached a paw up and held her hand, leading her back to an empty infirmary bed.
Fubuki pulled her hand from the little doctor's grasp. He spun to her and frowned that she did so, "I'm fine," she argued. He crossed his arms with a pout and narrowed his gaze up at her.
"I'd do what he says," Rufus warned.
A bead of sweat rolled down Fubuki's face. She had seen this doctor in a giant muscular form pinning down Metal Bat a second ago, and she knew what Rufus was warning her. She pretended like she was not worried about that, however she did walk over to the empty bed next to Metal Bat's and sat on the edge of it. "I'm not that hurt," she countered the doctor as he climbed up and started examining her. "How, are you?" She wondered to her squadmate and a man from her own world who glanced her way and then slid himself up on his bed into a sitting position with his back on the headboard. "Good," she said as Metal Bat seemed fine enough to move around.
Fubuki's gaze lowered to her feet dangling off the bed. She thought of the harsh meeting she just had with her fellow squad captain and the boy with her now. Commander Klaus had high expectations for Leonardo, and his All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods had not been enough to see the Sith's counterattacks coming. She and Jakku got it much worse than Leonardo did though. Three quarters of our forces were wiped out, but the General, Jakku and I, we all survived.
"Bravery is not enough. Leadership is about more than bravery and power," She thought of Commander Sasuke Uchiha's cold stare at them that she had to look away from even if Jakku met it. Sasuke had bit down himself after scolding them, as he wished he had been out there in the battle to fight on the front lines too. Fubuki saw that he wondered if things would have been different if it were him there rather than them. She saw that most of the Commanders wished they had sent others for this task. We failed. We failed completely.
"Will we, be getting any replacements?" Rufus wondered to the two who he figured just came from an important meeting. Radagast, Rufus thought, and his other comrades thought of the old wizard too.
Metal Bat thought of their comrade in Iota who stayed behind for them. He thought of others as well though. He wondered if the girl from Zapp's reinforcements might be strong enough to join an Elite Squad. Thea, or maybe Jo. She was a hero in the interior, but without Kid Cosmic, he wondered about the teenager who he reminded himself he needed to go check up on, wherever she was. If I was a little faster, Metal Bat thought frustratedly. He had been close to them when he heard Jo scream out Kid's name. Metal Bat's fists clenched furiously at his sides at the thought of Kid Cosmic's body and the taunting tone of that Sith Lord, Darth Tenebrous.
The General betrayed us, Metal Bat's eyes were full of hate. He remembered snarling at Tenebrous during their fight, "You Sith like to talk. Try to get in our heads-" "Like Darth Bane was able to get in Gray Fullbuster's?" He remembered countering back at the Sith,"The General killed Darth Bane," and Tenebrous's response, "Is that what he told you?" The Sith mess with us, but there was something else. Something about the way he said it.
That Fullbuster supposedly vanishes from the face of the planet for months then reappears and takes control of an army that gets wiped out, Metal Bat snarled at the idea of it. It's fishy. Tenebrous was getting in my head, but was he making it all up? Or did Darth Bane influence Gray? Lead him- and us, into a trap?
"Do you really think you can defeat the Emperor?" Tenebrous had thrown him off his game. He may have crushed the Sith Lord's skull in the end, but Tenebrous's words stayed with him long after his death. "His machinations are far beyond your understanding. Beyond my own…"
"None they told us about," Fubuki responded to Rufus's question about new squadmates. "Kappa needs them more."
The others winced. They glanced over to the one injured member in the infirmary who was still unconscious. Then they thought of the others, Taizo Hori, Teru, Knov, all dead. Their corpses left on the battlefield, just like Radagast's. "In that case," Rufus continued quickly, as they would spend enough time mourning as it was. "What's our next move, Captain?" He wondered if Fubuki had more orders for them.
Fubuki said nothing though. She turned her head and looked to Metal Bat who she raised her eyebrows at. Leonardo turned that way too, and Rufus turned in confusion and then stared with wide eyes as even Metal Bat turned away in annoyance at their looks. "You- wait, what?" Rufus looked back and forth and slowly came to the realization that everyone else already knew about this change in their squad's leadership.
"Unlike Kappa who will be getting a new captain from outside their squad, the Commanders have decided on Baddo," Leonardo told Rufus while the former and new captains stayed quiet about the matter.
Fubuki could not argue with the decision after her total failure in the invasion. Metal Bat grumbled under his breath about the decision too. It wasn't Fubuki's fault. He had not been happy about being on a squad under a captain who on their world was only a B-tier hero to him as an S-tier. Still, he did not feel he deserved this promotion at her expense, when it was the General's plan that led them into the catastrophe.
"They told us to recover our strength first," Metal Bat muttered. "But I'm ready to go. Let's get back out there."
A sparkling red glint flashed in the corner of Metal Bat's eyes. He darted a look over and down at the little reindeer doctor who glared back at him with an evil glint. Dr. Tony pulled a needle out of a red fanny pack on his side that had a white cross in the center of it. The doctor pressed on the needle pump and made sedative liquid squirt out the needle as a warning to Metal Bat not to move. The hero eased back into his bed. I'll have to slip away when the doc's not looking.
I heard that, Dr. Tony thought back at the hero whose eyes bulged as somehow he felt like the furry doctor knew exactly what he was thinking.
Ahsoka felt something in the Force and glanced over towards the infirmary doors. She saw another Jedi Master standing there who motioned her over with his head. She looked back at Yaz and brushed her hair out of her face again which caused Yaz to lift her eyes that had less tears in them now to meet Ahsoka's gaze. The older woman had been telling Yaz about what they were going to do next, and she stood back up from Yaz's bedside. "We'll get you fitted for a prosthetic tomorrow. Then, we continue your training. Get some sleep for now, Yasmina."
Yaz pursed her lips and turned away again from the older Jedi. It hurt to speak. It hurt to move. It hurt to even consider moving on right now and still fighting. Ahsoka knew the teenage girl would not get over it so quickly. She had her work cut out for her. For now though, she wanted Yaz to rest.
Ahsoka walked across the room and past the small group of Iota members discussing their next moves. They were not the only ones getting ready to keep fighting. She exited the infirmary and stepped into the hall where Jedi Master Zhar Lestin stood with a pair of clones. Echo was no longer wearing the blue highlights of an ARC trooper. Instead, he wore the black and red armor of a member of the Bad Batch. "You're taking over for Hunter?" Ahsoka wondered as soon as she saw him.
Echo was surprised she figured that out so quickly. "I am," he replied.
Cody did not have on his usual white and yellow-highlighted armor either. He instead wore blue-highlighted gear with a shoulder pad sticking out that reminded Ahsoka of another. "Captain," Ahsoka greeted. Not all of those involved in the mission had been demoted. Cody winced though heard the title that belonged to the man who he started wearing his armor like. "It looks good on you," Ahsoka mentioned. Cody did not have his helmet on, and he looked down at the armor that made him look more like Rex had.
"I am sorry, Ahsoka," the Jedi in the group of three apologized. "For my shameful display on the battlefield," the Twi'lek Jedi Master continued. Zhar Lestin shook his head and said quietly, "I was just, so fearful that I would again be devoured by the Planet Eater. "
"It's hard facing one's death, and it's nothing to be ashamed of," Ahsoka replied and shook her head at Zhar for apologizing for that. He opened his mouth to continue but she spoke quicker to cut him off and end the conversation there, "The Emperor has moved quickly since our retreat. He wishes to keep us or Leam from capitalizing on their weakness."
"What weakness?" Cody muttered. She frowned at him but he lifted his gaze from his armor and replied to her look, "I'm right, you know? They're stronger than we knew. Stronger now than we believed they were before the invasion."
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Ahsoka countered. She looked to Master Zhar who nodded his head in agreement. "With the Planet Eater gone, the Sith really are weaker now. He was the Emperor's secret weapon. Not the hidden fleet. By not using Nihilus in his previous battles with the Resistance, the Resistance- and even most of us from his world, were unaware of Nihilus's true strength. If only we had all listened to you, Master."
"I could have been more convincing," Zhar Lestin disagreed this time and shook his head. "As an eyewitness to Nihilus's horrors."
"But that is in the past now," Ahsoka moved on. "Now, we must focus on the tough fight ahead. Our war against the Emperor is not over because of one defeat. Even if that defeat has cost the lives of most of our Jedi."
Ahsoka turned and walked from the infirmary that she glanced to quickly and through the window on the door. She motioned for the others to follow. The three sped-walked up to Ahsoka's side as she moved away from potential prying ears. "The Emperor is making moves so fast because there is weakness in his ranks now," she countered Cody's argument. He thought about that and admitted that it made sense that there would be more urgency to the Emperor's actions if they were truly in trouble. "That haste has led them to be sloppy," she continued.
"How so?" Echo asked.
Ahsoka paused and glanced around again. She made sure no one else was watching. Then she looked carefully at the three walking with her, and she decided to trust each of them with something that only the Commanders, a few recently deceased Jedi, and her dead friend Rex had known. "I have heard that Moff Pandion has been announced as Gideon's replacement in the east of the Emperor's territory. Thrawn's right hand, Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, brought Moff Pandion to Gideon's old command city of Theed. He's quickly replacing the leadership loyal to Gideon with his own officers and restructuring their eastern defenses."
"In a day," Echo said disappointedly with a shake of his head. "They move fast. Too fast."
"Like they knew Gideon would die," Cody muttered darkly.
"Or maybe it was just a contingency they had, or maybe they really do just move on that quickly," Ahsoka countered the other two with more possibilities. "Gideon had a taste for the classical architecture of Naboo, with its river passageways and grand pillars, colorful domes, and giant towers. Theed also has a labyrinth underneath it with a sewer system and escape routes for Imperial leadership should the eastern borderlands have fallen to a rapid Resistance advance."
"I didn't hear anything about that," Cody said in surprise to Ahsoka's information. He looked to Echo and Zhar to see if either of the others had, but both looked confused as well by Ahsoka's intel. "When did you learn this?"
"Last night, shortly after Moff Pandion arrived at Theed," Ahsoka replied. Her comrades were starting to catch on to what she was saying and stared at her in shock at what she was suggesting. "Pellaeon's Star Destroyer never made an appearance in the battle, hopefully the only one in their fleet held in reserve. They remained in the north under orders from Moff Pandion who feared a secondary advance by Leam or by us while the first attack came in their southeast."
"Our battle plans had us avoiding Theed because of the impressive defenses there that surpass even the Sith stronghold at Rivendell. If we had gone to take out Gideon's command structure though, if the Moff himself did not come to greet us at the border, Gideon and his followers would have been able to slip away in that underground labyrinth before we knew what was happening." Ahsoka paused and added, "After the Chimaera arrived in Theed though, Admiral Pellaeon's Star Destroyer that delivered Moff Pandion to his new capital, we now know about the labyrinth system below the city and just how we might be able to sneak in for future missions. Assassinations. Invasions. Extractions of personnel or information."
Cody opened his mouth but wondered if he should ask. If he did, and he was captured at one point, he feared that the enemy would be able to rip that information from him. Even what he already knew based on context clues was enough that Ahsoka's man on the inside might be at risk. So he refrained from asking the spy's name. Ahsoka continued, "A skirmish took place during our retreat as Pellaeon took the initiative to attack northern Leam border posts while Leam's fleet was still in the south over the Emperor's territory. They killed many of Leam's border guards in retaliation for Leam's reinforcement of our army."
"Muu Alexius probably heard about the Sith launching a counterattack to the north," Ahsoka theorized. "It's part of what led him to so quickly end hostilities with Sidious and retreat. And this is Pandion's reward. He is a clever shrewd man. However, it is lucky that it was Pandion who was given this post."
"You have, an Imperial Moff as a…" Echo trailed off as Ahsoka shook her head.
"No," Ahsoka replied. "But Pellaeon's Chimaera that escorted Pandion has stayed with him in the east to replace Moff Gideon's fallen Star Destroyer. Our luck is that Admiral Pellaeon came with him rather than Gallius Rax, or Rae Sloane. Either Admiral could have just as easily been posted there. Pellaeon will patrol the Emperor's eastern territory, which means that the Vice Admirals also on his ship are now patrolling that territory as well. Vice Admiral Pryde is a cruel and vicious leader of the First Order who rose after the Empire's fall. The other, however, died in our universe when Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star with him on board. He was an Admiral during the Clone Wars who I became very close with."
"He fought for the Empire all the way until his death?" Zhar wondered hesitantly about the man.
"He did. On our world, he never redeemed himself. On this world though, I found him first. I spoke with him of the error of his past, and I convinced Wullf Yularen to join the Light Side." Cody's eyes lit up and the clone trooper grinned after hearing the name. Echo also nodded along. He liked Yularen.
Ahsoka hesitated but then continued softly, "As a former ISB officer though- Empire intelligence," she specified to Zhar who was not as accustomed to terms from their time period. "And a supposed confidant of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Resistance leadership are very suspicious of him now. Even I…" she paused but continued firmly, "I have to suspect him. Our lack of intel on the Sith's true capabilities put his loyalty into question. But, I also know that even the likes of Moff Gideon were apparently kept in the dark about much of the Emperor's power and Tarkin's defenses. There's a reason why our intel was so incomplete. The Sith kept much from their own men."
"It is not that my spy is a double agent, it it just that Thrawn, Tarkin, Sidious, and the Emperor are too cautious to risk a spy getting in the way of their plans," Ahsoka said in a tone convinced that she was right about that. She was re-convinced of it after her conversation with the man last night on their secure line. "They made many mistakes in our universe that they don't plan to repeat here," she finished.
"What can we do with the new intel?" Cody wondered. "Planning a hit on the new Moff?"
"No," Ahsoka replied with a shake of her head. "While Pandion is an asset to the Empire, the intel we can gather from Yularen's proximity to him is better than just a chance at killing him alone. An opportunity will present itself though. Pandion's old position kept him in the north primarily focused on issues with the Organization. Now, he's much closer. And when the time comes, the gates to his command city will open wide for us without a fight."
"An open gate to the west," Cody mused. He glanced at Echo who nodded back. A day after their retreat, but they had survived. That meant they had a duty to those who laid down their lives to protect their escape.
The Sith may have won the day, but nothing was over.
"I'm sorry, Jura," Gray whispered under his breath. His cold breath was visible in front of his face but blew past either side of his head and back behind him as he raced to the northeast on the back of a hover-speeder bike. This time, I really am going AWOL. They ordered me to go help Natsu and Gajeel and the teams facing off against Father. Cloud is up there. My orders are there. I can't go.
None of that matters to me, Gray thought. He had reached out to Yusuke before he left Resistance HQ. He did not tell the Resistance Commander his intentions, but he could tell that Yusuke figured him out before they ended the call. "I don't blame you. If… If Keiko were alive and in that state, I'd do the same thing."
There's only one thing that matters right now, Gray thought. Frustration over this was as strong as his frustration at his failure against the Emperor. I knew something was wrong! She went to try and fix it, and I'm not there to help her. Gray twisted the accelerator on his handlebars back farther to speed up into dangerous territory. His bike kicked up dust below him and then shot off another hundred miles per hour faster. "Brr-rr-rr-rr," Gray's lips flapped in the wind and made him duck his head down farther to be perfectly centered behind the wind screen above the front of his speeder. Anyone else on the speeder would have had to be wearing heavy clothes and still would have been freezing. The sky was overcast, thick clouds hovering overhead that he thought might start snowing any second. The ice mage barely felt it though.
With Natsu, Cloud, and Alpha and Lambda all there, they won't need me. She does. I'm sorry, Jura, everyone, Gray apologized again to his Commanders. He had last talked to Jura in a conversation about how he was going to get to the northern base behind enemy lines that Alpha and Natsu were on their way towards. That was for nothing though. He already made up his mind. I wonder if you'll still think I'm a leader after this. I know I'm not, Gray reminded himself. I won't make that mistake again.
I was a fool for trying to lead, he scolded himself. I got Juvia killed last time I led a group. I split off from Luffy and got her killed. My judgement led me to betray Kirito. It led me to lose so many Resistance lives. Even if Cartman granted my wish, I doubt a victory for the Resistance would ever come under my leadership. So I'll follow for now on. Follow Sora. Follow Juvia, he looked longingly into the distance where he knew his girlfriend to be. I can't use Finral to teleport me up there. I can't drag him into my insubordination. I owe him too much as it is already, saving my army's remnants.
The war does not come ahead of her. Gray was disobeying orders and could be badly punished for this. He had no hesitation though as he raced away from the base that people would start looking for him in before long. I should have chased after her when she left with the girls and Timmy. I should have ditched the mission to go after her. I put the war before her though. I won't ever make that mistake again. If you haven't found any help at the Library, I'll scour the world with you and find someone who can save you.
I swear it, Juvia. I'll never leave your side again.
So please, please be alright.
A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Gray gets chewed out by the Resistance Commanders this chapter as do Fubuki and Jakku off screen, though all three are demoted. Gray is ordered north to join the fight against Father but leaves instead to go find Juvia who we saw during the last arc get to the Library in the Magic Kingdom. The Gray Invasion arc is just about finished. One more short chapter to come out soon, and luckily, I've actually got the next 4 chapters all completed already. ;) Get ready for some quick updates. I realize that I should've added some lists in the past few chapters for how many characters were being introduced to the story for the first time, so below I'll be posting a full list of all the characters I can remember from this arc. If you were wondering who everybody was, check below!
Character list for all of chapter 24:
Star Wars: ...Everyone. Every character in Star Wars. XD
Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero
Camp Cretaceous: Yasmina
South Park: Butters, Stan, Cartman
Fairly Oddparents: Juandissimo
Portal: GLaDOS
One Punch Man: Metal Bat, Tatsumaki, Fubuki
God of War/ Norse mythology: Níðhöggr
Red vs Blue: Mayan (York), Roman (North Dakota), Mongol (Maine), Viken (Washington), Tucker, Church (Alpha and Epsilon AI), Tex/Cleo (Beta AI), Delta, Sigma, Theta, 479-er "Ash"
Pokémon: Brock, Steelix, Skyla, Crobat, Pidgeot, Pidgeotto, Golem... and a bunch of others
Kingdom Hearts: Xaldin, Xemnas, Twilight Thorns, Dragoons, Darksides, Sora
Fairy Tail: Rufus Lore, Jura, Gray, Natsu, Juvia, Gajeel, Lily, Romeo Conbolt, Macao
One Piece: Nami, Luffy, Franky, Sanji, Usopp, Robin, Wicca, Bomba, Rampo, Kabu, Bian, Leo, Mansherry, Yonji, Dr. Tony... ;)
Kekkai Sensen: Klaus V Reinherz, Zapp Renfro, Leonardo Watch
Naruto: Sasuke
Yu Yu Hakusho: Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, Keiko
Akame Ga Kill: Akame
Powerpuff Girls: Blossom, Buttercup, Bubbles
Devil May Cry: Vergil, Date
Skylanders Academy: Master Eon, Spyro, Stealth Elf, Eruptor
Black Clover: Jakku Za Rippa, Finral, Luck
Kyoukai no Kanata: Hiroomi
Towa no Quon: Quon
Kill la Kill: Kiryuin Satsuki
The 100: Lexa
Game of Thrones: Jon Snow
The Hobbit/ LOTR: Radagast the Brown, Haldir, Galadriel, Elrond, Rivendell, Anduin River
Dig Dug: Taizo Hori
Terminator: T-100s, Terminators
Kid Cosmic: Kid Cosmic, Jo
Hunter x Hunter: Knov
Mob Psycho 100: Teruki Hanazawa
World of Warcraft: Queen Azshara, Alleria, Vereesa, Sylvanas Windrunner, Malfurion Stormrage
SAO: Kirito
Re:Zero: Satella, Puck
Disenchantment: Elfo
Soul Eater: Death the Kid, Soul, Liz, Maka, Arachne
Magi: Leam, Ren, Titus, Ignatius, Muu, Myron Alexius, Nerva, Djin Equip, Barbatos, Scheherazade
Seven Deadly Sins: King "Harlequin"
My Hero Academia: Nezu, Recovery Girl
Minecraft Story Mode: Jesse, Petra
Band of Brothers: Dick Winters
Generation Kill: Nate Fick
Gladiator: Maximus Decimus Meridius
Ninjago: Cole, Zane, Nya, Kai, Jay
Love is War: Miyuki Shirogane
Porco Rosso: Porco/ Marco Pagot
Top Gun: Mav, Goose
Independence Day: Steven Hiller
Fly Boys: Rawlings
Breaking Bad: Mike, Matty, Kaylee
Arrow: Thea Queen
Bleach: Ichimaru Gin
Owari no Seraph: Vampire Queen, Ferid Bathory, Crowley Eusford
DC Comics: Lazarus Pit
Final Fantasy VII: Cloud
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Father
-I am sure I am missing some of the characters. This was a giant war arc. There were tons of soldiers on both sides from dozens of different books, comics, movies, tv shows, and video games I've read, seen, and played in the past. If you remember any character in the arc that you were wondering more about, let me know in a review and I'll tell you where they came from! Review response time:
Darugus chapter 159 . Feb 4
Hey been a while , nice to see your back
I'm thinking the next arc is probably the hell arc with rin and Luffy since I think we followed up with most people except them at this point from what I last remember, I probably need to read the last few chapters again
Good to be back! Nice guess, we'll see! One more short part in chapter 24, then we get moving on to the next arc right away. Sometimes I'll put a chapter in between big arcs, like chapter 23 was the Gajeel and Lily flashback in between Timmy and the girls' arc in the Magic Kingdom and this one with Gray. Chapter 25 will start with 25.0 though and be a full length arc like this one... though starting like always with a Sora chapter! XD Anyway, glad to see your review and thanks for coming back to read the new chapter! Hope you like the new one!
strawhatfan chapter 159 . Feb 4
Man poor gray losing the fight and blaming himself for so many loses also I feel like the pokemon and trainers death feels so much sadder than the others and they were just trying to get brooks pokemon silver lining DANTE AND VIRGIL AND GOD DANG NINJAGO AS WELL AMD SPYRO HOLY CRAP sad to see so many die Great chapter and I can't wait to see what comes next.
ALSO MINECRAFT STORY MODE CHARACTERS AND GOD DANG Miyuki Shirogane FROM LOVE IS WAR hopfully kaguya and fujiwara are alright
Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Glad you were hyped to witness all the new characters who showed up inside of Leam's army. I realized I should've done a huge list after seeing your post and remembering that not everyone would've caught all those characters like you did, which nice work on your part for recognizing them! Def a tough end to those Pokémon trainers who tried their best only to fall trying to save Brock's team. Gray had it rough and then got it double this time as his Commanders reprimand him, strip him of his title- and actually strip him of his General's cloak and hat, and tell him just how badly he failed. Jura tries to help him out, but Gray is just in a dark spot right now and rides off to find Juvia who he's worried about as he knows why she and the girls went to the Library. Thanks for the reviews! And thank you everyone for reading and reviewing to this story! 'Til next time!