A/N Hey guys! Before I start this chapter, I noticed that Heroes Will Rise already has over 700,000 words which I did not expect to happen this early in the story. The first Third of the Aebrith Saga is nearing its end with only three more (full) chapters to go, but I think before it does I will have already surpassed the number of words in all of Nexus! So I just wanted to say thanks to all of you guys who review to the story, I like to hear your ideas and feedback and a lot of the time take what you say into consideration when writing chapters in the future. Thanks to everyone who reads this too even without reviewing, and I hope all of you enjoy this latest chapter!
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. None of the shows, movies, animes, mangas, comic, books, etc. that you recognize characters, places, and situations from this story are mine. Support the official releases.
Nexus HWR 10.4 Pyraxas- City of Fire:
Palace of the Fire Lord, Pyraxas
Tut tut tut tut... The wooden clops of a man in a cream-colored robe echoed through the halls with every step he took. The figure had a long gray beard that ended in a point halfway down his chest and a mustache that stuck up on either side of his nose in smaller points. Above his left eye were two scars on his forehead just showing under the man's white and green hat. On the front of the hat was a yellow sun, a sun with two white curves in it that connected to look like a seagull.
The man walked down the hall and made a sharp turn right when he came to the door. As he spun, the white coat he had on over his cream robe flapped in the gust of wind. He faced the doors and the guards on either side of it saluted him with the hands they were not holding their spears with. The soldiers were each in full red armor, but their armor was thicker around the chest and back area and not made of steel but kevlar. They had on black helmets each with a single vertical red stripe down the middles of them, and black visors over their entire faces.
"Welcome Komei Taishou," one of the two guards greeted.
"The Fire Lord is expecting you," the other added. "The others are already inside."
Komei nodded his head and he stepped forward without a word to the guards. He reached the door and pushed forward, opening it without delay and stepping inside. The doors closed and clanked shut behind him, gaining the attention of close to a dozen figures who all looked his way.
The Fire Lord's chamber was magnificent: long red banners draped across the walls with the Fire Nation's flaming emblem proudly displayed on them, ornate stained glass windows of different colors, and marble pillars from the floor to the ceiling in two rows on either side of the room. Past the pillars there was more to the room, but those areas were darkened now and only the flames rising high behind the throne kept the great hall illuminated.
"Admiral Komei, good you could finally join us," a snarky voice snarled over from his right side. A glance over showed Komei who it was leaning against a pillar and looking at him with hardly masked aversion. "What were you doing? Combing your beard?" Astaroth asked, and cackled to himself afterwards.
The demon in the body of a thirty year old man with short dark red hair cackled at the top of his lungs. "Brother," someone closer to the front of the room where the Fire Lord's throne was started. Komei heard this voice and darted his gaze over in surprise. When he first entered the room he checked everyone out, but this was one figure he did not recognize. The purple-haired man in a white suit tipped his white top-hat to Komei when he saw him staring. "I apologize for my brother's rudeness. He is-"
"Enough Mephisto," a voice said from the top of the stairs Mephisto was standing at the bottom of. Everyone in the room looked over including the demon who seemed lightly surprised he was interrupted. "Astaroth is one of my Lords, I'll scold him if I find it fit." The man started marching down the stairs, his steps echoing around the room covered in his own flames.
As he walked down the steps, indents on the sides of the staircase burst out flames. Metal lamps around the room on every pillar illuminated brighter as oil inside them ignited. Mephisto watched all this in amusement as it was his first time in the Fire Nation capital. He did not step back though as the Fire Lord descended his steps, and this kept the room absolutely silent. He was not in the Fire Lord's way at all, but the others who had all moved closer to the steps were giving him a wide berth and respectful looks.
Mephisto gave the Fire Lord a smile as the forty year old man descended. Sozin did not accept this. "Step back demon," he stated.
"I thought I was a guest," Mephisto said in mock surprise. In fact, he was wondering how this man would act if he treated him like an equal as he did Saix in the Dread Fort. Though Saix was a Lord like myself. Sozin may think himself better because of his status as- Mephisto halted his thoughts as Sozin took another step down the stairs but was then down three more in an instant. The Fire Lord was only a few feet away from him now and flames rose up higher all around the room.
The flames on either side of the stairs, behind the throne, on every torch, and now in lines on the floor in between all the marble pillars were getting higher by the second. "You dare disrespect me in my own palace?"
Astaroth glared daggers into his brother's back, but the fact that he did not speak up said more to Sozin than to Mephisto. Sozin knew that Astaroth would, under normal circumstances, rip someone to shreds if they disrespected him. He did not assume that it was out of brotherly love that Astaroth did not charge Mephisto, but decided it was out of fear instead.
Mephisto gained a dark aura around himself, however flames continued to burn hotter and brighter by the second. Komei wiped some sweat from his brow that he could not tell was from the tension of this moment or the rising heat around him. After a few seconds of their glares, Sozin started to lift a hand, and Mephisto's dark aura disappeared at once. "My apologies," Mephisto stated. He moved so fast that most people in the room did not see him move. He appeared ten yards farther away from the Fire Lord and he bowed his head to the man.
The flames on Fire Lord Sozin's right hand flickered for a few seconds, then faded entirely. The rest of the room's flames returned to normal and everyone relaxed a little. Sozin waited a moment for things to settle, then turned right and stated, "Bring my great granddaughter in here."
A man standing on Sozin's right side smirked and nodded once. "You got it Boss," he said. The figure had a long jagged scar on his left cheek that went up to his left eye, his only working eye as the right was covered by an eyepatch. His left eye's iris was a deep gold and the figure wore a cloak, boots, and gloves all black as night, just like the portal that opened up when he lifted his right hand.
Komei glared across the room at the cloaked figure and the shorter one wearing a hood next to him whose face was shadowed over. His main focus was on the man with the eyepatch thought, The Organization's second-in-command, Xigbar. The Marine clenched his teeth hard at the thought of their dark organization.
Komei frowned even more at the screams that started coming from inside the portal. He watched as Xigbar clenched his hand around something and yanked it out of the portal by force. The scar-faced Nobody with long black hair tied into a ponytail behind him had his hand wrapped around the face of a woman with short black hair only a few inches long or shorter in some places. Xigbar held the squirming woman in one hand, before unceremoniously tossing her on the ground in front of him.
"You," she seethed, rolling over on the ground. Clenching her hands into fists she snapped her gaze up and looked insanely at the cloaked figure. "You, you, do you know, who I am?" She roared at him, strands of hair falling in her face and making the tear-streaked young woman look even more crazy. "I am the Fire Lord's blood! He will-"
"Azula," Sozin spoke, his voice low, sending chills right down the tortured girl's spin. "Do not speak for what I will do in my presence."
Azula slowly turned and figured out where she was. As much pain as she was in, she still found it in her to scramble to her feet and bow to her great grandfather. She had seen what her family does to other family members who do not show respect for her entire life. "Great Grandfather," she said while her head was bowed. Azula's eyes darted around and she fully realized where she was and who was present. Still, she could not hold her tongue and she seethed, "This man left me in a dark void for months. I am sure you looked for me, but he-"
"Hold on there Princess," Xigbar remarked behind her. She clenched her teeth in rage and was going to shout but Xigbar continued first, "You were only in there for a couple of days. No need to exaggerate."
"Days?" Azula whispered, her eyes going wide. She looked back forward and saw that the Fire Lord did not say anything, proving that Xigbar was not lying. "But, I- and you-" Azula grabbed at her hair which she remembered was mostly gone and she freaked out again.
Right as she started to yell, Sozin said calmly, "You are stripped of the General rank I bestowed upon you before your journey south." Azula's jaw dropped as this was not what she was expecting upon finally being reunited with her great grandfather. She opened her mouth to protest but the flames all around the room flickered and she saw Sozin's eyes narrow at her. "Is that a problem?"
It did not take long for Azula to swallow her pride and shake her head. "No, of course not," she responded and dropped down to a knee in front of him. "My sincerest apologies for my defeat in the south. The Resistance had weapons we had no information on."
"What kind of weapons?" Komei asked. The Marine walked forward while making sure to keep an air of respect around him for their leader. "Would they pose a threat to Thymilph's squad-"
"Of course they wouldn't!" Thymilph roared, angered just by the idea. The light-blue gorilla beastman wearing silver armor over most of his furry body had long brown hair and held a massive war hammer that must have weighed twice his own weight. Considering he himself was five hundred pounds, the hammer weighed around half a ton. "None of those Resistance brats have put even the smallest scratch on my Ganmen."
"Nonetheless," Komei started again. "As the Chief Strategist, it is my duty to-"
"Komei, Thymilph, be quiet," Sozin stated. The two men shut their mouths. Mephisto grinned from where he watched with increased amusement. The Fire Lord wore a long red robe that fell to the floor past his feet and dragged behind him. He had on a small golden crown hairpiece that held his bun in place above his head. His eyebrows were sharp, his eyes sharper. His mustache and beard were similar to Komei's but less defined, smaller. The Fire Lord himself did not have a truly terrifying appearance, but the aura emanating out from his body made even the strongest in the room feel unsettled, nervous.
One figure did not get that sensation. He stood there less than five and a half feet tall with a black hood over his head, arms down at his sides, and cold eyes looking out from the shadow covering his face. Xigbar glanced down at the shorter Organization member to see how he was handling Sozin's presence, and he almost laughed as he saw the boy's bored look. He only almost laughed, because Sozin decided to start speaking at that same time.
"We will be attacked within the next day or so," the Fire Lord stated. He said it so calmly that most in the room questioned whether they heard him right.
"Ehh?" A figure with blond hair and pointy ears exclaimed. He had stayed quiet so far, but this was news to him. The dark blond color of his hair matched the fur on the long thin tail sticking out behind him, and he had black tattoos around his right eye, the only eye visible as his left was covered by his long dark blond bangs. Jackal's hands were pitch black unlike most of his white skin color, and the farther up his arms one looked, the lighter his skin got with little patches of darkness stretching as far as his elbows. "Who's attacking? The Resistance?" He questioned skeptically.
"Speak out of turn again," Sozin started and turned towards the Tartaros demon. "And I will incinerate you."
Jackal frowned and closed his mouth in aggravation. Not that it would do you much good anyway, the demon thought.
Sozin looked straight at Azula and he continued, "Scouts in Sin City recognized three of the fighters who destroyed your army getting on a train heading north. They were with another four comrades, one of whom used ice magic to create a sword."
Azula took a deep breath to calm down all the pent-up rage she had to quell for now. Then, in a respectful, calm tone, she started, "Did they give descriptions of the three? If I know who is coming, I can describe their abilities."
Sozin stared at his kin for a moment and then loudly announced, "Dr. Octavius."
Clanking of metal echoed around the room and they all looked towards the left line of pillars where a figure was coming out of the darkness. Xigbar watched the man use all four of his long metal legs to march across the floor and he laughed. "Oh yeah! Doc Ock, how're the new legs?"
The scientist walked into the light given off by the flames and he made a quick bow of his head to their High Lord. Doctor Otto Octavius had no flesh and blood legs to speak of, just stubs sticking out below his lower body, but he did have four long metal appendages sticking out of his back that he used to walk across the floor. The ends of each of his steel arms were claws that shook the floor with each step. He had on a lab coat and a pair of black goggles, but what Azula focused on was the manila folder in his right hand. He tossed the folder down and Azula snarled at him as it hit the floor at her feet. The doctor did not greet her, did not give her any respect, and it seemed like her great grandfather could not care less. She reached down to pick up the folder, thinking, After I regain my honor, all of you fools will fall to my hands.
Azula opened the folder and she grimaced at the three pictures held on the top of the inside of the folder's left side by paper clips. Azula fully folded the folder inside-out so her father could see the pictures. She pointed at the small boy with blond hair on the left, "Speedster. None of my men, nor I, could follow his movements."
Komei scratched his chin as he thought deeply about what that could mean for their countermeasures. Azula continued, "The boy in the middle has a device capable of transforming himself into various powerful creatures. There seems to be a time limit on it as he often reverts to his human state for several seconds before returning to one of their forms."
"That matches up with Yunju's report," Thymilph mentioned. The others looked his way as the beastman scratched his chin. "His entire battalion of Chimera Ants were routed by the same child." The heavy figure holding a hammer smirked though, "However, he has a weakness other than that time limit of his."
"Which is?" Komei questioned interestedly.
Thymilph laughed out loud and Azula finished for him, "The boy does not like killing. In fact, none of them do." She shook her head at the naivety of it.
"So that's how so many of your men survived despite your humiliating failure," Xigbar taunted. "What was the point of running if they weren't going to kill you anyway?"
"The three of them were not alone," Azula yelled over, making Xigbar laugh more by her flustered expression. Jackal cackled as well and Astaroth laughed along.
"Does it give you..." Sozin began, and the laughter quieted down. "Such pleasure, insulting my blood?!" Flames erupted all over the room and it felt like a sauna as temperatures went well over a hundred degrees. Azula would have been grateful to her great grandfather if she herself was not in utter fear of being this close to him at the moment.
The room silenced. All they could hear were the flames dancing around them. Mephisto opened his eyes in surprise as for a second there, he saw Sozin's eyes glow bright white and the man's entire body pulse with energy. As soon as the moment started however, it was over. The flames died down, but the laughter in the room had ceased.
As Sozin calmed down, a black portal opened in the ground next to Xigbar's smaller comrade. The short figure turned slightly and looked up at the man who appeared there. Luxord had his black hood up but he leaned forward and spoke quickly and concisely to Xigbar. Sozin glared his direction and the man with short blond hair made sure to give him a small nod of his head before creating another portal to vanish into.
"What was that?" Sozin questioned Xigbar, thinking that it better be important or the cloaked figures would pay.
Xigbar tilted his head to the side and lifted up his palms. "Looks like those brats on the train are the least of your problems." Sozin's eyebrows narrowed as he did not like playing games. Xigbar held up his hands defensively as the heat turned up, and he continued, "Seems the guy who offed Saix is heading here right now."
Mephisto's face lit up and he smiled. Perhaps I will not leave this city so soon after all. The purple haired demon lifted up his white hat and did an extravagant bow. "If I may cut in," he interjected. "This man on his way, he is Straw Hat Luffy, correct?"
Sozin and most of the others did not look to recognize the name, but Komei's jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out. "L-Luffy?! Are you sure that was his name?!"
Mephisto turned to the man in surprise which was quickly erased as he recognized what the man was wearing. "Ah, you must be from the pirates' universe. I assume that means you were an old acquaintance of a former comrade of mine, Fleet Admiral Akainu?"
Komei's eyes got even wider, while Sozin narrowed his at the Marine strategist. Mephisto started walking towards Komei and he had a smug expression on his face. "In fact, I do not remember you at all in my time allied with the Marines. Are you a splinter faction?" He heard them call Komei the Taishou, or Admiral, so he knew this man was highly ranked in whatever Marines were here and he wished to see his power.
Komei's teeth clenched and he said in an aggravated tone, "That is correct. The Sun Marines are loyal to the Fire Lord, and only the Fire Lord," he specified, making a quick glance back to his High Lord to see if he was appeased. After saying it though, he could not help a certain name from going through his mind. Tsuru-sensei...
Xigbar cleared his throat loudly and obnoxiously to get the attention back on him. "Eh-hem," he continued and looked back at the Fire Lord, "That Straw Hat is bringing one of the Organization's worst enemies. He crushed Zexion in an instant from what I heard, and Zexion was a completed Nobody unlike myself."
"You're saying he's stronger than you?" Komei asked, still caught up on the whole Straw Hat thing, but able to focus on his job as tactician anyway.
"Probably," Xigbar admitted. "He's got a Keyblade," the dark figure stated. Most of them looked confused, though Thymilph's eyes did grow huge. "Apparently there are a bunch of others with them too, but I'd say the two of them are the strongest."
"Would you agree Lord Mephisto?" Sozin asked, not looking away from Xigbar as he did.
Mephisto seemed a little surprised by the question, but he only hesitated a brief moment. For the Demon King of Time though, a brief moment paused for a minute gave him certainly enough time to decide what to say. "Yes," he said. "Mugiwara and Riku were definitely the strongest of the bunch." He turned and glanced at his brother for a moment, I will allow you to reunite with our brother on your own. I am excited to see it.
"Riku," Sozin said in a deep voice. A Keybearer, he thought. "Hmm, I have no interest after all," he announced. Sozin looked back at Xigbar, "I assume you will want to take care of him?"
"Nah, do whatever you want with the brat," Xigbar replied, already smirking. "I've got a different target," he finished menacingly.
"I will dispose of him," Thymilph claimed in a booming voice. "I have a grudge against the Keybearer!"
"Do not decide on your own," Sozin growled in a voice that silenced the beastman. He looked straight ahead at a Marine doing calculations in his head. "Komei will lead the city's defense. You will all give him your full support."
"Understood," Thymilph growled, though it sounded like the words tasted bad in his mouth.
"Take orders from him?" Astaroth snarled, darting daggers into the human's side. He almost said, 'a human,' in as much disgust, but reminded himself that despite the majority of people in that room not being human, the High Lord commanding him was one.
"Correct," Sozin replied, and Astaroth's teeth ground in anger and frustration. "If that is all," he started and got ready to turn back to his throne.
"One moment great grandfather," Azula began. Sozin looked back at her and Azula was still holding the folder in her hands. "I did not get to finish my report earlier," she said it after remembering herself that she failed to report on the most important piece of information. "This man here," she said, and pointed at a picture of a young man with pink hair who had his face pointed forward so only half of it was caught on camera. "He has the ability to, eat fire."
"Eat fire?" Jackal asked.
"Yes," Azula said, making sure none of them thought they misheard her. "He can eat our flames. Every attack our army threw at him was nullified, but more than that, it seemed to make him stronger."
"That, could be a problem," Xigbar said and scratched the left side of his face right over his scar.
"Then he will be my number one target," Komei started. The others turned to the master tactician who seemed confident again, a grin on his face as he already had a plan. It sounded foolproof in his head, but there was one crack in it. "These two groups must not meet each other." Komei continued and looked very serious, "We can eliminate them all with very little collateral of our own troops and our city. If the two groups are to meet and join forces though, the results could be disastrous."
Pyraxas Central Station
Ding Dong "The Express Train is approaching its next stop. This is the train to, Gehenna. The next station is, Pyraxas."
"This is our stop," Gray muttered under his breath to the others in the booth with him. They were disembarking at the first stop after crossing the Cataclysm, though the train would be heading farther north after it dropped them off. "Remember, the I.D.s you got in Sin City are for life. Do something to piss off the wrong person, and you could be put on a kill list like that."
"Don't worry about it John," Natsu chided over. Gray's fake I.D. had worked out well so far, but he still looked nervous under the false name. The bullet train was slowing down and the group started getting up and grabbing their things. Kirito leaned up over their booth and grabbed his swords from the overhead compartment, (sitting down with them on his back was uncomfortable, even without his wings).
"What are we even supposed to be doing here?" Ben whispered as he got up and grabbed his backpack as well. He slid his arms through the straps and turned to Gray, "It's not like we got a briefing or anything."
Gray shot him a look to shut up and Ben sighed but did so. He got ready and turned to Dash who slid his stuff out from under the seat and was getting ready to depart too. "You ready bro?" Ben asked.
Dash nodded his head at his friend as he put on his own backpack. He looked both ways down the aisle of the train and saw people flooding out of booths and grabbing their things. The speedster looked at each of them and he thought about something Gray told him on the train ride. My speed is more than just how fast I run. I can process things faster than anyone, but I still get caught off guard. I should know what's going on around me at all times. His eyes darted around extremely fast, Twenty three women behind me, thirty two men, five kids, eight soldiers, three strange green alien things. The soldiers, each one has a spear that doubles as a rifle it looks like. He looked the other way and carefully examined the other half of the train car, and then stated only a few seconds after his friend asked, "Yep, I'm ready."
The kid had a confident yet cautious expression on his face and Gray nodded as he looked at the boy. The Resistance fighter who brought all his friends along to join his war felt confident himself as he gazed around. Every one of them have some experience now. They understand that this is a war, a war with serious consequences. And unlike the war with the Underworld, the Super Saiyans and Timmy aren't always watching our backs. He looked closely at Juvia, then to his own left arm, or where it should be. The ice mage nodded his head once the aisle next to their seats was open and he said quietly, "Follow me." Gray stepped out and followed some people towards the closest door on their train car.
Natsu, Juvia, Kirito, Kairi, Ben, and Dash followed Gray down the train to the door that they exited out of. They stepped onto the train platform and looked straight ahead with huge eyes. The seven of them had to stop and take a minute just to let it all soak in. Ben's bottom lip lowered and he let out an audible gasp. The train platform was elevated and the tracks went over most of the city, though there were splits on the bridges going around the upper railways that arced down into the city at different stations, while others still went higher up towards the upper city beyond a wall a few miles in the distance. The wall was very high, but the elevation of the land beyond it must have been pretty high as well compared to the rest of the city as the more fancy and expensive-looking buildings were still visible beyond that huge stone wall. One line of tracks went straight towards a magnificent palace at the very top of the city, a palace surrounded by tall walls that still barely rose up past the first floor of it so that the entire building was visible from the main station of Pyraxas.
The station the seven of them just got off at was the most crowded of any in the city, as it was the one that all other trains in the region needed to stop at to get over the Bridge of Azulon. The platform they were on was so crowded that they almost lost each other in it just by standing there and looking off the edge of the other side into the huge city. "It's bigger than Metropolis," Ben whispered in awe. He looked around at all the Japanese-style buildings with shingled roofs and sliding paper doorways, many with steps up to them as the houses were on wooden stilts to keep them elevated off the ground. The whole city stretched for miles in every direction, with walls cordoning off different sections of the area. There was a section with very tall buildings that had television screens on all sides of them flashing lights, but that was a small area that looked like it came from the future compared to the traditional style of the rest of the city.
"Guessing the Fire Lord is up there," Natsu said, staring straight ahead past miles of buildings and several different walls up to the palace. That palace was still only in the middle of the city, as there were just as many buildings, walls, and sectors beyond the palace as there were between the southern station and it. Natsu looked around and he did not notice any flying vehicles up in the air, and he furrowed his brow as he wondered why that was. Even in that skyscraper, future-looking section, there aren't any hovercars. Guess they don't want anyone flying over the walls. Does that mean we'll have to show our I.D.'s to get farther up in the city? If so, will they even let us in those fancy areas, or are we going to have to start fighting less than halfway to the palace?
"Oi Gray," Natsu began.
Gray turned and his eyes narrowed at Natsu angrily. "Wait until we find somewhere to rest for the night," Gray said. He literally seethed it through his teeth and Natsu realized why as Gray tapped at his pocket where he had his I.D. Natsu scratched the back of his head apologetically but Gray shook his head at him a few times and showed it was not forgiven that easily. They were deep in enemy territory now, and he needed Natsu to start taking it seriously, like calling him John Smith while there were Fire Nation soldiers on the platform with them.
"Find somewhere to rest?" Ben asked. "Isn't it a little early?"
Before Gray could respond, Kirito looked down at the kid next to him, "It's so we can put down our stuff, have somewhere to go back to after we, look around the city this afternoon." He chose his words carefully and glanced at Gray to see if that was good to which the older man nodded his head.
"Let's go then," Kairi said. She moved forward with a skip in her step and looked back at her friends with a bright smile, "I think this city is really interesting. I want to make sure we see as much as we can before we, leave," she finished and winked at her friends implying she did not really mean 'leave.' A few of them sweatdropped as they wondered what she thought was going to happen to the giant city while Kairi just giggled and turned back forward to head towards the stairs many others were descending down to head into the city.
The group followed after the crowd into a station beneath the tracks that had many different platforms they could head to for connecting trains. Although they told soldiers who asked them on the train that they were getting a connecting train to Shelbyville from the Central Station of Pyraxas, they were really looking for an exit. They heard some people talking about heading out into Pyraxas and Gray motioned his head at their backs to follow them to the exit they seemed to know about. They walked down a very long and wide hallway covered in shops and restaurants for people who had to stay in the station for a while depending on when their connecting train would be coming.
They were walking after the couple for a few minutes before the man came to a stop. The seven behind him wondered what was wrong, as did the woman next to him. The man turned his head to the left and looked out the corner of his eye at the people behind him, "Are you following us?" The young man asked. He had brown hair and eyes, his hair parted to the left side and was only three inches long falling flat on his head except for his bangs which stuck up. He looked no older than twenty, a tall and lean figure wearing a white button down and black pants. He had a pistol on the left side of his waist and he frowned at the people who he noticed were following closely behind him.
The woman next to him had longer brown hair falling down to her shoulders and she looked cautiously back at the group behind her and her husband. She had on a yellow t-shirt and a pair of brown pants, and after seeing who it was her husband questioned, she smiled and nudged him, "It's okay Shinichi." She looked down at the nervous looking boys who seemed to relax a little at her smiling face. "Do you need help?" The young woman asked, looking up at Gray now who had darted his eyes around to see if anyone else noticed them.
"Yes," Gray replied. "We were just looking for an exit onto the streets. Sorry for following you," he apologized to the man who the woman called Shinichi.
The guy seemed to lighten up after a second of staring at the group. "It's alright," he replied, a smile coming to his face. "We'll show you the way. I'm Shinichi Izumi by the way."
"Murano Satomi," the woman greeted too. The group behind them greeted her back and Gray used his fake name to the couple who did not seem to notice it. Gray was glad they did not and grinned once they turned around because none of his comrades made facial expressions of confusion or smugness when he said it this time. They're learning, he thought.
"First time in Pyraxas?" Murano questioned and glanced back at the group who were closer to them now that they got permission to follow along.
"Yep," Kairi replied to the older girl. She walked up on Murano's left side as Shinichi was walking on her right, and Kairi asked, "What is there to do here? Anything fun for kids?" She questioned and motioned back at the boys she was pretending to look after, or at least the boys thought she was pretending though Kairi really meant it in the question.
Murano hummed to herself for a second but her husband spoke up, "There's always the theater." Murano smiled and nodded as she agreed with him. Shinichi continued, "The army shows off their fire powers in awesome displays every night. Different squads try to one-up each other, every night is different."
"That sounds fun," Kairi mentioned.
"Juvia would also like to see this," the blue-haired mage behind Kairi mentioned.
"The theater?" Ben muttered, glancing to his right at Dash. The younger boy stuck out his tongue and Ben nodded in agreement of the distaste for it.
"Haha," Shinichi laughed at the boys' reactions. He scratched his chin and then added, "You could also check out the Hanging Gardens. Though, you would have to get day passes into the Upper Residential Area for that."
"Day passes?" Gray questioned. He thought about the layout of the city after exiting the train and figured he knew where the Upper Residential Area was from his quick glance. "Where do we get those? And how?" He added.
"For non-residents," Shinichi began, "they're pretty expensive. Those upper-class guys don't really like us lower citizens walking around their sector."
As the man mentioned it, he turned the direction he was walking and cut left down a smaller hall. There were still a lot of people around them, but up ahead they could see a staircase with a lot of natural light flooding down from the top. What he just mentioned also made Gray curious though, and although the mage was getting prepared for their exit into the city and most likely an I.D. check, he questioned, "Do you live here?" The way Shinichi referred to himself as a 'lower citizen' made Gray wonder.
The man shook his head 'no' though. "We live in a town on the outskirts, near the wall thirty miles east of here," Murano explained. "Shinichi works in the finance district though," she continued as they reached the stairs and started going up them. She mentioned how the finance district was the area where all those tall skyscrapers they saw earlier were. She continued, "And I work for the military." The whole group with the couple tensed up and Murano noticed. She saw a few of them frown and she sighed, "I know," she said knowingly. "But it's good work, and I'm a nurse. I help those soldiers who come back injured from missions and excursions. They get to reunite with their families. It's not as bad as it sounds."
"Still," Natsu began.
Gray shot him a look, and the Dragon Slayer closed his mouth. He also wanted to tell Murano that even just helping their wounded was still siding with the Fire Nation, people he considered bad guys, but talking like that while they just reached the top of the stairs and there were dozens of Fire Nation guards in full armor just in front of them did not seem like such a great idea. There were turnstiles that people were swiping I.D.'s and walking through, and after that first part they had to walk up to individual booths where other soldiers were working, ones not in full armor and white masks like the guards holding glowing spears on both sides of the exit.
The group of seven watched as Murano and Shinichi walked forward, swiped their I.D.'s, and then showed them to the people in the booths who asked them some questions before letting them go on ahead. The couple stopped after getting their I.D.'s checked, looking back and watching as the group following them headed forward.
Like we practiced, Gray thought, really hoping none of his friends behind him would mess this up. He swiped his identification and walked through the turnstile, then handed it to the man inside the booth past it. He kept his face stern like the picture on the card showed, and the guy behind the glass looked down at the card then up at Gray before nodding his head. "What's your business here in Pyraxas?"
"Trip with the kids," Gray replied, motioning with his head behind him where his friends were. "Solely pleasure," he finished.
"Hmm," the guard hummed. He looked at the computer screen next to him, then back at Gray and handed the man back his I.D. "Alright, you and your family can go on ahead."
Gray nodded and then motioned at his friends to come forward. The rest of them came in and flashed their I.D.'s to the guard at the booth who just kept waving them by as it seemed he did not care to ask each one of them what they were doing there. They all walked towards Gray who led them away from the checkpoint and up to Shinichi and Murano who they thanked for leading them all this way. The couple said it was no problem and waved them off as they were heading right and Gray was leading his friends straight ahead.
The group of seven walked away but Kirito turned his head a little and glanced out the corners of his eyes back at the checkpoint. He saw the guard inside the box staring after them and a few of the armored guards in masks turned back to stare straight forward when he made his glance back. The teen frowned and looked back forward, That went too easy. Gray's fake is supposedly good, but that woman in Sin City called him out on it right away. Maybe she's just used to more fakes than these guards are since she is in Sin City. But, maybe they let us in on purpose. I have a bad feeling about this.
A hundred feet behind Kirito, the guard standing in the booth looked back at the computer screen next to him. He saw the seven photos on the top of the screen and looked below them at the I.D. pictures of the people who just scanned in. He looked back into the city at the people moving farther in and then pulled out the walkie talkie on his waist. "Admiral Komei," he began. "They have arrived. Heading north down Caldera Avenue."
"Very good," Komei replied over the radio. The Admiral of the Sun Marines stared at the television screens in front of him showing surveillance over most of Pyraxas, and he smirked as the three soldiers sitting down behind those screens showed him several camera angles of the seven who they were keeping a close eye on. "Kansho," Komei started, changing the channel on he radio in his hand. "Keep a close eye on them, make sure they find their ways to the Agnius Hotel so the operation can commence."
"Understood," a soldier wearing a Sun Marine jacket replied into his walkie. He lowered it back to his waist and clipped it on, then lifted back up his sniper rifle and looked through the scope down several blocks at the seven figures walking the opposite direction. He followed their path down two more blocks before lifting his walkie again and whispering, "Now." He watched as out from the road on the right of where the group was walking, a cart rolled by and a man chasing after it yelled at the group for help. He saw a teenager with black hair and two swords strapped to his back get in front of the cart and stop it, then watched as the man thanked him over and over before asking for help pushing it back up the hill on the previous road. There looked to be a semi-heated discussion between a few members of the group, but the teen finally accepted and pushed the cart back after the man, the man who would thank them by offering a free night at a hotel he co-managed after asking enough innocent questions to the group that they would let him know they just arrived in the city.
Kansho lowered his sniper as the group left his sight and he started running ahead, jumping onto roofs of small buildings while keeping out of sight as best he could. He heard voices over the walkie talkie on his waist and listened as Komei gave out more orders to their forces around the city. We have to keep them from noticing that we're on to them. The sniper thought, and when he reached a tall building that gave him a better view of the city he looked through the scope to check if the group was following their strategy. His eyes opened wide and he dropped down to the floor.
Kirito frowned as he stared over the roof behind him, knowing for sure he spotted that same figure who was watching them earlier just appear on top of a tall roof a half mile away. We're being watched. Why? Do they know why we're here? Were there spies in the Resistance? Or did we just make too much of a name for ourselves south of the Cataclysm? Either way, we have to be careful of what we eat, drink… maybe even this man. He looked back straight ahead but glanced out the corner of his eyes at the old man who was still thanking him for pushing the cart. Gray was talking with him and Kirito frowned as he heard the old man mention how he owned a hotel, Yeah. Definitely a trap.
Crap, how did they know? Gray thought, while Natsu and Kairi were both thanking the man for offering and already accepting the free night. The ice mage kept from looking around too much, but he did notice Kirito frown and was glad someone else realized that there was something wrong here. Alright, they let us into the city, which means they're going to try and trap us. It makes sense. If they know about us, especially Natsu, they would not want to get in a direct fight. They know where we are right now though, so the only way to fix that is to get somewhere hidden from sight, then start our stealth mission. They have us exactly where they want us right now, he put on a fake smile and thanked the old man, while thinking, but this is far from their victory.
8 Miles South of Pyraxas
"Yaaaawwwnnn," Kuro tilted its head back and yawned loudly. A few of the others around the six foot tall cat chuckled at how cute it looked even with its massive size. "Rin, I'm tired," the familiar told its Master. Rin sighed but opened up his pack, and the cat leapt up and turned tiny while in midair, landing inside the teen's backpack.
"Oof," Rin grunted. He muttered under his breath, "You just keep getting heavier somehow."
"Huh?" Kuro asked, poking its head back out of Rin's bag.
"Nothing," Rin replied. The thought of his cat yawning was stuck in his mind though, and the teen lifted his arms up and let out a yawn himself. When he put his arms down he looked out to the west and saw the suns on the horizon painting the sky orange and red. The red sun had just lowered enough that the bottom of it was no longer visible, making a beautiful sunset wash over the Fire Nation. Again Rin was impressed by it all, but he turned back and looked towards Pyraxas which they were getting ever closer to. "Hey guys," the half-demon began, and his friends in front of him turned around and saw him come to a stop.
"What's up?" Riku asked.
"Are we going in tonight?" Rin questioned. The others looked at him confusedly, then turned around and gauged the distance between them and Pyraxas. A few of them who had not been thinking about the distance suddenly noticed that there were still two small towns between them and the outer walls of Pyraxas. "It's going to be night soon," Rin added. "We might want to be well-rested before going in."
"Hmmm," Luffy turned and looked back towards the walls. "They're not that far away," he began. "But yeah," he said, and his friends turned to him in surprise at what they were hearing. "Let's stay at one of these towns tonight." The pirate captain gazed towards the nearest town in front of them and wondered aloud, "I wonder if the Fire Nation makes good food?"
Sanji scoffed and started walking forward as Luffy began to as well, "You won't find out tonight." Luffy turned his head and Sanji continued with a smirk, "Because I'm going to make some of my Hormone Stew to get everyone energized for tomorrow."
"Mmmm," nine sets of hums echoed out simultaneously. They had had Sanji's stew a lot lately and it always tasted different, but they loved it every time.
They walked towards the town closest to them where there looked to be an inn near the center. Usopp looked beyond the town though and he mentioned in a nervous tone, "How are we even going to get in there?" The others followed his gaze to the walls that looked bigger with every step closer they took. Riku opened his mouth to say something, but the idea he had suddenly did not sound like so good of an answer considering who was asking.
"I'll come up with something if they don't let us in," Luffy said. His crew stared at him like he was an idiot, wondering why they would even consider letting their group in considering the bounty on Luffy's head. The pirate captain just smirked though and cracked his knuckles, showing his comrades that he never really thought they would let him in without a fight in the first place.
Killua sighed and put his hands behind his head as he kept walking. He had a calm look on his face but did not join in the conversations going on around him. We're going to walk straight up to the gates? Is he stup- Why do I even ask that? Still, this is absurd and no one's saying a thing. Luffy, I thought you were taking stuff more seriously. We're going up against a High Lord! Please, don't make me- No. If it gets to that, I'll leave. I'll just, leave.
Lower Residential Area, Pyraxas
"It would just be easier to kill them all right now," Zachary Miller muttered to the taller man next to him. Miller wore an all-black suit of high-tech armor including helmet and visor, though the visor lifted up into the helmet as he spoke to the Sun Marine Admiral on his side. The two were standing on the roof of a four-story building in the center of southern Pyraxas and looking out towards one of the nearby hotels. "I could have my team in and out of there in ten minutes, plant enough explosives to blow them to the red sun."
Komei frowned deeply as that did not sound like a terrible idea to him. He began though, "The Fire Lord does not want a commotion made in his nation's Capital. The respect of the other High Lords would be lost if an attack could so easily be carried out in the heart of Fire Nation territory. We must be discreet about how we carry out the eliminations of your targets." Komei paused and his eyebrows narrowed inward, "In the off chance an explosion of that magnitude does not kill them, they would retaliate full force. We must weaken them first. Take no chances. That, my friend, is how justice will be served to these criminals."
Miller nodded his head and let his visor snap back down to cover his face. He did so because he did not want the intimidating Admiral in a white cloak with orange highlights on the outer edges of it to see the eye-roll he made after hearing that spiel about justice. The former space pirate turned elite guard of the Fire Nation's Capital zoomed in on the hotel they were observing from afar. "Still," he began as he caught a glimpse of what they were watching for, "this method, it doesn't sit well with me. Even I know, you never make a deal with the devil."
"Astaroth is not the devil," Komei growled back to the Captain of the Royal Palace's security force. The Admiral holding a fan of white feathers at his side glared out at the demonic form rising up the wall of the building, looking like a shadow as it wrapped around the windows of the floor they were watching.
Without the windows ever opening, the shadow moved inside, and Miller finished in a low mutter, "He's close enough."
A/N Thanks for reading! If you didn't recognize Vice Admiral Komei, he's from the One Piece special Adventure of Nebulandia as a very formidable opponent to Luffy and the Straw Hats, known as the Genius Tactician. Thymilph is from Gurren Lagann as one of the Spiral King's four generals, Jackal is one of the Tartaros demons from Fairy Tail, Doc Ock is from Spiderman 2, and Zachary Miller is a space pirate from the show Red vs Blue (he worked with Felix and Locus as a very, very minor character if you guys who have seen it didn't recognize him). Anyway, we get a whole group of villains inside Pyraxas who our heroes need to be wary of, not to mention Mephisto has returned and is hanging out in the city. Both groups are going to bed, and tomorrow, it's going down! Next chapter is called: Nexus HWR 10.5 Trap, so get ready for a fun one, and hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!
-Here's a quick list since there are some new characters in this chapter.
Parasite: Shinichi, Murano
Avatar the Last Airbender: Sozin, Azula, Azulon, Fire Nation, Fire Lord
Blue Exorcist: Satan, Mephisto, Astaroth, Rin, Kuro, Yukio
Fairy Tail: Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Jackal, Tartaros
Gurren Lagann: Spiral King, Thymilph, Ganmen
One Piece: Komei, Konshu, Tsuru, Aokiji, Akainu, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Franky
Spiderman: Doc Ock
Kingdom Hearts: Sora, Kairi, Riku, Xigbar, Xemnas, Organization, Luxord, Nobodies, Zexion, Saix
Hunter x Hunter: Killua
Ben 10: Ben
Incredibles: Dash
Guest chapter 61 . Aug 23
city of fire, cant wait to see that
Not much fire in the city of fire, unless you're in Sozin's flaming throne room! XD Thanks for the review!
7lights13darknes chapter 59 . 17h ago
These past chapters have been amazing! Sorry i haven't made a review in a while. I loved the fight scenes. My favorite being gray vs darth bane. The whole fight to get to the pit was awesome as well. I don't think i have ever read a story with so much detail in fight scenes. Also no one else seems to make a big deal about this so i will... WE FINIALLY
Sorry thought i would stop doing that. SAW DONALD AND GOOFY! AND THEY ALMOST DIED. I was going to be so mad if they did. Although i have to be honest i am surprised Donald has survived for so long. I really like how kari is a mother figure to Ben and Dash, or should i say Dashiell?, i actually didn't know that was his name until tonight. I wasn't sure if you made that up so i looked it up and you were right. Also that whole scene with kari getting on to those two was both funny and cute. Please have more scenes like that. I like that we are starting to see more of the other team again. But i really want to now what has happened to timmy and goku. And of course i want to now what Sora and roxas are up too. I now axel was mentioned the last chapter i am guessing he is undercover so where are sora and roxas? The fight scene with black star was really good too. Whats really ironic about Donald And GOOFY showing up is that i recently got those giant chibi versions of them and Mickey. Also for more character ideas i was thinking of steven universe ( i would be surprised if no one else has suggested that.) and vultron legendary defenders. Apso where are all if the marvel heroes. You have had almost all of the main DC characters ( not that i am complaining) with most of them being dead but next to none one marvel. Keep up on the great work i will catch up as soon as i can. This is still one of my favorites by the way.
Glad to hear from you again, and really glad you liked the recent chapters! DONALD AND GOOFY! Haha, I was waiting for your review about them, and luckily they made it through the Battle Royale thanks to the gladiators not really wanting to kill each other. Kairi's staying positive as ever through this chapter too, and Luffy's group has come back into play as they're about to reach Pyraxas where the other group is already spending the night! Goku, Timmy, Sora, and Roxas all make their comebacks in the upcoming chapters (11 and 12 (or maybe even 10 ;P )) before the end of this Third of the Aebrith Saga. Just to specify, I've had most of Aebrith (Heroes Will Rise) planned out for a long time, and there are 3 times in it where crazy stuff happens coinciding with about a third of the story done. Anyway, Steven Universe is a great (and possible) option to add characters into this since I have seen some of it. I wanted to watch it so I could add them, but every time I try to binge I stop after a few episodes :(. A Marvel character (maybe a few) does have a big part to play not far down the road, 3 full chapters or so, and I encourage you to guess who it is. Thanks for another long review, and as always thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved, followed, or just read this story. Well, 'till next time!