"Uh….." Lucy groaned as she slowly began to come too. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see anything. "What…what happened…?"

"Ah…I see you're finally beginning to come to…" Hyde said, causing Lucy to jolt awake.

"W-What the?!" Lucy began to squirm around, but found that she was stuck to the wall. She looked up, noticing that magic sealing cuffs were on her wrists and ankles, restraining just about all of her movement. "Hyde?!"

"That is correct, Heartfilia." Hyde said with a nod. His body was still covered by the shadows of the room. "Though, it's not exactly a complete truth."

"What are you doing here?! We beat you! Where are Aira and the others?!" Lucy shouted, demanding to know.

"As yes, there is some explaining to do, isn't there?" Hyde chuckled. "I'll start…with this!" Hyde threw his cape open, revealing his body. In some places, just like the other underlings, there were metallic parts, the left side of his face included. Lucy could only stare in horror at the male before her. "I am no longer Hyde! I am Hyde R!"

"W-Wha…" Lucy could barely speak. "You let this happen to you…?"

"A change was needed," Hyde replied. "You see…after you and your group of friends ruined my "Squeal to Fiore's End" script…There was a hiatus needed. I made it look as though I removed myself from Earthland by jumping off the tower. After that, I came back to Aiden's side where he provided me with some much needed upgrades."

"You're insane…" Lucy responded to Hyde's story in a gasp.

"The best writers are insane, dear~" Hyde cooed.

"Wait! What about the others who were with me!? Where are they!?" Lucy attempted to squirm free, but it was useless.

"Don't worry about them, they're currently sleeping quite peacefully," Hyde said with a coy grin. "Oh, and don't worry about those who fiddled with Hollow's core. They've been taken care of by another subordinate of him. You've not met him yet, but he'll make a good role in this script."

.

.

(A few minutes ago)

"Oops…" Daryan said as he accidentally pressed the button to cut off the lacrima call with Lucy and the others.

"Idiot…" Cana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in an annoyed fashion. "But, at least they should be able to finish off that Hollow guy from here…"

"Hm…" Daryan nodded slowly and pressed another button, only to see what it was capable of doing. "And what's this one do…"

"You idiot! Don't just go pressing buttons!" Cana shouted in a comical fashion.

"But they're shiny!" Daryan replied. And suddenly, a screen showing Natsu and Shadowlore popped up. "Oh, Lore! Whaddup, bro!?"

"Daryan, my man!" Shadowlore waved to the screen. "We just kicked this Yeti thing's ass!"

"Cana?" Natsu blinked. "Why are you with "that" guy?" He asked, still showing obvious distain for Daryan after his little speech in the GMG while ago.

"It just kinda happened that way…" Cana shrugged nonchalantly. "Blame that thing you guys just beat."

After that, Shadowlore pulled out a small notebook and pen, beginning to write something down in one of the pages. "I see, I see…"

"Is that a book…?" Natsu asked while raising a brow.

"The OTP book," Shadowlore replied.

"You're joking, right?" Cana said with a deadpanned expression.

"Nope." Daryan replied. "Whatever he writes will end up happening. It's a magic book, you know."

"Bullcrap!" Cana replied.

"Cana and Daryan…" Shadowlore said while writing in his book.

"HEY DON'T WRITE THAT." Cana nearly screamed at Lore.

"Also, Luke was with Lucy, Aira, and Selene," Daryan pointed out.

"Whoa, slow down, I can't write that fast!" Shadowlore exclaimed. "Luke, you dog-cat you…"

A curious Natsu couldn't help but peer over Lore's shoulder, brows furrowing in confusion. "Is that…Cynthia and Wendy?"

And right after that comment, Shadowlore closed the book, giving Natsu a glare. "Don't question my ships."

"I'll burn all your ships to the ground!" Cana yelled.

"I don't just have ships." Shadowlore said as the background around him changed into an armada of ships. "I have an armada."

"Oh for the love of…" Cana groaned, but suddenly the screen cut off once again. "You idiot! What did I say about pressing buttons!?"

"That wasn't me!" Daryan said while throwing his hands up defensively.

"It was me…" An unfamiliar voice whispered in the empty room. Before Cana and Daryan could react accordingly a figure dropped down from above, speeding towards Daryan in a blur.

"Whoa!" Daryan was quick enough to at least react, drawing forward a several foot long bone to shield from the surprise blow. The shadowy figure continued, throwing masterful punches and kicks at the dragon slayer, who was just barely able to defend against them all. That was until his bone snapped in half, leaving him with wide eyes and defenseless. "Crap." Was the last thing he uttered until a hoof slammed into his face, causing him to fly through the wall in an unconscious state.

"What the hell!?" Cana's eyes widened at how fast Daryan was disposed of. She quickly reached into her back pocket and pulled out her deck of cards, just throwing a few of them forward at the shadow who attacked. "Ice Lance!" She exclaimed, multiple spears of ice flying out of the cards.

"Useless." The shadowy figured exclaimed, their full figure coming into view; a short male who took the appearance of a goat in a karate uniform.

"Who the hell are you!?" Cana demanded.

"Kung Fu Kid," The male replied before taking a swift step forward, palming Cana in the face before she could respond, knocking her out cold.

(Current Time)

Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear arrived at the scene in front of the lab, only to notice the two dragons duking it out in the sky. "What the…!?" Ultear began with her jaw dropped.

'Two dragons!?" Meredy gawked.

"Wait a minute…" Jellal said while gazing at one of the dragons. "That's certainly Gaia. I don't know what she's doing against that, but we have to find a way in."

"Well, there's the front door…" Draco said as he walked forward nonchalantly.

"Who the hell…?" Ultear turned as Draco appeared, raising a brow. "What are you doing here?"

"A few of my guild mates are inside and I wanted to see how they were doing." Draco nodded before running to the front door of the lab. "Bye!" He said while running into the front doors, only to be blown back out seconds later, comical stars appearing around his head.

"What…?" Meredy blinked as Draco was thrown out the front doors. "Is there some kind of security system preventing us from getting through!?"

"I think I saw double…" Draco replied for a second before shaking it off.

"Double?" Jellal raised a brow and peaked inside the door, eyes widening as he saw Erza and Knightwalker duking it out, a large explosion occurring in the middle of the room." Erza!"

"So, the front door's out…" Ultear tsked and looked around, only to let out a surprised yelp as Gaia and the Artifical Dragon both crashed into the ground in front of them. "GAH!"

"WAH!" Meredy screamed from surprise, jumping back quite a few feet.

"Oi, oi!" Gaia shouted towards the group of humans as she picked herself, now butting heads with the opposing mechanical dragon. "Get out of the way, I'm pretty busy if you didn't notice!"

"Staying here's not safe!" Jellal shouted. "There has to be a side entrance somewhere!"

"You guys have fun with that…!" Draco said as he hopped back up, now running off to the left to avoid the two dragons battling it out.

"We should get moving too…" Ultear nodded, running off with Jellal and Meredy to the left.

.

.

"I've lost Lucy, Luke, Aira, and Selene now too…!" Warren said via telepathy.

"Everyone's dropping like flies…" Tayakata commented. "I'm not sure I like how this is going."

"Tch, that bastard's gonna pay!" Gray nearly shouted. "I can't wait to get my hands on him!"

"We still have to deal with his little group…" Laxus said. "But I don't think they'll be lasting long, especially if they get the pleasure of running into me."

.

.

Happy, Pantherlily, and Carla all carefully walked down a long hallway. With Lily being the only one who could really fight they had to tread carefully. "I have an uneasy feeling about this…" Carla mumbled. "This reminds me all too much of what happened a year ago…"

"This entire thing was a trap to begin with…" Lily stated while keeping on hand on the hilt of his sword in case he needed to quick draw. "I'm not a fan of the way we got separated…and I can't help but worry about what happened to Gajeel and the others."

"I'm sure they're fine…!" Happy exclaimed, but he was immediately shushed by Lily and Carla. "Sorry…I mean…I'm sure they're fine! I know Natsu and I know he wouldn't let something even close to Gray's element beat him!"

"While that may be so…" Carla started while folding her arms, letting out a sigh. "I can't help but worry about Wendy and Cynthia. What happened last year keeps coming back to haunt them, and I'm worried that something bad will happen. I know she's been trying to stay tough, but Wendy really hasn't been doing too well since the Hyde incident…"

"I can imagine…" Lily said with a slow nod. "Ace said himself that her mental state wasn't the best afterward…" He let out a sigh. "But, we won't allow what happened once to happen again when it comes to Aiden. Right, Happy?" Lily turned to face Happy, only to see a dotted outline of the exceed's body in his position. "Happy?!"

"Where'd he go!?" Carla asked, looking from left to right.

"Hey…!" Happy said, waving from the edge of the hallway. "I found something!"

"What is it?" Carla inquired while walking towards the oddly excited exceed.

"It's a really big wire..!" Happy shouted, pointing to the red wire that continued into the darkness of the hallway.

"That must lead somewhere…" Lily said with a nod. "How about we go and see where this leads us? It could be something useful…"

.

.

"Achoo!" Wendy sneezed, rubbing her nose after.

"You okay?" Alex asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah…" Wendy nodded. The three had been walking around for a while now, obviously concerned with the wellbeing of their guildmates from hearing all the news going around. "I hope everyone's okay…"

"I'm sure they're fine…!" Cynthia said in a reassuring tone. "You know how strong they all are! They probably just got knocked down, is all!"

"You're being more optimistic than I remember you being…" Alex commented.

"I just believe in everyone, that's all," Cynthia replied before leaning into Alex's ear, whispering what happened to Wendy during the Hyde incident. "And that's why we have to keep a brave face. She's still not feeling well, even though she's been recovering…"

"Ah…" Alex nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" Wendy asked with her head tilted.

"Don't worry about it!" Cynthia responded with a grin. "Anyway, we have to keep moving! I don't know where we're even going but it's bound to lead somewhere. We may even run into someone!"

"Or someone could run into you!" General Augria yelled while charging down the hallway towards the three girls.

"What the-!?" Cynthia's eyes widened for a second before she tackled both Wendy and Alex to the side, just avoiding Augria's Unstoppable Charge.

"I missed…" Augria tsked to himself before turning around, skidding across the hallway with a loud screeching noise. The wheels on his chariot revved once again and he wasted no time in charging towards the girls while shouting. "I am General Augria 2. 0, and this is the Unstoppable Charge!"

"You couldn't think of a better intro…?" Cynthia sighed before getting serious, her cheeks puffing out along with Wendy and Alex's. "Roar of the Omega Flame Dragon!"

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!"

"Roar of the Earth Dragon!"

The three girls exclaimed in unison, firing off their respective roars that merged to form a unison raid. But, these roars proved useless together as Augria remained undamaged and continued his charge without even the slightest hint that he was slowed down. "Nice try!"

"No way!" Wendy gasped, but before she could do anything else Augria ran right through the three, the floor shattering right under them. The trio of girls fell to the lower depths of the lab while Augria stood there with a smirk.

"Heh…"

.

.

"Ah…" Aiden watched on a screen the progress of those thus far. "So…Hollow and Yeti Blizzard have fallen once again…oh well, it doesn't matter too much, as long as they remove the annoying obstacles." He then shrugged, switching to a different screen. This one kept track on Cynthia's whereabouts by tracking her lacrima. "Ah…so she's heading towards the destination. Excellent work, Augria. There may be hope for you yet."

.

.

"Meteor Storm!" Apollo Flame exclaimed, throwing two fingers down to the ground. Multiple magic seals appeared in the sky, raining down a multitude of meteors upon Cygnus, Jaxon, and Yakuza.

"Pfft!" Cygnus merely scoffed, pointing a hand forward towards the meteors. "You clearly don't know who you're messing with. You lost to Natsu of all people, right? I'm a step above him." He stated with a serious, but cocky tone. With the flick of his wrist, he caught the meteors in a small field of gravity, stopping the descend immediately. "Fall." The gravity around Apollo increased tenfold, holding the Sun God down in place, all while the meteors he fired came back at him, creating a smoke cloud upon impact.

"Well, look at you…" Jaxon with a slight smirk, now looking into the smoke.

"All in a day's work, really," Cygnus replied with a shrug.

"Uh…guys…" Yakuza coughed to grab their attention, pointing into the smoke cloud.

A laughing sound could be heard from the smoke as it cleared. When it did, it showed Apollo snug within his Sun Barrier, taking absolutely no damage from the returned assault. "Is that the best you can do, Gravity God?"

"You gotta be kiddin' me…" Cygnus let out a sigh before darting forward, increasing the gravity around his fist so it would weigh more. "Gravity God's Heavy Smash!" He exclaimed while throwing his fist forward, only for it to collide against the sun barrier. "Wha!?"

"Not good enough!" Apollo yelled while swinging his leg at Cygnus' midsection, knocking the gravity god away. "Who else wants some?"

"I'm going to rain on your parade," Jaxon stated in a serious tone, pointing his hands forward as a blue magic seal appeared. "Rain Needle!" From the magic seal shot out multiple rain droplets in the shape of needles, all racing through the air towards Apollo.

"Ice God's Bellow!" Yakuza exclaimed, throwing his head forward while releasing a torrent of black ice towards Apollo alongside Jaxon's rain needle.

"Useless!" Apollo shouted, extending both arms forward. Before the two attacks could even reach him they melted and evaporated into nothing, just from the heat his body was letting off. "Allow me to show you humans how a REAL attack looks!" With a grin, Apollo raised his hand, causing the power of the sun overhead to intensify. "Behold the true power of the Sun God! Solar Beam!" Suddenly, a large, powerful beam of solar energy dropped down from above, crashing onto the pair of three with a powerful explosion, blowing them all away with pained shouts. "HAHA!"

"Damn…" Yakuza groaned, already heavily damaged from just the one attack. He rolled over onto his stomach, struggling to pick himself up. "He's powerful…"

"No kidding…" Jaxon grunted, bringing himself to a knee.

"Don't let him get a big head…" Cygnus responded to the both of them, slowly bringing himself to a knee as well.

"You cannot defeat me, a true god. I am a God amongst men." Apollo said while raising his hand once again, creating a large orb that rivaled the strength of the sun itself. "Mortals, demi god..."slayer" of gods…This is where I must bid you farewell." And Apollo threw the sphere forward, grinning maliciously as it approached the group of three.

"Drat…" Jaxon huffed, feeling utterly powerless at the situation. He stared at the incoming Solar Flare, everything moving in slow motion. "Why was I brought here anyway? I'm just a man without his memory at this point…"

(That's not entirely true…) A voice said within Jaxon's head.

"Huh…? Who are you…?" Jaxon inquired. "I think you found the wrong man."

(No, I believe I've found the correct person, the one who I can call my son.)

"What…?"

(Listen well. My name is Kraios, god of the weather. You are my son. After watching you grow for many years, I believe now is the time to bless you with the power you deserve, and then you can tell me later if you deserve to fight alongside these people.) And with that, a bright light surrounded Jaxon, just as the Solar Flare exploded on the three.

"HAHA! Adios!" Apollo exclaimed as he watched the explosion. But his eyes widened as an inhalation sound filled the area. "WAIT…WHAT!?"

"Hmm…The Sun God's power is kinda salty…" Jaxon said with a shrug. "You know…if you're such a high and mighty god, why are you siding with a mad scientist of a human, anyway?"

"I-I…" Apollo was speechless. Twice, someone ate his Solar Flare without so much as an inch to give.

"Jaxon…did you just eat that?" Cygnus asked with widened eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jaxon said with a shrug. "I'll need some water to wash it down though…" And as he spoke, large dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the sun's rays from reaching Apollo. "How's that?"

"Oh, nice…!" Yakuza said while standing upright, now swiping his hand in front of him. A light blue magic seal appeared before him, spinning rapidly. "Ice God's Blizzard!" Black snow released in a spiral from the magic seal, the harsh blizzard traveled to Apollo and struck his Sun Barrier, with no protection from the sun shattered easily, leaving the sun god wide open.

"Let's try this once more…" Cygnus said as he hurled Rebellion forward, the spinning blade cutting Apollo a few times on the way there, then returned like a boomerang and repeated the process on the way back. Cygnus rushed the blade and caught the handle, thrusting it forward into Apollo's chest with gusto. "Stinger!"

"Now, it's time for the ending! Kraios, hear me bellow!" Jaxon said as he inhaled, gathering elements of the weather around him. "Weather God's Bellow!" And when he threw his head forward, a torrent of elements shot out, all aimed towards Apollo.

"N-No! You can't tell me I was done in by these fakers of gods and humans..!? I won't let it…!" Before he could finish his statement, the bellow exploded on him, sending him flying into the cloudy sky that cleared up rather quickly.

"All those flavors…but he chose for it to be salty…" Jaxon said while rinsing his mouth out with water.

"Well, look at that! We took one down!" Yakuza exclaimed, only to scowl after. "Yeah, this enthusiastic attitude is not my thing. I'll give Alex her jewel once we're done here…"

"There was never any doubt we were gonna win." Cygnus stated as though they weren't losing the first half of that battle. He then raised a brow in suspicion. "You guys hear that?"

"No…?" Jaxon replied.

"It sounds like…" Cygnus turned, eyes widening at what he saw; General Augria speeding forward towards the three. "What the-!?" Before any of them could do anything, the general ran over them and the ground, causing it to collapse and them to fall under.

"Yes, have a nice fall you three! It's the perfect season, don't you agree?" Augria said with a grin while peering down the hole he created in the floor.

.

.

Aiden: "Things are falling into place quite nicely."

Hyde: "Oh yes, I agree…the Ultimate Show will be grand, and it will end with the fall of the power of Friendship."

Lucy: "No matter what you do, you can't defeat our bonds!"

Aiden: "Oh, we'll see about that, dear."

Next Time: Fall of Friendship Part 1