Erza and Juvia were chained up in a hidden room within the border base. These chains had magic sealing properties, and the girls were stripped down to nothing but their undergarments. Nercon placed a hand on her chin, looking the girls over. "Hmmm…just as I read in the magazine, both of you are very nice looking…" She continued to look them over, eventually walking over to Juvia who refused to look at her. Raising a hand, the brunette proceeded to slap Juvia's rear, causing a surprised yelp to escape the bluenette's lips.
"A-Ah! D-Don't do that! Only Gray-sama is allowed to touch Juvia's bottom!" Juvia exclaimed with a bright red face, fidgeting around in her chains as if she was looking for a way to escape.
"Let's see…you'll be quite popular, especially if we place you in a school girl's outfit…we'll need to find some men with a rear-end fetish, but that shouldn't be a problem…"
"Release us this instant!" Erza glared towards Nercon, but she didn't seem to pay any mind to the screaming red head.
"You two will do very nicely…I didn't think my operation out here would yield such a nice bonus~" Nercon chimed to herself. "Let's see what else you two have on you…"
"W-Wait!" Erza exclaimed, shaking her head a few times. "Stop this, or you'll regret it!" But her words were falling on deaf ears. As far as Nercon was concerned, she was sizing up merchandise.
"The opinions of merchandise mean little to me." Nercon stated firmly. In one ear and out the other. Erza and Juvia had no say in this situation. Nercon was in control, and she was going to make sure the two of them were firmly aware of this fact. "Rule one: Do not speak unless spoken to."
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"So how many people are we dealing with here?" Gray asked while stripping off his shirt unconsciously.
"There are a lot…" Diamond said while pulling up a lacrima blueprint of the building. "There are also a lot of floors between here and the top. Lady Nercon is in charge of this operation, and it appears as though she's hired those pesky Wizard Hunters to assist her…"
"Oh, I never got the chance to fight those guys!" Cynthia sounded rather excited due to the situation. "I was all beat up last time, but now it's time!"
"I was trying to forget about that situation…" Wendy said with a nervous sweat drop.
"What's that Nercon lady all about? Why did she take Erza and Juvia!?" Cynthia questioned. She was worried for the wellbeing of her comrades.
"You're a little too young to understand…" Tia replied while clearing her throat. Nercon's plans were not something Wendy or Cynthia should be privy to. "But let's just say we have to rescue them before she gets too attached…" Glancing around once more, Tia finally realized someone was missing. "Hey, wait…where's Lucy?"
"She went off on her own for somethin'…" Natsu spoke with a slight scoff. "She can handle herself; right now it's time to get busy! I'm sick of waiting!" With that, Natsu darted off from his current position and darted up the stairs.
"Natsu, wait…!" Tia shouted, but it was way too late. He was already gone. "Oh dear…"
"Hey, you bastards! I hope you didn't think you could keep me locked down forever!" And cue the fiery explosions right after Natsu exclaimed this, the screams of soldiers following after. The only thing that could be heard after was Natsu's maniacal laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAAA!"
"There he goes…" Carla said with a shake of her head.
"There's no way I'm letting that blowtorch take all the action!" Gray exclaimed while rushing right up the stairs.
"I guess we better follow them…" Tia said with a heavy sigh.
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"Dazzling Blaze of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu exclaimed while hurling the giant sphere of flames forward towards the group of soldiers; a fiery explosion occurred, blowing them all away. "Get outta my way!" Flames then trailed behind Natsu's arms and he dashed forward, 'slashing' his foes with these wings of flames. "Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!" He wasn't finished yet; leaping into the air after his stop; cheeks began to puff out as orange flames began to take form around his mouth in the form of a vortex. "And! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Opening his mouth, the fire dragon slayer unleashed a gigantic funnel of flames towards the soldiers, capturing a large amount within the flames. "Where's Erza and Juvia?!" A small 'clink' sound occurred; looking down; Natsu noticed a knife hit the floor just before him. "Wha…" And boom, a sudden explosion of darkness threw Natsu backwards, but he managed to catch himself before falling over. "Guh?!"
"Now, what have we got going on here….?" Weavel questioned while walking down the stairs that lead to the second floor. "A little rat seemed to have escaped from his cage? That will never do…I suppose I'll just have to do a little extermination…I am known as a pest control specialist, after all…" The male smirked under his hood.
"Natsu!" The others exclaimed as they finally caught up to him.
"Eh…!" Diamond froze in her tracks, staring at Weavel with a nervous sweat drop. She remembered the last time they encountered each other and it wasn't in her favor.
"Oh, I see now…" Weavel said while eying Tia and Diamond. "It appears we've had little sneaky rodents hiding right under our noses this entire time. Trying to stop the operation, are we? Well, I can't have that…"
"Don't take your eyes off me!" Natsu roared while aiming a fiery fist towards Weavel's face, but the swift hunter easily evaded it and countered with a roundhouse kick to Natsu's chest, sending the Salamander rolling away. "Gah!"
"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed in worry, flying over to Natsu. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine…" Natsu grunted.
"You won't be for long…" Weavel silently exclaimed while closing in the distance between himself and Natsu within a second, preparing to bring his foot down on Natsu. He was surprisingly stopped by Carla in her transformed state, bringing up her leg to counter the blow. "Disgusting shifting rat…" Weavel grunted before swiftly bringing up his free leg to harshly crash into Carla's side, sending the exceed tumbling along the ground.
"Carla…!" Wendy ran over to Carla. "Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine, really…" Carla gave Wendy a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about this guy!" Gray said while standing up to the plate, glaring towards Weavel. "I'll take care of him. You guys go get Erza and Juvia!"
"You got this, Gray!" Cynthia exclaimed before leading the way up the stairs to the second floor.
"Cynthia, don't run ahead…!" Wendy hurried after Cynthia along with Carla.
"Sometimes I feel like we need to put a leash or something on that girl…" Carla groaned while following behind Wendy. Just behind them were Natsu, Happy, Tia, and Diamond.
"Be careful! He's really fast!" Diamond warned. "Like, really fast!" That was the only warning she could give Gray before hurrying up the stairs.
"Hmph…" Weavel merely shook his head at Diamond's warning. "You'd do well to heed the warning from the earth-bound spirit, ice mage. She didn't last a few minutes when we clashed months ago."
"You're joking, right?" Gray questioned with a sly grin. "I didn't even get the chance to even fight any of you when you thought it was okay to start kidnapping some of our nakama, and now I get the chance repay you for the 'care' you gave them!" With a flick of his wrist, Gray caused a glacier to form around Weavel to imprison him.
Weavel was nimble enough to evade the surprise attack, standing at the tip of the iceberg with no difficultly. "It'll take more than petty tricks like that to even begin attempting to halt me in my tracks."
"I'm just getting started!" Gray then placed his fist into his palm, a cold wind starting to fill the room. "Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" A blue magic seal appeared before the wizard, unleashing a plethora of enlarged ice lances in Weavel's direction, attempting to converge on him from all angles.
"Hmph…" A slight smirk tugged at Weavel's lips as the ice lances hurtled in his direction. In one swift movement, he leapt from the glacier and towards the ice lances. As he ran past them, they began to shatter one by one. Weavel then passed Gray, standing a few feet behind the Ice Make Mage. "Get it now?"
"Wha…" Before Gray could finish, he felt an excruciating pain in his side, causing him to drop to a knee. "Gnk…! How did you…!?"
"That was just the warning slash…" Weavel spoke with a small chuckle. "The next one that lands, will be for the kill."
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"Hmm…?" Nercon turned away from Juvia and Erza upon hearing the slight ruckus going on outside. "Oh, it looks like there's quite the racket outside…I guess that means time is slowly running out." Giving a shrug, Nercon turned back to the two females. They were just hanging in their chains, hair creating a shadow over their eyes. Their bodies were marked with some bruises from the whip in Nercon's hands. "Now girls, are you going to listen to me?"
"You won't…get away with this…" Erza growled lowly towards Nercon. This type of treatment was humiliating, but Erza refused to bend the knee. Especially not after what Nercon did to Juvia.
Seeing how Erza was still being defiant, Nercon turned her attention to Juvia. "What about you, Juvia? Speak now if you have any objections!" But she wasn't going to get an answer, and she knew it. Why?
"…." Juvia was just unconscious by this point; surprisingly she received most of the punishment Nercon delivered, probably to spite Erza since she could take more than Juvia. Erza Scarlet was truly a strong woman, and Nercon realized that. So preying upon the weaker one, while Erza could only watch, was a bigger wound than anything Nercon could've done ot Erza directly.
"I have other ways of making you talk, sweethearts…don't make me be such a bad person~. I'm such a good manager, as long as you cooperate. You have such smooth, beautiful skin. I'd hate to leave any lasting marks on it. I don't like to damage my merchandise." Nercon mused with a sly grin. "It's a shame Juvia passed out, I was going to have a lot more fun with her just in front of you, since you're so resilient."
"Don't touch her!" Erza lurched forward threatening, only to be restrained by her chains. She was face to face with Nercon, who just gave a faux smile. "When I get out of these chains, I swear I'll make you pay for this…"
Nercon cupped Erza's chin within her hand, leaning in close. The words Erza spoke made her laugh softly. It was so, so amusing for her to get such an up close and personal bubble of those within Fiore. So unaware of the ways of the world. It was adorable. "Oh, I see you're still a little naïve on how the world truly works, Erza Scarlet~"
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"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy threw her arms down, unleashing a powerful current of wind that rushed through the second floor of the base, throwing most of the soldiers helplessly into the air.
After Wendy knocked the soldiers into the air, Cynthia crouched down, red flames blazing behind her arms. "Omega Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!" The young wizard exclaimed while leaping into the air, spinning around to strike the helpless soldiers with her flames. After the strike, she landed on her feet, giving Wendy a thumbs up. "That's how it's done!"
"Those two are still in sync as ever…" Tia said with a small giggle. Ever since things turned positively for Dealer, her attitude shifted dramatically in a positive way. It was nice to feel so...free with her emotions.
"I don't think any duo can take them down so easily…" Diamond commented; of course her comment may have come a little too soon, as two pairs a footsteps could be heard walking down the stairs. "Ah…?"
"Oh man…what's all the racket down here…?" Yumia asked with her head tilted curiously. "Oh…OH! How did you get out of your cages!?"
"Yoohoo, little shits!" Diamond waved with a mock smile on her lips. "Remember me!?"
"Oh, it's the dead girl…and a friend…" Yukia sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I knew something was a little off about you, the way you slugged around in that suit unlike most others. I thought it was just because you're a little on the weak side…"
"Oh you little…" Diamond puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. Yumia and Yukia may have been a bit young, but that wasn't going to stop Diamond from pounding them into the stone floor.
"Get outta the way!" Natsu exclaimed, cheeks beginning to inflate. With no warning, he unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar towards the elemental twins.
"Oh, please…" Yumia held her hand up, creating a blue magic seal. "Water Blade!" A sphere of water appeared on the girl's hand; she ran forward, cutting through the roar to reduce it to nothing but steam; on her way she struck Natsu in the chest, causing a powerful explosion of water to send the Salamander skidding back.
"I'll show you a water spell…!" Tia pointed her scepter forward before slamming it into the ground; a blue magic seal appeared, springing forth a tidal wave to crash on the two girls.
"Fire Tornado!" Yukia was up next, unleashing a powerful tornado of flames to counter the Tidal Wave, resulting in even more steam that filled the room completely.
"Gah, what's with all this steam…!?" Diamond groaned.
"Broiler Maker!" The two twins exclaimed in unison; suddenly the steam in the room heated up before it exploded violently, sending everyone on opposite sides of the room.
"Ouch…!" Happy groaned, feeling his fur and skin boil after such an attack. "My fur…!"
"That was something else…" Tia admitted while slowly picking herself up. As much as she didn't want to admit it, these twins had some serious skills. But she wasn't going to be outdone by a pair of teenagers either. "Not enough to keep me down, though."
"You're not getting past us lovely ladies, you know! We are the ultimate duo, after all!" Yukia said with a wink. "So give up peacefully and head back into your cells."
"I don't think so…!" Cynthia sprang up, rolling her shoulders excitedly. "There's only one ultimate duo in this building, right Wendy!?"
"Mhm…!" Wendy nodded, standing right beside Cynthia. "We can take you both! Natsu-san! Please rescue Erza-san and Juvia-san!"
"Man, I wanna fight…!" Natsu groaned slightly, but he nodded to Wendy and Cynthia. "You two better win!" Now glancing back to Tia and Diamond, the fire dragon slayer nodded and lead the way up the stairs to the third floor.
"Ha, they don't stand a chance against you two." Carla nodded, keeping off to the side, yet was in a battle ready position just in case things did end up getting dicey for the two slayers.
"A battle between two teams, one beautiful and one not so much…" Yukia said with a sly grin and a giggle, speaking to her sister while gesturing to the Dragon Slayer duo before them.
"I didn't know the enemy was handing out compliments!" Cynthia chimed in, nudging Wendy with her shoulder. "Not sure why she called herself ugly, I mean she looks just like her sister…" It was the most juvenile comeback possible, but it was extremely effective.
"Okay listen here you twerp!" Yumia huffed, steam comically blowing from her ears at Cynthia's comment.
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"Hmmm…" Ophelia tapped her foot on the floor, arms crossed while giving an impatient look to her subordinates. "I guess things are finally starting…good…I couldn't stand being around you for another second…" She turned her gaze to a male with black hair, a single strand falling in front of his face. This male was well built and slightly tall, wearing a soldier's uniform.
"I can't believe she picked her favorite to go on a special mission! I'm her favorite!" The male began to hug himself in a disturbing fashion. "Lady Desdemona picked me!"
"Listen here Kize, you little shit…" Ophelia said while rubbing her temples in annoyance. "I'm her daughter, therefore her favorite. She just wanted me to keep tabs on you since she's too busy herself; you're nothing but her little dog…" The end of her statement came with a small smirk.
"Oh…" After a pause, Kize smiled once again. "So that means she'll let me sit in her lap…?! Oh goodness…" He quivered after speaking, the mere thought of touching Desdemona sending a wave of euphoria through Kize's body. "How could something so beautiful produce something so…disgusting…" The last part his speech was directed towards Ophelia.
"Oh my goodness you're so helpless please help me…" Ophelia's tone of voice just sounded as if she was done with the entire situation. Raising a brow, her ears picked up noises from a few floors below. "Oh…? It looks like we can finally stop hiding now…" Preparing to issue a command, Ophelia began to speak out to her small band of subordinates. "Finally, it's time! Fukomakura, we're moving out!"
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Next time: The Big Brawl!