Era

At their Headquarters in the town of Era, the Magic Council had just earlier received information about the Tower of Heaven and the man in charge of it. A man named Jellal, who consequently happened to be Siegrain's twin brother. The nine council members were in a heated debate over what course of action should be taken against Jellal and the tower. However, they had been unable to come to an agreement.

"We must do something to stop Jellal!" Michello stated.

"We should gather information!" Leiji inputted.

"Dispatch the military!" Belno suggested.

Suddenly, Siegrain interrupted the other Councilors' bickering; his expression was now grave as a few trickles of sweat raced down his face.

"You ignorant fools!" Siegrain exclaimed.

Leiji turned to the blue haired Councilor in surprise and anger. "Siegrain!"

"How dare you..." Belno added.

Siegrain folded his arms over his chest. "Only fools would send in the military, and risk the lives of hundreds of innocent soldiers. I'm telling you, it's far too dangerous!" He rebuked.

Org narrowed his left eye. "What do you propose we do?"

Siegrain lowered his head and closed his eyes. "This is a precarious situation..." He continued. "If we want to stop him, we'll have to completely destroy the Tower of Heaven... and there's only one way to do that..." The blue haired council member paused and opened his eyes for dramatic effect. "...Etherion."

Siegrain's proposal completely shocked the other eight Councilors, and they had every right to be. After all, what he was suggesting was insane. Etherion could cause destruction on a monumental scale.

"Are you insane?!" Org shouted.

"That's Cross-Dimensional Destruction magic!" Michello said crossly.

"We can't!" Belno disputed.

"Do you know how much devastation it would cause?!" Leiji shouted. "That weapon has the power to obliterate an entire nation!"

"Etherion is an absolute last resort! It is more dangerous than the R-System itself!" Belno mentioned.

"Just hear me out." Siegrain reasoned. "The Satellite Square can pinpoint a target anywhere in the region. If we focus it directly on the tower, we can cause less collateral damage, and destroy the structure."

Ultear raised her hand and declared, "I vote to fire."

Org turned to Ultear incredulously. "Not you too, have you gone mad?!"

"Three more in favour will give us the majority." Siegrain noted. "But, we can't let deliberations delay us, time is of the essence! I urge you to vote with me. We cannot allow Jellal to activate the Tower of Heaven!"

Org turned to Siegrain. "But along with destroying the tower, an Etherion blast would no doubt kill your brother." He asserted.

Siegrain lowered his head. "...I realize that..." He replied grimly. "However... it's a sacrifice that must be made."

~*~*~

The giant green sphere structure at the top of the Tower of Heaven was known as the throne room. Inside, intricately designed pillars had been placed around the circumference of the circular-shaped room and many golden symbols were carved on the walls.

Sticking out from the center of the room was a large crystal lacrima with many shards jutting out from it. On the far side of the room, inside a small alcove, was a throne with a red eye-shaped symbol marked in a circle decorated on the wall behind it.

The room was rather dark and carried an eerie feel to it. Sitting on the throne was a man wearing a white collared shirt with a black trim, an onyx coat with a golden symbol emblazoned on the left side, and dark pants tucked inside laced boots. His hair was blue and on the right side of his face was a red tattoo; however, most of his facial features were shrouded in darkness via his coat's hood.

This was Jellal Fernandes, a demented wizard who was the ruler of the Tower of Heaven. Nothing went on inside the tower without him knowing about it.

Standing in front of Jellal was a mildly muscular man with extremely long black hair that reached far below his feet. He had two bangs that framed his face, both of which reached below his waist. He wore a white sleeved shirt with dark red trim, armbands, loose white pants, and shoes.

This was Vidaldus Taka, an attendant and intermediary for Jellal.

Vidaldus had just informed his master that Erza Scarlet had escaped her cell and knocked out Sho in the process. She was currently making her way up the tower, searching for Jellal.

In response, Jellal laughed manically; much to Vidaldus's confusion.

"Master Jellal...?" Vidaldus said.

Jellal ceased his laughing, though an ominous smile remained on his face. "Little Erza's grown into an amazing woman. I must say, I'm impressed." He confessed. "I can't wait to see how this all plays out. Will I prevail, or will it be her? We'll have a game that interweaves past and future. Life and death..."

~*~*~

After tying their boat off to the dock, Braedey, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Juvia stared up at the colossal, twisted body structure in awe and determination. The group then ran down the wooden dock with Braedey at the front, each of them had a fire in their eyes; except for Natsu, who was lagging at the back thanks to him still suffering the effects of his motion sickness.

The terrain of the island was very rocky and jagged, devoid of any form of vegetation. The superhero and group of mages sprinted down a rocky path that circled around the shore. On their left were the rocky ledges that served as the base for the tower and on their right was the ocean.

As the team came across a bend in the road, Braedey immediately stopped and gave his friends a signal to halt. When the wizards stopped, Braedey gave them a hand gesture to take a look. They peeked from behind the rocky bend to see a flight of rock stairs further down the road that seemed to lead straight toward the tower.

However, above the stairs, standing on rocky outcroppings that jutted from the island were several sentries with bizarre-looking, four-legged creatures standing by them. They had small wings extending from their front two legs, large snouts full of sharp teeth, and spiked metal collars on their necks.

Braedey wasn't necessarily worried about the guards or the "guard dogs". In fact, he was rather confident he and his friends could handle them easily; nonetheless, the teen hero didn't want to risk putting Erza and Happy's lives in danger. This meant that their only other alternative was the stealth approach.

"They sure have a ton of lookouts." Gray noted dryly.

"Let's take 'em." Natsu suggested eagerly.

"Bad idea, Natsu." Braedey reprimanded. "If we were to screw up in any way, shape, or form, we could be putting Erza and Happy's lives at risk."

"Man. This is gonna be tricky." Gray commented.

Suddenly, Juvia's head and chest popped out of the calm, ocean water on their right. "I found an underwater passageway into the tower." The rain woman informed.

"Seriously? Way to go!" Gray complimented.

Juvia blushed lightly, and then turned to Lucy with a smug expression. "You hear that, Lucy? I was just praised by Gray, not you!" Juvia taunted.

"Yeah, yeah." Lucy sighed nonchalantly.

Juvia climbed out of the water and onto the rocky path. "It's a little far, but I'm confident we can swim there in ten minutes."

Natsu folded his arms over his chest in a confident manner. "We can hold our breath for that long, right?"

Gray shrugged. "Probably."

Braedey looked at Natsu and Gray incredulously. "You two are joking, right?"

"That's not humanly possible, you two dopes!" Lucy exclaimed angrily.

Juvia held out her hand and summoned a sphere of water. "In that case, I suggest you wear these. It's a water shell containing oxygen. This way you can breathe while underwater."

"Wow. You're awesome." Natsu praised. "But... who are you again?"

Juvia gasped and paled so badly in dismay, that Braedey could have sworn that she had turned white for a second.

Braedey sighed in exasperation and shook his head. "Don't take it personally, Juvia." He assured Juvia. "He's... a little slow."

"I am not!" Natsu countered furiously. "I'll have you know, that I can run real fast."

"He didn't mean that kind of slow, flame-brain." Gray deadpanned, annoyed.

"What'd you say!?" Flames ignited over Natsu's body due to his anger.

"Chill out!" Braedey whispered harshly. "Before you alert the guards. Now, come on. Let's get a move on."

Juvia placed water shells on Gray, Natsu, and Lucy's heads. When she came over to Braedey, the teen hero held out his hand to stop her. "No need." Braedey then activated the Transformatrix.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You can just change into that metal shark guy." Gray said, referring to Hammerstrike.

Braedey smirked as he scrolled through the Transformatrix playlist. "No, I've got someone else in mind for this job." Once he found the icon he wanted, he tapped the dial.

After the usual blue flash had disappeared, hovering in Braedey's place was a blue and white metal dragon-like creature. It seemed to be as big as Bumblebee's alt mode. It's optics were bright blue, with two tendrils hanging from both sides of the lower jaw, along with a pair of hills on both sides of the neck, whilst it's mouth was filled with sharp teeth. It's four clawed feet were webbed, indicating it was a water dweller. It's tail was long, whilst it ended with what could be a mermaid tail. The Transformatrix dial was positioned on its chest while a blue Fairy Tail mark was stamped on his upper left arm.

"Amphibicon." Braedey shouted in a raspy voice.

The group of wizards blinked in intrigue at yet another unforeseen transformation of Braedey's.

"Whoa," Lucy breathed. "A sea dragon, huh?"

"Cool." Natsu grinned brightly.

"Remarkable." Juvia commented with wide eyes. "Your Take-Over magic is even more impressive in person."

"So what can this guy do?" Gray asked.

Amphibicon opened his mouth, and the group watched the inside of his mouth sizzle with blue electricity.

"Another guy with lightning powers?" Natsu said.

Amphibicon nodded, and closed his mouth. "I can also breathe underwater. Now let's get a move on!" He urged impatiently.

The superhero and group of wizards quietly entered the water and dived down. Since Juvia was a water mage, she didn't require a water shell to breathe underwater. The rain woman swam at the front of the pack while Amphibicon and the others followed her lead. As they swam further into the underwater cavern, Amphibicon glanced down at the rocky bottom to see it was littered with human bones and other debris.

Braedey felt his stomach slightly twist at the sight of the human remains. 'What in the Pits of Kaon has been happening here?'

Ten minutes later, Juvia stopped and pointed straight up. They looked up to see a large opening at the roof of the cavern with light pouring in. Amphibicon gave Juvia a praising nod before he swam up to the surface, the others following behind him.

When they reached the surface, the group looked around to see that they were in a large, rocky cave with large, intricate metal pillars built around the perimeter and bridges interconnecting them. They then spotted a relatively flat island in the middle of the cave and climbed on it.

Once they were standing on the flat rock, Amphibicon, Natsu, and Gray took a moment to scan their surroundings.

"So we're below the tower now, huh?" Gray said.

"I wonder where they're keeping Erza and Happy." Natsu wondered; his scarf was now wrapped around his forehead like a headband.

"No clue." Amphibicon admitted. "We'll just have to look everywhere until we find them."

Lucy, who was now attired in her white bikini, smiled as she took off her water shell. "They may look silly, but they sure do work."

Juvia turned to Lucy with an impish glint in her eyes. "I'm impressed you made it here because I purposely made your shell smaller so you would have trouble breathing."

The Celestial Spirit wizard sweat dropped. "Gee...thanks."

Suddenly, the team's attention was seized by an animalistic roar. They turned forward to see a couple of the bizarre-looking creatures from earlier flying toward them with two riders on them.

"INTRUDERS!" a rider shouted.

"Uh oh," Lucy remarked.

In less than a few seconds, several squadrons marched down the bridges intersecting the large pillars; each squad consisted of dozens of men. They were all armed with javelins or swords. There were also a few more of those pink-skinned creatures standing by them, snarling in rage.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" A regiment captain demanded.

"Guess we don't have a choice. We're gonna have to fight 'em." Gray stated determinedly.

Amphibicon narrowed his optics. "Sounds good to me," he proclaimed as blue electricity sparked around his body. "I've been itching to kick some butt for a while now."

Flames ignited over Natsu's body as he scowled at the guards. "You losers wanna know who we are?!" He held up his right arm and summoned a fiery magic circle above him. "We're the wizards who are gonna pound your faces in!"

Natsu punched the ground and caused a blazing, orange smoke cloud to erupt from beneath him and fill the cavern. The guards were all taken by surprise by the display of magic power.

"What the?" a guard stammered, shocked.

The superhero and team of wizards leaped high above the smoke cloud to where they could look down at the soldiers.

"We're from Fairy Tail!" Natsu roared.

The Dragon Slayer inhaled deeply and exhaled a powerful torrent of fire at the guards in front of him. They were easily blasted backwards with burns across their bodies.

"OW! SO HOT!" They cried simultaneously.

Still in midair, Gray quickly summoned an icy blue magical seal in front of him. "Okay, Ice Make: Lance!"

A barrage of ice lances shot out from the seal and smashed into the guards, sending them careening back.

"AHH! SO COLD!" The group squealed.

Lucy landed on a bridge in front of a group of guards. They immediately had hearts in their eyes and dog whistled upon seeing her bikini-clad body.

"Ooh. She's wearing a bikini!" a guard yelled excitedly.

Lucy pulled out one of her Celestial Keys from her pouch. "Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

With the sound of a bell, a curvaceous pink haired maid with shackles on her wrists emerged from the ground.

"Did you summon me, princess?" Virgo asked politely.

Instantaneously, the guards flailed their arms around in excitement at the sight of the gorgeous maid.

"Whoa! It's a maid!" A man shouted exuberantly.

"Yeah, she's way cuter than the other one." Another guard remarked.

Lucy heard that comment, and felt a vein on her temple throb in annoyance. "These pervs need to be punished." She stated, pointing toward them.

Virgo's pupils turned red while she complied, "As you wish."

Without warning, Virgo rushed forward at blinding speeds while swinging her shackles around. The group of men only saw a dust trail and a glimpse of pink before they were sent hurdling off the side of the bridge.

On the bridge a level above where Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were fighting, Amphibicon stood before a large crowd of guards. The masked men held out their melee weapons and stared at Braedey in bemusement and slight apprehension.

"Whoa. What is that thing?" A guard wondered.

"A metal dragon?" Someone suggested.

"You fools!" a squad captain shouted angrily. "Stop wondering what it is and attack it already!"

Amphibicon smirked smugly. "If you losers think you can beat me..." His body sparked in electricity, and discharged powerful bluish-white blasts of electricity at the guards, which sent them hurdling off the bridge with electrical burns across their bodies. "...then you're in for a big shock." He quipped.

"AH! IT STINGS!" The squads cried out painfully as they fell.

Meanwhile, below on the rocky island, a group of guards had surrounded Juvia. The rain woman stood nonchalantly as they attempted to attack her; however, they were shocked when their weapons simply went through her like water.

"Whoa!" A guy exclaimed. "What's with this chick?"

"It's like she's made of water!" Another man shouted.

"I bet our guns will affect her!"

The squadron pulled out their magical rifles and fired a bombardment of blue energy blasts at Juvia. Amazingly, her injured areas turned into water and merged with the rest of her body before returning to normal. The guards ceased their firing, noticing that their weapons were having zero effect on her.

"Whoa! But how?" A guard wondered, astonished.

Juvia reared back her hand. "Drip, drip, drop." she said before swiping her hand in an arc pattern. "Water Slicer!"

Suddenly, an enormous wave of water erupted from beneath the guards' feet and sent them flying backwards.

In a short time, the team had easily beaten and subdued all the guards. The superhero and mages met back up on the rocky island at the bottom of the cavern. Around them was the rocky debris from the bridges that had been destroyed in their onslaught and many of the unconscious bodies of their adversaries.

"Well," Juvia commented, "that certainly did the job."

"Good work team." Gray praised.

"I hope we're not attracting attention to our..." Lucy paused and sighed, exasperated. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

"I am afraid so, miss." Virgo replied.

Natsu picked up a barely conscious guard by the front of his coat, glaring at him intensely. "So where's the Blockhead, buddy?"

Amphibicon then landed to Natsu's side; it was evident that he was scowling at the man. "More importantly, where are Erza and Happy?"

All of a sudden, the team's attention was grabbed by a giant, decorative stone mask carved in the cavern wall above them. The mouth opened wide as a tongue-shaped ramp extended out to where they could reach it.

"Guess that's their way of telling us to come in." Gray suggested.

Amphibicon eyed the ramp warily. "Why would they let us in just like that?"

~*~*~

Meanwhile, in the tower's throne room, Jellal and Vidaldus had been watching the smack-down that Braedey, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Juvia had delivered to the tower's guards via a magic circle. The former watched with intrigue whilst the latter looked on in slight disbelief.

Vidaldus turned to Jellal, and inquired, "Master, why are you letting them into the tower?"

"As I said before, this is all one big game." Jellal responded smoothly. "They were lucky enough to clear the first stage, but they still have a ways to go. I'm just trying to make things interesting."

"But shouldn't we concentrate on the ceremony?" Vidaldus questioned. "It's only a matter of time before the Magic Council catches on to our plans."

"Now Vidaldus, how many times do I have to tell you not to worry about them." Jellal grinned darkly. "The Magic Council... only wishes they had the power to stop me."

~*~*~

After climbing the ramp that had been generously but suspiciously lowered for them, the members of Fairy Tail and Juvia were now in a large room that had stone-carved columns on the walls. But, what really captured their attention, especially Natsu's, was a big table lined with various foods and dishes in the centre of the room.

Braedey had warned them that the food may have been poisoned; however, his warning fell on deaf ears as Natsu ran over and began to devour the feast. Hell, even Gray and Juvia sat down at the table and started to eat; although, the pair wasn't shoving it down like Natsu was. A few minutes passed, and it was clear that the food wasn't poisoned. Perhaps this feast was intended for the guards or the Big Bad in charge of the tower?

Braedey, Lucy, and Virgo stood off to the side of the table; the former groaning in annoyance.

"Seriously, what is with you guys and eating?" Braedey, who had changed back to human earlier, muttered.

"HEY BLOCKHEAD!" Natsu yelled.

"Geez, keep it down!" Lucy barked.

"I don't see the point in sneaking around anymore." Gray countered, chewing on a drumstick. "Not after all the ruckus that went on downstairs."

"True," Braedey folded his arms over his chest, "but that does not mean we have to deliberately draw attention to ourselves from this point on."

"Princess," Virgo turned to Lucy, "I would suggest you eat something too before there's nothing left."

Lucy sweat dropped. "No thanks."

After swallowing down a mouthful of rice, Juvia explained, "The door that let us in... was controlled by a magic-user."

"And they are well aware of our presence." Virgo added.

"Why would they let us in?" Lucy asked.

"You think they're trying to provoke us?" proposed Gray.

"Possible," Braedey held his chin in contemplation. "I would not be surprised if this was all some kind of elaborate trap."

"Not to be rude, but your bikini leaves little to the imagination." Virgo said to Lucy, changing the subject entirely.

Lucy flinched, as her face flushed a bright shade of pink in embarrassment. "Should I change?"

The pink haired maid's pupils glowed red again as she held up her hands in an eager manner. "Yes, I'll help you."

"NO! Wait, right now?!" Lucy shrieked.

Suddenly, Virgo swiftly stripped Lucy of her bikini and began to dress her in a different set of clothes. Braedey felt his face heat up, as he quickly averted his gaze away. Gray, however, stared at the scene with wide eyes.

"Holy..." Gray trailed off.

"PLEASE STOP LOOKING AT HER, GRAY!" Juvia begged, tearing up.

A few seconds later, Lucy was now wearing a decorative green and light blue dress with a flower design on the front.

"I brought this over from the Celestial World." Virgo said.

The Celestial mage smiled in satisfaction and posed. "So boys, do I look super cute in this outfit or what?"

"Oh yeah," Gray complimented. "You look great!"

Braedey simply nodded in agreement. 'It definitely goes well with her.' He added in his head.

"DON'T COMPLIMENT HER!" Juvia shouted desperately.

"He loves her." Virgo stated teasingly.

Lucy, Gray, and Juvia turned white; the former two in exasperation and the latter in horror.

"Don't you start doing that, too." Lucy sighed.

Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the maid dubiously. "And since when were you hanging out with Happy, Virgo?"

Virgo ignored the Dragon Slayer's question and turned to her master. "I wish you luck, princess." She then disappeared in a flash of gold.

A sudden thought then came across Lucy's mind. "Oh," She turned to the boys, "did you want me to ask her to bring you guys a set of dry clothes too?"

"Nah," Gray replied as he dried off his black pants by a flaming Natsu. "This does the trick just fine."

"He's not a dryer, yah know!" Lucy exclaimed.

Braedey didn't need to dry off since he was an alien at the time they were swimming in the underwater cavern. "Sure works like one though." He shrugged.

Without warning, a squad of half a dozen guards rushed into the room armed with javelins. "Intruders! We found them!" A guard yelled.

The team turned to the squad, prepared to fight; however, before they could act, a redheaded armour-clad woman rushed in and slashed her twin magical blades. As a result, the guards cried out as they were sent sprawling across the room, unconscious.

Braedey and the others smiled brightly once they saw who the woman was. "ERZA!" They shouted simultaneously.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Lucy said, relieved.

"Ain't that the truth." Braedey smiled. "We were worried sick about you."

"She's so cool." Juvia commented with a sparkle in her eyes.

Upon seeing her friends and teammates, Erza gasped as her eyes widened in shock. "It's you! What are you doing inside the tower?" She demanded.

Braedey cocked a brow, confused. "Looking for you, of course."

"We haven't met. My name's Juvia..."

Juvia sentence was cut off when Erza regained her composure and stood tall. "GO HOME!" She commanded fiercely. "This place is far too dangerous!"

Everyone, including Braedey, felt their jaws slightly gape open from Erza's outburst. Braedey shook off his surprise quickly and looked at Erza incredulously. "Go home? Are you serious?!" He questioned. "We came here to rescue you!"

Natsu temporarily ignited his fists and punched an open palm. "You're not gonna scare me into leaving." He declared boldly. "I'm not going anywhere until I give that Blockhead a good taste of my fists! I'm gonna make him pay for shooting me in the mouth."

Braedey sweat dropped, annoyed. "Seriously? That is what you're concerned about?"

"You have to go!" Erza ordered.

"But why?" inquired a worried Lucy.

"Your friends kidnapped Happy!" Natsu countered heatedly. "I'm not leaving without him!"

"They got him too?" Erza looked away for a moment. "It must've been Millianna."

"Where can I find him?" Natsu demanded.

"I'm not sure." Erza replied.

"This means war." Natsu stated, clenching a fist.

Gray sweat dropped. "Who are you declaring war against?"

Suddenly, Natsu rushed forward toward the giant door on the other side of the room, leaving a dust trail in his wake. "THE JERKS WHO KIDNAPPED MY LITTLE BUDDY!"

"Wait!" Erza cried. "Natsu!"

"What a moron." Gray muttered.

Braedey sighed, resigned. "We'd better go help him."

Without warning, Erza held out her sword to stop them, making Gray, Lucy, and Juvia jump back in fear. Braedey, however, stood his ground but was a bit unsettled by the sword.

"NO!" Erza said forcefully to them. "You don't have to worry about Happy. Millianna's a cat lover, she'd never do anything to hurt him." Erza then turned her back on the quartet. "I promise I'll bring them both back to the Guild with me, but you four need to leave immediately."

"Don't be ridiculous, let us help you!" Lucy argued.

"I don't want your help." Erza retorted strongly. "This is my problem; it doesn't involve you."

Gray took a step forward. "How can you say that?" He asked. "You saw Natsu. I'd say we're plenty involved."

Erza kept her back turned to them, remaining silent. Braedey eyed Erza in bewilderment. Why was she acting this way? What was wrong with her?

"Erza," Braedey asked firmly, "What is this tower? Who is Jellal?"

Braedey had remembered back in the casino that Sho had mentioned some guy named Jellal being happy to see Erza again. Needless to say, he and the others were curious.

Erza didn't reply and remained silent.

Braedey sighed before continuing, "I can understand if you don't want to tell us. You said those people that kidnapped you were old friends of yours? Well, we are your friends now, and we are here to help you. No matter what, we will always have your back just like you will have ours."

Gray and Lucy both smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he's right." Gray agreed.

Erza hunched over a bit, clutching her swords even tighter. "Leave!" She demanded again.

"C'mon!" Lucy whined.

"You're freaking me out 'cause this isn't like you at all." Gray noted; his voice filled with concern. "What happened to the woman who'd tell us to 'shut up and come along' whether we wanted to or not? We wanna stay and help you out. Master taught us that even the strongest warriors need a little backup every once a while."

Braedey smiled and nodded. "That is true. I can attest to that. No matter what, we are not leaving you behind, Erza."

Erza turned around. Her lower lip was quivering and tears were streaming out of her left eye. Gray, Lucy, and Juvia gasped in shock. Erza Scarlet, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, was crying?

Braedey's mouth opened a little as he looked at the redhead in bemusement and concern; needless to say, the sight of Erza's tears startled him as much as the other three. As Braedey eyed her tears more, he felt his stomach twist in discomfort.

Braedey then took note of something else. Erza was only crying out of her left eye. Why was that?

"I'm sorry." Erza wiped her tears away and looked to the floor, crossing her arms over her chest. "But you can't help me now. The odds are stacked against me. Win or lose this battle, I'm staring death in the face."

The three wizards and superhero were taken back by Erza's statement.

"What do you mean, Erza?" Braedey asked, concerned.

Erza kept her eyes closed and clutched her right wrist guard. "There's no point in fighting what's inevitable. I can't." She paused as she looked at the four with a sad smile. "But what I can do is share my story with you... while I'm still here."

Braedey's eyes widened from the latter part of her sentence. 'While she's still here? What does she mean by that? Does she think she's going to die here?' Braedey wondered.

"This building is the Tower of Heaven." Erza explained. "It's also called the R-System. Over a decade ago, a cult dedicated to Black Magic began its construction. Its purpose was to cast a forbidden spell that brings the dead back to life. The spell required multiple human sacrifices. So the cult abducted citizens of the surrounding areas and forced them to build the tower as their slaves."

Erza paused for a moment. "The only reason I know this is because I was one of those people."

Braedey, Lucy, Gray and Juvia gasped from this startling revelation. They couldn't believe what they had heard. Erza was a victim of child slavery?

"Anyone who dared to resist the cult or tried to escape the tower would mysteriously disappear. We never had any peace of mind. We lived in constant fear. But we bonded and made friends despite that... even though we knew we wouldn't be together long. One of my friends in the tower was a boy named... Jellal."

Erza went on to explain how her friends had attempted to escape, but were caught by the cult. As punishment, Erza was taken to be tortured and she had lost her right eye in the process, which had been replaced by an artificial one later on.

However, Jellal had come along to save her and told her that they would have to fight to get out. When Jellal and Erza were captured again, Erza was thrown back into a cell with her friends while Jellal was taken to be tortured in Erza's place.

While in her cell, something inside Erza had snapped. She had grabbed a weapon and amazingly knocked out the guards with extreme force, shocking her friends and cellmates. Erza stated that the cult would never let them go and that they would have to fight for their freedom. Immediately, the other prisoners had rallied around her.

Erza paused from her explanation. Braedey frowned sadly as he eyed the armour-clad mage with sympathy. The others shared similar expressions.

Braedey was absolutely shocked to hear that Erza had experienced such horrors at a young age. He clenched his fists, as he felt a part of him boil in rage at the cultists who had put her and countless other innocents through so much pain and terror.

He glanced over at Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and back to Erza. It was then that the teen hero had a realization: all of his teammates and friends had experienced a hard past life. Gray had lost his family and home to the demon Deliora, Lucy lived with a demanding father who didn't care about her, Natsu was abandoned by his dragon father, and they now knew that Erza had been kidnapped from her home and forced into slavery as a child.

'Everyone on the team has had a rough, hard life.' Braedey thought sadly. He looked to the floor, a tear threatening to fall from his right eye. '...Erza... I am so sorry...'

"So, we took a stand for our freedom." Erza continued. "We hoped to save our dear friend Jellal. He was like the leader of our group back then. He had a strong sense of justice that I truly admired." She paused and glanced back at the group with narrowed eyes. "However... something happened to him. It's almost as if he became an entirely different person. There's only one way I can describe Jellal's new persona... pure, unadulterated evil."

Erza continued her story of how she and the other prisoners of the Tower of Heaven had risen against the cult. Things had seemed hopeful until magic soldiers appeared and began to take them down. Erza would have been killed if not for Grandpa Rob, an old wizard who happened to be from Fairy Tail, and a role model for Erza, who took a magic blast for her.

Braedey felt his insides cringe painfully; it sounded vaguely familiar to something Braedey had experienced not-so-long ago. He shook his head from the awful memory and refocused on Erza's story.

Just before Rob passed on, he told her that true freedom lied in her heart. In her darkest moment, just after Rob had died, Erza had awakened her magic power and telekinetically used the weapons and tools scattered across the construction site to attack the cultists; much to everyone's shock.

From that moment on, everyone's determination and resolve had been restored, and they all continued to fight on. In the end, they had won. The Black Magic cult had been defeated.

But despite their victory against their oppressors, the Jellal they had all known had been lost. Erza described to them how drastically Jellal had changed. He had truly become evil.

Despite her best efforts to convince him to leave, Jellal stated that he and the others would stay behind to complete the tower so that they may resurrect Zeref. Jellal then gave Erza an ultimatum: he would let her go free, but if she ever told anyone about the Tower of Heaven, he would destroy the tower and all her friends.

After that, Erza had woken up on a beach shore alone. Though she was free from the tower, she had lost so much in the process.

When Erza was finished, she sniffled while tears raced out of her left eye. Braedey and the others remained speechless. They couldn't believe something so horrible had happened to Erza. Braedey looked away with closed eyes, feeling his insides twist in pain once more. The ability to stay stoic and keep his emotions under check was becoming very difficult.

"I have to fight Jellal." Erza declared weakly. "I have no choice. I have to do it."

A moment of silence passed before Gray spoke up. "I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but for some reason the name Zeref does sound familiar."

"I'm sure." Erza replied. "He was a legendary Black Wizard."

"Wait a minute," said Lucy, "I remember someone saying that the monster that came out of the Lullaby flute was one of Zeref's demons."

"I never mentioned it, but I suspect that Deliora was one of the demons from the Book of Zeref as well." Erza replied.

Braedey closed his eyes and mused, "This Zeref sure likes creating giant, killer monsters. Sounds like Shockwave." He then opened his eyes and looked back at Erza. "So, if this Zeref is as evil as you say, why would Jellal want to resurrect him?"

Erza turned back to him. "I don't understand his motives either; however, my old friend Sho mentioned something to me about Zeref getting them to heaven and when that happens the world will be reborn and they will become its rulers."

"Okay," Braedey cocked a brow, "that does sounds like a problem."

Lucy touched her chin in thought. "Erza, something still confuses me about these people who claimed to be old friends of yours. Why are they accusing you of betrayal? Don't they realize that Jellal is the bad guy here?"

"There is no doubt that Jellal has been feeding them all sorts of lies since he banished Erza from the tower." Braedey deduced.

"Exactly," Erza concurred. The Re-Quip mage then lowered her head in shame. "But that doesn't change the fact that I abandoned them long ago. In the end, I guess you could say that I did betray them."

"Because he threatened to kill them if you ever came back, you couldn't have saved them!" Lucy argued.

"None of that matters anymore." Erza countered. She was silent for another short moment. "If I can defeat Jellal, then this will all be over. Leave it to me, okay?"

Braedey narrowed his eyes at Erza suspiciously. He recalled something that Erza had proclaimed earlier. "The odds are stacked against me. Win or lose this battle, I'm staring death in the face."

'She is hiding something. It's clear that she thinks she's going to die in this battle. No matter what, I cannot let that happen.' Braedey thought determinedly.

Suddenly, before anyone could comment, Sho walked into the room while wearing an agitated frown. "Sister, that's not true. Why? Why are you lying to them?"

"Sho?" Erza said.

"You think by making yourself the martyr you're going to get sympathy from your friends? Tell them the truth!" Sho shouted angrily. "That's not how it happened and you know it! You blew up the boats we were going to use to escape, and then you left on your own.

"We would've wound up at the bottom of the sea if it hadn't been for Jellal. He saved us! He warned us not to trust wizards like you, the ones who hadn't learned to use their magic properly. He said that you had become drunk with magical power and that you didn't want anything to do with your past or the people you left behind!" Sho finished.

Braedey narrowed his eyes angrily at the blonde haired card mage. His eyes almost looked like they would go red. He had plenty of reasons to be furious with Sho. Not only did Sho help kidnap Erza and kick him in the gut while he was tied up, but now, Sho had the audacity to call Erza his 'sister' while he accused her of lying?!

Braedey inwardly sighed. He knew that it wasn't all Sho's fault. Like he said earlier, Jellal was feeding him and the others all kinds of lies since Erza was cast out from the Tower of Heaven ten years ago. Still...

"Sho, did you ever think... that Jellal might be lying?" Braedey inputted, glaring intensely at him.

"If you truly knew Erza you'd know that she'd never do something so horrible." Lucy added.

Sho's eyes widened. He took a step back as his body began to tremble slightly.

"You only think you know her." Sho disputed, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "You weren't there back then. You don't know anything about us!"

He then turned his gaze on Erza. "After you left, Jellal's words were my only salvation. And that's why... I spent all these years working to finish the tower for him. I did it for his sake! Now you're trying to tell me it was all a lie?!" Sho paused as more tears raced down his face. "You really expect me to believe that's the truth and that Jellal's been lying to us this whole time?!"

"That's right." A male voice spoke out.

All of a sudden, a black haze materialized in front of the group as Simon appeared out from the darkness.

Gray clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes in fury at the large man, who had attacked him back at the casino. "Why you..." Gray took a step toward him, but was stopped by Juvia's outstretched arm.

"Wait, he doesn't pose a threat, my dear." Juvia stated calmly. "He never meant you any harm. At the resort, he knew he was attacking your ice decoy."

Gray arched a brow, confused. "But how?"

"Since it was he who cast the darkness spell, it had no effect on him." Juvia answered. "I came along in the hopes of discovering why he spared you."

"I'd expect no less from a former member of Phantom's Element 4." Simon responded.

"I don't understand." Sho voiced, gaining the group's attention once more.

"I had to fool you and the others into thinking I had killed him, but I had hoped our attack would lure them here." Simon clarified.

Sho clenched his teeth and looked away while closing his eyes. "So you were lying to me too? How could you do that to me?"

Simon stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on Sho's right shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "Jellal had you under his spell and I couldn't convince you otherwise. So I played along until the time was right."

"So... you knew all along?" Erza realized.

Simon turned around and looked at Erza softly. "I've always believed in you, Erza, and there's nothing that can change that."

Erza gazed up at her old childhood friend and smiled warmly. Simon then took her right hand and held it gently. "I mean those words from the bottom of my heart."

"Simon," Was all Erza could say as she embraced him tightly.

Braedey, Gray, Lucy and Juvia simply smiled at the heartwarming scene, the reunion between two old friends. Lucy even had to wipe a stray tear that leaked from her eye.

"I never knew." Sho had fallen to his knees with his eyes clenched closed and his teeth gritted together. "I can't believe I blindly followed him all these years. I doubted you." He then opened his eyes, more tears pouring out of them. "Cause you left me all alone. You have no idea how much that hurt!"

Sho hunched over and slammed his clenched fist on the floor, and finally broke down into a sobbing fit. "I don't know what to do! I don't know which one of you to believe in anymore!" He cried.

The team looked on with melancholic expressions at the crying wizard. They couldn't imagine how rough it was for Sho after Erza had been expelled from the tower all those years ago.

Erza stepped toward him and kneeled in front of him. "I know this must be hard, taking all this in at once. But Sho... there's something that you need to know. Though it's been many years, I have never once forgotten about any of you." declared Erza.

Sho ceased his crying at his 'sister's' words. Erza pulled Sho to her and hugged him gently. "I'm sorry I couldn't stand up to him, but I was so weak back then. Please forgive me."

"Now you're stronger and ready to face him." Simon stated. "Isn't that right?"

Erza simply nodded in response.

Simon turned to Braedey, Gray, Lucy and Juvia. "I've waited all these years for this moment. A group of powerful wizards would gather here."

'I am technically not a wizard, but I'm just as effective, if not more.' Braedey mused.

The teen hero inwardly shook himself from his thoughts and returned to reality. "So, what do you have planned?" He asked.

"We're going to take down Jellal." Simon responded strongly. "We can do it if we work together."

The group nodded in determination. Erza stood up from the floor with a similar expression on her face. Sho, meanwhile, remained on his hands and knees, still trying to process everything that he had just heard.

"But first," continued Simon, "we must keep Salamander and Wally from clashing."

"Leave that to me." Braedey affirmed as he activated the Transformatrix. "I'll find him and we'll meet back up with you guys."

The group eyed the shape-shifter curiously.

"How do you plan to find him?" Simon asked.

Braedey looked up at the tall, muscular wizard with a confident smirk. "Simple. I'll track his scent." Once he found the head icon he wanted, then tapped down the core.

The group of wizards was forced to shield their eyes from the usual blue lightshow. When the light died away, standing in Braedey's place was a large orange armoured dog-like creature with no eyes, ears, nose, or tail, the posture being somewhat apelike, the teeth are very defined and stick out of the mouth, has three gill-like nostrils located on each side of the neck, and sharpened claws of black steel. The Transformatrix on the centre of the chest, and a black Fairy Tail mark was on its front left shoulder.

This was one of Braedey's original ten Cybertronian transformations, MetalMutt.

Braedey let out a series of howls and snarls, exclaiming his name in the Predacon's ancient language.

Lucy lightly squealed and took a frightful step back while the others simply stared at the orange creature in slight awe and intrigue.

"What is that form?" Juvia asked calmly, though her eyes were wide.

"Why doesn't it have any eyes?" Gray wondered.

"I believe Braedey called this form, MetalMutt." Erza explained. "He told me that while in this form he is unable to talk; however, his sense of smell rivals that of Natsu's."

MetalMutt lifted his head as his gills sifted through the multitude of smells around him. He paused when he came across a smoky, campfire type scent. MetalMutt knew that smell could only belong to one person. The Predacon raced forward toward the door and through the corridor, locked onto Natsu's scent, and roared out.

"Looks like he's got Natsu's scent," Gray noted.

"You think he'll be alright?" Lucy inquired.

"From what I've gathered," said Simon, "your friend is very powerful. If anyone can get to Salamander in time, it's him."

Erza smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes. I'm confident in Braedey's abilities. He'll be okay."

Simon glanced at Erza and took note of a certain glint in her brown eyes. 'I've seen that look before... years ago.' He then looked in the direction where MetalMutt had run off. 'Hmm... I wonder... that Take-Over wizard? Yes... most likely...'

Simon shook his head and returned to reality. "Nevertheless," he advised, "we need to get a move on quickly."

~*~*~
Era

The Magic Council was still debating on whether or not to fire the Etherion Cannon. Most of them were still unsure as to if there were any other alternatives to the problem at hand.

"The time for action is now!" Siegrain proclaimed. "We must use the Satellite Square to fire an Etherion blast directly at the tower!"

"The R-System is forbidden magic that we cannot allow to become part of our recorded history; therefore it has to be destroyed." Ultear added. "Why can't you see that?"

"Etherion would obliterate everything in its path, including any innocent civilians within the tower!" Org argued.

"Not to mention your own brother's life is at stake!" Michello disputed. "If you fire the Etherion, he's sure to die! Would you be able to live with that guilt?"

"If it's for the greater good..." Siegrain claimed.

"Although lives of innocent civilians will be lost, we must stop him." Leiji lowered his head. "It's a sacrifice that must be made now..."

Org turned to Leiji incredulously. "How could you say that?! Can you imagine how we'd be vilified if we attack Caelum without warning? We'd go down in history as mass murderers!"

Belno closed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "I will sacrifice my reputation in order to save countless lives..."

Org looked at Belno in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

"Think of how the R-System will affect future generations." Leiji asserted. "How can we teach our children the value of life if the dead can be resurrected?"

"We have to put an end to this." Belno raised her hand. "I would like to vote in favor of an Etherion attack."

"...We need one more..." Siegrain murmured.

~*~*~

In the Tower of Heaven's throne room, Jellal sat at his thrown, grinning forebodingly.

"Just a single vote..." Jellal rested his chin on his right hand. "That's all it will take, and then... it's game over..."

The evil, blue haired mage chuckled ominously as his mysterious plan began to unfold.

~*~*~

Meanwhile, in another section of the tower, Natsu was running down a long corridor with a full head of steam. When the pyromaniac spotted an open door on his right, he came to a halt and took a peek inside. Needless to say, he was a bit dumbfounded by what he saw.

The entire room was cat-based. The furniture, the wallpaper, the tiled floor, stuffed animals, and various items were all feline-themed.

"Geez, what's with this place?" Natsu wondered. "There are cats everywhere!"

Natsu walked in and looked around the room. His eyes widened as a bright smile grew on his face when he spotted one object in particular. Lying on a white dresser was a giant, rounded cat helmet. It was primarily mint green with three maroon markings on its face and a pink heart in the center of the forehead.

"Ooh! I like that giant kitty head!" Natsu shouted exuberantly.

He went over to it and picked it up. "Oh, it's some kind of mask!" In his excitement, Natsu placed the green cat helmet on his head.

Natsu began to take a few fighting poses. "Alright, let's go Happy!" He took on another stance. "Aye, sir! Ha-ha... ah, I'd make a good cat."

Natsu chuckled as he tried to pull the mask off; however, he discovered that it wouldn't come off. The fire wizard put more strength into his arms to remove the helmet, but was met with negative results.

"NNNOOOO!" Natsu yelled.

Realizing he couldn't get it off, Natsu slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Man. It's stuck on my giant noggin. What am I gonna do?" He asked no one. After a short moment, the Dragon Slayer perked back up, his positive attitude returning. "Oh well. It looks cool, so who cares?"

Meanwhile, standing by the door, a man whose body seemed to be comprised of blocks leaned against the door frame. He wore a royal blue suit and black, oval-shaped glasses. His right arm was transformed into a gray rifle with a black scope on top.

Wally tipped his hat and smiled roguishly while holding up his Polygon Rifle. "Well, ain't that dandy?" He remarked.

"Ha-ha, ha-ha, oh man! Happy's gonna freak out when he sees me!" Natsu laughed as he jumped around with his arms up. "Ooh, maybe I can scare Erza while I'm at it. He-he-heh..." the fire mage stopped when a sudden thought came across his mind. "Wait... I know Lucy's totally gonna jump out of her skin. It'll be hilarious!"

Wally aimed his rectangular-shaped rifle at the back of Natsu's head. "End of the road for you, boy." He grinned.

"Hah-hah-HAH-CHUUUU!" Natsu sneezed. "OH MAN! I can't wipe my face. GROSS! Man, I should really take this off." He tried to pull the helmet off again, but it still refused to budge.

"Let me give you a hand, pal." Wally smirked slyly.

Suddenly, just before Wally took the shot, an animalistic roar echoed down the corridor. Wally turned around only to see an orange blur rush into the room and crash into him. The block-shaped man fell to the floor and looked up to see a giant, metal, orange dog-like creature standing over him; it was growling viciously down at him.

Without warning, MetalMutt bit down on Wally's Polygon Rifle and lifted him up, shaking him back-and-forth.

"WHAT THE?!" Wally yelled, shocked. "LET GO OF ME, YAH MANGY MUTT!"

MetalMutt released his hold on the Blockhead, while jerking his head hard and sent him crashing through the wall, leaving a rather big hole in it. Startled by the commotion, Natsu turned around to see a large, metal. orange dog standing in the room; although, he could barely make out the details of the creature, since his vision was limited thanks to the cat helmet.

"Huh? What? This tower's got giant guard dogs too?!" Natsu yelled, stunned.

MetalMutt turned to Natsu and knew that it was him, due to his voice and the strong smoky scent wafting off him. The Predacon lifted his front, right paw and tapped the blue symbol disk on his chest. In a flash of blue, MetalMutt transformed back to Braedey.

"Natsu, am I glad I found you." Braedey then blinked twice, performing a double take at the big, green cat helmet on Natsu's head.

"Braedey? Is that you? How'd you find me?" the Dragon Slayer asked.

Braedey blinked again, still dumbfounded by the cat helmet. He shook his head and replied, "I used MetalMutt to track your scent, but the bigger question is... why are you wearing that cat head?"

Natsu shrugged and folded his arms over his chest. "I thought it looked real cool so I put it on."

"Cool?" Braedey laughed. "Ha... more like hilarious! I wish I had my phone with me, so I could take a picture of this."

Before Natsu could comment back, a shaky groan caught their attention. The duo turned to the hole in the wall to see Wally climb out of it, his right arm had changed to normal and his suit appeared a bit disheveled. After quickly regaining his composure, the Polygon wizard glared angrily at Braedey.

"Why you good for nothing punk!" he shouted.

Natsu's ears perked up at the sound of Wally's voice, not that anyone could tell since his face was concealed in the cat head. "Wait... that voice... it's the Blockhead!"

"Well, isn't this dandy?" Wally smirked smugly, as he shifted his right arm back into a rectangular rifle. "I get to take out not just Salamander, but the Take-Over wizard as well."

"YOU JERK!" Natsu ignited his fists with fire. "I'm gonna make you pay for shooting me in the mouth!"

Braedey furrowed his brows at Wally. "You helped kidnap Erza and Happy, threatened to kill me, and tried to kill my... cat-headed friend here..." he activated the Transformatrix, and scrolled through the playlist "...I am so kicking your butt."

Braedey slapped down the core. The cat-themed room was bathed in brilliant, blue light and forced Wally to cover his eyes, despite his sun shades. When the light died away, standing in Braedey's place was a 15ft tall gold, white, and black robot. It's head was the mane and head of what could be a lion, whilst the arms and the legs were the alt-modes' arms and legs. The Transformatrix dial was positioned on its chest while a black Fairy Tail mark was stamped on its left shoulder.

"Leobreaker!" Braedey shouted.

Cathead Natsu looked quizzically at Ben's new form and poked him on his right shoulder. "Whoa...you're a cat guy now, too."

Wally's blinked twice as he arched a brow at the metal lion-man. His shock soon turned into anger. "What is this?! What the hell are yah supposed to be?"

"I'm Leobreaker, and as you can see," Braedey grinned cheekily, "I'm much smoother than you."

Wally gritted his teeth furiously from Leobreaker shooting his own words back at him. "Oh yeah, beast boy! Let's see how smooth you are after this!"

The rectangular-toned man pulled up his Polygon Rifle and shot Leobreaker, leaving a dent in his midsection.

"BRAEDEY!" Natsu cried, alarmed.

Leobreaker, however, stood calmly with a smug smirk on his facial plate. No Energon poured from the injury; in fact, there was barely any damage. Needless to say, this shocked Wally and Natsu.

"Huh? What..." Wally trailed off.

Leobreaker gave Wally an 'okay' hand sign. "Still pretty smooth," he taunted.

"Oh yeah, copy-cat?"

Suddenly, Wally's lower body shone in gold light until it broke apart into a collection of blue blocks, leaving his upper body to hover in midair.

Braedey cocked a brow. 'Okay... that's freaky...' he mused.

Leobreaker didn't have time to react before the blocks of Wally's Polygon Sphere attack came together into a couple blue blocky lumps and pinned his arms against the wall. Leobreaker pulled against his restraints, but discovered that they were impressively strong.

Wally smirked and turned back to cathead Natsu. "Now then... let's see just how smooth your friend is over here."

Wally swiftly aimed his gun at Natsu and fired. The fire mage yelped as he dodged to the side. With an annoyed grunt, the Polygon wizard tried to shoot him again; however, Natsu was quick to backflip and avoid the attack. Wally continued shooting at his opponent, but Natsu skillfully eluded every attack by jumping or doing backflips. Despite his limited vision inside the cat helmet, Natsu was relying on his instincts to avoid the shots.

The block-shaped man clenched his teeth together. "Slippery little rat, aren't yah?"

Leobreaker pulled on his block bindings again, but they refused to give way. "I... can't break free." It was then a sudden idea entered his brain. "Scrap. I forgot. I just need to transform."

The Cybertronian began to transform, shifting into his lion form. As his transformation took place, he ripped off the section of the wall, and began to head off into battle.

Natsu shrouded his fists in flames as he jumped on the wall, using it as a springboard to propel himself toward Wally. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Before Natsu's fist could strike, Wally's body illuminated in gold light before he disappeared. The Dragon Slayer hit the floor instead, throwing up fire, smoke, and chunks of floor. Leobreaker held up his front arms to shield himself from the flying debris. Leobreaker then noticed a hole in the centre of the room that led to the floor level below. Trails of smoke billowed from the rim of the opening.

"Whoever lives in this room is not gonna be happy about this." Leobreaker commented.

Cathead Natsu looked around with a fist still ignited in fire. "What? Where'd that coward go?"

Wally materialized behind cathead Natsu with a smug grin, his rifle aimed at his head. "Right behind yah, Salamander."

"NATSU!" Leobreaker jumped into action. Just as Wally fired his gun, Leobreaker tackled Natsu away.

When he uncurled into his normal form, cathead Natsu laid on the floor. Despite the giant cat head covering his face, it could be determined through his groans that Natsu was motion sick yet again.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Leobreaker yelled incredulously at Natsu.

Wally laughed haughtily, as he held up his Polygon Rifle. "Well, well... ain't that dandy. Looks like it's just you and me, copy-cat."

Leobreaker narrowed his blue optics at the block-shaped man. "Not for long, poser."

A scowl formed on Wally's angular face. "If anyone's the poser here it's you, yah got me?!"

Suddenly, blue electricity began to spark over Wally. "I've been going easy on yah, but no more of that!"

All of a sudden, Wally's body broke up into a cluster of blue blocks and shot toward Bloxx and a motion sick Natsu. Leobreaker quickly picked up Natsu and dodged to the side to avoid the Polygon Attack. He jumped, flipped, and bent his blocky body to impressive limits around the room to evade the projectiles. The injuries from the blocks that did manage to hit Braedey didn't do much damage at all.

When the attack ended, Leobreaker laid down the dizzy cathead Natsu to the side. Wally reformed in a flash of gold on the other side of the room. The two block-like adversaries were now staring hard at each other.

"Not bad," Bloxx smirked, "but I can do better."

Braedey shifted into robot mode, then held out his right arm, which transformed into a blaster; much to Wally's surprise.

"Let's see how you like it, Blockhead!"

Leobreaker fired a salvo of red laser blasters at Wally. The Polygon wizard could only stare in apprehension as a volley of blasts came soaring at him. The projectiles sent Wally careening back and crashing through the wall again. After a moment of silence, Braedey realized he had won.

"Ha! Leobreaker beats Blockhead." He quipped.

Braedey shifted his arm back to normal, and turned his attention to cathead Natsu, who was returning to his feet. "Ugh..." he moaned, "never do that again. Did you beat him?"

Leobreaker nodded. "Yep."

"Aw man! I wanted to give him a beat-down!" Natsu whined.

Leobreaker tapped the Transformatrix dial on his chest and, in a blue flash, transformed back to human. "If you weren't wearing that cathead helmet, you could've." He admonished. "By the way, how long are you gonna wear that thing?"

Natsu slumped his shoulders and murmured, "Until I can get it off."

"Ugh..." a groan caught the duo's attention. They turned to see Wally climb out of the rubble from the wall, one of the lenses on his shades was cracked and his suit was even more disheveled. When he turned his gaze to Natsu and Braedey, he growled angrily. "You punks are gonna pay for that!"

Wally turned his arm back into a rifle and took aim at the Fairy Tail duo. "So long, boys..."

Suddenly, the instant before Wally fired someone ran into him and caused him to shoot the ceiling. That someone happened to be a cat-obsessed wizard.

"AHHHH!" Millianna screamed.

"Hey, would you cut it out, Millianna?!" Wally glared at her, a vein on his temple throbbing in anger. "What's the big idea?!"

Millianna looked up at him neutrally. "Hmm... you big ole meanie!" She waved her right hand up-and-down in a frantic matter. "YOU WERE TRYING TO HURT THE ITTY BITTY KITTY WITTY!"

Braedey's eyes slightly widened, as he glanced at cathead Natsu. "No way..." he whispered in disbelief, "...she thinks he's a real cat?"

"Wait a sec, that's not even a real cat, yah crazy broad!" Wally argued, pointing at Natsu accusingly.

Cathead Natsu was silent for a moment. "Meow." He replied.

Millianna smiled brightly. "Oh, he's just the cutest little thing!"

Braedey's eyes widened and his jaw slacked a bit, dumbfounded. 'No way... she fell for it?'

Wally gritted his teeth as the vein on his temple throbbed violently. "A wise guy, eh?!" The block-shaped man pushed Millianna out of the way. "I'm telling yah, doll face, this cat is a rat! SEE! RAGGH!"

Suddenly, electricity raced over Wally once more as his body broke apart into many blue blocks and shot themselves at Braedey and Natsu. Cathead Natsu jumped to the right while Braedey leapt to the left to avoid the Polygon Attack. Thanks to the years of training with Jessie and Rex, Braedey was successfully able to elude the incoming projectiles.

Braedey landed on his right knee and turned his gaze to the block-man and cat lady. "Okay, enough of this." He activated the Transformatrix and scrolled through the playlist. "It's time for Snarl to set you all straight."

He tapped the faceplate, and cast the room in a blue light. As the flash faded away, standing in Braedey's place was Leobreaker again.

"LEOBREAKER!" Braedey roared. He paused and looked at himself, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Why, new Transformatrix! Why, after months of working right, do you have to mess up now?!"

Millianna looked away from cathead Natsu, who was still dodging projectiles from Wally's Polygon Attack and toward Leobreaker instead. She stared at the large metal tiger-man in awe with wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. Suddenly, a beaming smile formed on her face while her brown eyes sparkled brightly.

"KITTY!" Millianna squealed happily.

Leobreaker turned away from the Transformatrix dial on his chest and looked at Millianna, confused. "Huh?" He arched a brow. Without warning, Millianna was right in front of him with a wide smile on her cat-like face.

"OH WOW! YOU'RE THE BIGGEST KITTY WITTY I'VE EVER SEEN!" Millianna exclaimed cheerfully.

"Kitty?!" Leobreaker shouted, his already present anger growing. "I ain't no kitty!"

Millianna was undeterred by Leobreaker's aggression and, surprisingly, wrapped her arms around his thick neck and rubbed her head against him affectionately. "OH! YOU'RE JUST A BIG CUTIE WUTIE!"

Leobreaker's left eye twitched in annoyance whilst Wally stared at the scene dumbfounded with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. His head and shoulders were floating in the air while the rest of his body had turned into blue blocks, hovering around him.

"You gotta be kidding me?!" Wally shouted. "These ain't no cats, doll face, they're both dirty RATS!"

Leobreaker heard that comment and snarled at the block-man. "Hey! Nobody calls me a dirty rat...without gettin' a major beating!"

The tiger-man pried Millianna off of him, crouched low, and leapt at Wally's floating head and shoulders. Wally mentally commanded for the blocks around him to come together to make an even bigger block, which he then shot at Leobreaker. Leobreaker was unintimidated, as he reared back his right fist and punched the giant block, causing it to shatter into pieces and fly across the room.

Leobreaker lost all his gathered momentum from delivering the punch and landed back on his feet. Natsu dodged the last of Wally's blocks and landed on Braedey's right. As soon as he saw Leobreaker, he flashed a toothy grin behind the cat helmet.

"All right," Natsu fist-pumped, "Now we're both cats!"

"You're not cats, you're frauds!" Wally yelled as he shot another fusillade of royal blue blocks at the duo. Leobreaker jumped to the right while Natsu jumped to the left, both of them skillfully dodging Wally's assault. Natsu picked up a purple stuffed cat toy lying on the floor and held it up as a shield.

"Cat Make: Barrier!" Natsu shouted.

Leobreaker let out a tiger-like roar as he shifted into beast mode, and punched every single projectile that came his way.

"NO! Don't hurt the poor kitties!" Millianna cried.

"For crying out loud, doll face, these dirty rats are our enemies!" Wally shouted.

Millianna paused and looked at cathead Natsu and Leobreaker, blankly. "Dirty rats? They look like kitties to me; especially that big one."

Leobreaker growled, overhearing Millianna's comment. He back-flipped to avoid another bombardment of blocks, and yelled, "I ain't no kitty!"

"Snap out of it, yah dimwit!" The Polygon mage countered. "One of them is in a cat costume and you just saw the other one transform! They're a couple of fakes!"

Natsu jumped in the air and shrouded his fists in flame and punched Wally's block projectiles. "Okay, Cat Fire! Woo-Hoo!"

Leobreaker jumped from the floor to the wall and used it as a springboard to launch himself forward. He reared back his right fist and punched an incoming volley of blocks, promptly destroying them. "Iacon Ambassador!"

Natsu's flame attacks and Leobreaker's muscles sent Millianna's collection of stuffed cat toys and other belongings flying across the room, burnt and tattered to pieces. Millianna meowed in horror at the sight of her ruined kitty toys.

"Drat!" Wally cursed as his head and shoulders were still floating in the air, separated from the rest of his blocky body. "I guess Jellal wasn't pulling my leg when he said these cats got some serious claws. Alright, toots, it's go time!"

"Meow!" Millianna hissed furiously, narrowing her gaze at cathead Natsu and Leobreaker. "GRR... pretending to be cats when you're really just people is a lousy thing to do!"

"Oh yeah, you're one to talk!" Natsu retorted.

"I don't need to pretend. I'm a cat, and that's that!" Leobreaker shouted. "And about seventy other things."

Millianna held out her hand and summoned a pink magical circle. "Bad Kitty Restraint Tube!"

Suddenly, cathead Natsu and Leobreaker were caught off guard when orange furry ropes stretched out from her magic circle and wrapped around their wrists. Natsu and Leobreaker pulled on the ropes, but they proved to be very strong.

Leobreaker growled viciously as he pulled against his bindings. The Predacon pulled harder against the orange restraints, but was met with zero results.

Wally grinned smugly at their tied up opponents. "Yeah, that's showing them frauds, Millianna."

"It's time to put the bad kitties to sleep!" Millianna stated.

The Polygon wizard fired another barrage of blocks at cathead Natsu and Leobreaker. The former reared back his fist and shouted, "Cat Fire..." Natsu paused when he realized that he couldn't ignite his fists with fire.

A second later, the block salvo hit Natsu and Leobreaker and sent them careening back to crash into the wall. When they peeled of it and fell to the floor, Natsu struggled against his bindings.

"Why can't I use my magic?!" Natsu said, alarmed. "Is it because of this thing?"

Suddenly, Natsu was caught off guard when another furry rope wrapped around his right ankle and flicked him into the air. A block came down and rammed into Natsu's back, pile-driving him into the floor.

Another set of ropes tied Leobreaker's arms behind his back, allowing Wally to fire a round of blocks at Leobreaker's exposed torso. The hits made Leobreaker grit his sharp teeth in slight pain as he went sliding back into the wall again.

"Fake kitties make me mad!" Millianna screeched as she fired another line of binding rope from her magic seal.

The rope wrapped around Natsu and tied his arms to his sides. Cathead Natsu lost his balance and fell on his back beside a still standing Leobreaker.

Wally's body reformatted back to normal in a flash of gold. He shifted his arm into a Polygon Rifle and took aim at Natsu's head.

"I hope you're hungry, Salamander and mister Take-Over wizard, cause you two are about to eat lead." Wally remarked.

Natsu tried to crawl away on his belly, nervously sweating underneath the helmet. "Aw man. This is not good."

"Ears up! I've got a real dandy catchphrase I've been dying to try out." Wally's smug grin grew wider. "Too bad things had to end this way, but from the moment you met me..."

Wally was interrupted when Leobreaker let out a fearsome tiger-like roar. "The only one who's eating anything here is you. And you know what that is? MY FIST!"

"Hey! Nobody interrupts Wally and lives to tell the tale!" Wally redirected his aim away from Natsu and toward Leobreaker's forehead.

Millianna felt her breath hitch in her throat in worry. The cat lady stared at the Predacon in a deep trance, gazing into his blue optics. At that moment, Leobreaker didn't seem like a fake at all. He was a real cat; even though she had seen that pretty boy transform into him, he was still a cat.

Just when Wally was about to fire, Millianna grabbed onto his rifle and pushed it away. "NO!" she cried frantically. "I won't let you hurt the big kitty witty!"

"Are you serious?!" Wally yelled indignantly. "Snap out of it, Millianna. He's not a cat! Cats don't stand upright and they ain't no gum flappers either!"

Leobreaker growled as he dug deep into his reserves and pulled against the ropes. With a burst of strength, the enraged cat broke free from the restraints; much to Wally and Millianna's surprise.

"What the? He broke free!?" Wally said incredulously.

'Drat!' Wally thought. 'Jellal was right. This cat means business.'

Wally brought up his rifle to take another shot at Leobreaker; however, Millianna grabbed onto his white scarf and pulled on it.

"NO! Don't hurt the kitty witty, Wally!" Millianna cried desperately.

"Let me go, yah loony toon!" Wally shouted.

Leobreaker went over to Natsu and extended the black claw on his right hand to its zenith. He swiped it across his pyromaniac friend's bindings and easily sliced them apart.

"ALL RIGHT!" Natsu immediately got to his feet, his fists ablaze with flames. "I'm a free man!"

"Why'd you make me lose my aim, yah dingbat?" the Blockhead demanded.

Millianna sniffled as she pulled on Wally's scarf harder. "You were trying to kill the big kitty witty!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" hollered Wally.

"I am gonna take you down with both arms tied behind my back!" Leobreaker declared.

Cathead Natsu clenched his fists and shrouded them in fire. "Face the fury from the Cat Duo!" Natsu exclaimed.

Natsu and Leobreaker both rushed forward and leapt in the air. The former's arms were engulfed in bright yellow flames and took the shape of a pair of dragon wings. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

The fire struck Wally and Millianna and sent them careening back with burns across their bodies. Leobreaker honed in on his target and aimed himself toward it. In midair he positioned himself to where his feet were in front. "Thunderhead Pass Thunder Kick!"

Leobreaker rammed his feet into Wally's abdomen, causing him to cry out. The force behind the kick sent the Polygon wizard flying back into Millianna, who both crashed through the wall and out into the hallway.

When the dust cleared, Wally and Millianna were sprawled out on the floor amid a pile of debris from the ruined wall; their clothing tattered and burnt in places. Painful groans escaped their lips as their eyes were filled with swirls. They had finally been defeated.

Cathead Natsu and Leobreaker landed next to each other and looked at their unconscious foes. The latter transformed into robot mode, threw up his arms and roared in victory.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! You mess with the kitties, you get the claws!" Natsu stated.

"Whoa," a voice called out. "What happened here?"

The cat duo turned their attention to the right to see a familiar blue feline with white angel-like wings flying toward them. As soon as Happy spotted Leobreaker, his eyes were full of stars.

"Alright, it's Leobreaker!" Happy then noticed Wally and Millianna's battered forms lying on the floor, causing his excitement to grow. "Way to go, Leobreaker! You sure showed those creeps whose boss!"

"That's right!" Leobreaker flexed his arms. "I'm all about showing people whose boss!"

"Hey!" Cathead Natsu shouted indignantly. "I helped too!"

"Don't be delusional, Natsu." Happy waved him off. "Leobreaker clearly did all the work. Don't steal the spotlight from him. By the way, what's with the cat costume?"

"Leobreaker didn't do all the work! And I thought the cat helmet was cool so I tried it on." Natsu answered sternly.

Leobreaker tapped the Transformatrix dial and transformed back to Braedey. "Yeah... he wore that thing through the entire fight. I'm surprised you were able to dodge all of Blockhead's blocks with that thing on." He admitted.

Happy turned to his best friend. "So how long are you gonna wear that thing, Natsu?"

Natsu slumped his shoulders and sweat dropped. "Until I can find a way to get it off my big noggin," he mumbled.

~*~*~

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Jellal was sitting on his throne. His upper face was hidden in the shadows of his hood. Extending from his right armrest was a circular game table with uniquely-shaped pieces that represented everyone currently in the Tower of Heaven, excluding the guards.

Jellal picked up a red dragon piece and moved it forward, knocking over a pink cat piece in the process. He then picked up a miniature black and blue angular face piece (the stand was black while the face was cobalt blue) and used it to knock over a blue-suited archer piece. These moves represented Braedey and Natsu's defeat over Wally and Millianna.

Vidaldus walked up to Jellal's throne and stopped a few meters away, wearing his usual frown.

"Hmph," Jellal said. "Sho and Simon have chosen to betray me... and it appears that Wally and Millianna have fallen at the hands of Salamander and the powerful shape-shifter, Braedey Martin. This is how the game should be played. One-sided matches are always so dreadfully boring."

"But master... Erza must be captured at once so we can begin the ceremony." Vidaldus protested sternly. "I'm afraid the time for playing games is over now."

Jellal was silent for a moment, a foreboding grin still present on his face. "Prudent as always, Vidaldus," He replied. "Fetch her."

Vidaldus narrowed his eyes. "You'll allow me?"

Jellal turned to his game board and laid three pieces in front of a king piece that represented himself. One piece was a blue and white electric guitar, the other was a pink-haired angel in a white robe, and the last one was a brown owl.

"It is our turn after all." Jellal stated.

Vidaldus grinned sinisterly. Suddenly, he crossed his arms over his chest as crimson energy flowed up from beneath his feet, making his long hair fly up.

When the energy faded away, Vidaldus's new appearance resembled an extreme Metal musician. His skin was now much paler, and he had donned dark makeup around his eyes and lips. His bare-chest sported a tattoo with the word "Skeleton", and he had put on shoulder pads and arm guards covered in prominent spikes. His pants were replaced by tights held up by a belt with a skull-shaped buckle, and his legs consisted of boots paired with greaves decorated by flames-motifs.

Vidaldus let out a wicked scream after his transformation was over. Standing by the metal musician-like wizard now were two other people.

One was a curvaceous woman with long pink hair tied on top of her head with two large pins. She had pale skin, a beauty mark underneath each eye, and wore red lipstick. Her body was clad in a long, loose white kimono with a red stripe in-between two black stripes around the waist, and a black collar lay snug around her neck. Her shoulders and a fair amount of cleavage were exposed.

This was Ikaruga, a calm and deadly woman who specialized in Sword Magic.

The third figure was the most bizarre of the trio. He had the body of a man, but the head of an owl, as well as a large rocket pack strapped to his back. His body was heavily muscular and mostly bare, with his clothing consisting only of a pair of green shorts held up by a belt, whose buckle bore a symbol reminiscent of a waning moon with a triangle pointing left in the empty part, and high sneakers bearing the same symbol. Wristbands were visible on both arms, and each of his biceps was adorned by a band, which has several long feathers hanging down from it.

This was Fukuro, a strange-looking owl-man being who specialized in Jet Magic and Absorption Magic.

"Assassins from the Death's Head Order," Jellal sounded off. "Vidaldus Taka."

"Go to hell!" Vidaldus smiled wickedly, his voice sounding raspy. "Yeah, that's right! They can say their prayers if they wanna, but they're all gonna be burning in hell tonight!"

"Fukuro." Jellal continued.

The owl-man twisted his head to where it was nearly upside down. "Ho-ho, ho-ho, HO-HOU!"

"And their leader, Ikaruga." the powerful, blue haired wizard concluded.

Ikaruga smiled; however, it was a smile full of malice. "Life is a flower, fated to be cut down and scattered across the ground below." She claimed. Without warning, pink Sakura petals flew around her from out of nowhere. "So tonight... we make merry."

Ikaruga, Vidaldus, and Fukuro bowed to Jellal with their right hands placed over their chests in a respective manner.

"We are assassins from the Death's Head Order Guild." Ikaruga said. "The special forces squad known as Trinity Raven is at your service, master."

"It's time you entered the fray." Jellal announced. He lifted his head and looked at the assassin trio with a malign grin. "Now go."

~*~*~

Currently, Braedey and Happy were in the process of pulling the cat mask off of Natsu's head. Braedey was pulling on the right ear whilst Happy was pulling on the left. The Transformatrix bearer and blue cat had been trying to get the cat helmet off of Natsu's head for the past five minutes; however, it was really stuck onto his head.

"Ben... Happy..." Natsu said.

"Yes, what?" Braedey asked through clenched teeth.

"You two are gonna have to pull harder than that!" He yelled.

"We're trying, okay!" Happy snapped. "But we can't seem to get this stupid thing to budge." The blue cat glanced over at Braedey. "Maybe... if you turned into Leobreaker... Braedey... you can could get it off?"

Braedey grunted. "No need; besides..."

The brunette haired teen groaned as he put more strength into his arms and, finally, the green cat head slipped off of Natsu's head. "...there we go." He finished.

The Dragon Slayer smiled brightly with a bit of sweat running down his face. "Yes! Sweet freedom!"

The cat helmet that Braedey had tossed landed perfectly on Wally's head; much to Natsu and Braedey's amusement and Happy's confusion.

"Oh look, now it's stuck on Ole Boxy." Natsu laughed.

"Yep," Braedey chuckled, "serves him right, I guess."

"I'm amazed that mask was able to fit over his giant square head." Happy noted, wide-eyed.

With a groggy groan, Wally steadily returned to his feet. His blue suit was in tatters and bruises littered his blocky body. He pulled off the cat helmet and threw it to the side.

"This dance ain't over yet, you two!" Wally then hunched over in pain, his injuries catching up to him.

"Really?" Braedey quirked a brow and folded his arms over his chest. "'Cause it looks like to me that it is."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. "Besides, I already got my payback. And since Erza and Happy are safe, there's no reason for us to waste our time with you, pal."

Braedey nodded in agreement.

"Aye! You tell him!" Happy chirped.

"Talk all yah want." Wally said through clenched teeth. "But we're still gonna get to heaven. Jellal told us that we would finally have real freedom, and a world where people like us are calling the shots."

Before anyone could comment, a smooth, male voice spoke from down the hall.

"I welcome you to the Tower of Heaven." Jellal announced.

"And there he is!" Wally smiled.

Braedey, Natsu, and Happy ran down the corridor to the source of the voice. They went through an open entrance into a large, stone room. At the end, sitting in an alcove was a giant statue. The eyes of said statue were glowing red, and it appeared that the voice was coming from it.

"My name is Jellal and I am the ruler of this tower. I see the players have been arranged." He commented. "I'm delighted that you've come all this way to see me. Shall we play a round with heaven's game?"

"I don't wanna play your stupid game!" Natsu yelled.

"Neither do I." Braedey narrowed his eyes at the large statue.

"What do you mean, Jellal?" Wally asked in confusion, having followed the Fairy Tail trio.

"The rules are really quite simple. I wish to use Erza as a sacrifice in my ceremony to resurrect Lord Zeref." Jellal explained.

Braedey clenched his fists and glared at the red glowing eyes of the statue. "I'm not gonna let that happen." He snarled.

"If I succeed, the Gates of Heaven will open, crowning my victory. However, if you can manage to find a way to stop me, then you will be the winners of the game."

'You can bet your miserable hidd that we're gonna find a way to stop you.' Braedey thought resolutely.

"To make things a little more interesting," Jellal continued, "I've enlisted three knights to battle on my behalf."

"Three knights?" Braedey echoed.

"The only way that you can get to me is to defeat them. In other words, a three-on-nine battle royale. Oh... and there's one more surprise, the Magic Council has the Satellite Square focused directly on this tower, and it's highly likely that they will attack. At this very moment, they're in the midst of voting on whether or not they should fire an Etherion blast." Jellal informed.

"Satellite Square? Etherion blast?" Braedey repeated. He then looked over to Natsu and Happy, who were looking wary. "That's bad news, isn't it?"

Happy nodded, fear plastered on his blue face. "Aye. The Satellite Square is a powerful weapon that's in orbit around Earthland, and an Etherion blast has enough power to destroy an entire nation."

Braedey's eyes widened. 'Kind of like atomic bombs back in my world. They're a last resort weapon too.'

Braedey looked back up at the red-eyed statue. Though he couldn't see him, the Transformatrix bearer had a hunch that Jellal was grinning sinisterly right now.

"There's no telling how much time is left. Should the Etherion strike, complete annihilation is imminent. No players left to win. Game over."

Braedey clenched his teeth, both from slight worry and frustration. "Why would the Magic Council resort to such drastic measures? That makes no sense at all." He pondered.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"Now then, let the game begin." With Jellal's announcement finished, the red eyes of the statue died away.

Braedey huffed and turned to Natsu and Happy with a determined, confident smirk on his face. "I don't feel like playing games right now. I say we go straight to the top and give Jellal a piece of our mind."

"Oh yeah!" Natsu ignited his left fist and punched his open right palm in an eager manner. "I'm all fired up!"

"But, I don't understand. Why would Jellal do this to us?" Wally asked, sitting on the floor and leaning up against the wall. "If they fire that thing... it's gonna be curtains for everybody." He closed his eyes and continued, "We were all just a bunch of stupid kids looking for our own taste of freedom."

Braedey turned to Wally with a stern, yet sympathetic look. "Erza told me what happened to her and all of you guys ten years ago." He closed his eyes for a moment, and said truthfully, "I'm sorry. I cannot pretend to know what that feels like. I know you and the others want freedom, but taking everyone else's is not the answer at all. If you go down that path, you would become the monsters that kept you imprisoned here years ago."

Wally trembled lightly as he stared at Braedey with wide eyes. He was so shocked that he was incapable of speech at the moment.

Natsu shot the Blockhead a toothy grin. "He's right. I'm not sure what kind of freedom you guys have been looking for, but what we've got at Fairy Tail is pretty awesome." He proclaimed.

Wally's mouth opened slightly as a thoughtful expression grew on his angular-shaped face.

Natsu then turned to Happy with his grin still present. "Hey Happy, I'm with Braedey. I'm not feeling this game either so let's bend the rules."

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

Braedey activated the Transformatrix and selected the first form. "Let's Transform and Roll Out!"

His body was engulfed in blue light. When the flash died away, standing in Braedey's place was a 22ft tall Decepticon. He has a yellow face and two gold horns sticking out from both sides. The cockpit of the vehicle mode sticks out from the chest and is in a very dark shade of grey. It has red eyes. It has dark blue arms, with tiny yellow fins on the bottom. The head resembles that of a samurai. The fins on the shoulders have a yellow lining, the wings are blue with a yellow lining, and the 'cuff' pieces on the arms are yellow. The Transformatrix insignia was in the centre of his chest, whilst the Fairy Tail mark was stamped in yellow on his left shoulder.

"Dreadwing." Braedey yelled.

"Sweet!" Natsu grinned. "I remember that guy from Galuna Island."

Happy grabbed Natsu by the back of his black vest, whilst Dreadwing smashed through a wall, then shifted into jet mode, and raced away. To keep up with Dreadwing, Natsu was shooting off a torrent of flames from his feet to act as a thruster.

"We're going straight to the finish line!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

"Jellal won't know what hit him." Dreadwing stated confidently.

Meanwhile, Wally watched the trio fly up the tower with a tiny smile. "They're standup guys alright... ugh..." He let out a groan before he fell over, succumbing to unconsciousness.

Dreadwing, Natsu, and Happy continued flying up the structure of the tower. They figured they would get to the top without a hitch; however, luck was not on their side today. In the distance, the trio could hear a mechanical, jet-like noise. They came to a stop and hovered in midair, wondering what could be causing the sound.

Natsu narrowed his eyes in the distance. "Something's coming this way." He stated.

Dreadwing looked. "Well, what is it?"

"Ho-ho, ho-HOU!" A voice called out.

All of a sudden, the trio's eyes widened as something very bizarre came soaring toward them. It was tall, muscular man with a brown feathered owl head and a large rocket pack strapped to his back. Dreadwing banked right while Natsu and Happy went left to narrowly avoid the owl-man, who flew right between them.

Dreadwing's optics widened, dumbfounded. "W-w-what?! An owl-man?!"

With a surge of speed from his twin rockets, Fukuro caught up to Natsu and Happy and delivered a fearsome right hook into the former's face. The wizard and cat cried out as they went careening through a large, dark opening in the tower.

Dreadwing's optics widened further from panic. "Natsu! Happy!"

The Transformatrix hero was taken by surprise when Fukuro blasted toward him at insane speeds and launched a wicked kick into his gut. Dreadwing groaned loudly as he went hurdling into the same opening that Natsu and Happy had gone into, forcing him into robot mode.

On the other side of the opening was a large, dark room with cages suspended in the air by big, metal chains that hung around the room. Natsu and Happy grunted as they slammed onto the top of one of the cages. Painful groans slipped from their throats as they sat up.

Suddenly, a loud yell filled the room as Dreadwing tumbled inside and crashed on top of another cage to Natsu and Happy's left. Braedey groaned as pain flooded his body. He quickly shook it off and returned to his feet, though his body still felt sore from the kick and impact with the cage.

"Man. What was that?" Natsu asked, holding his aching head.

"An owl-man..." Dreadwing replied.

Simon ran out of a door that led into the room, now standing on a small ledge. He had heard the commotion from down the hallway and decided to investigate. He was slightly surprised to see Natsu, Happy, and a peculiar blue and yellow armour robot creature. However, once Simon saw the Transformatrix and Fairy Tail symbols on Dreadwing, he realized who he was.

"Braedey! Salamander! It's you!" Simon shouted.

"Huh?" Natsu looked down at Simon in confusion. "Who's calling our names?"

"You better watch out for this guy." Happy warned. "He's one of Blockhead's buddies."

"NO! Wait!" Dreadwing activated rockets in his heels and flew in-between them, hovering in midair. "This is Simon, one of Erza's old friends. He's on our side now." He squawked.

"Yes! He's right." Simon clarified. "Trust me I am on your side. This whole time I've just been pretending to be under that lunatic's spell. It was the only way I would be able to stop him."

Natsu and Happy turned to Astrodactyl, who nodded in response. The two were wary to believe Simon, and for obvious reasons. But if Braedey trusted him, then they should at least give him a chance.

"Alright then, we believe you. So, who is this Jellal guy anyway?" Natsu asked. "And why's he making us all play this ridiculous game in the first place?"

"He's got a twisted sense of humour." Simon answered. "He's the twin brother of Siegrain, a member of the Magic Council. I assume that's how he knows that they're planning to fire the Etherion."

Natsu cocked a brow in disbelief, and said, "So this all just a fight between two brothers?"

Simon turned away with a thoughtful look. "It's possible. I don't know the specifics of their relationship, or why they are at odds."

Before anything else could be said, a voice intruded on their conversation. "Ho-HOU!"

The quartet turned to see the rocket-propelled owl-man land on one of the many chains that hung around the room. Fukuro crossed his arms over his massive, broad chest and stared down at the four.

Happy cried out in terror whilst Simon's eyes widened in shock.

"No. It can't be!" Simon yelled, horrified.

"Ho-HOU!" Fukuro pointed an accusing finger in Braedey, Natsu, and Happy's direction. "I will not tolerate the breaking of rules. Prepare yourselves to be punished in the name of justice!" the owl-man then took a battle stance. "Fukuro, the knight to true justice, has arrived!"

Dreadwing arched a brow ridge. "Justice?"

"A bird!" Happy cried out.

"Yeah." Natsu said with wide eyes. "Some kind of weird justice bird."

Simon quickly got in a stance and summoned a purple magic circle. "Dark Moment!"

Without warning, the entire room was blanketed in black; it was so dark, the group couldn't see anything in front of them. The only visible light was the orange/red after-burn from Dreadwing's rockets in his feet.

"I can't see!" Dreadwing squawked.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted that guy!" Happy cried desperately.

"Let's get out of here!" Simon's voice called out through the darkness. "We don't stand a chance against the owl."

Suddenly, Natsu and Happy cried out in surprise when Simon appeared behind them and grabbed them by their shoulders. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when Fukuro flew right past him.

"Ha!" Fukuro changed course and headed straight for the trio. "Even in the darkness, the light of justice shines through! Ho-ho-HOU!"

The owl-man extended his right hand, which illuminated a bright gold light. Simon didn't have time to react before the golden light smacked into him, sending him flying back where he slammed into the roof of a cage. The darkness in the room instantly faded away soon after.

"Simon!" Braedey yelled.

Fukuro cocked his head far to the left. "You see?"

"Hey man.... you doing okay?" Natsu inquired, concerned.

Simon groaned as he weakly lifted his head off the metal of the cage. "These guys mean business." He managed to get out. "They're assassins from the Death's Head Order."

"ASSASSINS HAVE GUILDS TOO?!" Happy screamed.

"They belong to one of the Dark Guilds." Simon explained. "They refuse to take on any regular jobs. They make their living by accepting requests that involve using their magic to take lives for money. The wizards we're up against are the Trinity Raven. They're responsible for killing every single officer in the western army in the Cabria War. Their power is legendary."

"So you're telling us that bird-brain here is really some kind of super-killer?!" Happy squealed fearfully.

"Ho-ho, ho-hou! And if you're able, we'll kill you!" Fukuro declared threateningly.

Dreadwing glowered at the owl-man intensely. Fukuro claimed to be serving justice when he was really just a deadly assassin. This made Braedey's insides boil in rage. People like this Fukuro were the worst type of scum.

"They're professional assassins! You cannot defeat them!" Simon shouted.

"Watch us." Braedey retorted.

"Salamander," Fukuro turned to Natsu, "word back at our Guild is that you are responsible for many evil deeds." The owl-man then turned to Dreadwing, who was hovering ten yards to Natsu's left. "And you, Braedey Martin, powerful Take-Over wizard, rumour is spreading that you were responsible for destroying Mount Infernus, a magnificent natural monument to the people of Volk Springs.

"It is my duty as a knight of justice to see that you two are punished." Fukuro declared.

Natsu ignited his hands with flame while Dreadwing clenched his fists, and the wings on his back shook. Deadly scowls twisted on both of their faces.

"Magic Guilds are supposed to bring like-minded people together so they can share their dreams. They're not places for killers like you to team up."

"How dare you." Dreadwing spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. Suddenly, the volume of his voice immediately rose as the rage in his blue optics intensified at Fukuro. "How dare you claim to be serving justice, when all you really do is kill people for money! People who serve justice stand for what is right and protect the innocent." Braedey paused as he glared daggers at the owl-man. "You do neither of those. You're no hero or knight of justice... you're a PIECE OF SCUM!"

"Braedey! Salamander! I'm telling you two. There's no way you can defeat him!" Simon yelled frantically.

Dreadwing growled. "I've beaten plenty of scumbags like this guy before, Simon. I'm not intimidated by this creep!" Braedey narrowed his optics at Fukuro. "This guy is going down!"

"I hate it that there are people out there that would pay someone to commit murder." Natsu snarled, the enraged scowl on his face growing stronger. "I hate it that there are people who would kill for money... and I hate that you're talking like you're in a real Guild! So me and my squawking friend here are gonna have to take you down a notch. You hear me, bird-brain? Let's dance!"

Flames consumed Natsu's body as his anger accelerated to new levels, whilst Dreadwing deployed two missiles from both of his arms.

Simon paused and stared up at Ben and Natsu with wide eyes. The expressions on their faces were quite livid. Things were really about to get rough...

"No, little Salamander and Take-Over wizard, you both are so naïve." Fukuro countered, unintimidated by Braedey and Natsu's rage bubbling to the surface. "I am doing this world a great service by destroying those who commit evil deeds."

The large rocket pack on Fukuro's back began to discharge bright yellow flames, but he continued to hover in place.

"And since you two are evildoers," Fukuro continued, "you both must be destroyed! Jet Ho-Ho-HOU!"

With a burst of incredible speed, the owl-man blasted toward Dreadwing and Natsu. The battle between the so called 'knight of justice', superhero, and Dragon Slayer had begun.

~*~*~

A/N: Okay, done! Whew...

So Braedey and the others know now the truth about Erza's tragic past, and it causes Braedey's insides to twist in pain just from thinking about it. I hope I captured his reaction to all of it pretty well.

To those who are wondering if Braedey will get even with Sho, he will in the next chapter. It'll be very brief though, but it will be suitable payback and gets the point across that Braedey didn't appreciate getting kicked while tied up. No spoilers...

Again, thank you for all the support. It really pushes me to move forward. Expect the next chapter out within a week or two. But if something comes up, I can't make any promises.

Please leave any critique and/or comments in the review box. Remember, flames will be frozen by Gray. You have been warned...