The hooded figure panted as they rose to their feet.
Nashi and Jace caught their breath as they stood not too far away. Blakey hissed and coiled around the duo.
"Time for you to talk!" Nashi bellowed above the wind.
She stormed forward.
"Nashi! Told you I can hear it! He thinks he was abandoned by Fairy Tail!"
"You already SAID that, Snake Charmer!!"
"Why won't you listen!"
"Because those are false memories! I'll burn that blasphemy!"
"Wow! Nashi, that's a big word for you!" Jace jeered.
"Shut up!!" she snarled over her shoulder.
Nashi planted her feet in front of the hooded figure. Her spiky salmon hair and white scarf flew in the cyclone's wind.
"Guthrie Conbolt! Let's go!!"
Jace facepalmed.
'Determined. Determined.' Blakey hissed.
"No s*** scalelock," he grumbled.
The hooded figure remained silent. The worn, dirty cloak barely moved around the wearer's still legs.
"Cut us out of this cyclone and come home!!"
Jace narrowed his green slits.
"Everyone has been looking for you for NINE AND A HALF YEARS!"
Only the howling wind responded.
Nashi started to move forward.
"Nashi!" Jace cried.
"I'll drag you myself if I have to!" Nashi shouted.
The hooded figure didn't move.
"Nashi! Please listen to me!"
"Guthrie, even though that memory of abandonment is false, I can understand why you would resist," Nashi uttered.
Her fists started to light on fire.
"Nashi! I can he–"
"BUT YOUR PARENTS WOULD NEVER ABANDON YOU! SKYLER WOULD NEVER ABANDON YOU! COME HOME FOR THEIR SAKE!"
Jace took a deep breath.
"I CAN'T HEAR WENDY, ROMEO, OR SKYLER IN HIS MEMORIES!" he screamed.
Nashi stopped. She glared over her shoulder.
Her chocolate eyes had burned to yellow pupils with black slits.
"What did you say?" she growled.
The Poison Dragon Slayer gulped.
'Scary! Scary!'
"I said, I can't even hear his parents or his sister in his memories!" Jace shouted above the wind.
"But he remembers Fairy Tail!"
"Fairy Tail," the figure said.
Nashi whipped her head around.
"Yes! Fairy Tail is your guild! Your home!! SO LET'S GO!" she screamed at the person.
"Fairy Tail," the figure spoke again, "Is the worst guild in history."
'Insulting! Insulting!' Blakey hissed.
"I tried to tell you Nashi," Jace muttered. "In a nice way."
He looked at his guildmate's back.
The black vest and white scarf continually flew in the breeze.
Nashi's arms were visibly shaking.
The ground around her feet started to boil like magma.
Jace's eyes widened.
"Oh no," he muttered.
Nashi's body erupted into flames!
'HOT! HOT!' Blakey cried, slithering away.
Jace shielded his eyes and squinted to see Nashi in the middle of a bonfire.
Her skin visibly hardened and dried out from her shoulders to her fingertips. Smoke drizzled out of her nostrils.
A low beast growl rumbled from within.
Jace's knees shook. Sweat poured down his head.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" a demonic voice shrieked from the bonfire.
"I said Fairy Tail is the worst guild," the person repeated.
Suddenly, a rope of olive scales wrapped around Jace's waist and dragged him away.
"Blake! Let me go!" Jace cried.
He fought against the black mamba.
'Dangerous! Dangerous!'
"Yes! I know! That's why I have to stop her!"
The demonic creature stomped towards the hooded figure. Its sandals started to melt into the boiling footprints.
'She kill! She kill!'
"If I let her go she'll kill Guthrie and then more!! I have to stop her!"
'How many? How many?'
"I don't know! But I don't want to, either!"
Jace slipped out the snake's grasp and sprinted forth.
'Jace! Jace!'
His white coat was caught in the wind like a parasail. He ripped it off, dug his boots in, and continued on.
Blakey easily slithered ahead of him.
"Don't stop me!!"
'Won't, won't,' she hissed.
He watched her dashed towards the fiery monster. Its flames' heat seared his skin.
Nashi opened her mouth and took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon's–"
"No! Nashi!!" Jace screamed.
In shock he watched the giant black mamba dive headfirst into the bonfire. She coiled around the monster's body from the legs up. Her scales screeched as they were seared with every movement. The snake wrapped herself around the monster's torso and covered its mouth. An explosion of flames burst from the mouth against Blakey's body.
'AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!'
"BLAKE!!"
The snake immediately recoiled, opened her black inky mouth, and sunk her fangs into the monster's shoulder through the newly formed scales.
RAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
The vibrations rattled in Jace's head, stunning his entire body.
His ears heavily rang like church bells.
The Poison Dragon Slayer forced his hands over his bleeding ears and collapsed to his knees.
Several moments later, the bonfire subsided, and the monster collapsed to the ground, bringing the black mamba with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She uses what???!!" Crispin cried.
"Dawn Magic. The counter to Dusk Magic," Eli answered coolly.
"How did Calypso find that out!"
"She remembered Mo describing Dusk Magic as one that can use illusions with the ability to read people's moves and erase memories. So she pulled out her favorite enchantment book where she found endless notes on Dusk Magic and its supposed counterpart Dawn Magic."
"What's the difference?!"
"Dusk Magic works from dusk to dawn. Dawn Magic works from dawn to dusk."
"And why do you think Catie has Dawn Magic??"
"She's been able to dodge all of our moves without trying. Given her appearance I'm guessing she runs the town. In fact, she might have been the one to erase Jace's memory."
"But what about the illusion part?"
Eli's entire body started to glow white-hot.
Cris' eyes widened and he took a step back.
Lisa and Eliza whipped their heads over their shoulders.
"Chirp chirp!" Apus cried.
"Squawk!" Aquila shrieked.
"That's the thing. She keeps evading my senses, which nobody has ever done during the daytime," Eli stated.
"Sir Sun! Do you have enough Magic for that?" Lisa inquired.
"You might want to close our gates!" Eliza added.
"I'll be fine, don't worry everyone."
"Wh-wh-what are you doing?!" Cris shrilled.
"Crispin, keep distracting Catie please. I'll shatter any illusions of confusion in a moment."
He glared up through the shields at the levitating opponent.
Catie's eyes visibly narrowed.
Crispin gulped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snap!
Reiki blinked and looked around. It was a blurry, rainbow place where there were "windows" into the outside world.
"Where are we?"
"The Dimension," a commanding monotone voice announced.
Reiki whipped his head to see Calypso as she removed her hood. Her short, wavy black locks bounced to life around the nape of her neck.
She held out her left arm and pointed a pale finger at the frozen hooded figure in front of them.
'Territory Ripple,' she thought.
The space rippled around the figure's feet. The outermost cresting ripple hardened. Calypso flicked her finger up, making the ring float up. She repeated this until a tower of rings surrounded the enemy. She opened her hand and snapped it into a fist. Immediately the rings softened and collapsed around the target before rehardening.
"They are now secured," Calypso stated.
She snapped her left hand's fingers.
The hooded figure immediately wiggled around and resisted the bonds.
"The Dimension is my domain. You follow my rules," Calypso declared. "Now then, I request more information on your organization and this town."
After a minute of struggling, the enemy relaxed.
"I commend your efforts," they said.
"Don't side track the conversation," the Moon Mage stated.
Hood 6 sighed.
"Very well. However, the condition is this information must be kept a secret between the three of us until the time is necessary," they said.
"We are running out of time. Explain the situation, and who you are, please!"
"Only if you agree to the condition," Hood 6 reiterated.
"We agree," Reiki stated.
"You agree," Calypso corrected.
The redhead groaned.
"She's not going to give it to us otherwise!" he pointed out.
Beneath her messy chin-length bangs, Calypso cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I'm aware. I don't need you to speak on my behalf."
"Ahh okay. I'm sorry. Yes, I agree to the condition, Hood 6."
"...As do I. Now speak. Please," Calypso said through her teeth.
A white-hot glow appeared in one of the "windows".
'Uhh, is that Eli?' Reiki wondered via telepathy.
'Yes. It's his Sun Vest. A counter to my Moon Dress, it can only be activated when the sun is above the horizon. It reaches peak power at the height of day. Apparently my prediction was correct. We have limited time.'
"Very well," Hood 6 stated, "In case you couldn't tell by my codename, there are six of us. We are called The Hoods, and we always work in pairs. However, you should worry more about the Five Rarities. They control not just us six but the entirety of Needleworks, Woodworks, and Clayworks. They also tried to take control of Dawn Town three years ago, but that failed after Crime Sorciere was captured by the town's stupid leader. If I recall the rumors correctly, Fairy Tail and Sabertooth put a stop to that plan."
Reiki's pupils dilated.
Beads of sweat formed beneath his ragged locks.
"How widespread is this group?" Calypso questioned.
"We're all across Fiore. Some areas are more concentrated than others. The Rarities have taken over more than just what I've mentioned."
"How come we haven't heard of this before??" she challenged.
"The leader Ozzy is extremely manipulative and capable of framing others for her plans. Not to mention her Magic Power is otherworldly."
"What are the names and Magics of the Hoods and the Rarities?" Calypso questioned.
Hood 6 gulped.
"The six Hoods in numerical order: Blake Hebio with Snake, Igneel Dragneel with Fire Molding, Guthrie Conbolt with Wind Molding, Chryssie Sepal with Plant, Varsha Diluvium with Flood, and I am Corentina Tempesto with...Cyclone. Please call me Tina."
'Chryssie Sepal!! That was one of the names Canes Venatici spit out for Plant Magic! And wait, if Igneel does know Fire Molding, then that confirms my suspicion he's under some sort of protection enchantment! We should confirm with the Wind Molding, too!'
Reiki's heart rang in his ear like a gong.
'Protection enchantment...you don't think...it could be the same one...,'
"What about my other requests?" the Moon Mage persisted.
Hood 6 took a shaky deep breath.
"I confess I know little about my captors."
Calypso and Reiki exchanged confused glances.
"Look," Tina said, "I can definitely tell you that Ozzy is the leader. Her brother and sister are Andy and Mo, respectively. Her friends are Catie and Aleks. I only know Aleks and Andy use Ice and Fire, respectively, and Mayte can use Possession Magic. The rest use very strange Magics I can't figure out. As far as an otherworldly definition...well..."
"Were you told to give us this information?" the Moon Mage interrogated.
"What?? No!" Tina cried.
"You're spilling this information quite readily."
"Because I want out! We all do! But we can't leave on our own or else Ozzy will hunt us down with the most painful consequences! So please don't take Guthrie or me! I'm begging you to free us by stopping Ozzy instead!"
The Dimension quietly gurgled around the trio.
Eli's glow started to get brighter.
"We have to leave now," the Moon Mage declared.
"I'll help you!" Tina cried.
"How?"
"I started a rainstorm around the time I set up the Cyclones. That will distract Ozzy who is currently on her way here."
"How would we know if we met Ozzy?" Calypso inquired.
"Oh, you'll know her before you can see her."
"Hang on! How do you know she's coming here?!" Reiki interjected.
Tina remained silent.
"You brought her here didn't you?" Calypso guessed.
The teenagers narrowed their eyes.
No response.
Eli's glow significantly intensified.
Calypso pulled up her hood and held out her left hand.
"I appreciate you revealing your true colors," she stated.
In a flash of rainbow light, everyone was teleported out of the Dimension!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just after Calypso teleports herself, Reiki, and Tina out of the Dimension
Crispin shielded his eyes against the blinding light.
It disappeared and he looked.
Eleodoro stood there in a pair of slim, leather pants tucked into dark combat boots with a chain belt. His long, black gloves were replaced by elbow-length, black leather, fingertip-less gauntlets. His crop tank top and crop leather vest were completely replaced by a white vest heavily embroidered with shiny golden, orange, and yellow designs of suns, dragons, and spirits swirling around each other.
The bronze light of his magic swirled around him.
"Lisa. Eliza. Apus. Aquila. Please stay until we run."
"Yes, Sir Sun!"
"Chirp!"
"Squawk!"
Eleodoro held out his right hand. He pressed his thumb against his forefinger and middle finger.
Snap!
Everything shattered, including the world itself!
All six wizards stood in front of the three original Mages! In the middle of pouring rain!
"WHAT?!" Crispin cried.
"As I thought. An illusion," Eleodoro declared with a broad grin.
Calypso smirked underneath her hood.
'Well done, Eleodoro,' she commented.
Reiki stood there shaken.
'Holy Mavis...Even Eli's Magic isn't the same as in X817. How?!'
A completely healthy Nashi lit her fists on fire.
"I'll burn ya down!!" she declared.
Jace was on his hands and knees. Tears flowed from his eyes onto his tan hands. His white coat was still on. The blood from his ears was completely gone. Blakey circled around him while she hissed at the enemy. Her scales were burn-free.
Hysterical screams and cries echoed in the village behind Tina, Catie, and Guthrie.
"Mayor!! Mayor's Assistants! Please help us!!" a few people cried.
Catie glared at the teenagers.
"Hood 6. Hood 3. Deal with these pesky wizards. I have a village to attend to."
She turned on her heel and warped out of view.
Hood 3 prepared swords of wind.
Hood 6 held out a hand.
"Go," Tina whispered.
"Let's go! Now!" Reiki cried.
"Not without Guthrie!" Nashi snarled. She dashed through the rain.
Reiki immediately used Meteor to reach her. He held her by her scarf while she ran in place.
"No! Nashi! We need to go!" he shouted above the rain.
"NOT WITHOUT MY GUILDMATE!" she screamed.
Nashi twisted out his grasp and ran. Reiki immediately ran after her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her in the air.
"LEMME GO!" she screeched.
The Fire Dragon Slayer kicked and flailed.
"Nashi...I'm sorry...Please forgive me...Please forgive me," he muttered.
Tears started to roll down his cheeks with the rain.
'Please forgive me Nashi. I promise this is for Gurthrie's sake. I promise I will explain everything at some point!'
Jace rose to his feet and grit his teeth.
"As much as his thoughts are screaming at me, I agree with Nashi!" he shouted.
He started to tear through the mud before he disappeared in a rainbow flash. A moment later, Nashi disappeared as well.
Eleodoro stared at Calypso with an open mouth.
"Cal!!" he cried.
"We're leaving!" she declared.
Blakey hissed and circled around the Moon Mage before being warped away as well.
"But we came for–"
"I said we're leaving!" she shouted.
Eleodoro took a step forward. His pupils dilated as he watched tiny droplets dribble down her chin past her quivering lip. His gaze softened.
He looked back at Reiki, who faced the hooded figures. His ragged, red locks were drenched. Water poured off the bottom of his blue coat like a waterfall. Mud coated his legs and bare feet.
'Skyler, Wendy, Romeo...please forgive me,' the redhead croaked in his head.
Crispin looked between all three Mages.
The Sun Mage looked back at his partner.
She nodded.
He nodded back.
The Twins looked at Crispin. Eli jerked his head towards Reiki.
Crispin hesitantly trotted through the mud towards his best friend.
"Hey!" he called.
Reiki slowly turned to face him.
Crispin pointed at the Twins.
The Heavenly Body Mage's shoulders visibly sagged as he bobbed his head.
Just as they were about to move, they felt a wave of Magic wash over, completely stunning them.
"Oh you'll know her before you can see her."
Calypso and Reiki exchanged glances.
'Can you get us out of here with Territory?' Reiki asked telepathically.
'I can. And I will as long as we're going back to Shirotsume.'
'Deal. Thank you.'
She shakily held out her left hand and warped the quartet into the Dimension.