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 Ben.
"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!"
Ben furrowed his brows at Wally. "You helped kidnap Erza and Happy, threatened to kill me, and tried to kill my…cat-headed friend here. Oh…" he activated the Omnitrix and scrolled through the playlist "…I am so kicking your butt. And I know just the form to do it with."
Once he selected the icon and the faceplate slid back, Ben slapped down the core. The cat-themed room was bathed in brilliant, emerald light and forced Wally to cover his eyes, despite his sun shades. When the light died away, standing in Ben's place was a six-foot-tall, gorilla-like creature whose body was red, yellow, and blue and appeared to be made out of building blocks. Its arms were huge whilst his legs were stubby. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on its chest while a black Fairy Tail mark was stamped on its left shoulder.
"Bloxx!" Ben shouted.
Cathead Natsu looked quizzically at Ben's new form and poked him on his right shoulder. "Whoa…you're a blockhead now, too."
Wally's blinked twice as he arched a brow at the block-like gorilla. His shock soon turned into anger. "What is this?! What the hell are yah supposed to be?"
"I'm Bloxx, and as you can see," Ben grinned cheekily, "I'm much smoother than you."
Wally gritted his teeth furiously from Bloxx shooting his own words back at him. "Oh yeah, monkey boy! Let's see how smooth you are after this!"
The rectangular-toned man pulled up his Polygon Rifle and shot Bloxx, leaving a big hole in his midsection.
"BEN!" Natsu cried, alarmed.
Bloxx, however, stood calmly with a smug smirk on his face. No blood poured from the injury; in fact, as quickly as the injury was inflicted, it instantly regenerated. Needless to say, this shocked Wally and Natsu.
"Huh? What…" Wally trailed off.
Bloxx 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.
Ben cocked a brow. 'Okay…that's freaky…' he mused.
Bloxx 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. Bloxx 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?"
Bloxx 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. "Duh…I forgot. I don't have to break free. I just have to break off."
The Segmentasapien disconnected his arms from his body and hopped off the wall. Almost immediately, a new pair of arms regenerated.
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. Bloxx held up his arms and formed a wall in front of him to shield himself from the flying debris. When Bloxx lowered the wall, he noticed a hole in the center 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." Bloxx 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!" Bloxx jumped into action. Just as Wally fired his gun, Bloxx tackled Natsu, shape-shifted his body into a ball with him inside, and rolled out of the way.
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?!" Bloxx 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."
Bloxx narrowed his green eyes 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. Bloxx 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 Ben instantly healed though.
When the attack ended, Bloxx 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."
Ben held out his right arm and shifted it into a rectangular-shaped gun with a string of building block bullets behind it; much to Wally's surprise.
"Let's see how you like it, Blockhead!"
Bloxx fired a salvo of red, yellow, and blue building block projectiles at Wally. The Polygon wizard could only stare in apprehension as a wall of blocks came soaring at him. The projectiles sent Wally careening back and crashing through the wall again. After a moment of silence, Ben realized he had won.
"Ha! Bloxx beats Blockhead." He quipped.
Ben 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?"
Bloxx nodded. "Yep"
"Aw man! I wanted to give him a beat-down!" Natsu whined.
Bloxx tapped the Omnitrix dial on his chest and, in a green 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 Ben, 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!"
Ben'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!"
Ben'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 Ben and Natsu. Cathead Natsu jumped to the right while Ben leapt to the left to avoid the Polygon Attack. Thanks to the years of training with Gwen and Kevin, Ben was successfully able to elude the incoming projectiles.
Ben landed on his right knee and turned his gaze to the block-man and cat lady. "Okay, enough of this." He activated the Omnitrix and scrolled through the playlist. "It's time for Blitzwolfer to set you all straight."
When the core popped out, he slapped it back down and cast the room in emerald light. As the flash faded away, standing in Ben's place was a nine-foot-tall humanoid, tailless tiger with a single black claw on the tops of its hands.
"RATH!" Ben roared. He paused and looked at himself, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Let me tell yah something, new Omnitrix! 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 Rath instead. She stared at the large 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.
Rath turned away from the Omnitrix 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? KITTY!" Rath shouted, his already present anger growing. "Let me tell yah something, Millianna, craziest cat lady I've ever seen! Rath ain't no kitty! Rath is the biggest, meanest, strongest brawler in TWO universes!" He finished his proclamation by flexing his large, muscular arms.
Millianna was undeterred by Rath'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!"
Rath'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!"
Rath heard that comment and snarled at the block-man. "Let me tell yah something, Wally Buchanan, aka Blockhead! Nobody calls Rath a dirty rat…without gettin' a major beating!"
The enraged 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 Rath. Rath 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.
Rath 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 Ben's right. As soon as he saw Rath, 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. Rath 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.
Rath let out a tiger-like roar as he 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 Rath, blankly. "Dirty rats? They look like kitties to me; especially that big one."
Rath growled, overhearing Millianna's comment. He back-flipped to avoid another bombardment of blocks, and yelled, "Rath 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!"
Rath 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. "Incursion Ambassador!"
Natsu's flame attacks and Rath's muscle 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 Rath. "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.
"Let me tell yah something, Millianna, craziest cat lady I've ever seen! Rath doesn't need to pretend. Rath… is the cat that's all that! I'm…the RATH ATTACK!" Rath 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 Rath were caught off guard when orange furry ropes stretched out from her magic circle and wrapped around their wrists. Natsu and Rath pulled on the ropes, but they proved to be very strong.
Rath growled viciously as he pulled against his bindings. "GRR…Let me tell yah something stupid, furry ropes that are oddly super-strong! Rath hates you!" He paused as his left eye twitched in fury. "You've made a powerful enemy in Rath today. Oh yeah!"
The Appoplexian 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 Rath. 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 Rath 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 Rath's arms behind his back, allowing Wally to fire a round of blocks at Rath's exposed torso. The hits made Rath 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 Rath.
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 Rath let out a fearsome tiger-like roar. "Let me tell yah something, Wally Buchanan, aka Blockhead! 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 Rath's forehead.
Millianna felt her breath hitch in her throat in worry. The cat lady stared at the Appoplexian in a deep trance, gazing into his green eyes. At that moment, Rath 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!"
Rath 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 Rath; 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.
Rath 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.
"Let me tell yah something, Wally Buchanan and Millianna, who helped kidnap Erza Scarlet back at the resort! Rath is gonna take you down with both arms tied behind my back!" Rath declared.
Cathead Natsu clenched his fists and shrouded them in fire. "Face the fury from the Cat Duo!" Natsu exclaimed.
Natsu and Rath 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. Rath honed in on his target and aimed himself toward it. In midair he positioned himself to where his feet were in front. "Appoplexian Thunder Kick!"
Rath 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 Rath landed next to each other and looked at their unconscious foes. The latter threw up his arms and roared in victory. "Let me tell yah something, Wally Buchanan and Millianna, nobody beats Rath!"
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! You mess with the kitties, you get the claws!" Natsu stated.
Rath turned his usual angry glare at Natsu. "Let me tell yah something, Natsu Dragneel, who's strangely wearing a giant cat head! RATH AIN'T NO KITTY!"
"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 Rath, his eyes were full of stars.
"Alright, it's Rath!" Happy then noticed Wally and Millianna's battered forms lying on the floor, causing his excitement to grow. "Way to go, Rath! You sure showed those creeps whose boss!"
"That's right!" Rath flexed his arms. "Rath's all about showing people whose boss!"
"Hey!" Cathead Natsu shouted indignantly. "I helped too!"
"Don't be delusional, Natsu." Happy waved him off. "Rath clearly did all the work. Don't steal the spotlight from him. By the way, what's with the cat costume?"
"Rath didn't do all the work! And I thought the cat helmet was cool so I tried it on." Natsu answered sternly.
Rath tapped the Omnitrix dial and transformed back to Ben. "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 green hourglass piece (the three-legged stand was black while the glass was lime green) and used it to knock over a blue-suited archer piece. These moves represented Ben 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, Ben Tennyson. 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, Ben and Happy were in the process of pulling the cat mask off of Natsu's head. Ben was pulling on the right ear whilst Happy was pulling on the left. The Omnitrix 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.
"Yeah, what?" Ben 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 Ben. "Maybe…if you turned into Rath…Ben…you can could get it off?"
Ben grunted. "No way; 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's no need." He finished.
The Dragon Slayer smiled brightly with a bit of sweat running down his face. "Yes! Sweet freedom!"
The cat helmet that Ben had tossed landed perfectly on Wally's head; much to Natsu and Ben's amusement and Happy's confusion.
"Oh look, now it's stuck on Ole Boxy." Natsu laughed.
"Yeah," Ben 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?" Ben 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."
Ben 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.
Ben, 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 around with heaven's game?"
"I don't wanna play your stupid game!" Natsu yelled.
"Neither do I." Ben 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.
Ben clenched his fists and glared at the red glowing eyes of the statue. "I won't 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 ass that we're gonna find a way to stop you.' Ben thought resolutely.
"To make things a little more interesting," Jellal continued, "I've enlisted three knights to battle on my behalf."
"Three knights?" Ben 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?" Ben repeated. He then looked over to Natsu and Happy, who were looking wary. "That's bad, right?"
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."
Ben's eyes widened. 'Kind of like atomic bombs back in my world. They're a last resort weapon too.'
Ben looked back up at the red-eyed statue. Though he couldn't see him, the Omnitrix 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."
Ben 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.
Ben huffed and turned to Natsu and Happy with a determined, confident smirk on his face. "You know, 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."
Ben 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 can't 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 very monsters that kept you imprisoned here years ago."
Wally trembled lightly as he stared at Ben 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 Ben. I'm not feeling this game either so let's bend the rules."
"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.
Ben activated the Omnitrix and selected the first icon on the holo-wheel. "It's Hero time!"
When he slapped down the dial, his body was engulfed in emerald light. When the flash died away, standing in Ben's place was an orange pterodactyl with a jetpack on its pack. The Omnitrix dial was on its left shoulder and below it was the Fairy Tail mark stamped in black.
"Astrodactyl," Ben squawked.
"Sweet!" Natsu grinned. "I remember that guy from Galuna Island."
Happy grabbed Natsu by the back of his black vest whilst Astrodactyl activated his jetpack. The trio blasted out of an open window in the hall and flew straight up the enormous, twisted body of the tower. To keep up with Astrodactyl, 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.
"BAWK! Jellal won't know what hit him." Astrodactyl stated confidently, and then squawked.
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.
Astrodactyl, 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.
Astrodactyl squawked. "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 a tall, muscular man with a brown feathered owl head and a large rocket pack strapped to his back. Astrodactyl banked right while Natsu and Happy went left to narrowly avoid the owl-man, who flew right between them.
Astrodactyl's eyes widened, dumbfounded. "W-w-what?! An owl-man?! BAWK!"
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.
Astrodactyl's eyes widened further from panic. "Natsu! Happy! BAWK!"
The Omnitrix hero was taken by surprise when Fukuro blasted toward him at insane speeds and launched a wicked kick into his gut. Astrodactyl squawked loudly as he went hurdling into the same opening that Natsu and Happy had gone into.
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 squawk filled the room as Astrodactyl tumbled inside and crashed on top of another cage to Natsu and Happy's left. Ben groaned as pain flooded his body and stars filled his vision. 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…" Astrodactyl replied, followed by a painful squawk.
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 orange-skinned reptilian creature. However, once Simon saw the Omnitrix and Fairy Tail symbols on Astrodactyl's left arm, he realized who he was.
"Ben! 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! BAWK! Wait!" Astrodactyl activated his jetpack 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 Ben 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 humor." 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 is 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 Ben, 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!"
Astrodactyl 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 green after-burn from Astrodactyl's jetpack.
"I can't see!" Astrodactyl 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!" Ben 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.
Astrodactyl glowered at the owl-man intensely. Fukuro claimed to be serving justice when he was really just a deadly assassin. This made Ben'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.
"Ha! Watch us." Ben 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 Astrodactyl, who was hovering ten yards to Natsu's left. "And you, Ben Tennyson, powerful Take-Over wizard, rumor is spreading that you were responsible for destroying Mount Infernus, a magnificent natural monument to the people of Peony.
"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 Astrodactyl's mouth sparked with green star energy. Deadly scowls twisted on both of their faces.
"Magic Guilds are supposed to bring light-minded people together so they can share their dreams. They're not places for killers like you to team up."
"How dare you. BAWK." Astrodactyl spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. Suddenly, the volume of his voice immediately rose as the rage in his green eyes intensified at Fukuro. "How dare you claim to be serving justice when all you really do is kill people for money! BAWWK! People who serve justice stand for what is right and protect the innocent." Ben 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!"
"Ben! Salamander! I'm telling you two. There's no way you can be defeat him!" Simon yelled frantically.
Astrodactyl squawked. "I've beaten plenty of scumbags like this guy before, Simon. I'm not intimidated by this creep!" Ben narrowed his eyes 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 green energy began to sizzle out from Astrodactyl's mouth.
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 still so naïve." Fukuro countered, unintimidated by Ben 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 Astrodactyl and Natsu. The battle between the so called 'knight of justice', superhero, and Dragon Slayer had begun.