Tamotsu laughed a little and threw his arms around the girls. "Thanks girls. You really made me feel better." He said before kissing each of their cheeks. "I've never seen Tamotsu this docile." Melissa inaudibly mouthed to Misaki. "Alright. Well. You girls wanna train some more or call it a day?" Tamotsu then broke the silence and shot up into a standing position.

"I've had my fun. Let's go watch TV with snacks, or something lazy like that." Misaki suggested as she stood and began walking out of the training room. No doubt, the engineers would take a while to clean up the mess the three made. Reinforced or not, when three dragons fight in the same room things are bound to get blown up, smashed to pieces and whatnot.

Melissa smiled and nodded in agreement with Misaki. "yeah! Let's do that." She said cheerfully. "Alright. You two go up first. I'll follow." Tamotsu said calmly as he gathered his things. Luckily they were okay. They might not have been if the fight was longer.

---

"Aren't you supposed to be at my home right now young lady?" Jonathan said as he knelt down beside Luka who he'd found as he and Ryoko were making their way back home.

Luka continued staring down at the puddled, rough concrete. Thoughts couldn't even develop anymore, ...she just needed a serious rest. Unfortunately she'd chosen to crash here, in an alleyway. "I'm fine..." she muttered, totally avoiding Jonathan's question. Or, perhaps she just wasn't paying attention. Either way, this wasn't the place up stop and reconsider everything.

"Well if you're fine I guess there's no need for words." Jonathan said calmly before Luka would feel herself being lifted by the man. "Still an associate of the Emiya household shouldn't spend her time in an alley way." He said as a jacket was placed gently over Luka's body. "Honey please. If you wish to tell all of Joseph's acquaintances how much you care just say so. You're a terrible liar." Ryoko's voice rang out through the alley. "Just trying to save face for both the young lady and I dear." Jonathan replied with a smile as he began to walk while carrying Luka who was hidden from the sun and the world. Ryoko moved beside the two calmly. They didn't speak. If Luka didn't want to it wouldn't be wise to force her. Though they were open to give her any aid or advice she might need.

"I'll come back home later, alright...?" Luka said quietly as she pushed away from Jonathan, throwing his jacket back on his shoulder before she started walking in the opposite direction. Her wristwatch had started beeping moments earlier, indicating that she was needed at the Enforcer HQ. The red flashing LED on the watch meant it was highest priority, too... "No, wait... Could you tell everyone to meet at the HQ? The kids too - I don't have a good feeling about this at all," Luka concluded before breaking into a run.

"Luka Kerry, you better be awake! There's no other agents active in the UK, we've got a situation on our hands. You're acquainted with the Emiyas, right? We need their help, ...and... if they can forgive us, we need the three Saito if they're available."

"Oh wow, I was right about that bad feeling. I already sent word, so sit tight. Everyone should be there soon." Luka replied in monotone, taking her finger off the earpiece to cut communications. This was it. The Shades were going to make their move - she knew it!

Jonathan shook his head slightly and shrugged with a soft chuckle. "Ah to be young." He said just before Luka spoke again before running. "Oh my. Dear we should hurry. That sounded quite important." Ryoko said with a somewhat more calm tone than the words she used would probably call for. "Shall we?" Jonathan asked. "We shall." Ryoko answered. And like that the two were off moving at quite unbelievable speed. It took a matter of seconds before they arrived at their home.

The house seemed rather peaceful. Silent. The trouble had died down. Most were relaxing. "Everyone!" Jonathan's voice boomed breaking the feeling of serenity which had previously been in place. "Meet at the main entrance at once." Most if not all people on the planet new that when Jonathan was this stern and demanding it was best not to make him wait or really question him.

Tamotsu and Joseph were quick to arrive. And soon Emily followed in suit along with Yuuki? Well she had been recently let off duty and was going to go out for a moment before her date with Rico anyway.

"Misa! You think we could be going off into something awesome?" meli asked as she practically dragged her firned along away from the nearly clean plate of what used to be a pile of food.

"But I didn't finish the sushi!" Misaki sobbed as Melissa dragged her by the collar away from the feast. Still, she didn't force her way out of it - the only thing that overpowered her ridiculous appetite was the promise of a challenging fight! What else could this sudden meeting be for? It wasn't anyone's birthday today was it?!

Hana had followed Joseph, as she pretty much went everywhere with her husband anyway. She was eager to hear what was going on, as Enyalius' wristwatch started going crazy just like Luka's had. "Jonathan, is something wrong? The Council wants something?"

"Jeez, Captain Obvious. It's only like.. Defcon 1000!" A familiar girl's voice called over after Hana's question, one that made the Saito grow a smirk. "Gryphon Spirit had to come all the way here in such a short time. Luckily we were all on a job in the city. The hell's going on?" Amelia asked as she, Chris, Jessica and Arthur joined the group.

Arthur rubbed his neck with one hand and straightened his tie with the other, "I guess we have to stay on good terms with the Council, even if they did make some fucked up calls recently. Hana, Misaki, we were worried."

Misa gave a dismissing wave, while Hana shrugged as if to say 'oh well'. "Ryuji showed those dudes what was what!" Misa chanted proudly.

Rico raised an eyebrow at Misa'a comment, "There was blood everywhere. He did a little more than show them the error of their ways- Yuuki! Hi! Whatcha doing here?" the cheerful boy asked his date. ...The date! Was it about to get called off?!

"Geez.... Never a dull moment with our group huh?" Chris asked as he stood beside Amelia said calmly. Jessica was quiet. Snoozing as she laid her head on Arthur's shoulder. She was being piggy backs by him. One might not be clear on whether he was lucky or a poor guy to be dealing with her breasts pressed against him at the moment. "Don't... Drop..." She mumbled in her sleep as she tightened her grip on the man.

Jonathan sighed. "Yes yes. I'm so sorry I didn't know about the actions of my former colleagues." He said with a somewhat sorrowful tone.

"Come on dad. We know you would have taught those guys a lesson had you known." Joseph said quickly to help ease his father's conscience. He knew Jonathan was blaming himself. And so was Ryoko. But really they shouldn't have been.

"Still... We've managed to get things under control. but even then we couldn't pardon Ryuji completely. But we were able to shorten his sentence to 6 months." Ryoko explained with a sigh. "Just glad we didn't need to appeal for each party present for the battle." She added before shooting a glance at her former student. "Glad to see you're doing better Rico." She smiled noticing Yuuki and giving the boy a playful wink of approval.

"Compare to what he was supposed to get I think the kid will be glad that you two were able to do so much." Tamotsu chimed in. "And so will these two." He said wrapping his arms around each of Meli and Misa's necks.

"Ah... Tamotsu... Too tight. Too tight." Melissa squeeked as the dragon squeezed.

"Getting back to business. I have to admit that even I am unsure of what is going on." Jonathan said calmly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Even so. The pinked haired girl."

"Luka." Ryoko corrected her husband. "Luka told us to gather all of you and head to Enforcer headquarters." The woman finished the brief explanation. "So that's exactly what we'll be doing." She turned to leave and began walking before pausing and glancing back. "Unless of course, someone has a complaint or something of the sort." She then said with an expression that pretty much said that if a complaint was mad or otherwise the person would have to deal with her. And it wouldn't be pretty.

"Ah... I suppose this means we'll have to reschedule our date." Yuuki whispered to Rico. Unfortunately for young shy nurse girl, Melissa had picked up the little bit of juicy information. no doubt Misa would find out soon and then... Well... Rico would get an earful. Not bad or anything. But still. Not something one would want to be exposed too. Unless they could handle the two girls.

"To the dumbass brigade HQ!" Misa chanted as she began marching off in the direction of the Enforcers' base in the city. Dumbasses was right! They were stupid enough to cause not one, but two genocides, at the command of some ugly bastards living underneath the Vatican. Misa could forgive them for it though. They were only following orders - they might have been fired or perhaps even killed if they'd dropped out or tried to publicise the matter.

Hana ran after her little sister, adamant she was going to get lost or something silly. There was a strange feeling on the wind, something Hana had definitely felt before. Some kind of.. crazy energy. It had to be her.

Aegis moved along, hands in his jacket pockets with Emily fixed to one arm. It didn't show, but he was actually learning to enjoy this!

Rico sighed but nodded along in agreement, "Yeah~, this is definitely gonna take longer than a couple'a minutes. I'm sure everything will work itself out, I mean we got the teachers helping out too! So I'll come back as soon as I can..." he gave a slight wave before turning to follow the others.

Arthur would slowly follow after the others, his face remarkably straight for his awkward situation with Jessica on his back. Probably because he'd been dealing with it for a good two or three years now! Not that he ever complained...

Amelia shoved her hands in her zip-up hoodie's pockets and began walking with Chris, apparently a lot more relaxed than last time they met with their old friends. Misa could swear she saw a faint smile on the French girl's usually expressionless face, too~...

---

As the crew approached the building, Luka was sat inside in a large briefing room with Skyler and an old Enforcer. The black Exceed with a white patch on his eye had been scouting around an old ruin deep in a forest in the south of the country. And what he found was.. well, terrifying to say the least! On the large monitor was Skyler's gathered pictures, and close-ups of certain individuals. Minerva, Espada and Kuro in various sectors of the fortress, a Neko and a massive cannon on a very tall tower, and multiple other powerful-looking mages were scattered among the pathetic masses of grunts. No normal team would be able to beat the Shades' final threat to the world's security, it seemed...

...Hey, the little Exceed was with the Emiyas originally - he had experience in this type of thing. His number one priority though - he was still Misa's partner before anything else.

"With certain members excluded of course." Tamotsu said in response to Misa's little chant as the group headed off. He chuckled a bit. He admired her eagerness and readiness to continue and help and do what she does despite what she and her clan and family had gone through. Still he felt he had to watch her back.

Joseph was closely following Hana. "Promise me you'll be careful Hana." He said to her. Really shouldn't she have been the one saying this to him? Still... He just couldn't leave her alone. Especially when dealing with the Enforcers and possible Life or death situations. And even more so after what had happened just before their final encounter with them.

Emily of course, wasn't going to sit this out. So she along with the rest of the group went as well. She clung to Aegis. "You better not die on me." She whispered as the two moved.

"Just come back alive. And with as little injury as possible. Don't want anymore reasons to postpone things." After saying this, Yuuki gave Rico a few words of encouragement and made sure he knew she'd wait for his return.

"Hmm... Thanks for carrying me." Jessica said as she opened her eyes. "When all this, whatever this is, is over..." She paused for a moment. "I mean... Assuming we live if it's really as dangerous as we think. I wanna do something I should have done a long time ago." She whispered calmly. yes. Now she was awake. Although she wasn't about to give up her transportation.

"Well Amelia. Looks like we'll be teaming up on the battle field again this time around." Chris said calmly as he walked with her. "You ready to go?" He then asked with a small smirk.

It seemed as though most were getting things out of the way now before the time for battle or briefing or whatever came. It was rather important when one thought about this. Who knew what was going on? It could be anything. But it had to be serious if so much help was being brought together. Another big battle? Who would have thought this time would come. Someone... No... Many could die. Of course, they could have all been being Paranoid. It could have been anything.

---

After most got out the things they wan't to it wouldn't be long until they reached Enforcer HQ. As the group entered Jonathan was quick to speak. "Alright. What's going on?" He asked wanting to know what was going on and why it was so urgent. Tamotsu saw the picture first before asking. A couple of people did. but it was most obvious to him. Almost immediately. Those bastards. But then something more important popped into his head. Was Takashi really alive?

"Ease up man. You look like you're just about ready to burst." Joseph said to Tamotsu as he slapped the fire dragon's back. Tamotsu chuckled a bit and agreed. Still, one might notice that Joseph's eyes were locked on a single person in the pictures. Chris and Hana would most likely notice rather easily. Though Chris didn't say anything.

"Give us any information you have regarding the situation now." Ryoko then demanding sounding much more stern than her husband had about 10 seconds ago. Impatience was noticeable in her demeanor.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. This couldn't wait. We have an apocalypse-scale crisis on our hands," The Director told the gathered mages of Magicka Academy, the Emiya Household and Gryphon Spirit. Before any of them could ask what was up, he continued: "The Shades resurfaced. We've known they were up to something for some time now, but they covered their tracks too damned well. Luka, Tamotsu and the Emiya's private force have conducted operations against them, minor things. Now we know these little flashpoints were only to keep our eyes and ears away from what they've really been doing. One day ago, a mountain appeared out of nowhere four miles south of London. It only took the Shades a day to get this place fortified, too - this mountain houses some kind of ancient weapon and a castle to defend it. This mountain isn't natural, it's some kind of.. summoning, like it's from another plain of existence, or another dimension. There hasn't been any time to look further into it..."

The Director paused, as all the screenshots changed to one large map of southern England, showing the mountain's location. "Make no mistake, whatever is going on here, the magic power level readings are massive from that place - enough to do something terrible if released as a weaponized force. We need to act now."

"Four miles south of the city, castle full of dark mages? Okay, that's all I needed!" Misa cheered before breaking into a sprint, but she was going nowhere with Hana holding her collar. "Lemme at 'em, Hana!" she whined. Hana turned her little sister around and pulled her close. Something told her this event might not have a happy ending... She wasn't going to let Misa go just yet. "This goes for everyone... Look after the person next to you. We're not losing anybody today - we're all going to return to the mansion together when this is over, alright?"

Luka pushed in between Hana and Misaki, throwing an arm around the both of them. "We'll bring Takashi back too, right Tamotsu?!" she joined in, apparently having found her resolve on the matter. Whatever happened with the relationships involved, Takashi was coming back with them. That much was for certain...

Hana then reluctantly let go of the two, and Misa ran off without saying anything else, leaving her older sister with a look of uncertainty. Skyler flew out after her - those two wanted to get there first. "Tamotsu, Rook - let's kick ass!" Misa called back. Of course, Meli could fly too and maybe carry someone, and Joseph's own Exceed would be able to take him there too. Everyone who couldn't fly there somehow would have to be reinforcements for a bit later. Someone needed to take the Neko and the cannon in the tower, while Espada, Kuro and Minerva were high priority targets. But what else might the Shades have up their sleeve...?

Nobody had anything else to say. The mission was clear. Still Tamotsu could at least have responded to Luka. But he didn't. All he did was nod and smirk before running off after Misa with Rook and Meli soon in tow. Joseph glance at the screen one more time for shooting off himself. "Take Hana." He said to his Exceed before patting her head.

(I forgot the exceed name... D:)

Emily smirked at Aegis. "Lets go kick some ass." She said in a somewhat cheerful and excited manner as she ran off while practically dragging him along.

Jonathan and Ryoko watched everyone leave. "You wanna go honey?" Jonathan asked Ryoko. "This is their fight to finish. Not ours." His wife replied. "At least not yet." She then added with a smile.

"Run like the wind!" Jessica said as she motioned for Arthur to run. And carry her of course. "You're big strong man. You can do it." She then said before he could argue about carrying her. "or am I wrong about that?" She teased.

"Looks like our little break and reunion is pretty much done. Time for some action." Chris said with a smile as he looked at Amelia. "You're ready right?" He said as he too ran off.

---

"It looks like it's almost time Zephyr." Takashi said to his cell mate with a somewhat sorrowful gaze. "Think we'll be able to go out without much trouble?" Of course, they wouldn't be able to go down easy. But it was wishful thinking. Kind of. For their friends and the "good guys" anyway.

---

"SAREEEEEEEENNN!!!" Kurai whined. "Are we gonna head out and join the fight?" She asked sounding a bit like a child wanting to go to the playground. "Lookin forward to a brawl and some quality time with your brother and what not?" Kinzoku said. he looked calm and collected, but he wanted to join in too. Even if only to bust a few skulls.

"Ugh, fine. Thane will just have to miss out on the fun, wherever he ran off to." Saren muttered. Sure enough, Dragonblood knew about this before anyone else did. Heck, they were the ones who tipped off the Council! Their Sea Dragon Slayer had left a day earlier though, stating that he had something that needed to be tied up. It's not like the rest of the team needed him though... Saren, Kurai and Kinzoku were more than a match for most powerful mages. "...By land or by flight?" he asked his two subordinates rather casually.

---

Zephyr rolled his eyes and stood up, feeling his control collar kicking in. Minerva's will was now their will, but it was odd in a way that they could still talk and think for themselves. They just couldn't act for themselves. "Fuck no. We might take one or two of them down before we go down, unfortunately. I sure hope that gunslinger chick isn't coming our way... Or Kurai, Kinzoku, Saren- Oh god damn it! I don't want any of them to die because of us... But what can we do?"

He felt the urge to walk suddenly, and he and Takashi would not-so-obediently follow Minerva's mental command to head outside their dungeon and head into the underground portion of the castle. They would guard Minerva's chambers shield generator until they died, or killed everything that got in their way. Either way - after tonight, no life would exist. ...Given all things went to plan.

---

"C'mere! Let's race the Dragon Slayers!" Amelia laughed as she held on to Chris and started using flames underneath them as a boosting force. Skating on fire, they'd arrive soon enough.

Arthur wouldn't dare turn down her ladyship's command, swiftly breaking into a fast sprint despite the 'extra load'. Of course, he was going to be tired by the time they reached the fight this way... "Wait. Jessica, if you can do fuses, ...don't you have anything with wings? Or something like a cheetah?" he asked, though his tone made it clear he wasn't trying to suggest. It was just a question, ...and if Jessie saw fit to make this easier, that would be her choice!

Rico had finished telling Yuuki how he'd come back without a scratch and all that, and now he was chasing after Emily as she pulled a reluctant Aegis along. One thing was for sure: Shirahamas fuckin' loved to get into fights! Honestly, Rico couldn't wait to smash someone's teeth in either - they made a mess of his and Yuuki's date timing! Aegis gradually picked himself up and was soon running with his girl. This time he wouldn't be on the receiving end of her inhuman power, this time they were going to cause double the damage, together!

(Let's have the reinforcements arrive in a few more posts!)

---

(I remembered her name by the way, Joey's little white kittycat! ;3)

Skyler, Rook and Rin were carrying the ones who would be first to fight. Misaki, Melissa and Tamotsu were probably going for the nearest punching bags they could find when they arrived, while Hana would take.. a slightly different approach.

"Rin, can you use your max speed when we come into view? On the screenshots I saw the main hall had a kind of reddish glow coming from it. I want you to get me there - she'll be there..." Hana explained to the white Exceed. They could see it already. The castle was the size of the damn mountain - the interior of the place was supposedly all tucked away into the mountain too, where all the equipment to keep defences going would probably be hidden away, safe from bombardment. There were so many levels, so many defence lines. But near the top, there was the grand hall where a red glow was beaming out into the night sky. The other light was purple, coming from the top of a tower that extended up into the clouds. That was the magic focusing cannon - that needed to be stopped too.

"Tamotsu... Do you smell something familiar? Deep in the castle... Really vaguely, but I swear that's.. your brother. And that Ice bastard." Misa spoke up as they approached. There were so many dark mages and their mass-produced staves down there, they looked like ants! They were prepared. Or, as prepared as they could be against the two Dragon Slayers. Meli could technically be one too, but the same went for her either way. These evil people, ...they could never be ready for something like this trio.

Skyler smirked at Rook as he prepared to go into max speed. "Here goes! Is everyone ready?!" he shouted above the increasing rage of the wind. Hana was going to help Rin's speed using her magic, and she'd be like a damn cannonball of a Saito when she made her entrance!

"Rin, now!" Hana yelled. This was it!

"Land! Let's go by land!" Kurai said cheerfully. "We always go by air. So I guess a little change up is good every once in a while." Kinzoku chimed it. The group was pretty calm despite the circumstances.

---

"Fuck... Don't you just hate all this?" Takashi asked somehow able to chuckle slightly. "On the one hand. We're alive when we should be dead. But on the other... Now we're worse then human weapons." He said before sighing. "Gonna have to pray we live." He said looking down. Even if he tried to fight the control it wouldn't work. So what was the use? They'd just have to see how everything went.

---

Chris couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You're more cheerful than usual." He said to Amelia as she pulled him. "Still you honestly think we have a chance at beating the Dragons?" He then said with a chuckle.

Jessica held out one of her hands and a huge magical circle formed on the ground where Arthur was running. "Hmm... I don't wanna use something with wings. Let's use this instead." She said as an absolutely monstrous wolf-like beast of an animal arose under them lifting them into the air possibly causing Arthur to trip onto it's soft fur with Jessica on top of him. "Now you can rest a bit and we'll both be battle ready and there in no time." She said with a small smile.

---

"Yeah I know Misa. Don't worry about that and focus on the fight at hand." Tamotsu said becoming deadly serious as he too caught a whiff of his brother. "The three of us shoud dive bomb the court yard and take out as many mages as we can. Not only that. We need to start destroying the staves too." There was so much that needed to be done. Still this group could make a big impact. Tamotsu really wanted to follow his brother's scent though. But he couldn't... He couldn't leave Misa and Meli alone right. Melissa was already in her water dragon form. "We can do this guys!" She said with a smirk. "So you ready?" Rook asked as he began to descend heading towards the ground so the true battle could begin.

Rin nodded. "Right Hana! Let's do this!" She said cheerfully. "But you know Joseph won't be too happy about you trying to go in and fight by yourself." She warned despite knowing she couldn't stop Hana. She simply gave the word and then followed the woman's instructions. And once the signal was given she blast off from her former flying speed into max speed. "Just don't make me have to tell Joey any bad news."

---

Joseph meanwhile was trying a different approach. He was trying to bypass the majority of the dark mages as he moved at the speed of light to get to the castle. THere was only one person he wanted to fight. One he wanted to make sure never saw the light of day after this battle. The only person he knew for a fact he needed to kill with the power he'd acquired over the year's since their first meeting. "Espada." He mumbled to himself.

"Doubt not, right?!" Hana quoted her little sister as she and Rin rocketed past the defenders and into the main hall. The bright red light was blinding for a moment, but as soon as Hana's eyes adjusted she would detach from Rin, acrobatically dispatching two powerful-looking dark mages in mid air before sliding to a crouched halt in the middle of the massive room. Two katana had been requipped in her hands, which she didn't bother to put away at the end of her deadly entrance. That black box from those few years ago was on an altar located below a statue of a hand, arced as if it was supposed to snatch something from out of the sky. The black box continuously gave out an unlimited source of magic power - it was one thing that hadn't changed at all since the war...

"Rin, get out of here," Hana said as she felt an increase in pressure. This was Minerva's area. She could appear and strike at any moment, and having Rin around would only put the Exceed in harms way... And Hana's way. "He told me I'm not allowed to die, so go tell Joey to hurry up and clear this place out."

"Run, kitty... Run...!" A ghastly female voice came from all over the main hall.

---

Meanwhile, in the lowest of the massive courtyards on the mountain-fixed castle... Chaos erupted.

There was a thundering explosion as the two Dragon Slayers landed. Between the raging flames, the powerful water pressures and the surging azure wind, many of the dark mages were knocked unconscious, their limbs broken or their weapons destroyed. "NICE PLACE YA' GOT HERE!" Misaki roared at the opposition as she began plowing through the everyday grunts with Tamotsu and Melissa. It wasn't exactly boring. The enemy had skill, but they still had nothing on these three - and they weren't coordinating like their enemy. Misa, Meli and Tamotsu were an unbeatable trio at this point... But ahead, there were dangerous and challenging enemies. The magic cannon far up in the clouds, the Shades, and any other surprises they might have up their sleeves.

---

"Nope, I can already hear the chaos." Luka made her presence clear to Chris and Amelia, latched onto the latter's neck as she tried not to strangle her old guildmate. Amelia scowled at her, twitching her eyes in confusion at Luka as if to question how this came about. "...What?! Everyone else has transport! You were gonna leave me behind!" Luka complained.

"Why didn't ya' just hold onto your boyfriend or something?!" Amelia growled back as she increased the flame output to keep the three moving. "Tamotsu flew off before I-!" Luka snapped back, interrupting herself only when she realised what Amelia had tricked her into saying. She started to blush while her old friend started smirking triumphantly. "You get what I mean!"

"Yes~, you're in love~ And you just told us~" Amelia teased, but ceased her giggling as Luka suddenly shifted her arms to lock around the French girl's neck. Going this fast she might end up breaking something! "Okay, okay! I'll shut up and give you a free ride..." she murmured as the three caught up to Jessica's gigantic beast. Amelia didn't want to get too close though - thing might step on them before they got to the fight!

---

(Dragonblood will be arriving last, just sayin' ^_^ Should get some more serious fights started up before the backup arrives)

"Ah! But... But Hana! I can't just." Rin tried to argue before the voice sounded off sending a chill up her small spine. "Don't Die Hana! You can't!" She spoke quickly before flying back towards the entrance she and Hana had made. She needed to find the others. No she needed to find Joseph. Someone. She wasn't so sure Hana could beat Minerva. Assuming that voice did indeed belong to Minerva.

---

Despite the notable progress being made Tamotsu found himself wanting to pull away from this particular battle. "Misa! Meli!" He shouted as he grabbed a mage by the face and slammed him backward into the ground. "Do you two think you can handle this until the other's arrive?" He asked while continuing to take down the bastards. He wanted to go see Takashi. Go see if he was really the brother Tamotsu had thought he'd lost. If it was there had to be a reason he was here and not back with everyone. Of course, if he had been he might not ever have had a chance with Luka. Not that he thought he did now that they knew Takashi was alive. "DAMMIT!" He shouted before releasing an absolutely huge Fire Dragon's. A mass of enemies went down in a flash. Of course, it was the enemy's fault for making him so angry. For complicating things so much more than they needed to be.

Melissa understood and she was sure Misaki did too. Still she would leave the answer to Misaki. She had a stronger bond with Tamotsu anyway. She just continued to mow down the enemy with torrents of water. Powerful blasts capable of knocking them out cold with ease. All she needed to do was nod to let Misa know that she was okay with Tamotsu going.

---

"Alright you two. Calm down." Chris said before tightening his grip on Amelia's hand and leaping. yes he jumped pulling the two girls with him onto the monster Jessica had summoned. "HEY! I never said you could hitch a ride." Jessica whined. "Never said we couldn't." Chris retorted calmly. "Well... Still!" Jessica said having been counted. "Oh yeah... Luka loves Tamotsu." He added calmly pointing to the pink haired girl, figuring Jessica would want to know. There was a certain gleam in her eye. Like she had a new plaything. But that would come later. Most likely.

---

Joseph quickly and stealthily made his way to the scent he'd been following. "Where are you?" He asked as he looked around. "I know you're here Espada." He was on guard. But he was still cautious. Luckily he hadn't wasted unnecessary energy fighting the tons upon tons of dark mages.

After Rin flew out of the main hall, a magic barrier suddenly enveloped the whole building, with Hana inside... And that was when Minerva appeared, standing opposite the Academy teacher with her sword and chaos magic swirling around her free arm. The two stared each other down as Hana stood and entered a fighting stance. In Hana's eyes was cold fury, while Minerva's were absolutely calm. It looked so different than those few years ago, when this crazy bitch was obsessed with fighting and was clearly insane. Well, maybe the insane part hadn't changed... Whatever she was doing here was definitely insanity.

"...Minerva."

"Hana. It's been a while. I'd like to first explain what I intend to do here - I want to tell you why this fight is pointless, you see." Minerva explained, a small, almost friendly smile breaking across her face.

"Killing you would be the most justified thing I've ever done - don't even start with this 'I'm a nice murderer' bullshit!" Hana growled back.

---

Joseph was in one of the mountain-sized castle's massive courtyards, close to the top. Hana could be sensed a few lifts higher, and another presence that made one feel sick - unmistakably Minerva's Chaos Magic. As Joseph arrived, a figure began walking eerily toward him from the opposite end of the courtyard. As he came into the full moon's beaming light, his tanned skin and calm expression came into view... Espada came to Joseph after all, didn't need to keep searching. Personally the Spaniard didn't care at all about who he fought, he just knew and loved the fact that he'd more or less killed Hana right in front of this one... Beat him why the girl was still breathing to this day, but that didn't matter all so much.

"...Hey, I remember you. How's your girl's eye, you fuckin' idiot?" Espada cackled as a red light began to glow through his arm sleeves. "And, do you think that same señorita stands a chance in hell against our sister? I sure don't..." He chuckled, glancing up at the shield that had formed somewhere higher on the castle.

---

"What, 'handle'? We were waiting for  you to get outta here and stop ruining all our fun, teach!" Misaki laughed above the carnage. She charged over to him and knocked some nearby enemies around like human skittles with the dragon wind, eager to show off her power. "Go find Takashi... And remember - Luka doesn't matter if she can't see-... Well, you'll probably figure it all out yourself. This sappy stuff is so gay!" Misa tried to play serious, but ultimately failed and started smashing through the dark mages yet again.

"Not gonna be even one left standing when we're done!" Misa roared. Even Skyler was in the thick of the action, dive-headbutting into unsuspecting dark mages. The little cat had an army helmet on, which made him look kind of adorable even if he was serious about this.

---

"J-Just get us to the damn castle already." Luka said before facing away from everyone else, stroking at a patch of the massive beast's fur. It probably couldn't feel it, but why not? It helped Luka think, like she was petting a cat, just this was a giant wolf-thing, not a cat.

Amelia sighed and laid back on the soft fur. Just like everyone else, she really wasn't that fearful about the coming fight. Ever since she saw Chris' real power, she hadn't really been afraid of anything they came across. One bite, and he would be able to destroy whatever intended to ruin their day. Aside from that, ...well the others were kind of powerful too, but nothing compared to her favourite vampire!

"Jess, these kids are going to get in our way." Arthur shrugged. "Want to drop them off with Misa and Meli, and we can head for that tower up there?" he asked, motioning with his head to the single tower that rose out of the mountain and into the clouds. Intel suggested that cannon was dangerous, so someone skilled should take it and it's guardian down...

Rin couldn’t help, but worry a bit as she left Hana to confront Minerva. “Oh no… I’m going to need to find Joseph quickly.” She said hoping that she could someway help keep any unnecessary deaths from occurring.

---

Seeing and hearing Espada Joseph’s anger flared. He wanted so much to rip the Spaniard spine out through his throat. Better yet, he wanted to rip him apart limb from limb and watch him suffer as he slowly died. But then he noticed something. He could feel Hana. Along with her was Minerva, but he focused on the feeling he got from Hana which helped subdue the irrationality he was feeling. He sighed managing to regain his thoughts.

He would have been fine. At least until Espada spoke. “You know…” Joseph said a low voice his tone clearly displaying his anger. “You don’t really have the luxury of talking so frivolously. After all, the crap you spout will be your last words.” He said as his magic power exploded. His hair seemed to stand up as an aura of white magic engulfed him. He clenched his fist.

“But don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be welcomed into hell with open arms.” Joseph said as he shot off from the ground appearing in front of Espada in a fraction of a second. The look of anger on his face was evident. He was serious about this fight and wouldn’t be holding back anything. If Espada was smart he wouldn’t take this first punch lightly. If it made contact the holy light of the White Dragon would explode out with enough destructive force to destroy half of the entire Emiya mansion. That was a lot of power.

---

Tamotsu laughed a bit. “I know. I hate sappy crap.” He commented before slapping Misaki on the back. “But it’s not like your life is void of it or anything.” He added obviously referring to Ryuji and to a lesser extent Melissa. Without another word his body became engulfed in flames and he charged forward plowing through the horde of mages like nothing following Takashi and Zephyr’s respective scents. “Rook! Stay with Misa and Meli!” He order the red exceed who was currently using various combo moves with Melissa and Misaki while in his battle form. “Right! I’d just get in the way in a fight between three dragons!” Rook said as he swung around the large sword he’d begun using after the first Shade War.(Heh Lily’s sword of course x3 Also Misaki still has Leo :O) Still the red exceed was somewhat worried about his partner.

---

Takashi had somewhat been enjoying the fact that the area he was guarding with Zephyr hadn’t been approached yet. Maybe this meant that before they were forced to fight the Shade and all the other Dark mages would be taken out first. Hell maybe he and Zephyr would be freed before having to fight. Wishful thinking was all it was though. “Fuck…” He grumbled. “He’s coming.” He said sensing and smelling his brother now making a b-line in the two dragon slayer’s collective direction.

---

Chris was silent. His eyes were closed as they approached the chaos. So much had changed. HE had changed. He wasn’t the little brat who spent all his time in his room reading anymore. He even had his sisters back on his side again. “Fuck… And here I always thought I’d have been better off dying that night.” He said with a small chuckled as he managed to stand up and remain perfectly still on the moving beasts back.

“Amelia. Luka. We should get ready to separate from Jessica and Arthur.” He said sternly before glancing at Arthur. “You have three missions. Destroy that thing. Protect Jessica. And come back alive.” He said emphasizing the last sentence more so than the other’s. “Got it?” He asked as they neared the already raging battle.

“That goes for you two ya know Chris.” Jessica chimed in with a giggle. “Of course, you’ll be protecting Amelia.” She corrected herself quickly. “Now you three should hop off. Especially you Luka.” She said with a small smile before pointing out to the ball of flames crashing through the dark mages. “Unless you wanna lose flame brain.” She giggled having the feeling that wherever Tamotsu was going was where Luka should be two. It was probably important for both of them. And Luka probably already understood why he was leaving the girls to fight with Rook and trying to break into the castle himself.

"OOOHOHOHO HE'S PISSED!!" Espada laughed like an idiot as the two powers clashed; his massive blade of raw magic and the pure fury of the White Dragon reducing the courtyard to ruins in seconds. It was amazing that he could just stand there and take it... As the dust began to clear though, it was revealed that the Blade Mage was pushed back a considerable amount. But other than the pushback, there was no visible damage. "Oh man, you really became a monster since our last meetin'..." Espada cackled. Smug bastard was still holding back...

---

"Don't have to tell me twice! Good luck everyone!" Luka yelled back, having already dived off the creature's back. Before she landed she managed to take out the scraps Tamotsu had left in his destructive path, crushing the dark mages hopes of rejoining the battle. If they knew what was good for them, they would stay down after Luka's magic bullets knocked them unconscious once. Pretty soon she was running alongside her red-haired partner, staring straight ahead as she felt the old yet familiar spiritual signatures of Takashi and the Ice Dragon that supposedly killed him.

"...Whatever happens, we do this together!"

And waiting for the two, now feeling both of them approaching, Zephyr sighed heavily and threw his hands in the air. "Fuck! Why's he bringing the gunslinger chick with him!? Do you want to get shot or burned to death, Takashi?" he started snapping as Minerva's control took complete hold, forcing him into a neutral standstill. Being able to casually talk while their bodies did all the fighting would be so weird... Wait, did those two even know they were running into a battle? "Takashi, we could strike at them at any moment, make sure they understand this is a fight! ...Without sounding deliberate!"

---

Amelia was the next to dive off, following after Chris as they landed in the middle of an open courtyard somewhere halfway up the massive tiered castle. There was only one enemy here. He had a melancholic demeanour as he slowly drew his two signature guns. Kuro... He stood motionless, watching Chris and Amelia with those regretful eyes.

"...Seems we have to fight. My sister's plan is almost complete - soon we will all become Magic. Is that really the fate humanity deserves...?" Kuro questioned nobody in particular,  shrugging.

---

After a short session of kicking the absolute shit out of everyone in their area, Misaki pressed her back against Melissa's and exhaled calmly. It really wasn't much of a fight, these dark mages had no way of fighting off two little Dragons. Little as they were, they overpowered everyone around them. The battle on the lowest level of the mountain-etched castle was over now. "Skyler, Rook, let's get outta here and rise up another few levels. There's more morons to smash!" Misa chanted gleefully, brushing some dirt off her cheek with her thumb before being picked up by her Exceed partner. There was a strange feeling coming from higher up in the castle, but that didn't seem to register with Misa just yet. Someone had to deal with the small fry before things got too serious!