Two Ancients Unleashed...

In The Last Chapter:

After going to a café and talking with Erza for a little bit, the two decided to spend some time together and got to know the other's past. He then went to go on a job to find some Plates (not dining plates) and get some cash into his pockets. He enters Freesia to find that the town has to make a daily sacrifice in order to have peace with three wizards. Nic uses himself as bait while his Kecleon trails him and the army to an open field that has a shale pyramid of sorts for a ritual to revive Lord Zeref...

Chapter 6: Two Ancients Unleashed...

Nic didn't like this feeling, and it wasn't the creepy seductive lady draped on his shoulder. It was a more vile and potent feeling. The Magic energy was massive, more massive than he could have imagined. He had to think as to how this group of people got this power. Nic recalled the Dark Guild Eisenwald. That guild was linked to Zeref, and the name Zeref came from this particular group as well. There might be a good chance that these guys have more power than Erigor and that demon Lullaby put together.

This left Nic to assume one thing.

He looked up at the three above him and asked something. "Mind if I ask something?"

The three turned towards Nic, but still pressed on. Rosa licked her lips and squeezed harder. "What might it be handsome?" She asked seductively. "If it's about that silly ritual, don't worry. I wouldn't wanna ruin the surprise, a fine-looking townsfolk like you isn't a Mage after all."

That's right. The enemy isn't suppose to know he's from another guild. He acted like an ordinary citizen from Freesia. Boy, this will be a shock to them when they find out the truth.

Anyway, Nic got back on topic and asked his question. "No, it's not about this ritual." He paused before speaking again. "You guys are a Dark Guild, aren't you?" His tone was slightly more accusing. The three wizards stopped walking and stood in place, all three were shocked from this statement. Conjore looked back towards Nic, seeing his eyes glaring towards him. Conjore definitely had an uneasy feeling about this guy now.

'Just what is this guy?' He questioned himself. He made a façade by smirking. "You're not dumb, I'll give ya that much." He remarked, turning back and walking up. Rune just glared at him before they all proceeded once more. As far as he was concerned, he was another sacrifice from a crappy town. He sure was arrogant. Nic was sure that Rune wasn't as suspicious as Conjore was. He could tell by how he was glaring at him more uncertain than the other. Nic had to keep his guard up.

Nic looked over and saw that Rosa was purring, seeing how he had looks and brains. Nic had to hold back his sigh as they continued onward. 'What would Erza think if she saw this? Better yet, what wouldn't she do?' Nic thought, imagining if Erza was right there. She might try and tear Rosa's arms off at least and send her flying thirty miles to who knows where.

They had another minute to go, and they finally reached the top. It was flat and square in shape. There were three triangles and a red symbol going about the entire flat top. The center was a solid red with a diameter of a meter. From there, the red markings circulated and stretched about in zigzags and more circular patterns that reached the edge of the strange top. The Runes were obviously from strange text that was ancient. Near the other end was an altar that was rather small. It was like a little rock that you could stash away something

Nic wiggled his arm free of Rosa's arms, but she only pouted as her time with him has come to an end. Rune and Rosa escorted Nic to the middle, where the red circle was, while Conjore walked over towards the altar. He turned and had some sort of long six feet sphere with a blood red bladed-edged crystal on the end. The crystal emanated a demonic influence that Nic could sense. This wasn't like Lullaby, but more bloodthirsty and unholy. Nic had a pretty good feeling that this was coming from the glowing crystal.

Rosa and Rune took their positions on the two triangles, and began to recite a chant. It was some words that Nic had no clue was. Probably ancient words, definitely not Italian. The runes then began to glow a blood red that filled the air with such evil. Nic could feel the energy all around him, it was making his skin crawl. Nic had to stay put, no matter how bone-rattling the feeling got. Kecleon was watching from the distance, just at the tree line. She recalled Nic saying to jump when he's in a dilemma. She tilted her head and proceeded past the army, still invisible. She swiftly found the staircase and trailed upwards.

Nic then felt as though his body became completely immobile. He was stuck within that tiny circle, paralyzed and not able to even lift a finger. This sick energy was binding his body so that he couldn't escape. The only thing he could move was his head and neck.

Nic turned his head to see that Conjore has joined in on the chanting. As the chanting proceeded, the spear was slowly rising and was levitating from Conjore's hands. The spear made way towards Nic very slowly and Nic saw that the circle under him was swirling with blood red energy, drawing the weapon ever so near. Finally, the chanting stopped and they were speaking English again.

"The seal shall be broken, with the body of the relentless human race and their blood of greed." Conjore recited. "The new era of darkness and chaos shall enter the twilights and swallow the light. With one more sacrifice, let it appease the hunger of the demons that dwell within the name of Zeref. The death of the oblivious and the unfortunate shall awaken his power."

The spear was above five feet away from Nic and at a killing arc from above. Nic now was in a panic. His heartbeat was racing faster than the fastest Rapidash and pounding harder than a Heavy Slam. Nic swallowed hard, hoping for his pal to make her appearance.

'If I possibly die, let me remember three things.' Nic mentally prepared a will. 'My pokémon. The ones who stood by my side and would follow me through death, they are my true family. Let me remember Fairy Tail, and how annoying Natsu and Gray are when they fight. I still don't know why Gray takes his shirt off, it's weird. I'll miss Erza for as long as eternity lasts. Finally, let me remember one more vital thing…omelets. Boy, how delicious they were. The numerous omelets I could've had. I'd find it nice to have two omelets at most in a week, but I guess I'll have as many as I want now.'

The spear then came down. Just as the blade was coming down on Nic, a shadow from underneath sprung up and rammed into the spear, knocking its trajectory off. It missed Nic and hit between his two feet. The spear cracked the circle, making the runes stop glowing and freeing Nic, enabling him to move again.

The three wizards only had a few seconds to process this as they were all suddenly hit by Kecleon's Slash and they all fell to their sides by this stealthy intruder. They all laid down and looked up to see Kecleon reappear by Nic's side.

"Just in time." Nic said, looking down at the Color Swap Pokémon. She simply tilted and turned her head and looked in another direction.

"That spear looked pointy." Kecleon said in her creepy manner that always sounds so innocent. Kecleon usually points out the obvious and says weird things, but Nic and the other pokémon can always understand her point.

Nic looked at the spear and kicked it away, off of the pyramid and plummeting down towards the grassy field. "So it was." Nic agreed. Nic then glowed, activating his Splash Plate form. He then turned back towards Kecleon. "You know what to do." Kecleon nodded. It turned invisible, exclude the red stripe, and zoomed down from the pyramid. Nic followed and leaped down from the steps. Kecleon was using her Shadow Sneak and taking out multiple shadows all on her own.

"Kecleon!" Nic shouted, reaching the bottom and signaling her to come to his side. She revealed herself and was back by Nic's side without the army touching her.

"Surf!" An enormous tide then erupted from underneath him, having the two ride it without harm. The wave swallowed up the entire army and the three from above on the pyramid watched as their army was reduced to zero by one move. When the water cleared out, all of the shadows were no more. Every single one has vanished. Kecleon then leaped from Nic's side and looked up at him.

"Hang ten!" she said, waving her arms up. Nic did the same and waved his arms a little as well, satisfied to have those guys out of the way too. Suddenly, Nic and Kecleon both sensed something.

They turned and Rune suddenly appeared before them and shot a punch on Nic. He blocked with his elbow and pivoted. He then punched him in his gut and he regained his footing immediately from upon landing. He back off a few feet as the other two were surrounding them. They were at different sides, all cornering the two. They were pretty fast to recover such a critical blow from Kecleon's Slash from earlier.

"I thought something was different about you." Conjore proclaimed. "It looks as though Freesia has enlisted the help of another guild. I think we need to repay them a visit once we're done with this amateur and his overgrown gecko."

"I am a Kecleon." She stated, correcting him and hardly taking offense. Nic narrowed his eyes and turned his attention towards the three enemies.

"No guys aren't going to rob another soul tonight, for we'll stop you." Nic proclaimed, with Kecleon now battle ready and holding up her claw.

"You're welcome to try." Conjore said in an amused way. He spread his arms out, being cocky and inviting Nic to attack him. Nic noticed that the spear from earlier was zooming at high speed and flew into Conjore's hand. He now held onto the spear and smirked. "Though, you're efforts will be futile." He finished.

"We'll see."

"I say we bring the pain." Kecleon said in her weird manner. Nic couldn't agree more. Kecleon always gets her point across, no matter what she says.

Nic thought as to make a tactic that involved catching them off guard and getting them all individually. He would need a diversion, so he used Muddy Water and tried to swamp the whole place. Kecleon was swift to avoid the three-sixty tidal wave. The other three leaped, but Nic lunged at Rune with an Aqua Jet. Rune blocked it with his arms and brushed Nic away. He then had his fingers straighten out, and they glowed a blue that also extended their length. Nic then sprinted with Razor Shell at Rune, but was caught off by being grabbed by a huge hand.

"Oh boy, it would appear that you've forgotten about me." Rosa stated. She rode on the large monster's shoulder and laughed. Nic was being held by a huge humanoid monster that Rosa might have created. He tried struggling free, but to no avail.

He took notice that this monster wasn't like the other ones. For one thing, it was touching him and he wasn't falling into a nightmare. Another thing he noticed was that it felt as hard as a rock. He looked over quickly and saw that a large portion of the field was missing. She must have somehow made this monster from the field only a few moments ago.

"You're a bad boy." She continued. "Using an Animation Spell on something this large was very hasty for me to do, especially after you took out my army of shadows."

Nic continued to try and break free of the grip he was in.

"Just give up already!" Conjore shouted from afar. "You're no match for us. You never had a chance to beat us in the first place."

Nic was showing signs of being annoyed. He was beginning to grit his teeth and glaring at them viciously. "You irritate me!"

They all failed to register the presence of Kecleon until she was spotted on the ground in front of the monster. She opened her mouth and the inside began glowing red. She then shrieked loudly, causing red shockwaves to come out from her mouth. The rock monster was shuddering at Kecleon's Screech. Since it didn't have ears and the vibrations were so immense, tiny parts of it was crumbling off. Rosa covered her ears and began to yelp for it to stop. She twisted left and right, unable to focus and the rock monster was beginning to crumble and break down.

As it was doing so, Nic was able to pry himself loose. Fortunately for Nic, Screech only affects its intended targets, so he was safe from the earsplitting attack. He jumped and turned towards the crumbling monster and Rosa. He unleashed a powerful Water Pulse from his two palms and threw it at the monster's cracked chest. They all watched as the monster exploded into shattered fragments and Rosa was send flying. She was in midair and Kecleon ran and leaped behind her. She let loose a Slash and send her crashing in front of her accomplices.

She slowly got up, agitated that her monster was obliterated with ease by two novices.

"You sorry beast! You've done it now!" Rosa shouted at Nic. Her flirtatious and seductive manner was replaced by a more cynical and angry side of her.

Nic had to change his strategy. Now that surprise attacks were no longer available, he had to swat them down one at a time. He has to make sure that he takes as little damage as he could. The three wizards were only a little injured, but not as much as he wanted them to be. This was going to be a little bit harder than he had anticipated.

"Not bad." Conjore remarked. "Nevertheless, your efforts are in vain. You're clearly outmatched here. Did you honestly believe that you could take on Tartaros?"

Nic was confused. He tilted his head just like Kecleon does.

"Eh, Tartaros?" Nic asked.

"Yes. We are part of one of the three most powerful Dark Guilds in history." Conjore explained, clenching a fist and smirking heinously. "The Magic Council labelled us the weakest of the Baram Alliance, big mistake for those old prunes. Tartaros has been storing power this entire time, so we're actually, and secretly, the most powerful guild ever devised. Those fools think they're all high and mighty, well we'll see who's superior once our plan goes accordingly. Their so arrogant in fact, that they don't even realize that they have quite a few traitors among their ranks."

Nic was now gritting his teeth even more. He hated the Council just as much as he did. The very mention of the Magic Council itself mad Nic want to break something. He could understand as to why they wanted to do it to the Council, but using innocent lives in doing so was going too far. He even had the very thought of someone being a traitor. He suspected Siegrain almost immediately. He knew something was off about him.

He shook his head and tried to refocus his efforts into stopping these guys. He couldn't be distracted by mere thoughts of a potentially lethal future. He had to remain focus on the present.

"So you just plan to show power, by killing off the innocent? The Council will only think less of you monsters!" Nic berated. "What can you possibly gain from killing the innocent?"

Conjore smirked even more now, making him look as though he was a madman. "It's not so much the Council than it is with our primary goal. Tartaros is dedicated to reviving Zeref, and we simply needed nightmares in doing so. We snagged every person we could, starting with the ones that were inflicted with nightmares. After we're finished with those guys, it's on towards the rest of the town. Those dumb fools cannot be allowed to live in a world where they can't use Magic. If anyone is considered a nuisance, you included, they'll be disposed of, forbidden to see a future of greatness. Those without Magic shall be disposed of, and Lord Zeref shall reign in the coming ages of darkness and ever thriving Magic. A future where Zeref and his followers shall stomp all over the weak, that is what we shall gain."

Nic sighed and shook his head. 'The madness never ends.' He thought. He then turned back up towards the three maniacs and glared them down, getting into a fighting stance in the process.

"Aside from the fact that you've knocked a few of your own crews loose, I'm pretty sure that I'll be whooping your sorry behinds." Nic proclaimed.

"Save the children!" Kecleon proclaimed. She wasn't wrong there as well. They needed to protect the future and its future inhabitants from these weirdoes. Man, she's really good at getting a point across.

Conjore's smirked expression turned into a devilish frown in a split second. One moment, he was gloating of a future of darkness, and the next thing you know, he's got shivers going down your spine.

"Kill him and his pet." He ordered. The two other wizards then advanced towards the two contenders.

Nic glowed and shifted into his Toxic Plate. He ran up and Kecleon followed suit. Rune rushed in while Rosa was summoning forth a few shadow from before.

Rune confronted Nic while Kecleon dealt with said shadows, aware of not to be made contact with. Rune gave Nic an elbow to the gut, where Nic recoiled and pivoted. He turned and used Poison Jab, but Rune shifted to his right and Nic regained footing. Nic lunged forward with another Poison Jab. Rune dodged and grabbed Nic's arm and threw him overhead. Not the best choice.

Turning away, he saw that the small group of shadows was taken down by Kecleon's Shadow Sneak. Keleon worked fast. Kecleon immediately turned back towards Rune and pivoted and ran straight for him. Rune was ready to counter her assault, but was stopped by a Sludge Bomb to the head, sending him hurling back and sliding on the ground a few feet.

Nic regained footing upon using that midair attack and tried to take an analysis just like that. He noticed that whenever Rune looked at something or someone, that large eye mark on his forehead lit up. He also picked up as to how he was able to avoid Nic's Poison Jabs easily, but noticed that he was hit when he wasn't looking.

A theory developed in Nic's head, thinking that eye could see into the future as long as that said Mage has a visual on the opponent. There was only one way to find out. Nic turned back towards Kecleon.

"Kecleon, do your thing!" Nic shouted. Kecleon then became invisible, all except the red stripe. Nic turned back and leaped. He came at Rune with his mouth open and enveloped his fangs in a thick poison. "Poison Fang!" As his strong, venomous teeth was about to bite down on the wizard of evil, Rune stepped back and watched as Nic fell forward. He gave Nic a good punch to the gut, but saw Nic grab his wrist. He yanked on his arm that he used to punch the Multitype Mage and he bit into his arm, sending relentless pain through his body. Rune yelped in pain as he brought his arm in a circle and elbowed Nic.

Nic smirked back as he stumbled backwards. After regaining ground, he looked and saw that Rune looked rather feverish and his nose looked a little purple. He was badly poisoned. He coughed as he knelt on the ground, unable to withstand the poison. Rune was a little pale and he slowly got back up, groaning and glaring at Nic.

"Bet you didn't see that." Nic shouted out.

"You're going to die." Rune growled. He leaped forward, ready to punch. He was running forward until he was stopped from the side. Something slashed him from his right, and back to his left. He stumbled back a few feet and let out a gasping breath, having the poison take its toll.

He'd forgot that Nic's Kecleon turned invisible and was moving fast. Since he could get a visual on the Color Swap Pokémon, he couldn't predict its moves.

"Come out and fight you coward!" He shouted, turning left and right. He'd tried to search for that red stripe. He scanned the area, but didn't see it. Either it was too fast or it ran off.

"Hello?" Nic whistled, getting his attention. Rune turned back at him and was hit from behind with Kecleon's Slash, propelling him forward and unable to fend against Nic's Poison Jab into his gut.

He gawked as he fell forward into a Poison Jab he couldn't counter. Kecleon was swift and smart enough to jump above as Rune was observing his surroundings from before to avoid detection. Talk about being a sight for sore eyes. Ha!

He slumped backwards into an unconscious state. He wasn't going to be getting up for awhile. Nic's poison wasn't that lethal, but it sure knocked his lights out.

Having that said and done, Nic only had two more to go. The flirty crazy head and the tall one with a spear. He shifted his focus over to Rosa and was ready to fight the said Mage that could use Animation Magic to give life and form to certain things with certain characteristics.

Rosa summoned forth three human sized rock monsters from the earth, much like the big one she made from before. Given that they weren't shadows this time, Nic assumed they'll have the same characteristics as did the giant one, meaning upon contact he won't fall asleep.

Nic would imagine that since they're also made of earth, that meant that they should be easy to destroy. He remembered that since they're solid, Kecleon's Screech can make their bodies vibrate, causing them to crumble and weaken, which meant Nic could use a physical attack and easily shatter them. Nic thought of this in less than three seconds. That's how fast Nic was when being serious in a battle.

The three golems advanced, and they were much more agile than the one before. It had to be the lack in size that gave them such speed. Since they weren't as large or made of much earth, their bodies were lighter.

Nic changed from his Toxic Plate over towards his Splash Plate.

The first golem shot a direct punch to Nic's face, of which he was able to dodge by jumping. Nic was about to unleash a Water Gun from above, but failed to take into account that the second golem jumped and tackled him to the ground. Nic was send crashing into the ground with a five hundred pound earth being standing affirm and ready to throw a punch.

Just before impact, Kecleon was able to throw the beast off with a swift Shadow Sneak, allowing Nic enough area to stand and use a point blank Water Pulse. The water explosion had send the beast flying and crash into the ground with several fractures in its body. The first and third rock monsters advanced and Nic used Bubblebeam to stop them in their tracks. The attack made contact, having the creatures block with their arms. Slowly, they were pushed back. The moment when Nic stopped was when they unguarded themselves, which wasn't even two seconds later that Kecleon used Slash on both of them, leaving shallow gashes in their abdomens.

Kecleon back flipped and was right next to Nic. Kecleon stood for a brief moment, thinking back as to how this woman's magic was strange.

She recalled that Rosa could summon creatures that had to be under her control, but she remembered something that was extremely important. During when Nic was talking to her in the forest, Kecleon noticed shadows disappearing. She looked rather fixated on him, so that meant her mental capabilities had to be of some value. Kecleon noted that when she used Screech from before, Rosa couldn't concentrate, forcing the rock monster to crumble. It was no doubt her mental capabilities.

Upon realizing this, Kecleon turned towards Nic. "Nic!" she said, somewhat tilting her head. "I know her weakness."

"Feel free to fill me in anytime now." Nic said, seeing the creatures close in on them again. All three rock monsters were up and they were swiftly making way towards the two.

"The crazy lady needs focus to work those dummies." She said. Nic then pieced it together. It did make sense. He noticed she did lose concentration when Screech had hit, so it must be true. With a brand new strategy, Nic cracked his knuckles.

"Let's get to it!" Nic said.

"We shall rock their world." Kecleon said in her usual innocent yet creepy voice. She learned the puns from Nic, and she still made a point. Is there nothing she can say that's beside the point?

Just before the rock monsters could make contact, the two leaped back to avoid the beings. Kecleon used Screech and the red shockwave had the monsters stay still. Rosa could feel the intense Screech ringing her ears. This lowered all of their defenses sharply, leaving Nic to do some damage.

"Razor Shell!" Nic shouted.

He straightened his fingertips and they extended into long, blue, glowing blades. He ran up and sliced all three monsters that were shaking and crumbling from the lack of control Rosa had. They were all easily taken down, leaving Rosa to fend for herself. Sadly, she was in no position to defend.

Kecleon had just stopped using Screech, but Rosa's ears were still ringing like bells. Nic took the opportunity to switch into his Zap Plate really fast and then go for a sprint. By the time she uncovered her ears, Nic was right in front of her face with a ThunderPunch that said 'I'll give you a real charge!'. Hehe, puns.

Nic send a roaring ThunderPunch that dug into her chest, with her screaming with the combination of a physical punch and electricity shocking every nerve in her body. The attack sent her soaring back at high speed past Conjore and slam into the pyramid wall, leaving a tiny crater in her place. She fell to the ground with a thud and static popping up a few times. She was definitely out, with some paralysis for an insured policy of not getting up anytime soon.

'That's two for three.' Nic thought, using his opponents as fractions, each being a third.

"That was pretty shocking." Kecleon stated. That comment was not only obvious, but clever as it was punny as well. How does she do it?

Conjore was deeply enraged by this turn of events. Two Dark Guild Wizards were taken down with ease by an amateur wizard that didn't even look all that tired. He glared at Nic with rage.

"How dare you?!" Conjore scolded the Multitype Mage. He had a thick black and purple aura surging all over his body. "My accomplices, beat by an ignorant snob and an overgrown lizard!"

Nic raised a brow. "If we're so ignorant, then how come we whooped your friends' sorry behinds?" he retorted.

"He just got oveeerrrrr!" Kecleon shouted, having her hands wail in the air.

Conjore was clenching his fists, his magic surging. "Very well. They may have been no match for you, but my power will give you a glimpse of the despair that you will feel!" Now his magic was concentrated into his right fist, the one that didn't have the spear. This magic was immense in negativity. Nic and Kecleon could sense it from their distance as well.

"Be ready Kecleon!" Nic said, bending his knees and getting into a fighting stance. Kecleon followed suit and showed her claws.

Conjore was grinning very cynically. "Prepare to die."

"Yeah, how about no." Nic said. Conjore then unleashed a beam of pure darkness at Nic. Nic countered with a Thunderbolt, which intercepted the blast. The two assaults collided, but Nic was easily overpowered with the amount of magic Conjore was delivering. The Thunderbolt only held up for about five seconds before the negative blast ploughed through. Nic was caught off guard and was struck with the immense force, giving off a shout of pain before landing on his back a few feet from where he was standing. Nic slowly got back to his own two feet, uneasy from that powerful blast. 'Just how much power does this guy have?' Nic thought.

"Now that you had a glimpse of the despair you will suffer from, I believe we should put you out of your misery and give you an eternity's worth of despair." Conjore said.

Nic used Charge Beam and Conjore easily dodged the attack. Kecleon turned invisible and reappeared in front of him in only four seconds. As she was about to strike him with a Slash, he unleashed another blast of pure darkness from his chest rather than his hands. Kecleon was send flying and flipping in midair.

Conjore gave no room to have them recover as he used another blast straight at Nic. Nic dodged by leaping to his right. He came back around and used Electro Web. He spit out a yellow web that surged with electricity. The web came down on Conjore, keeping him immobilized while being electrocuted at the same time. Before long, he shot another blast, freeing himself and getting the Electro Web dispelled. He then launched another blast of pure darkness, of which Nic generated a ball of electricity.

"Electro Ball!" He threw the ball at the pure blast of negativity and the two attacks intercepted one another. Since Conjore's speed went down from the Electro Web, Electro Ball's power shot up. Eventually, the two attacks gave in to one another, and an explosion occurred. The two Mages were clouded up by a large cloud of smoke that blocked their visions.

Conjore was cursing for having Nic's power tie with his. He gathered some more magic energy for another blast as soon as Nic moves or is in sight.

Suddenly, he was struck from underneath by Kecleon's Shadow Sneak, making him stumble back. He didn't have time to look as a sphere of yellow and green electricity with a red center, via Zap Canon, came through the smoke towards an off guard Conjore. The attack made impact, electricity flying everywhere. Afterwards, Conjore was barely standing, but electricity was paralyzing him.

The smoke finally cleared, and Nic leaped out with Spark. As Conjore was about to shoot one more assault at him, he was struck by Kecleon's Screech from the side, throwing off the blast's trajectory. The blast missed and Conjore fell to one knee. It wasn't just the damage that has made him drain, but those pure dark blasts he shot exhausted a huge chunk of his magic power. That last shot was all that he had left, meaning he was powerless.

Nic rammed into him, causing him to stumble back. Conjore remained standing, but his face was covered in sweat from overuse of his magic on so few blasts.

"You lousy punk!" He muttered under his breath. "I've had enough. I may not be able to drain your nightmares nor soul, but I'll kill you!" He held up the spear with the crystal. He was no doubt gonna try and strike Nic down with just that.

As Conjore was dashing forward to strike, he (once again) failed to notice Kecleon, of whom wasn't even visible. Kecleon was just too fast for him to trace as she swiped him from behind, knocking him over. He groaned as he looked to see that he didn't have the spear in possession.

"What?! Where did it-!" He was wide eyed when he saw Kecleon with the spear. Nic smirked, seeing how Kecleon's Thief was able to finish him. Conjore couldn't move, but watched as Kecleon looked back at him with the spear.

"Give it back!" Demanded Conjore. "Lord Zeref must be revived! Give it back you fools!" Conjore was infuriated. No matter how much he tried to get up, the paralysis kept him from doing so.

"You guys really think you're mighty?" Nic questioned. "You guys were way too easy." He then looked down at Kecleon and nodded, allowing her to terminate the spear. She held up an arm at an angle with Slash at the ready.

"Stop!" Conjore yelled.

Kecleon threw it up in the air and jumped. She then used Slash, which made the crystal crack. She jumped back down to Nic's side as the spear fell to the ground within Conjore's reach. When it landed near him, bad things happened.

They saw red demon-like energy come from the fractured crystal. It flowed everywhere. When it finally cracked and shattered, it exploded red demon energy.

Like a volcano erupting, the deluge of energy burst from the shattered spear. The explosion was so powerful, that all Nic and Kecleon felt was the feeling of flying. They could hear the faint screams of the three others that sounded like a far distance. The two saw only white for a brief moment, blacked out for that brief second, and they found themselves sailing straight into the debris of the remains of what was the pyramid. The two were too lightheaded and drained to do anything, except fall like meteors crashing into the earth.

'This is gonna hurt so bad.' Nic thought before succumbing to his lightheadedness.

Sometime later…

Dawn broke out, and Nic found himself lying on his side. He wasn't in his Zap Plate Form from before, meaning he was reverted back towards himself during his unconsciousness. He felt nothing except pain in every single cell in his body. He clenched his fists in searing pain as he struggled to stand. He was up on his two feet, his hands on his knees. He gasped tremendously for air before. He had multiple scratches and bruises from the explosion. He looked around and was wide eyed.

Everywhere he looked, nothing but pyramid debris. There were piles and piles of black shale scattered about. The entire field was covered in the shattered pyramid. You couldn't find grass unless you were close towards the tree line back into the forest.

Nic searched around, seeing that no one else was there. He wasn't sure if the other guys were buried or dead. 'Are they…? What did…? Wait!" Nic remembered that his Kecleon was caught in that explosion. Almost like he had a sugar rush, he jumped and tossed rocks everywhere in search of his dear Color Swap Pokémon.

"Kecleon!" Nic shouted. "Where are you?!" He then turned and saw his pokémon approach from over a hilly pile. She looked just as bad as Nic, but at least she wasn't dead. Nic dropped to his knees and let out the deepest breath you've ever imagined. He was so thankful that she was okay.

"Nic!" Kecleon shouted. She walked out and hugged him. Kecleon was relieved that her trainer wasn't dead either.

Nic got back up and looked back around. "What happened?" He asked quietly.

"We were caught up in that explosion and we hit the ground very hard." Kecleon explained. She then looked back in the direction that she came from. "I found something though."

Nic was curious as to what she found. With what strength he could muster, he followed her towards the original spot of the pyramid. It was surrounded by huge chunks of shale, but the middle was somewhat leveled.

It was really strange. Some time ago, Nic sensed two powerful signatures that originated from the pyramid. One was super evil and one made his plates go nuts inside. During the battle, Nic's sensory towards those things turned off. Now, his sensory was back on. Though there was one thing off; one of the signatures from before was gone. Nic didn't feel his spine shiver, so it must be the energy that made the plates react that wasn't rid of. The evil energy was dispelled.

Nic was walking ever so closer towards the middle and the plates were acting like metal detectors. When they continued walking, they were getting crazier and crazier. Nic then saw something under a few grains of rock. It looked like some sort of stone, but it was more like a midnight blue. Nic's plates suddenly stopped reacting as soon as he was ten feet away. The weird stone then slowly lit up, as did Nic.

"You're shining!" exclaimed Kecleon. Nic felt the plates starting to draw in the one stone. The stone was levitating in front of them, slowly coming towards Nic. Nic quickly pieced it together. The forest. The plates. The pyramid. The reaction. Now it all made sense. There was no question about it.

It was a plate. Not just any plate, the Dread Plate.

Upon realizing this, Nic had his mouth open in shock. That explained the signature coming from the pyramid from earlier. Slowly, the Dread Plate made its way in front of Nic. Once the plate had touched Nic's chest, a flash of light appeared, as well as a slight pain. Nic gritted his teeth as the plate began fusing with Nic. The process was rather painful, but it was the first time. Add the fact that he was already damaged. The light slowly faded, and the process was complete. Nic now had six out the eighteen he had to collect.

"Wow." Nic muttered. He could feel about a millennium's worth of history flow through his body. This plate was ancient, no question. He felt all of the evil come from the plate, and it filtered into a positive energy for him. It was rough to describe. The plate gave off a vibe that could send shiver down your spine, but after a few seconds, he felt better than he was twenty seconds ago. Think of it as a vaccination for evil.

Nic then turned back and saw the sun beginning to rise even higher. He flipped on his sunglasses and plopped back down on the crumbled shale. As did Kecleon.

Nic turned to her in exhaustion still. "Kecleon, you okay?" Nic thought. Kecleon did look tired, but who could blame her. She fought with Nic against three wizards, and survived a catastrophic explosion, and got up earlier and found the plate.

"So…tired." She said in her usual creepy and innocent voice.

Nic grinned and looked back up into the sky. "Yeah. I wonder what happened to those guys?" He wondered. This question went unanswered as Nic got out a poke ball and held it up to Kecleon. "You did a great job destroying that thing Kecleon, now get some rest. Return." With absolute zero reluctance, Kecleon returned to her poke ball to get some rest. Nic then fell on his back and succumbed to exhaustion. Man, that explosion took a lot out of him. Poor guy.

Meanwhile, back in Freesia…

The women were doing their morning laundry and cleaning. Some were washing dishes, others were hanging clothes to dry. Some were unchanged from last night's choosing, but some felt rather curious as to why Nic had no fear in his eyes. This scene of bravery replayed over and over in some of their minds. This was the kind of bravery that could leave you depressed if it were in vain. This made some women feel less hopeful.

Before Hiro went to the office for some mayor stuff, Jane ran up to him. The little dog followed in pursuit.

"Daddy." The little girl said. Hiro turned around towards his daughter and crouched down.

"What is it sweetheart?" He asked. She just stood there with a blank expression on her face until she slowly began to tear up. She then leaped into her father's arms and began sobbing. Hiro stood back up with her in his arms.

"What's the matter sweetie?" He asked in deep concerns of his little girl.

"I don't wanna lose you." She sobbed. Hiro held his daughter and comforted her.

"Don't worry Jane, I'm not going anywhere." He assured. She kept sobbing for the next three minutes. This victim claiming was shaking her up really bad. It was bad enough that she'd lost her mother, but it would just break her if her father was next.

Last night was something that left her in awe. She was in the closet at that time and Edmund went to comfort her after his chat with Nic. He told her it's alright to admit fear so that you could grow strong. That replayed in her mind a few times.

She was in her closet, huddled in a corner. She was on the verge of tears as she couldn't bare such anguish. She felt a few tears drop when the closet door slowly opened, revealing her big brother and the dog.

The two slowly went up to Jane, so as she doesn't get startled. The dog sniffed her face, making her move about as its wet nose was tickling her. She broke into a grin and then a giggle as it continued.

Edmund came and sat right next to his little sister. "Hey sis." He said.

She looked back at him, very unsure of what to do

"Big brother, I'm scared." She quietly said. The dog ceased its sniffing and went to lay by her other side. Edmund looked at his sister, showing that he wasn't as afraid.

"It's okay Jane." He said. "At least you know you're afraid, but that's a good thing."

The little one looked up in curiosity. "Why is that a good thing?"

Edmund looked at the dog as it looked at them. He reached over as he petted it. "Well, Nic told me something that could really be useful. He told me that there were many ways to confront fear, and we both did just that. We admitted our own fear."

"But, why is that good?"

"Because you can learn to conquer that fear and grow strong. I mean, I was no different from you five minutes ago, but Nic told me that fear can drive us to become strong, so that we can overcome it and protect what's dearest to us."

She let go of her father as he closed the door and went off to work. She watched him go as the dog sniffed her face again, making her giggle. She walked back into the backyard to play around with the dog. She couldn't help but be curious. She didn't like wizards because they've failed to save her beloved mother, yet Nic brought her brother out of the darkness and into the light. What happened to Nic? She was asking questions to herself, starting to feel a change in heart.

With Nic

A little past four in the afternoon, and Nic finally has risen to his feet. He was fully conscious and his body had recovered some strength. He finally took one look around before he took off towards the town. Freesia shouldn't be too far. If it only took him two hours to get here, then it should take the same amount of time to get back.

Nic began his arduous walk back to Freesia. He ventured through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him, which wasn't very fast at all. He could only go as fast as he was when he was being escorted last night. He could only take it step by step. He focused on walking and nothing else. He had to conserve as much energy as he could in case if he confronts those guys again. The odds were that they were six feet under, literally, or they're in the same state he's in. He didn't have the time nor capability to worry.

He eventually made it halfway into the woods, and then he plopped right next to a tree. Just how much did that freaking explosion take out of him?! If anyone had to take a guess, that explosion of negative power drained his body for an extensive period of time. The same with Kecleon. The odds were that he wasn't going to be at full capacity until later on in the evening.

Once again, Nic started to get sleepy.

Later…

Nic shot his eyes wide open. His body was now at full capability. He noticed that it was now night time. Roughly around eleven to be more accurate.

'Dang!' Nic thought. 'It took me this long to reach a hundred percent?! I haven't overslept in forever!" Nic just had to get back to Freesia fast.

It was close to midnight, and he was pretty sure if those three survived, the townsfolk would be at their mercy. He climbed a tree and finally got to a branch. With the speed and grace of a ninja, Nic flew from branch to branch. It wouldn't take long for him to get back to Freesia at this pace.

Freesia

That evening, Hiro held an emergency meeting in the town square. Hiro has been growing exceedingly anxious as to Nic's success. He's yet to return and no one had a clue as to his whereabouts. The townsfolk were just as anxious as they were restless as they gathered into the town. They were still caught up in the potential fear that he might have been killed and the shadow army will come back for them.

Hiro stood up on a platform in front of the crowd of people. His kids could hear him call out for their attention. Jane stood next to her big brother, who held the dog that was looking just as nervous as they were.

"Remain calm! Please try and look out for the positive!" Hiro announced. The voices among the crowd simmered down to nothing as they were turning their attention towards Hiro. "I understand of your concern and worry. I ask that you hold on until Nic comes back to-."

"He's probably dead!" A voice from within the crowd called out, interrupting Hiro. "He's yet to return, so that would mean those three wizards overpowered him and killed him!"

The crowd murmured in agreement at that possibility. Hiro then called for their attention once more. "We're not sure of that yet. There is no guarantee he's been taken down."

"Then where do you think he is?!" Another citizen challenged him. "If he wasn't killed, then how come he hasn't returned from the forest?"

Hiro grumbled in frustration to think of a reasonable comeback, of which none came to mind. If Nic was defeated, then their demise was sure to be as gruesome as his was.

Regardless, he had to remain positive and stay strong.

"Why don't you all have faith in Nic!" Hiro said.

Then there was a swirling of clouds from above. Lightning surged from within the swirling turbulence. The townsfolk were frightened by this phenomenon and Hiro made his way towards his kids. He huddled and held them close. Dale whimpered as it too was frightened.

There was a cold, demonic laughter from within the swirling clouds. A large creature then appeared from the center of the vortex, of which subsided almost immediately. The creature landed and broke the platform that Hiro was using. People backed away in paranoia as they gazed upon this wretched beast.

The creature was humanoid and was blood red all over. Its body was very bulky in appearance. Black runes were encrypted on its arms, much like the ones that were on the pyramid. The being was twenty feet tall with demon-like wings that didn't fold up. It had a crown of jagged horns and claws that were as black as the night sky. It had shoulder length white hair with a strip of black running down the middle. It had two feral eyes that glared at the crowd. The demon bared its hideous fangs, of which made a few people wet themselves.

"Pathetic humans." Conjore, Rune, and Rosa said in unison in a cold demonic voice. "Faith will do you no good as your Mage is long gone, and so will you!"

People shivered at this meaning. Nic has failed to stop them. Their fates were decided on his victory, and now their fates were sealed.

"Hold up." Hiro said, recognizing the three voices. "You're those three wizards who attacked us."

"We were, but now we are reborn as one being." The creature comprised of three wizards responded. "We were almost defeated by him, then our most sacred artifact was shattered in front of our eyes. The energy we thoroughly absorbed from that artifact has unleashed this demon that you see before you. This form is the manifestation of us three in this one body – The Nightmare. A demon created by Lord Zeref that required your nightmares to fuel its power. We wouldn't be fee and be able to slaughter you all if it weren't for him."

The demon unleashed a wave of dark energy that kept the crowd contained as they've tried to escape and run off. Now they were in a dome of see-through darkness. "No one leaves. I'll bathe in every one of your bloody guts, one by one." The crowd of people shuddered and huddled at the potential gory demise that might fall upon them.

Hiro and Jane and Dale were so scared that they've failed to see Edmund walk up. away from the crowd and right behind the barrier. The three wizards in that one body chuckled, amused by this foolish act of bravery. Edmund was shaking while glaring at the beast.

'Oh well.' The Nightmare thought. 'I guess he'll be the first to go.'

Edmund struggled to keep himself from shaking in front of the twenty foot demon. He had no clue as to what came over him, an impulse maybe. Someone had to stand up to the demon, and Edmund was the only one who did so. The demon looked down at the small boy, amused by his actions.

Edmund was tired of constantly living in fear every night. It was about time they were all rid of this nightmare they've been trapped in for such a long time. He remembered what Nic told him about standing up against his fears. He was indeed scared, but still looked at the demon dead in the eye.

"What's the matter boy?" The Nightmare asked. "So scared you can't stop shaking?"

Edmund gritted his teeth. "I am afraid, but I ain't no chicken!"

The entire crowd gasped at this burst of courage and the demon looked somewhat annoyed by this act.

"Very well." The demon raised its right hand that had magic energy and held it up over Edmund. It then used its powers to force Edmund outside the dome, so that it could strike him down. "I shall make you fear me!"

"Edmund!" Hiro yelled out.

"Edmund!" Jane yelled.

The dog barked.

Edmund was prepared for the worst, ready to take the hit for what he'd believed in.

The next thing people saw was the demon getting hit from the side with a Flamethrower. The Nightmare fell on its side before it could strike Edmund. It fell with an earthshaking thud. The dome was dispelled and everyone looked to see where the shot came from.

Nic was on a building right next to the demon, ready to breathe another Flamethrower.

Hiro, Jane, and Dale all sprinted towards Edmund and embrace him in a hug, with Dale licking Edmund's face all over.

"Edmund! You're okay!" Jane said, happy to have not lose another family member.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" Hiro said. He looked up at Nic who had just jumped onto the ground. "Thank you so much Nic!"

Nic just nodded and focused his attention back on the demon that was slowly getting up, looking at NIc in the eyes.

"So, you've survived." The hideous beast snarled. "I should have known you were still alive. You're so troublesome."

"What can I tell ya, I don't go down easy." Nic stated. He got in a fighting stance, prepared to attack.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" The three voiced monster spread its wings and took flight.

"Hiro, get everyone to safety!" Nic commanded, not taking his eyes off of the monster.

Without hesitation, Hiro did as told and directed everyone away from the fight. "C'mon everyone, let's go!"

"Wait!" Jane and Edmund said, both turning toward Nic. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I can handle this thug." Nic said, still looking at the soaring monster. "You just worry about getting to safety."

With all of that being said, the townspeople made their way out of the area, with the two kids looking back one more time before turning a corner and leaving.

Nic and The Nightmare waited until the townsfolk were a far distance away from the area. Once they saw that the people were out of town, the two glared at each other.

"I'm gonna need some help." Nic muttered. It's true. Nic's gonna need some more fire power if he's going to conquer this demon. This was no doubt going to be harder than last time. The dark magic energy was more potent than from before, add the fact that it was three mages combined and encased into one demon.

He had all of his strength back from that snooze he had, but he didn't wanna bring Kecleon out again. If anything, she must have accumulated a ton of damage from that last fight. She had to rest while someone else tagged in.

Nic threw up a poke ball. "Greninja, let's go!"

Greninja appeared right next to Nic. It was ready to fight the big monster that was circling over their heads.

"Geez, has that guy looked in the mirror lately?" Greninja said, annoying the monster. "Hey buddy, there's this thing called lotion, you could really use that!"

The Nightmare merely gritted its teeth and awaited for their attack.

Greninja turned towards Nic, seeing him shift towards the Sky Plate. "What's the plan?"

Nic observed only for a few seconds before answering. "We lower him to the ground and attack him from there, but we need to be aware of his power."

With only a nod afterwards, Nic spread his wings and flew up. He readied himself to use Wing Attack. He sailed towards The Nightmare with his wings glowing.

The Nightmare, on the other hand, was waiting for Nic to make his move. He saw Nic fly high towards him for an attack, he made no attempt to dodge. Rather, he zoomed straight in.

Nic could see The Nightmare flying in towards him, and he was flying in fast. When he was within range, he lashed at him with his wings. He could've taken the hit, but The Nightmare was more than fast, it was predicting Nic's moves.

The demon grabbed his wrist and gave Nic a punch to the gut, literally knocking the air out of him. Nic gasped as the impact was heavy. Not only was he fast, but stronger as well. The beast held him by the throat for a few seconds before throwing him to the ground. Nic was sailing straight down, with The Nightmare speeding faster than a jet to ram Nic in the back, making the velocity increase dramatically.

"Die!" It shouted. Greninja saw this and rushed towards the falling Nic. He crouched down and leaped super high into the air. Its Bounce was making it fly into their direction.

The twenty foot demon didn't think of Greninja before the last second. When it turned to see the frog, it was given a foot to the face. He swiftly grabbed Nic from the fall and he used Bounce to push The Nightmare away as he also sailed back to the ground. Greninja landed safely while the demon was spinning a few times before regaining his balance.

"You okay Nic?" Greninja asked, helping Nic stand on his two feet. Nic coughed a little and finally looked at his pal.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He responded. He then looked up at the horrifying figure making its way towards them. "But he saw straight through my attack. That was Rune's magic. Wait…did it say it was those three combined? If so, then that would mean that thing can use their abilities as well. That would explain such a reflex to my attack."

The Nightmare growled as it was flying over them again. It simply chuckled. "Not too shabby. Still, it won't work. I must thank you though. We've always thought that The Nightmare was sealed within the pyramid, but it turned out it was the spear. With this new body and power, we can give people what they deserve – death!"

"We'll have to block its vision so that it won't see our movements." Nic noted.

"Leave it to me!" Greninja stated. Greninja then used Smokescreen to encase the two in smoke so that the demon couldn't see them.

The Nightmare clenched his fists as he looked left and right, but couldn't see through the thick smoke. He flapped his wings and make the smoke cloud vanish, but Nic and Greninja weren't there. It descended to the ground and looked about, moving its head left and right.

It had just forgotten to look behind.

It was shot in the back with a Dark Pulse and an Air Slash combo. It fell forward with a monstrous thud, it screaming as it fell forward. Nic and Greninja both appeared from the alley way just across from where they were. They've managed to make it there before their cover was literally blown.

The demon was about to get back up, but was slammed into the ground once again by Greninja's Bounce. The beast crashed with a huge thud, making a small crater.

The beast spread its wings and shot up from lying down. It turned and glared daggers down on them. "You had the element of surprise." It admitted. "But your luck's run out!" It pointed its demonic hands down towards the ground, making five humanoid monsters from the pavement. They were about Nic's size, so they weren't too big, but now they had to deal with six opponents instead of just one.

"I'll take the stones, you stop the demon!" Greninja said. With no room to argue, Nic flew up towards a flat building roof and stood up. Greninja was using smokescreen to provide himself cover so that he could use Water Pulse and Dark Pulse to stop the monsters while their vision was sullied.

Nic looked up as the beast looked down at him, preparing to launch an attack.

"Nightmare Stream!" A wave of pure darkness went blasting down towards Nic, who countered with an Air Slash. The two attacks collided, but the stream still burrowed towards Nic through the smoke, but the blast wave was somewhat weakened.

"Drill Peck!" Nic's mouth then glowed and became a cone-shaped glow. He then began spinning like a drill and went straight through the middle of the stream. He escalated through the attacked and drilled into the horrid monster's abdomen, causing it to fly back several feet. The monster gritted its teeth and flew in towards Nic. He tried to use Aerial Ace, but the monster anticipated the attack and punched Nic as soon as he'd gotten close. Nic flew back and spun a few circles, which made him a little dizzy. He didn't have time to register the blast of negative energy coming his way. The attack hit him dead on, sending him crashing through a roof.

"Want more?!" Shouted the monster. The thick cloud of dust didn't subside just yet, so The Nightmare couldn't get a visual of him.

He saw what looked like a spacial mirror and it shot a blast of negative energy as well. This had send The Nightmare soaring through the air and crash down on the ground with the sound of thunder.

Nic emerged from the crashed roof and slowly descended to the ground. He was getting pretty tired. Already, he was badly bruised and scratched about. The beast sat up, showing its angry expression as to Nic's relentless behavior.

"How did you like a taste of your own medicine?" Nic asked in a rather mocking tone. "Mirror Move really does the trick."

The beast got back up and looked over to see that Greninja had already taken care of the stone monsters. He'd went to regroup with Nic and the two were now fighting side by side.

"You guys are too persistent! Why don't you just die?!" The monster demanded.

"Because we will never rest until you're defeat is certain! You've put a lot of innocent people out of their misery, and we'll never forgive you for such a wretched thing!" Nic exclaimed.

"The innocent don't deserve this torture. Just by picking on the weak only makes you a big coward!" Greninja shouted.

"A coward?! If anyone's to be a coward here, it's you!" The Nightmare stated.

Nic squinted his eyes to make him look as serious as serious could get. "We'll see."

Nic then began to glow and change into his new form, the Dread Plate. When the glow subsided, Nic had midnight blue eyes. His shoes were a mixture of grey stripes, black, and midnight blue patterns. His jeans were black with a chain on the side, giving him a more punkish look. His sleeveless coat had pure black flames flickering from the bottom up to the back of his thighs. The rest of the sleeveless coat was a midnight blue. Finally, his T-shirt was black with a regular collar, no V-neck, and the sunglasses were hanging from his shirt collar as well.

"You're gonna wish you've never been unleashed!" Nic boasted. The demon just roared as it lunged towards Nic. Nic then disappeared in thin air, having the demon gawk as he kept going forward. He didn't look as Nic reappeared right next to him and gave him an elbow to the face. The beast stumbled back in shock. It failed to detect Greninjs above it as it used Water Pulse straight down on the demon.

The watery explosion subsided and the demon looked perplexed. It bashed its head on a few buildings, not recognizing a thing. It was confused from the Water Pulse. Greninja then landed right next to Nic.

"Ready?" Nic asked. Greninja nodded and the two held out their hands towards one another. Nic held out his right hand, while Greninja showed its left hand. The space between them was being filled with darkness they were making. It was a huge mass of dark rings they were wielding.

"Dark Pulse!" The double Dark Pulse was fused into one huge Dark Pulse, sending a torrent of black and purple towards the demon. When the demon turned to see the attack, it was already too late.

There was a huge explosion that occurred. Dust was flying about everywhere and wind was scattering a lot of debris. It subsided rather quickly and Nic and Greninja both saw that the demon had been blown through four buildings. The Nightmare slowly got up, but it tripped as it did, meaning it took some damage.

"You have infuriated me!" The demonic being yelled. The ground then began to tremble, as the demon began to surge energy between the palms of its hands. It was slowly welding into a compressed sphere of chaos and darkness. Nic and Greninja just how much power this monster was pouring into the attack.

"This is really, really, reeeaaaallllyyyyy bad." Greninja noted.

Nic just looked on and gulped. This was worse than all of those previous attacks, perhaps even worse than that terrifying explosion from last night. If this attack hits, there wouldn't be any trace of them left.

"Got any ideas?" Nic asked. "I'm open to ideas."

"Well, considering that I don't know Mat Block, we can't guard ourselves. And we most certainly can't intercept it, meaning we're down to a few options."

Nic thought quickly as to how to approach this matter. The first scenario is deflecting it into another direction by aiming an attack a little bit lower. The second scenario is to dodge, and the third scenario…well, that would be a death sentence. Taking the hit would be as stupid as Natsu when he jumped on the boat the first night and got motion sickness.

"I got an idea." Nic said. Greninja looked at Nic in hopes that it was a good plan.

"What is it?" He asked.

"This!" Since nothing came to mind, Nic came up with a last resort. His fist had a pink glow and he sprinted towards the demon. Greninja knew what Nic was gonna do.

'Charizard was right, Nic has grown bold.' He thought to himself.

Nic was five feet away when the attack was fully charge, sending off a high frequency.

"Hell Canon!" Nic was able to get there just in the last moment.

"Sucker Punch!" Nic let loose a punch to the demon's chest, having it bend back upon impact. It was unable to predict Nic's attack because Hell Canon required every single cell of concentration from within, meaning that it was vulnerable.

The compressed sphere of death then unleashed itself as the demon was falling back. The sphere was unleashed in an enormous wave of a mixture of pure black, purple, grey, and vermilion. The blast wave was redirected and aimed upwards at an angle, obliterating the top half of a building. The attack kept flying high into the sky, roaring throughout the area. The huge wave even made some clouds move. The wave soon dispersed, leaving the roaring sound to dispel only a few moments afterwards.

Nic barely dodged that assault, and he was left with only a little energy left to spare. The demon itself was lying on the ground from lack of balance from the attack it misfired. The Nightmare laid there in a dusty heap, grunting and growling as it tried to get up.

"You…brat!" It managed to get out. All of that power buildup took a huge chunk of the demon's power away from it, meaning it's just as drained as Nic was. Greninja appeared right next to Nic, ready to make an attack.

"Nic, what's the plan now?" The beast was now back on its own two feet, huffing a bit from that attack.

"Eh…win?" Nic said.

"Great plan!" Greninja responded. The two advanced as the demon roared. They both got on opposite sides, left and right, and Greninja and Nic both did a double Dark Pulse once more. The demon held out its two hands, having said block both attacks.

"You fools! I will not lose to such arrogant punks!" proclaimed the hideous beast.

Nic and Greninja both closed in on the demon as it growled fiercely at them.

"Hey, guess what." Nic said.

"What?" The Nightmare asked.

"We don't care!" Nic lunged at the monster's face with a Night Slash, slashing in an angle with a black and red outline arc following. The beast leaned back and avoided the attack and opened its mouth.

"Demonic Blackout!" The beast threw its head forward and unleashed a black and blood red blast right into Nic. The force of the attack had send Nic soaring high into the air, with a gasp of pain and air. He blacked out for about two seconds while sailing up. The Nightmare then shot into the air, attempting to attack Nic with its claws.

Nic regained consciousness and he saw the monster sailing at him. 'He's so powerful! I'll just have to use that to my advantage then!' As Nic was starting to fall, he opened his arms, welcoming the attack. The beast was about to make contact, Nic grabbed its arm, turned it around, and threw him towards the ground. Nic smirked as the demon crashed into the earth. 'Thank you Foul Play.' He thought. Since the beast's strength was greater than Nic's, Foul Play did a whole lot of damage. If Nic had taken that hit for real, then he would've been pierced. Nic straightened out and landed without harm.

Greninja rushed over and regrouped with Nic. Nic looked at him and the two now had the chance to show this monster just who is the king of the ring.

The monster turned over on its back as Nic was carried by Greninja as he leaped from building to building, eventually ending up in midair. Nic then let go and the two were side by side in the air.

'Where did that strength come from?' The Nightmare thought. "We can't lose! Tartaros will prevail! We'll climb to the top and destroy you in the name of Lord Zeref!" It yelled furiously as it wasn't able to move from such a devastating attack.

Nic's eyes lit up as his body was surrounded in a crimson aura. He raised his arms in conjunction with Greninja. Greninja was getting ready to do a Water Pulse as the aura around Nic's forearms was getting even thicker. As soon as Nic touched the Water Pulse, it was encased in this crimson aura. The two were falling at the same time, ready to unleash a brutal and final attack on this beast.

"Listen up! We won't let you destroy those who've suffered enough!" Nic proclaimed. "I don't give a damn about this Lord Zeref! You'll never triumph us as long as we protect those who we hold dear to us!"

The monster gritted its teeth as it couldn't move.

"Take this collaboration attack!" Nic shouted.

"Night Daze!"

"Water Pulse!"

Nic's left arm and Greninja's right arm came down on the monster's chest, sending a massive fusion of water and a pink and crimson forcefield throughout the area. The blast wave expanded as the monster roared in agony. The combo attack surged and there was a massive light that shined.

Once the attack had ceased, Nic and Greninja reared back as they saw the light take the spot of The Nightmare. The light shot upwards and it became a tower of light. At the pinnacle of the light tower, Nic and Greninja both saw that that the light was raining down light meteors, much like a mountain.

Nic couldn't think of what is going on, but the two saw the blobs of light raining down and touch the ground. They all then took the shapes of people one by one. When the lights faded, they showed they were actual people. Nic gawked at this as did Greninja.

"What in the name of sweet tomato sauce is going on here?" He asked.

"Not certain, but if I guessed right, I'd say the lives that were fed to The Nightmare are being revived." Greninja said. Nic took it and saw the people looking at themselves in disbelief. They couldn't believe that they were alive. All roughly five hundred or so. The light tower diminished, leaving the three wizards from before in a crater. Nic walked over towards them. They were all unconscious, but alive.

Nic looked around and saw that the people were looking at him and Greninja. They were finished reminding themselves that they were living once more. They all then went over and clapped in praise for the two heroes. Everyone shouted in congrats and sincere thanks for restoring their lives. They all hip-hip-hoorayed Nic and Greninja and such. It was such a great time.

Eventually, the townspeople came back into town, seeing all of the people return, they all looked as though they were seeing ghosts. Many people began crying on the spot. Some children had immediately ran up to their siblings or parents of whom they have thought they've lost.

"Papa!" "Mommy!" "Dad!" "Honey!" Everyone was in a deep hug as they clenched onto their once lost family members and never sought to let go. Among the group of people rejoicing, Edmund, Jane, Dale, and Hiro found the one person they've missed so much. Christina stumbled about, trying to figure out where her family was. Jane ran up and threw herself onto her mother. She didn't dare to let go. Edmund clung onto his mother as well. They didn't dare to let go. They couldn't believe it, everyone who was a sacrifice was now alive and well, but Christina didn't care because she was with her beloved family again.

Hiro wrapped his arms around his wife and kids and dog. The small family sobbed in relief that they were in each other's arms again. The tears just kept on coming.

"Mommy, we've missed you so much." Jane spoke softly.

"Shhh, it's alright now. I'm back." Christina said, soothing them all. It was the longest time before they've separated from the hug.

"Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're alive!" Hiro said, overjoyed to have the love of his life back. "But…how?" he continued in curiosity. He was indeed overjoyed, but this question raised through every mind of the people who fled the battle area.

She looked over towards Nic and Greninja. Nic reverted back to himself and grinned at the sight of everyone rejoicing with one another. "Nic and his friend right there saved us. They defeated the horrid demon that was using us to fuel its power." She said. "We weren't really dead, but we were release as soon as the creature was defeated."

Every single citizen then looked and stared right at the two. They were the complete center of attention. The two heroes looked on awkwardly as the staring continued. Edmund and Jane immediately ran up to them both and hugged them. Jane hugged Nic while Edmund hugged Greninja, the two were happy to see the two kids smile. Dale was running about, overjoyed in satisfaction.

"Thank you." Jane said repeatedly.

Hiro and Christina held hands and walked towards Nic and Greninja. The two kids pulled away and returned back to their parents' sides.

Hiro and everyone else smiled. "Nic and friend, we can't even begin to thank you for all that you've done for our beloved village. You have no idea how much gratitude we express to you. The entire city of Freesia can't thank you enough for your heroic actions. We will forever be grateful to you. Thank you for everything!"

Hiro and Christina then bowed to Nic and his ninja frog pal. In a few moments, the entire population did the same, which made the two feel embarrassed.

"Please, you don't have to do this." Nic reasoned. "It was my job to help you in the first place." He's never felt so praised in his life. Greninja certainly felt embarrassed as well. They both looked at each other and smiled widely.

Everyone clapped their hands in honor of their hero and his accomplice. "On honor of your bravery, I say a celebration is in order!" The townspeople cheered as they all threw Nic and Greninja into the air.

That night…

The party lasted the entire night, and it didn't stop until morning arose. The spirits were high as people celebrated their rejoiced family and freedom from the awful nightmare. The families enjoyed each other's reunion and now no one had to worry about those three wizards ever again.

The three wizards were tied up with rope around their hands and the Royal Army had come to arrest them. There was no escape once you're in this anti-magic cuffs. The three Tartaros members grunted as they were arrested. Nic just watched as they were taken away. He didn't regret laying the hurt on them, but didn't show any sign of glee as they were taken away. He was still occupied with the thought of Tartaros rising. What if it really did happen?

The party disregarded the damages that Nic and Greninja dished out. There was games, laughter, music, and a whole ton of food. We're talking edible deliciousness on a whole new level. Everyone has never felt so happy in ages.

Nic, with Greninja involved, was/were the star(s) of the show. Everyone wanted to talk with them. They were pushed and dragged to so many tables that it made the two dizzy. They couldn't even sit down to have a bite of something to eat before a fan yanked them somewhere. They all wanted to thank them for their valiant efforts and wanted to talk with him to get to know their heroes more. They would spend at most five minutes at a table before they were dragged to another.

At one point during the night, Nic had send out Kecleon as well. The people marveled at his other accomplice as well. He explained to everyone that she helped him in his daring job as well, of which the citizens happily accepted. Kecleon was feeling much better than it was earlier, now fully recovered and well rested to play around the entire night.

Around noon, the party began to dwindle down and it was now time for Nic to depart. Greninja and Kecleon both by his side as he looked back and faced the entire down that stood before him.

"Nic, take this." Hiro said, handing him what looked like a check. "You've earned it."

Nic took one glance at the check and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. The reward had risen to fifteen million jewels.

"Holy freakin protozoa!" Nic exclaimed. "That's a lot of zeroes!"

"Didn't you remember that the job was S-Class?" Hiro reminded him.

Nic looked on dumbfounded. "Oh, right. But are you sure about this? I can settle with the previous reward. You guys being happy is rewarding enough."

Hiro shook his head. "We insist. It's the least we can give you for all that you've done for us. No matter what, you'll always welcome here anytime."

Nic nodded, as did Greninja and Kecleon.

"We're sorry for how we were before." Edmund and Jane said. "We were wrong about you. And we couldn't thank you for how much you've done for us."

Nic grinned down at the two. "Don't mention it. I'm glad that you're united with your mother again." The kids walked up and they hugged him. The dog came up and licked Nic in the face, which tickled. His pokémon looked on as they were mighty proud of themselves for having such a great trainer and family.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be just as brave as you!" Edmund proclaimed. Dale barked in affirmation. Nic smiled down on the newly courageous person.

"That's a great path to take. Never give up, no matter what and you'll succeed." Nic stated.

"You mean it?" Edmund asked, to which Nic nodded.

Nic waved farewell to all of Freesia as he and his pokémon began walking down the road. They all waved and shouted goodbye and told him to be back soon. Nic told them that he would come visit them soon if we wasn't too busy, and he would never break such a promise. Freesia feels like a type of place Nic likes now. First Fairy Tail, and now Freesia. Nic was feeling at home in all of the right places.

On the road…

On their way back to Magnolia, Nic had turned towards Greninja and Kecleon, who were feeling just as good as he was.

"Hey guys." Nic said. "Thank you."

Greninja looked on and smirked. "No probs. We're there for you thick and thin."

"Yeah. We're PB and J with indestructible crust!" Kecleon said, using the most weirdest analogies you could've imagined, all of which had no relevance. "We're duck, duck and goose. We're green eggs and ham. We're Ed, Edd n Eddy!" (Hehe, because I felt like saying that.)

With all of those freaky similes out of the way, Nic returned them to their poke balls and he had decided to take the way he got to Freesia – through trees. He climbed the branches and raced back towards Fairy Tail, awaiting for the next adventure to come across him.