Author's Note:
This chapter is dedicated to Keiji Fujiwara, the Japanese voice actor for Axel, who passed away on April 12, 2020. Thank you, Keiji-san, for always reminding us to get you memorized. We love you 9000. (Did I mention he's the Japanese dub for Iron Man in the MCU?) Now that the condolences are out of the way, let the second chapter of the Halloween Town arc begin! Brace yourselves, folks, you might wanna sit down and prepare to be wowed as the epic battle with the fourth Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, Zeppelin Borock, draws near. Expect a shower of drama, comedy, and turmoil in this chapter. Keep the train rollin', y'all!

Guillotine Square

"Are you looking for the Mayor? Try the boneyard close to the graveyard! You're probably wondering what kind of surprise he's cooking up for the festival. It's most likely another outdoor activity." When Jack and the gang asked for the whereabouts of Halloween Town's two-faced official, the Haunted Tree didn't hesitate to answer. With that in mind, they made their way back to the one place where Sally handed them the forget-me-not, the living skeletons dangling from the Haunted Tree's branches giving them a proper send-off (much to Lucy's consternation). Soon, the group's path was blocked by a battalion of fifteen Shadows and ten Search Ghosts. Compared to the last swarm of Heartless that attacked the square, this one lacked in greater numbers, and it was fortunate for the townspeople that the battle took place near the entrance to the graveyard, as they were busy repairing the damaged infrastructure. Wendy slew seven Shadows and five Search Ghosts with standard Keyblade attacks, while Jack dispatched the rest of the pack with bony slaps, then finished the last three Search Ghosts with Icy Terror. Once the Heartless were gone, the group was free to proceed.

Graveyard

As they reentered the familiar garden of graves, everybody noticed that it didn't change much. The same scary feeling, the same hanging darkness, the same sense that it felt like somebody's dreams passed away along with them... or perhaps it was Juvia's mentality worsening whenever Gravy acted ridiculously around her. Then suddenly, an army of twenty Wight Knights stormed the graveyard, poised to attack. Wendy defeated scores of them with 7-hit combos, Strike Raid and Sky Dragon's Claw, Donald with Thundara and Gravity, Goofy with Goofy Tornado and Goofy Rocket, Jack with Bolts of Sorrow and Ghostly Scream, Romeo with Yellow Fire, Sherria with Sky God's Boreas, Carla with White Moon, Lucy with Star Shot, and Juvia with Water Slicer. With the graveyard secured once again, Jack led the group towards the coffin standing at the center. "The boneyard is just through there." The very instant he opened the lid, everyone was sucked into the coffin.

Boneyard

And just like that, Wendy and company found themselves in another garden of graves, a wide collection of skeletal bodies attached to the wall on one side, and a small, simple formation of tombstones on the other. Sure enough, they spotted the Mayor standing near a giant pumpkin. He greeted them cordially, "Ah, right on time! I've been expecting you."

Jack blinked, "Oh, you have, Mayor? Well, then..." He cleared his throat, "We're looking for a jack-in-the-box. It represents 'surprise', the last ingredient we need to complete a very special experiment we're cooking up in the lab."

The Mayor guessed, "Are you and Doctor Finkelstein looking for a solution to our little Heartless problem?"

Jack nodded, "Why, of course! Aside from that, where can we get a jack-in-the-box? The doctor suggested we ask you. Much appreciated if you help us."

The Mayor interrupted, "Not so fast! I'd be glad to give you a jack-in-the-box right now, but that would defeat the purpose of the game, now, wouldn't it?"

Gravy grinned, "Oooooh! You said there's a game? I like games! I like playing games! Nothing like a good fun game for my first date night with boobie lady!" He grabbed Juvia by the waist and shook her vigorously. "Let's play together, boobie lady! Let's play! Let's play play play play play..." The last word was a mixture between a falsetto and a loud growl, "...PLAAAAAAAAY."

Juvia whimpered, "I don't like where this is going. What's the name of this 'game' I'll be forced to play alongside the carnival dunce? Let me guess, more chocolate ice cream snowballs? More horseback riding across town? More agonizing, bone-crushing hugs? Or worse, planting dozens of kisses all over my lips and skin, with my arms and legs bound in his chains of ice?! I wager he intends to VIOLATE me in the worst way imaginable!" As though an unheard sound of thunder struck from the sky, she put her hands in both cheeks and let out a high-pitched squeak, before the panic lessened to a mere shudder. "I can't imagine anything else except more woe awaiting me at the end of enduing his madness."

Gravy cheered, "Let's play a game together, boobie lady! Wanna play! Wanna play! Wanna play play play!"

Juvia refused, "No, I don't want to play ANY MORE of your senseless games. Whatever you're concocting in that twisted mind of yours, I would prefer you to leave me out of it."

Gravy smiled, "You said yes, boobie lady? I knew you'd say yes, boobie lady. You tell me this to show how much you care about me, boobie lady. Because you love me, boobie lady. Let's play some fun games, boobie—"

Juvia demanded, "Stop calling me BOOBIE LADY! It's such an insulting, stupid name! My name is Juvia! Juvia! JUVIA! Don't you ever listen to me?"

Gravy giggled, "You're a funny lady, you know that? Don't worry, I know your name very well. And your name is..." He finished on a merry note, "...boobie lady!" He then sang, "Boobie lady, boobie lady, I love you! Boobie lady, boobie lady, you love me too! What's her name? Boobie lady! What's her name? Boobie lady! I. Love. YOU!" He clapped rapidly while bouncing all over the boneyard.

Juvia groaned, "Oh, it's so obvious. His mind's all topsy-turvy! When I say no, he says yes. When I disagree with something, he just goes with it. When I answer to my name, he addresses me by another name! I can't possibly be stuck with this nutcase for the rest of my life! Where are we at? The ASYLUM?!"

Wendy asked the Mayor, "Excuse me, Mr. Mayor, but did you just say we have to play a game before you give us a jack-in-the-box?"

Lucy complained, "Oh, great! Now there's a catch in this! I've seen more than enough spooks on the same day. Why don't you just give us the jack-in-the-box now, so we'll be on our way?"

Donald pouted, "Aww, phooey. Stop being such a chicken! No harm done in playing a game if it means getting something as important as a jack-in-the-box. We gotta do what we have to do."

Romeo murmured, "Easy for you to say. At least everybody else around here isn't chicken."

The Mayor told Wendy, "There are times when an elected official like myself wants to have a bit of fun. A day in town can get boring, and I like enjoying myself once in a while. For that, I'm inviting you and Jack to attend this outdoor plumbing exercise."

Wendy echoed, "Outdoor plumbing exercise?"

The Mayor clarified, "To put it simply, we're testing a prototype game stall for the festival. You can't have a proper festival without a dozen game stalls or two!"

Sherria guessed, "Like the ones we see in a fun fair?"

Wendy added, "Or places like Ryuzetsu Land?"

Carla confirmed, "So you're still attending to the decorations."

The Mayor nodded, "Exactly. While this may be considered an extra favor to help improve the festival before opening day, it will also serve as a test of intellect. In other words, a memory game. If you win, I'll give you the jack-in-the-box you're looking for."

Wendy nodded, "Okay, we'll play your game. What are the rules?"

The Mayor explained, "Ghosts rise from these tombstones." He pointed to the group of nine gravestones, "Check the tombstones in the order the ghosts appear. If you get it wrong, you'll have to start over. But if you get it right, you're in for a big surprise!"

Wendy asked, "By 'surprise', you mean the jack-in-the-box?"

The Mayor answered, "It's part of the reward, but yes, you'll have yourself a jack-in-the-box at the end. Simply examine the graves where the ghosts appear in the exact order, and you win."

Romeo wondered, "A 'second surprise' next to a jack-in-the-box? What could that be?"

Gravy chimed, "Memory? Graves? Ghosts? Surprise? Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! I know, I know, I know!" He was brimming with several random ideas about the game's rules before jumping to a conclusion. "It's a game of WHACK-A-MOLE! I LIKE whack-a-mole!" With a mere thought, he materialized a huge hammer of solid ice in his hand, and smashed it onto Juvia's left foot. She shrieked in pain, and she was grasping her throbbing foot, trying to hold back tears. It didn't take long for Gravy to turn his attention to her other foot. "Hey, lookie! One more mole to whack-o! Hold still, boobie lady!" The jester raised his hammer, and Juvia instantly knew what he was about to do next.

"No, no, no! Don't—" The hammer fell down. Her right tootsie felt the same acute pain, and Juvia let out a second pained shriek. She fell down on her back before sitting up, and was forced to massage both feet with both hands.

"Whack-a-mole is my favorite game!" Gravy declared while flailing his ice hammer around, not minding at all if anyone around him got hit. "I like whack-a-mole!"

"Whoa there! You could hurt somebody with that." Jack ducked under a swing, and shattered the hammer with a clenched fist. "And for the record, it's a memory game, not a game of whack-a-mole. All we have to do is determine the order the ghosts appear on each tombstone. Simple as that."

Gravy questioned, "Memory game? Not whack-a-mole?" Jack answered him with a nod, and the young man in the clown mask immediately understood the purpose of the game. "Okay."

Goofy remarked, "Gee, Juvia, I didn't know there were moles beneath your feet."

Juvia frowned, tears falling down her eyes as her feet went sore. "They aren't any."

The Mayor announced, "Ready?" A single clap of his hands signaled the start of the game. "Go!"

Wendy and her friends carefully examined the gravestones, and saw five ghosts rising from five out of nine in a particular pattern. Interestingly enough, it would seem that Sherria was the quickest to analyze the order in which the haunted spirits emerged, right before they vanished into thin air. A mere ten seconds, and she snapped her fingers with a bright smile. "Got it!"

Romeo remarked, "Whoa, that's fast! You figured it out?"

Sherria pointed out, "Let's say the tombstone on the far left is number one, and the one on the far right is number nine. Honestly, it's like finding the combination to a safe. Keep your eye on the ghosts and their graves, and the numbers don't lie. So yeah, I figured it out."

Wendy beamed, "Really? What's the order, then?"

Sherria smiled, "That's easy! The order is..." One by one, she pointed her finger at each of the five graves where the ghosts emerged. "...5-2-9-4-6."

Gravy interjected, "Nah, I like 5-6-7-8-9."

Sherria nodded, "I'm positive. It's 5-2-9-4-6."

Gravy argued, "No, 5-6-7-8-9!"

"5-2-9-4-6."

"5-6-7-8-9!"

"5-2-9-4-6!"

"5-6-7-8-9!"

"5-2... 9... 4-6?"

"5-6-7-8-9."

"F-F-Five... t-t-t-two... n-n-n-nine... f-f-four... s-s-s-six?"

"Fiiiiiiivvvee ssssiiiix seeeveeen eeeeeeight niiinnne."

In a reprise of the playful debate between chocolate and strawberry ice cream, Gravy waved another overawing effect on Sherria's psyche, her forehead covered in sweat. The more she grew scared, the quieter and somehow more intimidating he became...

"QUIIIIIEEEEEETTTTT!" ...until the infuriated tone of Juvia's voice caused them to pause. "JUST GET ON WITH IT BEFORE I COMPLETELY LOSE MY MIND!" She grabbed the sides of her head, almost about to throw a fit over a silly clash of numbers, or much more of Gravy's zany attitude, for that matter. Surprised by the Rain Woman's hysteria, Sherria wasted no time in moving over to the five gravestones and touching them in the correct order she had deduced. She wiped the sweat from her head and breathed a sigh of relief. Right on cue, there was an explosion nearby, and everyone jumped at the noise.

"Aaaah! W-What was that?" Wendy gasped.

"Splendid! Now go look at the pumpkin," the Mayor smiled.

"The pumpkin?" Wendy turned around to see the crust of the giant pumpkin destroyed by an unseen blast, revealing a treasure chest inside. She walked over to the chest and opened it to pick up a small box with a crank handle. "A jack-in-the-box!"

"Let me see that!" Donald borrowed the box from Wendy and twisted the crank, with herself, Goofy, Romeo, Lucy, and Sherria gathering around him. The box started to play a small melody with the gears rotating in reverse. Once the crank stopped and the tune played its last, the box opened to release the spring puppet of a jack o'lantern. Startled, the six yelped as one, while Donald, thrown off by the scene and by his unbalanced stance, fell to the ground and dropped the box. With a gasp, Lucy also collapsed, seemingly fainting from fright.

"Phew! Now that's a surprise," Romeo breathed, as he and the others peered down at the box with the jack o'lantern still dangling for a moment before it retracted back inside.

"You said it. It's a really big surprise!" Donald sat up with a groan at the same time as Lucy, who breathed hard with fear.

"I'm never, ever, EVER going to get one of these!" Lucy got back to her feet and glared down at the jack-in-the-box with wide eyes.

Sherria quipped, "What do you think a jack-in-the-box is designed for? I mean, toys are toys, but nothing beats the feeling of being surprised."

Goofy commented, "This one's got a pumpkin head! I guess Halloween monsters can be good at makin' toys like Santa Claus."

Donald regained his footing and asked, "How can Halloween be anything like Christmas? All you do is look and act spooky."

Romeo shrugged, "What's wrong with making toys on Halloween? You gotta have something to promote a special holiday."

Sherria agreed, "That's right. Even the Easter Bunny can make toy eggs with chocolate stuffed inside. Holidays are yearly celebrations, after all. Each of them are great in their own way."

Goofy grinned, "Can we expect a life-sized toy turkey for this year's Thanksgivin'?" That remark prompted a roll of laughter amongst the four before Wendy joined in.

Wendy smiled, "You know, no matter what holiday we celebrate, there's nothing I love more than spending time with friends. And now here we are, enjoying a bit of Halloween together."

Romeo joked, "Well, before the exact day, actually."

Lucy murmured, "I don't necessarily enjoy everything on Halloween, especially when it comes to making our stay here in Scare Street."

Romeo frowned, "Scare Street? Don't tell me you're still acting paranoid!"

Lucy snapped, "I'm not paranoid! I'm apprehensive! You wouldn't understand!"

Romeo tried to ask, "Why don't you—"

Lucy yelled, "I'm NOT scared! It's NOTHING, alright?!" Romeo didn't respond. He just blinked.

Wendy assured, "Don't worry, Lucy. This place is scary, but we're all together."

Sherria smiled, "She's right. We'll be fine as long as we stick close to each other."

Lucy sighed, "Well, we all know that, Sherria. That doesn't change the fact that this place is undeniably creepy, though. And I still have a bad feeling about it."

Romeo's frustration grew over Lucy's repeated attempts to mask her fear. "This is getting old," he muttered.

Jack declared, "I'm proud to say that the 'surprise' we're looking for is now in our hands." He picked up the jack-in-the-box and presented it for the party to see, "We should bring this back to Doctor Finkelstein and get the experiment back on track. We don't want to keep him waiting." He turned to face the organizer of the memory game, "Thank you, Mayor!"

The Mayor responded, "Anytime! If you ever feel the need to test some more prototype game stalls before the upcoming festival, you know where to find me."

Lucy said sarcastically, "Sure, I'll play more spooky games if I feel like it... which I'm not."

Seeing the misery on Juvia's expression helped Sherria admit her own doubts about Gravy. She turned to look at the jester, who was seen dancing while holding a skeleton in his arms, singing to himself about his love for Juvia, as usual. "Gee, I don't even know him anymore."

"Hey, welcome to the club," Juvia responded timidly. It wasn't long before they accessed the gate that led them back to the graveyard, though they failed to notice the stream of tiny lights blinking along the boneyard's walls.

Research Lab

"Yes, this is it." Doctor Finkelstein was most pleased when Wendy and her friends delivered the jack-in-the-box to the experimental table where the Search Ghost remained a lifeless husk. It was a simple matter of assembling the two new ingredients with the old ones into the artificial heart, and then picking up the ever pulsating organ once the process was complete. "There you go. This time, it's sure to work."

"After all our troubles, it better," Jack affirmed.

"Let's hope so," Wendy agreed.

"Here goes nothing," Romeo nodded.

"I won't get my hopes up," Lucy muttered.

"Anyone with fingers crossed?" Sherria asked.

"Well, we got all the ingredients..." Goofy reminded.

"...so let's just see what happens," Donald added.

"Be prepared for anything that comes after," Carla advised.

"Gravy? Gravy, where are you?" Jack called out, having noticed the jester's absence from the experimental reprisal.

"Who needs him?" Juvia scoffed. "He is the bane of a sensitive woman's very existence. No one with a right mind, and I mean no one, would ever depend on him as company. He'll be the end of me, he can be the end of you, and worst of all, he'll be the end of me!" Her wish for Gravy to stay away instead of joining them flew out the window when he soon arrived, and her agitation kicked in again. "Speak of the devil."

"Where were you, Gravy?" Jack questioned. "We were just about to restart the heart."

"I'm back, boobie lady! I have twin braceies!" Gravy was speaking to Juvia instead of Jack. He presented to her two rings made out of barb wire surrounding his left wrist. "What do you think of my twin braceies, boobie lady? Do you like my twin braceies?"

"Is that... barb wire?" Juvia blinked. When she took a sniff, she almost threw up and resorted to cover her mouth. "Disgusting!" True enough, Gravy's makeshift bracelets ran afoul of a horrible odor.

"You found that on the ground or from a fence?" Sherria wondered.

"Garbage can," Gravy clarified, making the others gag.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Lucy moaned.

"Oh, that's just great! He's both insane and dirty!" Juvia whined.

"What do you expect? He's Gravy the Jester," Donald implied.

"But just because he talks and acts weird doesn't make him a menace," Goofy smiled.

"He's a positively wacky but friendly kind of guy, if you ask me," Romeo agreed.

"Not to me! That jester is going to be the death of me!" Juvia protested.

"Well, he didn't play tricks or jokes on us," Romeo pointed out. "He didn't even pay attention to any of us. But why does he focus on you, and only you?"

"I don't know! He should've focused on someone else instead of me!" Juvia confessed. "I think he's obsessed with me the moment he laid eyes on me!"

"Like when he touched your—" Sherria began.

"And don't even get me started with the deplorable name he called me by!" Juvia snapped. "It's a disgrace! Boobie lady this, boobie lady that..." She groaned in frustration, "I'm sick of it!"

"Yaaaay! Lucky-luck-luck-luck guess! Boobie lady is boobie lady's name!" Gravy cheered.

"Stay out of this, you clownish calendula!" Juvia yelled.

"Your breasts are pretty big," Sherria commented. "I think Gravy fell for you because of how big they are."

"So he fell for me and called me a 'boobie lady' because of my breasts?" Juvia asked. "I guess that clears it up, since..." She paused, then reached for her mammary glands. She gave them a gentle squeeze no less than three times, before horror overtook her. "No... I don't believe it! He's really going to—"

"Oh, boobie lady..." Gravy sang cheerily, his hands inching closer to Juvia's face, about to grab it for the one thing he wanted from her the most. "How about a kissy-wi—"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Juvia hollered at the top of her lungs, and by a single lift of her arm, Gravy was blasted through the roof in a pillar of boiling hot water. But even as the character in the clown mask took the force of the whiplash, his banishment from the lab was like a water slide prepared especially for him, and he quite enjoyed it. A whoop of joy faded from where he vanished past the falling rubble. Juvia cried indignantly, "Serves you right for trying to molest me twice, you pervert!"

"Did she just blow him off the roof?" Donald blinked.

"That wasn't even the first time!" Goofy stated.

"Isn't it obvious? She has her own standards to protect," Lucy explained. "Can you imagine if he tries to hit on me, too?" She couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

"Um, pardon me, but shouldn't someone check on Gravy?" Jack wondered. "He shouldn't be left outside."

"I'd rather not, thank you very much," Juvia growled. "In fact, I hope I never see that insensitive jerkface ever again. He tortures me, humiliates me, and worst of all, tries to take Gray's place in my heart! His goal is to destroy my love for my beloved Gray!"

"All the ice cream and horseback riding, and you still love him," Sherria commented.

"No matter what, my heart will always belong to Gray," Juvia declared. "I'd be cursed for life if I let an unpleasant man named Gravy replace him."

"Love triangle," Sherria whispered to Donald and Goofy.

"Yeah, you don't have to remind us," Donald whispered back.

"Hope she doesn't get too stressed," Goofy worried.

"Come on, miss! You may have every reason to dislike Gravy, but I don't," Jack reasoned. "Deep down, he's not a bad person. Beneath his wacky exterior lies a dependable personality. And yet you don't like him? Why don't you give my trusty assistant a chance?"

"You think I don't know very well the kind of person your 'trusty assistant' is? I've known him enough!" Juvia retorted. "And I've already given him one chance too many. I'm not taking any more with him." She swung both arms in refusal, "Never!"

"Oh. Um..." Jack was at a loss for words. It seemed clear that nothing could dissuade Juvia from her resentment towards Gravy. "I'll..." To him, at least for now. "...ask later."

"If you're done talking, we should get back to work," Finkelstein insisted. "Let's pick up where we left off!"

Wendy and company turned their attention to the doctor, who wheeled over with the heart on his lap. But before he could place it into the machine and give it another spark, something, or rather someone, barreled out from under the research table and tripped him over. Finkelstein yelped as he fell out of his chair, and the heart bounced over the table and into Lock's arms! Barrel, who forced the paraplegic doctor down to the floor, joined Lock as soon as Shock barged in from the front door. Finkelstein growled, shaking a gloved fist at the troublemaking trio who disrupted his work.

Lock joked, "Aww, for us? That's very nice of you!"

Shock quipped, "And it's not even our birthday."

Barrel taunted, "Later, losers!" They laughed mischievously as they escaped from the lab with the heart in tow.

Wendy and Romeo helped Finkelstein up his disabled feet and sat him back on his wheelchair. The Sky Maiden asked, "Are you okay?"

Finkelstein assured, "I'm fine. Nothing serious." His weariness shifted to anger towards the culprits behind the nefarious deed. "The nerve of those little hooligans, stealing my work! I'm about a moment away from making the greatest breakthrough in the history of science, and they ruined it!" He banged a fist on the arm of his chair in annoyance.

Romeo implied, "Whoever stole it, those three look dressed in plain old Halloween costumes."

Sherria confirmed, "A devil, a witch, and a skeleton... Are they trick-or-treaters?"

Jack nodded, "Yes, indeed. And some of Halloween Town's finest. It's hard to deny they're among the most resourceful, but... unpredictable would be most appropriate."

Finkelstein frowned, "How about cunning and rotten? Would that be most appropriate?"

Jack looked at the doctor confused. "Uh... right."

Goofy asked, "I take it you know these kids?"

Jack answered, "Lock, Shock, and Barrel are a trio of trick-or-treaters with a knack for mischief and mayhem, which they love right down to the core." Juvia raised her hand and was about to ask him a question when he cut her off, "And no, they don't behave like Gravy. They're young, but they're also very smart and imaginative."

Juvia confirmed, "Oh, I see. Good to hear of that."

Wendy wondered, "But why would they steal the heart?"

No one had a chance to guess who organized the theft when the lights suddenly went out. Then a shower of multicolored dots produced a light show just before a sinister voice cut through the darkness. "Hey, Keyblade master! The boss says hi..." The dots formed into human bodies by a dozen, and they proceeded to assault Wendy and her friends. The noises of punching, kicking, yelling, breaking glass and screeching metal sent turmoil in rolling waves throughout the lab. Despite how dark the place had grown, Wendy's enhanced senses helped her detect what was going on in the room, and she dodged plenty of blows from the unseen intruders before striking back. Romeo, Sherria, Carla, Juvia, and Lucy did their best in keeping the enemies at bay, while Donald and Goofy were hilariously subjected to their obscure attack patterns. In a matter of minutes, bodies crashed through the walls and up the ceiling, and by the time the lights were back on, only four lay unconscious on the floor. The group put away their weapons and magic, then assessed the damage done to the lab. Fortunately, the scale wasn't severe; the bookcase only lost a few bottles which shattered into glass, and the experimental table suffered a few mild dents. The Search Ghost was ever the empty puppet.

Finkelstein ranted, "First my experiment was stolen by uninvited guests, and now more of them tried to wreck my house! What in the world is this all about?!"

Upon closer inspection, the intruders all shared the same attire: black latex suits with blinking neon lights surrounding their arms and legs, insectoid masks with blue goggles, and the symbol of a blood red dung beetle crossed by two swords in a dotted ring on their chests. Sherria was quick to recognize them, given her wide knowledge of dark guilds. "Bingo! They represent Neon Insecticide!"

Wendy echoed, "Neon Insecticide? One of the dark guilds?"

Sherria nodded, "You said it. And one in a couple dozen that were formerly under Oración's payroll. They're a mean bunch with a fierce reputation of being master thieves, burglars, and assassins. They rob banks, they ransack art collections, they invade houses, and they strike their targets with the best tools they have; theatricality and deception! But don't worry, they only do their criminal activities during night shifts. Parties, dancing, nightclubs and stuff... They think after dark's the better time for crime. Still, Neon Insecticide's rise to infamy is astounding, they quickly became the top theft dark guild in Fiore's most wanted list. That is, until Blitz Bubble took over the spot two months ago..."

Lucy questioned, "A dark guild that only attacks after dark? You're suggesting they're a gang of night-stalking psychopaths?"

Sherria answered, "Psychopath is such a strong word, but there's no doubt they're made up of some of the best in the long run! They glow up with neon lights and dance all over the place to distract their enemies before giving 'em a straight-up beating."

Donald rubbed the aching back of his head. "Like what they did to us? The lights went out, and we only saw pretty little light bulbs in the dark before we got socked all over! They punch really hard."

Carla mused, "It was fortunate that we held our own for as long as we could. This is no different than a typical skirmish against a lesser dark guild."

Goofy implied, "You know, it takes us back to the time when we faced that big ol' chameleon in Tarzan's world. If it wasn't for Wendy and her good sense of smell, it'd be hard to catch." The Sky Dragon Slayer nodded in agreement.

Sherria stated, "You could say Neon Insecticide wizards are nocturnal chameleons. They light up in the dark, they knock you down before dawn, and they're gone." She rubbed her chin as she examined the downed dark wizards closely. "They also have a questionable taste in fashion. I mean, look at them! They all wear black latex suits and bug masks! And the guild's last name is 'insecticide', which is a substance used for killing insects."

Romeo agreed, "Yeah, that's weird. Shouldn't insecticide be used to get rid of bugs?"

Sherria shrugged, "Believe me, it's been going on in my head."

Donald questioned, "How do you know so much about the dark guilds, anyway?"

Sherria smiled, "Oh, my cousin Sherry tutored me in both academics and magic. I've excelled so fast, I could even skip a grade. The Magic Council awarded me a book containing sacred texts of Sky God Slayer Magic, which I mastered in record time. As for your question? I've learned the names of most of the current dark guilds."

Goofy remarked, "Wow... You're not just some talented wizard, Sherria. You're a genius, too! Wendy's very lucky to have a smart friend like you."

Sherria chuckled, "Thanks. You see, Cousin Sherry always thinks of me as a big bundle of love, joy, and smarts. And yeah, that's probably one of the reasons why we're the best of friends."

Donald blinked, "She's both a klutz and a genius? I don't understand her sometimes."

Carla determined, "So another dark guild made their move by the time Lock, Shock, and Barrel stole the experimental heart... What if the ambush was merely a set-up, a diversion to cover up the trio's tracks? Put the pieces in position, and it becomes increasingly clear that they are tied together."

Finkelstein asked, "Are you implying that the ruffians in black are in league with the brats who made off with my experiment?"

Carla replied, "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I can't rule out any possibilities, either. The certainty of danger on the horizon remains."

Wendy confirmed, "I guess this means we're gonna have more than out-of-control Heartless to worry about. Whoever's behind this, they're up to something big." Her thoughts drifted to the Sleepy Hollow guild, whom she assumed were the most likely masterminds. Of course, there was only one person in particular that she couldn't stop thinking about, one that had been the focus of her dreams. "Kaze..."

Donald huffed, "So the next dark guild decided to rear its ugly head, huh? It doesn't matter if they're in cahoots with the little troublemakers or not. We'll take 'em down!"

Finkelstein said hopefully, "You intend to pursue the perpetrators? Oh, please do! But if you happen to come across Lock, Shock, and Barrel, I want you to retrieve the heart and bring it back to me at once! This heart is my greatest creation yet, the pinnacle of everything I've achieved up to this point! It's my life's work!"

Sherria commented, "Gee, he's really desperate for a mad doctor. He cuddles his science like a teddy bear."

Goofy shrugged, "Can we blame him? He thinks that heart's the most important thing he's ever done. He's so proud of it."

Finkelstein repeated insistently, "My life's work! My life's work! MY LIFE'S WORK!" The tone of his voice rose with every bang on the chair's arms, as did his anguish.

Sherria nodded, "Yeah. Desperate."

Goofy sweated, "He sure is."

Wendy assured, "Don't worry, Doctor Finkelstein. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Finkelstein sighed contently, "Oh, thank you, Miss Marvell. In the name of science, I'm counting on you to save my precious experiment. Meanwhile, I'll keep an eye on things here, make sure nothing else happens to the rest of my equipment."

Wendy smiled, "Leave it to us!"

Jack told her, "Wendy, I don't know what your deal is about dark guilds and insecticides, but I can't bring myself to ignore that. Whatever the circumstances, you're going to need my help."

Wendy asked, "You're okay with that?"

Jack grinned, "I see no reason not to help friends in uncertain times. And I actually don't mind if all of this is connected to some sort of conspiracy threatening to destroy us, or Halloween, for that matter. I reckon this mystery has plenty of bone-chilling surprises in store for us, which is fine by me, because I love surprises."

Wendy asked again, "You don't mind?"

Jack laughed, "Of course not! I'm the master of terror! I'm no stranger to all forms of terror, no matter how peculiar, and I'm very proud of my title. You're in luck to have the Pumpkin King as your partner, Wendy. I'm with you through thick and thin!"

Wendy beamed, "That's great, Jack! We're glad to have you by our side. We'll get through this together."

Jack bowed to her in respect. "The pleasure is all mine." Wendy only giggled in response.

Donald wondered, "Did he hear us talk out loud about the dark guilds? Maybe we should've kept this private..."

Goofy assumed, "I think he's only interested with what's goin' on here in town. And he says he doesn't mind. So he's still givin' us a hand."

Donald pondered for a moment before he nodded. "You're right."

Lucy interjected, "But what Sherria said about Neon Insecticide wizards attacking after dark... I mean, look where we are now!" She thrust an arm to gesture around her, "Halloween Town is a dark and spooky place, so they'll most likely have the advantage."

Wendy stared at the celestial wizard in concern. "Lucy..."

Sherria clarified, "Actually, they only have the advantage in pitch black places, when there's no light in sight. The full moon is up, and not much of the town is pitch black, so that's a good sign. We see them by looking at the neon lights, and the rest is history." She turned to face Lucy with a curious look, "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

Lucy blinked, "Me? You think I'm afraid of the dark?" She shook her head, "No, of course not! That's kid's stuff."

Romeo raised an eyebrow, "Really? You're not scared of anything, even of monsters under the bed?"

Lucy's brave pretense was showing signs of breaking. "N-No?"

Romeo groaned, "I guess you wouldn't be afraid of the Boogeyman, either."

Lucy squeaked, "B-B-B-B-Boogeyman? I've heard stories about him. The Boogeyman is the creepiest, scariest, nastiest, bug-eating and kid-snatching monster in the world. And like Neon Insecticide, he only comes out after dark. Considering that we're in a town where all things Halloween are real..." She backed away, her body trembling with a foreboding sense of dread. "What if he's real, too?"

Romeo argued, "Hey, don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit?"

Lucy demanded, "What's your problem, Romeo? How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not scared of anything!"

Romeo snapped, "Listen, Lucy, I don't know where this cowardly attitude came from, but you can't keep fooling everyone! Stop keeping it bottled up and let it out! Now!"

Lucy shouted, "Why do you keep asking me that?! Just leave me alone!"

Romeo exclaimed, "I keep asking you that because we're worried about you! Wendy and I both! We're trying to help you get over it, and you keep acting weird!"

Wendy pleaded, "Lucy, please! If you can just tell everyone how you feel—"

Lucy protested, "You don't know how I feel! NONE of you do!" Her voice was mingled with both fury and grief, and she didn't seem to care if anyone else watched her rant. "If you knew half of what I've been through, you wouldn't ask me of that!"

Before the argument escalated further, a huge lump flew through the hole in the ceiling where Juvia expelled Gravy from the research lab, and crashed onto the floor! Lucy screamed in fright, and cowered behind Juvia to shield herself. "IT'S THE BOOGEYMAN!" The rest of the entourage yelled out in surprise, though their reaction was less terrified than Lucy's.

"W-What? Boogeyman? What's going on here?!" Jack exclaimed. He turned his attention to the lump on the floor, who happened to be Gravy, having made a rather awkward return to the lab with his arms and legs spread out, lying flat on his stomach. Despite the setback, the jester was unscathed and still in high spirits, as a wide smile never left his face. "Oh, it's just Gravy making a less surprising comeback."

"Gravy?" Lucy asked, peeking out to find the youth in the clown mask sprawled on the floor. She let out a deep sigh of relief. "Phew! I thought it was the Boogeyman. But it still scared the heck outta me."

"Lucy..." Romeo shook his head in disappointment. "What are we gonna do with you?"

"Must you be so hard on her, Romeo?" Wendy placed a hand on his shoulder. "Give her a bit of time. She'll come around eventually."

"I know," Romeo admitted with a sigh. "I just don't understand why she can't admit it. I wanted to help her see through that."

"Me, too," Wendy nodded sadly. "Lucy doesn't have to be afraid. We can at least let her know that we'll always be with her."

"Yeah, you're right," Romeo chuckled slightly. "Thanks for the advice, Wendy."

"Not him again!" Juvia smacked her forehead in distress at Gravy's comedic comeback. "How many times do I have to get him to STAY OUT OF MY SIGHT?!"

"Do it again! Do it again! Do it again! Do it again! Do it again!" Gravy cheered rapidly, before he lifted his face to see the object of his twisted affections. "Hi, boobie lady."

"And worst of all, he ENJOYS it!" Juvia wailed. "When will the madness EVER end?"

"Boobie lady!" Gravy quickly stood back up and pulled Juvia close to him, holding her tight by the waist. "Nothing will tear us apart! You and I are lovers! And together we're—"

"Don't say it!" Juvia hissed.

"We're..."

"Don't!"

"We're...!"

"I said...!"

"Boobie Gravy? Eww..." Sherria shuddered. Donald couldn't stop himself from laughing, while Goofy looked at him funny.

"Alright, now that the gang's all here, we start by catching these little pranksters and getting the heart back," Jack announced. "By the looks of things, I'd say they're heading out to town."

"You know, maybe somebody should stay in the lab and protect the doctor," Lucy suggested hesitantly. "After all, who's to say the dark guilds or some other villain would come waltzing in?" Romeo rolled his eyes as he came from behind and pushed her to the door. "Hey! What's the matter with you?!"

"Can you just move already?" Romeo sighed. She kept complaining and struggled to break free, but he already opened the door and shoved her outside before following after her.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Finkelstein refused. "I'll look after myself."

"Oh, okay," Wendy nodded. "Well, good luck with that."

"Hah! Dear girl, in my dictionary, there's no such word as 'luck,'" Finkelstein smirked. "A doctor is always prepared for the best and for the worst. Just leave the rest to me."

"Have I prepared enough for the worst?" Juvia whimpered, as she was still caught in Gravy's embrace.

"Boobie lady and Gravy, boobie lady and Gravy, boobie lady and Gravy, foreveeeeeeeer!" Gravy sang cheerfully.

"PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!" Juvia howled helplessly, the unbearable stress of fraternizing with the jester in the clown mask barely squeezing her brain like a grape.

"Well, we better get moving," Wendy determined. "It's up to us to get the heart back."

"Your word, Miss Marvell?" Finkelstein bargained. "That you'll return it to me unspoiled?"

"I can't say for sure," Wendy admitted. "But we'll do the best we can."

"By all means, do what you must with the heart," Finkelstein implored. "But be EXTRA careful with it! Like all others, it's a very delicate experiment. If not treated properly, the consequences may be catastrophic. But whatever happens, I wish you and Jack the best of luck."

"Wait a minute!" Sherria interrupted. "I thought you said there's no such word as luck in your dictionary."

"I'm simply encouraging the lot of you!" Finkelstein retorted. "Just because I'm wishing you luck doesn't mean I need it for myself!"

"Okay, then..." Wendy confirmed. "Gotta go!" She and the remaining party members exited the lab in pursuit of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, leaving the paraplegic doctor to clean up the mess left behind in the wake of the Neon Insecticide wizards. Speaking of which, Finkelstein appeared to have an idea in mind— a means of payback for the intruders who nearly ruined his laboratory. He looked over the unconscious enemies, then sported a devilish grin.

Guillotine Square

"They're gone!" Wendy cried. By the time she and her companions returned to the square, there was no sign of the three trick-or-treaters amongst the townspeople or the buildings and houses.

"How are we supposed to find them now?" Sherria questioned.

To answer the Sky God Slayer's concerns, Jack tapped a hand on his leg, and the ghost dog Zero was summoned from the graveyard, flying over to heed his master's call. "Zero, after him, quick!" Jack ordered. A compliant yip, and the ghostly canine companion sped off like a bullet ahead of the group.

"Go get 'em!" Sherria called after Zero. "There's nothing your cute little nose can't sniff out in any part of the world!" She couldn't surpress her desire to coo and fawn over the canine who flew away. "Oh, you're so adorable, Zero, I wanna give you a nice treat, or play ball with you, or take you out for a walk in the park..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know you have a thing for the little ghost dog," Donald rolled his eyes. "Does that mean we should have our own, too?"

"What? No, of course not!" Sherria shook her head. "The neighborhood will freak out! If you're walking a ghost dog across the street, whether it's a flying collar or they're just plain clear for everyone to see, people get confused or scared. Seeing a ghost dog out in the open isn't for the faint of heart, especially old folks. Besides that, I think they feel welcome here in a Halloween-themed environment than your average neighborhood." She then gave an affectionate smile, "But it's impossible to ignore how sweet and loveable Zero is. Mmmm! Isn't he adorable? I wish I have a dog like him, except his body's not a blanket. And yeah, not a ghost, either. For the neighbors' sake."

"My, it's only a short while ago since you met Zero, and you already like him," Jack remarked.

"Why shouldn't I? Your dog is close to a splitting image of Wendy's cuteness," Sherria stated. "Am I right, Wendy?" She tapped an elbow to the Sky Maiden's side, "Really, you and him are two of a kind. Different cuteness, same feeling."

"Yeah, I suppose we are," Wendy could barely stifle a giggle, and only when Sherria ruffled her hair did she burst out. She stopped laughing when she heard a shout nearby, and she focused her attention on Lucy, who was seen arguing with Romeo.

"Why'd you have to shove me out the door like that?!" For obvious reasons, Lucy was dismayed over Romeo's role in forcing her back into the mission.

"What other reason than to give you a needed push?" Romeo crossed his arms and frowned at her stubbornness. "Somebody has to." He passed her by and joined the others, leaving her be.

"Oh, Lucy..." Wendy whispered, showing sympathy for the celestial wizard's misfortune.

As much as Lucy wanted to justify her actions, for once, no sound came out of her mouth. It seemed to her that Romeo was reminding her of the discomfort her cowardice had caused for the group, and although he was being honest, she could not bring herself to admit it. However, a tiny sliver of dignity she had deep inside compelled her to say something about her fears, at least when the chance presented itself. Wendy and Romeo knew about it, but the others were either too oblivious or unable to have their say in the matter. Lucy looked down, pondering to herself on what she should do— something, anything, to stop Romeo from being mad at her.

Before the blonde-haired girl could give it much thought, a new horde of Heartless invaded the square, and she quickly switched into her Taurus Star Dress. For their safety, the citizens of Halloween Town retreated to their homes and locked their doors; the only thing they could do was watch their fearless and most beloved celebrity save the day from the windows. Apart from Wight Knights and Search Ghosts, Wendy and company were forced to fight a new breed of winged Heartless called Gargoyles. They had dark grey skin, and wore dark purple bodysuits with roughly stitched light purple sleeves ending in a gold zig-zag trim and jagged edges. The purple color extended to cover the head and horns, and the horns also featured black stripes. Their talons were long, but not nearly as alien as their dark grey feet, which were spindly and two-toed. Their leather-like wings were pointy and sharp, particularly the tops which resembled spires.

"Gargoyles, too?!" Jack exclaimed. "I remember them being the hardest nuts to crack with their nimble movements and air superiority. Need I also remind you of their infamous transportation technique, which they often use to avoid attacks? Out of all the Heartless on the menu, the Gargoyles were the most difficult to control. Do you know it took us four days to restrain only one? It took even longer for five. We were lucky the doctor had contingencies. Some of them even posed as statues, to be used as decorations for the festival."

"Whatever the case, there's no stopping them now," Wendy confirmed. "They just can't help themselves when there are hearts all around them." She took out her Keyblade, "Let's take 'em out!"

"Yeah!" Everyone else complied.

In the heat of combat, Gargoyles had a hard-to-read attack cycle. With the ability to transform into balls of blue flame, they could move from one place to another almost without notice. One moment they flew around the heads of their prey, and the next moment they unleashed basic attacks ranging from claw swipes to kicks to wing thrusts, causing massive damage at blinding speed. Their other special ability involved charging up heat-seeking balls of energy from their mouths before spewing them out. The homing orbs were slow and easy to avoid, but they still packed serious firepower. While Gargoyles possessed an equal aptitude in aerial agility and vast strength, they were prone to sneak attacks, and a single mistake could force them to drop their guard. Nimble as they appeared, it took great care and patience for the heroes to step up to the purple winged demons. Wendy defeated six Gargoyles with aerial Keyblade combos, Donald destroyed three with Blizzara, Goofy bashed three more with Goofy Tornado, Jack cast Bolts of Sorrow and Blazing Fury against five, and Romeo incinerated the last three with Blue Fire. Of course, with the Search Ghosts and Wight Knights also presenting a problem, saving the square was more of an exercise than a challenge. Wendy cast Gravity to subdue four Search Ghosts before finishing them with Sonic Blade and Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang, Donald electrocuted four more with Thundara, Goofy bonked three with Goofy Charge, and Jack eliminated the last of them with Ghostly Scream. As for the Wight Knights, Romeo scorched four with Yellow Fire, Sherria blew away three with Sky God's Boreas, and Lucy decimated the rest with Earth Wave. Juvia was the only one among the party who didn't participate, considering Gravy wouldn't let him leave his sight for a second. Despite this, Guillotine Square was saved again, and all they could do was follow Zero back to the graveyard.

Graveyard

Upon arrival, Goofy spoke up, "Hey, fellas, look at this!" Everybody looked at him and followed his gaze. In the distance, they saw a large hill with a sundae swirl. Surprisingly, the curl unfurled into a pathway to a bridge, and it was crossed over the hill by what appeared to be a walking bathtub, with a certain trick-or-treating threesome riding it.

"It's Lock, Shock, and Barrel!" Wendy noticed. Everyone ran to get a closer look, stopping when they saw the bathtub bounce past the walls.

"Whoa, talk about a clean getaway!" Romeo commented.

"The bathtub is alive! And it has four legs! Where's it going?" Donald wondered.

"They must be taking the heart to that no-account Oogie Boogie," Jack guessed.

"Who's Oogie Boogie?" Wendy asked.

"He's a villainous bag of bugs who tried to take over Halloween Town on multiple occasions," Jack explained. "While he is regarded as one of the most feared creatures ever known to man, he's not exactly the most popular. A long time ago, he used to have his own holiday called Bug Day."

"Bug Day?" Sherria raised an eyebrow. "I don't think there's anything like it in the calendar."

"And there probably never will," Jack nodded. "Bug Day was quickly forgotten by the real world, and thus the world based on that holiday, the world he once lived in, vanished from existence. Oogie managed to escape and found his way into Halloween Town. He decided to take it over, to pave the way for a new Bug Day. I fought and defeated him and his army of insects, and he was exiled not long after. The reason? It's quite obvious. His scaring methods were sadistic and more dangerous than fun!"

"That's awful!" Wendy exclaimed. "How could someone who used to have his own holiday try to take over another?"

"Sounds like a holiday war," Sherria implied. "Two mascots of two different holidays slugging it out, wanting to prove who makes the most mind-blowing yearly celebration."

"Or who's gonna run the only holiday," Romeo guessed. "It makes sense, since one out of two doesn't exist anymore. How bad is this Oogie character, anyway?"

"Trust me, he didn't get the title of 'Halloween's Most Hated Creature' by selling a box full of candy," Jack replied. "Oogie Boogie is a scheming gambler infatuated with the idea of torturing people in the most sickening ways. In his mind, it's the perfect way to strike fear into people's hearts, his vision of how Halloween should be run. Betting on innocent lives and then disposing of them when he's done, is his greatest joy and only hobby."

That prompted a gasp from the rest of the group. Even Lucy was unnerved by Jack's description of Oogie. "So that makes him a cut above the rest of the scary bunch? A monster who toys with lives like it's a game?"

"Kinda fits a certain sea witch we fought in the ocean," Romeo recalled.

"Who knew even ex-holiday mascots have hobbies?" Sherria commented.

"Especially unfair ones," Wendy grimaced.

"By claiming Halloween as his own, he has the freedom to spread his own brand of terror to all the children in the world, and give the holiday itself a dark new meaning," Jack continued. "He even attempted to get rid of me. So many times! He always fails, of course."

"Because you stood up to him and foiled his plans," Carla guessed. "You fought to protect the welfare of the holiday and the town."

"Indeed, I outsmarted him at every turn," Jack nodded. "But no matter how hard he falls short at every effort to overrun Halloween, he doesn't seem the type to give up that easily. He's an intelligent master of deception, a living nightmare for children if there is one. And speaking of children... In case you haven't known, Lock, Shock, and Barrel are Oogie's little henchmen."

"They work for him?" Wendy's eyes widened. "He sent them to steal the heart, didn't he?"

"Well, we saw them cross the hill to the bridge leading to Oogie's manor," Jack pointed out. "I have no doubt they're acting under his orders! But..." He rubbed the back of his head, "...even that remains to be seen."

"How so?" Wendy questioned.

"Let me be honest with you, Wendy," Jack clarified. "Those three aren't exactly loyal to Oogie. They simply make mischief, both for their own benefit and to stay on his good side. I can't tell if they follow him willingly or out of fear, but with everything going on thus far, it all leads to one conclusion."

"They're giving the heart to him," Wendy frowned in realization.

"No more! NO MORE!" Juvia wailed, as she was caught in one of Gravy's insufferable bear hugs. She struggled to separate the muscles crossed between her body via her Water Magic, but the splashing only served to tighten them, or perhaps his undying passion for the Rain Woman gave him the extra push. "I can't take much more of this! Somebody get this abomination to stop giving me more hugs!"

"Boobie lady, boobie lady, my heart belongs to you!" Gravy vocalized. "Boobie lady, boobie lady, all my love is for you!"

"No, I don't want your love!" Juvia shouted. "All it ever brought me is misery and pain!" A river of tears fell from her irritated eyes, and her voice choked with anguish. "So... much... PAIN!"

"You said my love brings you joy and warmth?!" Gravy exclaimed happily. "Say it again, boobie lady! Say it again! You want my love! YOU WANT MY LOVE! MY LOVE! MY LOOOOOOVE!" His arms hardened to ice, his tone elevated to excitement, and he literally crumpled Juvia like a piece of paper.

"Urk! Not... again..." Juvia gasped for air. "I don't think... I'll make it..."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's catch 'em!" Donald beckoned.

"No way!" Lucy shook her head. "I'm not digging deeper to chase after three kids just so we can gamble with a bug-loving freak show in this world of Halloween!"

"Okay, then you can fly up a million miles back to the Gummi Ship, all by yourself," Romeo said sarcastically. "We'll catch up with you later."

"Alright, alright, I'm still sticking with you," Lucy groaned in agitation. "But I won't like it."

The group was ready to access the coffin to the boneyard when a battalion of twelve Wight Knights and ten Gargoyles emerged from a series of tiny portals, hence blocking their path. Around the same time, blurs of multiple colors zipped across the graveyard at blinding speed, until they came to a complete stop alongside the Heartless. The blurs were revealed to be fifteen wizards from the Neon Insecticide dark guild, the small lights in their latex suits glowing amidst the eerie background.

Jack suggested, "Why don't we start by getting them out of the way?"

Wendy readied the Crabclaw. "Got it!"

Romeo's fists burned with Purple Fists. "Here goes!"

Sherria's hands swirled with black wind. "Right on!"

Lucy tightened her Fleuve d'étoiles. "Give me a break..."

The lead Neon Insecticide wizard laughed, "Ha-ha-ha-ha! It's the Keyblade wielder that Master Borock warned us about!" He pointed a threatening finger at Wendy, "Prepare to meet your doom! Grovel before Neon Insecticide, marauders of the night, stalkers of the dark, and servants of Zeppelin Borock!"

Wendy gasped, "Zeppelin? Isn't he one of Sleepy Hollow's Headless Horsemen?"

Sherria pointed out, "From what Kaze described, he's psycho and loves to blow stuff up. These Neon Insecticide wizards claim they're his servants... I didn't know their leader is one of Kaze's cronies!"

Romeo assumed, "If they work for this Zeppelin guy, then he must be here in this world, too."

Wendy realized, "Of course! Kaze sent the Horsemen to test me! And Zeppelin is one of them! They're still after me!"

Sherria confirmed, "In that case, we better keep our guard up. If any Headless Horseman thinks they can have another go at us, they must be dreaming."

Romeo agreed, "You said it. Whatever they're cooking up, we'll stop 'em before they even get the drop on us! Right, Wendy?"

Wendy nodded, "Yeah! They won't stop us!"

"Attack! Vanquish all in the name of Master Borock!" The order was given, and the unified force of Heartless and dark wizards made their move. Normally, the Neon Insecticide minions would exploit the pitch blackness around the cemetery to confuse their enemies, but seeing as how the full moon was still up, they were forced to rely on their second most effective tactic. Aside from the usage of regular magic spells and hand-to-hand combat, they developed a special ability to channel energy from the endlessly glowing neon lights on their latex suits to perform space-time jumps. They would warp right next to any of Wendy and her teammates, then give them a merciless beating before they could blink. The heroes had to rely on their reflexes to withstand the fury of the Neon Insecticide wizards in the same manner as the surprise attack on Doctor Finkelstein's lab, and by expertly-timed parrying were they left vulnerable. Wendy was able to defeat five wizards in a blend of precise Keyblade attacks and Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, Romeo flung his Purple Fire Fists to pummel five more, and Sherria cast Sky God's Dance to send the last five hovering in the air before knocking them down. As for the Wight Knights and Gargoyles, Donald destroyed scores with Thundara and Gravity, Goofy with his shield, Jack with his Applause sliding attack, Carla with her swift and powerful kicks, and Lucy with her Fleuve d'étoiles. No sooner had the group cleared the area did they open the coffin, and off they went to the boneyard.

Boneyard

Wendy and company came to a stop when they stood before a combined army of seven Wight Knights, twenty Shadows and twelve Neon Insecticide henchmen. The Sky Maiden destroyed ten by executing Sonic Blade and Stun Impact, cast Thundara to electrocute four dark wizards, performed Sky Dragon's Wave Wind to blow away an additional four, and then Sky Dragon's Claw to crush three Wight Knights. Donald cast Blizzara to freeze the remaining three Wight Knights while Goofy eliminated six Shadows using Goofy Tornado. Lucy defeated the last of the Neon Insecticide scourge with an Earth Wave, Carla flexed her legs to finish off three Shadows, and Jack delivered the final blow on the last Shadow with his bare fists. The group approached a nearby grave and opened its wooden doors to find themselves transported...

Moonlight Hill

...to the place where Lock, Shock, and Barrel accessed the hill, only that the bridge had reverted back to a curl. Wight Knights, Gargoyles, and a third Neon Insecticide squadron came flooding in, but they didn't count on Wendy and her friends' excellent team efforts and strategies. Along the way, Wendy came across a treasure chest near the hill, and opened it to uncover nine more missing Dalmatian puppies.

Found Dalmatians. Numbers 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, and 81 returned home!

"They used the hill to get across," Wendy reminded. "How do we get it to show us the way?"

"Like so," Jack answered, and he pressed a hidden switch in a gravestone, which unfurled the hill for all to see. "Onward, friends!" He led the party across the bridge, and they jumped over the wall straight ahead.

Bridge

As they landed, Wendy and her companions found themselves in a canal connected by a stone bridge, leading to a gate of iron bars. Then another united army of Heartless and dark wizards had the leisure of impeding their progress.

"Not again! Why won't they leave us alone?!" Donald complained.

"They just keep comin', no matter how many we beat!" Goofy grimaced.

"Okay, that does it! Time to clean up this mess!" Wendy declared. "Summon Gem: Wishgrant!" As her hand glowed with the light of her selected Summon Gem, she raised the Crawclaw aloft and released a shower of sparks from the tip. Out of the rising blue vapor came Genie scrubbing his back with a bath brush, holding a rubber duck in his other hand and wearing a shower cap over his head.

"Never fails," Genie grinned. "You get in the bath and there's a rub of the Summon Gem." He gave the rubber duck a squeeze, before he turned to face Wendy. "Hello? How can I help you, Wendy? If the bathtub's a-rockin', feel free to come knockin'!"

"Genie, we need your help!" Wendy implored. "There's a lot of—"

"Uhp-uhp-uhp! Say no more," Genie held up his index finger to interrupt her, and he examined the enemies in front of him. "You're in luck, because we're in the shooting gallery. With dozens of Heartless and dark guild felons as targets, I reckon! This looks like a job for..." In a single puff, he was dressed as a cowboy with empty holsters on his belt. "Genie the Kid!" he announced in a Western accent. "I get'cha call, partner. I get'cha. It's high noon 'round this here corral. Or in this case..." He looked up to the moon, "...high midnight! DRAW!" Genie shaped his hands into guns, and shot a volley of magical bullets at the whole army of Heartless and Neon Insecticide wizards. Some managed to sneak past the barrage for a surprise attack; fortunately, Wendy and the others worked to handle those that Genie couldn't catch in his sights.

When the chaos and magic settled, everyone looked at Genie, who changed from his cowboy attire into a game show host. "Alrighty folks, the Big Hustle is over! Let's see who got the most points!" A game board appeared, with all of the heroes' faces and names on it. It showed Carla, Lucy, Donald, and Goofy tied to 5 points, Wendy, Romeo, and Sherria with 7 points, and Genie with 21 points. Juvia, unfortunately, scored no points (blame Gravy). "And by a landslide, the Genie is the winner! His prize: A week-long interstellar vacation in the Sakura Cosmos at a luxurious space resort, which starts..." He took a glance at his ticking watch, "Oh, we still have five minutes to spare. You think I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, would you?"

"Of course you wouldn't!" Wendy chuckled. "Thanks again, Genie."

"You're welcome," Genie smiled. "If you ever have the urge to experience some more wild west action with your true blue friend, invoke the power of my Summon Gem. Tune in next time for another exciting episode of Big Hustle! Genie, signing out!" With one last puff, he vanished.

"See you later!" Wendy called out as she waved.

"He is one strange character," Jack commented. "With powers like his, I wager he'd make a big hit at next year's Halloween."

"I doubt he'd make it," Lucy said hesitantly. "And I wouldn't wanna know how crazy things get if he's the one organizing the celebration and NOT you."

"Hmm..." Jack stroked his chin with intrigue.

"All clear! Let's go after these kids!" Donald raced out towards the bridge.

"Wait up!" Goofy raced after him. The rest of the party looked to one another, then followed after the two.

Oogie's Manor

As Wendy and her friends traced the bathtub's footsteps across a rickety wooden bridge, they stopped to gaze up at the one place Lock, Shock, and Barrel scurried off to— a mansion built around the shape and size of the largest tree ever witnessed, compared to the towering trees of the Deep Jungle. Like every house in Halloween Town, the foundations were twisted and formed into a sight frightening for the faint of heart to behold, some parts of the tree modded with posts of jack o'lanterns and iron cages hanging from branches.

Jack confirmed, "I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!"

Romeo stated, "It definitely looks like the best place for the worst kind of Halloween monster to live in."

Wendy pointed a finger, "And look!" Everyone looked to see that the entrance was patrolled by Gargoyles and Neon Insecticide wizards, some of them standing watch on the other end of the bridge. "I bet Oogie will do anything to keep us out, even turn to the dark guilds for help."

Sherria agreed, "Yeah. We can't expect them to let us barge in uninvited, can we?"

Goofy implied, "They're usin' the Heartless, like all these other villains."

Donald guessed, "So Oogie must be working with Maleficent!"

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Wendy answered, "Someone we know. Right now, we gotta take back the heart they stole."

Lucy interjected, "Hold on! We're not gonna enter that haunted treehouse mansion, are we?" Her eyes never left the outlandish infrastructure of Oogie's manor, and she felt her bones grow cold again.

Romeo nodded, "Yes, we are." He eyed the celestial wizard suspiciously, "What's so wrong with going into dark places?"

Lucy denied, "N-Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She turned away, then moaned to herself, "Just as I thought. We couldn't help but agree to explore more places that are dark, scary, and nasty. Why does everyone but me feel we should go there? At the same time, though, as difficult it is for me to admit..." A deep sigh, "...I feel that it's the right thing to do."

Romeo blinked, "Huh, I didn't know that you'd agree to disagree on disagreeing that we agreed on going somewhere you don't like." His eyes widened hopefully, "Are you finally gonna do it? You'll admit it?"

Lucy pointed out, "Um, you just said 'agree' a couple of times. But don't get the wrong idea. I'm still not gonna like it. But that doesn't mean I'm letting my friends go on without me. I owe Fairy Tail for giving me the strength and courage I needed when times are dark. I don't want to owe any more."

Romeo paused, before his lips curled to a small smile. "Nice one, Lucy. Glad you can still keep up in spite of all this. We'll sort everything out, okay?"

There was still tension in Lucy's conscience, but Romeo's words exuded a comfort of sorts that allowed her to smile back and nod. "Y-Yeah."

On one side, Wendy listened to the minor conversation with happiness. Since Romeo somehow got through to Lucy's troubled mind, it was only a matter of time before she found the strength to overcome her insecurities. She then looked to the entrance to Oogie's manor with a firm resolve. "Come on, guys. Let's go stop Oogie!" Nobody wanted to argue with that, and they all charged straight ahead, flushing out any resistance in their path, before opening the front door.

The first room they entered was cylindrical in shape and housed a floating platform of some kind, along with a couple of treasure chests containing Potions and Ethers. Considering it was operated by a lantern-shaped device, they knew just the thing to make it work. Donald lit up the device with a Fira spell, and the platform levitated to the mansion's second floor. Since it was small, the party members had to take the climb one at a time or in separate groups. As they gathered on the second floor, they made their way upward along the spiraling hallway, combating legions of Heartless and dark wizards as they went, either in the air around them or on the steps. They found more treasure chests in some sections of the manor, and a few were tricky to reach; one was trapped in a cage dangling from one of the branches, and it took a bit of Romeo's Rainbow Fire to melt the seemingly unbreachable iron bars. They didn't have time to check on Juvia's present condition, though, mostly due to being busy facing a wide slew of obstacles around the topsy-turvy tree villa. And Gravy's enthusiasm never wavered, not as long as the water wizard was never out of reach of his arms.

Shortly afterwards, Wendy and her companions reached a small hut on the topmost floor. Lucy walked near the door as she asked, "Should we get in? Those three must be—" Suddenly, a Wight Knight burst out right beside her!

Wendy and the others looked at her as she yelped, seeing the Wight Knight brandish its claws to attack the surprised celestial wizard. The Sky Maiden rushed over the side and smacked the Heartless in a 6-hit combo. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She finally destroyed it with a powerful gust of wind she breathed out, then checked on Lucy. "Are you okay?"

The blonde-haired girl stood to her feet and said, "Yeah, I think so, Wendy." Looking at the spot where the Wight Knight once attempted to strike her, she commented, "Wow, Sherria wasn't kidding when she said they're expecting us."

Sherria nodded, "My thoughts exactly."

Carla informed, "I believe it would be best if we watch our step around here."

Romeo asked, "You think we'll find the heart in there?" He gestured to the hut's entrance.

Wendy suggested, "Let's find out." They went through the door without delay. Little did they know that a hostile reception awaited their arrival, one that would push Lucy's fragile bravado to its limit.

Evil Playroom

The hut's interior was a simple room dimly lit by candles on a set of cloth-covered tables below a huge voodoo mask with more candles decorated as its 'hair'. The candlelight made it easy for Wendy and company to spot Lock, Shock, and Barrel tossing the heart down a shaft, possibly delivering it to their boss as a present, just as Zeppelin promised.

Jack exclaimed, "The heart! It's been sent to—"

The three trick-or-treaters cackled, but their celebration was brief when they whirled around to face the heroes. Lock exclaimed, "You again?!"

Shock complained, "When will you idiots learn to quit? We've thrown the heart away!"

Barrel taunted, "Sorry, but you're too late! You'll never get it back now!"

Jack demanded, "Explain yourselves, the three of you! Why did you steal the heart for Oogie Boogie?"

Lock shrugged, "Beats me. But even if we know..."

Shock glared, "...we won't tell you! And you can't make us!"

Barrel offered, "You're gonna have to catch us first! Ha!" He took a leap and landed a headbutt into Donald's forehead, knocking him on his rear.

"Hey!" Romeo shouted, seeing the three scatter everywhere in separate ways.

Donald rubbed his aching temple, and he began to grow indignant at being knocked over. "Oh, that's IT! No more Mr. Nice Duck! Lemme at 'em!" And he was off, scrambling across the room, quacking with fury and chasing one of the three who headbutted him.

Jack cautioned, "Be careful! They're extremely cra—" Something tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to get hit in the face by a mud pie, courtesy of Lock. The boy in the devil outfit laughed to himself at the trick he just pulled. "I can't see! Help me!" Jack was blinded by the mass of mud smothering his face, that he tripped and fell on the floor. It was right after he collapsed did he wipe the mud off his eyes and cheeks, and for good reason, he was angry.

Goofy cried, "Jack! Are you ok—" Before he could do anything, he was kicked in the backside by Shock. A second mud pie was thrown into his face, and the girl in the witch outfit departed with a haughty laugh she left behind.

That fed the fire in Jack's desire to exact retribution on the three prancing pranksters. With a scream of rage, he stood back up. "GET THOSE KIDS!" Goofy followed his lead, and they joined Donald in chasing after Lock, Shock, and Barrel all over the playroom. It was an all-out prank war of six, with three vying to prevail over the other three so that at the end, the winning side had the last laugh. Donald, Goofy, and Jack fought bravely, but the young trick-or-treaters' antics, coupled with their nimbleness and intelligence, proved they were as effective as putting a whoopee cushion under the chair: Lock would jump very high to avoid Donald's spells, Shock would knock Goofy over with her spinning dance attack, and Barrel would perform a cannonball sprint to bash Jack's legs. If spinning around and knocking people off their feet wasn't enough, the three would throw a barrage of mud pies and slingshots to fluster Donald, Goofy, and Jack even further. Failed attempt after failed attempt to catch the naughty children, the heroes grew frustrated and were almost driven to the point of madness.

The only people who hadn't participated in this crazed battle full of shenanigans were Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, Lucy, Juvia, and Gravy; the celestial wizard didn't feel comfortable with it, not one bit. "What's wrong with these people? Have they all gone mad?!"

Sherria gulped, "They're mad because these kids pressed their buttons! Somebody's gotta stop them before more chaos ensues!"

Juvia nodded, "I couldn't agree more. They need a timeout for causing this much trouble." She then glared at Gravy, "And an extra one for someone I repulse with great intensity!"

Gravy beamed, "Is Jacky-Jack playing rag-tag? I like playing rag-tag! I like to rag and tag all day!" He turned to face Juvia, "Boobie lady! Let's play romantic-tick-chick rag-tag together!"

Juvia refused, "No, I won't! I'll never play any of your—"

Gravy exclaimed happily, "RAG-TAG!" Lost in his wild imagination, a spiked ball of ice formed around his fist, and he started smashing Juvia's head with it several times. "Tag, you're it! Tag, you're it! Tag, you're it! Boobie tag! Boobie tag! Boobie tag!"

Juvia screamed while she was being bonked on the head, "No! Gravy! No! Gravy! No! Gravy! Stop! It! No! More! Please!"

Gravy yelled excitedly, "BOOBIE TAG!" The spiked ball changed into a gigantic hammer, and he bashed her repeatedly. "TAG! TAG! TAG! TAG! TAG! TAG!"

Juvia wailed amidst the incessant banging, "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" And with one last bang, her head ended up stuck inside the hammer, which had detached from Gravy's hand. She was crumpled on the floor, moaning to herself. "N-No... No more... It's too much... Too much..." Gravy's grin widened in appeasement, and he flashed it at Wendy and the others in the hopes of gaining their approval for his insanity. Their only response was to cringe and turn their heads away.

Sherria admitted, "I don't like where this is going."

Lucy sighed, "You and me both, Sherria."

It wasn't long before Juvia managed to stand up and keep herself balanced despite the weight of the ice block attached to her head. "This... is the last..." Her voice muffled inside, and the rage that was building up manifested into cracks on the ice before it finally burst. "STRAW, YOU INTOLERABLE INCUBUS!" The skin on Juvia's face was boiling red, and her patience, it seemed, was finally running thin.

Gravy giggled, "Oh, boobie lady." He flicked his finger on both sides of Juvia's nose, which she didn't enjoy at the slightest. "You're funny. And I see your face is all reddy-ready like an apple. I think I know why, why, why, Delilah. It's because you want to give me a kiss! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kissy-wissy now!" He puckered up his lips when he received a slap across his left cheek, then another on his right, yet he didn't feel bothered by it.

Juvia growled, "I'm warning you, Gravy..." Her expression was suddenly demented, as though she was in as much pain as the three party members currently fending off Oogie's minions.

"Yes?"

"...if you so much as grab me, touch me, or do anything for the remaining moments you have in my presence ONE MORE TIME, I'LL STRANGLE YOU LIKE A FISH!"

Sherria grabbed Juvia by the shoulders and dragged her away from Gravy before she started a potential riot. She looked at the jester with an apologetic look and chuckled nervously, "Sorry about that, Gravy. She's just a little on edge."

Gravy cooed, "Oh, boobie lady! You're so cute when your reddy-ready like an apple!"

Juvia yelled, "I mean every word, you stupid jester! I swear it, I'll BREAK you in two!"

Sherria rubbed the Rain Woman's muscles to try and calm her down. "Juvia, just relax... and let it go. Breathe, stay positive, think happy thoughts, think about Gray..."

At a mere mention of the man she loved, Juvia's anger showed signs of slowing down. "Gray..."

Sherria noticed that her massage was working. "Yes, yes, that's it..." It took a short while, but in the end, Juvia relaxed. Although her resentment and envy towards the jester in the clown mask remained, as well as her vow to strangle him by the throat should he ever get out of line again, she had to keep calm in the presence of her companions. Over a practical mishap, she almost lost her temper and nearly caused a scene next to another happening in the room. "That's it." Sherria finally let go of Juvia's muscles, satisfied with her work. The others recoiled at the water wizard's abrupt change of attitude, but were nonetheless relieved she had calmed down.

Juvia turned to Wendy, Romeo, Lucy, and Carla with a smile. "Please forgive me, my friends. That's no way to act when we have to focus on the big picture." She motioned a hand towards the ongoing battle, "Lock, Shock, and Barrel, is it?"

Romeo nodded, "Right. We gotta help the others."

Wendy urged, "Let's go stop them!"

Just before they could join Donald, Goofy, and Jack in their arduous struggle with the mischief-making children, Wendy and her friends came to an immediate halt when they heard a scream from Romeo, who ran ahead first. They whirled around to see the Rainbow Fire wizard flying through the air, bounced by an psychic burst. Romeo landed on his back and skidded to a stop next to the door, not moving.

"Romeo!" Wendy exclaimed, and she dashed towards him, Sherria and Juvia following even as Gravy stayed close behind the Rain Woman. They stopped at his sides, kneeling down next to him as the young wizard started to move.

"What happened?!" Lucy yelled as she and Carla moved in their direction.

"I don't know!" Wendy called back before turning her attention back to Romeo. "What did he run into?" He soon opened his eyes, and she asked, "Are you alright?"

Romeo groaned, but spoke, "Yeah, I..."

Before he could finish, the invisible force behind Romeo's predicament revealed itself to be an emerald wall of particle energy sprouting between both sides, effectively splitting the room in half. The noises and voices on the opposite side instantly drowned out; Wendy and the others no longer heard the three little imps chortling at Donald, Goofy, and Jack's misfortune, or even the latter's shouts of anger and attempts at retaliation. But most of all, no one on that side was aware of the fact that they had been cut off, or perhaps they were too busy fighting to notice. "What was that?" Sherria asked.

Wendy stared at the pulsating barricade, and gasped. "I think it's a barrier!" Her companions followed her gaze. "It's stopping us from getting through!"

Romeo got back to his feet and growled, "You gotta be kidding me! Is this another one of their nasty tricks?"

To answer his question, two crescent-shaped energy waves suddenly burst from the barrier and shot towards the group, forcing them to scatter. "Look out!" Lucy exclaimed. The psychic blades flew past them and struck the wall in miniature explosions.

Sherria sweated, "I think it's something much nastier than that."

Carla questioned, "But what purpose does it serve? Someone else other than Lock, Shock, and Barrel may have organized this skirmish as a distraction."

At that moment, an energetic and psychotic cackle resonated throughout the entire room, and it was unheard by the six who rumbled in the candlelight. The laughter was harsh and taunting, filling Wendy and her friends with suspicion and apprehension. "You couldn't be more wrong," Lucy gulped.

"I know that laugh," Juvia breathed, as she knew exactly which it belonged to. It all came back to that fateful incident when Kaze ordered the attack on the Fairy Tail guildhall, and abducted every member present...

"You answered my call?" the voice laughed. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen... I welcome you to tonight's entertainment... me!"

"That voice..." Juvia gasped in shock. "Is it him?!"

"W-Who's there?!" Lucy demanded. "Show yourself!"

"Oh, your poor things! Why wait for me when we're still having our opening night? You may not see me yet, but I'm speaking directly to you. And I've saved plenty of room for the party favors. Trust me, you're going to LOVE THIS! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" As the laughter boomed, the energy particles that composed the protective green barrier assimilated to form a huge, eerie-looking skull at the center. A few sparks could be seen cascading off the skull-shaped creation in random directions.

"Don't tell me it's who I think it is," Romeo frowned.

"Are we running into him?" Sherria wondered.

"Be careful, all of you!" Carla cautioned.

"I know you're listening, Wendy," the evil voice spoke from the skull, causing the Sky Maiden to gasp. "I offer my sincere condolences for your triumph over the other three Horsemen. Wrecker, the rampaging bulldozer whom you curbed the raging god inside him... Silver, the keeper of ten birds, count 'em, TEN BIRDS of prey, in which you put down only two... And of course, little Diva, the deluded, star-struck wannabe fashion model who lost three of her pets in one day! I'm really impressed, Wendy. Which is why I'm pleased to announce that you have the honor of fighting the last Horseman. And that is me. The question is, do you have what it takes to keep up your winning streak? Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee..."

"You're..." Wendy deduced, an angry edge in her voice. "Zeppelin! You're one of the Headless Horseman, the one in charge of Neon Insecticide!"

"Very good! I'm flattered," the voice admired. "It was I who sent the dark guild to assist Lock, Shock, and Barrel in stealing the heart for Oogie Boogie. The perfect cover for the perfect escape at the end of an excellent heist. I see you and your friends figured it out for yourselves. How nice. And that's fine. I'll just play by the rules and invite you to my sweet soiree. After all, these are Master Viriniam's orders."

"Figured as much," Wendy's eyes narrowed. "You planned all this just so you can drag me out."

"Of course he would," Romeo tensed. "That's what the Headless Horsemen all are about; they follow Kaze's orders without a second thought, and they plan everything."

"If there's only one thing I can describe Sleepy Hollow, it's that they're a bunch of scheming creeps," Lucy murmured. "Kaze and her crew..."

"Hey, Zeppelin!" Sherria shouted. "That's your name, right? The guy who sent Neon Insecticide after us?"

"Why, yes. I am," Zeppelin responded. "Your friend here has made a clever deduction. Or was it you before her? Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee..."

"You listen here, buddy, and you listen good," Sherria bargained. "If you're gonna fight Wendy, you'll have to fight all of us, too! We won't let you take her!"

"No matter what happens, we'll always stand by her," Romeo promised. "You can count on it!" Wendy was touched by these words of encouragement while she stood firm amid the threat.

"A battle royale?! How exciting!" Zeppelin guffawed. "The same time I manhandled the young Keyblade bearer, her friends will be ripe for the picking! A couple lumps of flesh for the price of one! Hee-hee-hee-hee... Very well, I accept your proposal! I'll gladly take all of you at once. On the contrary, I should thank you. Each and every one of you... for making it so easy to lead you exactly where I want you. So, dear victims, are you ready for the biggest night of your lives?"

"I don't think I'm ready for this," Lucy trembled with slight fear.

"Sure, we'll be ready," Romeo huffed. "Just as soon as we deal with those little pranksters and help the others!" He pointed a thumb over what's occurring beyond the wide barrier. In a burst of Purple Fire, he sprinted towards the wall, preparing to break through it with his fists. "Just you wa— AGH!" He was cut off when the barrier pushed him away in a rupture of electricity, a spore of energy flickering where the impact took place.

"Romeo!" Wendy managed to catch him before he hit the floor. "Be careful!"

"Whoa..." Romeo breathed, clearly amazed by the raw strength of the barrier. "Didn't see that coming." He turned to face Wendy, "Thanks."

"No problem," Wendy nodded, and she helped Romeo regain his footing.

"Now, now, let's not ruin their fun!" Zeppelin teased. "I suggest you allow the royals hang out with the kiddies. I'm saving the best for last. When the dust settles, I'll be using Jack's bones to play fetch with the dog... before I roast him up along with the duck! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

"What?!" Romeo exclaimed. "We can't leave Donald, Goofy, and Jack behind!"

"Oh, don't worry your sorry heads about it," Zeppelin assured. "The three musketeers aren't the kind to die so easily— probably— unfortunate as it is that you won't live to see their sorry faces again! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

"You freak..." Romeo gritted his teeth.

"Sleepy Hollow wizards. They never play fair," Sherria moaned.

"No, the Pumpkin King and King Mickey's two stooges interest me not," Zeppelin chuckled. "I'm only interested in the Fairy Tail brigade Wendy has put together. Especially..." He added with a thunderous flare, "Gravy the Jester!"

"Gravy?" Wendy, Romeo, and Sherria gasped in unison.

"Yes?" Gravy immediately answered to his name being called.

"Why does everything revolve around that goose of a pantaloon?!" Juvia complained. "Always talking about Gravy! More and more Gravy! Twenty-four seven Gravy! Lots and lots of Gravy!" She was ranting as though she had gone off the deep end, "Gravy, Gravy, Gravy, Gravy, Gravy, GRAVY, GRAVY, GRAVY! I'm so sick and tired of even the name!"

"Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes?" Gravy responded repeatedly.

"SHUT UP, YOU FOOL!" Juvia screamed furiously at him. "If you think for one minute that I'm putting up with any—" Sherria and Lucy quickly covered her mouth and shushed her, silencing the tirade.

"Save the complaints for later!" Sherria insisted.

"We're in a bit of a pickle here!" Lucy added.

"You want to fight not just us, but Gravy as well?" Wendy questioned. "What do you get out of it, Zeppelin?"

"It's not much of a surprise had I told you," Zeppelin snickered. "The party's already just begun. And I haven't thought of a better idea than to eviscerate you and your circle of comrades. Like a frog's last croak! To Gravy the Jester, I say this..."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to jog a bit of your brain. I want him back, you see... The person behind that clownish façade... The real you!"

"Huh?" Gravy rubbed the back of his head with a befuddled look. "You talking to me?"

"That's right, Gravy," Zeppelin replied. "I'm talking to you. Not as a humble man, but as a spark to light the fire that awakens the real you under there, to snap you out of your false self. How I miss the cold, smug, cunning monster of a pretty man I knew back then..."

"Y-Yes?" Gravy asked nervously.

Wendy's eyes widened in surprise at what the Headless Horseman had insinuated. She thought out loud, "Zeppelin knows something about Gravy? He says he wants the real him back... What does he know? And how?"

"Hmm, I think we've had enough talk in this waste of space, don't we? What say we take this outside? If you think you can survive me, you better be prepared! Unless you hate having your heads chopped off before I hang them on my wall..." Zeppelin's maniacal laugh echoed as the skull's empty sockets glowed with red irises. "Hapless innocents by the thousands have known torment and death by my hand! It's time you joined them... with your flesh scarred, your bones ripped, your hearts squashed, and your remains splattered! Sickening violence, just the way I like it!" The cackling intensified, and the color of the barrier switched from green to red, though it didn't glow brighter than the skull's eyes.

"He's really gonna kill us?!" Lucy exclaimed fearfully. "He sounded worse than what Jack told us about Oogie Boogie!"

"It appears so, but we mustn't give up!" Carla encouraged. "Zeppelin intends to challenge us, and we must hold out for as long as we can."

"This time, Wendy won't fight alone," Sherria affirmed.

"He's gonna have to face all of us," Romeo agreed.

"Not with him," Juvia murmured, gesturing to Gravy.

"Gravy!" Gravy piped up.

"Here goes!" Wendy cried.

The skull detached itself from the barrier, which was beginning to break apart into specks of energy fluttering across the room. The demonic head hovered a short distance above and away from the dispersing barricade, surrounded by a crimson aura from Zeppelin's psychic powers. "Hee-hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha-ha! Welcome to your own doom, scumbags! Welcome... TO DIE!" With those words, the skull sent a glow that surrounded the part of the floor Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Lucy, Carla, Juvia, and Gravy were on, the solid ground suddenly melting into a portal, throwing them into it! As soon as the portal closed, the crimson skull and the force field it once originated from vanished without a trace.

All that was left in the playroom were Donald, Goofy, Jack, Lock, Shock, and Barrel— neither of them noticed that the others had disappeared before it struck them too late. Donald started to look around for their teammates' whereabouts, shocked and confused. "Hey! Where's Wendy? Where is everybody?" The three trick-or-treaters leaped onto his back and pulled him by the feathers before he could guess, and the royal court magician only screamed in pain.

"GET BACK HERE!" Jack and Goofy began running after the children, who were riding Donald on horseback all over the place, while keeping their pursuers at bay using slingshots.

"Oof!" Sherria grunted as her back suddenly came into contact with the ground. She certainly hadn't been preparing for that to happen. One moment she was falling into a black hole, and the next thing she knew, gravity was pulling her down in an entirely different way. It was like gravity itself had flipped ninety degrees on her when she exited the portal. Raising herself up, she rubbed her head and muttered, "Can't say that's ever happened the first time..."

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see that Wendy was the last to land on her feet after Romeo, Lucy, Carla, Juvia, and Gravy, the portal closing up above them. It looked like the Sky Dragon Slayer needed to adjust the sudden change in orientation as well. She then noticed the others and asked, "Is everyone alright?" They nodded in reply.

Sherria rubbed her slightly aching backside as she quipped, "Yeah, just peachy. This is much less than a regular bungee jump."

Wendy's eyes soon fell on the wide circle of colorful neon lights that glowed amid the darkness blanketing the whole area. She asked, "Where are we?"

Romeo looked around as well, taking note of how the fluorescent lines formed into a dome-like background of some sort. After a moment, he said, "I think we're in the arena Zeppelin picked for our fight. He brought us here!"

Lucy asked incredulously, "Huh?! He made the floor sink and then transported us to a glow-in-the-dark place like this?"

Gravy grew astonished by the neon lights around the room. "Oooh! Pretty lights!"

Juvia growled under her breath, "Easy for you to say. You're particularly fascinated by anything trivial before you apply them to your inane standards."

Gravy overheard and faced her with an eager expression. "You love me, boobie lady? Please say that you love me again, boobie lady! Say it again! Say it again! Say it again! Say it again!"

Juvia cried frantically, "Aaaahh! Not another one!" A pair of ice muscles squeezed her body and choked the breath out of her before she had a chance to move away. For a mere thirty seconds, she was left at the mercy of Gravy's agonizing hugs, coupled with another ear-grating love song in her (dis)honor. Juvia rasped for air, "Nrgh! Why does he... have to... come into my life...?"

Lucy said sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because this is like trying to match an old sock with yours."

Gravy declared joyfully, "Boobie lady, I love you forever-evermore and more, baby have some more and more until you have more!"

Juvia croaked breathlessly, "This is not helping...!"

Carla warned, "Everyone, stay focused! Zeppelin could be anywhere." She looked around for a moment, wondering where the Headless Horseman could be hiding before a loud noise coming from nearby got the group on high alert. It sounded like some kind of switch being flipped on.

And then thundered a menacing but all too familiar voice. "Right on time!" The ceiling suddenly burst with massive headlights in conjunction with the neon circle, and the arena revealed itself to be a flat square made out of iron that reflected the colors all around the brightly-lit, theater-esque setting. Wendy and company witnessed that the huge crowd gathered outside the ring was comprised of Neon Insecticide wizards by the countless dozens, chanting Zeppelin's name and greeting the heroes with scorn and contempt.

"Well, that was a warm welcome," Romeo commented.

"Not warm enough for us, though," Sherria grimaced.

"Glad you made it!" Zeppelin's voice giggled. "Don't you just love being a part of this wonderful corpse party?"

"C-C-C-C-Corpse party?" Lucy stuttered nervously.

"Goodness, did I strike a nerve?" Zeppelin taunted. "Did the suspense leave you utterly baffled and speechless? I hope so."

"It's not just that," Lucy answered. "I'm—"

"Don't lose your nerve, Lucy," Romeo encouraged. "It's just a bad guy we gotta take down."

"You have nothing to worry about," Wendy assured. "We'll face this together."

"R-Right," Lucy nodded hesitantly. "Together. No turning back. Our only choice is to... fight..." It was another bold effort to hold back the growing horror inside, but Wendy and Romeo's words of comfort didn't seem to soften her. On the contrary, she felt even fearful that the threat of a corpse party was imminent; Zeppelin had no business playing on her fears when she wanted to finally admit them. But she couldn't bring herself to do the deed. Not yet.

"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha-ha! The stage is set. The players are ready. The party... begins NOW!" To coincide with Zeppelin's opening remarks, a gigantic ball of fire made its deadly descent towards the surface, compelling Wendy and her friends to look up.

"Watch out!" Carla yelled, and they immediately moved away from the estimated collision course before the fireball struck the floor, creating a large explosion. When the smoke cleared, only the bottom half of Zeppelin's body was seen. And most disturbing of all, it actually walked without an upper body! Everyone reacted with shock and awe, while Lucy was clearly the most spooked.

"H-His legs! They're missing a body!" Wendy exclaimed.

"A Headless Horseman that's literally bodiless?!" Sherria gasped.

"I don't know about him, but I think he's nuts!" Romeo shouted.

"What is he? Some kind of ghost?" Lucy shivered.

On the other hand, Carla knew better than to assume that Zeppelin was a ghost. She could see the sheen around the emerald metal covering the legs, the shins making low whirring sounds, and the boots mounted with miniature caterpillar tracks. "He's no ghost," she addressed the group, having acknowledged the shape and form of the lower body in seconds time. "He's a robot!"

"A robot?!" Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Lucy echoed with dismay.

"SURPRISE!" Zeppelin's demented laughter was heard, and the heroes looked up to find the top half of his body hovering in the air. "So close, but your answer is half-correct. As you can see, all this time... I'm only human!" He flew down and reconnected with his lower body half in a surge of cubes made entirely out of data, fully revealing the Headless Horseman in his complete form. The psychotic one among Kaze's henchmen was armed from head-to-toe with a plethora of weapons— a machine gun as his left arm, a suction cannon as his right, and a grenade launcher on his back. Hundreds of dark wizards cornering the arena addressed his arrival with cheers and shouts of admiration. "Alas, I'm no ordinary human. I'm a Headless Horseman, one of four elite wizards serving the great Kaze Viriniam. The Machine of Death. The Warmonger!" He paused to perk up his ears and listen to the thundering ovation. "Ah, I have so many fans... Look how they miss their beloved master."

"All hail Master Borock!" the Neon Insecticide audience harmonized at once.

"Master... Borock?" Romeo looked at him in confusion.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Zeppelin beamed. "The Neon Insecticide dark guild are my loyal servants. Basically, I'm the guild's precious, loveable, adorable, wonderful master."

"We didn't know you're the master of a dark guild!" Sherria argued.

"It's a part-time job. Hee-hee-hee-hee!" Zeppelin explained. "I have my duties of running Neon Insecticide, but my true loyalties lie with Sleepy Hollow. And although these light-show pets of mine don't exactly follow the same path of blood as I, there are two things I admire from them the most: servitude and resourcefulness. They're so loyal, they also refer to me by affectionate titles such as Supreme Leader, His Majesty, or God." He motioned his arm to the crowd, "Allow them to demonstrate."

"All hail Master Borock! Supreme Leader! His Majesty! God!" the crowd declared loyally.

"So they follow you like sheep," Romeo muttered.

"Please, I prefer spiders," Zeppelin retorted. "Because everybody loves spiders."

"You're one psychotic maniac, you know that?" Lucy glared.

"Indeed you are! Not so much than Gravy, anyway," Juvia huffed.

"Yes?" Gravy piped up.

"Be quiet! I didn't ask you!" Juvia snapped.

Zeppelin whirled with instant and unthinking glee up at the sound of Juvia's voice. "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee... Am I dreaming, or do I see a beautiful young lady standing before me?"

Juvia was quick to recognize the mechanized demon staring at her. "Your name is Zeppelin, is it not? You may not remember me, but I do. Very well!" She gave him a slightly hard glare, "That night at the guildhall, you blasted me and my darling Gray to smithereens with your outlandish weaponry... before your minions dragged us out of the dirt."

Zeppelin gave a soft chuckle and replied in a sing-song voice, "Surprises, surprises! The princess lives! I haven't forgotten who you are. You're the water woman I muddled to a puddle minutes after I lit up the guildhall like fireworks. That fancy rockstar getup you've put up didn't fool me. Yes, sweetheart, I saw through it by the face and the eyes alone."

Juvia spat, "Oh, you think? You're not even fooled by my escape from your fleet? What's the matter, gone soft in the line of duty?"

Zeppelin folded his arms behind his back and crept forward, "True, I put you and Ice Boy on the same ship since you two are so desperately meant for each other." That statement caused Juvia to blush, "It wound up missing when it was meant for our base. My, oh, my..." His face inched from hers, "You really must have fate on your side to have survived the cold, empty vastness of space. Then again, perhaps not..." He scowled at her with menace, "...since you're about to meet a permanent end by my hands." His frown was smothered by another laughing fit, "How's your darling Gray, by the way?"

Juvia answered, "Better, now that he's going to be avenged! Water Claw!" Wasting no time, she slashed Zeppelin with a torrent of water around her hand, then lunged forward. "Water Jigsaw!" Her body morphed into a swirling mass of slicing liquid as she rammed into his chest, leaving cut marks in some parts of his armor. She delivered a string of punches and kicks in an effort to subdue the Headless Horseman, "Water Nebula!" before she blasted him in the air with a helix of revolving water. "Water Lock!" Finally, Juvia trapped him inside a spherical water dome just when he was about to hit the ground. She called out to her trapped adversary with a confident smirk, "Ha! You didn't see that coming? You said I was about to meet a permanent end by your hands!"

Sherria smiled, "Hey, she actually beat him! That was easy!"

Romeo warned, "I wouldn't count on it."

Sherria raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Zeppelin answered Juvia with another laughing fit which had been garbled by the Water Lock. "Vacuum!" He activated the suction cannon on his right arm, absorbing the water around him. The dome shrank to a droplet, and he was released from his prison. "Countershot!" The Magic Energy he soaked up was condensed into an powerful ethereal bullet which he shot from the barrel of his vacuum arm. It hit Juvia square in the chest, knocking her to the ground.

"Juvia!" Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, and Lucy cried out in shock.

"Boobie lady...?" Gravy's breath suddenly drew a quiet gasp. A boiling fear erupted in his chest, leaving no place for joy. Upon witnessing his beloved Juvia being shot at before his eyes, he had forgotten about romance— he had forgotten that he was happy, instead turning his attention to the Rain Woman who reeled at the pain in her chest— all the jester knew and saw was that the robotic man intended to hurt the love of his life. In a moment, his fear turned to anger. For the first time in his life, it seemed, he wanted to fight back... to hurt Zeppelin. Without knowing what he was doing, he trudged forward, but there was a sudden rush of wind on either side of him, coming from five preparing to ambush the Headless Horseman who reveled in his triumph. The crowd of Neon Insecticide wizards gave a round of applause for their master.

"This will hardly do for me," Zeppelin cooed. "Why such meager offerings? Hm?" He abruptly sensed the presence of Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Lucy, and Carla fast approaching, and turned to look around him.

"Hey, Zeppelin!" Romeo hoisted a fist burning with Blue Fire.

"You'll have to deal with all of us!" Sherria's arms swirled with currents of black wind.

"We'll stop you!" Wendy seized the Crabclaw.

Zeppelin grinned viciously, as if he had expected his enemies to make his move. He jumped in the air and curled his arms and legs together, charging a green aura around his body. "Energy Field!" He then brought them apart and expelled a giant barrier that nearly stretched beyond the arena, banishing the heroes from his sight while dealing a fair amount of damage. "Hadron Blaster!" His hips extended two small turrets above his chest, and they began spitting round proton shots to decimate the targets flying high in the air. Once he landed, he revved up his caterpillar tracks for a quick boost towards Juvia, who was on the floor clutching her chest. She quickly noticed him rushing in with his machine arm trained on her; she morphed into a mass of water and sprinted around him like a worm crawling in the dirt, narrowly avoiding the bullets that penetrated the water encased in her body.

As Juvia ceased her circle and concentrated on the Headless Horseman, Wendy and Carla tried to get the drop on him, but the crazed mechanical wizard somehow sensed them before they reached him, and ducked beneath their blows. He easily blocked their strikes with his bare arms and drove them back with a flurrying succession of Hadron Blasts, forcing them towards Romeo and Sherria. Immediately, Zeppelin moved to chase them down, but Juvia stepped in between to cut him off. He grimaced as he used both arms to push against Juvia's Water Jigsaw, leaving more dents into his armor, before pushing her back. "Heh! Not bad," he commented before he swept back into the duel.

In a flurry of punches and kicks, Zeppelin and Juvia were giving as good as they got; his tank treads gave him extra speed and agility, but his opponent was naturally quick in landing a few successful blows and spells which he easily shrugged off. A minute later, Zeppelin opened fire at Juvia, who fired back with a barrage of Water Slicers, but as he slunk out of the path of the flying crescents, his vacuum arm whipped out and stretched past her head, nearly sucking her face in. She avoided the vacuum, but as it coiled back, it absorbed some of the water protecting her body, leaving her open to a second round from his machine gun. "Gatling Slaughter!" Juvia was stung by the rapid force of the bullets, and as she fell down to her knees, she glowered at Zeppelin, who chuckled and prepared to strike again.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" That is, until a tornado blast from Wendy soared behind Zeppelin and hit him in the back, offering the Rain Woman a diversion.

"Water Cane!" Juvia unleashed a whip of water into Zeppelin's face, forcing him back a couple of times with each crack of the water. "Water Claw!" After eight whips, she jumped and swiped a watery fist to knock him down on one leg, and attempted a second swipe when he blocked it with his forearm.

"Oh, no, you don't! Energy Field!" Zeppelin's dome-sized barrier sent Juvia airborne before she had a chance to react. "Vacuum!" With a massive inhale of air from his vacuum, he brought her back to the ground towards him. "Machine Gun!" He clutched Juvia's head before firing a volley against her chest at point-blank range. When he was finished, he swiped the barrel of his gun across her cheek, knocking the disoriented water wizard backwards. "Hadron Blaster!" Zeppelin would then release a barrage of proton bullets from his hip-mounted mini-cannons to push her a few inches. "Charging Super Hadron Shot... Ready... FIRE!" He gathered more power into the Hadron Blasters, then let loose a double-sized Hadron Blast. Juvia was sent scraping along the ring, her body throbbing and unable to generate enough water to shield herself from any more attacks. "The finishing touch... Mortar Shell!" Utilizing the energy he absorbed from Juvia's magic, he shot five explosive bullets from his vacuum, blowing up the Rain Woman in five directions. And there she was, moderately injured and barely moving a muscle, except she looked up to see him laugh cruelly at her expense.

Again, the crowd went wild over the impressive display of his brutality, and started chanting his name. "Zeppelin! Zeppelin! Zeppelin!"

"Boobie lady...!" Gravy couldn't get his eyes off the brutal torment of his beloved Juvia. He felt the red-hot fury licking his insides, nurturing his desire to exact terrible vengeance on the one responsible.

"Stop right there!" In the midst of Zeppelin's merriment, Romeo approached him from behind and threw a Blue Fire Fist, only for him to miss and leave his head exposed to the vacuum arm. No sooner had it been sucked in did the self-proclaimed Machine of Death have the freedom to devastate the youth's flailing body by Hadron Blasts or Machine Gun. When shooting a defenseless boy wasn't optional, Zeppelin would toss and slam Romeo around. The torment would never cease until the Rainbow Fire wizard no longer had the will to struggle any further. Satisfied, Zeppelin blew Romeo out of the vacuum, ending with four Mortar Shells that left him in shambles.

"Sky God's Boreas!" Sherria threw a black whirlwind at Zeppelin, who responded by absorbing it into his vacuum. He sent the very spell she conjured up back at her, nearly knocking her over. "Whoa!"

"Romeo! Sherria!" Wendy screamed.

"Aww, overwhelmed by a couple of bullets and your own magic used against you, huh? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Zeppelin chortled. "Don't flatter yourselves, kiddies... I've seen a few people in Earth-land who hit harder than you..." She gestured to Juvia, "...least of all this small fish in a big pond, that soon enough, instead of swimming in fresh water, she'll be swimming in blood! Her own blood! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"B-B-B-Blood?" It was too much. Gravy turned to Zeppelin, shaking with horror and rage. "He's going... to kill... boobie lady..."

"That's not gonna happen!" Wendy rushed over to Zeppelin and traded blows with his forearms in a minor clash that lasted for less than a minute. "Thundara!" She stunned him with a surge of lightning at the end of the clash, then executed a 9-hit combo with her Keyblade. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" She flung him into the air with her wind-induced legs, before performing an 9-hit aerial array of strikes. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Her wind-powered arms hammered him down to the floor, and she attacked him with a third string of Keyblade attacks before he hastily moved away using his tank treads.

"Very impressive, Wendy!" Zeppelin remarked. "Master Viriniam is true to her word where you are concerned. You are the greatest! Gatling Slaughter!" He fired a round off his machine gun.

"Stun Impact!" Wendy swiftly deflected the bullets with an electrical sphere she released from the Crabclaw. "Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!" With a wave of her hand, a whirlwind sprouted out of the ground, launching Zeppelin up in the air. "Fira! Blizzara!" A blend of fireballs and crystals made contact with the Headless Horseman before he had a chance to use his vacuum, dealing him a modest load of damage. "Gravity!" She threw in a gravitational field, never to notice that Zeppelin had come prepared after enduring enough pain.

"Energy Field!" Zeppelin spread out his arms and legs to unleash his gigantic barrier, cancelling out the event-horizon with little effort. "Hadron Blaster!" While in the air, he released a volley of colorful proton shots from his hip-mounted mini cannons, in which Wendy deflected most of them with her Keyblade. The rest of the Hadron Blasts flew past and exploded behind her. "Shooting Star Bombardment!" Zeppelin dropped a payload of red explosive spheres from his back-mounted grenade launcher, but the Sky Maiden managed to cartwheel herself out of the blast radius. A stampede of explosions began littering the arena, and the excitement from the audience was almost palpable.

"That's some serious firepower!" Sherria exclaimed as she witnessed Wendy running past the explosives that blew up several sections of the floor, shortly after standing back up from barely avoiding one of Zeppelin's tricks.

As soon as the bombardment stopped, Zeppelin had already planted his feet on solid earth. "Thanks for the exercise, Wendy. I'm almost tempted to blow you to a million pieces with my entire arsenal of weapons, judging by the strength and resolve you possess. It pains me to say this, unfortunately, that a different matter has come to my attention."

Wendy glared, "What are you talking about?"

Zeppelin smiled, "I promise you, we'll get down to the real challenge, just as soon as I'm done having a little chat with the lovely woman over there." He gestured to Juvia, currently down for the count.

Wendy tensed, "You're gonna do something dirty to her, are you?"

Zeppelin giggled, "Oh, don't you worry you troubled mind, sweetie. It's not in my best interest to harm her... yet." He swept his machine gun away from Wendy and to Juvia's chest, "There's something I want to check out for myself. Something that's been on my mind for a long time. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee... And the answer lies in front of me. It would appear her suffering is tied to a certain someone's... contempt."

Wendy frowned, "I don't know what you want from Juvia, but even if I do, I won't let you hurt her!" She charged forward, her Keyblade poised for another strike. "You'll have to deal with me instead! I'm the one you want! Sonic Blade!" Transforming herself into a spike of silver energy, she raced into the heart of the Machine of Death at greater speed...

"Vacuum!" ...when Zeppelin interrupted the attack by pulling her to him in a massive gulp of air. He leaned away as she soared at him, then used the vacuum as a rope to throw her to the other side. "Rocket Launcher!" In a burst of data, the machine gun that made up his left arm was replaced by a cannon packed with dozens of missiles. "FIRE!" He let the missiles fly, and Wendy was blown to the edge of the arena, immersed in the fire and dust before she hit the wall. The next minute, she was leaning on her back, slightly dazed from the barrage.

"Wendy!" Sherria exclaimed.

"Zeppelin rocks! Wendy sucks! She's just a chip off the block!" the Neon Insecticide audience cried excitedly.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Zeppelin wagged his rocket launcher arm. "I beg your pardon, ma'am. Please wait your turn!" He turned his attention to Juvia, "I'm having a date with an ocean of tears."

"Hey, blockhead!" Sherria surged in with a fist pulsating with Sky God Slayer Magic. "I'm—" She was blown away by an Energy Field before she could throw a punch, and she fell on the floor. With no one around to interrupt him, Zeppelin approached his prey.

"Wendy!" Carla and Lucy ran over to the Sky Dragon Slayer's side, using the brief respite to try and help her get back in the game. The white Exceed shook Wendy's shoulder and asked, "Can you stand, child?"

Wendy answered with a groan, "I'm okay." She slowly regained her footing before taking a few calming breaths, "I'm fine."

Lucy sweated, "Zeppelin fights like a well-oiled machine with a homicidal mind. Which he has! I don't know if what he claims about himself being human is true, but he sure doesn't behave like one. What's the better word for him? Oh, that's right. Capital "I" insane!"

Carla stated, "We expect nothing less from one of the Headless Horsemen. Each Horseman has their own unique style of magic, and are powerful in their own right. We shouldn't let our guard down."

Wendy pointed out, "He said he wants something out of Juvia. But what?" Zeppelin's ecstatic laugh thundered past the cheers and shouts of dark wizards, drawing the attention of the three. The young Keyblade wielder gasped and gestured Lucy and Carla to observe the scene, "Look!" They saw Zeppelin trapping Juvia between his legs, pointing his rocket launcher arm at her face.

At the sight of this, it took Gravy a couple of seconds to confirm that Zeppelin truly intended to harm Juvia. Little did he know, however, was that Zeppelin had anticipated the jester's plight, and sought to draw him out for his own benefit. Gravy felt the white-hot sensation continuing to boil throughout his body, unable to hold on any longer. "Boobie... lady..."

Zeppelin taunted, "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Awww, what's the matter? Can't cry me a river over what I'm about to do?"

Juvia glared, "You do what you must, but you'll never destroy my pride. You tell your boss and the rest of your vile crew that if I become your slave or your trophy, you'll get no such pleasure from me!" She spat a ball of saliva in Zeppelin's face.

Zeppelin smirked, "That's too bad. I was going to say 'no one will save you now,' but then again, I don't have to. It's pretty obvious." The barrel of his rocket launcher drew a missile with a click, "Let's make a crater out of your face... with BRAIN OOZE!" With a psychotic laugh, he prepared to fire.

"Juvia!" Wendy, Lucy, and Carla shouted as they attempted to rescue the Rain Woman.

Then again, there was no need. Gravy gave Zeppelin a powerful sock to the cheek that sent the Warmonger flying backwards.

"Gravy?" Juvia weakly inquired of the jester. She, Wendy, Lucy, and Carla were slightly unsettled that he actually resorted to violence. There was also the menacing look in his eyes, and the hate rising in him as he never knew it before. The minute Juvia was in danger of an impending doom, his behavior took a drastic turn into the exact opposite of happiness. Pure anger. Seemingly lost in a world of his own, he marched to Zeppelin, who rubbed the wound on his face.

Wendy uttered, "Lucy, Carla, did you see that? What's gotten into him?"

Lucy squeaked, "Yeah, we see it. He just punched him in the face!"

Carla guessed, "I think he suddenly snapped when he sees Juvia in danger. His self-proclaimed love for her may have grown to such an extreme that he actually resorts to violence. I'm certain he'll do anything for Juvia's welfare..." She added with grim certainty, "...even if it means killing Zeppelin."

Lucy exclaimed fearfully, "Kill Zeppelin?! So hurting Juvia in front of his face was the push Gravy needed to go from offbeat circus performer to deranged murderer?!"

Carla replied, "I can't say for sure, but we can't hide the fact that he's furious over seeing Juvia get hurt. This may be the first time we've actually seen someone like Gravy use anger, not joy, to solve his problems."

Lucy shivered, "Okay. Now I'm really getting terrified being around him. One psychotic moron is bad enough, but two is a disaster!"

Wendy thought out loud, "Gravy... He's a wizard, but he never once uses his magic to fight. And now..."

Zeppelin stopped rubbing his cheek once the pain had gone, and looked up to face Gravy with an amused expression rather than venom to rival the latter's own. "Well, do I finally have your attention, Gravy the Jester? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Even after the little accident that cost you most of your mind, you still possess that fiery spirit of defiance which I missed oh-so-much. My, what a feat! You're not just any jester, but an extraordinary jester, perhaps the best of them all." His smile widened, "It's been a while. Hasn't it? Oh, wait... You probably won't remember due to how severe the damage done to your brain is..." He stared closely into Gravy's deadly gaze, brimming with delight, "...but I love the look in your eyes! The beautiful, terrible look in your eyes... Such fire, such power, such ANGER! I've been waiting for this moment, you know! I've been dying to DESTROY you again!"

Wendy's eyes widened in surprise. "'Been a while? Destroy him again?' Does this mean they've met before?"

Gravy growled, "Leave boobie lady alone!" His voice was suddenly loud and strong; the inferno fueled his drive, taking a seat next to the threat he issued to Zeppelin.

Juvia sat up and observed him, her heart pounding. She could not see why the man in the clown mask she despised so much sounded cold and acted brutal. "H-How...?"

Zeppelin chortled, "Says the guy in the clown mask who blessed the town square with dozens of ice sculptures for Jack's little carnival party... I've kept my eye on you the moment you set foot in this world. Back then, all you do is laugh and dance and sing to yourself all day. Then one day, you fell head over heels with the water woman. If you love her, have you sworn to protect her, too? You see, I had to get your attention, provoke you if I could."

Gravy snarled, "I'm asking you again, jackass. Leave. Boobie. Lady. Alone!"

Juvia gasped, "He swears!"

Zeppelin admired, "Ooooh! An fascinating proposal, Gravy. And a dirty mouth, too." He looked back at Juvia, then drew the rocket launcher. "Or what?"

Gravy hissed, "I'll BREAK you in two."

Zeppelin commented, "Sounds a little dark for a boy whose magic is as cold the ice you make in your hands. Or is your heart that's cold?"

Gravy bellowed, "Not as cold a heart as yours, you bastard! If you lay a finger on her, I'll CRUSH YOU!"

Juvia shuddered, "He's... He's gone mad!"

Zeppelin boomed, "Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha-ha! I was right! He's still got the spunk! What's lost can always be found after all! And to answer your little boast, Great Pretender, I just have one thing to say to you."

Gravy asked suspiciously, "And what might that be?"

Zeppelin yelled, "EAT ROCKETS!" He fired a barrage of missiles at Gravy, who didn't seem fazed by the foreboding thought of being blown to pieces, to the dismay of the others watching.

Wendy cried, "Gravy, watch out!"

Just then, the jester conjured up a protective shield of ice that destroyed all the missiles in one fell swoop! Zeppelin didn't flinch or even react; he expected as much. When the smoke settled, Gravy retaliated by casting multiple frozen lances in separate directions, cutting past the metal sheen around Zeppelin's body. The Machine of Death was deluged in the bitterness within the cold of Gravy's magic; he watched the angry jester mold a colossal ice hammer in the air before sending it down, but he chanted, "Grenade Launcher!" and the bombs reduced the hammer to a million shards. "Machine Gun!" His left arm re-digitized into a machine gun, he opened fire at Gravy, who shot past the bullets in a speed as furious as his temper. Around the same time, the young man in the clown mask forged sharp ice blades on his arms. He rapidly slashed Zeppelin seven times, five of which were single strikes and the final two a dual strike, after which the ice shattered. "Vacuum!" Zeppelin forcefully drew Gravy towards him, "Spiked Ball!" then his left arm digitally morphed into a spiked ball surrounded by electricity. He gave Gravy a brutal sock to the chest. "Hadron Blaster!" His hip turrets added a dose of proton energy to the mix, but he realized too late that he only destroyed an ice clone. Gravy reappeared to form an extremely large frozen longsword, slicing the spiked ball in two while causing great damage to Zeppelin at the same capacity. "Machine Gun! Hadron Blaster!" Grunting, the Headless Horseman assaulted Gravy with a combination of bullets and proton blasts, though the jester's senses seemed to have improved following his recent descent into madness, and he managed to dodge the projectiles with ease. Afterwards, Gravy molded a long-barreled ice cannon and shot a powerful ice blast that smothered Zeppelin in a pile of snow. His performance was not lost on the Neon Insecticide crowd, who booed and hissed him. Wendy and her friends only reacted to his skillful use of Ice Magic with stunned silence.

Gravy declared, "You'll never hurt boobie lady again! Not now..." He added with a defiant swing of his arm, "...not ever!"

Carla breathed, "So there's more to this jester than meets the eye. And for a strange reason, his style of Ice Magic, the way he uses it, it looks very... similar."

Wendy echoed, "Similar? Like..."

Carla replied, "Ice-Make Magic. Do you see how he molds the cannon, the blades, and even the longsword? We know someone else who is capable of using this kind of magic."

Wendy answered, "Gray..." Curiosity washed over her as she pondered the similarities between two people missing from Earth-land: one who stumbled into Halloween Town by circumstances unknown, and the other presumed missing after Monstro swallowed the ship Juvia was stowed away in. "Gravy... Gray... Ice Magic..." Two individuals with different names but the same magic. Every time she whispered the only clues in solving this riddle, it still lingered. But if you take away one letter between two, and trace the connection to the night of Gravy's arrival, it all led up to a single conclusion. "It can't be... No!" The wind stole her breath as the answer struck her faster than Gravy's hammer could ever mash under its flat end.

Carla saw the distress in the Sky Maiden's face and asked, "What is it, Wendy?"

Wendy recalled, "Jack said Gravy came to Halloween Town the night of a shooting star, right?"

Carla nodded, "Yes, he did. What about it?"

Wendy theorized, "What if the 'shooting star' was one of the dark guilds' ships... and Gravy was in it before it crashed here? What's more, he uses Ice-Make Magic, and Zeppelin knows about him."

Carla's eyes widened upon realizing what Wendy meant. "Wendy, are you saying that—"

Wendy stiffened a bit before she answered with a reluctant nod. "Carla, I think... Gravy is..." A fit of sadistic laughter stopped her, and they turned to see Zeppelin rearing his upper body out of the pile of snow.

Lucy couldn't shake the feeling of dread over his savage behavior, which was unfettered by the laws of logic or simple concepts such as pain or reason. "What kind of person is he? He enjoys punishment like it's a game, whether he dishes it out or gets dished himself! He's got to be the perfect definition of a killer clown. And if there's one thing I hate the most about Halloween..." Again, the same feeling of terror running down every fiber of her body. "...it's killer clowns."

Zeppelin leaned from the snow to stare at Gravy with more intrigue than he could ever express. "Hee-hee-hee-hee! Oh, yeah. The kid's still got it! I'm so thrilled! If my memory isn't failing me, I say, that magic is the same one you used in your sad attempt to keep my arsenal at bay... and protect that big drop of a girlfriend." He gestured his machine gun arm to Juvia, who gasped.

Wendy gasped, "Juvia?"

Juvia stammered, "M-Me?"

Zeppelin giggled, "You use Ice-Make Magic, right? Very colorful, if not better than the gore and blood I've spilt back in my day. Just like old times, eh? Like that shootout in Magnolia when my grenades blew you to bits. God, I missed the explosions. Hee-hee-hee-hee..."

Wendy, Carla, Lucy, and Juvia overheard every word rolling out of Zeppelin's mouth. The pieces were coming together, and Wendy's speculation was beginning to make sense. Juvia processed the information with utter disbelief. She didn't want to acknowledge it, but it was hard to deny what was seen and heard. "W-What did he say...?"

Zeppelin gave a mock gasp as he recoiled, pointing the barrel of his machine gun to his chest in dismay. "The beautiful Lady of the Lake almost figured it out! So close, and yet so far. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee..." He paused for a moment, "You may as well save your breath, my dear. He can't remember a thing. For a while, anyway. But his heart never forgets." He turned to face Gravy, "Back where we left off, then?"

Gravy declared, "This is your last chance, you lousy creep! Leave boobie lady alone..." His hands erupted with torrents of ice, "...OR ELSE!"

Zeppelin chimed, "You can't resist when it comes to fighting for your woman. You've shown me your magic. How about I show you mine? In its full potential, that is!" The Machine of Death crouched over as he sported a green aura, his eyes narrowing and gleaming intensely with light, the ground slowly vibrating with the increase of magical power, the crowd's cheers and respect for the Headless Horseman never stopping.

Carla tensed, "Zeppelin's magic is increasing!"

Lucy gulped, "Don't tell me he's pulling out all the stops now!"

Wendy sweated, "This doesn't look good..."

Zeppelin gave Gravy a teasing look in the midst of channeling his magic. "Tell me, Gravy... Do you know the agony of having the person you're infatuated with torn apart before your eyes? Ripped apart limb from limb? Or did you forget because of how fractured your mind is? Don't worry, good sir. I know just the cure. And that is..." He added with a romantic flare, "...the iron fist of the Machine!" He threw out both arms to his sides, and cascades of data enclosed them. "Machine-Make..."

"Machine-Make?!" Wendy exclaimed.

"He's a Maker wizard, too?!" Lucy shouted.

"...Laser Gun!" As soon as the data circles cleared, Zeppelin's arms had assumed the shape of two triple-barreled laser cannons. Two enormous rainbow-colored laser blasts fired out of the cannons, tearing across the iron square as they closed in on Gravy, who put his fist on top of his palm before spreading his hands out.

"Ice-Make: Shield!" The lasers crashed against the fan-shaped shield, and it took three seconds before they tore through the ice and slammed into the jester's chest.

"Gravy!" Wendy screamed.

Zeppelin threw his head back, cackling madly. "Isn't it beautiful? My Machine-Make Magic is the ultimate style of Maker Magic! It's so flawless, you see? It's the very reason why the Sleepy Hollow guild took a keen interest in me, and how I earned Master Viriniam's respect. How many benefits does it have? Plenty! Its efficiency? Perfect. Its applications? Limitless. THIS is my true strength, my special power." He raised his arms in triumph, "THIS is the reason why I'm called the Machine of Death! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"All hail Master Borock! The Machine of Death!" the Neon Insecticide audience chanted.

"So your magic is called Machine-Make..." Wendy confirmed. "You can make objects appear out of your hands, just like Gray!"

"A clever guess, Wendy! But you're only half-correct," Zeppelin chuckled. "My Maker Magic has the ability to transform any body part into a weapon of my choosing." As a demonstration, he changed his arm into various weapons before returning it to a laser gun. "From guns to swords to bombs, I can alter my arms, my legs, my hips, my chest, my back— as many times as I like. Except for the face and the butt, of course. Just a few minor drawbacks, which I resent to this day. The point is, I only make objects appear around my body, not out of my hands. There's a difference."

"Difference?" Wendy echoed.

"Machine-Make is not like most forms of Maker Magic," Zeppelin explained. "As I'm sure you're aware, Maker wizards use both hands when casting spells. Me? I'm the exception to the rule. Machine-Make only requires proper focus and a sound mind for spellcasting. Like so!" With a mere thought, his arm transitioned to another shift of random weapons, and he laughed with glee. "Can't you be surprised at how advanced my magic is? Evolution is a thing to be lovingly cared for! It makes your jester friend's Ice-Make Magic look like a snowman trampled over in the middle of winter! At the same time, though... I'm almost impressed than an old generation Maker wizard like him would hold up long enough."

"Gravy is an old generation Maker wizard?" Wendy blinked. "So that makes you a..."

"Very good! You're catching on fast," Zeppelin grinned. "I'm a second-generation Maker wizard, a new breed possessing a skill level beyond that of any ordinary Maker. Machine-Make is one of the existing few... and I consider myself the herald of the new generation. And what better way to outshine the old than to break the ICE?!" He shot a laser blast at Gravy, who jumped to avoid it moments after he recovered.

"Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gravy gathered his magic to conjure up a giant sledgehammer and sent it flying down at the Headless Horseman.

"Machine-Make: Drill!" Zeppelin digitized his right arm into a drill and made a collision with the hammer, the force shattering it on impact.

"Ice Make: Knuckle!" Gravy summoned a flurry of fists from the ground, traveling at a straight line to strike Zeppelin.

"Machine-Make: Iron Lizard!" Zeppelin altered his left arm into a new weapon, and he released a cannonade of remote-controlled, unmanned vehicles designed to engage targets with a high amount of lethality, as notable by the special warhead filled with a combustible chemical. The car-like "bullets" ran through the floor until they made contact with Gravy's Ice Make: Knuckle and exploded in a blue smoke.

"Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" Gravy scuplted a scythe from a new torrent of ice, and once he was in the air, he swung it at the crazed mechanical wizard.

"Machine-Make: Chainsaw!" Zeppelin digitized his left arm into a rapidly rotating chainsaw, and he engaged the jester in a brief clash before he split the scythe apart, leaving him open to a few deadly slashes.

"Ice-Make: Battle Axe!" Wincing from the counterattack, Gravy struggled to keep the Headless Horseman at bay with an ice axe, escalating into a second duel until Zeppelin destroyed it.

"Machine-Make: Zantetsu Sword!" Zeppelin's left hand converted into a razor-sharp blade imbued with large waves of energy. It wasn't long before he performed a series of sonic slashes from the blade, damaging the distracted young man in the clown mask. Gravy would make use of long-ranged spells from Ice-Make: Lance to Ice-Make: Saucer in a desperate attempt to quell Zeppelin's rampage, but the Zantetsu Sword helped the Warmonger grind his way through the ice. Zeppelin began hacking away at Gravy with a fierce 20-hit combo, then ended with a kick to the face. "Machine-Make: Drop Shot!" His back-mounted grenade launcher transformed into a small cannon shooting bouncing landmines. They hopped along the floor and then exploded on contact, knocking Gravy to the floor. "Machine-Make: Rocket Launcher! Machine Gun!" A rocket launcher on his left and a machine gun on his right, Zeppelin proceeded to devastate the wounded jester with a double barrage. "Machine-Make: Laser Gun!" He fired a beam from his left arm-mounted laser cannon, only to see Gravy roll over and stand back up, and missed two more shots when the jester wheeled to his right.

"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" Gravy slammed his hands against the ground, and a single tower of ice spikes erupted from a glowing circle underneath Zeppelin. The Machine of Death looked below him and pounced higher before the column took shape, the tip nearly reaching its feet.

"Machine-Make: Flame Shot!" One shot from his right arm-mounted flamethrower was more than enough to melt the Ice Geyser into a puddle of water.

"Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" Gravy created dozens of frozen lances flying towards its target from one direction to another, basically an enhanced version of Ice Make: Lance.

"Machine-Make: Jet!" Two rocket boosters materialized in both sides of Zeppelin's waist, and he was flying through the air. "Machine-Make: Shotgun!" Turning both arms into shotguns, he obliterated the Freeze Lancer with 12-guage rounds filled with metallic BB pellets. Despite their low range, the bullets tore through parts of the iron square, and nearly shredded Gravy's legs if he hadn't jumped back from the overwhelming blast radius. Since Machine-Make: Jet granted Zeppelin free air mobility, chasing down Gravy with his shotgun arms was no small feat, in spite of the jester's offbeat speed and agility. "Machine-Make: Enemy Chaser!" It didn't take long for the Headless Horseman to make the decision of sacrificing the limited range of his shotguns for the accuracy of homing missiles; they immediately chased after Gravy once launched. The masked clown was easily outpaced by the missiles' advanced mobility, and he soon ended up mangled by static pops of fire. "Machine-Make: Grenade Launcher!" Zeppelin's Drop Shot cannon morphed back to a grenade launcher, and the battlefield faced another bombardment, threatening to utterly destroy Gravy while he was down.

"Ice-Make: Kite!" However, Gravy was quick to create a kite of ice under his feet, enabling him to fly past the sea of raging blasts. "Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!" Once he approached Zeppelin, he molded a long-barreled ice cannon and blasted him to the ground, engulfing him in another pile of snow. As Gravy landed on his feet, he gazed down at his fallen opponent with a proud expression. "Here's some snow all over your big stupid body, you big stupid loser! What do you think about that?!"

"Hah!" Zeppelin burst out of the snow in an Energy Field and advanced towards Gravy, wiping a few white stains off his shoulder. "Impressive, Gravy! Reduced to a dimwit, and you show such spirit. How cathartic to think that the unwise can be experienced. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! How I LOVE the enthusiasm of young minds!"

"Wendy!" Sherria came running in, waving at Wendy as she was followed by Romeo, who had long since gotten better from Zeppelin's beating. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"What did I miss?" Romeo asked. He then saw Gravy confronting the Headless Horseman and winced at the heap of ice that lay scattered across the floor. "Why is Gravy facing Zeppelin? Has he used his magic to fight him?"

"Not just any magic," Wendy explained. "He uses Ice-Make Magic. It's Gray's!"

"Whoa! Seriously?!" Romeo exclaimed. "We all know his magic is ice, but Ice-Make? No idea!"

"It's the truth," Carla nodded. "Surprisingly, Gravy is proficient in casting Ice-Make spells, even with his lack of intelligence. Seeing Juvia in danger drove him mad to the extreme. He took his anger out on Zeppelin, who is a Maker wizard himself."

"Zeppelin's a Maker wizard?" Sherria blinked. "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"So Gravy tried to protect Juvia," Romeo confirmed. "Kinda almost sounds like Gray."

"That's what I've been thinking about," Wendy clarified. "What if Gravy is..."

Juvia's eyes never turned from Gravy. It was strange to think that the man who pestered her for the duration of the trip in Halloween Town would rise to fight on her behalf, and it wasn't just his bravado, his burning fury, or even the extent of his magic that left her baffled. "Is it..." she breathed. "Is it really him? The way he moves... The way he..." If the one person she longed to see again may be the man under the mask, then all previous acts of hostility against the jester would have been forgiven.

Gravy taunted, "Hey, bucket head! You must be really hungry! You want ice cream under your cereal? Or on your sorry ass? That's right, your ass! For trying to hurt boobie lady, your ASS is GRASS below the GLASS! I'll mow you like snow plow! You're meat mince! You're rat's dead! You're going home in a box of ribbons in your hair! You like ribbons in your hair, don't you, you big box full of..." He tried to find the last word to back his last threat, "...shrimp?"

Zeppelin snorted, "Going home in a box, am I? Ha! That's what they all say. I've met a few fools who gave threats more intimidating than yours, only to have them thrown back in their faces. Clearly you haven't known that anyone who's ever crossed me had their own threats used against them, have you? The brutality, the torment, the unavoidable despair, all of it! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" He focused a stream of magical data around his arms and waist. "Consider this... a REMINDER!" Once the data vanished, his left arm was a Machine Gun, his right arm was a Laser Gun, and his waist was equipped with a set of Jets. Also, his wrists were mounted by miniature Rocket Launchers for extra firepower. Zeppelin flew up in the air and took aim with his munition-equipped arms. Bullets, missiles, and a single laser blast loomed over Gravy, who had to cartwheel his way out of the crossfire.

Wendy breathed, "That was close! Is he okay?"

Romeo replied, "Looks that way. But the other guy's not done."

Zeppelin boasted, "And that was merely a warning shot!" He turned his attention to Wendy and her friends, "Hee-hee-hee-hee... Looks like our showdown with have to wait just a little longer. Sorry, Wendy..." He gestured to Gravy, "...but I just can't resist being around him. It makes my insides boil."

Wendy demanded, "What do you want with him?"

Zeppelin chuckled, "Oh, I thought I was obvious, dear girl." He finished viciously, "I'm going to ANNIHILATE Gravy the Jester!"

The group gasped in shock at what the Headless Horseman intended to do with Gravy. Sherria exclaimed, "Destroy him?! You can't do that! He's a happy clown who just wants to have fun! He's Jack's friend, his trusty assistant! Think of how sad he's gonna feel!"

Zeppelin beamed, "I know. Because seeing him sad makes things a whole lot sweeter! Before I kill Gravy, though, I'm going to make him suffer. And then Jack can watch me tear him apart in front of his eyes. You're welcome to join him in his brutal torture, if you like."

Lucy felt her knees wobble, and she shook her head. "He's joking, right...?"

Zeppelin continued, "His eyes gouged out, his arms and legs ripped to pieces, his brain mashed beneath my fingers." Every word brought renewed horror to Lucy's heart, and she realized the Warmonger found it amusing. "Just imagine it— in his own pool of blood, as I reduce Gravy to a lump of meat, he'll cry out like a wounded dog, howling as long as possible before he dies."

Romeo shouted, "No! We won't let you do that!"

Sherria affirmed, "Gravy's a friend of Jack's, so that makes him a friend of ours, too!"

Wendy agreed, "That's right! And we'll stop you before you lay a finger on him, Zeppelin!"

Zeppelin let out a deranged cackle. "Ah, the loyalty of friends... It never hurts to have friends by your side, all the time... But nothing you can say that change what I have in mind. This is a score long overdue, between me and him. I'll make short work of him first, then I'll have the pleasure of fighting the lot of you again."

Carla gritted her teeth. "You calculated scoundrel!"

Zeppelin advised, "For your safety, I ask that you stand by. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! Machine-Make: Force Barricade!" He digitally altered the form of his hip cannons, and fired a wide line of tiny devices sticking to the floor. Upon activation, the devices gathered amounts of magic to generate a massive wall of impenetrable force energy, preventing Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Lucy, and Carla from getting through. Juvia was the only one outside the barricade, as she was still stuck to the ground, frozen in distress over Gravy's erratic behavior.

Wendy cried frantically, "No! Gravy! Juvia!"

Romeo threw his Purple Fire Fists against the barricade, but they proved ineffective. "Can't get through!"

Sherria cast Sky God's Bellow, and the spell was easily shrugged off. "He's downright serious about fighting Gravy one-on-one..."

Wendy worried, "What do we do? We can't let him fight all by himself. He needs our help."

Sherria muttered, "Now you know how I felt since Monstro and Atlantica."

Carla encouraged, "Don't lose hope, Wendy. Knowing him, he may have the strength and will to survive this massacre."

Romeo nodded, "Let's hope so. We gotta help him somehow. Jack's gonna get worried."

Zeppelin turned his attention to the fleeing Gravy and gave chase as both came within sight of Wendy's group near the far side of the arena, which was under protection of the Force Barricade. "It's time you asked yourself, Gravy... do you really think you can send me home in a box? Here's a clever idea. Instead of a box, how about a COFFIN? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Gravy's face hardened. He hadn't expected Zeppelin to up his game, but there was no turning back at this point. As he ran, he turned to face Juvia urgently. "I'll protect you, boobie lady! It'll be okay! You'll be safe! I promise! Just hold on!" With those words, he refocused himself to the battle.

Juvia whispered, "He promises... to protect me..." Before she knew it, tears began to build up in her eyes. "Could it really be him?!"

Zeppelin laughed wickedly, "Come on, Gravy! Let's kill each other and blow things up! This will be FUN! Hybrid Weaponry: First Contact!" He unleashed a combination of his Machine Gun, Laser Gun, and Rocket Launchers, prompting Gravy to rely on his dexterity and reflexes to avoid the encroaching rain of fire.

"Zeppelin's turned himself into a living arsenal!" Sherria pointed out.

"He's dead set on blowing Gravy to smithereens," Romeo nodded.

"The work of his Machine-Make magic," Carla confirmed. "He casts spells around himself, then alters parts of his body into powerful weapons. You may find this hard to believe, but Zeppelin is a second-generation Maker wizard. One of the first to cast Maker spells without the usage of both hands."

Sherria stared at the Headless Horseman in amazement. "Dragon Slayers, celestial wizards, and now Maker wizards? Just how many advanced generations are there? I guess there are some in a few magics to go around." She tapped her chin with intrigue, "Hmm... I wonder if God Slayer Magic has a second generation, too?"

Zeppelin burst into another fit of maniacal laughter as Gravy dodged dozens of rockets fired at him. "Machine-Make: Hologram!" He suddenly teleported a short distance away from the jester in a streak of static data, startling him. "Machine-Make: Hadron Blaster!" As soon as he reappeared, he soared above Gravy in a blitz of proton blasts from a string of Holograms, thus prompting the masked clown to dodge from side to side. The Headless Horseman would often implement his Machine Gun or Laser Gun for twice the attack power, and double the tension. "Machine-Make: Grenade Launcher!" Another Hologram, and Zeppelin released multiple combustible orbs from his back-mounted grenade launcher, in which Gravy blew them all up with Ice-Make: Lance. "Machine-Make: Chainsaw! Spiked Ball!" The Machine of Death surged through the smoke and unleashed a barrage of swipes and thrusts with his chainsaw and spiked ball; Gravy retaliated with melee-based spells like Ice-Make: Sword and Ice-Make: Battle Axe to defend himself while trying to dodge. Quickly realizing he was getting nowhere like this, Zeppelin began to add a little more style to his attacks, combining hand-to-hand combat with his Hybrid Weaponry. He started hovering above the ground as he dealt out a quick combo of bullets, rockets, and blades, almost looking like he was dancing in the air. This made it harder for Gravy to dodge his attacks, but the jester soon began to put his breakdancing Ice-Make spells to good use; if it weren't for the fact they were trying to hit each other, they would have looked like they were having a dance-off.

Getting tired of this exchange, Gravy soon caught Zeppelin's Chainsaw in a block of ice. "Gotcha now! Ice-Make: Ice Hammer!" Molding a giant spiked hammer out of ice, he bashed Zeppelin in the head, throwing the Headless Horseman off-balance for a second before leaping over him. Landing on the ground, Gravy turned around and said, "Enough already, you stupid jerk! Just go away and leave us alo—" Before he could finish, Zeppelin abruptly flew over to him and began trying to slug him in any way, flipping close-range shots and melee strikes over and over as he threw them against Gravy, who did his best to weave around the attacks. "Who do you think or are, a ninja or something?!" Gravy exclaimed.

"To be fair, I'm more of a terminator than a ninja!" Zeppelin boasted. "But I do move as fast as I fly. Try to beat me if you can! But if you do, be ready to die." After a minute of missing attacks, he moved forward and butted heads with Gravy, catching the jester by surprise. "I'm gonna do THIS!" While he was distracted, Zeppelin hit him brutally in the chest with his Spiked Ball. "AND THIS!" He slashed him with his Chainsaw. "AND THIS!" He blasted him point-blank in the chest with a Shotgun. "AND THIS!" He fried his skin with his Laser Gun. "AND THIS!" He stunned him with his Hadron Blaster. "AND THIS!" He smacked him in both sides of the face with both hands turned into Spiked Balls. "They say that the first kill is supposed to be quite difficult. But I find it easy. In fact... RATHER FUN!" He decimated the disoriented Gravy with two Machine Gun arms, causing the jester to scream in pain with every rapid shot, and the Warmonger only laughed at the torment he had wrought.

"Gravy!" Juvia said weakly.

"No! Stop!" Wendy protested.

"Leave him alone!" Romeo demanded.

Zeppelin ignored their pleas and continued to fire his double Machine Guns. "Thanks for making yourself a easy target, funny boy! And welcome to the slaughter house! Here, have some more bullets! Go on, take all the lead! After all, we're buddies, aren't we?! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" the crowd of Zeppelin's followers chanted.

Zeppelin stopped the gunfire to stare at Gravy, the enraged masked performer still on his feet in spite of his body laden with bullet marks. "I won't let you get away with trying to hurt boobie lady," he growled. "I—"

"Am about to die..." Zeppelin interrupted as his body underwent another digital alteration. His face turned severe at the last word, "...HORRIBLY!"

"Stop it!" Romeo yelled.

"Don't kill him!" Sherria begged.

"I can't look!" Lucy yelped, looking away from the torture scene and closing her eyes.

"Hybrid Weaponry: Heavy Maelstrom!" Zeppelin phased into existence a pair of box-shaped turrets mounted on his back. He punched Gravy away with a left hook, staggering him across the floor, before he commanded the turrets to send a barrage a missiles at the jester, coupled with a second rain from his Machine Guns. "Machine-Make: Vacuum!" Zeppelin changed his arms into vacuums, and by a massive intake of air, Gravy was forcefully bounced towards the Headless Horseman. "Machine-Make: Zapper!" Zeppelin quickly converted his hands into high-voltage electrodes, and stung Gravy with a powerful electric shock, ending in a huge explosion that eradicated the hapless jester's body, leaving only shards of ice behind— "What the?!"

"Made you look!" Having deceived Zeppelin by leaving behind an ice clone, Gravy appeared behind him with a new Ice-Make spell at the ready. "Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance!" Frozen blades materialized on either side of his arms, and he hit the crazed wizard with a deadly dance of seven strikes, hard enough to push him away while seriously hurting him.

"Whoa... Did you see him get outta that one fast?" Romeo asked.

"He's no ordinary jester. He's an amazing fighter!" Sherria smiled.

"I can't believe it! He outsmarted the psychopath?" Lucy blinked.

"We can only hope he lasts long against him," Carla determined.

"Be careful, Gravy. Just hold on..." Wendy urged.

Zeppelin stopped himself a second later and regained his footing, saying, "Very stylish! I was so looking forward to see you literally pop like a stuck pig!"

Gravy smirked, "Oh, yeah? You think I'm just some lollipop pig in a needle haystack? I'm a super Ice-Maker iceman, man!" He brought his hands together, and they flowed with ice. "You are in hell spell C-A-T equals CAT, little man, iceman! And I am the devil in disguise, yes, I am, the devil in disguise!"

Lucy whined, "I don't understand a word he's saying!"

Sherria implied, "I think he means 'You're in hell, little man, and I'm the devil.'"

Romeo added, "I guess that means he's getting serious this time."

Gravy told Zeppelin, "Hear me now, dumbass! Prepare to feel the wrath of MY LEMONS!"

Lucy, Sherria, and Romeo asked incredulously, "Lemons?!"

Zeppelin retorted, "Blah, blah, blah. Less talking..." He shifted his arms, making a wave-like motion as they digitally shifted into twin Zantetsu Swords. "...MORE KILLING!" He swung his blades, releasing a wave of sonic slashes in various orientations. Gravy crouched down and leapt up, dodging the blades. "Machine-Make: Circular Saw!" Zeppelin saw this and leapt up after him, his Hadron Blasters transformed into a circular saw blade surrounding his legs. Gravy saw him coming and cast Ice-Make: Hammer, pushing against the circular saw for a moment before it and Zeppelin were both repelled. The Headless Horseman activated his Jets to hold himself up, then went after Gravy, who ran along the arena. "Hybrid Weaponry: Screaming Offensive!" In a blend of Machine Guns, Shotguns, Iron Lizards, and Enemy Chasers fused together into his arms, not to mention two Drop Shot Cannons paired along with his Grenade Launcher, Zeppelin tried to gun down Gravy in a seemingly endless storm of munitions. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You can't escape my Hybrid Weaponry, Gravy!"

Gravy glanced back and called, "Yeah, so what?" He came to a stop and rolled to his right. "Ice-Make: Floor!" Slamming a hand on the floor, he created a huge layer of ice that caused the Iron Lizards to slip and end up detonating against the wall. "Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" With a swing of his ice scythe, he destroyed an approaching volley of Enemy Chaser missiles. Spinning around so he was looking in Zeppelin's direction, he looked at the Warmonger and said, "I wasn't trying to, anyway! No matter what you say that you only meant well, what you say that it's all for the best, I'm bringing you down! Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!" Creating a pair of frozen grappling hooks around his hands, he hoisted himself up to the ceiling, avoiding the bouncing fleet of Drop Shots before they exploded near him. "Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" Surging past a shower of Machine Guns and Shotguns, he launched a flurry of ice lances, intercepting Zeppelin along his flight path. The Machine of Death grunted as he lost his concentration and fell towards the ground, bouncing along the ground several times as he landed. "Ice-Make: Ice Impact!" Gravy brought his right fist down on his left palm, summoning a massive spike-shaped hammer that crushed Zeppelin underneath it, creating a great crack on the iron square.

Gravy landed a short distance away from Zeppelin, who winced at the almost critical injury the Ice Impact left him with. He walked over to the Headless Horseman and stood over him, saying, "Give up?"

"Machine-Make: Flame Shot!" Zeppelin suddenly morphed his left arm into a flamethrower, stood up, and shot Gravy towards the Force Barricade in a rupture of flame! However, Gravy managed to flip over as he was being blasted, his feet coming into contact with the side of the Barricade instead of his backside. Gravy pushed off of it, leaping towards Zeppelin and tackling him before the Headless Horseman could stop him. Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, Lucy, and Juvia watched as the two rivals fought with each other on the ground. A second duel between the forces of ice and machine escalated throughout the arena for at least three minutes before Gravy managed to catch Zeppelin in a headlock, his left arm wrapped around his throat, his right hand gripping his forehead. The Machine of Death struggled against the hold, both hands on the jester's arms as he flailed his caterpillar track feet.

Gravy barked, "Had enough yet, you tough nut?!"

Zeppelin grinned, "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! If you're smarter or more clever, then perhaps you'd remember to watch your back... Ice Boy!"

The Headless Horseman's statement confused Gravy, Wendy, Juvia, Romeo, Sherria, Lucy, and Carla. Gravy was so baffled by what Zeppelin had said that he leaned back and asked, "What?!"

Zeppelin saw his opening and took it. "Machine-Make: Laser Gun!" He brought his transformed right arm forward and fired a laser blast behind him, cleanly connecting with Gravy's chest. The hit caused the jester to loosen his grip. "Machine-Make: Vacuum!" Changing from laser cannon to vacuum, Zeppelin sucked Gravy's head inside the device and banged his body along the floor seven times. The young man in the clown mask grunted as his back hit the ground after the last slam. "Machine-Make: Shotgun!" Before the Headless Horseman had a chance to finish him off with a spreader shot from his left arm, Gravy spun around, kicking the former's legs out from under him. "Machine-Make: Hologram!" Zeppelin used his digital powers to teleport before he could fall, however. Leaping back up onto his feet, Gravy started looking around, trying to find the man he perceived as a threat to his beloved Juvia. He soon saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Zeppelin flying towards him, his arms and back equipped with a new set of armaments. "Hybrid Weaponry: Red Impact!" His next assault was a combination of Laser Guns, Rocket Launchers, Grenade Launchers, Drop Shots, and Flame Shots. Gravy had to jump, duck, or cast his Ice-Make Magic, whatever it took to defend himself from the explosions and gunfire. He managed to survive the Red Impact, "Machine-Make: Wire!" but Zeppelin suddenly wrapped him in a wire based around his right hand, and then threw him against the wall.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Who's the little man in hell now?!" Zeppelin mocked. "Machine-Make: Stark Hadron Cannon!" His arms digitally merged into a gigantic quad-barrel cannon, allowing him to fire a tremendous beam of Hadron particles that ravaged Gravy down to the muscle. "Cross your heart and hope to die..." He sped over to his scorched opponent with two Zantetsu Swords in tow, performing a double sonic slash to cut the jester across the chest. "...stick some missiles in your eye!" A few missiles from his wrist-mounted Rocket Launchers, and Gravy was blown to another corner.

"Looks like he didn't last MUCH long," Sherria gulped.

"Come on, Gravy! Get up now!" Romeo shouted.

"Don't give up! You can't let him win!" Wendy pleaded.

Groaning, Gravy managed to roll over onto his front, but before he pushed himself up, Zeppelin appeared out of a Hologram in front of him. "Ready for your final circus act, Ice Boy? This one's a crowd pleaser!"

"Finish him! Finish him! Finish him!" The audience of Neon Insecticide wizards had made their demand clear.

"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! No need to be told twice," Zeppelin smirked in compliance to the sole wish asked of him from the excited crowd, then turned to Gray. "This is it, Ice Boy! The jury has decided your curtain call!" He held up his right Zantetsu Sword, and swung it down when a hand suddenly grabbed hold of the blade's edge. "Hm?"

The crowd froze for a second as they stared at Gravy pressing his fingers hard against the steel, every ounce of fury and desire left in his system prompting him to react fast. If one clearly saw through the mask's empty lens, they may see the color in his eyes turning black as night, more savage and enraged than ever. As Gravy stood back to his feet, the side of his mask suffered a crack, and a fragment gracefully fell off the frame— only then was the blackness surrounding his left eye revealed to all. And a dark substance crawling along the flesh in his cheek. And the aura of light purple frost flowing through his muscles. The jester's growl elevated to a roar, his teeth grinding, his face terrible.

Zeppelin closely examined Gravy's latest surge of magical power while keeping the Zantetsu Sword fixed on him. "Oooooh, so pink is the new white?" He then noticed the black substance creeping over Gravy's exposed left eye and cheek. "And what's with the rash? Too afraid to show it now that you're breaking out of that goofy shell of a clown mask? Getting serious when you're all black and pink, Ice Boy?" Unfortunately, he inadvertently infuriated the jester by referring to him by that nickname, and his hand blade ended up frozen in a block of purple ice. "What?!"

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME ICE BOY?!" Gravy bellowed, and his voice was a distorted mixture of two voices fused as one. He landed a fist of pulsating violet frost into Zeppelin's gut. The result was the Headless Horseman crying out in excruciating pain as his stomach throbbed, and the surprising force of raw power sent him flying back. He was on the ground, writhing in agony, his Zantetsu Blade shattered to a million pieces and digitally restored to a mere hand.

Wendy and her friends cried in shock, "WHOA!"

Juvia was appalled. "He punched him real hard! And the side of his face is stained in black! Very much like..." She was too stunned by Gravy's display of strength to finish her sentence. Then again, it was something else all too familiar to her, besides his Ice-Make Magic and the way he utilized it in battle. "Like..."

Zeppelin almost succumbed to the pain across his chest as he lifted himself off the ground. He grunted, gripping his side until his legs stopped wobbling. "That was a cheap shot... When you introduced me to that slapstick punch, I thought it nothing more than another one of your icy props. But I must confess, that really stung." He chuckled lightly in the midst of his brief agony, "Magnificent, Gravy! I suppose there's more to your parlor tricks than just... well, parlor tricks!" His chuckle rose to an insane laugh that helped him shake away the pain, and it didn't take long before he was back in his prime. "Oooh, you're getting serious now? Go ahead and hit me some more, you purple hat party pooper! Show me how strong you REALLY are!"

Gravy called out, "You stop hurting... my... BOOOOOOOBIE LAAAAADDDDDYYYY!" With a loud scream and a wide spread of his arms, a bright purple aura gleamed around his body. Zeppelin likewise powered himself up in an surge of emerald light.

Romeo exclaimed, "Now they're even more fired up!"

Sherria pondered, "What's going on here? How did his Ice Magic turn pink? And what's with the black rash on his cheek? Has he gotten into a serious accident that left him scarred for life?"

Carla narrowed her eyes at the black matter that spread across the left side of Gravy's face. "It's no rash. It's a mark— the marking of a special magic. And I think I know what it represents!"

Wendy gasped and turned to her Exceed friend. "Is he who I think he is?"

Carla replied, "When the clues come together, it explains everything that's happened until now. Aside from that, you may be right. What if Gravy the Jester truly is—" An earthquake caused by Zeppelin and Gravy's gathering of immense power cut her off, and they all turned around in just enough time to see the two charge at each other before they collided in a burst of energy. They clashed in a furious exchange of fists which sent them gliding through the air, each blow landed sounding like the drums of an ongoing war.

Two minutes passed, and Zeppelin digitized his arms into a unique fusion of Machine Guns and Shotguns. "Hybrid Weaponry: Shell Shocker!" The spread of bullets washed over Gravy's chest, plummeting him to the ground on one knee. "Machine-Make: Hadron Blaster!" Zeppelin unleashed thousands of blinding proton blasts from his hip-mounted mini-cannons. Every shot hit home, forming an energy bubble that pinned the jester where he stood. A halo of static data formed around the outstretched palm of the Headless Horseman's right hand. "Machine-Make: Repulsor!" The space projected into energy flew deadly and straight, striking the energy bubble at its base. A blast of green light rose from the point of impact, the shockwave almost knocking any nearby spectator among the dark wizard crowd off their seats.

Once the blast died down, Gravy jumped high from the cloud of rising dust relatively unscathed, and was now gathering violet ice around his raised arm. As the mass above his head started to grow, he declared, "EAT MY LEMONS!" He released a giant crescent-shaped blade of the same color, slicing into Zeppelin's armored chest. The fiend's face contorted as his body racked with the very pain he felt when Gravy punched his chest.

Staggering back awkwardly, Zeppelin collapsed on one knee and coughed. He glared up at the jester, somewhat unflinched by his unconventional tactics. Standing up, he digitized his injured chest into an arc reactor and began charging his magic. "Machine-Make: Unibeam!" He thrust his chest out, firing a supercharged particle beam at Gravy.

"GO AWAAAAAY!" Gravy channeled the purple ice through the sound of his roar, and a massive blizzard of cold air effortlessly pushed through the Unibeam, freezing all the particles around it! Zeppelin's eyes widened as the ice devolved his beam attack into a shower of shards. BOOM! The force of the ice knocked him backwards and caused him to bounce across the arena for a second. By the time his feet touched the ground, Gravy glared down at Zeppelin, who cringed from the sudden counterattack. The jester held his voice steady, suppressing the tremor of his building anger. Little by little, the rest of the mask was showing signs of breaking. "Leave. Us. Alone," he uttered. "This is your last chance."

Zeppelin climbed to his knees and gave a short, baleful chuckle. "Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die beating me? If only you used your full power to completely destroy me... Only then will I have left you alone..."

Gravy growled at the implication and began to step forward before the aura of ice encircled his physique. "You want me to use my full power, huh? Okay, you asked for it! There'll be no mercy for you. No mercy at all... YOU BASTARD!" With that, he flared up with tremendous amounts of magic and let out an inhumane battle cry as he charged towards Zeppelin, his right fist covered by his left palm. Zeppelin stepped into the fray, gathering energy into his Hadron Blasters for a surprise attack, anticipating the jester's next move...

"Ice Demon's..."

"Super Hadron—"

"...Zeroth Longsword!"

Gravy produced an amethyst sword of ethereal ice between his hands and delivered a swift cut across Zeppelin's hips, all the while encasing the Hadron Blasters in solid ice before they could open fire. Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Lucy, Carla, Juvia, and the entire Neon Insecticide audience bore witness to a purple light forming where the ice collided with the machinery. The result was an enormous magical rift that had a nearly unnoticeable effect on the atmosphere. Everyone stared blankly ahead, their mouths slightly open as they seemed to be staring at something far beyond the void building within. It was though a powerful force was waiting to burst out, to break free... A second later, there was a blast of snow right between Gravy and Zeppelin. Whatever it was, both of them were blown away from each other, Gravy landing face first on the ground and Zeppelin falling behind the wall. As they hit the floor, Wendy and her friends saw the rift evolving into a snowstorm beginning to spread out from where the two clashed. It engulfed the Force Barricade, the frightened spectators screaming and calling their master for help, and the entire stadium!

The magic rift finished forming, and a few seconds later, save for the neon circle, the arena was ravaged into a frozen wasteland. All the seats outside the barricade surrounding the ring stood chilled in lavender ice, the faces of every Neon Insecticide wizard in attendance twisted to fear and despair. The Force Barricade was also affected by the snowstorm; the color had long since changed from green to purple, and the barrier disintegrated into millions of tiny shards before Wendy and the others finally stepped out of it. Romeo was the first to speak, looking around as he breathed out in sheer amazement, "Whoa... Check out his magic! It's way more intense than we thought!"

Sherria quickly examined her surroundings and grinned, "He froze the whole arena! About time we won't hear any more boos from Zeppelin's underlings. Would've been better if somebody in the crowd cheered us on. The other good news, that snowstorm put that bossy barricade in the freezer and made it breakable as a mirror. You see that?" She gestured to what remained of the Force Barricade, "A dash of purple snow, and it's gone. We're finally free!"

Romeo agreed, "And back in action. I've been itching to punch that bolt bucket in the face since he tossed me around in his vacuum cleaner."

Sherria beamed, "I couldn't thank Gravy enough for helping us. He's the luckiest, the cleverest, and the most daring and imaginative magical jester we've ever met. Unlike those Jester Jugular creeps, of course. His ice overpowered his weapons and magic like an ironing machine! White is a good color, but so is purple. It's like when he changes color, he also changes the strength and power of his magic."

Romeo grinned, "He's really something else, isn't he? Remind me to thank him in person when we give Zeppelin the payback he deserves."

Wendy soon noticed Gravy and Zeppelin still locked in a confrontation after the snowstorm had passed. "They're not done yet..."

Before anyone had a chance to blink, the ice surrounding Zeppelin's hips exploded, the Hadron Blasters brought down to nothing more than small crystals. The loss of his mini-cannons easily sliced through sinew and flesh past the mechanical sheen to create wide cuts on his thighs, and they profusely spurted blood on the iron square. A different sort of malevolence emerged from Zeppelin's mouth as he recoiled in extreme agony, tortured screams echoing around the frozen battlefield. The blood flowed like a waterfall, and his glare towards Gravy was murderous as he spat, "YOU WRETCHED SCUM!" before he continued to grunt and shriek in a blend of pain and rage. Wendy and her allies regarded him carefully, the former panting as he held a hand to his bleeding left hip, too stressed to focus his other hand on his other hip.

Sherria gulped, "More like a mowing machine..."

Romeo sweated, "Okay, so his ice can cut the weapons in his body, too."

Wendy narrowed her eyes. She hadn't disclosed what she had speculated about Gravy's origins to the rest of the group, but the bits and pieces she had been able to pick up, together with the ice around them, painted the picture vividly. "I think I have a pretty good idea how."

Carla looked over to the side and saw Gravy's mask slowly breaking apart as he circled around the wounded Zeppelin. "Now we'll see who's behind the mask..."

And that they had. The clownish persona that obscured Gravy's face lay on the floor in pieces, revealing his spiky black hair, his handsome looks, and the rest of the skin that had not yet been touched by the black substance.

Juvia's eyes shot open at seeing Gravy's true identity exposed. Her mouth dropped, and a gasp stole her breath away. "That face... No... It can't be!" Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, and Lucy shared the same dismay as the water wizard. Gravy turned back, his true face shown for all to see. The spiked hair and the smooth texture of his face... There was no mistaking it!

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAY?!" Everyone reacted to his identity with absolute shock.

Sherria exclaimed, "Gravy the Jester was Gray all along?! We didn't know he'd be in Halloween Town as a jester in disguise!"

Romeo breathed, "I think it's obvious... Gray uses Ice-Make Magic to fight, and he sort of has a thing with Juvia. He wants to protect her, so of course it's him! It all fits!"

Sherria asked, "Take away the 'V' between the 'A' and 'Y', and a missing Fairy Tail friend, one we know all too well, is right by our side the whole time? It makes perfect sense. But..."

Romeo nodded, "Yeah, I notice that. If Gravy is Gray, then why is he acting energetic and wacky instead of tough and gritty? We never see him act that way."

Lucy stated, "Believe me, I've been thinking about it myself. Seeing Gray as the creepy clown in the mask is a shocker. The question is, how can someone I've known for a long time turn into a nutjob straight out of the circus? I've always known him as a laid-back and serious guy, loyal to his friends, taking risks without a second thought. And now..." She sighed to herself, "I'm glad he didn't pick me to be his girlfriend, or I'd have nightmares having my squishies squeezed like nobody's business. Beauty can be a heavy burden at times. Oh, poor me..."

Sherria confirmed, "So basically, his 'affections' for Juvia are a flip of how she feels for him, only that it's awkward and a little bit... hysterical." She shuddered at the thought.

Wendy kept her eyes on Gravy, finally realizing who the jester really was, and breathed, "I knew it... Gravy was Gray after all."

Romeo and Sherria overheard what the Sky Maiden had confirmed, and the former asked, "You knew it was him?"

Wendy explained, "I wasn't sure at first, but the fact that he comes from Earth-land after it was destroyed, uses Ice-Make Magic, and is protective of Juvia, gives me enough reason to believe it was him."

Carla crossed her arms, "In the end, his identity is the answer to all the riddles. One of our own, an invaluable teammate of ours, under the guise of a masked jester. Wendy almost managed to figure it out for herself, and I would've done the same earlier."

Wendy admitted, "I think I always knew all this time who he really was."

Romeo confirmed, "So he's been with us right under our noses... He couldn't take his eyes off Juvia, and couldn't stop leaving her alone."

Sherria sighed, "We have a Fairy Tail wizard by our side the whole journey, and we didn't even know it." She then smiled, "And that's an encouraging sign. Another world, another friend. Isn't it about time somebody solved the mystery of Gravy the Jester... and found Gray at the end of it? Congrats, Wendy. You're a great detective."

Wendy smiled back, "I do my best. It would've been so easy if I asked."

Carla mused, "Given his present condition, he wouldn't have shown us his real face if we simply asked."

Wendy gasped as she began to recall something prior to the fight between Zeppelin and Gravy. "Wait a minute! You don't think it has something to do with—"

"Boobie lady!" Gray stared at Juvia with a wide smile. He was delighted to see her safe from the Warmonger's machinations, though his "Gravy" personality remained intact. "Are you okay, my sweet boobie lady sunshine girl? I made the bad man bleed out with bad blood. He's not going to bother you anymore."

Zeppelin clenched his free fist, his body trembling lightly from the bleeding. Even with his fading strength, he expected Juvia would react to see Gravy's true face, and that intrigued him. "Oh? Well, isn't that nice? Two lovebirds together again..." With a deadly smirk, he secretly altered his arms into Machine-Make: Zapper, supplied his waist with Machine-Make: Jet, ready for a surprise attack.

Juvia was left speechless. She continued to stare at what she presumed was the man she loved in utter shock. "All this time, it was you...?" she murmured, struggling to contain her emotions. "My... My darling Gray... is..."

"Gray?" Gray spoke up, making Juvia pause. He uttered his true name as though he had never heard it before. "I'm Gravy. Don't you know your Gravy? Your Gravy loves my boobie lady. You and me, Gravy and boobie lady, together forever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever, over and over and over and over again."

Juvia could feel tears falling from her eyes. A storm of emotions was brewing inside her. "Your face, your magic, that resolve to protect me, the way you never gave up..." she sobbed. "It is really you, Gray? If you are, then please tell me... How are you still alive? How did you come to be here..." She took in the jester's clothing and appearance, "...like this?"

"Hey, it's okee-day!" Gray soothed her, overjoyed as he knelt before her. "Everything's going to be okee-day! You're safe with me now. C'mere, let me give you a big, warm hug..." For the briefest moment, his soul knew peace as he was about to hold the confused and crying Juvia in his arms.

"GOTCHA!" All of a suddenly, Gray's chest was bombarded by an electric blast from Zeppelin's Zappers, causing him to scream out in pain. The Headless Horseman dragged him away with a boost of his Jets, all the while keeping up the voltage.

Juvia quickly snapped out of her trance and turned to the black-haired youth with panic in her tear-stained eyes. "Gray!"

Zeppelin laughed mockingly, "The look on your face, Gravy! Price! Less!" He proceeded to club Gray with a vicious array of Zantetsu Swords, Shotguns, Spiked Balls, and Laser Guns. "YOU ARE TERMINATED! Unibeam!" A gigantic beam from his chest reactor was the coup de grâce, and Gray was whisked away in a roaring flame that consumed one side of the arena. As soon as the inferno died out, it revealed the Ice-Make wizard sprawled on the floor in a comatose state.

Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, Carla, and Lucy screamed out, "GRAY!"

Zeppelin viewed the damage with a malicious bout of cackling and giggling as he declared, "You should've kept your eyes on me instead of your girl! And I feel so sorry for you!" He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment, "In the end, your attachment leads to your own undoing, don't you think?"

Juvia's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene with horror and outrage. "Gray...!" She finally stood back on her feet, her voice burning with anger as she demanded, "What have you done to him?!"

Zeppelin mocked, "'What have I done to him?' I'm sorry, but are you just reminding me to slide a knife through your boyfriend's gut after I put him in the dirt where he belongs? I did myself a favor and finished a matter that lingered in my mind since the attack on the guildhall! I daresay, even after his miraculous survival which led him here to Halloween Town, I was afraid that with his damaged mind, he'd be nothing short of a harlequin than a challenger."

"Attack on the guildhall? Miraculous survival? Hallow—" Juvia trailed off, realizing that Zeppelin was referring to Gray. "He was here?" Her eyes stood frozen wide, "Gray was here in Halloween Town the entire time?!" Wendy and the others eavesdropped on the conversation, and started to grow anxious.

Zeppein beamed, "Ah, yes! It's all coming back now! That's right, Gravy the Jester is indeed the man you love so dearly, your darling Gray! That's his real name, isn't it? Take away the letter 'V' between 'A' and 'Y', and it spells Gray. Not a bad name. Maybe even better than Gravy."

Juvia paled at the revelation. "Gravy is Gray? How? Why?"

Zeppelin chuckled, "How? Why? Well, since I'm about to make your bodies boil like hot lava, I'll enlighten you. Shortly after I knocked the both of you unconscious with my Grenade Launcher, I had you shipped on the same vessel en route to our main base. Then one day, an informant told me the troubling news of your ship being torn in half by a giant whale."

Wendy uttered, "Monstro..." Carla, Sherria, and Romeo nodded in agreement.

Zeppelin continued, "The ship's remains somehow made their way into Halloween Town at the night of a full moon. They crashed into the hinterlands, outside town. I sent out a recon unit to salvage the junk for any survivors. And then... Hee-hee-hee-hee... Who do we find but him?" He motioned to the unconscious Gray, "The man whose ice is fragile, but not as strong as his clever fortitude. I was there, too. I was there when my men picked him up from the ship's remains."

Juvia drew in a sharp breath, scarcely daring to believe. "He survived in half the ship that drifted off in outer space... before it crashed here?"

Zeppelin nodded, "Exactly. And we're just getting to the good part. We dragged Gray from the wreckage and were on our way to Oogie's manor when he suddenly woke up. He jumped out of his stretcher and became silly and hyperactive, like a monkey. My men did their best to restrain him, but his new erratic behavior proved too much for them. And then he got away and bolted into town, frost and all. My medic had a theory before Gray escaped— that the crash may have dealt an acute blow to the brain that caused him to regress back to a childish, dimwitted state. But his remarkable talent for weaving ice stayed the same. Most of it, at least. And that's when Gray became Gravy the Jester, Jack's personal sideshow for the fancy festival for this year's All Hallow's Eve."

Wendy gasped, "Gray took a blow to the head..."

Sherria finished, "...and literally lost his mind?!"

Romeo tensed, "Well, that explains a lot."

Lucy agreed, "Yeah, now we know why he turned from rough ice to funny bones."

Carla confirmed, "Gray suffered severe brain damage upon his accidental arrival. That's how his personality suddenly changed."

Juvia shuddered, "It really is him? My beloved Gray is still alive, but not himself?"

Zeppelin chortled, "Does it look like I'm lying, sweetie? Your beloved Gray is very much alive, yes, but not in the way you'd expect. I've kept him under surveillance ever since he took refuge in this world. Restoring his memories and his old self wouldn't be an easy task; all I did was bide my time. And then a spy reported yours and Wendy's presence in the town square... For that, I devised the perfect plan to draw him out and provoke him into fighting me in a rematch for the ages— a contest that's taken the fall of Earth-land in the making. And what better way to let out the killer instinct inside him, to mold him into a worthy opponent, than to use you as LIVE BAIT?! AND IT WORKED! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Juvia grinded her teeth together and clenched her fists tight, her body trembling from growing rage and anxiety. At that moment, with the true nature of Gray's predicament revealed, a snarl escaped her lips as she shot a deathly glare at Zeppelin. "How DARE you! You were using me to hurt the man I love?! All this time, when he was Gravy, I thought his sole purpose was to annoy me, hurt me, torment me to the very last... And I was a fool for not looking into the man under the mask, the real him... But now that I know the truth..." Currents of water flowed around her body, "...even with his damaged mind, the man who cares for me still exists somewhere. And I would've forgiven him for what he did when I saw through that! Deep down, he couldn't bottle up how he felt for me, just as I felt for him! He is still my beloved Gray, no matter what! Even if he doesn't remember who I am and who he once was, I will always love him! And I WILL fight for him!" She got into a crouching position, "If you want him, you'll have to go through ME!"

Wendy was touched by the Rain Woman's courageous speech. "Juvia..."

Sherria beamed, "She's doing it! She's fighting for Gray!"

Zeppelin cooed, "Aww, how cute! What are you gonna do, big drip? Take a splash on me? Well, fodder will always be fodder, I suppose. Gray was a hard-hitter until now. So hard to find good hard-hitters these days..." He cleared his throat, "At any rate, thank you for all you've done to make this possible, even though you did basically nothing but watch me fight his ice with my fire. I'm done with you now." He drew his left arm, which had digitized into a Machine Gun, at Juvia. "I'm going to have to ask you to remove yourself from the premises. After all, you don't really want things to get messy as they are now, do you? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Juvia shrieked, "WHY, YOU...!" Her body turned into a wisp of boiling water, and she launched herself at Zeppelin for a crushing splash.

Zeppelin smirked, "Wow, you're pretty worked up! However..." He waited as she came closer, then ducked, his digitizing hands stretching out as Juvia passed him by. "...it's useless! Machine-Make: Cryo Chamber!" In the next couple of seconds, he took hold of Juvia's watery body with his outfitted hands and proceeded to trap her in a block of ice through his palms. With a sinister chuckle, Zeppelin kicked the frozen Rain Woman down to the ground with a single boot.

"Juvia!" Wendy exclaimed.

"No!" Sherria shouted.

"You better stay warm, or you'll catch a cold!" Zeppelin joked, and he looked over to face the fallen Gray. "Now, what to do with you? Your purple ice sword may have cut my thighs open and rendered them unable to transform, but I can still RIP YOU a new one!" He altered his left hand into a Zantetsu Sword, "How about a nice chunk of hot meat off the bone with tissue and organ dressing, cooked fresh with—"

"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Wendy rushed forward within the blink of an eye and swiped a claw of razor-sharp winds into Zeppelin's face.

"Yellow Fire!" Romeo delivered a hard punch of odorous golden flames across the fiend's other cheek.

"Sky's God Bellow!" A powerful burst of black wind tore out from Sherria's mouth and sent the Headless Horseman crashing into a pillar of amethyst ice, destroying it on impact.

"W-Who—?!" Groaning, Zeppelin lifted himself up from the shattered solid frost to notice that Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Carla were standing in front of him, poised to strike. He reacted to the heroes' resilience with a wide grin. "Ah, I assume Gray's purple ice froze my Force Barricade to bits and set you all loose?" He digitized a Machine Gun around his right hand. "I'm surprised. Really, I am. There's so much about his magic I'd like to ask him..."

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Wendy demanded, pointing the Crabclaw at Zeppelin. "Leave Gray and Juvia alone!"

"It's about time we give you a piece of our minds, Zeppelin," Romeo determined, his fists flaring up with Yellow Fire. "Consider this thanks for shutting us out from the fight so you could attack our two friends, free as a bird. You think you're so smart, huh? It's us you gotta worry about."

"Ha-ha-ha... Always the positive thinkers, aren't you?" Zeppelin remarked. "I see you still show genuine care for the water woman, because it's obvious you and she are of the same guild. But the ice jester? Look at him, fools!" He gestured to Gray, "His brain is damaged beyond healing, regressing him to a dancing clown with the mentality of a child! What good is a friend like him to you? Surely you liked him better as a smart man than a manchild, right?"

"I couldn't agree more," Lucy groaned. "I liked the old him better."

"But an impressive manchild he remains," Zeppelin smiled. "He still put up an incredible show. Yet you still care for a ton of brain-dead weight? What are your reasons?"

Wendy stared down at Gray's sleeping form. "We still care... because he's in pain." She paused as she clenched the hilt of her Keyblade. "He looks so lost and confused. When I see him like this, it feels like something inside me breaks. It hurts. Gray has always been a good friend and teammate of mine. He's as strong and brave as Natsu." Romeo lowered his eyes at the mention of his big brother figure. She went on, "He's not himself right now, but when this is all over, I'll find a way to bring him back to his old self. I want to see him smile again."

Sherria agreed, "We all want to see him smile again. Gray and Juvia are destined to be together. This is the power of love! It's what brings those two closer to each other!"

Lucy blinked, "Love? Really?"

Wendy finished, "So we'll fight for him! And Juvia, too!" She took a defensive stance, "You want them, you'll have to go through us!"

Zeppelin giggled, "My, oh, my. You sound just like the poor living drought I've put in cryogenic storage a short while ago." He motioned to the frozen Juvia, "Forgive me if I seem pessimistic in your convictions."

Romeo retorted, "Spare us the sarcasm, creep! Let us by if you know what's good for you!"

Zeppelin pouted, "Let you by? Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha... I'm afraid I can't do that." He aimed his Machine Gun arm at Wendy, "Besides, I still have my orders to test you! The match hasn't even ended yet!" He looked around to examine the current state of the arena, "A pity no one in the audience thawed out to enjoy the rest of the show. The purple ice around here is really thick."

Carla recognized, "This is no ordinary ice. This is Ice Demon Slayer Magic, a unique form of Slayer Magic designed for the purpose of destroying demons. Like Dragon Slayers and God Slayers, they replenish their magic by consuming their respective element. Apparently, Demon Slayers can manipulate their own bodies to some extent— from changing the color of their irises to summoning black markings across their skin— to resist the deadly effects of curses." She looked over to Gray, "Gray inherited Ice Demon Slayer Magic from his father, Silver, after his death during the battle against Tartaros." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I wondered how he was able to cut the weapons from Zeppelin's thighs and entrap the entire arena in a snowstorm. Now it all makes sense. Gray subconsciously activated his Demon Slayer Magic in times of stress, and the ice he produced was incredibly powerful."

Wendy glared at Zeppelin, "How could I forget? You still wanna fight me so you can knock me out and then hand me over to Kaze. It won't work! I'm standing right here! If I'm gonna face her, I'll do it in person..." She took a defiant swing of the Crabclaw, "...without YOU around!"

Romeo promised, "Don't worry, Wendy. We have your back."

Sherria asserted, "We're not letting him get you without a fight!"

Wendy smiled, "Thanks, guys."

Zeppelin lowered his voice into a small chuckle that eventually morphed into full-blown psychotic laughter echoing off the ceiling of the arena. "The suspense is simply invigorating! I'm more than content in massacring more blabbermouths than two! All except for one..." He eyed the Sky Maiden mischievously, "I imagine Master Viriniam has something special in mind for the leading lady of this grand finale. It's only a matter of time, so... why wait?" He sliced the air with his Zantetsu Sword, "I'll just take a thin slice of your skin, Wendy. She can have the rest! But the taste will be sweeter when I see you writhe in despair and agony at seeing your precious friends drop dead one at a time..." His voice rose to a bellow, "...RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!"

Lucy's lips quivered and her body started to vibrate at being reminded of the twisted pleasure Zeppelin derived from the suffering and torment of people, more so at the threat being issued to every party member (minus Wendy) that was present in the arena... including Lucy herself. "Hold on! He's serious about this?!" she thought out loud, her heart throbbing with the same horror she felt since the tour around Halloween Town.

On the other hand, Wendy was both astonished and furious of the kind of person Zeppelin was. "You kill and torture people without a second thought... just to satisfy yourself? You're insane! How could you do such horrible things?!"

Zeppelin cackled, "How could I NOT? I do this because it's fun! Justice? Morality? Empty morals with no rhyme or reason! Kiss 'em all goodbye! Mayhem, doom, death, and destruction! That is what I live for! That is my greatest joy! The Sleepy Hollow guild was looking for someone with my exact skills— a demolitions expert and a one-man slaughterhouse capable of striking fear into the hearts of men everywhere. I couldn't refuse their promises of destruction and carnage. Lots to butcher! Plenty to smash! Tons to burn!" He sighed cheerily, "Just felt like it was meant to be. When I pillage, blow stuff up, or spill somebody's guts, it's like writing music and painting a masterpiece. Nothing has ever made my heart dance more."

Lucy let out a slight whimper as her eyes widened in fear, barely able to speak. Sherria took in the blonde-haired girl's sudden tension and asked, "Uh, what's wrong?"

Wendy argued, "You do all this because it's fun, and you call yourself a member of a guild? Of all the Sleepy Hollow wizards I've met, I think you're the WORST of them! Like any normal guild would ever accept a cold-hearted monster like you!"

Zeppelin grinned, "So true. Most magical guilds are so terrified of my bloodlust and power that they rejected so many applications, I've lost count. But Sleepy Hollow's no ordinary guild. They recognized my talents and accepted me with open arms."

Wendy asserted, "Guilds are where friends come together to follow their dreams and be a part of something bigger. They're not meant for making other people's lives miserable for their own gain! Don't you realize that what you're doing is bad for everyone else? Well?! Don't you?!"

Zeppelin sneered, "Bad, schmad! I don't care so long as I indulge myself! My sole purpose is to destroy for my own amusement, and so I do! I, Zeppelin Borock, will give anyone who's foolish enough to try and stop me a taste of their own medicine! I am the Reaper of the Headless Horsemen! To live up to that reputation, I will recycle each and every one of you!" He used his Machine Gun arm to fire rapidly at the ground close to the heroes' feet, making them panic as they danced with the bullets. "By CRUSHING and RIPPING and TEARING YOU APART!"

As soon as the gunfire ceased, Wendy kept her sharp gaze at the Headless Horseman. "One way or another, we're stopping this. Your madness ends here, Zeppelin!"

Romeo, Sherria, and Carla responded altogether, "Yeah!"

No sooner had they approved of the young Keyblade wielder's declaration than Lucy had raced away from her surprised teammates and hastily scaled the nearest ice pillar to quickly put as much space between herself and Zeppelin as possible. "L-Lucy! What are you doing?!" Wendy cried out.

"Oh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!" the coulrophobic blonde called back from her high perch. "Trust me, guys! He would never expect it!"

"Not again..." Romeo groaned, a hand to his face.

"She's not wrong," Zeppelin snickered. "Some people haven't got the balls to stare into the barrel of the gun these days. Heh, no matter." He briefly stared at Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Carla before drawing his Machine Gun at them. "I'll do fine with only four of you. The scaredy blonde will be mine for the picking sooner or later. And then, I'll finish my business with the jester who almost chopped my thighs off. I figured his precious princess should be the first to go. Or should it be him first? Oh, who am I kidding? You'll all be dead, anyway!" He laughed wickedly as emerald energy flowed up from beneath his feet, granting himself an extra boost in magical power. "TIME FOR A NEW LESSON IN CALAMITY AND WOE! PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR TOTAL DESTRUCTION! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAAA!"

"He's completely recharged like a battery!" Sherria exclaimed.

"If anything, he's focusing his attention on us now," Carla stated.

"Good! I can't wait to give him another sock to the face," Romeo huffed. He stared out at Lucy presently taking shelter up high from the warzone, and it was only a moment before he let out a depressed sigh. At some point, he expected that she still hadn't let go of her fear. First it was the world of Halloween as a whole, and now it was a wizard of Sleepy Hollow with a deranged mind. But these concerns would have to wait; defeating the Headless Horseman had to come first.

Wendy felt her face steel in determination. Zeppelin may have been weakened from the severe blow dealt to him by Gray's Ice Demon's Zeroth Longsword, but he was not willing to relent so long as he drew plenty of magic reserves; there was one card she had left to play in the event of a serious situation. "Looks like we'll have to take this up a notch... Time for a Command Style!" Quickly, she went through a familiar stance, taking a deep breath as her heart harmonized with the light blue radiance shining from the Crabclaw Keyblade. "Crabclaw Command Style: Bubble Crab!" The equally colored ambiance expanded and surrounded her body, and from a rising wave of bubbles came out two celestial crab pincers located on either side of her waist, painted red with a solid gold coating around the claws. As Wendy motioned the Crabclaw, the pincers opened wide and then snapped at Zeppelin threateningly, ending with the left retracted behind her, and the right poised for another pinch. Romeo, Sherria, and Carla (especially Lucy) were surprised at the sight of Wendy's new Command Style but eventually settled into confidence over the fortune of battle changing in the heroes' favor. Wendy looked at Zeppelin and announced, "The only one who needs a lesson is YOU! You're about to learn that life doesn't always revolve around breaking things or pushing people around!"

Zeppelin stopped channeling his magic and smirked at the Sky Dragon Slayer. "My, your resolve is almost as sturdy as metal and wheels! I'll give you something to push around when you see what I've brought here for you..." A stream of static data overtook his arms, altering them into fusions of Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Iron Lizards, Drop Shot Cannons, and Laser Guns. "I'll crush your spirits, and send this flimsy secret art of a key-shaped weapon to oblivion!"

"Oblivion?! No way!" Lucy cried, as she observed the battle from her safe spot in the ice pillar. "I'm not going to risk my life dealing with a psychotic clown like Zeppelin! Better to watch from the sidelines than get disemboweled!" She called out to her friends down below, "Take him out, guys! I'll be rooting for you from up here! Go get him! And good luck!"

The four heard the message, and Sherria was the first to respond, albeit with some concerns in regards to Lucy's change of attitude. "We'll... do our best."

Romeo slumped and sarcastically muttered, "Sure, why not? We'll get you down here as soon as he's out."

Wendy saw that her three teammates had already girded themselves for the final round, so she turned to Lucy and called out to her, "We've got it! And don't worry, we'll stop him!"

Lucy nodded back before lowering her voice to speak to herself. "Oh, I hope so. And fast."

"Let me serve you up some FRESH PAIN! Hybrid Weaponry: Phantom Phalanx!" Zeppelin made the first move by peppering Wendy with a wide array of bullets, laser blasts, and explosives.

"Treasure Claws!" Wendy raised her red and gold pincers high and caught the Machine Gun's bullets and Laser Gun's beams on their impervious solid frame. As expected, the Treasure Claws proved to be highly resistant even to Zeppelin's Rocket Launchers, Iron Lizards, and Drop Shots. Less than a minute after blocking the ineffective gunfire, Wendy shot right at Zeppelin with the pincers effortlessly snapping through the rest of the projectiles like butter. She rolled under a close-range Laser Gun and started delivering a fast barrage of claw strikes to dice the Machine-Make wizard. Time and again, Wendy's Treasure Claws mowed through cascades of bullets and even cut down some weapons around Zeppelin's body parts, but with each lost munition, he would simply slough its remains and digitize a new one in its place. Zappers, Chainsaws, Spiked Balls, Zantetsu Swords, Shotguns, Repulsors, Unibeams— just about anything useful to endure the Treasure Claws' flawless dexterity and invulnerability. The ensuing duel between crab claws and machinery lasted for two minutes when Zeppelin used the barrel of his Shotgun to block a pincer blow from Wendy, but this left him open for the Sky Maiden to thrust her other pincer into his gut to make him cough out saliva, breaking his Unibeam Reactor in the process. "You're through!" Wendy focused her magic, and the Treasure Claws were coated in a surge of light blue energy. She snapped them all over Zeppelin's body in a lightning fast 80-hit combo, a rate of speed equal to that of his Machine Gun, and ended with a claw uppercut to the chin.

"Over here!" Romeo approached Zeppelin from the left and slugged him with a rapid fire flurry of Yellow Fire-fueled fists.

"Don't take your eyes off us!" Sherria mirrored Romeo's actions with a combination of punches empowered by black winds.

"White Moon!" Carla cartwheeled and then delivered a stunning dropkick to Zeppelin's head, knocking him back with great force. She paused for a moment before charging in with Wendy, Romeo, and Sherria to finish off their opponent.

"Machine-Make: Stark Hadron Cannon!" However, Zeppelin recovered and sprung to his feet, combining his arms into a single cannon packed with infinite Hadron energy, and by releasing a massive blast, the four heroes were forced to scatter. "Machine-Make: Enemy Chaser!" As he detached his arms, they were digitally morphed into turrets, and he released a hail of homing missiles at his intended targets.

"Coral Shot!" Wendy opened her Treasure Claws, revealing a pair of nozzles that shot a barrage of light blue water spikes, blowing every single Enemy Chaser Missile out of the air.

"Machine-Make: Machine Gun!" Zeppelin appeared from a Hologram behind Wendy and fired his two gatling arms, prompting the latter to hoist her right Treasure Claw and block the bullets. This allowed her to fire a second salvo of Coral Shots from her left Treasure Claw. Surprisingly, the water-based projectiles were composed of a special substance capable of melting any metal it touched. Zeppelin's bullets were reduced to tiny specks of steam by the time Wendy opened fire, and some of the Coral Shots nearly scorched the ground beneath his feet. "Is that it? A tiny water gun from two oversized pincers?! I expected better!" the Headless Horseman taunted. Wendy sent stream after stream of Coral Shots at the Machine-Make wizard, who sporadically used his Machine Guns, Laser Guns, Iron Lizards, Enemy Chasers, and Flame Shots to keep the Sky Dragon Slayer at bay while moving from one direction to the next via Hologram warping. At the end of this brief shootout, Zeppelin teleported above Wendy. "You're mine now! Machine-Make: Bazooka!" His arms converted into cannons with round barrels, and Wendy stared up at them. Acting quickly, she fired a couple of Coral Shots that turned the already launched rockets into puffs of vapor, and they flew into the bazookas' drums.

By the time Zeppelin landed, his arms suddenly erupted with static electricity, billowing smoke, and random spasms of data. He was howling in agony, pain searing across his arms such as he had never felt before, as though his skin was set on fire, and he felt a surge of anguish that was quite unconnected with his own insanity. When his magic stopped malfunctioning, the severity of the damage done to his arms was revealed— scorched, acidified, and stripped of its aptitude to assimilate with his Machine-Make Magic in the same manner as his hips. "MMMMMYYYYYY AAAAAAAAARRRRRMMMMS!" Zeppelin found it impossible to contain his screaming from all the unbearable pain crawling over his being. He couldn't move his arms, he couldn't focus his magic, he couldn't even see or hear anything around him until later. "IT BURNS! IT BUUUURNS! WHAT IS THIS?! ACID WATER?!" He finally looked down to see his arms damaged seemingly beyond healing; through the tears in his eyes, he could see the tiny drops of water trailing down his sizzled skin. Though it was faint, he felt a minor chemical effect emitting from the drops. His breathing came in hysterical pants, and his eyes burned hot with outrage. "It IS acid water! She somehow discovered my Machine-Make Magic's one weakness, just like Gray did! When a body part is bleeding, burnt, or dislocated, I can't transform them!"

Wendy exclaimed, "Whoa! So my Coral Shots did something to your arms?"

Zeppelin responded, "In a way, yes. You shot straight into my Machine-Make: Bazooka, and the acid water of your bullets spread all over my arms, searing them from the inside. You saw what happened with your icy friend. He cut my hips open with his blade. Since then, I can't use my weapons around my hips unless the wounds are adequately healed. Same for my arms."

Wendy thought out loud, "My Command Style's magic is acid water, and Zeppelin can't use his magic when parts of his body are seriously damaged... Why didn't I think of this before?"

Zeppelin could feel the terror building up behind the anger. "Look at what's happened to me now... First my HIPS, and now my ARMS... Without them in perfect condition, they're NOTHING to my magic! THEY'RE USELESS!" He let out a frustrated roar as the tears kept flowing from his tormented eyes. His rage continued to build up, and he bellowed at the Sky Dragon Slayer. "MY BEAUTIFUL BODY IS RUINED! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR TH—"

"Deep Sea Drill!" Wendy empowered herself with torrents of light blue magic while spiraling through the air, holding out the pointed ends of her Treasure Claws to grind into Zeppelin like a torpedo and send him crashing into the wall of solid ice.

"Alright! You got him, Wendy!" Sherria cheered.

"That should shut him up," Romeo nodded.

"To say the least, that was most effective," Carla stated.

"Is it over?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"ENOUGH!" Zeppelin burst out of the ice, flying in waist-mounted Jets, his back armed to the teeth with two Grenade Launchers, four Rocket Launchers, and four Enemy Chasers. "I'M NOT BEATEN YET!"

"Geez, doesn't he ever give up?!" Lucy complained. "He should just leave us alone already!"

"Bleeding hips and burnt arms won't make a difference!" Zeppelin barked as he firmly planted his feet on the floor, deactivating his Jets. "I still have a lot of ammo and energy left in me! I'll obliterate the lot of you until there's nothing left! And after that, I'll bring the little wench along with me!"

"Uh-oh! He's lost it!" Sherria gulped.

"Here he comes!" Romeo and Carla shouted.

"Get ready!" Wendy urged.

"Machine-Make: Sentry!" Zeppelin summoned a ring of data around his body, and he magically separated his torso from his lower body. He was hovering above Wendy and her companions in Jets, having abandoned his legs for an additional increase in aerial mobility. "Hybrid Weaponry: Cardio Bomber!" He continually pursued the heroes around the arena, dropping a payload of grenades and rockets in a deranged fury, driven by an unhealthy obsession for revenge against his enemies for the misfortune they caused him. Wendy, Romeo, Sherria, and Carla put up a valiant effort to withstand the bombardment, and though a few stray explosives caught them off guard, they still pressed on. One minute later, Zeppelin managed to trap the four in a circle by zooming around them at supersonic speed, letting loose a barrage of explosive spheres as the finishing touch.

"Bubble Barrier!" Wendy slammed both of her Treasure Claws onto the ground to generate a large bubble around herself and her friends that not only protected them from the grenades, but sent them bouncing back a bit before they exploded, some of them melted away due to the barrier's acidic properties. Zeppelin moved around the Bubble Barrier at breakneck velocity to take it down with Grenades, Rockets, and Enemy Chaser Missiles in all directions; they had no effect, and every failed attempt distressed him gravely, draining portions of his Magic Energy by the second.

"Sentry... deactivate..." Eventually, Zeppelin decided he had grown tired of shooting and flying around; he reattached his torso with his lower body, which had long remained still since he cast the Machine-Make spell. He took a moment to catch his breath, having spent the most amount of energy throughout the battle thus far. There was silence before Wendy deactivated the Bubble Barrier, and Zeppelin spoke through his convulsive breathing, "You always know how to spoil the moment, don't you, Wendy?"

Wendy said angrily, "Just give it a rest already! There's more to life than just getting your way all the time or trampling over things! It's about doing what's right and helping others! I fight for those who are counting on me, and for those who need help the most. I fight because I care! And caring is something you obviously don't understand when all you are is selfish and cruel!"

Romeo agreed, "And insane!"

Carla suggested, "And vile!"

Sherria added, "And so full of himself!"

Lucy muttered, "And scary."

Wendy readied her Treasure Claws. "I'm not letting you get away with causing misery and pain for your own sick amusement, Zeppelin. You'll never hurt anybody else again!"

Zeppelin retorted, "While you'll never live in this life again!" With those words, the intensity of magical data around his body increased dramatically, breaking the floor around him, and he let out an absolutely insane laugh that was almost drowned out by the digital noises. The Headless Horseman's back-mounted weapons fused together and reformatted into three humongous missile turrets with thirty barrels. The hatches flipped up, revealing the missiles locked onto Wendy and company, dead set on mopping them off the frozen battlefield.

Carla gasped, "That much could devastate the entire arena!"

Lucy screamed and ducked for cover, covering the sides of her face and closing her eyes as she braced for the inevitable. "THIS IS IT! WE'RE DONE FOR!"

Zeppelin chanted, "Machine-Make: Burning Big Bang!" The infinite barrage was set loose upon the four, who stood their ground amidst the danger...

"Wrapper Bubbles!" Wendy opened her Treasure Claws, and from out of the nozzles shot a hail of sizeable bubbles at the missiles, trapping them all inside before they could hit!

"WHAT?!" Zeppelin exclaimed shockingly upon seeing what appeared to be his ultimate attack foiled by the Sky Maiden's clever tactic.

"Huh?" Lucy opened her eyes and straightened up to notice the fleet of projectiles encased in a sea of bubbles, no doubt of Wendy's own doing. The celestial wizard deduced, "She captured all the missiles inside the bubbles... No one got blown up! We're saved!"

"No way!" Sherria breathed.

"Cool!" Romeo smiled.

"Now's your chance, Wendy! Get him!" Carla beckoned.

Wendy didn't need to be told twice. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She blew an immense gust of wind at the Wrapper Bubbles, sending the captured missiles back at Zeppelin in a raging storm of water and mingled iron. The moment the bubbles made contact with the Machine-Make wizard and any surface nearby, the missiles detonated! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A tidal wave of explosions consumed one half of the entire stadium, and where once was the ice around it, there was now steam and puddles of water. The Neon Insecticide wizards who were unfortunate to be caught in the frozen maw perished with it, never to see daylight's embrace again.

Zeppelin was knocked down to the floor, twitching ever so lightly over his own Machine-Make spell used against him. He stood on one leg and glanced over to Wendy, trembling with distress and bewilderment at yet another failed attempt to derail her. "Curses... She's still here?"

Wendy crouched low and launched herself forward, a trail of bubbles in her wake. "It's my turn now!"

Getting over his shock, Zeppelin growled and charged in his waist-mounted Jets with a new set of back-mounted weaponry to meet the Sky Dragon Slayer head-on. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, WENDY MARVELL!" He flew over Wendy's attempted Treasure Claw strike and blew her back with a Flame Shot. Just as she got back up, he unleashed a combined fusillade of Grenades and Drop Shots, which she managed to dodge or block with her bulletproof pincers.

"Coral Shot!" Wendy jumped back a few feet for some distance, and fired a volley of acid water spikes as a counterforce to Zeppelin's destructive arsenal. "Bomber Bubbles!" Her salvo was accompanied by a stream of heavy bubbles made of a soapy substance that exploded on contact. Zeppelin retaliated with his back-mounted munitions, all the while shielding himself from Coral Shots, though some parts of his skin took the brunt of the acid. On the other hand, the Bomber Bubbles were hard to block against, and as they burst into massive pops of water, the Machine-Make wizard was distracted and left open to a 60-hit Treasure Claw assault from Wendy. A new round of Coral Shots, and he was forced to reel back. "Deep Sea Drill!" She executed a spiraling claw dash attack, but Zeppelin anticipated the move and let loose with an Energy Field. The barrier blocked the Deep Sea Drill, and with enough force, it pushed the Sky Maiden away. Zeppelin charged in, but Wendy managed to recover, flip over him, and damage him with another 60-hit pincer combination.

Zeppelin changed his strategy and assailed Wendy from up in the air with the Jets keeping him afloat. The crazed expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't tolerating her any longer. "IT'S ABOUT TO GET ALL FRIGGIN' BALLSY IN HERE!" In conjunction with his Grenade Launchers, Drop Shot Cannons, and Flamethrowers, he cast a Machine-Make: Burning Big Bang on the far side of his back, this time as one turret packed with over fifty barrels. "GET YOUR ASSES OUT THERE AND BRING THE RAIN!" With no time to lose, Zeppelin unleashed the most devastating payload he had ever released.

"Bubble Barrier!" Wendy condensed herself in a protective bubble of acid water and sliced her way through the seemingly endless shower of armaments, leaving behind a trail of vapor and fire in her wake. She began engaging Zeppelin in a duel above the arena; each time they passed each other, they exchanged blows and countered each other's projectiles. "Deep Sea Drill!" The clash ended with the Sky Dragon Slayer performing another spiral claw charge that knocked him down to the ground.

"NOT THIS TIME!" No sooner had Zeppelin recovered after a Hologram teleport did he retaliate and catch her off guard with a grenade beneath her feet. She was left disoriented by the time it blew up, and he warped a few inches from the ceiling to build up the last of his magic for a final attack. "EAT THIS, YOU BRAT! Machine-Make: Death Ray!" Every weapon equipped had been digitally assimilated into a gigantic laser cannon, and he shot a supermassive column of energy directly at the dark blue-haired heroine.

"WATCH OUT!" Romeo, Sherria, and Carla exclaimed in unison while Lucy closed her eyes and looked away fearfully.

Wendy hastily thrust her Treasure Claws into the ground, forming a Bubble Barrier around herself before leaping forward. The Death Ray caught on the shield, slowing her approach, only for it to bypass the energy that composed the beam before it was cancelled out in a brilliant flash of light. The acid water sneaked its way onto the cannon, melting the metal around it and causing the weapon itself to malfunction. The next thing Zeppelin knew, Wendy was right in front of him! "AAAAAAGGGHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOOOOOOOOOOOW?!"

"It's over, Zeppelin! Command Style Critical Art: Aqua Flare!" Wendy fused the Treasure Claws into a single source of tremendous magic, which took the form of a giant bubble floating above the tip of the Crabclaw. With a motion, she hurled the bubble towards Zeppelin, slamming him against the ground in a massive splash! BOOOOOOOOOM! The Warmonger was engulfed in a swirling mass of water and acid mixed in, his face contorted from the blistering heat overtaking his entire body. He let out a final shriek as he burst out of a pillar of rising bubbles, and he hit the floor hard, limply rolled onto his back. He was still breathing, but all his strength and power had been zapped away, the various burns, bruises, and cuts littering his battered body. Zeppelin Borock, the fourth and last of the Headless Horsemen of Sleepy Hollow, was defeated. Wendy's Command Style had already deactivated by the time he fell, and her friends were most pleased of the outcome.

"She did it... She beat the psychopath..." Lucy uttered in surprise.

"That was awesome, Wendy!" Romeo cheered. "You finished him with a new Command Style!" He looked down at the Keyblade in Wendy's hand, "Crabclaw, right?"

"I thought it might be a good time to let it out," Wendy smiled. "Who knew that with just a little bit of water, he'd go down faster? It was so easy to get past him and his big bombs." She stared up at the ceiling, hoping that a certain friend of hers received the quiet message she sent to the winds. "Thank you, Ariel..."

"Honestly, this one's a little stylish not just because of the claws," Sherria commented. "It's the water and bubbles, too. Not to mention, they're acid! It melted everything he sent at you much faster than ice cream in the summer heat." She examined Zeppelin's wretched state, "He sticks out like a bleached starfish at night with a case way worse than sunburn." She chuckled lightly and gave a friendly pat to the Sky Maiden's back. "Way to go, Wendy. You roasted him good."

"This is most impressive," Carla nodded. "You not only tore his down magic piece by piece, but used some of it against him. Your ingenuity has done wonders yet again."

"Never send a mad machine against a crab that shoots acid water," Romeo quipped. "The other Headless Horsemen won't be happy to see their resident psycho grilled like steak in the oven. You mess with the crab, you get the claws."

"Speaking of, Wrecker, Silver, and Diva are three of the Headless Horsemen Wendy defeated in three other worlds," Carla recalled. "Zeppelin must be the fourth and last member."

"Wait a minute. If Zeppelin's the last, that must mean she's beaten them all!" Sherria realized, and she turned to Wendy with a bright expression. "You've defeated every single one of Sleepy Hollow's elite wizards." She put a hand over her shoulder, "Great job!"

"I can think of a certain someone who's getting nervous right now," Romeo remarked. "You did awesome back then and just now, Wendy. You took down all the Headless Horsemen."

"It's not just me," Wendy shook her head. "It's us. We fought them together."

"Technically, we fought one of them together," Sherria clarified. "And I don't think Wrecker counts since not everybody was there when the gorillas were in danger." She then smiled, "But whatever works. The credit goes to all of us."

"Of course!" Wendy beamed. "It wouldn't be fair to leave you all out of something that's really important like fighting a crazed Machine-Make wizard from Sleepy Hollow, right?"

"You and Gray did most of the heavy lifting," Sherria admitted. "But hey, at least we got some good hits with him."

"Like when I gave him the slugging he deserved!" Romeo boasted. The group began laughing to themselves; even Lucy couldn't help but feel amused as she viewed the respite from above.

Zeppelin's cough interrupted the moment, and they turned to face him. The defeated Headless Horseman barely had the strength to bend his back forward, but could lean well enough to see their faces, his attention mostly focused on Wendy. "H-How... How did you get that strong?"

Wendy told him, "Do you have to ask? It's my friends and the strength to care that kept me going. You've been consumed by madness. You've played with lives and you don't understand the pain of others. You see, to care is to show you're a good person. It's what drives us to do the right thing. Not just by fighting, but by bringing happiness and comfort to those who need it. I cared well enough if it meant making things better for everyone. It's what I've always done. It's what a Fairy Tail wizard does."

Sherria smiled as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Pure poetry."

Wendy finished, "That is the reason why you lost— your heart isn't in the right place. And it's obvious that you don't care at all."

Zeppelin looked at her in muted anger before his lips burst into a sinister cackle that trailed off with a small cough. "Such is the nature of the human heart. Within this vast source of emotions lies a single spark that compels us to do the things we most desire. It festers and spreads. A fire that grows in our inner beings. A sleepless wish as bright as day. So it ever was. So will it always be. Hee-hee-hee-hee... Sweet words of wisdom coming from a brave little girl. The final light..."

Wendy stiffened at what the Machine-Make wizard implied. "Final light?"

Zeppelin's laughter festered in spite of the injuries racking his body, and he clapped his hands in delight. "The pieces are slowly coming together! This was destined to happen! And the fact that you have the heart to "care" is proof enough!"

Wendy demanded, "What are you talking about? Tell me what you mean!"

Zeppelin grinned, "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Everything is proceeding as planned, and you're worried about your future? You don't feel the dread in the air? Well, not that it matters... You'll all be sent to oblivion along with the rest of these rotten worlds! Our time will come. The door will open. And my mistress will envelop this entire universe in delicious darkness!"

Carla raised an eyebrow, "Mistress? Are you referring to Kaze? Or Maleficent?"

Zeppelin merely scoffed, "Only in their wildest dreams. No one among them has the right to call themselves masters of darkness, nor will they ever be. There is only one for whom the title truly belongs. I hope you'll be there in time for her coronation ceremo—"

A red light suddenly started blinking on a watch around his wrist, and he pressed a button on it to activate a holographic message in front of him— the symbol of the Sleepy Hollow guild with a set of lines written below: "All Sleepy Hollow wizards are to suspend their operations in other worlds and return to Hallow Bastion. All four Headless Horsemen must rendezvous in the Rising Falls to board the Ichabod for a special mission to Neverland. By order of Silver Ornithurae."

Zeppelin roared with outrage, "SILVER?! RAAAAAAAARRRRGGH!" He banged a fist on the floor, cracking it beneath his fingers and switching off the message at the same time. "The birdbrain should've MINDED HIS OWN BUSINESS, not give me an UNFAIR CURFEW ALERT! He ALWAYS knows how to spoil my day! And now I'll NEVER get to hang out with the princess some more! On top of that, I thought the expedition in Neverland ended already... The Land of Dragons was supposed to be the next target!" He stared up to the ceiling for a moment, calming down. "The timeline has changed. We must act swiftly if the plan must continue. All that's needed here is a little... team effort." He slowly pulled himself up from the ground, and it was less than a minute before he stood back on his own two feet; the torture from his loss against Wendy still lingered.

Romeo scowled, "Still wanna go at it, huh?"

Sherria demanded, "Give up, Zeppelin! You're in no condition to fight anymore!"

Zeppelin chuckled, "You're right, I'm not. That's why I'm retreating." He turned to face Wendy, "Ah, looks like the rest of our friendly chat will have to wait, Princess! I'd better return home, or my fellow Horsemen will be positively furious." He spread out his arms, and a halo of magic data surrounded him. "You've won for now, Fairy Tail wizards! If you wish to exit the arena, just step into the green portal. You'll return to the playroom from there. Oh, and don't forget the jester and his girlfriend. Hee-hee-hee... Don't get too comfortable, you sorry sacks of flesh; that's simply a warm-up. I'll let you all off the hook and call it a day, but only because I've been called to an important appointment! Mark my words... I'LL BE BACK!"

"Wait!" Wendy raised the Keyblade and cast a Thundara spell. The lightning bolts struck where the Headless Horseman once stood after he disappeared from the stadium in a radiant flash of electricity, leaving behind one last fit of psychotic laughter as a gift. What followed was a green magic circle that emerged in the center of the arena, and thus served as the only exit. Although the battle was won, Zeppelin's cryptic message about the "final light" filled Wendy with unease. "The final light? What does that even mean?" The others were confused just as much as the Sky Dragon Slayer was before she turned her attention to Juvia still trapped in her cryogenic prison. "Juvia!" She rushed to the Rain Woman's aid with Sherria and Carla following behind.

Meanwhile, Lucy was still on top of the ice pillar, carefully viewing the current state of the neon circle even after what appeared to be her worst nightmare had vanished. "Is he gone?"

Romeo was following the other three when he discerned the blonde-haired girl's concerns and gazed up. He called back, "Yeah, he's gone. It's over now." He muttered to himself, "This might take longer to sort everything out than I thought."

Lucy cried out in relief, "FINALLY!" She jumped down from the giant crystal and joined the rest of the party. "Thank goodness I'll never have to see that psycho again!"

Sherria reminded, "Uh, didn't you hear him? He says he'll be back and his loss was just a warm-up. He's resting up, he's recharging, and he's raring to get back at us any day of the week. He's a mad machine that never sleeps."

Lucy sweated nervously, "Okay, you make a good point. Since he's a living arsenal, he can't eat, he can't sleep, and he can't stop. Just so we're clear, if he so much as shows his mug one more time, I'm outta here."

Romeo shook his head with an annoyed sigh. "Much longer than I thought."

"Fira!" A fireball shot from the tip of Wendy's Keyblade melted the ice, and Juvia slopped to the floor, her watery body slowly regenerating into flesh and bone. Seconds later, she stood up, her left hand pressed against her forehead while using her right hand to support herself on the cold iron ground.

"What happened...?" Juvia groaned as she rubbed her forehead. Looking up a second later, she quickly noticed her friends looking back at her, and glanced around to find that Zeppelin was no longer present. "Did we win? Is Zeppelin defeated?"

Wendy apologized, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Juvia. We were kinda busy fighting him. I used a Command Style to finish him."

Sherria stated, "With a pair of crab claws and some acid water, she cut down Zeppelin's arsenal of magic weaponry like scissors beats paper."

Romeo assured, "You've got nothing to worry about. We had it the bag, easy as having a slice of cake. The other good news is, he's not around to stick his nose into yours or Gray's business. At least for now."

Sherria cooed, "The two of you are free to be together again. Together at last!"

Juvia murmured, "Gray..." Her eyes widened and she turned to see Gray still lying unconscious on the other half of the arena that was unaffected by the fires of war. "GRAY!" She stood back up and raced over to him at breakneck speed. "GRRAAAAAYYYY!"

Sherria exclaimed happily, "That's right! Run to him, you big jug of water! Run to him and never look back! Be with Gray! Be with the one who love!" She felt her voice choking, and tears ran down her face. "Go by his side and help mend all the pain and trouble you and he went through!" She lost all self-control and began to sob loudly, with Wendy and Romeo doing all in their power to comfort her.

Juvia knelt before Gray and held his motionless body in her arms. Her eyes were already wet as she gently caressed his cheek, a maelstrom of relief, sadness, and regret building up inside her. "Oh, Gray! My beloved Gray...! You're still alive... Under my very nose, you were the wacky jester under the mask who suddenly lost his sanity and identity after a terrible accident. I blew it... I really blew it!" She burst into hysterical sobs, "I mistook you for an idiot! I called you a moron! I shouted at you, insulted you, BELITTLED YOU! All this time, I've shut you out, and I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT! I took you for granted, Gray! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Please, forgive me! FORGIVE ME! I was a fool to make you go through all that, to not realize it sooner... I wish I could take back all the mistakes, all the bitter remarks, all the degrading comments, so that in the end, we could finally make up for all the time we missed each other! If only we could see eye-to-eye just one more time..."

Amidst the drama, Juvia's tears fell and plopped onto Gray's cheek. He moaned and opened his eyes. "Hm... Uggghhh..."

Juvia instantly stopped crying upon seeing the Ice-Make wizard awake, and her face brightened with joy. Tears still stained her face, but any trace of pain and sorrow had all but disappeared. "GRAY! My tears of love and vitality brought you back to the waking world!" She clung to her sweetheart like a lifeline amidst a storm-swept sea, the first sturdy thing she'd had to rely on in short order. "Oh, Gray! I knew you would come back to me! I just KNEW that you would!" she cried, her voice thick with emotion as she buried her face against his shoulder.

Sherria couldn't stop herself from wailing over the emotional scene. "THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN! IT'S SO ROMANTIC! AND SO TRUE!"

Wendy almost shed her own tears of joy at seeing one of her closest friends and another fellow member of Team Natsu for the first time since the museum. "Gray..." She whispered his name under her breath in relief. As soon as the current situation in Halloween Town was stabilized, she would welcome him back with open arms.

Romeo breathed, "I still can't believe he's reduced to this. What happened to the old Gray? He's one of the guild's best, a cool friend and rival of Natsu. I mean, Natsu's cool, too, but I also look up to Gray. He's more like a second big bro to me. The fire and ice dynamic between those two makes me smile a lot." He chuckled a little, "It's sometimes hilarious, don't you know? And I said, 'Here we thought they'd grown up.' They just can't agree on one thing after another."

Carla shrugged, "Old habits never die hard, I suppose." She changed the topic, "We'll search for a way to reverse the effects of Gray's brain damage. Doctor Finkelstein may provide help. Until then..."

Romeo nodded, "I getcha. We still got a heart to catch and some bad guys to bust."

Gray didn't respond to Juvia's display of affection at first, yet the blank expression on his face was clearly evident. After a moment, his mouth twisted into the widest grin he ever made, his eyes boiling with tears, his lips wobbling, his body glowing with a familiar aura of ice and snow. Juvia lifted her face from his shoulder and took notice of the rapidly increasing magic tied to his emotions. "D-Darling? What's the matter? Are you—"

As though a time bomb had been set off, Gray shot up and uttered two words in an ear-piercing roar of excitement to the heavens, the aura exploding all around him like a thunderstorm. Two words that Juvia knew very well: "BOOOOOOBIIIIEEEE LAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDY!" Wendy and her friends were caught by surprise at the Ice-Make wizard's sudden burst of energy, and slowly backed away. Juvia flinched in fear, already knowing what came next, but too late to stop it.

Beads of sweat formed around Sherria's forehead faster than the tears in her eyes. "He's at it again!"

"KIIIIIIIISSSSSSY-WIIIIIIIISSSSSSSYYYYY!" Gray squealed as he took off running towards Juvia, whom he perceived as his "girlfriend" as a result of his severe brain damage. With a pounce, he kicked in the magic thrusters formed around his legs and zoomed at greater speed.

"AAAAAHHHHHH! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Juvia screamed frantically, waving her arms in an attempt to deter the rapidly approaching black-haired youth, to little effect. If anything, her panic only served to galvanized him as he tackled her in a heartfelt, if rough, embrace. The crying and wailing grew when Gray began assaulting parts of her face with a volley of kisses, moving down from her forehead to her cheeks, and then to her neck and jawline. "NO, NO, NO, NO! STOP! STOP! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT! NO! PLEASE! PLEASE, STOP! STOP IT, PLEASE! NO! NO! NO..."

As time went on, however, the shrieking lessened to panting, and the fear gradually shrank to curiosity. For some reason, the kisses didn't appear to harm her. They were soft. And warm. And gentle! Juvia remembered how much misery Gray caused her when his mind was unsound, but this one was different from all his other antics. He was kissing her— one of many things she desired most from the man she loved. She also remembered how her many attempts to charm and woo him fell short, only to discover that his psychological damage apparently had an effect on his attitude, and he actually reciprocated her feelings. The real Gray never said that he loved Juvia, but as Gravy the Jester, he did! She loved him... and now he loved her in return!

Juvia's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. It was strange to think that the man of her dreams and his downgrading to a wacky but lovable dancing monkey were one and the same... and that served as a window of opportunity. "On second thought... I think I prefer THIS Gray!" Without a moment's delay, she held her hands to his head and pulled him towards herself, cutting off the barrage of kisses he planted on her left cheek with a deep smooch to his lips. He quickly melted into the kiss, pulling her closer. Time stopped as they reveled in the moment, the first real kiss they had ever shared... and an awkward one at that.

Wendy and her friends stared wide-eyed at the two "lovebirds" rolling along the floor, locked in their kiss with neither wanting to separate. Normally, they would have been proud of Juvia's success in finally winning over Gray, but making love with a mentally-unstable person seemed unnatural, and at best, disgusting. "Ewww!" Lucy and Romeo grimaced and recoiled at the scene, unable to put up with the slurping and the smooching.

Sherria would normally try to make light of the situation, but her face quickly fell to match the disturbed looks of her friends as she spoke in a downbeat voice. "On second thought, I think I prefer the old Gray."

Romeo mumbled in agreement, "You and me both."

Sherria confessed, "It's just not the same when his mind's not right. He should've thanked Juvia for saving his life as his real self, not some backwards personality! This isn't true love! It's TWISTED!" She angrily waved over to Juvia and Gray's ongoing make out session, "If Gray was here but hadn't suffered brain damage, he would've scooped her in his arms, delighted to see her again after so long, so they'd share a precious moment with each other. But this? This isn't what I'd hoped! It's... so wrong! Where's the dynamic? Where's the drama? Where's the LOVE? It's not the same! It's all WRONG!" She ruffled the side of her hair with a frustrated groan.

Lucy sighed, "And now everybody agrees. The Gray I know would never have acted like a quirky class clown who yammers on about boobies and chocolate ice cream, mixed up with the painful P.D.A.'s and the reverse-talks. Gray is a straightforward person with nerves of steel, but I never imagined his mind would go in reverse with just a bonk on the head. I thought he's as strong as his ice. Boy, that was harsh, ever for him."

It wasn't long before Gray abruptly broke the kiss and turned from Juvia to stare at Lucy with a strangely familiar venom. Before the celestial wizard could blink, she was pinned to the ground, her waist trapped between his legs, her wrists bound to the floor with her arms lifted above her head. A tower of raging frost rose with Gray's hatred of a single nickname pounding in his veins, confining the extremely terrified Lucy with him inside it. "You said Ice Boy! Did you just call me Ice Boy?!"

"No! I didn't say anything!" Lucy screamed hysterically. "Honest, I didn't!"

"Did you just call me Ice Boy?!"

"No, I didn't!"

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME ICE BOY?!"

"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"

"DID! YOU! JUST! CALL! ME! ICCCCCEEEEEEEEEE! BOOOOOOOOYYYYY!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A blizzard began to spread, drowning out Lucy's screams. It nearly enveloped the space around herself if Juvia's palm hadn't come across his cheek with a loud slap! "STOP!" she yelled. The black-haired young man fell to his knees, stunned, allowing the azure-haired young woman to grab his shoulder and turn him around to face her. "Please don't be mad at Lucy! Her intentions are pure! She'd never say anything to insult or offend you. She meant you no harm."

Gray didn't flinch, but he couldn't help himself in the face of Juvia's generosity. "Oh, hi, boobie lady."

Juvia pulled him into a comforting hug. "Please, Gray. Call me Juvia. And don't mind her. If you can't think of anyone else, think of me. Think always of me, and I promise you have nothing to fear."

Gray hugged her back with a soft giggle. "Okay, boobie lady, I love you, baby, baby, baby, ooh! I thought you'd always be mine, mine... and I'm not all gone."

Juvia could barely stifle her own laughter. "No, no, please! Just call me Juvia, fuzzy muffin."

Gray planted a playful kiss on her cheek. "And you are my boobie lady, sweetie pants."

"Oh, well, aren't you sweet, cuddlefish?"

"No, you are sweet, you are sunshine, pumpkin pants."

"No, you are, my love bucket-bucky-boo!"

"Only if you say so sweet, sweet, honey-honey snugglepuppy!"

"Well, I certainly do, my honey bunny bungee fun-gee!"

"Thank you so much for playing my game, wormypiggums."

"You're very welcome, snootypoo."

"What are you up to, wobbly bobbly?"

"Saving your skin from a psychotic moron, sugar cookie."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun-fun-fun-fun-fun, cheesy quesadilla."

"Well, it is, shlubbypuff."

"Well, goody, then, lovey bear."

"What are you up to, duck-billed platypus?"

"Oh, having some chocolate ice cream, googly moogly."

"Oh, you LOVE chocolate ice cream, icy pants?"

"I LOVE chocolate ice cream, water dumplin'!"

"Stop, silly billy!"

"No, I won't, sticky bun!"

"You're so funny, poogly pie."

"No, you are, sugar booger."

"No, you are, cutie patootie."

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Sherria's irritated scream spoiled the moment. Gray and Juvia turned to face her; if looks could kill, they would've keeled over the Sky God Slayer's intolerance for their obnoxious romance. "Let's just go before you gross us all to death with your mushy junk!" With that, she forcefully pushed the two into the portal, staying behind for a moment to contemplate her decision. "This is awful. Their long-expected reunion was all messed up. No confessions, no romantic comedy, no promises they don't intend to keep... Boring! Where's the love in that? Love must be expressed the right way. From the heart, the right mind, the soul! I think we should take Gray to see a doctor and set him straight." Sighing, she turned to the rest of her friends. "Your thoughts exactly?"

"They are," Carla nodded, taking a glance with Wendy and Romeo that suggested it may not be too late to help Gray out of his present predicament.

"I... I... I... I..." They glanced down at Lucy, who was left in a state of traumatic shock over Gray's accidental snapping.

"Lucy!" Wendy gasped, bending over to the celestial wizard on one knee. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, my..." Sherria breathed, placing a hand over Lucy's forehead. "Whatever he did scared her out of her mind."

"It's okay, it's fine," Romeo assured, gently squeezing her hand. "How do you feel?"

"I... I... I'm..." Lucy's paranoia was so intense that it prevented her from uttering a sentence, let alone complete words. Tears streaked her face, and her pupils shrunk to dots. "I'm... I'm... I'm sc... I'm sc..."

"Don't worry, Lucy. We're here for you," Wendy comforted.

"That's right. You can trust us. Nothing to worry," Sherria agreed.

"Come on, Lucy. Up you get..." Romeo urged.

The three supported the traumatized Lucy under their shoulders (Wendy and Sherria on the left, Romeo on the right) and walked to the portal with Carla following behind. Their ears couldn't avert from the countless stuttering that rolled out of the blonde-haired girl's mouth, and little by little, the silent, shuddered babbling harbored a significant meaning.

"I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later," Romeo mused.

"What?" Sherria wondered.

"He means... she's about to admit it," Wendy clarified.

No sooner had the five entered the portal did they vanish from the arena. As soon as the party regrouped in the Evil Playroom, the truth wouldn't remain bottled up forever.

Author's Note:
End of Part 2! We are getting close to the end of the Halloween Town arc— the climatic battle with Oogie Boogie of the Alliance of Evil. Wowza, this chapter was a LOT longer than I thought it'd be. Seriously, this has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written! But then again, quite a lot has happened somewhere along the way. What's there to take away from this chapter?

First off, Wendy and her friends face-off with the Neon Insecticide dark guild and the fourth Headless Horseman, Zeppelin Borock. Wendy defeated her with the Crabclaw's Command Style, Bubble Crab.

Second, Gravy the Jester is revealed to be Gray Fullbuster, who suffered serious brain damage after surviving Monstro in half the ship set for Hallow Bastion. Not to worry, though! He'll be back to normal in the next chapter. Minor spoilers. And the other good news is that more than half of Team Natsu is reunited.

Thirdly, Zeppelin is giving off hints about Wendy being the "final light", as well as his loyalty to his "mistress". All of these will be explained in the next few chapters. I'm not gonna spoil; it's a surprise.

Lastly, Lucy is about to break down from all the mishaps she went through in the most scariest place in the universe. I originally intended to end this chapter with her confessing her fears, but decided to move it to the next chapter.

Up next, Wendy and company are about to face the incensed bag of insects in a violent struggle over the artificial heart. Will they defeat Oogie Boogie? Will Halloween be saved? Will Juvia and Gravy-Gray stay a romantic couple of sorts? Will Lucy muster the strength to confess, even face her fears? Find out next time on Kingdom Fairy Tail!

Until then, don't forget to fav, read, and review this amazing story. This is TheSavageMan100, signing out, taking yet another stuff and fluff, cozying up at home. Peace!