Hey all! Feels weird transitioning from SpongeBob to Fairy Tail. This is my attempt at a Fairy Tail fanfic. It might not be good at any stretch of the imagination, but please be lenient on me.
Fiore July x763
It was just another day in the office for the guild mages. Jobs consisted of the usual robberies, errands, and the occasional stopping of a dark guild or local monster.
A young woman stood atop the roof of what used to be the headquarters of a local dark guild that threatened the innocent villagers. Despite the many unconscious bodies of the dark guild members and the flames and debris of the headquarters, the view was almost breathtaking. Since the headquarters building was located on the side of a relatively large mountain, it revealed a mesmerizing view of the ocean leading to the Arakitashia Continent.
The young woman had long black hair tied by a familiar-looking white ribbon. She had shining hazel eyes, wore an elegant white, black and red kimono, had a slim figure and had a large bust. At her side was a familiar looking sheathed katana with white and gold stripes. The young woman smiled at the view. This completed Class S job was meant to be her last job as a guild mage for some time, after all, for she was getting married in a matter of days.
All she had in her thoughts was her husband, a local man from a village where she completed one of her jobs, and her future and what it held for her. She wondered what her future as a mage would be like, what her future children would look like and what kinds of mages they would be like growing up. Every thought that passed through her head was both intimidating and invigorating. The view put her mind off the matter, but this didn't last long as another young woman, about the same age, with blue eyes and brown hair strolled up to the other woman.
"Elena-sama, we're heading back now!" She shouted.
"Alright, Anita! I'll be down shortly!" Elena shouted back.
As Anita made her way back down the headquarters building, Elena turned back to the view in front of her. She sighed.
Here's to my future. Elena thought with a sad smile on her face.
As excited and anxious as she was of what was in store for her, Elena didn't expect her temporary retirement to be so bittersweet. Her experiences with her guild mates were some of the most fun experiences in her life. Leaving it indefinitely felt like leaving her family and never seeing them for years.
She shook her head at herself. There's still hope. When her future children are old enough to handle themselves, she would return to her guild and see her friends and teammates again. With that thought in mind, Elena climbed down the mountain. At the base of the mountain, Elena's four teammates stood proudly at another job well done. Elena nodded at Anita, signaling her that they were heading out.
When the team reached the village, the locals were cheering and thanking Elena and her team for rescuing them from that dangerous dark guild. Elena couldn't help but overhear two young girls, both about the age of ten, squealing at the sight of her team.
"Oh my gosh! Is that who I think it is?!" One of the girls screamed.
"It's Elena Mikazuchi, in the flesh!" The other squealed back as she and her friend both jumped up and down in extreme excitement.
All of a sudden, another young girl, slightly younger than them, asked, "Wait, who's Elena Mikazuchi?"
One of the young girls took a copy of a recent Sorcerers' Weekly magazine and enthusiastically answered, "Elena Mikazuchi is one of the most powerful women in Fiore! The Sorcerers' Weekly listed her as the second most powerful woman in Fiore, just behind a solo ice mage from the Land of Isvan named Ur Milkovich. Elena's currently the ace of the most popular all-female guild Mermaid Heel! I want to become a mage just so I can join the guild and meet her face-to-face!"
The younger girl then asked, "What kind of magic does she use?"
The other girl answered with equal enthusiasm as the first girl, "She uses Elemental Gravity Magic! She can make people heavy or float then she traps them with water or fire as a finishing blow!"
"Her team is also one of the best teams in Fiore! There's Anita Arco the second in command. She uses Metal Magic. There's Naomi the Vixen, the Mythological Takeover mage, and there's Zeeta Amira the Astral Mage. The last one must be new. I don't know her, but if she's in Elena-sama's team, she MUST be strong!" The first girl finished introducing the rest of Elena's team to the other girls, while they were all staring in awe and admiration.
Elena laughed to herself. Maybe one day. I look forward to recruiting you guys to the guild. She said to the two girls indirectly. No doubt, she will miss this a lot.
Fiore May x771
It had been eight years since Elena left the Mermaid Heel guild. Life had been simple and happy, for Elena spent most of her savings as donations to the guild, leaving a reasonable amount left to provide for her family.
A lot of unexpected events happened between those eight years. She now had two children: a son named Simon, who was six, and a daughter named Kagura, who was about to turn three. Simon had the same hair as Elena. He also shared his mother's personality and intuition. Kagura shared her mother's hairstyle, eye color, and appearance. Elena couldn't be happier with them. Unfortunately, her husband died of a disease shortly after Simon was born. Despite this, Simon somehow managed to remember his father's looks. Elena became quite depressed when her husband died, but she used her grief for her loss, her love for her family, and her fear for her children's safety as motivation to move on and protect her children at all possible costs.
Elena was reading Kagura to sleep. As soon as her daughter went to sleep, Elena kissed her forehead goodnight and went towards her own bed. As soon as she reached her bedroom door, loud, desperate knocks were heard from the front door.
Elena sighed. "Who could be up at this hour?" She grumbled to herself in slight annoyance.
Hoping the knocks didn't wake up the kids, Elena hastily walked to her front door. When she opened the door, an apprehensive Anita was panting and sweating profusely.
"El…Elen…E…" Anita panted.
"What is it, Anita-san?" Elena asked with slight concern for her former teammate.
After taking a second to catch her breath, Anita started to speak, "Elena-sama, we need your help with this job request!"
Elena sighed. "Anita-san.. I'm retired. I have kids. As much as I want to, I can't help you."
Anita yelled, "This is serious, Elena-sama! This request is from the Council!"
Elena's eyes widened and snatched the request paper from Anita's hand.
She read aloud, "Need help immediately. Followers of Zeref raiding small and medium sized villages stealing children and massacring adults throughout Northern Fiore. Multiple guilds exterminated or imprisoned attempting to stop the cultists. Reward: 50 million jewel."
Anita begged, "I understand that you're retired and have kids, but please, Elena-sama! None of us can do this without you! Join us for old time's sake! I promise this will be your last job until you return."
Elena thought about the situation at hand. She was still in retirement, with children still too young to be left alone. The guild was too far for a babysitter to be sent to protect them, and the local villagers all have their own agendas to tend to. Maybe another guild like Fairy Tail, Phantom Lord, Blue Pegasus, or Lamia Scale could take the reigns. They all seemed more suitable for this request than Mermaid Heel, at least currently.
On the other hand, the request stated that these cultists were stealing children. On principle, Elena knew that what they were doing was beyond inhumane and must be stopped at all costs. She also feared that the cultists would eventually reach Rosemary Village and take Simon and Kagura away from her, make them slaves, and dispose of them as soon as whatever their demented project was was completed. Her stomach turned just at the thought. Also, Elena couldn't deny that she wanted to reunite with her old team for one last job, at least for a while.
With her mind made up, Elena nodded to Anita, "Alright, just one last job. To save my children, and for nostalgia's sake."
"YES! Now c'mon, Elena-sama! The whole guild misses you!" Anita beamed.
Suddenly, Elena and Anita turned and noticed Simon and Kagura behind the front door, confused at what was going on.
"Mom? Who is this? What's going on?" Simon asked. Meanwhile, Kagura hid behind Simon, intimidated at Anita because she was a complete stranger to her.
"I'm just going to work with my friend Anita here, Simon." Elena told Simon. "Now please, go back to bed, you two. It's way past your bedtime."
"But where are you going?" Simon asked.
"Far, Sweetie." Elena answered. "I gotta go now. Please go to bed, stay inside while I'm gone, and take care of your little sister, Simon. Goodnight."
Simon, understanding his mother's request, turned around and went to bed. Meanwhile, Kagura stayed.
"Mommy, are you coming back home?" Kagura asked, tears appearing in her eyes.
Elena tensed up. She hated seeing Kagura in that state. It broke her heart to see this expression from her. She kneeled down and hugged her daughter. "Yes. I promise, Kagura." Elena promised.
As she let go of her mother, Kagura wiped the tears off her eyes as Simon appeared again and helped his little sister to her bed.
Elena smiled as she looked back to her children before she closed the front door. Anita then led her former guild ace to the nearest train station.
With a lot of enthusiasm, Anita said, "You won't believe how happy the guild will be to see you again! Naomi has been so depressed since you left and Maria has been practicing harder than ever." Unintentionally, Elena drowned Anita's nonstop chattering with multiple thoughts regarding the guild's reaction to her return and her kids' safety. With all her heart, she truly hoped that she made the right decision. But there was one problem. Why did she have the feeling that she won't make it out of this job alive?
Next afternoon, Elena received a more in-depth analysis of the job request from Mermaid Heel's master. It turned out that the group of cultists spanned into an alliance of dozens of small yet quite powerful dark guilds. Taking this into account, Elena spent the rest of the morning running down a plan and a backup plan to her team. The plan involved a lot of stealth, information gathering, and prisoner liberation. It was obviously a lot easier said than done, but Mermaid Heel was the only available guild that stood against the Child Hunters. Currently, Elena's team was on a carriage on the way to a nearby village that was in the middle of the Child Hunters' invasion path according to the team's predictions.
Elena was still worried about Simon and Kagura. She couldn't stand the thought of her children becoming slaves and sacrifices to the cultists' project. At least Rosemary Village was still very far from where she was headed.
She then focused back to the job at hand. There didn't seem to be any large guild building or any main headquarters like the rest of the dark guild and dark guild alliances Elena and her team faced. The Child Hunters were a mobile group, simply raiding villages, massacring people who got in their way, then disappear to another village to repeat the process. If there was a headquarters, it seemed so secluded and isolated that even the Magic Council was unable to locate it.
Elena then faced her teammates. They were all both excited and scared, and rightfully so. Even though it was nostalgic and heartwarming to be reunited as a team again after all these years, they hoped that circumstances were at least a little less dire. Elena faced Anita, who was asleep. Anita was the only person Elena had seen from time to time during her retirement, so she was familiar to her looks and progress after eight years.
The rest of the team was a pleasant surprise for Elena. She noticed that Naomi was slimmer and mentally and magically stronger than the last time Elena saw her. Zeeta felt a lot more powerful and scary. She was not somebody to be messed with. She was ready for battle; Elena could see it in her eyes. Elena then turned to the teammate that impressed her most. Maria was new to the guild overall eight years ago. Elena saw potential in her and inducted her into the team. As a result, Maria viewed Elena as a role model and an inspiration to become stronger. Anita told her of Maria's progress as a mage, and she was impressed just hearing about it, but seeing the end result made her speechless. Maria looked a lot more serious, a lot more collected, a lot more powerful, and a lot more mature. Maria improved mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and magically.
Elena smiled. Maybe after this is over, she could join the guild back. She could move closer to the guildhall with her children. She could teach them magic so they could join guilds of their choice, and she looked forward to how potentially powerful both of them will be. She could already tell that Simon and Kagura will grow up to become brilliant mages.
All of a sudden, the horses pulling the carriage lost their composure, shaking the carriage. Elena and her team jumped in surprise, and Anita woke up from her slumber.
"Huh? Are we there now?" Anita asked groggily.
The coachman calmed the horses down. He then turned to the team.
"I'm sorry, ladies, but this seems to be the furthest the horses want to go. I'll have to drop you off here." The coachman told them.
"This isn't right. Our stop isn't for another fifteen minutes." Elena argued.
"I understand, Miss, but the horses feel something wrong is ahead, and I can't argue against their animal instinct." The coachman apologized.
Elena sighed. "We'll walk the rest of the way. Thanks for the escort, sir," she bowed to the coachman.
The coachman bowed back and turned the horses around, bringing them back to their hometown.
"Do we have to walk? I'm still tired." Anita complained.
"Oh, shut your trap, Anita-san. We'll be there in less than an hour," Maria snapped.
Elena gestured her team to pick up the pace. Like the horses, she had an uneasy feeling, as if something happened to the village they were assigned to protect.
The team walked for about half an hour before they saw multiple smoke trails. Elena gasped.
"No…. It can't be.." Elena gasped. She started running.
Confused, concerned, and scared, the rest of the team started running after her. When they arrived just close enough to distinctly see the village. Elena's fears were correct. The village was obliterated. The rest of the team gasped at the sight.
"Judging by the smoke, the village was attacked no more than 48 hours ago." Zeeta analyzed.
"We're too late…" Elena whispered as she fell to her knees. How am I going to tell Master? What are we gonna do now? What if they're after Simon and Kagura right now? Elena thought as she grew agitated and scared.
She then felt a hand on her back. Anita smiled as she comforted her leader.
"It's not over yet, Elena-sama," Anita assured, "Like Zeeta-san said, the village hasn't been destroyed for that long. Let's search around and find any survivors and signs of where they may be headed." Elena nodded and stood up. She faced the rest of the team.
"Everyone split up for now and search for clues or survivors. Report back to this spot when you're done." Elena said.
"Aye, Elena-sama." The rest of the team responded. With that, everybody split up and searched the perimeter of the village.
Many dead bodies were sprawled about the ground, as if they stood absolutely no chance. A mix of the putrid odor of rotting flesh and the suffocating smell of smoke, fire, ash, soot and debris filled the air. Elena could also feel an eerie feeling, as if somebody was watching her, and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Elena then felt a tap on her shoulder. In surprise, she turned and readied the hilt of her sword only to find a flinching Anita backing away in fear of getting ambushed.
"Damn it, Anita-san. Don't sneak up on me like that!" Elena shouted to her teammate.
"Sorry, Elena-sama," Anita apologized, "I'm just here to report that I haven't seen any survivors, and that there were faint footprints heading west."
Zeeta and Maria showed up next. "I didn't see any survivors either, but I did notice that all of the corpses are adults. These cultists indeed steal children. They may steal more fit adults as well, for every corpse seems old, scrawny, and weak." Zeeta informed the rest of her team. Maria nodded in confirmation.
"Guys, where's Naomi?" Anita asked. Maria shrugged.
"I didn't seem to hear anything. Shall I search for her?" Zeeta suggested.
"We'll all search together. I have a bad feeling about this place. We need to be on high alert at all times from here on out." Elena ordered. Anita, Zeeta, and Maria all nodded in agreement before walking back into the village.
The team made it to the central plaza without incident. To the rest of the team, it was a sign of relief, but for Elena and Zeeta, it increased their suspicions.
It's like, as we get deeper into the village, this creepy eerie feeling gets worse. Elena thought to herself.
Multiple bodies appeared on the ground of the plaza. Anita noticed that there was a single pile of corpses in front of a school. The smell of rotten flesh intensified as the team stepped closer.
"I was with Naomi before we split up. She was headed to the center of the village." Maria told her team.
"It's possible she saw all this if that's the case." Elena replied.
The eerie feeling was at its worst where they stopped. Elena started breathing more rapidly, fear spreading throughout her body. The rest of the team was losing their composure as well. Elena placed a hand on the hilt of her still sheathed sword, while Anita and Zeeta went into fighting pose.
"Zeeta, Maria, search the pile for anything suspicious. Anita and I will stand guard here." Elena ordered as she readied her sword.
Zeeta and Maria nodded as they steadily walked towards the pile of corpses.
"Naomi, are you here?" Maria whispered. There was no reply.
When they made it right in front of the pile of bodies, Maria started moving the bodies to the side while Zeeta kneeled beside her in case anything went wrong. As Maria picked up the third body, Zeeta heard a faint click. Her eyes widened. Out of reaction, she pulled Maria to get up.
"GAS BOMBS!" Zeeta screamed. A large gas explosion resulted, hitting Maria and instantly knocking her unconscious despite Zeeta's efforts to save her.
"MARIA!" Anita yelled. All of a sudden, dozens of Child Hunters emerged from the roofs and doors of the destroyed buildings. One of them held an unconscious Naomi slung on his shoulder.
"Booby trapping the dead. These fuckers are inhumane!" Anita exclaimed.
"Nobody ambushes and attacks my teammates while I'm around!" Elena growled. She placed her sword in front of her as the sword glowed red. A large magical circle appeared over the entire plaza. The Child Hunters and some of the debris from the destroyed buildings started floating, while Elena and her team also glowed red, indicating they were exempt from the effects of the Gravity Change magic. Elena wasn't done yet. The sword then glowed orange, and the atmosphere within the magical circle burst into flames. Many of the Child Hunters were lit on fire. Anita conjured a metal sword of her own and slashed at a small group of cultists. The Hunters' bodies dropped to the ground as Elena reversed the effect of her gravity spell.
Elena then unsheathed her sword. "Archenemy, let me wield your power," she whispered to her sword.
Meanwhile, Zeeta teleported to Naomi's unconscious body, and she ambushed the man holding her without him realizing she snuck behind him.
"Naomi, get up! We have to get out of here!" Zeeta shouted to Naomi. The Takeover Mage didn't budge.
All of a sudden, another wave of Child Hunters appeared from out of nowhere. They threw gas bombs at the team. Elena and Anita swatted many of them away. Zeeta looked up to see the Child Hunters circling around her, weapons and gas bombs in hand. Zeeta made a fighting stance and called in a meteor shower, hitting half of the circle. One Child Hunter snuck behind her and tossed a sleeping gas bomb to her. Zeeta's eyes widened as she tried to dodge out of its blast radius, but she didn't make it out in time as the bomb blew up. Zeeta tried to stay awake, but the effects of the sleeping gas bomb were too strong.
"Elena-sama, I'm sorry." Zeeta whispered as she fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
Anita turned Zeeta's way and saw that the Child Hunters knocked her out.
"No! Zeeta's down." Anita told Elena. Elena stomped the ground in frustration.
"Damn it! It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Elena yelled.
The Child Hunters surrounded the two remaining members of the team. Though they didn't want to admit it, both Anita and Elena knew that they were outnumbered; therefore they were outmatched as well. But that didn't stop either of them from fighting back. If those scumbag hunters want to take them, they'll need all the effort they could get before the two most powerful Mermaid Heel members would surrender.
Anita and Elena both stood back to back. They both then swung their swords at the same time, hitting a lot of the Child Hunters. Elena summoned a mini-black hole to suck many of the Child Hunters into a random part of the city, knocking them out in the process. Anita used her sword to swallow up all of the Hunters' weapons, thus increasing the power of her sword. She struck the ground, causing a metal cage to form, catching many of the Hunters.
One Child Hunter suddenly threw a bomb into the air. Assuming it was a sleeping gas bomb, Anita slashed it, only to find out that it was a flash bomb. Her slash caused the flash bomb to explode. Because the Child Hunters had their eyes covered, they were unaffected by the flash bomb. Elena was looking the other way, so the flash bomb didn't really affect her. Anita was completely blinded, and started blindly slashing everywhere hoping to hit someone. With the upper hand, a Child Hunter slammed his stone axe handle at the back of Anita's head, knocking her unconscious.
Elena soon discovered that she was the only member of her team left. This can't be happening! This just can't! She cursed to herself. Two Child Hunters went in to attack. With zero effort, Elena took them down with a single slash. She parried to the right, hitting another cultist. She then shifted her gravity to the city hall building, causing most of the Hunters to hurdle towards the building's walls. The space the gravity was affecting then froze into ice as Elena activated her elemental gravity.
Jumping over the freshly made ice structure, Elena landed only to find out another wave of Child Hunters appeared from the east. Elena looked down at her sword and at her unconscious teammates.
"It's no use. They just keep coming. My team is out for the count, and I am still rusty on my magic." Elena told herself.
For a second, she considered surrendering, but she knew she had to fight to protect her team, and her children. These monsters were responsible for the deaths of thousands of adults, and the kidnapping of thousands of children. She refused to let her children fall victim to these scum.
With the last of her effort, Elena sprinted at the new wave of Child Hunters. With several slashes and gravity alterations, she managed to take down most of the assailants. Suddenly, a flash bomb was thrown her way. Elena turned around in an attempt to minimize the effects of the flash bomb, but that move opened her guard. A Child Hunter tackled her to the ground as the rest of them watched on alert and collected the unconscious bodies of Elena's team. Elena tried her best to fight the Hunter that took her down, but a swift kick in the face by another Child Hunter was enough to knock her out cold.
Elena woke up with a massive headache. She discovered that she was tied up to a chair, her arms tied behind her back and her legs wrapped around the chair legs. The leader of the Child Hunters, his eyes shielded just like the rest of them, emerged from the shadows.
"Ah. You're finally awake." The Child Hunter leader exclaimed.
Elena growled. "What do you want from us? What do you want with all the kids you monsters kidnapped?" She asked, glaring daggers at her captor.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" The Hunter asked back. He proceeded to open the window. Elena saw a nearby structure being built. It looked like it was just beginning. As much as she could, Elena then looked down to see that the slaves building the structure were mostly children and able adults. This… This must be their headquarters! Elena thought. Many of the children were scared for their lives. The ones that were crying were whipped into submission or threatened by angry dogs on leashes. The very sight made Elena sick to her stomach.
"We are building a Tower of Heaven as a tribute and as a ritual to resurrect our Lord Zeref. These slaves will be disposed of as sacrifices to the ritual, for Lord Zeref loves to collect the souls of the young and dead," The Child Hunter explained.
"You sick motherfucker!" Elena growled. The leader simply laughed.
"You mages are hilarious!" He said, "You guys will make such wonderful sacrifices and slaves as well!" Elena glared in response.
"And where's the rest of my team?" Elena asked under her breath.
"They aren't so useful as slaves, so we decided to execute them outright. They'll be amongst the first sacrifices of this wonderful project." The leader replied.
Rage built up inside Elena. These poor kids, this cowardly pathetic excuse for a leader, her own team, her children, they all needed her help, and it was up to her to set things right. She realized also that this method of tying wasn't meant for mages, but for regular citizens that were too weak to fight back.
Elena smirked. Amateurs... She thought. With minimal effort, she broke free of her ropes and used her gravity magic on the leader, distracting him. She then used her magic on herself in order to free her legs. She escaped through the back door, looking for her sword and her team.
The leader was freed of the gravity magic soon after Elena left. He tried chasing after her, but she was too quick.
The leader growled. He ran to two guards. "A prisoner is escaping! Search for her and bring her to me, dead or alive!" He ordered. The guards nodded and spread the word.
An alarm sounded. Elena had barely any idea where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to go, and quickly. She quickly scoured every room, searching for her teammates or her sword. About ten doors in, she found an armory of sorts. It was only open ajar. She hastily but quietly opened it, spotting peculiar weaponry. At the corner was her sword, sheathed. Elena sighed with relief. She was more confident now that her sword was at her side.
She quickly closed the armory as soon as she heard guards patrolling the area. By now, most of the island should know about her presence. She needed to find her friends. Now.
Elena assumed that the ground buildings had a place for prisoners that misbehaved or were found to be mages. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw guards bringing a rather unruly slave into one of the buildings. She followed them as stealthily as she could, but with the majority of the guards looking for her, stealth will be difficult. She managed to reach the front of the door undetected. Before she could open the door, she heard screams and moans of pain. She carefully made her way through the building, wanting to discover if this was where they kept the prisoners that they had a hard time controlling.
Elena saw a stairway that went under the ground. She grabbed a torch and lit it, then wandered down the stairs. She heard the screams become louder and louder the farther down she went. At the bottom of the stairs, she found out what the building's purpose was, and knowing now, she wished she didn't know. This building was a torture chamber. She saw instruments of torture, some covered with blood and she saw bloodied up slaves, some of them unconscious. The conscious ones cowered in fear at the sight of the light the torch was emitting.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out soon," Elena told the prisoners quietly.
She went deeper into the torture building. She could feel something purely evil ahead; it gave her chills. Elena discovered that there was a single door at the end of the building. The familiar smell of rotting flesh filled the air, making her nauseous as she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. She slowly opened the door to see that it was an execution room. Elena sprinted to a conveniently dark corner of the large room, stacked with a few crates of extermination weapons. She saw guards enter from the back door of the room.
That's my way out if I'm compromised. Elena noted to herself. The guards were then followed by Elena's teammates. All of them were terrified, except Anita, who was trying to put up a brave front. Elena knew that her best friend was scared to death, and she knew that Anita didn't like showing fear. Maria was crying, and Naomi and Zeeta were not too far from tears.
She overheard one of the guards speaking, "Your little leader friend is on the loose. Your lives will be our bargaining tool, and you are all sacrifices to the Tower of Heaven. This is a win for us either way."
"Elena-sama is going to free us. I know it! Then we'll kick your asses and free all of your slaves!" Anita shouted.
The other guard slapped her across the face. "Heh! We'd love to see you try!" He laughed.
Elena gripped her sword. Just a little longer… She whispered to herself.
Another figure entered the room. It was the Child Hunters' leader. He smirked as he looked at Elena's teammates. Anita glared at the man, while Maria and Zeeta were staring back in fear, begging with their eyes to be spared. One of the guards had some sort of intercom lacrima.
Their leader must be trying to contact me. He's trying to make me surrender by threatening me with my friends' lives. He's gonna pay for all this. Elena thought to herself.
The leader spoke, "Elena Mikazuchi! I know you can hear me! I have your precious friends here begging for their lives! If you do not give yourself up now, every five minutes one of your friends will have her throat slit!" The other guard held a machete at Anita's throat. Her brave front was completely gone as she begged for her life.
"PLEASE! Please don't kill me! ELENA-SAMA!" Anita screamed.
Maria, Zeeta, and Naomi, all in tears, screamed and prayed that their leader was close. Hopelessness started filling their hearts.
Elena shut her eyes. I have one shot. Make it count, Elena. She told herself.
The leader smirked as the guard held the machete closer to Anita's throat.
"You have five seconds to comply! Five! Four!" Here I go. Elena used her magic on herself and flew to the ceiling. "Three!" She ran to where the guard holding Anita stood. She reversed her gravity and fell to the ground, quickly unsheathing her sword. "Two!" She made a stance in mid-air. "One!" Tears flowed down Anita's face. Elena-sama, I failed you. Anita thought. Just as she accepted her fate, Elena appeared in a flash and all of a sudden, the guard's head was separated from his body and dropped to the ground, motionless. The leader stood there, shocked and angry at the Elemental Gravity mage. Elena then quickly broke the chains on the rest of her team, while her team cheered and cried tears of joy that their team leader saved them.
The other guard tried to reach for his weapon but Anita quickly threw a metal dagger at his throat. The guard fell to the ground as he drowned in his own blood and died seconds later.
The Child Hunters' leader scowled at the Mermaid Heel ace. "You… How did you get here?!" He yelled.
Elena smirked. "Easy, through the front door," she replied.
"I'll get you back for this! You're never escaping from this island!" The leader yelled as he teleported out of the room.
Elena turned to her still crying team. "You guys okay?" She asked.
"ELENA-SAMA!" Anita, Zeeta, Maria, and Naomi all screamed as they hugged their captain. They all burst into happy tears that Elena saved their lives. Elena smiled and hugged back, tears almost escaping her own eyes. After their heartfelt reunion, Elena broke away from the hug.
Elena ran down a plan, "We need to get out of here. The entire base is coming after us as we speak, and we still need to get these prisoners out of here. Zeeta, you have teleportation magic. Teleport yourself, Maria and Naomi to a nearby warship and hijack it so we have something to escape this island with. Inform us as soon as you guys successfully take over the ship. Anita, you're with me. You and I will break out as many prisoners as possible, and escort them to the hijacked warship. Got it?"
"Got it!" The team replied back. With that, everyone hastily did their jobs.
Zeeta, Maria, and Naomi quickly teleported to the closest warship. Fortunately, the ship was not very strongly guarded, so the three teammates hijacked it with ease. Zeeta teleported back to Anita and Elena to inform them that they successfully hijacked the ship, while Maria and Naomi stood guard of the ship.
Elena used her gravity magic to free the prisoners in the torture building, while Anita took care of the guards who dared to enter the hallway.
Zeeta teleported to her two captains. "The ship is ours. Naomi is taking it to port right now," Zeeta informed.
Elena nodded as she freed the last of the slaves in the torture building. "Nice job. Can you teleport these slaves to the ship?" She asked.
Zeeta nodded. "I'll teleport as much as I could," she replied. Zeeta then managed to teleport with all of the slaves to the ship.
Elena and Anita moved out to the courtyard, where the rest of the slaves were located. In their way, a whole army of guards stood in battle stance. Elena quickly used her Elemental Gravity magic on the group of guards, freezing them or setting them on fire with ease.
While Elena was busy with the guards, Anita yelled at all of the prisoners, "EVERYONE! COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO BE FREE!" The prisoners, noticing that she was not associated with the Child Hunters, followed her to the port. There, Maria gestured the prisoners to hurry and climb on.
Anita smiled, knowing that their job was almost over. Meanwhile, after defeating the last of the guards in the area, Elena noticed explosive lacrima barrels stacked in front of a cave, as if they were meant to increase the area of the Tower of Heaven as it progressed. She used her gravity magic to move them under the structure. She turned to the warship, seeing that the last of the prisoners were boarding the ship. She then noticed that there was a detonator a good distance away from the cave. She ran and picked it up. She got onto the warship that held all the prisoners and her team.
"I found this and decided that this is necessary so that they will never go through with their plan," Elena told her team. She pressed the detonator down, only to find out that it was a dud.
Elena grunted in frustration, throwing the detonator into the sea. She thought for a moment. She had to make sure that these evil beings never become a threat ever again. She knew that it wasn't required, but she knew what she signed up for becoming a guild mage. A mage had to remove all threats, not delay them. Blowing up their project was the best way to hold them back for a while. On the other hand, she had kids waiting for her to come home, and she promised Kagura that she'd return home. Elena sighed. This is something I have to do, to keep my kids and so many other kids from falling victim to this atrocity. She thought. She was about to jump from the ship, but someone grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing, Elena-sama?" Anita asked.
"The detonator failed. Somebody has to blow up that tower so the Child Hunters never go through with their plans ever again, and that someone is going to be me." Elena answered.
"NO! I won't let you die, Elena-sama!" Anita protested. The other team members overheard their argument.
"What's going on, Anita-san?" Zeeta asked.
"Elena-sama wants to sacrifice her life blowing up the tower." Anita replied, frowning at Elena.
"WHAT? NO! I WON'T LET YOU, ELENA-SAMA!" Maria yelled as she hugged Elena.
Elena sighed. "This is something I have to do, guys," she said.
"But why? We're all here! We can go home! If they try to attack again, some other guild can fill in for us!" Zeeta shouted.
"But that means risking more innocent lives. We have to end it here and now." Elena reasoned. She turned to Anita. "Tell Simon and Kagura that Mommy is sorry that she couldn't return home, and that Mommy loves them very much."
"NO! WE'RE GOING HOME TOGETHER! I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU, ELENA-SAMA!" Anita screamed, tears escaping her eyes. The rest of the team begged their captain to stay on the ship, but to their dismay, Elena's mind was set.
Elena walked up to Anita and hugged her. "You guys made it all possible for me. I wouldn't have been here without the help from all of you." Anita started sobbing as Elena tried letting go of the hug, only to find out the rest of the team joined in on the hug. They all started crying.
"We'll… We'll miss you, Elena-sama…" Maria murmured.
"I'll miss you all too," Elena said back. She turned to Anita and gave her best friend her sheathed sword and her hair ribbon.
"Take this to remember me by. Maybe give it to Kagura when she's ready," Elena told Anita.
Anita didn't say anything. All she did was grasp the ribbon and sword tightly and cry fresh tears of grief for her best friend.
Elena climbed on top of the side of the ship. She turned to face her team one last time. They all waved goodbye to their captain, tears freely rolling down their cheeks. Elena smiled a smile that the team would remember for the rest of their lives. It was a smile of pure bravery and heart, the smile of a true hero.
Elena jumped out of the ship right as it pulled away from the port. She made her way to the explosive lacrima barrels. She amplified all the magic power she had left in her. It was so strong everything else was swept out of the way and the ground started to shake. The shaking was so strong everyone on the ship could feel it.
When her magic was amplified to its full potential, Elena thought of everyone that made an impact on her life. Her guild, her friends, and especially her precious children.
Elena closed her eyes in regret. Simon, take care of your little sister. You're all she has now, and she needs you more than ever. Kagura… She paused, remembering her promise. Tears escaped her eyes as she remembered the look on her two year-old daughter's face when she left. She continued, Kagura, I'm sorry. Mommy didn't keep her promise, but she loves you, with all her heart.
Elena opened her eyes. "Gravity Magic Secret Art: Gravitational Compression!" She screamed at the top of her voice. The barrels reacted as it started to expand under all of the pressure, causing it to become denser. The ending result would make the barrels explode in a massive chain eruption. As the barrels exploded, Elena closed her eyes with one last thought in mind, Goodbye, my friends, my family. I love you all.
From the warship, the explosion was so high that the debris almost hit the ship. The prisoners started cheering that the hell they went through was finally over. Everyone on Elena's team fell to their knees and burst into tears. Anita was the only one to stay standing. Grasping the sword and the ribbon even tighter, she screamed into the sky, "ELENA-SAMA!"
When they got back to the guild, Elena's team, still extremely grief-stricken, noticed that the rest of the guild was planning a surprise welcome back party for Elena upon her return. The sight broke their hearts even more. Words cannot describe how painful their impending reactions would be to find out that Elena gave her life to save them all. The Mermaid Heel guild master then showed up, enthusiastic at the team's return.
"You guys have returned! Congratulations at a job well done! As we speak, the town is petitioning to have a statue built in Elena-san's honor. I personally can't wait to see her reaction!" Master exclaimed.
Elena's team tensed up. Anita walked forward, her hair overshadowing her eyes.
"Where's Elena-san anyways? Is she trying to surprise us with her return?" Master asked.
Anita didn't answer. Her arms started shaking as she fought the tears trying to escape her eyes. She held out what was in her arms. Master discovered that Anita was holding Elena's ribbon and her sheathed sword.
Master's eyes widened, and she looked at the rest of the team to see them in a similar state of depression. "It can't be… Elena-san's…" she said in disbelief and shock. Anita gritted her teeth as she lost her fight against her tears as they started escaping her eyes again. The rest of the team started crying again.
"But we had so much planned for Elena-san. We all eagerly awaited her return," Master said.
Anita finally spoke, "Elena-sama… She gave her life to save us and to make sure none of this would ever happen again. Her bravery… is immeasurable! She died a hero!" The rest of the team nodded in agreement as tears escaped their eyes again, recalling Elena's last smile.
With that, almost the entire guild burst into tears. Master looked to the ground in grief. The heir to guild master was gone when they least expected, but by Anita's description, Elena did what she expected a true mage to do: to lay down her life in order to do the right thing.
What was supposed to be a happy day full of celebration turned into an early heartbreaking funeral for Mermaid Heel's greatest hero. Anita knew the hardest part wasn't done yet. She still had to break the news to Elena's children.
A day passed, and Anita already saw the effects of Elena's death in the guild. Members already left the guild due to lack of motivation, and others fell into total depression. Even Master fell into a state of complete sadness.
As she stood in front of Elena's front door, she took out Elena's ribbon. She gave the sword as a sort of monument and keepsake at the guild. When the time is right, Kagura is to wield the sword. She stood still for a while, trying to bring up the courage to tell Simon and Kagura about their mother's passing.
When she finally felt she was ready, she knocked on the door. To Anita's slight dismay, Kagura answered the door. "Mommy?!" She asked excitedly. Anita tensed up, her courage quickly deteriorating. She was hoping Simon would answer. Kagura hid behind the door, still quite intimidated of Anita. Fortunately, Simon came to the door, and Kagura hid behind him.
"It's you. The other woman that Mom went to work with," Simon recalled. Anita sighed.
"Simon, Kagura, your mother… didn't…" She paused, tears starting to escape her eyes again. Too young to take the hint, Simon and Kagura looked confused.
"What happened to Mom, Anita-san?" Simon asked, showing concern.
"Your mother… she died saving me and all of her friends." Anita shouted as more tears escaped her eyes. What's the point of putting on a brave face? My best friend is gone! Anita shouted to herself.
Simon's face fell to depression, "Mom's gone?" Kagura burst into tears, holding on to her older brother tighter.
"MOMMY!" Kagura screamed as she hugged Simon.
"Come with me. We're holding a memorial service for her. You can stay at my home for the time being," Anita said. She turned to Simon and gave him Elena's ribbon, "Simon, give this to Kagura for her birthday. It's from your mother as a gift." Simon clutched it tight and nodded. He placed it in his pocket as he took the still crying Kagura's hand as they both followed Anita to the Mermaid Heel guildhall, where Elena's official funeral was to take place. The petition for Elena's statue passed, and it now became the statue for her tomb. It portrayed her final smile to her team as she gave her life for her friends and family.
And this was the day Kagura started detesting promises, even though she didn't realize it at the time.
Fiore x774
Simon and Kagura were eating dinner peacefully. It had been a rough three years for them both. Kagura's shyness almost doubled since their mother's passing. Even with frequent visitors like Anita and Erza, Kagura would still hide from them at first. Despite the many times Simon told her to introduce herself to Erza, Kagura would cower behind him. Simon couldn't blame her, though. This was her way of coping with their mother's death.
Kagura was now six years old, and since their mother's funeral, she was inspired to be strong like her mother. Her self-consciousness over her youth and the personal pressure of trying to be like her mother caused her to be incredibly shy.
While cleaning the dishes, Kagura was reading a comic book of a female hero saving her town with her sword. She gasped in surprise and excitement.
"Onii-chan, look! She saved her town with her sword!" Kagura exclaimed.
"Ah, so she did," Simon said, smiling.
"I want to learn how to use a sword, too! I want to be a superhero so I can save people and so we could get money to move to a better place with all our friends!" Kagura said, smiling.
Simon smiled back. "I promise, I'll be there when you master the sword. I'm sure Anita-san would also love to see you master the sword too. It'll remind her of Mom," he replied.
Kagura looked down in sadness. She forgot that their mom used a sword too, and she was claimed a hero. She smiled again at her brother, knowing that he will be proud of her when she masters the sword, and she was sure that Mom would be proud of her too.
"I wonder if Anita-san will teach me how to use a sw-" Kagura stopped when she and Simon heard screaming and explosions.
Simon stood up instantly, whispering, "Erza…"
Kagura hid next to her brother, "Onii-chan, I'm scared."
Simon headed to the door. "Wait here and hide, Kagura, I need to see what's going on."
Without arguing back, Kagura hid under her bed as Simon stepped out of their house. A group of Child Hunters invaded Rosemary Village. They were killing adults and capturing the children.
"Erza! Where are you?! Are you okay?!" Simon yelled.
All of a sudden, several Child Hunters grabbed him from behind. Simon tried to fight back, but the Hunters tied his hands behind his back and carried him away.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "ERZA!"
From a few blocks down, Erza heard Simon's yell, "Simon?" She made her way to Simon's house. What if he got captured? Is his house on fire? Is his little sister still in there? Erza asked herself with concern. She already lost her parents right in front of her, and she was not about to let any more lives end when she could've saved them.
Kagura still hid under her bed, scared for her life. It had been fifteen minutes, and Simon still didn't return. Fearing the worst, Kagura crawled out. As soon as she left the front door, explosive lacrima bombs blew up their home. Kagura started running aimlessly down the no longer recognizable dirt road. The screams, cries and dying groans scared her to no end. She stopped when she heard a Child Hunter order his troops, "Take the children! Kill all of the adults!"
Kagura looked around with little hope left. "Onii-chan? Where are you?" She called for Simon desperately.
Erza spotted Simon's house on fire. She took a quick tour to look for Simon's sister. Am I too late? Was she captured? Did she die? Erza shook her head. No. She's still alive. She has to be. Erza sprinted down the road and spotted a lone little girl calling out to her big brother.
That's her. Erza said to herself. Now to get her out of here. Erza ran and grabbed Kagura's hand.
Kagura felt a hand grab hers. She jumped in fear but noticed it was the redhead that Simon always brought home.
"They'll catch you if you just stand there!" Erza shouted as she started running with Kagura behind her.
"But, my Onii-chan…" Kagura tried to protest, but she knew the redhead was right.
Moments later, Erza spotted a small stack of empty bins. A couple of Child Hunters heard Kagura's protests. "I think I heard a child over there!" A Hunter yelled. Erza quickly helped the purple-haired girl into the bins.
"Hide here!" Erza whispered to Kagura.
"But what about you?" Kagura asked.
"Don't worry about me. I'll find another place to hide." Erza answered.
Just before she closed the bin, Erza said one word that Kagura would remember for a long time, "Live."
Kagura tried her best not to burst in tears. She was alone now. The redhead ran off, but Kagura heard a group of Child Hunters running after her. "I found a kid! Grab her before she runs away!" One yelled. Erza tried to run as quickly as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. The Child Hunters tackled her into the ground and took her away.
Kagura didn't know how long it had been since the redhead girl put her into the bin. She only knew to come out when all the screaming and shouting quieted down.
When she heard nothing but the flames of the burning village, Kagura crawled out of the bin. Other than her house, she only knew of one more place to go to: Anita's house. It was a few villages away, but her life was on the line, and she had to live. Live for Simon, live for her mother's legacy, and live for the redhead girl that saved her life.
Kagura started running west. Thanks to Simon's help, she knew the four cardinal directions, and which way they point. On the road ahead, two Child Hunters were wrapping up with patrolling the area for any survivors. They split up as one stayed on the road and the other went to report to their commanding officer that there were no more survivors. Kagura ran as quickly as she could, tears in her eyes and her breathing becoming labored.
The Child Hunter on the road sensed something approaching him. He turned around and noticed a little girl running towards him. Kagura stopped, fear spreading all over her body as the Hunter turned around and saw her. Kagura tried cutting through the houses, but the Child Hunter was too quick for her. He tackled her down.
"No! Stop it!" Kagura yelled. The Hunter smirked. He then stopped. He recognized the hair. The hazel eyes. It reminded him of… her. His smirk turned into a deadly glare. "I would have let you become a part of our new project, but you remind me of the woman responsible of halting our plans. We've got more than enough young sacrifices from this village. Now it's revenge!" The Child Hunter took out a shiv and pointed it at one of Kagura's "cursed" hazel eyes.
Kagura screamed for her life. "HELP! STOP! PLEASE!" Tears rolled down her cheeks, as she feared that her life was over. She failed. She failed Simon. She failed her mother. She failed the redhead girl. She won't live after all. The Hunter laughed as he brought the shiv closer to Kagura's eye.
"STOOOOOP IIIIIT!" Kagura screamed one final scream. Little did neither she nor the Child Hunter know that Kagura's hair and face glowed white. Suddenly, the shiv felt a lot lighter. The Hunter let go and the shiv floated high into the air. The Child Hunter also suddenly felt a lot heavier on his right side. Kagura didn't know what was going on, but she at least knew that this was her opportunity to run for her life. She sprinted as quickly as her little legs could go. The Child Hunter grunted as the mysterious gravitational force dragged him to a house on the other side of the road. As soon as the force deteriorated, the Hunter growled to find out that Kagura was long gone at that point.
We'll meet again. I don't care how long it takes. I don't care if you'll remember me, little girl. I will have my revenge. The Child Hunter glared at the direction Kagura ran.
Meanwhile, Anita was putting a four year-old little girl to bed. The little girl wasn't biologically hers; she was rescued on a job she completed a few months ago after she discovered that those nasty thieves killed her parents.
"Goodnight, Araña," Anita whispered to the little girl as she closed her eyes.
It had been three years since Elena's death. Mermaid Heel practically hit rock bottom since then. Most of the members from the guild's prime were long gone. From Elena's original team, only Anita and Maria remained in the guild. Naomi moved to Blue Pegasus in an attempt to have a new beginning. Zeeta quit being a mage overall, blaming herself for letting Elena die. Anita stayed loyal throughout the years, hoping that someday, Mermaid Heel will reach a new Golden Age.
Kagura ran for about an hour. She was dead tired, but her heart told her to keep going. The redhead's quote repeated in her head. "Live." Her voice got louder and louder as she ran. She was almost there, at least.
As she reached Anita's home village, she ran to the eighth house to the right. She took a moment to catch her breath before knocking on Anita's door.
Anita was just climbing into her own bed until she heard light but quick knocks on her door. At this late an hour, Anita considered two circumstances: either the person knocking was a kid calling for help of some kind, or it was a smart robber pretending to be a kid. Anita was too tired to think, so she went to the door anyways. If it was a robber, she could beat him or her up without much effort.
She opened the door quickly only to discover a little girl with burn marks and bruises, looking like she was about to cry her eyes out.
"Can I help you?" Anita asked drowsily. She rubbed her eyes to take a better look at the kid at the front door. Her eyes widened. "Those… Those eyes... Those hazel eyes." She started breathing heavily before calming down.
"K… Kagura… What happened? Where's Simon? Are you hurt?" Anita asked with concern. Kagura didn't reply. She ran to Anita's arms and burst into tears. Her hair smelled like flames and soot. Anita feared the worst. No Simon, smells like fire, and scared for her life to the point where she fled the village and ran all the way to the Metal Mage's home. The Child Hunters... Anita whispered. They attacked Rosemary, and they must've taken Simon. Kagura was the lone survivor. Anita froze. Elena-sama... died in vain? Tears threatened to escaped Anita's eyes at the thought.
Like the rest of her team, Anita felt responsible for Elena's death, as valiant as it was. Elena-sama, I know you don't blame me for your sacrifice, but I still feel responsible. I will take care of your daughter. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me. She promised Elena indirectly. She looked down at Kagura, who looked back up at her with tearful hazel eyes. She reminded Anita so much of her mother.
"Kagura, I will take you in to Mermaid Heel. We'll all protect you, and we'll help you in whatever way we can. I promise." Anita whispered to Kagura, tears escaping her own eyes.
There's that word again. Promise. Her mother failed to keep hers, and her older brother may not keep his. Kagura was starting to hate that word. She will make sure that those close to her would use that word with care. She'd make sure promises made to her would be kept from now on.
In the years x791 and x792, Kagura would find out the truth behind her loneliness and despair. This would cause her to try to change her personality, but it will be difficult. All it took was a certain redhead mage, the same redhead girl that saved her life all those years ago.
And that's the prologue. Why, you may ask, would a story mainly about Erza and Kagura start with the story of Kagura's mother? The reason is because she will have some indirect significance to the story as Kagura tries to change herself.
Also, my OC name choice is random except for Elena, because Elena Mikazuchi just sounds right for some reason. May be just me..
I don't know when the first chapter will be out, but it will be out eventually. Got a busy and fun summer ahead, so I may not have too much time on my hands, but I will try my best. Stay tuned for current events in Chapter 1.