The Fallout 10
Okay I am actually sooooo sorry I know I haven't updated in a while, you may hit me *.* honestly I've been so busy this summer and I wasn't really inspired but I'm not giving up! I have chapter 11 ready and I'm currently writing chapter 12!
Though, without further a due, chapter 10!
The Angel Exam
Jellal laid in his bed with his hands mussing his hair. He breathed loudly as he tried to apprehend exactly everything that had happened.
He ended up letting his curiosity get the better of him and he read a bit about Gray's past. He learned that Gray was an only child with his father, Silver and his mother, Mika. They lived peacefully in a village until one day when Gray was seven, blizzards rained down on their village day and night. This carried on for about five days and then a tornado hit. Everyone in the village who was already weak from the cold died. Only Gray survived.
Jellal couldn't possibly imagine how such misfortune could befall the village. He knew that it was the world's order for natural disasters, but for one so strong...only a god's work could be behind it.
Jellal, along with all the other angels had studied the gods. A god for destruction, Jellal couldn't remember.
Though, if Gray was only seven at the time, that meant he must've survived somehow. After all, Gray was technically in his mid-teens right now. Jellal felt himself grow curious again. He stood up, about to head back to The Archives when a light caught his eye.
The souls Meredy had left him were shining brightly, he'd have to take care of them. Jellal remembered that it was in fact very late at night and the library probably wasn't open. Sighing, he headed for his bed.
As Jellal drifted off to sleep he remembered the name of the God of Destruction, Deliora.
"Lushi, Lushi, Lushi!" Happy said as he flew around Natsu's house. Natsu had managed to get out of ugh dress shopping by saying that he had to take care of Happy. Mira deduced that Natsu himself was actually sick because of the dark circles under his eyes.
It had been two days now, and Natsu had barely gotten any sleep. He was kept up, thinking about Lucy.
"Happy!" Natsu shouted.
"Aye sir!" Happy flew down and sat on Natsu's shoulder.
Lucy, the way her eyes seemed to tell him her feelings. The way they looked so honest. And how she really cared about Happy.
Natsu shook his head, "So what do you wanna eat today?"
"Fish!" Happy darted up and floated in the air with drool seeping down his furry chin.
"That's what you had yesterday buddy," Natsu said.
"Aye!" Happy nodded. Natsu walked to his (poor excuse of a) kitchen and reached for the handle of his fridge. He noticed the lemons sitting just below the stash of fish. His mind thought back to the blonde haired angel.
"Natsu?" Happy's voice reminded Natsu that he was supposed to be getting fish. He sighed, this was how it had been for the past two days. Anything yellow, or brown or anything that seemed to be glowing or shining made him think of Lucy.
"You want it cooked?" Natsu asked.
"Fish is best raw," Happy said sagely. He sat himself on Natsu's head.
"Have you grown li'l buddy?" Natsu inquired. He noticed that Happy seemed to have gradually gotten heavier over the days and that his vocabulary was getting bigger.
"Aye!"
Natsu set down a plate with a fish on it on his table. Happy flew off of Natsu's head and to the plate. He sniffed the air to smell the aroma of the fish, though, his nose caught something else. Happy whipped his head around and sniffed the air again. He walked silently towards the curtain hanging over the window. Happy noticed the flick of a white tail. He was about to jump and catch it but Natsu called.
"You gonna eat?" Natsu gestured towards the plate. Happy made a low hiss but flew back towards his food. He sniffed the air once more, but the other smell he had detected was already gone.
There was a knock at the door. Natsu stood up and opened it to reveal Erza standing there holding a bag.
"Uh...hey Erza," Natsu said awkwardly.
"Natsu, you already look better! Well yesterday, we got your outfit for the ball," Erza shoved the bag into his arms.
"Erm, why?" Natsu asked.
"You're a footman Natsu! You have to look proper. Do not fear, I've already spoken to King Zeref and he's recognized that you will be one. In fact, he thought it was a good idea. You know, raising the defence and all," Erza said as she wandered into his house.
"Oh...did, you all buy your dresses?" Natsu asked since it looked as if Erza didn't plan on leaving any time soon.
"Yes, it's very beautiful. Speaking of dresses, Natsu, I've also come here to make sure you know your manners as a footman," Erza summoned a book and slammed it down onto Natsu's table. Happy jumped up and flew away with the fish still in his mouth.
Something told Natsu that it was going to be a long afternoon.
Gray waited anxiously and nervously in the line to enter the area where the Angel Exam would be held. This year, it seemed like a handful of Minor Angels had been entered. He spotted Meredy amongst the crowd, though he didn't keep an eye on her for long.
Last night he had stayed in the training rooms until late. Of course, Lucy found him there and told him that getting sleep was important as well. She then demanded that he go to bed.
The line went by quite fast. Though, that was because all you needed to do was to state your name, rank and they'd ask you what your Mortal Item is to ensure that it was you.
Strangely enough, Gray didn't know Jellal's Mortal Item. He knew that Lucy's was a key, Levy's was a book, he learned that the little girl named Wendy had a pink ribbon and that Lisanna had a beautiful feather. Gray had never heard of Jellal's Mortal Item.
Gray soon found himself nearing the front of the line. There was one person in front of him. When the person in front of him approached the registration point they just let him through.
"Next," the angel called.
"Um, Minor Angel Gray Fullbuster," Gray said. The angel wrote shuffled his pages and crossed off his name on the list.
"And what's your item?" the angel asked.
"My necklace," Gray grabbed the chain from his neck and showed it to the angel. The angel waved him off and let him go in.
It took another few minutes for the rest of the angels to file in. Once everyone had, King Makarov flew above them.
"I welcome you to this year's Angel Exam. As I'm sure you know the Angel Exam tests how far your skills have come since you were recruited. How pure are you? How strong is your sense of justice? Just how much control and power do you have over your magic? These are the things you will be tested on. Now, a word from my right hand man-Yajima," Makarov stepped aside and another angel of equal height flew up.
"Since there seems to be quite a handful of you, let's explain the rules quickly. Please save your questions for the end," Yajima coughed.
"The exam this year is a game of sorts." A holographic image appeared behind Yajima. A beast appeared. It looked similar to an ape but it was much larger and it wore a belt that had a red gem.
"This beast is called a Vulcan. It has captured a child and your mission is to save it. There are a few rules to this however." The annoyance and chorus "Of course" was practically tangible.
"First, you mustn't spend more than five minutes in there. Second, the child must come out unharmed, third do not interfere with other participants and finally, you will receive a helper," Yajima gestured. To Gray's surprise Lucy flew up and chanted something.
"Pun, pun!" suddenly little snowman-looking things flooded from the celestial world.
"The Nicola will aid you. Please use them wisely," Yajima clasped his hands together. "Now, let's get all of you to the stage."
Gray along with the other angels were led to a room which seemed to go on forever. He was stationed next to the guy who was let in without a word and a girl with pink hair who was ranting about love. He spotted Meredy a bit further down to the right.
"Pun, pun!" a small voice said behind him. Gray noticed that his Nicola had appeared. It was pure white with no extra patterns. The girl beside him was fawning over hers which was tinted pink and the guy seemed to be staring down the Nicola.
"Are you ready?" Yajima asked.
"Aye sir!" everyone chorused.
"A word of advice, don't kill the Vulcan," Yajima said with a glint sparkling in his eye. "Now! Let the Angel Exam begin!"
A Vulcan and a girl in a cage appeared in front of Gray. He didn't want to spend too much time considering his options, after all, he only had five minutes. However, he couldn't just barge in there head on.
He turned to his Nicola, "So uh...can you carry anything?" he asked.
The Nicola wobbled over to a patch of rocks. He put his paws on the biggest one and pulled. Though, he simply fell down. Instead he picked up one of the smaller ones, "Pun, pun!" he said
Gray sighed, "Right then, what can you do?" The Nicola pointed to its nose and made a diving motion.
It was then that Gray noticed the Vulcan was dashing towards him. He quickly put his hands together and yelled, "Ice Make: Knuckle!" A large fist sprouted from the ground, knocking the Vulcan off his feet.
Gray pivoted and picked up the Nicola and began to run towards the Vulcan. "So your nose can do stuff?" he asked.
"Pun, pun!" the Nicola responded.
"Ugh," Gray sighed. How did Lucy understand hers? Gray looked in the direction of the girl to see her holding her stomach and lying down.
Strange. Gray quickly put his Nicola down and placed his hands together, "Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray took the ice disk and aimed it at the Vulcan's right leg. He waited just long enough to see where exactly the disk would hit then he switched his view to the girl.
He watched the girl's right leg give out as the disk made contact. It was like Meredy's magic.
One of the rules was that the girl had to come out unharmed. Yajima had also advised not to kill the Vulcan. Gray hadn't seen Meredy's Sensory Link in battle but he could only assume that wherever one person was hurt, while it may affect the person linked, physical injuries wouldn't appear.
"Ah gee...how do I hurt the Vulcan without hurting her...?" Gray wondered aloud.
"Pun, pun!" Gray turned to his Nicola to see him gesturing towards the belt the Vulcan was wearing which held the red gem. Gray also noticed the girl was wearing a necklace that held a similar red gem.
"Right, Ice Make: Lance!" About five ice lances materialized and Gray directed them towards the gem. The lances made contact, but not a single scratch had landed on the gem.
"Half!" Makarov yelled. Gray tensed.
"Does regular magic not have any effect on it?" Gray said with a panicked voice.
"Pu~n!" the Nicola shouted. He made the same diving motion and gestured to its nose more.
"Is your nose special or something?" Gray said half-jokingly.
"Pun!" Nicola nodded.
Gray raised a skeptic eyebrow, but placed his hands together again. "Ice Make: Cage!" A large cage made of ice appeared and dropped over the Vulcan. The Vulcan growled and began gnawing on one of the bars.
"Okay, okay. So," Gray picked up the Nicola, "I'm gonna throw you and you make sure your nose makes contact with that gem you got it?"
"Pun!" the Nicola responded with a salute. Gray waited for an opening then threw his Nicola through the cage.
"Pu~n!" the Nicola screamed as it sailed towards the Vulcan. Gray watched as his Nicola's nose made contact with the red gem and it immediately exploded.
"Pun! Pun! Pun!" his Nicola shouted as the Vulcan pounded it's fists, trying to hit the Nicola.
"Ice Make: Super Freeze Arrow!" Gray shouted. An ice bow appeared in his hands with an arrow. He aimed it at the Vulcan and released the arrow.
The Vulcan made a gasping noise before falling to the ground. It was dead. The cage disappeared and Gray ran towards the cage where the girl was kept. He pressed his hands onto the cage, "Freeze!"
The cage froze over and cracked. Gray scooped up the girl into his arms and watched the man next to him for the last minute.
"Go!" the person pointed to the Vulcan. His Nicola wobbled towards the Vulcan and merely stood there. The man left his Nicola to distract the Vulcan and went for the girl.
"Pun!" the man's Nicola screamed as the Vulcan loomed over it.
"Be quiet and stay! I don't care what happens to you!" the man yelled back at the Nicola.
The Vulcan raised it's large hand and swiped at the Nicola. It flew back and landed on it's back.
"Hey!" Gray found himself saying.
The man turned and glowered, "What? It's none of your business how I use it!"
The girl next to Gray who had also seemed to finish the task also joined. "How could you possibly do that? There's no love in such actions!" she cried.
"There isn't supposed to be! He's my helper, I get to decide what I do!" the man screamed back.
"What if he doesn't make it!?" Gray pressed.
"Oh well!" he responded.
"How could you!?" another angel cried.
"Yeah! You shouldn't just sacrifice him!"
"Think about his feelings!"
"What you're doing is wrong!"
"You can deal with the Vulcan yourself, can't you?"
Soon enough nearly all the angels had gathered around this one's stage. When the five minutes were up the other angels who were working on the task came over to see what was going on.
"What's going on here?" Makarov interrupted. All the angels turned to their king and began talking. "Ahem!" he coughed, "One at a time please. Gray, you spoke up first, why don't you explain?"
"Yes sir. When I turned to watch the other angels because I had finished before the five minutes were up. I saw this man use his Nicola to distract the Vulcan. However..."
"He didn't help his little friend when he was in trouble!" the pink haired girl beside him finished dramatically, "He doesn't love him!"
"Sherry's right! If he was going to use his Nicola as a distraction, he should help him when he's in trouble at least!" Gray heard Meredy say.
"Yeah!" a bunch of other angels chorused.
"There were other options!"
"What you did was absolutely appalling!"
"I can't believe you!"
The angels all looked to their king, expecting a face of rage and this man would be punished. Instead, his face grew into a large smile.
"All right Mest, thanks for doing that," Makarov snapped his fingers and the man-Mest-was covered in a blinding light. When it disappeared Mest had large wings and a bright halo.
"All right everyone good job! You all passed. You honoured the rules with your purity, your senses of justice allowed you to understand the wrong in Mest's actions-"
"Wait, this was a setup!?" Gray exclaimed.
"Of course it was! How else was I going to test your justice?" Makarov smiled. "And you were all able to control yourself to not kill or deal great damage to the Vulcan-although, two of you managed to see through that trick. May I have an explanation?"
Gray and Meredy looked at each other but stayed quiet. The King stared at them and gave a light cough.
"It's my magic sir," Meredy said first. "My magic allows me to do many things and one of them is called Sensory Link which is essentially the same type of magic you used to connect the Vulcan and the girl together," she explained.
"And what about Gray?" Makarov raised an eyebrow.
"Incidentally yesterday, I showed Gray my magic because we were training and he was curious." Gray's smile thinned as the truth was that he gave no consent to her showing the magic.
"So how did you figure our where to take down the link?" Makarov pressed.
"It was very similar to my magic. Both participants must wear the mark and that allows them to be linked. So I simply looked for anything similar. The girl wears a necklace with the red gem. However, these marks cannot be destroyed without permission from the creator. So I simply managed to take off the belt of the Vulcan," Meredy said quietly.
"Gray is this how you figured it out?" Makarov turned to Gray.
"Not exactly sir. I figured that something similar to Meredy's magic was being used and my Nicola was kind enough to point out the red gem. so I attacked it, but nothing happened. The my Nicola said that his nose could destroy it," Gray said quickly.
"Plue! Good job little buddy," Lucy flew down and grabbed the Nicola that helped Gray. "I suppose," she said quietly. "That you got an advantage from Plue, but don't worry," she winked.
"Well, then," Makarov grinned at Merey and Gray. "I suppose that concludes this year's exam! Thank you all for participating, now," Makarov clapped his hands once and the room was bathed in light. Not from lights, but from the glowing of everyone's wings and halo. A light hum filled Gray's ears and when it all went away he noticed that his wings were bigger.
Everyone burst into cheers and smiled when Horologium entered the room.
"My king!" he shouted. Makarov turned to the celestial being, "Minor Angel Wendy and Angel Chelia Blendy have spotted a horde of creatures in the Mortal Realm!" Everyone burst into light gasps. "The last report they gave was them heading into Hell!"
"I see..." Makarov narrowed his eyes and thought back to what Yuka said and what young Romeo had told him.
"Call everyone to the palace courtyard immediately!" Makarov shouted. He flew off and all the angels flew to the courtyard.
Horologium coughed and a loud dinging sound filled Heaven-a signal for everyone to gather.
Soon enough all the angels of Heaven-which really wasn't that many-gathered in the courtyard. All frantic and confused.
"Everyone!" Makarov boomed. "We are angels! And as angels it is our duty to aid! There are reports of strange unidentified creatures heading their way into Hell! And so, as angels we will follow. We may get caught up in battle. And we will likely be fighting alongside the demons, but we are angels and this is our duty!" he finished. Many angels looked skeptical, some even disgusted.
Lucy sighed. What Natsu had said to her was true. The angels looked down on the demons. The angels thought that the demons were the evil ones. Helping them seemed out of the question for many.
"Minor Angels! Your duty is to relay information and be on watch of Heaven to ensure the creatures do not attack here. If they do please inform any of the celestial spirits. Yajima will assign you positions! Please prepare!" Makarov ordered.
"Angels and Gold Angels! You will he coming with me to Hell. I will explain the situation with Zeref or his Defendants soon so please to not fret!"
"U-um excuse me sir..." Gray spoke up.
"Yes?" Makarov said with a bit of panic.
"The Demons are supposedly hosting a ball tonight and by the looks of it, it is already dark. They will likely all be at the palace," Gray said, trying to ignore the looks he was getting.
"Ah yes, the ball. Well then, everyone! Please get ready. Take anything you need and meet at the main portal in ten minutes!" Makarov ordered.
Gray couldn't help but feel excited. He and a bunch of other angels had just finished the exam in time to go into Hell.
"All preparations are complete sire."
"Good, good. Shagotte, how's your puppet?" a throaty voice replied.
"He understands the method, though sir, I must ask you of something," Shagotte replied.
"Go on," Alegria said slowly.
"Are there not people who's magic is to summon weapons? Those weapons aren't magic, are they?" Shagotte asked.
"They are more often then not infused with magic, or magic is required to use them," Alegria said. "This will fly right by them. It's something they're not used to."
Natsu had arrived begrudgingly to the ball. Happy tagged along with him despite Natsu telling him to stay home.
Erza waited for him at the door and reminded him for the fourth time today that he wasn't allowed any of the food until the ball was over.
"But then it'll all be gone!" Natsu whined.
Laxus, who had been walking by snorted, "You're a fire demon dipshit. Just heat it up yourself."
Natsu looked at him for a bit, then his eyes widened in realization, "Ohhh! I hadn't thought of that!"
"Big surprise there," another voice joined. Natsu had to stifle a laugh when he turned to see Gajeel. Apparently Laxus did as well. The tuxedo he had was obviously way too small on him. It looked tight and his movements were stiff thanks to the outfit being so constricting.
"Man!" Cana hollered, "That is tight!" she laughed as she came up to the steps of the palace.
"All right, now I hope you two remember what I've taught you. And don't forget to greet everyone nicely! No matter how annoying they may be," Erza quickly fixed Natsu's collar and scolded Gajeel for not doing up his top button. Juvia arrived soon enough to defend her friend by saying that if Gajeel did that button up, all the rest would pop off.
"This fucking blows man," Gajeel grumbled.
"I know, why do we hafta? Ain't Erza and them the Defendants? Their title fits better," Natsu agreed.
"At least you didn't have to go dress shopping with them," Gajeel bemoaned.
"How was that?" Natsu asked with his mouth curving into a smirk.
"It was torture! We went to nearly all the shops twice! Why can't they just get the dress they like then go home? That took an entire afternoon! Worst part is, I had to carry all the dresses!" Gajeel attempted to throw his hands up, but he swore he heard his tux rip so he just kept his arms awkwardly at his side.
"Really? Man girls are weird!" Natsu agreed.
"Weirdo, Lushi!" Happy sang as he flew about.
"They spent forever in the change rooms! It was all "It doesn't match your eyes" or "We need to try different hair styles" or "It's not your style maybe she looks better in it" and then someone else would try it on!" Gajeel continued to complain.
"Lily! Why hadn't you come? At least it wouldn'ta' been so boring!" Gajeel said to his exceed.
"Apologies, but I'm afraid it was horror you had to face alone," Lily said simply.
"Girls and dress shopping..." Gajeel rolled his eyes.
"Now don't you two look dashing?" a sweet voice called. Mira stood there in a long dress that was a lilac at the top, but the colour faded to a deep purple near the bottom.
Both Natsu and Gajeel held out their arms the way Erza had told them to when a girl was walking up the steps. Mira placed her hand on Natsu's forearm as her high-heels clicked behind her on the steps.
Now that Natsu thought about it, all the girls' dresses were quite nice. Erza went for a royal blue colour. The dress was a traditional ballroom dress that puffed out at the waist. Though, not as ridiculous as some of the ones he'd seen. She also wore a white shawl over her shoulders.
Juvia, as always wore a blue dress. Her dress ended just above to knee which according to Gajeel was too short because that bastard Lyon would try to look up her skirt. It really wasn't much different from Juvia's usual attire. The only thing that made her outfit different was that her hair was done up into a small bun with the rest of her hair falling down her back.
"Ball! Ball! Ball!"
"Honestly Bickslow! You could have at least taken your helmet off for this!" Evergreen fumed.
"Aw c'mon Ever. Don't be such a grouch," Bickslow stuck out his tongue.
"Grouch! Grouch!"
"You're with me, right Freed?" Bickslow turned to Freed. Instead of a tuxedo like most guys were wearing, he wore a white shirt, black slacks and a long coat over it.
"Not really, helmets are meant for battle and protection. In the presence of our king it could be very disrespectful," Freed said wisely. Bickslow groaned.
"So what happens if someone starts pissing me off?" Bickslow asked.
"You can control your power you idiot," Evergreen snapped.
"I dunno Ever, we all know what happens when you get pissed," Bickslow slid his hands into his pant pockets.
"What are you talking about!?" Ever screeched.
Freed sided with Bickslow on this one, "You turn them to stone Ever."
"I always turn them back!" Evergreen argued, but Freed and Bickslow had already walked up ahead and were in conversation.
"How long was the shortest one again?" Freed asked in a wise voice.
"One day! One day!" Bickslow's babies answered.
"And the longest was a week and two days, my she has a horrible temper," Freed shook his head.
"Well, she's Ever," Bickslow said. Freed nodded, taking Bickslow's remark as a good point.
"Ugh men," Evergreen sighed. She whistled and immediately both boys held out their hands and waited at the steps of the palace. Evergreen lightly placed her hands on both and walked up the stairs. The three entered the ball.
"The fuck was that?" Gajeel asked.
"Dunno, they're under Laxus' influence," Natsu sighed. Evergreen's dress was a vibrant green that had an intricate floral pattern on it. It was shorter than Juvia's and at the waist a cape-looking thing flew out behind her. It was long and translucent. Gajeel was impressed that neither boys had stepped on it.
"Natsu-san!" a familiar voice rang out. Natsu turned to see Sting, Lector, Rogue, Frosch and Minerva.
"What's up guys?" Natsu gave a warm smile.
"We're escorting our Lady to the ball," Rogue gestured to Minerva. Minerva wore a deep purple dress that was long and thing, there was a slit on the left side which showed her leg and high heels.
"Aren't you coming in Natsu-san?" Sting asked when he noticed Natsu hadn't moved from his spot.
"Erza made me a handyman," Natsu grumbled.
"I thought it was footguy," Gajeel commented.
"Oh! Right, she made me a footboy," Natsu scowled.
"That sucks, being a heeldude," Sting agreed.
"I think that being an anklesir isn't that bad," Rogue said.
"Yeah, but we ain't allowed to get food!" Gajeel exclaimed.
"And no one's allowed to get any for us," Natsu added.
"Well, I'm sure there are other occasions that you can join," Sting put his hand on Natsu's shoulder. "In the mean time, good luck being a thumbman."
"Good luck Natsu-san!" Lector said as he flew in after Sting.
"Fro thinks so too!"
"Can you two be more ushful at your job and help me out?" a drunken Cana ordered.
"Jeez you drunkard, you haven't even arrived at the steps of the palace and you're already wasted!?" Gajeel grumbled as he went to go push Cana to the palace.
"Gotta make the mosht of it~!" Cana slurred. Gajeel forced Cana into the palace and she sped over to the bar.
"Cana!" another voice called. Laki huffed, "I was supposed to look after her..."
"Did a mighty fine job of that," Natsu deadpanned.
"I know, I know. Oh well, it was going to happen one was or another," Laki sighed.
Laki's dress as about a long a Juvia's but it flared out a little more. It had black and purple horizontal stripes.
After a few more demons entered, not many more entered. Natsu was getting bored and Gajeel was getting irritated with Natsu tapping his foot because he was bored.
"We could sneak off for a bit, right?" Natsu suggested.
"Erza'll kill us if she finds out," Gajeel pointed out.
"Thanks Captain Obvious. It'll only be for a bit. You can come if you want. But you're a wimp so..." Natsu began to fly out.
"What you say flametard!?" Gajeel growled.
"Oi! If we fight Erza will hear us!" Natsu said.
"You ass," was the only thing Gajeel said. They flew through the forest that surrounded the palace. Natsu groaned as he stretched out his arms. He groaned again as he stretched out his sides, but yelped when Gajeel knocked him over.
"Shut up, you here that?" Gajeel said sternly. Natsu focused himself and he heard a faint thumping. With every passing second the thumping turned louder and louder.
"I'm gonna go check it out," Natsu flew up quickly. Gajeel caught up to him and they both peeked out of the forest.
"What are those?" Gajeel whispered in such a quiet voice that no one should've been able to hear him.
"Dunno, but they sure don't look friendly," Natsu squinted at the strange creatures. They were of different size and shape and they looked like they were made from slime.
"Should we warn everyone?" Natsu asked. But Gajeel didn't respond. He simply turned and flew through the trees back to the palace. Natsu followed until they got back to the palace.
Jellal was actually rather happy that he didn't have to take care of the souls. One of the souls seemed hotter than the other. Touching it felt like it was burning him.
"We have never seen these creatures before! Please be on your guard!" Makarov said as he walked through the portal. Jellal and many other angels followed.
There was murmuring and reluctancy in the air. Jellal knew that many angels didn't think saving the demons was worth their time.
"Such ignorance," Lucy murmured.
"It's really a shame. But this is the way and thinking of angels thrust upon them," Jellal agreed.
"I think that they could really be nicer about it," Gray chimed. Jellal stiffened. It wasn't taboo to know your past...but learning how you died and learning about the people you loved would definitely have some effect. And Gray had such a traumatic past, surely flashbacks and nightmares would haunt him.
"I think that they're forgetting what they are. What our purpose is," Lucy said wisely. Jellal agreed silently.
"Lu-chan, Gray, Jellal," Levy's voice broke through their silence. "This is Hibiki, he doesn't fight but his magic allows him access to lots of information," she explained.
"You never told me your friend was so lovely," Hibiki grabbed Lucy's hand and kissed her knuckle.
"I-um," Lucy blushed a bit. Hibiki was quite dashing and his manners were very good.
"Try to keep it in your pants Hibiki," Jellal said sternly.
Hibiki looked at Jellal for a bit then pointed at him, "You must be who Levy was talking about. The one who was looking for a book?"
"I believe so," Jellal replied.
"Well when we're done here, I'll help you find what you're looking for," Hibiki nodded to Jellal and went off to charm another girl.
Soon Jellal was caught up in the current of angels flying towards the portal. He followed them into the Mortal Realm.
"I've sent a message to Zeref, everyone be on your guard!" King Makarov ordered as they stormed into the portal of Hell.
Jellal winced as the portal particles bit at him, other angels were also complaining about the long and annoying ride into Hell. Lucy seemed unbothered; in fact, the portal particles barely touched her. It was as if she was wearing some sort of charm to shield herself from the particles.
Everyone stopped their mumbling when they all fell out the other side. The Angels-who had never been to Hell-were mostly frightened. Most Gold Angels had missions in other realms and seemed used the the dark atmosphere.
Makarov led them through Hell. "There! A see them!" an angel in front exclaimed. Jellal flew up a little to see a horde of black figures trudging further and further away from them.
"What are those?" Lucy whispered.
"I don't know, Lu-chan," Levy replied.
"Everyone to their places! I've downloaded the plan into your heads, stick to it as best you can," Hibiki ordered. Gray pointed at Jellal's heads and he noticed a bar nearly full floating above his head.
"Right, let's do this," Jellal nodded to his friends and they flew off to their spots.
"King Zeref!" Natsu screamed as he burst into the ball.
"We saw these things!" Gajeel said breathily.
"They were coming towards us!"
"And ain't ever seen anything like them before!"
"They're gonna attack us!"
"We gotta prepare!"
The entire ballroom was set into panic. People began to shout, others tried to leave and some tried to contain the frenzy.
"Silence," Zeref ordered. Everyone froze and bowed to their king. "So what you're saying is that there are unknown creatures heading towards us and you believe that they will attack?" Zeref asked.
"Yes sir!" Natsu and Gajeel said with a salute. They noticed a little ball of light flying by them. It carried all the way until it reached Zeref where it floated into his hand.
Inside the light was some paper. Zeref quickly read it. He smirked, "Looks like you weren't lying. Everyone!" Zeref boomed. "We are under attack prepare for battle and take note, we may have some unexpected aid on the battlefield. Don't friendly fire," he flicked his wrist and everyone stormed out of the castle and flew into the trees. Zeref merely sat in his throne.
"I see 'em!" Natsu shouted. He took off the jacket of his tuxedo and undid the first three buttons. Gajeel did the same. Everyone slowly flew foreword as they watched the creatures march closer towards them.
"Hey! What's goin' on behind them!?" Sting asked. Murmurs and whispers arose as some went closer to the edge of the forest to see the oncoming light.
"Those are angels," Laxus' voice rang. It was calm, low, but everyone heard it.
"We'll go on ahead and defeat them. It's our realm after all!" members of Lamia Scale declared.
"Wait," Mystogan said. Everyone turned to him. "King Zeref said not to friendly fire," he said through his mask.
"The angels? Companions!? Bullshit!" Gajeel screeched.
"They probably sent them here!" Orga agreed.
"They wouldn't help us if it was the only option!" Bickslow growled.
"It doesn't matter! All of you shut up before those slime creatures notice us. And no hurting the angels unless they attack first!" Erza ordered. Everyone quieted down.
Despite Erza's orders, the creatures seemed to have noticed them. The creatures stared at the demons then howled. The slime seemed to move and formed wings.
The horde of creatures flew up and began attacking.
"What the-my magic had no effect!" Lyon screamed.
"Mine doesn't either!" another demon proclaimed.
Mystogan took a deep breath and went into battle. He summoned a dark ball of energy at the tip of his staff. The creature he came to first was knocked back by the energy wave. Mystogan dashed before it could recover and punched it square in the face.
The slime froze and immediately disintegrated.
"How did you...?" Gajeel asked as he struggled to fight off the creatures that were attacking him.
"I'm not too sure," Mystogan called back. He knew that he was lying. But, right now he had to prove that he was "loyal" to Alegria.
"We'll hold as many off as we can, you take them out when you get an opening," Erza instructed.
"Go!" the shout startled the demons. They saw a few angels surround the creatures. They used their powers and all kicked the creatures. Immediately the creatures turned to dust.
"What's the trick!" Natsu shouted out of frustration.
"*Limus-a type of mythical creature. They aren't seen very often, but are very powerful in large groups," a smooth voice replied. Natsu whipped his head around to see an angel. "I'm Hibiki, now if I tell you the trick, you won't attack us, will you?"
"Sure..." Natsu looked at the angel strangely.
Suddenly gold circled appeared at his hands he pressed some buttons and mumbled something about "magic absorbent."
"Alright, so the Limus cannot be defeated when magic is involved. It carried magic absorbent particles which is strange because they usually don't. You have to weaken it however you please, then before it can recover give it a powerful melee attack," Hibiki explained. With a final button all the demons had a gold bubble floating above them for a bit.
"I've done the job of explaining that to your companions, please refrain from touching us now," Hibiki quickly flew away.
Natsu couldn't help but growl at what Hibiki said. It dripped with disgust the way he said his sentence. Like demons were disgusting. If they didn't want to help, why were they here!?
Mystogan cursed under his breath. He was the only one who was supposed to know how to defeat the Limus. Alegria would be furious if he found out.
"Sorry," an angel cried as he bumped into Mystogan. Mystogan turned to apologize as well when he saw an angel with a similar face.
He's the one I'm modelled after Mystogan thought.
"It's alright, thanks for helping us we really appre-"
"No, you're the one who defeated the first one. Hibiki was able to scan your movements and patterns when you fought the Limus so thank you," Jellal barely finished when he charged towards another pack of the Limus.
Perhaps this would have some benefit-gaining trust from the angels Mystogan decided.
Sting was fighting off the creature when he bumped into someone. He turned to apologize, but the angel glared at him.
"Don't touch me," the angel's voice dripped.
Sting was taken aback by the hostile attitude the angel had shown him. "He doesn't have to be so rude," Sting furrowed his brows.
"That's just how they are," a demon came up to him.
"You're right, Neinhart," Sting grumbled.
"They're both rather cumbersome, say-doesn't that fellow over there look a whole lot like that angel?" Neinhart pointed to Mystogan.
"Blue hair isn't too uncommon," Sting shrugged. A Limus slithered up to him and out of instinct he charged up a fist of light. The Limus was stunned, but for barely a second. It's slime stacked up and recoiled, Sting stood his ground when a figure kicked the creature.
"Stay on your guard," Rogue advised.
"I was talkin' to one of the Spriggan. Didn't think the King'd dispatch them," Sting explained. Rogue rolled his eyes.
"Do you think the Heaven version of the Twelve would come down?" Sting asked.
"Probably not, we're just demons after all," Rogue rolled his eyes. Sting agreed silently as he charged at another one of the slime creatures.
Natsu was glad that the angels had come to help. They might've acted like assholes and all high-and-mighty but it was a big help. Three Limus surrounded him and he sprang into action.
"Natsu watch out!" a voice called. He didn't notice the fourth Limus slithering behind him. He jumped out of the way of it's reach and into the attack of another.
He made a faint gasp when the Limus began to stick its slime all over him. Natsu found himself getting weaker and weaker as he tried to fight it off.
"Scorpio!"
"We are! Sand Buster!" Natsu heard a raspy voice scream. He felt the Limus slowly slipping away from him. He groaned as a hand grabbed him and dragged him away.
"You have to be careful!" Lucy scolded. "These creatures have anti-magic particles! They'll suck out your magic and you'll die!"
"I got that much," Natsu replied.
"Aye sir!" Natsu turned to see Happy flying towards him. He grinned as he flew into Lucy's arms.
"Lushi!" Happy said gleefully.
"Happy I told ya to stay at the castle!" Natsu said as Happy rose out of Lucy's arms.
"But Natsu!" Happy whined.
"We need to get back to the battle Happy, just stay hidden, okay?" Natsu patted Happy on the head. Happy nodded and flew into a tree.
"Luce!" Natsu cried when he spotted Lucy walking away.
She turned, "Hmm?"
He grabbed her forearm and pulled her close, "Thanks for saving me back there." Lucy blushed in response and Natsu gently pressed his lips against hers, but pulled away quickly.
He chuckled a bit before flying off.
Gray was to say the least, excited. He had just become an angel in time to come and fight off creatures in Hell. It definitely beat waiting in Heaven.
"Ice Make: Spear!" he shouted and delivered a kick to two Limus'.
"Ice Make: Ape!" Lyon's voice shouted. Gray sent him a glance and Lyon and Lyon nodded with a smirk.
"I'm going to defeat more than you!" Lyon declared.
"No, I am!" Gray countered as a Limus approached him.
"I'll take out more than both of ya!" Gajeel pounded a Limus into the ground.
"Is this a competition!?" Natsu cried out. "Oi Laxus you bastard! Lemme fight ya!" Natsu dashed towards the fray, taking out creatures here and there.
"We're supposed to be fighting the Limus," Laxus rolled his eyes.
"You dare pick a fight with Laxus-sama?" Freed pointed his sword at Natsu.
"Don't attack Natsu-san!" Sting dashed foreword.
"...Gajeel-kun," Rogue stepped in front of Gajeel.
"There's only one left!" someone cried out. Everyone turned to see the last remaining Limus, which had grown to the size of a house.
All the boys dashed for it.
"I'm gonna take out the last one!" Natsu declared.
"Like hell ya are!" Gajeel barked.
"I won't let you finish it off Lyon!" Gray beat his new wings and a burst of wind let him fly ahead.
"Gray-sama!" Juvia tackled him. Lyon smiled bitterly and flew past.
"Hah! Take that Gray!" Natsu cackled. Gray grumbled and managed to break free of Juvia's vice grip.
Everyone began preparing their attack and in one moment they all struck with fire, ice, lightning, light and many other magics. They all jumped into the dust the attacks had stirred up to try and land the final melee attack on the Limus.
Lucy sighed at the smoke as she was unable to tell exactly what was happening. Levy was standing beside her with a sigh escaping her lips as well.
"I got it!" Natsu shouted.
"No way! I got it flamebrain!" Gajeel screamed back.
"Sorry, but I defeated it," Gray's voice rang out. The angels watched as the smoke cleared to see who had finished he creature.
"Oh my, has something happened?" Mirajane asked innocently, "I was just finishing this guy up, do you need something?"
Gajeel could've sworn he felt his breath leave his body.
"Good job Mirajane," Erza complimented.
"It wasn't a big deal, I know I might be weak, but I can still do some things," Mira smiled. She couldn't change into her full form and her magic was limited, but she could still transform, packed a mean punch and use her demonic waves.
"Mira...nee?" a small voice rose over the rest of the voices.
"Lisanna? I thought you were still in Heaven!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I-I may not get out of the kitchen much, but I'm still an Angel... " Lisanna trailed off. Her eyes were locked on the familiar blue eyes and silver hair of the woman in front of her.
"Mira-nee..?" Lisanna said again. She remembered her Mortal Item, a picture frame. Only she was visible in it, no one else was yet, there was a lot of room in the picture. Small details had started to appear like outlines of the others in the photo.
"Um...I should be getting back," Mira said frantically. "I'll make sure the guild wasn't invaded. Mystogan thank you for figuring out their weakness, good bye!" Mira began to beat her wings.
"Wait!" Lisanna cried. Mira turned around hesitantly. "What's your name, your full name?"
Mira smiled bitterly, "Mirajane Strauss."
"We're starting the grand project now, aren't we?" Mystogan asked. He was still revelling in the bliss that it was to be celebrated by Fairy Tail.
"We are," Shagotte responded.
"And we're going through with it?" Mystogan quickened his pace.
"We are until it's the right time to strike. We can't save everyone all the time," Shagotte sighed. Mystogan made a sound akin to a dog's whimper. The two walked until they came across the room where Alegria sat.
"You've finally arrived. I suppose you couldn't just walk out of your celebration, could you?" Alegria chuckled. "Good job gaining the trust of the angels, a difficult feat."
"Now, in a few days we'll start our mission to cut off the Dragon Slayer's from their control of their element. Don't look so frightened, pet," Alegria said once he noticed Mystogan's whitening face.
"Don't you know my origin?" Alegria asked. "I was created from the bitterness of others. Their hearts and feelings against the perfect light, against something they couldn't achieve.
"My power is limited to those who have been consumed by loneliness, darkness, hesitancy, insecurity. I can control their darkness when they're in that state, my power thrives off of their emotions. I can influence others. All humans have the potential to fall to that, they're ignorant and don't understand.
"I will take that and use it. They will be my soldiers against the light. Why give them such a perfect vision when they know they cannot be that way? The light has tossed them out and given them nothing.
The darkness is much more welcoming, it's easy to fall to. It's easy to give up and fall to weakness," Alegria said with an amused tone.
"My lord, who shall we start with?" Seila asked.
"Let's see...the Lacrima affected ones will be an easier feat. Let's start with that team, easier to track. The Lightning Slayer I believe."
*Limus-Latin for 'slime.'
Again sorry, the next chapter will surely be out faster than this one was!
Guest Review Answers:
Kaito1412: Ahahaha…Sorry!
Curiossiblity: I honestly have no idea how I'm going to plan that out! Though, I imagine it won't be a very long visit…
I hope you all enjoyed as the story thickens!