I was procrastinating on this chapter until...I had the amazingly awesome light-bulb-over-your-head idea to put FROSCH into this story *hint hint*
I was totally making this chapter up as I went along so there ended up not being as much FreedxMira as I wanted...oh well.
guest, Blair, thank you so much for reviewing; it really means a lot to me :) and I promise there will definitely be some Mirajane and some Eve action later on. and even though Ichiya is powerful, he is also a COMPLETE IDIOT and has a way to high opinion of himself, and quite frankly, he scares me.
anyway, I hope you like chapter 10 and please review!
Chapter 10
Freed
The view of the fight between Erza and Katsuko came to an abrupt halt as the Lacrima-visions zapped out of existence, and a new voice emitted from the speakers in the stadium.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, residents of Fiore, we're terribly sorry, but these Games will no longer be in session."
Freed could hear the smile in the speaker's voice as confusion broke out among the spectators. Even he, who was among the socially-challenged of his age group, could tell that something was off.
Surprisingly, his first thought was for Mirajane's safety. His second was for the rest of the Raijinshu and Laxus, and his third was for everyone else.
"Please remained focused on the Lacrima-vision as we explain why this event has come to such a sudden standstill." The voice continued, the stadium filling with bzzip!s as the Lacrima-visions reappeared.
"You see, we have been working for a number of years now on a very special project. This land, this country of Fiore, has grown weak over the past eight or so years. We were once a glorious nation, were we not? Home to the great Dragons, the essence of magic itself…and what are we now? A home to humans. Weaklings who take the power of magic and use it for their own needs. Humans have torn this world apart, we have ravaged this land to suit it to our own purposes. And now Fiore is but a fraction of a shadow of what it once was. We aim to restore this place to its former glory. To reinstall the Great Powers. We will make this land strong! For we will be the saviors of Fiore! We were spit on, crushed under the boots of the 'proper guilds', denied our rightful recognition. But no more! Behold, the Dark Guilds of Fiore, who have banded together to piece together the broken past and create a stronger future!
"This atrocity, this that has come from the result of the human presence, this must be vanquished! The Dragons will be revived, the power of their magic will be brought back to life, and the humans must be obliterated! Join us in our fight for a better future, for the future of our nation, Fiore!"
There was complete silence for a moment.
They're nutballs! Absolute nutballs! Freed thought in disbelief, as the meaning of the voice's preaching sunk in. They're crazy.
Finally someone spoke. Cana shouted a very offensive word accompanied by a very rude hand gesture at the nearest speaker, which in turn spurred the rest of Fairy Tail, and eventually the whole stadium to do the same. Shouts of "We'll never go along with you bastards!' and 'What kind of hellish idea is that?!' could be heard above the others.
"Ah, but dear friends," the voice leered, "I believe that we have collected some important possessions of yours…take a look."
New pictues played across the screen. The crowd grew silent save the few gasps and angry shouts that came from those who were able to faster comprehend the images before them.
Five figures could be distinguished. Bruised, battered, and beaten. All five hung from a stone wall by their wrists held in iron manacles chained to the wall.
Bisca held onto Azuka tightly, turning her daughter's face away from the screen.
"Mommy is this pretend?" the little girl's eyes were wide and filmed over with tears, sensing Bisca's fear.
One figure, the second from the left, stood out to Freed. A mass of silver hair, bunched in a hairbow at the front, a tattered pink dress, pale skin bloodied, one webbed wing the result of a failed attempt at a Takeover.
It wasn't until Freed heard Lisanna and Elfman's cries of distress that it finally got to his brain, and he leaned over the railing of the stadium and hurled his lunch.
"Oneechan!"
"Mira-nee!"
"Who else do they have?" Freed asked Juvia who was sitting next to him, not able to bring himself to look at the screen.
"Juvia sees Sheila," she answered firmly, "Millianna, Eve, and…I'm not sure but that last one looks an awful lot like that Exceed from Sabertooth that was hanging around last year."
"The red one or the one in the frog suit?"
"The frog."
"…I see." Freed replied, "And there isn't anyone from Manticore Emerald?"
"Juvia doesn't think so." Juvia shook her head. "I know what you're thinking, Freed. If there isn't anyone up there from their guild then they must be in on it."
"Which means they're a Dark Guild." Makarov added, overhearing their conversation. His eyes were smoldering and his arms were crossed in the classic Fairy Tail Stance of Defiance, so often worn by Natsu.
"All of those people except Frosch were in the infirmary." Happy pointed out anxiously, "I can't imagine how the Dark Guilds were able to kidnap them."
"I can." Laxus glared, looking more like his grandfather than ever. His fingertips were crackling with lightning energy and Freed didn't care to know what his idol was imagining just then.
"You know,' the voice started up again, still able to be heard over the howls of the crowd. "The situation seems to have gotten awfully serious now that the Games have ended. I do believe that we are in need of a little entertainment. Allow me to explain the rules of our next trial…
"As you can see, one member each from Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and Sabertooth have been taken into our care. Each of these guilds will send one of their present members to retrieve their guildmate, of which all five are located somewhere in the maze that has been created. The member who finds their guildmate first will be allowed to live, along with the rest of their guild. At the end of all this, everyone else…will die. Guild Masters and S-class mages will not be permitted to participate in this event. Try any funny business and these five will be killed on the spot. Masters, please send your chosen participant down to the marked starting area in five minutes…good luck."
There was a snick as the microphones were cut off and pandemonium broke out within the crowd.
"Warren!" Makarov barked.
"Sensei?!" Warren asked, rushing over.
"Get me a telepathy link with the Masters of the other guilds. Quickly!"
"Hai." Warren obeyed, touching two fingers to his head.
"Who will go in to retrieve Mirajane?" Juvia asked, calmly looking around.
"Do you even need to ask?" If looks could kill, every single person in the stadium would have been long dead at the hands of Elfman's expression. Freed had been about to volunteer but the words died in his throat as he realized Elfman would be the obvious choice, and for a good reason.
"Those sons of bitches." Elfman snarled, "They're gonna regret ever messing with my Nee-chan."
"Elfman, before you go," Makarov broke in, his telepathy link broken, "Let me tell you the plan."
next chapter will of course be Elfman POV.
poor Azuka *sniff*. It will be okay *pat pat*
anyway, thx for reading.
~ice