Zeref smirked evilly as Hera collapsed onto the dirt floor, her body curled up into a ball. Her blue eye was wide open in terror, as her beautiful past had been sucked into oblivion forever.
He picked up her body and laid her down next to a rock, making sure that she can't be seen.
This is only the beginning, Hera-chan, he thought.
A loud roar ripped his attention away from the unconscious girl. Zeref could recognize that roar anywhere...
For it was his old pal, Achnologia.
Achnologia circled the clouds a few times before finally landing on the ground about twenty-seven miles away from the rescue team.
Erza kept her sword at the ready. Gray took his stance, his eyebrows knit in determination and his eyes narrowed in anger. Lucy was guarding Natsu and Wendy, who were still having a panic attack, her golden Leo key in her hand. Happy and Carla were comforting the Dragon Slayers, while Pantherlily stood with Gajeel. Team Shadow Gear took their formation.
"Don't worry, Levy," Jet said. "We'll make sure you're safe." Droy nodded in agreement, readying his magic. Levy took her stance as well, glancing at Gajeel.
We need to find Hera, Lucy thought. But how are we going to find her now that Achnologia is here?!
The roars kept growing louder and louder, until they were so loud that everyone's eardrums felt like they were bursting.
A bright light was forming in his mouth, getting bigger by the second. Erza's eyes widened in alarm.
"FALL BACK! IT'S ACHNOLOGIA'S DRAGON ROAR!"
The team ran away as fast as they could, with Gajeel carrying Natsu on his back and Lucy cradling Wendy in her arms.
"Oi, Salamander! Get a hold of yourself!" Gajeel shouted to the trembling Fire Dragon Slayer. Lucy looked at Wendy with tear-filled eyes.
What's gotten into you two?
They were expecting a large explosion, but were then surprised to find something else.
Hera was slipping away. She felt herself being carried away by the wind, her body heat rising rapidly. She felt like she was on fire.
She opened her eyes, and saw that she was surrounded by fire.
Her eyes widened in alarm as she scanned the area: nothing but fire. And as a bonus, her hands and feet were tied with four ropes.
"Well, this is fantastic," she muttered. She pulled her right hand forward and yelped as the rope pulled it back.
Zeref...What the hell do you want from me? She wondered.
After a while, she exhaled. Her eyes widened at what came out of her mouth: snow.
"Does my magic still work?" She wondered aloud. She cupped her left hand and a snowball formed in her hand.
Hera squealed, as she began to freeze the ropes that bound her. Slowly, the ropes began weakening. At the same time, the fire began to roar.
Crap, she thought.
She willed for the process to go faster, "Come on, come on!"
She tugged at the ropes that bound her feet, and they broke. She grinned as she did the same to her hands.
Before she could land in the flames, a blizzard blasted out of her hands and froze the roaring flames.
Just as she was going to celebrate her victory, she was sucked into another black hole and felt her body being dropped elsewhere.
Congratulations, Hera-chan, a voice cooed. You have survived the realm of the Dancing Dragon.
Her eyes snapped open as she yelled, "ZEREF!"
She looked around her, trying to find her prey, only to find her face-to-face with none other than Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail.
"G-Gray...kun," she stuttered, as she stared into the worried eyes of the ice mage. "Hera! Are you alright?" He asked, subconsciously taking her hand.
She was too weak to say more, but she managed a small nod before everything went black.
Too bad that vision was just a hallucination.
Lucy squinted in the direction of the roar and saw a seemingly lifeless body, laying upon a bed of wilted grass.
The body had a head full of blue hair, and the clothing was torn and burnt. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was:
"Hera-san!"
Gray turned his head in the same direction as Lucy, and his eyes widened in horror and relief. Without a second thought, he ran to her body.
Please, don't be... He couldn't bring himself to think the worst.
He ran as fast as he could, which caused him to trip on a uprooted tree. He quickly got up and reached Hera.
The rest soon followed, with Lucy and Gajeel trying to get the Dragon Slayers minds on the reality of the situation.
"Hera!" Gray picked up her body, which felt hot on his cold hands. The white bang that covered the left side of her face was swept to the side, revealing a tattoo shaped like a blue dragon.
Gray stared at it. "What's...this?"
Erza requipped into her regular armor, then walked up next to Gray. She stared down at Hera's face with the same confusion as Gray.
Amicum, Hera's Exceed, landed next to Hera, tears trailing down his cheeks.
"HERA!" He sobbed for what seemed like hours. "N-no... This can't be happening..."
Amicum took her hand and hugged it tightly. "I kept a promise to your f-father that I'd keep you safe"-he sniffles-"from...him."
This caught Carla's attention. "Safe from who?"
Amicum sniffles again, as he opened his mouth to say something. However, he was cut off by a cough.
"A-Amicum...?"
He looks down at her, his brown eyes wide with concern. More tears stream down his face.
"Hera! You're okay!" He sobs, wrapping his short arms around her head. She reaches up to pet his head and soothes him almost instantly.
Carla wears an expression of confusion. "Safe from who, Amicum?" She repeats, a little louder.
He pretends not to hear her and continues to sob into Hera's blue hair. "It's going to be okay, Amicum." She leans into his ear and whispers:
"Let's talk later. In private."
He nods and lets go of her. Hera sits up, grimacing as she clutches her stomach. Gray rips a piece of his shirt and wraps it around her wound.
"Th-thanks, Gray-kun." She grins at him, while he blushes in embarrassment, then looks around at everyone else.
When she saw the fire and sky Dragon Slayers, her heart seemed to shatter.
She stands up, with difficulty, and limps towards them. "Natsu? Wendy?"
The two were still in a state of panic, their hands clutching their heads tightly to shut out the outside world. Hera reaches out to remove their hands, but when she touches Natsu, he jumps back.
"D-don't come near..." He stutters. "Please, d- don't kill me. I've been a very good boy..." His eyes were filled with terror, his breathing slowly wavering.
Wendy starts to cry. "Grandine...s-save me..."
Carla screams, "Wendy! Get a hold of yourself! Wendy!" Happy just looks at Natsu hopelessly, "Natsu..."
Hera looks at them sadly, her eyes watery. Her Exceed, Amicum, landed next to her.
"What should we do, Hera?" He turns to frown at the Dragon Slayers. His question seemed to catch Hera off guard, as she wondered what she should do.
I can try that, she thought, but Amicum would never agree. Especially after what happened before...
However, he seems to have read her mind, as his eyes widen and he shakes his head. "No, Hera. You can't afford to do that again."
Hera bites her bottom lip, looking at Wendy and Natsu. Before everyone else knew it, they'd be driving themselves into a state of insanity if she didn't do anything about it.
Hesitating, she gives Amicum a firm nod. "Get me some water."
"B-but, Hera!"
"No buts! I have to do it, Amicum! Don't try to stop me."
"But, what of history repeats itself? We can't afford to have another Ărma in this world!"
"JUST GET ME SOME DAMN WATER, AMICUM! NO MORE QUESTIONS!"
Amicum states at her in shock, then slowly nods and runs to get water.
Lucy gives Hera a suspicious look. "What are you going to do?"
"Help them, obviously."
"How?"
"You'll find out, Lucy."
Gray kneels down. "Who's Ărma?"
Silence.
After a long while, Hera clears her throat. "No one important...
...anymore."
ALRIGHT, GO AHEAD. THROW ROCKS AT ME, SHUN ME FOR NOR UPDATING IN A MILLION YEARS.
But I have a logical explanation for this, and that is I was having writer's block.
Maybe that's why I haven't been updating... HMM...
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll be back...hopefully soon...
~lewritergurl12
