Operation Halo, Part 3
After the army of praetors position themselves a hundred miles away from the boundaries of Hargeon, Muruta Azrael comes out from the hatch of the tank and places his binoculars in front of his eyes. He took a closer look at the town's train station and noticed the civilians panicking as they desperately try to get inside the train while carrying their bags and luggage.
"So the civilians are trying to escape, huh?" Azrael chuckled as he lowers his binoculars. "No matter. This pitiful town will not be able to evacuate every single one of them before we launch our attack." A smug grin appears on his face as he places his hand on his chest. "And once this pathetic town falls, I will surely be promoted!" Azrael lowers himself back inside the tank and orders the driver and operator. "Aim for the center of the town!"
They obeyed and the operator slowly turns the top section of the tank. He keeps adjusting until the operator spots the town hall building through its scope. In front of the building is the town square where several civilians are still hurriedly making their way to the train station. After the tank's top section came to a halt, the operator raises the main cannon and aims at the building.
"Fire!" Azrael ordered with an evil grin. The tank launches a rocket into the air and Azrael and the praetors watch it fly towards the town hall.
Back in Hargeon, the townspeople who are still in the town square look up and scream in horror when they see the rocket flying through the air and making its way towards their position. They all panicked as they frantically run and try to get out of the line of fire in an uncontrollable stampede.
A woman stops running and turns around when she realized she isn't holding onto her child's hand. She looks up and widens her eyes in horror when she spots her son standing in the distance.
"Come on! We have to go!" The woman cried to the boy as she runs over to him.
"But mom! Who's that?" The boy asked his mother as he stood where he is and points his finger at a certain purple-haired woman standing in the distance with her spear in her hand.
The boy and his mother watch as Judith holds up the spear in front of her face and chanted with her eyes closed, "You, who would afflict me…" Her eyes snapped open as she turns to the side, holds her spear up with one hand and aims its tip at the incoming rocket. "To the realm of the dead!" Some of the townspeople stop and stare at Judith in awe as her spear illuminates in bright cerulean light. "In a moonlit casket!" The spear now magically enlarges twice its original size. "DRAGON'S MOON SPEAR!"
As she throws herself forward, Judith hurls her spear into the air and it flies towards the rocket. The spear pierces through the rocket and it explodes in air. The townspeople gaze at the explosion in awe.
Back at the outskirts of town, Azrael drops his jaw in shock when he sees that the rocket has been intercepted.
"W-w-what happened?!" Azrael cried. "How does this small town have any sort of defense? Could it be the Rune Knights?!"
Azrael picks up his binoculars and looks at the town square. He spotted Judith who catches her spear as it flies back to her. He also sees Lucas, Yuri, Estelle and Karol walking over to her side. He snarls as he lowers his binoculars. "Who are these jerks who dare interfere our invasion?!" He looks down at the praetors in front of him and commanded them, "Wave 1! Charge towards the town and wipe out everyone in your path!"
The first three front rows of praetors immediately obliged. The spearmen which make up the most upfront horizontal row lower their spears. The other two rows behind them which are made up of swordsmen draw out their swords from their scabbards.
"Attack!" Azrael ordered them as he points his finger at the town. The praetors let out their battle cry as they charge towards Hargeon.
"Keep moving everyone! They're still on their way!" Lucas yelled at the townspeople who are still standing around the town square.
As everyone turn and continue making their way to the train station, Yuri and Brave Vesperia get into their battle stances while Lucas holds up his hand and magically summons a double-bladed sword.
"Here they come." Karol said as he clings onto the hilt of his hammer.
"Your legs are shaking." Yuri commented as he holds up his sword in front of him.
"You're kidding." Karol replied with his voice trembling with fear.
"I am." Yuri deadpanned.
"Move out!" Lucas yelled before he, Yuri and Brave Vesperia charge towards the army of praetors. The five ran out of the boundaries of the town and they soon clash against the praetors.
Lucas turns around and swings his double-bladed sword horizontally, successfully knocking back four spearmen.
A spearman delivers several thrusts at Judith with his spear. Judith swiftly blocks all of his attacks with her spear before jumping in the air and did a twirling kick across the spearman's face.
Karol swings his hammer horizontally and manages to hit a swordsman by the side of his torso. As the swordsman falls to the ground, another praetor runs up to Karol and swings his sword horizontally at him. Karol squeals as he shuts his eyes. But a second later, he opens his eyes again and realizes that the praetor has dropped his sword and is now screaming in pain. Karol looks down and sees that his hammer has landed on his foot. He removes his weapon and the swordsman turns around and hops away as he clenches onto his injured foot in pain. As Judith kicks another praetor in her midsection, she is sent flying across the air and collides against the hopping praetor.
Karol grins as he points his fingers at the fallen praetors and proclaims, "That's what happens when you mess with the leader of Brave Vesperia!"
A spearman thrusts her spear at Estelle, who blocks it with her shield. Estelle swings her golden rod down at the spear and knocks it out from the spearman's hands. She thrusts her rod at the spearman's midsection and the praetor gasps as she bends over. Estelle finishes it off by swinging her rod vertically and hitting the back of the praetor's head, knocking her to the ground.
After kicking a spearman down to the ground, Yuri turns to Estelle and commented, "You're pretty good at fighting."
"Thanks. I did have a private instructor back in my office." Estelle responded. "Even a politician needs to learn self-defense, right?"
Yuri turns back to his front as a swordsman runs over to him. The swordsman delivers an overhead strike and Yuri quickly blocks his attack by holding up his sword. Yuri quickly removes one hand from the hilt of his sword and delivers a punch to the swordsman's midsection. As the swordsman backs away, Yuri swings his sword horizontally and upwards, firing two energy blasts at him. He finishes it off by thrusting his left palm forward and fires another powerful energy blast. "FRIGID BLAST!"
The final blast sends the praetor sprawling through the ground and colliding against another swordsman in the process.
Azrael watches in shock and horror as Lucas, Yuri, Judith, Estelle and Karol finished knocking down the entire first wave of praetors and they all lie down on field unconscious. Azrael grits his teeth and slams his fist on the tank.
"Stupid men!" Azrael yells in frustration before barking at the second and third waves of his army. "Waves 2 and 3, take them down!"
The praetors in the upfront row of the second wave kneel down and aim their crossbows at the five. When they fire their arrows at them, Lucas and Yuri quickly place themselves in front of Estelle, Judith and Karol.
When the arrows are near them, Lucas and Yuri swiftly swing their swords around to deflect them. After realizing that they have failed to shoot a single arrow at the five, the praetors put away their crossbows and stood up. Every praetor in the second and third wave draws out their swords and charges towards the five.
Two praetors run over to Lucas. The praetor on the left tries to swing his sword diagonally at him. Lucas holds up his sword to block his attack with the right blade of his sword. The praetor on the right delivers an overhead strike at him but Lucas tilts his weapon and blocks his sword with its left blade. The two praetors back away as Lucas twirls around in a circle while swinging his double-bladed sword horizontally. He lifts up his leg and successfully kicks the left praetor at the midsection, sending him falling to the ground.
The praetor on the right swings his sword diagonally at him but Lucas quickly blocks his attack with the left blade of his weapon. He swings his double-bladed sword diagonally at the praetor who quickly blocks the right blade with his sword. Lucas then takes the opportunity to hit the praetor in the face with the hilt of his weapon. As the praetor stumbles back, Lucas performs a backwards somersault and delivers a powerful kick at the bottom of his chin, causing him to fall onto the ground on his back with a thud.
As several praetors run past Lucas and Yuri, some of them clash their swords against Estelle, Judith and Karol while the others make their way to the town.
Judith thrusts her spear at one of the swordsman. He blocks her spear but the impact sends him sprawling through the ground. As he slides over to Yuri, he quickly brings his foot down on his face.
Estelle swings her rod across a praetor's face, sending him rolling over the ground. One praetor runs up to her and thrusts his sword at her. Estelle turns to him and swings her shield horizontally, deflecting the sword and knocking it out of his hand. She then swings her rod diagonally at his legs, sweeping him off from his feet. As the praetor lands on the ground, Estelle delivers an overhead strike on his face with her rod, knocking him out.
Meanwhile, Yuri swings his sword horizontally at a praetor and manages to knock his sword out of his hand. Afterwards, he swings his left fist into his abdomen, causing him to bend over. Yuri moves to the side and takes him down by knocking the back of his helmet with the bottom of the hilt of his sword.
One praetor manages to run up to Yuri and swings her sword diagonally at his back. Yuri yells in pain as the praetor slashes him.
"Yuri!" Estelle cried as she turns to him. As Estelle runs over to him, Yuri turns around to the praetor and knocks her across her face with the hilt of his sword, sending her falling to the ground. Yuri cringes as he bends over in pain.
"Hold still." Estelle said softly to him as she examines the slash on his back. She holds up her hand and magically heals his wound. A few seconds later, Yuri stood up when he could no longer feel the pain on his back.
Yuri turns around and smiles at Estelle. "Thanks." He said. Estelle nods her head in response before the two turn and clash their weapons against two sword-wielding praetors who run up to them.
After knocking down another praetor, Judith tries to catch her breath as she bends over in exhaustion. "There's too many of them." She said to Karol wearily.
Karol swings his hammer at the head of another praetor, knocking him out unconscious. As the praetor slumps to the ground, Karol turns around and watch helplessly as the praetors who run past them are nearing the town.
"These guys are about to reach town!" Karol cried in horror. "How are we going to catch up with them?!"
"Kill anyone who gets in your way!" A squad leader said to the other praetors as they are about to reach the boundaries of Hargeon. But as soon as they set foot into the town, they didn't expect a muscular black-haired man jumping off from the top of a small apartment building and landing right in front of them while holding a large cannon made of ice in his hand.
As he gets up, Gray aims his ice cannon at the praetors and shouted, "ICE CANNON!" He fires an ice cannonball from his weapon and the praetors cry in horror as it comes flying towards them.
When the breeze is cleared, Judith and Karol smile in relief as they could see Gray standing in the distance and smirking at them while the praetors lie on the ground motionless. A moment later, Happy and Carla flew past him while carrying Lucy and Virgo with their tails.
"The cavalry has arrived!" Happy proclaimed as he and Carla fly towards the ongoing battle at the outskirts of town.
"What the?!" Azrael cried incredulously as he sees his new enemies entering the battlefield. As some praetors stop and look up at the exceeds, Happy and Carla release Lucy and Virgo and the two girls plummet down towards them.
"Lucy!" Yuri and Estelle both said in delight as they look up at them.
"Are you ready, Virgo?" Lucy asked her Celestial spirit.
"Hai." Virgo simply replied. The two girls each aim a leg at a praetor while Yuri and Estelle watch them in curiosity.
"Lucy…" Lucy said.
"Virgo…" Virgo said. Yuri and Estelle widen their eyes with their mouths agape.
"KICK!" Lucy and Virgo both shouted when they both deliver a massive kick into the praetor's face. Yuri and Estelle silently watch Lucy and Virgo landing on the ground with scowls on their faces.
"Did they really call their attack…that?" Estelle murmured.
"How underwhelming." Yuri muttered. Lucy draws out her whip as she and Virgo look up at the praetors. The two girls yell as they charge towards them.
"Hey Happy ol' buddy!" Natsu shouted to the blue exceed in the air as he runs over to him while carrying the unconscious praetor over his shoulder. The gauntlets have since been removed from the praetor's hands, leaving only his brown gloves.
"Natsu!" Happy squealed happily as he sees his friend. He lowers down to his level as Natsu gets the unconscious praetor off of his shoulder.
"Here. Take this guy to safety for me, will ya?" Natsu asked, handing the praetor over to Happy.
"Aye!" Happy obliged as he wraps his tail around the praetor and flies away to safety. Natsu turns around and sees several praetors running over and surrounding him.
"So you guys want it the hard way, eh? Fine by me!" Natsu grins as he produces large streams of fires on his arms. He yells as he swings both arms horizontally and stomps his foot on the ground as he bends forward. "FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!"
The streams of fire on his arms fly towards the surrounding praetors like a ring of fire and send them flying into the air.
After knocking down another praetor, Lucas turns around and sees Nolan and Tryo running over to him.
"Boy, am I glad to see you guys!" Lucas cried happily.
"Good to know that you miss us." Tryo replied as she and Nolan stop beside him. The three soldiers turn to three praetors who are running over to them with their halberds.
"Come on guys. Let's take them down." Nolan ordered his friends.
"Right!" Lucas and Tryo responded in unison before the three soldiers charge towards them. Nolan swings his swords at the nearest praetor, knocking the halberd out of his hands. As the praetor backs away in fear, Nolan runs up to him and swings his leg across his face, knocking him down.
Two praetors swing their halberds down at Lucas who blocks them with both blades of his swords. As Lucas pushes them back, Tryo goes over to his side and swings her chained ball horizontally at the praetors, knocking both of them down.
"SKY DRAGON'S WAVE WIND!" Wendy shouted as she runs past five praetors and swings her hand horizontally. A huge tornado forms behind her, sending the five praetors flying helplessly into the air.
Erza, now dressed in her Morning Star Armor and armed with two one-handed swords, see three praetors running up to her. She brings her swords together lengthwise and aims the tips at the advancing praetors.
"MORNING STAR: PHOTON SLICER!" Erza yelled as an orb of energy formed at the tips of her swords. She fires a powerful energy blast at the praetors and it sends them flying into the air.
Sheena throws a piece of paper into the air and made several finger gestures. Several pieces of paper magically appear above the praetors and they illuminate in bright purple light. The papers exploded above them and the praetors yell in agony.
Azrael watches the ongoing battle with his jaw hanging in horror. He couldn't believe that his entire army of praetors is being defeated by the members of Fairy Tail and Brave Vesperia, as well as their allies.
After Natsu punches a praetor down, he looks at Azrael still standing there above the tank and gave him a cold glare. The second lieutenant squeals in terror as he quickly turns and gets out of the tank.
"I'm defenseless! Get me out of here!" Azrael shouted before jumping down from the top of the tank. After landing on the ground, Azrael tries to flee for his life. But he fails to notice two yo-yos flying over to his legs. As the strings wrap around them, Alicia pulls back her yo-yos, causing Azrael to cry as he falls onto the ground on his face. The second lieutenant moans in despair as he laid there. "There goes my promotion…"
Meanwhile, Natsu climbs onto the top of the tank. The operator comes out from the tank and holds up his hands as Natsu approaches him. Natsu momentarily grins at him before grabbing his head and knocks him against the side of the opening. The praetor passes out and Natsu throws him out of the tank. The Fire Dragon Slayer then goes inside the vehicle to deliver a great beating upon the driver.
As a praetor runs up to Darren, he swings his katana horizontally at him, knocking the sword out of his hand. He delivers an uppercut to the bottom of his chin, sending him stumbling backwards before falling onto the ground unconscious. Another praetor swings his halberd down at him but Darren moves to the side and swings his leg at his midsection. His kick sends the praetor stumbling backwards for a moment before Darren grabs his head and brings it down. He lifts his leg up and the praetor's face collided against his kneepad. As Darren releases the hand, the praetor falls onto the ground. Karol quickly runs over to him and brings his hammer down on his face to knock him out. The boy looks up at Darren and the two smile at each other.
"We did it! We took them all down!" Erza yelled after all the praetors have been defeated and are now lying around the field motionless.
Everybody who is still standing celebrate their victory against the Abbey. Gray, Happy and Carla cheer as they pump their fists into the air. Lucas grins as he wraps his arms around Nolan and Tryo, who both smile back at him. Judith and Wendy shook hands as they smile at each other.
"A sign of victory!" Yuri proclaimed as he holds up his hand in front of Estelle. Estelle stares at his hand questioningly for a moment before placing her fingertip on it. Yuri laughed in response.
"Great work, Virgo." Lucy said to her Celestial Spirit as she holds up her key.
"Thank you, Lucy-sama." Virgo replied as she bows down to her mistress. Lucy uses her key to dematerialize Virgo and sends her back to the Celestial Spirit World.
"I guess we can consider this another victory for Fairy Tail, eh?" Natsu asked Lucy as he walks over to her.
"Yup. Indeed." Lucy smiles at her friend as she places her hands behind her back.
"Alright! So let's celebrate by having something to eat! I've realized that we haven't eaten anything since coming to Hargeon!" Natsu exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.
Lucy lets out a heavy sigh. "Why do you always think about food, Natsu?"
"Hmm, you two like each other." Darren commented as he and Karol watch the two friends while standing nearby.
"Huh?!" Natsu and Lucy cried incredulously as they turn their heads to Darren and Karol.
"Yeah, I mean how calm and relaxed these two sound whenever they talk to each other, isn't it obvious?" Karol said to Darren as he shrugs his shoulders.
"W-What are you two talking about?!" Lucy cried.
Sheena looks around and observes everyone cheering and interacting with each other as they celebrate their victory against the Abbey. She sighs as she lowers her head, wondering why despite feeling glad that they have won the battle, she still felt a huge sense of emptiness inside her.
"Sheena!"
Sheena lifts her head up and turns to Alicia who walks over to her while pulling and dragging Azrael through the ground with her yo-yos. Alicia gave a warm smile to Sheena before extending her free hand out to her. "You really helped us a lot tonight. Thank you."
Sheena stares wordlessly at Alicia for a moment before grabbing her hand and giving her a wan smile. "You're welcome." She replied softly as they shook hands.
Life and peace have returned back to Hargeon by morning. The streets are once again filled with people walking around and attending to their daily duties.
Just outside the boundaries of the town, a Magic Council ship is parked on the field and has come to pick up Azrael and several captured praetors which the Faction round up from the aftermath of last night's battle. Nolan, Lucas, Tryo and three Rune Knights stood in a horizontal row as they watch the prisoners walk up the ramp and enter the ship with their wrists and ankles cuffed.
Meanwhile, Darren, Yuri, Sheena, Brave Vesperia and Team Natsu are standing nearby with the mayor of Hargeon.
"Thank you very much, Fairy Tail, for saving our beloved town from the Abbey. I knew we can count on you." The mayor said to the members of Team Natsu with a warm smile on his face.
"No problem, Mr. Mayor. But we honestly couldn't have done it without the help of Brave Vesperia and our other allies." Erza said, gesturing to Darren, Yuri, Sheena and Brave Vesperia who all stood behind them and smile at the mayor. Karol grins as he places his fists at the sides of his hip and stand proudly.
"You all have my thanks as well." The mayor turns and bows to them with gratitude. "Now then, I must return to my duties. Take care, everyone."
As the mayor turns around and leaves, Alicia turns to Darren and noticed that his cheeks are red. "You're blushing, aren't you?" She asked.
"Huh?" Darren turns his head to her. He chuckled sheepishly as he scratches the side of his head. "Yeah well…I never had someone thanking me for helping them in a bad situation in a long while."
"Well, you sure deserve it." Alicia said, grinning at Darren.
"Where are we heading, Jude?"
Darren, Yuri, Sheena, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia turn around and see two unmasked praetors talking to each other as they approach the ramp. One of them is a girl with green eyes and short brown hair, covered by a white headband, while the other is a boy with amber eyes and neck-length black hair.
Darren, Alicia, Sheena and Team Natsu widen their eyes when they realize the black-haired boy is wearing a pair of light brown gloves. They instantly recognize him as the praetor who tried to attack them with the pair of oversized gauntlets.
"It's him." Natsu murmured.
"And that girl's voice. I recognize her." Estelle said, remembering the spearman whom she knocked out with her rod the other night.
"I don't know, Leia. And I have no idea what are they going to do to us." Jude replied to the girl.
"Hey! Stop talking, you two, and keep moving!" one of the Rune Knights yelled at them.
"But, sir! You don't understand! We have no idea what's going on!" Leia cried to the knight as she and Jude stop and turn to him.
"We don't even know why we are dressed up like this!" Jude added.
"I said keep-" The knight gets interrupted when Tryo places her hand in front of his chest. The knight turns to her and fell silent when she notices the glare on her face.
Tryo turns her head to Jude and Leia and questioned, "What do you mean you two have no idea what is going on?"
"Well…" Jude frowns at her. "The last thing I remembered is that I was at home, studying medicine so that one day, I can take over my family's clinic."
"And I was at the bakery helping out my own family." Leia said. "And then…an army of knights dressed in white invaded our hometown…and while we were fleeing…I saw one of them knocked Jude out. I tried to escape but I was found by another knight…and he knocked me out too."
"And now when we woke up, we don't know why we find ourselves wearing the same uniforms as the knights who invaded our town. And I have no idea why we are being taken away just like the rest of them!" Jude yelled as he turns to the other praetors who have been standing behind him and staring back at them in confusion.
"What are your names?" Nolan inquired.
"Leia Rolando." Leia responded as she and Jude turn to him.
"Jude Mathis." Jude replied.
"What is your hometown?" Lucas asked.
"Leronde." Jude said. His response was met with shock and confusion from Darren, Yuri, Sheena and the members of the Faction, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia.
"That's one of the towns in the southern region that had been captured by the Abbey!" Karol said.
"What does this mean?" Wendy said.
"That the Abbey is using townspeople from the places they've conquered to serve in their army?" Lucy implied.
"But then, why are these two completely clueless that they have ever fought alongside the Abbey?" Alicia asked.
Darren narrows his eyes as he contemplates what Lucy and Alicia had said. "Something is definitely wrong here." He murmured.
After regaining his composure, Nolan said to Jude and Leia firmly, "We can continue this discussion when we arrive at Era. Now keep moving."
Jude and Leia momentarily look at each other before they obliged and continue walking their way into the ship. After all the praetors have walked up the ramp, the three Rune Knights follow them from behind while Nolan, Lucas and Tryo walk over to Team Natsu and the others.
"You guys all fought valiantly last night. We owe you our thanks." Nolan said to them.
"And I owe you all an apology too, Team Natsu." Tryo said.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Natsu replied to her with a smirk as he folds his arms.
"Lucas told me how well you fought against the praetors last night, Yuri. I'm proud of you. Ever want to return back to HQ with us?" Nolan asked Yuri, gesturing him to the ship.
"Well…" Yuri glances at Darren, Sheena, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia before looking back at Nolan. "I think I'll stay with these guys a little longer. These people do need my help after all."
"Very well. But if you ever think of coming back to the Rune Knights, the doors are always open for you." Nolan said smiling. Yuri chuckled before Nolan gave a pat on his shoulder.
"So what are you guys going to do now from here on out?" Lucas inquired.
"We're going to continue our journey to Mizuho." Natsu replied.
"Because we're hoping that the people over there would aid us in our battle against the Abbey." Darren added.
Lucy gasped as an idea hatches inside her head. "I know! Perhaps you guys can allow us to ride on your ship and give us a lift to Mizuho!" She said to the Faction with a huge grin on her face as she clasps her hands together. Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Darren and Sheena all smile and nod their heads frantically as they unanimously favor Lucy's idea. But Erza steps forward and holds up her hand in front of Lucy's face.
"As much as we want to, I think it's best if we continue travelling on foot." Erza said.
"Huh?!" Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Darren and Sheena cried incredulously.
"Because we don't want to attract the Abbey's attention as much as possible during our journey." Erza explained to her teammates.
"Not to mention, most of the Southern region is still under the Abbey's occupation, and driving our ship to the southwest would make us an easy target for them. So I'm afraid it's best if you follow your leader's advice, Fairy Tail." Nolan said.
"After what happened to us when we left Underwood, I have to agree with Erza." Yuri said. Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Darren and Sheena sigh heavily in response.
"Oh come on, you lazy bums! Walking on foot during a journey is fun! We'll be able to see all sorts of animals and plant life up close that way!" Alicia said to them encouragingly.
"Easy for you to say." Darren muttered.
"We better report back to HQ now, sir." Tryo said to Nolan.
Nolan nodded to her before looking back at Team Natsu and the others. "Safe travels everyone. And keep up the noble fight." He said to them. Nolan, Lucas and Tryo stood up straight and gave their friends a salute. Darren, Yuri, Sheena, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia salute back to the three soldiers in response.
As Nolan, Lucas and Tryo turn around and head to their ship, Erza turns back to all of her friends. "Now then, let's get moving and continue our journey to Mizuho."
"Oh. Do we have to leave now?" Sheena sounded disheartened.
"What's wrong?" Darren asked his friend.
"It's just that…" Sheena sighs heavily. "Never mind. I shouldn't waste my money on such useless things."
"Oh but I don't mind spending some of my money away." Darren said as Alicia opens up her pouch. Sheena looks up at them in confusion for a moment before her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in surprise as Alicia takes out a familiar plush fox out from her pouch. "I know how much you like it, so I bought it as a gift for you and had Alicia keep it for me in the meantime."
"D-D-Darren…" Sheena stuttered. "W-w-why would you-"
"Hey, you are my friend after all, Sheena. And this is to show you how much I appreciate the times we had together." Darren smiled at her.
Sheena abruptly throws her arms up in the air and lets out a shriek of joy before snatching the plush fox from Alicia's hands and holds it up close to her face. "Aren't you a cutie little thingie? Aren't you soooo adorable?"
Everybody else laughed before Erza pumps her fist into the air and shouts enthusiastically, "Alright everyone! Let's head out!"
"Aye!" Everybody else replied in unison as they all turn southwest and continue their journey to Mizuho.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Velvet lets out a furious scream every time she slams her fist against the trunk of a tall tree, not caring that her knuckles are beginning to bleed. She eventually delivers her most powerful punch against the trunk, leaving a huge mark upon it, and Velvet lets out a long agonizing shriek as she gazes at the tree for a moment. As her shriek dies down, Velvet's scowl of rage and fury quickly turns into a look of agony and despair as she begins to wail.
Tears cascade down her cheeks as Velvet lowers her fist. She momentarily sways side to side before she falls on her knees and succumbs into a mental breakdown. After Velvet slams her forehead against the trunk, she sobbed uncontrollably and whimpered,
"Laphicet…my dear Laphicet…Please forgive your big sister…" Velvet paused for a moment to take a hard gulp. "For it was me…who killed you…"
Sovereign: I would like to thank AquaBluey for reviewing, Park Sumeria for favoriting and following, and Crimson-Tuna-Sub for checking out my story. Thanks guys!