Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any way, shape or form.
We've reached over 200 reviews... Over 200 reviews! You... All of you are just... Gah! How can you all be so nice? Thank you once more to everyone who reviewed, those who added this to their favorites and alerts lists, and read! I just can't thank you enough!
This is one hell of a chapter. Probably the longest that I've posted up. Well, it is action galore! It was also meant to be originally longer, but I thought that I should stop myself before I let this grow even further.
Also, when I make reference to 'shadow creatures', think of the Heartless from Kingdom Hearts. It is exactly how I picture them to look.
I now present to you Chapter 12 of To What We Once Were!
Chapter 12 – Enter the Warzone
It was a second too late when she realized what was happening. As she felt a pair of lips claim her own, the darkness from the labyrinth grew, as if it had a mind of its own, shrouding her nakama. Her eyes went wide with panic, as she forcefully tried to push away from the man who confused her to no end.
They parted, Lucy desperate for the air. The kiss had tasted bitter, not pleasant in the least. Her Guild was crying out, all of them being swallowed up by the never-ending darkness. She saw a flash of pink and saw Natsu trying to run to her, but the shadows were gaining on him. "Lucy!"
She tried to stand steady, her hand reaching out to grab his outstretched one. "Natsu!"
The barest of touches, and Natsu had been captured by the darkness. She cried out, in disbelief that all her nakama was gone. She turned her head to meet Nazo's challenging gaze, as the darkness began sweeping her up as well. "What is this?"
He chuckled, the sound echoing as the sight of him vanished. "This? Why this is the beginning of your end Lucy."
..O..
Light appeared like a foreign entity to her, even though she had only been swallowed by that darkness for a second. She found herself in a brightly-lit hall, one that reminded her of some that she'd seen in her high-society past. In contrast to those times, the hall was barren of any human figure, lest a single one standing in front of a striking shadow throne.
The man stepped down from the dais, striding over to her. He emanated an aura of intense power. She looked to his feet, where the darkness pooled and manifested like his own nightmarish pet. As he approached, she looked behind her, hope rising when she saw the grand mahogany archway.
"It's no use my dear. That doorway will only lead you to my labyrinth. I venture a guess and say that you wouldn't want to be in there," a crude voice spoke out. She looked back to see the man closer than she had estimated. Shoulder-length black hair fell down limply, and his smirk seemed permanently etched onto his face. His golden-eyes seemed to pierce through her, making her feel uncomfortable.
"And how can you presume that?" she asked, trying to fill her voice with conviction. Only then would she convince herself that she has enough courage to venture into the maze. "My daughter is somewhere in there. You really expect me not to enter and try to find her?"
He chuckled. "Then if so, why are you still here? Shouldn't you have gone by now?" he asked, his reasoning pointing out her flaw. Her brown eyes widened, showing a hint of fear. "Ah. Now I realize. You're afraid of the darkness, aren't you? Yet, a mother's love defies all that doesn't it? Fear not, for your daughter will make her way to us soon enough."
She grit her teeth, trying to grasp some rational thought at what move she should make next. "Who are you?" she growled, her voice sounding dangerously low.
Another chuckle rang from him; a low smooth sound. He moved towards her, reaching out a hand to caress her cheek. She flinched back, defensive against whatever he might attempt to do. "The spitting image of her. You obtained her personality and traits. Wonderful! It is as if I'm seeing her in the flesh. My dear Lucy, do you know of the striking resemblance between you and your mother?"
The fear that surged through her was replaced with her earlier rage. She narrowed her eyes at the man, standing straight to gain strength. "How do you know my name? And more so, how do you know my mother?"
He retracted his arm from her face, noticing her newfound aggression. He spun on his heel and began walking back to his throne. All the while, her eyes burned through the back of his skull. "I guess that you charm many men of their feet, don't you Lucy? Your mother was the same back when I knew her."
"You knew her?" she asked, though it was more rhetorical than not.
"Why of course!" he stated, as if the answer was clearly obvious. "We were in the same Guild: Love & Lucky. That was during a time when your father had yet to come and sweep her off her feet. Like the rest of the boys then, I too fell for your mother. Though, I knew that my attraction for her ran deeper than the rest. At our first meeting, I had fallen in love."
She fought the urge to gag as she stayed silent, her fingers straying to the set of keys that were attached to her belt. "You had fallen in love with my mother. Though, I can't blame her for not choosing you."
Something shot out from under him. She gasped at the feeling of something cool wrap around her leg. Looking down, she saw solid shadow twist its way around her limb.
The man looked at her challengingly. "Feisty soul, aren't you? Continuing on with my story. I had lain years in wait, gradually building up a friendly relationship with her. Even after your father had joined us, I still maintained our friendship. A month before her birthday, I had taken a mission. I was due to return the day of her 18th birthday. As I returned, I remember fiddling with a velvet case in my pocket. Can you fit the pieces together yet?"
She stayed mute, her lips drawn into a thin line.
"Although I take that as a yes, I'll still elaborate. So there I was, entering the Guild, ready to propose to that beautiful woman. Then, I heard cheering. Your mother in his arms. The flash of a jewel on her left ring finger. As the realization struck me, I ran, abandoning and cutting all ties with the Guild and your mother. Yet, none of these... horrid feelings had ever gone away, even after she had passed."
"And you want me now because...?" Lucy asked bitterly. She heard the stop of footsteps, and saw the man turn her direction.
"Your mother caused me pain for the rest of my days Lucy Heartfilia. When I had heard that she had a daughter, one that was her carbon copy, I knew what I could do. To repay for the pain that she had caused me, I'll let you pay for it tenfold!"
She whipped out one of her keys, fortunate to have it be a golden one. Recognizing the symbol immediately, she cried out. "Open the Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"
A bright light appeared in the middle of the dueling mages, and a tall, lanky man wearing a horse costume appeared, hand raised in a salute. "Moshi moshi. Lucy-dono! I swear that I will protect you from this man!"
He pulled out at least a dozen arrows at an incredible speed, aiming them for the man's head. Lucy grabbed her Fleuve d'étoiles and rushed at the man, at the same time that Sagittarius launched his volley.
The man laughed, the sound haunting as it echoed through the great room. A manic look was in his eyes as the swirling cesspool of darkness grew larger, some of it becoming solid, sharp objects, aimed directly at them. "Remember the name Kuro my dear, because it's to whom you'll be begging for mercy soon enough!"
..O..
Ember ran, afraid of those who were chasing her. They couldn't have been real. They just couldn't. The beings, they were true creatures of the darkness; human manifestations of it, wielding ebony-black weapons that glinted, although there was no light near them.
Her mother. She had a feeling that her mother was close. But, she didn't know where. All she could do was keep running, even though she was short of breath and her lungs burned in pain. She couldn't give up. She had to find her mother.
The creatures were gaining on her. As she became dizzy, she stumbled, falling to her knees. She could hear the creatures' collected cackles, and shuddered at the thought of what they might do to her. "Mama..."
"Water Lock!" a feminine voice cried out from behind the shadow monsters. Ember recognized the voice, snapping her head up in the hope to see a familiar face. There, standing tall and dominant was Juvia, who seemed concentrated on sending the creatures to a watery grave. After a few moments trapped in Juvia's hold, the creatures dissipated. Ember immediately calmed and ran up to the older woman.
"Mama Juvia! You came to save me! Does that mean that all of Fairy Tail is here? Is my Mama here?" Ember impatiently asked, desperate to know some answers.
Juvia scooped the little girl up into her arms, carrying her affectionately. "Ember! Good, you're safe... Yes, all of Fairy Tail is here, though Juvia is unsure what had happened. Everyone was spilt, and now they're scattered in this maze. Your Mama is here as well, but again, Juvia doesn't know where she is."
Ember's excited expression disappeared in an instant. "Oh... How about we find everyone, so that we can defeat the bad guys together!"
Juvia nodded, and began walking down the direction the creatures came from. "Ember, Juvia wants to ask, who are the bad guys?"
Ember shuddered a bit, snuggling closer to the water mage. "The bad guys are evil. Very, very evil. There's those shadow-thingies which were chasing me then. I think there were some other bad mages as well... And then there's also Mama's old partner. But the worst one is the shadow guy. He's the one who made all this!"
Juvia's eyes increased widely, as she looked at their surroundings. The sky was a dark shade of gray, but it made whichever path one would take in the labyrinth distinct. Though, if one didn't concentrate hard enough, or was trapped for a while, they wouldn't be able to distinguish where they were going. That made fighting the creatures even harder. "The shadow guy... Juvia has a feeling that this man is very dangerous."
..O..
The anger that was within him thrashed, wanting to burst out of its tight holds. Natsu tried to control it, not wanting to suddenly explode in a fit of range. Though, from all that he's seen and heard, it was difficult enough to be level-headed about the situation.
He was so close to her, yet that didn't stop their old 'ally' from planting a kiss on her lips. The scene was enough to make Natsu want to see him burn into tiny, insignificant ashes. Then, as he tried to grab her, he was eaten by the darkness. No less than a second later, and he found himself in a dome like area. The ground was a dark tint of gray, and the barrier that surrounded him was of the darkest black. There were gaps in the barrier, but when he attempted to pass them, there appeared to be an invisible wall blocking his escape.
Then, he heard screaming. Horrible pain-wrought screaming. He recalled hearing the screams before, blood running cold at the memory.
"Do you enjoy hearing her screams Salamander?" a loathsome voice questioned. "Those wonderful screams that echoed in the Guild that day; aren't they simply melodious to your ears?"
Natsu clenched his fist tightly, the knuckles paling. The anger thrashed once again, and he could already tell that the chains keeping it together would not be able to withstand much longer. "Melodious? You consider this melodious? Well, you must have a sick sense for music, because all I hear is one of my nakama screaming her heart out in pain."
Nazo chuckled. "Such a pity that you're dense. If you had been smarter, it would have been so easy for you to understand why you're angrier now than if any of your other nakama were hurt like this. I do believe that this is wonderful background music for what will come next," Natsu raised a brow up questioningly. "Natsu, how about a rematch of this day in the Guild? We never managed to finish, did we?"
Narrowing his eyes, he punched his right fist into his palm. Fire exploded between the two limbs. Natsu grinned menacingly, determined to win. "Letting one of my closest nakama get hurt. Kidnapping an innocent little girl. I'm all fired up!"
Nazo smirked, raising his hands up like a command. Out of the ground, ghastly-looking shadow creatures emerged. At least three dozen came rising out under his control. Nazo began laughing heinously. "You think that you can beat me this time Natsu? With what I've got in store, you don't stand a chance!"
..O..
She decided that she hated those who chuckled at her demise.
Sagittarius had fallen, asking for forgiveness before he was lost in the Stellar Spirit World. Her whip was wrapped around her enemy's forearm, though that didn't stop him from his constant wave of attacks. Only one with a large amount of stamina could continue at the rate they were fighting at.
Panting, she took two of her keys, both golden. With as loud of a voice that she could muster, she shouted. "Open the Gate of the Goat! Capricorn! Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"
At the same time, two spirits came out, both in battle-ready stances. A flash of recognition shone in Kuro's eyes at the sight of an old acquaintance. "Capricorn! Lovely to see you once again! I do believe that it's been too long since we've last talked! That was back in Love & Lucky correct? I don't know whether or not to consider it surprising to find you in Lucy's possession."
Capricorn growled, cracking his knuckles. "One will not hurt Lucy under our watch. You are painfully mistaken when you say that you will return back the pain that Layla had unintentionally caused you."
Kuro grinned, waving a hand. Around them, Lacrima-Vision began to appear, each showing a scene. Lucy gasped when she recognized each and every single person running or fighting. "I thought that this might spice things up, don't you agree? It's always good to make note of wherever your Guild mates are. Now you can see each and every one of them in my maze. Most of them are headed for a single area; here. With the single exception of," he pointed to the screen closest to Lucy, where she saw two undeniably familiar mages facing off in an arena-like setting. "Those two... It seemed that Nazo wanted to settle matters in his own hands. Seeing as he's not a part of my Guild, I had no control over what he would do, though I did give him... a power-up so to speak."
Lucy's eyebrows rose. "Not part of your Guild?"
"The man's an independent mage. What you could call a mercenary. I gave him a job, which was to lure you here, and he managed it successfully. He also gave me the chance to examine your daughter," Lucy's breath hitched, her grip on the whip tightening. "She'll grow up to look like you. Though, I sense that she has more magical power than the average mage. But, once Nazo had told me the story of her parentage, I understood immediately! When this battle is done, and I have you, I'll also obtain your daughter. And then, I'll have use of a Stellar Spirit mage and the offspring of said mage and a Dragon Slayer."
"No way in hell am I letting you lay as much as a finger on my daughter!" she snarled out. "Capricorn! Virgo! Go get him!"
Both stellar spirits smirked, launching themselves to attack. Virgo placed her hands on the marble floor, a bright light erupting from her hands. Jagged pieces of rocks flew into the sky, all aimed for Kuro. Capricorn ran from behind her and unleashed a series of melee attacks which would be able to leave a victim incapacitated for days. Lucy pulled at the whip's hold on him, setting him free for only a moment before she launched for another strike.
The man's chuckle morphed into something that could be more considered as a cackle. The ground quaked, making Lucy lose her footing, and up rose beings that only belonged in the blackest parts of nightmares. They were haunted looking creatures, their entire bodies cloaked in black. On the ground because of the tremor, Lucy tried not to let fear overwhelm her as the monsters approached.
Flashing another two golden keys at Kuro, she wearily stood back up, crying out in a loud voice. "Open the Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio! Open the Gate of the Bull! Taurus!"
A tan, lean man appeared from the gate, already down on four limbs. A humanoid appeared out of another, wielding his axe for battle. They both didn't bother greeting Lucy, knowing that the situation could rapidly become dire. Grinning, Scorpio aimed his tail while Taurus started running. Simultaneously, they both shouted. "We are not letting you harm Lucy! Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran!"
Sand shot out of his stinger, heading directly for Taurus' awaiting axe. Taurus then began to spin his weapon, the sand turning into typhoons, before aiming directly at Kuro. Taurus ran, clasping the axe in both hands, ready to slice Kuro. With their combined power, the man would not be able to withstand it. The bull would not miss for the life of him.
Through the winds from the sandstorm, Lucy heard the echoing cackle once more, and froze up when she felt something cool run down her spine. Her other spirits turned to their master, confused as to what had happened in the single moment. They were all dumbfounded by what they saw.
Around Lucy's waist, an arm wrapped itself around her. Foolishly, she let go of her grasp on the whip. What were his powers? How had he escaped Taurus and Scorpio's combined attack? She saw Taurus bow his head down in shame. The man behind her cocked his head to the side, not at all fazed by their angry expressions. Lucy hissed and tried to pry him off, but to no avail. Kuro whispered in a low voice. "Is that really the best you can do to me?"
She struggled, but his grip on her was too tight. Tight enough that she knew he would leave marks even through the clothing.
"I suggest that you back away from her, or else," a low female voice called out from behind them. Kuro turned his head, smirking widely at their new company. Lucy struggled even more, wanting to fight against the man who kept a hold on her.
"What do we have here? A visit from the famed Titania, Fernandes and a few others from that lowly Guild. Oh! I do believe that I see your dear Master Makarov there too. This means that you've come past my little minions have you? Look Lucy dear, your cavalry have arrived! Though it seems that the rest of them have fallen in their journey here."
"Let Lucy go," Gray spoke out, cracking his knuckles. The few Guild mates that she could tell were there growled in response to how lightly Kuro was taking it. Kuro turned full-body towards them, showing off Lucy.
"Why should I let her go? None of you weren't meant to get involved in this really," he stated breezily, waving his free hand. As he spoke, beings rose out from the ground once more, but instead of deformed creatures; they were fearsome looking mages, all with a bloodthirsty look in their eyes. Their numbers equaled, and possibly exceeded, the amount of people there were in Fairy Tail. Kuro brought his lips close to her ear. "How does it feel knowing that it was you who brought your Guild mates to danger, Lucy?"
She bit her bottom lip, trying to conjure up an escape. She knew that she was weakening, but the thought led her to the realization that her spirits were still there. Time around her slowed as chaos burst out between the two sides. Mages were charging at each other, bellowing battle cries. She summoned her strength to spin Kuro and her around, ducking at the precise moment that Capricorn gave a forceful right hook.
The man let her go, and she rolled away as Capricorn and Taurus presented their top-notch hand-to-hand combat skills. Blow after blow was dealt. Kicks and punches against the man. She saw that her nakama fighting, some to the full extent of their powers.
Flashing lights and excruciatingly loud sounds swirled all around. The smell of smoke and blood went through the air. Everything was crumbling before them. The hall was a battleground. Mage against mage; each of them seemed to be fighting to the death. They showed no mercy. Kuro's words rung through her mind. '... knowing it was you who brought your Guild mates to danger...'
She looked up, annoyed at the exceedingly bright light given by the chandeliers. She heard that despicable chuckle. Looking back, she saw Kuro lying on the ground under the mercy of her unforgiving spirits. He lifted his hands up, giving her a look that screamed 'do you understand now?'.
Her mouth formed an 'o' as she began calling on her nakama to aim for the lights. No-one had heard her, all of them too concentrated on their battles. Sooner than she had imagined, new creatures came from the ground, even worse than those that had come before.
They had originated from her nakama's shadows.
Hideous, deformed copies of all of them. And she could guess that they matched their powers as well.
She whirled around to see her own shadow double ready to strike her. Not wanting to be a victim yet, she elbowed the carbon copy, finally glad that her weakness accounted for something. The copy fell to the ground, too dazed to stand back up.
Lucy heard the cries of defeat, and saw her nakama being struck and slain down one by one, many from their own darker selves. The memory of the nightmare flashed in her mind again, as she saw how horrifyingly similar the two incidents were. Some of the stronger mages, such as Gray and Erza, were battling quite well with their shadow. Master had grown large in an attempt to fend off his 'children's' shadows.
But with the combined forces of the shadow minions, the dark mages and their shadow copies, she knew that they weren't going to last long.
The enemy mages weren't affected, and she noticed how each of them had no shadow under their feet. Coming to the assumption that it was all planned by Kuro, something in her cried for revenge. She twisted round to face him. Anger was immediately replaced with shock. She screamed, stricken at seeing her spirits fighting against their own shadow copies. Kuro was standing up on a pile of rubble, a controlling aura surrounding him as he looked down upon all of the fighters.
A desolate war ground. That was what she had led those she cared for into.
But a single, grief-filled voice, which flew over each battle, shook her to her very core.
"MAMA!"
..O..
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" he cried out, trying to let his move directly impact against his foe. Nazo simply laughed, using the shadows as a shield. "You're a coward! Using shields instead of fighting me head on!"
Nazo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He then smirked, motioning his left hand as if he were calling for something. Out of the earth came a lacrima, which Natsu recognized as Lacrima-Vision. The Dragon Slayer looked to Nazo confusedly. "I believe that this is needed to... stimulate our battle."
The lacrima blared on, and Natsu nearly lost control at the scene that greeted him. His nakama; so many of them lay on the floor. Standing were the enemy and... shadows of his Guild mates. The man who he believed to be the Guild master stood on top of rubble, and he clenched his tight fist even more so when he saw Lucy's sprits entering their gates. Said woman was standing at the man's fists, glaring up at him in pure hate.
But the hate had wiped off instantly at the feeble cry that everyone had probably heard. The lacrima tuned in upon a little girl standing with Juvia, looking fearful at the scene before them. Both girls looked like they were about to burst into tears at the amount of injured allies.
"How do you feel now?" Nazo taunted, circling the fire mage. "Fighting here, alone in this arena. Your beloved's screams in our background," Natsu flinched at the word 'beloved', though didn't do anything to object the claim, something deep in him halting him before he could say a word. "Not denying it I see... Now, your nakama have fallen one by one, and there is nothing that you can do about it. So, how do you feel?"
Natsu scowled, setting his entire body in burning flame. "I feel about ready to beat your ass so that I can get out of here and save all of them."
Nazo laughed, calling upon more of those shadow creatures to assist him. "Wonderful! I say, let the real battle begin!"
Natsu cried out and began charging, as Nazo unleashed the wave of shadow upon the man. An earth-shaking explosion followed the collision. Nazo staggered from the impact. He heard Natsu roar, the intimidating sound bringing to mind the mighty creature – dragons.
Natsu stepped forward from the dissipating shadow, and Nazo's face was brought into a hard expression. Natsu wiped his mouth, his eyes conveying no trace of regret for what he would do. "Prepare to lose traitor," he spat, letting out a feral growl. "Daring to hurt my Guild, I won't show any mercy."