Jesus Christ, it's been a while since I touched this… Soz, I have been expanding my reach across the plains of Fanfiction, scaring people in the Mass Effect and Walking Dead communities.
I have a few stories up for them if you are interested, but now is the time for me to write more of One's Perseverance.
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(1 Day Later)
"Someone help, please!"
Erza's eyes snapped open in an instant. Shock coursing through her veins before recognising the dull room she was in. Though, the calmness she felt evaporated when the same words that woke her up echoed into her ears again, rattling around in her skull, dousing the feeling and energising her body.
Springing into action, she re-quipped into her Heart Kruez armour and bolted out of the door before she even knew what was happening. Though it wasn't an issue for her, someone was in trouble from the sounds of it and she'd be damned if she didn't at least see what the hell was going on.
She moved swiftly, jumping over people and their suitcases, practically jumping down the stairs when the elevator took too long and shoving the gathering crowd out of her way when they moved too slowly for her liking. As the entrance passed behind her, she was greeted with the sight of a young man, slightly shorter than she was and covered head to toe in cuts, bruises and what looked to be sweat. His eyes were wide with terror, most likely hysterical and he seemed to be unable to keep himself from trembling like it was winter.
It was then she only realised that rain was pelting her face like it was a Bullseye board, making her face twitch whenever the droplets of unbearably cold water collided with particularly sensitive parts of her features. She growled, annoyance brewing when she looked at the reason she was even out of her nice and warm room at this time...
He spotted her, his eyes lighting up in vague recognition as he stumbled over to her, looking like he was trying to run but his body was simply refusing to listen.
"Yo- You're Erza Scarlet!" He whimpered, grabbing her by her padded shoulders, making her tense before forcing herself to calm down. There wasn't any need to harm this guy, he wasn't a threat.
"I am." She opted for the simple response, wanting to gauge his reaction. Though when he did nothing but stutter, her impatience got the better of her. "What happened to you. Why are you screaming?"
The man jumped at her commanding tone, making her wince inwardly. She should probably tone it down if she wanted information. Though it wasn't like this had any relevance to her goal. But before she could utter a single chastisement, he spoke up, finally finding his voice.
"You were there… Weren't you?" He asked, his head shaking, like a nod but it was too shaky to tell. "When they were here the last time?
That was odd… She had been privy to many old faces of crime. But that made things difficult for her to pinpoint what exactly he was talking about..
"I was here for many reasons, sir. I need you to specify before I lose my nerve." She ground out. This man was clearly too shaken to even give her a simple answer. But that led to the question: What could have done this to him? Or who?
"You KNOW who I mean!" He yelled, making her jump at the suddenness of his volume. But he continued before she could respond. "Back when they attacked you and your friends. You know who I mean..."
Everything went blank…
Erza quickly clutched him by the shoulders, causing the man to yelp in sudden pain. But she didn't care at all, if he was talking about who she thought he was talking about…
"Where are they?..." She stared at him, her eyes boring into his own, as if trying to find the answers before he could answer. She had to know, and if they were who she thought they were, then she would finally have the chance she had been waiting for after all these years.
"Where they always are..." The man choked out, tears dripping down his face as he tried to recall the whereabouts. "The forest near the ocean-bed… They changed it back when you and your friends gave them problems."
Suddenly, Erza found herself letting him go, shoving him to the side as she began to sprinting towards the destination she was told about. It wasn't going to be hard to find, even after all these years. That day was permanently burned into her brain like a branding iron striking her skin. But all her thoughts were focussed.
She had them, after all these years she had them. This time, they'd be the one's to lose. Last time, they had caught her and the others unaware and unprepared, but now she was ready for them, her skills and magic were never better, her willingness to kill never stronger.
This time, she would win…
However, in her zeal, she never noticed the lone figure trailing her by some distance. Her face one of angry determination, but also one of immense shame and sadness. Whenever she looked at the woman before her, flowing red hair floating behind her head like a mane of fire and her aura of pure anger she couldn't help but feel her gut clench.
"Oh Erza…" Mirajane whispered… "What have I done to you?"
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Natsu trudged through the muddy sludge of the forest, unaware as to his whereabouts and getting less than reliable aid from his nose due to the shitty weather. Looking up, he could barely see the small crack of grey through the thick shroud of organic green. The cold was getting worse, somehow…
Though through it all, his face stayed the same. A blank, seemingly apathetic face devoid of anything he remembered. The few times he'd seen himself in the mirror he knew that he looked so much different… and just after… A month? Two Months? He scratched his head, unaware of the action but still just as curious.
"Has it really been that long?" He sighed, looking to the ground. His arm falling to his side as he stared at his reflection in the oddly reflective water below him.
He looked so different…
His Salmon hair, once short and messy, now latched onto his jaw. The slightly shorter, spiky locks stuck out like a sore thumb, making him look more like a modern day caveman than a sentient person. He once again noted the almost tired look on his face, as the slight bags under his eyes gave away without any problems and his once smiling face looked set in a stony line.
Natsu grimaced, putting a slight curve in the line of his mouth. He didn't like looking at… whatever this was. This shadow of who he was, this mere clone of his being. But it didn't matter anymore, this was what he had earned, this was his reward, his curse, his plague that only he could bare. The plague he should bare…
He couldn't look anymore, not at the monster he had become…
Snapping his head away in a burst of emotion, he began running. His feet picking up a startling speed as he whizzed by the multitude of trees and bushes in his wake. Where he was heading didn't matter, or at least it no longer mattered. All that did was why, but even then his mind failed to answer truthfully.
Natsu took in the surroundings quickly, finding the best path in mere nano-seconds as his brain registered a mere moment later. He suddenly crouched and launched, clearing a big patch of now freezing water as he regained his footing and got back to the fruitless antic.
'Where am I going? Do I even have a destination?'
It was a weird experience, feeling like his mind and body were in a severe disconnect. He used to be pretty consistent with his decisions and actions. But then he had screwed up, and somebody paid the damn price.
"Stop…. THINKING!" He screamed, slowing down and clutching his head as if he could rip the unwanted thoughts and feelings out with a simple pull. He barely noticed his chest rising and falling at a greater pace than he expected it to be. Was it from the running or because of his feelings, he didn't know. But he wanted it to stop.
"God dammit!" He hissed, his face creasing further and further as his efforts to remove the pain he felt doubled. "Stop chasing me, i've learned my lesson! Just go away!"
Those were the only words he acknowledged, losing himself to unfiltered ramblings and a few swears. He briefly wondered if this was what losing ones mind felt like.
'Look yourself.' His mind droned at him, whittling at his soul every time it voiced the truth of his life. 'You are a failure… You failed as a Student. You failed as a Guild Member and you failed as a friend. Imagine the pain you could have spared everyone if you ad just stuck to those mountains, the real tragedy here is that you and I both know this is reality. Abject reality, something you can't just wish away. You did this to yourself, you must bare the consequences… But even then, you ran...'
A sob escaped his lips, his hair un-clinging from his face, falling in front of it and hiding his ugly face from the rest of the world. His anger, sadness and self-disgust engulfing him as the rain struck his body, the temperature unforgivingly cold…
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(1 Hour Later)
"Where are they…?" Erza muttered to herself, uncaring about the freezing weather as she looked around. Her angry eyes scanning every last tree and piece of foliage she could find. She had been running, searching for so long she could smell them. Their evil was lingering.
The constant pitter patter of rain hitting the sludgy, shitty ground beneath her was grating at her nerves, disrupting her from the main objective. She cast her gaze to the three leaves above, cursing them for their part in this. If they got away because she couldn't even hear them…
"WILL YOU BE CAREFUL!?"
Her eyes started, darting everywhere in an attempt to locate the source of the familiar voice. One of the three voice that haunted her dreams since they took her best friend away from her. His near insane baritone still as distinctive as it ever was to her.
'Omid...'
"WE are very fragile, Ajeel. If you continue, i'll tell on you!" The cackling that followed froze her to the bone… Ajeel was also here, the sand Mage who had bested her. The one who left Mirajane and Gray to face the maniacs without her aid.
And after all this time, her mouth curled into a cruel smile…
"I'll kill him first." Her voice softly promised. Emotions she hadn't truly felt in a long time finally erupting over her all at once. Grief, anger, guilt, hatred and a myriad of other toxic feelings she wanted to lose. After all this time searching, researching and fighting. She was going to make a breakthrough.
Slowly, she listened in on the inane chatter, finding their location within seconds and using the cover of rainfall to hide the sounds of her movement. Re-qupping into her Purgatory armour, she gazed down at the targets of her vengence.
She stood upon a fairly big precipice, almost a peninsular outcropping. To her right she could see a great wall of rock that spanned from the bottom of the beach from where her targets were and ending roughly 20 metres higher than where she was. Her position was covered in nature, seemingly perfect for hiding herself despite the hulking armour she wore. Yet another advantage she had since her last encounter.
The rain, pelted against the sea, causing huge ripples to infest the body of water as the waves crashed into the shore and around a huge looking boat that seemed to hold three stories.
'How on Earth has this thing been undetected by the Rune Knights?' She tore her gaze away from the boat to see the hatch on the back open, letting the panel fall onto the shore.
Then she spotted small carriages being transported onto the boat and frowned, getting a clearer look at what the cargo was…
What she saw made her sight go red with pure red-hot anger…
"Well, this seems more than suitable for our requirements. These new recruits will do nicely when they grow." A silver haired boy, roughly her age spoke. His cold voice crystal clear and alight with satisfaction.
"We're glad to be of service, Lolly-pop!" Omid cackled at his own jab… But cowered a little when the boy gave him a warning look.
"This guy must be the leader." Erza frowned. That would make things complicated, she was hoping for that… Machina to be there in his place. But when she saw them all tense she got ready to strike, her eyes narrowing.
'Have they noticed me…?'
"Someone's here…" The silver haired boy stated, looking to Omid with a stare. "Someone who shouldn't be."
"Really? Where?" Omid turned around, his head snapping from left to right at a speed fast enough to make Erza's head spin. But she noticed a scar on his face, one that wasn't there before.
"I hope it hurt, bastard…." She spat, watching the action unfold as Ajeel stepped into view. Almost directly below her.
"I really hope it's them again. Probably want a rematch after that embarrassingly poor performance the last time they were here." He chuckled, looking around casually as if checking out the weather.
"Now is not the time for your hollow ramblings, Ajeel." The boy responded chastisingly. Not reacting the grumbling the Sand Mage gave in return. "They are close, keep an eye out, the both of you."
"Well of course, our noble and illustrious-ACK!"
"I'll tell you once again, Omid… Shut you mouth before I fill it with sand!" Ajeel turned away, likely finding a spot to perch and ambush if the worst came to the worst.
"Please, no abuse until we get home. We have the recruits for that." He laughed, pointing behind him and to the boast.
'Now is the best time.' Erza looked around, noting where they were all placed. Ajeel was still under her, she could easily crush him with a single blow. Omid was… prancing around in a circle, whistling, it sounded like. She would have to rush him and take him down as quickly as she ended Ajeel…
But the one she had never seen before was an issue. Even from here, she could feel his power radiate off him, unlike the other two, he made sure to let people know how powerful he was it seemed.
"Okay..." She took a deep breath, counting down in her head for the moment she had been waiting for to finally happen.
'3… 2… 1-'
"Energy Landmine!"
"The fuck!?"
"Her again? Awesome!"
…
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…
…
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…
…
…
…
…
The chaos unfolded before her before she even knew what was going on, Omid jumped out of harms way, which took the shape of the cylindrical magic circle before it exploded upwards, causing a huge beam of light to shoot into the sky with a huge crack.
Ajeel began whirling sand around him for protection.
The Silver haired boy just stood and observed.
But all Erza could do was watch on in shock…
"Mirajane?"
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Well, that is one way to return to One's Perseverance… XD
I enjoyed writing this chapter, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Though it has been a while and i completely forgot the set-up from the previous chapter… So I have a new storyline! One much better I think.
Criticise, praise, analyses. Etx. It all helps and is appreciated, Two-Fold when constructive.
I'll see you next time,
-Viperhat