Me: Hi guys, sorry for the late update! I had to study for my finals. :) Also, there was some lack of inspiration but anyway - I'm getting back to this story. I feel so bad for Sting now; now that Lector died and Jiemma really had it coming. He should really not mess with a Dragonslayer's Exceed or bother getting angry. And what's Minerva's beef anyway? She practically just smiled there after her dad got pummelled by Sting although personally, it's an improvement on Jiemma's part to finally shut up. Too bad though in this fic he's still alive. Anyway, I don't own Fairytail! I only own Katherine Dumas, the concept of her powers and abilities and the plotline of this fanfiction.
Katherine - "this"
Maegara - "this"
Iolanthe/Arturia - "this/ this"
Conscience -"this"
Chapter 21- Veritas I
The crowds howled for more like anything and Erza and Mirajane just walked out of that like it was nothing. Minerva pretty much began seething especially getting shot down by Mira. I mean heck – this is Mirajane the demon we're talking about! After Mirajane and Erza won their matches, we all piled up in the locker rooms discussing our next moves. What we couldn't understand is that we were only pitted against one another. I didn't see any dark guilds popping out of nowhere. It's all just us. But why are they forcing Six League guilds only to compete? Shouldn't the dark guilds be swarming us by now?
"What I want to know is where are the other Dark Guilds," Erza frowned slightly while folding her arms. "There should be some participants from the opposing side. Not just us."
Natsu groaned in boredom, hanging his legs from the cabinet. "Aww man, I'm all fired up already!"
"Natsu, you can't just burn anything in sight," Lucy sighed at Natsu's crazy whining, handing Layla to me. "They might do something worse if you just suddenly start burning the place!"
Natsu groaned before slumping down to the ground, yanking his hair out. "But I'm boooored! I bet you Sabertooth's getting in good fights and I wanna join!"
Lucy sighed in exasperation. "You're always bored!"
Gray snickered at Natsu; man, he's always asking for a fight. "That's because you have nothing fir brains, flame-head."
Natsu bumped foreheads with Gray, putting up his fist. "What did you say, snowman?"
"See? Your brain can't even remember what I said, ash for brains!"
I laughed slightly as little Layla lay comfortably in my arms, watching Natsu and Gray fight again. Wendy suddenly got into the middle of it while trying to pacify the two wizards until Erza put a sword in front of them. Layla began gurgle and giggle while I tried adjusting in a certain position that was comfortable for the both of us. She started playing with the drawstrings of my black hoodie while the rest of the guild was discussing what the next match was. Laxus remained really quiet with the other members of the Raijinshuu whereas Juvia started fawning over her beloved Gray-sama again. Gajeel leaned against the wall before throwing another chunk of metal into his mouth while Levy began scanning her books for something I have no idea. I couldn't help but wonder myself; where were all the other dark guilds? What the fuck is going on anyway? What's with the flashy tournament?
"Gaah, this isn't getting us anywhere," I yanked my hair in frustration, earning the rest of the others to look at me. "Where are the rest of the retards!? We can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"See? Even she's itching for a fight," Natsu whined only to get punched by Erza. Ouch.
Before anyone could say anything, the PA suddenly rang out. "Katherine Dumas of Fairytail, please report to the ring in three minutes. Thank you."
Everyone suddenly became silent as the PA once again repeated the message. I bit my lower lip anxiously; is this when they're gonna start attacking? Then again, I was getting bored of sitting around seeing Erza kick ass was awesome. Mira definitely got me inspired also! All the other fighters there are probably way beyond Minerva when it comes to making a bloody scene. Sabertooth's more focused on winning and we have no idea how to coordinate with the other guilds. Screw this, I'm gonna beat my way up until I get to Zeref and blow his ass to the moon! What the hell is his beef with the rest of the world?
"Princess," Loke suddenly appeared next to me, handing in his key. "Don't forget to call me if you need me."
I nodded as Layla stared at me with a huge expectant smile. Damn it, why are babies always so cute? Letting out a slight chuckle, I handed her back to Lucy before suiting up once again with my insignia shining with its full glory. I cracked my knuckles before walking on forward to the door. Everything inside my body trembled fearfully but also in excitement. Fucking hell, this thing's driving me more insane than normal.
"Let's go."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Stepping outside into the ring was easy but understanding what the crowd wanted wasn't.
When I came out from the gates, the crowd started howling and cheering as the torches blazed up like some huge sports festival or something. The gravel crackled under my sneakers as I stood in front of the crowd with my usual unflinching expression. But seriously, these guys are seriously deprived of entertainment! Don't they have those boxes with pictures on it or something?!
Those things are called televisions, dumbass. Even if they did, they prefer lacrima. What century are you from - the 16th century?!
Hey, some people still use television sets, bitch.
Katherine-sama, maintain your guard. There's something in the air that seems amiss.
Whatever it is, I'm gonna beat the shit out of it!
I could hear Fairytail cheering on one side. Sabertooth stayed on the other side while Lamia Scale, Quattro Cerberus and some of the other guilds stayed on the other side, watching my match. Layla was holding onto Lucy and despite the overwhelming noises, she seemed pretty okay with it. Erza stood there in her bandaged glory, seeing that Mirajane and she really went all out. Soon, the cheers grew louder as some guy declared himself to the world and started waving his hand like he's some bloody fucking king. Who the hell are you supposed to be anyway?
"Go, Katelyn!"
"My name's not Katelyn, the name's Katherine you dumbass," I facepalmed with an indignant huff; when is Natsu ever gonna get my name right!?
"You better win, beast girl," I heard Gajeel yelling distantly from the stands.
"Welcome, my dear loyal subjects," - wait a minute, this guy sounds familiar. "I hope that the source of entertainment has been to your liking. The wizards you see are a little less brutal so please encourage them to kill if you must. It's only right that they submit to your desires as their masters and the upper class."
I twitched furiously, baring my fangs albeit slightly. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? That guy needs more than a whack on the head - he needs a good dose I'm-gonna-rearrange-his-face medicine! What kind of asshole suddenly declares that they are the upper class? What the hell are we - circus animals? Seeing a pebble on the ground, I grabbed it before hurling it with Herculean strength and smack! Score!
"How dare she throw a stone at Lord Arcadias!"
God, do these people really worship the ground he walks on?
I've had enough of this! These guys have been harping on how great Zeref is and everything in the world is dying! The only place that hadn't been affected so badly was my place before Loke decided to enter my house in style – yeah, by falling through my door! What the fuck is wrong with these people? These people better know what's going before they start bringing in the end of the world. What better way than to piss them off?
With a maniacal grin, I gave them the finger. "If you guys are so desperate to make me pay, come and fight me you little shitheads!"
"ENOUGH!"
The crowd suddenly gasped as I swivelled my head towards the afro dude I pitched the pebble at; so that must be the guy who was yapping along in the little stereo box. People were shooting me glares but who cares? It's this guy's fault we're in such a mess! The afro dude turned around to glare at me but I remained completely silent until I pulled off one of Gajeel's psychotic smiles. The audience snapped their mouths shut while I grinned at his paled expression; I better thank Gajeel for that. I don't give a damn what this guy wants! I just want answers from Zeref and boy do I have a lot of questions for the moron! Where the hell is he?
"It seems our princess is a little impatient," the afro dude just sniggered at me. Fucking bastard, I'm gonna kill him. "Ladies and gentlemen, please give our princess a warm welcome along with our noblemen – Easley Delacroix!"
The crowd cheered loudly as the gates suddenly rose revealing a silver haired man with a calm smirk on his face. He had this furry cloak hanging loosely on his shoulders as it started billowing in the wind as if he were some superhero or something. The skies seemingly got darker and the flames suddenly started to roar louder along with the crowd. That stupid afro guy on the other hand just sat there like some annoying pest! Damn, God, it would be so nice to wipe that smirks off both their faces!
Wait, this guy looks familiar...
Easley Delacroix... Also known as the Silver King of the North... He's one heck of an opponent. The bastard's got nothing on us!
Hold onto that thought, didn't we kill this guy before?
It looks like Aeons are crazy enough to resurrect themselves or find something to keep them alive.
He fucking decapitated his own head off! How is he still walking!?
Katherine-sama, I believe it is best that we simply annihilate him in one blow.
"I believe you're in shock as to why I am still alive, Katherine-chan," Easley smiled at me serenely; shit, it reminds me of Mira. "You see – we Aeons cannot be ended by anything but be ended by nothing. A simple decapitation is not going to eliminate us. We are creatures that have the world in our palm."
I gaped at him; what the fuck was he getting at? "What the fuck are you talking about?"
Easley chuckled lightly before unveiling some huge bow and arrow under his cloak. "Shall we begin?"
Holy God, did his arm just transform into some fucking bow and arrow or am I blind?
You're blind.
Bitch, I was being sarcastic!
The pumpkin dude suddenly came out of the ground with his microphone thing before he slammed some gong. "Let the games begin!"
As the gong sounded off, I narrowed my eyes as Easley pushed himself back with arrows firing towards me. I vaulted over the arrows before skidding across the field until he magically appeared in front of me. Holy God, how did he do that? Never mind that, I gotta get away from him! I pushed him back with a butterfly kick to his face along with a finishing roundhouse kick to bring him down, changing my form into the pole-arm specialist's form. With two of my spears glowing, I pushed myself off the wall once more before slamming the red spear against his gut.
"Not bad, princess," Easley ducked beneath before kicking me straight in the jaw. "I see that the wild has taught you a few things..."
I staggered back a bit and wiped the dirt of my lip before striking again with the yellow spear, prompting him to jump up high into the air. "Heh, it's called getting warmed up, dumbass!"
Oh yeah, shit just got serious.
Damn, this guy's got a long lunging range because he freakin' just darted from one end and then to the other end behind me. I sidestepped away before sticking out the spear and sent him tumbling over but not before he summoned a BIG FUCKING SWORD? The sword's twice my size and he's swinging the little bastard as if it's a feather! Where the hell did he get that? How does someone manage to summon a sword that huge out of nowhere? Why the hell can he swing it like it's normal to him!?
Quit panicking, you dumbass! You're gonna get yourself killed that way!
Tell me how you swing a sword that fucking huge! It can probably send Rustalot back there around the world in eighty days with one swing!
Good God, transform into somebody who can catch it – you stupid bitch!
Calling me a stupid bitch? I'll show you who's a stupid bitch!
Katherine-sama, please! You must focus!
Yeah, maybe I better take that back.
The sword slammed into my gut and sent me flying into the wall with a loud kablam with all the dust flying all over the place. Son of a bitch, he's doing pure transforming and he's been throwing me around like a fucking pebble! I immediately changed my form into my Herculean form as his sword nearly sliced me in two. My muscles began growing as I managed to pry his sword off me and lifting him off the ground before punching him straight towards the other end of the field. Stupid little shit, Aeon or not – I'm gonna hand your ass to you! I roared, yes – roared, and sprung across the field with my arm pulled back for a punch before making a crater in the wall.
"Is that your true potential, princeza," Easley mused mockingly with a smirk plastered on his face. "I believe you're holding back. You should not reject your power and prowess as an Aeon. There is no such thing as limits. Fairytail has done nothing but dull your fangs!"
I narrowed my eyes before trying to punch him again before pushing myself back and launching forward for a dynamic entry kick. "Fuck off, you haven't seen them fight! You're the one who's got a screwed up head!"
Katherine-sama, Easley Delacroix – there is a familiar ring to this man's name...Have we faced him before?
He's the asshole who decided to storm Fairytail right after the crazy Phantom clown!
No Katherine-sama, perhaps I may know him. Allow me to take over.
Hell no, he ain't getting away with calling me princeza! What the hell does he take me for?
Hey dipshit just let Iolanthe do the damn talking for a few seconds!
Tch, looks like I'm gonna have to hand it over to Iolanthe. I closed my eyes for a few moments as a warm surge of energy flowed into my body. My hair suddenly fell past my shoulders and my black hoodie changed into the silver plated armour with a white cream coloured dress. The Excalibur started humming quietly as Easley launched himself towards me again with his sword swinging fast. I immediately ducked before bringing up my blade to knock the sword away before spinning around and slashing him across the gut. Damn it, Iolanthe's making short work out of this guy.
"I see you've grown quite well, Easley," Iolanthe's voice fusioned with mine as we both looked at our opponent standing in front of us. "No, I shouldn't say that. Or should I say – Lancelot of the Lake?"
Holy Crack, what did she say?
Where the fuck did that come from?
"That sword attached to you – it's Arondight," Iolanthe suddenly smiled bitterly; hey, what the heck is it with these two? "I remember the days when you would easily swing that sword as if it were nothing to you. You were one of my best knights..."
Easley smiled lightly before letting out a hollow chuckle, bowing slightly. "My liege – how long it has been to be addressed that name!"
"It has been awhile to be fighting against one of my own," Iolanthe noted bitterly with a sad smile, putting up her sword. "I thought Camlann would be the end of it."
Easley shook his head disdainfully before raising his own blade. "I don't understand... Why...?"
Iolanthe raised her head up and saw Easley coming up at her to chop her down. She immediately sidestepped before countering with her blade and sent Easley flying back. The silver haired male stumbled back but not before making some quick launch from the other end with his BFS glowing like some neon light. What the fuck is it with this guy? If I remember right, Lancelot served King Arthur as his most loyal knight before he decided to screw with Arthur's wife. But then again, if King Arthur was a woman – it should have been... a lot lighter right?
Nah, they were still stupid bastards back then. They kinda had an attention span of a goldfish.
Indeed. If they had discovered my true gender in my version of the tale, Camelot would have never existed.
Geez, why are we all surrounded by lunatics?
As Iolanthe and Easley clashed with one another, I could feel my body getting really lithe from all the jumping and twirling. Easley on the other hand suddenly hurled this javelin straight at us until Iolanthe barely managed to dodge it and we found ourselves struggling on one side. Shit, Iolanthe's hesitating! I better take care of this!
Iolanthe, back down! I'll beat the crap out of this guy!
Katherine-sama, he is my responsibility! As his king, it is my responsibility to discipline and bring him down if necessary!
You may have been a king but that's the bloody fucking past! Get over it! Fighting and duking it out with him while trying to reason out with him is wasting your time!"
She's got a point, Iolanthe. Besides, Arturia – how long have you been dead? Let it go.
"I REFUSE," Iolanthe suddenly declared and threw me at the back of her mind. "I will finish whatever I have started! It is my fault Camelot had fallen! The least I can do is help my brothers pass on..."
That crazy idiot – what she doing? She can't win against Easley this way! He's a completely different person! I staggered back to the deep recesses of my mind with Maegara as we watched Iolanthe continuing to fight with my body! Damn, she's really going all out on this! But how do we stop a knight who basically has the divine sword in her disposal? Shit, she's gonna make meat chunks out of us if we're not careful! Come on, think! There has to be a way to gain my body back.
"Geez, I can't believe you surrendered that easily to Iolanthe," Maegara snorted before leaning against an imaginary wall with a mocking smirk. "So, what now brown cow?"
I rolled up my sleeves with a dark growl, marching towards the vision; the day I let her beat the shit out of me is the day I die! "I'm not letting her take over my body for some personal vendetta or for some self-pity trip!"
Katherine-sama...! Please... let me...
Whatever it is, it wasn't your fault! Camelot fell because it was something that couldn't be stopped! I mean heck – if you're gonna regret what happened, what about all the other people who died for you? Their deaths would have meant nothing...!
But... I...!
GET A FUCKING GRIP! YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST! YOU CAN ONLY TRY TO LIVE ON IN THE PRESENT TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR MISTAKES!
Suddenly, in front of me – Loke appeared as he caught Arondight with his bare hands. Holy crackers, why the heck did he do that? That sword's good enough to slice through anything and he managed to stop it as if it were nothing. Easley's eyes widened as big as saucers and Loke spun around for a kick and sent him flying.
"Lancelot or whatever your name may be," Loke glared darkly with his emerald green eyes glimmering with fury before launching at him with glowing fists. "I'm not going to let you harm my princess any further. King of Knights or what not, Katherine is still Katherine. I won't let you lay a finger on her!"
I could only bite my lip in shock as Iolanthe pretty much gaped at Loke's sudden entrance. Now's my chance!
Erza's P.O.V
I don't know if it was just me or if everyone else noticed that Katherine seemingly had some internal conflict.
According to Jellal, Aeons are very susceptible to internal conflicts but for Katherine to keep fighting despite that is quite amazing. Master had also said that Aeons fall to insanity if they don't resolve that conflict soon. I can only stare and watch Katherine fighting with her King of Knights form and with the Excalibur. If this man is supposedly someone Katherine knew from the past, why are they fighting each other? Isn't there any better way to resolve it? Who is this man?
"Come on Kevyn," Gray shouted on one side, gripping the stone rails. "Fight back!"
Loke started fighting back Easley with everything he had while Katherine simply froze on the battlefield. If she's fighting with her other personality, that would be understandable. Her body has to compensate somehow. I'm surprised Easley didn't just dash past Loke and chop down Katherine from where she stood. But then again, if he is truly Lancelot – he would never just chop down his king. But Loke's seriously getting overpowered; Easley just sent him flying towards the wall. Katherine can't fuel Loke the same way Lucy can since she's not used to Celestial magic. She better start winning whatever internal conflict she has with whatever personality it may be.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
I swivelled my head towards the field when Loke found himself staring at Katherine when she decided to catch the blade with her hands in her King of Knights form. That smirk and that glare – yes, that's definitely her. Katherine wouldn't lose just like that – not when she has everyone standing with her. Loke would definitely not let her go just like that. Otherwise...
I think I have some unused swords in my trunk that need some exercise.
Normal P.O.V
Sheesh, fighting Iolanthe wasn't easy.
I don't know how long she's gonna stay quiet but now that I'm in this form – I can blast Easley into shitty little pieces when I want, how I want. Easley's eyes pretty much widened like saucers when I suddenly pushed his sword away before swinging Excalibur in his face.
"Milady had always been a stubborn little lion," Easley smiled bitterly as I managed to swing my sword and send him staggering. "I'm glad her powers had made its way to you. Otherwise, I would be completely distressed if she ended up with a more horrible Aeon. Your spirit is truly astonishing..."
I kicked his blade up in the air before pointing my blade at his throat, glaring angrily as his sword landed in my other hand. "Alright, Skippy. You're gonna tell me everything I need to know before I chop you into minced garlic. Got it, peewee?"
Easley chuckled lightly before getting down on his knees, bowing with his head touching the ground. "Yes, milord."
Suddenly, the whole crowd went wild. The hell just happened – did he just fucking surrender? What the heck – why did he make this so damn easy? I actually expected myself to cut his fingers off one by one and then chop him up to pieces! Anyhow, as long as the match is over and nobody died – I guess, it's okay. While the crowd continued cheering, Easley handed himself over to us as the pumpkin dude suddenly declared.
"KATHERINE DUMAS OF FAIRYTAIL WINS!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Surprisingly, Easley just went along with me to the locker rooms with the other members of Fairytail. Of course, it was kinda creepy considering he just walked in without putting up a fight and actually – Natsu didn't like the idea. But, we really needed answers and if knowing who I really am will help us beat the shit out of Zeref then by all means. Besides, I don't think Zeref's gonna randomly say "hey come and get me. I'm gonna tell you all me weaknesses." I mean, dude – that's just plain stupid.
Easley chuckled as he sat in front of us while the whole Fairytail stood at the other end of the room right behind me. "So, are there any questions you need answering?"
Jellal frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes at the silver haired dude. "We're all aware of Aeons being ancient creatures of the past but how did they manage to survive? They were supposedly extinct by the second Dragon Festival! Not only that, what exactly does Zeref have to do with anything? He barely exhibits any qualities of an Aeon."
"Dragon what," I blinked several times at Jellal; what the fuck – will you stop coming up with new terms?
Easley chuckled lightly before folding his arms together and sitting with his legs crossed. "Aeons are very complex creatures. We were created in such a way that nothing can absolutely destroy us. You may even say we are the true children of Adam and Eve. We were the rulers of paradise; we followed all His laws and everything else. However, when our dear mother died and became something else – a war broke out. We were forced to take sides: some wanted to continue coexisting with other beings that we had found walking around the realm and the others wanted to seal off paradise. Hence the two alignments, Chaos and Law. Thus, the legend of the Dragon Festival was born due to one man who had gone insane due to the loss of his lover..."
Everyone's eyes widened as Easley continued speaking.
"As soon as Eve died, Adam continued searching for the thing that had killed her. Supposedly, it was a serpent whose venom supposedly poisoned her. He searched for many ways to slay the creature and found his answer lying amongst the rulers of the sky. Something all of you know as Dragonslayer magic."
Gray narrowed his eyes at Easley. "Hold on, we're kinda aware that the Dragons are Aeons also and that they decided to share their information with humans but what's the difference?"
"There were some dragons that wanted to keep the knowledge to themselves," Easley smiled slowly while running his fingers through his hair; damn it, stop smiling like Mirajane! Only she's certified to do that! "The others wanted to coexist and so did many of the Aeons. Because of this, a war broke out. Seeing that the Aeons of the sky had begun their fighting, Adam decided to join them in order to gain information on how to kill the creature that slew his wife and forced them out of the garden. When he did however, that's when things went wrong."
"Lemme guess," I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "He went crazy with power and decided to blow up every little shit on earth?"
Easley chuckled with a small smile. "You're very perceptive, princess. Yes, his insanity grew and he started killing everything out of grief. He could no longer locate the serpent itself and so, he started destroying everything indiscriminately. That's why his name had been changed from Adam... He became what everyone knew today as Acnologia."
Holy crackers, what?
Acnologia... Was human?
You mean, the big black dragon we saw ages ago – he was human?
That would explain why he could understand human speech very well.
"Well now with Acnologia, what do we do then," Jellal pressed on, folding his arms and his lips thinning into a line. "How about Zeref? Why do you keep calling Katherine princess or mala princeza?"
Easley kept a straight face and smiled slowly again; Grrrr, will he stop that? It ain't helping! "I'm sure you would all be surprised when I tell you."
This doesn't sound good, boss.
Anything that happens now isn't good.
Lucy bit her lower lip anxiously, swallowing hard. "So, where's Eve now?"
Easley kept really quiet and everyone pretty much had to absorb all that information. I mean considering some things, some of what Jellal told us was true but now that we got the deeper story – some things are actually starting to fit. I just didn't expect Acnologia to be human before.
"Well, what is it," I drew my sword and pointed Excalibur at his throat and Erza had her own blade with a dark glare. "Tell me!"
Easley sighed with a nonchalant shrug before leaning against the wall. "Zeref is the true form of Adam. On the other hand however, Katherine is a very special case; she is neither human nor Aeon. The girl standing before you today is not Katherine but her true name... Are you sure you wish to hear it?"
I could feel my breath stop as he spelled it out.
"...Her true name is Eve."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
*dun dun dun* Something didn't end up right there! How did she suddenly become Eve when she's already three different people? Sorry for the extremely late update! Don't forget to review! Thanks~!