Dr. Hope stood atop Fairy Tail, his hands grasped around a pulsing blue orb. The dust settled as he raised his hands, the lacrima glowing brighter and brighter.
"Finally! My wish will come true! Now, disappear!" The lacrima continued to glow brighter until the mages were forced to cover their eyes. The world around them suddenly grew ominously quiet, as if everything had been sucked out of it without remorse. They uncovered their eyes, but all they could see was a darkness so oppressive it clogged their throats and attacked their minds, plunging them into unparalleled paranoia. Screams tore through throats as mages succumbed to their new reality, all while the good doctor watched, hardly able to contain his glee. Fairy Tail held out the longest, their concern for their nakama the only thing keeping them tethered to the real world. But one by one they too fell, dropping to their knees and curling into tight balls as they wailed in agony.
Natsu fought valiantly, trying desperately to get to wherever Lucy was before he too lost the battle of wills, sinking into the abyss's embrace with a heavy heart. He cried out for her, but wherever she was she could not hear him. Once again she was beyond his reach, and that tore at his soul harder than any magic.
Wendy, who'd been shielded from the onslaught by Romero, looked around hesitantly when silence suddenly descended upon her. She tried to move, but Romeo wouldn't move.
"Romeo, I'm okay now..." She pushed up again, and this time he moved, rolling off of her and landing on the ground beside her with a dull thud. Wendy turned to him, but scrambled back as a surprised scream burst from her. Romeo lay perfectly still, his skin a horrifying pale and his eyes dull, staring unseeing up at the sky. Wendy felt her breath come in too fast pants as she crawled forward, desperate to dispute what was being presented to her. Shaking hands landed on his chest, fluttering upward toward his neck. She held her breath as she prayed for a pulse, nearly crying in relief when she found one. It was weak, but it was there, and that was all that mattered. "Just hold on Romeo-kun, I'll save you-" She grabbed him and rolled away just as a lightening bolt shot through the air, scorching the area she was just in. Wendy looked up with a glare, meeting Dr. Hope's dissatisfied gaze. He jumped from the roof, landing lightly in front of her. His lip curled in distaste as he looked at her, his pulse jumping in protest.
"How are you still able to move?" Wendy placed Romeo down gently, her hands lingering on his face. She moved to stand in front of him, her glare fierce in its power.
"I was protected. What have you done?!" He smirked, sweeping his arms out wide.
"Nothing they didn't need. They're in a state of suspended animation. I will take out the mages of the world with this method, freeing us all from the inevitable pain of the future!" Wendy growled, leaning back as she prepared her attack.
"That kind of ridiculous reason...stealing other people's futures for that?!" She closed her mouth, leaning back forward.
"Sky Dragon's roar!" He laughed, spreading his arms as he took the attack, digging his feet into the ground as it pushed him back. Wendy wasn't finished, pushing more power into her roar, until Dr. Hope had to use his arms to help block the attack. Wendy jumped, cutting off her roar and launching a spinning roundhouse at him, pushing him back farther. Dr. Hope jumped back out of range, holding out one of his hands.
"Requip: Water staff!" The orb faded from view, replaced by a light blue staff that faded to dark blue near the bottom. Strange patterns were carved into it, but they didn't seem to be runes. Still, Wendy kept her guard up. He twirled his staff in his hands, eyeing her with a predatory gleam in his eye. "I guess you'll do as entertainment while the lacrima recharges." Wendy huffed, crossing her arms.
"Don't get cocky. Fairy Tail isn't the strongest guild in name only." He smirked, pointing the staff into the air.
"Really? They went down so easily I couldn't tell." Wendy's eye twitched in irritation but she kept her cool, knowing it wouldn't be just brawn that won this fight.
"Water tunnel!" Water raced toward her in a funneled vortex, crashing over her as it tossed her backward. Wendy cried out, coughing violently as the attack dissipated. The General wasn't done just yet, crossing his water and lightening staffs together.
"Electric barrage!" The water and lightening combined, rushing toward her in a deadly wave, but she dropped low and rolled out of the way just in time, though some of the lightening managed to hit her leg, burning her ankle. Wendy winced, but knew she didn't have time to worry about that now. I need to buy some time.
"Sky dragon's roar!" She didn't manage to blow him away, but she did create some much needed distance. "Enchant my feet." Small wings grew on her ankles, increasing her speed. She darted forward, landing a few blows to his abdomen. "Sky dragon's wings!" She flew up, launching from the ground as snow white wings sprouted from her back. Wind whipped past her face as she inhaled, her eyes tracking her path. I'll only get one shot at this, so I need to lure him somewhere I'll have the complete advantage... Wendy stayed airborne, hurling attacks at Dr. Hope who grunted, and cast a water shield to protect himself. He groaned in frustration, not happy at all that the little girl was putting up an actual fight.
"Your attacks are useless against someone with an iron will!" He hardened his water into ice, launching them at her. She didn't dodge, thinking she could handle the damage. However, she screamed as the ice cut at her, piercing her wings and scarring her body. Wendy dropped back to the ground, her magic rerouting to heal her more serious wounds as her wings faded. Dr. Hope continued his onslaught, attacking her ruthlessly and pushing her back towards the unconscious mages. Wendy, who'd been dodging the more fatal shots, realized where she'd been pushed back to and once again rerouted her magic, calling on the fights she'd seen in the fight and creating a wind wall to protect her still unconscious nakama. She panted, fatigue beginning to set in. Still, she shook her head, praying for strength. Those training sessions weren't just for show! I'll protect them until I can't move anymore! She roared, sucking in copious amounts of air. Her body filled with magic, wind exploding out from her as she tapped into her dragon force. Her hair changed to a light pink, blowing wildly in an upward motion around her head. She inhaled, centering herself as she locked her eyes on her target, who'd taken the time to summon multiple magic staffs. She cursed herself for giving him the opportunity to do so, surging forward to punch him squarely in the jaw. He grunted, his jaw swelling as he pointed his fire staff at her. Wendy took the hit, biting her lip to keep the pain at bay while she used the opportunity to grab two of his staffs, yanking on them as she jumped over him, effectively slamming him to the ground. He grunted as the wind rushed from his lungs, but he smacked her with his staff before she could fully move out of range, slamming her into the side of a shop. She grunted, sliding to the floor. Before she could dodge she was hit with lightening and water attacks, the ground reshaping under her feet and sinking her slightly so that she couldn't move out of the way. She screamed as she was hit with the full brunt of the attack, feeling as if she was being fried from the inside out. Her body slumped forward, though her feet were still stuck in the ground. Dr. Hope walked toward her, pinching her cheeks between his fingers. He looked at her with such hate it nearly floored her. "You remind me of my daughter. Of the future she could have had." Wendy glared back, opening her mouth to argue.
"If that's so then why are you doing this? I doubt your daughter would want to see you like this-" He released the earth magic keeping her chained, slapping her so hard she tasted copper as she skidded across the ground. His eyes grew cold as he looked at her.
"It doesn't matter now, she's dead. All of this is so that no one else suffers from that disease. I tried to let it go, but the disease kept happening, and there have been no ground breaking advancements to cure magic deficiency syndrome. If that means I have to become the villain and erase mages and magic from this world then so be it." Wendy's eyes grew wide as he began charging a powerful attack. She stood on shaking legs, her clothes torn beyond repair and her magic fading fast. Please, let me hold out just a bit longer. I have to save them!
"HaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" She put all that she had into her final attack, sucking in so much air her body felt simultaneously light and full to bursting. She raised her arms, aiming at him. If I can take him out before he finishes, it's my win! Dr. Hope locked eyes with her, speeding up his attack charge.
"Since you insist on opposing me we shall see who is right with this!" He aimed his combined elemental attack at her, throwing all of his magic power behind it. Wendy brought her arms down, also aiming at him.
"Dragon slayer secret art!" The attacks collided, neither side yielding to the other. Both mages felt their body straining under the burden of channeling so much magical power, but Dr. Hope felt his arms beginning to buckle under the strain. Horrified, he watched as his arms began to disintegrate before his eyes, alerting him that he'd reached his limit.
"No, NO!" His attack weakened just enough for Wendy's to push through, engulfing him in an instant. He screamed as his body buckled under the pressure, dark magic leaking from the growing cracks in his body. Wendy pushed the last of her reserves, falling to her knees as her secret art turned into a sky dragon roar. "I should've had more time! This can't be happening! I'm not...finished...Rosa..." Wendy collapsed, her roar fading as the last of Dr. Hope disintegrated, the lacrima containing the suspended animation magic reappearing and cracking before it too faded from existence. Wendy smirked, one eye already closed in exhaustion as her arms finally gave out, and she collapsed face first on the ground.
"I did it, everyone..." Relieved and thoroughly worn out, she closed her other eye, and let her consciousness slip away.
My goodness! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. I was stuck on what I wanted to do for this scene, and I was recently rewatching my favorite Fairy Tail episodes and got inspired by Wendy's fight during the Tartaros arc when she's trying to stop Face, and figured she'd be a good one to face off against our general, especially since she'd be about the age of his daughter. Thank you guys so much also for all the amazing reviews, I read every one of those and I can't tell you how much they mean to me. I was nervous about this story, and to get such encouragement and constructive criticism is nothing but helpful, so give yourselves a pat on the back or bake those cookies you've been avoiding because you've decided to cut back. Thank you guys for reading and I'll see you next chapter!