Forever a Family chapter 25
Alright, now I know it's been months and you guys are probably mad about me not updating, so let me just say sorry, and I sincerely hope it doesn't happen again.
Moving on, here's the next chapter, and it's almost entirely action!
Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail and don't make any money. Now, without further ado, get reading!
Far from the battlefield, a red dragon raises his head calmly after being roused from his sleep. "It has begun." He says in a low rumble, "Natsu, Lisanna, I pray that you are both safe."
Jellal looks down on the rubble of his last attack, looking carefully for any sign of the dragon slayer. Finally, after several minutes of searching, he concludes it was over. As he walks past the crater, however, he jumps back, activating his meteor in the process.
The jump likely saved his life as an emerald green fire exploded from the crater, reducing the stone to magma in less than a second. The flames swirled upwards until they reached the ceiling, melting it as well. In the center of the tornado of fire was... Natsu Dragneel?
The pink haired slayer had changed completely from his previous appearance. The pinkish hue from before had turned blood red, and black marks covered both his arms and legs. The green fire was spreading from both his hands and feet, forming claw-like gauntlets that hummed with deadly magic power. The only trace of his usual red fire was on his back, two wings of fire spread, as though about to take flight.
"So-" He starts, but that slayer wasn't hearing it. With one jump, he more than matched the speed of Jellal's meteor and slammed him into the wall, collapsing the entire thing on top of him. As Jellal struggled to pull himself out of the rubble, Natsu took in a massive breath that almost seemed like it was draining all the air out of the room. Suddenly, Jellal felt as if he were staring death in the face. All thought of attacking at that moment vanished instantly, and he reactivated his meteor with the intention of getting out of the way of whatever attack the fire dragon slayer was about to launch.
"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" Natsu bellows a moment later, and the green flames roared from his mouth, surrounded by pale blue lightning. Directing all of his magic into increasing his speed, Jellal was able to slip past it. Even after dodging it by the skin of his teeth, the sheer heat from the attack burned Jellal's arm.
The blast impacted the wall, which was made of solid stone and tore through it like it was made of paper. The lightning shot off in all directions the instant the attack dissipated, pelting what remained of the room. Thankfully, Natsu seemed to have used up a lot of magic power with that attack, giving Jellal a few precious seconds to calmly analyze the situation.
"I'll admit that you've got strong, Natsu." He pants, before smiling again, "Much stronger than I would have thought. I'd heard that none of you who were on Tenrou island had changed, but that doesn't seem to be the case with you."
"That was for Erza." Natsu says, his voice an angry growl, "Now start talking. What the hell are you doing here!?"
"What are you talking about?" Jellal asks, watching intently for any sign of attack.
But there wasn't one. The drastic change slowly started to vanish as suddenly as it appeared, leaving Natsu back in his normal state, though looking slightly pale. Evidently, this new form wasn't without its risks.
"That attack you used." he says, pointing over to the crater where he'd been hit with Altairis, "It's the same one you used to kill Simon, isn't it?"
"That's correct." Jellal admits, deactivating his meteor while trying to figure out what he was getting at.
"It was weak." Natsu says simply, "Even if it had hit me, there's no way it would have killed me. Before, I could feel just how dangerous that attack was. I could tell that I'd be dead if it hit me. But now... It's impossible for someone like you to have gotten weaker over these last seven years. So I can only assume that you had another reason to hold back like that. Now, I'll ask again. What the hell is going on?"
Jellal studies Natsu face calmly as the dragon slayer waits for an answer. Finally, a good minute later, Jellal starts to chuckle.
"It seems that the rumor were true." He smiles, "You have changed from the impulsive berserker I fought at the Tower of Heaven. That's the kind of deduction I would have expected from Erza, not you."
"Are you going to answer me, or not?" Natsu asks, his eyes glowing with magic.
"I'm here to destroy Phantom Lord." Jellal answers, "Along with the many dark guilds they've called together over the last few days."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"Nothing." he admits, "That's my business here. My battle with you was personal."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that I doubt I'll survive for long." He replies, shocking Natsu to the core, "My goal is to destroy all dark guilds, and annihilate the black wizard, Zeref. As powerful as I am, I fully understand that these are impossible goals. The odds aren't good for me to survive long enough to see them through."
"What does that have to do with me?" Natsu glares.
"I don't expect your help." Jellal continues, "This is my goal, and I'll see it through to the end. However, there's one thing I desire more than anything. I want Erza to be safe. But I have no right to protect her after everything I've done. I wanted to know if you were strong enough to do it in my place. To protect her..."
Natsu watched in utter disbelief as the former wizard saint gets down on his hands and knees and says, "I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't even expect you to trust me. All I ask is that you look after Erza. That's all."
After a few moments of shock, Natsu finally answers him, "I'll protect her. But not for you. I'll do it because she's my friend. My family. That's the only reason."
"That's fine." he replied quietly, slipping a hand into his pocket and removing a small black Lacrima, "This is one of Jose's Key Lacrima. He gave one to each of the Element Four and the final one to me. Destroy them, and there won't be anywhere for Jose to hide."
Natsu nods, accepting the lacrima and crushing it with a flame covered hand.
"I'm going to regroup with my comrade and begin taking out some of these dark guilds." Jellal says, walking past Natsu to the door that he and Lisanna had come through, "What will you do?"
"I'm going after Lisanna." Natsu says at once, walking towards the door in front of him.
"Be careful." Jellal warns, "Asuma isn't weak by any stretch of the imagination. He's strong. At least as strong as you. But... the way you are, I think you'll be just fine. That power you displayed was unlike anything I've ever seen. There's no way you'll lose to him."
"Coming from a wizard saint, that's encouraging." Natsu smirks before running on ahead.
Jellal watches him go for just a few seconds before walking into the hall. As soon as he turned the first corner, he ran into Laxus Drayer leaning up against the wall.
"Sup." The blond says confidently, staring at him, "So, you're the big bad leader of the Element Four?"
"I was." Jellal replies, "But now-"
"I know." Laxus cut him off, "I could hear the whole thing from here. You're trying to bring this place down, and you wanted Natsu to look after Erza. That sum it up?"
"That's correct." Jellal answers.
Laxus smirks at him for a moment before slamming a lightning magic empowered fist into Jellal's face. The former wizard saint, despite having time to do so, made no attempt to dodge the blow that sent him crashing through the wall behind him.
"That's for all the shit you put Erza through." Laxus says easily, turning to walk away, "I really ought to take you down right now, but I'll trust Natsu. Believe me, if you try anything that ends up hurting one of my comrades, I won't hold back like I did just now."
"Noted." Jellal mutters, getting back to his feet and wiping the blood off of his shattered nose and following not far behind the blond powerhouse.
Ultear sent yet another wave of glass orbs flying at Ikaruga, and once again they were all diced in one swing of her longsword. Even using the arc of time to restore them instantly did nothing, as they were diced again instantly. Meanwhile, she was still trying to force the owl headed thing to spit up Meredy.
"What's wrong?" Ikaruga asks sweetly as she slices the orb once again, "Weren't you going to cut her out? Fukuro will be finished digesting her soon. I'd say you only have about three more minutes..."
"Not to worry!" Fukuro adds as he jets past her, trying to slam his fist into the back of her head, "Very soon, we shall past justice on you as well! Sensory Link!"
The familiar sensation of Meredy's magic ran up Ultear's arm as he used it against her.
"Now what will you do?" Ikaruga smiles, walking over to the owlman while holding her sword gingerly in front of her, "Can you stand to make good on your threats now that it will affect you as well?"
"Easily." Ultear replies, "Ice Make, Rosen Krone!"
The ice thorns wrapped themselves around the pair of dark wizards, as well as immobilizing Ikaruga's sword arm. Without a moment's hesitation, Ultear charged forward, knocking Fukuro to the ground.
"I just needed you to drop your guard." she smirks evilly, "Now, spit her up, or I'll carve you like a turkey."
"You're bluffing." He scowls at her fearlessly, "You'll die as well."
"That's a distinct possibility." she nods calmly before slicing into his stomach. The Owlman screeched as she slowly and methodically cut her way into his gut to rescue Meredy. Even with her Ice Magic dulling the pain, it took everything she had to avoid making a mistake and cutting too deeply. Even restrained by her ice thorns, Fukuro struggled desperately to get away, but it wasn't enough. After about a minute of careful cutting and gritting her teeth to bare the pain, Ultear pulled Meredy from the bleeding hole in his gut.
Leaving Fukuro to suffer, she quickly began chanting to remove the Sensory Link. If Fukuro died now, that would mean the death of all five of them. While she might be willing to give her life to kill them, she wasn't risking Meredy's. Finally, with the curse undone, her body finally gave in to the pain and she blacked out just as Meredy's eyes fluttered open.
Meredy felt a strange sensation along her arm, as well as a slight pain in her stomach that grew more and more faint by the second. As she opened her eyes, she saw someone very familiar, Ultear, collapse beside her. Looking down at her arm, she saw the marks of the sensory link was gone.
"So sad, isn't it?" A voice says from across the room. Looking up, she saw Ikaruga brushing flecks of ice off of her robe, her sword held in front of her, "That woman probably could have killed the both of us if she'd just been willing to sacrifice you. Instead, she gives her own life so that you could fall at my hands rather than at Fukuro's."
"Ultear... saved me?" Meredy mutters, staring down at the woman she'd thought had betrayed her and wondering why she would do something like that.
"Of course." the swordswomen's smile grows wider as she steps towards them both, "Tell me, little girl, would you like to live?"
Meredy's heart was beating out of her chest in an effort to find some way to escape from this woman, but she wasn't about to tell her that.
"What is it that you want?" She asks emotionlessly, trying to scrounge up enough magic to create her swords again.
"Remove your curse from myself and Vadaldus." Ikaruga says, gesturing towards the unconscious wizard with a nasty looking lump on the back of his head, "As I'm sure you've noticed, dear Fukuro isn't going to last for long, and if I'm remembering your magic correctly, when he dies, so does everyone that has this mark. I don't mind letting you go as long as you remove this mark. Fukuro will die, and so will the woman. That's all I'm asking."
Meredy's shock grew even more when she looked down at her motherfigure's wrist and saw the same sensory link mark that Fukuro and Ikaruga had.
"What do you say?" Ikaruga asks, placing her sword not even a foot away from Meredy's face, "If you refuse, though it may be difficult, I will be forced to keep Fukuro alive. You, however, will die right here and now."
With each second that passed without an answer, the blade moved ever so slightly closer until it was just an inch away.
"Decide." Ikaruga says, turning the blade towards her.
"Grand Chariot!" A voice shouts from the hallway. Seven beams of light flew out of the sky, forcing Ikaruga to jump back lest they destroy her.
Standing at the entrance, a yellow magic covering his entire body, was a man with spiky blue hair and a tattoo over his left eye. Though his face looked like it had been covered in blood not too long ago, he didn't seem any worse for wear. It was a man that Meredy was quite familiar with from her time in Grimoire Heart. Jellal Ferndanas.
"Are you alright, Meredy?" He asks, walking towards her while he ignored Ikaruga.
"Jellal..." she says, watching him suspiciously as he knelt beside her.
"Sensory link." he frowns, "I'm not familiar with how to break this curse. I'm sure you are, correct?"
"I am." Meredy nods, already assuming she knew what he was about to ask.
"I will defeat her." he replies to her surprise, standing and facing Ikaruga, "You must decide for yourself whether Ultear is worth saving."
"You're not telling me to save her?" Meredy asks him.
"We are Crime Sorcière." Jellal says, "We fight dark guilds as a way of seeking atonement for our crimes. However, we never forget the sins we have committed for which we can never be forgiven. If you believe she should die for the wrongs she has caused you and so many others, then you alone have the right to pass judgment on her. I'm sure that's what she would say as well. I won't try and stop you regardless."
Without waiting for her response, Jellal activated his meteor and charged at Ikaruga. Her sword cut the air without stopping, sending waves and waves of razor-sharp blades flying towards him. However, none of them managed to pierce his full powered meteor. An instant before he collided with her, she blocked his fist with her sword, knocking her back against the wall from the impact.
The moment she was back on her feet, she slashed the ceiling above Jellal's head. The stone crumbled under her expert swordsmanship, but he effortlessly dodged every piece of rubble and destroyed those that would have hit the ones trapped on the ground.
"You've already lost, Ikaruga." He says, hovering in the center of the room, "You can't hope to defeat me."
"You're not wrong, Jellal." She says in a confident and resigned voice, "However, that does not mean that I have lost. I have suffered defeat once before in my life. Never again."
Faster than any of her others strike, she cut the sky with every bit of her remaining power. Slowly, the clouds parted, revealing what appeared to be a massive hole in the sky.
"If I'm going to die, Jellal, than I will take you all with me." she smiles one last time before she collapsed.
As Mirajane and Elfman continue along their path, the floor beneath their feet turns into solid stone that Sol would no doubt try to use to his advantage.
"We're getting close." Elfman says, taking on his full beast takeover after they reach a fork in the road, "Left or right?"
"Neither." Mira replies coldly, transforming into Satan Soul, "Come out, Sol. I know that you're hiding in here, so get out here. Otherwise-" a massive sphere of dark magic forms in her palm, "We can start playing dodgeball. Your choice."
For several minutes , the only sound of in the room was the sinister hiss of her magic, as well as Elfman's nervous breathing.
"Fine." She said finally, drawing her arm back, "Have it your way!"
"W-W-Wait!" A squeaky voice echoes around them and Mira stops her attack.
"Out." she orders without shrinking her attack at all, "If you do, then maybe you'll only be wounded instead of killed when we hand you over to the council."
In front of them, the silhouette of a man that both of them recognized all too well rose out of the ground. Seven years hadn't really changed Sol much. He'd grown a few inches taller, and now wore a pair of glasses instead of a monocle, but otherwise he was the same as before.
"K-Killed?" he stutters, "W-Why would you want to kill me? I have done nothing to any of you!"
"Except you did." Mira replies, stepping towards the earth mage who was shrinking back in fright, "The top of that cliff wouldn't have fallen even with Asuma's explosion. At least, not unless someone with an intimate knowledge of earth magic broke through Max and Macao's seals. And as it so happens, there's only one person in Phantom Lord that would be able to do that."
Sol's face darkens with each word that Mira says, until finally, by the end of her speech, he seems to have given up all pretense of playing innocent.
"Rock Concerto!" Sol shouts, and the stone beneath Mira's feet shattered immediately. With explosive force, they shot towards her, each with a jagged and potentially lethal edge.
"Mira!" Elfman roars as he charges forward, intending to be her shield from the attack.
"Dark wave." Mira says calmly, and a black cloud exploded out of her body vaporising everything it came into contact with. Sol's eyes widened at the display of power by the one he considered to be the weaker of the two.
"You know something, Sol?" she asks as she continues walking towards him despite several more attempts to kill her, "Last time we met, you were right about me. I was weak. I was no longer the demon. I was just Mirajane Struass, a scared little girl who couldn't even protect her little brother." Her satan soul faded away, replacing itself with Satan Soul Halphas, "Now, however, I think it's about time. Time for me to take back what I lost nine years ago. Time for the demon to be reborn. Sol of the Earth, for the sins you have committed against my brother, and against my family in Fairy Tail, I would like to welcome you."
"Non!" he shouts, raising his hand again, "Merci la Vie!"
The circle for Sol's ultimate attack appeared above her head, and she felt herself return to that moment. That instant when she lost everything. As she watched helplessly as Lisanna turned to light, vanishing forever. Or so they thought at the time.
Her feet stopped moving as they slowly turned to stone. The petrification worked its way up her legs until she was frozen up to the waist.
"Mira!" Elfman yells, running at Sol only for a wall to emerge from the ground, separating him from his older sister and her giggling opponent.
"Well, Mademoiselle, it seems the tables have turned." he says in a mocking tone, "very soon, you'll be trapped within the void of your own despair for all time, your body reduced to nothing more than a statue proving the might of Phantom Lord! At least, until Master Jose wishes you be released."
"Ridiculous." she scoffs, and her body starts to glow, The stone around her feet exploded in a sudden burst of fire with the arrival of Sitri Soul. The remaining stone broke away when she kicked him in the head. "A spell like that will never defeat someone like me. My worst memories no longer hold any sway over me. The past is the past, and no matter how difficult, we must moved past it. Furthermore, your spell requires that I remain in contact with the earth, correct? Since these fires are not a part of my body, you can't petrify them, and that means you lose."
"M-Mercy!" He whimpers, throwing himself to the ground, "I swear to you, I never meant for anything to-"
"Too little, too late." she replies, raising the ball of dark magic over her head, "Now, as I was saying, Welcome to hell. Satanic Blast!"
The sounds of fighting disappeared not long after Juvia left Meredy, and the silence made her nervous. However, she kept her cool and continued onward. As Meredy had said, there wasn't anyone else in any of the rooms she passed. Which meant that the one she was looking for would be at the very end.
It didn't take more than five minutes for her to reach the last room. The door opened as soon as she approached it.
"Welcome, Juvia." the familiar voice of her Ex-boyfriend says, "Please, come in."
"Bora." she says angrily as she walked in and turned towards the door.
Holding it open was a man, tall and slim, with short and spiky blue hair. His most distinguishing feature was a small 'x' tattooed above his right eye.
"It's been a very long time, Juvia." He says, gesturing towards the table in the corner of the room with two glasses and a bottle of wine, "Shall we have a drink and catch up?"
"I refuse." She answers coldly, "I'm here as a member of Fairy Tail to defeat a member of the Element Four."
"Juvia, don't do this." he sighs, looking at her sadly, "Please. There's no reason that we have to fight. I'm sure that Master Jose would be delighted to take you back now, after you've done such a good job as our spy in Fairy Ta-"
"I am not a spy!" Juvia roars, sending a boiling jet of water just an inch to the left of Bora's face.
"Calm down, Juvia." He says relaxingly, and she felt somewhat dizzy. "All you have to do is come back to me. I promise that Jose won't mind. After all, I'm sure that your 'friends' in Fairy Tail will be able to defeat at least one of the elements before Master Jose and Master Jellal defeat them. Afterwards, with all the information you can provide about the guild, and your status as a former member of the Element Four, I'm sure that you'll be able to take the spot."
"Shut up." she mutters, trying to shake away the sudden headache.
"Juvia..." he whispers again,
"SHUT UP!" She roars, sending another jet of boiling water at him. Hastily, he jumps away to avoid it. At that moment, the headache vanished as easily as it came.
"That's new." she says, glancing down at his hand and the many rings on it, "You've never used curse magic before."
"So you figured it out?" He smirks, all trace of the kind ex-boyfriend gone, "Too bad. Master Jose said that I could keep you as long as you were restrained, but it looks like that won't happen easily."
Purple fire surged to life in this palm, forming a long rope.
"Prominence Lasso." he says easily.
"Water Nebula!" Juvia shouts in response. A dozen huge waves quenched the fiery lasso without resistance. While Bora looked shocked that she wasn't just surrendering, Juvia quickly continued her assault, "Water Lock!"
"W-W-Wait!" Bora pleads, trying to back away before the watery sphere engulfed him, "Juvia, I-"
Juvia stares right back and watches as Bora claws at the water lock for a few moments before he collapsed into unconsciousness. As soon as he was out, she releases the spell and lets him drop onto the floor. After a few seconds of hurried searching, she found and destroyed the key lacrima.
Leaving her ex-boyfriend in the middle of the room, she turned and hurried back down the hall.
"This can't be!" Jose gasps, looking at the locks. Three of the five were destroyed, including Jellal's. And if there was someone capable of defeating him, then the other two wouldn't even be a challenge.
"Is there a problem?" His guest asks calmly, pouring them each a cup of wine.
"No, no problem." Jose replies quickly, turning back to him with a strained smile, "Just that some of my subordinates were a little too careless with the keys."
"It would be a shame if our important meeting was interrupted by some fools breaking in, wouldn't it?" He chuckles, "And after you went through all the trouble of bringing them here to try and prove your guild's might as well."
Jose could only chuckle along with him and hope that whoever defeated Jellal was killed in the process. Otherwise, he might actually have to fight Gildarts.
Natsu hurried along the hall, and a sense of unease filled him. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. If Lisanna were fighting up ahead, than there's should be some sounds. But there wasn't. There weren't even any tremors from the explosions that should have been happening.
'Could the battle be over?' He thinks to himself, 'Then shouldn't Lisanna be...'
He wouldn't even allow himself to finish that thought without punching himself and doubling his speed. Using one of the new techniques her learned from Lisanna, he coated his feet with elemental fire and used it to increase his speed, though it slowed his responses to attacks by a bit.
As he reached the end, a wall of roots covered the final doorway. Drawing on his Dragon Slayer Magic, Natsu took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The flame breath tore through the roots, leaving nothing but charcoal in its wake. Crashing through it without hesitation, Natsu entered the room.
This was certainly the place where Lisanna fought. The entire ground was scorched black, and craters dotted the landscape. In various places, roots had burst from the ground and been either broken through force or cut. But she wasn't anywhere in front of him.
Fear flooded him. There wasn't any way out of this room except the way he came in, but she wasn't here...
Quickly, he turned around and it only took him a second to find her.
"Lisanna!" he shouts, rushing over to her. She was unconscious against the wall, restrained by thick tree roots, and her skin was inflamed with blood slowly running down her face. Her breathing, though faint, was steady.
"I can't believe it." An astonished voice says from the other side of the room, "To think you could actually defeat Jellal..."
Natsu turned around, engulfing himself in fire, "You did this?" he growls, staring at the man beside the brunt and broken tree. An arm hung limply at his side, and he leaned against the charred remains of the tree rather than putting any weight on his leg.
"I did." he admits without fear, "She was a worthy foe, among the best I've fought in a very long time. Regardless, she wasn't quite up to the tas-"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu screams, and he breaths a wall of fire that covers the entire room.
With no way to escape, Asuma simply smiles. When the flames approach him, Tree roots burst from the ground before exploding. The force dispersed the fire harmlessly away from him.
"A good effort." he says approvingly, "But she did the same. If that is all your capable of, you'll never save her."
"I will save her." Natsu snarls, "After I finish you!"
Asuma's smile actually grew at Natsu's proclamation, "Amazing. This guild is truly amazing."
"Fire Dragon's Iron fist!" Natsu says, charging at the stationary wizard. Contrary to Natsu's expectations, though, he didn't dodge. Instead, he leaned forward and put his whole body weight into blocking the attack and succeeded.
Without waiting for Natsu to make the next move, Asuma kicks off the ground, ramming his shoulder into Natsu's chest.
"Tower Burst!" He roars as Natsu is sent flying into a colossal pillar of fire. As soon as he landed within, Natsu began swallowing every bit of it to restore his strength.
"Thanks." He grins at Asuma who didn't seem phased.
"Not at all." Asuma replies, making a one armed fighting stance, "This battle would be no fun if you weren't at your best. Lisanna Straus was able to ruin my arm and my leg. Will you be able to defeat me in this weakened state, or was she overestimating your power? Show me, Natsu Dragneel!"
At that moment, Asuma felt an incredible power. Power so strong that it made him shiver to his very bones.
Gildarts sat patiently in front of what would be the door to the basement if it weren't for the keys. Laxus had left only a few minutes ago to assist those outside struggling with Jose's shades and whatever other guilds might have tried to take them down. Poor bastards were in for a real shock when they find Laxus at full power.
According to the symbols on the door, three of the five had been defeated. The symbols for Fire, Earth, and Heavens had faded, leaving only wood and air. Which meant that Lisanna and Gajeel were still fighting their opponents.
Even though everything seemed to be going as planned, something didn't feel right. There was just something in the air that reminded him of that night, so long ago...
He was drawn back to the present by an eerie feeling. It was strong. At least as strong as Laxus, possibly more. But while Laxus' lightning seemed to radiate righteous power, this was something totally different. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything good. The closest thing he could think for it was... Acnologia.
Well, that can't be good, can it? Some of you might be able to guess what's about to happen. Anyway, the Phantom war won't last more than another chapter or two, then it's on to the Grand Magic Games and almost certainly more frequent updates.
I'm not going to promise that it'll be next chapter, but there will be one more major surprise by the end of the arc, so there's something to look forward to.
Comments, Feedback, and suggestions welcome in Reviews or PMs. Like what matches do you want to see in the Grand Magic Games?