A/N: Here's chapter twenty-five! Double-upload! I did a lot of addition to Juvia's backstory because I really like Juvia's character, and I figured I'd add some spice. I'll probably do that for a lot of characters, so keep your eyes peeled. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"Now…now, monsieur…I was just kidding around earlier!" Sol bowed, "I was just trying to strengthen your mind, you know? I was just trying to help! You may thank me later, monsieur!" He backed away.
Elfman snarled, like the mad beast he was, he stomped over to Sol, picking him up with one hand and punching him in the face. Sol screamed and coughed up blood. Elfman then slammed Sol on the ground, punching him over and over again, Sol gasped and coughed as he kept getting hit, cracks could be heard as his punches got more ferocious. Eventually once Sol was barely recognizable, Elfman started galloping around wildly, climbing up the arm that was holding Mirajane.
Mirajane shook madly, her aching pains faded as they were replaced with fear, "Elfman…it's me….." She trembled, "Can you hear me?"
Elfman got up close to Mirajane, looking into her eyes with his beastly ones, this stare down seemed to last a lifetime.
"Elfman…" She squeaked, paralyzed in fear.
He grabbed her and lifted her up, freeing her from the hand of the machine, "I'm sorry sis…" He hugged her close, "You never wanted to see this monster again, did you? And because I lost control all those years ago…Lisanna…"
"Elfman…" Her eyes watered with joy as she squeezed him, "You're….okay…."
"This was the only thing I could think of…to protect Fairy Tail…I'll have to get a lot stronger so I can control myself…"
"Elfman…" She rubbed his shoulders and smiled, "It isn't your fault Lisanna died. You were just protecting the guild."
Elfman turned back to his normal form, "But…I still killed her…"
She closed her eyes and squeezed him, "But you just saved me."
"Sis…"
"Besides. The two of us made a promise." Her tiny hands took his and brought them up, "We promised we'd live the rest of our lives to the fullest to make up for the life she was denied."
He started crying, "Oh sis, I'm so happy that you're safe!"
"Please don't cry, Elfman." She giggled a bit, squeezing him, "Thank you Elf."
Her eyes opened and narrowed as she watched the Phantom guild write its spell, "Hmm…."
"What is it sis?" Elfman asked.
"It's taking a lot longer to write that spell now…it slowed down…" She put a hand do her mouth, "The quadra-principle magic…Abyss Break…the quadra-principle refers to the four elements….air…fire…water…and earth…" Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Elfman, how many of the Element Four are left?"
"Uh…" Elfman tried to remember. Totomaru was cleanly knocked out by himself ad Gray, and Sol, well, let's just say he was never going to look the same as he did before, "I think that leaves two…"
"Then it has to be true! When Sol was defeated, the speed the guild was writing at decreased!"
"Whoa, really?"
"It must be powered from all Four Elements then! If we can defeat the Element Four, then we can prevent the guild from attacking!"
"That thing is really powered by the Element Four?"
"It has to be." She nodded determinedly, "Now, we don't have much time. The other two must be somewhere inside there."
Cana smiled and sighed as she rested for a moment to look up at Mirajane, "Mira's alright…thank god…" She laughed, but it was cut short as she was hit in the back of the head. She grunted and fell to one knee, clutching her head.
"Cana!" Macao shouted, running over.
"I'm fine…." She slowly got up again, "Go back to helping them, Macao, I'll be fine!" She got more cards out.
Macao nodded, "Jeez, the women of our guild sure are impressive."
"I just had a good idea, Happy!" Natsu said as the two of them were running through the giant machine.
"What is it?" Happy asked.
"If we just beat up Jose, we win, right?"
"What?" Happy gasped, "Jose's just as strong as the Master, there's no way you'd win!"
"But we don't have gramps. That means someone else will have to do it…"
"Aw…" Happy wilted, "Why did you remind me…?" He sighed, "Without Master Makarov and Erza, Jose will win in end, no matter what we do…"
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Natsu smiled.
"Aye!" Happy said. It surprised him, even though Erza and Makarov were leagues ahead of him, Natsu had this, natural strength and spirit that inspires the guild to keep fighting, no matter what.
"It's so sad!" A voice said, as Aria teleported in front of them, "Wings of fire will burnout and slow be rendered into ash." He held his hands out, "I'm afraid I will be burying a dragon today…"
"Who is this clown?" Natsu asked.
"That's Aria of the Element Four!" Happy shivered.
"I am the leader of the Element Four." Aria said, "Say your prayers, little dragon…"
Gray was looking around the entire machine, trying to find a mechanism of some sort to stop the Abyss Break, then he felt his head, "Huh? Rain?" He asked.
"Steady and gentle." Gray heard as he climbed up a rafter onto the roof of a part of the guild. "Yes, I am Juvia, the rain-woman of the Element Four. Steady and gentle."
"Element Four?" Gray half-smiled, "Well, how lucky am I? Maybe you'll be able to be of use to me."
"It is surprising how two of the Element Four have been defeated. However." She shifted her weight to the other leg, "I will not be defeated as easily."
He held his hands out, "Look, even if you are a girl, I'm not pulling my punches. Not against someone who's after my friend!"
She gave him the same emotionless look. Watching the rain water slowly slip down his face, down his jawline, down his neck and down his chest, the rest was covered by a white button down, which started looking more and more see through with the rain water. His slick black hair shone even more in the rain, his determined eyes glistening. Her cheeks suddenly blushed bright pink as she turned on her heels, "Well then, I give up. You win. Goodbye!" She started walking off.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gray's jaw dropped, "Get back here!"
Juvia stopped and clutched her chest, What is wrong with me? Why is my heart beating so fast? What is this feeling?
"Wait! I have to stop the giant!" Gray ran after her.
I have to make him mine…I can't stop now! "Water lock!" She cried, a bubble of water encapsulated Gray.
Gray flinched and coughed up water.
Juvia gasped as she watched blood fill the water from an old wound he had, "No, he was hurt! How could I be so selfish! I'll have to undo the magic!" She held her hands out.
Gray growled and froze the water lock solid, eventually breaking out of it.
She gasped, her heart pounding even faster, "You…froze my water…?" She asked, I never met anyone that could break my water spells…Ice and water…he and I….could it be fated…? Her eyes sparkled.
"Alright…you're a much more impressive wizard than I first thought…" He took his shirt off, feeling his bandaged wound and grimacing.
Her face turned bright red, He's taking his clothes off so soon? But I'm not ready yet!
"Ice-Make…Lance!" He shot out hundreds of icy spears at Juvia.
The spears all pierced right through her, splashing all over the place.
Juvia looked down in shame as her body had gaping holes here and there, which only reformed into her body, "My body is made of water….steady and gentle…" She whispered the last clause.
"What…made of water…?" Gray looked shocked.
He attacked me…well, of course he did. She answered her own conscious, I cannot allow myself to be disheartened. She held her hands up, prepared to attack, "Farewell flower bud of love! Water slicer!" She whipped her hands out, thin streams of water launched out towards Gray.
"What the heck is she talking about…?" Gray wondered quietly, then he just barely dodged the attack. The large metal column it did hit was sliced in half. He panted, "Ice-Make…Battle Axe!" He tried to slash at Juvia with an icy axe, but again, it went right through her water body.
"You cannot defeat me." She said, for once being serious, "But I can save your guild's lives. If you bring me the Emerald Knight, I'll ensure his safety while ending this battle peacefully. I understand my Master's hands might be untrustworthy, but I will be more responsible than he. And once I give him to Caesar, then I can convince the Master to end this attack."
"Don't you give me that crap!" Gray snapped, "You and I both know we're past the point of no return! The Emerald Knight, no, Ant, he's one of us. And I'd gladly put my life on the line so you guys stop messing with him!"
Her eyes narrowed, despite the beating of her heart. Her mind flashed back to an earlier time in her life, a colder time.
Juvia looked up from her seat at the small wooden table she sat at. The house was a mess, the walls falling apart, there was a single table in the kitchen with two chairs, and bowl of old looking bread in the center of the table. Other than that, the kitchen just had windows. No oven, no counters, no refrigerator, no cabinets. That was the entire first floor of her house. Above that was a single bedroom, with a mattress that laid on the floor, and windows. The floor and walls were crawling with bugs, and the ceiling constantly dripped, but Juvia loved her house.
"Mama!" Juvia sat up as her mother walked through the door with a smile. Her mother's dark blue locks and warm eyes smiled down on her as she put a basket on the table, "Is that breakfast?" Juvia asked as she stood up on her chair, too tiny to see from sitting.
"Mmm hmm." Her mother's voice was smooth and flawless, "Bread and apples."
"Apples? Really?"
"Really." She took out two, "Here you are, sweet pea."
"I get two?"
"Mmm hmm."
"You're the best, Mama!" She hugged her mother.
Her mother squeezed her back, "Thank your uncle."
"Did uncle get better? Is he still sick?"
Juvia's mother was in no mood to explain to her five year old daughter what death was, let alone what inheritance was, "He's all better."
"Yay! Can we visit him sometime? Please? He always gave me sweets!"
She bit her lip, "Soon, Juvia."
"Mama?"
"Yes?" She said, breaking the hug and picking up one of the apples, grabbing a knife from her back pocket and slicing it up for her daughter.
"Where's Daddy?"
Dead in a ditch, was really the answer, but of course, her mother told her, "On a job."
"Another one?" She giggled, "Are we gonna have enough money for a-hundred apples when he gets back?"
Her mother couldn't help but laugh, "I don't know what we would do with that many apples."
"I do." Juvia said as her mother handed her a slice and she ate it. "Apple pies."
"I promise you I'll make apple pies until my hands fall off, if we ever find the money for that many."
"Yay!" Juvia laughed.
Suddenly, there was a banging on the door. Her mother stiffened and stood up straight, tightening her tie and dusting off her shirt, old blood stains were still clearly visible, but there was nothing she could do about it. She stuck her knife back in her back pocket, "Juvia, go upstairs."
"But Mama-
"Now, Juvia."
Juvia wilted and skittered upstairs. She peeked downstairs through the dilapidated railings, careful not to break them.
Her mother opened the door, a silhouette was all Juvia could make out. "…who are you?" Juvia's mother asked. She used the same deep voice that Juvia hated, it was the voice she used when the tax collector threatened to evict them, when the kids threw stones at their house, and when 'the bad men' came to 'collect' her mother.
"Beth Lockser, correct?" A wiry voice asked.
"Who's asking?" Her mother squeezed the knife in her back pocket.
"Magnolia Family Services. It's unwise to be so hasty with that weapon."
She crossed her arms, "What do you want?" She demanded.
The man held out a suitcase. Juvia couldn't see what was inside, but she was curious, "Your daughter."
There was a still silence that filled the house, "But why?"
"Her magic power is incredible. Clearly inherited from her father's side. Regardless, if you give her to us, we'll keep her fed and safe, and you can take this as a suitable payment. It's for the best, don't you think?"
Another silence. Juvia's heart pounded so loud, she thought the whole house was shaking from it. She was confused, what was he offering? What was going on? All she knew was this man wanted to take her away from her house, and her mother.
Her mother reached out and took the suitcase, "She's upstairs."
A grin appeared on the man's face. "Thank you, Beth. You've made the right choice." He walked into her house and headed upstairs, kneeling down to Juvia's level, "Hello little girl." His grin was far too big for his face, "Would you like to come with me on an adventure?"
Tears rimmed her eyes, "Mama…?"
"Go on, Juvia. I won't be gone forever, I'll visit every day." Her mother crossed her arms, "Sometimes money is more important than family."
She swallowed hard and gave a little nod as the man took her hand and lead her outside to the adoption center. That was the last time she saw her mother, before she read about her mother's kidnapping and murder in the newspaper. That was when it started raining.
Juvia's eyes burned as she remembered her mother's words. She clenched her fists, "Stop being so naïve and hand him over."
"Are you nuts? I said no!" Gray said.
Her clothes started bristling as the air pressure around her changed, and the wind picked up, "This is your last chance…." She said lowly, "This is a sacrifice worth making, if you don't want your home destroyed, as well as all the people in it."
"I'll give you a last chance, Ice-Make…Lance!" He fired off more icy lances at her, but they simply dissolved again.
She growled, then she screamed as a gush of boiling water flew from her hands. While her eyes were blind, too absorbed in anger, the gush of boiling water was deadly accurate as it flew towards Gray, traveling through the air like a snake any time he dodged.
"Ice-Make…" Gray screamed as the boiling water hit him, "What the hell? Why is this water so hot? My maker magic can't keep up with that…" He jumped back, panting, "Ice-Make Shield!" He cast a shield and held it over his head, "No…you gotta be kidding me…my shield's wearing away…it's too hot…"
"You will burn for making me remember!" She screamed, her face was all he could see at the head of the gush of water.
"Wait, remember what?" He asked as he was practically drowned with boiling water, "Damn it…this is too hot…" He grimaced as he felt his wound burn with pain. "I've had enough of you!" He growled, "Freeze!" He began to freeze all of her water, running up at her in an attempt to freeze her solid.
Juvia's eyes shrunk, "No, it's impossible, how can he freeze boiling water!?" She asked, shivering as Gray laughed. He froze more and more of her gush of water until he got to the heart of it, and Juvia blushed, I should really be angry he froze my boiling water…but… She looked down at his hand gripped onto one of her breasts.
Gray screamed like a girl, "Ah! I didn't mean it!"
"Please stay there…right where you are…" She bit her lip and whispered so quietly, Gray couldn't hear over his screams.
"I'm sorry!" He released her from his spell.
She fell to her hands and knees in front of him, He released me from his ice…he's…simply too kind… Her watery eyes looked up at his.
"Let…let's just start over…okay?"
"No…" She swallowed hard, "I cannot cause you harm."
"What?" Gray asked, "What do you mean, can't cause me harm? Are you trying to say that you stand no chance against me?"
"No…I…want to protect you…" She looked down at the floor. "I'm stronger than most of your guild."
"Protect me? I…I don't get it, from what?"
"Well…I….I mean….that…I…." She floundered, "…lo…..lo….lo-
"Jeez, this rain just won't let up!" Gray complained.
"This is so frustrating!" Juvia exclaimed.
"This rain…it's just so gloomy!"
Her pupils shrunk and her head fell, like a marionette pet that had a cord cut. He's…the same…
She trembled with rage, then puffed up again, her clothes and hair swaying in the wind of the hot air she created, "You're the same!" She screamed.
"What?" Gray backed away in shock, then his face hardened, "Alright, fine, if you want another round, let's go!"
She gave a fierce roar, "I don't need anyone's love!" Her body turned into another powerful rush of boiling water and shot at him.
Gray yelled out as he was hit, "Alright…I'll just freeze it again…shit! Is this water even hotter than before?"
Juvia's mind travelled back in the past as she watched Gray get burned.
She stood in the doorway of the orphanage, which also acted as a school to the children who weren't adopted. Still a bit groggy, she wiped sleep from her eyes as she heard children laughing.
"I wish Juvia would get adopted one of these days so she'd go away."
"Yeah, it always rains when she's around, it's so annoying."
She recalled sitting in her room that night, with cloth, cotton, thread and a needle, creating a teru teru bōzu. "Please keep the rain away from me, okay?" She hugged it when it was finished. "No one will like me if you don't…none of the other kids…and no mommies or daddies either…"
Her mind flashed back to another time, years later, after she had moved into an apartment with someone a friend hooked her up with.
It was her first boyfriend, of course, her heart skipped a beat every time she saw him, picturing their future together. They were walking through the courtyard in the apartment complex, it was so high quality because her boyfriend could afford it. There was a silence between them as he walked, until he gave an irritated sigh.
"What's the matter, dear?" She looked up at him.
"Why is it always raining? It's driving me crazy. We can't go fishing or camping, I don't even want to be with you at all if it's going to be this gloomy all the time. I think we should see other people." He said, walking away before she could even say a word.
That was the day she went to Phantom Lord, the guild her mother said her father had worked at. They supplied her a home, food, and most importantly, they didn't care about the rain. She was one of the most powerful mages Jose had ever seen, and he wouldn't pass her by.
"I am one of the Element Four…" She seethed, "An Element Four wizard of Phantom Lord!"
"And I am not going to lose from anyone in Phantom Lord!" Gray yelled, freezing all of the water around him solid, even the rain turned into little chunks of ice.
He turned my rain to ice? Juvia wondered, What kind of power do these Fairy Tail wizards possess?
"Ice Geyser!" Gray launched a massive beam of ice that shattered all over Juvia.
Juvia gave a cry of pain so loud, Gray almost had to cover his ears. She hit the ground hard, the air slipped from her lungs as she did. Her eyes stayed wide open as she stared up, "Did…I…lose…?"
"Well, that cooled your temper a bit." Gray smiled, as the clouds began to fade away.
Juvia looked up at the sky, "Is that…." Her eyes widened, "….the sky…?"
"Yeah, looks like the rain finally cleared up." His smile grew.
"Blue sky…" She said, then her eyes filled with tears and she sniffed, trying to sit up, "It's….beautiful…"
"So…" Gray looked at her, "Did you wanna go another round with me?"
Her heart pounded so hard that she fell over again, hitting the ground hard. Her teru teru bōzu laid on the ground not too far away, no longer attached to her chest.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He looked worried, "You feeling sick or something?"
A/N: The seeds of Gruvia have been planted… ;) I hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading! I'll see what I can do in terms of finishing this arc but I've got a lot of impending work and essays coming up so it may be a while before Phantom Lord is vanquished. Until next time :)