Chapter-28
Song of the Stars
Once the smoke and dust cleared, Wendy got up, pulling Gray and Carla along with her. Gajeel slowly copied her actions, helping Juvia to steady herself.
Everyone else had paused in the midst of whatever battles they were engaged in to gap at the sight of the huge lacrima going up in flames. Jose was a sight to behold, his mouth was hanging open in speechless shock and his body was twitching.
"Natsu!" Wendy cried in alarm when she saw her brother lying still on the ground. Letting go of Gray and Carla, she ran to him.
Wendy glanced at Loke, who had knelt down beside Natsu and was just checking him over. "Loke, right? And…." She trailed off when she caught sight of Aquarius floating in mid-air.
"I'm done here," Aquarius muttered. "Make sure those brats don't die, Leo." Golden light surrounded her and she disappeared.
Wendy blinked. Wait, did she just…..?
"Only magical exhaustion, I think," Loke's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "And Lucy has passed out as well…..I guess she'll be fine, though."
It was then that Wendy noticed Lucy's prone form a few feet away from Natsu. The normal light that she always emitted was dull and flickering, almost dying out.
"W-what's happening to her?" Wendy whispered in terror.
"Almost all of her magic was forced out of her," Loke said grimly. "But don't worry, she'll be okay. Aquarius and Natsu destroyed the lacrima just in time."
Wendy looked back at Natsu and sighed. "He used Dragon Slayer's Secret Art, didn't he? Honestly! Porlyusica said that we weren't to use that spell until we'd mastered it!"
Loke grinned slightly. "Well, he is quite reckless, isn't he?" He asked rhetorically. "Though he did save Lucy's life, so it's all water under the bridge."
"I suppose," Wendy conceded. "But we will be having a talk about this."
Gray and Carla joined them, Juvia and Gajeel following. "Are Flame Brain and Lucy alright?" Gray inquired.
"For the most part, yes," Wendy replied, her hands moving swiftly to heal whatever injuries the two had. She turned her head slightly to look at them, and turned away again, blushing furiously. "P-Please, Gray, could you put on some clothes?"
"Not again!"
"Here they are, Gray-sama."
"Thanks, Juvia! You're a lifesaver!"
"G-Gray-sama is thanking Juvia! She might faint!"
"Oi, hang in there, Rain Woman!"
"Stop talking! You're distracting Wendy."
"Um, it's quite alright, you guys," Wendy looked up and wiped her forehead as she was done. Standing up, she addressed Carla. "Do you know where Happy is?"
"No, I haven't seen the tom cat since we arrived here. Why are you asking me, anyway?"
"No reason," Wendy said innocently. Carla glared at her suspiciously before huffing and looking away.
Hiding a smirk at their antics, Gray looked around and raised a brow in confusion. "Where did Loke go?"
Wendy frowned. "That's strange. He was right here just a minute ago. Oh, by the way, do you know if Loke goes by any aliases?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
"Well, I could've sworn that I heard Lucy's spirit calling him 'Leo'…."
"Anyway," Gajeel interrupted. "I'm going to go join the battle now, beat up a few people, You guys with me?"
"Hell yeah! Let me at 'em!"
"Juvia will fight alongside you, Gray-sama!"
"You're too injured to fight, Rain Woman!"
"Why are you so concerned about her?"
"What, jealous, ice punk?"
Wendy sweatdropped. "I guess I'll just stay here and watch over Lucy and Natsu…"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"So, then," Juvia mused. "Totomaru-san is down for the count; Juvia left the Element Four, which leaves only Aria-san and Sol-san."
"Great," Gray smirked. "Let's take 'em all out at once!"
"G-Gray-sama, I hate to disagree with you, but that's way too reckless! And besides, look over there! Erza-san is fighting Aria-san."
Gray scowled. "That Erza-always stealing our thunder…"
Juvia laughed nervously. "Umm, well…I just hope Erza-san will be alright! Aria-san is the most powerful of the Element Four after all."
"She'll be fine. It's Erza we're talking about. She isn't called 'Titania' for nothing."
"Gray-sama, are you cheating on Juvia?!"
"Where on Earthland did you get that idea from?!"
"Still," Juvia looked back at where Erza was requipping swiftly into different armors, all the time wiping the floor with Aria in awe. "Erza-san really is wonderful."
"Salut, Mademoiselle Juvia and Monsieur Gray!"
The pair in question swung around to see a thin man with a pointy moustache, spiky green hair, swinging back and forth in a rather bizarre stance.
"Sol-san," Juvia recognized him at once.
Sol shook his head mournfully. "Non, non, non, Mademoiselle Juvia. I cannot believe that you've betrayed us to Fairy Tail so easily. Are we not your comrades?"
Juvia glared at him. "Juvia never betrayed you, because she wasn't on your side in the first place! Juvia is a member of Fairy Tail."
"That's right," Gray stepped up beside her, a dangerous look on his face. "So just try and do anything-we'll strike you down where you stand."
"Non, non, non," Sol said once more. "I will not let the two of you escape unscathed. "Roche Concerto!"
Juvia jumped back swiftly as the ground beneath them broke into rocks and hurled themselves at them. Gray wasn't as fast, and was hit in the shoulder and chest multiple times.
"Gray-sama!"
"I'm fine," Gray snarled, stumbling slightly. "So you want a fight then, bastard? Then come and get some!"
"Such unacceptable language," Sol said mockingly. The smile slid off his face, however, when Juvia disappeared from where she stood and appeared behind him. "Water Slicer!"
Sol leapt out of the way. "Sable Dance!"
"Aaah!" Juvia reeled back as sand appeared and began to attack her from all directions. "Water Cane!"
"Argh!" Sol clutched at his neck, where the spell had struck and glared at Juvia. Gray chose that moment to attack.
"Ice Make: Floor!"
Sol crashed to the ground as the slippery ice formed beneath his feet. Gray attacked once more.
"Ice Make: Ice Impact!"
Gray brought down a huge hammer on Sol, making him scream in pain. Juvia dealt the finishing blow.
"Water Nebula!"
This, along with the aftermath of Gray's spell, brought Sol down completely.
"Humph," Gray snorted. "All that talk and I didn't even have to use my Devil Slayer Magic on him."
"Gray-sama, your clothes!"
"What the-NOT AGAIN!"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Jose glared at Master Makarov fiercely.
"Your stupid brats ruined my lacrima, Makarov," He snarled. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to complete building it?! Your guild shall pay-I will crush them like insects. Mark my words, Makarov you shall all pay!"
"I don't care about what you went through to build that rotten piece of dark magic," Makarov said calmly. "And I certainly do not care about how angry you are at my guild. However, I do care that you threatened my children and hurt them. Lucy, Juvia, Levy, Jet and Droy…..you hurt all of them! And that is something that I can never forgive, Jose!"
The man in front of him sneered. "Ah yes, Juvia, that traitor. I should have guessed that she was on your side in the first place. I kill her, and do it painfully. That is the punishment for anyone who goes against me…!"
Makarov held up his hands, palms facing each other. A small orb of light began to form between them. He closed his eyes.
"Repent, Jose," He said. "Say that you are sorry-otherwise, I will cast the ultimate judgment upon you. Do not think I'm bluffing, I am completely serious!"
"You want me to beg for forgiveness?! Forget it!"
"One…."
"I crush each and every one of you! I'll never bow down before you, Makarov!"
"Two….."
"You will die by my hand."
"Three," Makarov's eyes shot open. "Fairy Law!"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"What's that light?!" Wendy cried, reaching up to cover her eyes. A large golden magic circle had appeared in the sky and sent out great light, effectively blinding them.
"It can't be…" Carla murmured. "Fairy Law?"
"What's that?"
"One of the three grand fairy spells. Fairy Law, Fairy Glitter and Fairy Sphere. Fairy Law is supposed to be the ultimate judgment, I've heard. It strikes down whoever the caster thinks in his or her heart as an enemy and does not harm friends or bystanders. I've only heard of the Masters of Fairy Tail casting it successfully."
"Amazing…" Wendy breathed.
And when the light ceased, the entire Phantom Lord guild was wiped out.
"Eh, so that's what the Fairy Law does, huh?" Loke whistled as he reappeared once more, standing beside Wendy. "Pretty spectacular."
"Where've you been?" Wendy asked curiously.
"Around," Loke answered evasively. "More importantly, look at that." He shook his head towards Lucy.
Wendy swung around and gasped.
Lucy's starlight had returned in full force, and instead of silver, it was golden this time. Her body started to lift slowly, ascending towards the heavens.
"Wait!" Wendy caught hold of her hand. "What's going on?!"
"Let her go," Loke said quietly. "She'll return to the stars now-and heal and receive her inheritance of power."
Confused, Wendy let go Lucy. How did Loke know so much?
"And now," Loke continued. "The stars are celebrating the birth of a new Queen."
"Wendy! Carla!" A familiar blue exceed flew to them.
"Tom cat? Where were you?"
"I was looking for Natsu. Was he here all along?"
"Quiet!" Wendy said suddenly.
Everyone watched in awe as small glowing orbs of light appeared around them. But most startling of all, was a soft melody that seemed to come out of nowhere, that was sad and happy and heartbreaking and cheerful all at the same down.
It started out a low, light note that thrummed gently in the air. And from there, it escalated into a higher, pure, lovely note; which echoed in their hearts. The music was all around them, it sounded like the stars-no, the heavens themselves were singing, a sweet song which a person could never get enough of.
The music faded, and disappeared all together; as did the orbs of light. Lucy herself got farther and farther away, until all they could see was one of the many stars in the sky. Yet, that star seemed to stand out the most.
Wendy turned to look at Loke, and what she saw in his face astounded her.
"Loke? Are you crying?"
Wordlessly, Loke put one hand in his pocket and raised another to wipe away the tears on his face before walking away slowly.
"You're crying yourself, Wendy," Carla said softly, and Happy nodded in agreement.
"Huh? I guess I am."
Wendy closed her eyes. She thought of that beautiful melody, which had moved her and countless others. She thought of Grandine, whose name invoked a mysterious joy in her heart. She thought of Natsu, Gildarts and Cana. She thought of Lucy, Erza, Gray, Carla, Happy. She thought of her family. She thought of Fairy Tail.
"It reminded me of home," Wendy whispered.
(A/N): Awesome, a long chapter at last! Pray that I'll be able to keep it up, guys! Thanks's for reading, please review~
Next time-Chapter 29: Gildarts and Cana.
See you soon!
