Ok, shorter chapter this time around, but I hope you'll still like it!
Enjoy!
.
.
.
Gajeel and Mirajane were now lying under the makeshift tent. They were both heavily injured and exhausted, but they'd live.
"I'm so glad they're okay…" Levy sighed in relief. "But for Gajeel to be taken out, and for Mira to loose… And now, they've got Kaelys too."
"It was my fault…" Lisanna clenched her fists. "Mine…"
"It's not anyone's fault."
Both girls jumped at the voice, and turned around to see Elfman coming out of the forest, Evergreen in his arms.
"Elf-niichan!"
"They're strong," he fell to his knees. "I hate to say it, but they're too damn strong… and we left him alone!"
"Who?"
"Macbeth…" Evergreen coughed a little, still hanging to consciousness somehow. "He-he said he'd handle him… but no one can…"
"There was nothing we could do," spat Elfman. "Damn it! I'm a failure of a Man! I wasn't able to protect my sister… or my partner… and I left a nakama to die…"
Evergreen weakly patted his arm in a tentative gesture of comfort.
Levy clenched her fists.
"We need to become one," she then said.
"Levy…"
"The exam had us all split up. It was just for a bit, but we were putting ourselves before our friends. But we can't do that now! The enemy… is extremely powerful, but we are Fairy Tail! If we all combine our power… If we can act as one… there's no way we'll loose! So everyone, please… join together again… please…"
A moment of silence followed her cry.
"Well, that was sweet and all, but we'd better get moving if we want this to work."
All Fairy Tail members startled at that.
"E-Erik!?" gasped the blue-haired girl.
"Don't ask me how, I have no idea but it's working. Anyway, everyone heard that?"
"… yeah, we did."
"Levy-chan? Don't worry, we heard you!"
"We're not giving up!"
"You're right, we need to work together!"
"We should all rally to the camp."
Levy brought an hand to her mouth, shocked, as tears started streaming down her face. Everyone… heard her?
"I couldn't connect everyone," informed Erik, his voice echoing around them. "But I've got most of our members' locations. I'll try and direct them so that we can meet up as little groups so as to better defend ourselves until we can all get back together. Who's down for the count on our side?"
"M-Mira-nee and Gajeel," answered Lisanna, taking a deep breath. "Evergreen and Elf-niichan too-"
"I can still fight," however assured the white-haired man.
"Okay. For those who don't know yet, Master Makarov is out too. Wendy's taking him back along with the black cat and the white cat-"
"It's Panther Lily."
"And my name is Carla!"
"Whatever. So, Elfman and his sister head over east from your position, you should meet with them in about eight or nine minutes. Levy, set up whatever protections you can around the base. Traps, runes, whatever works. Make it so that only those wearing the Fairy Tail mark can pass."
"Hai!" she nodded, instantly getting to work.
The two siblings accepted too. Elfman quickly put Evergreen to rest next to the other two despite her weak protests, before he left along with his sister in the direction indicated.
"Okay, great. Wendy, you guys keep going."
"Hai!"
"Next what… Oh, right: Beth is alright, if you're wondering. He's going after Kaelys right now-"
"Kaelys?" Lucy tensed, stopping in her tracks. "What happened to her?"
"Oh, right, err… Well, Loudmouth got captured by Azuma, one of the Kin. They got orders to take Beth, her and I to their Master, and she used the opportunity to save that one we brought back from Edolas-"
"It's Lisanna!"
"Details. By the way, don't blame yourself or some shit like that, Kaelys did it because she could and nothing else."
"… hai. Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, anyhow… Leave Kaelys to us, we'll handle it. Also, Zancrow and Caprico, two of the Kin, were beaten. Ash-for-brains is battling Ultear right now, so ice-dick? I'd suggest you head over now."
"What? Why should I-"
"Trust me, you'll know when you get there. Turn around and go straight forward, you won't miss them. After what, Sunshine can handle the one coming her way-"
"There's one coming my way!?" screeched Lucy, already in panic.
Not only had she somehow gotten separated from Cana, but now she was going to face one of the Seven Kin alone!?
"Sheesh, stop screaming! Yes, there's one. I don't know much about the guy, so you be wary. I'll head over for support in a few minutes anyway. Other than that… well, Beth's with Rustyrose, Azuma got Kaelys, Titania and the rain woman are handling the pink-haired shrimp… Okay, so as soon as you guys are done with your fight, head over to the camp."
"Do we know what exactly they are after?"
"… Zeref. You know, the big bad Black Wizard that lived centuries ago? Yup, still alive and kicking. They want to use his powers to bring a new age over the world, one in which the ninety percent of the population in the world that can't use Magic will… well, die. Something to add?"
"He's dangerous," instantly replied Elfman. "Don't get too near, or you'll die."
"Right. Everyone took notes? 'Cause class is over. Anything else I'm missing?"
"Yes. What about us?"
"Oh, didn't hear you guys coming back."
"We came as soon as we saw the flare," replied Freed, taking a look at the island while Bickslow attached the boat.
"Right… head to the camp for now, and help out Levy with the protections."
"Understood."
"Oi, Erik… IS THAT YOU!? CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" called Gildarts.
"SHUT UP, OLD TIMER! Yes, I can hear you perfectly, no need to shout!"
The man chuckled sheepishly, while the last two members of the Thunder God Tribe sighed, shaking their heads.
"Oh, right, one last thing: the Magic Council is about to come after us too, so-"
"What? Why?"
"Mest was a double-agent sent to destroy Fairy Tail from the inside or some shit like that. Now that they've learned that we got Zeref on the island, well, you can imagine how that'll turn out."
"Then we need to act fast," concluded Freed.
"Alright babies, let's go!" exclaimed Bickslow.
"Let's go, let's go!" chanted the totems.
Erik sighed, finally cutting the communication. It took more out of him than he'd like to admit, but that needed to be done. As disorganized as they were, they wouldn't have stood a chance against Grimoire Heart.
"Alright, Kina," he patted the snake's neck. "Let's go help out Sunshine before she gets herself killed."
The snake hissed softly, flying in the direction of the Celestial mage.
"Wendy!"
"L-Lisanna-san, Elfman-san!"
The man instantly lifted the Master off her back, while his sister went to support Wendy as her knees buckled. They all exchanged a relieved smile, before instantly heading back to the camp.
Lucy was not having a good time.
The Kin she was facing… was fricking ridiculous, in all senses of the word. He was ridiculously annoying, ridiculously dumb, and ridiculously strong.
Because yes, Hikaru Kain was strong. And she was loosing.
Any Spirits she tried calling upon were of no help. Not that she blamed them, of course, it was simply that weirdo who was too strong.
She glanced at her Keys. What could she do?
Her eyes landed on a black Key.
Corvus, of course!
Without hesitation, she grabbed his Key. "Open, Gate of the Crow! Corvus!"
Instantly, half her Magic was drained, and she stumbled back under the sudden loss of energy. Panting a little, her eyes widened in realization.
I never summoned Corvus before. Or at least, not for battle.
"Eh… I was starting to believe you'd forgotten about me~"
"C-Corvus!"
"Yo," the Spirit greeted with a grin. He turned his back to her, now facing Kain. "So he's the enemy, uh? Let me handle him. I must warn you, though, that I won't be able to stay for long. If I fight for too long, then you'll be completely drained."
"I-I understand. I'm counting on you!"
Nodding firmly, the black-haired Spirit then extended his hand. Shadows gathered around his closed fist and, next thing Lucy knew, he was wielding a gigantic shadow-scythe.
He darted forward, and suddenly appeared before the Kin.
"Kagekōgeki… Suraisu no sukuizu!"
There was a sudden burst of air. Kain raised his arms in a defensive position, but the spell simply flew to his left, without even grazing him.
Stunned silence ensued.
"Ah! You missed!" he taunted.
At that, though, Corvus smirked. "No, I didn't."
And suddenly, the skin on the Grimoire Heart mage's arms sliced open, blood instantly gushing out. He howled in pain, falling back.
"W-what kind of sorcery is this!?" he snapped.
"Kagekōgeki…" The Spirit's scythe suddenly shifted, taking the form of a maul twice his size. Jumping, he then slammed it onto the man's head. "Funsai suru!"
Their enemy avoided the blow with ease despite the bloody state of his arms, and he was about to mock the Crow once more when a his right leg suddenly bent with the echo of a sinister 'crack'. He slumped to the ground, eyes wide with the sudden pain that overcame his whole body.
"I-I don't understand… I avoided your attacks…" he protested as the Spirit suddenly towered over him, red eyes glinting under the rays of the lowering sun. "Y-you can't have hit me..."
"And yet I did!" retorted the boy with false cheer. "Anyhow, the first hit was for you hurting Lucy. The second one was for attacking Fairy Tail. And the third one…" The maul shifted into a bow and an arrow. "Is for you to answer a simple question." He brandished his weapon, aiming the arrow straight at Kain's forehead, and his voice suddenly become clouded with killing intent. "Where the fuck is Kaelys."
Kain promptly passed out. Be it from the blood loss or from sheer fright, none would ever be able to say. With an heavy sigh, the Spirit let his weapon vanish, before returning to Lucy's side. The blonde was panting harshly, obviously exhausted.
"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, kneeling next to her as anime tears started streaming down his face. "I know you're not used to using Elder Keys for battle and I should have warned you beforehand but I never really thought about it because I've grown so used to come to Earthland on my own and so I forgot that summoning me for battle took so much out of my Masters and-"
The Celestial mage slapped her hand over his mouth. He instantly stopped talking, and she let her hand drop heavily. It felt as if her muscles were filled with lead or something…
"I'm sorry…"
"D-don't be," she shook her head, offering him a tentative smile. "I should- should be the one a-apologizing."
"Uh? What for?"
"B-because I let you fight a-alone. I don't- don't let my Spirits fight m-my battles, that's not- not how things work," she shook her head. "But I-I'm still far too weak… I swear I-I'll get stronger, a-alright? And one day, I'll- I'll be worthy t-to fight alongside of you."
He stared at her for a few seconds, before smiling softly and patting her head.
"You do that, then. I'll take my leave for now, before you loose anymore Magic. I hope you find Kaelys and the others soon." With that, he rose back to his feet. "You ought to be proud, though. Not many Celestial mages can actually open my Gate. I'm glad to be able to call you my Master!"
A faint glow started emanating from his body.
"W-wait!" she struggled to get up. "I-I want to know… h-how did you do it?"
"Uh? You mean, about my attacks?" Amusement shone in his ruby eyes. "Magic~"
And with that, he fully disappeared. Lucy gaped at the now empty spot for a moment, before a weak laugh escaped her lips. However, her laugh soon died down when an evil cackle suddenly echoed.
"No way…" she paled.
She could only watch as, slowly, Kain rose back to his feet.
"Thought you could beat me so easily!?" he snarled. "I'll show you-"
Something suddenly crashed into him, slamming him harshly into the ground. A cloud of dust blinded the blonde for a while, and she coughed, shielding her eyes.
"W-what…"
"Damn, you sure got him good, Sunshine."
"E-Erik!"
The dust falling back down, it now revealed none other than the Poison Dragon Slayer standing on top of the Grimoire Heart mage's body, along with Kinana. Relief washed over the girl, and she relaxed fully.
"Thank God it's you," she placed an hand over her heart. "I-I couldn't have fought him any longer."
"Sorry about that, we were having a hard time tracking you down, what with everything that's been happening on the island," he apologized, coming to stand next to her. "You okay?"
"J-Just tired… I'll have to t-train harder," she offered a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, you do that. For now, though…" He grabbed her arms and pulled her up, before somehow lifting her onto his back. "Piggyback ride time."
"I-I can walk!" she protested, struggling a little.
"No, you can't. Just shut up and appreciate my generosity."
"Oh, yes, thank you very much, grand Master Erik," she rolled her eyes, though no longer fighting it.
"That's more like it."
She snorted, and he smirked a little, before heading back towards Kain's body. Kinana switched back into her human form, and ran to meet them.
"Lucy, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for showing up when you did."
"Anytime!" beamed the purple-haired woman. "So, what do we do now?"
"You take Lucy back to the camp," ordered the maroon-haired man. "I'll go after Macbeth and Kaelys, and-"
"I'm coming too."
He shot a half-irritated look at the blonde. "No, you're not. Woman, you can't even stand on your own. Do you really think I'll let you fight?"
"You have no right to order me around," she snapped back. "And if I have to crawl in the dirt to go after Kae, then I damn well will, and no one is going to stop me."
"Ugh! Fucking annoying blondes… fine! Fine, damn it!" he gave in, annoyed. "Just because I know you would, and I'm not letting you out of my sight if it means that you'll get killed by your own stupidity."
She had the galls to grin at him in victory.
"Damn the Fairies…" he muttered, cursing up a storm in his head. He then sighed, and reported his attention to Kinana, who had watched everything unfold with palpable amusement. "No comment."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she smiled innocently.
He rolled his eyes, but dropped the subject.
"Then, I'll be taking Sunshine with me. You take rounds around the island and lend support to our members, be it by bringing them back to the camp or assisting in fights. Don't get directly involved with Grimoire Heart, though. It's too dangerous."
"Hai, hai!" she saluted, still smiling. "Be careful, you two!"
On which she transformed back into her snake form. Sprouting her wings, she then rubbed her head gently against Lucy's, before taking off. They watched as she left, before Erik started moving.
After a minute or so of silence, the blonde sighed.
"Erik… why are you so intent on refusing people's help?"
He didn't acknowledge her question, and she bit her lower lip.
"I know… I know that you have a hard time trusting people. And I can understand that it's even harder to trust Fairy Tail, considering we were enemies barely a few months ago. However, I think you fail to see that we all consider you as a member of the Guild; a member of our family." He stiffened a little at that. "And… the role of a family is to support each member, no matter the circumstances. You can't deal with all of Grimoire Heart alone, and we're all on this island, willing to help. Have you even seen how much trust we put in you? You started giving instructions to everyone, and it worked. They all listened to you. So, why are you so afraid of asking-"
"I ain't scared!" he half-snarled, his grip tightening on her legs. "I'm not… it's not a question of trust or whatever bullshit you're spouting. I know… I know that there's still a lot that Loudmouth, Beth and I have to learn. But right now, it's not about being a family or some crap like that. This? This is true evil, one that knows no bounds nor limits, and that cheery Guild of ours isn't ready to face it. Oración Seis was hell-bent on using Nirvana to destroy the light, because we were and still are selfish bastards. Them? They want to kill ninety percent of the world's population just for the hell of it. They are ready to do anything and everything to reach that goal, even to sacrifice their own members. Do you truly believe Fairy Tail can fight such an enemy, when we can't give up anything because everything is holding us back? Do you truly!?"
His breathing was a little ragged, and he had stopped walking. He couldn't move anymore, and Lucy simply didn't know what to do or say. She hadn't expected the Dragon Slayer to expose his thoughts, and even less for those to be so… so…
"Of course we can."
Both of them jumped at the voice, and snapped their eyes at the newcomer. From the bushes stepped out none other than Natsu. For once, though, he seemed serious.
"N-Natsu!"
"Fairy Tail can win this fight," he assured. "Not because everything is holding us back… but because we have everything to loose. If we don't fight, then what's going to happen to what we love, what we cherish? What's going to happen to our friends still in Magnolia, to all of those scattered on this island as we speak? It's not even about fighting… It's about winning. If we don't win… then what will we have left?"
He walked until he came face to face with Erik, and looked at him dead in the eyes.
"We are strong because we fight together. We are strong because we share everything: our laughs, our tears, our joy, our pain… We are strong, because we just can't give up on those we love. We are strong… and that's why we're going to win. We're going to kick Grimoire Heart's ass, finish the S-Class exam and come back home with a smile and a new adventure to tell to our friends. If we want to do that, though… we have to work as one."
He hit his fist over his chest. "I am Natsu. You are Erik. She is Lucy. He is Happy. They are our friends. And together? Together, we're Fairy Tail." He then extended his fist to his fellow Dragon Slayer, his face breaking into a feral grin. "What do you say to that?"
The man stared at him for a moment, eyes wide.
Then, he scoffed.
"That you're fucking cheesy. I didn't need a pep talk."
The pink-haired boy laughed at that, dropping his fist. "Great to have you back! So, now, what do we do? I say we go find that Hades guy and make him eat the dust!"
"Wait, Natsu… Weren't you fighting one of the Kin?" then wondered Lucy.
"She got away," he grunted, obviously annoyed. "Freakishly strong, she was."
"Aye!" suddenly exclaimed Happy, appearing out of nowhere. "Natsu couldn't even land a hit!"
"Don't tell them that!"
"Ice-dick is following her," informed Erik, eyes closed as he focused on the dozens of thoughts echoing from all around. "She… has Zeref with her. Let's just leave them to deal with this. For now, though… let's… let's meet up with everyone. At the camp."
"W-what about Lys?" frowned Happy.
"I hope she's okay…" Lucy looked down, worried.
"She'll be fine. I have no idea what he wants with her, or with Beth and I, but he won't do anything until all three of us are there," the Sound mage assured. "Plus, if worse comes to worse, then she can hold her own for a while. For now, ash-for-brains is right: we need to work together."
"Right-" Mest suddenly appeared before them.
The three instantly stopped talking, startled by his appearance.
He blinked when seeing them, before smiling.
"Hey-"
"Mest of the Magic Council…" Lucy clicked her tongue, narrowing her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"My name is actually Doranbolt… And don't worry, I've come to rescue you!"
Lucy, Erik and Natsu exchanged a very unimpressed look.
"With my Magic, I can transport everyone from Fairy Tail off the island!" he pressed on. "So if you have a way to locate everyone-"
"Thanks, but we'll pass," announced flatly Natsu.
"W-what?"
"We don't need the help of the Magic Council," grunted Erik. "Get lost."
"This is a problem of our Guild, and we'll deal with this ourselves," added Lucy.
"That's not it!" he however protested. "If Headquarters finds out what's going on, there's a good chance they'll fire on the island!"
"They're gonna shoot Etherion again!?" panicked Happy.
"Don't you guys ever learn?" whined the blonde.
"Etherion?" echoed Erik, glancing at the Celestial mage on his back.
She quickly showed him a resume of what had happened to the Tower of Heaven. He distinctively flinched at the memory of this cursed place, but grasped the general idea. "You guys are so fucking lucky it's not even funny," he then deadpanned. "That Guild is fricking insane."
She rolled her eyes.
"If they fire it again, then who knows what'll happen?" then worried Happy.
"We'll just have to deal with things first," shrugged Natsu.
"Makarov's down!" exclaimed Mest… or rather, Doranbolt. He was growing annoyed with these stubborn mages. "And Grimoire Heart still has some fearsome people left! There's no way you can win!"
"Oi, oi…" the pink-haired boy scrunched his nose. "Is that why you're gonna blow up the entire island?"
"This is our Guild's sacred ground," Lucy pursued. Her fists clenched a little. "And- and two of our members are currently held hostage by Grimoire Heart. We won't back down, you hear me? And if you try anyway… then there'll be hell to pay!"
"What Sunshine said," nodded the Poison Dragon Slayer, before shooting her a mild glare. "Though I swear to God, woman, if you won't stop wriggling around, I'm dropping you."
She instantly stopped gesticulating, offering him a sheepish smile.
"I-I don't believe it," then gasped Doranbolt, kind of horrified. "Trying to threaten us? The Magic Council!? You're just some wizard Guild!"
"Now listen carefully, you!" growled the Fire mage. "I don't give a crap whether it's Grimoire Heart or the Magic Council." He stepped closer, until their foreheads almost hit, and some killing intent started pressuring the whole area. "Anyone who lays a hand on our Guild is the enemy. I'll destroy them all!"
Heavy silence followed the clear declaration of war.
Above them, dark clouds started gathering.
.
.
"The tears put out of mind my own desires… the evil-eye wriggles impatiently in the darkness."
The rain was falling down, rather harshly at that.
"Is that from some song, Rusty?"
"Uh? No. Just the scream of a shattered heart," the man replied, pushing up his glasses. "Azuma, you're quite beat up. For you, that is."
"Proof that I fought someone strong," retorted his companion.
The Imagination mage wondered, glancing to the unconscious body of the teen lying next to Azuma. "Someone strong? Might you be talking about Truth? For other than her, Cobra and Midnight, there is no one worthy enough to be called strong in this Guild."
"You mustn't underestimate Fairy Tail," warned Azuma. "Their weapon is not their Magic power, but the ability to turn their conviction into a blade…"
"Conviction into a blade?" echoed Rustyrose. "Seems very much like our Meredy… But anyway, I thought we were ordered to bring them to Master Hades once we caught them."
He nudged the teen's body with his foot, but she didn't react.
"I have my own mission to accomplish," simply answered Azuma. "I was awaiting one of our member's arrival to bring her. Will you take her there?"
"Well, I've already brought one, so another…" With a shrug, Rustyrose picked her up. "Very well, but do not presume again I will do your dirty work for you."
"Of course not. I am grateful. Though, remember the rules-"
"No chaining her, I know, know. After all…" He started walking away. "A broken soul can only take so much of the chains before it's bloodied wings breaks through the cage."
.
.
Macbeth opened his eyes.
He blinked once. Twice.
"When was I knocked out?" he wondered quietly.
"Ah, finally awake, Midnight. About time, too."
Tensing, the boy tilted his head to see none other than Hades, sitting a few chairs away from him. Now that he looked closer, he realized that he was seated at a table, food and water just before him.
"Wait, until your friends join us," simply proposed the man. "I expect the two of them to arrive soon enough. For now, though, relax. You are a… precious guest, after all."
Wait, Kaelys isn't there? So that means I let myself get caught… for naught.
…
I'm blaming Erik for this crap.
Alright, so who can guess what exactly is Corvus's power? I'm curious. Also, I've decided to exploit Erik's Magic a little more. It's SOUND MAGIC for God's sake, so I don't understand why he wouldn't be able to use it for more than his two attacks in canon. Anyway, I hope not much happened in this chapter, but I really hope you liked it anyway. Share your thoughts with me?
Love you guys!
