AN: Ladies and Gentlemen, the third chapter in as many weeks. God damn I am on a roll. I probably won't be able to keep it up for much longer with the next semester of college approaching, but it sure was fun while it lasted.
THE RED KEY PART 3…THUNDERSTRUCK
Porlyusica glared down at her patient and seethed.
It had been over a month since Phantom Lord had attacked. A month since Makarov had fallen into her care. At the time she had predicted that a month would be the absolute maximum for how long it might take for him to be back on his feet.
That deadline had officially passed as of yesterday.
Porlyusica had been wrong.
Porlyusica hated it when she was wrong, and she despised it when she couldn't figure out why. His magic had completely returned, his wounds fully healed—from what she could tell, he was completely and utterly healthy. There was no reason for him to still be unconscious, and yet there he was.
She felt useless.
There was a loud thunk outside and she closed her eyes in aggravation. That of course was another reason she needed her old friend back on his tiny feet. He acted as a dam for the constant stream of utter morons in his 'family' from seeking her out every time one of them got themselves a boo-boo. The pink haired medic allowed a snarl to form on her face and stalked out to meet her newest intruders. Her pre-rehearsed verbal tirade nearly died on her lips when she saw the miserable condition of the five teens that had staggered up to her door.
"What the hell happened to you lot? Did that new master of yours really let things get so out of hand that you brats can get this messed up from a brawl? When I was your age-"
"The guild was invaded by a demon that had the power to enslave people." Goku cut in. His tone was flat and his eyes looked dead. "We're the only ones left."
Porlyusica's pinched the bridge of her nose in aggravation.
Why couldn't Makarov have woken up?
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Erza was gearing up the instant the fire had cleared from her eyes. Her Blackwing armor burst into existence as she began to bark orders to her fellow thralls.
"Everyone who is still fit, prepare for pursuit! We shall not allow them to escape Mistress Flute!" All around her the Fairies prepared for action and made to charge out the door when Lucy's voice rang out through the building.
"Belay that." All action halted the instant the words reached their ears.
"Mistress?"
"We don't have time to waste chasing down a few strays right now. When the plan is moving forwards and I'm not quite as pressed for time, I will be quite interested see how some of my tracking experiments might work against a man capable of flight. But for now, I need as much magical power as possible to initiate phase two, and that means that every last one of you is staying until we are done. After all…I can hardly pull off an entire invasion by myself."
"Of course mistress, as you command." Erza said.
"Good. Besides, think about who left. Four macho idiots and an emotionally damaged swordsman who can't use her sword. I'd bet quite a bit of Zeni that the first thing they do once they feel they've healed up enough is come charging straight back here."
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An entire day passed and the children sat around almost entirely in silence. They just ate, slept, waited for their turn to be healed, and stared off into space. Porlyusica had burned through practically all of her magic getting the five into the best shape that she could. Now at least looked more like disheveled teens after a week straight of work instead of something out of a meat grinder. The remainder of her power had gone into triggering the protective wards that she kept around her home. They had been there ever since she had been informed of Rob's disappearance, and until this day they had never been triggered.
Once again the old woman sighed. Why couldn't Makarov wake up? She was useless in this kind of situation. She had always been more of a support mage while Makarov and Rob had always been the meatheads leading the charge. All she could do was offer the last few kids a chance to rest and as much advice as she could convince them to take.
Not that they were in any state of mind to listen right now.
Natsu and Elfman were on their feet, squared off and glaring at Gray and Kagura, the latter of which was sitting by her brother's bedside. Goku was sitting quietly in the corner, his eyes closed in concentration in what she could only guess was that Ki sensing ability of his. She couldn't even tell if he was aware of the pointless shouting match going on just a few feet away from him.
"Those are our friends down there you cold-hearted bastard! There is absolutely no way that I'm gonna just wait around. We have to try and save them!" Natsu shouted. Gray's glare turn glacial as he hissed back in response.
"How?" Gray demanded. "The only way we are going to get at that Flute bitch is straight through all of our friends. Can you seriously tell me you are okay going back there when every single person we care about will be actively trying to kill us? I've known Cana longer than everyone here, she and I have been friends pretty much since the day we met. But that didn't stop her from trying to shoot a bolt of lightning bolt straight through my eye! We can't just charge in, we need some sort of plan! Find Guildarts, call on some other guilds! I know Blue Pegasus would help the moment we mentioned Erza was in trouble. But we can't just charge straight in."
"And give them time to dig in?" Elfman snarled. His teeth had slightly elongated and his muscles occasionally bulged as he tried to keep the Beast in check. "Coward, who knows what she is planning? At least we know we're immune! That means we can try to fight back and stop her! My sister is back there! My family! Who would we even turn to for help? The other guilds are all days away and the government is still in debate on who to place in the magic council! Even if we could get to them, what's to stop Flute from just taking control of them too? Have you even stopped to consider that?"
"This is hardly the first demon outbreak, else demon extermination missions wouldn't be so common." Kagura interjected. "There are professional demon hunters scattered all over the country: Etnad the Scarlet, Bayonet the gun mage, there are options. If not, there is supposedly a small branch of scholars that worked for the council who study mind magics. It is possible that they could assist us in freeing everyone else."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu snorted, sending flickers of flame into the air. "Well who the hell asked you? This is a guild problem, and you aren't part of it, remember? We already asked and you said 'I'm just here for my brother.'" Natsu jabbed a finger at the unconscious mage and Kagura instinctually positioned herself between them. "Remember that?" Kagura blinked, startled at the venom in Natsu's voice. She opened her mouth to respond but Natsu was quick to talk over her.
"This isn't even your problem! You can go if you want, but Fairy Tail doesn't turn its back on its own! I don't care how bad it looks, at least I'm going to try! Lucy wouldn't even be in this guild if it wasn't for me! If I hadn't run into her that day this never would have even happened!" That was enough. Porlyusica stepped forward right up into the pink haired teens face.
"From what Makarov told me, the first thing you did when you met Lucy was stop her from getting herself enslaved. Twice even. Would you rather have not met and left her to that fate?"
"What!?" Natsu sputtered, enraged at the very thought. "Of course not, but…damn it this might actually be even worse!" Natsu sat down hard on one of her kitchen chairs. "I have to do something." He said tiredly. "You can't change my mind, this is at least partially my fault. Even if I die…I still have to try and fix things. No matter what, I won't let things stand."
"I feel the same way." Elfman said. "It feels like we are betraying them just sitting here waiting for our wounds to heal. If we actually left now…I wouldn't be able to take it. Every single monster in my blood is screaming right now, telling me to charge down there. The second my wounds are healed I want to go charging out of this forest to try and save everyone. That demon, it's her magic that did this. If we could take her out; that might fix everything."
"That depends entirely on whether she was telling the truth about her powers or not." Gray said. "If it was just simple mind control that be fine but…she said it was some sort of torture. If that's true, then just taking her out won't solve anything."
"That why we need the mind mages!" Kagura continued. "They might be able to undo all of this. Even if it really is some sort of mental torture, it is still a form of mind magic. They might be able to remove the effects!"
"Do you even know where to find them? What if they are somewhere weeks away?" Natsu asked. "Would you really be fine with just leaving things as they are? What if they decide to start going after the people in the city? Or if even more demons show up? Nobody would be able to fight back. Who knows how many people could die?"
"Would you guys stop bickering?" All conversation in the room halted as the four teens and the aging medic turned to watch Goku clamber back to his feet.
"We're trying to figure out whether we should go for help for try and fight everybody as is." Gray said calmly. He knew, given enough time, he could talk Elfman and even the flamebrain around to finding another way. But if Goku took their side, then that was it over; they'd all just charge straight back in and lose.
"We've just given them an entire day to prepare themselves." Goku said simply. "If we don't attack before the end of the day, we probably won't be able to win at all."
"We already talked about that Goku, the mind mages might be able to undo all of Flute's control." Kagura said.
"Well, that's the problem right there."
"How the hell is getting a bunch of reinforcements that can free everybody a bad thing?" Gray demanded.
"You said might."
Silence reigned for a moment before Kagura's eyes slowly closed.
"I see." She nodded, accepting the point. She patted Simon's chest once before reaching over and grasping her sword. "We shall have to attack then." Natsu and Elfman both let out enthusiastic cheers while Gray inclined his head towards the girl, waiting to hear her explanation.
"We have been basing all of our arguments on conjecture. We might be able to find the mind mages who might be close enough to travel to Magnolia to help out and might willing to make the trip. Then once they get here they might be able to save our friends minds' and might have a way to allow us to defeat Flute. Meanwhile, her forces have the potential to grow the longer we wait. Her objective is completely unknown and could feasibly be completed in the time we would take finding those mages."
"That's fine and all, but we still can't rush in." Gray stated. "The numbers are still badly skewed in their favor, especially since Flute seems to be borderline double S rank."
"Whatever they're doing, nobody's left the guild at all in the last 24 hours. They might need something in there." Goku said.
"If that's the case…well we already built it up once." The grin on Natsu's face couldn't be called anything but gleefully maniacal. The group looked around at one another. Nobody seemed to be in disagreement. In a flurry of motion they grabbed what little gear they had and headed out the door. They made it thirty feet before the sky started to bleed.
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While the free Fairies had been healing and debating, Flute had been working relentlessly to initiate the second phase of her plan. Her thrall had torn apart their own headquarters on her command. Every table had been reducing to kindling, the bar had been smashed and all of the liquor had been gathered together to serve has fuel for the three dozen demonic torches that she had spread out on the walls. The wood furniture had been reduced to a mass of saw dust, which had then been coated with a blood offering from every last mage in the building. Juvia added enough water to the mix that it turned into a sort of pulpy sludge that Flute then meticulously painted across the floor in a massive seal. She spent hours down on her hands and knees with a small brush, carefully applying the mixture down into precisely the form that she needed. Erza stood beside her, grinning mindlessly as she held up a barrel of the sludge to give her mistress easy access while the rest of the mages waited along the wall, set up like mannequins with empty grins as they awaited their next orders.
A total of 22 of the 24 hour respite she had since successfully taking the guild was used painting the symbol. But she knew, without a single doubt, that the worth was worth the reward over a thousand times over.
The instant the seal had been completed, Flute's marionette mages lined up around the circle. Erza and Juvia flanked Flute's left and right sides respectively and placed their hands on her shoulder. The remaining mages linked hands around the circle and began channeling their power straight through one another, directly into Flute's body. With the entire guild's power at her back she forced ever single drop straight into the circle. Red light slowly creeped across the seal, transforming it into an eldritch, glowing ooze that soon filled the entire room with a sinister glow. The floor supporting the symbol crumbled away to ash. For a brief moment Flute could see the guild's basement but then she held the red key high and the symbol wrapped around itself into a swirl vortex of red and black energy.
A portal.
A small wisp of black smoke slowly curled its way out of the vortex and hovered in the air, darting back and forth amongst the various Fairies. As it passed Flute she gave it a little pet and it seemed to twitch beneath her fingers before it shot forwards, straight down Erza's throat. The girl collapsed to the ground twitching, much like what Lucy had experience two days before. Unlike Lucy though, Erza's mind had already been beaten into submission, so in no time at all she was climbing back to her feet and giving Lucy's body a spine-crushing hug. As the two girls embraced one another the portal began to sputter. It winked out once, twice.
Then it erupted.
A colossal red beam punched upwards, straight through the roof and into the sky. Instantly a mass of cloud sprang into existence, a twirling formation circling the guildhall and completely blotting out the sun. The red light spread outward like an infection, coating everything in a miserable red shade. Flute laughed in glee as massive crimson spheres dripped from the sky all across Magnolia. The very first one came down right above the guild. As it approached the ground it shattered into several dozen pieces, and each of the smaller fragments quickly found a home within a mages. Like Erza these new demons were able to take their hosts in only a matter of seconds. The rest then grouped to gather to watch in delight as the rest of the sphere descended on the townsfolk.
Their excited cheering was soon drowned out by the terrified screams echoing throughout the town.
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Gajeel had been restlessly pacing back and forth through the apartment for the last half an hour. Boze and Sue, slightly more used to Gajeel's slightly less violent tendencies, were taking full advantage of the situation.
"It's seriously cute, right? He's like a worried mother just waiting for her teenage daughter to get home to grill her about why she stayed out all night." Sue chuckled.
"Nah, it's more like a dog waiting for its master. He just keeps going back and forth, and when she finally walks through that door he's going to jump up and start begging for food and a belly rub." Boze chortled in response. Gajeel just snarled at the two as they laughed at his back.
"Oh sure, I'm so sorry that I actually care when our friend disappears. If either of you two ever up and vanish without a word I'll be sure to make all sorts of jokes and not give a shit."
"Aw, look at that." Sue cooed. "Mr. Heavy Metal can dish it out for years no problem, but one little joke back his way and he gets all bristly." Gajeel scowled right back and seriously considered beating their heads together when the world suddenly turned scarlet. The lightning sobered up the mood pretty quick and all of them were on this feet in an instant.
"Anyone know what the hell this is?" Gajeel growled, his ears twitched as he began to hear screams of panic start up in the distance. It started quietly at first, but pretty soon the other two ex-phantoms could hear it too. Then as though someone had flicked a switch, the panicked cries of people in terror and agony drowned out all other sounds. The three exchanged worried glances, hoping that one of their comrades would know what to do. As a result, they were completely unprepared for the three wisps that phased straight through their ceiling and into each of their mouths.
Boze and Sue collapsed instantly, screaming in agony as the foreign presence wormed its way into their bodies. Gajeel hunched over in pain for a moment; he tried to cough, hack up whatever'd just shoved its way into his body.
Then everything disappeared.
He was in a desert. An inky black presence was slithering its way through the sand around his feet. He attempted to call forth his magic, but there was nothing there. Just an empty fuck-load of nothing where his iron should be. Gajeel stumbled backward and the inky blob of shadow slithered forward almost gleefully.
Gajeel stumbled, and the blob rose, towering over him. Then it paused.
, The hairs on Gajeel's neck rose as he sensed something behind him. He craned his neck and felt something inside him lurch.
"Me…Metalicana?"
His voice came out like a whisper.
The dragon's responding roar was anything but.
The shadow lunged for Gajeel. Metalicana's neck arched. It's jaws snapped.
Everything went white.
Gajeel's eyes snapped open just as Boze and Sue began to climb back up to his feet. For a brief moment Gajeel made to step forward to help them to their feet when something set alarm bells ringing in his head like firecrackers.
They weren't complaining.
He back-stepped instantly and sprouted metallic scales all over his body.
"Well, I don't suppose you guys managed to shrug that shit off did you?" He asked in resignation. The other just tilted their heads at him in mild confusion and not a hint of mockery—which was pretty much all the confirmation he needed.
Gajeel decided that it was time to cut his losses. He jumped straight through the window and fell three stories down to the street below.
Fallen bodies surrounded him. Dozens of people were spread out up and down the street, twitching in agony. Then, one by one they rose back up to their feet, each and every one of them grinning widely at the dragon slayter. Slowly they began to move in, surrounding him on all sides.
"Hell, screw it then." Gajeel's arms morphed into iron bars. "COME ON!"
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The demons that charged into the forest ignored the five Fairy survivors entirely. Instead half a dozen black wisps charged straight towards Porlyusica and her two comatose patients. Goku and Natsu leapt into action, but before they could move the wisps slammed against an invisible barrier. Porlyusica snapped her fingers and the air crackled with a white lightning, ripping the wisps to pieces.
"Filthy things." She hissed, glaring at the blacked soot staining her floor.
With the immediate threat gone, the Fairies turned their attention back toward the direction the creatures had come from.
Magnolia had fallen silent.
"Holy crap." Gray murmured. "They just took the entire city."
"Our numerical disadvantage has just gone from challenging to near impossible." Kagura stated. Despite her calm, Porlyusica and Goku could both easily see the girl's shaking hands. Goku quickly focused his energy and began to send out feelers with his Ki, hoping that some way, somehow, somebody might still be free. The amount of demonic energy coming off of the city completely overwhelmed his senses and he was quick to direct his search elsewhere. He began looking around the edge of the city, trying to find anyone who might be trying to flee.
After a few moments, his efforts were rewarded when he focused in on a set of four familiar power signatures. The Fairy Tail survivors watched as Goku's face suddenly split into a wide grin.
"What? Did you figure out to get in there to punch that Flute chick?" Natsu asked.
"Nope! Even better. I just found us some reinforcements."
Gray's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "Seriously? Who?"
Goku just grinned in response and started running.
"Come on!"
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Laxus smirked as he slid the last piece of his Thunder Palace into place.
Everything was finally ready.
The festival was just a week away, and then it would finally be time for Fairy Tail to embrace what it truly meant to be strong. He would finally take over, cull the weaklings from their ranks and with the remaining mages he would solidify their place as the strongest guild of all time. He would build a legacy that he would be proud to pass down the line once he was old and grey. But before all that…there was the matter of settling a certain score.
Laxus already knew for a fact that Goku would be making the final cut to join the newly improved Fairy Tail. He was far too good of a fighter to simply through away for a petty disagreement. However, in a guild built on power there was no possible way that Laxus could let the record stand as it currently was. Even if it had been with help, and he refused to even consider that the flaming moron could have truly done anything to tip the scales, Laxus had still lost their match.
This time however, things would be very different.
The Thunder Tribe was spread out on the hill behind him, watching his back. Something weird was happening to the sky and a group of these dark creatures had attempted to attack them earlier, only to meet an unfortunate end as Evergreen lowered her glasses in their direction. Her two comrades had them shattered their statues before they had a chance to recover.
"So…you seriously have no idea what they were?" Bickslow asked incredulously. "You're the resident nerd, I was expecting some answers out of you, yeah?"
"Resident nerd! Resident nerd!" chorused the wooden dolls flying around the Seith mage.
"Believe it or not, I do not know the answer to every single problem in the universe." Freed said as he studiously ignoring the dolls with an air of long practice. "If more people helped with the research this likely wouldn't have been an issue. When we return to the guild, perhaps we could visit the library before we start the festivities. I'd like to try and figure out what they were." Laxus merely shrugged.
"We have the time, knock yourself out. Not like it matters one way or another."
"I think we might be a little more pressed than you might think." Evergreen noted. Laxus turned to ask what she meant and was greeted the sight of five battered teens approaching them.
"Huh. The hell are you lot doing all the way out here?" Laxus said, crossing his arms and giving Goku a once over. Laxus' eyes narrowed, the martial artist looked half beat to hell.. Goku merely started rubbing the back of his head sheepishly in that irritatingly meek way of his and began to explain.
…
…
…
"You're shitting me." Laxus said in disbelief. "How the hell did she even get possessed?" He could not believe this nonsense. Some frickin' loser demon had come in and taken over the guild, his guild? Just like that? The thought that Goku might be lying to him didn't cross his mind. He knew without a doubt that the monkey boy wouldn't be wasting his time with a joke this stupid. Laxus wasn't sure what pissed him off more: the fact that the guild had been defeated in a single day, or the fact that someone had the nerve to take over the guild right when he was on the verge of doing exactly that.
"We still aren't sure, but she appeared to be utilizing a red celestial key during the encounter. It is possible that it was in some way responsible for what happened." Kagura said.
"…okay first. Who the hell are you? Are you new?"
"She's a potential new recruit." Goku said. "Her brother is in the hospital and she wants to make sure that's he's okay before she decides to join officially or not." Laxus stared at her for a long moment and smirked when Kagura stared right back. Without turning away, the lightning mage addressed the fighter once more.
"Is she strong?"
"B rank at the very least right now, with a heck of a lot of potential." Laxus eyed her for another moment.
"She's got a spine too. Not bad. Consider yourself conscripted kid." Laxus said with a chuckle. His amusement turned into full on laughter when Kagura's eyes narrowed at him.
"Conscripted? You'd force me to be one of your followers?" Her hand edged down towards her blade. The three followers of the lightning mage all smirked at the sudden action. Goku slowly eased himself in between the two his hands up in the air.
"Don't get yourself all worked up kid, you practically did it to yourself. If you didn't want to be tied up with us you should have run the moment shit hit the fan. If half of what you've told me is true then you're stuck with us until this is all over, one way or another." Scowling, Kagura could only nod in acknowledgement to the truth of that statement.
"Good. Now, the key. Are you talking about that weird key that witch gave you as a reward back around when Mira first got here?" Goku nodded. "Well how the hell is this any sort of reward? What, did the bitch hate losing so much that she decided to leave a trap for you guys?"
"I don't know, with how long we had that thing…it doesn't make much sense to be a trap. Especially since she had no way of knowing that we'd ever have a Celestial mage join up. Maybe we just used it wrong?"
"If that's true then that just means that Lucy was too dumb to use the thing properly." Laxus shook his head. "If the blonde survives all of this then she's going to have to go. As nice a piece of eye candy as she is, we can't have any failures in my guild." The temperature seemed to drop several degrees, and it had nothing to do with Gray. Laxus shrugged off Goku's icy gaze with ease.
"So, which part do you have the problem with, the killing or the banishing?"
Goku opened his mouth to shout, then paused. "I don't have the right to complain about the killing. This demon, this Flute? She's not going to stop. If we don't do something she could take out the entire planet out. If it comes down to it, we can't hesitate. But that's going to be my last option." Laxus nodded.
"I can respect that."
"Now…the banishing?" Goku said sternly. But Laxus had something else to say.
"You can agree that some of the mages in our guild are fairly weak correct? Far weaker than people of our level?" After a moment, Goku begrudgingly nodded. "You can see the problem with that right? When the chips are down, like in that Phantom Lord debacle, how many of our guild mates are actually useful? How many can stand up and fight compared to those who just collapse the moment things get hard?"
"How would you know, jackass? You didn't even fight with us! I bet you were just hiding out like a coward!" Natsu roared. Both Goku and Laxus ignored him. Elfman, Kagura and Gray stood silently across from the Thunder Tribe, tense and ready for battle.
"So, how would you run the guild instead? Banishing the weak and only allowing in the strongest?"
"Of course! You five were the only ones able to resist this brain washing. If the guild had been full of people strong enough to do that, this Flute bitch would have already been taken care of." Laxus grinned, staring Goku dead in the eye. Much as Erza might drone on about justice and camaraderie and all that nonsense, Laxus could see the part of Goku that she ignored. "You can see the appeal can't you?. A place where the strongest come together, train together, and grow stronger together! A place where the best and brightest can truly thrive without having to fear that they might be brought down by a weaker person's failure!"
Goku was silent for a long moment.
"To be completely honest…the idea thrills me. That many strong fighters to face off with all the time honestly sounds like a paradise." Goku confessed. "But as much as I like it, I like Fairy Tail more as it is. There are plenty of strong people to fight, I don't need to banish everyone else. Besides, who's going to determine who's strong? Everyone has different abilities, not everyone is suited for combat. Team Shadowgear is horrible in a fight but people recognize that their one of the best teams in Fiore for traps and riddles.
Now it was Laxus turn to be quiet. Normally he wouldn't waste his time listening to this, but... Goku hadn't just dismissed his ideals out of hand, like they were hotheaded nonsense—like Gramps.
There was something about the concept that was just… satisfying.
"Fair enough. I can see your point. But in all honesty, I don't really care for that kind of magic. I'm a warrior, and so are you. I want to surround myself with other warriors, the best of the best. If the mages like her want to go and form their own guild, that's fine. But I don't want them in mine."
"But you'd still be the strongest right? If you want to be the guild master of a group of warriors, you have to be the best one of them. How are you even planning on getting rid of everyone, of taking control?"
"Well, truth be told, I was planning something to that end. But with the way things are right now, I don't even think I'm going to need to bother. The strongest mages will be the ones that survive this whole demon mess. Everyone else will be dead."
"…No." Goku said firmly.
"No?" Laxus blinked.
"No. I'm not dealing with this right now. We can debate all you want after things are settled. But right now, we don't have the time. You said that the strongest is the leader right? Well I'm stronger than you. That makes me in charge. Fall. In. Line."
"…"
"…"
"…Ha. Hahaha. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Laxus doubled over in amusement. The rest of the group watched silently as the two faced off.
"Seriously? You're five years too soon if you think you can take me on one on one."
"Doesn't look like he needs too, jackass." Gray grinned menacingly, frost crackling off his fingers. "In fact, I think he's got the number advantage."
"Don't interfere." Goku said calmly. "This needs to be one on one, and we don't need anybody else injured for when the real fight starts. This is to first blood, got it Laxus? We don't have the time or the energy to waste on anything more right now."
"Whatever you say kid. It's not like it will make a difference once all is said and done." Laxus said cockily. Goku failed to respond, instead he merely sunk into a fighting stance. Then Laxus completely vanished from view in a flash of lightning. Most of survivor's eyes widened in utter disbelief at the sudden display of speed. Goku merely spun around and threw a punch that crashed head on into Laxus' own fist.
"Don't toy with me Laxus, we don't have the time. Either get serious or just give up right now." Goku snarled. Laxus noted the hardened look in the teen's eyes, as well as the agitated motion of his tail.
"Oh ho. Letting the rage seep in kid? I'm getting the feeling that this might not be to first blood after all."
"…Fine." Goku's elbow blurred upwards straight into Laxus' nose and the man found himself stumbling backwards with an arc of blood falling from his face.
"Cheeky bastard…suppose you did tell me not to hold back, didn't you?" Laxus chuckled, licking the trail of blood off his face. "Let me tell you something kid. A long time ago, someone offered me more power than you can possibly believe. I initially refused, I didn't feel like it was worth it if I wasn't the one to earn the power myself. But after that cheap defeat you handed me during the S-class trial…I couldn't resist. So now, you can call me the Lightning Dragon Slayer!" Electricity exploded around Laxus, bouncing all around his body before channeling itself directly into his muscles. His body swelled up, taking on a massive, brutish form that towered over the fighter. Goku's eyes widened briefly in surprise before an electrified fist knocking him backwards end over end down the road and into the forest. He finally came to a stop when his back slammed into an ancient pine hard enough to shatter the bark.
Laxus watched in amusement as Goku forced himself back onto his feet while his blood slowly oozed down his back. Despite the damage he had taken, Goku's expression never changed. He stared down Laxus with blank faced rage and flecks of Ki dancing around his body.
"So…that just means that regardless of the outcome, you couldn't stand the thought of fighting me on even footing with your own power. You needed help. Is that right?" Slowly the smile dropped off of Laxus' face.
"You bastard…you think you can talk to me like that?! Like hell! Show some respect you miserable piece of shit!" Laxus reared back and unleashed a powerful overhead blow. Goku's own hand shot out and as he made contact with Laxus' attack his entire body was consumed in a crimson aura.
"If you want my respect, earn it. Right now you're using a form that powers you up at the cost of your speed. Your speed has always been your biggest advantage, without it you stand no chance against me. Your drive for power has made you weaker than ever." Laxus roared and charged, swinging out with everything he had. Goku dodged and weaved through each and every one of the attacks, never feeling more than the slightest breeze as they passed by.
"It's over Laxus. It was over before it even began. You can't match my new power."
"What the hell is this? How is this possible?!"
"What is it? I'm not entirely sure yet, I'm still working out all the kinks. But…I believe it's called the Kaio Ken."
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The assembled free mages were glaring at one another, neither one willing to start the battle but both sides wanting nothing more than to unleash their frustrations on the other side. The survivors of the initial attack couldn't help but feel helpless. After everything that had happened they were now stuck waiting on the outcome of a completely pointless battle, just hoping that things would somehow turn out okay. Then Laxus was flung into the clearing. He landed in a bloody heap before the Thunder Tribe as Goku stalked back up the road to take his place beside his friends.
"This is over. If you guys want to fight, wait until after we've saved everybody. For now, I'm in charge. Any questions?" Goku said, glaring at the group. However, the answer came from behind him.
"Just one." The entire group spun around to see a little old woman floating atop a crystal ball. "Just how the hell did you brats manage to bring about the demon apocalypse with a skeleton key?"
Baba the witch had returned.
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DRAGON BALL Z EPIC ANNOUNCER MAN VOICE MAN: FAIRY TAIL'S FORCES FINALLY ASSEMBLE TO COMBAT THE DEMON THREAT. FLUTE'S ORIGINS ARE FINALLY REVEALED. GOKU TAKES COMMAND FOR A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE WORLD. ALL THIS AND MORE WILL BE FOUND…
NEXT TIME ON ESCALATION: THE RED KEY PART 4…TNT
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Hey everbody!
Sturm and Drang here, do you know what that means?
Omake time. Let's lighten up some of this drama with some comedy.
Just one thing: this particular omake is NOT canon to the story…unless you want it to be.
Omake #(whatever number it is): Strike of Truth
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Some indeterminate time in the future or past.
Juvia crept through the streets of Mangolia, her heart a flutter with excitement and more than a little uncertainty. For you see, she had recently come into possession of a certain thing. A certain thing that could be the key to changing her life forever. A certain thing that had set her heart at war with her conscious.
A certain thing that was actually a bottle.
Of course, it was not the bottle that excited her so. If it were, then Juvia would be a very weird person indeed.
And Juvia was anything but a weird person.
No, indeed not. What excited Juvia so was the contents of the bottle.
It was a potion. More specifically, it was a love potion.
Oh, she heard such things claimed before. Love potions were a dime-a-dozen in the trashy sort of magazines that Juvia absolutely did not read, but all of those were scams and she certainly didn't know that because she'd tried them.
But this one wasn't.
Juvia had been completing a job for a traveling witch. Not one of the cheap floozies she'd met once or twice at carnivals, but a true sorceress. Her name was Amora and Juvia had witnessed first-hand just how potent her magical lovemaking ability was. Juvia had watched Amora snap her fingers and in mere seconds men had, quite literally, started worshipping the ground she walked on. You couldn't argue with those results.
Juvia couldn't quite remember exactly what mission Amora had given her. All she could remember was sharing a pleasant dinner with the sorceress, followed by a vague recollection of satin pillows, scented bath salts, and an awful lot of bouncing.
Whatever Juvia had done, Amora must have been quite satisfied, for the sorceress had given her a bag full of jewels, the love potion, and a free invitation to visit her again if Juvia was ever in the mood.
Which presented Juvia with a very serious dilemma of what should she do with it? Of course the immediate and obvious answer was to corner Gray when he was alone and lovingly force it down his throat. But… something deep inside Juvia protested to this act for some reason.
Throughout the entire homeward journey, Juvia had been struggling to stamp out that little rebellious voice. But it was difficult; whatever part of her that protested was bombarding her mind with vague and rhetorical questions.
What was love? Was it real? If it was, did it truly count if you drugged someone into it?
All deep and profound questions; more importantly, they were questions that were standing in the way of Juvia getting her man and therefore not ones she had any patience for.
And now she was nearing the guild—a proud and welcoming building that stood alone in the middle of its spacious buffer zone that the townspeople refused to live in for safety reasons. Juvia still couldn't quite believe she was a member of Fairy Tail. She couldn't believe that a group of such welcoming and wonderful people existed in real life. She slipped through the doors and found herself practically enveloped in a cloud of good cheer and comradely.
Her eyes swept around the building. It was about half-full, but she couldn't see the flash of the chiseled body and divine abs that had stolen her heart.
Drat. Gray wasn't here.
Oh well, there was no need to go stalking through the streets looking for him like some kind of deranged psycho; not when she could lie in wait for him here like a completely sane person.
Her belly growled and she gravitated towards the bar. She nodded respectfully to Mirajane, the woman to whom she owed every bit of the joy that was her life, and slid into a seat next to Levy.
"Welcome back Juvia. Your mission go alright?" Levy asked distractedly, her brilliant orange quill flashing from side to side as she wrote page after page in a large tome.
"As well as Juvia could have hoped."
"I'm glad." Levy shot her a grin before burying herself back in her writing. Juvia liked Levy. Her fellow bluenette had been very welcoming despite Juvia's involvement in Phantom Lord and what her former guild had done to the word mage. They would often cross paths in the guild library and Levy would happily show Juvia where to find the most deliciously scandalous books, as well as debate them, if Juvia was in the mood.
Also, Juvia was at least seventy-three percent sure that Levy had no romantic interest in Gray. Which meant there was, at most, only a twenty-seven percent chance that Juvia might have to drown her in the future—not lethally, of course, merely to warn her off. Levy was a friend, after all.
Juvia turned her attention back to the room at large, scanning it for her soon-to-be lover. Gray still wasn't here. But that was fine, she was pretty sure he was still in the town so he'd stop by soon enough. That would give her time to plan what she was going to do.
…Wait. What was she going to do?
Juvia stared down at the bottle of love potion with a sudden renewed uncertainty. Only now did it occur to her that she hadn't actually asked Amora how she was supposed to use it. Did she go with her original plan of forcing it down his throat? Many books she'd read suggested love potions needed to be ingested. But how did she make sure he fell in love with her specifically? Was she supposed to drink some as well? The books never really talked about that. Then again, this wasn't a novel; this was real life. Perhaps she was supposed to sprinkle it over herself like perfume and then ravish him? Or maybe sprinkle it over him and make him ravish her? She was fairly certain ravishing needed to play a role somewhere; she just wasn't sure if it was the cause or the effect.
Perhaps the love potion wasn't such a good idea after all.
She was considering tucking the potion away when she heard the guild doors open and her Gray-sense went haywire. Juvia's head snapped around and for a moment found herself struck dumb once more by the sight of the world's most perfect man. She could practically hear the wedding bells ringing and the swish of doves flying all around.
And then the moment was ruined.
With a yell and a burst of flame, Natsu had launched himself from his seat straight at the ice mage. They both hit the ground hard and immediately started wrestling; turning into a scene where fire, frost, and clothes flying in every direction.
Juvia seethed like a building storm as steam began to pour off her forehead.
Natsu Dragneel. The salamander. The fire dragon slayer.
Her Love Rival.
Oh, he went around screaming about how much he hated her dear, sweet Gray, but Juvia knew the Truth! In matters of the heart, you couldn't just look at what someone said; you had to look at how they acted as well. Natsu was always trying to put his hands all over Grey, wrestling him to the floor and rolling all around in a tangle of limbs and noise. As Juvia watched her Gray's clothes fly off, she had to admit that she admired Natsu's tactics and wished she had the strength to emulate them.
But there was no time to delay! She needed to act quickly, lest the salamander steal her prize.
She raised the bottle before her eyes and sloshed it back in forth. She could feel the potion with her magic; meaning there was water in it. Which also meant she could manipulate it with her magic. She still didn't know exactly which method to use, but if she wanted Grey, she would have to improvise.
She'd just have to use them all.
She glanced around, Levy's nose was still buried in her book and Mira was off chatting with Elfman. Nobody was watching her. There was a small pop when Juvia uncorked the bottle and a puff of purple smoke wafted out of it. Juvia reached out with her magic and lifted the liquid out, leaving about a fourth behind—just in case she needed to drink some of it herself.
She hurriedly tucked the bottle away and formed the floating liquid into a ball. Which she divided into two smaller balls: one to sprinkle Grey with, the other to make him drink. Slowly, taking care to look as natural as possible, she slid off her stool and meandered through the crowd of fairies.
She needed to be careful and pick her moment. After all, she wanted to hit Grey, not Natsu. She had no interest in that vile, love-stealing flamethrower. Like a lioness, she held herself still, love bullets at the ready.
Wait for it… wait for it… NOW!
She had chosen her moment well, Grey had just gotten the upper hand and thrown Natsu to the ground. The lovely ice mage had climbed to his feet, his bare chest glistening with sweat and his mouth was open. He was practically asking her to give him all of her love right then and there.
Juvia shot the potion like a rocket, straight and true as cupid's arrow. Her heart swelled as the purple promise of love flew.
Only to plummet as someone got in the way.
"What do you think you are doing?" Erza demanded, rising out of the crowd like an iceberg and positioning herself between Juvia and the wrestling fairies.
The potion splashed her in the back of the head, one after the other.
Oh… dear.
Erza stood very still, the purple liquid dripping from her hair and down her neck. The atmosphere within the guild became charged, like the god of thunder had raised his hammer and all the fairies had bated their breath just waiting for it to fall. Even Natsu and Grey had fallen silent, their eyes like saucers as they stared up at Erza.
Very, very slowly, Erza turned. Her eyes locked on Juvia's and the space between them had become no man's land.
Erza took a step towards Juvia, the sound of her boots hitting the floor slamming into Juvia like a promise of doom. Juvia found her feet backpedalling of their own volition, carrying her away from her destruction as fast as they could… and then her back hit the wall.
Some idle part of her mind noted that this must be what a deer felt like when the wolves began to circle. Juvia's fingers scrambled against the wall as the redhead drew ever nearer, but to no avail. She thought about turning to water, throwing herself into the bar's sink, and disappearing down the drain. If she were lucky, she could let gravity carry her out into the ocean were maybe, just maybe, Erza might not be able to find her… Not that she could act on those desires, not with Erza's gaze pinning her to the wall.
And then Erza stood before her, her face impassive and her hands behind her back.
"You." the word split the air like a tolling bell.
"Y-yes." Juvia whimpered.
Erza's head lowered, her bangs blocking her eyes as though she herself didn't want to witness what she was about to do to Juvia.
"Have mercy!" Juvia shrieked, throwing her hands over her eyes.
Juvia trembled, her eyes covered. After a few moments and a lack of armored fists pummeling her body, she peeked through her fingers and saw that Erza's head was lowered further, her body bending at the waist as she bowed low. After another moment of fearful stupefaction, Juvia's brain reported that Erza had actually said something.
"E-excuse Juvia?"
"Please forgive me!" Erza repeated, bowing even lower.
"What?"
"I beg your forgiveness! You are a new member of the guild and I did not take the time to welcome you. In that, I did you wrong. I therefore beg your forgiveness!"
"J-Juvia does not understand…" Juvia's eyes twitched left and right, but any form of escape seemed impossibly far away.
Erza's head snapped up; her wild eyes making Juvia flinch back once more. Erza shot forward and clamped her hands onto Juvia's shoulders.
"I demand that you forgive me for the wrong I have done you!"
"Juvia forgives you!" Juvia squealed, desperate to make it stop.
"That's not good enough!"
"What?" Juvia's could feel her mind start to fizzle with fear and confusion.
Erza let go of Juvia and took a step back.
"Strike me."
"What?"
"I can only imagine the emotional pain my refusal to acknowledge your presence must have inflicted. In order to make this right, I insist that you strike me."
"J-Juvia doesn't think-"
"Strike me!" The words cracked like a whip and Juvia's hand shot up almost against her will. She lashed out with a torrent of water and fear, blasting Erza across the room and into the far wall.
"Very good." To Juvia's horror, Erza got up; her armor dripping with water and a look of sweet satisfaction on her face "I can feel the sweet warmth of forgiveness and camaraderie flowing through me." The expression of contentment disappeared and her head snapped around.
"Goku!" Erza declared, her eyes looking on the martial artist as he took a bite out of an enormous sandwich.
"Mrghf- eh?" Goku grunted around the food in his mouth.
Erza marched over to him and bowed. "I demand your forgiveness!"
Goku swallowed, "Uh… for what?"
"When we went out to lunch the other day, I took some of your food when you weren't looking. It is only right that you should strike me to make amends for this transgression."
"Uh… okay, wow. I know I like food, but I'm not going to hit a friend just because they took some of my fries." Goku shrugged "I, uh, forgive you."
"Not good enough! Strike me!"
Juvia felt her legs give out and she slid limp to the ground, her mind gone blank from fear and relief. There was the sound of footsteps and Juvia felt someone put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Juvia?"
Juvia looked upward, Mirajane was crouching next to her, a worried look stamped across her face. "Y-yes?"
"What exactly did you hit Erza with?"
"I… it was-"
There was a thud and a crash. Juvia glanced upwards. Erza's head was buried in the side of the wall. The titania was still for a moment. Then, like a zombie rising from the grave, she placed her hands against the wall and pulled her head out with a pop.
"Most excellent!" She declared. "Natsu! Come here. I have much forgiveness to demand from you."
"Alright! Bring it on, Erza! Nobody is gonna forgive you harder than me!"
"Uh oh." Mira muttered. She stood, pulling Juvia to her feet. "Come with me." The acting guild master ordered. She led Juvia across through the room of flabbergasted fairies and pulled her behind the bar. Mirajane crouched down and pushed a red button on the underside of the bar. A shimmering barrier of magic popped into existence, encompassing the bar.
"What-" Juvia began.
"It's a special barrier Levy designed for me to keep our daily brawls from destroying the bar… and to keep Cana out of the booze. It should keep us safe from Erza if she decides she needs more forgiveness from you."
"You're welcome." Levy piped up; having not moved from her seat, she was within the barrier as well. "So, any idea what's up with Erza now?"
"Yes, what is up with Erza?" Mirajane shot Juvia a pointed look.
"Juvia didn't mean to!" Juvia wailed. "It was an accident."
"Oh, it's okay," Mira hushed her. "We're all mages. We accidently hex each other all the time. I just want to know what you did."
"It- it was this." Juvia sniffled, pulling out the bottle. Mira snatched it from her hand and examined it with a critical eye.
"Is this from Amora?" Mirajane asked.
"The love mage?" asked Levy.
"You know her?" Juvia asked, asked looking at Mira.
Mira blinked, her face turning a little bit pink. "I, uh, yes. I've crossed paths with her once or twice back in my wilder days and— look, the details aren't important, is this from her?" Mira shook the bottle lightly.
"She said it was a love potion."
"Ah." Mirajane nodded. "That explains Erza's behavior. This is supposed to be inserted, bottle and all, like a suppository, not applied to the skin."
"Elfman, as a man, I demand you forgive me!" Erza's voice echoed across the room.
"Very well! As I man, I shall." There was meaty thunk.
"What was that?" Erza demanded, scorn dripping from her voice. "Forgive me harder!"
"Or maybe Erza just gets off on people's forgiveness." Levy commented, tapping her quill against her lip. "Or maybe it's just getting hit. It certainly happens to her a lot…"
"Did you really have to say that, Levy? Now I can't stop thinking about it."
"But it kind of explains a lot, doesn't it?"
"It… does. Yes." Mira admitted. "I suppose that to her, the most intimate thing might well be forgiveness for a wrong. Maybe Amora's potion just… amplified that feeling to stupid levels."
"Do you know how long it's supposed to last?" Juvia asked, listening to the sound of Erza's demands and the quiet footsteps of fairies trying to escape. There was a loud thunk, like a sword being buried in wood.
"Nobody is leaving until I have been forgiven by each and every one of you!"
"Oh it should wear off in awhile." Mira waved off her concerns. "Amora's spells usually last just long enough for a single night and possibly the morning after. You didn't use all of it and Erza didn't actually drink it. It shouldn't last more than a few hours." She poured herself a drink from under the counter. "Want some?" She held the bottle out to Juvia.
Juvia hesitated, then shrugged and took the bottle. She kind of wanted to forget about this whole thing anyway.
Several hours later
"I have done it," Erza declared. Strewn across the floor around her were dozens of Fairies, most of them cradling their hands and whimpering. Those that weren't down and out were huddled against the walls, eyeing her in fear. "I have sampled forgiveness from each and everyone of you—multiple times," the fairies at her feet whimpered. Erza looked quite the worse for wear: her armor was battered; her hair was in disarray, and her face… was oddly unmarked.
"While I appreciate your efforts, I have found that only one of you can give me a forgiveness that truly satisfies me."
The fairies stared up at her, each one fearing that they might be chosen. Erza reached down, and everyone flinched. Then Erza pulled back and held up her choice.
"Are you kidding me?" Natsu snarled, both of his hands bruised and swollen. "Happy!?"
"Aye!" The blue cat basked in their disbelief, snuggling against Erza's chest.
"Indeed. Happy's paws deliver a forgiveness that belies his tiny form. Out of all of you, Happy's forgiveness truly fulfills my desires like nobody else." Erza declared.
"Aye!"
"Happy hits harder than me." Said Natsu, his body slumping to the ground as a cloud of gloom built up over his head. "I can't believe it. Happy hits harder than me."
Erza turned on her heel and marched to the guildhall doors, pulling her sword out of the crack where she wedged it, she opened them and turned back once more.
"And now we shall retire to my bedroom where we shall engage in a truly blissful bout of reconciliation."
"Aye!" Happy's eyes bugged out. "Wait, WHAT?"
"Come, sweet Happy, let us go and join each other in true exoneration."
"No wait!" Happy wailed. "Natsu! I like being a bachelor, save me!"
"Happy hits harder than me. Happy hits harder than me. Happy hits harder than—"
"No—" the doors slammed shut, cutting off Happy's cries. Mira looked around the room; taken in the dented walls, destroyed tables, and injured fairies.
"Eh, Could have been worse."
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Is… is it possible? Have I truly created the one true OTP?
I think I have… I'm not apologizing.
I am, however, willing to offer an explanation:
This particular little story was born in a discussion between me and Heroman. You see, Heroman made a throwaway comment while making a point that I proceeded to take WAY too seriously.
I'm actually kind of disappointed in myself for this one, not in terms of writing quality or the like, but in a sort of what-would-my-mother-say-if-she-knew-what-I-was-writing? Sort of way.
Alas, sweet wholesome integrity, I knew you well. Goodbye.
Oh yeah sure, integrity. That describes you real well.
For those of you who are curious, I'm just going to drop the conversation that we had right here for your viewing pleasure. Make of it what you will.
Heroman: I was going to have flute get the town possessed as well, just to give her an overabundance of cannon fodder troops.
S&D Sure, why not? Just up the ante on every level.
Heroman: I can't wait for Erza to be free so I can write a scene where she has to confront the fact that she scarred one of her friends. That ought to be good.
S&D: She might actually be fine with it. She knows she wasn't herself at the time.
Heroman: But she has a bit of a guilt complex doesn't she? I mean, 'I apologize, please strike me!' Either that or she just gets off on pain.
S&D: Maybe she IS a masochist! When she says please hit me, she's actually coming on to someone.
Heroman: Bwahaha! That would explain so much! We might actually have to make that part of our cannon at some point!
S&D: Careful. Remember, the shippers are circling the boat. You have to be careful who does that…or shove it in a non-cannon omake.
Heroman: Still not sure what to do about the shipping stuff. Omake it is.
S&D: …oh god damn it. Now I can see it: Juvia tries to hit gray with a love potion, hits Erza. Erza is looking at everyone then goes around the guild asking everyone to hit her. Realizations and comedy ensue.
Heroman: I love how quickly you came up with that.
S&D: I hate how I might have to write it now. Why don't these ideas hit me like this when I'm writing my own stuff?
…so yeah. That happened. Anyways, I'll see you guys eventually. Please leave a review!