Ah, here's the next chapter of Alternate Tail. I'm sure you guys were waiting anxiously for it, given the next main battle.
Gajeel: Seeing Shrimp kick some ass. That's music to my ears.
Alright. First I want to thank baslavens and badlucklex for favoriting and following Alternate Tail. I also want to thank OneWhoCharms, Cinder Fall 39, and mikel39 for their reviews. Glad you guys are enjoying this story. Any yes, OWC, Gray is always stuck with crazy girls.
Gray: Yeash, can't get any normalcies in my life between these-
Juvia: Gray-sama!
Gray: Gah! Juvia, don't scare me like that!
Alright boys, give the ladies a disclaimer they never had.
Ichiya and Trimen: Yes Sir!
Hibiki: DigiXBot does not own Fairy Tail.
Ren: Nor does he own any of the characters.
Eve: All of them belong to Mashima-san
Ichiya: But both have a parfum of great writing skill, men!
Trimen: Oh yes!
"Imagine if Nirvana was aimed at a specific guild. Guildmates will suddenly kill each other without mercy, or start meaningless wars with other guilds."
"With that kind of power," Levy realized in fear. "They can destroy the legal guilds from the inside!"
"So we have to stop Nirvana and the Oracion Seis as soon as possible," Hibiki said. "Or it will be the end of the light."
"Where are ya, Laxus?!" Gajeel roared as he raced through the woods. I can't leave She-Demon alone with him. He'll trick her just like last time.
He stopped at the edge of a small cliff, where he saw Lyon unconscious in a river below.
"Ice Prick?" He asked as he slided down the cliff. "What happened to that speed guy? This isn't the time for a nap!" He stepped into the river and picked the ice mage up, then started to shake him. "Would ya wake up?! I need ta keep going!"
Lyon stirred awake, but then smirked viciously at the dragon slayer. "What's with you?" Gajeel scowled. Suddenly the water beneath them began to shake as Lyon pulled on a rope connecting to a wooden pike nearby, causing a raft to emerge right under them.
"A raft?!" Gajeel shouted as nausea began to emerge. He started stumbling as the raft started moving.
"Pathetic." Lyon said coldly as the Dragon Slayer tried to hold back vomit and fell down to the raft. "The mighty Black Steel, easily beaten by riding a vehicle."
"The hell's wrong with you?!" Gajeel grunted as he tried to get up, but was pushed down when Lyon slammed his feet on his head.
"Now how do I finish you? Killer Bees? Poisonous snakes? Horde of shrews?" He smirked. "Oh, why not?" He brought his hand together and formed a lion-shaped gauntlet. "I should do it myself."
"Solid Script: Fire!" Lyon quickly placed the gauntlet in front of him, letting it take the fire word and melting away. He growled as Levy, Hibiki, the unconscious Kagura, Lily, and Carla stood at the bank of the river.
"What's going on, Lyon?" Levy questioned as Lily transformed.
"You best explain yourself." The warrior Exceed stated.
"Glad you're here, guys." Gajeel grinned, then collapse completely while the raft stopped at a tree stump within the water.
"I must finish Black Steel," Lyon said. "Wait your turn to be vanquished till then."
"Has Nirvana already turned him to the dark side?" Levy said in worry.
Gajeel moaned. "So… wobbly..."
"It stopped moving!"
"Let him off, Lyon!" Lily ordered as he enlarged his sword. The ice mage only smirked as the ground beneath Lily began to shake.
"What the-" Suddenly a swarm of frost ants burst from the ground beneath crawled up on Lily. They then bit intensely on the Exceed, causing him to scream as an ice cocoon swallowed him.
"Oh no!" Carla gasped.
"What are you doing to Lily?!" Levy screamed at the ice mage.
"Subject Pantherlily." Lyon said mechanically. "Race: Exceed. Abilities: Flight, transformation, swordsmanship, and possible military training. Threat Class B. All information that Lyon Vastia contains on subject."
"You're barely making any sense."
"Could this an effect of Nirvana's sway?" Hibiki wondered as he gently placed Kagura down on the roots of a nearby tree.
"Subject Levy McGarden: Lyon's opinion: Intelligent yet naive, somewhat cute, and contains a fierce nature. Abilities: Language translation, Solid Script, and-" He paused. "The Word of the Angels, huh. Congratulations, you've been promoted from C-class to B-class!" He then created a flock of ice eagles that flew towards Levy, but Hibiki moved in front of her and blocked them with his archive magic panels.
"I was wrong," Hibiki frowned. "You're not Lyon-kun. Who are you, imposter?"
"Lyon's information on Hibiki Lates: Member of Blue Pegasus, Playboy, no further information."
"You're right." Levy glared at 'Lyon.' "Lyon's too level headed in this kind of situation to be trapped between good and bad emotions, and Nirvana is only targeting those people! So who are you?!"
'Lyon' smirked as his skin and clothes began to bubble. His frame became more dainty as his hair grew to become wavy and more blue. Soon he was a complete carbon-copy of Levy.
"You think you can fool us that easily." Levy scowled.
"Subject Levy requires proof of disguise." The other Levy said monotonously as her dress, to the confusions of the others, began to split in a v from her neck. "Demonstrating proof." She then pulled at the ends of the split-
"AHHHH!" Levy screamed in shock.
"Holy-" Hibiki gasped.
"How uncouth." Carla scoffed.
"Ugghh," Gajeel moaned, unaware of what was happening. "Shrimp…"
"They are tiny." Hibiki nodded, before getting a swift punch to the shoulder.
"No one asked you!" Levy shouted at him as her counterpart's dress zipped back together.
"Now, now, Ikol." A woman's voice called out. "Enough playing around."
"Apologies, Lady Angel." 'Levy' said as Oracion Seis member arrived at the other side of the bank.
"Angel!" Levy's eyes widened in shock.
"Why hello, Levy-chan." Angel waved in a friendly greeting. "Seems you survived the venom from Cobra's pet. You must be pretty strong, then."
Hibiki turned to Carla. "Carla, grab Kagura-chan and get her out of here!"
"I was waiting for you to say that!" The Exceed replied as she grabbed the unconscious swords girl and flew off.
"Since we have Nirvana now," Angel smirked as she rose a hand. "no reason to keep that brat alive. Angel Messengers!" The swarm appeared from her hand and charged towards them.
Levy quickly wrote in the air. "Solid Script: Explosion!" She threw the word forward to intercept the swarm, and all the angel messengers were quickly engulfed in flames.
Angel scowled at the sight while Carla and Kagura flew out of her sight. "Ikol. Deal with them."
"Yes mistress." Ikol said as she moved her hands. "Solid Script: Speed!" Placing the new word onto herself, she burst straight at the two light mages. "Solid Script: Knife!"
"Look out!" Hibiki pushed Levy away, but he screamed when he felt a 'K' pierce his left shoulder.
"Hibiki!" Levy cried out in worry when she got up
Ikol gave no emotion as pulled out "Knife" through the Pegasus's tattered sleeve and leaped backward to her mistress's side while Hibiki grasped onto his wound as he collapsed onto a tree. "I'm fine." He winced.
"My, my." Angel mused as Levy glared at her. "I guess you're alone, little one." Ikol smiled as its skin bubbled, reverting to its two-faced, white-skinned form.
"What is that thing?" Levy questioned.
"This is Ikol," The other woman explained, opening her hands to the creature. "One of the angels I have the blessing of summoning."
"'Summoning,'" Levy was soon swallowed by curiosity. "Is that like Celestial Magic?"
"That's where the similarities end," Hibiki said to both of them while gritting his teeth. "Angel Magic is a forbidden practice, since to summon them, one must sacrifice part of their life force."
"Well, one can't reach heaven without a bit of sacrifice." Angel stated nonchalantly.
I know that we won't be so easily corrupted by Nirvana. Levy thought as she braced for battle. And I can't expect her or the other Oracion Seis to become good guys either. So the only way to get past her is to beat her. She turned to each of her comrades. Gajeel, Lily, Hibiki, all of them are out. I'm the only one left.
"Ready for a fight," Angel teased. "Let's see what a wielder of Holy Scrioptúr can do. Ikol." She frowned. Only B Class and below. So that leaves out Jura, Mira, and Black Steel. Fine then. "Use what you have." Ikol bowed, then its skin bubbled as it became a replica of Lyon. Ikol-Lyon brought his hands together and shouted "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!" Then sent the construct at Levy.
"Solid Script: Shatter!" Levy's attack broke down the snow tiger as she quickly began writing. "Solid Script: Wind!" The word pulled a strong gale with it as it flew towards Ikol-Lyon.
The angel frowned, then transformed into Ren and blasted the wind apart. He rose his hand, and Levy felt the very air being pulled out of her lungs as a vacuum bubble surrounded her.
"There is nothing you can do, Subject McGarden." Ikol-Ren said. Levy managed to keep upright as she wrote in the air, scribing the word lightning that soon formed and burst into the shape-shifter, forcing it to shake wildly from the electricity and release the vacuum around Levy.
Ikol transformed into a replica of Sherry and scowled at the Letter Mage. "Doll Magic: Wood Doll" Levy turned around and saw one of the trees animating, then roaring at her. She moved into the river as it swung at her. "Solid Script: Termites!" She threw the word at the wood doll, and the word broke down into a swarm of said insects that began devouring the construct.
Angel scowled. "Stop goofing around and finish her! Double transform!" Ikol-Sherry nodded, then bubbled its body until the left half resembled Gray while the other resembled Eve.
"Snow Magic:" Ikol shouted. "Blizzard!" From the right hand a snow storm roared towards Levy, trapping her within as she use her arms as a shield.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Ikol brought its hands together and formed daggers that flew into the storm.
"Finally…" Angel smiled, but soon frowned when she heard a shout.
"Holy Scrioptúr: Eitilt!" Levy flew out of the storm, revealing eight blue, blade-like wings on her back. "Solid Script: Sodium!" She sent the word straight at Ikol, who couldn't react enough when it landed in the water in front of it, and soon erupted. The gas from the reaction blinded Ikol from seeing Levy flying towards it.
"Solid Script: Sword!" With the new word she pierced straight through Ikol, causing it to gasp in pain. As Levy made eye contact with it, its face started bubbling, transforming first into Hibiki, then Ren, then Eve, then Sherry, then Gray, then Lyon, and finally Levy. Levy looked horrified as the angel smirked painfully with her own face, then reverted into two coins with a value of ten etched on each of them.
Angel, meanwhile, winced as a violet glow covered her, while beams of violet light began to leak out of her. She quickly got up and sent a deadly glare at the other girl. "So that's Holy Scrioptúr. Not as impressive as I thought."
"That light," Levy, despite being horrified, saw the event. "That must be an effect of the life link."
"It's time I teach a tiny mouse like you a lesson!" Angel shouted as summoned four ten-value coins in her hand. "Shamsiel!" The coins glowed, and soon a massive angel stood in its place.
The angel stood at ten feet tall and resembled a massive gray-skinned baby, with a white diaper, a white toga, and a pair of massive white wings on its back, and a large gray pompadour.
"Wow." Levy stared at the angel in fear and shock.
"Shamsiel, deal with this pest!" Shamsiel smiled, then quickly flew towards Levy. Levy tried to fly up to escape with, but it easily followed her to the sky, and even flew to right above her.
"Solid Script: Lightning!" The word burst from Levy's finger straight towards the angel, but it quickly broke apart and dispirited around it.
"That tingles." The angel said to her shock. Then, two pigs wearing pink lamb suits came out of the angel's pompadour. Their snouts glowed, and they released a beam of white light straight at Levy, and she couldn't move as the beam sent her crashing into the river below.
"Levy!" Hibiki cried out in worry as the Letter Mage try to get up, her wings fizzling out of visibility. Angel smirked as Shamsiel flew to her side, but when her gaze fell to the worried Archive mage, her eyes glinted in curiosity at a design on his exposed shoulder.
"That guildmark," She said, grabbing both Hibiki and Levy's attention. "I've seen that before. On that girl I killed three years ago."
Hibiki froze as his eyes widened in horror. "Karen…"
"Karen?" Levy asked in confusion.
"Now I remember," Angel said with a smile. "She was that green-haired Celestial bitch I ran into. She tried to summon a spirit to fight me, but for some reason she couldn't." She laughed, causing Levy to glare at her and for Hibiki to become more shattered. "She was so easy to deal with. I tried to claim her keys, but then some cat-spirit came and grabbed them from me. Oh well, I couldn't use Celestial Magic anyway, after learning Angel magic."
That woman… killed Karen… killed my lover! Hibiki mind began to race in lost and anger. An angel mage killed her. Angel mages are... He grabbed his head and shook himself. Fight it Hibiki! This isn't the time to think like that, not with Nirvana active!
"How dare you?" Angel faced the Letter Mage, who looked back with a seething fury. "How dare you kill wizards as if it's a sport. How dare you use your life force just to win. How dare you give little value to life!"
Angel frowned. "You are noisy little girl."
"I won't let a woman like you get away with that!" Levy flew straight at the Angel Summoner.
Angel glared and snapped her fingers, and Shamsiel flew right towards Levy. Levy screamed as she prepared to collide-
Then flew straight into the angel's mouth.
"What on earth-" Angel gaped in shock. "Is that girl an idiot? Why would she let herself be-" She winced as she felt that small explosions were occurring inside of her. She then saw Shamsiel fell to the river and held onto his stomach as if in pain.
"What's going on?"
"It hurts." Shamsiel moaned in agony, feeling his body break down from the inside.
Inside him, Levy remained flying in the angel's stomach as she as many words as possible, then threw them at the wall of flesh. "Solid Script: Darkness! Solid Script: Sin! Solid Script: Poison! Solid Script: Corruption!" Each word created a black infection that spread throughout the inside. Eventually they spread to Shamsiel's skin, and he screamed as his body was coated in darkness, he then exploded, and Levy fell into the river with four, black-coated coins.
But Angel faced worse torture. The same instance with Ikol's 'death' occurred, but more intensely as she screamed in unending agony.
"Angels… can't handle… inner darkness." Levy said calmly to Angel's pain. She then felt her wings vanish, and began coughing violently.
What's happening? She thought as her core shook in pain while her hands ached in agony. I'm not out of magic yet, yet I feel so empty… She couldn't figure out when a punch collided into her face.
"You flat-chest cunt!" Angel screeched as she sent another punch at Levy. "I'll make that venom look like mercy when I'm done with you!" She then kicked Levy, sending her skipping down the river for a few feet.
"At least your stupidity helps me. Magic is forged within before release, so what you thought casting all those dark spells did for your body, now powered by light magic." Angel scowled as Levy continued to look defiantly at her despite lying in the river. "Stop that already!"
"I can't afford to lose to someone like you." Levy snarked back.
Angel prepared to step forward, but she suddenly stopped. Levy looked at her in confusion until she felt two hands clasping her neck.
"Hibiki…"
"Oh my~" Angel laughed at Hibiki's vicious smirk. "Look like your friend fell to darkness already! How pathetic to fall by your comrades hand."
"Don't..." Levy begged
"Just hold still," Hibiki replied, then moved his hands to Levy's forehead.
"What's going on?!" Angel demanded when small, golden download screens surrounded Levy.
"I almost fell thanks to Angel's claim of Karen's murder," Hibiki said to Levy. "But your courage and determination, and your stand against her, helped free me.
"I'm using my archive magic to give a top-level, one time only spell. For either Solid Script, Dark Écriture, Writing, or any other, this is the strongest any Letter Mage can reach."
"These runes," Levy said as her eyes glazed over. "I've never seen them-"
"I know you can do it, Levy," Hibiki smiled as he fell to the water. "Because its last user… was your grandfather… the Scribe Warlock..." Soon all the screens flashed blue for completion, then Levy stood up as she face Angel emotionlessly and began to chant:
"The flowing time cannot stop history… The scribes of time will make contact…" A blue magic circle appeared in front of Levy, and soon two more appeared with unique runes, forming a triangle around Angel. To Levy's left the circle was red, while the one to the right was green.
"By Thoth's power and wisdom… The eternal knowledge is connected..."
"What is this?!" Angel screeched, an uneasy feeling keeping her from leaving.
"I, the master of language… Call upon the power of the quill… Unite present, past, and future…." As Levy spoke, two figures fickled in appearance behind the other two circles. Both wore black hoods that covered them, only revealing their mouths speaking the same chant.
"The sacred words, always evolving… translate, by Rosette Stone's might!" The magic circles glowed brightly, and soon released their magic onto Angel. She screamed in agony at the intense power fell onto her, an immeasurable heat burning into her soul. When the beam faded away, she collapsed into the water.
As soon as the Seis fell, both the circles and the two figures vanished. Levy's eyes then cleared to focus, and looked around in confusion.
"What just happened?" She asked herself, then winced. "Why do I feel so drained?" She looked at the tattered form of Angel bellow her, unaware of what happened prior. "What happened to her?" Her eyes then widened with realization. "Gajeel!" She then began moving, holding a hand to her arm as moved towards the nauseous Dragon Slayer. "Hang on!"
Suddenly. Angel, bruised heavily from the last attack, rose from the river, and sent a hateful glare at the letter mage.
"I am a member of the Oracion Seis!" She seethed. "I won't lose to a puny mouse like you!" She aimed a shaking hand. "Angel Messenger!" Levy was unable to move as a single messenger flew at her-
But at an off trajectory that it ended with crashing into the stump trapping Gajeel's raft.
"I… missed?!" Angel shouted. The stump began to crumble away from the impact, and Gajeel was once again moving.
"Hang on, Gajeel!" Levy shouted as she struggled to move fast enough towards him, while Angel collapsed backwards into the river from exhaustion.
My prayer...
A blue-haired girl looked out the grates of her cell. As a seagull flew above the barren island, a feather came off and gently flew down. To the young girl, the feather was glistening under the sunlight.
"Was to rise to the sky… like an angel…"
"Not fall into the water!"
"Gajeel!" Levy cried out as she tried to keep up to the raft. "Just hang on!" Gajeel moaned out as the nausea kept hold on him.
Levy extended her arm towards him. "Grab my hand!" Gajeel groaned as he struggled to hold out his arm, but he managed to extend it and allow Levy to grab hold. "Yes!" She cheered as she held to his large hand.
But she then screamed as the raft entered a sudden drop that pulled her on, and let her see the two were entering a large stream of rapids.
"You can't be serious!" She shouted as they swerved through the wild waters. Her eyes widened when she saw the river ending at a waterfall. She held tightly onto Gajeel as the raft flew off the falls, then fell straight into the waters below.
Elsewhere, Brain suddenly clenched his face. "Impossible. Now Angel too has fallen." Another mark on his face began to vanish.
He began to growl. "I will not let your sacrifice be in vain. I shall destroy the entire light!"
"I'm not dead." Said woman muttered as she floated peacefully on the water's surface, then fell unconscious.
As Mira continued to run through the forest, old memories began to thunder in her mind.
Just what is he up to, now that he's alive.
"True freedom is a lie."
"Tonight we'll finally get our freedom… we'll have to fight for our freedom."
"You can't feel Zeref without hatred."
"I was nothing but a puppet, unable to resist his commands…"
"Hope you enjoyed your false freedom, cause it time to be sacrificed to Zeref!"
You've became strong, Mira…"
Mirajane. Beelzea called out, startling the take-over mage.
"Sorry," Mira replied. "Got lost in thought."
Even after all he did, you still see him as your childhood friend.
"Don't forget he saved me and Gajeel from the tower. And could have killed Kagura, but he didn't." She sighed. Just how will I deal with him?
"So Nirvana is a magic that can alter people's personalities?" Jura asked as he and Hoteye ran through the forest towards the said light.
"That's right!" Hoteye answered happily. "But right now it's in the first stage, where the black light reverses the alignment of those bordering good and evil, oh yeah!"
"Such as yourself, when you remembered your brother."
"That's right." The Soft-Earth mage smiled fondly. "I know it's hard to justify the search for money, especially with my own guilt of it, but I originally believe to search for my brother I had to obtain as much money as possible. But the obsession to find said money corrupted me and led me astray from my original goal. It was seeing your face that reminded me, brought back the memories of our childhood."
Jura smiled. "I'm guessing I have a resemblance to this brother of yours."
"Well…" Hoteye chuckled. "More like you look like a potato my brother and I split together and eat when we were young!"
"Are your serious?!"
"I am, oh yeah!"
Ren's eyes widened as various cuts appeared all over his body. Midnight remained nonchalant as the air mage collapsed to the ground.
"Another weakling beaten," Midnight said, then scowled. "And another that thought I was a girl…"
As the orange sun sank deeper into the horizon, Kagura sighed on top of a cliff. "Maybe I shouldn't have come along..."
"Enough of that, child," Carla reprimanded. "Negative thoughts like that will make you vulnerable to Nirvana."
"And Nirvana's only active because I brought back Laxus, and now the Oracion Seis has it." She frowned. "Since I came I cause nothing but trouble."
"Not true, you manage to stop that Racer fool when no one else could. There's still a lot of good left to do."
"But I ran away!" Kagura protested.
"There was nothing left for you to do." Carla rebuked. "And besides, you manage to see Laxus again." She frowned. "Come to think of it, you never mentioned him to me before, and yet you spoke of owing him a debt."
"I guess I never did tell you." Kagura smiled, then let out a breath. "Eight years ago, a cult of dark wizards attacked my village. My big brother Simon hid me from them, but he ended up captured. When I came out, I was the only one left in Rosemary. I began looking all over for him. It was one year in that search that I meet him…"
"Onii-chan!" A violet-haired six year old cried out in the forest. "Where are you?" After a few feet of walking, she stopped and began crying.
Suddenly the bushes by her began to shake. Frightened, she grabbed a nearby stick and held it forward. "Don't come closer…"
Out of the foliage came an older boy with blond hair and a lightning mark scar over his right eye. Over his back was a small sack and a single wooden staff.
"Hey, easy there," He said gently.
"I-I won't hold back." The girl said as fiercely as she could. She loosened when the boy placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're looking for someone too?" He asked. "I'm doing the same."
She sniffed. "I'm trying to find my big brother. Bad people took him..."
"I'm trying to find a good friend of mine. We've got separated on the way." He held out a hand. "My name's Laxus."
The girl smiled and shook his hand. "My name's Kagura."
"For one month we looked all over the place, walking as far we could."
"Excuse me," Laxus asked a shopkeeper. "Have you seen a boy around my age here? He has dark hair and looks a bit like her." He pointed to Kagura, who hid nervously behind him. But the two frowned when the man shook his head.
Eventually they stopped asking after a few hours. "I'm sorry we couldn't find any clues, Kagura-chan."
The young girl smiled sadly. "It's okay. We'll search tomorrow." She turned curiously at him. "What about your friend?"
He chuckled. "It wouldn't be hard. He would stand out easily."
Kagura smiled. "We when I find my big brother and you find your friend, then all of us can have a big get together!" He laughed cheerfully at her proclamation.
"But one day, he said something out of the blue."
As they were walking through the forest to the next town, Laxus turned to the sky and shouted. "Anima!"
"Anima?" Kagura asked.
"'Anima?!'" Carla questioned, a slight recognition in her voice.
Kagura took no notice of her friend's recognition. "I still don't know what that meant. But then Laxus said it was too dangerous to be with him. He left me in the nearby guild Cait Shelter, and I never saw him again."
"So all the jobs you took outside of Cait Shelter." Carla said. "It wasn't just to find your brother, it was to find Laxus…"
"I heard a lot of rumors. Some about a councilor named Stormorse that looked just like him. Or another Laxus that controlled the same Tower run by the cultists that took Simon, and all the terrible things that he did…"
She smiled. "But that couldn't have been him. Laxus was a really nice guy. I wonder if he still remembers me…"
Mira pushed through the intense winds as she walked closer to Nirvana. She eventually made it through, and shocked to see Laxus standing by the mechanism, staring right back at her.
As the two faced off, Cobra remained hidden behind a build up of rocks. The She-Demon's here?! He thought in frustration. How she got past my hearing?! Oh, as much as I want her to gut that bastard, we need Laxus to fully activate Nirvana!
"Laxus." Mira said sternly to the lightning mage.
"...Mira..." He replied back coldly.
"Why are you here?" She questioned.
"I… I don't know." He replied.
"What-"
"Mira…" Laxus continued. "That's the only word I remembered." This shocked both Mira and Cobra. "Do you… know me? Then help me," He faced her, his eyes empty of any past. "help me remember who I was. Help me remember Mira."
That guy- Cobra's mind raced in realization. He lost his memories. No wonder I couldn't hear his inner voice! But was it from the resurrection, or from "Zeref's Ghost..."
"Laxus." Mira began to walk forward.
"Keep back!" Laxus snarled in fear as he blasted her with lightning. But the electricity only gave her a few twitches and a few scuffs. "Don't come closer!"
"You want to find Mira," She asked. "Then you're looking right at her. I'm Mira."
Laxus looked at her in suspense. "No wonder I heard that word when I saw you at the cave…"
"We were old friends once." She let out. "But then you fell into darkness and lost your mind. You insulted the dead, hurt our comrades, betrayed the council, and killed Simon!" She grew louder by the second. "If you don't remember any of that, then I'll just have to beat those memories back into to you!"
As Mira spoke, Cobra saw images of her life in the Tower of Heaven. No way, she was there too...
The Lightning mages looked back in horror. "I did all that… betrayed and even kill…" He clenched his face in pain. "What have I done…"
Mira looked back sternly, yet her conviction remained in turmoil. Is this really the same Laxus from the tower, or someone else.
"Ugh…" Levy groaned as she got up, finding herself and Gajeel at the bank of a stream. "What happened?" She looked around and saw her partner. "Look like we survived that waterfall." She then noticed both her and Gajeel's wet and tattered clothes. "Barely."
"Ah!" Gajeel roared as he got up, frightening the Letter mage. His shirt broke apart as he looked around. "Where's that light! And that lightning bastard!" He then found Nirvana's pillar, but found it was now a white shine. "It changed colors…"
"Must have happened when we were unconscious." Levy suggested. She looked at him in concern when he growled at the light, but was shocked when stopped and took a deep breath. She then became startled when he turned his gaze at her.
"Thanks for before, Shrimp," He smiled. "Ya really save my ass back there."
The Solid Script mage blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. "N-no problem. You would have done the same."
"Where's Lily?" HE asked as they walked from the water. "And half-pint and her Exceed?"
"Carla took Kagura to safety, and Lily should be free by now…"
'"Gah!" In his smaller form, Lily used the Musica Sword to break out of the ice cocoon. "Stand down, Lyon!" He looked around and only saw Hibiki and the unconscious Angel. "What just occurred?"
"We'll just have to meet them at that weird light." He groaned as he saw his clothes. "Although that's easier said than done."
"Leave that to me!" Levy said as blue runes danced at her fingers. "Holy Scrioptúr: Archit!" The runes flew from their hand and covered their clothes. A bright light covered them before fading and revealing the two wizards in their new garb.
Gajeel now wore a white leather jacket over a light blue v-neck. His grey leather pants were decorated with golden chains, and his own white biker gloves were also gold studded. His style was finished with navy blue combat boots
Levy now wore a tunic that matched her hair. Her own hair was held back by a white headband, and white cuffs decorate her wrist. Her feet were covered by white sandals, and from her ankles to halfway up her knees, her legs were covered with crisscross white straps.
"Nice." Gajeel smirked as he examined his new atire. "You should try tailoring, Shrimp. Ya make enough of a fortune to cover that rent."
"Thanks," Levy smiled back as she held to her knees, causing Gajeel to look at her in concern.
"Ya okay?"
"I used a lot of magic fighting Angel." She let out, then stood up tall. "I'll be fine, don't worry." She was then startled when the bushes nearby began to shake. Both became tensed for a fight, but became relief when they saw who came out from the foliage.
"Oh, thank goodness you're safe, Sherry." Levy let out. "Try not to scare us like that."
"Hey," Gajeel growled. "You're the psycho from Galuna Island. Where's the dog and the eyebrow guy…"
"That was months ago." Levy deadpanned.
Sherry paid no mind to their discussion, only saying "Wizards of Fairy Tail."
"Huh?" Levy asked.
"I have found you!" To the fairies' shock, the nearby trees animated to two gnarly arms.
"What are you doing?" Gajeel snarled.
"For Gray…"
"No!" The Doll Mage was quickly tackled to the ground from behind by Lyon, who kept an arm around her neck. The surprise deanimated her dolls.
"Lyon?!" Levy shouted.
"You guys okay?" Lyon asked as he kept Sherry down. "Cause she's been going crazy after that weird light!"
"Let me go!" The pink-haired mage shouted. "It's your fault he's dead!"
"You're one to talk!" Gajeel shouted at the ice-mage. "You went and put me on a fucking raft!"
"That one was a copy." Levy explained calmly.
"You can't get away with this!" Sherry yelled. "I shall avenge Gray!"
"What do you mean by avenge?" Everyone turned their heads and were shocked to see Gray coming with a few scuffs and carrying the unconscious Racer under his arm.
"Gray…"
"Knew you wouldn't have died that easily." Lyon smiled at his fellow pupil.
"Barely made it out." Gray explained. "I managed to cut the bomb off Racer in time, then used my ice to shield us from the blast. I used up so much magic I was out for hours." He turned to Gajeel and Levy. "Mind explaining your new treads."
"What, your jealous?" Gajeel scoffed.
Tears fell out of Sherry's eyes as she smiled in relief. "You're alive…" She then fell unconscious, and then a white smoke came out of her body and flew towards the pillar of light in the distance.
"What was that?" Gray asked.
"Probably what caused her to go crazy." Lyon suggested.
"That must be an effect of Nirvana's second stage." Levy said.
"Well, what are we standing around for?" Gajeel frowned. "We need to catch up."
"The pillar of light has changed from white to black." Carla said as she and Kagura observed the sight.
"What's happening over there?" The swordsgirl asked.
Lily had managed to pulled Hibiki out of the river. He looked in concern at the pillar. "I hope everyone is managing well."
Back at Nirvana's sight, Mira looked in concern at her unsteady childhood friend.
"So you lost your memories," Mira turned around and saw Cobra walking towards them, with his snake Cubellios slithering around his body. "No wonder I couldn't hear your voice."
"Cobra!" Mira hissed.
Laxus gazed at the man. "Are you another comrade I betrayed."
"Well, if you call selling me like a pig 'betrayal...'" Cobra muttered, but he remained composed. "If you lost your memories, how did you find Nirvana, and why did you unseal it."
Laxus sighed. "Immediately after I was restored from… wherever I was… a man mentioned Nirvana. Right then I remembered where it was and what's its magic, but that was it. But it was enough for me to know it was a dangerous magic, which no one should have. So I had to unsealed it, in order to destroy it."
"What?!" Cobra yelled, with Cubellios hissing in its master's rage.
"You wanted..." Mira asked. "To destroy Nirvana?"
Laxus snapped his fingers, and a circle of runes appeared in front of Nirvana, and was growing to surround the artifact. "Already placed a self-destruct seal. In a few minutes, it's as good as gone."
"What have you done?!" Cobra raced past Mira and Laxus and began typing at the runes to no avail. "It's too complex! I can't dispel it in time!" He turned to Laxus and grabbed him by the shirt. "Tell me the cancellation code!" Mira was about to remove the snake mage before Laxus spoke.
"You really hate my guts, don't you?" Laxus asked the other man. "Just like Mira does." He smiled. "Her name, it brings kindness. And strength and warmth."
He turned to the She-Demon. "I know you'll hate me in the future. But all hate will just imprison you, just as it did him." He then coughed out blood, causing Cobra to drop him and back away.
"What are you saying?" Mira asked.
He smiled, and soon another destruction seal appeared over his body. "The least I can do, is free you from hate, free you… from me…" He then fell backwards to the ground.
"No!" She cried out as she ran forward to catch him. "Laxus!"
"He used self-destruction magic on himself?!" Cobra seethed as Mira grabbed his shoulder and pulled him towards her. "He's taking the self-destruct code to the grave
"You can't just die like this, you bastard!" Mira yelled as tears streamed out of her. "You committed so many crimes that you can't just die that easily! You have to know everything that you've done or there's no point! How can the people you hurt forgive you like this?!"
"I'm not asking for forgiveness." Laxus let out. "Just want people to be free-"
"Then live and struggle through i!" She yelled. The lightning mage was shaken by her tone and desperation. "Live, Laxus!"
"Mira," He said. "You are… too kind…" His eyelids shut close as he fell back.
"Laxus!"
"What is this about?" She turned around and saw Brain walking towards them. The Oracion Seis leader stopped and faced Nirvana and saw the growing runes. "Oh, a Self-Destruction Seal."
"Laxus casted it, Brain." Cobra explained. "He plans on destroying Nirvana, and taking the cancellation code to his death."
"We don't need the code." Brain said. "You know why I am called Brain, Cobra? It is because of my past at the Bureau of Magical Development." He walked past Mira and Laxus, the former glaring fiercely at the older man. "There I created hundreds of spells with my knowledge, including the self-destruction magic. In fact," He stopped right in front of Nirvana, turning to face Laxus. "I was the one that taught you that spell. Remember, Laxus?"
"No…" Laxus gasped.
"So in other words," He smirked as he placed his hand on the Self-Destruct Seal, and it started to fade away. "I can make it invalid with just a touch!"
"Dammit!" Mira growled.
"Yes!" Cobra laughed. Brain turned around and saw another seal on Laxus. "So Cobra was right. You did plan to take the code to the grave. No point for that now."
"His memory must have been damaged from being in the Etherion," Cobra said, then chuckled. "Or from 'Zeref's Ghost.'"
"His ghost?" Mira asked, unsettled by the dark mage's tone.
"Either way, he doesn't remember working with you."
Brain laughed maliciously. "Is that so, Laxus. Well, I'll just take Nirvana from you then!"
"Like hell you will!" Mira snarled as she activated Satan Soul: Beelzea and charged straight at him.
Brain spread his arms wide and shouted to the heavens, "Awaken, Nirvana!" The earth beneath Mira started to crumble, sending her flying ito the air.
"Mira!" Laxus called out, but soon the ground under him also broke down, causing him to fall to his doom.
"Hang on!" Mira cried out as she grabbed the lightning mage's hand.
"I can hear it!" Cobra cheered. "The future sound of the light falling to oblivion!"
"Arise," Brain roared. "Super Reversal Magic Nirvana!"
And now Nirvana is fully activated. How can the Allied Forces deal with this new development…
Gajeel *Growling*: Speaking of development. *Faces Hibiki* What the hell you were thinking staring at Shrimp's chest like that?!
Hibiki *Waving hands to calm Gajeel*: Now, now Gajeel-kun. That wasn't Levy, remember, that was-
Natsu: Wait! Did that happen with Lucy and Gemini in canon?!
Hibiki: Um-
It did.
Hibiki: Why did you tell him that?!
I made a promise to mikel97.
Natsu: That's it!
Gajeel: You are a dead brony!
Hibiki *sweating nervously*: Welp, I best be going. *Runs far away as Natsu and Gajeel chase him.*
Eve: Don't worry, Hibiki-kun!
Ichiya: We shall ll save you
Ren: Try not to die till then.
*Eve, Ren, and Ichiya join chase to save Hibiki.*
Ah, that was fun. Anywho, leave a review and follow and favorite this story. I'll see you next week on Valentine's Day.