Seilah emerging was one of the most painful things Mira had ever experienced, like a toenail ripping from its bed, or like someone taking a pick and jamming it into the base of her skull. The pain was blinding, and she could do nothing to stop it.
Something inside of her tore and then Seilah was there, sliding over her skin, powerful and angry for being trapped for so many months, and Mira was pushed back to the sidelines and she could do nothing to stop it.
"That sure is a pretty soul you have," Eteri's voice was full of false bravado. She wanted to seem unimpressed, but Mira (Seilah) could see the way her knees quaked ever so slightly.
"Only Kyouka can compliment me," Seilah said.
She's dead, Mira thought, trying to bring reason back to the demon. Kyouka is gone, Seilah, killed, remember? This isn't the world you left behind. You don't belong to it anymore.
She didn't know why she thought that would make things better, but it certainly did not. Seilah got angry as memory returned to her. You killed her. I will tear you apart, your body, your mind, you will pay for what you did to her.
I didn't hurt Kyouka—and I saved you, remember? Mira prodded.
Eteri said, "What in the world are you blathering about?"
Grinding her teeth together, Mira-turned-Seilah focused her rage outward on Eteri. She wanted to destroy everything, this woman included.
Stop this, Mira demanded, but her voice was small in the face of Seilah's anger. Her body moved forward without her permission and attacked Eteri, hitting her squarely in the nose. Blood gushed and ruined Julian's designer carpet. Eteri looked shocked, then she looked angry.
The ground around Mira roiled and rose into two towering cylinders of ice. Both pillars waved back, then swayed together with incredible force. Seilah put out her hands with grim determination. Hot energy blew the ice into tiny shiny fragments.
Eteri squawked her protest, but that didn't make her give in. The temperature dropped again as the ice crystals rose from the ground and swirled around her hands. A wing attack, Mira thought to Seilah, look out.
Seilah ignored her and stood her ground as only a Tartarus demon could. The attack bowed around her, utterly destroying the dresser, mirror, and a good chunk of the wall at her back, but it never touched her.
Clearly frustrated now, Eteri hissed like a serpent and charged. Seilah (Mira—she couldn't quite tell where the demon ended and she began) ducked under the coming punch and delivered one of her own. The dragon slayer curled around her middle and Mira followed through with an uppercut that split Eteri's lips open.
Mira hoped that would end it, but the ice around her feet lifted and reformed shockingly fast to trap her arms and her legs. It was painfully cold, burning her skin wherever it touched. Eteri straightened and spat out a glob of blood. Then she attacked Mira, punching her again and again while she was helpless to retaliate.
"Mira!" Natalie called from far away. "Get away from her!" Sand filled the room again and sent Eteri spinning back a few paces. The storm stopped as abruptly as it'd begun. Natalie choked; Mira craned her head back and saw she was being crushed by a fist made of ice. She didn't even have air to scream.
Help her, Mira thought at Seilah.
"Helping her means helping you. Why would I do that?" Seilah drawled back.
Mira protested, I saved you.
"You trapped me!" Seilah returned. "I'm a slave."
No, Mira insisted, we're a team.
"Do you need a moment?" Eteri asked. "Honestly, do you want a second to compose yourself? Maybe you can come back when you're feeling less insane?" She smiled sharply. "I'm kidding, of course." Prowling closer, she forced the ice holding Mira to squeeze. Mira felt her ribs protest. Help me, Seilah.
Seilah was silent and Mira realized that she was being punished. If I die here, so do you. Without me, you have no body.
Seilah said, "I'm going to crush you, Mirajane. And then I'm going to have all of the control."
I won't let you.
"You can't stop me." Seilah tipped her head back—Mira's head back—and closed her eyes. "I order myself to release my limiters."
She waited for the rush of power that would fill her once that barrier was gone.
And waited.
Nothing happened.
Because without me, there is no you, Mira thought and held onto her last bit of restraint with everything she had.
Across the room, Eteri, though confused, was focused on winning the fight. A long icy spear formed around her wrist, sharp and deadly looking. She aimed the weapon over Mira's heart and threw it. Seilah broke apart the spear with a wave of energy so powerful, it shattered the ice around her body, as well. Natalie's prison broke away, and the icy floor, once a thick layer of coldness, fragmented and fell apart. Eteri, pushed back in the shockwave, collapsed against the opposite wall.
Without looking at Natalie, Seilah said, "Get up."
Natalie's face blanked. She stood, a puppet.
Seilah said, "I order you to release my limiters."
Magic, cool and light, flowed from Natalie's body and buffeted against Mira's skin and Mira finally understood what Natalie had been hiding. She wasn't only a sand mage. In fact, that wasn't even the magic she used best. Natalie had the power to enhance and strengthen other mage's magic. She used support magic, much like Wendy, though instead of augmenting bodies, she augmented magical ability. And that's why Julian likes her as a pet.
One by one, Seilah's limiters fell away, allowing the demon to access her full power, to become the etherious she was born to be.
At Eteri's side, a shadow formed and morphed into the visage of a man. Kai, Mira thought dazedly before she was totally swallowed up by Seilah.
Laxus stopped in his tracks, skin crawling with magic. Eli, too, slowed, then halted, and looked down the shadowed hallway towards Julian's room. "What is that?"
Laxus suppressed a shiver. "Mirajane." He knew with certainty that it was true; he'd felt a similar power when they were fighting Tartarus, when Seilah had released her limiters and became Seilah the etherious, truly a demon from the Book of Zeref, using her full power. Why would Mira take that kind of chance here, now? Was her opponent truly that powerful?
The power built, a burgeoning coldness that stole the oxygen from the air. Move, Laxus' instincts told him just in time to dodge a large chunk of concrete as the wall exploded at his back. Dust filled the hall and blocked out the overhead lights for too long. Laxus covered his nose with his arm so he could breathe through the fabric of his sleeve. As the fine particles drifted to the ground, the overhead lights became clear again. They flicked like crazy, on and off, on and off and on again.
"What the hell?" Eli swore and squinted through the gloom.
Footsteps jostled pieces of concrete, small and large alike, as Mira approached.
Someone groaned from the pile of detritus and struggled to right themselves. Ice crystals cloaked in shadow lifted Eteri to her feet. That shadow broke apart and became a man.
"Kai," Laxus spat.
Kai looked over his shoulder to where Laxus and Eli stood and flashed them a cutting smile. He started to disappear again, but Eteri grabbed him by the collar and held him still. "You're not going anywhere until we defeat this bitch."
"Eteri," Kai moaned, "Morgan is going to have Noir out of the Void at any minute. I want to be there when he does."
Eteri snarled. "After we're done here."
The dust finally settled down enough that Mira could be seen. She picked her way through the rubble, each step meticulous and delicate. When she lifted her gaze and looked upon Laxus, he had difficulty swallowing. It wasn't Mira looking back at him, but someone else entirely, someone ruthless and stony, someone belonging to a dark demon guild and not the woman he loved. When she smiled it was cold, full of violence.
She won't hurt you, he thought seconds before large pieces of concrete lifted from the ground and soared at breakneck speed towards both him and Eli. Laxus let them get dangerously close before he realized that they were actually meant for him. Swearing, he hit them all simultaneously with lightning so they broke apart into painless fragments.
"What the fuck?" Eli raged, "We're supposed to be on the same side."
Natalie stumbled out of the room behind Mira. Her hair was full of dust and ice, lipstick smeared across her face, and her dress was torn at the hem. She was a mess. "Eli, Laxus!" Her high heels weren't great for traversing so much rubble. Her ankle twisted and she hit the ground.
Mira turned cold eyes upon her and picked up another piece of building material. "Your tale ends here."
Laxus watched dazedly as Mira allowed the slab of concrete to fall from great height.
"No!" Eli cried and dove for Natalie. He wasn't going to be fast enough. Laxus exploded that concrete apart as well. Chunks of it rained down on Natalie's back, large enough to bruise, but not large enough to kill.
Eli dropped to her side and gathered her in his arms, but Natalie pushed his hands away and got to her feet again.
Mira turned her focus away from them and regarded Kai and Eteri. Block after block of concrete rose and hurried through the air. Eteri erected barriers of ice only to have them smashed away. Kai called up holes of shadow to swallow back the projectiles.
Through it all, Natalie pulled on Eli's hand. "We have to get out of here!" She found Laxus across the room. "Hurry, Laxus."
"I can't leave her."
"That's not Mira anymore." Eli reached for his gun.
"Don't you dare," Laxus warned.
"It's the easiest way." He aimed just as Kai came soaring through the air and collided with him. The gun went spinning to the ground. In the confusion, Natalie picked it up but didn't aim it at anyone, just watched the scene with a look of horror on her face. Her mouth was moving, the words that tumbled off her tongue swallowed up in the battle. More magic filled the air.
Cold fire burned through Laxus' body and the magic in his blood strengthened. He felt better than when he was at his best, almost like he had that first time he really clashed with Natsu, back when he forgot what it meant to be Makarov's grandson when he forgot who he was and what it meant to be part of a guild. He felt unstoppable.
"We have to go," Natalie said to Eli and snatched up his hand.
While they're busy, Laxus finished for her. He tried to find it within himself to be angry, but this kind of fight was better suited to him and Mira.
Laxus felt Mira's power balloon again. Impossible, came to mind, but she wasn't really working with her own magic any longer. She was, as far as he could tell, entirely Seilah. This is bad, was another fleeting thought he chose to ignore. Bad or not, she was focusing on Eteri for the moment. Maybe when the dragon slayer is gone…
Maybe when she's gone she won't turn on you? teased a sarcastic voice that sounded suspiciously like Griswold. What the hell did that old cop know anyway?
Across the room, Mira called a catastrophe of stone down upon Eteri. As she did so, Kai slipped from Eteri's side, disappearing into one of his shadows. Laxus watched the area carefully, waiting for him to appear again. The air darkened just down the hall and he slipped back into reality. Using lightning, Laxus took Kai's feet out from under him. Just as soon as he could, Kai attempted to slip away again.
"Not a chance," Laxus growled, and destroyed the shadow. Kai scurried back. His eyes were wide as he searched for an escape. Laxus forced lightning through the ground and exploded Noir's floor. Chunks of dark wood ruptured and poked up at odd angles, looking like charred bones stabbing through flesh. Kai fell back, body jerking roughly as an electrical charge moved through him. Laxus approached.
When Kai stopped twitching, he gave Laxus a dull look. "I could be a good ally."
"I haven't heard that one before," Laxus said.
Kai laughed, a grating, bubbling thing. "Is that a no?"
He needed more supposed allies like he needed a hole in the head. "Definitely a no."
"Pity."
Cold wrapped around Laxus' chest and blackness obscured his eyes. Idiot, he thought viciously as shadow blocked him off from the outside world. Something hard hit him in the jaw and sent his teeth clacking together.
Kai's laughter filled the lightless void. "I was only playing; we were never going to be friends."
Another fist caught Laxus in the stomach. He doubled over.
"People get lost in my shadows." Kai's voice was right over his shoulder. Laxus threw an elbow. He felt the attack just graze Kai's nose. Another heavy hit got Laxus in the kidneys. Focus, Laxus admonished himself. If you can't find him to hit, then fry the whole damn place.
Tactless, but effective.
Summoning an exorbitant amount of power, Laxus pushed lightning from his body in all directions. He heard Kai scream first, then a tear appeared in the encompassing shadow and Noir came back into view. Tumbling out gracelessly, Laxus landed just in time to dodge a flying Eteri. The woman collided into a charred Kai and the pair went end-over-end down the hall.
Mira approached steadily, coldness in her eyes.
"Mira—" Laxus started. She hit him with a blast of power that left him breathless and airborne. Hitting the wall bruised his shoulders and his back, and sliding down scraped his skin and ruined his jacket.
Down the hall, Kai was gone and Eteri staggered to her feet, looking worse for wear. Her face was blue and black in places and her body was torn and bleeding in others. Still, her expression was one of stubborn ferociousness when she faced Mira again.
Laxus winced as he got to his feet. His head swirled wildly; Mira packed a heavy punch. He shucked off his ruined jacket. It'd only be in his way.
Mira prowled closer to Eteri, murder clearly on her mind. At first, Laxus considered letting her go, she'd deal with Eteri and they'd have one less person to worry about, but then he thought of the woman that trashed her hotel room, the one that cried over her role in Raff's sick demise.
She'll never forgive herself if she kills her.
And the only one to stop her now was him. "Mira!"
She kept on her warpath. Eteri was bringing in air for another attack. Laxus took his own breath and felt his lungs fill with excited energy. He had no qualms with death. His moral compass had broken long ago. He would do this so Mira didn't have to.
Eteri released her roar at the same time Laxus did. Because she was focused on Mira, she didn't consider him, the wildcard. He hit her sidelong with his spell, knocking her magic off course. All three of them were thrown back. The damage that followed was staggering, the walls crumbling, the roof sagging and breaking apart. Eteri disappeared into a pile of rubble.
Once everything stopped falling and breaking, Laxus heard Eteri's breath shudder in once, twice, and then no more.
Mira pulled herself out of the rubble. Her cheek was scratched and her shoulder looked bruised. Her chest heaved as she sucked in the dusty air. Her eyes fell on Laxus. "She's dead?" She still spoke with Seilah's voice, still wore Seilah's face.
"Yes, it's done," Laxus said. "You can turn back."
Her shoulders rolled back. "This is my body now."
Laxus took a careful step towards her and held out his hand. "Come on, Mira, I know you're in there."
Seilah released her etherious form and her power dampened, but Mira was still firmly locked away. "She's gone."
Laxus took another step closer. "I don't believe that. Come on. The threat's gone now."
Seilah eyed him warily. "You're still here."
Laxus swallowed a nervous pang. " I'm not a threat. I love you, Mira."
"Like I loved Kyouka." Seilah scowled.
Another step closer, he was within touching distance. Seilah laid her hand against his chest, face thoughtful as her magic power grew. "Kyouka was taken away from me, you know?"
Laxus took her wrist and stepped closer again so there was barely any space between them. "Kyouka was taken from Seilah, but you're not her."
"I am she and she is me."
"Look at me." Touching her chin, he tilted her face up so she could meet his eye. It wasn't Mira looking back at him, but she was in there, he could feel her, pushing, trying to get out, maybe trying to warn him away. "You are your own person, and you have to gain control of her again, Mira, because..." Because? Don't you have something clever to say? Laxus tried to think clearly. His head was a jumble. Gramps was always the one with a motivational speech up his sleeve, not me. He tried to lean on truthfulness when words failed. "Because I can't let you go."
Laxus leaned into her. Seilah let him get close so their breaths mingled, and then closer, so their lips brushed together. When she didn't pull away and his heart didn't stop beating, Laxus pushed his mouth against hers, pouring into that one motion all of the things he felt but didn't have words to say.
Sorry, it's short. I have a flu and I'm tired and I needed to accomplish something today when writing my OG wasn't going so well. And, of course, I think I want the next chapter from Mira's pov and I couldn't get a nice segue.