"Sir?" A knock upon the door interrupted the unnerving silence of the room.
"What news do you bring?" The lone occupant of the room snarled. Matted brown hair fell over his head, which was held more than six feet above the ground.
The messenger gulped, ignoring the occupant's strange lack for any formalities. "The Amador family has released a new pawn onto the board. A team from the Fairy Tail guild has joined them."
"Oh?" A pleased smirk took over the taller man's face. He walked his tall frame over to a large table that conquered much of the area of the room. He sat at a chair in front of it, picking up several small blocks of wood and a small knife. "Who might they be?"
The guest was looking over the table curiously. It was filled with a huge map of Fiore. Several smaller maps were hovering above and around it magically. Each map had a large amount of wooden pieces on it, colored either red or blue. The messenger broke his confused trance as he suddenly realized he was meant to answer. He pulled a small envelope from his jacket pocket, opened it, and began to read.
"Maryanna Lux-" The messenger began, only to be cut off immediately.
"Who is she?" The brown-haired man said as he ran his knife along the wood slowly.
"From the millionaire Lux family found in Oshibana. Holder Mage, Ribbon Magic, her threat level is very low." The messenger read off. The sitting man almost immediately set down an incredibly crafted chess-like piece. It featured a jumping dancer who held ribbons that curled all around her. What would take the most skilled craftsman weeks took the taller man mere moments to create. He let out an emotionless huff, more of a filler noise than communication. Taking this as a sign to continue, the messenger read off the next name.
"Synnova, no known surname. Former Second Rank mage of the dark guild Ragnarok before a man named Corvo Amador somehow convinced her to relinquish her membership." The Sitting man stopped the low sound of his knife running along the next wood block, frowning for a moment before returning to his work. "She is a current S-class Mage of Fairy Tail and is a Caster Mage, known to use Shadow Magic. Her threat level is considered very high." Before the final sentence was finished, the sitting man placed a second piece on the table beside Maryanna. It featured an exquisitely carved, beautiful woman leaning her head back, which let her hair fall straight down. It was so well done that the hair looked silken and smooth, seeming to ignore the fact it was actually made of wood.
"Synnova... Translates to A Beautiful Sight in a language rarely seen within Fiore's borders." He muttered, running a finger along the wooden hair.
"Finally, Mason Marcotte. A fresh Fairy Tail mage but growing in power at a scary pace, he has an incredible case of amnesia. He uses Gravity Magic and is considered a high threat subject." The messenger finished.
"A young mage with a threat so high? What is the meaning of this?" The sitting man switched his knife to his backhand and began to make small, quick strokes in the wood.
"He managed to defeat the pride and joy of the dark guild Ragnarok, Sebastian Alclave." The messenger explained.
"Hmph." The sitting man placed his last chess piece on the table, a rather strange piece that only depicted an apple.
"Wait! My apologies, it seems there is another on their team!" The messenger flipped some pages before finding what he wanted. "Dante Atene. We only know he uses Card Magic and has multi-colored eyes."
Immediately, the sitting man became the standing man and burst out laughing. "Well well well..." He stopped to chuckle again. "I can't believe my luck. My apologies Dante, but I don't have a chess piece for you." The man dug in his pocket for a moment before placing a single jewel coin on the table. "That'll suit you better. You always have been worthless and pathetic."
000
"Impossible..." Synnova gasped, holding her side as she doubled forward. So far she was little more than this Baradin's rag doll to throw back and forth with his magic. "What... what is this weakness I feel?"
The Shadow Mage was forced to leap to the side as he dove at her with lighting speed, shining a bright light. She landed on her hands first, then pushed off and landed on her feet so the impact force was minimal. She hadn't turned around before she was hit with a flurry of punches. The white-haired beauty could only raise her arms in defence as attacks came on her faster than she could track, slamming most of them into her ribs and face.
"That'll teach you bastards to steal from the Baradin family!" A familiar voice chuckled. He was the man from the train, recognizable by his low IQ and lack of a noticeable neck.
"I'm a lot stronger than Dante, who took you out quite handily if I remember correctly..." Synnova reminded with a smirk, pushing off of him before holding her hands behind her back and gathering the night's essence to them.
"I see what you're doing!" Synnova grunted as her shadows were dimmed. Suddenly, she threw forward her head, yelling "Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
The burly man's eyes went wide. "They... they said you were a shadow mage!" He blurted moments before the spell slammed into him and sent him flying.
(Nah I'm just pulling your leg, wish I could have seen the look on all your faces :D)
"I see what you're doing!" The light from the man's body suddenly tripled in brilliance. "Light beats shadow, Synnova! And you say I'm dumb!"
Synnova grunted as her shadows were dimmed by the blinding light. It hurt her eyes to the point where she squinted them shut. She blindly threw forward her arms, screaming "Twilight!" and unleashing a no-holds-barred all out torrent of shadow which overcame the brightness and swallowed the man within its black emptiness. He gurgled something in surprise and flung his limbs for a moment but the unyielding shadow quickly made him its next victim.
The son of Baron floated in the black abyss. His eyes were wide in surprise at how quickly the battle's tide had shifted. He saw, felt, heard, and smelled nothing. The complete vacuum of senses was unnerving. He couldn't even tell what position his body was in. Since he could feel and see nothing, he could have easily been upside down or sideways without his knowledge. At that thought his stomach began to churn.
"... Now Collapse." Outisde the raging torrent, Synnova's outstretched hands slammed together, causing the large mass of shadow to implode upon the Baradin. He would be in excruciating pain as shadows tore through him from every possible direction. Little was expected to be left of him.
Synnova panted heavily, her fingers still locked together from the beginning of the spell. The spell was useful since it rarely missed. The target was engulfed in a black void and that usually paralyzed them in confusion and fear. It was then easy to strike them. Sadly, it took a huge amount of shadow to ensure, and sapped much of her magic power. She watched as the last of the shadows imploded, leaving a small black ball floating in the air, alone.
"Looks like I went a little overkill..." Synnova chuckled lightly, leaving her arms to fall to her side. "There isn't a bit left of him."
"Think again..." A voice whispered behind her. Synnova whirled around in horror, finding her own shadow smiling back at her. Her shadow's two arms lashed outwards, striking her across the face and knocking her to the ground.
He is so much different than when he fought Dante... Synnova thoughtas she fell, her body twisting in mid air. Maybe it was because he was objective based, needing information instead of Dante's defeat? Then again, he only partially used his Steel Form then...
She hit the ground frontwards, her nose making a cracking noise as it hit first and spraying blood from her nostril. Her limbs rustled for a moment with inertia but soon settled.
"I think I see why you prefer this form of magic." Her shadow peeled off of the ground, warping its appearance before becoming a dark, ethereal version of the same Baradin. "It feels so freeing."
"You've but dabbled in it, you couldn't begin to comprehend what it truly is..." Synnova chuckled quietly, turning her head so she could spit a wad of blood at his feet.
"Pretty big words for someone at my feet, unable to move." It was the burly man's turns to chuckle.
"If you think you'll ever have a Fairy Tail mage give up like that... well you're just dead wrong..." Synnova placed her hands underneath her body, helping herself onto her knees. Her nosebleed constantly provided a thin stream of blood out of a nostril. It splattered on the ground, creating a foot-wide pool of blood before long. Slowly, she moved her hand a hairs breadth over top the liquid, moving in a circle.
"Good try, but you're still all the way down here..." The man leaned forward, as if bowing, and stuck his face close to Synnova's. "And I'm all the way up here! I'm Baron's son, which is above an average guild's S-class! Did ya really think you could take on Trevor Bara-!"
Synnova's hand lashed out, grabbing him by the collar before slamming her forehead into his and throwing him with her outwear handhold. She snared his wrist with a quick tendril of shadow, bringing him towards her for another large punch. Nanoseconds before her fist connected, the man smiled.
"Steel Form." Trevor whispered. A metallic sheen ran across his skin and instantly turned his body into metal. Synnova's naked fist crushed against his steel face. She could have sworn she heard popping and cracking noises.
Synnova shrieked in a completely out-of-character moment of weakness. She felt pain reminiscent of what Mason must have felt as her hand exploded with excruciating pain, like it was on fire while being stabbed. Trevor took advantage of the momentary lull to crack her across the chin with his fist, which was the equivalent of getting hit with an iron bar. She spat out blood as her head snapped sideways, following the punch. Another sharp kick to her rear, something she would have beaten him senseless for if she had the chance to, sent her across the ground.
Synnova lay still, the punch to her face had left her dazed. Even after taking a solid metal fist to the cheek, Synnova was nothing if she wasn't a tough bastard. Rubbing her cheek, she crawled to her feet and looked around through squinted eyes. There was a figure a ways away, probably inside the graveyard.
"Just in time, kiddo." Trevor snickered. Synnova's eyelids snapped to full width when she saw the large fire in his hands and two small objects slowly turning to ash. He dumped the ashes on the ground in front of the gravestone with a grin. "Score two for the Baradins."
Immediately after the victory, Trevor Baradin stretched and cracked several joints fore walking out of the graveyard casually.
"Where do you think you're going?" Synnova whispered, her hair falling over her eyes. The fighting had loosened it from its regular twin braid, so now it was one big mess. Trevor stopped, looking at Synnova over his shoulder.
"The artifacts were returned to Logan, there is no need for us to fight right now." He explained.
"You just turned your back to me in a fight and showed me shame... Now it's personal. I don't care about some mission; this fight is for my pride." Synnova's red eyes glowed through her curtain of hair.
Trevor was battle ready in an instant, turning to his Light Form and launching a flurry of attacks at Synnova.
"If you had half a brain, you wouldn't mess with an S-class mage!" Synnova grabbed two random limbs and threw him off of her, swiping her right leg through the air in a roundhouse kick. He squatted and fell under her leg, shoving his foot upwards at an incredible angle and hitting her under the chin with his heel. Immediately, the Baradin deactivated the Light Form and returned to normal.
Synnova was shot backwards through the air, landing on her back but quickly somersaulting into a squatting pose. She slammed a palm on the ground, summoning a sable magic circle on the ground around her.
"Shadow Restraints!" Synnova cast as she slammed her palm on the ground, turning it ninety degrees almost immediately.
From the left, right, and front of the Baradin came a thicket of shadow, enough to block out Synnova and spawn tendrils the size of telephone poles. It didn't take long before they were shooting through the air like a hawk coming upon its prey.
"Cotton Form!" The man turned backwards and ran, his body turning into fluffy pink cotton mid-stride. The tendrils attempted to grab his limbs and midsection, but passed through him harmlessly as he ran away from them and Synnova out the fatal law of the spell, an open side. Chuckling to himself in praise for his quick thinking, he deactivated Cotton Form and turned around.
Synnova blasted him into the ground with an arm charged with shadows. His face lit up with surprise before it cracked open the ground. His entire body scorpion after the punch to the back.
"Misht Form!" He slurred with a mouthful of rocks, His body turning to mist before shooting across the ground, emitting a low hiss as he did so. Once he was a safe distance away, eh turned back to human form and knelt on one knee, panting.
How did she land a hit so perfectly on me? He growled, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"You really are dumb." Synnova smiled in sick satisfaction, her red eyes twinkling. "Only you would fall for such an obvious trap. A Trap Spell with an escape route? Shame on you for not seeing through that. It obviously was made to give me a head start and a blind spot to use. It wouldn't matter if you used a Magic Form that was good against physical attacks, because since you're magic saps your strength in those forms you would deactivate it as soon as convenient, just like you've been doing the whole battle."
The Baradin winced like he had been stabbed, grinding his tombstone teeth even harder. Synnova smirked again, hoping her act of analysing the situation so well would make him lose confidence and hold his punches a bit.
"Should we intervene?" Maryanna whispered to Dante, peeking through the bars of the cemetery on the other side.
"Synnova looks scary..." Was all Dante could muster, shivering so hard in fear he had to grip the fence bars for stability.
"We were too late to save the artifacts, but we should let her finish the grudge match on her own." Maryanna pointed out.
"Yeah, what you said." Dante said with wide, vibrating pupils.
Synnova was locked in combat with Trevor, the two swinging at each other rapidly. They each were battling without the use of magic. The battle was dragging on and reserves were beginning to run low.
"You realize there's no backing out now, right?" Trevor smiled with a sick grin blocking her kick with an arm and swinging at the small girl. "We're fighting until one of us is dead!"
Dante and Maryanna flinched at the last word. Synnova was good, but so was this guy. Was her pride worth her life?
"That's the best way to do it!" Synnova grinned madly, grabbing his punch and tugging backwards on it, throwing herself forward. She managed to throw her knee forward at the perfect time, striking the face of the mountain of muscle she was managing to go toe-to-toe with.
He stumbled back from the strike as Synnova landed; swinging another muscled arm at her once he regained his balance. Synnova snarled, grabbing the fist with her hand, tiny in comparison, and holding it in place. The two growled in unison, sending the other hand at their opponent. After Trevor caught Synnova's fist, they each were punching at defending at the same time. Pants, snarls, growls, and grunts were on the menu as the two fought against the grip of the other while trying to keep a fist at bay.
"You bastards... your family is the cause of this!" With a face of rage and a mighty yell, Synnova leaned back and brought a foot to her chest before chest kicking the man in the middle of his chest, knocking him out of their hold. Thanks to a foot quickly planted behind his heel, Trevor cried out as he fell backwards. His huge body shattered a tombstone before it came to a rest.
Synnova pounced upon the man, grabbing a fistful of the man's shirt with one hand and raising the other for a strike.
"You aren't gonna kill me." The man smiled with missing teeth. "You've gone soft ever since you became Corvo's bitch!" Synnova snarled, grabbing his shirt with her other hand also and lifting the man into the air by it.
"You're gonna regret those words." She snarled, showing her pearly white teeth.
"I regret nothing!" He exclaimed. As Synnova moved to slam his body back into the ground, her eyes seemed to inflate when she heard him cast, "Rubber Form!" She slammed the body into the dirt, or it was too late to react, and immediately he shot back into the air and threw Synnova off of him. Synnova suddenly acted out of her usual character, shooting across the graveyard and away from Trevor. In the distance she heard him curse and activate his Light Form before pursuing her.
"Using up some more of his magic wouldn't hurt." She muttered to herself, reaching the puddle of her own blood from her previous nosebleed. She nimbly leapt over it, stopping a foot past it and turning to face Trevor.
The huge man deactivated his Light Form, since she was no longer running away, and stomped after Synnova in a full-out, no holds barred charge. She smiled, making no move to defend herself as Trevor neared her. He didn't even notice the puddle of blood before he stomped right in the middle of it. The red liquid splashed outward and revealed a small, black magic circle lying beneath it. His punch did not meet its target.
Ebony bars erupted from the ground all around Trevor, going over his head and meeting to form a roof. The Baradin beat furiously against the bars, calling upon a ring to assist him. Unfortunately, it seemed that the bars had a nullification effect.
"Dante! Maryanna!" Synnova called out. She backflipped away from him to get some breathing room and swung her arms in front of her, clasping them together.
"She knew we were there the whole time?" Maryanna wondered as she flew over the wall, readying a ribbon.
"Didn't doubt her for a minute!" Dante chuckled as he vaulted the wall, grabbing a fistful of cards from his jacket pocket.
"Ribbon Drill!" Maryanna cried. Her large white ribbon began to spin in a drill shape and dived at the caged Baradin.
"Diamond Drive!" Dante launched his signature move at the trapped man, the cards turning into large blue diamonds.
Synnova added her own contribution as a beam of shadow flew from her hands and streaked through the air, aimed at the Baradin.
"Don't forget about me!" A voice exclaimed as a green comet of a man slashed through the graveyard in half a moment. At the precise moment the three other spells landed, the last mage hit the Baradin with a fist. The air seemed to bend for a moment around the strike. It quickly recoiled and the cage was obliterated as all of the mage's spells broke through it and sent the enemy through seven gravestones, a brick wall, and two oak trees before he finally came to rest.
"Darn it, I missed all the fun!" Mason chuckled as he stretched his back.
Dante and Maryanna's eyes went wide and their jaws slammed against the ground.
"Want to fill me in on what happened after the wrecking ball hit me?" Mason asked the unmoving two with a cheery tone.
"We kind of... forgot you..." Dante muttered, barely moving his mouth. Mason's face switched emotions in an instant.
"OF COURSE I KNOW YOU LEFT ME I WAS UNDERNEATH A FREAKING WRECKING BALL HOW COULD TO JUST LEAVE A BROTHER OUT TO DRY LIKE THAT YOU TWO ARE LUCKY I FIGURED OUT HOW TO RESIST GRAVITY DAMAGE IN ABOUT HALF A SECOND OR ELSE I WOULD HAVE HAUNTED YOUR HALLS FOREVER!" He screamed a long string of words, steadily growing taller and leaning more overtop of the two as he went on. His attention drifted as he noticed Synnova kneeling to the side of the two. He jabbed a finger threateningly at the couple before dashing to her side.
"Synnova, are you okay?" Mason asked with concern as he draped an arm over her back.
"I'm fine, May-May." She growled in response, shaking off the arm.
"You just single-handedly took down one of Baron's own sons." Mason pointed out suspiciously. He eyed her warped hand, the dried blood running from her nose and down to her shirt, and various bruises and cuts.
"You missed all the fun, scrub." Synnova chuckled quietly, ignoring him. "Left all the fighting to us, isn't that against your usual good manners?"
"Sorry, I was a little delayed." Mason couldn't help but chuckle in response.
"We lost the two-" Synnova stiffened as she rose to her feet. "Artifacts..."
"Two to none?" Mason raised an eyebrow. "The Amador's have Fairy Tail on their side. A two point handicap is hardy fair... for the Baradins."