Kyandi: Hey all Kyandiacs.
Rette: She's embarrassed right now.
Kyandi: That I am. Even though a reader told me, I failed to realize that I had skipped a chapter, so on top of fixing my mistake, I have another chapter to post too.
Rette: She's finally read enough of the Fairy Tail sequel to know how she wishes to continue after the events of the original Fairy Tail story line.
Kyandi: Yep, so needless to say, Nexus Mage will be getting a sequel too.
Rette: But first, to get through this last arc of Fairy Tail.
Kyandi: Right. So, everyone, enjoy and review.
Rette: Kyandi-sama does not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 38 Fake Rette
Morning dawned on a Magnolia badly beaten from the night's fights. Thankfully, they had had the foresight to evacuate the citizens before hand. It certainly made the destruction on the city seem like a minor thing when compared to the amount of lives that could have been lost had they not. At the moment, the members of the guild were gathered in the guild hall, some resting after their fights, the others waiting for further orders.
"We somehow fended off their vanguard. However, our current situation in which we are being attacked simultaneously from all sides, has not changed." Makarov remarked.
"But hey, we've got all the guilds of Fiore backing us up now!" Jet declared happily.
"We've got this war in the bag!" Droy agreed.
"I'm afraid not." All attention turned to Mavis who was sadly looking at the floor. "This is Fairy Tail's problem. I had not intended to cause trouble to the other guilds by getting them involved."
"That may be, but politeness won't win us this war." Laxus told her. "If Ishgar is going to become a battlefield, this was bound to happen sooner or later. But that ain't important now. All I've got on my mind, is bringing the pain to the bastard who took out Freed and the others."
"There is truth in Laxus' words. Our duty now is to gracefully accept the assistance from other guilds and devise a new stratgem with which to face the coming enemies." Makarov said, in agreement with his grandson. "Warren, give us your report on the current state of the battle."
Warren went about recovering the report, and what he found was shocking, but at the same time, was completely expected.
"I've received information from the eastern front! The guilds of the nation of Bosco have been all but eliminated. But taking control of Bosco may have been their objective. Their march towards us has halted. But there is some good news. Concerning the army assaulting us from the north. Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus are moving to intercept them" Warren reported. "That leaves Port Hargeon. Although it was seized by the enemy's southern forces, both Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale are heading to liberate it!"
While some of the others thought that meant they only had to worry about the east and west, others didn't have faith that the others guilds could win on their own in the north and south. It was a matter of having faith in their comrades and at the moment, the others guilds were their comrades in this battle.
"First...let's go back them up!" Romeo suggested.
"That's right! We can't just sit back while the other guilds act as our shield!" Jet agreed.
"Now is the time to go on the offensive!" Droy added.
"But of course!" Mavis agreed. "Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Gajeel, Levy, Lily, and Thyme! You will head north!"
The group named agreed to the assignment. Thyme, who had been stuck in the guild hall during the previous fights with Levy, was just glad to be of help. And who knew...maybe Rette would show up.
"To the south, I will send Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Laxus." Mavis continued.
The problem then became...where was Natsu?
"Hm? What happened to Natsu?" Gray asked looking around.
"Juvia thinks he may have run off somewhere." Juvia replied.
The others of the guild begun looking for Natsu. They called out his name as they ran around the guild hall, but none of them could find a single sign of Natsu anywhere.
"Natsu is definitely alright." Erza said, using a walking stick to get around. "I will accompany you to the south in his place. I wish to see Kagura as well."
"With those injuries?" Wendy asked.
She, like the others, didn't think it was such a good idea, but there was no stopping Erza once she put her mind to something. A stubbornness that everyone in the guild seemed to have at one point or another.
"Then what about the east!? Please, let me go!" Romeo asked.
"At present, the east is our greatest threat. As such, we must intercept them head-on with our strongest forces!" Mavis declared, turning to look at Warren. "Warren, you were able to contact them, correct?"
"But of course! This force is Fiore's very finest!" Warren replied.
To the east, they had sent four of Fiore's top five Ten Wizard Saints.
"They were originally working behind the scenes to prevent this war but after all that's happened, they feel responsible. Even though it's not their fault." Levy remarked.
"If it so happens that those three sides cannot hold, then I do not think any mage on this continent could have held back whatever force powers through." Mavis said.
Just then, an energy signature appeared on the radar. A familiar one.
It was Natsu and he was advancing at incredible speeds.
"Where the hell is he..." Gray trailed off as he followed Natsu's path on the radar.
"Don't tell me he's..." Makarov broke off in fear as he saw exactly where Natsu was heading.
To the east, where Zeref was.
"That brat." Laxus muttered.
"Change of strategy it is then! Let's go!" Gray announced.
"Wait." Erza told him, holding out an arm. "We'll move according to the First's plan. Let's leave Zeref to Natsu."
"You serious!? We're talking about Zeref here! He has the Book of END with him, y'know!" Gray argued.
"Natsu said he's got a secret technique to defeat Zeref, so he'll be alright." Erza replied.
"You've got too much faith in him, Erza!" Gray protested, actually getting up in Erza's face.
Everyone in the guild hall fell silent, sure that the two were about to come to blows. The last thing they needed was for people to start fighting amoung themselves.
"So you're telling me, you don't believe in him?" Erza demanded.
Before Gray could reply, Lucy pushed her way inbetween them.
"Okay, okay! Stop this already. Have you forgotten, we're also on the look out for Rette, too." Lucy told them.
Gray and Erza both stopped glaring at each other with the reminder of their still missing friend. Mira took the moment of silence to turn and look at Mavis.
"What do we do now, First?" she asked.
"Well, let's place our hopes on Natsu then." Mavis replied. "His moves might seem reckless, but I'm sure there's a reason behind them. We're cornered from all sides...he must've thought that the fastest way to end it all was to take the enemy's leader down, and I must agree, that is the most effective way. Let's just believe in him, shall we, Gray?"
"Yeah well it's not like I don't. It's just...y'know...him going out there all alone...and stuff..." Gray replied.
"Gray's worried for Natsu..." Juvia said, shocked.
"Well he's not really alone is he?" Carla asked, making Gray look at her in surprise. "Happy's there with him. Am I right?"
On that, they couldn't argue. Wherever there was Natsu, then Happy wouldn't be far behind. While they all decided to put their faith in Natsu, to the east, Natsu clashed with Zeref, revealing the dragon-like symbol on his right arm, that he had been keeping hidden under the bandages. With it's reveal, came a new wave of magic power that radiated heat. Natsu took the offensive, right off the bat, taking the upper hand in the fight until Zeref chose to fight back, leaving a large gash on Natsu's right cheek.
"Well, that was a surprise. Just what is that power of yours?" Zeref asked.
"I inherited this power from Igneel." Natsu replied, surprising Zeref. "The last of the power that Igneel left behind inside of me. It took ten months of training to be able to unleash this power."
"The last of Igneel's power...?" Zeref repeated.
"Yeah...this is a one time deal only...once I use this magic power, it'll never regenerate. This power truly is Igneel's undying tenacity." Natsu explained.
Power granted by the dead. Zeref had a moment where he believe that this power, gifted to Natsu, just might be what it would take to finaly kill him. Natsu released his flames, the very ground around them set ablaze. Zeref faced the oncoming attack with a smile on his face, inwardly thanking those who had helped bring Natsu to a point where he could kill him.
Natsu put all the power he had left from Igneel into the final blow, connecting with Zeref successfully. The symbol on Natsu's arm begun to fade as he fell to his knees. Despite putting his all into the last blow, when he looked up, Zeref's outline appeared through the smoke before the smoke cleared to show Zeref, wounded, but alive.
"Please lend me your strength, Igneel. At least for this one attack." Natsu asked, gripping his right forearm.
"You've...really become a lot stronger, Natsu." Zeref told him. "Maybe you'll be the one that'll stop me. At least, that's what I've been believeing. But...you're a little too late. I've chosen to destroy the world over destroying myself. Seeing you now though...maybe your next attack will prove that I'm not actually immortal, I don't know...it's all up to you, really. But there's something I'd like to tell you while I'm still alive."
"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head in questioning.
"My name is Zeref Dragneel...and I am your brother."
Natsu couldn't believe his ears. Zeref had just said he was...his brother!? His eyes widened as he stared at Zeref.
"It was four hundred years ago, both our parents were killed by dragon embers...and you too, in fact." Zeref said.
"W...what are you talking about?" Natsu demanded.
"I've done all I could to bring you back and created something called the Etherious in the process. And that was you, Natsu...Etherious Natsu Dragneel. END." Zeref revealed.
Natsu...was the demon END?
"N...Natsu! Don't listen to him!" Happy called down to him.
"Ye...yeah...me, your brother, dead and now I'm END? I've had enough of that! I heard that Igneel couldn't destroy END. If I were END, then he could've destroyed me easily!" Natsu argued.
"He couldn't because he loved you. He could've killed you but he didn't." Zeref replied.
"END is what created those Tartaros monsters! Not me, I'm human!" Natsu snapped.
"Mard Geer made Tartaros. He just happened to pick this up and made it sound as if it made him make all those monsters." Zeref said, summoning the book of END to his hand, dropping it onto the ground. "But, maybe in that sense, it would mean that you made those monsters."
"That's why I'm telling you, I'm not END!" Natsu snapped.
Zeref, to prove himself true, shot a single, thin blast straight through the heart of the book. Natsu instantly felt pain in his chest, as if he had been what had been pierced by the blast and not the book. He dropped to one knee in pain.
"See, you never were one to listen. You didn't even want to learn how to read or write. That's why I went to a friend of mine to talk about it...Igneel." Zeref said.
"Igneel, your friend?" Natsu gritted out in disbelief.
"Igneel was special. He was a dragon that didn't harbor ill feelings for humans. I met him when I was out getting the herbs I needed for my reserach. Igneel told me all about his plans to teach you Dragon Slayer magic. With Metalicana as well, they were planning on bringing up Dragon Slayers and going to the future by using their Dragon Soul Magic by becoming the power that you slayers would use. All this to defeat Acnologia. Why would they need to go to the future, you ask? The dragons were weakening and they figured they'd need as much ethernano they could get to regain their powers. And they needed it to break the spell they cast on themselves. The six children they chose were Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue...and Amoreta."
Natsu's head came up when he heard Rette's birth name come out of Zeref's mouth. Rette hated being called that name, but he didn't correct Zeref.
"They were all orphans. You had me, but I gave Igneel my permission. As for Amoreta...I was shocked when I saw she had come into the care of Chrysalis and Tundron after running away from Lachlan, but I left her where she was when I saw the way Chrysalis shielded her. She would have fought me fang and claw if I tried to take Amoreta back and I was curious to see what would happen when a child who was both demon and human, gained the power of two dragons. I must admit, taking two and making them one seems befitting of Amoreta. But I digress. To me, Acnologia didn't matter...all I needed was you to become stronger. Strong enough to kill me, was what I had hoped you become.
"That was where we waited for the Eclipse and used the door to the future. A celestial spirit mage called Anna did it for us. We didn't really have a plan for when we'd stop, all we did was follow Anna's plan and she sent us to a time where the concentration of ethernano was high. And then at the same time, another celestial spirit mage, Layla, opened the doors and there we were, seventh of July, X777. You thought of that day as the day the dragons went missing, but that was in fact the day you had awoken. You six are children from four hundred years ago."
Natsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, Rette, and him were all from four hundred years in the past? That arose so many questions though. Like, why couldn't they remember that? And if Rette was from four hundred years ago...just how old did that make Torin who was suppose to be her younger brother and the son of her aunt? So many questions and the whole thing was so...he just couldn't believe it.
"I've been waiting for you all this time. But four hundred years was a long time and a lot has happened since then. I've seen so many civilzations come to an end, I've begun to lose my feelings towards life and death. I met Mavis and lost her. I..."
"Shut up!" Natsu snapped. "There's no way I'm believing anything you say!"
"You are a demon of the Book of Zeref. If I die," Zeref said, as Natsu pulled back a fist to attack. "you die too."
"Well, what about it! I'm not hesitating! I've made up my mind! I came all this way to defeat you!" Natsu declared, ready to kill Zeref despite what that could mean for him.
"This is your last chance to stop me." Zeref told him.
Before Natsu could land his hit with the last of his power, Happy snagged him by the back of his top and pulled him away from Zeref and up into the air.
"Happy! What are you doing, lemme go!" Natsu snapped.
"I don't wann...Natsu..." Natsu glanced over his shoulder at Happy who had tears streaming down his cheeks. "I don't want you to die."
"Let me go! Before Igneel's power goes away! I won't get another chance to take Zeref down if I miss this one!" Natsu argued.
"You're my friend! Don't you think the same of me though!?" Natsu stared at Happy in surprise. "We will go back to the guild, together!"
Natsu didn't argue, unable to protest with Happy when he cried like that. Without another protest from Natsu, Happy carried him away from the battlefield. If what Zeref said was true, then Natsu would die if he killed him. There had to be another way to take down Zeref without losing Natsu in the process. There just had to be.
Right?
Just when Happy was thinking this, Natsu collapsed, suddenly losing consciousness.
-0-0-0-0-
Southern Fiore: Port Hargeon
In Hargeon, the fight had only just begun. Dimaria and Wahl had lead their forces ashore, taking down any and all who stood in their way, while their fellow 12 member, Neinhart, had yet to leave the ship. Outside of the city, Lyon and Kagura over saw their combined forces. Just looking down upon the town was enough to dishearten most. Around two thousand soldiers stood guard over the town while more roamed it's streets and even more had yet to disembark from their ships. It was looking like their numbers were well over thirty thousand while the combined forces of Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel were barely two hundred.
"Even if you combine our guilds, Lamia and Mermaid, there are only two hundred of us at most!" Chelia said, looking up at Lyon.
"Regardless of the overwhelming number of enemies, the fact that we must fight them head on does not change." Lyon told her.
"Ishgar is our turf! We shall not forgive any who try to invade, and that includes Alvarez!" Kagura agreed before raising her sword into the air. "I hereby commence the battle to liberate Hargeon! Charge!"
With Kagura's order to charge, the real fight begun. All over the place, people clashed. Between the stronger members of Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel, they were slowly making their way through the guarding forces outside the town. Unknown to them, from a distant roof top, Wahl had locked onto several of their members, constructing magical missiles and firing them. Several members were hurt before Kagura took down the missiles with her sword, cutting them in half, only to turn around and have to defend against Dimaria as she suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
"Oh, not bad at all." Dimaria said when Kagura blocked her sword. With a shove, Kagura slid back from Dimaria. "So that's a kimono...it's pretty cute. But I can make it look better...all we need is some red. Oh, but you and Randy have similar haircuts. It'd be so much fun to cut it all off though."
Next thing Kagura knew, the top of her kimono was shredded, leaving her exposed from the waist up. How had Dimaria done it when Kagura hadn't even seen her move? Just a moment later, her bottoms were gifted the same treatment, leaving Kagura bare except for her panties. This caused all men, on both sides, to turn and stare at her.
With Kagura now without any semblance of proper clothing and the fight becoming overwhelming, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel decided that retreat was their only viable option at the moment. They pulled back to their camp, Lyon instantly pouring over maps laid out on a table.
"Damn it...their manpower is utterly overwhelming." Lyon muttered.
"We couldn't even get near the city, let alone liberate it." Chelia added, dejectly.
Off to the side, Kagura sat on a mat, simply staring ahead of herself silently. Milliana tilted her head as she peered at Kagura's face.
"Kagura...are you alright?" Milliana asked.
"I'm alright...is what I'd like to say, but..." Kagura trailed off as she tried to avoid the fact that men were staring at her.
"Yeah, I kinda figured." Milliana remarked, one of their guildmates yelling at the men for staring at Kagura.
While they dealt with the failure of the day, a day's trip from Hargeon found Erza and her group camping for the night, making sure to rest before they arrived at Hargeon the following day.
"We'll be reaching Hargeon tomorrow. Rest up well for today." Erza ordered, biting into an apple.
"Don't overwork yourself either then. It's Wendy that'll end up having to take care of you." Carla replied.
"By the way, where's Laxus?" Wendy asked.
"He did say something about being hungry...before he ran off." Carla remarked.
"Heh, he does seem like the kind that'd nab a bear or something for a snack." Gray grumbled.
"Does that taste good?" Erza asked.
A little ways away from the group, Laxus was sitting on a log, a hand pressed to his chest as he fought to catch his breath. Sweat was already beginning to coat his skin.
"How long has that been happening to you?"
Laxus jolted when Gray's voice suddenly sounded from behind him. He didn't turn to face him though, chosing to hide face.
"It's none of your business." Laxus told him stubbornly.
"Heh, tough talk...we're from the same guild. Was this from a year ago when you took all those magical barrier particles in?" Gray asked.
Laxus heaved a sigh. It was apparent that Gray wasn't going to let this go, of course he wouldn't, and from the sound of it, Gray didn't need him to confirm it.
"Don't go flapping your lips about this." Laxus told him, glaring at Gray over his shoulder.
"You don't have to glare at me like that." Gray told him.
"It's no big deal. It just does this once in awhile. No need for anyone to worry." Laxus replied.
"You know...Rette did the same thing." Laxus' eyes widened when Gray said this. "You heard what that got her."
Laxus glanced over his shoulder at Gray. He had heard all about what Rette had done. Hiding her fits, moments of pain so great and deeply set in her body that she was left sick for days afterward. She had continued about life, never letting anyone, aside from Mavis, know what she was suffering behind closed doors. In the note they had found, it revealed that when she was younger, between the abuse of her father and the pain and fear from the fits, she had wanted her life to end. He had even heard from Mira how, during their rescue of Lucy and Yukino from the king's castle during the Grand Magic Games, Rette had admitted to considering taking her life after they had all vanished.
She had fought so much, had dealt with so much alone, thinking that she couldn't rely on others, that Laxus could see Gray's point in likening him to Rette.
Rette...
Laxus let his eyes close for a moment, letting an image of Rette pass before his mind's eye. When he opened his eyes, his expression was firm and determined.
"I ain't dying until this is all over." Laxus said. "Watch me as I protect it...the guild, I mean."
Not until I see her again, he thought.
He would be damned if he let anything kill him until he had seen Rette's face once more. Until he could see her look up at him with those two toned eyes of hers. Hell, he would even take hearing her call him annoying again, as long as he got to see her one more time, to hear her voice. He didn't say any of that aloud, but Gray knew he was probably thinking of Rette. Whether Laxus meant for them all to know it or not, everyone in the guild knew he really had fallen in love with Rette. Laxus, though, quickly changed the subject.
"And put some damn clothes on." Laxus told Gray.
"Woah!? When did this happen!?"
Night wore on, everyone across all battlefields settling in for a rest while, back at the guild hall, Natsu lay unconscious. Come the break of dawn, the fights would countinue. While everyone was sure that there would be bloodshed and the fights would be far from easy, they would continue fighting. For their friends, their families, and their own lives.
It was about all they could do to survive.
-0-0-0-0-
"Today's the day we'll be taking back Hargeon for sure! Forward!"
The morning dawned with Kagura calling the charge on a fresh fight to retake Hargeon from the Alvarez forces. Dimaria and Wahl looked on in amusement, Wahl laughing like a loon while Dimaria commented on how fast Kagura had bounced back after what she had done to her the day before. Amused by Kagura, she was, but Dimaria decided to focus on someone else for the day.
Her sights landed on Chelia.
Chelia was in the middle of an attack when her top suddenly started to shred away from her body until she was naked from the wait up. Quickly, she covered her chest.
"I love it when cute girls look like that. I'll make her look as good as the one yesterday." Dimaria remarked as she approached Chelia. "Or I hope to do so, but maybe not today. You're a healer, aren't you? You're a pain so maybe just die, won't you?"
With that, Dimaria attacked Chelia, raising her sword to strike her down. At the last second, Wendy came flying into the fight, saving her friend.
"Wendy!" Chelia cried in relief.
"Thanks for waiting, Chelia! The Sky Sisters are back in action!" Wendy declared.
Behind her came the rest of her group, charging in to the fight that was their's to begin with. Wendy joined Chelia in her fight while Juvia and Gray joined Lyon and Erza joined Kagura. As for Laxus...Laxus went right for the source of Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen's current injuries.
Laxus, in a flash of lightning, appeared behind Wahl, driving a fist into the back of his head, smashing his face into the brick beneath him.
"It was you that hurt them, wasn't it." Laxus stated.
Wahl grabbed his wrist, preparing his own counter attack.
"What the hell, man!?" Wahl demanded.
His eyes widened when Laxus didn't give him the chance to counter attack. Using his free fist, Laxus punched him hard across the face, his anger showing through, loud and clear.
"They were my friends!"
Wahl went flying back from Laxus, spinning in midair, until he landed on all fours, sliding across the ground. Wahl was actually pleased with the challenge. Forging bullets out of thin air, he fired them at Laxus. Just a foot shy of Laxus, the bullets seemed to be stopped by lightning until, with an explosion of power that sent a pillar of lightning into the sky, the bullets were diceintagrated.
Out on the battlefield outside town, Lyon looked up into the sky in surprise.
"Lightning!?" Lyon asked.
"This kind of weather is normal for Magnolia. Sunny...with a chance of Laxus." Gray replied.
And had Rette been there, it would have been overly sunny once more.
In the center of town, Laxus' lightning had done a job on some of the close by buildings. Wahl emerged from the smoke, grin on his face.
"Hey, you're pretty good arent'cha?" he asked, focusing his scanners on Laxus' body. "Let's see here...analyze...you...what the hell...your organs are..."
Laxus charged before he could finish his sentence. With a grin, Wahl's left arm transformed, allowing him to stop Laxus' punch.
"You're quite somethin', punk! How're you even alive right now, anyway? There's no way you're human." Wahl remarked.
"'How am I alive'? I never have and never will sweat the details. It's all about how I live from here on out!" Laxus retorted.
Laxus drove a fist into Wahl's head, slamming him into the ground. Even with his head half driven into the ground, he grinned up at Laxus.
"Give me a break...you humans are always fixated on your little "expressions" and "morals"! Well, before you get your hopes up, hear me out." Wahl told him, his body transforming once more. "Lightning ain't gonna do shit to me! So, how do you want to die!? Think e~xtra hard!"
Laxus let out a grunt as Wahl's fist caught his chin, whipping his head back. The force was enough to send him sliding back, one foot ripping up the tile of the roof top beneath his feet. Gritting his teeth and clicking his tongue in annoyance, Laxus came to a halt, only for Wahl to slam into him once more, knocking him off his feet and sending his jacket flying.
Buildings broke apart and crumbled as Laxus flew through them, until he was able to get his feet under him. Kicking off the roof, he shot forward, slamming a foot heel into the back of Wahl's head. Wahl crashed through all three floors of the building beneath him until the hit the ground floor. Laxus peered down at him from the edge of the hole in the roof.
"Analysis complete. He's afflicted by large quantities of magic barrier particles which have somehow infilitrated his body, however, this lug's magic power is still top-tier within Fairy Tail. With my current "frivolous" personality setting, there is a possibility that I could get the carpet pulled out from under me. Overwriting current personality setting to "coldhearted" strengthening exoskeleton. Switching to assualt mode. Setting "Laxus" as sole target. Diverting all magic power to magic fusion oven ignition. Estimated time frame for complete annihilation: ninety seconds." came Wahl's muttering.
Laxus raised an eyebrow as Wahl's whole body begun to transform. Then, suddenly, Wahl rocketed past Laxus, ripping his shirt over the left shoulder. Laxus whipped around, getting a clear view of Wahl's new form. Wahl's new form was made for combat, and to make matters worse...Laxus gripped his chest as another wave of pain caused by the magical barrier particles, hit him hard. Now really wasn't the time for this, but it seemed about right that his luck would be this bad.
Wahl took the opening, attacking Laxus with a powerful punch to the chest. The resulting blast from Wahl's punch, sent Laxus flying into the air. Missiles came flying at Laxus next, Wahl launching one attack after another. But Wahl screwed up when his next attack hit Laxus with a large charge of electricity. Laxus absorbed that, using it to power his own attack on Wahl. While it gave Laxus a much need boost, electricity didn't have any effect on Wahl.
Just when it seemed that Laxus was getting a second wind, he fell to one knee, a coughing fit wracking his body.
"Looks like times up for you. The magical barrier particles inside you are probably at peak stage right now. You won't be able to move soon, and breathing will be painful. Well, even if you could move, thunder wouldn't work on me. I think one would call this a checkmate." Wahl remarked as Laxus fell fully to the ground, his body not wanting to move. "Let me do you a favor and end this. You should be happy that you won't be suffering any longer. I'll make sure there's nothing left of you here."
Laxus cursed his body. Was this how Rette had felt whenever she had one of her fits? Had she cursed herself for being unable to move when it really mattered? But she had fought on. She had pushed herself, forced her body to move when it didn't want to, because that was Rette. When someone she cared about was in danger, she moved, even when her body was too broken and damaged to do so. She would do anything to protect Fairy Tail, to protect what was hers, and so would he.
Reaching out, Laxus drew a rune on the ground, activating an enchantment that Freed himself had given to him. The enchantment circled around Wahl and Laxus, making Wahl look down at it in surprise.
"Since when did something like this appear!?" Wahl asked.
"Got it straight from Freed and in this enchantment...magical barrier particles cancel!" Laxus retorted, finally able to move his body and get to his feet. "Thanks a lot, Freed. There's no mage that could break your spells and even if there was, he or she would have to neutralize the magical barrier particles completely. Meaning, he or she would be my 'cure'."
Wahl couldn't believe this. Laxus was unbelievable, pulling one trump card out that he hadn't been expecting. At this reveal, his presonality begun to splinter.
"I know it's kind of painful to bite the hand that feeds, but you took out one of my friends!" Laxus said, gearing up for an attack.
"Thunder doesn't work! You're helpless! There's nothing you can do now!" Wahl replied.
"Yeah well, I ain't giving you my life that easy either!" Laxus retorted. "I got someone I gotta see again."
Lightning wouldn't work against Wahl, fine. Laxus would use an attack involving lightning that wasn't lightning anymore. It was lightning that could no longer be called lightning and it was as red as blood. With this final attack, Laxus demolished Wahl, winning his fight and taking down another of the Spriggan 12.
With the fight finished, Laxus dropped to sit with his back propped up against a building side. He was exhausted. Leaning back against the building, he let his eyes close. He would have to leave the rest of the fighting to his friends while he recovered some of his strength. He was so wiped that he couldn't even foucs on the magical energies around him.
It was then that he heard approaching footsteps.
Laxus jolted to alertness, sitting forward as he readied himself for an enemy attack. What he found standing in front of him, though, had him freezing in his tracks, his eyes going wide. Standing before him, a wide grin curling lips beyond the limits he was use to seeing...was Rette.
Or, at least...he thought it was her.
The woman standing before him, was Rette, completely. From Rette's pale silver hair, to her two tone lavender and magenta eyes, to the lightning bolt tattooes following her collar bones. But there were differences that his mind instantly picked out. Her hair was no longer worn in the simple styles she preferred. The right side of her hair was cut until the strands were no longer than an inch or two. The rest of the hair had been combed over to the left and fell over her shoulder to the swell of her breats, red ribbons forming a zig zag pattern from just below her ear to a few inches shy of the ends.
The second difference, the one that caught his attention quickly, was the fact that her lavender Fairy Tail emblem was no long present between her collar bones. The scar on her stomach was missing too, but Laxus had been told that that had vanished after her rebirth. The biggest changes, though, were what shocked him the most. Rette was no longer wearing her choker, giving him view of where the seal for her demon was suppose to be.
Only...the seal was gone.
Instead, dark maroon marks had spread to various parts of her body, similar to the dark marks that sometimes took over Gray's body. The barely there, tied on top, and skirt with slits that rode up both thighs to the band set low on her hips, showed off the marks clearly. It was like Rette had released the seal on her demon.
But what made Laxus stare at her in frozen shock, was the expression on Rette's face.
Where Rette's epression was ususally pleasantly indifferent, this...this was crazy. The grin on Rette's face was twisted and wide, baring her fang like incisors and her eyes were wide open. All he could see in her expression was madness. It was almost like that fundamental part of her brain that kept her sane, had finally snapped. As he stared at her, her grin widened evern further and a giggle left her before she spoke. And when she spoke, he knew...this was no longer the Rette he knew.
"Well lookie here...a fairy for me to devour! Ehehehe!"
END
Kyandi: You know, I like the Laxus after his attempted take-over, a lot better.
Rette: Believe me...so do we.
Kyandi: Is he less annoying to you?
Rette: He has his moments.
Kyandi: Which, believe it or not, is a high compliment from Rette.
Rette: If I start complimenting a lot of people, then you know I'm not the real me.
Kyandi: Yep. Anyone, I have to fix the chapters and post the new chapter, so everyone enjoy and review.
Rette: We'll be back after fixing the chapters.
Kyandi: Bye-bye