Chapter 36
Unlikely Pair
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas
"I see... We were wrong...I understand... Now I understand! It meant we mustn't collect them! That's what the message in this book meant! The pieces of the clock, we weren't supposed to get them!"
"Is that what Angel was taking about? They were waiting for us to gather them?"
We were tricked.
Of course we were, it was no wonder everything made absolutely no sense at all. We were on a wild chase from the beginning and now we are paying for it, we already paid for it. We got out asses handed to us by Oracion Seis, like we've been getting out asses kicked by the Legion all the same... Damn it...
"Oracion Seis hmm? Just another thing we don't need..." Macao muttered, Frea glanced toward him from where she sat at the bar, Moon beside her with Wendy and Carla on her other side. They had been taken back to the Guild by Ichiya shortly after Natsu came to, where they had gotten back to find the Guild mostly empty and Master gone.
"So that's why Master was called by the Council." Wakaba murmured, all of them having been already informed of his absence by now.
"Yes," Erza replied with a nod, her arms crossing over her chest.
"They're stronger than they were seven years ago," Gray muttered.
"So much so that we were helpless against them." Carla murmured, earning a tense nod from most everyone else.
"Tch..." Frea hissed under her breath, glancing away to stare at the wall behind the bar, frowning deeply.
"We couldn't do anything.."
"When you really get down to it, it was all my fault..." Frea's eyes narrowed, easily recognizing Michelle's voice. She huffed a little, barely loud enough for anyone but Moon to hear- but Wendy did hear it and glanced toward the Energy Dragon Slayer in confusion.
"No, it wasn't your fault Michelle." Lucy quickly said, "Remember what Natsu said before? My father should have left a more detailed message.."
"Lucy, how did your father even get involved with the Clock in the first place?" Wendy asked, looking away from Frea for the moment. Lucy sighed silently and her head bowed a bit,
"I don't know that myself..."
"We'll solve that mystery another day." Erza said firmly, "Right now, we have to find Oracion Seis and take back the Infinity Clock."
If they didn't, they were looking at a world that would be consumed by Chaos... Frea closed her eyes, she didn't like this, as she knew there was definitely something coming. The air felt thick, there was a dark anticipation about and it was putting her a bit on edge.
Funny though, considering she hadn't sensed anything malicious about this entire thing besides her misgivings about Michelle. It was only now all that evil began to be known to her, and she was shocked a bit at the fact- usually she was the first to sense anything of this sort and yet she hadn't.
Am I getting sloppy, or what?
"Then lets go!" Nasty jumped up. "If we start looking everywhere, we're bound to find them eventually, right?!" Frea sighed and shook her head a bit, Natsu was back to making stupid suggestions again...
"Yes, because jumping into things head first worked out so well last time," Frea muttered, turning toward the rest of the Guild as she looked to Natsu. "It'd be better if we actually came up with a plan this time around." She received a nod of approval from many of the Members, Natsu scowled slightly and took a step toward her.
"Thinking ain't gonna get us anywhere!" He snapped, earning sweatdrops from several people. Frea's eyes narrowed,
"Thinking is something you need to learn to do." She muttered, not at all disturbed by the outburst. "You have a bad habit of jumping in without thinking, and its going to get you or someone else hurt eventually. And after how we got our asses kicked this last time, its the best option to sit down and think things through." Natsu scowled,
"At least I'm willing to jump in and fight! Where the hell is your drive to get back at those bastards?!" He snapped, moving closer as his fists clenched at his sides.
"Natsu..!" Gray muttered quickly, knowing full well that the pinkette was stepping over the line now.
Frea got off the stool she sat on, walking toward him a few steps before halting, her gaze hard and flinty. Her own fists clenched and her entire countenance was one of muffled anger,
"Its not a question of drive, Natsu." She hissed in a low, dangerous tone. "Its a question of everyone's safety. We barely made it out of that ruin and we got our asses handed to us because we hadn't been prepared for what we were facing. We screwed up." A shadow fell over her gaze, her silver eyes seeming to glow. "I want to get back at them just as much as you, but I'd rather take time to make a plan that'll help us take them out, instead of risking another beat down." Natsu growled, becoming even angrier and Frea glared.
"Grahh!" Natsu jumped forward, his clenched fists burning with fire, Frea hissed a little and adjusted into a fighting stance as he came toward her. Everyone else jumped in complete shock at the action, all of them unable to believe this had come to blows so quickly, and especially between Frea and Natsu.
"Natsu! Please don't, Frea's still sick!" Wendy said frantically, her words went unheard though.
"Natsu! Quit this nonsense at once!" Erza ordered, but she just like Wendy, was ignored. Moon watched Natsu approach slowly, eyes narrowed and completely calm. It was rather odd that Natsu had gotten fired up this quickly, he had a short temper at the best of times, but this was almost too short. And even Frea was jumping in rather quickly, it just went to show how tense everyone was after everything that had been going on.
"We shouldn't be sitting here!" Natsu yelled furiously as he neared Frea, his fist swinging down at her in an instant. Frea simply moved to the side a little, completely avoiding his hit with one swift movement- before her hand lift and it slammed down on the top of Natsu's head with incredible force, sending him crashing into the floor face first, knocked out in one blow by Frea's clenched fist, no Magic needed.
The surrounding members either stared in utter shock, their jaws dropped, or they looked on with small frowns and silent sighs to themselves. All conflict that had erupted in the course of a few short moments had been abruptly halted in a single action from Frea. Wendy sweatdropped heavily and shrunk back from where she was close beside Frea, shaking a little.
"I-I think she's feeling better.. That's good..." The little Dragon Slayer stammered, earning a nod from Carla and everyone else who had heard her. Erza crossed her arms over her chest,
"It would seem everyone is on edge.." The red-head murmured, her eyes resting on Frea. It was odd, because for many, many years- Frea had been just like Natsu, and she still was in some ways, but her temper and willingness to jump in had seriously lessened. They had seen that when Frea had stood to be the reasonable one at the GMG, standing between Fairy Tail and SaberTooth as she kept Natsu, Gray, and Erza herself from attacking SaberTooth out of pure anger.
She has grown much more level-headed in such a short amount of time... Not surprising, considering how much Frea had been through in dealing with everything that went on in her life. She couldn't stand to not be more calm and level-headed more, she had taken too many injuries from jumping in head first like Natsu, and she must not want that to happen any longer.
Frea sighed slightly, her eyes closing a moment as she slowly looked down at Natsu, face neutral. She was deaf to the murmured words around her, all her focus was on Natsu.
It didn't surprise her how angry he had gotten, she could easily feel the risen nerves about him, as she could for the rest of them in the hall.
It had been her intention to make him that angry, because she much rather allow him to explode on her than on anyone else, or for him to go running off without thinking- as he usually did. If it was necessary for Natsu to come after her, then so be it. Better than anything else he might do.
She was very much used to his temper, and she was easily able to ward off any attacks he lay at her. She was also a bit more level-headed than he was, and that in itself kept her calm enough not to continue in an all out brawl and allow her own anger to get the better of her.
She sighed again, crouching down just as she heard Natsu let out a wince and start to slowly push himself up from the cracked floor underneath him. He rubbed the top of his head gingerly, it throbbing from the hit she landed.
"Are you good now, Natsu?" She asked, earning an annoyed huff and a glare. She smiled slightly, leaning her chin in her hand. "Ah, don't give me that face. You know I'm right." She smirked and he looked away. "We just need some time to think it through. You can have patience, can't you?"
"I hate waiting. Every minute we waste here is another minute those bastards are doing something bad." He muttered and she closed her eyes.
"I understand." She murmured, he glanced to her only to see her eyes were closed. "We just don't want to risk anyone getting more hurt than they were this last time. That's all." She opened one eye and met his gaze, "I know that's something you can respect. If nothing at all."
He simply stared a long while, both of them in utter silence until Natsu gave in and nodded slightly. "Yeah, ok.." He mumbled and Frea smiled.
"Good." She murmured, standing up and then offering him a hand, pulling him back to his feet- just as the doors to the hall opened and in the doorway stood five people.
The Thunder God Tribe, minus Laxus, and then the pair of Chase and Aisha.
"We're back!" Bixlow smirked,
"And we got this job done in no time, we're so good sometimes it scares me..." Evergreen smirked, earning a small smile from Chase and a roll of Aisha's purple eyes.
The group of Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow had been on a job for sometime- and the same went for Chase and Aisha, with the insane amount of time they had been in each others company recently. Where Laxus was, Frea didn't have a clue- all she knew was he had gone on a separate job from the Thunder God Tribe altogether, and he wasn't expected back for a bit of time yet. It would seem the five had come back in the same time as one another, and all of them stopped in their tracks, blinking in confusion when they noticed the tense atmosphere of those in the hall.
"What's going on?" Freed asked immediately. The five came in and the Thunder God Tribe surrounded Erza, listening closely to the explanation she gave them- while Chase listened closely and moved toward Frea, while Aisha kept clear. He took a seat on the other side of Moon at the bar, where Frea had taken her seat up again and Natsu moved to sit at the table Erza stood at, still looking miffed but much calmer now.
"Oracion Seis?" Chase murmured, stiffening when the part of the Dark Guild was mentioned came into the story, eyes growing wide. Frea blinked, looking toward him and quite confused by the action... His eyes darted to meet Aisha's gaze in that instant, before he let out a sigh and placed a hand to his head, leaning back against the bar counter with a sigh. "Well... That explains it..."
" 'Explains' what, exactly?" Frea murmured, earning his attention in an instant. He hadn't been aware she was listening to him, Frea blinked once. "And how about another thing, what in the hell have you been off doing anyway?" He sighed again and hung his head slightly, eyes closed.
She had noticed his frequent absence about the Guild for a long time now. He was always off somewhere, doing something, with someone- and most of the time it was Aisha he was with. She couldn't understand the click between the two of them- mostly because of her is hatred for the woman. But what they were doing was beyond her, and now it sounded as if Chase knew more than he was letting on.
"Guess it really doesn't matter now..." He said slowly, earning another blink from her and catching Moon's attention. "It was an assignment Master had us on- Aisha and I."
"Assignment?" Moon echoed, ears perking. Chase nodded, not looking their way, eyes still closed.
"Yeah, he sent us to gather as much information as we could on the break out of some criminals from the prison in the Magic Counsel- namely, Oracion Seis." He sighed, "We were tracking their movements, trying to figure out what their goal was, what they were planning- we stuck with them for a month or two now- until a few days ago, when they completely vanished. We were attempting to find them again, since we had guessed they were planning something big." His eyes opened to glance out at the Guild. "Seems they already started."
This wasn't considerably surprising, Frea supposed. Considering Aisha's past life as an Information Broker, and Chase's knack for tracking things since the Balance Shift- finding Oracion Seis and collecting information would be easy between the two of them. It was entirely logical for Master to send the two of them on an assignment such as that, however- the reasons as to why..
"Why was Master interested?" Frea asked, but Chase shook his head with a small shrug.
"Not exactly sure, my guess is he simply wanted to know if they were planning something big..." He trailed off and sweatdropped a little, "I suppose we failed on letting him know in advance..."
"Just a little." Moon murmured with a sympathetic smile. "I'm surprised though, I hadn't heard of any prison breaks from the council recently."
"They don't like to make public their shortfalls." Frea replied lowly, Chase and Moon nodded a little in agreement with what she said. Chase glanced sideways at Frea and blinked slowly, eyes narrowing a little. It was nagging him since he came in, he used he could easily pick up on some malicious Energy hanging around his Old Mentor, and what was more- he could feel a small amount of pain and weariness flowing from her, and the fact that her Magic Energy was significantly low. From what he was hearing of what had been going on, it would seem that everyone had been fighting and he figured Frea was included- but with who and what? To leave a trace of... Of what he could only imagine as poison in her system?
His eyes widened a little, Cobra... That was the only one that made sense, he and Aisha had gathered information that Cobra was running with his old allies once more, though it was odd considering he had been the Legal Guilds ally on the fight against the Dragons.
"Teach..." He murmured slowly, Frea's eyes had fallen closed as she pressed her hands together and leaned over to rest her elbows on her knees. He received a small 'Hmm?' In reply, Frea not bothering to open her eyes. ".. You ok?" He murmured quietly, "You seem to have a bit of... Poison, still lingering over you..." Moon's ears perked at the words and she sweatdropped- aware her Partner wasn't in the best of shape already, though Frea didn't move.
The Energy Dragon Slayer herself was well aware that some of Cobra's poison was still in her system, but she had neither the Magic nor the energy to actually try and get rid of it. It wasn't due to the lingering poison that she still had a bit of a fever, but the fact she was still very low on Magic and had used so much of her Magic Energy so fast and frequent, but she didn't care- it wasn't enough to bother her nor be concerned with. She had gotten over the worst of its effects when she blacked out after the ruins.
"I know." She murmured lowly, "But I'm fine. It isn't enough to be an issue, nor is it what's effecting me most at any rate, I'll get over it shortly. Don't worry." She opened an eye and cast a smile at him, "I'm more focused on trying to regain my Magic Energy more than anything." Chase blinked, eyes widening slowly as he came to the same realization that Moon had back at Blue Pegasus.
That Frea was suffering from a very minor form of Magic Deficiency Syndrome, most surprisingly.
He sighed and glanced away, "Whatever you say.."
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Erza called, having previously been in conversation with Lucy, Michelle, Romeo, Macao, Wakaba, Cana and Gray. "Cana," she gave the floor to the brunette, after everyone had moved closer and Romeo finished placing a map of Fiore upon the wall.
"Here," Cana took over, smirking slightly as she held her cards in her hands. "I'm going to use my Divination to find where Oracion Seis is going to target next- and then pick who will go where, for the best teams." She smiled, "Using my Magic, we'll have pretty good chance of winning against our opponents- my Divination is perfect for predicting odds and chances." Frea nodded slightly, Cana had always been very good with her cards, and she doubted that the brunette would have trouble finding the targets of Oracion Seis and choosing the best teams to meet their enemies.
Cana moved to stand before the board, eyes closing a moment as she held her deck of cards before her, the feel of Magic rising slowly before she threw them forward, sets of cards sticking in place to different points of the map- seven pairs of 20 people. Cana smiled a little, "There we go."
Macao moved forward, taking the first set of four cards from the board and looking them over. He sweatdropped slightly but cleared his throat, "Alright; the first team will be; Erza," the red-head nodded at her name. "Evergreen," Frea blinked, eyebrow raising. It was no secret Erza and Evergreen had a bit of a rivalry...
"Ah," Evergreen smirked wickedly, a glint passing over her glasses. "It would seem we've been given the chance to see who is the true Fairy Queen," she hissed, looking to Erza who looked back with an challenging smile and flinty gaze.
"Now is not the time for such games, but I will gladly take you up on the challenge another time." Erza said back, both woman suddenly radiating with dark aura. Many of the Guild sweatdropped, finding it just as odd as Frea did at such a pairing.
"With Max and Chase.." Macao finished, having trailed off at the small change between the two woman. Max sweatdropped and so did Chase, both of them glancing toward eachother and the two woman they would be traveling with- quite unsure what would happen on the trip to their destination.
Macao pulled the next pair off, two cards. "Next pair, Freed and Gray." Frea blinked again, Rune Magic and Ice Magic?
"I've always been curious how our Magic would work together," Freed smiled, looking to Gray who nodded.
"This'll be interesting." Gray smirked, while Juvia stood by with a dropped jaw.
"Third Pair is, Juvia and Gajeel." Macao went on, Frea sighed- well, at least she had the feeling Gajeel and Juvia were plenty capable of working together. So this match didn't surprise her as the previous ones did...
"Hmph." Gajeel huffed, however Juvia looked absolutely mortified.
"B-but, Juvia wishes to be with Gray!" She cried, earning an annoyed look from Cana.
"No switching!" The brunette said firmly. "These are the pairs chosen and no one will be switching or joining a group they were not assigned to, not a single one!"
"Fourth Pair," Macao continued after Cana had pounded her point into everyone listening. "Bixlow and Wendy." Uh...?
"Another odd pairing!" Bixlow smirked, coming up behind Wendy who had jumped slightly when her name was called. "This'll be fun!" Wendy nodded a little with a nervous smile,
"Fifth Pair, Carla, Moon, Lily and Happy." Macao pulled the next group down, revealing the faces of all four Exceeds. Frea crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Team Exceed is back together!" Happy smiled, earning a nod from Lily,
"It would seem so." Carla smiled, Moon blinked, standing among them.
"Team Exceed?" She murmured,
"You're a part of it now." Lily told her with a smile.
"Number six;" Macao spoke up again, "Elfman, Natsu, Lucy and Michelle."
Frea tilted her head slightly, was it just her... Or were some of these matches just a little... Off?
She stiffened, realizing her name hadn't been called and aware that Michelle would be off without Frea there to keep an eye out- as Master had asked her to do. She growled, wondering if she would tag along with the group just in case... She was unaware of Macao pulling the last set down. As he did so, and looked at the cards- he froze, eyes wide and sweatdropping heavily. He just stared a moment, not sure if he was seeing it right... And then realizing that this was most likely not going to go down very well.
"The last pair... Is... Oh boy..." Macao murmured, slowly turning the cards around as most everyone looked to him- immediately noticing his nervous behavior.
"Aisha... And... Frea..."
Frea stiffened, an action shared by Aisha and everyone else in the Guild. Aisha and Frea stood very still, both their faces overshadowed by their hair and not moving- as everyone else cast glances around frantically.
It was very well known that Frea and Aisha hated one another. Everyone knew that, everyone had felt the hatred sparking between the two, and everyone knew that they both had tempers, and a lot of Power.
Chase hung his head, sweatdropping heavily and rubbing the back of his neck- halfway between chuckling and silence in light of the announcement. Oh man, he knew much more than everyone else how bad things were between the two of those woman, and he knew very well what both of them were capable of- he figured there was a very large chance they would start attacking each other before Oracion Seis ever appeared.
Moon sweatdropped, shaking her head a little and letting out a sigh. This was a very bad idea... She glanced between the unmoving forms of Frea and Aisha, how could Cana's Divination possibly end up with believing Frea and Aisha would make a good and effective pair?
Frea's fists clenched at her sides, jaw clenching as she suppressed the rising anger and annoyance growing in her. There was no way in hell, she would ever work with that woman... Not ever. She hated her to no end, they could not work together, it wasn't possible, and it wasn't going to happen. No.
"These are the pairs chosen and no one will be switching or joining a group they were not assigned to, not a single one!"
They couldn't possibly be forced to work together, they wouldn't allow it!
"You have got to be fucking kidding me..." Frea hissed, glancing sideways in the same instant Aisha did- and their gazes met, silver on purple. She saw her own anger and annoyance in Aisha's eyes, the other was just as unwilling to go along with working with her as she was... Aisha was just as angry with the suggestion, but even then...
They both realized they couldn't get out of this. If every other pair had to work with who they had, then they would be held to do the same.
For a few very long moments, they simply looked at one another- tensions pricking the air between. That stare sent a dark chill over the rest of the Guild, many people backed off both as they could tell the anger of both woman had begun to surge. They were ready for a full out fight, for one of them or even both to snap in an instant, for an argument.
"Fine." Frea hissed lowly, her eyes leaving Aisha. She closed them, teeth gritted and still miffed- just as Aisha was.
"I don't like it, but we aren't being given much choice on the matter." Aisha muttered darkly, arms crossing over her chest.
"We'll go with it..." Frea muttered,
"For now." Aisha finished, sending a dark glare at the Guild and Cana specifically- since it was her cards who had placed her with Frea in the first place.
The Guild stood in shocked silence, eyes wide and many jaws dropped at how easily the two of them had given in. There hadn't even been any yelling, or fighting, nothing!
Chase and Moon exchanged quick glances with one another, both very confused. They knew Frea and Aisha the best of everyone present, and it was very unlikely that the two would have given in like this- and to stay so level headed about it. They didn't understand why such a thing had even happened, it seemed almost impossible.
Was it even possible... That they had somehow come to an agreement? Both knowing they wouldn't be allowed out of their pairing no matter how much they fought it?
Now for both of them to agree on anything- that was truly something.
It was dead, tense, annoyed silence.
Not a pair had ever been so utterly silent in all the time of Fiore, and especially not such a silence that could only be sparked by such undeniable anger and hatred between the two, though both feelings were entirely muffled.
How Cana's Divination could have ever come up with the result that a pair between two very, extremely powerful woman, both of whom who could have the shortest of tempers, and both who hated one another, could be a good team, was entirely incomprehensible.
They walked at level with one another, but not without considerable space between the two. They had to stay level, neither one could pull ahead because that would mean one of them would give into letting the other lead- and that wasn't an option at this point. They said nothing, they didn't even glance toward one another. They didn't want to recognize that they were in each others company.
As for what they would be finding themselves in, they hadn't a clue. It could be a fight, they may run into nothing at all, and if they ran into someone they hadn't a clue who it would be. Best bet was one of the Legion, or maybe even the reborn Oracion Seis- either way was possible.
If it came to a fight, there wasn't a chance that the two of them would be able to work together. They wouldn't fit, they would get in each others way and then grow more angry because of it.
Frea let out a low sigh and cast her attention away from Aisha and toward the surrounding rocky terrain. They had traveled a good way since leaving Magnolia, even in the short time they had been moving. On all sides was endless hills of rock with sparse grass and other shrubbery, not a tree in sight. In fact- it rather resembled the place where Aisha and Frea had first met one another.
She couldn't catch anything out of the ordinary, and even though they hadn't hit the exact location Cana had picked out- she doubted anyone or anything was close at all. Of course... It was possible she couldn't sense anything because of how low on Magic Energy she was. She sighed silently at the thought; she never liked being so low on Magic, and it really wasn't the best time to be low... Not to mention how hot and strained she was with this stupid Magic Deficiency thing...
In hindsight, it was probably a very bad idea for anyone let alone her to go running off to possibly fight when they had Magic Deficiency Syndrome- she wasn't at full capacity, and that could cause problems. Not that she was willing to let that show, she would fight to her best ability even if it was hard to do so.
It was only after they had reached the hour into their walking that anything actually showed up, and they both came to a halt- having felt a sort of tension beside the tension between them seep into the air. Frea stiffened, her eyes casting about as she tried to pinpoint the source of what she was feeling, a cold, huge power that was washing out about them in calm, serene waves of unbelievable strength. Power, she guessed, was from a Mage she had never met before but was most likely working for the Legion or Oracion Seis. She cast a small glance at Aisha to see her 'partner' was just as alert as she was.
Both their heads snapped up at the same moment, where above them a they couldn't see anything- but they could feel an amazing amount of force coming down and the pressure building, the ground even began to shake while the very air vibrated. They split apart instantly, each sliding back on their feet as the space where they had previously been standing was caved in and crushed by that wave of force alone. What sort of Magic was that?
"Well finally! What took you two so long?"
Their heads snapped around at the voice, immediately locking onto the sight of a short young boy, who couldn't have been more than 13, with a long dark trench coat on, tied-back copper hair, and piercing blue eyes. His hands were tucked into his pockets as he stood a little ways behind them, expression mostly neutral if not slightly annoyed. In his left ear was an earring in the mark of the Zentopia crest, it glinted in the half-light of the sun as it momentarily came from behind the clouds overhead as I sunk in the sky.
"I figured you Fairy Tailers would high-tail it out here, aren't you supposed to be the 'destroy all evil, protect the world' type?" Frea quirked an eyebrow and Aisha glared a little, while the young boy sighed and tilted his head a little, "Not that Zentopia should be seen as evil, oh no- but with that ridiculous Dark Guild out and about, I figured you'd be running." He sighed a little and grimaced, "Oh how I hate this, I really do not like the Church working with such heathens, but I suppose orders are orders- the Arch-Bishop knows what he's doing, I must have faith."
The Church working with Oracion Seis?! Frea's eyes went wide in astonishment, now that was news and it wasn't anything good. From what had been said, Legion had been played by Oracion Sies but now they were working together? What the hell was going on?!
"That is how Oracion Seis has been moving around so easily." Aisha muttered lowly, catching Frea's attention immediately. "That may also explain how they managed to get out of prison." The boy's blue gaze shifted toward Aisha a moment, narrowing in thought as he looked her over a moment, seemingly thinking. Aisha only ever stared right back, and Frea shifted slightly.
"You seem rather informed." The boy murmured, "How interesting…" He took his hands from his pockets and lift them slightly, motioning in the direction of both Frea and Aisha. "Unfortunately, I really need to wrap this up as quickly as I can, so many things to get to…." He let out a very long sigh and his eyes closed a moment, "Sorry about this, it's going to probably hurt- a lot." His eyes opened and the Magic pressure about him tripled in size, "Let's make this quick."
An invisible wall of force rammed into the two of them before they could react to it, it slammed into them and flung them backward. Frea hissed at the impact and found herself skidding backward across the rocky landscape, wearing a trench into the ground in her quake. She came to a slow halt, pushing herself up as fast as she could manage- only to be hit again by another wall of pressure she couldn't see.
How the hell was he doing that?! What sort of Magic could be doing all this, she couldn't see anything, she couldn't anticipate- she focused all her attention on trying to sense it coming at her, but every time I happened she had a split second to sense it before being rammed. The first attack had been easy, it had been so massive they had time to react to it- but these new attacks, they were no less powerful but they weren't built up like the first one. They were quick, too quick to anticipate and try to dodge….
She could hear Aisha get hit and thrown around a bit too, as well as the sound of the ground being crushed and a series of booms. Frea growled, her eyes shutting as she focused as closely as she could- anything, Magic, pressure, any indication, she couldn't keep getting pounded like this, each hit hurt and she could already feel herself bruising. She had never seen Magic like this, it didn't seem that his Magic was taking on a form of its own- instead… It was just, pressure really, force.. Her heart dropped a bit, she could only compare this sort of attack to Gildarts' Crash Magic. The same sort of Magic that didn't necessarily take on a form its own, a Magic that was primarily based around kinetic force.
She focused her Magic around her feet and jumped up, the air shifted slightly and a sudden burst of the boy's Magic was all she had to react to. Her eyes opened to see the ground where she had been standing was suddenly crushed, she landed back down and jumped backward, her Magic flaring up around her and spreading out a bit.
"Well well…. You anticipated that last one." The boy murmured, catching her attention as his assault halted momentarily, a little ways to her right- Aisha came to a halt, clothes starting to become torn now and panting a little- she was moving around as much as she could manage but it was doing her little good. "How odd, nobody's been able to that before!" He tilted his head and plopped down on the rock he stood on, blinking a few times as he looked at her with interest. "Who are you? You seem different than the rest of the Wizards I've met before, both of you." His eyes flicked toward Aisha a minute as the Moonlight Mage pushed herself up, the attacks ceasing a moment.
"I could ask the same of you." Frea replied lowly, the boy raised an eyebrow. "It's not common you meet a Mage as young as yourself, or someone who uses Magic like yours…."
"Do you know about Force Magic?" The boy asked suddenly, Frea and Aisha alike narrowed their eyes at the question. Force Magic? Frea hadn't ever heard of Magic like that, never come across it specifically- but it was like Crash Magic all the same.
The thing was, she was very good at brawling with the members of the Guild. Hell, she won those brawls half the time but against Gildarts and his Crash Magic? She hated to say it, but she'd never won against him, and every time they came to blows she'd walked away hurting.
"It's super fun, actually." The boy went on, "Very effective, I don't even have to move around to take people out. They just get blown around and beat up, it's so easy to win, and Zentopia always wins." The boy narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at Frea, noticing the silver about her person fading as the conflict came to a stop for now. "You are weird, I've never seen Magic that color or type before- what is it?"
"Why are you so interested?" Aisha growled suddenly, "And what did you mean by we're 'different'?"
"Because I wanna know!" The boy answered immediately, "I've gone up against all sorts of other Wizards, and all of them were all the same! All low-level, they all used the same sort of weak Magics, Holder Magics mostly, and none of them were from big Guilds like Fairy Tail!" His face pulled into a smile, a young, kid-like smile. "You two are clearly pretty powerful Wizards, otherwise you would have been beaten already. And that Silver Magic floating around you, its not something I've seen before." The boy paused a minute as his blue eyes closed. "AND, both of you have amazing Magical Pressure about you! I should know, Force Magic deals with pressure a lot!" His eyes opened back up as the blue sparkled in delight. "You two are A Grade Wizards, definitely better than every other Wizard I've come to fight before, which means you're going to be fun! And I wanna remember what sort of Magic you used when it's all over!"
Frea narrowed her eyes until they were slits, not sure if she should be confused or offended. Aisha growled under her breath from where she was standing, she had caught on to what the kid has said to- 'when it's all over'. The brat was sure he was going to win this fight, and for the both of them- that was quite the insult.
"An Answer for an Answer?" The boy said, Frea blinked, stiffening a little. "I answered your question, now you answer mine! Its only fair." His smile faded into a small pout and Frea sighed silently.
"Energy Magic." She answered slowly, aware that Aisha turned a disbelieving glare on her next. She ignored the look though and the kid's eyes turned to Aisha next, expecting.
"…. Moonlight Magic." Aisha hissed, not happy she was answering but she had enough sense to be able to see there wasn't a lot of other options on the matter. At least they weren't being pummeled by pure Force for right now, that had been getting old very fast. The boy's eyes went wider than ever and he grinned, looking about to explode.
"That is so COOL!" He said happily, "Two Magics I've never even heard of! That's awesome!"
"May I ask a question now?" Frea asked slowly, earning a nod from the boy. "Why are Zentopia and Oracion Seis working together? What's the plan?" The boy frowned a little and sighed,
"Honestly? I don't really know!" He pouted a little. "The Arch-bishop just started sending down orders, telling us it was the will of God that we work with those criminals to create peace with that stupid Clock. As a warrior of the Church, I don't have any room to argue, it's not my place… but the orders are muffled, really. I don't know for sure. All I know is, I don't like it." Frea glanced away, more than a little disappointed in the answer and a bit irritated by it, they were no closer to understanding the aim- and though it was worth the try, she hadn't been sure that a young boy working with Legion would be privy to much useful information anyway. Suddenly the boy grinned and Frea stiffened, "Its my turn to ask a question!"
"Alright.." Frea mumbled, faintly aware that Aisha's attention had moved away from the boy as her head tilted upward toward the sky momentarily, the same sky that had fallen dark and the moon was rising now.
"You, are you the Wizard that created those Anomalies?" The boy asked, catching Frea rather off-guard. She stiffened, eyes growing wider and sweatdropping. "Your Magic, Energy Magic, it's silver. The only other Silver Magic I've seen before was those two Magic Anomalies, the huge bursts of Magic in the sky! Was it you?" His eyes shone and Frea shifted a little.
"….. yes." Frea replied slowly, taking a step back and tensing, she could feel the Magic Power about the boy start to increase, as if he was about to attack. "That was me.."
The boy smiled, "Then this will be fun. I can go back and tell everyone I met two Wizards with two types of Magic I've never heard before. And, I can tell them I defeated the Wizard who caused the Magic Anomalies! They'll be so jealous!"
A wave of force ran into Frea, sending her skidding back over the ground until her back slammed into a large boulder sticking out of the landscape. She hissed, falling to her knees and clenching her jaw. So, Force Magic then? It must be a branch off of Crash Magic or vice versa, they were too similar not to be related in some way or other. The boy must be manipulating the air about them and using pure Force from any direction and anywhere to do as he wanted- whether it was throw them around, cause an explosion, crush them, whatever. At any rate, it was just like Gildarts' Magic- thankfully minus the outstanding amount of Magic Power that man had, though this boy wasn't low on Magic Power himself, one would be very hard-pressed to find anyone in the world who could hold a candle to Gildarts.
Aisha's own Magic rose up about her, the dark blue and white spiraling around as she jumped away, too slow though as a different wave of force hit her too- but she moved fast enough not to catch the full brunt of it. Frea stood up slowly, eyes closing as she focused on trying to pinpoint the next attack as she had earlier. It was a trick she had learned with her brawling with Gildarts. With a Magic that was quite literally invisible to see, and nearly impossible to anticipate- it was useful to be an Energy Mage and be rather good at Sensing Magic around you. The problem was, being fast enough to actually react to it.
"Strike Storm!" Frea's attention snapped away from what she was doing and her eyes opened to see the sky erupt with the Moonlight Rays as they crashed down on the area around the boy- the same attack that had thrown Frea herself when she first met Aisha- the very first attack Aisha had ever landed on her. The magnitude of the Spell that day was nowhere near the magnitude of the Spell at this moment- Aisha had thrown a lot of Magic Power into that Spell and it was going to pummel everything in the immediate area of the kid, including Frea herself.
She growled, quickly jumping backward and barely missing a few of the streams of Moonlight that touched down just near her, hissing as she struggled to twist out of the way of a few more, "Energy Dragon Wave Attack!" She snapped, sending two out toward the last rays of Moonlight before they could hit, and finally breaking away from the blast zone- sending a very dirty glare on Aisha for even doing that while she was underneath. "Are you trying to piss me off?!" Frea snapped at Aisha, her anger getting the best of her in that moment. Aisha scowled more, but didn't answer.
The boy's blue eyes moved up toward the Magic hurtling down toward him, though he didn't move. The rays ran into an invisible wall, shattering with a resounding boom on contact. Aisha growled, eyes narrowed and scowling in fury at what happened, not happy the attack had been warded so easily. But the scowl didn't last for much longer as she was rammed into with a force that exploded the air about her on contact, a similar wall rammed into Frea, as she placed a shield in front of herself in an instant to try and ward off the attack. Her shield shattered and she stumbled back, but it held up against most of what tried to hit her.
"Do you realize you almost hit your Guild-mate with that attack?" The boy asked of Aisha as she got back to her feet, looking rather pissed.
"Energy Dragon Roar!" The spinning tornado of silver tore out across the landscape toward the boy, ramming into another invisible wall and imploding- the Magic spreading out around the landscape and tearing everything up around it, Frea hissed, Aisha jumped up and away from the stray gusts of silver Magic,
"Watch it with the out of control Magic, would you?!" Aisha snapped, Frea turned a glare on her and bared her fangs a little, before the both of them ran out toward the boy- deciding getting close to land a blow was the best bet. A flash of Magic pressure ahead of them made Frea jump upward and flip, as the force ran straight into Aisha and she yelped a bit, before her Magic exploded about her and her eyes fixed on the boy furiously.
"Lunar Beam!"
A wash of Magic suddenly poured down from the sky in a river of pure power, as Aisha's hands shot up toward the moon and moved down to gesture toward the kid, Frea brought her fist back as she neared the boy, aware that she was in the blast zone- again. "Energy Dragon Iron Fist!" She snapped, close enough to hit the boy- but then he lift a hand and snapped his fingers, with a boom she was thrown away like a ragdoll, and hit the ground hard- just as Aisha's Spell made contact and cut straight through the rock the boy was on, engulfing him in dark blue and white light.
"Damnit…" Frea growled, she had been so close! That was exactly the thing that happened whenever she had brawled with Gildarts, she had always gotten so close to landing a hit, but no matter how fast she was, or how strong her planned attack was- she was always thrown away and it always hurt. She opened her eyes to see the kid disappear into Aisha's attack, blinking a few times- had the kid gotten hit?
"You two are very bad at working with each other, do you know that?" both their heads snapped around to glimpse the boy sitting on a different rock nearby, no scratches, no sign he'd been hit by Aisha's Magic at all. They hadn't time to get a good look before all hell broke loose, and they began to be pummeled by blow after invisible blow, their bodies bruising, clothes tearing. They were thrown against the ground, against rocks, rammed into by walls of pressure, thrown backward by percussive explosions. There wasn't time to react, there wasn't time to move- this wasn't like before, there was no pause in between blows, barely any time to breath let alone to block or move away.
Frea let her Magic flare up around her, trying to block off any amount of the blows as she could manage- though it didn't help. Her body ached, and every blow was more pain, she had a hard time getting a bead on Aisha- all she managed to see was a beacon of dark blue and white before another wall hit her and she crashed into the ground hard enough to cave it in, coughing on impact and vision blurring into black. Perhaps if her Magic Energy was at 100% she may have been able to block against the blows coming at her, but she couldn't manage it now, not with how low her Magic Energy supply was and how battered her body was from dealing with Cobra's Poison.
The attacks suddenly ceased, as Frea rolled over slowly, hissing in pain and slowly pushing herself up, ears catching on to the sound of footsteps, as she glanced up to see the boy had stood up from where he had been sitting and walked along the rock a bit, glancing down toward her with his arms behind his back. "You're both very bad at this team-work thing, there's no coordination, no communication! Moonlight didn't even care you were in the blast zone for those two attacks of hers, and you- you didn't even try to warn her about that Force Wall coming toward the both of you, and you didn't care about that wild ricocheted of your, ah, 'Roar' was it?" the boy shook his head a little and paused, "Though, I really guess I shouldn't be surprised. The teams you were placed in were supposed to be pretty bad. You people were meant to be paired up with someone you couldn't work with well."
Frea stiffened, eyes going wide at the words. The pairings were supposed to be bad? She had noticed that those chosen to go together back at the Guild had been very… odd, most everyone put together had seemed like a bad choice. But how in the world could the Legion or Oracion Seis have managed to force Cana into picking bad teams? Frea hadn't noticed any sort of odd Energy hanging about Cana herself, and the brunette certainly hadn't seemed off in her demeanor either…. Her eyes narrowed when she recalled Cana mentioning she had been sleepy before doing her Divination.
"Damn it…. We were set up, again." She hissed under her breath, "That is getting annoying, damn it!"
"You've come up rather sub-par, Miss Anomaly." The boy said suddenly, "I was expecting more of a fight from you! And where is all that Magic Power?" The boy paused and scowled a little, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did those disgusting Oracion Seis Wizards wear you down already? That's not fair! Maybe you just need a little harder push, I find that most Wizards usually have a bit of juice left when things crash down on them hard enough to kill them." His hand lift above him and he scowled a little, snapping his fingers as the entire area began to shake, Frea's head snapped up feeling the unbelievable amount of Power about to rain down on her, the air was vibrating, the ground underneath her was shaking, and the sky above her wavered like a heat wave was rolling through. She climbed to her feet quickly, tensing as she was about to move away, only to get thrown back down, her head slamming into the rocky terrain and allowing black spots to dance across her vision, jaw clenched.
Without any other option, she forced her Magic to flare up at the highest rate possible that she could manage, the silver lighting up the oncoming night, attempting to place a dome between herself and the oncoming wall of Force that was threatening to crush her, body tense and aching, her mind becoming more fuzzy and the strain of using so much Magic at the moment hitting her as a force of its own.
S…shit….
Aisha's POV
She hissed as the constant blows came to a small halt, her own Magic blazing up around her and warding off as much of the attacks as humanly possible- fuled by pain and anger toward the kid and Frea herself. She'd already been irritated that they had been picked to go together on this stupid search mission, she couldn't stand the Energy Dragon Slayer and the feeling was very much mutual between them. The added on irritation of almost getting hit by the stray Magic from Frea's Roar that bounced back, and the fact that Frea left her to get rammed into by a Force Wall as they were running together was not helping. She had no need for anything new to add to her dislike for the Energy Dragon Slayer, but she was being given reasons over and over since Macao called her name along with Frea's.
Now to add on all this irritation with a little brat throwing them around was not making her any happier.
Aisha was very good at taking hits, which was very true for Frea as well- she knew that because she had seen Frea take several hits from Aisha herself, including a direct hit from a Spell that should, and could, have the ability to level a small village. Though she was never going to say it out loud, Aisha knew Frea was a very strong Mage, one of the strongest she had ever seen- and the Frea she was traveling with? Frea was hurt, she was weak, and her Magic Energy Supply was low- she didn't have the same feel of waves of immense power coming off of her like there usually was. Aisha hadn't been there when Oracion Seis had first appeared, but she could guess that Frea had taken a good hit, several good hits more like. There was something wrong, she was weak, she was slow, and she had hardly any Magic Power left…. Which was seemingly why she wasn't able to block the blows from the Force Magic like she should be able to.
Aisha's Magic flared up brighter and stronger, guarding against the Force Magic more and more, standing still and body tense, eyes moving back and forth, senses on high alert for any indication of the Force Walls coming toward her from all sides. It was easier to block off the blows if she let her Magic grow stronger, enough t clash with the other Magic and make the air shake with the boom of the opposing forces- it was easy to let her Magic grow stronger, and to push harder as the moon continued to rise up in the sky, sending its rays down on them. The moon was the source of her Magic, naturally, her Magic was stronger at night as Solana's Magic was stringer in the day under the light of the sun. And with the moon full as it was tonight, the amount of strength flowing into her slowly was at its peak.
"You're both very bad at this team-work thing, there's no coordination, no communication! Moonlight didn't even care you were in the blast zone for those two attacks of hers, and you- you didn't even try to warn her about that Force Wall coming toward the both of you, and you didn't care about that wild ricocheted of your, ah, 'Roar' was it?" Aisha's head snapped around when she heard the boy start to talk, seeing him looking at Frea as she crouched on the ground, panting. "Though, I really guess I shouldn't be surprised. The teams you were placed in were supposed to be pretty bad. You people were meant to be paired up with someone you couldn't work with well."
Aisha's eyes narrowed at the words, her jaw clenching and anger rising again. Now that wasn't hard to believe in the slightest, she hadn't much experience in being able to tell who among Fairy Tail would be good at working with who, but she had the sense to know that to have herself and the Energy Dragon Slayer paired up was not a good idea, nor could be considered a pair that could 'work well together'. How it was the Cana was manipulated into creating bad pairs on the whim of Oracion Seis and the Legion was the real question, but from what Aisha knew of the Wizards in Oracion Seis, they had the magical capability to pull something like that off easily.
"Full-Moon Ward." Aisha growled, swiping her arms out before her as a circular wall made of white and surrounded in a square of dark blue appeared on all sides of her, falling into the ground at a standstill and holding fast against the Force Magic pounding at her, but the surface cracking a little as she panted slightly, a bead of sweat dripping down her face at the effort of holding the Spell.
"You've come up rather sub-par, Miss Anomaly." The boy said suddenly, earning Aisha's attention once more. "I was expecting more of a fight from you! And where is all that Magic Power?" The boy paused and scowled a little, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did those disgusting Oracion Seis Wizards wear you down already? That's not fair! Maybe you just need a little harder push, I find that most Wizards usually have a bit of juice left when things crash down on them hard enough to kill them."
Aisha's attention snapped toward the feel of an amazing amount of Force massing above Frea, who was already having a hard time moving. The amount of power about to crash down on the Energy Dragon Slayer was much more destructive and powerful than the first attack made toward them as they first found the boy. Frea moved to try and get away, but she was thrown back into the ground with so much force Aisha winced despite herself, eyes narrowed as the Energy Dragon Slayer's Magic rose up around her body in an attempt to try and shield against the Force- it did little good as it made impact and engulfed the Energy Dragon Slayer completely, the ground about her caving in as the unbridled power of the hit crashed down on her, earning a yell of pain as the Force crashed down and exploded, sending bits of earth flying.
"Tch.." Aisha hissed, eyes narrowed and flinching as one of the shields on her right cracked, her eyes went wide when the dust that had risen suddenly cleared and Frea could be seen crouched on one knee, holding her chest in pain and head hanging. She had moved away from where she was originally, her skin cut and bleeding in several places, looking quite worse for wear. Aisha's eyes narrowed when she saw the blood dripping from Frea's mouth, and then she saw the little brat move, he snapped his fingers again.
"Still waiting!" He said rather impatiently. Frea's Magic flared up again, but suddenly imploded- entirely spent. Aisha growled, feeling the next massive Force Wall massing above the downed Dragon Slayer and streaming down, Frea shook a little as she tried to move but her body seemed to protest. Aisha's gaze snapped back to her four shields as the attacks on her seemed to cease entirely, the boy must have lost interest in her as his attention was on making trying to earn a reaction from Frea that pleased him. Aisah swiped her arms out, the shields around her melting away as she growled under her breath, mind racing as she tried to come to a decision quickly.
Frea wouldn't be able to take another hit, especially not while she couldn't use her Magic to block any of the blow. It was annoying, why would anyone be stupid enough to go on a mission like this half-cocked? To be stupid enough to go chasing down enemies hurt and low on Magic Power? Oh, that's right- the complete and utter IDIOT who had gotten Solana almost killed, turned her into a Celestial Spirit, and completely tipped the Balance of the World! Not to mention, also the same person who had almost unleased an ancient, evil Magic that had almost killed her, and everyone else with her at the time. The most idiotic, arrogant, and utterly annoying Mage Aisha had ever met- the very Mage she could not stand.
…. Even then, and she hated to think so, she couldn't stand by and watch Frea get hit by that attack. It wouldn't end well, and honestly…. Chase would be pissed, if he found out that she had watched while his Old Mentor was killed, and of all the people in Fairy Tail, it was his favor and his good standing she actually wished to keep. He was kind, and the tie spent working with him looking into the Prison Break and everything related, had helped to settle whatever conflict there had been between them because of what happened before, and she was looking to keep a good standing with him, if nothing else.
Her Magic exploded around her, nearly matching the level of Power she had the night of the Balance Shift, as she jumped forward to get closer to Frea, eyes narrowing as she skidded to a halt and lift her hand to the sky, eyes fixed on the moon as she poured her Magic into the sky around it, forming a thin layer of Magic over the area, sweatdropping at how fast doing so was starting to drain her Magic supply. She let her eyes fall closed, muttering under her breath quickly;
"Blue moon,
Cold sky,
Melt Spells,
Dispell Charms,
Destroy Magic,
Drip,
Drip,
Drop."
Her eyes snapped open, flashing purple as the moon faded from pure white to a purple that matched her eyes, dozens of Magic Circles appearing in the air above Frea and the boy, the light of the moon suddenly cascading down in a powerful burst of Magic, thy sky lighting up with the light of the Spell.
"Moon Drip!"
The ground shook as the purple Moonlight shot down from the sky, and connected with the ground around them, engulfing Frea and the boy with all space in between them, sending waves of air spiraling out around them, the air vibrating with the sudden burst of power manifested. The Magic Circles faded as the moon faded back to its pure white color, the Magic spiraling around Aisha fading completely as she came to a halt, panting a little and sweatdropping.
Moon Drip was a very advanced Spell for normal Wizards, and usually it would take years to even cast correctly or enough to be useful- to create Moon Drip in a matter of seconds, even for a Moonlight Mage and the Cosmic Soul for the moon like Aisha, it was extremely hard to do, and put a lot of strain on her body and Magic Energy. She shook her head and growled a little, there wasn't time to catch her breath, the Moon Drip would have dispelled the Force Wall threatening to hit Frea- but the little brat would still be able to keep using Magic, but maybe he would be stunned a little and leave himself open long enough to land a hit,
"Moonlight Rays: Strike Storm!" She growled, the rays streaming down on top of the place where she could see the boy standing in stunned silence, running forward as his attention turned toward blocking those- as she jumped behind him and swung a leg out, her Magic streaming about her to add power to the blow as she landed a swing on the boy, sending him crashing off the rock.
"H-how did you..?" The boy stammered, jumping to his feet and looking disconcerted. "You changed the color of the moon and destroyed my Magic! That's impossible!" Aisha scowled and wrapped her fist in her Magic,
"Not if you're me." She snapped, opening her hand as she moved her fist in the direction of the boy. "Starfall Field." The ground about the boy suddenly erupted with dozens of specks of white light, shaking the air in a series of booms as they exploded in white-hot fury. The boy let out a yell of pain and fell backward, his arm swept out toward Aisha in anger and the air before her suddenly exploded, sending her skidding backward with a hiss of pain, not expecting the quick comeback.
"Stop it! That's not fair!" The boy snapped,
"World's not fair you little brat!" Aisha snapped back, getting to her feet. "Half-Moon Strike!" She swept her arm out before her, an arc of her Magic sent streaming through the air toward the boy, hitting the hastily made Force Wall square on and causing it to implode, sending the boy sprawling onto his back.
"QUIT IT!"
Aisha's head snapped around as she whipped about, this time easily able to feel the pressure mounting behind her as the boy attempted to send another Force Wall into her, she swiped her arm before her again, "Half-Moon Strike!" She snapped, the wind picking up as her Magic clashed with the boy's, she felt an incredible force amass behind her in the next instant, she started to turn but she knew she was too late to try and block it.
"Energy Shield!" Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that Frea had moved, ragged and bleeding but eyes glinting in anger as the silver wall erupted in front of her, holding steadfast against the Force Wall that turned into a concussive explosion two seconds later, hairline cracks spreading across the surface of the Energy Dragon Slayer's Magic but doing nothing more, until she let it drop and Aisha turned around completely. Frea's silver gaze switched to meet Aisha's purple one, sharing silent words as both of them looked away from one another and back at the boy, their Magic springing up around them to form a blue, silver and white beacon clashing with the dark of the night behind them.
"Strike Storm! Moonlight Beams!" Aisha snapped, her arms swinging forward as beams of pure white shot from her hands, and rays of Moonlight shot down from the sky toward the boy, making him scramble to place Force Walls of a high enough caliber to block against the numerous attacks sent at him. While he was focused on that, he hadn't time to react as Frea suddenly appeared behind him, jabbing her index finger into the base of the boy's neck and leaving a small silver Magic Circle there, the boy whipped about to retaliate- but not before Frea's fingers curled and she pulled toward her, Magic wrapping about her hand,
"Energy Chains." She growled lowly, the symbol on the boy's arm breaking away into glittering pieces as chains composed of silver wrapped around his arms and lodged themselves into the ground, forcing the boy to his knees as he growled in anger at the action. The Energy Dragon Slayer's hand opened up and she drew it behind her, it blazing silver with her Magic as her eyes locked onto the boy, who looked back with a scowl, his eyes flashing in slight fear. "Energy Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hindering Seal!" She growled, her hand swinging forward and slamming into the boys chest- the Magic Circle appearing there spun once, as the Energy Chains melted away and the boy fell onto his back, coughing and sputtering.
Aisha walked up, arms crossed over her chest and looking down at the boy, the memory of Frea doing that exact same thing to her suddenly flashed before her mind, making anger flare up inside her at the thought, though she suppressed it as best she could. She barely reacted when Frea suddenly took a small step back before falling into a sitting position, eyes closed and looking unsteady, panting heavily, looking exhausted. Not surprising, Aisha had thought Frea had spent all her Magic Energy already, and since she hadn't- everything she had just done must have, and surely did, spend the rest of her Magic Energy completely, leaving her pale and dizzy.
"… that's not possible.. you two… I was supposed to beat you… you shouldn't be able to beat me… you can't work together…." The boy mumbled, sitting up and holding his chest gingerly, eyes looking to Frea who had her head bowed and was holding her chest, blood still dripping from her mouth slowly. "What did you do to me?" He demanded,
"Sealed off your Magic, you little brat." Aisha growled, earning the boy's blue eyes. "It sucks, I should know, but we're done getting thrown around by you." Aisha leaned over so her face was barely an inch away from the boys, her face growing dark and eyes flashing in cold anger, voice dropping to a low dangerous growl. "Now, you better listen up and answer my questions, I'm in no mood for your shit, you got it?" She growled lowly, the boy sweatdropped and leaned away, eyes wide in sudden fear- he couldn't remember the last time he saw someone who looked so dangerous.
"I- I.. y-yeah, got it…" he stammered and Aisha leaned away again, for all the power the kid had, he was still young, and he was still easily scared- clearly.
"You work for Legion, right?" Aisha asked and the boy nodded a little, "What is your name?"
"Corbynn." He mumbled,
"Why were you sent here?" She asked lowly,
"I.. I'm not supposed to tell you." Corbynn mumbled, not meeting Aisha's gaze. "… I can't disobey… or…"
"Or what?" Aisha growled, "I'd be more worried about what I will do to you if you do not answer my questions, brat."
".. They'll imprison me, like they did Coco… I'll be punished, I could never go back to Zentopia…. Or Cardinal Lapointe will punish me as he has Coco…." Corbynn whispered, his head falling and his frame shaking a little at the thought.
"… Think of why Coco disobeyed." Frea spoke up suddenly, having looked up as Aisha started to question the boy. Her eyes were tired, but she was listening in at full attention. Corbynn's blue eyes snapped up toward her, confused a minute. "Why she went against orders… she knew something was wrong, she knew what Legion was doing wasn't right. She stood up for her beliefs, even when she knew doing so was going to cost her." Frea sighed a little and winced slightly, "You said it yourself, you don't like what is going on. Somewhere inside of you, you know that working with Oracion Seis, everything with the Infinity Clock- it's all wrong, and I don't get an evil feel from you, I honestly don't." Corbynn stared a minute, trying to let the Energy Dragon Slayer's words sink in a bit as Aisha blinked once, expression neutral. "It's not a sin, to stand up for what you truly believe in."
Something about what she said suddenly got through to him, because he glanced away and let his eyes fall closed. "…I think, I was supposed to distract you, while others distracted those in your Guild at separate places."
"Distract us? What for?" Aisha asked and he shook his head a little,
"I don't know… something big." His blue eyes swept up toward the sky and out in the distance, where a mas of dark clouds had been forming constantly for an hour or so now. Frea and Aisha noticed where he was looking and they too glanced that way, eyes narrowed and sweatdropping.
There had been Negative Energy floating about in the air everywhere they went since coming back to the Guild earlier, Aisha could sense that much as Frea could, and though she hadn't been focusing on it- she knew that Negative Energy was growing stronger and thicker steadily, now it was almost choking and it sent a chill down her spine.
Something big was right, and it seemed that something was about to come to a head.
"All I can figure, is they wanted you Fairy Tailers spread out and confused- not prepared really. That's why you were placed into teams that shouldn't work well together." Corbynn mumbled, his blue eyes glancing between the two woman slowly.
"You don't have any idea what they are doing with the 'Infinity Clock' then?" Aisha asked, and Corbynn paused,
"No… it was odd, because Cardinal Lapointe didn't order us to go after the Clock when Oracion Seis took it- that's when I figured out the Arch-Bishop had us working with them. They still have it, as far as I know." He sighed, "All I heard was something about.. ah… 'Chaos being released', of course that was just a rumor floating around." His eyes stayed switching between the two of them, because neither looked back at him from when they turned to look where the clouds had gathered. He bit his lip a moment, seeing how tense the two of them were and finding the sudden seriousness unnerving.
"Its bad, isn't it?" He asked, earning Frea's attention as she glanced toward him slowly, frowning a little. "Something bad is happening, something wrong?"
"It seems that way." She replied quietly. Corbynn's eyes fell and he clenched his fists, scrunching his eyes closed and bowing his head. It was in that instant that lighting arched across the sky among the mass of clouds, and the view of a massive ship appeared there- the feeling of Negative Energy increased tenfold and a dark, evil Aura spread out across the land- all radiating from that ship. Frea's head snapped around at the feeling and Aisha hissed under her breath, immediately smelling trouble. Corbynn's eyes flew open as he looked out toward the ship suspended in air, eyes wide and sweatdropping.
"What is that?" He whispered, dozens of what looked to be chains shot out from the bottom of the ship and toward the ground, everything shook as they made contact and Frea closed her eyes, holding a hand to her head as the Negative Energy all around increased again, and suddenly everything was swimming.
The boom of the Clock could be heard all over Fiore, and they sky was consumed by darkness and the clouds grew thicker, covering the moon and sending everything into shadow. The noise of the Clock rang painfully in Frea's ears, and she leaned over a little, feeling dizzy as the Energy around them strengthened slowly, it felt like… like Poison, sort of. Something that made her vision swim and her senses muddled, but certainly something Evil, very Evil.
"Is she… ok?" Corbynn asked, eyes wide at Frea as he saw her reaction. Aisha's eyes lingered on the Energy Dragon Slayer a minute, before she looked away with a sigh.
"No… and things aren't ok. My guess is they activated the full power of that Infinity Clock. She's very sensitive to things, and the amount of Power that thing is giving off, its.. jarring." Aisha replied lowly, able to feel the Evil Power herself but not to the extent of how Frea could clearly. She frowned slightly, glancing at the sky and the sudden stretching of the cloud cover that had blocked the moon.
The sudden chiming that wasn't the Infinity Clock caught their attention, Aisha blinked once before pulling a card out of her back pocket and drawing her finger across the shining surface to answer it, the face of Warren appeared on the front- looking panicked and on edge. Aisha didn't seem surprised by the look on his face, she had already guessed things hadn't gone well with anyone else.
"Aisha! I'm so glad you answered, we just received word from the other teams, and then the thing in the sky and with what happened at Kardia Cathedral…" Warren gasped frantically,
"Calm down." Aisha growled, earning his silence immediately. "Start from the top, are the other teams ok?"
"Well, uh… no. Not really, everyone's been hurt, and Natsu and Lucy have been captured by Oracion Seis.."
"How?!" Frea snapped, ignoring the sudden dizziness and getting to her feet immediately, snatching the card away from Aisha who scowled profusely at the action, the Energy Dragon Slayer glaring down at Warren who looked taken aback by her sudden appearance in the face of the card.
"F-Frea.. you look… awful…" He stammered and Frea's fangs ground down on eachother.
"How were Lucy and Natsu captured, Warren?!" She snapped again and he flinched,
"Michelle… she betrayed us….." He said slowly and Frea's face darkened, her eyes lighting up in profound fury as she flicked the card back Aisha's way, who caught it with a huff, as Frea turned away, fists clenching at her sides and shoulders shaking in anger.
"DAMN IT!" Frea snapped, slamming her fist into a nearby boulder and shattering the rock instantly, no Magic needed. "That little bitch! I knew she was hiding something, DAMN IT!" Corbynn's eyes went wide and he flinched at the sudden anger from the same person who had looked so beaten just seonds before.
How dare she?! The bad feeling she had gotten from Michelle the minute she met her, the nearly hidden evil feel of her, the off story... everything! She knew it wasn't a good idea to leave Michelle alone with Lucy, and she knew she shouldn't have agreed to split up instead of keep an eye of the girl- Master Makarov had asked her for that and she failed to do so….. DAMN IT ALL!
"I'm going to kill her…" Frea hissed under her breath, "She's never going to get away with that… if anything happens to Natsu or Lucy….. I will not forgive it…"
"What happened at Kardia Cathedral?" Aisha went on, deciding it better to get away from the kidnapping topic for now, her eyes darting to Corbynn as she saw the young boy get to his feet slowly, arms crossing over his chest as he looked at the furious Frea uncertainly.
"Midnight came here and broke into the Crypt under the church, he was looking for something in a coffin down there. As soon as he destroyed it that.. that ship thing showed up and the clouds covered the sky." Warren went on, "Bisca and Alzack got hurt, and most of the other teams are on they're way back here to regroup, we'll try and figure out our next move so we can rescue Lucy and Natsu." He paused, his eyes moving toward the edge of the card, as if he was listening for Frea to say anything else. "You two should come back," he murmured, "Please." He added in quickly and Aisha nodded,
"Yeah, that'll be the plan." She murmured, earning a nod before she signed the card off and replaced it in her pocket. Her eyes went toward Frea, "Think you can make it back to the Guild?" She asked lowly, she wasn't looking to have to carry Frea's sorry ass back.
"Yeah, I'll make it, I'd make it to Zentopia and back at this point." Frea growled lowly, her anger still boiling. Aisha glanced away and met Corbynn's gaze then, he shifted nervously.
"What are you going to do then, brat?" She asked and Corbynn flinched a little.
"… I'm going to find Samuel." He answered after a long while, "Samuel.. I can trust him, and I think he feels the same suspicions about Zentopia too." Aisha nodded a little, and Corbynn looked away, heading off before pausing and looking back. "I'm sorry.. about all of this, if its worth anything." He mumbled, rounding a large boulder and he was out of sight.
Frea let out a sigh and turned back, as they started walking back the way they had come, slowly- both of them were pretty beaten up and Frea was clearly not in good shape, though she hardly showed it she was too angry now.
"…. Thank you, for the Moon Drip Spell, Aisha." Frea said lowly after they had been walking awhile the Energy Dragon Slayer's temper simmered down and she started showing her pain more, limping and wincing every once in awhile. Aisha's head snapped up at the words, eyes widening slightly and shocked to say the least. She glanced over toward Frea slowly, eyes narrowed and expression neutral. Frea wasn't looking her way and her eyes were focused on the ground, frowning slightly and looking as if it pained her to say anything at all- which it very well may have.
Frea's own dislike for Aisha would usually make thanking her for anything an inconceivable idea, but at this moment in time, and seeing what had happened… she swallowed her own pride and thanked her anyway, though she hated to do so. Because she realized that Aisha had... well, probably saved her life in all honesty, she wasn't sure she could have taken that second hit, and the Moon Drip Spell Aisha had unleashed in that instant had saved her from finding out.
Aisha blinked once, and glanced away, scowling slightly. "Yeah, yeah… whatever…" She trailed off and let her eyes close. "… Don't think I did it because I like you." She added in and Frea rolled her eyes slightly,
"Diddo." Frea hissed, her mind flashing along with Aisha's, to the moment Frea stepped in behind Aisha and blocked the blow that would have hit the Moonlight Mage in the back.
With that, they didn't say anything to one another as they went on toward Magnolia.
Hey all of you who may or may not have stopped reading this due to the extremely long hiatus that happened. Long story short, I was stolen by another Fandom and couldn't find the motivation write for FT anymore. :I
Anyway, I will try to upload the next chapter at a good pace this time around, once I'm done with the Clock Arc I think I'll be able to pick things back up again, so pray for that.
Enjoy! And thank you to everyone who followed, faved and reviewed during the Hiatus! It means a lot to me, really.