So, this is the end of the Tower of Heaven Arc. I started it off with less than 3k words worth of notes, and it's nearly tripled. To me, that's a pretty big win. And to think that when I first started writing my notes, the first 22 chapters didn't even exist… Sorry, I'm just feeling so proud of myself that I'm starting to ramble. But damn, this chapter got really long...
Anyway, Ciara and Natsu just survived an Etherion blast…that's something. Okay! Dragon Force time!
Ciara's P.O.V.
I squeeze Natsu's hand tightly as the light around us dims. And what I open my eyes to is something absolutely stunning. The walls, the floors, everything is made out of lacrima. And the magic crystal hums with the energy of the Etherion blast.
Natsu groans a little as he stands up and opens his eyes. "What the heck just happened to this place?"
I touch the closest crystal, and like I expect, it thrums with magic energy. "I think that the tower had lacrima in the walls, and that when the Etherion blast hit the tower, all of the magic energy was sucked up. We're still alive because the tower acted like a huge lightning rod. Except that the power isn't in the ground, it's in the tower itself."
"What!?" Natsu's eyes bug out and he looks like he's going to have an aneurysm. "How the hell does something like that happen!?"
"I don't know…" I look up towards the top of the tower. "But when we get up there, I intend to find out. Jellal must have planned this. There's no way he would be so calm as to go through with that game otherwise."
"No kidding…" Natsu looks up at the top, his eyes full of fire. "Let's go!"
"Yes. It's time for us to win this game." I smile and grab hold of Natsu. "Careful, this is going to be a bumpy ride."
He just nods slightly. "I can handle it."
Oh, I bet you can. I smirk a little as my feet leave the ground. "Liftoff in three, two one…" I jump into the air and shoot off into the sky with my passenger. "Now!"
Spikes of the lacrima tower flash by as I hurtle up the side of the tower with Natsu. I slow down as we reach the top, since it would be nice to retain at least some element of surprise. We have no idea what exactly we'll be facing up there, so it's best to have whatever advantages we can scrounge up.
I land on the edge of the tower, lightly depositing Natsu on the ground. "Alright, now we have to go get Erza. I can sense her and one other person just ahead, so it's probably Jellal."
"Got it." Natsu cracks his knuckles and looks around one of the giant spikes of lacrima. "He's doing something to Erza, so I'm gonna go grab her."
"Alright, then I'll watch your back." This is a typical tactic for me and Natsu. One performs the action, the other provides cover.
We sneak around the lacrima spikes, and the man with oddly familiar blue hair pushes Erza into a giant lacrima spike. And the thing sucks her up like jelly. It must not feel like that, though, seeing as she's screaming. "No! Stop!"
He turns away from Erza, and now it sounds like he's praying. "Oh great and powerful Zeref, I call upon you to offer you this woman's flesh!"
"Don't do this!" Erza pleads for her life, but really, it's for the sake of not bringing an evil wizard back to life. "Please Jellal!"
But now that Jellal has his eyes closed, it's time for me and Natsu to act. I race in between Jellal and Erza, while Natsu goes straight for our red-headed guild mate, pulling her out of the lacrima. " I gotcha."
I crouch a little, smiling as I glance back at Natsu. "Good job. Looks like we got here just in time."
Natsu smiles right back. "Erza's an important member of our Fairy Tail family." His gaze drifts to Jellal. "I won't let you touch her."
Jellal turns to face us, and I get the shock of my life. Mystogan!? But it can't be! He doesn't have the staffs! He doesn't feel like Mystogan either! This guy's magic feels quite different to our shy and stoic sleep wizard. But there's no mistaking that face. Even the tattoo is the same. That's impossible…twins? Dopplegangers? Alternate universe? Okay, admittedly that last one is silly, but at this point, I'm about ready to take anything as an explanation for why this guy looks exactly like one of my guild mates.
Erza finally comes to her senses, and her voice comes out weakly. "Natsu…Ciara…"
Natsu laughs. "Jeez, what are you doing hanging around with this loser? If we don't hurry and get back to work, Lucy's not gonna be able to pay her rent. Trust me, you don't wanna make her angry." Trust Natsu to get as off topic as possible when dealing with a dangerous situation. Then again, I know very well that he's only doing it to make Erza feel better.
"Sorry, but I can't move." Erza must see what he's doing, because she plays right along.
Natsu, on the other hand, sees an opportunity. "No way!" He cackles mischievously and sets about tickling Erza while she's down. "Time for some serious payback! This is what you get for always tickling me!"
Erza starts laughing, but her mouth is determined to stay present. "This is serious! So quit goofing off! Stop it!" Natsu does stop with the tickling, and Erza has a chance to catch her breath. "Natsu, Ciara, you two have got to get out of here as fast as you can."
"I ain't leaving." Natsu immediately draws a line in the sand. "If you can't do the fighting yourself, then I'll just have to do it for ya."
"You can't. He's too powerful." Erza seems to lack any fith in our abilities. "Besides, you don't know anything about him."
"Who says I need to know the guy to beat him up." I hate to admit it, but in this case, I agree with Natsu's simplistic thinking. Sometimes, simple is just the best way to go.
"Please. Just this once, do as I ask you." I roll my eyes at Erza's implication. What, like he doesn't obey you on a daily basis already? My brother may be an idiot, but he does have good instincts. And once in a while, he uses them.
Hey! I heard that!
You were supposed to…
Natsu gets up, bringing Erza to her feet. And there, she's confused. "What are you doing?"
"Honestly, I don't really know you all that well either." I actually wince at Natsu speaking the hard truth. "But I can still take you down!" He punches her right in the stomach, knocking her out in one shot. Normally, he wouldn't put so much effort into it, but all of his other challenges to Erza are just for fun. This is not fun.
That catches Jellal's interest. "You're even foolhardier than the rumors make you out to be. What kind of sick satisfaction do you get from striking a defenseless friend?"
"I had to do it, cause she was crying." Natsu stands his ground, held up by his beliefs. "She looked so weak and fragile. Her voice was trembling with fear." His fist catches fire, the anger in him burning even though his voice remains soft. "I don't wanna see Erza like that. I've always looked up to her as a strong warrior. And when she wakes up from this nightmare, I want her to feel like her old self again." The power around him erupts, shining light off of every surface. "If you wanna get to her, you'll have to go through me!"
"Is that a challenge?" Jellal's eyes stir with a manic light. "Consider my interest piqued. I would love to witness the power of a dragon slayer."
Natsu moves between me and Jellal, switching our offensive and defensive positions. "Ciara, take care of Erza for me. I'll let you know if I need backup."
"Right…" I jump back a few meters, landing right by Erza's side. "Remember, this time, you're allowed to go overboard."
He simply nods, before taking off in a flurry of fire, engaging Jellal in a battle of fiery fists and kicks. And when he's angry, he doesn't hold back much. Whether it be by wing or talon, he's determined to bring down this wizard saint.
"Fire Dragon ROAR!" Natsu unleashes a huge inferno, bathing this entire upper floor in the glow of dragon's fire.
But out of the inferno steps Jellal, looking no worse for wear, though the same can't be said for his jacket, burned to ashes by Natsu. "Is that the best you can do? I expected more from you, Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel. I was hoping to get a taste of the destructive might of a dragon slayer before I started ripping you to shreds with my bare hands, but if that's all you've got, I won't waste my time. Perhaps you should send your sister in to fight for you. I might get more of a match out of an S-Class dragon slayer."
I seethe at this man's ignorance. Like he knows anything about the power of a dragon slayer…it's called slayer for a reason. It's meant to be lethal. If either of us went full force, a poor human would never stand a chance! And how the hell does he know who Igneel is!?
I don't know, but I'm planning on beating some answers out of him. I hadn't realized that Natsu was listening to my thoughts, but it makes me happy that he was. Now I don't have to stew in my anger alone.
"I'll show you!" Natsu charges at Jellal, intent on ripping him to pieces.
Jellal, on the other hand, is unfazed. "You must be punished for disrupting my ceremony. Prepare to be destroyed by my Heavenly Body Magic. Meteor!" He disappears in a flash, surrounded by a golden glow.
Natsu probably can't see him, since he's going so fast, but I can. The perks of being a wizard who specializes in speed is that whenever someone else is moving quickly, I can see it clearly.
However, me seeing it clearly isn't going to help Natsu, who takes several light hits as a result of Jellal's enhanced speed and mobility. And even if he could see it, that wouldn't help him react to it. His reflexes may be good, but he's nowhere near as fast as I am. But that's not going to stop him. I can already sense his battlefield instincts going into overdrive. He's relying on all his bodily sense to try and figure out where Jellal is going to strike from next.
In an instant, he picks out a perfect place, with perfect timing. However, as expected, while his senses may be able to pick up on when Jellal is going to be in range, his body just can't keep up. He tries to punch Jellal, but misses, as Jellal starts to speed up.
Jellal appears behind Natsu just as he's turning around. "Be glad you got your hits in, cause it won't happen again!" He strikes Natsu in the jaw once, then twice, then proceeds with a barrage of punches right to Natsu's face. "And now, I'll show you the true destructive power of darkness magic."
Jellal rises into the air, high above our heads. He ignores me, for the most part, focusing his next attack on Natsu. "May the Seven Stars bring judgment upon you. Seven Star Sword, Grand Chariot!"
As the light falls from the sky I race over to Natsu, who takes the spell full force. "Natsu!" But as I get no response, I charge in, catching him in mid-air, and leaping back towards Erza, setting Natsu on the ground. "Natsu, are you gonna be okay? Natsu!?" Still, no response.
Jellal smirks at me. "That spell packs as much punch as being hit by a falling meteor. I'm surprised his body's still in one piece after being hit with it. There'll be no waking him up from that. Perhaps that was a little much. Now…" He raises his hands again, this time aimed at me. "The R-System can't afford to suffer any more damage or it'll be rendered useless. So be a good girl and sit there quietly. If you do, I'll promise not to blast his body to smithereens."
I grit my teeth as he starts to walk towards Erza. Then, I hear a familiar voice in my head. Ciara…go protect Erza…
Natsu!? I look down into my lap and my stupid big brother starts moving. You sure!?
Yeah…go…
If he's got enough strength to tell me that, then I know he's going to be okay. So I lay him down gently on the ground and get to my feet, disappearing into the wind, and reappearing between Jellal and Erza. "Not another step, bastard."
"Oh?" He looks at me with amusement. "And what exactly do you plan to do? You brother is dead by my hand. Do you believe that you will fare any better?"
His ignorance is what amuses me. "Are you really so stupid as to underestimate dragon slayers? We tend to be a pretty resilient bunch."
Small pieces of lacrima start hitting Jellal's boots, calling our attention over to Natsu. Not only is he not dead, but he's got enough strength to move, despite being hit with a spell that should have been lethal. And one piece, just one, manages to hit Jellal in the chest, making Natsu smile. "You feel that? It was my sneak attack." I can feel the cogs in his brain working overtime now. "So now that the tower's a giant crystal, I guess shattering is would screw up your plans. This is not your day, buddy!" Natsu grins at me, before cracking the ground with a single punch.
Jellal looks angry and shocked. "What are you doing!?"
Natsu laughs as he gets to his feet. "Come on, didn't you know that destroying stuff is what us Fairy Tail wizards are best at?" Fire surrounds him again, glowing against the lacrima. "Now I'm all fired up! More than I've ever been before!"
"I'm not going to let you get in my way! This'll be the end of you. I've dreamed of this day, and I won't let a fool like you spoil it for me!" Jellal looks murderous, which is good, because now he looks nothing like Mystogan. That means that I should be able to fight without holding back.
Another bark of laughter escapes Natsu. "Sorry, pal, but I'm a pretty tough guy." Natsu is grinning like there's no tomorrow. "If you think you can take me, then come and get me!"
The battle begins again at full speed as Jellal launches another shining attack at Natsu. Magical projectiles that slam into the ground, causing even more damage to the tower. You'd think that Jellal would be more careful around his own tower, but he's just making his own situation worse.
On the bright side, Natsu is getting a lot faster. "I got you now!" He dives at Jellal, only to be driven back by a blast of light.
Fine…if Natsu can't do it, then it's my turn. And either way, I win. I suck in a breath and focus my sight directly onto Jellal's head. "Wind Dragon's Roar!" I unleash a stream of magic from my mouth that hurtles towards Jellal at high speed.
And just as I expected, he dodges the attack, leaping high into the air as he glares down at me. But in his ignorance, he's too self-absorbed to realize that he's not the only thing I'm aiming at. My roar slams into the wall of lacrima on the other side of this floor, shattering it into a billion pieces.
"No!" He glares at me after seeing the destruction done to his precious tower. "Damn you!"
I smirk up at him as he realizes exactly what game we're playing. "You hit one of us, the other will go after you. You dodge our attacks, and we bring your tower crumbling down! You attack me instead of Natsu, and you risk destroying your precious sacrifice! Or you risk having your attack reflected right back at you!" That's not a bluff. I've worked hard on my barrier magic, sneaking it in during my free time during my vacation. I'm fairly confident that if I had to, I could even reflect that nasty Grand Chariot spell of his. Though doing that would end the battle for me right then and there.
Behind me, Erza wakes up, and she spots Natsu kneeling about thirty feet away, looking quite battered and bruised. "Natsu!"
But then, he gets up like the last attack was nothing. "Ha! You so worried about your precious tower, you're not gonna fight me full-on!? Cause I get the feeling you're holding back! And that ain't gonna work against me!"
"I'd watch my mouth if I were you!" Jellal goes back to ignoring me, raising his hand against my brother and knocking him back once again. Then he turns to me, as though ready to block an attack.
I smirk at him, not having readied another attack in the first place. "Oh good, you're getting paranoid. I never said with what frequency we would attack. Why don't you try again next time?"
"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu's fireball comes hurtling out of nowhere, nearly blindsiding Jellal. But in the end, the attack does more to the tower than to the Heavenly Body wizard.
"He's aiming for the tower." Erza looks on in awe from behind me.
I look back at her with a grin. "A physical battle, a mental battle, and a landscape battle. Together, me and Natsu can hit it on all sides."
"Now, I'm angry." Jellal's hands start shaking, and his face twists up in anger, deviating even further from Mystogan's calm and kind face. "I didn't spend years building this tower just to have a couple of brats tear it down! I won't let you!"
Natsu gets right back up, looking a little wobbly. "Tough break, pal, but you can't say I didn't warn you. I told you destroying stuff id one of my specialties. My sister will vouch for it, she hates it when I break stuff!"
That seems to be the last straw. "I'll make you pay!" Jellal raises his hands, a huge amount of magic power flowing through him, and all concern for his tower wiped away in favor of destroying Natsu.
"Whoa, something weird's going on with his magic! It's making me feel sick!" Natsu stumbles a little as I race over to him.
"Natsu, are you okay!?" I grab hold of him and hold him up. This is bad. Whatever that spell is, it's definitely not normal magic!
"And now, I'll plunge you into infinite darkness, dragon slayers!" A dark orb forms above him, one that he no doubt plans to shoot at us.
"Don't do it!" In a flash, Erza picks herself up and throws herself into the middle of the battle, using herself as a shield while I hold up Natsu. "Unless you want to kill me too!" Jellal seems to hesitate, which gives Erza a little more confidence. "You don't want to lose your sacrifice to Zeref, do you?"
"That would be a problem." Jellal appears to concede her logic. But my instincts are screaming at me that something is going to go wrong. "The ceremony requires the body of a wizard comparable in strength to one of the ten wizard saints." That seems like a tall order, but Jellal doesn't look worried. "However, I can find a suitable replacement. You're not the only one who fits that bill. I'll worry about that after I kill the three of you!"
Damnit! I can't deflect a spell that strong! But regardless, I prepare a shield anyway, hoping to do something about that massive attack.
Natsu is more concerned for Erza's safety than his own. "Watch out! What are you doing?"
"It's my fault that you're involved in this mess." Erza stands tall and proud as our defender. "The least I can do is protect the two of you!"
Natsu shoves me roughly. "Ciara! You need to take Erza and run! Get out of the way!"
I shake my head and focus on my spell. "Natsu, you never left me behind, so there's no way I'm leaving you behind, ever! I don't know if this is gonna work, but I'm going to try and block the spell!"
"Don;t do it! It'll kill you!" Natsu's paranoia is not without merit, but I still doubt that failing a spell like this would drain my magic to zero in a place like this. The air itself hums with magic energy. In fact, if I can work quickly enough, I might be able to use the energy in the air to strengthen the spell.
Unfortunately, I don't have that long, and Jellal hurls the spell at us. "Heavenly Body Magic! Altairis!"
The spell of darkness zooms toward us, intent on smashing right into Erza. But in the blink of an eye, a larger form appears in front of Erza to take the blast, landing just outside the range of my magic circle.
The impact causes an explosion, throwing dust and smoke into the air, along with particles of ethernano infused lacrima. And when that dust clears, the one standing there, taking the lethal hit, is Simon.
Erza rushes forward, headed straight for her friend. "Simon!"
Jellal approaches as well. "I had no idea you were still crawling around the tower, you despicable pest."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Erza ignores Jellal's jibe, her eyes only for Simon now. "Why didn't you escape with the others?" But when she gets no response, she panics. "Talk to me!"
Simon coughs, his words too strangled and muffled to make out. But judging by the look on Erza's face, they're heartbreaking. "Simon!" Erza starts whimpering, tears falling down her face as Simon becomes still. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Natsu grabs hold of my wrist, a hard look of anger in his eyes. "Ciara, I've got an idea."
"Yeah? What is it?" I've got a bad feeling about it, but at this point, I'm willing to listen to any plan he's got.
"First, I think that you're gonna need to let your hair down." My eyes widen, since he must think that the situation is truly desperate, to even suggest breaking Igneel's rules. "And second…we need more magic. I'm gonna take on Jellal, and you need to bring down this tower."
"Yeah…but there's only so much power I can get from sucking up the wind." I really hate to poke a hole in his plan, but I just don't see what he could mean.
"There's one other place to get magic, right?" He looks down at the ground and picks up a shattered piece of lacrima. "There's wind and fire magic in here, right?"
My eyes widen as his plan dawns on me. "Yeah…but…"
He brings it to his mouth and takes a bite of it. "Then eat up. You're gonna need it if we're gonna topple this tower."
He presses a lacrima crystal into my hand, about the size of my fist. I clench it tightly, worried about what exactly this is going to do to my body. But hell, if this doesn't work, nothing will, and I'm ready to take some desperate measures. He reaches up and pulls my ribbons from my hair, stuffing them into the sealed pouch that I carry with me just in case something like this happens. Always prepared for everything, as the older members of the guild say. I've never used it before. I've never had a reason to. But today, I do.
Over there by Simon and Erza, Jellal just laughs. "What a perfectly foolish thing to do! He tried to play the valiant hero, but his death won't change a thing! Simon gave his own life to save yours, but he should have known that I'm not letting any of you leave this tower alive!"
Natsu isn't taking any more shit from him, and sprints up in an instant to sock him in the jaw. "Shut up!"
Jellal goes flying, smashing into a lacrima spike a short ways away. Natsu's lacrima-powered punch was amazing, and I look back down at the lacrima in my hand. I guess it's now or never… I bite into it, my teeth cracking the lacrima, shattering it into tiny pieces in my mouth. At the first swallow, I can feel the power flowing into me. At the second, I can feel it humming in my veins. And at the third, I can feel it spilling out of me. I feel like I'm going to throw up. But there's so much power, and I have to try and contain it myself, with no help from my magic seals.
Natsu roars into the sky, magic energy swirling around him like flames in a firepit. "Ciara! Go!" He slams his hands against the ground, shattering some of the lacrima. "Now!"
Today is one of those days, one of those rare days that Natsu is calling the shots instead of me. Sometimes, we do it together, and often, I'm making the plans and handing out the orders. Today, though, it's his turn to take the lead.
Alright, but you had better kick his ass. If you don't, then I'm going to be very displeased when I come back up here to clean up your mess.
Yeah, now go! Bring this whole damn tower down!
Aye, sir. My face twists in a wry smile as I mimic Happy. Then I glare at the ground and raise my fist. "Wind Dragon's Shining Claws!"
The ground shatters beneath me, plunging me into a hole down to the next floor. And as I fall, I spin through the air. "Wind Dragon's Talon!" Power pumps through me as I bring my heel down on the ground of this floor, shattering it as well.
I make the plunge, going floor after floor after floor, shattering columns and spikes, some of which fall right down to the bottom of the tower, bringing other spikes with them as they fall into the ocean. Deafening sounds of battle echo above me, proof that Natsu is fighting Jellal as hard as I'm working to bring down this tower.
I hit the ground near the bottom of the tower, and take a look around, looking for the weakest point. That's when I catch sight of my own reflection in a large, still intact piece of crystal.
Looking at it, I would swear that I'm looking at another person. But the thigh-length pink hair is definitely mine. The rest…can't possibly be. There are silver streaks in my hair, silvery blue scales extending over my skin, covering my sides, and parts of my face, especially around my now solid silver eyes. And judging by the feeling, I would say that the scales extend down my arms and legs, as they also end on the backs of my hands.
I raise my hand up to take a look. What…what's happened to me? Wait… Some of Igneel's old lessons come flooding into my mind, coming from the deepest recesses of my memories. …Dragon Force…? But it can't be…can it? I thought that he said that I wouldn't be able to use it on my own. Did the ether-nano trigger it? Is Natsu using this form too?
I clench my fist, and stare at my reflection. "Well, nothing I ca do about it now. So I might as well use it." I draw my hand back and slam it against the lacrima. "Time to bring this place down!"
I didn't think that I hit it so hard. But as soon as my hand makes contact with the crystalline surface, the lacrima starts exploding around me, crumbling under the force of the magic. Drawing myself into a ball, I hope that I'll make it out of this in one piece. But judging by how violently the lacrima is exploding, that might not be an option.
A particularly violent explosion goes off above my head. The subsequent shockwave slams into me, hurling me out of the tower and across the ocean.
I skip like a stone across the bumpy surface of the water, hitting every wave in my way. So…is this how I'm going to die…? I smash into another wave, but this time, I sink into the water instead of skipping across it. Guess so…
As I sink into the water, my limbs without the energy to pull myself to the surface, I watch as the light from the stars dims and diffuses into the many layers of water that lie between me and the surface. And as I close my eyes, there are only two words on my mind.
Sorry, Natsu…
Gray's P.O.V.
Light bursts from the tower, shooting up into the sky.
"Oh crap, it's exploding!"
"No it's not! Take a closer look!" I know explosions, I've been around Natsu long enough to know a normal explosion from this. "That magic energy's shooting upwards out of the tower! Into the sky!" But still, the power is incredible, the whole tower goes up in smoke as it does explode, though on a smaller scale.
Happy freaks out. "Where'd the tower go!?"
"It was just there a second ago!" Man, Erza's friends are great at pointing out the obvious.
But Sho is right, the lacrima has been leveled, there's almost nothing left of it after it's consumed in that bright light. And something whizzes across the water, heading almost straight for us. At first, I wonder if it's Jellal, here to wipe out the rest of us. Then I catch sight of the pink hair. "Ciara!"
I try to get up, but Lucy pushes me back down as the bubble wobbles. "Gray, what's going on!?"
I point out towards the water. "It'a Ciara! She's headed this way!" But just when I expect her to catch sight of us and speed up, she slams into a wave and disappears. "Ciara…?" I half expect her to poke her head out of the water, straight into the bubble. But she doesn't.
Happy stares out at the water helplessly. "Do you think she's okay? She hit the water pretty hard…"
Of course! I get up and peer into the water. "She must be unconscious! That explosion threw her all the way out here! I have to save her!"
Before anyone can stop me, I break through the shell of the bubble and dive into the water, straight in the direction that she sank in.
I swim as fast as I can, looking for that pink hair, her most distinguishing feature. It sure makes her easy to pick out in a crowd. And here in the water, I'm hoping it'll offer the same advantage. And there's plenty of it, so it shouldn't be hard to spot.
A flash of pink skirts past me, just out of the corner of my eye. I turn, and there she is, about thirty feet away. Gotcha! I swim quickly, heading straight for her as she continues to sink. Man, for someone who likes to fly a lot, she sure sinks fast. It reminds me of that time when we were kids, when she had no idea how to die by drowning.
As soon as I'm close enough to grab her, I pull her into my arms and head straight for the surface. The sooner she's out of the water, the better, because as far as I can tell, she's not breathing.
I break the surface with her, but even the shock of air doesn't force the water out of her lungs. Damn it! I look around for the others, and catch sight of Juvia's bubble headed straight for us. "Over here! She needs help!"
The bubble speeds up, opening a hole in it so that Lucy and Sho can pull Ciara inside. Lucy watches Ciara, then panics. "Juvia! She's not breathing!"
I'm on it." Juvia kneels next to Ciara as I climb into the bubble and it seals up behind me. She moves her hand over Ciara's chest, moving it along with her hand. "Now…" Ciara's mouth opens a little as water starts to flow out. And just as the last droplets of water trickle out, she starts coughing and gasping for air.
Now that she's breathing and the danger has passed, I take a good look at her skin and notice…scales. There are pale, silvery blue scales covering the sides of her face, as well as her shoulders and hands. It looks like there's more, but I can't tell for sure how far they go.
The scales quickly start to disappear as her breathing steadies. And Lucy looks more than a little shocked. "What…what was that?"
"I don't know…" And I really don't. I've never seen this happen to Ciara before, and I've known her for years. Not only that, but her ribbons aren't in her hair. "Did she…unseal her power?" I heard her talking about it with Gramps once, a long time ago. It was the one time that Erza agreed to eavesdrop on a conversation with me.
Juvia keeps us moving towards the remains of the tower, but spares a glance down at Ciara. "It reminds me of Gajeel's scales…"
"So it's a dragon slayer thing?" Lucy sounds a little relieved at that, and I can detect the awe in her voice. "Then…I wonder what happened…to push her so far?"
"We're about to find out." Juvia drops her hands, and the water sphere collapses. "We're here."
"Good…" I heft Ciara onto my back, carrying her along as we run towards Natsu, who looks like he's carrying Erza. "Hey Erza!"
Natsu goes ahead and collapses, he looks pretty worn out. But there's no way I'm cutting him any slack just because he's tired. "Hey man! Your sister is heavy!"
He and Erza lean away from each other as Lucy tackles Erza in a hug. And Natsu focuses on me, his eyes growing unnaturally warm at the sight of his sister. "Ciara…you made it…good…" Then he promptly collapses.
"Whoa! What happened!?" Sho pulls Natsu out of the water in a hurry. "He's unconscious!"
I sigh and glance back at Ciara. "Looks like these two really over did it."
"They ate ether-nano. The Etherion charged the lacrima crystals, and they both ate some of it. It gave them incredible power but…" Erza looks at them sadly. "I'm worried about what'll happen to them."
I sigh and shake my head. "Trust these two to let their appetites get them into trouble… Dragon slayers are such a pain."
"Yeah…" Erza gazes softly at Natsu, and it's just so cute. "But it's a pain I'm willing to endure…"
Lucy laughs, nodding a little. "Yeah…I think they're pretty cool too."
"Then let's get these two home. They'll get to cool off there." Lucy groans at my joke, but the others just laugh.
I shift Ciara one more time on my back. She's deceptively light, but that's probably just part of her wind dragon thing. I'll tell her what happened when she wakes up. She's probably going to be out for a while. And to think, she's only been awake for a couple of weeks, and now she's going straight back to sleep.
But I'll just tell her about it all when she's strong again.
