A/N: *Pushes imaginary glasses onto bridge of nose* So, Hello there friends. It's been a while...like almost 4 months. Hehe. I apologie. *Rubs back of head nervously* Anyways this chapter has given me so much trouble. I have tried off and on for months to work on it. To come up with ideas. I even started side stories to try and help spark motivation. So what I ended up doing was skipping the first part of this chapter and moving on to a different section and after I had finished I came back and finished the first section. This is my first chapter over 8k WC. I wasn't expecting it to be that long but it is.
For lack of better words, between feb and now, my husband wrecked my truck on his way to work on a bad ice storm we had. So we had to go buy a new vehicle. The this covid virus snuck up on everybody and here we all are having to deal with that. My father in law actually contracted the covid-pneumonia strand. He is currently in the hospital on a vent and has a trach. It's been rough and so on top of being exposed by him, I was exposed at the Walmart in my town on two different days they had listed so my primary and CDC said 'Keep your ass at home for 14 days.' Yeah my boss isn't happy because I work an essential job but better safe than sorry. So for all you folks out there not heeding these warnings, please do. My FIL is fighting for his life. I have 2 high risk people who are at my house everyday to watch my kids and now they are at just as much risk and the covid is community spreading through my town because no body cares and now we're on a state ordered stay at home. So, we shall see if these other human beings will actually listen.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise to keep up with this masterpiece of mine, just give me benefit of doubt.
PS for those trying to find the playlist just put this into the search bar, otherwise I'm not sure how else to post it. ipffw049xwmrd58czr95mge1t Thank you and let me know what everyone thinks of this chapter. I hope it doesn't seem forced.
EDITED FOR A/N addition: Please in the review let me know if you the readers and fans would rather me just add a new arc onto this writing piece or if I should make a sequel to UE. I would love everyone's opinions before I just decide. I don't want to lose anyone's interests if I take it too long. I have been collaborating on a neat Arc I wanted to write about but wasn't sure which direction to go in. So PLEASE let me know your opinions or even send me a message. Whatever works for me!
~~~Chapter Thirty-Three~~~
Gajeel bared his pointy canines as he growled- his fingerless leather gloves cracking from the pressure of him curling his fingers into tight clenched fists. Cobra eyed the iron slayer from the corner of his eye. He was trying his best to void out his thoughts- especially with how distressed the iron slayer was.
"Are you ready to get your ass slaughtered?" Gajeel asked as he took a fist to his chin pushing upwards to crack his neck. Cobra opened his mouth letting poisonous gas undetected leak from his mouth like carbon monoxide- invisible and deadly.
Ox stared back at Gajeel with a bemused look- rather enticed with the slayer's macho enthusiasm. He intertwined his fingers and outstretched his arms before him with a smirk, loud cracks resonating from his fingers popping. "You're a lot of bark. Why don't you back that up with your bite? Show me how a real man avenges his lover." The man provoked. Delilah tip toed beside him- her hair bouncy from the movement.
"Can we just blow them up? I'm bored of this." She whined looking up at her older superior. Ox reached out patting the anxious girl on her head.
"Now that would spoil all the fun. The sound of tormenting them sounds more appealing. What's the fun of blowing them up in one?" Ox asked the girl seriously.
"Enough of this." Gajeel growled. Cobra stood back behind him with his arms crossed as poison still causally leaked from his gaped mouth. Doesn't appear that the fume had hit the duo yet- which was unfortunate. There would be no way they would be immune to such a poison. It was one he hardly ever released because of how deadly it could be. "Iron dragon roar!" The slayer hollered as the blast shot from his mouth as he crotched bracing himself with his knees. Ox and Delilah both leaped to the sides as the blast crossed through where they were just momentarily standing.
"He's scary Ox." Delilah commented before chuckling. "Just kidding." She started laughing- her hands crossing to her belly as she leaned over a bit. A metal pole extended causing a shriek from Delilah as she ducked just a hair in time from being pummeled from the iron club. "That was rude." She spat putting her hands on her thin waist.
Gajeel appeared right before the girl with his hand outstretched as his fingers wrapped around her neck. He slowly picked her up as she kicked her legs and scratched at the iron. His eyes were slanted as he watched the girl struggle.
"O-Ox!" Delilah rasped out. She swung her hand up towards Gajeel's face catching friction. Smoke emitted as she was released from his grasp as smoke engulfed them. Five totems started dancing around Gajeel as the air cleared as Bickslow walked up behind Gajeel and Cobra.
"Looks like you could use a little help over here." Bickslow pointed out as his tongue hung out revealing his emblem. His helmet was still off with his mohawk laying limp whichever direction from all the sweat damping it down.
"This girl is just a pain in the ass." Gajeel growled. Cobra snorted amused but he didn't disagree. The girl was a walking, breathing glycerin bomb. Besides Gajeel grasping her around the neck, she was nearly impossible to touch. His poison didn't seem to have any affect and he had no idea why. Maybe he was starting to lose his touch but there was no way he was. He was still in his prime.
"I think what you guys need is a plan of action- not just randomly attacking." Jellal stated as he walked up to join the group. Cobra wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve.
"It's a different scenario but we could try something similar to what we did with moron." Cobra agreed reading Jellal's thoughts. Jellal gave him a look for invading his mind, but Cobra chuckled not really giving two shits. It's part of him and his power. He can't just turn it off like a toggle switch.
"You know, it makes me feel weak knowing that it will be four against two, and we're the team with four." Bickslow pointed out as his totems rubbed against him. But then again, even with those odds the group they were facing were far stronger that those of the Spriggan. Each mage from the Fairy Tail guild have grown exceptionally as a person and as a magic wizard.
"Whatever it takes to beat these ass holes." Gajeel spat as he pounded his metal fists together. There was no argument there.
"Alright then." Bickslow said slowly. "So, what's the plan? I have a little bit of ass kicking left in my containers." He commented. Jellal glanced over at their enemy as the girl threw a tantrum to Ox as he just shook his head disapprovingly. Cobra burst out laughing after hearing Jellal's thoughts.
"I thought I told you to knock that off Erik." Jellal grumbled. Cobra laughed again as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"That's your grand plan?" Cobra whistled. Gajeel turned towards them with an un-amused look.
"Just spit it out already." He demanded impatient. His eyes wandered over to where Levy, Gray, Meredy and Evergreen were huddled. Gray had thrown up an ice make barrier on their vulnerable side to help shield them- although it wasn't as strong it could be. It'll probably break under a few attacks made at it.
"We all attack simultaneously." Jellal was serious. Dead serious. It was about winning now and doing whatever it took to win. They are all battered and torn, tired and ready to sleep for centuries. There have been so many life or death wars in the past few years that he mentally was just over it all.
"That's it?" Bickslow asked if he misheard. "For us to all attack at once and to continuously attack?" He scratched his cheek with a finger with slight confusion but he wouldn't dare question it. He was follower, not a leader. He didn't have what it took to lead but he would put him utmost trust in Jellal.
"I like the sound of that plan." Gajeel expressed. "I want so smash them into the ground really good." Jellal held a hand up into the air to catch Gajeel's attention.
"Just remember who you are Gajeel. Don't let rage overcome the true meaning of what it is to be a mage." He reminded. Bickslow's mouth gaped open not sure how Gajeel was going to respond to that. Gajeel tends to over stimulate himself and get worked up. But he took it better than he had expected.
"Whatever. I won't stoop back to who I was when I was with Phantom Lord. I'm not that kind of person anymo'." Gajeel said spitting to the side. "But there's nothing wrong with teachin' em' a lesson." Bickslow gave a nod as Jellal gave a fast smile.
"Right. So, my suggestion is don't hold back and give them everything you got!" Jellal shouted as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. Gajeel jumped into the air extending a club as Cobra jumped onto the extending club with his arms behind his back as he chanted his roar. Bickslow's totems got into the Baryon formation as a bright, green flash blinded as it hurled towards Ox and Delilah.
"What the hell?" Ox hollered thrown off guard. Delilah turned quickly to see what his commotion was about as her eyes widened. She stretched her hands out throwing bombs towards the attacks.
"Ox!" She screeched. She dodged one attack but got scorched by Cobra's roar. She flew backwards flipping onto the ground as steam erupted from her skin from burnt flesh. Her eyes stared silently up at the sky. Her whole mind and body were numb as the bandages where scorched off to already show skin grafts from the previous fire she was doused in. She had failed, she had lost. How? She wasn't sure. They had the upper hand than out of nowhere, they won. Those mongrels known as Fairy Tail had won. She wondered how the others from her group were fairing. She couldn't have been the only one to have failed. She was deemed one of the top three in the group. Maybe it was because she made a mistake? They would probably blame the fact that they had put a kid in such an important role. There used to be many rumors from the others with complaints that she was just a kid. But she sure fooled them. But did she really? A tear escaped down her cheek but her lips curved into a smile. Maybe now she can happily be at ease with life.
Ox rolled and dodged both attacks flung at him. He had great stamina so he didn't have any worries about out dodging, what did worry him was that Delilah got hit by one by their carelessness and he was now solo fighting on four different mages. He knew there were more mages behind the ice barrier but he was pretty sure it was the group that was injured- which gave him an idea. He skidded in the dirt as he faced the barrier. He held his hands out with palms touching has light beamed in his hands. There was no way he was going to get defeated in a matter of minutes when he and Delilah had the upper hand.
Jellal appeared in front of the barrier his mouth moving forming one word. "PLEIADES!" He said again out loud. The clouds in the sky started swirling together as light beams consecutively shot like bullets from the sky towards Ox as he tried to dodge them. Jellal had a feeling that Ox would try and play dirty to go after the injured mages when Delilah was out. Once that had one of the mages down, getting the other wasn't going to be as much as a challenge. Although he didn't think their plan would have gone as smoothly as it did. It went almost too quick and too easy.
"Iron-Poison DRAGON ROAR!" Cobra and Gajeel chanted at the same time as they both jumped and aimed their roar's at Ox as the last two beams from Jellal's attack sped towards the enemy. Ox closed his eyes realizing defeat as he raised his arms into an X above his head as he said a silent prayer. He was ready to make peace. Maybe it was time for him to go. To be free.
Freed felt the sweat bead his forehead as he stabilized his breathing. Ophelia was more than a challenging opponent. He knew him succeeding in winning the fight was extremely low. However- he was a fairy tail member and he was going to give it everything he's got. He wasn't going to give up that easily. What he was more fearful about was his demon form. It had a tendency of trying to manipulate and take over the human mind.
"Thinking about how you are in over your head runt?" Ophelia smiled tapping a nail to her cheek with a toothy smile. Freed knew she has only been messing with him and here he was starting to grow desperate. The only other known solution he had in mind was if Miss Lucy could chant the scripture on the relic. If she were to succeed, the mission of the group attacking them would be instinct. So, he just needed to keep buying himself time more or less.
"Thanks for asking, but I must inform that that's not what's on my mind." Freed commented. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath as he kept the demon at bay. He needed to keep paced so he wouldn't wear himself down.
"Ah. Perhaps you're trying to think of a way to defeat me?" She chuckled. "I must inform you- you won't defeat me. Have you never heard of the trickery mage?" She asked. Freed's eyebrows knitted together in thought. He vaguely remembered any stories about the trickery mage. He tried to retrace his memory from when he and Mira were in the library. There was passage she had read that had piqued his interest.
"Freed." Her voice was quiet as her top teeth lightly bit down on her bottom lip as she turned her eyes to face the script mage. She shakily tucked a piece of silvery hair behind her ear as she waited for the man to glance up. "I found something." Her voice cracked grabbing his attention.
"What is it?" He asked setting his book down as he pushed himself up to his feet and walked towards Mira who was sitting on folded knees on the floor. She shifted to the side keeping her manicured nail in place on the passage she had came across.
"Here, look. Trickery magic comes from a realm of such darkness, it would take the purest light to bring it down. Anyone who possess this magic can doom the life of one individual to the entire civilization. They could even rule over the dragons. Trickery magic also has a sub magic that ties in with curses and possessions. Lying is their feat." She spoke out loud as her finger trailed under the words as she read. "The magic is said to be titled to only one individual, but there were no facts that makes that true. The magic is deemed rare, but never underestimate the holder if you happen to cross such a path. They can destroy you." She looked up at Freed with wide eyes. His fingers cupped his chin as his eyes stared down at the passage.
"That is rather interesting indeed." He commented. "But does that really apply to what we're searching for?" He asked. He watched as her shoulders sagged before giving a weak shrug.
"I guess not. But it could be useful information for later if we ever needed it. I mean, it's in the same book that we had researched the Sirius family in." She mentioned. Freed nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Note it for later but let's get back on the original mission of finding information out for Laxus." Freed said standing back up.
His body tensed as he recalled the moment Mira had came across a passage dealing about trickery magic. He already knew he lost, there was no way of beating her. Not him particularly- but Lucy and Ciel. The Phantom Star to be frank. So, he was back to square one, his original notation. He needed to be a decoy and buy Lucy some time. No one knew the roots to as what will happen once the relic is cited, but if he knew Fairy Tail, they didn't give two shits if it saved their family.
"Wrong again." He said confidently crossing his arms before his chest. Her smile didn't falter. Then it dawned on him. He was just a play toy for her. She wasn't trying to out right kill him, but more so trying to torture him. That thought sent a shiver up his spine. What kind of sick people was this group? How did people like this even exist? It was asinine behavior, disturbing- sickening.
"Oh?" She stated with a tilt of her head as one of the ponytails bounced with the shift of her head. Enduring as this woman was, she was quite stunning as well. He could only imagine the anti-aging spell she would have had to cast on herself, unless-! His eyes widened. Would someone really be that degrading to cast a curse over their self? To define the natural aging process to be forever young. There were so many questions reeling through his brain. What the hell was even going on? Who was Ophelia really? "Would you be so inclined to fill me in on what you plan to do?" She asked breaking Freed from his thoughts.
His hand reached down to the hilt of his sword, his fingers curling around it tightly. The sword was great with scriptures but it wasn't going to do any good in a fight with her. The best he could do was write a barrier around his like he did the guild hall the year that they ruined the fantasia parade. The only fear he about that was she could easily break the seal.
"Cat got your tongue?" She asked taking steps forward. Freed tensed, digging his heels into the ground. He needed a plan of action. What the hell was he going to do?
"Water nebula!" A female voice sung as Ophelia stood immersed in the ball of water. Freed turned to see Juvia standing there with her hands out breathing heavily. She probably had run all the way here, most likely searching for Gray. She had been gone off on missions for Master so coming back to this chaos was probably not something that she was imagining.
"Oh, what's this?" Ophelia asked lifting a hand in the water nebula as her fingers wiggled, her lips curled into a smile with delight. Juvia's eyes widened with fear as the attack had no affect on the woman whatsoever.
"Juvia doesn't understand." She said with shock laced in her voice. "She shouldn't be able to move." Juvia grunted as she put more strength behind her attack.
"Juvia." Freed called as his eyes stayed on Ophelia. Ophelia had a look of mischief on her face and it didn't settle well in the pit of Freed's stomach. He glanced quickly at Juvia whose one eye had closed as she was putting everything she had in her attack. "Juvia stop!" Freed yelled as he turned, pushing off the toe of his foot. Juvia startled from his yell lowering her defenses.
"Raven's claw!" Ophelia chanted as black specs rushed through the water dispersing from the water mages hands. Freed clenched his teeth as he reached his arms out wrapping Juvia in them to break her contact with the water. Ophelia's attack whizzed about their heads as they both slapped the ground with a groan. Juvia lifted her head to see another attack heading towards them was demanded afterwards. She squeezed Freed as she rolled them over. It was easier said than done when Freed was in his demon darkness possession. The very spot they were just lying on was destroyed as dirt clumps and dust splayed the air. Even though Juvia had initiated the roll to save them, Freed appeared on top as he used his body to shield them.
"Are you okay Juvia?" Freed asked he pushed off his hands with dirt dusting falling off his back. He was starting to get very pissed now. Juvia sat up.
"Juvia is fine." She answered as her hair tumbled down her shoulders from losing her hat turning her attention towards Ophelia. "Who is that woman Juvia was fighting? And what is going on? Juvia is confused." Freed nodded.
"I will have to explain later, now isn't the time." He said apologetic. "We need to just keep her busy for now. We won't beat her. Not even with me in this form. You think you can handle that?" He asked in a hushed whispered. Juvia nodded pushing herself up off her knees to a standing position.
"Juvia has never actually fought along side Freed before. Juvia believes we can do this together." She commented as confidence found its way through her veins. The water mage had obviously missed so much these past few months. When she had entered Magnolia, it was already in shambles. She headed in this direction where she felt the more intense magic. She honestly just wanted to find her dear Gray as she could sense his magic, but she couldn't also abandon a friend. Knowing Gray was back when he had left on the 100 Year quest with Natsu and his team really had thrown Juvia for a loop. She was so baffled on everything.
"Right." Freed agreed with a small smile. "I will go on offense while you stay in back on defense with your water source being limited." He pointed out. Laxus had plenty of water source surrounding his property but of course where he was fighting Ophelia happened to be the one spot that was scarce with water source.
Juvia nodded. "Juvia will stay as close to the creek surrounding this area as possible. That's all Juvia needs." Freed gave Juvia a curt nod before he kicked off the toe of his foot kicking up dirt as he almost teleported towards Ophelia. He threw a fist as Ophelia blocked. His arms flew at a rate he just consciously did it. No thoughts. Ophelia did a cross arm block as he jumped up to kick her only resulting in her catching his ankle. His eyes widened as he quickly used her face as a base and kicked backwards causing the woman to lose her grip. That was a close call.
Ophelia wiped her face with the back of her hand smudging red across her cheek. "I must say that was fun." Freed felt his heart drop. That was like a pebble being thrown at someone- the threat being next to nothing. His hits had no effect, besides the kick obviously when he collided with her nose and mouth.
"I don't think fun is what I was aiming for." Freed commented with a mental scowl. This was going to a lot more of a task than he anticipated.
Laxus had his hands cupped over his nose and mouth as he felt the weight of the literal fucking earth piling down on his shoulders. He couldn't believe how fucking easily he got himself buried. He was supposed to be one of the strongest, he was a fucking dragon slayer and yet here he was buried alive. Literally. His pride was officially slashed in half. He was never going to be able to live it up. More less, how was he supposed to face Lucy, to admit that he failed. But first he had to figure out how to unburial himself so he can personally tell her how he fucked up.
He could hardly even budge which was going to make this task a little harder than he imagined. It wasn't much different than have your wrist and ankles bound with cement carrying to you down to the bottom of the ocean. He didn't personally experience this himself, but it was only the most comparable scenario he could think of. Drowning to death didn't sound exciting either.
A thought popped into his head. Maybe he could wedge his arm free and punch towards the surface. But another thought was, was he facing down or was he facing up towards the surface? His mind was foggy from what had happened when he fell into the trap. All he knew he needed to get back up there and protect Lucy. Lucy. He had to fucking get out of this grave to get to her.
He clenched his jaw together as he tried to move but it was becoming nearly impossible. He tried hard to keep his lips pressed together to prevent dirt shoveling into his mouth to suffocate him even more than what he was. He was desperate for air. The small pocket from his hand being cupped was starting to not hold up. If the dirt wasn't airtight stuck to him, he was pretty sure he would be sweating profusely from how hot he was. He could feel his head get all fuzzy and he was starting to feel slightly nauseous.
There was a boom, still loud enough that it made his ears ring even though it was from the surface. He felt the dirt shift all around him as a hand slapped against his wrist tightly as they tugged with extreme strength. He felt his body move with the gravity of upwards as sunlight filled the dark void behind his eye lids.
"Impossible." Erza hissed as she applied more pressure into her hold. Britton was still cackling from beneath them as Natsu pressed his foot to where he was pretty sure would leave a permanent mark on the guys chest.
"My nose doesn't lie." Natsu said sniffing again. "Yeah I'm pretty positive." He pounded his fists together as the other man scuffed and started towards them. "Luckily for us I can pinpoint his position." He smiled as his canine tooth poked his bottom lip.
"You guys are so full of life. It makes me want to hurl my lunch. Sake won't let you get remotely close to the fella he buried." Britton said in seriousness as his laughing ceased to exist. His hands were curled into fists as he flexed towards his wrists. Fire engulfed Natsu's fists as he ignored Britton and his blabbering. He didn't give two shits what Britton was sputtering off. He had a goal and that goal was to get to Laxus.
"Shut up." Erza growled changing into heart kreuz armor as she pointed her sword at Britton's bare throat. His eyes twinkled sickly up at her.
"Britton, I swear you're a moron sometimes." Sake's deep voice interrupted as he stepped closer towards the group pinning Britton down.
"Want to fight?" Natsu asked pounding his fists together as fire licked his skin and danced around. Normally he would be all enthusiastically fired up to get into a fight but he knew he had one goal. To get to Laxus.
"Natsu." Ciel's voice spoke up as he cleared his throat. "He's not someone to take lightly. He's Ophelia's right-hand man and that for a reason." He extended his staff stabbing it the palm of Britton's hand on the side he was on. Britton grunted unexpectedly from the change as Ciel went into a standing position. He stepped his right foot onto Britton's left shoulder as he kept his weight into the staff.
"I got it." Natsu responded casting a quick glance over his shoulder. "I should probably mention heads up will be in order." Ciel opened his mouth to ask what he meant as Natsu pounced into the direction Sake was coming from. He heard Natsu yell fire dragon roar as immense amount of fire licked every crevice in the surrounding area. Sake made a rock fortress around him as the fire splayed off to the sides of it.
That's what Natsu was aiming for. He touched his fingers to the earth beneath his feet feeling Laxus's presence the strongest. He stood up popping his neck before rolling his shoulder. His fire died down around the rock fortress letting him know he was running out of time.
"Fire dragon fist!" Natsu yelled as he punched the ground with everything he had. His hand pushed through the surface as debris started pouring around empty crevices that had access to air. Natsu scrunched his eyebrows together as he dug into the earth before his hand grasped something warm. That was it.
"LAXUS!" Natsu yelled yanking with his legs as he tried to pull the much bigger slayer from the ground. Natsu grunted as his feet started to slide beneath him. Happy came up behind him flapping his wings as he tried to help pull.
"And I thought Lushy was heavy." Happy whined as his wings went into overdrive. He knew if Lucy had heard that comment she would probably send him right back to Edolas. He shuttered dreading the idea of going back to that place, even though Mystogan was now the king of that dimension.
"Just- pulllll!" Natsu growled as he stepped backwards as Laxus's body emerged from the dirt. Natsu maneuvered to grab Laxus from beneath the arm pits and slid him onto solid ground. Laxus took a ginormous gasp of breath as he turned to face the ground and started coughing. "Holy shit. You really were buried." Natsu said as his chest heaved up and down from the adrenaline from the rescue. Laxus pounded his chest as he tried to labor his breathing.
"Bastard took me by surprise not to mention I'm slightly at a disadvantage. I was just trying to buy time." Laxus stated as he turned and dropped to his back. Natsu's eyes stayed planted towards where he had left Sake and watched as the rock fortress started to disengage towards the ground.
"Well I guess we're all just trying to buy time." Natsu chuckled standing up as he hopped from foot to foot. The boulders dropping to the ground landed with a thunderous sound that almost rivaled Laxus's clap of lightening.
"Britton stop messing around and playing games." Sake demanded as he swiped dust off his tanned shoulder. "You know as well as I do, you're not really pinned down." All attention turned towards Britton. Ciel's head turned to look down at Britton who smiled.
"You may be partially right Sake. They don't have me pinned but the magical staff is a different story. I wouldn't mind the help getting it-removed." Britton asked as Ciel scowled down at him. The tip of Erza's sword poked a little harder into the flesh of Britton's throat.
"What kind of people are you?" She yelled. "What kind of sick game is this to you guys?" Laxus sat up into a sitting position as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.
"Stop asking. They aren't going to answer." Laxus said as he clumsily pushed himself into a standing position. Erza bared her teeth as her eyes glistened. This was her family these sick maniacs were toying with and she had absolutely no idea on how to defend them when her approach has no affect. Her transformations had no effect.
"I see you're still kicking." Sake observed giving them a bored look. "Just give us the stupid relic that belongs to moron's family and we will be gone."
"No." Natsu said immediately. "I don't think so." He took a step forward with anger in his eyes. "We found it. We fought for it. It belongs to fairy tail."
"And what makes you think that?" Sake asked as he leaned down and picked up a rock as he bounced it in his hand. "If I remember correctly, it belongs to the Sirius family and the last I checked, Britton is a Sirius." He stopped tossing the rock as his fingers curled around it. "Am I wrong?" Silence ate the air as each fairy tail mage stood tensed. Sake was unmistakably right.
"What cat got your tongues?" Britton barked with laughter as he shoved Erza back off him as he curled into the staff since it was the only thing truly pinning him down. Such damned magic.
"You will not touch the Phantom Star." Laxus growled especially since it was in the hands of his mate. He'd be damned if anyone got near her.
"We already know you bunch doesn't have what it takes to stop us." Britton commented as he half sat up. "Why keep fighting us?"
"The phantom star does not belong to you, especially when you aren't a true Sirius- or do they not know that little fact about you?" Ciel growled as he increased his magic through the staff. That caught Sake's attention which caused Britton's entire facial feature to drop instantly. "Your touch would instantly destroy the world."
Britton started glowing as his he swiped his hand towards Ciel's staff. Ciel commanded the staff to shrink as Britton missed it by milliseconds. With Britton's persona morphing darkly, that attack would have instantly destroy his staff. And if his staff got broken, then they would all be in a world of trouble, more than what they are now. If the group couldn't handle them at the power they stand now, there was no saving Fiore from annihilation.
"Explain." Sake demanded crossing his arms before his chest. "What does he mean you aren't a Sirius?" Britton spoke in a foreign language as he charged towards Ciel. Ciel blocked a punch Britton threw at him as he jumped backwards.
"He's waiting for you to answer." Ciel pointed out as he dunked another swing that Britton had taken towards him. He knew he had royally pissed Britton off calling him out- which only meant that Britton had been telling him the truth.
"Shut. Up." Britton hissed through clenched teeth. Ciel turned around as he felt a presence behind him. He ran towards the wall running up in partially as he kicked off and flipped over landing on the ground away from Britton.
"You know what, we'll deal with it later. Stop screwing around Britton and go get that relic." Sake yelled as the ground started to shake. Laxus looked over at Natsu as they both nodded and jumped backwards.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Natsu asked. Laxus rolled his eyes at the fire dragon slayer as they both landed on the roof a nearby building away from the guild.
"I'm not a mind reader Natsu." Laxus said. Natsu smiled as Happy sat perched on his shoulder with his tail slinking back forth behind his neck. "What?"
"Unison raid." Natsu clapped hands together before rubbing them causing friction.
"Idiot. Our attacks don't affect them." Laxus said whacking him on the back of the head. Natsu rubbed his head as he mean-mugged Laxus.
"As a diversion. Our goal is to buy time, right? Why not a unison raid to throw them off? It took that buff guy a whole five minutes for his barrier to crumple from my dragon roar. Imagine his time on a unison raid from two dragon roars." Natsu tapped his head. Laxus blinked a few times as he stared in awe.
"Huh." He said. "Maybe you have some brains in there after all."
"Well duh. Natsu can be smart when he wants to be." Happy chided as he jumped off Natsu's shoulders and flapped his white wings to keep himself afloat in the air.
"Which isn't often." Laxus noted catching a hey from Natsu as he comprehended the insult. "We'll give your idea a try. Anything is worth throwing their way at this rate. Hopefully Lucy will hurry the hell up. I wonder what is taking her so long." Happy rolled his eyes.
"That's Lushy for you!" Happy said with a chirp. "She takes forrr-evver!" Laxus turned to watch Sake shook his head as Britton was still completely focused on Ciel who was dodging left and right. He didn't draw out his staff. His attention turned back to Sake his eyes focused on the two slayers. Laxus eyed Natsu.
"You ready to do this or what?" Laxus grumbled as he flexed his arms as the wind started to pick up. If they were going to perform a raid, he wanted it to be at max power. Pale yellow colored scales decorated his arms as lightening licked his body, his shirt ripped the rest of the way as his muscles expanded. His eyes narrowed as the amount of power that surged through his veins- his hands curling to fists as he flexed the muscles in his forearms. Natsu smiled beside him as he increased the heat surrounding them. Scales appeared over his arms, face and torso matching Laxus- with the exception of the marking Igneel had left him. The marking was said to disappear after the battle with Zeref but it never completely disappeared. Remnants of the marking would randomly appear. This was a first in a while that the marking had appeared.
"Oh, I'm ready. I have a fire in my belly!" Natsu grinned rubbing his stomach then patting it as he took a standing stance. Laxus gave a short nod as he grunted trying to increase his magic.
"FIRE-LIGHTENING DRAGON ROAR!" The yelled in unison. Laxus's electricity wrapped around the mesmerizing flames of Natsu's fire. They have done a unison raid before, but this was the topping of all cakes. The roars were perfectly in sync as it sailed straight at Sake who was in process of putting up a rock barrier. Ciel seeing the attack jumped behind rubble with Erza and braced with his back at Britton stupidly turned around to see what the racket was about.
"Son of-"Britton swore as he dropped to the ground landing face first into the dirt as the attack sailed above him by a hair's length.
"Well, I hope that bought enough time because that guy looks extremely mad." Happy said nervously as Sake stood there scowling at them as his barrier crumbled around him. Britton picked himself up off the ground dusting off his outfit as he grimaced at his dirt stained shirt.
"I gave you the chance, now you've really gone and pissed me off." Sake hollered. He closed his eyes as he squatted a hint as he did hand signs. "Remember this is where you fucked up." His eyes flew open as a loud explosion erupted the entire area as the magic power intensity made the mages grovel to their knees.
That voice had stolen every ounce of air from her lungs as her body completely froze up. She knew that voice inside out. How could she forget? Lucy slowly turned around. Her eyes were glued to the floor as a water puddle came into view. She stopped as her eyes slowly scanned up as they encountered a blue, scaled mermaid tail. Her eyes didn't stop there as scales turned to into peach flesh. Lucy's eyes stopped once her brown eyes landed on another set of eyes.
"Aquarius?" Lucy's voice whispered as she clutched the relic closer to her breasts. "Is that really you?" Her eyes started to water. She already had Aquarius's key back but she had remade a contract with her. If she had to be honest, she was quite nervous and that was why she wanted to wait until after the war to call upon her for a new contract. There was so much she wanted to talk to Aquarius about as well- she felt as if she didn't wait, she wouldn't have the time to tell her everything that had happened over the past year.
"The one and only." Aquarius smirked as she crossed her arms over her breasts covered in a bikini top. "Now, are you ready to do this or what brat? We don't have a whole of time." She commented with a sharp tongue. Lucy flinched closing an eye. Well, Aquarius was still the same old Aquarius. But Lucy never thought she would have missed Aquarius's sharp, insulting tongue like she did now.
"Right." She nodded as her spirits surrounded her in a circle as they all extended their hands to each other. Lucy kneeled putting the relic on the ground as she stood back up. The rest of her guild mates formed a circle around the spirits. "We can do this!" Lucy yelled with determination in her eyes. The building shook as dust shook down from the ceiling but Lucy couldn't let that distract her. She needed to get started. There were so many people out there risking their lives to buy her time to solve the relic. She could do this.
Her spirits started glowing as Lucy closed her eyes as her hands stretched before her- palms down towards the relic. "Phantom Star purity cast your light- sway the shadows. Berate the dark- shine bright like star lights. Erase thy imprecation- chanted upon thee." Lucy chanted. The relic started to glow with a light as a gust of magical energy pulsated from the relic. Lucy gritted her teeth from the force but remained her composure. The building shook again from an explosion outside. Lucy lost her footing but an arm caught her by the elbow steadying her.
"Keep going. Don't screw this up!" Aquarius demanded. Lucy opened her eyes as she looked up at Aquarius. Lucy nodded after a moment of staring as she turned her attention back to the glowing relic. She closed her eyes again setting her concentration on the relic.
"Luminous power- I call upon, eradicate thy curse inflicted. PHANTOM STAR!" The entire universe turned white from what Lucy could remember before blacking out.
The phantom star crumbled to dust in the middle of Fairy Tail guild hall. The spirits disappeared back to the spirit world. Mages grumbled and groaned throughout the guild hall as some sat up rubbing their head. Lucy laid in the middle on her side with her hair covering her face. Master walked toward her with his cane tip tapping on the ground as he sat on his butt letting the cane crack onto the floor.
"My dear child. Wake up. You did it." Master Makarov said as he nudged her. He moved the air from her face to see her skin deathly pale. Fear raced through him but he couldn't panic. He couldn't let the fear show on his face. His dear daughter has gone through so much, magic depletion once already.
"Lucy?" A sweet voice called as Mira walked up next to Makarov. She fell to her knees as her dress puffed out around her. "Master?" Mira called with a trembling voice. Makarov kept a hand on Lucy's cheek.
"We need to call for Porly." He replied in a small voice.
Natsu woke up groaning as he held his head. It felt like he had done a skull cracking head butt. With the hit of a magic intensity like that- it was almost comparable. He blinked a few times to clear his cloudy vision. The surrounding buildings were in shambles more than were before the flash of bright light took out everyone. After his vision steady, he glanced around. Britton and the other man were gone- as if they were never there in the first place.
"What was that?" Natsu groaned rubbing his head. A rock flew up, more like a boulder and crashed to the ground as the head of blond hair stood up looking just as confused.
"I think Lucy did it?" Laxus stated as he swayed a bit but managed to recover his composure as he leaned on a rock. "Where's Erza and Ciel?" He asked searching around. Another loud pop sound came a way down from them as Erza appeared with an arm slung around Ciel's shoulders.
"We're fine. You guys?" Erza asked as they slowly stepped towards the slayers. Laxus rolled his shoulders then stretched as his back popped down his spine.
"Peachy." Laxus stated as he glanced around surveying the damage. The only building remaining in decent condition and that was putting it lightly was the guild hall. Lucy. He started running as fast as he could with his mind racing. He didn't know if the others were following behind him or not but he didn't give two shits. All that mattered was getting to Lucy right now.
He stopped in the doorway breathing heavily as he took in the surroundings. The guild hall has most definitely seen better days. He saw his grandpa and Mira sitting on the floor in front of a body with long blonde hair. His heart started pounding.
"No." Laxus yelled silencing the murmurs that were transmitting through the guild hall as his eyes starred wide. "Not again." He ran dropping to his knees with a hard thud as his hands hoovered over Lucy's body.
"She's alive boy." Makarov said as he rubbed the back of his hand over Lucy's cheek. "She's just in a deep sleep." Mira was silently crying beside Makarov, her nose sniffling as she held a small pale hand in hers.
"LUCY!" Natsu's voice roared in the depressing silence. Laxus shot Natsu a death stare. Natsu looked around with his nose in the air sniffing as he caught Laxus's eyes. "Huh? Laxus why are you looking at me like that? Where's Luce?" Laxus growled low towards Natsu causing Natsu to stop.
"Natsu." Laxus growled. "Shut up." The veins in his arms protruded as he clenched his fists tightly, the trimmed nails of his fingers digging into the palm of his hands. Erza and Ciel appeared behind Natsu as they trailed behind.
Ciel poked his head around Natsu to see the small group sitting on the ground. His eyes scanned the body that was now laying supine. He took a deep breath and sighed as he pushed off Erza, elbowing Natsu out of the way as he limped towards them calling forth his staff.
"I can help her." Ciel said in the silence. He watched Laxus's adam's apple bob as he swallowed. His jaw was clenched and he could sense the anxiety radiating off the man.
"What even happened?" Mira asked through tearful eyes. Her cheeks were wet with tears as they streaked down her cheeks. Her nose was rosy pink as she kept sniffling to keep snot from draining down. Ciel sat his staff on the ground gently as he fell to his ass before scooting close to Lucy's head as he moved it into his lap.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. It could have been the energy from the relic. Her magic was drained. I think what happened was the relic used her magic as a booster to break the curse." He said softly as he placed both hands on the side of her cheeks. "She's a Heartfilia though. She will be fine." She could fell a small flame of magic in her containers, but he could feel the dangers of it. He closed his eyes as he focused his magic. "Leo, I know you can hear me and sense my magic calling you forth. Please, can you step through your gate and assist me." Someone had cleared their throat as everyone waited in an eerie silence for Leo, Loke, to appear. Ciel felt the overwhelming anxiety rising from the pit of his stomach when Leo wasn't stepping through his gate. He startled when not just one gate opened but three. Ciel squinted to not be blinded by the light as Leo, Virgo and Aquarius stood before them.
"I know what you're trying to do and that's not happening." Loke stated shifting his glasses. "Not after all the trouble Princess went through to set you free." Ciel sucked the inside of his cheek as several pairs of eyes turned towards him curiously for an explanation. His eyes casted down as he continued to chew on the side of his cheek. Loke sighed knowing Ciel wasn't going to speak up. "Don't worry about it. We have another way, just you assist us. This is a gift from the Spirit King himself."
Ciel chuckled. "Just like the last gift almost killed her." He commented. Someone moved so fast Ciel didn't catch it until a hand slapped him across the face.
"Imbecile." Aquarius hissed. "After all the brat went through for you, and for the Spirit King to help guide you, you're going to sit here and question his intentions?"
"I agree with Ciel." Laxus spoke up standing. "The Spirit King had her cite a spell that almost killed her. Why should we trust his judgement now?" He stared Aquarius down. "Ask lion boy, he was there when her magic got depleted by your humbled king." Loke went to open his mouth to protest for the fear of being on the receiving end of Aquarius, but a booming voice from such a small human kept him from speaking.
"Enough!" Makarov yelled. "This bickering isn't solving any solutions." He grabbed his cane and pushed himself up as he leaned his weight into the cane. "You're Lucy's faithful spirits. I trust you know what you're doing."
"Princess is important to us. We would never intentionally try to hurt our Master." Virgo spoke up shifting her hands as the chains jingled from the movement. "We will be giving Princess some of our life force from the spirit realm."
"Life force?" Ciel asked as he glanced at Laxus. "It's not her life force in danger, it's her magic. I can sense her containers." Loke kneeled beside Ciel as he pushed Lucy's bangs to the side.
"Her life force is in danger too." He said lowly for just Ciel to hear but he knew Laxus had caught it with his heightened hearing. "Just please trust me." Laxus punched the floor with his chest heaving.
"What the fuck is going on?" Laxus yelled. "Stop mumbling amongst yourselves." He gave a weak please as he felt himself go weak as he placed his face into a hand. Natsu put a hand on Laxus's shoulder as he stared at Lucy's spirits.
"Lucy considers each and every one of us her family. We are her family just as much as you guys are. I don't know what is going on, but you have no right to hide from us." Natsu said seriously. Laxus rubbed his face, his eyes with frustration.
"We need to bring her to the spirit world." Loke blurted. They all knew the results of what it meant going to the spirit world. One hour in the spirit world was a month in the real world.
"I'm going." Ciel said. "I am a celestial spirit wizard too. I am going." His voice was firm that nothing was going to sway his decision and no one was going to stop him from his decision.
Loke sighed. "There's no sense of arguing with you but only Ciel is allowed to come." He announced as he turned towards Laxus. "I'm sorry."
