When their hotel came in sight, the doors were blocked off by teams of Rune Knights, Erza and Gray standing at the front. She slowed Natsu to a stop with an arm; she could see the rune-traps lying in wait. Erza stepped forward, "Natsu, I apologize, but this time we cannot deny the Council. Lucy is under arrest for 23 cases of destruction of property, 38 of civilian endangerment, and 14 for manslaughter. She will stay imprisoned for a minimum of ten years."
Gray speaks up from beside her, "If this were your first offence, she'd only get about three months, but with your record of 214 cases of destruction of property and five civilian endangerments, the Council considered it punishment for all your previous cases." He shrugs.
Natsu narrowed his eyes, and snarled, "Why Lucy? She didn't do anything." Erza's posture relaxed, no longer coming across as uncompromising, "She's your summoner Natsu, she's now held responsible for your actions. And I know what you're thinking, you won't be able to get away, however, if you go with them willingly, they might be more lenient."
He bared his teeth and swept his summoner behind him with an arm, a silent act of defiance.
Erza sighed and made a gesture behind her, steeling herself for the fight. The knights stepped forward, staves brought up in defence, and she summoned her sword while Gray readied his magic.
Lucy observed the tight postures of the opposition, seeing no hesitance or regret in her guildmates or the rune knights, even when they knew what Natsu could do, even without magic.
She brushed her hand against her side, hovering above her keys, and blasted nearly all her magic into them, summoning every Zodiac and Draconis she had. And while they wouldn't be able to fight with her power; her magic was barely enough for them to talk; they could use their stores.
Light exploded behind her, creating a backdrop of swirling colours while red and gold flames engulfed Natsu's form, representative of their bond.
Their opposition shielded their eyes; the light show was almost blinding. The knights all took an unwilling step back, breaking their ranks.
When the light died down, they all stared in awe when they saw how many spirits she had summoned. On her left, the Zodiacs stood, surrounded by shimmering golden light, and on her right, stood her Draconis, in order of the colours enveloping them, Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, and Brown.
They readied themselves; they wouldn't be getting out of here without a significant amount of difficulty. Lucy took a step back, gesturing to her Zodiac, "I'm sorry, I can't hold you all for much longer, and we need to get out of here, so I have to send you back." They all nodded and burst into golden balls of light, and she felt some of her magic return to her. She hoped they wouldn't hold it against her.
It wouldn't be enough, not to escape, she knew this, but there was no way in hell she was going to give up.
Stepping into Zivel was easy, being the seventh time she had used it, but there was something underneath. A layer that she had unlocked only once, while they destroyed the Circu de' la Aestrelas.
She forced her magic not to absorb her spirits and dropped past the layer she knew was Zivel, and like the last time, there was a word on her tongue. Something she had heard before, but she couldn't remember where.
D̴̨̛̛̜̯̥͕͈̼̗̲̤̭̜̭̰̮̼͖̖̖͕̗̋̈́̓́̓͒̓́̈́̄́̒̇̇͐̉̅̉̒̃̂̚̚̕͜͜͝ͅv̷̢̗̻͇̟̩̬͍̭̹̠̥̜̘̒̂̎͑̍̌̂̾͑̆̌̊͑̓͆̈̆̆̚͠a̷̯̟̰̟̻̥͔͉̩͐̃̈̈́͑̓͂̈́̔͆͋́̔̕͜͝͝͝͝͠͝ś̸͖̫̻̦͚̘͋̍̈́̔̾̈̋́̕̚i̴̡̧̫̥̼͉͎͇̭̺̲̲͔͙̩̥͈̝̳̾̎̆̏͐̈͆͘͘͝a̷̛̛͎̯͎͇̯̝͓͂̌̋̆̈͑͛̑͊̓̔̈̎̾̒̆͛̎̕͜͝
Her dragon shrunk, the silver energy reforming itself to surround her like the gold and other colours surrounded her Draconis. Swirling silver covered her in thin tribal tattoo's winding up limbs.
The compressed energy of Zivel rushed through her, straining the limits of her pathways, but they did not break. She had gotten far used to massive influxes of power.
Glancing to her right, she saw the same designs covered her Draconis, gold-edged colours snaking across their bodies. Their already pointed or long ears sharpened, flattening against their heads.
They moved, standing beside her, three on each side. The pressure they were exuding doubled, sending the newer looking knights to their knees. Erza and Gray stayed standing; they had faced far more powerful energies on their quests.
As one they shifted into the positions best suited for their fighting style and magic. Natsu, Rin, Erik and Lura stood in front of her with Saol and Amanzi in long-range behind her. She was in the middle, sending her whip and shields into the fray.
Natsu flexed his magic, the designs on his wrists and ankles retreating up his arms, while a pair of red wings flared from his shoulder blades, aflame with golden fire.
He lowered himself to the ground, looking completely natural in his positioning. Erik, Saol and Amanzi followed suit, letting out inhuman snarls as elemental wings sprouted from their backs, though, Amanzi's looked like they were better suited for swimming rather than flying.
Rin hadn't bonded with Lucy, but it wouldn't stop her from helping where she could, even if she couldn't fly. And Lura couldn't stand being off the ground, where she was virtually blind, so it made sense that she didn't manifest wings at all, but dense, heady-duty claws on her hands and feet that extended up to her shoulders and hips, styled like scales.
The four front-line fighters launched themselves at the knights, tearing through the masses. More than once she saw Natsu and Erik flap their wings and fly high above the ground, only to dive back at the mage they were currently fighting. And to her left, she could see bright flashes of orange, accompanied by sudden screams that cut off just as soon as they started.
Maniacal laughter floated over from the battlefield, Lura and Erik finding joy in shredding the hopes of the mages bound in water or vines, and occasionally her whip. When the slaughter finished, she realized that she hadn't needed her shields at all, and they were left staring at Erza and Gray.
Erza stared back, before settling into a fighting position, Gray shifting into his own.
She nodded to herself; she had expected they wouldn't just let them go. Tugging on her bonds with the Draconis, she called them over to her while she receded behind them, using the same strategy as before.
They allowed them to get into position, she knew Erza wanted a fair fight, and Gray just wanted to brawl with Natsu.
Their telepathy bond was useless at the moment, the Draconis too far in their instincts to listen to verbal commands; instead, she used the more primitive way of talking to her spirits, impressions. Rin would understand what she was talking about, even if she wasn't drowning in her instincts.
Turning to Natsu, she sent 'FightIceSafe'. He would know not to damage him too severely.
He ran at Gray, looping around him and off to the side, where they wouldn't get in the way of each other's battles. Gray followed him, leaving her and the others to fight Erza.
Erza was not having fun. At all.
Her day started fine, even if Master woke her at three in the morning to arrive early to the tournament, she wouldn't complain. Then she won her division, receiving her choice of three things, a new set of armour, a magic enhancement artifact or a years' worth of free cake.
She had deliberated briefly over receiving the armour or cake, but the sugary dessert proved to be too much temptation.
After that, she finds out Natsu has pissed off members of Phantom Lord, the idiot. Which, was alright, as long as he won their match. And then, she has to watch in what was first pride, but it became horror as a dodged attack from Natsu flew past its intended target and hit the stands, destroying them.
Thankfully, by the time it had reached the edge of the stadium, the fire had cooled, but the power behind it was still there, and it impacted the seating with the force of a B-Class wind attack. It reduced the stands to rubble, accidentally killing citizens.
She doesn't think he realized what had happened; neither did Lucy going by the look on her face. But as soon as Lucy spots the damage, Natsu backs away before grabbing her by the hand and sprinting past the mages wielding Magic-Restraining Cuffs by going through the gaping hole, but she knows where he's headed.
They wait outside the hotel, rune traps ready and armed. When the pair arrive, with a floating Happy beside them, they stop outside the range of their runes.
(Something changes. The blond mage isn't Lucy anymore, just another dark mage that was wreaking havoc. Same with Natsu, he wasn't the man she'd grown up with, only someone else. Natsu and Lucy were waiting for them back at the guild; they were going on another job as soon as they got back.)
When she explains their circumstances, something in the male's face changes, she can't identify it, but it sends shivers down her spine, thankfully, her thick armour conceals her reaction.
The female blasts her magic, and she gets ready to fight, but she has to stop herself from staring in awe at the massive silver dragon she summons, along with her Eleven sprits. She had never heard of a Celestial Spirit mage summoning more than three Zodiac spirits, and she knew Draconis took twice as much magic.
Eleven Celestial Spirits, Five of those were Zodiacs, and the six Draconis, their magic was far, far more potent.
The blond mage says something to the Zodiac, and they disperse. Immediately afterwards the magical pressure surrounding the group of seven nearly doubles.
She mumbles something, but it's too low for her to hear. It was probably a spell of some kind because the dragon shrinks and tattoos in the Draconis' respective colours form on their visible limbs. Only the female's look different, instead of colour edged in gold; hers were solid glowing silver. She recognizes the designs as something Levy had shown her once. Celhit? Kilvec? Celtic, that was it.
After the tattoo's form, the magical pressure increases again, forcing some of the knights to their knees. She was going to have words with their commander.
The one in red does something with his magic, and the designs on his arms retreat, ending in a sharp point just above his elbows. The withdrawn magic reforms at his back, making giant crimson, dragon-like wings alight with golden flames. The sight reminds her of Natsu; she'll have to mention it to him.
He lowers himself onto his hands, looking all the world like he belonged down there, like a predator. Two others follow his lead, dropping to the ground. The brown female doesn't manifest wings, but rather lethal claws that extended into scale armour. And the other female - the orange one - just settles into a fighting stance, standing up on two feet, like the blond summoner.
The two supports behind her don't entirely drop to all fours; instead, they crouch down, placing their hands on the ground. Golden poison bubbles on purple wings, just like how gold earth crumbles off of brown armour and claws. The four fling themselves into the fray with a heavy beat, tearing and shredding the Rune Knights.
The field they were in suddenly had a thick layer of water resting on top, capturing those who were vulnerable and vines sprouted from beneath, trapping knights for the rest to tear apart.
They stand just outside the water and vines' range and the winged spirits leave them alone, but she knew that would change as soon as they passed the threshold.
Their massacre finally finishes, and the water drains to a barely-there layer while the vines retreat to just under the surface, ready to attack.
The blond summoner approaches, and she nods to herself when she settles into battle-ready stance, Gray shifting to his own beside her.
The six Draconis settle around her after a second, not straying an inch from their original formation.
She nearly attacks when the pink-haired one runs at Gray, but he only loops around him and races off through the surrounding trees, leading him to their battlefield.
Gray jumps when the red one charges towards him, but he relaxes when he only leads him to a large forested clearing, wide enough that he can use his magic without restraint.
He leaps up, wings beating slowly to keep himself in the air, and dives at him. The sudden attack catches him off guard, and the wings clip his side. The golden fire burns his skin, the temperature at a much higher level than what Natsu uses.
Ice spears launch at him, and he growls before landing to dodge the attack. He drops down to all fours again, speeding towards him.
Blocking the flame-covered fist with an Ice-Make: Shield, he reshapes the ice into twin swords. He swings them at the mage's torso, slicing the flesh to make deep cuts.
The man? Spirit? pauses, sweeping a wing over his arm to press the flames against the cuts, and when the magic limb retracts, the sluggishly bleeding slices have healed completely.
"Really? Now that's just cheating." He exclaims and flings himself at his pink-haired opponent.
Erik, Lura and Rin leap at Erza after Natsu runs off, racing forwards. And while she sends her whip slicing through the air, Saol tried to trip and capture her with his vines, and Amanzi to slow her down with her water, but Erza wasn't S-Class for nothing. Elegantly whirling away from their attacks, Erza swung the pommel of her sword at the back of Lura's neck. But Erza wasn't used to fighting humans on all-fours, so she manages to twist away.
As she whirls away, Erza comes face to face with Rin's fist, and she ducks, not expecting the glowing orange kick that slammed into her side.
Lura withdraws as Erza crashes into the ground and shoves her hands into the dirt, thrusting magic into the ground to make it unstable and irregular. She leaps back into the fight, dodging Erik's body as it was flung towards her and dived underground, sharp claws easing the way through the densely packed dirt.
She can feel Lura's magic try to hone in on the bouncing Erza, but she wasn't landing on the ground for more than a few seconds.
Erza suddenly stops, and a vine snaps out to bind her arms to her chest, water rushes up to envelop everything but her head, and hands grab her ankles, careful not to cause irreparable damage. Lucy walks forward cautiously, and when she is close enough to touch, Erza glows bright, harsh gold, blinding her. But she doesn't need her eyes to see, so she senses when Erza snaps out bat wings and quickly flies out of her broken bonds.
Lucy decides to try forming her wings; she doesn't like Erza having the height advantage. She had seen what her Draconis had done with their magic, and she replicates it, making silver wings larger than her spirits' had been, covered in golden designs, mimicking the ones on her body. The limbs leave a golden pathway where they cut through the air, making a slowly fading trail where she'd been.
They feel natural, and while she has never used wings before, she knows how to fly. She's running entirely on instinct when she launches into the air, flying at Erza, who startles, not quite expecting her to join her off the ground.
When she reaches her, Erza has recovered from her small shock and has moved out of her flight path. She makes a turn that is only slightly thought out and sweeps a leg out to kick her back down.
The kick misses, but the other leg that follows the first doesn't, hitting her in the ribs, sending the redhead careening away.
By the time Erza rights herself, Erik has joined her in the air, and he tears past Erza with a cloud of poison following him. Lura has decided to stay on the ground with Rin, replacing Amanzi when she follows Erik.
Rin frowns when the battle turns to the air but lets her face stretch into a smirk as she readies her magic. She knows testing out techniques on the battlefield is a sure-fire way to die, but she's confident it'll work.
Compressing magic into a small ball at the palm of her hand, she fires off a high-powered beam into the space Erza would go to dodge one of Saol's vines. The laser burns a smouldering line across her upper arm, just below her shoulder, and hits a tree behind her, leaving a perfectly circular hole an inch into the bark k
Erza's manoeuvrability while in the air lets her easily dodge Saol's vines, and Lucy spies his face twisting in frustration out of the corner of her eyes. His plants have become increasingly more frantic with his rising desperation and twined grass, and thick bark has joined them in his efforts to capture her.
Eventually, he tries something new, guiding the wood to make a giant cage, shrinking down to trap her inside. Lucy can sense the mass of vines and grass has entangled Erza, and signals for Saol to open a hole for Erik to infuse toxins into the air.
The sounds inside the wooden sphere cease suddenly, and she can hear the clatter of Erza's sword as it drops out of her hand.
Carefully, Saol retracts the wood, tense and ready to recapture her if anything goes wrong. Bound in plants, Erza looks almost peaceful while unconscious, if not for the multitude of small slices and puncture wounds she gained from fighting against the thorny vines.
She shoots a look at the Life Draconis; he knew he wasn't supposed to use thorned vines against allies. He looks confused at her glare, and she drops from the air to ask him; "Why are there thorns on your vines Saol?"
His confused expression immediately changes to distress, and he frantically waves his hands in the air as if it would dispel the accusation. "They weren't there when we started, but I think they appeared when I was getting frustrated when Erza kept dodging."
She relaxes at his answer; she didn't want to believe he was doing it on purpose out of vindictiveness. Bopping him on the head, she relaxes, and the tension leaves the lines of her shoulders. She turns back to the unconscious Requip mage, "Okay, that's fine, I can't expect you to feel no emotions when they heavily influence your magic, but, do try not to do this again."
Looking around the battlefield, she notes her Draconis did a number on the knights, every single one of them was unconscious with minor blood-loss and wouldn't be getting up for a while. None of them were in danger of dying, not at least for a couple of hours, and back up would be arriving soon if she believed the transmitter.
Natsu bursts out from the tree-line, an unconscious Gray on his back. He flies the rest of the way over to them and dumps the ice mage next to Erza on the patch of soft moss Saol had produced. His wings have grown from their previous size, and the tail he has wrapped around his passenger is new, but she did feel the magic Saol, Erik, Lura and Amanzi held in reserve make its way to Natsu.
Her spirits search for any knights that may've been hiding in the forest, and when they find none, something changes in their demeanour. It isn't easily identifiable, but a switch seems to have flipped, going from soldiers under her command back to her slightly draconic spirits who have no self-control whatsoever.
She releases her hold on Dvasia, and they all relax, flopping onto the ground as their wings and other additions disappear. Curiously, their tattoos don't disperse, only fading slightly and losing their glow, leaving the Celtic designs twisting across their bodies.