Ch. 3- The Bandits Attack
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Story and OCs © Me
Erza sat in the room that she shared with Haru... only this time, she was staring down at her bare arm, where she could see just a few tiny scars lining the skin. She sighed as she slipped her gauntlet back on, then ran a hand through her red hair, leaning against the nightstand.
"I thought I was rid of these ugly scars," she said, "but I suppose it's true what they say: not all scars heal."
She looked toward the door, expecting Haru to walk in... and yet, nothing.
"...Haru hasn't come up, yet," she muttered. "I hope she's not upset... she can be pretty sensitive, at times." She then turned to the clock that was hanging up on the wall, seeing that it was past 7 o'clock, then she looked out the window to see the setting sun. "It'll be time to carry out the job, soon... maybe she and Blue Fang are already on their way to the main entrance of town."
With that said, she stood up and prepared to head out, herself... but as she did, she noticed the hair clips that Haru had bought her, all of them laid out on the vanity. She blinked as she stared at them... particularly at the one that looked like a red rose with little pearl pins attached to the green silk leaf, making it look like dewdrops. Erza's eyes went wide as she picked up the clip, then looked at her reflection in the mirror before she parted her hair to one side, then attached the clip, just an inch above her right eye. The moment she did, her lips parted slightly in surprise... before she smiled.
"I have to admit," she said, "Haru does know what looks good on me."
She then heaved a small sigh.
"...I better go find her and see if she's all right," she said before she headed out to go find the aforementioned Beast Wizard.
XXX
Haru stretched her arms over her head while Blue Fang sat beside her. Night had just fallen, so that meant that the bandits were going to strike at any moment. She didn't bother going to tell Erza since the Requip Wizard already knew where the bandits would attack from what the mayor told them.
That and... well, she didn't think Erza wanted to talk to her, right now. After all, even though she was trying so hard not to, she kept prying into her past. She shouldn't have done that, she knew that... but she was just so naturally curious.
She knew this much: wherever Erza got those scars... it really must have hurt her in the past. She must have been carrying them for a few years at most, judging by the way they all looked so faded. She couldn't imagine going through whatever she went through.
"Haru?"
Haru gasped silently as she turned to see Erza approach her.
"Oh, Erza!" she exclaimed. "Good, you're here!"
"This is the location where the bandits normally attack," said Erza. "Now we just have to wait for them to strike. Have you been out here long?"
"No, Blue Fang and I just got here, ourselves," Haru replied before she noticed the rose hair clip in Erza's hair, causing her eyes to widen. "You... you're wearing one of the hair clips I got you."
"Well, I just figured that my look could use a bit of improvement," Erza replied as she brushed her hair back a bit. "Do you... do you like it?"
"It's so pretty on you," Haru smiled... but then she frowned as she glanced away. "...Erza... listen... about what I said, I-"
"Shh!" Erza shushed.
"But... but Erza, I'm trying to-"
"Shh~!"
At first, Haru seemed annoyed about being interrupted... until she saw Erza's eyes darting about, and as she turned around, she noticed Blue Fang's ears swiveling around as he glanced this way and then the other way. That's when Haru's instincts kicked in and she heard the sound of something whistling through the air. As she looked up, she gasped before she and Erza both braced themselves as a Lacrima Orb was thrown against the ground, exploding in a cloud of smoke. Both Haru and Erza coughed as they shielded their mouths, but then, the former caught a glint of something out of the corner of her eye before she dropped down on all fours, narrowly avoiding the stroke of a broadsword, then stood up on both hands and delivered a powerful kick to the jaw of her assailant, where a sickening crack followed as a few teeth and specks of blood and saliva flew through the air.
As for Erza, she sent several thugs flying as she summoned a giant war hammer from her little pocket dimension. The Requip Wizard then looked over her shoulder before she brandished two swords in her hand and turned to cut down a few more as they attempted to cut her down from behind, but they were soon lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Meanwhile, Haru and Blue Fang worked in tandem, the former using her close combat skills to kick and punch any foes that got close while Blue Fang just bit and tackled anyone who dared to try and attack his partner. As the smoke began to dissipate, the girls soon saw that there were several more bandits surrounding them, holding swords, scepters, and guns.
"You guys just picked the wrong wizards to mess with," Haru said as she cracked her knuckles while Blue Fang growled viciously.
"Well, would you look at that," said a voice from behind them, causing the three wizards to turn to see a tall, muscular man with dark brown hair that was done up in a pompadour style. He had on a dark red jacket a golden swirl pattern on the front and a pair of white trousers with a black sash tied around his waist, as well as a pair of black sandals. He also had on a necklace around his neck decorated with beige crescent-shaped beads, and in his mouth was a cigarette... not to mention he was holding a large spear with a blue shaft and a blade that was shaped like a lightning bolt.
As soon as Haru noticed the man, she couldn't help but notice the similarities between him and another man she fought a few weeks ago, even down to the facial structure and lazy look in their eyes.
"...Hammond?" asked Haru.
"Close, but no cigarette, sweetheart," said the man. "I'm actually Hammond's older twin brother, Zammond." He narrowed his eyes at Haru. "I actually heard about how some little green-haired bitch from the Fairy Tail Guild took out my little brother... and who'd have thought that I'd run into you, here?"
Haru smirked as she cracked her knuckles. "Your brother underestimated me. It's not his fault he decided to mess with the beast."
"Your magic... it's Beast Magic, isn't it?" asked Zammond. "Not only can you get animals to obey you by singing a little song, but you can synchronize your spirit with that wolf of yours to get an extra boost in power."
"Yeah, so what?" Haru asked, but meanwhile, Erza noticed the bandits snickering around her.
"I wonder," said Zammond as he gripped his pike, "how would you be able to fight back without your mutt?!" He then thrust the blade of the pike forward... shooting out a bolt of lightning, which headed straight for Haru, who gasped while Erza attempted to intercept the shot of magic lightning. However... someone else ended up beating her to it. In the blink of an eye, Blue Fang pushed Haru out of the lightning bolt's path just as it struck. The silver wolf let out a yowl of pain, causing Haru to scream in horror as he soon collapsed to the ground.
"BLUE FANG!" Haru cried as she ran to the wolf's side. "Blue Fang, are you okay?! Say something!"
Blue Fang could only whimper as his limbs twitched and convulsed uncontrollably, the lightning coursing through every muscle in his body. His eyes had rolled into the back of his skull and drool was dripping out his mouth, his jaws unable to close. It almost looked like he was having a bad seizure as he lied on the ground, trying to coordinate his movements, and yet couldn't.
"Oh, Blue Fang!" Haru cried as she hugged her beloved partner, trying to get him to be still with tears of despair welling up in her eyes. "Blue Fang, please hang on!"
"HAHAHAHA!" laughed Zammond along with his henchmen. "Just as I thought. That pathetic mutt would jump right into the line of my Lightning Javelin!" He squeezed the shaft of his spear, which crackled with electricity. "And without your little doggy, you can't use that 'Soul Link' or whatever it is to boost your power!"
Haru growled as she glared at the laughing bandits... but then she gasped as she saw Erza step in front of her, glaring at the leader with fury.
"How dare you laugh at my friend's pain," she hissed. "No one hurts Haru or Blue Fang and gets away with it... not while I'm here!" She tightly clenched her fists as she glared at her foe. "You will pay for your transgression!"
"Erza...!" Haru whispered in awe.
"Haru, just tend to Blue Fang," Erza said. "That lightning was powerful, but it wasn't strong enough to completely paralyze him. He'll snap out of it soon enough." She then glared at Zammond, hatefully. "Let me deal with him... I'll avenge Blue Fang for you."
Haru sniffled as she wiped her eyes before she nodded her head. "Thank you, Erza..."
"Interesting," said Zammond as he glowered down at Erza. "If I recall, correctly, you're the Fairy Queen Titania, the Second Strongest Female Wizard in Fairy Tail."
"Enough talk," Erza replied as she brandished her sword. "If anything, let our weapons do the talking for us!"
"Very well," Zammond replied before he charged forward. "I wanna see what you look like under all that armor, baby!"
Erza narrowed her eyes before she clashed with the brute, her sword clanging against the blade of his spear. Sparks flew as they continuously struck, one of after the other, neither side showing any relent. At one point, Erza did get grazed in her cheek and a bit of her hair got snipped off at the ends, but she didn't even so much as flinch as she jumped up and kicked Zammond in the face, sending him down to the ground, flat on his back.
"Heh... not bad, Titania," said Zammond as he stood up and gripped his Lightning Javelin tightly. "However... let's see how you fare against the power of my Lightning Javelin!"
"Have at it, then," said Erza as she glared at the brute, who raised his spear up, conjuring up another bolt of Lightning Magic... and yet, the Requip Wizard remained unwavering, even as the sky began to darken. Haru's eyes went wide while Blue Fang remained on the ground, dazed but at least conscious as he began to snap out of being stunned. With a boisterous laugh of triumph, Zammond swung his Lightning Javelin down, the blade striking the ground and sending a massive bolt of lightning at Erza, who only stood and glared as the blast made a beeline for her... until it eventually struck.
"HAHAHAHA!" Zammond laughed as he watched as the lightning seemed to obliterate the red-haired wizard. "Goodbye, Titania!"
"You got her good, boss!" said one of the bandits.
"Yeah, no one messes with you!" shouted another.
To their surprise, though... Haru didn't seem at all worried. In fact... she was actually smirking.
"Look again, Dead Eye," said Haru.
As Zammond looked up, he gasped in shock at what he was seeing: Erza, donned in this bluish-silver armor with golden trim, complete with spiked pauldrons on the shoulders and spikes on the gauntlets around her arms. Instead of a waist guard, she had a white cloth that stretched from the chest plate all the way down to her knees. Her hair was tied up in a long, braided ponytail with a blue bead decorating it, and a pastel yellow headband over her head with matching ribbons on both sides. In her hand was a large spear with an even larger blade on the end attached to a decorated circle that had the appearance of a drum, giving her the appearance of a Hellenic goddess.
"W-what is that?!" asked Zammond.
"My Lightning Empress Armor," said Erza. "With this, any lightning-based magic has lessened in power." She narrowed her eyes. "Your lightning bolts are nothing more than mere little zaps, now. In other words... you're nothing against me, now!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Zammond questioned in comic shock.
"Now then... I'll show you how it's done!" Erza shouted as she raised her spear, which conjured up a large bolt of lightning, even bigger than the one Zammond had summoned, then she aimed her spear at the bandit leader.
"N-no! Wait a second!" Zammond cried.
"TAKE THIS!" Erza yelled as she fired a blast of lightning at him... causing him and his minions to scream as they were struck. Haru shielded her eyes, nearly getting blown back by the blast had Blue Fang not gotten up to shield her, acting as windbreaker against the powerful attack.
Then, as quickly as it began, it was over... and as Haru opened her eyes, all she could see was a massive crater, where Zammond and the rest of the bandits lay, all of them charred to a crisp.
"Nice job, Erza!" Haru exclaimed.
"Same as ever, really," said Erza as she went back to wearing her standard Heart Kreuz armor. "How's Blue Fang doing?"
As if to answer her question, Blue Fang groaned as he shakily got to his feet, shaking his head and ruffling his fur all around while Haru supported him. The silver wolf licked her face, causing her to giggle as she hugged his neck and buried her face into his fur. It smelled a bit burnt, but she didn't mind. She was just glad he was alive.
"I think he's gonna be okay," Haru replied, causing Erza to smile before she glared down at the bandits.
"Let's tie these miscreants up and collect our reward," she said.
"Sounds good to me!" Haru replied.
"Ugh... what just happened...?" Zammond groaned as he lied in the crater, still too shocked to move.
Sorry if the fight scene wasn't that great, but I worked on this for like 4 days.
Review, please!