Chapter 25 - The Encounter
It was night by the time that the three of them had managed to exit the cave and make their way back down the cliffside, back to solid ground. The stars sparkling above them as they finally were back on the dirt ground. Grass around them as they made some reasonable distance, trying to find somewhere more suitable for their camp for the night.
It didn't take them long to set up the fire either, Zabost taking the role from his many experiences of roughing it out in the wild already, leaving what he considered plenty of time for training afterwards. A training session which Nathan alone took place in as Wendy opted to use the time for further thinking and practising new ways to make use of her enchantments after her great success from earlier before.
"Good luck!" Wendy had said with a small smile to Nathan which served as his motivation in his training before she continued to spend the rest of her time either sitting in deep thought, playing around with her magic for small experimentations or spending brief periods of time watching the fight between Nathan and Zabost.
Needless to say, it was a one-sided match between them in Zabost's favour as Nathan tried whatever he could against the older man. However, no matter what he did there was nothing which he could do.
Zabost was stronger, faster, more resilient and certainly more skilful, something which came from experience alone. He always managed to find ways to turn the situation in his favour or escape the unfavourable, always strategizing around every little thing that it made Nathan wonder how he managed to keep such a broad mindset yet have it work of things so quickly to gain results.
The only thing which Nathan could find himself doing was reacting at the last moment before he took a hit before counterattacking, but even then they all seemed to bring things that Zabost was seemingly anticipating as he blocked every last one.
"You need to take advantage of the things which you know you can do better than me if you find yourself so overwhelmed in every other category like that," Zabost mentioned as he punched Nathan who managed to block with a fist in the nick of time before being pushed back by the force.
"For example, your reactions would be something to try and take better advantage of, you can counter so try and think of new ways of doing that." Zabost continued as he looked across at Nathan. "If you think fighting is simply about whoever the stronger person is, or who has more numbers then you know only the basics of a fight."
"I get that much, but you seem to consider almost everything in a fight. Annoying as it is, I doubt there is anything I can do when you outclass me so much…" Nathan replied in a bitter tone, clearly not happy with his own words.
"I said to try and use your reactions more." Zabost repeated, "No matter what, you can't win a fight without hitting someone, and for now you should try and focus on the idea of someone being close to you."
"Think about your magic, and everything which is in the realm of possibility for it. You produce and control light with incredible properties." Zabost continued as he started tutoring, "And you can react well, meaning that you can change an apparent outcome at the last moment, do you know what could be done with that?" he asked as he left Nathan the chance to think about the question.
"I should be able to counter people at the last second, taking them by surprise." Nathan calmly answered, allowing the chance to further himself in a fight.
"But surprising people is impossible when they are aware of things, once people know you can react and what you will do, then they will know how to best deal or enter the situation." Zabost continued with a nod as he accepted Nathan's answer to him.
"So I need to keep them guessing about what I'm going to do," Nathan responded as he thought about it.
"That's right, and the better you can make use of your magic to become the more unpredictable, the better," Zabost answered with another firm nod, silently pleased at the seeming progress. "You can manipulate light around you, or produced by you. You should try thinking about what that makes possible." He added on, walking away from Nathan back to the campfire, signalling that they were done sparring for the day, something which Nathan found relieving while Wendy excitedly smiled at the sight of them coming back over.
"Nathan!" Wendy called out while she beckoned for him, gaining the attention of the god slayer and his curiosity as he directed himself to join her at her side.
"What is it?" Nathan asked as he sat down beside her, wondering just what the source of her good mood was while simply being content with the smile on her face.
"I want to try enchanting you," Wendy said simply as she completely turned to face him, "I can't say that I can get it the first time, but I'd like to make frequent attempts on you to try and give you antibodies. Surely if I keep trying then I'll manage it eventually!" she explained.
"If you're just experimenting then isn't there a chance that something could go wrong?" Nathan asked, faking scepticism towards her.
"I thought you trusted me!" Wendy pouted instantly in response much like a child,
"I do, I was just kidding," Nathan replied with an amused smile as his response only furthered Wendy's pout,
"Meanie," Wendy said as she looked away much in the same way as an upset child that only made Nathan smile wider in amusement from the reactions that he could pull from Wendy, he couldn't help but wonder just how long had Wendy been so childish and if it was ever something that would change, He couldn't help but hope not, however, he liked her just the way she was.
"Alright, I'm sorry. But what about those enchantments tho." Nathan said, hoping to cheer Wendy back up again and move along with what effectively sounded akin to magical treatment which he could be expecting for at least a short while to come.
"Well, it's simple for you, you've just got to allow me to enchant you and over the days tell me if there is anything that is changing about you." Wendy continued as she looked back at him, resuming a more warm expression. "Since I'm only trying to suppress the dragon seed then it there shouldn't have much effect outside anything of that, and it shouldn't affect you using your dragon gods mode since my dragon seed is suppressed and I can still use my dragon slayer magic."
"So in short I've got nothing to lose." Nathan summarized, earning a quick, energetic nod from Wendy. "Then give it a go, it'll give me time to think about spells more."
"Right!" Wendy enthusiastically responded, already holding out her hands as a green light began emanating from her hands, filling Nathan with familiar warmth. "But you want to think about spells more?" she mentioned in the attempt to keep the conversation going between them while she continued working her magic.
"Oh, it's just Zabost mentioned that my reactions were one of my greater strengths and that I should try thinking of using my magic in ways to take advantage of that," Nathan answered
"Do you have any idea so far?" Wendy asked, interested in learning about Nathan's possible further development.
"Not really, he said that I should for something that would keep people guessing about what I might try when they're approaching." Nathan explained, "Is there anything which you usually wouldn't expect when approaching someone?" he asked as he looked up and Wendy who despite the concentration on her face somehow managed to appear thoughtful at the same time.
"Oh, isn't light the reason why we can see things? If you can control it, doesn't that mean you can trick people?" Wendy eventually said, almost dropping her magic in her sudden burst.
"You mean like make an illusion?" Nathan asked as he thought about the idea.
"Is it something you can do?" Wendy asked, returning a question in turn.
"Maybe…" Nathan said while he started to ponder over the idea, while he had manipulated light all the time he had never tried manipulating it in such a way that it would cause images. It might be something that he would be capable of, even if it was something that also took the chance of being something that would take him a while to learn at first.
"Well, it's something to try while you learn to fly." he eventually said as he relaxed once again while making Wendy perk up at his works.
"When I learn to fly?" Wendy repeated, making sure that she had heard him right.
"Don't you want to? It would likely be pretty handy as well and within your ability." Nathan mentioned as he looked at her curiously as she pondered the thought herself. She couldn't deny that the thought of being to fly on her own was appealing and she understood why it would be useful, but at the same time, she also thought about Carla who was usually the reason why she could take to the skies.
"Yeah, but I wonder about Carla." Wendy eventually said aloud, "She's always been the one helping me fly before as partners. Even if it's more limiting I'm not sure that I want to leave that behind."
Nathan remained quiet as he listened to Wendy's reasoning in her decisions while he thought about them for himself. "I wouldn't mean you would have to leave that behind, would you? Surely there are benefits to both? Like Carla might notice and move you out of the way of things that you wouldn't have noticed, and you can focus more on fighting if she's helping you, not to mention that it wouldn't be exhaustive on you." he pointed out after a bit of thought.
He knew how close together the pair were and naturally how much that Wendy would like relying on Carla for help in certain situations but it wasn't like that she couldn't work together like that any longer even if she could fly on her own.
"Hmmm…" Wendy hummed as she considered Nathan's words, being able to fly by herself was something which was very appealing as she would be able to enjoy days like the ones she had spent with her mother while they were together, not to mention that the points which Nathan had just made were sound. It was just another thing to add to her skillset right?
"You really think Carla wouldn't mind it?" Wendy asked as she pulled back from her thoughts.
"Something tells me that she would even be proud of you." Nathan quickly returned without any hesitation as he thought about how the feline would react to any of their growth once they returned to the guild. Perhaps that everyone at the guild would be amazed by the progress they had made in the short time of which they had been gone.
Wendy remained silent for a few short moments as she thought about the opportunity to impress the exceed when she came back with a stunned expression which quickly softened into a small smile.
"I think that I will learn it then." Wendy eventually said as looked back up at Nathan before finally retracting her hands to herself, signalling the end to her magic.
"Am I done then?" Nathan asked as he felt the remaining warmth that filled him slowly fading away, something which he couldn't feel slightly disappointed about.
"For today, but I need to keep doing it until I'm sure that I've managed to enchant you properly!" Wendy said, quickly reminding him in case that he had already cast the thought aside for whatever reason.
"I know, you said it before." Nathan replied as he slightly lifted his arms in some form of defence," besides, unlike most checkups and health-related things it's usually quite enjoyable…"
"It is?" Wendy asked in curiosity,
"Yeah, A calming warmth fills me whenever you use your enchantments on me, alongside whatever other effect you happen to be putting on me," Nathan explained as he leaned back to better rest.
"I seem, I'm glad that you feel that way then!" Wendy replied with a cheery smile, glad that she was able to offer a comforting feeling to him.
Nathan simply smiled back in response to her cheery demeanour, simply basking in the moment until another thought eventually crossed his mind. "Right, since you said that you would try to fly then maybe I should try something right now." He said as he caught Nathan's attention, snapping her out of a small reverie as she pondered just what he was going to attempt.
She didn't get to ask the question however as Nathan immediately held out his hand between the pair of them, a small orb of black light sat nicely in his palm while his expression changed to one of pure concentration. Slowly the orb of light began to change shape, expanding and shrinking before finally settling on a general size before it then started to change its shape from a perfect sphere to something else. Slowly some minor features came and went while Wendy patiently waited, allowing time to pass by them as Nathan gave serious effort towards his goals.
Eventually, the light settled onto a new shape, and once it did its colour slowly began to change, slowly getting brighter and brighter until…
"It's an apple!" Wendy excitedly pointed out as she looked at the freshly formed fruit that sat in Nathan's palm, the only thing he was off about it to her was the fact that there was yet to be anything about it which she could smell.
"Try touching it," Nathan suggested as he lifted the apple up to her, offering it to her. Wordlessly she reached out for the fruit, already holding some expectation about what would happen when she would come in contact with it.
And sure enough, the moment that she attempted to lift up the apple her hand merely passed right through it while its image shimmered slightly as her hand passed through it before fading away into nothingness.
"That was amazing! It looked so real!" Wendy exclaimed in excitement as she pulled away again, "Was that even your first attempt?" Wendy couldn't help but ask in her amazement at the successful attempt.
"Sorta," Nathan admitted, "I already knew how to manipulate my light to take different shapes so that wasn't too hard, but making that specific took a little effort, but it was making it not black that made me struggle…" he answered.
"It didn't seem like you struggled that much…" Wendy commented as she thought about the quick progress, "Does this mean that you can make any kind of illusion that you want?" she asked.
"No, I could do something reasonably small but I'm pretty sure my magic is super inefficient at illusions... but I'm sure that I could easily do something to make it explosive as I do with most of my attacks," Nathan answered as he thought about the process which he made use of to produce the fake apple.
"So you could lure people in then." Wendy thought, not needing much time to think of a basic application for such an ability. If it was done well enough and was of something that would draw people in then it would most certainly be good at catching people completely off guard, even if that was a rather dirty way of fighting in her opinion…
"I guess, with how often that people rely on their sight over everything else, being able to trick them like this should be really helpful in multiple situations." Nathan agreed as he thought about his own uses for the spell.
"So will you give flight a try now?" Nathan asked as he shifted the topic over with a smile,
"Um, isn't it getting a little bit late though?" Wendy mentioned as she turned her attention to the world around her which was quickly getting darker while stars had begun to light up the sky, the pair of them remaining quiet for a moment after Wendy had pointed it out, simply enjoying the sight while listening to the sounds of the wilderness from around them.
"Maybe… I didn't realise that time could go by so fast…" Nathan pondered aloud, continuing to look at the night sky as he allowed his mind to wander before thinking about the day which was to come. The day that would be the first of the possible three deciding days on what their futures would be like…
"Mm…" Wendy hummed in response with a faint smile on her face, simply content with everything that was going on with her, pleased that in her mind that everything was at least beginning to look brighter for her. Soon enough everything would be over and they would be able to go home, a day of which she found herself longing for despite knowing that she should remain focused on their mission at hand, but at least she had Nathan accompanying her the whole way. That much about her life hadn't changed and she struggled to think about it ever being any different…
Through the corner of his eye's through, Nathan took glances at Wendy as he thought about everything that there was to face. In all honesty, there was no knowing the kinds of things that would happen in the future, they were still at a point where anything could happen, but he at least knew that he would do anything that he could to secure the safety and happiness of the girl before him…
The next morning came what felt like all too soon to Nathan when he and Wendy were once again harshly shaken awake by Zabost besides the dying embers of the fire from last night.
"We're leaving come on, and this time things might become a bit of a pain," Zabost said as he stood up above the shaken pair as they quickly tried pulling themselves together for the day, shaking off the slight dizziness that Zabost had left them with from the abrupt awakening.
"Why is that?" Wendy asked as she finally pulled herself together before getting to her feet, quickly combing through her hair with her hands to straighten it out once again.
"If you remember that I said that we would be going to Fogbound Lake, then you might be aware of all the fog that we're got to work through," Zabost answered as he waited, seemingly impatient to get going as he sense of duty was clearly as overwhelmingly strong as ever.
"We were given a little gem for that last time, weren't we? It cleared up all the fog at the end like it was never there at all." Nathan pointed out as his memory of the exploration came back to him, the time that they had accidentally gone on an S-Class quest and somehow managed to, arguably, complete it.
It would also be the point that Nathan would have pointed to them getting involved with everything surrounding time if it wasn't for his forgotten, erased past. But he shook the thought from his mind, there was no point thinking about that any more, especially that Wendy didn't think bad about it either. Now it was nothing more but a needless worry to him.
"But I left it in my room, and we weren't given the chance to go back and get it either…" Wendy mumbled as she thought about the precious red gem they had been given for simply attempting the mission.
"Even if I had known that before we still wouldn't have tried to attain it, it would be far too risky to go into the building for it." Zabost instantly replied, "At the very least the pendant might be able to give us some guidance at the very least, and from there it's simply trying to beat the woman and take the gear again."
"Beat the woman…. You mean Mipha right?" Nathan asked, already knowing the answer full well for himself much like Wendy, after all, there was only one woman who would be there and guarding the gear.
"If that's what you call her, but you're still having issues about being recognized and then having everyone turn against you despite doing the right thing aren't you?" Zabost rebutted.
"Fairy Tail won't turn against us! I would rather that we didn't get found out like this but…" Wendy immediately mentioned in the defence of the guild, or in Zabost's eye voicing her refusal to accept the likely future. As far as the things that he had experienced, the world was hardly something so kind…
He was not someone of this world, this time, but it was the nature of people to look after themselves or act for selfish reasons. The heart of men was hardly the strongest thing in the world, so many scummed to the terrors of the future and entered rather pitiful states because of it. But maybe that was just the kind of place that the ruined future was, after all, why would they fight for anything then?
"I wouldn't say anything unless you have something to prove you right. The odds are against you." Zabost simply mentioned, with as hard of a voice as ever, the jab and doubt of her friends provoking Wendy at the same time as it stirred her curiosity of just why he acted in such a manner. Had he never known anything like friends and family before?
"If that is everything then we'll be off, and you would do well to prepare yourself for everything…" Zabost said in warning as he turned around, completely prepared to begin travelling for the next destination.
"Fine." Nathan sighed as he closed the distance between him and Wendy once again, quickly picking her back up into his arms as she then made the action of wrapping her arms around his neck to better support herself, while keeping herself even closer than usual.
The action at first made Nathan widen his eyes a little at the slight change that Wendy had made but he thought little more about it, it wasn't anything that he would be complaining about, if anything he found himself further enjoying it, even if he had to suppress those emotions while she remained so close to his face.
But he also knew there was more to the action that was happening perchance, he could feel the tension in her arms that made it clear that she was doing so for a form of comfort which she needed after having Zabost once again harshly lay down what were the most logical assumptions. Assumptions which she didn't want to be true at all…
They would never treat them like that, but even there how they would react would be something that neither of the teenagers could say for certain. How would they feel if suddenly their friends were dragged off and then when they finally met again they were now fighting for the opposing side?
'But I guess the cave started to give us a feeling about that I suppose…' Nathan thought to himself just before he took off, following after Zabost who led the way forward towards their next destination. Each one of his steps felt somewhat heavy as he thought about the likelihood of meeting with Mipha and just how that would go…
The trip wasn't long, but nor was it short as they dashed past all sorts of different sites, taking the occasional stops to prevent complete exhaustion while Wendy made sure to help recover their stamina with her magic every time they made a stop, sometimes eating whatever natural fruit that could be found around them for a snack.
Eventually, the forest surrounded by its perpetual fog came into view, grasping the complete attention of three as they continued to make their way towards it. While Zabost seemingly got lighter on his feet, picking up the pace of which he rushed to the forest Nathan only found his feet getting even heavier in hesitance as the thought of the meeting was sinking in more and more.
And he didn't find himself alone in these thoughts as Wendy tightened her grip around his neck, pressing herself even closer to him than before as she looked dead ahead, straight on at where she was certain the concealed lake was.
Only when they finally reached the border of the woods did they finally come to a stop, Zabost turning around with a face of expectation while Nathan set Wendy back down on the ground again.
"You should be able to navigate this regardless of the fog." Zabost bluntly stated as if it was nothing but fact.
"Right." Nathan sighed, slowly moving his gaze past the grown man at the woods before them before looking down at his pendent to see if it was already beginning to react to anything only to see a complete lack of reaction.
"I think we'll have to go further though before I get any reactions however if that's what you are counting on," he replied, only getting a firm nod of the head back as Zabost already started walking into the woods alone.
"Are you ready?" Nathan asked as he held out a hand for Wendy, looking down at her as she slowly looked back at him from the forest, her appearance somehow seeming faintly shaky despite the strong determination that she put forth, something which Nathan could only guess was because she was putting up a little bit of a front right there.
"Yeah, we can't wait any longer anyways right?" Wendy replied with a firm nod before taking a quick breath of air, further pumping herself up for what was to come.
Upon hearing her answer the pair of them immediately followed into the forest after Zabost before any further distance was put between them. Neither of them said anything as they walked through the fog, once again seeking out the lake concealed within the fog…
The previous time they had been in the woods, they knew nothing about it, or what things that they should be aiming for, and from that, they had likely spent far longer than what was necessary stumbling around in the woods.
However, this time was different, not only where they a mage up but they were all experienced with what the woods had to offer. They knew what they were doing and just what they were looking for but Zabost was never one for taking things at a pace.
Mainly being dragged along by Zabost unwillingness to slow down, the team of three quickly navigate their way through the woods, making their way in a straight line that was sure to lead them to the centre of the woods, while Nathan remained conscious of his necklaces, checking on it along the way until it, at last, shone with its mythical lustre, slightly illuminating the area around them and dispelling a slight amount of fog.
They never slowed down however, the day passing by them as they continued through the forest relentlessly...
Standing on a lone platform that sat above the white sea of fog that blocked out the world beneath it stood seven individuals, all of whom kept their focus on the world which resided below.
"People are coming, three of them…" Mipha spoke up as she opened her eyes from concentration, joining the rest of the people who joined her on her plateau in looking down at the fog beneath them.
"So it isn't Zabost then?" Lucy asked, peering back at the guardian for a few moments before looking back down with curiosity at just who they would be faced with if it wasn't the person they were half hoping would appear.
"Unless he brought help this time considering that he failed the last time, I doubt that he's going to try doing the same thing as last time considering his failure unless he believes that everything that caused him to fail has now been removed this time around…" Erza spoke up, not loosening up for a moment at the news. They still didn't know if the fight was going to be harder than expected or not, but it was still more likely than not that they would still be in for quite the fight.
"I'm still not completely sure if I want to see Zabost or not" Gray commented as he thought about the prospect of running into the powerful dark mage.
"What do you mean?!" Natsu yelled out in disbelief, "I want to kick his butt for everything he has done, and for Wendy and Nathan!"
"We can't guarantee that he knows what became of them, although he is the best and only chance of learning of whatever happened after they all vanished through the portal…" Erza chipped in again as she changed her train of thought to the two teenagers once again, a clenched fist as she envisioned the smiling face of the girl whom she had brought to the guild all the years ago. She could only call it responsibility and duty that she had to do everything she could to return her to the guild once more.
"Who knows of what became of who?" A voice called out cutting through the general mood of the group, making everyone turn to it in alarm as the voice was unmistakably coming from where the plateau descended down into the steam cave beneath.
"It is you again…" Mipha said in spiteful tones, practically on the verge of spitting out her words while she readied herself for a fight, much like all the members of Team Natsu that quickly prepared their magic and positions.
"I don't even see why you try guarding it now, it's clearly doing nothing for you anymore." Zabost continued as he walked out into plain sight, blankly looking at the people who stood in his way taking in the new faces as he hid the slight irritation that would have appeared on his face from all the new people.
"And you even managed to tell that I was coming even before I arrived at any of your sisters, or is this just paranoia?" he added on, his relaxed stance remaining in stark contrast to how everyone else appeared.
"Where are the other two? I know you didn't come alone this time either…" Mipha asked, not bothering with the questions that Zabost had asked, there was no need for him to learn of his tricks after all.
"What happened to Wendy and Nathan?!" Carla called out with a voice that demanded answers as she hovered alongside Happy at the sidelines with an intense glare, not that it was of any effect to the opposing man. But even so, he released a heavy sigh at the question as he thought back to the two kids that he had been spending time with.
He had already made his promise and despite how he felt, he wasn't one for breaking them...
"The two kids that were with you? I haven't a clue, sure they were dragged back with me but there's no point teaming up with anyone if there isn't any trust, and so we went our separate ways. Who knows where they currently are…" Zabost eventually answered in a heavy voice, tired from even the simple thought of what he was doing.
At the same time, a little in the distance Nathan and Wendy couldn't help but shrink back a little bit at the scene playing out just before them.
Wendy couldn't help but tense up as she heard Carla's voice shouting out for them, she gripped tightly against the rocky walls of the steam cave while with her other arm she gripped Nathan's arm with as much strength as she could muster. She couldn't help but feel completely torn and confused about everything that was going on, there was such a longing for her to leap out right now and hug the exceed and tell her everything which was going on, but she then knew everything that she would be risking as well by doing so.
Even Nathan who stood beside her struggled with his own inner turmoils, while he wasn't as emotional as Wendy he still stood with a clenched fist before taking a deep breath, reminding himself of the plan they had gone over only moments before…
They were barely peeking out of the cave, watching the team of seven before them with shocked expressions while Zabost merely looked slightly disgruntled at the sight.
"Why are they here already?! I thought that everyone would only go to help out at the lakes after we took the first guarded one…" Wendy said as she looked on with a heart torn between horror, heartbreak, happiness and many other conflicting emotions that left her torn about what she felt like doing in the moment. But she knew that she most of all wanted to either run far away from them all while at the same time she wanted to run out there and hug the lot of them at long last…
"If I had to take a guess it was from when we took down the crystal golem at Treeshroud Forest, if it was this guardian's handiwork then it would be possible that she sensed its defeat…" Zabost answered in a hushed voice.
"Are we really going to have to fight them… Can we really not try explaining everything?" Nathan asked in hopeful suggestion.
"I'm not the one who wants to fight, I'm doing so because they're simply trying to stop me, and what do you think they are going to do the moment they see me? Do you think they will ever let me go? Especially the guardian." Zabost said as he turned around once again, his words cold while his voice sounded oddly understanding of them…
"You want to do this all without them knowing about it, then you should stay behind for this then…" Zabost said before releasing a heavy sigh leaving the teenagers utterly stunned with what he was suggesting.
"But I thought… Can you even take them all in a fight?!" Nathan shot back instantly before Wendy could open her mouth while she shared the same sentiment.
"You asked for this in the past." Zabost replied, "Besides, I likely can't beat all of them, however, since when was beating them the goal? I want you two to get the time gear discreetly while I keep them occupied…"
He didn't give them the chance to say anything more as he walked out immediately after, making himself known to the mages and grabbing the attention of everyone, leaving Nathan and Wendy to fight against their own emotions and wait for the first opportunity to make their way towards the lake…
"I doubt that what you say is true, but you can make your confessions while you lie defeated!" Mipha declared, moments before large spikes of stone launched forth at Zabost, aiming for each of his limbs clearly in the attempt to try and pin him down.
Zabost said nothing more as he immediately made his move, dodging to the side of the attack before darting towards the fairy tail members at an astonishing speed that caught many of them off-guard. In mere moments he managed to close what little space was between them, managing to briefly grab hold of Mipha and Gray before a quick blast of flame acted to divide them.
"Remember that he can copy your magic, and likely already has!" Erza shouted out quickly, swinging her sword towards Zabost before having it caught and trapped within a block of ice that appeared seemingly in the nick of time. "Requip!" Erza yelled as a vile of light briefly covered her before fading away to reveal a whole different armour set, her flame empress armour and sword which quickly set ablaze melting the ice between her and Zabost.
It hardly took any time for all of the others to immediately jump in on the fight, everyone doing their best to find any and all openings which were presented to them against Zabost while doing their best to counter and defend one another from all attacks that Zabost threw against them. Despite the fact that there were only six people actively fighting, the fight which happened between them easily looked like a mini-war was taking place from all the skill and magic that was displayed…
"Do you think that we should go now?" Wendy asked as she maintained thin wind vails over herself and Nathan, a necessity to prevent their scents from passing through the air to otherwise surely be picked up by Natsu's dragonic sense of smell.
"If anyone took their attention off of that fight for a moment then I think it would be over for them… and the sooner the better," Nathan replied in agreement, scanning the scene for the most covered way across the plateau to the lake that also didn't waste any time.
"Come on, hold on," he said, holding out a hand for Wendy to hold onto which she hastily did, allowing herself to be led along by Nathan to guide her while she remained on the alert for anyone being able to notice them all the while being unable to help but feel completely at awe at the fight that was before her.
In the middle of the plateau, Zabost continued to fight on against the odds that were clearly weighed against him. Mipha reshaped the rockery around him while making multiple stone creatures to attack for her while Gray made icy restraints to try and hold down Zabost allowing for Natsu and Erza to unleash their strongest attacks.
Standing a little bit back from the fight Lucy stood beside Virgo, Loki and Taurus whom she had summoned to her side, all of them ready to act upon any surprise that Zabost could still possibly throw at them.
"Tic, you're all quite tenacious aren't you…" Zabost grunted as he quickly redoubled his efforts in the fight, a blast of frigid air emitting from him that froze the world around him while extinguishing the flames that burned around Natsu's fist from the sheer cold.
Kicking Natsu aside, he quickly caught Erza's sword with his hands, fresh blood spilling forth but the pain didn't affect his efforts, with a simple glance Mipha's creations began to crack and crumble while stones rose up and shredded at Gray's ice before Erza was thrown back his way with inhuman strength.
"How did he manage to do all that?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock at the feat performed, marvelling at the capabilities of the now sword-wielding man before them.
"MOOOO, he's got some mooooves!" Taurus chimed in as he prepared his battle axe to get the first swing at Zabost, before bringing it crashing down causing a shockwave to cause the ground to tear up, trying to throw Zabost into the air but not before he leapt towards the spirits and their summoner on the offensive.
"I don't think so!" Loke shouted as he and Virgo didn't hesitate to get in the way of the attack, Loke blocking the swing of the sword that Zabost aimed at them with his light while Virgo prepared a counter-attack. "Lucy! You should keep your distance from him!" he yelled back.
"I can't do that! You know that we fight side by side!" Lucy responded as she briefly flashed with light before emerging in her Taurus star dress, her whip in her hand before she lashed at the ground, managing to flick it tip at the mutual foe.
Digging his feet into the ground and once more applying his boost magic, Zabost simply allowed the whip to wrap around his wrist, a rock barrier quickly separating him and the spirits before him.
"Huh?!" Lucy exclaimed as she felt the immediate, unexpected tug that brought her off her feet before she was sent hurling through the air, smashing into Virgo's side before she could break Zabost's rock barrier.
"Fire dragon's roar!" Zabost yelled as he unleashed a great stream of flames from his jaw that blasted back Loke and Taurus.
"Requip!" Erza shouted out as she kept above Zabost before he could finish his spell, donning her purgatory armour and her large holy hammer, swinging it down immediately with all her strength.
The attack didn't miss, but nor was it a clean hit as Zabost in the nick of time managed to hold the attack off as he put his arms above his head in defence to block the blow, struggling against the enormous force pushing down on him.
"Ice make: Floor!" Gray chanted as he put his hands to the floor, freezing everything over solid, the same time that a streak of rock quickly struck at the back of Zabost's knees, making him slip up on the ice before being smashed into the force by Erza's hammer.
"Um, Nathan," Wendy said as she tugged on his hand, getting his attention before directing him onto Zabost with a worried glance. "Do you think that Zabost is ok?" she worriedly asked, struggling to take her eye's away from the sight of all their friends beginning to overwhelm him.
In the same moment, a firestorm began to erupt from beneath Erza's hammer before it was blown away in an explosion, but the blast never got to expand any further as it quickly turned to ice. Ice that, unlike the rest, was darker in colour while a cold mist emanated from it.
"Gray's using his devil slayer magic!" Wendy quietly exclaimed as she immediately recognized the black marking that itself apparent on his body.
"He has that?" Nathan asked, briefly looking at Wendy who exchanged a worried glance with him before something the voices of the fighter drew their attention back in...
"Rock Avalanche!" Mipha called out as she bombarded Zabost with an onslaught of sharpened stones,
"Fire Dragon Kings Demolition Fist!" Natsu shouted out as his flames quickly turned a deeper red while they raged on even more wild than ever before as he flipped in through the air in an attempt to land the super-powered attack.
Despite his immediate efforts, Zabost remained unable to move his body in the slightest as bonds of both rock and ice quickly moulded themselves around his limbs, binding him to the floor and forcing him to take the one attack head-on.
"Boost: Defence!" Zabost chanted, preparing himself as well as he could to take the full force of the spells…
They never connected, however, as a blast of mingled light and wind quickly intercepted the attack, pushing right through while landing a direct hit on Natsu sending him flying into a distant boulder while everyone remained in shock from the unexpected attack.
Zabost didn't hesitate upon seeing the opening, however, quickly exploding forth with fire again that managed to break his bonds in the distracted moment, before immediately pulling himself out of harm's way with an icy hook.
"Your allies now come to your aid…" Mipha noted, quickly turning her attention to where the assailing blast had come from, immediately wanting to make out just who else they were going to have to bring to justice.
"Wait a moment… that magic…" Lucy muttered as she thought about the magic that had come to the defence of Zabost right when he needed it most.
"There was wind… and black light…" Loke said in disbelief as he got to his feet, "There's only one pair that comes to mind with that kind of unison raid…"
"And I thought that you wanted to stay hidden from them, you understand that you'll never get away with it now," Zabost said aloud, making his voice clear to everyone on the plateau, his words only serving to fuel the sense of disbelief that flooded all of the fairies as they began to have their eyes dart around the place for the two people of which they couldn't help but expect to find.
"Wendy? Nathan?" Carla called out in a scarce, trembling voice as she lowered herself slightly from the air as she scanned the surrounding for any sight of the teenage pair.
For a few short moments, there was utter silence as everyone looked on in the direction the unison raid had come from waiting for any kind of response. Wendy and Nathan, while still hiding in a small alcove knew that everyone had stopped simply to gaze in their direction, already convinced that they were still there.
'Maybe I should have used my dragon gods mode just to change the appearance of my light…' Nathan briefly pondered to himself with a strained expression before shaking his head at the thought. Natsu was strong, but would he really be able to take a unison raid composed of that kind of power?
"There is no point in hiding any longer," Mipha said as she held out a hand, making use of her magic to remove the cover that they had, exposing them for everyone to behold as they could only hold their breaths in worry about how everyone was going to react…
Everyone remained silent as their breath was robbed from them in the moment as they looked upon the two huddled teenagers who silently looked back at them with shaky breaths, awaiting whatever their reactions were going to be to their sudden reveal.
For a few moments, everyone remained frozen in their shock while Zabost simply stood off to the side allowing the scene to play out while no chance of moving unnoticed presented itself while Mipha turned her attention back to him.
"Wendy! Nathan! You're back!" Carla cried out in sheer joy, unable to hold herself back anymore as she flew towards the two as quickly as possible, tackling into the pair with her unbounded joy, much unlike how she usually acted.
"Carla!" Wendy called out with a wide smile on her face as she embraced the white exceed while Nathan stood beside them with a smile of his own, happy for the reunion before remembering the situation at hand.
The rest of the fairy had already turned back to facing Zabost with battle-ready positions, while smiles remained on their faces from the fresh new motivation and reassurance of being reunited with their guildmates once more.
"Alright! Come on Nathan, Wendy! We'll get him this time!" Natsu yelled out as he relit his fists with his determination at an all-time high despite the strong blast that he likely received. But instead of immediately joining in the fight alongside their friends, Nathan and Wendy simply shifted uncomfortably on the spot, casting the gaze to one another and the floor.
"What's wrong with the pair of you? Is there something we should know?" Carla asked as she peered up at the two, perplexed at their actions.
"Well…" Nathan started as he scratched the back of his head, still thinking about the best way to explain everything. He never got to utter another word before he went interrupted however by the sound of ice forming while the rubbing of rocks and clashing of steel once again took place as all of the mages once again resumed their fight.
"They're still fighting…" Wendy mentioned as if she expected any different. Even though they were the ones who clearly interrupted and stopped the fight before, they still continued onward as if nothing was amiss aside from their reunion.
"The best thing we can do now is try to tell them… anything else will just make things harder…" Nathan replied as they refused to respond to Carla, delaying the time between telling her.
"Tell them what? What is it?" Carla asked again in her growing confusion and worry as to what they were possibly referring to.
"Carla, do you trust us?" Wendy asked, rendering Carla completely startled at the question.
"Of course child! Why wouldn't I?" Carla snapped back immediately.
"Then would you believe us if we said that Zabost isn't the bad guy?" Wendy continued, a slight frown on her face while at the same time it clearly carried a sense of pleading hope.
Once again, Carla was completely shocked at what she heard from the young dragon slayer's mouth. The one person that they had been trying to beat the whole time, that had caused the partial collapse of time, apparently wasn't a criminal at all…
"What do you mean?!" Carla asked in disbelief as she tried to think of every possible notion that allowed what Wendy just said to be telling her the truth.
"When we were dragged into the past we experienced everything and got the truth firsthand. Dimitri just used us to try and ruin our chance of survival." Nathan briefly explained making Carla turn to him, her shock and unease not settling down in the slightest, something that neither Nathan nor Wendy could get surprised at. "It's a long story and we'll explain more later but… do you believe us?"
Carla remained speechless as she continued to think about what she had just heard before she glanced back to the fight between the fairies, Mipha and Zabost. For a few short moments, she continued to watch the lone dark mage battling against all the others, somehow managing to resist the odds as he continued to beat back Natsu and Loke, deflecting Taurus's attack at Erza to force her to defend whilst holding back Gray's ice and Mipha's rocky creations.
It was no doubt an intense and incredible fight, but also one that Zabost was clearly losing as he went overpowered and overwhelmed by everyone. The odd attack managed to breach his defences and connect, slowly breaking down at his resilience but hardly damaged his willpower in the slightest…
And then she looked back at the worried, scared expressions of Wendy and Nathan, the faces of people clearly fearful of losing something that they cared greatly about…
Zabost continued to fight on, heavily on the defensive while still managing to get in the odd counter against the odds or deflect one attack into another. "Ice make: Chains!" He yelled out, unleashing multiple strings of ice that quickly wrapped around every individual mage only for Natsu and Gray to break out of them with ease, the bonds practically non-existent to Gray while Natsu melted them.
"Boulder Breaker," he commanded, large boulders immediately forming over their head as rocks flew and formed together only for them to be sliced in two as Erza stood in defiance with her purgatory sword in her hands as she fought against her restraints.
"Iron rock spikes!" Mipha commanded as she turned the sliced boulders into multiple deadly javelins, all poised for Zabost before they came raining down on him.
"Fire Dragon- Urg!" Zabost started before a ray of light slammed into his chest, interrupting his spell as Loke stood before him with his Regulus Magic in determination, the interruption allowing for the rock spikes to close in on him for another apparent sure, devastating hit on the dark mage…
But the attacks never connected as multiple orbs of back light quickly formed around Zabost, blocking the attacks before erupting into bursts of black light that blew everyone back.
"You defended him…. Why?!" Mipha exclaimed as she turned to Nathan with a fierce expression with an aura of an underlying threat and warning. "As well as the fact, that was what the pair of you were aiming for before now wasn't it?"
"Wait! Could you all just listen for a moment!" Nathan pleaded with his hands up in defence as he tried to soothe the guardian. "There is something that you all should know! If you'll believe it, is another matter, however…" he trailed off before shaking the doubts from his mind.
"What is it then?" Mipha asked, her mood unchanging despite the graceful chance that she gave.
"Well…" Nathan started as he thought about the best way to explain everything.
"Zabost isn't the bad guy! Dimitri tricked us all!" Wendy said as she stepped forth, desperately yelling the words out as she clung onto Carla, only able to hope that despite everything their friends would still believe them.
"What do you mean he's a good guy! He's the one going around taking all the time gears isn't he?!" Gray replied in shock while he kept shifting his gaze between Wendy and Zabost, trying to envision the dark mage in any way that remotely made him seem any better than the crimes that he had committed.
"Ne, ne, how could he be a good person?" Happy asked as he descended from the sky in confusion that filled everyone.
"Anything that you say doesn't matter then… it is my role of guardian to make sure that the time gear remains undisturbed, and that is the only way that we can hope that everything will eventually go back to normal!" Mipha cut in, raising a hand to the sky as the earth followed her silent command, towering up before shifting its shape into a magnificent tiger and snake which easily towered over everyone, dwarfing them in comparison.
"But there's somewhere else which they need to go!" Nathan shouted out, desperately trying to get through to the enraged blond.
"Nonsense! The time gear resides here, and has always done so!" Mipha heatedly countered, "Byakko! Shahapet!" she shouted, the great lion and snake roaring out in response to their names before lunging toward the teenagers to their shock.
"I told you they wouldn't listen." Zabost calmly stated before he dashed forward from his spot, blitzing through the fairy tail mages with ease knocking them to the ground before he lunged at the stone tiger with a blazing fist, striking it with enough force to send it crashing onto its side.
"And you're not making things any easier now!" Nathan argued back as he leapt back from the bite of the serpent as Wendy leapt to the side.
"Please! We don't want to fight you!" Wendy cried out as Carla left her grasp to hold onto her back and lifted her into the air, safely out of harm's reach.
"Then why do you side with him?!" Mipha replied as a column of stone tried reaching out for Wendy, only to be effortlessly avoided by Carla as she manoeuvred away from the attacks. "And how can you so easily side with them, Carla? Would you join them no matter what they do or what they become?"
"I would always trust them! Wendy and Nathan would never do something like this without reason!" Carla retaliated.
"Hey, what do you think you are doing?!" Natsu angrily yelled out as he bore witness to the assault that Mipha performed against his friends.
He couldn't make a move before Zabost quickly came from seeming nowhere and kicked him in the back of the head, forcing him to the ground. "Just stay out of this." He mumbled as he started to cover the back of Natus's head in ice while sending a wall of stone towards Erza and Gray, only to be shattered by Virgo's magic as she stood in their defence.
"Regulus Impact!" Loke called out as he advanced towards Zabost, swinging a fist of light at him only for it to be nimbly avoided as he received a kick to the stomach back, sending him flying backwards.
"Blumenblatt!" Erza yelled out as countless floating swords filled the area with her standing in the middle of it all in Heaven's wheel armour, the swords acting on command as they flew through the sky, attacking Zabost at all angles.
"Fire dragon's wing attack!" Zabost countered as two streaks of flame leapt from his back, lashing out at the swords, forcing them back and even slightly melting them with the intense heat that they generated.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" Gray yelled out as he came into view amongst the flames and flying swords, a bow and arrow of ice in his hands that he unleashed before Zabost could notice him in time amongst the chaos that surrounded him.
In moments the powerful ice blast quickly pierced and made its way through the waring flames, the sheer cold that contrasted the heat helping make itself known just before connecting directly with Zabost's torso sending him flying into the distance and freeing Natus from his grasp.
"Natsu, are you alright?" Gray asked as he and Erza ran up to his side before quickly breaking the ice for the dragon slayer with his own.
"Yeah, thanks, Gray…" Natsu slowly replied as he lifted his head again, taking deep breaths to make up for the prolonged time of being forced into the ground.
"Now we have to beat him and subdue Mipha…" Gray mumbled as he thought about the situation which was rapidly getting out of hand.
"But Nathan and Wendy are protecting him and saying that he's not bad…" Erza added on in confusion, still working out how to take the sudden events.
"Maybe Zabost has done something to them?" Lucy suggested as she made her way up to the three while Taurus and Loke watched their backs lest another attack catch them from off guard.
"It's possible, who knows what might have happened to them while they were in the future…" Erza added on.
"Arg! Where's that bastard! I'll make him tell everything and get some revenge on him!" Natsu yelled out in anger as he quickly got on his feet, looking over at where Gray had successfully sent him skidding away. "Where even is he?!" he continued, his words getting the rest of the team on the alert as they quickly looked around the area trying to locate just where the mage had vanished too.
"He's vanished?" Erza said as she failed to pick up on wherever the dark mage could possibly be hiding. The attention however was soon taken away by the sound of loud thuds and crashes in the not so distant fight that was raging on further down the plateau as Nathan, Wendy and Carla continued to avoid the assault that Mipha and her two creations kept waging on them.
'It isn't like we can keep avoiding her forever...' Nathan thought to himself as he leapt out of the way of the large stone snake, Shahapet. "Light god's bellow!" Nathan yelled as he unleashed a blast of black light at his primary attacker, the blast quickly and easily striking at the snake's insides as it lept towards Nathan with an open mouth in the attempt to swallow him whole.
"Nathan?" Wendy called out with a worried voice as she saw Nathan's stance against as finally starting to get into a fight but even so…
"Wendy…" Nathan called back as he looked up at her with shaky eyes of his own before he slowly nodded at her, silently communicating to her that fighting was quickly becoming a necessity.
Taking advantage of the moment, however, the stone lion quickly pounced upon Nathan in the open moment, crushing him with his paw as the ground cracked up at the tremendous force that it had been stuck by.
"Nathan!" Wendy and Carla called out practically instinctively at the sight of the god slayer being crushed.
But their worries were elevated in the next moment when a glowing object quickly smashed into the side of the lion sending it sprawling back and onto its side. "Light gods Apollo!" Nathan yelled out as he unleashed countless bolts of black light towards the lion, continuing to pummel it as it continued to crack from the continued onslaught.
"What was that?!" Carla exclaimed as she struggled to understand the miracle.
"A simple afterimage, that and being fast." Nathan briefly explained as he touched down on a fight rock that was relatively near the two flying girls. "Wendy, I'll line them up, do you think that you could try for a finisher? If Mipha's divided her power then…"
"Got it!" Wendy replied, cutting him on with a determined voice as she knew everything that she had to do. Even if Mipha had divided her power between the two both her and Nathan were a lot stronger than they were the last time after everything they had been through, including the spartan training that they constantly received from Zabost. Quickly finishing the two beasts was something that she was confident that she could do, she had to do…
"Dues Eques!" Wendy quickly chanted as she worked her magic on herself and Nathan, giving her a sky blue aura while a golden one quickly covered Nathan signifying their enhanced states.
"Photon edge!" Nathan yelled out, swinging his arm to unleash a blade of black that raced through the air whilst lightly cutting the ground that it touches upon, heading along a direct path for Byakko's neck, forcing it to step back and onto the tail of Shahapet.
Immediately the great snake whipped at the lion with what length of its tail was still free to move in its agitation but Nathan still didn't hesitate for a moment. "Photon edge: Gigagash!" he yelled out as he put his hands together above his head, a large blade of light forming before he immediately brought it crashing down on the bickering stone beasts.
There was no time for the stone beings to escape the attack when they finally realised the attack, instead of forcing themselves to fight back as they blocked it with claws and tail, a small shockwave ran across the plateau as the three attacks collided.
"Dragon slayer secret art!" Wendy started as Carla brought her into position, her hair wild and pink while feather-like scales lightly covered her body as she remained ready in her dragon force. "Shattering light: Sky drill!" she yelled out as she drove the wind gathering around her and in her hands before her, unleashing a concentrated blast aimed right at the two side-by-side stone statues from the side.
The spell made a hard collision with Byakko who immediately buckled at the force while its body began to crack, but Wendy never stopped her spell, instead of managing even more force than before as it drilled through the lion's body and then through Shahapet's.
The moment they went pieced it was clear that they lost all strength as they stopped pushing back against Nathan's spell, allowing it to come crashing down at full force shattering their bodies into countless pebbles before kicking up a dust cloud that covered the area…
"That was amazing Wendy!" Nathan called out with a triumphant smile, knowing that their efforts had been successful.
"You gave us the opportunity!" Wendy replied back with a wide smile of her own, pleased at the quick results of their combined efforts.
"I suppose it's only natural that you would have improved." Mipha's voice was suddenly cut through the cheery atmosphere of the teenagers as they remembered the one person they were really fighting.
In the next moment, a large stone fist quickly raised out of the dust cloud in mere moments, managing to reach out to Wendy and Carla before either of the girls had any time to react, rendering them unable to avoid the blow as it slammed them towards the ground.
"Wendy! Carla!" Nathan shouted out in shock as he saw the two take the hit, not wasting any time in rushing over to the two, catching them in the air before landing down on the ground. But even that movement had been a mistake…
Even before they had touched the ground, it quickly opened up in anticipation for them while Nathan remained powerless in changing his point of landing, the ground quickly swallowing them to their shoulders the moment they touched the ground.
"You have no idea how deep my sorrow runs that you have decided to turn against us…" Mipha woefully mentioned as she walked up to the trapped teenagers. "But I am bound by my role as guardian to protect the time gear."
"Mipha… please don't do this any more! You don't understand! The world is-" Wendy started before she went interrupted by a quick blast of fire that formed a wall between them and Mipha.
"You two did well enough, we're leaving," Zabost commanded as he calmly walked up beside the teenagers, breaking the earth that held them bound with one swift stomp before presenting the two with the sight of a glimmering, crystalline gear.
"You already got it?!" Nathan exclaimed at the sight as he shook the dirt and stone off of himself before getting out the hole, holding out a hand to Wendy for her to quickly take it.
"When did you?!" Mipha cried out as she reconciled the sight of the gear through the flames that separated her from it.
"There you are! Get back here!" Natsu's voice was then heard earning Nathan and Wendy's attention to see him racing towards them.
"Wendy, now!" Zabost repeated as he turned his full attention to the girl, knowing that she could understand his words fully.
"But…" Wendy tried to argue.
"I'm sorry, but right now we have to go… Just a small distance is necessary..." Zabost interrupted her as he looked down, the slightest frown slipping onto his face as Wendy could only stare back with a sense of disbelief…
"Universe One…" Wendy quietly mumbled as she allowed her magic to fill the world around her, causing it to light up with a similar sky blue light that left everyone but Nathan and Wendy in utter confusion. "I'm sorry…" She muttered with a singular tear before she finally completed the spell, engulfing the world in light…
And when it settled down, they were gone…
First of all, I've got to say, sorry for taking so long with this chapter! But I hope that you like this one just as much, even though I was a little of it while writing this one from the large break that I had taken. There were times that I did think of maybe mentioning that I wanted a small break but then I also thought that it would be like a bit of a trick on you guys so I opted not, hopefully, that wasn't the wrong decision...
As I said before I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter just as much but at the same time, I do feel that it wasn't the best that I could do but was quite possibly from the long break that I had taken that I would naturally drop a little bit in writing skill as a result that I need to recover from...
Reviews:
Reader of 1000 stories: Regarding the pendant of time, I think that I will do more explanation on it later into the story so don't worry for now, as while as that scar. As of re-reading your other review (thanks for multiple, you really seem to be enjoying my story and thanks for the patience!) Maybe it was a little bit of rushing, but there was also a little bit of a attempt for something else, not related to current progress... Guest: Sorry for the delay but i hope that you still find this as well as find this as great as the last chapter!
I have a feeling that the reunion wasn't quite so well written out as i liked so this is going to be noted down for improvements later on when i have finished the story as well, but what did you think of it?
While the spell ideas are certainly something to think about, I think you'll find that I have already done a 'gathering of light' attack for Nathan in chapter 15. And good to know that you feel very conflicted about Zabost, sorry about how I have written this reply but it's getting late as of writing this... I hope that you continue to enjoy everything to come!
Ammany: Yep, they are highly dutiful at the end of the day, and now everything just got a lot more complicated!
Monster Hunter: If your reading this then, sorry, there are bits of his description introduced over time rather than just bombing it, but maybe i should add a bit more initial description...