Ok, so I finally pulled myself away from Monster Hunter Rise to put a chapter out! Sorry for that, it's not addicting, I swear!

Time to see how Lucy and the gang do, as we move swiftly towards the climax of the Battle of Fairy Tail!

I don't own Fairy Tail. I do wish I was a part of it though!

Chapter 31: Crime and Punishment

Title Song: Night of Nights (Touhou) - Nitro Remix

Melody watched as Loke lashed out with fists of light, shattering three toys easily. She then spotted the other two darting in. "Song of Hammering Waves!" She called out, putting her flute to her mouth and beginning to play a dramatic piece. As she did, water shot from a large magic circle, crushing the dolls under the sheer volume of the wave.

"It's totally pointless! These are souls! You can't hurt them!" Bickslow grinned. "You can destroy their bodies but I'll just move them onto something else. That means I get new Babies!"

Five new toys shot up from the toy shop. "They just don't stop!" Melody frowned.

Loke bashed them back. "You can send a million of those things, I won't let them harm Lucy or her friends!" He growled.

"Come on!" Lucy said. Happy lifted her up to Bickslow.

"Aye sir!" He agreed. Lucy lashed her whip at Bickslow, but he avoided it barely. Happy then let her drop onto the rooftop, and a magic circle appeared. "Blue Fire: Torrent!" He called, a column of blue fire shooting at Bickslow, which he leapt back out of the way.

"Whoa!" Bickslow said. "You're a feisty little cheerleader!" He grinned. "And you have gotten better Happy."

"I am not a cheerleader!" Lucy snapped.

"Lucy! Go on and take him out! He's nothing; you're stronger than him!" Loke called.

"Hey man, take that back!" Bickslow yelled down.

"Watch each other up there!" Melody said. Noting how close the dolls were, she switched to her guitar, and instead of playing music, she gripped it like an axe.

Lucy lashed Bickslow again, as Loke and Melody joined them on the toy shop roof. "Crap! Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns," Bickslow grunted, lifting his hand to remove the mask over his eyes.

"Figure Eyes!" He smirked, opening his eyes, green light flashing from it.

"Close your eyes and don't open them!" Happy warned.

Melody didn't question him, doing just that. "Each of the Thunder Legion have special powers to do with their eyes!" Happy explained. "Evergreen will turn you to stone, but if you look at Bickslow, he'll turn you into one of his creepy dolls and control your soul!"

"Really?" Loke asked.

"No way…" Lucy gasped.

"Well, aren't you Mr know-it-all?!" Bickslow smirked.

"So smart!" His dolls echoed, before suddenly, Melody was feeling a barrage of impacts. Judging by Happy and Lucy's yelps and Loke's grunts, they were experiencing the same thing.

"Whatever you do, don't open your eyes!" Happy yelled over the onslaught.

Bickslow laughed. "My figure eyes and possession combo is unbeatable, and you guys won't eve spare a look?! Oh come on!"

"Lucy! Close my gate! Then hide inside Horologium for a while!" Loke called out.

"Great idea, but my keys were snatched by one of Bickslow's dolls!" Lucy reminded him. "Now come on! I know you can help us so just do it already!"

"Alright then. When I give the signal, you guys open your eyes and hit him with everything you've got!" Loke called out.

"But I thought we were meant to keep them closed!" Lucy protested.

"You're gonna have to trust me!" Loke called.

"Fine… I trust you…" Lucy smiled.

"The zenith of Regulus… Lion Brilliance!" Loke invoked his magic again. A stunning blinding light shone from him.

Bickslow gasped. Not expecting the sudden flashing light, his eyes caught the full brunt. "My eyes!" He yelled out.

"Now!" Loke yelled.

"Got it!" Lucy nodded, lashing out and binding Bickslow with her whip.

"No! There's no way I'm going to let you beat me!" Bickslow grunted.

"Well tough luck!" Melody grinned. Her flute was replaced by her guitar. "Song of the Raging Fire!" She called out, beginning to play an upbeat piece that blasted fire forth.

"I'm not a helpless cat anymore! Laxus has gone too far and must be stopped! He wants to destroy my home, but I won't let him!" Happy added. "Blue Fire: Prominence Typhoon!" He called out, both hands in front as he launched a massive tornado of blue flames.

"I'm not the man I used to be. When I met Lucy, my true power as a Celestial Spirit was awakened! I'm stronger than I've ever been, and it's all thanks to her," Loke said. "We spirits are not like your little dolls. Love makes us stronger!" Holding out an arm, he summoned a magic circle. "Regulus Impact!" He yelled. From the circle came a golden light that took the shape of a lion.

The three attacks combined and slammed into Bickslow, instantly defeating him.

"Nice work everyone. That's three members of the Thunder Legion down for the count. All that's left is Freed and Laxus," Melody cheered.

Back at the guildhall, the runes were updated. "Whoa. Lucy kicked his butt!" Natsu grinned.

"No way! That little princess can actually fight?!" Gajeel asked, shocked.

"Yeah, she's tough as nails," Natsu nodded.

"She's just a cheerleader!" Gajeel protested at the thought of Lucy being a fighter.

"They can be tough!" Natsu said.

"Yeah right. I've never heard that before!" Gajeel snorted.

"Really? You've never heard of the Tortoise and the Cheerleader?" Natsu asked, holding up a stuffed tortoise for some reason.

"It was a hare you moron!" Gajeel countered, one of his hands covered in a rabbit hand puppet. "And the dumb bunny lost remember?!"

"That's it!" Levy suddenly spoke up.

"What's up? Got your eureka moment?" Asked Marcus.

"Damn straight!" Levy nodded, before going into a tangent that flew right over the three Dragon slayers' heads.

She stood up, holding her work. "I think it worked!" She whooped.

"Yeah!" Natsu, Gajeel and Marcus cheered.

"Just give me a second to rewrite the enchantment!" Levy said, approaching the runes with a light pen.

"You bet," The three dragon slayers nodded, pumped up by this progress.

"When I'm done with this, you three will be able to join the battle of Fairy Tail. You guys ready?"

"Yeah! I'm all fired up now!" Natsu grinned.

"It's time to take out the trash," Gajeel smirked.

"Levy, I've been waiting for this chance all day!" Marcus laughed.

"Hey, are you ok?" Emma groaned, hearing muffled voices. Her eyes opened to see that she was on her back, looking up at the sky. Then two faces entered her vision. One was Mirajane, the other… was Elfman, if Emma's memory was right.

"Ugh… what happened…? I remember fighting Evergreen, then… I'm waking up now," Emma groaned, sitting up.

"Best guess is that you got turned to stone like me," Elfman said.

"Yeah… I'm sorry I got here just as you were petrified. If I had been sooner, maybe I could have helped you out," Emma said.

"Nah. It's ok kid. I knew what I was getting into," Elfman said, helping her up. Emma winced, feeling pain shoot through her body. "Her bomb attack packs quite the punch, doesn't it…?" Elfman said, noticing her pain.

"Yep. Stings like a bitch…" Emma grunted. "But I'm good in the long run." Grabbing her staff, she leaned on it.

"What's your name miss?" Mira asked.

"Emma. Emma Cersy," said the small Celestial Wizard.

"You're the little sister of Marcus, right?" Elfman asked. "He helped quite a bit during the Phantom problem."

"But he lost to Gajeel in the end…" Emma sighed.

"That may be the case, but he still was a pivotal part in the battle," Mira protested.

Emma sighed. She glanced up. "What's going on with the orbs?" She asked.

"Laxus. He's up to no good again," Elfman said. Mira then explained the situation.

"… He needs to be stopped. But I don't know who could possibly beat him," She sighed.

"Don't worry. Erza, Sarah and Mystogan are all here now. They'll find a way to stop him," Mira assured.

The three walked along the riverbank around the edge of town to the north, occasionally stopping when Emma and Elfman winced from their injuries.

Mira helped Elfman along, while Emma limped along with her staff. "Man… this sucks…" She winced.

"Come on Mira… I am a grown man, I can walk on my own…" Elfman grunted.

"It's ok. If my little brother needs a hand, I'll gladly lend him one," Mira giggled.

"Little brother?! What?! I thought Elfman was the elder sibling!" Emma gasped.

"Yep. Mira's the older one," Elfman nodded. Suddenly, an explosion came from the bridge up ahead.

When the smoke settled, it showed Cana fighting Freed. "Whoa!" Emma gasped.

"You seem to be forgetting a basic rule of combat." Freed said.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Cana asked.

"Even the most powerful spells are ultimately useless if they fail to hit their target," Freed said, his rapier pointed at Cana.

"Card Magic!" Cana called, pulling out her cards. "Heaven; Reverse Death; Mountain! Summoned Lightning!" She said, throwing forth a salvo of green streaks of magic.

Freed wasn't afraid though. "Dark Ecriture: Repel!" He called, and with a flash of runes from his sword, Cana's attack was going in reverse, impacting and destroying the bridge she was standing on.

"Oh no. Cana!" Mira gasped.

"You are tough! A true testament to your many years of service to the guild!" Freed said, looking down at her.

"Listen to me Freed. I want you to take back all that crap you said about Juvia!" Cana shot back. Emma only noticed now she had tears streaking down her face.

Suddenly, a flash of runes imprinted on her forehead, and she screamed in pain, before collapsing.

"Cana!" Mira called out in worry.

"What did he do to her?" Asked Elfman.

"This has gone too far!" Mira shouted up at Freed.

"How dare you!" Elfman agreed.

"I am sorry Elfman, as well as you young lady. Both of you were defeated by Evergreen and cannot re-join the game," Freed said.

"Oh yeah?!" Elfman and Emma both growled.

"We're in the same guild! We shouldn't be fighting each other or our allies!" Mira snapped.

"We were, once," Freed sighed. "But the ultimate goal of this game is to restructure the guild. To break our meaningless bonds. Laxus' enemy is mine as well."

"I'm ready to take on both of you!" Elfman yelled, leaping at Freed.

"As am I! A guild that has no bonds isn't worthy to call itself a guild!" Emma snapped, her limbs screaming at her, but she leapt after Elfman at Freed.

Freed was not impressed. Slashing twice, he was missed by the incoming wizards, and both glanced down to see runes on their chests, Elfman with runes on his bare chest.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Nothing good, I'm sure…" Emma frowned.

"Those who have been defeated are strictly forbidden from rejoining the game! Anyone who attempts to do so will receive a punishment far worse than death!" Freed frowned. Emma noted that one of his eyes had turned black, with an eerie purple light shining from the centre. "Dark Ecriture: Pain!"

The runes sank into their skin, before both screamed in utter agony.

"Elfman! Emma!" Mira gasped. "You have to stop this! Elfman isn't as strong as he used to be Freed! And Emma's already suffering from her battle with Evergreen!"

"Dark Ecriture: Terror! Suffering!" Freed slashed more runes at the two, and their pain tripled.

As Mira tried to get him to stop, Emma yelled out in agony. This is worse than Evergreen! It feels like I'm being stabbed by thousands of knives at once!

"The final Dark Ecriture. Death." Freed said, preparing to execute the two.

"That is enough Freed!" Called a voice. Freed paused, turning around to see Daiki standing behind him. "Killing another being, for any reason, is a crime that cannot be forgiven. I vow that if you harm Emma anymore, there will be no place on our world that would hide you from her brother."

"Hello old friend," Freed nodded. "I was wondering who was working to dispel all my enchantments. Of course, it was you."

"Not easily, I can assure you. Your code has evolved exponentially since we last parted ways," Daiki said. "It took me around fifty minutes to free Labrys at the guildhall. I decided to come and look for you instead of dispelling all of them, but I found myself with little option than to undo your work."

Both then flinched, feeling a ripple in the air. "What… is that?" Freed asked. He glanced around, before looking down at Mira. The girl was in such distress, wailing openly.

"This power… I have felt nothing like it before!" Daiki gasped.

Mira then screamed out, and a massive black magic circle lit up above them. Both enchanters watched numbly as she changed before their eyes. Her hair was blowing around wildly, and her eyes were pitch black. A black crack appeared underneath her right eye. Behind her, a long black tail trailed.

Her dress had disappeared, replaced by a skintight red one-piece suit revealing her arms and legs, with cutouts on the front and back, revealing her belly, a considerable amount of her cleavage and her upper back. Her forearms and hands were covered in scales, each with a fin-like protrusion on the outer-side. Over these scales, she wore a pair of large gauntlets. From her thigh to her feet, she wore a pair of red leggings. Around her neck was a pink ribbon.

Daiki couldn't believe his eyes. He had heard stories of Mirajane Strauss, the 'She-Devil', but the power had been dormant for years after an incident that he was not privy to.

Mirajane roared, before lunging at Freed. The enchanter was quick to react though. "Dark Ecriture: Wings!" He called out, evading the attack with purple wings made of runes.

Flying away, he was quickly pursued by Mira, a pair of bat-like wings extending from her back. Catching up, she bashed him, then decked him, sending him falling to the bridge below.

Daiki watched him recover, flying low to the water to avoid the demonic form chasing him. He watched from a distance as Mira seemed to teleport behind Freed, hovering menacingly.

"I never thought I would see this…" He muttered.

"What is that power?" Emma asked.

"Satan Soul. Mirajane's Takeover magic," Cana said. "Elfman, you good?" She asked.

"I will be. That was awful…" He said.

"Juvia struck one of the lacrima on the outskirts. Can you go grab her quickly?" Cana asked.

"Right!" Elfman nodded.

By now, the fight had moved to the Badlands north of town. Good thing too because things were getting out of hand. Somehow, Freed was keeping up with Mira, barely.

"I can't keep up with their movements!" Emma gasped. All they were seeing was flashes of purple and crimson.

"Nope. I am not going near that fight until the fireworks are over," Daiki said.

The moment he finished that line, the sky turned purple with magic power, a result of Mira's magic. "Good call," Emma whimpered. "I never thought that the sweet poster girl of Fairy Tail was capable of this!"

The flash of light could be seen all across Magnolia, causing everyone to pause. Marcus blinked, perched on a chimney. "What the hell is that…?" He asked. "No way… this feels like… Mira?" He asked, shocked.

Sarah, too, was surprised. "I… I don't believe it… she's back. Mira… what's going on over there to awaken that…" She asked. Satan Soul, free at last. Glad to have you back Mira…

A crash came down nearby, and Daiki, Emma, Cana and Elfman rushed over, to see Mira kneeling over Freed, pink smoke drifting as her transformation wore off. In Elfman's arms, Juvia was still unconscious, but they noted she wasn't in mortal danger.

"Why did you stop?" Freed asked.

"Because this battle is meaningless…" Mira frowned.

"You can spare me your false pity Mira… just finish me off," Freed sighed.

"I won't do that… because we're allies. We're both members of Fairy Tail," Mira smiled softly. "That means we work together, we celebrate together and we grow together."

"No! You're wrong! Laxus is my only true ally!" Freed objected.

Mira shook her head. "It doesn't have to be that way. Listen, we've been your friend since the very beginning. It's perfectly fine to have that one person you trust more than anyone else, it's human nature. But that doesn't mean you have to shut out the rest of us.

"We're all part of something bigger. We're like family," Mira said, taking his hand in her own. "If you just reach out, I promise that I will someone there for you. Once you realise the connection, you'll never forget that it's there. You're surrounded by people who care for you."

As Freed began to regret all that he had done during the day, behind them, Emma wiped a tear from her eye. "Wow… there's the Mira I've heard about…" She smiled.

"Agreed. Mirajane is an S-class wizard of Fairy Tail for a reason. It was not for the fact she had power, although it certainly helped. It is because she had an enormous heart. She just forgave the man who was about to kill both you and her brother not two minutes ago," Daiki nodded.

"I'm sorry…" Freed sobbed. "I never wanted it to come to this."

"Yeah… I know… next year, why don't we enjoy the Harvest Festival together? Ok?" Mira asked.

Daiki walked up. "You heard the lady Freed. Sounds like a date to me," He chuckled. "All jokes aside… it is good to see you again," He said.

"Daiki… I am sorry… you as well Emma. Cait Shelter did not need to get caught up in this… it should not have happened in the first place," Freed sighed.

"While the torture wasn't pleasant, I forgive you," Emma shrugged.

Marcus glanced at the update. "Mirajane vs Freed. Both wizards forfeit." With that notice, he smirked. "Well then. You're out of minions to hide behind now," He muttered. "You're next Laxus."

Emma: You know what that means!

Sarah: But I haven't even done anything yet!

Marcus: Something tells me you'll get your chance before the day is done.

Daiki: Agreed, and although I do wish I could have squared up to Freed in battle, stopping him from killing Emma and Elfman before Mira beat him is good enough for me.

Marcus and Emma: No arguments here!

All: Next time: Dragon Rumble!