Until The End, Part 8
"The shield has returned, but all the tentacles are destroyed, and I've detected multiple hostiles inside Cambion Mons!" Wilhelm cried.
"DAMN IT!" Cornelia shouted as she slams her hands on the armrests and gets up from her chair. "This should not be happening! Everything was going according to plan until those darn knights and mages have to show up and ruin it all!"
As Cornelia quivers with rage, she gazes at the four men in front of her with eyes illuminating with bright cyan light, causing Friedrich, Rip, Bradley, and Wilhelm to gape their mouths open in horror.
"Maybe I should kill you all right now for your incompetence!" Cornelia yelled at the four men as bolts of lightning sparkle out from her eyes.
But suddenly, Mard Geer flies over to Cornelia, grabs her by her throat and slams her against the wall at the right side of the bridge. Riah and the other four men watch them apprehensively.
"Or maybe, you should stop blaming others and hold yourself accountable for this unfortunate turn of events." Mard Geer said icily to Cornelia, sending shivers down her spine. "I didn't waste 2 years and 2 months guiding you to bring me back to my physical form, just to watch my ultimate plan to reset humanity crumble into pieces within less than a day. You better find a way to turn the tide on this, or I can kill you now and let me handle this myself."
"W-We…we can s-still…succeed, Master!" Cornelia struggles to reply as she clings onto Mard Geer's hand around her throat.
"And what do you propose?" Mard Geer asked coldly. He releases his grip around her throat and carelessly drops her onto the floor. Now on her knees, Cornelia took a few seconds to rub her neck and take a few deep breaths.
"We still have the legendary Orbs of Mind and Heart in our possession." Cornelia said as she looks up at Mard Geer. "We can use them to easily stall and kill the enemies who have boarded Cambion Mons. Once we've dealt with them, we have all the time in the world to allow Cambion Mons to recharge its main cannon and take another shot at the Flower Light Palace."
The two of them silently stare at each other before Mard Geer gave Cornelia a nod of approval.
"Very well. We must act swiftly." Mard Geer said. As Cornelia slowly stands back up, Mard Geer turns to the men at the control panels and inquired, "Wilhelm! What is the current location of our enemy?"
"They are at Floor 8, Master!" Wilhelm replied as he turns back to his control panel.
"How many are there?" Cornelia asked.
"25 of them, ma'am. 23 are humans and 2 are exceeds. They seem to be heading towards the elevators as we speak." Wilhelm responded.
After running through two hallways, Nolan, Team Natsu and the others arrive at the center of Floor 8 and see a pair of elevators. They all walk over to the elevators and both Nolan and Rita press the buttons next to them.
"The bridge is at Floor 17, Captain. Give them hell." Rita said to Nolan.
Nolan nods his head to her before turning to the others. "Alright, listen up. Kirito, Yui, Jeanne, Makoto, Allelujah, Marie, Shouto, Momo and C.C. will head down to the lowest floor along with Rita. She will escort you all to the control room where the shield generator is. Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Team Natsu and the Dragon Slayers on the other hand will follow me to the bridge and deal with Cornelia and Mard Geer."
"And destroy the Orb of Mind." Darren added.
"That's right." Nolan said to him before the elevators arrive. When the doors slide open, Kirito walks over to Nolan and places his hand on his shoulder.
"Good luck, Captain Mathias." Kirito said to him.
"You too, Kirigaya." Nolan smiled at him as he briefly pats his shoulder.
Everyone splits into two groups. Nolan, Team Natsu, Darren, Alicia, Sheena, and the Dragon Slayers enter the left elevator while Kirito and the others get inside the other. After Nolan presses the button to the highest floor of Cambion Mons, he summons his scimitars as the doors close and the elevator goes up.
Kirito draws out his swords from his scabbards while Momo pulls out a metal staff from her body. When everyone is ready, Rita presses the button to the lowest floor. The doors close and the elevator takes them down.
"Fifteen of them have entered the left elevator and are making their way up here to the bridge. The other ten are in the right elevator and heading down to Floor 1." Wilhelm explained as he watches the monitor on his control panel.
"Floor 1 is where the shield generator is." Friedrich pointed out as he and Rip turn around to Mard Geer, Cornelia and Riah.
"They not only plan to fight us, but also destroy the generator and disable the shield permanently." Rip implied.
"Riah, take the Orb of Heart with you and dispose of the group at Floor 1." Mard Geer ordered.
"Understood, Master. I will not fail you." Riah replied with a solemn bow. Cornelia summons the Orb of Heart in her hand as she walks over to him.
"Don't break it now." Cornelia said as Riah extends his hand. She places the Orb on top of it and Riah dematerializes it. Cornelia moves out of the way to allow Mard Geer to thrust his hand at him. Riah closes his eyes as he soon fades away.
The elevator doors slide open when Kirito and his teammates arrive at the bottom floor of Cambion Mons. After turning her head side to side, Rita gestures Kirito and the others to follow her from behind. They cautiously step out of the elevator and turn to their right. As Rita leads everyone to the control room, Allelujah trails behind them to provide protection for his teammates.
While walking on the wide metal platforms, everybody looks down and sees the destroyed tentacles returning inside the hull of Cambion Mons and coiling around beneath them.
"The control room should be at the front end of Cambion Mons." Rita said as she and everyone look back up to the front.
"Let's get this done as soon as possible. This place is giving me the creeps." C.C. said as she walks alongside Marie, Momo and Shouto.
"I feel you." Yui responded while walking alongside Kirito, Jeanne, and Makoto.
They soon arrive at a large metallic vault door. As they stand a few meters away from it, Rita swipes her arm through the air and magically rotates the wheel. The door swings itself open and they all expect to see the shield generator being guarded by multiple Lahmus. Instead, there was one more person standing at the other side with them, and it was Riah.
As soon as they make eye contact with each other, Riah holds up the Orb of Heart in his right hand and Rita, Kirito, and the others gasp in pain as they all fall on their knees and clutch their chests. As Riah walks up to the doorway, the nine Lahmus behind him laugh in glee while watching their enemies suffer.
"Ri…R-Ri-Riah!" Allelujah stuttered as he manages to lift his head up.
"That voice." Riah momentarily widens his eyes at the armored warrior at the back of the group before his lips form into a wide smile. "My, my, is that you, Allelujah Haptism?"
"You…Y-You bastard!" Allelujah yelled at him. "Y-you will pay…for what you did to our fellow Aza-AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
"Allelujah!" Marie cried as she looks over her shoulder and watches her husband collapse onto the floor on his face and thrashes his legs around. Riah laughs cruelly at the pitiful sight of the former Azadistani army captain.
"My, you are still so annoying after all this time." Riah sneered at Allelujah. "I should have made sure you died along with Commander Hamoud during the invasion back then. But thankfully, I will not make the same mistake again." When he now turns his attention to Rita, who is groaning in pain while lying on the floor in front of him, his smile faded away. "And Miss Rita Mordio. You are a traitor to Lady Corningston and the great Mard Geer Tartaros."
"M-My loyalty has…always been t-to Brave Vesperia, d-dumbass!" Rita rebutted furiously.
"Yet all of this is happening now because of you, little girl." Riah said.
"A-Are you j-just going to…stand there and gloat?!" Kirito groaned with his eyes squinting.
"Of course not, Mizuhan. I am going to kill you all…" Riah replied with a malicious grin. "Slowly."
Meanwhile, Nolan, Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Team Natsu and the Dragon Slayers arrive at Floor 17 and step out of the elevator. As Nolan leads the way, they turn to their right and see a pair of metal doors about three meters away from them.
"The command bridge should be right behind those doors." Nolan said before turning around to face his teammates. "Is everyone ready?"
"Always." Darren said solemnly as he, Alicia, Lucy, Erza, Gray and Sheena hold up their weapons, while Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, Erik, Happy and Carla nod their heads.
"You know I gotta say, I really enjoy fighting alongside all of you." Nolan said to all of them.
"Likewise, Captain Mathias." Erza said as she and the others smile at him.
"I'm sure if your brother was still alive, he would be very proud to see what you are now." Natsu added. Nolan smiles warmly and bows his head to them.
"Let's go kick some butt." Nolan said firmly before they look back at the pair of doors and walk over to them. When the doors slide open, they step inside the command bridge, but quickly realize that the large room is completely empty.
"It looks like nobody is home." Happy said as they look around.
"That's impossible. How is this thing still operating then?" Sheena asked. Suddenly, Natsu gave a soft gasp when his nose detected something.
"What is it?" Erza asked the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"They're-UH!" Natsu yelped in agony.
As Natsu and the others suddenly froze and stand up straight, Cornelia lowers her left hand to bring down her concealment magic and reveal herself, Mard Geer, Friedrich, Rip and Wilhelm standing in front of the control panels at the front end of the command bridge. While still holding up the Orb of Mind in her other hand, Cornelia laughs evilly as she and the others casually walk over to them in a horizontal row.
"Ah, how nice of you to go through all the trouble to come here and see me, Fairy Tail." Mard Geer said, smiling mockingly at Team Natsu and their allies while placing his hands behind his back.
Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Nolan, Team Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers inwardly try to move their arms and legs. But they could not. It was as if the Orb of Mind is ordering their brains to halt every muscle and nerve inside their bodies to prevent them from having any control of their limbs. They can still feel their heartbeat and blood flowing through them, but they are completely immobilized, and they cannot do anything about it.
"Ah-ah-ah." Cornelia waves her finger at them. "There is nothing you can do to resist the Orb of Mind. So just stand there like good little children and let the main cannon be recharged. But at least be glad that I still allow you all to have your sense of touch. Because my master wants you to feel every ounce of pain and sorrow he had to bear during his time as a spirit."
"In time, this world will be reborn." Mard Geer proclaimed as he, Cornelia, Friedrich, Rip and Wilhelm now stand a few meters in front of them. Standing at the far left side of the row, he folds his arms as he continued, "Your race is incapable of achieving peace and unity, and you laid waste on your world with greed and chaos. But I will bring deliverance to Earth Land, by wiping out all of you, and replacing it with a new form of humanity that is capable of discipline and obedience."
"Sadly, none of you will live to see that day." Cornelia said with a smirk as she summons her hook sword in her left hand and prepares to kill Team Natsu and their allies. So too does her men as on her right, Friedrich summons his rapier and Rip takes a deep breath to build up his sound magic. As he stands next to her on her left, Wilhelm grins as he charges up his eyes and hands with dark red energy.
"No." Mard Geer said flatly as he holds up his arm to them.
"What? Why?" Cornelia asked as she, Wilhelm, Friedrich and Rip stand down and turn to their left upon hearing his command.
"I will go first." Mard Geer said as he walks towards Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer could only stand there and helplessly watch the former leader of Tartaros approach him with his mouth still agape. Lucy manages to shift her eyes to her right and whimper in horror as she stands behind Darren and watches Mard Geer preparing to deal with Natsu.
"Natsu Dragneel. I should thank you for bringing yourself and your friends here. As for the last 2 years and 2 months in my spirit form, I have never forgotten how you and your friends ruin my plan to charge up the Curse Power and humiliate me in front of Zeref." Mard Geer said icily as he cups Natsu's chin. The Fire Dragon Slayer groans in response as Mard Geer casually lifts his head up to make him stare into his eyes. His teeth now break out into a malevolent grin. "Now, your friends can stand by and do nothing, while I return the favor to you."
With that, Mard Geer pulls back his other hand and prepares to thrust it into the Fire Dragon Slayer's chest. Natsu and the others try to scream, but they can't.
Back at Floor 1, Riah and the Lahmus smile maliciously as they continue watching Rita, Kirito, Allelujah, Jeanne and their teammates lying and rolling over the ground in immense amount of pain. But as much as he enjoys the amusing sight before him, Riah knows that eventually, he must put an end to their misery.
"Farewell Allelujah. And tell the commander and the others that I say hello." Riah said diabolically to him. As Allelujah gives another groan, Riah holds up the Orb of Heart and slowly curls the fingers of his other hand into a fist to crush the hearts of his enemies once and for all.
But suddenly, as if time has slowed down, a mysterious figure flies over Kirito, Allelujah, Jeanne and the others in almost the speed of light, swoops down on Riah, snatches the Orb of Heart from him, and thrusts her other hand at him and the Lahmus to unleash huge amounts of wind to send them all sprawling through the floor inside the control room. Kirito, Allelujah, Jeanne and the others gasp and breath heavily when they regain control of their hearts and lungs.
"W-W-What?" Momo said wearily as she and the others look up at their mysterious savior who is hovering in the air in front of them. Only Jeanne recognized who she was.
"Mavis Vermillion!" Jeanne cried in relief.
"Mavis?" Makoto uttered as she soon remembers hearing the name from Natsu back in Port Zekson. Mavis briefly turns to them.
"Go on. Destroy the shield generator. And Noel is right behind you." Mavis said as she dematerializes the Orb of Heart in her hand. Before Makoto could ask how she knows her friend, Mavis swiftly flies up, goes through the ceiling, and makes her way to the command bridge.
At the bridge, as Mard Geer now thrusts his hand towards Natsu's chest to have his revenge, Mavis suddenly flies up from the bottom of the floor and grabs his arm when she is near it. Mard Geer briefly gasps as he finds himself being lifted into the air by Mavis.
"What?!" Cornelia cried incredulously as she lowers the Orb of Mind, letting Team Natsu and their friends break free from her control. Everyone present in the command bridge look up in shock as Mavis hovers in the air and glares down at Mard Geer.
"You will not hurt my guildmates." Mavis said icily to him before she releases his arm to drop him. Mard Geer yelps as he slams onto the metal floor on his back.
"How dare you?!" Cornelia shouted furiously as she holds up the Orb of Mind to her. However, Mavis casually turns to her with her eyes narrowed. Cornelia, Friedrich, Rip and Wilhelm widen their eyes in bewilderment. "What the? What's going on?!"
"The Orbs can't hurt me. I don't have my heart and brain." Mavis flashes a quick smirk at Cornelia and her men before she swoops down on them. Rip quickly breathes in and lets out a loud and ear-piercing shriek at Mavis while Team Natsu and their friends cover their ears and grit their teeth. Despite the power of his shriek pushing her back, the founder of Fairy Tail kept flying forward until she manages to break free and reach Cornelia. She swiftly snatches the Orb of Mind from her hand, turns around and flies back to Team Natsu and their friends.
"NOOOOO!" Cornelia cried in horror as she watches her most prized possession being taken away from her. Mavis and Darren smile at each other as she flies over and holds the Orb in front of him.
"Go on. Destroy-" However, Mavis was soon cut off when Mard Geer swiftly flies over and tackles her from behind. Darren, Erza, Alicia, and Erik manage to turn and move out of the way in time as Mard Geer flies past them and slams Mavis against the wall at the right back-end corner of the command bridge.
"First Master!" The members of Team Natsu and Gajeel cried to her in unison. They and the other Dragon Slayers try to go over and help her, but Friedrich swiftly runs past them. He places himself in front of them and swings his rapier horizontally to form a large metal wall in front of them. Friedrich quickly runs up the wall, stands above it and looks down at Natsu and his friends.
"Your business is with us!" Friedrich yelled at them.
"I'll be fine! Deal with them!" Mavis yelled to Team Natsu and their friends before Mard Geer runs up to her and throws a powerful punch across her left cheek. But when she slams against the metal wall beside her, Mavis burst into a million tiny orbs of energy and disappear.
"What?" Mard Geer uttered in shock before Mavis suddenly falls above him and swings her right leg down onto his head. Shortly after having his face slammed onto the floor, Mard Geer quickly gets up and performs a backflip. When he lands back down, he and Mavis get into their fighting stances and glare at each other.
"I don't know who you are. But you won't stop me from achieving my ultimate goal." Mard Geer said coldly to Mavis.
"But I know who you are. You're Mard Geer Tartaros, a creation of Zeref Dragneel." Mavis said calmly.
"How do you know Zeref?" Mard Geer asked with his eyes narrowed.
"I learnt my hand-to-hand combat from him in the afterlife." Mavis replied. Mard Geer widens his eyes and drops his jaw for a moment before his face distorts into a scowl.
"At long last, I will show you that I've outgrown you…ZEREF DRAGNEEL!" Mard Geer bellowed. He and Mavis charge towards each other and their duel begins.
Friedrich quickly runs down the wall and dashes towards Team Natsu and the Dragon Slayers. However, Sheena swiftly uses Volt's Lightning to run past her friends and places herself in front of Friedrich. She quickly twirls around and swings her left leg horizontally to kick Friedrich across his left cheek. Friedrich soon recovers and swings his rapier diagonally at her. Sheena dodges it by leaning and moving to her left. She runs over to Friedrich again and delivers two swift punches across his face. She grabs him by his collar, turns around and tosses him into the air. Friedrich performs a flip over Darren, Alicia, Nolan, and the others before landing in front of Cornelia, Rip and Wilhelm. He moves to his left and turns around as Cornelia summons another hook sword in her other hand.
"Stop relying on the Orb and fight us for real this time, Cornelia!" Alicia demanded as she, Darren, Nolan, Sheena, Team Natsu and the Dragon Slayers get into their fighting stances. Cornelia chuckled evilly in response.
"Be careful what you wish for, children." Cornelia said as she casually adjusts her glasses. "You have no idea how strong I've become thanks to Mard Geer."
As soon as she finished, Cornelia, Friedrich, Rip and Wilhelm charge towards them. Nolan, Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Team Natsu and the Dragon Slayers yell furiously as they run towards them as well, and their final battle begins.
At Floor 1, Kirito and the others could hear someone's footsteps clanging onto the metal platforms behind them as they get up from the floor.
"Guys! Are you alright?" Noel asked concernedly as she runs over to them and stands beside Allelujah.
"Noel!" Makoto cried to her friend in surprise as they all turn to her. "How did you get inside here?"
"I manage to break into Cambion Mons before the shield went back up thanks to a relative of mine." Noel explained.
"Relative?" Rita asked in bewilderment with an arched eyebrow. Everyone turns back to the entrance of the control room when they hear Riah's groan. After he and the Lahmus get back up, Riah looks around the floor for a moment and is shocked to see that the Orb of Heart is gone.
"The Orb!" Riah cried before looking back at his enemies with a snarl. "What did you do to it?!"
"I'll explain later." Noel said, glaring at Riah and the Lahmus. "Right now, we have a job to do."
"Indeed." Jeanne said firmly as she and the others get back into their fighting stances.
"Lahmus! Attack them! But the one in the orange armor is mine!" Riah commanded as he points his finger at them. The Lahmus squeal as they now crawl past Riah and towards their enemies.
Kirito and his teammates also charge towards the Lahmus and began fighting with them. As she stood where she is, Noel holds up her revolvers and was about to provide some firepower for her teammates, until she heard someone running up to her from behind. She quickly whirls about and crosses her revolvers in front of her face to block a punch from Bradley. Noel lifts her leg up and kicks him in the gut. After backing away, Bradley quickly recovers and looks up at her. He growls as he holds up his hands to show off his black metallic gauntlets to Noel. He curls his fingers into fists and slams them together to create some sparks of purple electricity.
"I will break you like a twig." Bradley snarled as he gets into his fighting stance.
"A pleasure you will never have." Noel responded as she aims her revolvers at him.
Bradley runs over and attacks her first. He throws two punches at Noel, who dodges them by moving side to side. He tries to deliver an uppercut to her lower torso with his left gauntlet, but Noel blocks the attack by holding up her left revolver and tilting it diagonally. She swings her right revolver horizontally at Bradley's left cheek, but he stops the attack by grabbing it with his right gauntlet. Noel tries to pull her revolver out of his grip, but Bradley manages to lower it and throws his head forward at her. Noel yelps in pain as his forehead collides against hers. Bradley quickly grabs her by her collar with his left gauntlet, and he lets out a yell as he turns around and tosses her into the air. Noel rolls over the floor before getting back up. She turns around and fires several bullets at Bradley with her revolvers, but he deflects them with his electrified gauntlets as he runs over to her.
Meanwhile, as Jeanne, Kirito, Yui, Makoto, Marie, Shouto, Momo, C.C. and Rita are busy battling with the Lahmus, Riah and Allelujah walk over and stand a few meters in front of each other.
"Akeel Min Riah…" Allelujah growled.
"Allelujah Haptism." Riah said flatly. "You and your friends must realize that Earth Land's demise is inevitable."
"Not only did you let Azadistan collapse, but you are willing to help Cornelia and Mard Geer exterminate humanity as well. You truly are a monster, Riah." Allelujah said.
"Azadistan had it coming!" Riah snapped. "And the Abbey's invasion was only the beginning. Our city used to be the most powerful in the world. But our foolish ancestors made the wrong political decisions that led to our downfall and eventual merge with Fiore. I wanted to help our people regain our strength and iron will by forming an alliance with the Alvarez Empire. Yet they chose to expel me and remain a vassal to Crocus. That is when I realize our city and people are beyond salvation. I chose to pledge my loyalty to Cornelia and Mard Geer because they can help burn away the old Azadistan, and every other city and nation, along with the pages of their history, and I will be one of the architects of a new world. A world where Azadistan is the only known civilization, whose strength, authority and influence can never be matched."
"What happened to Azadistan many years ago was unfortunate. But nothing will bring back what we have lost. Not rage, not aggression, and certainly not genocide! What Azadistan needs to achieve now is peace and harmony. Work alongside the other cities of Fiore and show all of Earth Land that solidarity is possible if we help and understand each other. That should be our way moving forward. That is true power." Allelujah said.
"You dare lecture me with such stupidity, Allelujah? No wonder why you and the other Azadistanis are no match for the Abbey." Riah said with his voice filled with disgust.
"It is what the guilds and my new friends have taught me. One of them helped me regain my pride and honor as an Azadistani warrior thanks to his kindness, and we are also able to make it this far because of our alliance and cooperation. They made me realized that there is no greater power than kindness and friendship." Allelujah said.
"Then allow me to prove how wrong you are with that misconception!" Riah yelled before he waves his hand through the air to bring up a circular glyph in front of him. He rotates the glyph, and he hovers in the air about 3 and a half feet above the floor. Riah spreads out his arms as his Qital Dire armor magically appears over his head and body. After his armor takes full form within a few seconds, Riah lands back down on the floor. The Qital Dire warrior is now three feet taller than his normal height, and his armor has a black upper torso, black shoulder pads, and a black jet pack on its back. Its arms, hands and lower torso are metallic white and there is a purple energy orb on its chest. There is a large black shield hanging at the side of his left shoulder pad, and it is attached to the left bottom side of his jet pack by a long metallic grey wire. On the right side of his jetpack and hanging behind his right shoulder pad is a long and large black cannon. Its upper legs are metallic white, its waist, lower legs, and feet are black, and its knees are large enough to protrude in front of its thighs. Finally, his helmet is mainly black, with the exception of its visors being red and a pair of yellow sharp horns above them. It also has an additional long black horn on top of it.
"Prepare to die, Allelujah." Riah said as both Qital Dire warriors get into their fighting stances.
"Sorry Riah. I'm not planning to." Allelujah replied. They yell furiously as they charge towards each other. They deliver several punches at each other and they both manage to block and keep up with their attacks. Eventually, Riah manages to grab Allelujah by his neck and lifts him up in the air. He tries to slam him onto the floor, but before he could, Allelujah activates the oversized engines on the back of his armor. Riah yelps as he stumbles forward and releases his neck while Allelujah straightens himself up and hovers about 6 and a half feet in the air.
"Good thinking, Haptism! But I can fly too!" Riah shouted at his opponent before activating his own armor's jetpack. As he flies up to Allelujah's level, he grabs a saber from the left side of his waist and presses a button to bring up a red laser beam. Allelujah withdraws his own saber from the left side of his waist and activates it to bring up a purple laser beam.
"Show me how strong this so-called friendship has made you become, Allelujah!" Riah yelled as they both get into their fighting stances again with their beam sabers.
"Gladly." Allelujah said flatly before they fly towards each other, clash their beam sabers, and stay in a stalemate.
Sovereign: I would like to thank LayLay lives, AquaBluey and Amanny for reviewing and Crimson-Tuna-Sub for checking out my story. Thanks!