SailorStar9: We now continue with Chapter 146 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OCs.
Chapter 146: Alvarez Empire Arc: Natsu, Revived!
"It lets a person access their future potential magic power." Ultear explained. "But it comes at a cost: you'll never be able to use magic again. The Ether-nano in you will be completely exhausted and will never to regenerated again. I know it's a difficult call to make. But it's the only way you'll have enough power to defeat her."
"Please use it on us." Wendy pleaded.
"I imagined you'd decide it instantly." Ultear chuckled. "But I can't use it on you both. Only one of you, you wont' be able to heal Carla otherwise."
"I'll do it." Sherria insisted.
"No, it's my duty to save Carla." Wendy protested. "That's why..."
"That's why you need to keep your magic power." Sherria pointed out. "To heal her."
"Sherria, you'll never be able to use magic again." Wendy reminded. "I came here to help you. I'll never forgive myself if I failed to protect you. Ultear, please do it."
"Are you truly sure about this?" Ultear asked.
"If it means I can save Sherria and Carla, then..." Wendy stood her ground.
"You cant', Wendy." Sherria objected.
"What are you quarreling about?" Chronos droned and shot towards the arguing girls.
"She's coming." Wendy pushed Sherria aside.
"Here goes, Wendy." Ultear held up her crystal ball.
"Sky Dragon Talon!" Wendy took the first shot at Chronos.
"Hear unto me," Chronos chanted. "I am a God who controls time. And time remembers all the pain your body has ever experienced. Âge Scratch!" the web of magic clock hands assaulted Wendy with shocks of pain equivalent to the total amount of pain she had endured up until present. "Do you still not understand the consequence and folly of a human touching a God?" she asked, unfazed by Wendy's punch and shot an energy beam through Wendy's thigh. "Pierce, to the ends of time." she closed the distance between her and Wendy and fired another energy beam when Sherria deflected the attack.
"Just... in... time..." Ultear's body crumbled, having activated the 'Third Origin' on Sherria.
"I'll handle this now, Wendy." Sherria declared. "I absolutely will win. This is my final performance, and I feel great. I get to fight for my best friends."
"What?" Chronos was stunned when Sherria's punch connected. "You dare defy a God, human?" she roared, Sherria landing another uppercut on her chin.
"You're definitely an evil God!" Sherria snapped, using the beginnings of her 'Sky God Blizzard' attack on Chronos. "A good God would have more love for people. And just so you know, my magic is for defeating evil Gods."
"God Slayer magic?" Dimaria questioned, the Take Over was slowly disintegrating. "It wasn't just a bluff?"
"Her God Soul is destabilizing!" Ultear shouted.
"Curse you!" Chronos took back control and blasted Sherria off. "Impossible." she was stunned when Sherria was merely blasted a few feet away. "I hit her at full strength. An enchantment?" she noticed Wendy had cast a barrier spell.
"Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" Sherria released her charged up attack, taking out Dimaria.
"Carla, I'm using healing magic right now." Wendy cast a 'Heal' on Carla after the time bubble was released.
In the Fairy Tail Guildhall...
"Another one of the Spriggan Twelve to the east has fallen off my radar." Warren announced.
"That leaves just seven left." Jet cheered.
"What is it, Shodai?" Makarov noticed Mavis looking at the screen.
"The east..." Mavis started. "The two other Spriggan Twelve members there aren't moving."
"Have they stopped their advance?" Makarov wondered.
"I have an odd feeling about this." Mavis admitted.
"Nice Guild you got here." Jacob entered the Guildhall. "Wood infused with the smell of alcohol; I'd heard this was an old Guildhall. Did you remodel it? I'm one of the Alvarez Empire's Spriggan Twelve: Jacob Lessio."
"But how did he..." Warren gawked.
"Those markers mean nothing." Jacob grinned. "We have this amazing mage named August, you see. He realized you were tracking us on radar, so he fooled it."
"You're seriously attacking us all by yourself?" Max stepped up.
"I have no soldiers, no subordinates." Jacob stated. "It makes it much easier for me to move around. The August fellow I mentioned is also on his way here. Now he's trouble. He's one guy you don't want to mess with. Tell me, have you heard of Respect for the Aged Day?" he took a seat on a nearby chair. "It's important for us to respect and cherish our elders at all times. That's why I came here first; to lessen old man August's workload. Get me something to drink." he requested Kinana. "Something strong."
"We don't have a drop of alcohol to give to you." Makarov declared.
"That's a shame." Jacob tsked. "I was hoping to show you my respect by joining you for the final drink of your life. Just so you know, I'm an assassin by trade. I've never once failed a job."
"I've never heard of an assassin who works so out in the open." Max muttered.
"That's an excellent observation." Jacob praised. "Normally, assassinations involves lurking in the darkness and silently hunting your target. But I don't do that. Can you guess why? Because I don't need to hide. With me, it's the corpses and witnesses that hide. After which, no one is left behind." clapping his hands, he activated 'Transport' and vanished the entire Fairy Tail Guild mages, excluding Mavis' incorporate body. "There." with a finger gun, he shot Mavis. Closing a fist, he engulfed Mavis in a shock of black magic. "I know you can talk to me, if you wanted to. My guess is that you're the Fairy Heart the emperor spoke about. Where is your body? Talk." he demanded, choking Mavis. "Tell me and I'll return your friends. The guys I just 'disappeared' are in the void of death, but they aren't dead yet. But if I leave them there, they will die. Only you can save them. Tell me."
Jacob's interrogation was cut short when Lucy, in the Taurus Star Dress, landed a kick to the assassin's head.
"Where is everyone?" Happy looked around.
"He's imprisoned them." Mavis responded. "We have to defeat him."
"That must've been that spatial magic from before." Lucy realized. "Star Dress: Leo Form!"
"Impossible..." Jacob was stunned. "I cast that spell on the entire Guildhall."
Both Lucy and Happy gave each other a knowing grin as they recalled how Horologium had saved them and Natsu by self-summoning himself and trapping them within his clock body.
"You could've avoided this horrifying encounter if you'd vanished too." Jacob snorted. "I'm changing my demand, ghost. I'm going to tear this girl apart bit by bit. I suggest you surrender when you feel up to it. Otherwise, her head might be all that's left." he pulled out a throwing knife form his coat and tossed it at Lucy.
"Even if her head is all that's left, she's still be our Lucy." Natsu blocked out the attack, letting the knife stab his arm. "But I'd feel bad if that happened." he instantly melted the metal off. "So I'm gonna turn you into ashes. Here goes!" he charged straight at Jacob.
"Flame?" Jacob fended himself against the flaming kick and punched Natsu into a pillar.
Natsu flipped and shot towards Jacob again.
Grabbing Natsu by the neck, the assassin slammed the Dragon Slayer onto the ground.
"He disappeared?" Natsu looked around for his missing opponent. "I can't sense him at all." he tried sniffing around.
"Right here." Jacob appeared behind Natsu and slammed an elbow on the back of his head.
"He vanished again?" Natsu cursed when Jacob disappeared. "Damn it."
"Stealth magic." Mavis realized. "Camouflage with complete invisibility."
"That not all." Jacob appeared above Mavis and stepped on her head. "I can see what's invisible, too; including this ghost of yours."
"He hasn't actually gone anywhere." Lucy pointed out as Jacob vanished again. "We just can't see him. His body is still here. Loke!" she summoned Leo, along with the assorted Star Dress.
"Lion Radiance!" said leader of the Zodiac expanded his light and temporarily negating Jacob's magic. "There!" he landed a punch on the assassin.
"This one is trouble." Jacob noted and sent the Lion Zodiac back with a punch.
"An invisible weapon." Mavis realized when Jacob sent his whips at Natsu and Lucy.
"I'm going to show you what hell is like." Jacob grinned, appearing behind Natsu and grabbing him on the head and pinned him onto the ground. "Now pay attention to the girl in front of you." he started vanished the Leo Star Dress. "How did you like that?" he taunted, completely erasing the dress. "I turned her clothes invisible."
"Loke, Gate Closure!" Lucy snapped, before the Lion Zodiac could talk.
"How is this supposed to be hell?" Natsu was unfazed.
"There's a half-naked girl right in front of you." Jacob retorted. "It's tormenting. It's embarrassing. It's like hellish trying to avert your eyes."
"I don't know." Natsu shrugged. "She wears thin clothing all the time."
"Wait a second..." Lucy noticed Jacob's expression. "What's with your face?"
"I can't look at you, obviously." Jacob shut his eyes tightly. "This technique tortures its target but it also damages me. It's a double-edged sword."
"Don't do it, Lucy." Natsu grinned mischievously as an idea struck him. "Don't take your clothes off on your own. I can see your boobs."
"Are you crazy?" Jacob demanded. "A lady undressing in front of others?"
"You're butt naked." Natsu called out.
"Who cares about decency?" Lucy played along. "I'm not afraid anymore."
"This tactic is a failure." Jacob decided and re-manifested Lucy's Star Dress.
"Regulus..." Lucy readied her attack.
"Fire Dragon..." Natsu grinned.
"Lucy Kick!"
"Talon!" both magically-charged kicked sent Jacob backwards.
"You brats..." Jacob fumed. "You've just made this grown-up angry."
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.