"Ice-Make: Geyser!"
"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull!"
"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"Requip!"
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
All five mages shouted out attacks at once, filling the large, subterranean room with light and magic and sound. Happy and Carla hung back, wanting to join the fray but hesitant to get in their friends' way.
Taurus came to life beside Lucy in a brilliant flash, the giant bull rushing forward at Ajax with a moo and a swing of his axe. Lucy cast out her whip at the same time, strength amplified by the Star Dress she now wore. Erza joined her, magic fading and leaving her in her Flight Armor, as did Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer full of pent up anger and energy.
Gray and Wendy focused their attention on Verlane, the Sky Maiden throwing more force into her attack than normal. The demon was slightly hesitant, still not fully comprehending that the girl he had come to picture a future with was actually his enemy. He paused, not wanting to hurt her, but when a blast of wind slammed into his chest and sent him tumbling backward, he pushed aside his inhibition. He was kept down by a torrent of ice, the magic slicing into him. Wendy and Gray grinned at each other, the girl blinking furiously as her head swam with the lingering effects from the medicine Evia had given her. Gray glanced back at Carla, nodding at the Sky Maiden. The Exceed flew over, grabbing the back of her gown and lifting her into the air. "Don't push yourself too hard," she warned. "You've been without magic for a very long time, and that tonic is still in your system."
"I'll be fine Carla," Wendy retorted, preparing herself to launch another attack. "We've come too far to be weak now."
Verlane leapt to his feet, snarling in outrage at the three mages. "So just like your friends, you are nothing more than lying bastards sent to overthrow us?!"
"Oh shut up." Gray rolled his eyes, fingers yanking at his tie to loosen the knot. "You know what you did. And if anyone here is a lying bastard, I think it would be you most of all." Then his shirt was in the air, fluttering to the ground before being pierced through by a rogue sword from Erza. Verlane blinked once, unsure of how to proceed.
Carla rolled her eyes and Wendy attempted to smother a giggle. "You know things are getting serious when Gray takes his clothes off."
Gray grinned up at the girl, slamming his left fist against his right palm. "Let's show this dude just how serious things are, huh?" Wendy smiled back, taking in a deep, deep breath. Her veins thrummed with the extra ethernano she was inhaling, and she marveled at the sheer amount of power she received with just one breath. Whatever had happened when Erza destroyed that machine really worked wonders.
The Ice Maker mage grunted, a large bow of ice appearing before him before dozens of arrows shot forward, all aimed at the demon. Wendy filled her lungs to their capacity before shouting, "Sky Dragon's Roar!" The cyclone of wind picked up Gray's arrows and sent them flying at Verlane in a tempest of sharp and needling ice. He howled, ice shredding through his jacket and leaving cuts that stung more and more.
Across the room, the other Fairy Tail members fared similarly against Ajax. Erza danced around in her Flight Armor, Flame Sword cutting through the air with wide arcs of sparks. She aimed the weapon at Natsu, letting him absorb the fire produced by the weapon. He grinned at the scarlet warrior, and she grinned ferociously right back. Lucy snapped her whip, her swollen lip pounding as her heart roared. Taurus remained at her side, more subdued than he'd been for a very long time. But not completely silent.
"It's great to be seeing you Miss Luuuucy," Taurus bellowed, twirling his axe around and mooning over her gorgeous body in his Star Dress. "I missed seeing that rump roast."
"Can we not?" She whined, crossing her arms and glaring at the Spirit. The position did nothing but distract him even more. He wiggled, giving her heart eyes and leading to Lucy rolling her eyes and sighing. "Alright. Great to see you too Taurus. See you later, kay?"
And then he was gone in a flash of light, complaining even as he left.
"Uh, Lucy? Was that smart? Isn't he one of your strongest spirits?" Happy fluttered by Lucy's side, slightly concerned.
Lucy shrugged, stretching her arms out in front of her as she got a brief reprieve while her friends took on the big bad. She'd done a lot already today.
"Yeah, but I just can't deal with him right now. After so long in this freaking country, I really don't need anyone else flirting or being annoying. 'Sides, I'm plenty strong without him, especially in this outfit."
Happy snickered. "So guess that rules out Loki too, huh?"
She rolled her eyes yet again, deciding she'd had enough of waiting around. She rolled her wrist in preparation, licking the dried blood from her lips and cracking her neck. "Who needs them? I think I'll do just fine. And I got some vengeance to take."
"You better take it before Natsu does. You saw how mad he was up there. He likes you," the Exceed sang, knowing exactly how true his words were. Lucy swatted at Happy before charging forward, sending her whip into the fray. It hit the ground with a crack, and the ground rippled and ruptured, sending Ajax flying upward with a shout.
Natsu grinned at Lucy, shaking his wrist as Happy swooped over to his side. Then he turned his gaze on his best friend, and the Exceed grabbed his ragged shirt and lifted him into the air. "Oh yeah, I missed this. Kicking ass as a team. No one stands a chance against us." Then they shot forward, his fist becoming enveloped in fire before slamming into the demon.
As Natsu pushed him backward, Erza darted around before slicing fiercely in ever direction, delivering several cuts in a matter of a few seconds. Ajax howled, arcing to escape the path of destruction these three wizards seemed to believe he was deserving of. He shot out his hand, black tendrils of light shooting in all directions. Erza was quick to cut the light away before it reached her, and it burned away in the intense heat of the flames Natsu poured out. Lucy managed to hit away many of the tendrils, but one still latched onto her exposed stomach. She gasped as it made contact, the pull almost immediate. Natsu shouted her name, but it was as if she heard him from under three feet of water. Her hands fumbled with her key ring, spots dancing across her vision.
Verlane was trying a similar trick on his opponents. Gray had conjured up an immense shield to block off most of the attacking light, but Wendy was kept busy by the tendrils that slithered over the top or around the sides. Her breath rattled in her chest, the tonic burning fiercely as it continued to pour through her veins. Carla helped the Sky Maiden dart and weave, using her returning clairvoyance to foresee the path of the draining light.
Both demons redoubled their efforts. Erza increased her speed, movements near invisible with the quickness of her sword. Natsu burned even brighter, he and Happy both trying to get to Lucy even as another thick tendril of light attached itself to her left calf. He yelled her name again, realizing that he couldn't burn off that light without burning her too. He was so distracted with worry that he almost didn't notice the burning of the pendant hanging from his wrist, and he fought down a growl. He knew she was in danger, damnit! He just had no idea of how to help her!
But Lucy had the situation under control. She managed to draw a key and yell the familiar words. "Open! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"
The spirit burst into existence with two sharp snips of his scissors, freeing his master from the tendrils draining her power. She grinned at him, panting heavily and brushing her sweaty hair from her face. She closed her eyes, trusting Cancer to protect her as the golden Celestial light encompassed her body once more. Then she stood before them in Cancer's Star Dress, twin katanas at the ready.
"Thanks Cancer," she called, eyeing any light that threatened to come near.
"Any time, baby," came the reply. "What's say we give these guys a haircut?"
"Oh yeah!" Lucy cried, ready to fight.
Natsu grinned from his place in the sky, glad to see his girl was okay. With that distraction gone, he was able to pour all of his attention into the demon still trying to blast him out of the sky.
Unfortunately, his concern only revealed his weakness to the enemy. Ajax smirked, locking eyes with Verlane from across the room. The other lord nodded, a sneer on his face as he desperately tried to knock that stupid cat-girl out of the sky. Then he'd finally be able to put Shelia in her place. How dare she make a fool out of him!
Verlane and Ajax stretched out their hands toward one another, and their black magic met in an explosion of sound and power. Then, with a smirk, they targeted their combined magic at the Celestial Spirit wizard who had her back turned to this new danger.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted as his bracelet burned, but it was too late. She turned oh so slowly, eyes just catching sight of the incoming beam as it slammed in between her shoulder blades.
She went flying forward with a cry, Cancer reaching out with delayed hands to try and catch her. His fingers just barely grazed her top before he turned to light, vanishing back to the realm he came from. She slammed into the far wall with a sickening thud that threw Natsu back in time, and her body collapsed to the ground where it remained. Unmoving.
Ajax laughed. "Yes! You see? You can't fight us!" He began to aim their weapon at Erza next, but they were quickly discouraged by a fearsome yell. Natsu charged into them both, his fists burning with fire and lightning. He sent them flying in turn, roar still ringing in the air.
Carla flew to Lucy's side, Wendy dropping to the ground and beginning to scan her friend for injuries. There were a lot more wounds that she originally guessed. Wendy bit her lip, wondering how Lucy had continued to fight like nothing was wrong. She had several bruised ribs, maybe even a fracture or two, her ankles was sprained, her shoulder had just become dislocated, and a long scratch crossed from her hairline to her ear. Truly, she was scratched up everywhere, but none of them were bleeding just as badly. She inhaled shakily and placed her hands on the blonde's back right before Carla pulled her down to avoid being hit by a similar blast.
Natsu continued to whale on the demons, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He barely dodged a kick from Verlane and would have been hit squarely in the chest if not for a save from Erza. She and Gray jumped into the action again, keeping the two busy and unable to send any more attacks at the girls.
"Go Natsu!" Erza shouted, requipping into her Adamantine Armor to shield Gray while he prepared a counterstrike.
"I'm not leaving you alone! And why do I have to go? I wanna fight!"
Erza glanced back over her shoulder, offering her old friend a quick smile. "You aren't going to focus so long as Lucy is in danger. Get out of here, and take her and Wendy with you. We got this."
"Yeah, and maybe you can make sure everyone got out okay," Gray added, necklace slamming against his sweaty skin as he leaned backward. "With all the destruction these bastards are causing, I won't be surprised if the whole fucking building comes down."
Natsu wavered, looking between the fight and the scene by the wall. Wendy caught him looking, and the worry in her eyes made his decision. He nodded at Erza and Gray, beginning to back toward the girls. "Make them pay."
"They lost all chance at mercy the moment they hurt her," Gray promised. On some silent signal, Erza pulled her shield apart, allowing Gray to leap forward and slam an Ice Hammer against their opponents.
Natsu grinned, knowing his friends had it under control. Then he scowled. Didn't mean he wanted to leave the fight any less.
"Natsu!" Wendy called, and he quickened his pace to reach her in a manner of seconds. He knelt beside Lucy, emotion gone as he looked down in worry. He reached out as if to touch her, but he pulled back with a shake of his head.
"You can heal her, right?"
Wendy nodded, still biting her lip.
"Then let's go. I'll carry her. You, Happy, and Carla need to keep an eye out for anyone and help them if they need it." He started to sling her across his back, but Wendy placed a hand on his forearm to halt him.
"She has a lot of injuries to her ribs. You can't carry her like that." Natsu paused for a moment before nodding, switching his arms in order to hold her close to his chest, her head lolling against his shoulder. He rose to his feet and, with one last look at Erza and Gray locked in combat, he left the underground room, running as fast as he could without hurting the wounds his best friend had received throughout the course of ensuring that their mission succeeded.
Together, he and Wendy and the two Exceeds rushed through the warren of tunnels, relying on their sense of smell to keep them from going astray. Lucy's head bounced against his shoulder as they ran, and he couldn't help but keep looking down. He wasn't sure if it was to make sure she was okay or if it was just because he could never look away from her. It wasn't just that she was beautiful; Lucy was everything he ever wanted. She was safety and love and home and friendship and strength and warmth and laughter. She was the gentle hug at the end of a long day. She was the hand to hold when life got too tough to deal with alone. She was the smile at the end of a joke. She was the feeling he got whenever they returned to Fairy Tail after too long away.
"Natsu!" He was pulled from his thoughts by Wendy's loud cry, and he came to attention quick enough to throw himself out of the path of falling rubble from the ceiling. He curled around Lucy, protecting her from the brunt of the collision as he hit the wall. She groaned in his arms, and he glanced down long enough to see her eyes flutter before remaining closed.
"You have to focus Natsu!"
"I was focusing!"
"No you weren't. You were making heart eyes at Lucy!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!"
"Boys!" Carla snapped, eyes darting down the hall three seconds before another chunk of ceiling hit the ground. "Now is not the time for this."
"Hey, you can see the future right? How come you didn't know that was gonna hit me?"
"Clairvoyance doesn't work how you seem to think it does. I see big picture things, not small things like your idiocy almost getting you crushed. If you would really like me to, I can try and see what's going to fall as we get out of here, but it would truly be a waste of time."
"Can we just go?" Wendy asked wearily, pulling pins from her hair and breathing a sigh of relief when the pounding in her skull disappeared. Her hair tumbled freely down her back in a style reminiscent of when she first joined Fairy Tail. yet she was far from that little girl. The dark green dress she had squeezed into a few hours earlier was torn and tattered, and she took the opportunity now to rip the seams, letting her breathe easily. She paused, looking down at her dress and thinking. "Natsu, can you turn around?"
He looked at her in bewilderment. She blushed. "I can't move like I need to in this stupid gown."
"What happened to getting out of here?" He mumbled, turning around nonetheless and adjusting Lucy in his arms. "I forgot how heavy she was," Natsu complained, much to Happy's amusement.
"We all know that's just your backward attempt at trying to flirt, so knock it off when she's not even conscious." Carla's curt tone came from behind him and spoke over the sound of tearing fabric, likely where she was helping Wendy change. Happy snickered again, doing loops in the air to occupy himself. Natsu braced his legs as the floor beneath them shook, reminding him of the epic fight he was missing out on.
"Okay!" Wendy called. Natsu turned with a grunt of joy, happy to be moving again. He wasn't really expecting what he turned around to see.
Wendy had removed the underskirt or dress or whatever it was that went under the actual dress, leaving her in just the dark green fabric. She'd torn the dress around her mid-thighs, and strips of that discarded fabric held her hair back in twin ponytails. It was messy and obviously not something she'd wear again, but it was Wendy. She already looked more comfortable than she had in weeks. He grinned at her, jerking his head toward the exit. "Let's get going!"
She beamed back, a light flush still tinting her cheeks pink. Then they set off again, Carla calling out warnings whenever she sensed something. It wasn't often, but Natsu had forced himself to pay more attention to his surroundings instead of the woman in his arms. It was difficult.
Finally they burst back into the main building. Happy was out of breath, out of shape after so long of using his legs and not his wings. Natsu shifted Lucy yet again and randomly found himself missing the scarf still hidden upstairs.
Wendy jumped when there was a sound nearby. A quick glance showed two dust-covered figures leaning against the wall, one groaning and the other kneeling in front of them. Wendy inhaled, recognizing the scent. "Mak?"
The man against the wall opened his eyes, pained brown eyes meeting Wendy's. The other man turned, unfamiliar to the mages but quite obviously a friend. His eyes were as round as saucers as he took in the group, immediately knowing them as the Fairy Tail wizards he had heard so many legends about. It was then that Happy finally saw the trail of blood from the entrance of the stairwell to where Mak lay. "What happened?" He asked, gliding down a foot or so.
Mak moaned, knuckles white as he clenched his fists and let his eyes close again. The other man started talking. "I don't really know what happened, but I think that when the building shook, some of the ceiling came loose. It crushed Mak's leg. I… I don't think there's any saving it."
Wendy fell to her knees, gently pushing the guard out of the way. He started to object but stopped when he remembered who she was: the Sky Maiden, Wendy Marvell. If anyone could help his buddy, it was her.
She held her hands above the bloody mess of Mak's left knee and shin, palms emitting a soft green light as she began to evaluate what had happened. Juca gasped, marveling at the event he was watching unfold.
"Mak," Wendy said, forceful enough that he made himself open his eyes and meet her gaze. "I can't save your leg. But I can keep you from bleeding out or getting an infection. But we can't do that here, not with the manor continuing to cave in. I'll try and block your pain, but you and your friend are going to have to get yourselves out of here before I can be any more help."
Mak swallowed hard, nodding slowly as he acknowledged what she said. His gaze drifted past the young girl and locked on the unconscious blonde Natsu continued to hold tightly. "What happened to Lucy?" He whispered, struggling to sit up straight. Juca turned to look at the woman as well, frowning slightly.
Natsu remained stoic, and it took the guards a minute to connect him with the goofy Natsu Dragneel they'd always heard of. "She's fine. She's just been through a lot today. Now can we get going? Erza and Gray are gonna beat those bastards any minute now, and we still haven't started emptying the place."
Wendy flushed, speaking the pain management spell under her breath and letting the magic draw on her strength. "We're going as fast as we can Natsu." Then she pushed herself to her feet, smiling down at Mak. "I've done all I can. We'll see you out there, okay?"
She went to join Natsu again, but she was stalled by a hand on her dress. She looked back down at Mak, noting that the pain was already clearing from his eyes. "Annea. Do you know what happened to her?"
Wendy glanced back at Natsu and the Exceeds, seeing if any of them recognized the name. Then she smiled back at Mak. "I'm sorry. I don't. But I'm sure she's okay."
"Wendy? It, it is Wendy, right?" Pushing down her annoyance at being delayed, she nodded at the other guard. He swallowed, eyes darting between the young girl and the man behind her. "Do you want us to take Lucy? It'll make it easier for you to help everyone else and then you don't have to worry."
"No," Natsu said sharply, hand curling around her arm protectively. "I got her."
Wendy sighed slightly, expecting nothing less. "You heard him. Now, go. None of us have time to waste." She reached a hand out to Carla and the Exceed grabbed her shoulders, lifting her into the air and flying them quickly down the hallway. Natsu and Happy followed closely behind, leaving the two guards behind to find their own way out. There were too many innocent people in this building to take too long with just two guards.
As they ran, Wendy used her Sky Magic to blast away any falling stones or beams. They passed many semi-conscious people staggering around, and somehow they managed to get them on the correct path. But as Wendy or Carla or Happy would reach down to help people to their feet or pull them out of the way, Natsu never once let go of Lucy.
She groaned slightly in his arms, but he forced himself to keep looking forward. "It's okay Luce," he muttered, still pounding forward. "You're okay. We're almost outside. Then you can yell at me for calling you heavy." He grinned to himself, leaping over a fallen table and pushing on.
XXX
She was underwater again. Her ears rang and she could barely see, just a familiar face at the end of the tunnel. Her entire body ached and throbbed, but the warm hands holding her washed those aches and pains away. She blinked slowly, realizing that he was saying something, something to her, but she had no idea what it was. He was too far away.
She fought to stay conscious, even if it was this weird half awake state. She stared at his face, the features that drifted in and out of focus. And then she found that she didn't need to look at him to know exactly what he looked like. Somehow, without her recalling the exact day, she had memorized the small scar on his temple, the slight crook in his nose, the sharp teeth she could only imagine in a goofy grin. She'd memorized how his eyes crinkled when he talked and the exact shade of green they were in the morning light in her apartment. She'd memorized how those eyes seemed to shift whenever he looked at her lips, whenever she talked to Mak, whenever she sat next to him. She'd memorized how wonderful it felt to be pressed up against him, his arms holding her tight.
Her own lungs felt tight. Her head spun as if she was lacking the oxygen to stay awake. Why had she done all of that? Why did her heart flutter simply by recalling those memories? What was going on?
Of course, she knew what all of this meant. But she refused to acknowledge that terrifying truth that would change absolutely everything.
I love scenes like this, where they're all fighting and showing how strong they are. And yeah, I'm still being mean to Lucy, but what else is new. She's just as powerful, don't worry. But she's started to realize something... I wonder what it is...
Also, gotta just add that this past Friday was my last official day of school! Well, of high school. And graduation is this Sunday coming up. Oh my god, it just all feels so real, you know? Things are actually happening. But don't worry, I won't stop writing :) Until next time! Hope you all are enjoying!