Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
Never lie down
Edmond slowly opened his eyes, immediately regretting it as the light that hit his retinas made his head scream in agony. He groaned, bringing his arm up to shield his eyes then turned away from the window. He rubbed his lazy eyes, eventually his vision clearing up enough for him to see clearly.
He looked around, and recognized that he was in the hospital. He started to sit up in his bed, but then felt a sharp pain shoot through his back. He groaned, his hand quickly grabbing onto his back in a rather useless effort to dull the pain. He attempted to stand from his bed, realizing his left leg was in pain as well, then adjusted himself to stand on his right one, which wasn't quite as bad. He fought the pain as he stood, fighting the protests of his aching body just so he could move around.
He hobbled over to the window next to his bed, looking out towards the bright day. He then noticed something going on over by the guild hall. His eyes grew wide as he looked onward to the battle taking place behind Fairy Tail's Guild Hall, and the monstrous mech that was Phantom Lord's guild standing out in the water.
Edmond grit his teeth, then sighed "I can't just stand here." Then turned back towards the exit of the room. He started hobbling out towards the door, his aching body struggling to walk properly. He rested his arm against his chest, feeling what he assumed was a cracked rib. He then noticed the bandages wrapped around his abdomen and right shoulder, and he then realized just how badly he had been beaten up.
He then stopped for a moment, and realized he was standing in front of Levy's bed. She laid still, breathing softly. He had seen this before, and yet witnessing it in person first hand left an ill feeling in his stomach.
He returned his gaze to the doorway, and continued to hobble pathetically towards it, a new, somewhat mysterious resolve welling up inside him.
Harry followed Elfman, Gray, and Natsu through the halls of the phantom lord base, occasionally they would encounter a group of phantom lord mages, but thankfully they didn't put up much of a fight against the group. Even better for Harry is that he didn't need to help all that much, as usually Natsu, Gray, or Elfman would deal with them by the time Harry had a good shot
This worked for the novice, as it allowed his suit time to recharge, and given the fact they were actively searching for S-class mages, he would need every bit of power he could muster.
Then a solid strike hit the back of his helmet, rocking his head forward somewhat, and making the signature clang of metal on metal. The damage was barely anything though. He swiftly turned around to face the assailant, their face somewhat shocked, but that shock turned to pain as Harry punched the man as hard as he could, the man being sent back a bit. Harry was ready to strike again until he saw the man was groaning, and didn't look like he wanted to get up again. He looked to the man's side to see a rather well made sword there, and promptly kicked it away just in case.
Harry looked back to see Elfman giving him a simple thumbs up while Gray and Natsu had gone ahead. Harry looked at his hand, the impact having been taken completely by the armor, but Harry was trying to look through it. Why do I have to be the one that has to do this shit? I've only thrown a punch a few times, and none of them have ever been in such a tense situation… Harry thought grimly, flexing a bit to loosen the lightened muscles in his hand. That was about when he realized Gray and Natsu were bickering again.
"Do we even know where we're going? We've run into like three dead ends." Harry asked, walking with Elfman as they caught up with Natsu, Happy, and Gray.
"Course I do!" They both yelled simultaneously. Which caused another small shouting match between the two. Happy seemed to face-palm at the display, while Elfman looked ready to yell at them to stop.
"Let's just split up." Harry suggested, causing the two mages to stop before looking at him with questioning gazes. "Look. If we stick together, there's more of a chance to beat any of the S-class we come across, but that also means we won't be able to cover as much ground, and we'll be less likely to find whatever is powering the abyss break… if it's powered by anything structural at all anyway." Harry said, adding the last statement with a bit of trepidation, hoping that he was still correct in assuming there was some generator they could shut off to disable the mech as a whole.
"Sounds like a plan!" Natsu said enthusiastically, quickly going right, and Happy following closely behind. "I'll head this way, I can smell Gajeel from here." He said with utmost confidence, making Harry do a double take. Then he remembered that was how Natsu found him in the first place. Gray watched him leave, before shaking his head, beginning to go in the opposite direction.
"I'll go with him." Harry said, moving to follow the dragonslayer.
"Wait, Harry." Elfman spoke up, causing the armored man to pause. "Gajeel, He's a dragonslayer like Natsu is, an iron one at that… he would eat your armor, and then you'd be left with just your magic itself." Harry figured that was the case upon hearing about the attack against Edmond, and who the attacker was, but he didn't care. He was going to face down the bastard regardless. Elfman gave him a grim expression, basically saying that he wouldn't stop him, but he didn't really think it was a great idea.
"I know." Harry said simply, before turning back to follow Natsu. "But I already told you why I'm here."
Harry and Natsu travelled hastily towards where the dragonslayer could smell his rival. They were on a time crunch, and thus focused solely on getting to their destination. The opposing mages were coming around less often, and any that did Natsu took care of easily. Harry continued to watch his suit's charge rise. But Natsu speaking caught his attention.
"Hey, what kind of magic do you use?" Natsu's question was followed by Happy and him looking at the novice mage with a curious and expectant gaze.
"I call it Over-Enchant." Harry states simply, not seeing any real reason to hide the information. "It basically allows me to enchant objects with unique properties, but I'm unsure what the limits are. It also basically useless for me to cast it in combat. Making this armor is really my only way to be effective." Harry stated, as he and Natsu made their way up a staircase, Natsu's nose still leading the way.
"Oh, are you the only one that can cast it?" Happy asked curiously, making Harry shrug.
"I'm not sure, but I haven't met anyone else that can cast it." Harry's words made Happy hum. He was about to ask another question before they heard a boisterous voice call out to the three of them.
"Ah! How sorrowful! The infamous Salamander!" The three of them had reached the end of the staircase revealing a large open room that had another staircase at the back. Within the room was a bear of a man with tanned skin in green priest-like vestments, a matching green top hat, and a white blindfold covering his eyes. "I, Aria of the Heavens, and member of the element four, shall be your opponent!"
Natsu and Harry both looked at the tall man as he made that declaration, each of them readying themselves.
"And you are the mysterious 'rocket man' that Juvia told me of." Aria continued, looking at Harry with a somewhat amused gaze. "I find it interesting that despite the lack of magic I sense from you, you had managed to outmaneuver someone of Juvia's caliber."
Harry took stock of the fact this wasn't the first time someone had noted his not-impressive magic supply, but did not focus on that, instead, he measured if he wanted to even respond or not. He decided to humor him.
"Might doesn't always make right." Harry said simply, making Aria laugh uproariously.
"Yes indeed! I suppose that is true." Aria said with a seemingly satisfied sigh. "But before we begin, I wou-" Aria began again, but was interrupted by Natsu.
"Enough Talk! Move aside or get run over big guy! I got a bone to pick with Gajeel!" Natsu declared, his fists lighting up in preparation. Aria simply chuckled at that.
"Very well Salamander, your reputation for being hot-headed precedes you." Before he could say anything else, Natsu surged forward, fists alite with fire.
"Fire Dragon Iron fist!" Natsu yelled, the flames around his right hand becoming even brighter as he reached the large man. In response, Aria seemed to just vanish as Natsu's attack hit nothing but air.
"Zetsu" Aria stated, now behind the dragonslayer, as a series of small magic enclosed spheres launched themselves at Natsu. He yelled in pain as the airspace's exploded, launching the fairy tail mage across the room. Aria was about to continue his assault until he felt the airspace to his right be greatly disturbed, he managed to jump away, avoiding a wild punch from the armored man that he still had no name for.
Harry was a little paranoid now. He wasn't sure what kind of magic Aria was using, but if he had to guess, it was air or wind magic. But how did he make those explosions? Was it some kind of sphere of compressed air? As that thought ran through his mind, he saw Aria hold up his hands, his palms facing the novice mage.
"Zetsu" Harry fought back a groan as the explosions impacted him, the spheres too fast for even him to react to in the armor. The brunt of the impacts were taken by the metal though, and the iron seemed to be holding up nicely against the compressed air. But even still, the damage from the previous fight was still very much evident.
Mark II
Power Level: 51%
Durability: 75% [Dropping] [Damage to Chest most severe]
Active Enchantments : Combat Defense, Combat Offensive, Environmental, Flight
Inactive Enchantments: N/A
Total status changes-
Thrusters: Hands, Feet, Back, Chest [Engaged] [0% power]
Ethernano beam: Hands [Engaged] [0% power]
Ethernano beam: Chest [Engaged] [0% power] Anti-personnel Mine: [Unarmed]
Ethernano Absorption [1% per 60 seconds]
Air Filter/Airtight Seal
Pressure seal/Regulation
G-Force reduction: 20%
Speed increase: 10%
Strength increase:10%
Wearer Durability increase: 10%
All Incoming Damage Resistance: 20%
Even still, he was in this fight now, and couldn't just sit by and let everyone else do the work. He followed up with a jab at the large man, but missed as Aria stepped to the side easily. Harry managed to block a palm strike with a raised right forearm, but even still, he felt his metal armor bend and his whole body be flung away like it was nothing.
Durability: 74% [Dropping] [Damage to Chest most severe] [Damage to right forearm/hand moderate]
Harry needed to fix how the HUD displayed information. Because this wasn't quite cutting it for him, wishing he had made the armor's reading of durability more pinpoint.
"Zetsu" Aria's single word was followed by a barrage of airspaces that exploded against Harry's armor, but thankfully the assault was short lived as a large torrent of fire nearly caught the air mage head on. The S-Class managed to avoid the brunt of the impact, only his left side being clipped by the spell.
"Harry! You alright?" Happy's high pitched voice came from next to him as Natsu engaged with Aria.
"I think so, just really roughed up." Harry answered, clutching his aching arm. But this is getting us nowhere, and even if we do defeat Aria, we'll be too tired to fight Gajeel. Well. I guess I've got to do what I've got to do then. "Happy, I have an idea, but first, do you know what kind of magic Aria is using?"
Natsu kept up the heat, literally, as he swung at the air-space mage, all the while Aria was intermittently striking him with those exploding air-spaces. Natsu would admit he wasn't necessarily the brightest person, but even he could tell that this was probably going to be a pretty rough fight. Aria was a S-Class mage, and he was not, despite his power. Harry was fighting alongside him, but he was still a novice, so he couldn't expect him to carry the fight. Even still, Natsu was impressed with how far Harry has gotten.
Natsu blocked a palm strike by Aria, the heavy blow striking against the side of his left arm. In response, the dragonslayer formed a large fireball in his right hand. A yell followed the attack, Aria creating an airspace in the path of the close-range fireball. An explosion erupted between them, sending them away a few feet from each other.
He's doing his best for us. So I'll keep fighting, not just for the guild, but for Harry too! Cause he's fighting for us! As that last thought entered Natsu's mind, he roared as he rushed forward, fire erupting from his feet, and sent a rapid uppercut to the S-class. The man being cut off guard, as he was sent spiraling into the air before catching himself.
"It seems your skill is like they say." Aria said simply, as Natsu threw punch after kick towards the man, who was either dodging or blocking the flaming limbs. "But even so, you are not quite S-Class, are you?" After that, Aria's whole body was encased in an air-space before exploding outwards, throwing the dragonslayer away, and before he could recover, was bombarded with another volley of exploding air-spaces. Aria grinned at the success, but was able to hear the heavy footfalls of his other opponent. He turned around just in time to block a heavy punch from the 'rocket man'.
"I see that you haven't had enough, have you?" Aria said with a confident grin, as he prepared a counterstrike, only for him to feel something metal press against his chest.
Anti-personnel Mine: [Armed]
Harry couldn't help but grin as his feint worked. The anti-personnel mine quickly doing its job as it absorbed the S-Class's magic, using it for its own enchantment, as simple plates extended from the circular base, where a low-quality Lacrima sat. It gripped onto the man through his robes, a powerful gripping enchantment keeping it there. Before Harry could get away though, Aria's palms struck his shoulders, forcing him back a step before the familiar feel of Aria's exploding airspaces met him.
Harry grit his teeth as the shockwaves rocked his body, before he managed to activate his thrusters and fly away to where Happy was talking to Natsu.
"Whoa! That's awesome!" Natsu exclaimed as Happy finished his explanation of Harry's plan. As he said that, the metal device stuck to Aria began to tick upwards in percentage, starting from 1% and increasing rapidly. Harry was watching the man carefully, seeing if he would need to intervene as the mine did it's work.
Aria had no idea why it was happening, but his magic was being swiftly drained by the device that had been strapped to him. He tried to pry it off with his hands, but it was solidly stuck. Then he used an airspace to surround himself, and his clothes to force it off. Only for his airspace to surround the device as well. What? Even when I concentrate, the force of the airspace isn't prying it off, why?
That was when it hit Aria, the device was absorbing his magic, and therefore, likely immune or at least resistant to it because of that fact. Very clever, how sad it is that he is my opponent. Aria thought, eyeing the armored man with a new sense of wariness. Then the device beeped twice. He looked down to see the Lacrima embedded in its center now read a few words, and when he read them, his eyes widened considerably.
Detonation in 5… 4…
Harry flew upwards, as far from Aria as he could, and Happy did the same as Natsu sent a massive fireball in front of the large man. Hoping to stop him from approaching. Aria surged forward despite the flames, a gust of wind allowing him flight.
3… 2…
Harry held his hand out, shooting a beam of pure ethernano into Aria's face, causing him to stop, allowing another one of Natsu's fireballs to strike true, sending him further back.
1… Have a nice day!
Harry shielded his face with his arms as a large Ethernano-blue explosion rocked the air, the shockwave sending him even further back. He heard Natsu and Happy's distinctive cries as they were thrown backwards, but he hoped that they weren't hurt from the blast. Harry lowered his arms to see Aria had been thrown away from them due to the explosion, lying in a small hill of debris, dust all around his downed form. Harry looked to his fighting companion to see Natsu, who appeared no worse for wear all things considered.
"Hell yea!" Natsu exclaimed, pumping a fist as he and Harry descended to asses the damage, only for them to hear a voice as they did so.
"How sad!" Aria's exclamation made Harry and Natsu go stock still, Aria's form slowly rising from the crater, the dust around him settling. Aria's robes now sported a large hole in the chest area where the mine had been, and a large burn Mark on his tanned chest. "So much effort, but I am still in this fight!" Even as he said that though, Harry could spot the beads of sweat on the man's face, and how he seemed to limp slightly as he rose.
Harry sighed as he prepped his thrusters. I did some damage, but not enough, Time for plan B. Harry thought bitterly before he glanced over to Natsu.
"Natsu, Happy, get to Gajeel, find the core of this place, and stop Abyss break." Harry said flatly, as he focused on Aria again. "I'll make sure Aria doesn't follow." Aria seemed amused by the display. Harry really wanted to know how exactly he was able to see with the blindfold on, but chalked it up to magic.
"What? No way! He's an S-Class mage, he could kill you!" Natsu said defiantly, his fists lighting up to fight again.
"And if you don't get there now, all of magnolia is doomed." Harry said, the Ethernano beams on his palms lighting up in preparation. Natsu went to retort, but Happy spoke up first.
"He's right Natsu." Happy said, somewhat remorsefully as he kept Natsu away. "We need to stop the machine. And unless there's another way, taking out its source would be the best way." Natsu grit his teeth at that, not wanting to leave Harry here by himself, but also knowing they were both right.
"And who said I would let you do that?" Aria's threatening tone caused the fairy tail mage and Over-Enchant mage to pause as Aria gathered a near-invisible, but still unformed airspace right in front of him, nearly as large as the man himself. Harry rushed him, throwing a punch at the large man's face, before Harry found himself hitting nothing but air… and it stopped his fist. After a moment, he realized he had been trapped within the airspace. He thought the airspace had not been formed, before realizing this one was likely meant to not be seen.
"How sad, that such a promising mage would meet his end here." Aria began to activate his spell, pressure building up within the airspace, enough that Harry could feel it through the iron armor he wore. Thoughts swirled in his mind ranging from anger at being caught in this trap, and fear at what Aria's words implied. Natsu yelled something, and sounded like he was quickly getting closer, but not quick enough. "Mets-" Aria's words were stopped as an armored fist slammed into the side of his head. One that did not belong to Harry.
The spell dissipated, allowing Harry to land on the ground, and he looked to his savior in some bewilderment. Standing maybe only a few inches shorter than him, was a woman with scarlet red hair, glaring brown eyes, and a stern expression on her face. She was wearing traditional looking plate armor with a battle-skirt, and a rather well made sword in her right hand, while her left was still balled into the fist that had struck Aria.
"No one will be meeting their end today." The woman's simple statement was full of the utmost confidence, and as Aria regained himself, he rubbed his cheek from the impact.
"Erza Scarlet, Titania of Fairy Tail. My my, after stopping the Jupiter cannon, I didn't expect to see you up so soon!" Aria's statement made Harry freeze. If… that's true, then she… no way. Harry held back the urge to stare at the woman, opting instead to stare at Aria, trying to focus on if he was going to cast another spell or not.
"It will take more than that to bring me down." Her tone was curt, and Harry couldn't help but believe her. Aria's laughter that followed made Harry question the man's sanity, or if he simply saw this whole fiasco as a game of some kind.
"And I believe you!" Aria said, before airspace's formed his his hands. "However, that does not mean I will let any of you get past me." His threatening tone did little to dissuade Erza as she looked up at Natsu and Happy.
"Natsu! Happy! Find a way to stop Abyss break, quickly!" Erza ordered, making the dragonslayer and flying cat blanch a bit before they began to fly off. Aria raised his hands to stop them, but a sword swipe from Erza forced him to focus on evading. Before he could recover, Harry flew into him, catching him off guard, the armored body of the novice mage slamming hard into Aria's large frame.
Erza stared wide eyed at the action, still unsure of what to think of the man, as even with what Mira told her, it was still rather coincidental how everything happened. But after seeing everything so far, she knew that for now, he was on their side. The armored man was suddenly flung away though as an explosion of air sent him careening away. Erza followed up the assault by rushing Aria, the flat end of her sword blade aimed for his head. The Airspace mage weaved his head out of the way, and activated his Zetsu spell again. Erza felt a few strike her armor, but she managed to jump away before any more could impact her, landing a few feet away.
Despite what she said earlier, and the fact she was still more than willing to fight, she had to admit that the jupiter cannon had done a number on her, and she wasn't fighting at her 100%. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let that stop her, especially since Harry was here, effectively a stranger, that was willing to fight for both her sake, and the guild's. Thus, as she thought about what armor might work best in this scenario, and quickly called upon her magic.
"Requip! Heaven's wheel armor!" Erza's shout was followed by her whole body being engulfed in golden light as her armor near instantly changed to a rather flashy metal dress with bladed wings, and in each hand she held a sword with wing-like guards.
Before Aria could comment on her new armor, or she could move to combat him, Harry shot forward at the S-class mage again, this time, with a right hook aimed at the airmage's face. This connected, the mage having been thrown off by Erza's change in armor. Aria recoiled from the blow, stepping back in time to avoid a follow up left hook from the man.
"And here I was, about to comment on miss Scarlet's new attire when I was once again interrupted." Aria said, a mixture of amusement and annoyance in his voice. Erza did not allow him to continue, rushing his position before he had a chance to retaliate. Steel sung through the air as she aimed to strike his side. Aria backpedaled, avoiding the strike, and quickly aimed his open palms at her. "But I believe It's time to end this battle. Zetsu."
A series of airspaces exploded against her, but she managed to tell a good portion where going past her. Erza heard the familiar sound of airspaces exploding, the sound of metal being bent reaching her ears. Before she could react, An airspace quickly surrounded her, the same spell she saw Aria using on Harry now being used on her. She struggled against the spell, but due to her weakened state, the air pressure was too much for her to break from.
"I am sorry, Titania, but if it makes you feel any better, none of this is personal. Mets-" and just as before, an armored appendage slammed into Aria's head, stopping the spell. The main difference being that it was a foot rather than a fist, and it impacted at a much higher speed thanks to the thrusters attached to it's underside. The spell disappeared, and Aria's head snapped forward, a pained grunt leaving his lips. Erza took full advantage of that, and with a shout, drove her fist into his gullet, causing his whole body to fold around her arm due to his forward momentum.
The air based S-class hit the ground with a thud, coughing and hacking as he struggled to get air back into his lungs. Aria had thought he could have defeated them without using his trump card, but now it was clear he was a fool not to use it sooner. He shakily reached up to take his blindfold off, but an armored fist, courtesy of Erza, hit his face before he could, forcing him into unconsciousness.
Edmond found himself standing at the corner of the back of the guild hall, leaning up against the building for support. He witnessed the battle taking place before him, and the damaged walking guild hall of phantom lord. He slammed his fist against the wall, a slight pain shooting through his arm. He did his best to ignore it, as he began to walk forward towards the cliffside with all the other guild members.
Mirajane was the first to notice him as he walked up "Edmond!" She cried, rushing over to him. As she reached him, Edmond tripped, Mirajane grabbing him quickly to keep him from falling. "You shouldn't be here, why are you out of bed?" She questioned the beat up mage. Edmond merely grimaced, looking forward towards Phantom Lord's guild hall.
"I can't stand by." Edmond said angrily, Mira simply picking him up to support him. As they trudged over to the cliffside, the rest of the guild noticed him and began questioning him on whether he was feeling alright. Edmond merely responded that he felt fine enough to walk, and pulled his arm from around the back of Mira's neck, once again attempting to stand on his own.
He found his footing beneath him, and began to walk forward. He felt a sharp pain in his side, and gasped, staggering slightly. He fought through it though, and stood firm, considering his next move. Edmond stood for a moment, then prepared his casting stance, clearing his mind from everything going on around him. "Cosmic make: Saw Blades!" Edmond cried out, as a multitude of flying sawblades formed behind him, and began flying towards the phantoms in the sky. Edmond stood carefully, being sure to keep concentration on his spell, his hand outstretched as a multitude of saw blades continued to soar past him.
The rest of Fairy Tail watched as Edmond summoned saw blade after saw blade, each one making quick work of the phantoms. But eventually the flurry of saw blades stopped, the spell now having reached its end. Edmond had managed to take out many phantoms with that attack, but there were still more coming. Yet still, there was a small cheer for Edmond from some of the members as they were impressed at the feat given his circumstances.
But then, suddenly Edmond closed his outstretched hand, and a split second later, the entire guild watched as a large explosion erupted from the Phantom Lord guild hall. Unbeknownst to the rest of the guild, Edmond's true target was the walking guild hall itself, the sawblades embedding themselves into the stonework of the building. Once his concentration was removed from the spell, the sawblades immediately blew up, as if he had designed it that way.
The Fairy Tail mages cheered at Edmond's feat, having dealt a significant amount of damage to one of the guild hall's legs. Edmond hoped, though, that he didn't unintentionally hurt one of his allies that may have been over there. Mirajane's voice reached his ears, but he couldn't understand as he soon lost his balance, finding himself in freefall backwards, falling to his fatigue.
Harry huffed as he looked over the status on his armor, keeping Aria in sight just in case he suddenly got up. Granted, after his new companion gave him that extra punch, Aria hadn't moved since.
Mark II
Power Level: 22%
Durability: 43% [Damage to helmet severe ] [Damage to Chest severe] [Damage to arms severe]
Active Enchantments : Combat Defense, Combat Offensive, Environmental, Flight
Inactive Enchantments: N/A
Total status changes-
Thrusters: Hands, Feet, Back, Chest [Engaged] [0% power]
Ethernano beam: Hands [Engaged] [0% power]
Ethernano beam: Chest [Engaged] [0% power] Anti-personnel Mine: [Absent]
Ethernano Absorption [1% per 60 seconds]
Air Filter/Airtight Seal (compromised due to reduced armor integrity)
Pressure seal/Regulation
G-Force reduction: 20%
Speed increase: 10%
Strength increase:10%
Wearer Durability increase: 10%
All Incoming Damage Resistance: 20%
Harry cringed at the now worse-for wear state his armor was in. His chest plates were littered with small dents caused by the exploding airspaces, and full of scratches from being tossed around so much. His arms were in similar condition, especially his left forearm which had a large malformation on it from blocking Aria's palms. While he couldn't see it, he was sure that the face plate had been heavily dented as well, as the enchantment that allowed him to see through it was warped, as if he was looking through curved glass.
Once he had assessed the damage though, a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him as the adrenaline finally left his body, and he suddenly realized how much he actually hurt. Harry slumped forward a bit, soreness overtaking his muscles, and pain throbbing in the areas where he was hit, in particular, his arms. He flexed his left arm, watching it shake the whole time.
"Can you hear me?" A voice pierced through to him, and Harry looked up to see the woman, Erza he remembered, looking at him with slight concern. She looked worse for wear herself, her odd armor sporting several dents, her skin having bruises dotting the areas that were not protected, and her hair being slightly more disheveled than he remembered. "Are you okay? You took quite the beating."
"I think so." He responded, unsure of the true answer. Harry attempted to stand up straight, but then faltered slightly, fighting against his fatigue. Before he could start to fall though, Erza caught him, supporting his weight. "Maybe not then." His dry response did not earn him any sounds of amusement from Erza, instead she simply guided him to the wall.
"Sit. You fought well, and few can say they've fought against two S-Class mages and was actually victorious." Erza said, allowing him to sit on the now debris and dust covered floor and rest his back against the wall.
"I don't know if I'd count the first bout as an actual victory… I'm guessing Mirajane told you about all of that?" He asked, sounding much more tired than he remembered being.
"She did. I was skeptical at first, seeing your arrival as very convenient. But after seeing you fight, I see now that you are genuine in your intentions." Erza said, a small smile on her face. "And while I have heard of you, I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves. My name is Erza Scarlet, a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand, and Harry shook it.
"Harry White, a pleasure." His words were marred with fatigue, and weariness, but at the moment, Harry could not care. Erza nodded nonetheless. "Thanks for coming when you did. Don't know exactly what that spell was, but I didn't really want to find out." Erza looked over at the fallen phantom Lord member, and seemed to contemplate her next words.
"Well, you returned the favor. Thank you for helping us, even though you didn't have to." Erza said, Harry simply shrugging. "That said, I think I should go after Natsu to see if he needs assistance."
"Go, I'll be more of a hindrance at this point." Erza seemed to want to retort, or maybe tell him something else, but stopped as she seemed to notice something. Harry noticed her pause, and looked about, now hearing faint footfalls approach them, coming down the stairs at the end of the room. Harry watched the stairs with growing wariness, and Erza eyed them with a sword in her hand, her grip on it tightening.
Descending the stairs was a tall, lean man, that practically oozed confidence. The majority of his attire consisted of dark blues, featuring an ornate red cape that draped over his left shoulder. His hair and thin mustache a dark red in color, with piercing green eyes. He glanced down at Aria's fallen form with a somewhat sullen look.
"A pity. I thought he would have been able to take out salamander." The man began, his voice smooth, but also sinister. "But it seems as though Titania and a stranger have stopped that plan." His gaze then fell on Erza and Harry, his sullen look breaking to that of amusement.
"Jose Porla." Erza said, venom leaking into her words. "Why? Why have you done this? Why did you attack fairy tail!?" Harry looked at the man inquisitively, and then he recognized his voice, realization dawned on him in that next instance.
"You're Phantom Lord's master." Harry said, slightly breathlessly. Jose raised an eyebrow as he eyed the armored man.
"Oh? I take it you haven't heard of me before?" His question was answered with silence, which simply made the wizard saint laugh, causing Erza to tense even more. "Well, not everyone is familiar with the world of mages, but considering you are one…" then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh, you're not just a wizard, you're the one that stopped both Juvia and Sol from collecting ms. Heartfilia. An impressive feat for someone I have no knowledge of." Harry cursed silently at that, hoping this wouldn't shed suspicions on his origins.
"Doesn't matter." Erza said, interjecting into the conversation. "You still haven't answered the question." Jose eyed Harry for a moment longer before switching his gaze back to Erza.
"I suppose not. As for your question Titania, the why is very simple, and I suppose there's no real harm in telling you. Fairy Tail is currently one of the most popular guilds in the country, and is the official number one guild in Fiore. Meaning that with the more jobs you all take on and get… the fewer Phantom Lord gets. And considering we are not only a far larger guild, but also have two branches in other countries, it only makes sense that getting Fairy Tail out of the picture would be the obvious solution, even if its the dirtiest one." His explanation drew Erza silent, and Harry quickly blurted out what he saw as a flaw in this plan.
"You really think you'll still be the number one guild after you ruthlessly destroy another?" Harry began, surprising himself with the accusatory tone he was using. "Not to mention… why the hell was war your first option? Shouldn't that be a last resort?" Jose seemed to smile a bit at that, although, it was a bittersweet one, as if he expected those questions, and knew the answers.
"It doesn't matter what happens here… I'll be the only one taking the blame." That made Erza gasp, and Harry freeze, before Jose continued. "As not only the guild master, and a wizard saint, putting all the blame for this war on me will be easy, seeing my reputation and authority as a worthy… exchange for everything this war was wrought." Harry didn't honestly know how magic authorities worked, but based off Erza's expression, and the fact Joes didn't have anything to really gain by lying, he could only assume what he was saying was the truth. Jose continued before either could question him.
"Aria here is already lined up to take my position once I'm gone. And as for war being a last resort? You are completely correct, it was… until Lucy Heartfilia's father came to me about a job to get her back into his custody for a very lucrative amount of money." Silence followed that, allowing Harry and Erza to process the information. It had definitely made his motives more understandable to Harry, but Phantom Lord had done too much to get away with all of this.
The silence persisted, and Erza herself seemed to hesitate what to do next. Until Jose's eyes widened, and his face adopted a confused expression as he suddenly snapped his head at the staircase that Everyone barring himself had come up from, in the same direction as Fairy Tail's guild. "What the hell?" Immediately after that question, the world exploded into a vibrant teal green.
When Harry awoke, he realized he was underneath a layer of rubble, but his armor was still online. It read largely the same as last time, which surprised him, but there was little else he could see, so he pushed himself up, several small chunks of ceiling falling off of his person.
The scene that greeted him was one that made him wonder exactly what had happened after the explosion. To his left, and by the now mostly ruined staircase he had come up, Gray, Elfman, and surprisingly, Mirajane were all on the ground, seemingly knocked unconscious from the explosion as well, although he had no idea when they had gotten there. The rest of the room had debris scattered all around it, and a large chunk of the wall was blown out, allowing sunlight to filter through. He could also just barely see the top of Fairy Tail's guild hall as well.
He was just about to turn his head to the right when he heard a solid thud, and a steak of silver and scarlet flew from somewhere out of his peripherals, and into the center of the room. His eyes widened as he saw Erza shakily stand up from the attack.
"You truly are persistent, I'll give you that." Jose's voice greeted him as Harry glanced over to see the man with a slight scowl on his face. It was also around that time Harry noticed the entire room was tilting slightly.
"As long as I still have breath, I will not allow you to harm anyone else!" Erza shouted, defiance exuding out of her, until it was replaced by pain as a purple miasma suddenly engulfed all but her head. She cried out in pain, the miasma slowly taking the shape of skeletal hands, which were connected to two large magical skeletal torsos, each floating next to Jose on either side of him.
"Then perhaps I should take that breath." Jose said, with a surprising amount of neutrality as Erza's scream stopped, and her eyes opened wide as she desperately tried to inhale, but no air would come. "I am sorry, Miss Scarlet, but none of this was ever personal." Then the skeletons next to him began to get closer to her trapped form, unable to do anything to stop them.
Harry's mind raced, as he struggled to come up with a plan to help. He had used the mine already on Aria. It was his ace in the hole, and it had been used to minimal effect. Erza's form began to shift, and Harry saw a translucent copy of Erza begin to be pulled away from the physical one. Holy… is he… taking her soul!? He mentally shouted, several questions about the limitations and abilities of magic running through his mind.
He shook his head of those thoughts, remembering the situation, and stood up fully, which, surprisingly drew no attention. He had an idea, and while he wasn't sure if it would work, it was his best shot. He quickly checked his suit's power level, and then activated the emergency failsafe.
Power Level: 22% +51% total: 73%
[Failsafe activated, drawing power from user]
Hairy cringed as two iron plates pressed against his back, the suit beginning to draw on his own magical supply. He then positioned himself so his body was aiming at the miasma trail reaching from the magical skeletons to Erza. Here goes nothing.
Ethernano beam: Chest [Engaged] [100% power]
Jose watched as Erza's soul began to be ripped from it's mortal vessel. He was wanting to make this as clean as possible, as there was no need to destroy her body when he could instead do this. Perhaps if someone find it, they could give her a proper burial. Jose's eyebrow rose in questioning though as a cyan light began to emerge from his left, but by the time he looked, a beam of pure Ethernano struck against the tendrils connecting his spell with Erza. The spell matrix resisted, the miasma visibly flexing in resistance to the beam, but most spells are meant to resist other spells thrown at them, not pure Ethernano. Within a moments time, the spell was destroyed, the miasma fading like wisps and Erza's soul instantly re-entering her body, her face one of shock and pain as she inhaled sharply before starting to cough.
Jose looked over to the armored man with genuine shock, before it boiled over into annoyance at not only being interrupted, but also for his plan to give Erza a clean death to now be ruined.
"I thought I was done with you." Jose growled, as black lightning began to form along his fingertips, watching as the armored man staggered somewhat from his own attack, unable to recover quickly after dispelling that much energy. "But now I'll be sure of it. Black Lightning."
Harry was recuperating from his own attack, the Ethernano beam having drained what was left of his lacrima, and then a fair portion of his own magic supply. Thus, he barely even registered Jose speaking before his world was engulfed in pain. He saw spots as his nerves began to erratically flex and fire off signals to his brain. He managed to realize he was being electrocuted, while inside of an iron suit. Thus, with his muscles painfully cramping and his senses threatening to become completely inert, it all stopped. As the pain and pressure was released, Harry couldn't see straight, and could barely feel his limbs, numbness clouding nearly everything. His form fell heavily into the ground, as he heard a cry from somewhere in the room. He wasn't sure what it was, or who shouted, but it was the last thing he perceived before succumbing to unconsciousness.
Erza could barely believe what had just transpired. At first, she was sure she was done for, as Jose had caught her in his Shade Entangle spell, rendering her helpless. Until Harry had used some form of magic beam to destroy the spell, and free her. Her shock of the lack of pain, and having her life force back in one piece was just slightly too much for her to react immediately afterwards, and this had been full witness to Jose using some form of lightning spell on Harry. She didn't even know Jose knew lightning magic. Regardless, it had been tremendously effective. A black burn mark that still glowed faintly orange now ran down Harry's armor, it's entire right side having took the brunt of the spell. After she had seen that, the man fell over, and his armor went from a faint silver, to black iron in color.
"No!" Erza cried, rage, distress, and frustration in her voice, as the one she had fought with, stranger or not, was now on the ground, not moving. She glared daggers at Jose, who merely sighed. She heard groaning behind her, as her guildmates regained consciousness. When she was about to retort, argue, yell, say something to the man who had possibly just killed in front of her, a very familiar voice stopped her.
"That's enough Jose." Both Erza and Jose looked up to the large hole in the room, where a single small figure was now standing, the ruined wall acting as a perfect platform.
"Makarov." Jose said, the unamusement in his voice showing his disdain.
"Leave the children be. If it's a fight you want… I'm right here." Makarov then jumped off the ruined wall, a fall of easily thirty feet, and landed like it was nothing. "Erza. Elfman. Get everyone else to the guild." He ordered. Erza seemed hesitant, but obeyed. Elfman, Mirajane, and Gray were all up. Harry was still down, a faint smoke trail rising from his form. She approached the downed armored man, and with no way to ensure his true status, picked him up, throwing him over her shoulder. Elfman had done much the same with Mirajane and Gray. Much to the ice-make mage's annoyance.
"Master. Be careful." Erza said, as she and Elfman quickly retreated from the room.
"Now that they're gone Makarov. Are you intending to fight me as well? Two wizard Saints fighting… you know exactly how that will go."
"If that is what it will take to stop you Jose, then so be it." Makarov's answer was followed by both wizards saints allowing their magic power to flow outwards, getting ready to cast their spells.
Erza gently placed Harry on the ground outside of the guid, the armor still singed from Jose's lightning attack. The shades that had been assaulting the guild were gone now, likely due to Jose needing to conserve strength when fighting makarov. Elfman landed next to her, Gray and Mirajane both standing on the ground soon after.
"Next time you carry me like that, I'll kick your teeth in!" Gray complained, while Elfman yelled back at him in equal volume.
"Yelling at the man that saved you isn't manly!" Mirajane just laughed as her brother and Gray bickered. She looked over to see Erza as she carefully inspected Harry's still and armored form. Not too far away was another still form she had placed against the guild's ruined building. Edmond was still unconscious after his feat against the phantom Lord building, but it was clear he was still suffering from his injuries, and now likely suffering from low-grade magical exhaustion. Several guild members were currently nearby, making sure nothing potentially hostile could get to Edmond.
Mira made her way over to Erza, and found herself shocked at the disrepair Harry's armor was in, not only the numerous dents and malformations, but most notably the large black burn mark that now ran down most of the armor.
"There doesn't appear to be any kind of button to open his helmet up with." Erza began speaking, likely hearing Mirajane approach. "We need to get him out of the armor."
"Why not break it open?" Mira suggested, wondering why her friend hadn't already pried the armor open to free the man inside.
"Break it open!?" Erza's sudden shout made Mira jump a bit. "This is a fine piece of armor, why on earth would I risk damaging it!?" Mira had to take a second to realize that Erza had likely seen the armor in combat, and was likely wanting to know how to get one herself. Before she could try to persuade Erza that breaking it open was for the good of the man within, a bright golden light suddenly sprang up from the Phantom Lord's ruined headquarters, so bright in fact, that it cast long shadows over most of the area, and the sun itself seemed dimmed.
"What is that?"
"Is that master?"
Mirajane heard a few guild members question aloud, but herself and Erza knew exactly what it was. One of the most well kept secrets of Fairy Tail, and one of the most powerful spells that anyone could list by name.
"Fairy Law." Erza said, awe in her voice as she looked towards the light's source, knowing that with this spell, her Master had won.
Author's note's
I am alive. I have survived. All jokes aside, I apologize that its taken so long to get this chapter out. Life has been very busy, and writing has been particularly slow. Especially since I had quite the writer's block about a month ago. Now I think I'm over it and ready to get back to writing more often (hopefully).
So yes, this marks the end of the Phantom Lord arc, as our two heroes lay helpless and unconscious. We wanted to do more in some aspects, but also while making them act and perform realistically. We also did not showcase the fights between Gray and Juvia, Elfman and Sol, and Natsu and Gajeel, due to those fights having the same outcome. Harry and Edmond haven't been a part of the canon to really influence too much. Feel free to review and let us know what you all think of the story so far, as positive feedback is always appreciated! But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always…
Thanks for reading!