A/N: CHA! Welcome back to a new chapter!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 42: Burning Sparrows
April 17, X792 – Morning
The constant downpour of rain made the decks slippery, but Cordelia and Isaak had no trouble standing their ground on the main ship of the guild while they stared down at the side ship that had been invaded. Cordelia kept her eyes focused on the man and woman that seemed to be the two in charge of the invasion. She also watched as her own mages were already on the scene to start dealing with the large amount of men that had boarded the ship along with the two pirates in charge. She wouldn't have to worry about any underlings for the time being.
"How are we going to deal with them?" Isaak asked, his own eyes fixed on the half-masked man. The dark brown eyes that stared up at them were cold and sharp, giving him the feeling that this man would be harder to deal with than many of the Black Skull members they had previously dealt with.
"I'm not sure yet," Cordelia answered, sharing Isaak's feelings as well, "We don't know what they can do yet, so I don't want to jump the gun."
It was then that John, Securus, and Vi appeared behind the pair, the trio each carrying large cannons with them. Cordelia and Isaak stared curiously at the weapons, wondering why they had been brought up on deck.
"I wanted to test out my targeting abilities with the cannons," Vi answered once all three cannons were in position, aiming down towards the ship attached to the guild, "I figured this would be a good opportunity to practice."
"I like your train of thought, Vi," Cordelia said with a smirk, "But first, I would appreciate it if you cut the hooks from the guild before you go shooting down the ship. I don't want the guild to get ripped up in the process."
"Aye," Vi answered, "I can do that myself before heading back up here to use the cannons, but some cover while I'm doing that would be appreciated."
"I got that covered," Securus answered, pulling his rifle from his back as he ignited his Hawk-Eye spell, causing his right eye to glow.
"Sounds good," Cordelia said, "Just keep an eye on the masked man and the woman next to him. I'm pretty sure they're in charge and we don't know what they can do yet."
The pair nodded as they all looked down towards the pair that Cordelia had pointed out. While most of the group seemed unaffected by the pirates, John's eyes widened upon seeing the blonde man aboard the guild.
"Dammit," John cursed lowly, causing the heads of everyone else to whip around and look at him.
Cordelia picked up on the look in John's eyes first, a frown appearing on her face, "You know one of them, don't you?"
John was quiet a moment longer as his eyes finally connected with the blonde, the man's eyes creasing upwards as he smiled briefly under his mask.
"Oi! John! I asked you a question!" Cordelia snapped.
John managed to pull himself away from the man below him to look at his guild master, "I do. The masked man down there is D. P. Roberts. I used to sail with him. He was a privateer when I joined his crew and he still was one when I left the crew," he said frowning as he looked back down at Roberts, "He must have joined the Black Skulls when the naval forces no longer needed him as a privateer. He always enjoyed his job more than he should have."
"I see," Cordelia said, "And what do you know about his abilities?"
"He's cold and ruthless when it comes to battles, so we'll need to be cautious with him," John answered, "He uses a magic called Brimefrost Make. It'll be a lot colder than regular ice, so I would advise to not let it touch you."
The group became silent after the explanation.
Eventually Securus looked back over at Vi with a smirk, "Still feel like going down there?"
"I already said I would," she said gruffly, "I'm not backing out now just because some pirate can make extra cold icicles."
Even with the knowledge of the man's magic and the lack of information on the woman next to him, Cordelia suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her when she heard Securus and Vi speak. She didn't seem so worried about things now, not even when a bridge of ice connected with the ship they stood on. She looked down to see Roberts calmly walking up the iced bridge with the woman not too far behind him. She then looked back towards the group before her with a smile.
"Your orders are still the same," Cordelia said, "Take out the hooks from the guild and blow that ship away from us!"
"Aye!" Securus and Vi answered.
Cordelia then looked towards John and Isaak, "While they are working on that, we'll focus on taking care of Roberts and the woman with him. Will you be able to handle that, John?"
John watched as Roberts continued making his way up towards them before looking back at Cordelia, "Yes. This is my home and I will protect it even against those I called friends in the past."
"Glad to hear," Cordelia said as she raised her pistols up, aiming them up towards the bridge, "Let's get this started!" she announced, acting as a signal for Vi to start making her way down towards the ship below them on the normal metal bridge that connected their ships together. She ran the entire way down it with Securus acting as her cover as he took out any pirate that tried to stand in her way.
The other three kept their attention focused on the iced bridge, knowing that any moment the two pirates in charge would come up over it to stand before them. They didn't have to wait much longer as Roberts appeared before them, his hands clasped behind his back and the woman just behind him.
"This is quite the collection of ships you have here," Roberts said, "It will be a shame that we will have to sink them today."
"You're rather cocky coming onto my guild and declaring you'll destroy it," Cordelia said, her arms straight and steady while aiming her guns at the man, "None of your other crewmates have managed to do it."
"Ah, so you must be the guild master I have heard so much about from my captain," Roberts stated, "Well, let me tell you something, guild master," he said, his cold eyes fixed solely on Cordelia, "I am nothing like the men you have faced before."
"Tch, like I haven't heard that yet," she said.
"Oh, but I mean what I say," he said, his eyes gliding over towards John, "Just ask your crew member, John Morang. We have history, isn't that right, John?"
John was quiet for a moment as he studied Roberts, "Why go off and join the Black Skulls?" he finally asked.
"It should not be so surprising," Roberts said, "A privateer is merely a pirate with a legal document to be one. But once the war we were involved in ended, so did that document."
"Then why not retire or move onto more legitimate work?"
"And become like you?" Roberts asked, another brief smile appearing under his mask, "We were very much alike one time, John. I considered you a friend. You understood my love of the ocean and the freedom it brought me. So I would have hoped that you would understand why I am on my current path now."
"It's really no use explaining it to him," the woman said, "He clearly enjoys being tied down on this guild."
"Patience Rika," Roberts said, easily hushing the woman.
"I am not tied down to the guild," John said, a sad and darkened look appearing on his face, "I am tied down by my past sins. This guild allows me to atone for those sins. And I would have hoped that you would understand my own path, Roberts."
"It seems that our paths have diverged then. I am living for my freedom. And you are living for your atonement," Roberts said, frowning under his mask, "I do hope you know I will not take it easy on you just because we were once friends."
"I don't plan on going easy on you either. And I'll know if you're taking it easy on me."
"And I will know if you are as well," Roberts said, taking once last moment to glance at the three mages that stood before him, "Rika," he said sharply, the woman already knowing what to do when he said her name.
"Forest Queen Magic," Rika began, raising both hands up, "Flower Bed," she said as several seeds were created within the surrounding area. They instantly began to sprout, covering the area in grass and flowers, "Queen's Eye," she continued, a pulse of magic passing through the flower bed, but nothing further happened after that.
"The stage is set," Roberts said, "Now we can truly begin."
Cordelia, Isaak, and John all stared down at the now wet grass and flowers underneath them, all three feeling uncertain about it. There had to be a reason the woman had set it up and that second spell she used had done something. They knew that from the pulse of magic that had been released. For now, they would have to act on caution, especially with Roberts's magic added on top of Rika's.
Rika kept her place behind Roberts, the woman playing the supporting role for the moment, while Roberts finally unclasped his hands.
"Void Skip!" John said, wanting to get the first move in before Roberts had a chance to attack them.
"To your left!" Rika called out.
Roberts turned to his left just as John appeared before him. The man wasted no time in throwing a fist forward and jabbing it straight into John's gut, causing the man to wheeze in pain and surprise as he took a few steps back from Roberts.
"That will be the only warning shot you will receive," Roberts said, "As I said before," he said, looking from John back over towards Cordelia, "I am not like the other men that you have faced."
Cordelia eyed him hard before glancing up at Isaak, "This might be a little harder than we thought."
"Oh, come on angel," Isaak said, his usual smile still on his face, "We've been through worse, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose," she said, feeling some of her tension fade away, "I want to know how she knew where John was going though," she said, pointing at Rika.
"I'm curious as well," Isaak said, "It may have to do with that second spell she used."
"Probably," she said, a smile quickly forming, "You wanna test it out?"
"What do you have in mind?" Isaak asked, his own smile growing.
"Simon Says!" she shouted, causing John to sweat drop while Securus started laughing as he continued taking out people for Vi just outside of the flower bed area.
"Games at a time like this?" Securus asked, "Why didn't you become our guild master sooner, sweetheart?"
"You gotta find time for the little things, ya know?" Cordelia answered, "All right! Here we go!" she said, looking up at Isaak and nodding her head forward, "Simon says!"
"They're jumping forward!" Rika said just as Cordelia and Isaak took a leap forward.
Cordelia's and Isaak's eyes lit up when the woman predicted what they would do.
"Let's try another," Isaak said, looking to Cordelia as he twirled his finger in the air, "Simon says!"
"They're doing a spinning kick!" Rika said.
And just as she had predicted, the two mages spun and kicked together.
"So it seems she can predict our movements on this field," Isaak said.
"Interesting," Cordelia said, "Then let me try something out!"
She recalled one of her pistols in order to grab onto one of Isaak's shoulders to boost herself up into the air. She then planted herself firmly on top of Isaak, "Simon says!"
"He's moving forward!" Rika said, pointing out only Isaak's movements.
Cordelia smirked at this right before jumping off of Isaak's shoulders and landing in between Rika and Roberts, calling her second pistol back out to aim one at each of them, "Looks like I found a loophole!"
Both Roberts and Rika stared at the guild master with fury, hating that she had so easily countered the Queen's Eye spell.
"Brimefrost Make: Sparrows!"
"Bullet Seed!"
As soon as Roberts slammed down his fist into his palm, waves of iced sparrows began to fall down towards Cordelia while several tulip guns sprouted from the ground, aiming straight towards Cordelia as well.
The birds reached Cordelia first, the first few sliding across her skin as they fell. As soon as the ice touch her, she could feel it burning from the sheer coldness. She hissed as she retracted her arms, bringing down both guns away from the two pirates. She then watched through the rain of birds as the tulip guns began to move, looking as if they were about to shoot something at her.
"Shit!" she cursed, knowing she had to do something to move away from the area. She decided she'd rather deal with the iced birds than wait to be shot. She quickly somersaulted her way out from between Roberts and Rika just as the tulip guns went off, shooting out seed bullets where Cordelia has just been. The birds continued following her as she rolled back onto her feet and began making a run for it. The tulip guns followed her as well, but she had an easier time dodging them than the birds.
"Void Skip!"
Cordelia heard John's voice shouting behind her before he suddenly appeared next to her and grabbed her. He quickly did another Void Skip to get them farther from the birds, ending up directly behind Isaak.
"Rune Card Magic: Rune Shield!" Isaak said, holding up a hand of cards out in front of him. It quickly generated a magic shield just in time to block both the onslaught of birds and bullets.
"Let me see your arms!" John demanded, leaving no room for argument from Cordelia. She held out her arms to show several spots that were a slight bluish color from where the birds had touched her. And the spots were slowly darkening due to the coldness of the ice, "This is why I said to not let it touch you."
Cordelia let out another hiss of pain as the icy coldness continued to burn her skin, "Well considering there were a bunch of those damned things raining down on me, it's not like I could dodge them."
"You can't let it stay like this," John said, "You need to go to Jack."
"There's no way I'm leaving you!"
"Do you want to lose both your arms?!" John snapped, surprising both Cordelia and Isaak. Though, Cordelia didn't have an answer for him, "You need to get this fixed. Now. Unless you never want to use a gun again."
"But John," Cordelia started with a frown, "I can't just leave you up here by yourself."
"I can handle it," John said, "I know Roberts. I know how he fights."
"But you don't know how that woman fights. And she can predict your movements, even with your Void Skip."
It was that comment that made John falter momentarily. Cordelia did have a point there. It would be hard to fight Roberts with Rika as his support, but then Cordelia had found that loophole that he could now take advantage of. Still though, it was going to be tricky on his own since Securus was backing up Vi.
Though, it appeared that luck was on their side as Seth and Gamu came up onto the ship with Eli in tow, the fire mage having met up with Seth after the hit the guild had taken from the enemy ship.
"Looks like we don't have to leave him alone," Isaak pointed out.
Cordelia and John looked up to see the three men running towards them, relief quickly washing over them.
"What's going on?!" Eli asked as soon as they had reached them.
Cordelia let out another painful gasp as she pulled her arms back in towards herself.
"John can explain," Isaak said as he stepped up beside Cordelia, "She needs to get to Jack."
"I can take her," Eli said, staring down Isaak with heated eyes.
"I'm not dealing with your idiocy and ego today, Eli," Isaak snapped, "Stay here and help them. You can actually be of use here with your Fire Magic."
"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Eli shouted, moving in to make a grab for Isaak.
"Prevention!" Isaak shouted, scattering cards around himself and Cordelia, creating magic barriers around them both. This stopped Eli from interfering while also continuing to protect them from any attacks that Roberts or Rika might try to make during their escape. Isaak didn't even bother giving Eli a last glance as he began ushering Cordelia towards the infirmary.
Eli tried to follow after them, especially when he saw Cordelia hugging herself in pain, but Seth quickly grabbed him.
"If Isaak says you're needed here, then listen to him for once," he said, frowning down at the fire mage.
"Fine," Eli huffed as he yanked his arm away from Seth, "So what's going on here then?" he asked, looking at John.
"Roberts and Rika," he said, pointing to each respectively, "Black Skull members. He has Brimefrost Make Magic while she has a nature based magic. Don't let his ice touch you unless you want to follow Cordelia to go see Jack. And so far, her magic allows her to detect our movements on this flower bed," he explained motioning towards the grassy area, "But Cordelia found a loophole. She can't detect anything that's not touching the covered area. So aerial attacks will probably work well here as well as your Fire Magic, Eli."
"Told you," Seth said, earning another huff from Eli.
Seth then took a moment to look over at the two pirates. He noticed that Roberts was studying them as well, probably wanting to get a feel for the change in players. His eyes quickly moved back towards the woman. He didn't think much of her at first until he noticed the blue rose shaped marking on her stomach.
'That marking!' he thought, knowing exactly what it meant. He quickly turned on John, "Was it Forest Queen Magic that she used?!"
"Yes…how did you know?" John answered.
"Okay, look, I know this is going to sound crazy, but we can't hurt her…at least not too much."
"What? Why not? She tried to kill Cordelia and she's going to try and kill us," John said.
"I know, but that marking on her stomach," Seth said, pointing at the rose marking, "That marks means she's the Flower Queen."
John, Eli, and Gamu exchanged glances, none of them having any idea of what that meant.
Seth let out a frustrated sigh, "That woman comes from the world of fairies. She's queen to the forest realm. That mark proves it."
"Then what is she doing here?" John asked, still feeling skeptical. He hadn't ever heard of the world of fairies and was beginning to wonder if the tattooed man had been out in the sun too long.
"I don know, but I do know that she doesn't belong here," he said, already knowing that John didn't believe him, "Look, I know it's hard to believe, but I know what I'm talking about."
"Just trust him on this one," Eli said when John looked over at him for answers.
"All right," John said, finally giving in, "Why don't you and Gamu focus on her," he said looking to Seth, "That'll leave Eli and I to deal with Roberts."
The other three nodded in agreement.
"Just remember to watch all of your surroundings," John added, "Just because you may be focused on one mage doesn't mean the other won't try to attack you as well."
"Are we ready to start again?" Roberts asked, "I do hope there won't be any further change ups."
"We're ready," John said as each pair of mages faced the pirate they would be up against, "But you won't be burning anyone this time with those birds."
"Sparrows," Roberts said calmly, creating another wave of the iced birds as he began walking towards John and Eli, "We shall see."
A/N: And there we are! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Wow! It's been a little while, but I didn't realize how much I missed writing these characters until I started re-reading over the story again to get a feel for things once again. I've been working out a lot of things for this story, along with my other stories, and it finally got the wheels turning again for inspiration for this story. I never mean to leave for so long, but writer's block took root for a while, so I apologize for that. But it seems to have finally broken since I've been able to write a lot more lately. So I'm hoping the momentum will keep around for a while.
I do have another schedule for myself when it comes to writing and it is posted on my profile if you want to check it out. I will do my best to stick to it and so far it has helped me write a lot more, even if things get posted on a different day than I would like them to be. Still though, chapters for all stories have been coming out and a lot of inspiration has hit me for Storm's Helm as there are still a good many things I would like to get to in this story. It really is a lot of fun for me to write and I want to see it completed. So no worries on this story being given up on or anything.
With that being said, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter! I really enjoyed writing it myself and moving my way back into these characters! There should be a decent amount of action next chapter since that's when John and Roberts will really be going at it. So I'm excited for that! Plus, more on the clue next chapter as well! There should be anyways…
Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Seriously, they really made me smile and I'm glad so many of you are still enjoying the story! From here on out though, I will be answering reviews through PMs as that makes it much easier for me. Though, any guest type reviews should still be answered here within my notes if any happen to pop up. But thanks again for your support! And I hope you continue to enjoy Storm's Helm!
So! I think that should be it for this time around!
See you all again soon in the next update!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson