A/N: Yo! Welcome back to a new chapter (finally)!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 43: Secret Technique: Firing Squad
April 17, X792 – Morning
"What happened to you?" Jack asked as Cordelia and Isaak came rushing into the infirmary.
"Can you ask after you fix me?!" Cordelia said.
Before Jack could retort with a snappy remark, Isaak intervened.
"Black Skull members raided the guild and we were fighting two of them. One of them has Brimefrost Make Magic, so like Ice Magic, but colder."
"Way fucking colder!" Cordelia shouted, "Can we please save the chitchat until after we save my arms from falling off here?!"
Jack kept quiet for a moment as he studied Cordelia's arms for a moment. He could see blue spots all over them, some of them so dark now they almost looked black.
"Jesus," Jack mumbled before he began digging through his supplies, "You're a very lucky woman that I have things prepared ahead of time," he said as he picked up a tray that held several different, small jars filled with varied red liquids. His hands hung over a dark red bottle before shaking his head and moved to grab a bright, almost glowing red liquid.
"What is that?" Isaak asked, watching Jack fill a syringe with the substance.
"I like to call it Liquid Lava," Jack answered as he moved back towards Cordelia. He then glanced up at Isaak, "You will need to hold her down for me. It's going to burn and I will need to put it in both arms."
"Hold her down? Are you sure it's safe?"
"Just fucking do it already!" Cordelia snapped, barely being able to contain herself with the icy patches spreading and growing colder with every passing second.
Isaak jumped at her command, moving to hold her in place from behind and gripping both of her arms tightly. Jack then wasted no time in sticking the first needle into her right arm. All three of them could see the bright liquid flow through her veins briefly before the new burning sensation set in and Cordelia let out a wail of pain. She tried to push Isaak off of her while Jack set to work on refilling the syringe for her left arm.
Isaak looked around the infirmary until his eyes landed on a wad of white towels sitting at the end of the bed nearest them. He quickly grabbed one and folded it as best he could with one hand and moved it towards Cordelia's mouth.
"Bite down on it," he said while struggling to keep her in place, "The last thing we need is you biting your tongue off during this."
"You have a hold of her?" Jack asked as he turned with a full syringe. Isaak nodded when both of his hands were tightly around her again, "All right then, here's the second dose."
He again wasted no time with sticking the needle into her left arm, the bright liquid appearing in her veins again before another wave of burning began. Cordelia let out another howl of pain, but it was muffled through the towel. Though, Isaak had made the right called with the towel, considering how hard she was currently biting down on it. She struggled against Isaak for a few more minutes before she finally started to calm down. Eventually, she spat the towel out of her mouth and slouched back into the rune mage. Her breath was ragged at first, Cordelia having to take a minute to regain her breath and composure.
"It worked then?" Isaak asked, watching as the blue splotches on Cordelia's arms began to fade away, looking like light bruising now.
"Seems so," Jack answered, "But it'll still hurt for a bit."
Cordelia lifted her right arm up, opening and closing her fist as she did so. While it still stung a bit, it was nothing compared to either of the burning sensations she had just gone through. And she still had use of her arms, so that was worth having to suffer through the Liquid Lava.
"Thanks," she finally said, still leaning back against Isaak.
Isaak moved her back towards the bed next to them and helped her to sit down while Jack picked up the used towel and threw it in a bin towards the back of the infirmary.
"So," the doctor said once he stood in front of the pair again, "What exactly happened?"
Isaak was the one to recount what happened before he and Cordelia showed up at the infirmary, the guild master busy with still opening and closing her fists to ensure they still worked.
"I see," Jack said, eyeing his supplies around the room. Though, his eyes soon glided over towards Cordelia, "And I'm assuming you already sent a group onto the island to figure out the clue?"
"Yeah," Cordelia answered, finally looking up from her hands, "I sent Zhuue, Haruna, and Squall," she said, watching Jack's eyes narrow slightly, "They'll be okay. The last I checked, no one was following them."
"Hmm," Jack hummed as he returned his sights back onto his supplies. He made a grab for a brown leather belt that held a few syringes and several tubes filled with different colored liquids. They were the most common concoctions for the man to use when going out into the field, having a variety of uses. He clicked the belt around his waist, pulling at it to make sure it was on tight before reaching out for a pair of twin blades. They were perfectly balanced and made of reinforced steel. The one held at his right side had a small red gem imbedded into it while the one on his left side had a matching blue gem.
"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.
"Well," Jack said, turning once everything was in place, "The last time we assumed that no one would follow onto the island after people, someone ended up shot, didn't they?"
Cordelia flinched at the remark, the picture of a wounded Zinnia entering her mind.
"Look, no one could have predicted that," Isaak started, but was quickly cut off by Jack.
"I know that," Jack said, sending an apologetic look towards Cordelia. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but he honestly didn't want to end up with a similar situation happening and having another bullet wounded mage filling his infirmary, "But we have the knowledge now on the lengths the Black Skulls will take and I don't think that we should be taking things so lightly."
"So you don't trust that Zhuue and the others can handle it?" Isaak asked.
"I know what Zhuue is capable of. I don't doubt that she can handle herself," Jack said, keeping his voice cool and calm as he grabbed the jar filled with the Liquid Lava. He turned back towards the pair and placed the jar into Cordelia's hand, "I don't intend to go chasing after them. I'm simply going to ensure that no one else will be able to," he said, a smile playing at his lips as his and Cordelia's eye met briefly. She simply nodded as she took the jar from him, "Take that jar to Hagi. Explain to him the effects of that Brimefrost Magic. He'll know what to do after that with the potion."
The pair nodded again in response.
Jack gave them one last smile before exiting the infirmary and out into Pluvia's constant downpour.
. : + : .
"All this rain is getting a little ridiculous, ne Sho?" Haruna asked, looking down at the maroon cat in her arms. She couldn't see his face due to his beanie becoming so heavy with water that it had slipped down over his eyes and nose.
"This is why I told you to leave me in your room!" the little cat shouted.
"I wonder what kind of snacks Pluvia has," Haruna said, completely ignoring Sho's tantrum, "I mean, if it's always raining here, are they going to have specialized snacks to fit the weather?"
Zhuue and Squall wore faces of wonderment at that comment, both now trying to imagine snacks along with Haruna.
"Don't waste timing visualizing food!" Sho shouted, "We still need to figure out that clue!"
"Oh yeah," Haruna said, "We should probably get somewhere dry to read over it and try to figure it out. How about a café? They would have good food, ne? And you could even get some warm milk, Sho!"
Sho opened his mouth to argue with her again, but the Exceed quickly snapped it shut at the mention of warm milk. His eyes glazed over in happiness at the thought of it, "Onwards to food!" he shouted, stretching out a little maroon paw in the process. The other three women also lifted a fist into the air, all of them running off as if they were charging into battle.
It didn't take long for the group to find a place to get out of the rain. Pluvia had a rather large town on it that was filled with homes, shops, and restaurants. The group just assumed that people enjoyed the rain on the island and had simply grown accustomed to it. They found a café by the name of Maurice's and quickly ducked under the large awning of the shop to try and dry off a bit before entering the place.
"You know what to do, Squall!" Haruna said, throwing out her arms and holding onto Sho by the back of his vest.
"Wait a minute!" Sho shouted.
Though, before he could say anything further, Squall set to work on drying everyone off. Squall made a punching motion, sending out a burst of wind towards the pair. While it did the trick of drying them off, it caused Haruna's blue hair to turn into a wild mess of curls and for Sho to appear as a maroon puffball. The cat simply grumbled from beneath his mess of fur as Haruna moved them out of the way so Zhuue could be dried off next. The blonde came out appearing similar to Haruna, with her long hair sticking out in several directions. Squall then finished up the drying process on herself. Her black hair came out looking just as messy as usual, though a broken comb had popped out from her mass of curls during the process. Zhuue had caught the broken object while silently giggling, Squall blushing pink in the process.
The group then moved into the café, a burst of mocha and cake scents smacking them in the face. The place appeared rather cozy in colors of coffee brown and vanilla cream. Tables and booths filled the café along with a handful of people. Warm lamp lights and hanging lacrima bulbs covered in mocha shades illuminated the café as well. It was a complete change from the grays and blacks that covered the skies outside.
"Welcome!"
The group looked towards the front counter when they heard the voice calling out to them. There stood a young man with brown hair and eyes. His smile was pleasant and warm, easily matching the café he worked in.
"Hello!" Haruna chirped as the team moved towards the front counter.
"You must be tourists," he said.
"Yeah, something like that," Haruna said.
It was then that he eyed the guild marks on each of them, "Or I suppose the better term would be mages," he said, his smile never faltering, "We don't see many of you here on Pluvia. It's probably the rain," he said, seeming to think for a moment, "I believe the last time we saw a mage in here was a few years ago. Big guy, carried a staff, and smelled of cigars. He even smoked a few in here, much to the dismay of my mother," he explained, laughing at the memory, "But he seemed like a good guy."
Haruna and Squall exchanged looks, neither girl knowing who he has talking about. Though, Zhuue beamed at the mention of the man, bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Huh? You know who he's talking about? That's interesting, ne Sho?" Haruna said.
"Yeah, that's great, but onto more important things!" Sho said, turning his serious blue-green eyes on the man behind the counter, "You! Tell me you have warm milk here!"
"You can call me M.J. if you would like a name," he said, his warm smile still plastered across his face, "And of course we do!"
"Give me your biggest bowl! And don't stop refilling it until I say so!"
"You don't need to be so rude, Sho," Haruna frowned down at the cat before looking back up at the man, "Sorry about that."
"No worries. I'm sure he'll be in a better mood once he has some milk," M.J. said, "What about the rest of you?"
"I'll take a caramel mocha!" Haruna answered quickly, "And a large piece of that cake!" she added, pointing towards a layered chocolate cake.
Squall was studying the menu before she finally pointed at a hot chocolate along with several different baked goods.
Zhuue quickly followed her, pointing at a green tea latte as well as several different flavored scones.
"Great!" the man said, not being at all bothered by Squall's and Zhuue's lack of speaking, "I'll get that all started for you. You can take a seat anywhere you like."
The team moved towards a large table while they waited, Squall peering around them for a moment before pulling out the map and smoothing it down across the table.
"So then!" Haruna began after she read over the clue, "It says this one is all about timing, but I think we need to figure out who these sisters are before we can figure out any sort of timing, ne Sho?"
"Seems right," he said with a nod, though the entire puffball that he was appeared to move instead of just his head.
"One gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first," Haruna repeated, scrunching her face up as she attempted to figure out the riddle.
Zhuue and Squall also sat thinking, unsure of what could be sisters while also giving life to each other. Though, it was when Zhuue was straightening out her hair that a thought dawned on her. She stared down at the blonde coloring of her hair for a long moment before her eyes slid over to Squall's dark black hair. Her green eyes zoomed back and forth between the two colors before she jumped out of her seat, practically jumping up and down.
"Did you think of something?" Haruna asked, laughing at the woman's antics.
Zhuue moved to stand next to Squall, laying a strand of her hair next to the younger girl's. The pale-yellow color popped and then faded into thick black. Zhuue pointed between the two colors as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Haruna and Sho cocked their heads to the side, confused on what Zhuue was trying to tell them. Though, Squall seemed to pick up on it quickly, her eyes lighting up in realization as she looked up at Zhuue. The two began to rapidly make hand signs at each other, excited that they had figured out the clue.
"Whoa! You're both going too quickly!" Haruna said, attempting to keep up with their silent conversation, "What did you two come up with?"
Zhuue pointed to Squall first, the younger girl laying her head on her hands to pretend she was sleeping. Zhuue then pretended to be waking up before staring at Haruna expectantly. Though, Haruna and Sho continued to stare at them in confusion.
"Day and night," M.J. said as he came towards their table with their orders, "That's my guess anyways."
Squall and Zhuue jumped up and down excitedly as they pointed at the man.
"Day and night," Haruna repeated as she looked down at the map while Sho dug into the bowl of milk that was laid in front of him, "You're right! Sisters that give birth to each other! Day and night!" Haruna beamed, happy that they had solved the riddle…well, mostly anyways, "But what does that have to do with the map and Pluvia."
"That an easy one too," M.J. said after he had set down the last of their orders, "At the top of the large hill here in town is a monument for the sisters, Day and Night. They are the spirits that protect this island."
"Spirits? That's super cool, ne Sho?" Haruna said before taking a sip of her drink, "So are they the ones that make it rain so much here?"
"Yeah," M.J. answered, "They created a continuous rain hundreds of years ago to protect Pluvia against invaders. It's hard to recall exactly what was going on since it was so long ago, but they have continued with the rain since. Night's rain continues through the night, stopping at six in the morning when Day takes over with her rain. Her rain will continue until six in the evening when Night takes over again."
Squall was quick to start moving her hands in signs, silently asking the man a question.
Haruna watched her for a moment before nodding, "Does the rain ever stop then? Like when the sisters switch rains?"
"Yes, but it's only for about a minute. If you want to watch the switch up close and personal, you'll have to walk up to the hill before six tonight."
The team stared up at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was still late morning.
"I suppose you wouldn't mind putting up with us until then, ne M.J.?" Haruna asked.
"Of course not! I wouldn't mind hearing about your travels as mages in the meantime, if you don't mind."
"So long as you keep that warm milk coming, I'll tell you my deepest darkest secrets!" Sho announced, hiccupping from downing his milk so quickly.
The group laughed at the Exceed before settling in for the day, waiting out Day's rain.
. : + : .
Securus had made his way down the bridge that was connected with the ship that Vi was currently on. He had come to a stop halfway down the bridge, his Hawk-Eye still activated as he covered Vi. He hadn't been sure if they were aiming to kill. Cordelia never made mention if that was what they were doing this time around, so he did his best to simply put the men and women that had invaded their ship down by a bullet to the legs or arms. But things were becoming harder with that voice in his head.
"For crying out loud! Just do it already! Shoot to kill!"
Securus didn't answer the voice. He tried his best to ignore it and focus on protecting Vi.
"And how do you expect to protect anyone if you do not kill them?! Do it!"
Securus shook his head, trying to push the voice away. He had already portrayed to Cordelia that he would stay until the end of this treasure hunt. That he'd be able to handle things. That he could control the voice within him.
"Control me?! Ahahahaha! Like you ever could!"
"Shut up," Securus growled, gnashing his teeth together as he continued to only disable people rather than kill them.
"Ah, but if you do not listen to me, the woman down there is going to pay for it."
Securus looked over towards Vi, the woman working on the first chain that connected the Fury to the guild. Coming up around her was a large group of the Black Skull members, too many for her to be able to handle on her own. He watched Vi's face scrunch up as she pulled out a large hammer from her tool belt, the woman annoyed that she had been interrupted. She prepared herself for battle, even if she knew she wouldn't be able to fight them all off.
"She will die and it will be all your fault! Unless you let me out! Just let me out for a minute! I will rip them all to shreds instantly!"
Securus closed his eye now, attempting to fight the evil shouting in his head. He had to hold out. He just had to wound enough of them to allow Vi to survive.
"Their lives do not matter! At least shoot them! If you will not let me out, then shoot them!"
Securus felt himself breaking. He had been so confident going into this fight. He didn't think that it would be so hard backing someone up. Damn him for waiting so long to take a solo mission!
"Shoot them! Kill them!"
"VI!"
Securus heard someone shout the woman's name and he heard her grunt in pain as one of the men knocked her down. It was like all the other noise around him stopped and the sounds of Vi's fight was amplified. He could hear her shout as she swung her hammer. He could hear the crunch of bone underneath the metal. He could hear the slice of steel across flesh as another man swung his sword at Vi.
"VI! Oh my god!"
"SHOOT THEM!"
Securus felt his lips moving before he even thought about what he was doing, "Secret Technique!" he shouted, opening his eye again. It appeared brighter than ever, looking like molten gold, burning radiantly as it glared down at the men surround Vi, "Firing Squad!"
His body was moving on its own at top speed, disappearing and reappearing behind the man holding the sword that had cut across Vi's side. His finger pulled the trigger without hesitation, the bullet soaring right through the man's head.
Vi's eyes went wide as she watched the bullet travel through the man's head and soar straight passed the side of her head, the woman having no time to dodge the blood that followed, the bright red splattering across her face.
Securus wasted no time in continuing his movements, firing from all angles and killing the rest of the group around Vi, all of them falling at the same time. It almost appeared as if there was more than one man firing off bullets.
Securus then turned on the rest of the Black Skull members in the area. It wasn't enough. He had to have more. He wanted to lose himself in this killing spree, if only to alleviate himself of the ever-present evil in his mind. He had to consume enough to ease that voice. He had to see enough blood fly and bodies fall to make it to the end of the mission the guild was on. If he didn't, then the next time would be worse. The next time he could very well kill the people he wished to protect in his madness. He had to let himself crack now to ensure he wouldn't completely shatter later.
"…curus! Securus!"
Amid the bloodshed and the maniacal laughter filling his mind, Vi's voice broke through. Securus came to an instant stop, watching as the last body of the Black Skull members filling the ship they were on thunk onto the deck. He was breathing hard and blood stained his skin and clothes. The laughter in his head began to fade, but he was certain it would echo in his mind the rest of the day and long into the night.
"Jesus," Vi mumbled as she looked around at all the bodies that were littered across the deck, "Remind me to never get on your bad side," she said, realizing exactly why Securus was S-Class now, 'Lazy he might be, but this was definitely some next level shit,' she thought.
"You okay?" he asked lowly, doing his best to calm himself down while also trying to ignore all the eyes on him from other members looking down at him.
"Yeah. You finished with…whatever that was?"
"Yeah."
The two stood in silence for a long moment, each unsure of what to say to the other.
Finally, Vi cleared her throat, "Well then, help me get the hooks off the guild so we can blow this ship away," she said, turning back towards the metal hooks that she had previously been working on.
Securus took a deep breath, feeling thankful that Vi spoke to him without a note of terror or distrust in her voice. She spoke to him like a normal person, like he hadn't just slaughtered twenty people in front of her. She spoke to him like Cordelia had spoken to him the first time she ever witnessed him slip in front of her.
"Thanks," he said as he followed her.
Vi simply grunted in reply, not being one for sentimental moments, but at least wanting him to know that she acknowledged and understood what he was thanking her for. Everyone had their demons, so who was she to judge someone for them?
A/N: And there we are! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
So I feel super lame for not updating for so long. So sorry about that. But the plan is to focus solely on this story for right now as it has practically consumed me with planning things to come and wanting to move forward with other arcs. So I will be focusing on updating this story at least through the end of the arc. Because dammit! I want to get to the next arc already!
That ending there got darker than I had originally expected it too, but I quite enjoyed it. I'm super pumped to get to Securus's solo mission in the next arc! It's gonna be freaking awesome! You have no idea!
Anyways, I hope I responded to all the reviews for the last chapter! If I didn't PM you about your review, I apologize! But I greatly appreciated them! They were awesome as always! And again, I will be reviewing them through PMs, with any guest reviews aside.
The Question Corner will be returning in the next chapter or two. I've had requests to continue it, so as always if you have any questions for the characters, you are more than welcome to send them in!
I think that should be it.
I should have the next chapter up much quicker since I'm solely focused on this story right now.
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson