If Quinlan was furious, he was doing a good job hiding it.
Even in the confines of the palace walls, he was aware that he may not be entirely secluded from view. That didn't mean he should apply levity towards himself and show even a slight frown towards the scenes that unfolded before his eyes. The holographic projections before him continued relaying the current events of various Apostles placed all across Pokétopia. To say that what he was seeing was nothing short of an undertaking would be putting it lightly. Very lightly.
The king of the secluded island couldn't help but feel slightly enthralled with what he was seeing from the invading mages that made it their business to ruin his home's eloquent status. It was a scene by itself that Martial – the most disciplined Apostle of them all – had fallen short against Elfman and Machoke. And now, looking through two different panels side-by-side, there was the high vantage point given to reveal Amaryllis and Akando respectively. The two Apostles had also just recently suffered a similar crippling defeat by the Fairy Tail mages no less.
With three of his Twelve Apostles having been defeated, there was the slightest chance of a fallback. But even so, Quinlan kept his composure and marveled as much as he did fathom their next point of action.
"Well now…this is certainly an uproar if it wasn't already." The king couldn't help but grin at the irony of the situation. "I was expecting a show…but I wasn't expecting such a twist to this story. Those humans and Pokémon renegades are so full of surprises. I never would have imagined that they alone would be capable of suppressing a fraction of my prestigious elites." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Suppose this is just deserved for taking this as an oversight."
Though he was impressed with what he witnessed, that didn't mean that he could condone it. If he was frank, seeing this turnaround made him all the more reason to be anxious. But he found himself to be above such outlandish behavior. Rather than complain at how lackluster their efforts were at the moment, he thought ahead at what could come later on.
Making his next move was essential; he reached over towards the Communication Lacrima and spoke towards a certain line. "Aphrodite, are you there?"
On the other side of the communication link, a weak groan could be heard. "Eh…? What…?" The voice was heavily sleepy in tone. A shirt paused came and went before it adjusted. "Your Majesty? That seriously you?"
"Greeting to you, Aphrodite. I trust that you've been keeping yourself rather busy these days." The essence of his tone was rhetorical, though the decoder seemed oblivious.
"Eh? Oh, right, right. Making sure production is on schedule as ever. What, you want me to increase production again?"
Quinlan hummed at the dry humor. "Actually, Aphrodite, I just wanted you to be aware of something important. I understand that your current position doesn't make you too convenient at the moment…so I'll cut right to the chase." He turned towards the Communication Lacrima, a serious look in his eyes. "I need you to be on a very distinct watch. We have guests here on our island, and they are certainly giving us our Jewel's worth."
"Oh…is that what that racket was?" A short pause came and went. "I honestly thought you were playing there for a second. Because if that was, somebody should have given you a gold star for acting."
"Aphrodite…"
"Yeah, yeah, I get the message. But honestly, I don't see why you have to make such a fuss. The only ones who know where this little factory of ours is hiding are you and myself. You'd have to be crazy good at hide-and-seek to find this little suite of mine…well, unless you're a Luxray."
"Funny you should say, this particular group of humans and Pokémon have a real knack for finding their way through obstacles. The entire prison has been swept clear, and Adelita underestimated them and they got by…I believe you know where I'm going with this."
This bit of news caused yet another pause, as if she was processing what she just heard. "…really? Well, that's something to be damned about…I guess? So what, you want me to just leave the factory to help you guys out? Because that wasn't what I agreed to."
"At the moment, no. I just wanted you to be aware was all." Quinlan turned back towards the screens before him, observing the numerous Fairy Tail mages either running through open streets or engaged in battles across other Pokémon controlling humans. "But under no circumstances, do not allow them anywhere near that factory. Is that clear?"
"I gotcha. Close up shop, lock up good, yadayadayada. I know the routine." Aphrodite chimed tiredly. "But seriously, the odds of them finding out where we are is like one and a million. If you hadn't known, I doubt even you would have figured it out."
Quinlan musingly grinned. "That's something that I cannot argue with. Be on standby."
With that, the communication was cut off. Quinlan was left alone to muse with himself yet again. It shouldn't be possible, that much was clear to him. But, even if the odds were low, low didn't always guarantee absolute. He was allowing the invaders to play around for as long as he did, but now he was starting to get impatient.
If they got to the Human Cube Factory – past Aphrodite – it could mean huge trouble for the future of Pokémon of this little society they have built. That was one cornerstone that he could not afford to lose ground on.
He turned towards a massive velvet curtain in the far shadows of his chamber. His eyes had a brief glow to them. "The factory itself is priceless, but, above all else, you are the most valued gem in this ruff, aren't you."
Despite how thick the drapes were, there was a faint, eerie shine behind it that faded quickly.
Quinlan returned his attention back towards the screens, silently observing the quarrels unraveling through his city.
"You, uh, think right here's a good spot?"
"Convenient. Hidden from targets."
"Guess it can't be helped."
The trio composed of Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt all found themselves a few blocks over from where their last big battle took place. It was nothing short of a miracle that they were able to get by the numerous Pokémon battling with humans without being spotted. Fortunately, being in the city had advantages such as back alleys and streets to conceal them. Even more so since they had to work together to haul Gray with them due to the damage he sustained from the epic battle he endured against Akando.
The small group fortified themselves in a small abandoned café that sat at the corner of a street with a magenta draped roof over the top that spelled "Le Peak de Cornerstone". When they all found cover inside, they were amazed that the place was vacant, save for a broken window. Presumably because the real owner ransacked the placed for himself. The trio of Ice-types made it their business to haul Gray to the backroom, where they could be well hidden and surrounded by food if convenient.
Once Gray's unconscious body was situated against a counter, the three finally stepped back to catch their breath.
"Phew…wow, I didn't know that he weighed that much." Snover sighed tiredly. "I thought my arms were gonna fall off…"
"Apologies. Appendages make me quadruped." Bergmite rebuffed.
"Yeah, and mine are too small. See?" Snorunt wiggled his tiny black snowballs for hands.
Snover groaned at their excuses. That, and aside them having sustained more damage than him, he was perhaps the healthiest to support Gray at the moment. But he didn't dawdle around thinking of his well-being, not when his Trainer went tooth and nail to take down an Apostle that had them on the ropes. Right now, making sure that he was well was their top priority.
"So, uh…do you think Sitrus Berries will be enough to fix him?" Snover nervously pondered.
"I don't think it works like that, not with humans at least." Snorunt countered. "Gotta have at least a couple broken bones after a fight like that. Doubt berries can cure that."
"Sustenance. Substitute to sustain energy." Bergmite quipped.
"Right, uh…" Snover looked down as he tapped his right foot. They needed a solution, and they needed one fast. "Oh! I got it! That might work! Snorunt, quick! Give me a hand!"
Snorunt blinked once, then twice. "For…?"
"Just her me out! You know how he's able to eat ice like you, right? And when he does, it replenishes him. If we feed him ice, that should fix him…I think?"
"Oh! I get it now! That makes sense to me!" Snorunt couldn't believe that he almost forgot about his Trainer's particular magic qualities. With him asking ice from Gray all the time, the sinuation nearly flew over his head.
"Haste. Make ice then." Bergmite insisted.
Snover nor Snorunt wasted time. They nodded at each other and took to an even space between them. Once they were situated, their mouths glowed bright blue before they fired Ice Shard at each other. The comets of solid ice whistled and met each other dead center, causing them all to shatter to smaller fragments that clattered across the ground. With a large enough cluster, Bergmite shoved it towards Gray's side for it to be closer to him.
Snover hastily waddled over, picking up a shattered shard and held it up towards Gray's mouth. "Here you go. Here, ice! See!?" He did his best to pry the frozen water between his lips and shoved it in. He proceeded to move Gray's jaw up and down for him. "There we go…easy now."
As Snover was continuing to feed Gray any form of sustenance he could, Bergmite and Snorunt made sure to not exhaust themselves anymore than they have already. They tentatively watched as a few pieces of crushed ice was fed to Gray at a consistent pace.
Snover continued moving Gray's mouth for him, until he noticed the mouth moving on its own. He gasped as he pulled away in bewilderment. "Gray!"
With a faint swallow, Gray's eyes fluttered open as he was finally regaining conscience. The first thing he noticed was that he was sat against something wooden, and before him were three similar silhouettes that he vaguely recalled.
"Gnnngh…what happened…where am I…" He mumbled, blinking to clear his vision. When it did, he was able to see them at long last. "Huh…Snover? Guys?"
"Conscious. Plan sufficient." Bergmite stated, though if one paid attention to his tone, there was a very subtle upbeat in it.
"Guys…!" Just then, a sharp pain went through his gut that made him cringe. "Gah!"
Snover moved closer. "Don't move! You're seriously hurt!"
"That wolf guy really went all out on you. It's amazing alone that you weren't pummeled to a fleshy pulp." Snorunt chimed in.
Gray grunted heavily as his entire body felt like it was on fire. He had a hard time alone just breathing normally. He had a feeling that it had to do with some broken ribs. He didn't doubt Snorunt's comment for one second. He wasn't sure he had the capacity to move even if he wanted to.
"What happened?"
"You kinda blacked out, so we took you to find cover." Snover stated.
Gray looked around, noticing the kitchen-like settings around him. Now everything clicked. "I get it now…" He noticed something fragile and in clusters beside him. When he looked down, he noticed a small pile of shattered ice against his hip. "You guys made this?"
"It was the only thing we could think of. Sorry…" Snover mumbled.
Gray was touched. A small grin spread across his face. "Don't worry about it. Thank you…I mean it." He gradually picked up a piece of ice and brought it closer to his mouth. He opened wide as it converted to whitish-blue energy that was slurped down his gullet.
"Well, at least you're awake now." Snover sighed, falling onto his bottom tiredly. "But I'm so exhausted. I don't think we'll be getting anywhere for a while."
"Recuperate. Restore health gradually. Fighting yet to finish." Bergmite stated.
"He's right." The three turned towards Gray, who gave them all serious looks. "For all we know, those other Apostles are still out there…I've got some Super Potions on me. I'll be sure to heal you guys-"
Snorunt shook his head vigorously. "Mhm! Nope! You get better first! You eat up and regain your Magic Power. Then you can worry about healing us."
"Snorunt…"
"I'm not eating any other ice unless it's by you. So even if it means I have to go hungry…I'll be sure to eat my fill after this is all over! But right now, we need your ice to help fight!"
Gray was stunned by this, but pleasantly surprised at the same time. He knew from past experience that Snorunt was a hardy eater of his ice, particularly so regarding his own. His earlier thoughts of when Snorunt was brainwashed came to light; he was just an ice machine to him before, but looking at Snorunt now, he truly meant what he said.
Once more, another vague smile passed across Gray's face. "…you're right. Thanks." He wasn't going to stay down for long though. As he was eating more ice to help ease his Pokémon's concerns of him, his own thoughts trailed towards his other friends. Particularly speaking, a certain blue-haired woman.
'Sorry guys, it'll be a minute…Juvia, you better hang in there, for everyone's sake, including mine.'
When Juvia imagined pressure, she imagined it feeling something like water pressure that could crush a person under weight. At the moment, she felt just like that.
It was bad enough that she ended up being separated from Gray – again – but it turned déjà vu when she found herself confronted by the same Lanturn and set of lackeys that were set on giving her a hard time like before.
On either side of the Water Mage and her Pokémon, Reela and Marcella blocked off their escape routes with their bodies. Though Juvia was certain that she could still get past them, the matter was that it would be abandoning her Vaporeon and other comrades. And she was well above doing such a thing to them. This was where the four had to make their stand against this Apostle!
"Well, well…" Lumina started, her red eyes glaring at Juvia just above the pond's water level. "Looks like somebody let you out of your cage. I was hoping to have a look at you myself after we've finished rounding up all the loose cannons, but I guess it can't be helped now, can it."
Juvia balled her fists as she took offense to the Lanturn's nonchalant speech. "You've put a lot of our guildmates and many others behind bars. You treat humans more like prisoners and slaves than you do actual comrades."
Lumina's light flourished brightly for a second. "Humans use each other all the time. It's a gain or pitch opportunity. But don't worry…I don't consider you a pitched opportunity; at least, not this time."
Wartortle suddenly stepped forward in defense. "If you want at the Boss-Ma'am herself, you've gotta go through us first!"
"Right! Sirree!" Azumarill and Vaporeon agreed.
Lumina didn't seem fazed by their valor. "You say that, but considering how spectacularly you've failed to hold up to your words last time, I have my doubts. But…it'll be entertaining to see you try. Reela! Marcella!"
The set of twins hummed as they held eloquence in regards to their postures. They braced themselves as they glared down Juvia with their fans over their mouths. Juvia looked at the two and back at Lumina. Vaporeon and the others covered the other angles to cover and blindspots.
'If I can defeat this Lanturn and these two, that will mean one less Apostle for us. And also…' She thought about Gray. 'If Gray's handling himself, he should be here soon. I can't let these floozies anywhere near my beloved!'
"Juvia, on your right!" Vaporeon warned.
"Reela, use Ink Rush!" Lumina commanded.
Juvia pivoted in time to see Reela formulate a magic seal in front of her body, which shot a condensed volume of black, soluble ink that rushed right for them. She was quick to counter with a command of her own. "Wartortle, Protect!"
"Right away!" Wartortle was swift to act as he took to the front of the oncoming ink's trajectory. He manifested a turquoise forcefield in front of himself and stood his ground as the volume of ink met the forcefield, stopping it in its tracks.
"Vaporeon, Water Pulse! Azumarill, use Aqua Tail!"
Noting their cues, Vaporeon and Azumarill sprung up from behind Wartortle's makeshift cover. With an open range and nothing to obscure them of their targets, Vaporeon lurched back and manifested a condensed hemisphere of water and launched it at Reela. Azumarill's ball-tipped tail swelled in a cyclone of spiraling water that she swung around at that same instance into Marcella.
Despite the oncoming dangers beelining towards them, neither made an effort to evade.
"Marcella, use Foam Barricade!" Lumina ordered.
Marcella huffed, closing her eyes as she concentrated her Magic Power. Her magic flourished into a large blue magic seal before her that instantly began expelling thick, sudsy bubbles that clustered into a large wall before her.
"HRAH!" Azumarill's Aqua Tail swung downwards like a strong wave, meeting the barricade's surprisingly flexible stronghold. The bubbles kept coming, but despite even her Huge Power, to her shock, Azumarill found herself pushed back as the suds multiplied and spread its range.
As Vaporeon's Water Pulse continued its path towards Reela, the attack was blocked off by the extended wall of dense bubbles. The sphere met the liquid barricade, causing it to gush and expel to an even larger area with a thicker density.
"What's this?" Wartortle gasped, with Azumarill and Vaporeon sharing the same shock.
"It's that shield again." Juvia scowled.
"Were you so quick as to forget?" Lumina chimed mockingly. "Your water-based attacks will only add more to our defenses. You might as well be stoking flames with gasoline."
Juvia furrowed her brow. "In that case…" Juvia brought her right arm across and readied to swing. "Let's try a more condensed attack!" She whipped her arm around, ready to project her attack.
"Water Slicer!"
Pressurized blades of water fired in quick succession over a wide area that followed her arm's arch. The wave of aquatic blades had enough cutting pressure to them that the bubbles popped upon being made contact with. They carved through the foam to create gashing openings that exposed Reela and Marcella to the oncoming attack.
"She used water to cut through my barrier?" Marcella sounded shocked.
Lumina looked taken back by the display herself. 'She uses water attacks, too…!'
The twins were in complete shock that they were almost open to the blades that threatened to care through their bodies. They both narrowly evaded them, albeit however their heels enabled them. Though despite the slicing attack's threat, much of them diffused just after they got through the barricade. The dulled edging was the insurance the women needed to use their fans and chop at the blades simultaneously, making them diffuse.
"Vaporeon, now! Use Swift!"
With an opening to attack, Vaporeon pivoted and swung her tail around in a long arch like Juvia. She generated golden, spinning stars that twinkled as they launched through the carved openings of the barricade towards the two.
"Reela, use Ink Snipe! Marcella, use Bubble Bomb!" Lumina shouted.
"Understood." They shouted in unison.
Reela kept her display fan folded as she held it out at the projecting stars. Marcella braced herself as she performed a similar feat with her palm, manifesting a magic seal that quickly gathered water vapor and made a condensed hemisphere in the shape of a large bubble.
When the stars were about to hit them, they simultaneously launched their attack. A thick bullet of ink fired in a barrage into the stars, neutralizing and making small explosions shower down with ink staining the sparkles. Similarly, Marcella fired the larger bubble that met the stars, causing an eruption of blue and gold that illuminated the atmosphere above her.
With the attacks neutralized and serving as cover, Wartortle and Azumarill closed the gaps on the two girls while they were occupied.
"Wartortle, Bite! Azumarill, Play Rough!"
The girls blinked before they caught on too late. Wartortle opened his mouth as his pointed teeth shined bright white. He lunged forward and bit down on Reela's arm, causing a harsh recoil to the girl in a smoky burst.
"It's playtime!" Azumarill sprung for Marcella and dogpiled onto her. She raptured her in a comedic and cartoonish smoke with hearts and stars twinkling as the former began his assault of slaps, kicks, and smacking her with her tail. With a powerful strike finished with her tail straight to her stomach, Marcella slid out of the smoke and slammed into an abandoned, decrepit stand, breaking its countertop with a loud 'snap'.
"Right! Direct hits, finally!" Juvia chimed in joy.
Marcella grunted as she slowly made an attempt to stand. Reela, however, was on a knee and cringing from the secondary effects of Bite while clutching her now bare forearm. Juvia had to act fast!
'This is it! We can defeat them here and now!' Juvia spread her arms and closed her eyes. A blue aura enveloped her body as she focused her Magic Power.
As Lumina was being observant and seeing her humans in partial distress, the Lanturn noticed a shift in the water around her. She glanced around, noticing that they were starting to make waves and increase in volume.
'What's going on? Don't tell that she has hydrokinetic properties in her magic, too!' Lumina looked at Juvia more thoroughly, even as the water palpitated more heavily. 'This human…!'
"HRAH!" Raising her arms overhead, Juvia cried out as she manipulated the water to spout out of the pond in a large geyser. Lumina was inside it, being washed skywards with the current's force. The entire area shook from how vicious and swift she was pulling the water up from the pond and overhead.
Reela and Marcella barely recovered in time as they noticed the tide that hung over their heads, heading right towards them.
"Miss Lumina!" Reela quipped.
Instead the flowing tide barreling straight towards them, Lumina's eyes remained wide as her light on her head shined brightly to illuminate her position at the head of this downward bludgeon of water.
"WATER NEBULA!"
Juvia conducted the attack downwards in a pillar-like tide that smashed into the street. The impact that so much force that the pond's water spouted in large waves in all directions past Juvia and the others. Torrents of the attack flooded the streets and washed away any debris ranging from the decrepit stands to commercial signs that had lost support and fell over.
The gushing wake began to gradually diminish, revealing Juvia standing alongside her Pokémon surrounded by large puddles and dampened concrete across the entire block. At the same time, they all watched as the torrent diluted to a light drizzle, then to nothing.
But meters away, they could see Lumina on the wet street, lying down and presumably incapacitated.
"Alright! We got her!" Azumarill hopped up and down jovially. "That was a wild game for a good second there."
Wartortle nodded in agreement, grinning. "Not sure about the whole 'wild' part, Azumarill, but there were some close calls for sure." He looked at Lumina to see that she wasn't moving. "But I believe that move worked out. What's that expression you humans use? Killed two birds with one stone, was it?"
"Heehee, I think you mean killed three suckers with one huge waterfall!" Azumarill merrily noted.
Wartortle raised a brow. "Er…yeah."
Juvia had the need to relax, feeling the anxiety depreciate. 'I'm glad that wasn't as much trouble as I thought it was going to be. Still…' She couldn't help but feel a subtle uneasiness in her spine. 'Why does it feel like something's not right about this?'
Vaporeon turned towards Juvia, her fins flicking. "Juvia, what do we do now?"
Juvia furrowed her brow. As much as this feeling wormed around and discomforted her, she knew that she couldn't dawdle forever. Somehow, she had this uneasy feeling that Gray could very well be in danger. Her chest got tighter by the second just thinking – no, just knowing – that Gray was in potential trouble and she wasn't there.
Juvia shook her head, trying to dismiss such brandish thoughts. 'No, my darling wouldn't give up so easily. I'll rush to his aid and we'll help the others together like we always do!' She turned towards her Pokemon. "Alright, let's hurry and get going!"
"Right!" Vaporeon, Wartortle, and Azumarill took to their heels and pivoted as walked hastily away.
"Where do you all think you're going?"
Juvia's eyes widened when the voice from behind made her lurch. She was suddenly blocked off by bubbles that billowed up from the wet surfaces below. The suds multiplied quickly, quickly shrouding and blocking them from view.
"Foam bubbles?!" Wartortle gasped. "Then that means…!"
Juvia's eyes remained wide as she turned back around. To her horror, she saw Lumina slouched upright, her angler light shimmering brightly. She didn't look in the least bit affected by Juvia's attack.
"Impossible…"
Vaporeon turned towards the side, noticing something else equally unsettling. "Uh, Juvia…?"
Juvia quickly glanced down, noticing the blue color in the puddles gradually diminishing to black when thick, soluble ink began filtering through the street. The puddles blended beneath the dense foam bubbles that shrouded the murky substance all around her. Slowly, even the side buildings were being blocked out by the foam that billowed up from the ink-stained water.
"They've completely boxed us in?" Vaporeon quipped, turning towards Lumina even she was starting to fade into the foamy surroundings.
Juvia clenched her fists, realizing the folly that she had brought upon herself. She should have known that this would have been too easy. She found herself stepping in the ink water and began piecing t all together. 'This is bad. Not only are all my water spells and attacks fueling the bubbles, but they're applying a larger solution volume for the ink. There's got to be a way to get through all this…'
Wartortle stepped closer towards Juvia's front. "What now, Boss-Ma'am?"
Juvia furrowed her brow. The real battle was only just beginning.
A chill ran up Lucy and Cana's spines as they were face-to-face with a strange Pokémon resembling much of a woman. Albeit maybe broad, that wasn't what concerned them. Seeing those massive glossy lips, however, was what made them feel discomforted.
"Oh, my little darlings, there you two ran off. I was so worried." Suria facetiously chimed, her hips swaying with her melody. "You've had me so worried that I thought you'd run away from me. Not even officially mine and you're already making a fuss. Such a rowdy bunch you are."
"Uh…who are you?" Lucy asked, uneasy as much as she was unfamiliar.
"I remember you." Cana sniped. "You played a dirty trick taking us like that. What's the matter, can't be fair for once?" She remembered how she and Lucy were blindsided by the Lovely Kiss Suria gave them before they went to sleep. Since Cana was more aware at the time, she remembered it all clear as day.
Suria chuckled. "Oh? Don't some humans greet each other by kissing? It was just my way of saying hello to you." She chimed. "Oh! Where are my manners? I am what you humans call a Jynx, but you can just call me Suria. I am an Apostle who serves under our Majesty of Pokétopia."
"A Jynx?" Curious, Lucy pulled up her PokeDex to analyze the contents of such a Pokémon.
"Jynx, the Human Shape Pokémon. It wiggles its hips as it walks. It can cause people to dance in unison with it."
"Wiggle its hips?" Lucy blinked.
Suria smirked, chuckling lightly. "A little quirk that I don't mind to be honest." She took a slow step forward with her right foot. Just like the PokeDex said, her right hip had an extra sway in it that briefly captivated Lucy and Cana. When she took another step with her left foot, she jutted out her left hip. The wiggling motion subconsciously got to the two girls, startling them. "Hehehe, you like? I often help out Aphrodite to lure in quite the crowd with our joint business. The residents almost practically pour money at us. And when there's not that, they give their humans away. Such generous offers, how can I possibly refuse?"
The two were a little confused by what she meant by that. Joint business? Aphrodite? Humans as collateral? If anything, they were only more disturbed by this thing.
Suria turned away, a big smile on her face as she wiggled her hips in gleeful thoughts. "Oh! Just thinking about adding two beauties like you to my collection just gives me the shivers! You're both so young and fresh, I can hardly just stand it! Ooooooh!"
'This Pokémon's completely off her rocker!' The small group deadpanned in thought.
"Hey, Suria! The hell you doing?!" Blade called out from Cana's pocket.
Suria paused and blinked twice. "Huh? Oh dear, I know that grumpy tone anywhere…" She turned back towards the girls. "Dear Blade, is that really you I hear?"
"Don't call me dear, that's creepy coming from you!" The Grovyle scowled inside his card prison. "Secondly, get us out if here already! This girl's had us trapped for so long that I'm starting to grow stiff."
"Uh, h-hey. Hi? Don't forget about me, too…" Sune meekly added.
"Huh? Oh yeah, and her too. Just stop your human delusions so we can get free already, would you!?"
Suria sighed. "Oh dear, this just won't do now, will it. His Majesty will be most upset about tis if it isn't fixed." She smiled despondently at Lucy and Cana. "Sorry to ask you two ladies this, but I'll be needing you to release my cohort."
"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen." Lucy denied, taking a battle stance.
Klefki and Staryu took her cue and braced for battle around her. Liepard and Prinplup took similar stances as they glared down Suria. Cana pulled out some tarot cards as they glowed bright primary colors.
"I've got a better idea. How's about you join them instead!" Cana shouted before she flicked her wrist out at Suria, sending the multiple cards like projectiles through the air directly at their target.
The domesticated Jynx made no attempt to move. In fact, she looked oddly content seeing the initial attack beaming her way. She closed her eyes briefly before they shot open, glowing hot pink. A similar telekinetic force enveloped all the cards, freezing them in place just as they were about to hit her. It was like they froze completely in time.
"They stopped in midair?!" Lucy gasped.
"You're kidding!" Cana exasperated.
"You two really are morons." Grovyle retorted from Cana's pocket. "Weren't you paying attention the last time? She's part Psychic-type. Of course she would have something like Psychic!"
Suria tentatively reached out at a random card and held it between her fingers. "So this is what you like to play with?" She turned the tarot card around, marveling at its design. "Guess playing with cards is a neat way to pass the time. Still…" She turned ahead, swiping her other arm out. "You should still not be so reckless…someone might get a papercut."
Cana's eyes widened. The telekinetic force pausing the cards suddenly shot them all back at them. The two girls instantly called for a counter.
"Prinplup, Bubble Beam!"
"Staryu, Swift!"
The two Water-type Pokémon took to their partners' commands and went on the defensive. Blue bubbles in a condensed beam fired alongside shimmering golden stars into the dozens of cards heading their way. The collision met halfway in dazzling gold and misty bubble bursts of energy that quickly dissipated, leaving the team unscathed.
Though they were sound for the time being, the action didn't go unwarranted by Lucy. "She can use her moves and send them back at us?"
"Well that isn't annoying." Cana sarcastically spat.
"You're right. You all are!" Blade shouted from her pocket.
"Just shut up back there, would ya?!" Cana scowled.
Suria wiggled the card in between her fingers playfully. "No need to be so harsh. That's just Blade, always in a mood, as they say. I on the other hand actually like your gestures." She cooed. "It shows me…just how much energy you have." She pressed the card closer to her face and gave it a kiss, her big lips staining the tarot card with glossy pink lipstick. The action caused yet another chill to run down their spines.
"Just…what is she…?" Lucy asked nervously. "I can't wrap my finger around her at all."
"Pervert!" Cana retorted.
Suria chuckled. "Oh, dear. You're gonna hurt my little feelings~. Don't worry, I forgive you. After all…" Suria reached back, pulling out five Human Cubes. "After all…you'll learn to play nice with my little darlings."
Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the five cube-shaped structures cluttered in her palms. They thought back to the guild hall when they saw such mechanisms used.
"Are those what I think they are?" Klefki chirped.
BEEP-BEEPBEEP Staryu blinked in its morse code language.
"She's got those too?!" Lucy quipped.
Cana furrowed her brow. "Great. Everyone get set, now!"
Prinplup and Liepard tensed up as they prepared for what's to come.
Suria levered her arms low, before sending the cubes flying into the air. "Come on out and say hello, my darlings!"
The five cubes catapulted above and clicked loudly. In unison, they all expelled magic particles that clustered into five figures that stood in front of Suria.
One of the figures was a young woman of average height with pale skin. She had messy, vine-green hair and narrow jungle green eyes. She adorned a tight green shirt with a low-cut to reveal some of her ample cleavage. Over that was a dark green jacket that had long sleeves almost covering her hands. She wore bright blue jeans and simple white and red shoes.
The second figure amongst them was a young male with equally pale skin. However, his hair was black and spiky. It reminded Lucy and Cana of Alzack's hairstyle from all those years ago. He had dark eyes and wore a purple mantle over his black long-sleeved shirt. He had a silver buckle on his brown belt that supported his gray trousers. He wore black boots with steel toes on the ends.
The third human was a woman of shorter stature with a fairly light skin tone. She had on a purple dress with a pink ribbon tied around her waist. Her skirt length was down to her knees, which left some skin shown between them and her brown boots. Around her was a pink fur coat that wrapped around her much like a blanket, save for her messy short, purple hair. Her eyes were surprisingly bright pink.
The fourth figure was a male of the tallest height amongst them. He had a slightly tanner skin tone, with platinum blonde hair tied in a bun. He had thick eyebrows with narrow dark eyes piercing at them. He adorned a yellow robe that had black flame designs on the sleeves, with a red sash endorsing the waist. He had on wooden sandals that had high heels, which explained his height.
The fifth figure was a woman who was in her late twenties. She had a fairly built physique, yet had a slender waist. She had black hair that was tied in segmented braids ending with a sharp end, almost like a scorpion tail; a red band crossed over it all to keep it from falling apart. She had narrow dark eyebrows and piercing purple eyes. Her most trademark feature was the black veil over her mouth, which matched her baggy trousers. She had a red tank top and kept her arms and waist exposed.
The five stood before the Fairy Tail mages and Pokémon with expectant looks. They looked ready for battle, if not a little eager hidden in their gazes.
"Who are these guys?" Prinplup scoffed. "I've heard of diversity, but this is a whole new level of weird."
Suria impishly chuckled. "Why, these are my beloved human of course. Oh Clara, Phoenix, Dreamery, Vex, Kunai…make sure that you play nice with them now." She chimed. "You do that, and I'll treat you all afterwards."
"Yes, of course, Ma'am." They all spoke in unison. If they didn't look eager before, they were after that 'incentive' Suria promised them. The notion didn't go unnoticed by the others.
'Geez, I've heard of loyal dogs being thrown a bone, but this is ridiculous.' Cana thought.
Prinplup, having his chest puffed out of pride, didn't allow such a show of compliance to deter him. "Hmph, so what if you got more numbers than before? Doesn't change the fact that we've struck down others like them before."
"Oh, you sure about that?" Suria chimed in challenge. "Remember dear, I'm an Apostle. I think you'll find my darlings to be a different cut, if you know what I mean."
Liepard pawed her way around, her tail flicking at the air. "We'll see about that, won't we?"
Inside Cana's pocket, Blade and Sune were still confined in their card prisons, with the only means of knowing what was going on being the voices they heard. While the Apostle was busy being indifferent to their show of strength, Sune was another story. The officer's ears stiffened as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
'These…these humans are nuts! Are they really going to challenge an Apostle head-on!? Just what are they thinking!?'
Suria's huge lips curved at the corners to make a smirk. "Alright then, darlings…playtime." She reached out towards the opponents. "Clara, use Vine Discord!"
Clara nodded. "Right away!" She dutifully raised her arms at the opponents facing them and summoned a yellow magic seal. The seal suddenly sprouted a copious of thick, green vines with briars sticking out the sides. The vines all lengthened and rushed after the Fairy Tail mages and Pokémon.
Cana swiped her arm, taking the initiative. "Liepard, Fury Swipes! Prinplup, Metal Claw!"
Liepard and Prinplup braced themselves as they took the initiative. Liepard's claws stretched out and started slashing away at vines. Prinplup followed her example, his wings' tips glowing a metallic gray as he sheared through growth. The two slashed and clawed in a relentless tandem to bisect and carve away the onslaught of vines. The ground around them quickly littered in shaved vine tips and briars.
However, despite how quickly the two were cutting and deterring the offensive greenery, the range of the vines continued past them. A few dozen briars shot past the centralize cutting onslaught to get to the others behind them.
"What?! Crap!" Prinplup grunted.
"Better look alive back there!" Liepard shouted.
"On it!" Lucy shouted, reaching her arm out. "Klefki, gonna need Cancer for this one!"
"On it!" Klefki shifted her ring around and unhooked it to reach for the correct key. She flicked it towards Lucy, who snatched it with a grin and swiped it across.
"Open: Gate of the Giant Crab – Cancer!"
Cancer manifested in front of Lucy, his arms crossed while he held his scissors in each hand. "What you need, baby?" he coolly asked.
Lucy pointed ahead at the briars heading their way. "Carve us a path!"
Cancer's glasses shimmered in the daylight. "You betcha!" He stood before the few briars and clipped his scissor blades swiftly. With motions fluent yet sharp, the Celestial Spirit stood his ground as slices segments of the briars fell around him. Not a single one got past him.
"Oh my!" Suria chimed in honest shock.
Cancer's glasses glinted. "How's that for a trim?"
"Perfect!" Lucy then pointed Cancer's key to her chest. A glow enveloped her body that slowly overtook her appearance. "Now! Star Dress: Cancer Form!"
When the light fully faded, Lucy adorned an outfit that resembled a qipao, with long, wide sleeves and a big red ribbon wrapped around her waist. Four blue cloths with white edging were on the lower half that leveled with her knee-high socks. She adorned flip-flops for shoes for footwear. Her hair was tied in two pigtails secured by round, pincer-shaped clips. In her hands were a pair of orange-red twin blades that looked sharp and long like actual pincers.
"Looking good, baby." Cancer smirked.
"Thanks. Now then…!" Lucy broke into a mad dash, holding her twin blades as she closed in on the briars. She barreled past Prinplup and Liepard as she cleaved clean through the thick vines, rushing straight after Clara. The rate that she cut and closed the gap stunned everyone.
'She's so fast!' Prinplup gasped.
Cana smirked. 'My girl's been paying attention to Erza alright.'
Lucy cried out as she closed the distance between herself and her targets. As soon as the last briar was cleaved through, she jumped overhead and crossed her blades.
"Phoenix, use Dull Compress." Suria called out.
Phoenix, the black-haired male, gave a swift nod before reaching out at Lucy, a dull yellow magic seal appearing in his hand.
"HRAH!" Lucy shot down onto Clara first, determining her to be an ideal target to level first. She readied her blades and made an attempt to swing. However, as she did, the blades outlined in a dull yellow – something that made her hesitate. 'What?!'
To her shock, she watched as the blades suddenly began scrunching up, gradually dulling and compressing into scrap iron in her hands. The once sharp and heavy blades that they were a few seconds ago were nothing more than twisted stubs in Lucy's grip.
Unable to stop her momentum, Lucy crossed them, but when they met Clara's forearms, the thinned metal merely snapped in halves. They flew off the sheathes and fell right at Lucy's feet. The Celestial Mage looked down in shock.
"Her blades became scrunched bits?!" Klefki quipped.
BEEPBEEP-BEEPBEEP!
"You shouldn't play with scissors, dear…someone could get hurt." Suria chimed. "Kunai, use Life Dagger!"
Kunai, the woman wearing the black veil, swiped her arm in Lucy's direction and created a purple magic seal. The seal launched bright purple ethereal kunai that shot at Lucy like projectiles.
"Oh no you don't!" Cana threw another set of glowing tarot cards in the way of the oncoming energy weapons. The cards and knives met at an interjecting point before Lucy, creating flashing bursts of energy and sparks that flourished. It provided a cover for Lucy to pull back to a safer distance besides everyone.
"Thanks, Cana!"
Cana kept her eyes ahead, frowning. "Yeah, don't mention it." She glared at them all heavily. "First vines, then he reduced your weapons to scrap…now makeshift energy weapons?" She listed off everything she's seen so far. "Just what kinds of magic these guys got on them?"
"I'm not sure, but we've gotta keep up the pressure!" Lucy insisted. She reached out ahead of her. "Staryu, Bubble Beam!"
Staryu blinked before it shot into the air. Its whole body began spinning as the bright red core expelled a condensed beam of blue bubbles that fired ahead.
Cana followed suit. "Prinplup!"
Prinplup nodded in understanding and repeated the motion. His beak glowed bright blue inside before he unleashed a beam of projecting bubbles alongside Staryu. A dense array of bubbles shot across the atmosphere heading towards all five humans.
"Kunai, use Life Dagger!"
The human huffed with confidence as she faced the oncoming array of bubbles. She raised both her hands to make the former magic seal twice as large as before. A larger assault of bright purple ethereal kunai launched and met the bubbles, creating a flashy, dazzling array of blue and purple mist.
With the cover fire, Cancer dove underneath and sprinted after the humans, his scissors crossed. "Gonna make you all spotless!"
Suria hummed mischievously. "Oh Pheonix~? Be a dear."
"Yes, Milady." Phoenix raised his arms up at Cancer, creating another dull yellow magic seal.
As Cancer was about to opened his scissors for a snip, the metal on the blades glowed dull yellow, before they started scrunching up and turned to stubs. Seeing his prized weapons being reduced to compressed shrapnel, Cancer stopped dead in his tracks, looking flabbergasted and horrified at the same time.
"GAH! This…this can't be…! My scissors!"
Suria chuckled at his misfortune. "Now, Vex. Use Phantom Scales!"
Vex, the other male wearing a kimono, hummed with a smirk. "Alright…have this!" He swiped his arm, creating a scarlet-colored magic seal. The seal expelled condensed projectiles made of ghostly fire, almost similar to a Will-O-Wisp's coloration. The fire spiraled in and met Cancer head-on, causing him to cry out on pain.
"Cancer!" Lucy called out.
"Sorry…baby…" He mulled lowly as he lost his ability to stand. As he fell forward, he glowed and vanished back to the Celestial World.
Cana quickly followed up the asset loss with a swift command. "Liepard, Assurance!" Her Liepard sprung off her heels and paced hastily through the street. Her front paws flared with bright purple energy as she closed the gap on Vex.
"Oh dear Kunai." Suria sang merrily. "Use Chained Wreck, would you?"
It wasn't visible to many, but others with a good key like Liepard could make out the small smirk beneath the black veil. Another purple magic seal appeared, this time expelling out a long, bright purple energy chain with a ball weight on the end slinging its way directly at Liepard. Had it not been for her quick thinking and pouncing, she would have been hit head-on by the chain.
Liepard flipped overhead and came down onto Vex, her paws striking the man in his attempt to block. The impact caused him to shuffle back several feet with a pained grunt.
"Oh my! My poor darling~!" Suria sang in horror.
Liepard landed daintily on the ground before pouncing through the air a safe distance back. It, too, was vague, but she had a small, sly smirk on her face.
Suria stepped forward towards Vex. "Vex, sweetie, are you alright?! Did that mean cat hurt you?!"
Vex winced, covering his pectoral area where Liepard struck him. "Gngh…d-don't worry. I think I'll be okay…"
"Oh, you poor baby! I'll make sure that you get treated with extra bandages after this is over." Suria turned towards her enemies. "Let me handle this, I'll show them what happens when they hurt my precious humans."
"What now?" Prinplup groaned, though he was as defensive as anyone else present.
Suria took in a large breath, the air chilling around her as her mouth glowed bright blue.
"Icy Wind!"
She expelled a mildly dense blast of cold air across the area that rushed towards Lucy and Cana's team. They all covered up as the brisk air struck them, immediately sending chills down their spines. Though Liepard buffered only slightly because of it, Klefki, Staryu, and Prinplup didn't budge as their types helped them withstand the Ice-type move better.
Lucy and Cana used their forearms to block out the cold wind from reaching their faces, but that didn't mean anything when they along with everyone else had a unison blue aura appear and deplete their speed.
"Time to put you misbehaving delinquents in time-out!" Suria snapped. "Clara, Briar Trap!"
"Yes, Miss Suria." Clara closed her eyes briefly before she reached out at everyone. Beneath everyone's feet, she summoned a massive yellow seal that instantly started sprouting thick, thorned vines that fired around the perimeter.
Lucy gasped. Before she had time to react, the briars began to converge and overlap one another gradually. A dome of vines with thorns gradually engulfed the group and blocked them inside. The dome was considerably thick, much to Suria's delight.
"There! Problem solved. Now those meanies won't be able to hurt my beloved humans again." Suria chimed. She turned towards the dome of thick vines, looking at it with mild discomfort.
'Hm…it'd be much too cruel to have my dears compress it or have Vex shoot fire. It's true that his Spectral Fire Magic doesn't burn non-living things, but those dears could get burns…oh well, looks like I'll have to treat them once I-!'
Before she could finish her thought, the ground in front of her broke open, with two fists shooting upwards in an uppercut. The Jynx backed away in time and looked on in shock as Lucy shot out of the hole in a maid's uniform, alongside another maid with shorter pink hair.
"W-what?!"
"Miss Suria!?" Phoenix quipped.
"What happened?! How did they get past my briars?!" Clara exasperated.
Dreamery didn't speak, but her eyes were wide with surprise.
Adorning her Star Dress: Virgo Form, Lucy had a vindictive smirk on her face. "You can have Virgo's tunneling to thank for that!"
Next to shoot out of the hole was Cana, holding three tarot cards in hand. "Nice work, Lucy! Summoned Lightning!"
She fired the cards at a stunned Suria, all of them igniting bright green and traversing with electrical surges behind them. They all closed in on the Ice/Psychic-type, but the Jynx's previous attack enabled her to react fast enough to avoid the wake by sidestepping. The three cards pierced the ground with condensed lightning to stir up dirt, which got on the rim of her dress.
Lucy landed on a knee besides Virgo. Lucy turned around and swiped her arm. "Klefki, Metal Sound! Staryu, Swift!"
Shooting up from the hole next was Klefki. Her horn shined metallic gray with a bright outline endorsing her body. She turned towards Kunai, expelling a loud, sheering shriek that was like scraping metal with rings projecting to her. The mage covered her aching ears as the earsplitting cries made it too hard for her to fully concentrate. A dense blue aura enveloped her body, depleting her Special Defense considerably.
"You're up, Staryu!" Klefki shifted to the side, revealing Staryu directly behind ready to strike.
BEEP! Staryu blinked as it started spinning, sending another set of shimmering stars at the humans. They were all notably a little slower compared to what they were before, but despite Kunai and Vex's attempts at dodging, they were still unable to avoid the stars. Golden stars rained down on them, flooring all of them harshly.
Kunai especially grunted as she struck the ground harshly with a thud. The Special Defense loss did a number on her that she had trouble standing.
"And that's what's called a clean sweep!" Lucy chimed.
"Princess, might I suggest a proper broom if you are to do any further sweeping?" Virgo advised.
Lucy turned with a nervous look. "It's just a figurative speech, no need to get an actual broom, Virgo." She advised. "…but knowing you, it won't matter, will it?"
Suria found herself cornered as Prinplup and Liepard stood in front of Cana, glaring down the Jynx. The brunette stood behind them with a serious glare on her face. "So…you wanna make this easy for us?"
Suria hummed, as if scoffing. "Oh, dear. Must you resort to violence like this? It's very unbecoming, don't you think?"
Cana narrowed her eyes, not bothering with the teasing remark. "You asked for it! Prinplup, Metal Claw!"
"Music to my ears!" Prinplup eagerly glared at the Jynx as he crossed his wings, the tips shimmering metallic gray. He pulled them apart and shot at her head-on, pulling one back for a steady jab. "You won't get away with any of this!"
As he closed the gap on her, Suria stood still as her eyes suddenly widened. They shimmered a pinkish-purple, which surrounded Prinplup when he was only a foot away from jabbing her with the super-effective attack. He found himself unable to move as the unseen force stunned him.
Cana gasped. 'Crap! That's Psychic!'
"Oh dear…" Suria paused, smirking. "Truly…such a waste."
She lifted her hand, and with a meager shove, the psychokinetic force exploded in front of Prinplup. The wake sent him flying backwards at speeds he couldn't control. He cried out as he zoomed past Cana, directly into a slowed Liepard. The two went flying to their sides with fumbles into the dirt-stained pavement.
"Prinplup! Liepard!" Cana called out.
With the brunette taken back by the sudden reversal, this left her exposed to Suria. The Jynx gave a mischievous smirk as she licked the corners of her lips in anticipation. She put her fingers to her large lips and puckered wide.
"Lovely Kiss!"
Her lips glowed hot pink as she blew an affectionate kiss towards Cana. A deep red heart fluttered through the air towards the brunette as she turned around to face the Apostle. However, due to having been slowed down by the earlier Icy Wind, her reaction time to pull out a card was a second too slow. The heart floated over and planted itself in front of Cana's face in a soft, warm touch…almost like a goodnight kiss.
"Cana, no!" Lucy turned around, startled.
Cana quickly found her strength fading as her entire body started feeling warm and light. The brunette slowly lost her will to stand alone and succumbed to the status move's effects enticing her to slumber. She sank to her knees before falling to her side, much to everyone's surprise.
Suria chuckled merrily. "Sleep tight~!"
"What did you do to her?!" Lucy demanded.
"Oh, relax darling. I just merely put your friend here to sleep. I assure you, she's doing very well…for now, that is." The Jynx frowned as she sauntered herself up towards Cana's sleeping frame. Her wiggling frame enticed everyone, causing them to move their hips in rhythm.
'This is so weird!' Lucy felt a shiver run down her spine as she felt her hips move on their own.
The rhythm stopped only when Suria stopped in front of Cana. "But…I don't take kindly to how she ordered for an attack on my beloved humans, much less confining my colleagues. Someone as naughty as you will have to be taught a lesson." The Jynx turned towards one of her humans. "Oh, Dreamery~?"
The woman wearing the hot pink coat turned around. "Yes, Miss Suria?"
"Use Dream World. And please…make sure she behaves."
Dreamery nodded. "Of course." She closed her eyes as she seemed to have stopped moving. With her head down, she looked drowsier by the second. A hot pink magic seal appeared beneath her that gave her body a brilliant, misty pink aura with little white sparkles.
With Cana still asleep, the energy swallowed the mage as she seemed asleep herself. The mist gradually moved closer towards Cana, until it enveloped her. The sparkles stuck to her body as a light pink aura encased her body, which voluntarily cringed at the magic's effects.
"What's she doing?" Klefki wondered aloud.
BEEP-BEEPBEEPBEEP-BEEP! Staryu blinked.
"Cana! Can you hear me?! Cana?!" Lucy called out loudly, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the misty substance continued to engulf Dreamery and Cana in pink, dreamy energy together in their slumber.
"The hell am I?"
Cana blinked, finding herself in a dreamy, misty space. Hot pink, pale pink, and white mixtures of mist made up the space that she found herself floating in. For some reason she was floating upright, but she was unable to tell what kind of gravity was doing so. Heck, she couldn't tell which way was up or down.
"This is the world of which your dreams are mine to play with." A voice sang from behind.
The Card Mage narrowed her eyes and turned her body around. There, floating a few meters from her was Dreamery. She had such a jovial smile plastered on her face that it almost made Cana think that it was more of a nightmare than an actual dream.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cana started, staying on track.
Dreamery chuckled. "Oh, well to put it simply…" She slowly floated on her axis, floating on her back and slowly turning to show the zero-gravity effects. "You've become my new playmate in the world that my Dream Magic created!"
"Dream Magic…?"
"Yup, yup!" Dreamery twisted herself upright, vanishing in pink stardust. The action startled Cana. The next thing she heard was a giggle from behind, revealing Dreamery behind her. "With my Dream Magic…" She vanished again, this time appearing above Cana's head, "I can do anything I want. So long as we're both sound in our sleep…" She vanished again, appearing back in her original spot with a wily grin. "This space is mine to play with."
Cana growled low. "Yeah, don't think so!" She reached and pulled out a card and swiped. "Icicle!"
Three massive icicle spikes appeared over Dreamery's body that threatened to come down onto her. The Dream Mage looked up and saw the projectiles quickly falling onto her, yet she continued smiling.
"Hmmm…nope!"
The icicles suddenly shined a bright white, quickly turning from solid ice to clusters of butterflies that fluttered apart. The sudden change left Cana's pupils shrunken as butterflies scattered past her face.
"How did you…?"
Dreamery chuckled. "Didn't I just tell you? I can do anything I want in this world. So…" Her eyes narrowed with partial threat. "You still wanna be naughty?"
Cana gritted her teeth. If things weren't hard enough for her already, they definitely were now.
In the real world, their bodies were sound asleep, undisturbed by anything around them. "That should keep your friend busy for a while. Now then…" Suria sang. She reached down into Cana's pocket, reaching for the two cards that she was looking for. On the faces of the cards were Blade and Suria. "Ah! There we go!"
"Oh no you don't!" Lucy reached for her whip, but a ghastly fireball shot from her right side that she narrowly dodged. She turned around, finding Vex with a palm outstretched towards her.
"Princess, be careful! Our enemy is very crafty!" Virgo warned.
"Thank you, sweethearts. Now…" Suria focused on the cards in hand. With Cana unconscious and the cards now out of her possession, the focus needed to keep them inside started faded. In bright flashes of light, Blade and Sune manifested in full form in midair, landing on their heels.
"They got loose?!" Prinplup grunted angrily as he gradually stood back on his feet, trying to recover from the shock that he endured. However, unlike Liepard, he looked to be struggling to stay balanced.
"Her spell must have worn off after she fell asleep." Liepard noted.
Blade tilted his head left and right, loud cracks being heard. "Sure took your damn time!"
"Sorry for the holdup, dear Blade. But you're welcome regardless." Suria swooned.
Sune shook her body to limber up her stiff joints. She moved her neck side to side before ruffling her six tails at the enemy. "Thank you for that. Now…" She narrowed her eyes harshly. "You're all under arrest! For assaulting an officer of the law, kidnapping, and assault on an official!"
Prinplup and Liepard shot her a glare back.
Suria chuckled lowly. "Aw, that's really cute."
"What?" Sune cringed as she turned towards her.
"Look sweetheart, how about you just leave this to us, okay? Wouldn't want a little rookie like yourself getting in the way." Suria insisted.
"B-but it's my job! Miss Suria, please, at least let me escort you someplace else, or-!" Before Sune could insist any further, she was met with glares from both Apostles. "Ma'am, please…I-I'm just doing my job to protect the city…"
"Girl, what job?" Blade deadpanned. "You were simply given an order to keep an eye on them, and you couldn't even do that." He nonchalantly turned back towards the others. "Not to make it personal, but I think you're in over your head if you're still relying on your protocols and laws. It's martial law at this point!"
Sune cringed again. "I-I know, but they got you too!"
Suria raised a brow. "Hm? Oh really? Well, wouldn't that be a shame then, if the police chief learned that even a simple subordinate couldn't do her duty and protect an Apostle. My, this wouldn't look good on a résumé, would it?"
It wasn't the first time Sune was threatened with such an excuse by an Apostle in one day, but it was enough to make her tails curl up and backpedal. She wordlessly gulped and looked crestfallen at the situation that she wasn't adequate for.
"Good girl. You can arrest the Pokémon once we take care of them. But the humans…are all mine." She eyed Lucy and a sleeping Cana, her tongue wetting her large lips seductively.
"Why you…!" Lucy stepped closer, but she found herself blocked off by the four other humans.
"Darlings…play nicely with her for a while. Ole' Suria needs to do some work herself." Suria told her humans. She turned towards Liepard and Prinplup as they quickly grouped in front of their sleeping Trainer. "As for you two, don't expect a softer treatment that I give your Trainers."
"Please, after that last blow you did, I should be telling you that!" Prinplup snapped, shooting deathly glares for his wounded pride.
"Here we go again." Blade groaned.
Sune remained silent as she watched the exchanges, her frown heavy. She never felt so useless in her life, and she hated that.
"Boss-Ma'am, on your left!" Wartortle warned.
Juvia turned on her heels at the warning and caught onto a rush of jetting bubbles heading her way. At the last second, Vaporeon jumped in front, taking the attack in midair as green energy waves briefly flourished on her skin. Once she had dropped to the ground, Juvia swiped her arm, expelling another Water Slicer in the direction of the bubbles. However, they carved clean through the foam, but struck no visible target.
"Nothing?" Juvia gasped. She watched as the volume of foam and bubbles gradually fill the hole that her attack had left.
"They're using the surroundings to confuse us." Vaporeon looked around, stepping about in the ink-filled water. "It's gonna stain my fur if this keeps up!"
Juvia bit her bottom lip. 'If they're trying to hide, then…' She turned towards Azumarill. "Azumarill, hurry! Find that Lanturn!"
"Right!" Azumarill went silent as she focused on her surroundings. Her large rabbit ears thumped with every little sound that she heard in the vicinity. The paddling, the sloshing of the water, and the shifts in the bubbly foam that had popping noises. She kept silent as she was trying to make out anything distinct that she could use to help locate her target.
Suddenly, she heard the sounds of swift steps from the side. "Someone's coming! On the right!"
Juvia turned in the direction she was informed and saw Reela spring out, her arm pulled around with her fan in hand. Juvia immediately went for a defense as water enveloped her right hand.
"Water Claw!"
She slashed at the woman faster than she could react. Just as she thought she struck a blow, to hers and everyone else's shock, she splattered apart ink black ink. Time slowed down for a moment as the blue-haired woman's eyes widened upon the realization.
"A fake…?" She watched the ink dissolve to the wet ground, staining her boots' heels indefinitely.
Azumarill's ears twitched again, turning in another direction. "There!"
Juvia's attention turned towards her left as Reela closed in on her. She swiped again in a backhand motion into her, only for it to be another ink clone that splattered and dissolved. She found herself shifting about and watching multiple Reela come at her in tandem. She dodged their swings and pivoted as she slashed at them with water, every single one turning to ink mush that fell back to the wet earth. It was nonstop as she was constantly on her guard while clawing clean through clones.
'Where are all these clones coming from? This must be one of that Reela girl's spells.' Juvia thought. 'They're not coming from a single direction. Are they forming from the surrounding ink water?'
Three Reela at once burst out of the bubbly cover as Juvia's back was turned. A magic seal appeared on her hand as water compressed into an appendage and swung around.
"Water Cane!"
She swung the whip of water straight through the midsections of all the Reelas. In one fell go, they all splattered to black ink that rained everywhere. Juvia used her other arm to shield her eyes as ink stained her clothing.
"This is getting us nowhere, fast." Wartortle fretted. He turned towards his side as he noticed a vague, eerie light peering through the dense bubbles. He noticed the eerie light getting brighter with a whitish hue, a sign that he was too slow to react on.
The light suddenly beamed a condensed laser of bright white with pinkish pixilated energy around it. The impact went straight into the center of his shell, sending him flying past his comrades.
"Wartortle, no!" Vaporeon shouted, before she realized her guard was down. Just as she turned towards the source of the attack, she was struck straight in the face, making a powerful burst of flashy energy that sent her skiing on her side through the ink; the attack was a critical hit from the looks of it.
Being more adept at location, Azumarill's ears twitched as she located a vibrant humming from the soapy bog that had a crackling sound in it. She recognized it as static electricity. Immediately responsive, she saw a hemisphere of electricity go through the foam right for her. She evaded it with a jump and it passed beneath her. But immediately, she regretted it when she noticed where it was heading.
"Juvia!"
Hearing the warning shout, Juvia turned around and saw the electrical sphere dart straight for her. She brought her hand together and concentrated her magic to a condensed point, bringing it to a boiling point.
"Water Beam!"
She expelled a dense beam of boiling hot water that shot into the electric orb's path. The two attacks met centerfield, creating a dense discharge of steam and thick vapor that flourished everywhere. The heated mist caused Vaporeon, Wartortle, and Azumarill to cover themselves.
Juvia cringed as she had one eye open. Her entire outfit at this point was blotched in ink stains mixed with dirt. Add to the recent battles after only using her Magic Power the vast majority through the storm, she was starting to run near empty again.
Using her light to see through the suds, it illuminated the serious look Lumina gave as she homed in on Juvia's silhouette in the steam. 'This opening couldn't be any better…she's about to get an eyeful of what's coming for her.'
Lumina glanced over, seeing the real Reela beside her. Taking the hint, the woman silently reached her closed fan out towards Juvia's direction, a small gray magic seal appearing at the tip.
"Now Reela, use Ink Snipe!"
Squinting only slightly, Reela homed on Juvia's location. With a straight shot, the magic seal unleashed a small yet very concise spray of ink similar to a dart. It bolted through the mist as if it didn't even faze it and met Juvia's face when she couldn't see anything.
SPLAT!
"Aaaah!" Juvia yelped in shock and pain as the ink splattered over her face.
"Juvia!" Vaporeon exclaimed.
"Boss-Ma'am, are you hurt!?" Wartortle fretted.
"Eep! That was so fast I couldn't hear it!" Azumarill worried. "Oh man, this game isn't fun anymore!"
"You really think this is a game?" Lumina's voice echoed around them. They all perked up in random directions to find her still not visible. "Heh…well, guess your assessment isn't too far off. Reela, Stain Wave!"
Reela opened her fan and swiped it across horizontally. All the ink that was in the water suddenly rushed in a dense wave across the street towards Vaporeon, Azumarill, and Wartortle. Its range was too massive for them to block and ended up swallowed them in the attack. Ink stained their bodies, especially their faces as they tried not to inhale or have their eyes take in any of the offensive liquid.
Hearing a wave followed by thuds close by, Juvia could only call out blindly – literally. "Are you guys alright?! What's going on?!"
The three grunted as they were trying to get back up, but their bodies were sluggish and tired, most notably from the battles that they've been going through since upon arrival. Their bodies were stained by ink that felt sticky and messy overall. Their faces especially were sensitive as they tried to keep enough of it off their eyes.
"Your magic is all about water, right?" Lumina announced through the area. "That must mean your body has similar properties to water."
Just as Juvia had wiped enough ink off her face to where she could vaguely see, she was blasted instantly by another gush of ink. She backpedaled as more of her clothing and skin stained heavily in the black substance.
"It's not a high chance to humans, but I believe that ink poisoning is still a thing, isn't it? Reela's ink is extremely soluble in water, and your magic essentially makes your entire being water. You take too much and it might actually get through your system. That would be bad, wouldn't it?"
Juvia grunted, unable to bring herself to verbally counter against such a theoretically case. For her sake, she didn't want to find out.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size! Like us!" Vaporeon shouted. She raised her tail and swung it around, shooting another array of Swift into the foam. The attack, however, ended up being caught inside the bubbles. All the stars were gradually drawn into the bubbles that slowly inhaled them.
"You're kidding, when did the bubbles change their surface properties?" Wartortle awed with anxiety.
"You have Marcella to thank for that." Lumina responded curtly. "Sorry, but I say we end this now. Marcella, use Bubble Trap!"
"As you wish, Miss Lumina." Marcella calmly nodded. Inside the foamy veil, she swiped her fan, causing several bubbles in the barricade to dislodge and move closer towards the Pokémon.
Wartortle and Azumarill didn't have the room to move away from the bubbles. They are enlarged and had shinier, glossy textures to show the same flexibility that absorbed the stars. They stuck to their limbs, and slowly they began drawing them in.
'No…I can't break free!' Wartortle grimaced.
"I'm being pulled in! I'm it!" Azumarill shouted, before her body was fully swallowed into the thick bubble's mass.
"Azumarill!" Wartortle reached out to her, but he was pulled away into his own bubble.
Vaporeon gasped, finding that while her Water Absorb Ability made her neutral like last time, it left her with a case of déjà vu. She kept her eyes on the light Lumina gave off as she was reeling on her hind legs in defense.
"Juvia, what do we do now?" she sang, hoping her Trainer would come up with something.
"Azumarill! Wartortle!" Juvia grunted as she realized the predicament that was unfolding. 'This is bad. We need to get out of here…' She thought about what she said previously, realizing the contradictory. 'No, wait…I can't do that! If we give them room to regroup, Gray and the others might be next! I can't let them near him, no matter what!'
The bubbles drew closer to her body, but this time she was prepared. Her body became a spiraling tornado with cutting water blades that spun in random places. As soon as enough momentum was built up, she shot at the barrage.
"Water Jigsaw!"
Lumina kept her eye out, seeing Juvia's cutting attack. "How interesting…"
With water blades spiraling in a frenzy around her whirlpool body, Juvia popped multiple flexible bubbles, barreling in a straight path between Wartortle and Azumarill. She wasted no time shredding the flexible prisons as she made an attempt to free her Pokémon.
'If I can free them first, I can drill our way out and get to a more open area with dryer surfaces!'
With a plan fixated, Juvia was ready to implement it…or she would, but much to her shock, her path was blocked by Lumina herself as she sprung out of the foamy veil, cutting off Juvia's attack.
"It's the Lanturn!" Vaporeon gasped.
Juvia was shocked too, even more so when she saw Lumina spread her fins out and take Juvia's whirlpool body head-on. The shredding water blades engulfed and slashed at her with intentions to gash her to ribbons. However, much to Juvia's surprise, her momentum was letting up as she saw that instead of shredding the angler to pieces, green energy waves enveloped her as she wasn't budged in the slightest. Not even an inch.
'She's taking my attack head-on…and she's not even affected!' Juvia began to think. 'Do my spells not work on her for some reason? No, even if not very effective, Water-type attacks can hurt other Water-types…unless…'
Vaporeon's fins twitched, recognizing the green glow on Lumina. "That's Water Absorb…"
Juvia's attacks swirled in place against Lumina's body. The Lanturn remained unfazed by the aquatic shrapnel striking her. It was like soothing gel against her skin that revitalized her. Of course, work before pleasure. Her angler light shined brightly as it was pointed right in Juvia's face.
"Look out! That's-!"
Vaporeon was a split-second too late as Lumina beat her to it. "Thunder Wave!"
Electrical pulse rings emanated in a tunnel from the light, making a near point-blank surge of electrical impulses envelop Juvia that caused her to cringe and slow down to a halt. She cried out as she solidified to her human form and backpedaled, eventually dropping to a knee in the ink-soaked pavement. Static channeled around her body that crippled her nerves from moving better than before.
"Juvia!" Vaporeon panicked.
Juvia bit her bottom lip. She mentally cursed herself for falling for such a trick so easily. Though she even wanted to get up, the paralysis prevented her from doing so.
Lumina stared at the incapacitated Fairy Tail mage, taking a moment to sympathize with her plight with a hum. "Feels horrible, does it?"
Juvia lifted her head slightly at Lumina's question.
"It's painful, knowing that whatever you were good at, whatever you were meant for, it won't guarantee you any win in life. A little fact about us Lanturn; we have two distinct Abilities, we can have Illuminate, or Volt Absorb. But you know, there are some with Hidden Abilities as well."
"Hidden…Abilities…?"
"Yes. I just said a Lanturn can have those two Abilities, but our Hidden Ability is Water Absorb…my Ability. You're probably thinking that I'm special, that just because I have a Hidden Ability that makes me invincible to all other Water-types, right?" Her tone deflated to despondence. "Well, you couldn't be anymore wrong. Go up against a Lapras with Freeze-Dry and you'll know what I mean, or maybe face an Alolan Graveler or Golem, only to realize that you can't neutralize their attacks in anticipation. Some call it gifts, but others call it an inconvenience…" She turned towards Vaporeon. "You would know, wouldn't you?"
Vaporeon spread her legs, looking more defensive than ever.
"You know, you remind me of the exact same predicament that I was in at one point. We both have Water Absorb, so our attacks cancel out, but I have Electro Ball, and Signal Beam. And what do you have to counter? Assuming that Aurora Beam, Swift, and Water Pulse were all your best moves, then I say you've already lost. Your Trainer can use nothing but water-based attacks. Very poor diversity.
"I hate to be the ice breaker, but if you're not equipped to beat someone who can best your attacks, there's always someone else who is. That's what happened to me. Now, that's not to say that my Trainer wasn't bad by any means, but I always took pride in myself with my Hidden Ability…so imagine the disappointment I felt, when he caught and raised another Lanturn with Volt Absorb, and had me kicked out of his party."
Juvia and the three Pokémon said nothing in defense. Hearing of such a tale of having a replacement was something they all never had to put up with. However, that didn't mean that it wasn't possible. Though Juvia never considered it, she did know that there were other Pokémon out there like more Azumarill and Wartortle, too. It was all down to efficiency regarding what Lumina was saying. In a sense, she just wasn't useful anymore to her Trainer.
"It feels good to be wanted and needed by someone, but as soon as that person stops relying on you, what kind of purpose do you have? You're nothing but a waste of space that can't even make your own decisions."
Juvia lost her breath as her eyes shrank to the size of salt grains. For some reason, that comment struck harder than any punch she had ever taken in her life. She didn't know why, but she thought about Gray and how he was dependable and sufficient. He was able to handle himself in numerous situations without her aid. And yet, when it came to her, what could she do when not relying on him?
Lumina closed her eyes and hummed. "Your powers aren't helpful in this situation. Sorry, but you're just hopeless…I'll at least take pity on you and make you my human. But first…" Marcella stepped beside her. "Marcella."
"Of course, Miss Lumina." Marcella used her closed fan and pointed it at Juvia.
Juvia didn't have time to react when suddenly, a large bubble floated up behind and began swallowing her. In her fragile state, all she did was yelp in shock as her paralyzed body was gradually engulfed by suds and floated towards Wartortle and Azumarill's bubbles. Slowly, the three bubbles began to immerse themselves with each other, squishing until they created one massive, flexible prison that floated above everyone's heads.
"Reela, Ink Shot." Lumina added.
"Yes, Miss Lumina." Reela made a gray magic seal from her outstretched hand. She unleashed a gush of dense black ink that shot into the bubble, immersing the black substance inside of it and gradually filling the bottom of it through osmosis.
"Stop!" Vaporeon pleaded.
Reela didn't stop immediately, but once a sizeable amount of black ink was inside, it covered their view of Juvia, Azumarill, and Wartortle.
"I'll set them sit and soak in that for a while until they come around. As for you…" Lumina turned towards Vaporeon. "I believe that we have something to discuss."
Vaporeon growled, sharping her small teeth.
Inside the bubble's smooth confines, the trio had found their prison very discomforting. Not just because of how they couldn't position themselves upright, but also from the small pool of ink that was bleeding through the bubble's surface. The substance pooled just below all their abdominal regions. It wasn't enough to completely submerge them, but it was still enough to ensure that their bodies wouldn't go anywhere. Not that the bubble would allow them anyways.
Azumarill sloshed in the ink, flailing miserably. "Eek! Ew! This is so gross!" She whined. "This is gonna get in my ears!"
"If you don't stop panicking, it sure will." Wartortle bluntly scolded. That made Azumarill tense up and calm down some. "This battle isn't lost yet. We should still have some time, but we have to act fast. I doubt swimming in this stuff for a long period of time won't open the risks of ink poisoning."
Azumarill dropped her ears, still looking worried. "You're right. Besides, Vaporeon is in trouble. She can't play alone against a big boss like that!"
Wartortle grimaced. "Yeah. I hate to say that I don't have any faith on our friend, but she's in a big of a bind as we are at the moment."
"That's right! It's no fun playing alone! Let's get back out there fast!"
"Right." Wartortle glanced over towards Juvia. "Boss Ma'am, what are your orders?"
They both waited for Juvia to say something, however, she was deeply frowning and keeping her head down. A rather downtrodden look plastered on her face.
"Uh, i-is she okay?" Azumarill asked.
"I'm not sure." Wartortle furrowed his brow. 'Is her body going into shock from too much ink absorption?'
It wasn't that Wartortle was entirely wrong in his assessment; rather, to say that Juvia was troubled would be putting it extremely lightly. It was true that her body was starting to feel sluggish, and that she was feeling a little sick from the soluble liquid seeping through her body, but it had more to do with her mind than her physical self. Much like outside, her psyche was starting to melt to a puddle of mixed thoughts on everything around her.
She had been through enough in the past 72 hours to feel like a hundred years have passed. Though really, these last three days were some of the most challenging to her. And for once, it had nothing to do with Gray…or so she had thought. But what Lumina said stuck to her like a parasite, feeding on her hurtful words.
"I'm sorry about this...I guess your abilities and magic that you're proud of just aren't suited for you this time."
The Lanturn's words on the beach echoed inside her head. Even though Juvia didn't consider herself a prideful mage, knowing that she was considered useless was something that still stung her heart. It could have been possible that she was lying about her past just to get inside her head though, but those thoughts were immediately drowned under the sea of thoughts that came after.
"It feels good to be wanted and needed by someone, but as soon as that person stops relying on you, what kind of purpose do you have? You're nothing but a waste of space that can't even make your own decisions."
Her thoughts immediately turned onto Gray. 'Gray doesn't think I'm useless. I-I've known him long enough to know that I am his strength. I'm not a handicap…' That had to be the case, she was certain about that. So why did it still feel like she was a failure right now? She believed that Gray could handle himself just fine. He prevailed on his own before, surely he could hold his own.
And yet, what about her own strength? Her own responsibilities?
At that moment, something heavy fell off Juvia's heart. Her pupils shrank as she realized what was happening. She wasn't in this predicament because Gray didn't have faith in her. No, it was the opposite. She didn't have faith in herself.
"Juvia?"
Juvia gasped. She looked up at her Azumarill and Wartortle with a sharp fixation, as though she had just seen a ghost. Looking at them brought back the hurtful words that came from their perspectives.
"But of course~, she would rather talk all day about how to please her human mate. Really, when do we really have any fun anymore?"
Talk about Gray? Now that she thought about it, did she ever truly try to talk about anything else with her Pokémon? They were sentient and living creatures with hearts and souls, but not once did she consider their feelings.
"We were depending on you, and all you cared about was another man. You chose him over your own responsibility as a trainer. What would happen if he wasn't around?"
Loyalty was something Juvia had towards her beloved…but just him. She relied on Gray to a point that she couldn't live without him anymore. Was this how a Pokémon felt when relying on a Trainer? If that were the case, that was another red flag that she only now saw.
"You feed and train us, but you really never got to know us to make us feel homely...where's the love?"
Love for her guild? Love for her friends? Love for her Pokémon? She's known people like Lucy for a long time, yet she still has fantasies of her and other women canoodling with her beloved behind her back. He wouldn't do that to her, right? At the moment she caught herself slipping to Gray again. What Lumina said about her was true. There was no denying it.
If she had a better understanding of her Pokémon, then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation. That was the bitter reality.
"Boss-Ma'am, what do we do?!" Wartortle waited for a response, but got nothing. "Boss-Ma'am? Hey, you okay?"
Juvia was silent, looking unresponsive as her bangs covered her eyes.
"Oh no, did she take in too much ink?!" Azumarill worried.
"I'm not sure. We need to work fast!"
Something clear dripped from the side of Juvia's cheek. Azumarill and Wartortle froze at the sight. They both blinked in confusion. They then saw another droplet fall from Juvia's cheek into the black ink marinating them. Then another, then another, until they realized that Juvia's cheeks were streaming tears.
"J-Juvia…? What's wrong?" Azumarill worriedly asked.
"Boss-Ma'am…" Wartortle sloshed forward in worry.
"I…really am selfish." Juvia muttered.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry…if I was a better Trainer, if I wasn't so focused on Gray…then maybe you all wouldn't feel such resentment towards me."
"Boss-Ma'am…"
"What Lumina just said…she was right about everything. I wanted to stay by Gray's side the whole time, but when it came to you guys being in trouble that time on the beach." Tears began to swell around her eyes. "I wasn't there for you…how can I possibly call myself a Trainer? No, even worse, this makes me a worse person. You're all my Pokémon, but I…I couldn't even support myself for you."
'Is she talking about what we said under the brainwash?' Azumarill's ears twitched. She turned towards Wartortle, who looked just as shocked about the epiphany as her. Looking back on it now, it made sense with what she just confessed to.
The two sympathized with her plight. What they said before wasn't intentional by any means, it was mainly the warped aspects that were brought on by what they've felt under the influence. But perhaps, deep down somewhere, perhaps what they said was something they truly felt. Juvia took it more personally than any of them, and she was accountable because of her actions. As her Pokémon, they knew how she felt…even though she wasn't fully aware of their likes and dislikes up until now. But better late than never.
"Juvia…it's okay, really." Azumarill said. "L-look, it's not that bad, okay? We don't hate you."
"But, I…"
"She's right. What's most important to you is how you choose to take charge of your life." Wartortle sagely noted. "You choose to live for another person, that makes you a strong person. I didn't have much of a purpose before I joined up with you, I can safely assure that fact right now."
"Yeah. Please don't cry. It's gonna make me sad, too." Azumarill cooed sincerely.
"You guys…" Juvia felt the tears swell up more.
"It's not too late. You can always start now. As the saying goes, 'better late than never'." Wartortle noted.
"Yeah! You can count on us! Cuz we wanna be there for you! I'm sure Vaporeon feels the same way!"
"Vaporeon…!" Juvia gasped. 'That's right, Vaporeon is all alone! I…I can't sit here in this pool just wallowing. I have to be there for her for once!'
It was then Juvia felt an inspiration dawn upon her. Though she was raptured in her guilt, it wasn't in her guild's behavior to sit down and take this kind of feeling in stride. She may have lived for Gray, but now she has others to live for.
'They're right. I can decide how and who to live for.' She thought about Gray. 'Gray, my love…I want to spend the rest of my life with you, for as long as possible…but in order to do that, I have to show that I can be dependable.' In her mind, in place of Gray was her Pokémon. 'Vaporeon, Azumarill, Wartortle…they're relying on me as their Trainer to be responsible. I promise…I won't overlook them again. They've been there for me because I wanted to be there for you. But now…' She opened her eyes, looking dead serious at them. 'I have to be there for them, too!'
"Vaporeon is playing alone against those big bosses." Azumarill reminded with invigorated skip in her tune. "We've gotta help her!"
"She's right. So then…" Wartortle smiled at Juvia expectantly. "What now, Boss-Ma'am?"
Juvia looked at the two of them, formulating a plan. "Very well then…"
Vaporeon flipped to avoid another Electro Ball launched at her and landed on her paws, making a splash. She was quick to jump towards the side to avoid another jet of black ink and started sliding across the damp surface towards the side. Once she had a good view of Lumina, she opened her mouth as she charged up bright energy that looked similar to a rainbow hemisphere.
"Marcella, Bubble Bomb!" Lumina shouted.
"Yes, Miss Lumina." Marcella calmly followed her instructions, raising her arm to create a small magic seal.
Vaporeon outstretched her fins as she lurched forward. Her Aurora Beam shot in a clear path towards Lumina, though Marcella fired a condensed, heavy bubble that was like a bullet. The two attacks met centerfield in a right stalemate for a few seconds, after which they imploded, making a misty flare that erupted in all directions. Vaporeon found herself caught in the wake of the shockwaves and struggled to stay on her feet.
It was then a bright light pierced through the mist, getting closer towards her. "Huh-?!"
"Thunder Wave!"
The rings of electrical impulses sharply sped through the vapor and into Vaporeon. A field of rippling yellow electricity enveloped her as static coursed around her body, causing her to cry out in pain and distressed. Almost instantly, she felt her nerves tighten on her.
'No, she got me…!' She winced in her folly as the rest of the mist cleared away, allowing full view of either side.
"This is your last chance. I hate to do this to a fellow 'mon like you, but let's face it, not even your Ability can help you against me. I am part Electric-type after all."
"Never!"
Lumina sighed dejectedly. "Have it your way." She charged up an Electro Ball. "I respect your valor in the face of defeat at least…so I'll make this quick."
Vaporeon braced herself for the attack. Suddenly, the large bubble began squirming, making bubbling bulges that thumped against its insides violently. Everyone paused as they looked up at the unsettling sight.
"Hm? What's going on now?" Lumina glared.
They all watched as the rumbling sphere shook violently, until a fast projectile shot clean out of it in the form of a spinning shell. The shell spun so fast that it looked like a flying saucer that glided through the air at stellar speeds. The bubble, however, didn't pop, but the space was quickly filled with liquids and patched up in an instant behind the shell.
"What's that?!" Lumina scowled.
Vaporeon gasped. She watched as the spiraling shell blazed across the foamy background that Marcella created. The thick foam gradually got cut down and severed to thin air, leaving popping noises in the wake of the shell. In clusters, suds were siphoned as the shell blaze in a counterclockwise rotation.
Lumina's eyes widened in shock. 'They're removing their means of escape!' She noticed where the shell was circling around towards. "Marcella, behind you!"
Marcella gasped at the warning and turned around in time as a hole tore open through the suds, revealing Wartortle's shell spinning directly towards her. She closed her fan and made an attempt to block using it, but the shell grinded against it so much that it had her in a stalemate for a moment.
With her distracted, Vaporeon saw that her back was turned towards her. Despite being paralyzed, she was able enough to open her mouth and generate a Water Pulse. Once fully charged, she expelled the hemisphere sailed across the air towards Marcella.
The sphere glided on in and erupted against her back, swallowing her in a misty, bright blue burst of water that made her cry out in pain. She fell forward as the shell shot away from her.
"Marcella!" Lumina angrily turned towards Vaporeon. 'I thought she was paralyzed…no, she was. But she can still attack, just slower than normal.'
With Marcella reeling from pain, she lost concentration in her spell. The huge bubble shuddered for a moment before it burst open. Ink gushed out and instantly stained anything underneath it in black. A stained Juvia and Azumarill fell towards the ground, but not before Juvia landed a kick on Reela, sending her sliding backwards in the inky water.
"Juvia!" Vaporeon gasped.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Juvia was on her feet in front of Vaporeon. "Yes, I am. Finally. But it's not just me."
Vaporeon turned to her sides. On her right was Azumarill, with a recently returning Wartortle barreling to her defense on the left. Even though Juvia herself was paralyzed, she didn't let that deter her as she glared at Lumina.
Lumina's light shined brighter, emphasizing her ire. "Why don't you just stay down?! You're useless! Face it!"
"My Pokémon, they mean more to me than you'll ever know." Juvia gradually stood up, fighting the paralysis that continued weighing on her. "They're not something that I can just easily replace. They are…my pride and joy that I refuse to be taken from me!"
Vaporeon, Azumarill, and Wartortle all glanced at Juvia with a sense of awe and ease. To hear her say such things made their earlier anxieties dissipate.
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Lumina challenged. "A Trainer alone judges the usefulness of their party members. That's a characteristic you humans take abuse of!"
Juvia said nothing. She had nothing to say, instead she looked down and nodded at her teammates. They all nodded back in understanding as they faced Lumina together. "I might not be effective, but that doesn't guarantee I'm useless. I'll show you just what that being a Fairy Tail mage is all about!"
"Yeah!" Her Pokémon shouted.
Lumina turned towards her humans to see their conditions. Despite taking that kick, Reela was still able. However, upon noticing Marcella looking dazed and disoriented – her eyes beaming reddish pink – it was an indication of confusion. Lumina looked annoyed, but she thought little of it.
'That Water Pulse left her confused. Curses! She won't be of much help now…' She thought about her situation carefully, thinking of her opponents' attacks and spells. 'No matter. We still have the advantage. The human's spells are worthless against me. I'll take out her Pokémon first!'
Juvia saw the look in Lumina's eyes. She had a guess of what was coming. "Wartortle!"
"On it!" Wartortle stepped in front, readying to assist.
Lumina pointed a fin at them all. "Stain Wave!" Reela complied instantly with the command as she swiped her arm across. The splattered ink all around surged and rushed ahead towards Juvia and the others in a flood of soluble black liquid.
"Protect!" Juvia ordered.
Wartortle Spread his arms out in front and manifested a large dome of translucent turquoise energy. The gushing wave swamped the area and struck the forcefield. However, it splattered all around it, barricading Juvia, Vaporeon, and Azumarill behind its defenses.
"Alright Juvia, what's next?" Azumarill asked, almost energetically.
Juvia thought about it for a moment before she recalled the entire battle. The ink was soluble, but most if it was still in the area because of water. An element that she could manipulate. "Now…we do this!" She raised her arms up, preparing her next move.
"Hm? What is she up to?" Lumina wondered.
With a loud grunt, Juvia raised her arms above her head and thrust outwards. All the black water in the area suddenly gushed up from the ground and followed her manipulation. She forced the attack forward, sending a tidal wave of black water passed her that took in the ink. It only made the waves darker, but was unable to slow it all down.
Lumina's eyes widened. "What are you-?!"
"Ink is soluble through water, not the other way around. Which means, I can manipulate it if it's mixed with enough water concentration!" Juvia announced.
Lumina looked anxious. "Marcella! Foam Barricade!"
The Bubble Mage was still confused, but amazingly enough, she could still make out her Trainer's commands. Her head was aching, but she bit her bottom lip and hastily swiped her arm to create a magic seal in front of herself. A dense, foamy barricade began forming around herself that engulfed Reela and Lumina, shielding them all from the massive flood.
The flood began swarming around them. Though not effective on Lumina due to Water Absorb, her health was restored inside the bubbles that she was taking in, as well as the murky water. However, that left herself and her humans contained in one spot of the growing suds.
"Our water-based attacks might not be effective, so…" She held up her Z-Ring, containing a black crystal with a Dark-type symbol embedded into it. "We'll try this! Ready, Wartortle!?"
Wartortle looked back, nodding. "Whatever you say, Boss-Ma'am!"
"What are they…?" Lumina muttered lowly, but the black water beldning with the bubbles make it too murky to see. Even with her light, it was hard to see.
Juvia clipped the Darkium-Z into place as a dark purple glow emanated from it. All the light within the vicinity depreciated to a darker hue as the Z-Ring engulfed light. Juvia crossed her arms as a Dark-type insignia appeared in front of her. She had a serious look that Wartortle mimicked. They both hunched over as their arms hung over their heads with loose wrists, like they were being daunting. The Z-Power traveled from Juvia overhead onto Wartortle that he took in. With his body shining a dark purple light, Wartortle jumped into the air above.
"Now…swallow everything till there's nothing left!"
"HRAH!" Wartortle roared as he raised his arm overhead. The light in his body gathered into his palm and changed to a dark red orb the size of a bowling ball. The sphere expanded further into a swirling black and purple mass that shook the air and grew in loose materials from all around.
"BLACK HOLE ECLIPSE!"
Wartortle roared as he threw the sphere directly above the mountain of foam. The gravitational mass whistled as it drew closer, and suddenly erupted into a black hole that howled loudly. The gravity that the hole had immediately began to take in all the dark, murky water and foam that Marcella was using to shield them. The mixture was spiraling inwards like a whirlpool that took in any debris and anything in its wake. That went without say for Lumina and her humans.
Lumina cried out as she was carried with the tides that were drawn into the eclipse. Marcella and Reela were surrounded by bubbles as they were subsequently sucked into the sky. They all cried out as they were unable to escape the pull of the attack. The black hole drew them in closer, and closer, until they were no longer visible. Once all the water and foam was drawn in, the black hole suddenly closed up, ceasing its gravitational pull. The energy became a small dark mass for a few seconds before it exploded into dark matter, sending dark smoke over Juvia's head.
Gray was going down a narrow street, which had debris and damaged material all over it. As he was looking around for his friends, he heard a faint explosion from several block over. His eyes immediately darted towards the eruption of dark matter in the sky.
"Who's that…?" He asked aloud. Somehow, in the pit of his gut, he had a good hunch of who it was. 'Juvia?'
The four watched with anxious looks on their faces as the explosion dissipated above. They saw three figures drop straight down from the sky with loud thuds. Two of them were human, and one was Lumina.
Covered in nothing but black ink staining their clothing, Reela and Marcella were laying on their sides, their eyes devoid of pupils and their mouths hung open. It was clear they weren't getting up anytime soon.
"Haha! Yay! We did it! We finally beat them!" Azumarill cheered.
Vaporeon sighed in relief. "That was a close call…I was worried there for a second."
"I was too." Juvia admitted. "But luckily, I remembered that Z-Move in particular is able to draw in objects like an actual black hole. I figured they would rely on the water to help fuel Marcella's bubbles."
"So you used that against them so they wouldn't escape." Vaporeon finished.
Juvia nodded. "Right…I know I have a lot to still learn about you guys, but I hope this was a start. Now…" She turned towards the last one standing amongst them, namely Lumina.
Unlike Reela and Marcella, Lumina was still fine. Although, she looked worse for wear compared to before. Her body had taken a sizeable toll from that Z-Move. She gradually lifted herself up, seeing her humans lying unconscious before her.
"You…" Lumina grunted. "Now I see…you used that move to suck up all the water and foam that we used. Well played…" Her light shined bright. "But still…this is far from over! When it comes to water, you're still nothing towards me!"
"And that's why…" Lumina barely caught on before a blue foot came down from above. Azumarill narrowly missed the initial strike, but continued following through with her Play Rough.
With a grunt, she pivoted and swung her tail around, smacking the reeling Lanturn's side and sending her flying away. "…we're here! Because that's what partners do!"
Lumina rolled across the pavement to a stop several meters away. She caught herself and gradually picked herself up, turning angrily towards Azumarill. "You infuriating little…!"
A confident smile ran across Juvia's face. "Thanks, you guys. Now, let's get to work!"
"Right!" Vaporeon and Wartortle followed in tow, the former slower paced due to paralysis.
'Azumarill's Huge Power is the key. She can do the most damage right now with Play Rough. We just need to keep her off of her to get clear shots in and close that distance!' Juvia thought about Lanturn's attacks. 'A Pokémon can know four moves. If I remember right, all her attacks are long-ranged. Which means…she'll be vulnerable up close!'
Lumina saw the two heading right for her. She narrowed her eyes and turned her head at them, her mouth opening with an Electro Ball charging.
"Wartortle, Protect!" Juvia ordered.
"Right, understood!"
Lumina lurched forward and fired the Electric-type attack directly at Wartortle and Vaporeon. Wartortle took the cue and reached his arms out. Another turquoise barrier appeared in front of him to take the attack and erupted at point-blank. A static discharge flourished brightly in front of the barrier, blinding everyone who was looking directly at it.
Vaporeon and Wartortle took glances at each other before the former planted a paw on the latter's shell. Using her partner as a springboard she shot up above to get a better angle towards the disillusioned Lanturn.
"Swift!"
Vaporeon's tail glowed briefly as she swung it around. Several golden stars launched from an upward angle falling on Lumina. Lumina looked up and saw the falling stars heading right towards her. She countered by opening her mouth, expelling a dense Bubble Beam directly at it. The stars and bubbles collided, creating another bright and dazzling blue and gold fireworks display above.
With the distraction adverting Lumina, Azumarill was able to bridge the gap. The Lanturn's red eyes glanced over realizing she was too close again.
"Now, Play Rough!" Juvia followed.
With an energetic smile, Azumarill pulled back her arm and shot it forward. The moment it connected into Lumina's skin, she felt an intense pain sear through her side. Azumarill kept the pressure on by making a cloud of smoke that had comedic, cartoonish hearts and stars that surrounded them.
Once again, the Fairy-type move landed powerful consecutive strikes against Lumina. The Lanturn lurched and gagged profusely as she took pummels from her tail, feet, and hands in no particular order. With a final kick to her underside, the attack put Lumina in midair.
"You still of calling us useless?" Azumarill chimed. "We're not as close-minded as you think! The games we play requires flexible thinking, and relying on others to support you! You may know our weaknesses…but do you know our strengths?!"
Lanturn grunted heavily. Still positioned in midair, her orb shined brightly as she channeled electricity. She projected another round of Thunder Wave directly at Azumarill.
Seeing this, Juvia went for a counter. 'Intercept!' She attempted to swipe to create another Water Slicer, but her body cringed as static flourished around her body. She winced as she was incapable of moving.
"I got this!" Wartortle opened his mouth quickly and manifested a sphere of water. He careened his head back and condensed the pressure until it was well enough to be fired. The Water Pulse raced through the air into the direction of the Thunder Wave's trajectory just before Azumarill's line of sight. The hemisphere of water barely made it and conducted the electrical rings, causing hydroelectric gushes to burst between Lumina and Azumarill.
Lumina landed on the ground, grunting as her attack was cancelled out.
Azumarill turned back towards Wartortle, waving an arm. "Nice interception, Wartortle! I owe ya one!"
Wartortle grinned. "Don't mention it."
Juvia took a moment to ease the tension in her body. Once the wave dissipated, she could faintly move again.
'I can't do much with this paralysis bothering me. The same with Vaporeon possibly.' Her thoughts continued racing. 'Our water attacks won't have any effect, but maybe…'
"I grow tired of this!" Lumina began charging another Electro Ball. "Just give up!"
"That's my line!" Juvia moved her arms out, creating two magic seals that summoned whips of her Water Cane. This garnered her Pokémon's attention.
"Huh? Juvia!" Vaporeon fretted.
"That won't work!" Wartortle warned.
"It's fine! I know what I'm doing!" Juvia assured. "Just follow my lead!"
To her insistence, they all decided to trust her. Lumina fired the Electro Ball directly at Azumarill to keep her away. Juvia lashed one of her arms and snapped at the sphere, smacking it with enough force to bring it to a standstill. The water erupted to steam and left a small gap for the other whip to reach over and grab Azumarill, pulling her away. Juvia collected more water in her former whip and grabbed Wartortle. She reeled him back and them slung him straight ahead through the mist.
"Vaporeon, now! Swift!" Juvia shouted.
"Okay!" Vaporeon swung her tail around, sending another array of stars blasting across the vicinity.
"Wartortle, Rapid Spin!"
Wartortle blinked as he was sailing, but quickly regained his composure. A smirk spread across his face as he tucked in his head and limbs into his shell and started rotating at high speeds. The shimmering stars that followed closely behind began to follow his circular motion, enveloping his perimeter in an orbital belt of stars.
Lumina perked her head up as she noticed the attack drawing near. With a scowl, she lurched back as her orb shined bright white. Energy charged until it was ready to be fired.
"Signal Beam!"
She fired the attack in a condensed white ray with pixilated pink and red particles through the air. The orbital starry veil around Wartortle kept spinning into the attack, making the beam strike multiple stars, but as much as the Bug-type attack launched, more stars took place to keep the beam from breaching the perimeter. Wartortle only shot closer, leaving Lumina startled.
'No! This can't be!'
The glittering whirlwind drew closer, getting too close for Lumina's comfort. It ended up swallowing her in pummeling stars against her side, followed by a jutting shell to her gut. The impact was enough to where it caused an airwave to go through her; a critical hit! In that small moment to register the attack, Lumina was left completely open.
"Now, Bite!" Juvia ordered.
Wartortle narrowed his eyes briefly, before opening his maw wide and snap down on Lumina's tailfin. The sharp bite caused excruciating waves of pain that flourished through her body as she cried out in pain.
From the way her body was cringing as well, she was flinching.
"This is it! Our opening!" Juvia turned towards Azumarill confidently. "Think you're up for it?"
Azumarill stared ahead, smiling with glee. "I get to finish this game?" Juvia silently nodded. "Then I'll put extra gusto into it!"
"Go, now!" Vaporeon shouted.
Azumarill let out a cry as she started across the pavement, going full speed at her target. She was moving so fast she was leaving dust behind her wake. With her Huge Power active, when she took the last step, it left a small pothole in the street as she jumped over the flinching Lanturn.
"Now…" Juvia inhaled. "PLAY ROUGH!"
"This one's for you, Juvia…" Azumarill smiled wide as she lifted her tail. She twirled around constantly to gather momentum. Lumina's eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. The poor Lanturn was met with a blue ball at the end of a tail straight between the eyes that had enough force to drive her entire body into the ground. The earth shuddered as debris picked up from the Huge Power-boosted assault. "…FOR ALL OF US!"
The impact caused the Lanturn to gag before an eruption of cartoonish smoke flourished around her. The earth trembled briefly around her as Juvia and Vaporeon looked on. The paralyzed duo stood silently and waited for the results.
Azumarill and Wartortle jumped away from the smoke and dust to retain their safety. They watched as the smoke dissipated…and immediately, they felt a wave of relief wash over them.
When the smoke cleared, Lumina was slouched in a crater with her imprint in it. Her light wasn't on as her eyes had swirls in them. She had fainted.
The four looked on with disbelief for a moment before their faces filled with smiles.
"Alright! We actually did it!" Juvia cheered.
"Yeah! We've finally won!" Vaporeon yelped.
Juvia chuckled lightly. "We sure did!"
"Alright! How do you like us now?! We took down an Apostle! That'll show the haters that we're not useless!" Azumarill beamed, hopping back and forth on her heels.
Wartortle looked down at the defeated Lumina, frowning. "That's true, though she wasn't an easy contender to fight against…" A vague smile then crossed his face. "But still, for what it's worth, I think we've made the most of it." He turned around, projecting towards Juvia. "And it was thanks to the Boss-Ma'am herself."
Juvia couldn't help but feel humbled. She looked down at Vaporeon, who was looking up at her with an expectant smile of her own. When she saw the Water-type smile for her approval, the woman could barely hold in her tears. "This means a lot, it really does." She muttered. "I meant what I said. You're all so important to me. I promise, I won't ever disregard you…again…" She slowly trailed off as she began falling over from fatigue.
"Juvia!" Vaporeon quipped.
Juvia fell to the side limply, but rather than hit concrete, she ended up being caught in a pair of bare hands that held her tight. They were oddly comforting to her, if not just a tad cold.
"Juvia? Hey! Juvia?!"
A voice called out to her. Juvia was tired, but she could make it out. Like the touch, she recognized the tone. "Is that…?" When she faintly opened her eyes, she recognized a familiar head of messy black hair, with a cool gaze that made her heart race. It was enough to make her heart skip a beat. "Gray!"
It wasn't just Gray though. Behind him traveled Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt. Thanks to the Super Potions that Gray gave them, they were back up to speed and much livelier than before.
"Good job. I knew you could do it." Gray smiled.
"Gray…" Juvia smiled softly. Her thoughts from before returned to her. 'He really did have faith in me after all. But also…' She slowly turned her head towards her Pokémon, all having smiles. 'I was able to have faith in them.'
Snover looked ahead, seeing the unconscious Lanturn lying in a crater. "Woah, you guys really let her have it, didn't you?"
"Yeah, guess you can say that." Wartortle commented, holding back the urge to cringe. With Gray's Ice-types around, it felt a little colder than it was a moment ago. "But she was persistent, that's for sure."
Gray frowned. "Did she give you a hard time?"
"I guess she was so used to fighting other Pokémon and mages she had advantages over that she never had to step out of her comfort zone." Wartortle sagely looked down. "Suppose history chose to repeat itself in her hour of rectification. One could say this was karma hitting her with the irony stick."
Juvia frowned, almost feeling sorry for her. She thought about what Blade told them about the Apostles. "They're all just…misfortunate Pokémon trying to not make the same mistakes again…!" Suddenly, her body cringed as the electrical sparks overtook her. "Gngh!"
"Juvia!" Gray gasped in worry. "Paralysis?"
"It's not just that. She took in a lot of ink, too." Azumarill warned.
"Ink?"
"Yeah, one of those girls over there used a lot of ink on us!" She pointed at the unconscious Reela. "We're okay, but get Juvia help!"
Gray furrowed her brow as he turned towards her. "We'll find Wendy. Maybe she can do something about the ink poisoning. Hang on…" Gray reached for his back pocket to search for something. When he pulled it out, it was revealed to be a Full Heal. "It's my last one. This should fix up your paralysis-!"
"No, wait." Juvia halted.
"Huh? What is it?" Gray asked.
Despite how weak she felt, Juvia gave Gray a serious plea from her eyes. "Please…" She glanced over at Vaporeon, who looked to be cringing from her own paralyzed state. "…Vaporeon, use it on her. She needs it more than me."
Gray and everyone gasped in shock.
"Juvia?!" Vaporeon quipped.
"Boss-Ma'am!" Wartortle shouted.
Gray looked at her completely stunned. "Are you sure?"
Juvia weakly nodded. "Yes…I'm sure. No…I'm absolute. She's my Pokémon. I need…to put her needs above my own…"
"Juvia…" Vaporeon's fins drooped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was honestly touched to hear that she would be willing to sacrifice her health for her own. It would have been merry if it wasn't given their conditions.
Gray wanted to rebuff, but one look from Juvia made it clear as day that she wasn't having it. He noticed that her attention was on Vaporeon and not him. That alone was a sign that she was serious. "…alright. Wait here." He gently sat her down on her back and walked over towards her Vaporeon. He got to a knee and held up the Full Heal to her. "Stay still, this'll only sting a little bit."
Vaporeon lowered her head. "Thank you."
Gray nodded and began applying the medicine. With every spray that he applied, her coat had less static around it. He moved the spray in circles to cover more areas as the paralysis slowly dissipated.
As he was treating the injured Pokémon, Vaporeon looked up at him. "Gray?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Juvia…she's a kind person. She's lucky to have you by her side."
Gray glanced over his shoulder to look back at Juvia. She was surrounded by Azumarill and Wartortle, both holding her hands to comfort her as she was unable to move. The way Juvia looked at them, oddly enough, it made him feel at ease seeing her like this.
"Yeah…but it looks like I should be saying that to you."
Vaporeon chuckled lowly, small tears of relief in her eyes. "Yes…I guess you're right."
Lucy narrowly dodged a rush of vines on her right, forcing her to slide towards her left to a slow stop. She went for an opening and used her whip, sending a wave of celestial water at Clara to bind her. However, Kunai created another magic seal that shot a chain with a weighted end at the extension. The two weapons twirled around and laced in the other, bringing them to a standstill.
With Lucy vulnerable, Vex made a velvet red magic seal, readying his spell.
"Spirit Embers!"
The seal shined brightly, unleashing ghastly fireballs in numerous numbers heading right for Lucy. She hastily made a counter. "Staryu, Brine!"
Staryu beeped loudly in understanding. The top appendage bent down and fired a dense stream of saltwater through the air at the oncoming fireballs. The water drew into the projectiles in an attempt to put them out, however, to everyone's shock, the fireballs went clean through the saltwater, as though they were untouched.
BEEPBEEP!? Staryu blinked in shock, but with its lowered speed, it didn't react fast enough as the fireballs bombarded its body, erupting in negative fiery bursts that sent it on its back past Lucy.
"Staryu!" Lucy turned back towards Vex with anxiety on her face. 'How did that happen? Did his fire just go trough the attack completely?'
"My Fire Magic's a special one. I can make flames of ethereal energy and shoot it at anything I desire." Vex informed her. "It only hits living things, and anything else will pass right through. So good luck trying to use water to put out my flames."
Clara used this chance to reach out towards the blonde and manifest more vines. They rushed towards Lucy. They closed in swiftly, but Virgo intervened from the side, swiping an arm to extend a chain around and wrap it around the vines, constricting them into a bundle that had them in place.
"You are a very naughty set of weeds. You deserve punishment!" Virgo taunted.
"Thank you, Virgo!" Lucy shouted. She knew she had to act fast. Things needed to change or else she'll never ger anywhere. "Let's try this! Klefki!"
"Coming!" Klefki sped over and opened her key ring for Lucy to select. "Here you go!"
"Thanks!" She reached over and took another Zodiac key from the key ring. "Perfect! Time to change pace around here!" She swiped her arm ahead of her. "Open: Gate of the Lion – Loke!"
In a golden flash of light, Loke appeared in front of Lucy, adjusting his tie with a smile on his face. "What's shaking, Lucy? Fabulous as ever, I see." He praised before turning towards the four mages. "So, I take it that these are the guys that are giving you a hard time?"
Lucy smirked. "Guessed right. Mind giving me a hand?"
Loke adjusted a cuff. "Can do!" He jumped in the air and came down with a fist coated in his Regulus Magic on the chain wrapped around Lucy's whip. The impact shattered the chain completely, causing it to disperse to thin air.
"Damnit!" Vex prepared another magic seal for more of his spectral flames, but Loke was quicker to react as he propped his glasses and held out a hand.
"Lion Brilliance!"
A bright, beaming light radiated from his body the permeated in all corners. The bright flare was so intense that it caused all four enemies to close their eyes and look away, deterring them from attack.
With the cover required, Lucy pulled her whip back and pushed the key closer to her chest. Another glow enveloped her.
"Star Dress: Leo Form!"
Enveloped in her eloquent Leo Star Dress, Lucy turned towards Virgo. "Virgo!"
"Yes, Princess! I'll seal them right away!" Virgo pressed her hands into the ground. "Let's see how you all fair against my Spica Lock!"
The earth fractured around the humans that were blinded by Loke's light attack. They were all completely overwhelmed as the earth and pavement became clumps that surrounded them in a massive hemisphere blocking them out entirely.
"Enemy incapacitated."
"Alright, that takes care of that! Now, to free Cana!" Lucy turned towards Dreamery as she was still standing in place, looking asleep as the pinkish aura continued enveloping herself and Cana. She briefly wondered how it was possible for someone to stand while asleep, but the urgency of the situation put that in the back of her mind. She hurried towards the drowsy mage with her hell pulled back, enveloped in bright light.
"Regulus Lucy Kick!"
She kicked with as much force as she could muster, however, as soon as the heel was about to hit Dreamery's face…the mage kept her eyes closed as she leaned back, dodging the light kick. Time slowed down briefly for Lucy to realize this arbitrary action.
'She dodged it?!' Lucy exasperated.
BEEPBEEP?! Staryu blinked in its own surprise.
"I know! Humans can't move in their sleep like that…can they?" Klefki wondered aloud.
Lucy followed through and pivoted on her glowing heel. "Let's try this again!" She went for another kick directly at her, and Dreamery subconsciously pivoted and sidestepped from the attack. Lucy landed and went for another kick, and then another, and another. However, her sleeping opponent was outmaneuvering her strikes every time. It was getting on her nerves.
'I've heard of sleepwalking, but this is ridiculous! Wait, is it because of whatever magic she's got? Maybe that's keeping her body active and aware!' Lucy thought in between kicks. 'If she's affecting Cana and yet still active, there's gotta be a link then that we can break! Damnit, wake up already, Cana!'
"Alright, leave it to-GAH!" Loke was about to lend his hand when ghastly fire shot straight into his back, causing him to fall forward.
"Are you alright?" Virgo asked, before fiery scales shot at her. She pulled away in time to avoid a direct assault, but her right arm took a brisk sear from a passing scale.
Lucy looked back, surprised. "Loke! Virgo!" She turned in the direction the attack came from, which was the sphere of concrete and pavement keeping the enemies at bay.
"It only hits living things, and anything else will pass right through."
The moment she remembered what Vex said before, she cursed herself. 'This isn't good. Not even Virgo's Spica Lock can fully block them out!?'
Suddenly, the pavement began to compress and distort in front of the makeshift prison. Everyone watched with a mixture of shock and disbelief as the front half compressed to a point that the hardened stone fully pried itself from the hemisphere. It dropped in form of a thick, heavy slate with a loud thud at Phoenix's feet as he had his hand out, a dull yellow magic seal present.
"Is that all?" he taunted.
Lucy gnashed her teeth angrily, balling her fists tightly ready to engage.
Cana shot more cards at Dreamery in a direct line. The Dream Mage made no attempt to escape as the cards shot her way. The moment they touched her, she became bubbles that popped out of existence as the cards continued towards oblivion.
"Where'd she go now?" Cana glanced around, looking to see where her opponent was hiding.
"You who~?" A voice chimed from above.
Cana gasped and looked up. Directly above her was Dreamery with an impish smirk on her face. With a chuckle, she swiped her right arm diagonally upwards. The pink space around her started swirling and compressing around Cana. The Card Mage's eyes widened when she saw no escape from the surrounding mist.
"Dream Spiral!"
A cyclone of pink, majestical mist flourished around Cana, swirling her around into a daze skywards. The sense of gravity was lost to her as she cried out in a dizzying daze. She somersaulted to a gradual halt and winced at how much that left her dazed.
'She can control this entire dream space, too?'
Dreamery chuckled. She raised her arm up high and brought it down. Several glints appeared above Cana's head that caught her attention. When she looked up, she was stunned when she saw big brown barrels of liquor were raining down from the sky directly onto her.
'Crap!' Using quick thinking, she swiped her arm across, engulfing herself in a bright flash that turned her into a card. The barrels shot down towards the deep pink space below, missing the small card completely that drifted in the drafts the barrels created.
"Hmmm?" Dreamery smirked as she saw the display. "Interesting…"
The card skittered in the small drift until it was right above Dreamery's head. The card flashed back into Cana's full form, her arm pulled back with two cards labeled 'Heaven' and 'Wind'.
"Wind Edge!"
She swiped her arm across with the cards, the power of the two cards creating a dense draft that blew Dreamery skywards past Cana. Dreamery managed to keep her balance however and created a thick, fluffy cloud of cotton that cushioned her ascent. She slung to it and smiled widely.
Cana gritted her teeth while glaring. 'Damnit, nothing's working.'
"Sorry, but you'll have to try harder than that." Dreamery lifted a hand and snapped her fingers. The entire space suddenly flipped on its entire axis, putting Dreamery and the spongy cloud below Cana. Meanwhile, Cana was upside-down and found herself falling.
"Gah!" Feeling a sense of gravity once more, she dropped like a fly directly below towards the cloud. She landed in the soft, cushiony fabric that felt like cotton, absorbing her completely. "Oof!"
Dreamery floated off the cloud and looked down at Cana, whose body was wedged into the cotton like it was stuck on her. "Hope you're cozy, because this dream's just getting started!"
Cana tried to move her body, but she found that card to do. Her back was wedged so deep into the white, fluffy cotton as it became stickier. Slowly, it came to melt around her, becoming a paste that made her sink deeper.
"What now!?" She only had enough time to shout those words before the paste smothered her mouth. She forcibly closed it to keep it from getting in her throat.
Dreamery saw Cana unable to freely move in the cluster of paste. She reached out, causing the pond of white paste to shape and make a huge, smooth ball of pure white.
"Exploding Thoughts!"
The ball of white paste suddenly flared up into a combustible substance that erupted into a massive burst. An explosion swallowed Cana as she cried out in pain as she felt the impact of the harsh bursts all around her. She shot away in a smoking heap, her skin partially charred in some areas with bruises and scrapes in other areas.
Cana found herself floating too far away. Dreamery snapped her fingers, creating a trampoline that caught Cana and bounced her back in her direction. The Card Mage winced as she gradually slowed down and floated a few meters away from her opponent.
"You don't have to be so dramatic. Remember, this is all a dream, so it's not like you're actually being hurt." Dreamery chimed. "But…it does affect you mentally. So if you get knocked out here, I wouldn't expect you to wake up for quite some time. Odds are you'd be in a coma unless you make this easy for me."
"In your dreams!" Cana grunted
Dreamery smirked. "Okay…that can be arranged."
Cana mentally cursed herself. She just had to open her big mouth. Dreamery swiped her arm, summoning multiple arrows tipped with fire that she directed around her towards Cana as she braced herself.
"Bubble Beam!" Prinplup spread his legs and opened his beak wide, projecting dense blue bubbles at Suria.
The Jynx remained motionless as she saw the attack draw closer towards her. Her eyes glowed light purple once more, emanating her Psychic. The psychokinetic force was pressured onto the bubbles and caused them all to freeze up in place around her. Prinplup's eyes widened as he gasped.
"Hmhm…so soon you learn." Suria reached an arm out, projecting the bubbles directly back at Prinplup at a greater speed than before.
'Crap! Can't dodge this! I'll have to block!' Prinplup crossed his wings and braced to block the Psychic-influenced array of bubbles head-on. However, at the last second, Liepard sped in front of him to intercept. "Liepard?!"
Liepard said nothing. Instead, she stood guard before Prinplup as the psychokinetic aura around the bubbles struck her. They popped in multiple light blue bursts of misty energy, but surprisingly didn't push her back. In fact, she didn't look in the least bit affected, much to Suria's shock.
"H'oh? What's going on here?" The Jynx sang, confused.
Liepard gave a smug look. She was thankful that the Psychic surrounded Prinplup's attack, otherwise she'd be screwed. She outstretched a paw and made a curved pattern that traced into a ring. The ring enveloped her arm, turning her claws into metal. The Assist lived up to its namesake as the copied Metal Claw from Prinplup allowed Liepard to scratch and claw her way through the brigade. The bubbles popped one by one until there was nothing open between herself and Suria.
"You're mine!" She pounced onto the Jynx…but her metallic claws were interrupted by a bright green slash wave that intervened.
CLANG!
Liepard froze in place, the world freezing for a split second in Blade's revealed Leaf Blade blocking off her assault completely. Her green cat eyes met his reptilian pupils. They both showed clear disdain.
They were brought back to reality when Blade followed through with his swipe, forcing Liepard to retreat and flip to avoid damage. She landed on her heels and hissed defensively at Blade.
"Hmph, guess you don't learn, do ya? You remember what happened the last time, right?" Blade scoffed, reminding Liepard and Prinplup of their last fight.
"Yeah, we remember something like that." She scoffed back. "Care to try and rub it in our face?"
Prinplup steadied himself behind her, shooting a glare at the Grovyle and Jynx.
Blade groaned, shaking his head. "Honestly, why are you all a bunch of idiots? You know you're outmatched yet you still push through thinking the results will be different this time. I have moves that are super-effective on both of you. Just make it easy on all of us already, will ya!?" The sound of his clear impatience was evident.
Liepard smirked, scoffing. "Please, you make that too obvious. Like we haven't considered that possibility."
Blade cocked a brow, grunting. Suria looked on with piqued interest of her own.
"I'm not an idealistic believer of all that 'you just got lucky' crap, or 'you caught me off guard' and all that. But I didn't come here because somebody tried to put some sense into my head." She scoffed again. "I'm here because that's what we felt was the right thing to do."
Off to the corner, Sune blinked in shock, staring at Liepard in surprise. The two briefly exchanged glances before Liepard resumed talking.
"I get it, you both have complexes with humans. But even for a Dark-type like myself, as much as it's amusing to mess and prowl around with others' thoughts, I wouldn't dream of crossing the line you sorry 'mons did. So maybe humans are flawed, big whoop. But who the hell made you the ones to decide they all should be treated like animals?"
"She's right, and I say so!" Prinplup stepped forward. "Sure, maybe Cana's got a drinking problem, but like hell I'll just stand by and let her suffer in your guys' care! And no laws or amount of oppression is gonna stop me from thinking that way!"
Liepard glanced at Prinplup, smirking. "Quite the boisterous beak you've got there."
"Hey, you started it. I'm just emphasizing the point." Prinplup chimed.
Suria wiggled her hips left and right as she held the sides of her face. "My oh my, such thinkers! Blade, dear, don't you think that it's within our responsibilities to let them know what it means to be an Apostle?"
Blade put a hand to his side, grunting. "Gngh…whatever. But let's hurry this along. The sooner we take them down, the sooner I can't get out of this cockamamie hellhole this situation's become."
"Here we go again…" Liepard sighed. Both she and Prinplup then took off with sharpened claws and glowing wing tips to combat the two Apostles.
As they continued the engagement, Sune was looking down at the ground, her paws digging into the pavement. What Liepard said just now was really more on a broad spectrum, but to an extent felt personal. The Vulpix's tails curled and uncurled like a reflex as she was venting her tumultuous thoughts. The past half-day has been the most stressful in her career as an officer of the law. The well-being of the Pokémon that were trying to live harmonic lives came above all else…at least, that's what she believed.
However, others above her made her think otherwise.
"It's all part of the job I'm afraid. It's not always about catching bad guys like you see in sitcoms. This job is about guaranteeing safety in more places than just our alleys and streets, you know."
"Well, this is an emergency, and the Apostles are a big deal around here. Guess as long as you do what he says, you shouldn't get in trouble. Sure he'll put in a good word if nothing else."
"Cof! Oh dear, what a pity this is. I wasn't planning on giving a talk to the social justice department, but after hearing how they think of handing a rookie over to an Apostle is considered mediocre...I just might have to pay a visit to them myself. And let me say, either way, it's going to do a number on your careers. Especially yours. Cof!"
All she was doing was what she was told, nothing more! And yet whatever she was given, wherever she ended up, she wasn't given any brownie points just for following orders. In fact, that's all it's been ever since she enrolled to be an officer of the law. Superiors and colleagues telling her how to do her tasks, and at the end of the day, all she could was the feet of her superiors. Was this really how she was expected to ger promotions and do service for the islanders?
She told herself before to just do what they say and that would suffice. She was just a rookie. It would pass soon.
'Just do your job...do your job, and everything will be okay...'
And yet, others told her what her job was, and no one was the same. At this point, she didn't even know what her job was anymore.
At this point, what was justice?
"Look at it this way, furball. You want respect, don't you? And yet it sounds like those guys who are in charge don't seem to give a Rattata's ass about you. You really think that by doing this one thing will get you on their good side when they have far more important matters on their plate?"
What Liepard said before when they were locked up swam to the surface of her stress. She shook her head to get those thoughts out. 'No, don't think that! You're not wrong, Sune! You're doing as you are told! Don't let a crook convince you that what you were doing was for nothing! The law is the law! Just follow it, and eventually will be worth it…'
"Hey, I've seen it before. I'm just saying, if they didn't respect you before, why bother with them? What's written in stone ain't always the just…at least that's how we roll."
And yet, Sune felt a tug in her heart. For a moment, she had a fear of doubts take over. 'Is…is what I'm doing…really justice?'
Meanwhile, Lucy and Loke were busy trying to get close to the four remaining mages, but Kunai created a magic seal before her that projected ethereal kunai knives at them. Virgo provided interference by jumping in front, using her chains to lash and intercept the energy weapons.
"You won't get in their way!" The Celestial maid declared.
Kunai merely smirked, smug at her taunt. "A fine idea…how's about we do that for you?" Another magic seal appeared before her. "Chained Wreck!"
The magic seal shot out another ethereal chain with a weighted end at the tip. The chain reached towards Virgo and wrapped itself around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. The maid's eyes widened before she was dragged off her feet and into the air by the conduction of Kunai's magic. The mage moved her arm around and arched it in the direction of the building beside them. Virgo was dragged by the chain and slammed into the building with intense force.
"Virgo!" Lucy shouted.
"Don't worry, I got this!" Loke managed to get in front of Lucy and took a stance. His right palm gathered light at an alarming rate. "Regulus Impact!"
He unleashed an intense beam of pure light with a lion's face materialized on the front of the Regulus Magic's assault. It barreled across the street with a loud roar. The closed in on the four mages ready to take them all out in one fell swoop.
As it drew closer, Phoenix stepped in front, reaching both his arms out with a dull magic seal.
"Energy Minimize!"
The dull magic seal shined brightly – almost as brightly as the beam of light heading their way. Just as it was about to converge onto all of them, the light suddenly thinned to a far more narrow, compressed state, looking like a thin beaming saber as it breached the mages' space.
With the range of the attack thoroughly condensed, this gave them all ample time to sidestep and maneuver around as the permeating saber of light went past them into the distant blocks ahead. Nothing happened for a few seconds before an eruption of pure light seared blocks like a tidal wave behind the four mages.
Loke couldn't believe what he saw. "You can't be serious…" With him so distraught, he was completely exposed when Vex made another spell channel before him.
"Phantom Scales!"
Scales of negative fire projected in a dense blitz directly into Loke's side. Taken by surprise, he used his forearms to absorb as much of the impact as he could. However, the flames went clean through his nice clothing, instead searing his flesh directly. He recoiled with a loud grunt.
"Loke!" Lucy shouted.
"Don't worry, Lucy! We gotcha!" Klefki flew past her with Staryu not too far behind. Klefki's key top turned deep silver as she emanated another earsplitting cry. Staryu followed that up with its core shimmering and projecting a hot pink psychokinetic wave of energy, via Psywave. The two attacks closed in on Vex, but again, the mage made no attempt to move.
"Vineyard Wall!"
Clara slammed her hands on the ground, causing the crevices in the pavement around her to rapidly sprout and take shape into a dense, thick wall of vines that layered atop one another. The wall mounted in front of her peers and took the Metal Sound and Psywave, thoroughly absorbing the impact of both attacks.
"Eep! She blocked them!" Klefki panicked.
BEEP!
Clara closed her eyes once more, before opening them once more. "Vine Discord!"
The thick wall of vines before suddenly came apart, looking like numerous tendril-like briars that Clara forced onto Klefki and Staryu. The vines quickly rushed after them, wrapping them in thick coils that they were too slow to react to.
"Klefki! Staryu!" Lucy panicked.
Phoenix humbly closed his eyes. "That'll make things easier. She can't use her keys if that thing isn't within reach."
Lucy gritted her teeth. She needed to do something to turn this around, fast! When she looked over at Loke, he looked like he was recoiling still from the flames.
"Loke!" Lucy shouted. She turned towards her other Spirit in trouble. "Virgo!?"
"Don't worry about me, Princess…I'm quite fine." The maid chimed as she was laying on the ground, her body tied up in chains. Rather than looking to be in pain that was supposed to be, however, she had a look of pleasure at her 'punishment'. "But, it would seem that I cannot move…woah is me."
The blonde faced the four mages, realizing they were glaring at her. With her Pokémon and Celestial Spirits incapacitated, she was voluntarily helpless and exposed to them. Lucy furrowed her brow as she found herself in what could be described as a very tough spot to be in.
Vex held up his hand, ready to generate more negative fire. "Don't move. Miss Suria gave us clear orders to not be so rough with you. We'd hate to displease her like this, so don't do anything to make us use force."
Lucy bit her bottom lip, clenching her fists. Looking over, she saw the vines tightening around Klefki and Staryu; it was a clear sign that if she made the wrong move, they would pay for it. At least for Loke and Virgo's sakes, they could transport themselves away at any given time. However, the situation was drastic for her with her best assets used as collateral.
'If I don't do something, Klefki and Staryu are gonna be really hurt because of me. What do I do…?'
She rummaged through her thoughts speedily, thinking anything and everything over. After a moment of splicing through anything she remembered, she came to a realization.
Her eyes visibly widened. 'Wait a minute…' She barely held back a gasp. 'I can use that!'
"So, what's it going to be? Do you yield?" Phoenix insisted.
Lucy ignored him, instead choosing to calm down. 'This is going to be my first time actually using it for something like this…but I think it'll work.' She closed her eyes slowly. 'If I wanna call myself a Master and Trainer…I have to pull my own weight on this one.'
She exhaled slightly. There was noticeable change in pressure around them, which didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Feeling a rise in Magic Power, they all glared at Lucy in anticipation for what's to come.
Loke staggered up to his feet, looking back at his master with a furrowed brow. 'Lucy…what're you up to this time?'
Lucy stood completely still…before a smile crossed her face. "Sorry, but…I think it's best that you guys make this easy for me."
"And why's that?" Kunai questioned.
"Because…" Lucy flashed open her eyes and held up her left arm. Her fist was balled, but there was a glowing mark of two crossed keys shining on it. "This battle's all mine!"
Loke's eyes widened at the glowing mark. "Lucy…"
"Princess, that mark…!" Virgo looked equally as stunned.
"Don't worry guys, I've prepared for this! Now…" A radiant glow came from the golden crest that slowly swallowed her. "Let's go!"
The light flickered brightly, enveloping Lucy in a roaring pillar of light. The wake of the pillar caused an intense magnitude that vibrated beneath everyone's feet. They all paused and covered their eyes from the permeating glow from the Celestial Mage.
"What is it now?!" Blade scowled, using his leaves to shield his face.
"O-Oh my!" Suria looked shocked at what she was witnessing.
Liepard, Prinplup, and Sune turned around at the enormous light swallowing their Trainer's friend and looked equally as confused and startled. With everyone blinded, they were unable to witness Lucy's shape changing inside the pillar of celestial light.
When the light dialed down enough, everyone bared witness to a most stunning display that was Lucy.
Before everyone present, Lucy sported a new, eloquent dress that looked to be a mixture of both her Virgo and Leo Forms. The dress was elegant and frilled along the edges, with various jewels adorning the dress. The short, puffy, detached sleeves sat on Lucy's upper arms secured by two dark laces. The lower half of the dress was all black with a pure white underside, with an apron adorning the slit middle. She sported a set of earrings, necklace, and a maiden headpiece; the final set having dark ribbons fastened on the sides. Lucy's hair was designed with a neat bud on top, with the rest of her hair flowing down her back.
Manifesting behind Lucy were three sets of wings that had a golden glow, much like the crossed markings of Loke and Virgo's keys symbolled on her left hand.
"Star Dress Mix: Leo x Virgo Form!"
Everyone looked on in absolute surprise at this eloquent transformation. The golden light that basked Lucy's new form gradually simmered to where only sparkles drifted off her fairy-like wings. She had a confident smile as she glared daggers at the four mages.
"What did she do?!" Clara gasped.
"Did she just combine the properties of her attires from before?" Phoenix pondered aloud.
"Woah, Lucy…" Klefki muttered in awe.
Lucy retained her silence as she stood before her stunned foes. It wasn't too long ago that she could do something as extreme as this, but she took it in stride as she glared them all down.
"Star Dress Mix?"
Lucy stood in the middle of an open clearing, listening to what Capricorn had just told her. It hadn't been a few weeks since the incident regarding the Celestial Spirits and Seven, but even though Lucy wanted to ensure that her Spirits were well rested, she knew she had to get stronger so that nothing like that would happen on her watch.
"Yes, Lady Lucy. That is what I said." Capricorn recited, turning towards the side. He started pacing slowly as he continued. "You've accumulated much Magic Power from your experience as a Celestial Mage. You are able to fully harness our contracts to your own whim through the utilization of Star Dress Forms." A faint smile crossed his face. "I must say, even I am at a loss for how well adept you've become."
Lucy smiled at the praise, but knowing Capricorn, she knew better.
"However…" He sharply turned towards her. "If you truly wish to process our powers, it requires even more focus. The utilization of Star Dress alone requires a consistent Magic Power. But against stronger foes, rather than relying on multiple forms, perhaps it's best that you've learned to combine them.'
"Combine, you say." Lucy pondered about it for a moment. The first thing that came to mind was when she saw Nic utilize his two Plate Forms for the first time. 'So like how Nic can fuse his forms.'
Capricorn held up an index finger. "The most fundamental thing to fully overcome this obstacle is knowing each and every individual form that you are already able to do. Knowing them, and using the magic they give you to create an entirely new one. This isn't just about using two magics at the same time, but more of what sort of magic that form will work in such situations. Knowing which forms are effective against your opponents is not something you should take lightly."
"Right." Lucy knew that all too well at this point. With all the battles that she's gotten out of, she had a good grasp of experience of what would come in handy.
Capricorn nodded at her answer. "Very well then. Please note, maintaining this combination is extremely difficult. Once it is in use, it will take up much of your magic reserves. So be sure that you use it under dire circumstances. We entrust you with our power…please, do not waste it."
Lucy thought deeply about what she learned thanks to Capricorn's aid. 'Don't worry…I'll make sure these powers aren't wasted. I guarantee it!'
"Ooooh, my~! Sweetheart, you look absolutely breathtaking!" Suria swooned. "I never imagined that such a young one such as yourself had such a wardrobe! Oh, would Amaryllis be over the moon to meet you! Oh, the shame."
Blade turned towards her, looking less than ecstatic. "You stupid? That's the exact opposite of what we want! Hurry it up and knock her out!"
Suria looked downtrodden. "Oh, I suppose you are right. After all, there will be ample time for us to see what else the darling looks good in." She turned towards her humans. "Darlings, wrap this up please! Your fun time is running out~!"
"Don't worry, Miss Suria." Clara assured.
Vex stepped forward, holding his arms out as negative embers appeared in small seals on his palms. "We'll be sure to end this quickly! Let's finish her right now!"
"You're right about one thing alright…" Lucy spread her legs as she balled her fists, crossing them over the other. "We're ending this right now!"
The four mages all held out their arms, each having a separate-colored seal in accordance to their magic. As they were building up their attacks, Lucy raised her crossed arms overhead and began to draw in light. Pure golden energy spiraled and converged into her fists. The air roared as chips of concrete and debris began defying gravity from the amount of sheer Magic Power that was building up; more so around Lucy than anyone else. Dust waves spiraled around the latter's feet as she had a dense magnitude beneath her.
'She's focusing all her power to one spot.' Loke admired, a serious look on his face. 'She's going big on this one!'
The four mages shot glares at Lucy as their magic seals were all perfectly aligned. All at once, they unleashed their spells in unison.
"Vine Discord!"
"Gaia Bellow!"
"Chained Wreck!"
"Energy Minimize!"
They all unleashed a discharge of their spells all at once. A torrent of vines flowed alongside an energy chain with a weighted end towards it. At the center was a crimson torrent from Vex's seal. Phoenix used his Compression Magic on all three elements at once, enveloping them in dull yellow that caused them all to converge and compress to a far more pressurized, piercing spiral of crimson vines with a chained helix flowing behind it.
Lucy gathered the light in her palms, clenching it tightly as she lowered her arms. "O the Light of Regulus…"
The spiraling unison magic drilled closer.
"O the Shine of Spica…"
Klefki and Staryu were still unable to move, as was Virgo, yet they all had shocked looks on their faces as the attack drew closer onto their companion. The compressed attack was meters away when Lucy spread her arms out, the glow from the key crests on her hand shining brightly.
With a loud cry, Lucy summoned pillars of light erupting all around her. The piercing light beams shot straight from the earth with a dense magnitude. Everything shook as the beams of light permeated and cut through the fused attack in a straight column of pillars puncturing it from below.
The four mages were completely speechless, but they didn't have time to voice their concerns when pillars of light erupted around them. They bloomed on their rights, then their left…leaving only a moment to process the rising magnitude directly beneath their feet.
"Take this…" Lucy directed her arms forward with all the might she had in her. "LION MAIDEN!"
All the light pillars suddenly vanished for a split second, traveling through the open fissures in the earth directly beneath their feet. A second later, a single massive pillar of dense light shot up beneath the mages and engulfed them. The bright flare unleashed skywards in a tremendous bright burst that could have been seen for miles away. The intensity created shockwaves that sent debris past everyone as they shielded themselves.
After a minute, the bright light gradually faded away, leaving sizzling air and steaming earth around Lucy. She panted heavily as she was covered in partial dirt. She saw the dust settle around a massive crater surrounded by deep holes created by the spell.
To her relief, she saw the four mages sprawled across the ground, all battered and limp. They were all knocked completely unconscious, if not worse.
"There…that did it…" She breathed. She had a golden glow envelop her body, which turned to shattering fragments of light that cracked apart. They fell apart to thin air, revealing Lucy in her Leo Form's dress.
Klefki, Staryu, and Virgo found themselves all free from their binds…though Virgo seemed a bit disappointed. However, they all were still able to stand and awe at Lucy's display of power.
"Woah…was Lucy always able to do that?" Klefki awed.
BEEPBEEP-BEEPBEEP! Staryu replied.
"Yeah…celestial bodies really are something."
Sune was left completely stunned. Her tails flatlined as they laid on the ground. 'No way…were humans really this powerful? She…she actually overcame Apostle Suria's Pokémon in one fell swoop. Something like that is nearly impossible…'
Blade grunted as the shockwaves buffered him, leaving him visibly surprised at what he saw. "Well I'll be darned…"
"OH NOOOOOO~!" Suria wailed hysterically in horror. Her eyes were wide like marbles as her hair stuck out in all corners from astonishment. "My beloved mages! What have you done to them?! My sweet dears!"
Lucy turned around, facing them with a hand wiping dirt off the corner of her lip. "Just a little something that's coming all your guys' way, that's what."
Meanwhile, Dreamery was slumped down as she was endowed in her Dream Magic's effects with Cana, completely unaffected by the outside world's events unfolding.
"Haha! How's about this!" Dreamery lifted both arms, causing more pink mist to spiral closely around Cana. "Dream Spiral!"
The vortex engulfed Cana once again, sending her in a whirling spiral skywards that she had no control over. She flew past Dreamery and ended up caught and bungeed by a silky, sticky net that kept her from moving once again.
Dreamery chuckled. "Too bad. You've been making this fun for me, but now I'm starting to get bored. So what do you say we put you to bed already, shall we?"
Cana gritted her teeth in frustration. She tried pulling herself off the net, but it was too strong for her to break free from. She was running out of options to work with.
'This is bad. She's got the advantage in this damn dreamscape. Gotta use that against her somehow, but everything I use ends up being changed or something crazy.' It was then a thought came to mind. 'Wait a minute…this is a dream, right? Then maybe…I don't have to beat her!'
It was a long shot, but she had an idea of what to do. As Cana glared at Dreamery, she saw the woman drift into a spin and had her arms out by her sides. She began congregating matter ranging from pure fire, to machine parts, to even utensils like knives and forks. There were some animal parts mixed in as well including a wolf made of fire, a shark made of pure ice, and more beasts with either machine parts collaborating into a massive swell before her. Hundreds of thousands of various forms of weaponry spiraled and focused in Cana's direction in particular.
Dreamery reached out towards her, a bright smile on her face. "Say nighty-night!"
Cana squinted.
"Never-Ending Imagination!"
Dreamery projected the collage at Cana, causing everything to rush towards her is a seemingly infinite array of various objects and creatures darting right for her. The flood of imagination constantly flourished from Dreamery's palms as she conducted while using her imagination to fuel the flood of assets to force onto her opponent.
As it closed in, Cana remained calm and collective as she tried to imagine what could help her at this moment. Only one thought came to mind. When she opened her eyes, everything before her went bright white.
"Sweet dreams~!" Dreamery sang.
As the rush of imaginative clusters swarmed for Cana, they met the light that came between them. The moment they all met it, the entire stream of infinite thoughts froze up, and quickly had an array of white nets going through it all the way towards the other side. The entire flood diced to pieces and crumbled away to nothing. Dreamery looked mortified with her mouth gaping with disbelief.
"W-what the-?!" She stuttered in utter disbelief. "How did you…?"
"You're probably right, maybe I can't beat you in your dreams…but I know someone who can." Cana lifted her head, smirking with satisfaction. "If you can create anything from your mind, then so can I!"
Dreamery's eyes widened when she saw what floated between herself and Cana. The light faded, revealing an unfamiliar man in his 50's, with dark orange hair and a fur-like overcoat over his body. He had a stubble over his face as he glared at Dreamery with a smirk.
"Uh…who's the old man?" she asked in partial wonder.
Cana snickered. "The one guy who I know can break this stupid spell of yours…my dad! Gildarts!"
"Yo!" Dream Gildarts greeted everyone. "Nice of ya to think about me, Cana. Gotta say, I was starting to worry you might not need me at all."
Cana huffed, turning her head away. "Yeah, yeah. I'll have you know I got off just fine while you were gone. I can always just unthink about you if I want."
"Hey now, that's not nice! I mean I know this is still a dream and all, but c'mon! Can't I just help my little girl just once, even if it's not real?!"
Cana sighed. Truthfully, she didn't truly mean what she said. It was just out of habit. Having Gildarts gone for most of her life left her with a lot of guilt boiled up inside. Even though it was very late for the veteran of Fairy Tail to try and be a father and prove his worth towards her, it still took some getting used to having him around and support her. A part of her actually liked this interaction, even though it wasn't really how she was supposed to act towards her parent. But supposedly, in the back of her mind, she always knew that he would always come to her if she ever needed him.
A meek smile crossed her face. "Well…we'll see. But I need you to kick this girl's ass for me. Can you do that?"
"Hey, if it's for you, anything." Dream Gildarts turned towards Dreamery, looking more serious than ever. "So, you're causing my little girl trouble, huh? Well let me tell you, I don't appreciate it when others pick on my daughter like that."
Despite her earlier fault in demeanor, Dreamery perked right up again. "Hmph! So what? You really think that he can hurt a girl? That's just cruel!"
"Believe me, I'm not one to hurt a woman so easily…but you've given my daughter a hard time, so I'll make an exception!" He balled a tightened fist.
"Show her what you're made of!" Cana cheered.
"Right!" Dream Gildarts leaned forward and started drifting towards the Dream Mage.
Dreamery scoffed again. With a swipe of her arm, she summoned a dense wall of fire between herself and the fake Gildarts. "Sorry, gramps! But I hope you like retirement in cinders!"
The wall of flames flourished, only for a flashy net outline to appear at its center, The flames dispersed in diced bits as Dream Gildarts had a hand out and pushed through the broken wall.
Dreamery's eyes widened in horror. "W-what?!"
Cana smirked. Just what she had hoped for.
Dream Gildarts continued drifting closer towards Dreamery. The Dream Mage summoned a coffin trap with death spikes on the inside. She brought her hands together and clamped the contraption shut around the mage. However, even that ended up becoming diced shrapnel that dispersed through the dreamscape. In a panic, she summoned a massive shark with its jaws wide open, baring its rows of razor-sharp teeth at its meal.
Once more, Dream Gildarts thrust his arm out, expelling a massive net of his Crush Magic. It enveloped the makeshift shark as it chomped down and diced it to cubes that dissolved in place. He continued his way towards Dreamery with a smug look on his face.
"Impossible…this is my dream!" Dreamery muttered low, looking shook with horror. In a frantic hurry, she reached her arm out, summoning waves of collaged beasts, tools, and elements from either side.
Dream Gildarts didn't look deterred one bit. He reached his arm out before him and made contact with the converging waves. Like before, they diced into crushed shrapnel and scattered to oblivion, leaving nothing between Dreamery and himself again.
"Say, you've got quite the imagination." He complimented. "Though I love the sport you're giving me, I have this…nasty habit of breaking things around me."
Dreamery seethed through her teeth. She drifted several meters back and swiped her arms across. The misty space all around began eroding closer into Dream Gildarts' way until it fully enveloped him. It swelled to where it became a thick layer of dreamy mist.
"Try breaking this, old man!" Dreamery reached her arm out, causing the mist to glow and fade to a thick ball of pure steel.
The Dream Mage felt a moment to relax, knowing well how hard steel was. There was no way that the likes of some old man's magic could break through solid steel! Even that was unimaginable!
However, her expectations were literally crushed, when the entire sphere had a thick net of white lines around it. The steel dispersed into diced fragments that shot everywhere, including into Dreamery. She covered up as the thick metal cubes pelted her body relentlessly.
Dream Gildarts kept his confident smirk. "So…what else ya got?"
"NO! THAT'S NOT FAIR! THIS IS MY DREAM!" Dreamery panicked.
"If you think that I'd let my family get hurt in my dreams, you'd better think again!" Dream Gildarts balled his fist tightly as he reeled it back.
Dreamery's pupils shrank as she feared for what to stop him…but thought too late.
"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean!"
Dream Gildarts slugged his clenched fist into a roaring uppercut straight into Dreamery's gut. A shockwave went straight through her that caused her pupils to nearly pule out of their sockets. The dreamscape shook wildly and dispersed everything around the impact. He followed through in an uppercut, sending her flying high into the dense space in a frantic swirl. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she vanished from sight.
Cana wondered if that attack had done the trick. She watched Dreamery disappear into the deep space in a starry glint. 'Damn, maybe I should have had him hold back a little.'
The net that kept her confined suddenly disappeared in a pink, puffy smoke. Cana found herself free to move and raised her arms to feel them freely. "Alright, now we're talking!"
Dream Gildarts turned back towards his daughter with a sly grin on his face. "So…how was that?"
Cana smugly grinned. "She'll probably be feeling that one when she wakes up. I almost feel sorry for her."
The two had a brief moment of silence. Around them, with Dreamery's defeat, the landscape began to fade away. The space started fading gradually all around them, including the crushed shrapnel. Slowly, it converged onto Cana and Dream Gildarts as they were staring directly at each other.
"Say, kiddo…do me a favor, would ya?" Dream Gildarts asked.
"What now?"
A smile tugged at his corner lip. "Think about me a little every now and again. Kinda gets lonely at times without my daughter around, you know."
Cana smirked back, lowering her head a little. She chuckled. "In your dreams, old man."
The two shared a small, hardy chuckle as the blank space overtook them, fully wiping away the dreamscape for good.
Cana awoken with a sharp gasp. She sat upright and blinked several times. "What happened…?" She touched her aching head, feeling it throbbing heavily. "Ugh…what a crazy dream, damnit…"
Not far from her, Dreamery's sleeping body suddenly recoiled. The magic that enveloped them dispersed, and the mage fell back to the ground with her eyes devoid of pupils. She laid before Cana as the effects of her spell backfired drastically on her, much to the brunette's chagrin.
'That's right, she said that I could have been in a coma if she played around with me too long…guess the shoe's on the other foot now.' Cana felt relief. At least she won't have to worry about her waking up anytime soon, not that she'd be enticed with the idea anyways.
"Well now, look who decided to get up?" Liepard mused. "Took you long enough back there!"
Cana turned her head towards Liepard and Prinplup. She smirked. "Sorry about that guys…I keep you waiting too long?"
Prinplup smirked. "Nah, you're just in time in fact!" he scoffed. "We were just about to beat these two for good!"
"Cana!"
Cana turned around, seeing Lucy standing still. "Lucy!" She looked past her, seeing the four mages subdued. "Looks like you took care of quite a bit, huh?"
"Yeah, you were asleep for a long time." Lucy admitted, frowning. "You sure you're okay?"
The brunette smirked as she glared back at Suria and Sune. "Yeah, I am. In fact, that little nap left me a little invigorated…think I'd better stretch my legs a little. And what better way to do that than kick some ass, right?"
Lucy caught on and faced the two Apostles. "Right!"
Blade didn't look the least bit amused. "Well, saw that coming. See what happens when you screw around?" He shot a glance at Suria, who looked as horrified as she was before.
"My…my precious humans…they're all…" She visibly shook with her horror and grief turning to a serious anger. "…hmph! You dears…you've gone and done it now! You've roughed up my precious mages! I was hoping to take things easy with you…but now I see that I'll have to punish you all myself!"
"Bring it on, bimbo lips! I'm wide awake now!" Cana held up a tarot card between her fingers. "I've had a pretty good dream. But you sure won't."
And this is where I cut off the fight for the time being! Honestly, I was hoping to have finished Lucy and Cana's fight against Blade and Suria this chapter, but once again, I made it too long, so I think I'll settle for a cliffhanger and have it all settled next chapter.
A little something that I need to address here. I understand that the 100 Year Quest is technically canon, but that did not happen in my timeline for a number of reasons that are primarily due to out of context and offhanded plot devices that I feel would be of no use. However, I am willing to make an exception for the Star Dress Mix. That's essentially the only takeaway I might allow to be put into my story. Maybe some of Erza's armors too, depending on what else she gets, but otherwise, I'm keeping the whole 100 Year Quest completely out of context and of no existence to my story's timeline.
Hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter's fights! Be sure to share your thoughts and show your support! Thanks!
