Chapter 14 - Transcendence
With the group
Wendy whimpered as she still reflected over what she did. Though everyone tried their best to cheer her up despite having sensed that heavy magical pressure from earlier. Leaving Hibiki to think of a way to have everyone regroup and plan out the next phase of the fight. Now that something big is happening and they aren't sure what's going on.
Before then, a pair of servants arrived, "Jeanne! Cleo!" Lucy called out.
"You guys are late! I found Wendy all by myself!" Natsu yelled angrily.
"Natsu calm down. You're going to add your stress to Wendy." Erza said.
Jeanne noticed Wendy's sad form as she buried her head in her knees. The original Holy Maiden sat by the girl's side to comfort her while Cleopatra gave her own report when she scouted the area with Jeanne when they tried to find her.
"What's wrong child?" Jeanne asked.
Wendy sniffled, "I revived a man because I was forced to. But Happy told me he turned bad and I didn't believe him. So when I saved his life… he wasn't the same anymore and used his magic to send everyone flying away." she said as tears fell down her cheeks. "Happy was right, I only helped a bad man. Now it's my fault that I helped the dark mages." she said.
Jeanne gave Wendy a comforting hug, "Do not fret child, while a mistake it is and a big one at that. You can only make it worse by doing nothing and blaming yourself. A sin does not last forever if you are willing to fix it." she said as Wendy started to calm down. "One life is all you have child. A life filled with only depression and regret is a fate worse than death." she said.
Wendy wiped her tears away, "Do you really think I can fix this?" she asked.
Jeanne smiled as she put a hand on her head, "Of course my child. I put my faith in God as he put his faith in me. Now you must do the same." She said.
Wendy smiled at the kind words, "Who are you by the way miss?" she asked.
"I am Jeanne D'arc child." Jeanne answered as Cleopatra finished her report with Lucy.
With Gray
After a grueling fight, Gray and Lyon finally had Racer beat. Yet the long nosed man looked pissed and too stubborn to accept a loss. For he immediately ripped off his jacket and revealed that he had a bomb strapped to his chest.
"The race won't be over if I take all of us out!" Racer exclaims as the timer starts to go off.
"He's going to blow us up!" Gray yelled before being shoved out of the way.
"I'll stop him!" Lyon said as he tackled Racer.
Only for the two of them to fall off the hill they were standing on. Quetzalcoatl was cursing in Spanish at Lyon for deciding to be a prideful idiot and moving onto reckless hero. Just as the Aztec Goddess prepared to jump after Lyon in an attempt to save him and possibly remove the bomb from Racer's chest. The explosive went off and she slid backwards due to the force of the explosion.
Quetzalcoatl looked panicked as she tried to look past the smoke, "Gray, I will try to find Lyon. You and the pink haired girl behave yourselves while I'm gone! Adios!" she said as she jumped down to look for the ice mage.
"No way! Lyon couldn't have died!" Gray said as he tried to look past the smoke.
Not noticing the dread written all over Sherry's face, "Lyon-sama… no!" she said as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. For some reason, she stared at Gray's back with a look filled with hatred, 'Why did Lyon-sama get taken away from me!? It should have been him!' she thought as Nirvana's magic started to effect her negative feelings.
Only that hatred began to amplify upon witnessing a giant light surrounded by coils of darkness surrounding it. The gaze of hatred slowly turning into bloodlust.
All around the forest, every member of the alliance gazed at the light of Nirvana in fear. Even more frightening was the fact that the trees started to die out. All of them turning rotten once the darkness had gotten a grasp on them.
With Jura
Chiron and Jura were doing their best to combat Hot Eye. Who's power over the earth was similar to Jura's. Despite feeling uncomfortable, Chiron allowed Jura to ride on his back. Making it easier for the centaur to escape the muddy ground Hot Eye created. With Chiron fighting back by firing his arrows at the man.
Only their fight stopped once the light over Nirvana appeared and Hot Eye laughed.
"There is no need to fight anymore!" Hot Eye said as he pointed at the light. "Now we will be enriched with great fortune, oh yeah!" he laughed before clutching his head and screaming.
"What sorcery is this?" Chiron asked.
"Careful, he's no doubt trying to mess with our minds." Jura said warning his centaur ally.
"Money! Money! Money!" Hot Eye screamed as he clutched his face. Before letting go and letting his eyes sparkle, "…is the route of all evil, oh yeah." he said happily.
Chiron blinked in confusion, "Was it not his greed that empowered him no more than 15 seconds ago?" he asked.
"I thought so too." Jura said also looking confused.
Hot Eye started crying, "All this time, I've been searching for my long lost brother! Hoping to collect enough money to find him!" he explained. "Only now I see that was wrong! It's about love! Not money! My devotion is what matters, so why did I fall before money's temptations?" he asked.
Chiron for some reason decided to answer, "Because it's not money you want but rather the luxuries. Mainly because the goal of obtaining luxuries the quickest way possible is by collecting money I suppose." he said.
Jura nodded, "It does make sense. Everyone will go insane for obtaining a goal and forget what makes them happy." he said.
Only to regret it because the dark mage crushed the Archer and Jura in a tight hug. Continuing to cry as his tears fell like a waterfall down Jura's bald head.
"You do understand! That is it! We are officially friends now and putting aside our differences! Let's be friends!" Hot Eye ranted as the two men felt really uncomfortable.
At Nirvana
While Cobra watched Jellal stare down at the light. He was grinning with excitement as he imagined that the promise of his prayer would be fulfilled. They two watched as large buildings came out from the ground and started to form some sort of ancient ruins. All the while, they were unaware that something was waking up inside.
For Nirvana had a lot more secrets than just negative energy with the potential to create destruction or create those false promises that the Oracion Seis were given.
Deeper into the lab, there were several ancient laboratories. Created from an ancient era when Ishgar was much younger and had a different name. In some ways, it was more advanced but the loss of such technology and genius made the world roll back to a mix of European culture with some oriental laced around it and it's mannerisms.
Inside was a glass tube holding a young albino child. Who immediately awakened and started pushing the casket like tube she was in.
Unaware of the other people who were trapped in stasis as well, "What's going on? Did someone break the seal?" asked one person.
"If that's true, how long have we…"
*CRACK*
"What was that?" another asked.
*SMACH*
"It's loose! The child is loose!" Yelled one more person.
Before they realized it, they heard several sounds of destruction nearby. Running into the lab, these people found it to be empty yet filled with signs of brute force and heavy magic nearby. No doubt concerned about the trapped child awakening and leaving the facility.
Back with Lucy's group
As the light wasn't calming down any time soon. The group knew it was time to start moving only for Hibiki to stop them and say something.
"Guys, I still have a big piece of information I need to mention! Nirvana's power relies on negative energy, resulting in changing someone's personality!" Hibiki exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" Natsu asked.
"It means if you're normally a nice guy. You'll turn evil and give into those feelings." Hibiki answered.
"Does that mean bad guys like the dark mages will turn good?" Lucy asked.
"Possibly, but we can't be sure." Hibiki said as he didn't have much else on his intel on Nirvana.
Though this theory by Lucy is correct. As they didn't know it, but Hot Eye defected to their side and was requesting Chiron and Jura to team up with him.
"Let's just grab Erza and…"
"She's gone! She woke up and didn't bother to rest or say where she was going! How rude!" Charle said angrily.
Suddenly Lucy had a face filled with dread, "Oh no… she really is a simpette!" she exclaimed.
Natsu nodded, "Jellal may be evil but she decided to go after him anyways!" he said before running of on his own again.
"Natsu! Don't run on your own again!" Lucy yelled only to be ignored.
Jeanne sighed, "I think King Solomon would say, "Never whisper wisdom into the ears of a fool." otherwise they will ignore you." she said.
Wendy giggled, "King Solomon must be really smart." she said now starting to return to her optimistic self.
"I see someone's happy again. Hold my hand and stay close Wendy." Jeanne said as Wendy took her hand as they followed the rest of the group to Nirvana.
Though they could already hear the sounds of fighting ahead. No doubt it was an ambush that Natsu ran into and decided to get to work with fighting.
With Midnight
Despite the two boys from Blue Pegasus separating. Eve quickly found himself being chased by Midnight. Rather than flirt with him with the assumption that Midnight was a woman on the account of his looks. Eve continued to run and gun by firing his magic at him with no effect. Eventually, Midnight defeated Eve before looking for Ren.
With the same thing happening to Ren. All of his attacks seem to keep missing Midnight. Making it look as if Midnight was either immune to magic or if magic was trying to avoid him as if he were covered in disease.
"You can't beat me like that trash." Midnight said mocking Ren.
Right before side stepping to avoid Jason's sword slash. With the leader of the Argonauts using his great speed and skill (in his mind) to attack Midnight with all his all his might. Yet being unable to harm despite making Midnight actually physically move to dodge his attacks.
"In the name of the Argonauts, victory is mine!" Jason yelled as Midnight smirked.
"Invisible Scythe." he said.
Jason was blasted into Ren with both boys crashing through several trees. Jason crawled off of Ren as he tried to think of a good idea.
"We can't beat him alone." Jason said.
"I know, a member of the Oracion Seis alone is still powerful alone." Ren said in agreement.
Jason nodded, "That's why I will call on my trusty crew! MEEEEEEEN!" he yelled as inspired by Ichiya.
Yet like Ichiya, he called out to Atalanta, Medea Lily and Heracles. With none being able to appear by his side. It also didn't help that Jason was still a bad fighter against higher tier enemies despite being trained by Chiron himself.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're just preparing a flashy entrance after all the choreography I made them go through." Jason said in denial.
"No one is coming are they?" Ren asked with a sweat drop.
Midnight proceeded to send them crashing with another powerful gust of air. Successfully knocking Ren unconscious while making Jason lose too much mana.
"Sorry buddy, I'm out of here." Jason said before disappearing in a golden light.
Midnight laughed at how helpless the Blue Pegasus boys looked, "Two down, several more to go." he said feeling faithful in his skill to defeat the alliance on his own.
With Gray
The second student of Ur was struggling to deal with Sherry. The reason being that as Hibiki explained to everyone else. Sherry gave into her negative emotions and was dedicating herself towards killing Gray. As she blamed him for the death of Lyon.
"Just hold still! Lyon-sama will be avenged!" Sherry yells as her plant monster tries to kill him.
"I didn't kill him! It was that guy with the suicide bomb!" Gray yelled as he freezes several plants trying to hit him.
"You don't deserve to be alive!" Sherry yelled as she let her bloodlust take over.
As Gray dealt with the one sided fight. He heard several loud crashes below where Quetzalcoatl went to seek out Lyon. Leaving him wondering what is keeping the Aztec goddess so long. To his surprise, he saw a small child jump up to the hill.
"Die for your sins!" Sherry yelled as her attack was about to hit the child as collateral.
"Stop you moron! You're going to hit the kid!" Gray yelled as he prepared his Ice Make.
Instead, the child raised her hand and made the plants rot before they could reach her. The plant man that Sherry granted life to had also subsequently died and shriveled into ash. Before Sherry had the chance to create another plant man to continue her misguided rampage of revenge. The child created a several birds from glass and had them all pick at Sherry.
The girl gave Sherry a dark look, "That's not a nice way to play." she said darkly.
"What the heck? Where did that little girl come from?" Gray asked.
"Wait outside big brother." the girl said as she sent Gray flying down the hill.
Gray screamed as he fell to his doom. Only to find himself landing on Quetzalcoatl's dinosaur mount. He glared at the Aztec goddess for taking so long while she just pointed behind him. Revealing a scratched up looking Lyon who was holding an unconscious looking Racer.
"Did you save him or sleep with him?" Gray asked making Lyon frown.
Ignoring the insult from Gray. Quetzalcoatl guided her mount to the top of the hill where Sherry and the child was. When the arrived, they found Sherry tied up with her own veins and trying to nudge her head against the child.
"I defeated her, no need to fight." the albino child said with a bright smile.
"Who's the little girl?" Lyon asked only to see Gray shrug.
Quetzalcoatl jumped down to meet the girl, "Hija, where are your parents?" she asked sweetly.
The girl thought about it first, "I don't know, but I can sense mama." she answered with a kind smile.
"Ok, then who are you and what did you do to Sherry?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
The girl giggled, "I tied her up so she couldn't use magic and so that she doesn't hug me too tight." she said.
"Let me go! I wanna hold her!" Sherry whined only for a vine to wrap around her mouth, effectively silencing her.
"Okay and can you take us to your mama?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
"Okay!" the child said as she waited for the group.
"Carry your girlfriend Lyon." Gray said as everyone got on the dinosaur again.
Lyon grew a tick mark, "She's not my girlfriend." she said.
Sherry cried anime tears, "Mmmm llmmmm ssmmmm!? (Why do you deny me Lyon-sama!?)" she asked.
After that, the child pointed towards the direction of where she pointed her mother would be located. Surprisingly enough, that's where Hibiki's group should be if everyone guessed correctly.
With Erza
Just as the light was calming down. Erza had made her way to Nirvana and finding Jellal standing in front of it. She didn't notice Cobra hiding behind a rock, but at the same time Cobra just noticed her at the last second. For some reason the woman managed to sneak past his senses.
"Jellal!" Erza called out.
"Erza." Jellal said sounding emotionless.
"What are you doing here Jellal? How are you here?" Erza asked.
"Erza… I remember that name, yet I do not remember who I am or anything related to my past." Jellal said as he gripped his head in pain.
Erza's fists tightened, "Do you really not remember anything Jellal? The Tower of Heaven? The people you hurt? Simon, who you almost killed?" she asked.
Jellal shook his head, "No, I can't remember anything as I said. Yet, the name Erza. When I hear it, I keep thinking… simpette?" he asked.
"I am not a simpette!" Erza yelled angrily.
"No, not simpette. Maybe, but it makes me warm. Happy in a way." Jellal said still sounding amnesiac. Jellal stared at Erza with concern on his face, "Please! Tell me who Erza is!" he pleaded.
Erza stepped forward, "I am Erza! I am the one you are looking for." she told him.
Jellal didn't look like it, but he felt happier, "You are?" he asked.
"Yes, but do you feel remorse? Remorse for all the pain and deaths you've caused?" Erza asked.
"I cannot remember, but hearing that. I do feel at fault for all that suffering." Jellal answered sounding genuinely depressed.
Before Erza realized it, Jellal activated a magic circle around the light. Seeing the complicity of the circle and how much it was surrounding. Cobra jumped out in outrage.
"What are you doing!?" Cobra yelled.
"I am destroying it along with myself." Jellal said as another magic circle appeared only this time it was on his chest.
"Jellal!" Erza yelled out.
Jellal smiled as he looked at Erza once more, "I apologize for my sins. I located Nirvana so I could destroy it and any way to access it all at once so no one may be hurt anymore. Ironically, it's the only other thing I can remember." he explained.
"You idiot!" Cobra yelled angrily.
"Jellal, you can't die. You must atone for your sins." Erza said as the tears threatened to escape her eyes.
"That's what I'm doing. I'm taking Nirvana with me to the after life." Jellal said as the circle continued to expand on his chest. "This is goodbye Er… GAH!" Jellal crashed into Erza.
Erza winced in pain as she looked up to see Caligula had returned and was growling at them. If the Berserker was here, then no doubt his master was close by. As Brain arrived looking very displeased.
"What is going on here?" Brain asked.
"He's trying to destroy Nirvana along with the access key." Cobra said pointing at Jellal who was injured.
Brain chuckled at the answer, "Is that so? Really Jellal? I trained you to create the magic circle. In fact, when you learned it. You complained that it wasn't enough and wanted the power to destroy." he said as Jellal's eyes widened. He smiled as he raised his staff up high, "I can easily disable this myself, but then again. Nirvana is already partially complete." he said as the seals began to fall like a trail of dominoes.
A few seconds later, everyone was hit by a giant gust of wind. Before eventually finding themselves being elevated. Revealing that the light was a lot smaller as Nirvana had already been revealed. With a part of it being invaded by another faction that Erza couldn't see.
"Let us go Cobra. Jellal is of no use to us anymore." Brain said as Cobra smirked and Caligula snarled at Erza one last time.
"What have I done?" Jellal asked realizing that there was no way to stop Nirvana.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is what you will do." Erza said still confident that she can stop this.
With Lucy's group
The light had finally disappeared for good. Meaning that Nirvana was finally here and all it's power would take full effect. All around, the alliance members watched with shock as the large structure stood tall. Even more surprising, strange airships were making their way towards Nirvana.
"What is that?" Jeanne asked.
"Probably more enemy reinforcements. If the enemy had servants like the ones Lucy could summon. Then there is no doubt they have powerful allies." Hibiki said before falling to his side.
"Hibiki!" Lucy called out.
"What's wrong with him?" Wendy asked.
Hibiki raised a hand, "It's nothing, I think the pressure from Nirvana is too much for me. Besides, I'm more of a support mage than an offensive type." he said.
"We can't leave you." Lucy said.
Hibiki waved her off, "It's fine, I just need to rest. I can still keep in contact with you guys while you run ahead." he said.
Lucy looked unsure, "But… fine." she said but not without trying to heal him a bit.
After doing that, the group moved forward hoping Hibiki would really be fine. Not only that, but hope for the best as they saw the large airships land at where Nirvana should be. As this was beyond anything the mages of the alliance have experienced before. Even worse now that most of them are split up.
"Look!" Happy yelled out.
Everyone looked up to see Quetzalcoatl's pterodactyl landed nearby, "Lucy!" Gray called out from behind the Aztec goddess.
Before anyone could say or ask anything. The little girl climbed off of the pterodactyl and ran up to Lucy. She then grabbed onto Lucy and embraced her in a hug.
"Mama! I finally found you!" the girl said.
"Who's this little girl?" Lucy inquired only to see Quetzalcoatl shrug.
"I'm Ilyasviel mama! I was born in the lab remember?" Ilya asked expecting Lucy to know this.
"Little girl, I think you have me confused for someone else." Lucy tried to say.
Ilya shook her head, "No, your my mama. Mama Stella!" she said.
Lucy stared at her with shock, "How do you know that name?" she asked.
"The men in the lab said that my mama's name was Stella and I can sense your magic. So that's where I found you." Ilya explained.
"Okay, where is this lab Ilya?" Lucy asked.
Ilya pointed towards Nirvana, "Then I guess that's where we have to go." Charle said as she climbed onto the dinosaur mount.
"Buckle up amigos!" Quetzalcoatl said as she flew everyone towards Nirvana.
"So wait, if this is your kid. Who's the dad?" Gray suddenly asked.
Suddenly Gray was slapped by Ilya hard enough to make his cheek turn red, "Bad dog!" she yelled.
Lyon smirked, "I guess someone is bad with children. You shouldn't be asking such questions Gray." he said as Gray glared at him.
Meanwhile with Juvia
Juvia suddenly felt sad as she looked at a photo she took with Gray, "Beloved, we don't have to children right away after the wedding." She said before thinking about her days as an orphan. She smiled as she looked outside, "Nothing is wrong with adoption right?" she asked.
Meanwhile Anatasia was hiding as to keep her distance from the rain woman. The Russian heiress really hoped Juvia wasn't talking about adopting her.
Back on Nirvana
As mentioned before, several advanced looking airships made their way towards Nirvana. Revealing that much more secrets than the power of negative emotions was at work. In reality, Nirvana was also a research facility attempting to create new magics as well as study them. One of them being the negative magic that effected everyone during their fights. Richard, formerly known as Hoteye, being a prime example.
However, Seymour Guado had a bigger mission than to scout for magic or steal research. As this was more of a search and destroy type of mission.
"Get this filth onboard." Seymour ordered.
The New Palamecia military were currently rounding up any scientists involved with a certain experiment. One that went behind the back of Mateus himself. Seymour ignored the pleads and didn't show any remorse for the ones that tried to escape as they were directly executed.
Meanwhile, in the distance Brain could be seen looking pretty smug, "I see someone is happy. No doubt only hoping to use Nirvana for one basic function." Seymour said to himself.
"Should we intervene sir?" asked one of the soldiers.
"No, after this. There is no more need for Nirvana. We will be leaving shortly." Seymour said as the soldier nodded and helped with the prisoner transport.
With Brain
Cobra still didn't trust his master's allies, "I don't like this. What exactly was this place hiding?" he asked as Nirvana wasn't exactly a city of ruins like he expected.
"That does not matter Cobra. What matters is eliminating the alliance and completing our own plans for Nirvana." Brain said as he saw the pterodactyl. "Stop them." he ordered.
Cobra nodded, "Let's go Cubelios!" he said as his snake sprouted wings and lifted him towards Quetzalcoatl.
Just as Cobra came close and prepared for an attack. The dinosaur let out a loud howl that caused Cobra to fall off of his snake while clutching his ear. The group never noticed Cobra until they heard him scream in pain as he began to plummet.
"What the heck?" Lyon asked not noticing Sherry sneaking her head on his lap.
"It's the snake guy, but why is he falling?" Gray asked.
"Who knows, but let's not stick around. We need to find a good place to land." Lucy suggested as Quetzalcoatl found a large spot to land.
Before they realized it, they heard the sounds of a horse running towards them. The group got a surprise visit from Chiron along with Jura and Hoteye. Just as the group prepared to attack the defector from Oracion Seis. Chiron stopped them with Jura's help.
"Everyone stop, Richard here is no longer a threat." Jura spoke up.
"What?" everyone asked.
"It's true, Hoteye or Richard as it's his real name, explained that Nirvana has the power to change one's behavior. Now he's claiming to be on our side." Chiron said.
"It's true! I realized the evils of money and became stronger by realizing the power of love, oh yeah!" Richard explained.
Sherry suddenly sat up and squealed behind the vine wrapped around her mouth. What she meant to do was praise Richard for converting to her religious views about love. It's a good thing too because the last thing they needed was some sort of baptism or ritual revolving around love.
"Oh yea, Sherry here had the same issue. Except she became dark and creepy until the kid here stopped her." Gray said as Sherry muttered some curse words.
"I do good mama?" Ilya asked.
Lucy smiled awkwardly, "Sure, you're a good girl Ilya." she said as the albino child hugged her. While sweet, he was concerned for Shirou, 'How Ilya going to react to Shirou?' she wondered.
Lucy was afraid either Ilya would get territorial and angry or turn Shirou into a dress up doll. After all, Ilya looked slightly older compared to Shirou who was an adolescent despite his physical build.
"Revealing your real name? You just broke a massive rule Hoteye." said a voice coming from Midnight.
Richard glared at his former ally, "I am no longer Hoteye! That is a name full of greed and hate! I am Richard, a man filled with love, oh yeah!" he yelled.
Midnight shook his head and scoffed, "You really are a disappointment. I guess that means you're a traitor now." he said ready to kill the man.
Just as everyone prepared to jump in and fight Midnight. Richard extend his hand to stop them. His eyes no longer facing them but at Midnight as they were filled with a fire of determination. Whereas Midnight looked smug as if he was confident in his own abilities.
"No, I will face him alone! The rest of you must run as Nirvana is on the loose, oh yeah!" Richard said.
"Are you sure Richard?" Chiron asked.
"I am sure, now go on friends! I will defeat Midnight on my own, oh yeah!" Richard exclaimed as everyone ran towards the other direction.
"You better survive Kool-Aid man!" Happy said as the alliance members left.
"I will, oh yeah!" Richard said as he shattered a wall that came out of nowhere.
Elsewhere, a few minutes later
Natsu was groaning in pain, "Stupid robot town! Why did it have to move!?" he asked.
Suddenly he heard a voice, "Natsu!"
"Happy!" Natsu yelled back before silencing himself due to the feeling of vomit trying to come out of his mouth.
While it is true that motion sickness is occurent in Dragon Slayers due to the sensitivity in their magic. Natsu is only making it worse on himself. Mainly due to the fact that a part of his issue is his mentality. As with Happy, he claims the cat is a friend and not a vehicle therefore he doesn't feel sick. Proving that his magic is at fault, but he's only encouraging the poor health.
Then again, that was just a theory. It could be his sense of balance and trains are just a much easier way of him realizing it's effects.
Though not knowing this, Happy lifted up Natsu to relieve him of his motion sickness.
"Thanks little buddy." Natsu said gratefully.
"No problem Natsu, also Lucy told me to give this to you just in case." Happy said handing Natsu a class card.
"I better get Dark Magician this time!" Natsu said as Happy sighed at his dumb friend.
As the two flew higher into the sky. They were intercepted by Cobra who riding Cubelios.
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Cobra asked.
"Sorry I like girls." Natsu said before gesturing for Happy to fly around him.
"Too bad I disappointed you, now… HEY DID YOU JUST CALL ME GAY! ALSO DON'T FLY AWAY FROM ME!" Cobra yelled angrily.
"Move it Happy, let's see if we can figure something out." Natsu said.
"Aye sir!" Happy replied as they made Cobra chase them around.
As Cobra gave chase, Natsu worked on trying to summon his new weapon. Something he was proud of because they were stronger than the swords and shields Gray could make with ice while his weapons felt like the real deal. Only he had an issue with deciding what to use. Should he charge at Cobra with his swords or fire arrows at him from a distance? As he did this, Cobra grinned as he heard his final answer.
"You won't hit me with a piece of wood… AH!" Cobra dodged at the last second as Natsu cut his cheek with a sword he threw.
"It's that or arrows, so I threw my sword!" Natsu said as Cobra couldn't hear his thoughts quickly enough.
"Damn it! Try to avoid this!" Cobra said as he threw several clouds of poison at him.
"Watch out Happy!" Natsu says as Happy maneuvers away from the poisonous attacks. When they were in the clear, Natsu prepared his attack, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he yelled as he tried to land the blow.
Only to miss, "Nice try, but nothing gets past my hearing!" Cobra said arrogantly.
"You hearing? You dodged my attack, not my voice!" Natsu yelled.
Cobra chuckled, "I can hear all your attacks by listening to your mind. It's louder than your voice believe it or not." he said mocking the Dragon Slayer.
"I'm not that loud!" Natsu argued.
"Well actually…" Happy tried to say before avoiding an attack.
"It doesn't matter, because your age is over. It's the era of the new Dragon Slayers. Especially since I have the lacrima implanted in me." Cobra said boasting about his fake power.
"Lacrima? Then that means your a fraud like Laxus!" Natsu said accusing Cobra.
"So what? It's not like there's a such thing as a real Dragon Slayer. That power belongs to the dragons themselves." Cobra said not caring for his words. He then chuckled, "Besides, the ways of the old Dragon Slayer are over when the new ones are much better." he boasted expecting Natsu to be riled up.
Instead Natsu chuckled, "You know, I learned a lot these past few months. A copy has the potential to surpass the original, I don't believe that. I believe in succeeding the old and becoming the new. You're just a cheap imitation with lots of power, lots of power that can never get stronger." he said as Cobra felt offended.
"What was that? Did I hear you right?" Cobra asked.
"Ha, and he can't hear now." Natsu added.
"Natsu that's mean, you can't make fun of the elderly." Happy said adding salt to the wound.
"I'll show you!" Cobra said angrily. "Poison Dragon Scales!" he yells out as his hands grow scales and talons before he threw more waves of poison at Natsu.
Happy managed to navigate Natsu around the poison, "Try to hit him Natsu!" he said.
"Okay… arrows or sword again? I want to try sword, but he's just going to move and the arrows are cool but it's harder than it looks. Do you think I can make something else like a giant minigun or something?" he asked trailing off into his own tangent.
A tick mark appeared on Cobra's head, "Pick one one already!" He yelled angrily.
Only finding himself being kicked hard enough to fall off of Cubellios who flew after him. Cobra went wide eyed at how easily Natsu was able to hit him when he was able to hit Erza who was a lot faster than the Dragon Slayer, especially when she used Flight Armor. His hearing magic was meant to be so powerful that he could hear human thoughts and Natsu just hit him harder than a bowling ball hitting a pin.
'What the hell? Did he just trick me or did he hit me out of instinct?' Cobra wondered as his snake caught him.
"Shut up! I need to think! I got new tools and I want to try them out!" Natsu yelled angrily.
'HE HIT ME OUT OF IRRITATION!?' Cobra thought with a shocked face.
"Now face me like a man!" Natsu demanded as he chased after Cobra with his swords.
Yet even with ferocity and speed, Natsu lacked any form of grace like Erza or even Shirou for that matter. As Cobra didn't rely too much on his hearing as he felt like he was fighting a crazed homeless person wielding a broken glass bottle. Making it easier to punch him away every time.
"I won't even need this card." Cobra said as he pulled out one of the cheap imitations of Ventus' class cards.
"But I think we will, let's show this faker who's boss Happy!" Natsu said as he activated the class card.
Once again, Natsu used Siegfried's class card. After studying up a bit (Erza forcing him), Natsu had the advantage of his fellow Dragon Slayer's strong body and sword skills. Armor of Fafnir and Dragon Slayer would make it difficult for Cobra to harm him and by technically associating with dragons via the lacrima. The second skill would deal a lot more damage to Cobra.
"Playing dress up are we?" Cobra asked.
"I'm not the one imitating a Dragon Slayer here. I'm genuine." Natsu said further annoying Cobra.
"Poison Dragon Scales!" Cobra yelled continuing his barrage.
Natsu still avoided the attacks with Happy's help. He didn't want to risk his friend getting hurt or the possibility that the poison somehow effects his body despite his thicker hide. Although now Natsu was a lot faster and made it more difficult for Cobra to avoid his sword strikes.
"What the hell!?" Cobra asked as he took a downward slash at his chest. "I heard your strategy, but how did you hit me?" he asked.
"Strategy? Can you read my mind?" Natsu asked as he kept slashing and barely missing.
"I can hear it!" Cobra said confusing Natsu.
Natsu shrugged it off, "Whatever, even if you know what I'm doing next. It doesn't matter, if I told you I would punch you and you just stand there. Of course I won't miss because you stood there like an idiot!" he said mocking Cobra as he slashed at his arm making him scream.
"DAMN IT!" Cobra screamed as his leathery arm felt like it was impaled rather than scratched. The thick layer wasn't enough to protect him, 'Damn, he can hit harder and he's too fast. I was so caught up with beating Titania. I never knew the cards could make someone a lot faster than her." he thought angrily.
"You still hearing my thoughts like a perv?" Natsu asked infuriating Cobra.
It was getting too easy at this point. A trick Natsu realized when working out with Achilles and everyone else. Especially when guys like Chiron who were disciplined and patient pointed out his cocky attitude and his impatience being his weakness. Only now reminding Natsu of this basic yet useful skill on lesser enemies. Because it looked like Cobra really hated people mocking his power and the skills that made him so dangerous and feared when Natsu was treating him like a clown.
"You're full of yourself!" Cobra said as he flew faster towards Natsu.
Only now being able to hit Natsu, but taking a deep gash across the chest and exposing his flesh. Cobra hissed at Natsu before kicking him away to nurse his gash. Looking down, he could see that Balmung's cut was deeper than he expected. Especially as he knew dragon scales were too hard to cut, so a regular sword would be like a nail cutting into a diamond.
"I guess I'll need this after all!" Cobra said as he activated his class card.
Revealing that he had tapped into Jason's power. Unfortunately for Cobra, while his reaction time likely improved, Jason was a pretty bad fighter as most of his fighting techniques relied on his fellow Argonauts teaming up with him. Even Chiron's teachings weren't enough to teach the buffoon how to wield a sword like a master, at best he knew how to keep it from flying out of his hand during a serious fight.
Using all his force, Cobra dashed at Natsu and bashed his sword into Balmung, "See this!? This is real power! The way of the new is here and it's time for the old to leave!" he yelled.
Natsu chuckled, "It's like I already said faker. I don't have the real Sieg's power, but I at least learn from it and take the time to appreciate him." he said pushing Cobra back and swinging down his sword. Cobra started to struggle once Natsu had countered, "Not only that, but my class card is genuine while yours is a cheap copy that can never match the skills Ventus has. You have all that power, but you could never get stronger with it. So that's why you lose!" he yelled as he slammed his sword onto Cobra's.
Cobra stumbled back almost losing his sword and falling off of Cubellios. He only stayed in the air as he prepapred for Natsu's next swings and stabs. This allowed him to find a good spot thanks to Natsu's concentration.
"No, you lose!" Cobra yelled as he hit Natsu but didn't leave a mark.
"Learn some strategy for once! It might save you!" Natsu exclaimed as he hit Cobra's sword with enough force to make him drop it.
"Damn it!" Cobra curses as he throws another wave of poison at Natsu.
"You can keep throwing your poison all you want, but in the end I'm the real deal! You keep saying how only a real dragon can learn Dragon Slayer magic, but that's because you put in the effort to get stronger!" Natsu roared as he kept missing his hits.
"How about you shut up and die! Poison Dragon's Twin Fang!" Cobra yelled as he slashed at Natsu who was sent crashing down.
"Hang on Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as he used all his strength to push Natsu back up.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu screamed as he aimed for Cobra.
"Poison Dragon's Guard!" Cobra countered as he used all his strength to block the attack.
Natsu gritted his teeth before stabbing Balmung into the magic circle that shielded Cobra. Cobra smirked as he was about to get cocky only to get wide eyed as he heard the next thought in Natsu's head. Another downfall about Cobra's hearing ability is that while he also has to prepare for faster opponents, there was also the possibility of being unable to stop powerful attacks. Something he refused to believe would happen as he was far too arrogant to believe in failure.
"The Fake Dragon Will Lose! Balmung!" Natsu shouted as he used his remaining energy into Siegfried's Noble Phantasm.
Cobra used all his strength to withstand the blast but only two seconds later did he feel like he was being crushed by a train. Causing his barrier to shatter like fragile glass before he was sent crashing into the ground. Leaving Natsu and Happy to fly down as Cobra struggled to stand up let alone reach for poor Cubellios who he could not reach.
"You lose faker!" Natsu yelled as Cobra tried to glare at him.
'I lost, how did I lose? I'm supposed to be better than the old Dragon Slayers?' Cobra thought disappointingly in himself. Only to look at his snake companion, 'My prayer, to hear my friend's voice.' he thought before losing consciousness.
"Hey wake up! I'm not done gloating!" Natsu said as he made Happy let go of him.
Only to touch the ground and feel nauseous. Happy sighed at how quick his friend was to get sick. Natsu already looked like he was going to vomit at any moment all because his foot touched the ground. It's not like Nirvana was built to be a vehicle or anything.
Meanwhile Brain watched with disappointment on his face, "Clearly a fake Dragon Slayer has no worth to me. I will leave him and deal with it at a later time." he said as more lines disappeared from his face.
A few minutes later, Lucy and Ilya arrived, "Natsu!" she called out.
"Luce… I'm dying." Natsu whined.
Ilya decided to kick him in the stomach, "I don't believe you. Now get up like a good doggy." she said making Natsu groan.
"Ilya, that's not nice. You can't kick people." Lucy said as Ilya nodded. "Did he get motion sickness again?" she asked Happy who nodded.
Before Lucy did anything, Wendy arrived with Charle and Jeanne, "Oh no! Natsu-san has been poisoned!" Wendy exclaimed as she started getting to work but looked worried.
"He's not poisoned. He has motion sickness." Happy said as Wendy looked confused.
"I guess that's why he's not healing. Maybe I can restore his balance instead." Wendy said as she healed Natsu.
Natsu immediately stood up and moved around happily, "Is this real!? It is! I'm cured!" he exclaimed as he picked up Wendy and tossed her into the air before catching her again.
"Natsu don't you dare drop her!" Lucy ordered as Natsu stopped.
"Calm down Luce, I'm great with kids. Right Wendy?" Natsu asked as Wendy felt looked a bit dizzy.
"This is no time for games. Where have you been?" Charle demanded to know.
Natsu grinned, "Happy found me and we beat this guy and get this, he's a fake Dragon Slayer. The cocky jerk even said that he's better than me and used a fake class card." he said just as Cobra's card timed out.
"I suppose that means we finished off another card." Lucy said as she saw the fake class card disintegrate. Though it made her smile, "At least you didn't let some cheap knock off get the better of you." she said sounding impressed.
"Of course not Luce, I'm not letting some faker beat me. Laxus and this snake guy will never beat me." Natsu said sounding confident.
Lucy gave him a smug look, "This coming from the guy who needed help and several class cards to beat one man." she said making Natsu frown.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean!?" Natsu asked angrily.
"A little fun in the midst of war I see." said a voice.
"Who's there!?" Natsu demanded.
Seymour had arrived, with two armed guards no less. Lucy stiffened as she could remember the Guado's face as her previous life's memories had linked up with her current ones.
"Who is that?" Charle asked.
"Seymour Guado, someone who worked closely with Mateus." Lucy said glaring at him.
"Why so hostile Stella?" Seymour asked.
"Papa?" Ilya asked surprising everyone.
"Yes Ilya, I am your father and I see you found your mother too." Seymour said as Ilya ran up to him and hugged his waist.
"Gross." Lucy murmured as she thought Seymour was a creep back then as she sees him as a creep now.
As Ilya was being spoiled with affection from her "father" as Seymour claims to be. Everyone else got in the defensive and prepared for the Gaudo's moves. Quetzalcoatl remembered enough to know the man was honorable and had a good heart but did make questionable choices and so did Jeanne.
"Stay with your mother Ilya. I still have a lot of work to do now." Seymour told the sweet girl.
"Okay!" Ilya said as she ran back to Lucy's side.
"What are you doing here Seymour?" Lucy asked, not being in the mood to socialize with the Gaudo.
"So much hostility." Seymour said feigning pain.
Natsu punched his fists together, "I'll show you hostile!" he yelled before Seymour tossed a muzzle at Happy.
"Silence the rabid dog will you?" Seymour asked.
"Hey! Natsu's my friend! I would never do that!" Happy yelled angrily.
A guard then opened a suitcase revealing a fresh salmon, "How about now?" Seymour asked.
"Aye sir!" Happy said as he tackled Natsu down and restrained him before receiving payment.
As Natsu growled and tried to rip off his muzzle. That didn't stop the tension that was in the air.
"You didn't answer my question and who is this girl and why does she think we're her parents?" Lucy demanded.
"Ilya is the subject of an experiment using our DNA. Naturally your brother does not enjoy the idea of his family bloodline being used in such a way. As you can see, Nirvana held more secrets than just the power of negative energy." Seymour explained with the last part being valid.
The place did look old, but not as an ancient ruins. Like there was a modernized city here before but something caused it to fall into disarray. Some old technology could be seen lying around but all of it was either damaged or rusted.
Lucy then looked at Ilya who gave her a warm smile, "I can accept that much. Were you just here for her?" she asked.
"That too, however I think that is all I should be sharing for now. For now, I entrust you with Ilya." Seymour said just as his airship hovered over them.
"Hey get back here! We haven't fought yet!" Natsu yelled as he still struggled with the muzzle.
"Another day mongrel." Seymour said as he left with his escorts.
"Damn, who was that guy?" Natsu asked.
"I'll explain later." Lucy said before they moved on.
With Richard
"Liquid Ground!" Richard yelled out as Midnight failed to dodge his attack and crashed into a building.
Midnight groaned as he held his arm in pain. The fight with Richard was more difficult than he imagined. He had issues being able to land a hit on the traitor due his Earth Magic being able to block most of his attacks and the man was too fast for Midnight to avoid. Seeing that he needed a new strategy, Midnight stood up and ran away before disappearing from Richard's sight.
"Heaven's Eye! You won't escape me now, oh yeah!" Richard exclaimed before finding Midnight hiding in one corner. Richard didn't waste time hitting him again, "Liquid Ground!" he yells out again as Midnight crashes into another wall.
Midnight grunted as he could be spotted with regular vision again. Richard looked down at the feminine looking boy.
"You are beaten Midnight, the power of love has strengthened me, oh yeah!" Richard said before trying to finish Midnight off.
Only to collapse to the ground as Midnight disappeared yet again. This time, he appeared behind Richard's fallen form. Shocking the older man as Midnight looked healthy and clean with no sign of even a single scratch on his body. Almost as if Midnight wasn't fighting at all.
"Impossible! How are you still in perfect condition?" Richard asked with a surprised expression.
"That's for me to know and for you to die traitor." Midnight said with a smirk as he landed the final blow onto Richard.
With Brain
Brain frowned as he noticed how few marks there were left. It appeared that everyone minus Midnight and himself had all fallen. Meaning Midnight must have disposed of Richard. This left him with little time and yet there were so many members of the legal guilds alliance left. With only the members of Blue Pegasus being either defeated or unable to assist their allies. Meanwhile Wendy was still out there with Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale.
Now he could see Jura walking with Lyon who was carrying Sherry who was still tied up. Most likely thinking that Sherry would still be insane despite realizing that Lyon survived Racer's attempt at suicide bombing himself.
"I can cut her out Lyon-san." Chiron said as he held out a sharp pointed arrow.
"No, I think she's actually more attractive this way." Lyon said dryly.
Sherry blushed as she swooned into Lyon's arms. Mainly because she thought Lyon was kinky and that he didn't refer to Sherry being quiet due to the vines Ilya tied her up in. Before they said anything else, Jura raised up a wall of earth only to see Caligula smash it.
"GRAAHHHH!" Caligula roared as he charged at Chiron and dragged him away.
"An enemy!?" Lyon asked.
"Mmmph?" Sherry asked through her muffled voice.
(Fate Apocrypha OST - Until Dawn)
Suddenly Brain appeared, "Dark Rondo!" he yells as he blasts at the group. "I see how it is. If you want something done, it must be done yourself as they say." he said.
"So you finally revealed yourself Brain?" Jura asked.
"I did, now that Midnight has taken care of Hoteye. It is my turn to defeat all of you Lamia Scale mages." Brain said as he flared his power.
Jura's eyes widened, "You monster, even if Richard was a greedy criminal prior to seeking redemption. He was your ally and yet you care so little." he said sounding disgusted.
Brain grinned at the response, "Do you honestly think I care for the health of my failures? Once Nirvana reaches its full potential. I will no longer need subordinates or follow the orders of that emperor." he said.
"Then you will suffer defeat alone! Rock Avalanche!" Jura yells out as he sends Brain crashing away with all his force.
"Such power!" Brain croaked as he hit the ground.
"That's Jura for you!" Lyon said proudly.
"Now is not the time for praise Lyon. Stop playing your perverted games with Sherry and help Chiron. That servant he's fighting is likely as powerful as Brain himself!" Jura ordered.
"Understood and… hey I'm not the one that did this too Sherry!" Lyon exclaimed with a blush on his face.
"No, but you are doing nothing to release her. Now go!" Jura ordered as Lyon carried Sherry to help fight Caligula.
With the servants
Chiron avoided several kicks and punches before firing an arrow at Caligula. Caligula crashed into the ground only to quickly get up and repeatedly punch Chiron before tossing him into a building.
"A Roman Emperor is nothing to sneeze out." Chiron wheezed out before Caligula smashed down the walls.
Chiron quickly fired more arrows, missing as Caligula brushed them aside to land another blow. Eventually Sherry and Lyon did arrive to find the centaur being tossed around.
"Ice Make: Tiger!" Lyon called out as the ice tiger tackled Caligula to the ground.
As Chiron escaped, the tiger tried to maw at Caligula. Instead being shattered with a single punch. Sherry quickly reacted by looking for something to posses and chose several nearby stones that were caused by the debris of the buildings.
"Doll Attack: Rock Puppet!" Sherry calls out as a medium sized golem comes to life and chases after Caligula.
The Roman emperor growled loudly as he was lifted into the air and thrashed around. Sadly this didn't last too long as Caligula's superior strength was enough to shatter the golem by ripping off both arms and smashing it's head. Caligula stomped his foot onto the golem's chest as he slowly made his way to the wizards.
"Ice Make: Sword!" Lyon yells as he charges at Caligula.
Once again, Caligula smashes Lyon's ice magic easily. Leaving Lyon to engage Caligula in hand to hand combat. Like Gray and Natsu, Lyon had great skills and landed several punches to the face and chest. Making Caligula stumble back, but while Caligula wasn't a martial artist or expert in close quarters combat. He still had a lot of brute force and durability. For when Lyon landed another punch, Caligula grabbed it and Lyon's face before smashing him into the ground.
"Lyon-sama!" Sherry yelled out as she looked for something else to posses. "Doll Attack: Carpet Puppet!" she yelled out as a carpet moved on it's own to trip Caligula.
"Thank you Sherry!" Lyon said as he froze Caligula's feet while he was on the ground.
"Everyone get out of the house! I will bring this whole structure down!" Chiron said as he squeezed through the hole with Sherry and Lyon in tow.
While Caligula was breaking out of his binds. Chiron poured a lot of power into one of his arrows before launching it into the air. Destroying the entire building and making it collapse once it landed. Sherry grabbed onto Lyon's torso as the building collapse created a large shockwave.
"Is it over?" Lyon asked only to see the rubble move.
"I'm afraid not. A Berserker may take more damage, but their vitality makes them anything but fragile." Chiron answered as Caligula's growls could be heard.
As the Berserker tossed away all the rubble that he was buried under. Everyone prepared to continue the fight only to see a large hand touch his back. Caligula turned around to find Hassan of the Cursed Arm holding a human heart in his hand before crushing it. Caligula ran head first towards Hassan only to collapse while clutching his chest. His body simulated cardiac arrest.
"An Assassin!" Chiron exclaimed as he prepared his arrow.
Only to witness Caligula being repeatedly stabbed to death with a dagger in the neck. Hassan stopped his impalement before disappearing and leaving Caligula behind.
"He's gone!" Sherry said as she could see him anymore.
"Be on your guard. Assassin could strike at any time and will only reveal himself until then." Chiron warned as the two nodded before running off to find Jura.
With Jura
Jura was panting as he looked at Brain's unconscious form as yet another line disappeared. Before he could approach Brain and extract information from hm. He took cover as a large black hand extended itself and reached for Brain's chest. Revealing that a heart was pulled out and crushed.
Jura watched with wide eyes as Assassin revealed himself, "His majesty does not tolerate such insubordination." he said before disappearing.
"What was that?" Jura asked as the shock on his face never left.
Elsewhere
A man sitting on a throne looked up and saw Mateus surrounded by his elite guard by his side, "So you must be the ancient emperor who nearly ruled the world." he said.
"That is me, however I am surprised to see the former master of Fairy Tail becoming the master of Grimoire Hearts. I wonder what motivated you to change, Precht Gaebolg." Mateus said.
"That is a name I long since abandoned. I left this world and returned as Hades." Hades told the emperor.
TO BE CONTINUED…