Chapter 71: A Name

"We're headed straight for Kiora, aren't we?" Both Reiss and Cynthia asked their respective leaders. Rewinding back to that moment, this time it was Erza answering Cynthia as the four of them walked through a hallway. "Of course. She's the one behind all of this, so to defeat her is to complete our mission."

"She we have stayed together then, Erza-San?" Wendy asked as she cautiously looked around the dark and creepy hallway. "No, it's better this way." Erza replied. "Natsu, Gray and Lucy can take care of themselves if they run into Kiora, and with you two by my side, I'll be able to do the same." She smiled, causing the other two girls to do the same with the utmost comfort and confidence. "Alright then! Let's do this!" Cynthia piped up as the four of them walked through the door at the end of the hallway. With the door closing behind them on its own, Erza, Cynthia, Wendy and Charla found themselves in another giant room. The lights were still off, but something else illuminated the area, and as Wendy walked towards it. "Wendy!" Charla shouted, grabbing the Sky Dragon by her attire to stop her. "You almost stepped in it!"

"Stepped in what, Charla?" Wendy asked, but as she looked down, she realized that she was one step away from falling right into a giant pool. "A pool?"

"Bob surely does have a nice place." Erza stated. Charla then gave her a look. "I don't think nice is the word, Erza."

"We have a pool at the guild too, right?" At first, Cynthia held a smile on her face as she dipped her fingers into the pool, but a second later, she nearly gagged as she removed them. "It feels slimy." The young girl said in realization. She thought that was the worst of it, until she saw a shadowy figure in the water dart to the other side, causing Cynthia to shriek in horror as her face turned completely blue. "THERE'S SOMETHING IN THERE!"

"I'm not surprised." Erza said as she drew her sword just to be cautious. Before a move was made however, high pitched laughter could be heard just above them. Hovering over the middle of the pool, was the woman with thick glasses, Cirana. This time, she had wings protruding from her back, resembling that of a bat. (Magic: Bat) "That bag of bones said his name was Scooter. I'm not really feeling it, but it's not my pet so who am I to judge?"

"I see you carry a blade too." Cirano said, appearing on the diving board behind his sister. He held his blade in his left hand, staring in Erza's direction. He then pointed his blade towards her. As he did so, two more of Cirano appeared next to him from both sides, all three now occupying the diving board as they spoke simultaneously. "You'll be my opponent. Enjoy your last moments alive." (Magic: Illusionary Blade)

His comment caused Titania to grin, now pointing her own sword back his way. "Sounds like a challenge to me. I'll defeat all three of you. Cynthia, Wendy. Take the woman."

"But she's floating...over the pool of slime." Cynthia protested in disgust, but it was too late as Erza was now running towards Cirano, who would eventually meet her halfway as they began their three on one sword fight pool side.

"Don't worry, Cynthia! You can wait here and we'll force her away from the pool, okay?" Wendy reassured the other Dragon Slayer. Cynthia simply stared at the disgusting pool, eyes searching for Scooter, which still remained a mystery figure to the girls. "Right..." She just didn't want to risk it, and Wendy nodded in understanding. "Ready Charla?" "Let's go." The exceed responses, sprouting wings from her back and lifting Wendy off the ground as they flew towards Cirana. Cynthia watched them take off, then turned her eyes back to the water. "Maybe it's for the better. I don't want anything to happen to them if I..." Her words trailed off as the shadowy figure beneath the water's surface appeared directly under her. Cynthia squinted, trying to make out its shape. Instead, it seemed to be getting closer, and just before she could see anything, the female jumped back in a shriek as a splash was made — Scooter swimming back to the other side of the pool as Cynthia shouted angrily while flailing her petite fists about. "That wasn't funny!"

Wendy and Charla rushed towards Cirana, their opponent in question smirking and then laughing as they closed the distance between each other. "A cat with wings? How adorable! You look like a bird with her strapped to your back like that! It's too bad that bats are way more acrobatic than those disgusting feathered creatures! Keep up if you can, little one!"

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"I can't believe I got separated from Natsu and Lucy." Gray said, cautious trekking down a hallway alone. "They were right in front of me just a minute ago! Man, I feel like the joke character of the bunch now! I can just say Flame Brain making fun of me later!" He would imagine just that, a small thought bubble appearing over his head as a chibi Natsu looked down upon him smugly. {"Oi, Gray! You got lost and missed all the action? How dumb are you!? Stupid! Bahahahaha!"}

Shaking away the thought, Gray held his head in his hands. "I won't let that happen! I have to find Kiora now! Yeah, then I can make it seem like they were the ones who got lost, because I can say I knew exactly where I was going!"

Finally, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of music. Ominous yet alluring, Gray followed the sounds quietly, coming to the end of the hallway to a large door where the music played its loudest. "From...in here?" He asked, opening the door in question. Just as he did, the music was now in max volume. Walking inside, the door closed behind Gray, and as the ice maker looked around, all he saw was a plethora of untouched instruments. "A music room? Man, Bob is loaded, isn't he? So wait...where is the music coming from?"

"Capture Elegy: Bass!" A voice rung out, and suddenly, musical notes became visible, wrapping around Gray and restraining him completely. "What's this?!" Soon, laughter could be heard in a pair as Ino and Palm appeared from the corners of the room. Ino, the pink haired-green eyed female was seen with a viola while Palm, the green haired-pink eyed female, held a pair of cymbals in her hands. (Magic: Music)

That was way too easy, sister. "Ino stated, playing a single note on her instrument. Palm rubbed her cymbals together as she responded. "Yes, now lets finish him off so we can return to Madam."

"Madam? Listen!" Gray shouted as he struggled within the musical notes that held him captive. "That woman you're following. She isn't normal! Her name is Kiora and she's a demon from Tartaros!" The two sister passed each other inquisitive looks. "She's very dangerous and she's just messing with you all. She isn't trying to be your leader, she's just using you until she gets bored. Or at least, that's what I've gotten from this so far. I know her a little better than you do. Or I know the real her. You need to stay away from her, and we won't turn you guys in when we take her down."

"A demon? Madam?" Palm asked again, peering around her cymbals. "Yeah! She's really—"

Before Gray could finish his sentence, Ino was in his face, head cocked to a ninety degree angle as she gave off the creepiest vibe so far. "Iiiiiidiot! We don't care what Madam is! She saved us from that horrible Boro! She gave us purpose, food and shelter! You think we're afraid of sharing a home with a demon? Iiiiiidiot! Anything is better than sleeping in the rain with Boro! Running from the council with Boro! Being a bunch on nobodies with Boro! Madam was all we needed to change our lives, so why should we let you take her from us!? Even if she is a demon! Even if she does kill us because she's bored with us! It'll be the perfect ending to the best parts of our lives, stuuuuuupid!"

"Sister, you're speaking too much to someone who won't be longed." Palm interjected. Gray forced a grin upon his face as he lowered his head. "I see. It sounds just like them. Preying on the weak minded when it benefits them. Just like that one time..."

— Back at White Eclipse: Kuro sneezed. "You alright?" Nami asked. "Yeah, but for some reason. I'm really upset now." —

"You all were looking for a way out with no other choice. So, she gave you exactly what you wanted. You wanted to be free from one thing, so she gave it to you, at the cost of being owned by her. Don't worry..." As he spoke, the musical notes around him began to freeze over, revealing his magic to Ino and Palm for the first time. Once completely frozen, they fell to the ground, shattering into pieces as they did. "...I'll free you from her as well. Your path after that, will be up to you to choose."

"You sicken me!" Ino shouted with a disgusted look on her features. "How dare you talk about Madam that way! We'll make sure our concerto of death will be the last thing you hear before we bury you, pervert!"

Palm, the proven to be more calm one of the two, followed as she opened up her cymbals. They began glowing just as Ino's viola did. "Sister. Temper. Don't let this newcomer get the best of you. But I do agree. Let's bury him."

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Four swords clanged against each other repeatedly as Erza continued to fend off Cirano and his Illusionary Blade Magic. Despite the numbers game, Erza remained poised through the three on one assault, captivating a by-standing Cynthia as she did so. Cirano still somehow managed a grin of his own as he kept on attacking. "You seem relaxed, but it's only a matter of time before I break through your defenses."

"Is that so?" Hummed Erza. "Should I just let you through then, since I'm simply delaying the inevitable?"

Her inviting question caught Cirano off guard, and as he swung once more, instead of parrying, Erza evaded his attack altogether, only to follow by darting forward and slamming an armored elbow to the middle one's nose. As that one fell back, the Cirano to the left swung down a vertical blade as he yelled. "Don't get cocky!" But Erza parried once more, this time slamming her boot into his stomach. That one went flying just over the pool, landing on the other side in a crash landing. That left the last one standing, and though something caught Erza's eye, she remained focused on the remaining Cirano, electing to evade his incoming slice towards her ribs by leaping above him. "Kch! How can she read my movements so easily?! She can't be this good! I've trained my entire life! Then how is she..."

A downward kick to the top of his head landing a direct hit, Cirano fell over in immense pain. Erza now stood over him, pointing a blade right between his eyes. "You may have trained your entire life, but that doesn't compare to the experiences I've been through." And her words truly held weight from her battles with Reve, Kagura, and all of the times she fought for her guild... "You're simply carrying feathers compared to the mountains I hold on my shoulders. Give in now and you'll only be charged for breaking and entering."

"How dare you..."

"How dare you!" Cirana, the sister shouted simultaneously to her brothers call. Just as Cirano, the female was in a one sided fight against her opponent. Wendy didn't have a single scratch on her, and Charla neither. Cirana however was panting heavily, bruised everywhere as she desperately looked for a way to turn the tides of this one sided fight.

"It's over." Wendy and Erza said once more. Erza then continued. "I figured your magic out at the beginning of this fight. It's true that you have an illusion style of magic, creating mirages of yourself, but you also have the ability to become those mirages, making them the real thing. Which means right now, I'm not even pointing my blade at the real one right now, am I?"

"You're right..." He would breathe out. "I'm not the real one, neither are the other two you defeated." Erza raised a brow. That was a twist she didn't quite expect. Just then, the real Cirano appeared above Cynthia with his blade over his head. "It's me! And since I can't beat you, I'll cut down this innocent child instead!"

Cirana dashed to the left, and before Wendy could cut her off, she zigzagged back to the right, cackling as she juked Wendy completely while now flying at a high speed towards Cynthia. "Great idea, Brother! Let's break their spirits by killing her first! Then we'll be able to take them on!" As she shouted, fangs appeared where her regular teeth were. Both siblings were going in for the kill, rushing or falling towards Cynthia with everything they had. "Oh no!" Erza exclaimed. "I'm too far away!"

"Cynthia!" Both Charla and Wendy shouted in fear, also aware they would be unable to make up the distance in time.

"Prepare to die!" They both shouted, and as they did, for a second, Cynthia lowered her head, shading her eyes under her own hair before glaring towards them both once more. Slowly, she raised her hands over her head, waiting for the perfect time; when Cirana and Cirano were close to each other. Once that time occurred... "Omega..Fire Dragon's...Wing Slash!"

Cynthia threw her hands forward, creating two torrents of flames that shot forth, capturing the siblings inside as the flames easily shot through the roof and into the sky. Wendy and Erza looked on in awe, marveling at the power behind a single attack from the petite girl. "Cynthia...Cynthia!" Erza shouted, realizing that it was way too much. They were only trespassing after all.

"Cynthia, stop!" Wendy tried, but it was no use. Everything seemed loud. The agonizing screams, the out of control flames, Wendy and Charla soon had to duck out of the way thanks to the sudden rise in temperature. "It's so hot!" Charla noted, pointing out the obvious. "It's hot...hotter than Natsu-San's...! Cynthia please!"

She couldn't hear them. Cynthia had her eyes shut tightly and she continued screaming throughout her attack, blocking out everything around her incidentally. Erza could feel her armor plating melting off. She requipped into her Flame Empress armor, but even then she could still feel the scorching heat overwhelming the room. "What is this? How does she have so much within her?" Titania asked herself. "I have to stop her! Or...Wendy...what are you doing!?"

Wendy took the initiative before Erza could. Trying her best to shield herself from the unbearable flames, Wendy finally made her way to Cynthia. "Cynthia!" She shouted, wrapping her arms around the Omega Fire Dragon Slayer. "CYNTHIA!"

{"CYNTHIA!" The flames raged on, burning through the entire area; an open field of grass as a man and a woman stood behind her, watching. Cynthia continued screaming, and as the woman tried to run towards her, the male in question grabbed her arm, holding her back from the raging dragon slayer. "Don't go near her! Let her exhaust herself!" He begged, smiling heinously in enjoyment at what was happening. He even gave off a desperate, crazy laugh. "Look at her! We did it! This is what we wanted! A weapon powerful enough to change everything that's happened to us! To her!" In the midst of his laughter, a loud smack was heard. He held his cheek, turning her way as she glared back with teary eyes. "This isn't what I wanted at all! I wanted Cynthia Viscard back! My...our daughter! I don't want an out of control killing machine! Stop her!" Rubbing his cheek, he watched the flames around him grow, feeling the intense heat becoming more and more intense as seconds pass. "You're right, Rose." He said, covering his eyes with his own hair. Within the next second, he then grabbed her by the throat, squeezing tightly as she struggled in his hold. "A...Aiden...!" She choked out, still trying her hardest to free herself. "You're right! This isn't what you wanted. It's what I wanted! I wanted something that would help repay this country from all that they took from me! My child! My research! And now...my delusional wife who just wants peace! Peace doesn't exist, Rose! There's always someone threatening someone else's happiness somewhere! Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening, and eventually, it'll come back around, and you have to decide! Will it be your peace that is taken away, or will it be you that takes away their peace!? Well I won't let it happen again! And since you're not going to help me, then that means you're against me. I'm sorry, Rose.. but you have to leave now." "Aiden, wait!" She pleaded, but his mind was made up. Aiden launched her forward, directly into the sea of flames Cynthia was creating with her uncontrollable magic. She didn't even notice her, simply shouting in a blind rage she had no control over. Aiden watched, then turned back to Cynthia with that insane smile of his. "Your mind, I'll have to scrap it, because I don't need you attacking me for what just happened. It would be better if you don't remember your mother. But your magic! It's only scratched the surface! I'm so happy for this process! Soon, Cynthia, you'll be strong enough to take down all that has done us wrong! You hear me, Cynthia! Cynthia!"}

"Cynthia!" Her named echoed through her ears, and the soothing tone, despite its yelling, caused her a peaceful awakening. Suddenly, the rising flames stopped, and Cirano and Cirana fell from the open ceiling and into the pool, burnt to a crisp. "H-Huh..? Wendy?" She questioned just before falling over from exhaustion. "Cynthia!" Wendy yelled, catching her in her petite arms. "She's exhausted." Erza stated, walking over. "She'll be fine, but she can't go any further. Can you stay here with her, Wendy? I'll make sure these two are restrained. Although..." Erza looked over, watching as the shadowy figure that was occupying the pool rose from its depths with the siblings in each tentacle. "...Huh, so Scooter is a giant squid."

"I'll stay here, Erza-San. You can go ahead and find Kiora. Just be careful." Said the Sky Dragon Slayer, though she never took her eyes off the unconscious Cynthia. Erza simply nodded, looking with concern before finally taking off. That's when Kiora's shriek took place, but Wendy's concern was elsewhere. Erza however was now given new direction, and headed right for her objective. Kiora.

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"Kiora. I am Kiora. That ugly mug I can see is Tobias. The others are... the others are...! Dammit! I'm Kiora! Kiora Sid...Kiora Sid... Argh!" She pounded the wall with her bare fist, each strike causing the crater deeper and deeper as she threw her headache induced tantrum. "The more I know, the less my head hurts! I remembered this Tobias person and it decreased a lot, so what do I need to remember the rest!? Tell me who I am!"

She head butted the wall, shattering most of it. Kiora was in such a frenzy, that she didn't even notice Takeru, who was still hiding behind what remained of that wall, holding his breath and all so she wouldn't detect him. "She's having problems remembering who she is? Is this a side effect of that time? And we triggered her memories?" All of these thoughts rushed through Takeru's head as he kept a close watch in the shadows. Kiora was now in the middle of the room, a dead Boro behind her as she remained squatted, holding her head. "I need to confront those guys. Nothing else is coming into the clear. Maybe if I see them again..."

Takeru then thought to himself again. "Now this is a dilemma. If she sees us, her memories might return. If that happens, she could run, and look for the others. But on the other hand, even if we were to leave her alone, Daityas will probably come looking for her. Or, she'll eventually remember anyways. So that means the answer is the same no matter which way I look at it..." Takeru held out a palm by his side, gathering an accumulation of shadow magic within it. "...I have to kill her."

Suddenly, Kiora turned a wild eye in Takeru's direction. She had the look of a wild animal, backed into a corner and ready to fight out of it. "You... I know you." She called out in an estranged voice. Kiora then stood up, creating a scythe in her right hand. "You've been playing in my memories as well. Maybe you have the answers."

"Idiot!" Tak thought to himself, lowering his shadow magic as he glared towards her. Kiora began walking forward, swinging her scythe a few times as shadows fell from each motion as she made a direct line for the person in front of her. "You have the answers, right? You'll tell me who I am, right? If not, I'll torture it out of you. I'll make you tell me! You'll tell me everything...

Erza Scarlet!"