Warnings: None, Again! I'm on a roll! :DD
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"Alright," Aki called, waving her hand to recapture the attention of the Fairy Tail members. "Who's next?"
Natsu immediately started hopping up and down, but Lucy, who had become begrudgingly invested in the spectacle, whapped him over the head, scolding, "You can do that any other time."
"How about me?"
Everyone looked around and wing-near fainted. Laxus was standing a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes on Natsu's pink haired twin.
Aki, contrary to the shocked and nervous faces surrounding her, grinned broadly, flexing her fingers in front of her. "I was hoping you'd noticed the Lightning Magic I used earlier."
Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Aki suddenly became earnest, nodding vigorously as she brought her fists up like she was lifting weights. "See, I can't use it right 'cause I've never met a dragon and I don't have a Lacrima implant. I really want to be better at it though because it has such a high base level of strength, and I'm hoping that by interacting with you I can bolster its strength!" She paused to take a breath, then held a hand towards the sky, the other to a bush, and closed her eyes.
Lucy could feel the static electricity tingling in the air, building up over the thick barrier created by miles of air, and could even feel the moment the tension snapped, releasing a bolt of lightning. It struck Aki, outlining her body for less than a moment, then shot to the bush, which promptly disintegrated.
"See?" Aki panted, looking a little weary. "Not only is it kinda weak and has to travel through me, but it uses way to much energy for the effect."
"That's because you're thinking of it wrong, shorty," Laxus chuckled, surprising a few. "It's not meant to go through you at all." He smirked slightly. "I could show you?"
Ignoring Lucy's fervent head shakes, an action so unanimously mimicked by the rest of the guildmembers that it created a wave effect, Aki leapt at the chance. "Oh, yes, yes! Getting struck by a proper Lightning Dragon Slayer attack would certainly boost my capacity!"
"Ak- Fuyu," Lucy started anxiously, "I don't think-"
Aki pressed a finger to her mouth, winking. "Lucy, it's fine. Really," she added, a little indignantly at Lucy's deadpan doubt. "It'll only sting a lot before vanishing. Might paralyze me too," she added musingly, turning away from Lucy's now horrified face. "Laxus!" she shouted. "Hit me!"
Everyone did the flop. Then they got up, and, in a unanimous motion one could not have predicted the Fairy Tail guild being capable of, started warning this random child away from the very idea of asking Laxus to hit her with his magic.
Aki was wholly unimpressed. "You guys," she huffed, folding her arms across her chest, "realize that I am on par at least with Makarov, right? No," she added, raising a hand before any could protest, "I'm not joking, nor am I exaggerating. I may not look it, but it's a fact. Laxus," she continued, firmly ignoring everyone else—except Natsu, who was cheering her on because of course he was—"hit me with a lightning attack, please. Whichever you deem appropriate."
Laxus eyed her for a second, then shrugged. "Why not?"
"Are you trying to kill the girl?!" Macao blurted as they felt magic crackling through the air, reaching up and connecting with the atmosphere.
"You fools!" Erza, who had suddenly appeared, scolded. "Can't you tell by looking that she holds a great deal of magic power?"
"But," Max bleated, gesturing weakly, "but this is Laxus against a child!"
"And magic power is dictated by its vessel?!" Erza challenged, her glare quailing any further blatant objections.
"Erza was a monster, even as a kid…"
"But that was Erza…"
"What did you say?" Erza said ominously, shadows suddenly framing her face.
There was an unidentifiable squeak, then silence.
"Thanks, Erza!" Aki chirped, as though Erza had not once again come so close to committing another murder. Erza gave her a wink. "Alright," Aki said, clapping her hands together brightly. "Laxus, if you would."
Laxus, apparently, needed no further invitation. The magic that had been calling on the boundless energy stored in firmament converged in his hands, forming a lance of lightning that shot from Laxus straight at Aki. The strike sent her flying backwards, crashing through the fence, across the beach, and into the ocean itself. There were several cries and a stampede after her, all searching for the tiny Natsu imposter who had just taken the brunt of Laxus's magic without any kind of defense what were we thinking letting… oh, Erza. Right. Your life will be missed, smol child.
"Loud bunch, aren't they?"
Lucy yelped, spinning around—she had also been keen on going after Aki, but knew well enough that she needn't. But that didn't stop her from worrying, okay?
Yet, bobbing up and down in thin air, Aki appeared fine, besides being stiff as a board.
Apparently seeing Lucy's confusion, Aki explained, her mouth still glued shut, "I'm completely immobilized, so I'm using magic to talk to you and float around. Drigons, that was strong. Especially for one so young," she hummed, eyeing Laxus with a new air of appreciation.
Laxus chuckled. "But you're just a child, who are you calling young? 'Fuyu?'" he added, grinning.
'Fuyu' smiled mischievously. "Oh, I can move my mouth again," she noted, and, releasing her magic, she dropped headfirst to the ground.
Lucy started forward, ignoring Aki's raised hand and rolling her eyes at Aki's incessant attempts at denying help. Aki merely groaned as she sat up, rubbing her neck. "I keep forgetting that I won't heal anymore," she grumbled, looking irritated.
Lucy sighed, unable to help a grin at her friend's antics. "Don't you think we should tell them that you're here?" she said instead, indicating the group that was still searching the shallow waters for Natsu's look-a-like and, to their knowledge, most recent victim of The Laxus.
Aki shook her head, getting up and holding a hand to Lucy. "Nah, I wanted to do Bickslow's magic with fewer spectators."
"You planned this?" Lucy squawked.
Aki giggled. Slowly, her mirth grew into a chuckle, laughter, shouts of glee, and, finally, maniacal hysterics.
Abruptly, she stopped. "Yes."
"That was- really creepy, you know?" Lucy managed.
Aki tilted her head, blinking innocently. "Whatever are you talking about, Lucy?"
Lucy gaped for a moment, then waved her hand in exasperation. "Nothing, nothing."
Aki grinned—her smiles had gotten so bright lately—then turned away and dashed up to Bickslow. "Bicky," she started, causing Lucy to choke and splutter at the nickname, "can you help me release my まいご?"
[Stray Child (Human Possession Magic)]
Bickslow blinked down at her, apparently surprised, then shrugged. "Why not? Don't know why you'd want to do that, though."
Aki dropped her head, looking uncomfortable for the first time that day. "I just," she tried, took a breath, then continued, "I just don't really like this magic."
Bickslow raised an eyebrow. "Why, 'cause it's human possession? You know it's not really-"
"I know!" Aki interrupted, throwing her hands up. "When I learned it, I was really bad at it, like, really bad, and I couldn't get them all to shut up. They just kept talking and talking and repeating over and over and I hadn't bonded them or anything so it was only me hearing it and I didn't need any more things only I could hear-!"
As Aki bit her lip, realization hit Lucy like a magic four-wheeler. "Ohh… that would be-" She cut herself off as Aki glanced at her; it wasn't her story to tell. But, as she looked at Aki, turning back to the rest and pushing herself back up from Their Legacy, Lucy felt another little wrench on her heart, a reminder that even if it was gone, the curse still held bits and pieces of her friends.
Aki had taken a deep breath, ignoring their bemused expressions, and finished lamely, "I just, I don't like the feel of it. I'm still not very good at it, either, so I can't release them on my own."
Bickslow snorted and took off his metal bar mask that always covered his eyes. Lucy spun around on instinct, shutting her eyes tight, but Aki didn't.
"Holy-" she heard Bickslow exclaim, "how many do you have?"
Aki fidgeted, staring down at her feet.
"Well, it has to be done by you," Bickslow sighed, calling one of his own dolls forward. It floated stilly in midair as he made complicated movements with his fingers. "Just make this sign, and they're released."
Aki froze, slowly looking up at him in horror. "All you need is a sign?"
Bickslow snickered. "Did you even look at this magic before trying it out?"
"Trying it out! Trying it out!" his dolls sang.
Aki flushed, looking away—embarrassed, Lucy realized. "I-" she started, then stopped. "It-" she tried again, but aborted that sentence as well. "And-" she managed in a squeak. After a minute, during which they all stared at her, she threw her hands in the air. "Gahh! I don't even know how I tried it, okay? I just woke up and boom, there they all were, floating around me, repeating everything I said!"
"How in the world do you accidentally learn an entire magic?!" Lucy demanded indignantly. "I know you're strong, but-"
"I know, I know!" Aki whined, waving a hand at her. "I-"
She was bright red now, examining the ground as she admitted, "I had a drinking contest with that Bacchus from Quatro Puppy, and apparently I decide to learn new magic when I'm black out drunk."
"You WHAT!?" Lucy shrieked. Behind her, Natsu and Bickslow exploded with laughter, Laxus and Erza chuckling appreciatively.
"Oh, stop!" Aki whined, pummeling her fists on Bickslow's leg, though, by how he ignored her, it didn't seem to be very effective. "I've never gotten drunk for as long as I can remember, forget blacking out! It's not my fault that's his magi-"
"Haaaaah?"
Lucy jumped, but she'd recognize that voice anywhere. A feeling of dread pooling in her stomach, she turned to see Cana approaching the group, looking like a beast stalking its prey. "You've only gotten drunk once?" she asked, disregarding the boys' laughter.
Aki turned around in short, jerky movements, an odd look in her eyes. After a moment's puzzlement, Lucy decided it was fear, but why—
"Cana-cama," Aki said warily, taking a half-step back, "I don't like the feeling that question is giving me…"
"What-" Lucy started, but Cana soared past her like a cat. She had pounced at Aki, who had to duck to escape.
"CANA! NO! LAST TIME WE DID THIS YOU TRIED TO MAKE ME KISS JUVIA AND MADE ME PASS OUT!"
"Come on, little Aki!" Cana crowed, chasing Aki in circles as the first of the search and rescue party that had stampeded 'after Aki' returned. "Cana wants to see you drunk!"
"NO!"
"Aki-chan, you were so eager to do it before," Mira, who had popped up out of nowhere, said sweetly, holding a line of rope that Lucy didn't even want to know where had come from.
Aki swore, slipping underneath Erza as she made a grab for her. "I DON'T MIND THE DRUNK PART!" she screeched, now leaping over Cana's head. "I FEAR NOTHING BUT THE IDEA OF LEAVING MYSELF UNDEFENDED AROUND CANA-CAMA!"
"That's a fair point," Lucy observed mildly.
"True, true," nodded Bickslow, Laxus, and Natsu.
"CANA, IF YOU DON'T STOP-"
"You'll what, Aki?!" Cana crowed madly.
An explosion of smoke cascaded over them all, filling the yard within milliseconds.
"Ha! Gotcha!"
There was a final scream, then nothing.
The smoke dispersed in a few seconds, revealing a yard lacking both Cana and Natsu's twin.
"Where'd they go?" Lucy worried, looking around.
"I hear something from above," Gajeel commented, and they all looked up to see two tiny specks plummeting towards them.
"METEORS!?" Lucy shrieked, but-
"Aki!" Natsu called happily, grinning up at the two figures emerging from the ether.
It was, indeed, Aki, accompanied by a maniacally laughing Cana. Then Aki vanished, leaving Cana to free fall and her shouts of glee to turn to ones of terror.
Yelping as Aki reappeared at her side, Lucy was forced to leap to the left to avoid Erza. Aki, though, hadn't been fast enough, and Erza now had a grip on Aki's ankle.
After a short tussle, Erza managed to pin Aki to the ground face up.
"What…" Aki heaved, sucking in air as she glared at Erza, "are you… doing?"
Erza smirked, her eyes glinting. "Assisting Cana, of course."
That seemed to be the last straw. A vein popped in Aki's forehead, her eyes flashed red, and she taunted, "Just try it, Blueberry Cheesecake's."
Erza went bright red and made to attack her, but Aki had suddenly slipped between her legs. "I'd like to see this WHOLE GUILD TAKE ME DOWN!" she bellowed, arms spread, so loud that Natsu himself was proud of it, and everyone else clutched at their ears.
Aki skillfully evaded Erza as she made a second grab for her, backflipping into a crouch. Her grin now maniacal, her hands in front of her making the 'I-dare-you-to-come-at-me' motion, she cackled. "JUST TRY TO TAKE ME DOWN!"
Natsu, Erza, Cana—who had managed to land safely somehow—and Gajeel leapt forward, the rest hanging back because it was just a child, even if she had somehow evaded death by lightning. That is, until that child sent all four of her attackers flying with apparent ease and a jeering, "COME AT ME, COWARDS!"
Of course, Fairy Tail, now aware that they weren't ganging up on a helpless child, needed no telling twice—they rarely needed telling once to start a brawl—and followed their fellows into battle against her.
Lucy hung back with Mira, opting to gape at the ensuing chaos rather than join, as usual.
"She's as bad as Natsu!" she whispered, watching Aki as she spun Macao and Wakaba in a circle by the ankles, mowing down any who came close.
"My, my," Mira said pleasantly.
Lucy had no chance to inform Mira how off her reaction was as Aki flung Macao and Wakaba into Gajeel, sending all three crashing into the wall in front of which Lucy had been standing, minding her own dragon-tailed business.
"Who annoyed Aki-ki?" came a mild and mildly interested voice.
Lucy turned to see Zeref, hands in his pockets as he observed the smackdown.
"Stop her!" Lucy appealed, dodging again as Elfman came flying towards her (Elfman ploughed, instead, into Mira, who collapsed, soul floating away~).
Zeref turned to regard her with his familiar ridicule, now with an added touch of wide-eyed, falsely innocent surprise that had Lucy instantly defensive. "You've got to be kidding."
"I am not!"
Zeref blinked slowly one more time, then burst out laughing, "I can't- I can't stop her! No one can when she gets like this!"
Lucy could've strangled the Dragneel brother, a recently familiar feeling. (She supposed the Dragneel brothers really were more alike than anyone could have ever supposed.) "You've got to do something!"
He shook his head, still sniggering at her expense. "Do you want to try and stop her?"
"Of course not!"
"Well, neither do I," Zeref said easily, wiping tears (which she was sure there weren't any, and he was just messing with her) from his eyes. "Just hope she doesn't decide to-"
BOOM!
"She did decide to," Zeref sighed, reaching a hand out to Lucy.
"Hey-!" Lucy yelped, finding herself on a platform high above the crater- Crater!? "What was that!?"
"That," Zeref answered blithely, "was the pool. Actually," he amended, glancing over the ledge with his usual casual curiosity, "that was the whole of the backyard." Lucy gaped at him; he shrugged helplessly. "There's nothing anyone could possibly do at this point."
Lucy looked over the edge again to see Aki leaping from Nab's face to Max's to Jet's and so on before holding a hand out towards Erza. A magic circle appeared on her stomach, but she easily sliced through it (Lucy shrieked, thinking she had just sliced open her own stomach). Erza lunged in retaliation but she nimbly jumped away, leaving Natsu to plough into Erza's Black Wing Armor.
Aki had already moved on, though, dodging easily as Bisca made a grab at her, then catching Gajeel's Iron Pole arm and swinging him like a bat into Bickslow.
"CANAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Lucy paled. Aki had leapt, soaring upwards, coming to a stop beside their platform. There, she hovered, completely ignoring Lucy and Zeref as she scanned the scene below her. A crazy grin spread across her face, her pupils contracting into red dots as they locked on target.
"There you are," she muttered. Slowly, she crossed her arms over her head. Lucy's and Zeref's shadows began to contort, twisting into themselves and then stretching back out towards Aki.
"Aki-chan?!" Lucy yelped. Aki ignored her.
A small black orb that seemed to contain the night sky itself spun itself into existence above her, growing in size at a terrifying rate.
"アルテアリス!" she howled finally, hurling it forward with such force that she curled in midair.
[Altair (Heavenly Body Magic)]
The orb seemed to fall in slow motion to Lucy, reaching the ground after what felt like an eternity and disappearing into the writhing mass below. A dazzling pinprick of light shot up from where the orb had sunk, shining like a tangible pole in the sky, followed almost immediately by a blinding flash of white and a resounding explosion that rocked their platform.
Aki grinned in satisfaction.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Lucy screeched, gripping the sides of their platform for dear life as it cast back and forth in midair.
"Don't worry," Zeref assured her, watching the billow of smoke with interest. "She reduced its power significantly—no one is hurt."
"THAT WAS REDUCED POWER?!"
"Oh, tails," Aki muttered, wincing.
Lucy felt her stomach drop. "Did something happen to them?! Did something go wrong?! Aki, what—?!"
Aki shook her head, opening her left hand so that her left palm was facing her right hand, which was balled into a fist. She rotated them, simultaneously sticking out her right pointer finger and pressing it to the center of her open left palm. As she began to twist them back, a shimmer of light grew around her. "ミーチア!"
[Meteor (Heavenly Body Magic)]
The golden light flashed brilliantly, and Aki was gone.
A second ball of light shot past Lucy's ear a second later, the figure inside it grasping at thin air where Aki had been.
"Jellal?!" Lucy shouted, her voice growing scratchy as only Fairy Tail could make it.
Jellal glanced at her, back ahead, and did a double take. "Lucy?"
"Y-"
"Sorry," he interrupted, shaking his head and looking forward again, scanning the landscape, "why is Aki using that?"
Lucy blinked, but let it slide—this was Jellal after all; he wasn't being rude for the sake of it. "She's kind of fighting all of Fairy Tail right now," she told him. Seeing his confusion, she added, "You know, like, the usual Fairy Tail brawl."
"Excuse you." Aki appeared at Lucy's side, bobbing up and down. Lucy yelped; what was causing her to bob was Elfman, whom she was dangling upside down by the ankles as he shrieked in a very manly way. "I am hosting a brawl far better than the 'usual'" —she made quotation marks with one hand— "Fairy Tail brawl.'"
She turned around with a whip of her hair. Taking aim and sticking her tongue out in absolute concentration, she pulled a pleading Elfman over her head and then brought him down like a hammer, hurling him back to earth. "Use ビーストソール:サンドビースト!" she hollered after him before turning to Jellal. "Hey, Jellal. Sorry about using that magic, but I did make it really weak, so…" She trailed off under the other's glower.
[Beast Soul: Sand Beast]
"What if you hadn't done it right?!" he shouted furiously.
Aki frowned at him, and Zeref chipped in helpfully, "Now isn't a good time to try and scold her, she'll-"
Jellal didn't seem to hear him. "I thought I told you not to-"
Jellal made a 'borf' sound as Aki launched herself into his stomach, latching onto his cloak. "MAKE ME STOP, SCARLET LIGHTWALKER'S!"
Red in the face, Jellal spun in midair, making wild attempts to grab Aki as she shimmied her way around to the back of his neck. "How do you know about that!? Let go of-!"
"NEVER! YOU CROSSED THE LINE TODAY, FRIENDO'S!" Aki cackled, forcing Jellal's hood over his eyes and tying it in a knot under his chin. "SUFFER MY WRATH!" And she flipped over, sending herself hurtling to the ground with a screaming Jellal.
"I tried to warn him," Zeref sighed, shaking his head helplessly.
But Aki hadn't made it halfway back to earth before another monster had leapt up to meet her. Erza kicked Aki towards the ground, grabbing Jellal before he could fall with her.
"ERZA!" Aki howled, righting herself in midair and soaring back to meet her. A shower of magic from the ground suddenly erupted from below, forcing her to spin out of the way. "YOU PESTS!"
"AKI, HOW DARE YOU!" came Erza's own bone-chilling roar.
"BRING IT ON," Aki taunted, dodging more attacks, dancing like a fairy in spring around the spells. "I'LL TEAR THE WHOLE GUILD TO SHREDS FOR LACK OF A CHALLENGE!" She dropped like a missile, joining the fray on the ground. She darted between punches, looped potentially devastating blows, all the while whacking people at random.
There were shrieks as she plowed through them, a knife cutting through paper.
"WHERE'S CANA?!" Aki demanded. A moment passed, and she whooped, seeming to blast herself into the guild hall.
Maniacal laughter could be heard throughout Magnolia, along with emphatic screaming.
And the guild hall exploded.
|^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^|
"AHAHAHAHA," Aki cheered, leaning back, fists raised in celebration. Below her feet lay her victims, a pile of unconscious guild-mages that had once thought to oppose her. "AHAHAHAHA—"
"She already fits right in," Mira, standing a little off to the side with Lucy, Erza, and Jellal, said pleasantly.
Lucy nearly fell over, gaping at the barmaid's lackadaisical attitude, but ultimately straightened, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I suppose so," she admitted resignedly. "But I don't know if that's a good thing…"
"I still want to murder her," Erza commented irritably, but Jellal put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
Aki finally ended her jubilation with a long, satisfied sigh, and fell over backwards, sliding down to Lucy's feet. She looked tiredly up at them, beaming. "I suppose I have to fix the guild hall…?"
"You do," Mira smiled.
"Mn…" Aki held up a shaky arm, palm facing the heavens, and closed her eyes. "ときのアーク:レストア."
[Arc of Time: Restore]
The debris surrounding them began to levitate, drifting back together, planks unbending and nails hammering themselves back into place. In less than thirty seconds, the guild stood, better repaired than it had been before.
"I'mm'a sleep now?" Aki yawned, though it sounded more like a question.
"Of course," Lucy murmured, stooping and flicking a piece of hair from Aki's face.
Aki snuffed vaguely, then took Lucy's hand and curled around it. "Mn…"
Lucy smiled.
Sleep well, Aki.
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Hello, friends! I don't know if any of you care about cut scenes, but if you do, I have a lot of them.
Also, why no comments, guys? (T^T) It's 'cause I talk too much in the A/Ns, isn't it? I've been trying not to… I'll just go make a hamster home…