"What…what the fuck!?" Ryker had trouble speaking as he started to wake up. He found it strange, his body was limp and he couldn't move, his vision was blurred and he had a severe headache.
He looked around and noticed he wasn't in the room he shared with Mira. It was a strange, cold place, with wires and machines he'd never seen. The mage had no idea where he was and apparently, he was alone.
Ryker tried to move, but I couldn't. He lifted his head and noticed that his limbs were bound and he was strapped to what appeared to be a stretcher. He made some effort trying to free himself, but it was in vain, he was trapped without being able to free himself.
"I wouldn't waste my energy like that. These bindings are anti-magic, you won't be renting any", Albert said looking at the mage strapped to the stretcher.
"Who are you?" Ryker asked looking back at that weird figure.
"My name doesn't matter. Even more so now that you are my specimen for my experiments," Albert grinned devilishly.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Don't talk like that!" Albert scolded him. "I'm fascinated with you. I've never seen a wizard like you! Your magic and your power are unlike anything I've seen. And as a man of science, it is my duty to discover the truth," he looked at the mage strapped to that cold stretcher with a maniacal expression. "I want to find out all about you. You will be my guinea pig, forever," he laughed hysterically.
Ryker saw him chuckling and all that prim Albert way and laughed at him, catching his attention, who looked at him displeased. "My mates will find me and they will fuck your ass," he glared at him defiantly.
Albert smiled sarcastically. "They don't know where you are and you don't even know if they aren't already dead. Hahihihi!" he laughed maniacally.
"What did you do to them!?" Ryker yelled and shifted desperately, glaring at Albert. "Where's Mira!?"
"Do not worry. They're a long way from here. But consider yourself lucky. Under my care you will live. As for them... I can't guarantee it. Hahihihi!".
"W... what do you mean!?", he asked, startled by the possibilities.
"It does not matter. The important thing is that I'm going to have fun with you and find out exactly what you are." Albert looked at him deeply.
Ryker glared back at him, challenging him. "She's going to find me, no matter what. She'll find me!" he said confidently and a defiant smile on his face.
Alberto gave a slight smile. "We'll see... Meanwhile...", he said placing electrodes all over Ryker's body. "We'll analyze you", he turned and went to a weird machine in one of the corners of that room. "This is going to hurt," he said and pulled a lever. Ryker let out a scream as electrical currents coursed through his body.
Mirajane was in the carriage with her brothers heading back to Magnolia, yet something inside her was bothering her. They said that Ryker had left early, but she wasn't convinced and she didn't even know why she accepted that and left with the rest of the guild. She kept looking out of the carriage towards Valentin's big house.
"Is everything okay, Nee-san?", Lisanna asked worriedly, seeing her older sister's state.
Mira shifted her attention to her. "It is, Lis. I'm just thinking of something," she replied.
"Do not worry. Ryker should be waiting for you at the guild", Lisanna said smiling.
"Yeah… of course," Mira replied absently looking out and watching the landscape go by.
She sighed looking out over the field, and suddenly she felt a tightness in her chest. Reaching out there, Mira knew it was Ryker, that nothing was right, and that he needed her.
"Stop the carriage!", Mirajane yelled and jumped out as soon as the vehicle stopped.
"What's up, Mira!?" Lisanna asked startled.
"What's going on?" Makarov asked. When Mira asked and stopped her carriage, causing all the others to do the same, leaving everyone in Fairy Tail without understanding what was happening.
"I don't know master. Suddenly Mira asked her to stop and left, now she is like this", Lisanna explained and showed Mira looking the way they came with her hands on her chest.
Makarov approached her and carefully asked the reason for all this. "Mira, what's going on? Why did you ask them to stop your carriage and walk away acting like this?"
Mirajane sighed but didn't look away from the path, her expression turning serious and irritated. "It's Ryker," she said darkly.
"What's wrong with him?" Makarov asked carefully.
"He didn't leave that mansion. He's still there, needing me," she replied with a shadow forming on her face.
"Mira, Alan and Valentin told us they saw him leave...", Makarov was talking, but was interrupted by the mage Take Over.
"They lied!" she said seriously. "Ryker was suspicious of them. If he believes that, so do I, and now I see that he was right. For some reason they arrested him and if they do anything to him…" Mira's expression darkened and a dark aura formed around her. Her irritation could be felt by the other guild members, putting fear in them all.
"Mi... Mira, calm down!", asked the guild master. "Are you sure about that?".
Mira looked at him with determination and confidence. "I have, master. I can feel he's in trouble and in need of me. I have to go back there and save him."
Makarov stared at her for a while. He had no reason to distrust his children. "Right," he said and went back to all the mages who had left their transports. "Listen everyone!" he called. "Mira believes we were tricked and that Ryker is trapped in that mansion for some reason. Let's go back and rescue him."
"If Mira nee-san said it, I believe it's true. And a man must not run away from the fight. If they're arresting one of us, let's go back and find out what's going on," Elfman was the first to speak.
"I will not leave any companions behind. And if they did something to him, they will pay," Natsu said in a menacing tone.
"I won't let them hurt Nii-san," Wendy said determinedly.
"What are we waiting for?" Gray said.
Erza looked thoughtful. "They said he was gone before everyone else and they were so convincing. This could only be magic. But if they took one of us, does that have anything to do with the threats to the guild? It's something we need to find out, she thought.
"Probably they are magic users. We have to be careful, we don't know the extent of their powers. Other than that, we won't let anyone get in our way," Titania said angrily.
Mira thanked everyone and they climbed into their transports heading back to Valentin's mansion to find out what was, in fact, going on.
"I'm coming, Love," Mira told herself as they walked back.
"AAAHH! AAHHHHH!", Ryker screamed in pain.
"Interesting! Very interesting..." Albert reveled in the data he received from torturing Ryker on a stretcher in the lab.
Ryker breathed heavily as the shocks stopped. "You know… that last one was kind of relaxing," he chuckled and coughed.
"I realize you're very used to pain. Your body is in shambles. You have scars, various signs of fractures in many of your bones and I can see that you have suffered a lot of internal organ damage."
"Something like that. Don't go thinking these little bumps will intimidate me. For someone whose life was almost ripped away, only to be revived and start all over again, over and over again, this is nothing!" Ryker grinned teasingly.
Albert looked at him with contempt. "These electrical currents are not meant to torture you. They are just for my experiments. But if you insist so much on feeling pain I can turn the voltage up." He turned a key to high and pulled a lever.
The electrical current that coursed through Ryker's body was such that the light in the mansion and in the entire nearby town was flickering. The Fairy Tail mage screamed even louder with the pain of shock and Albert looked at him in wonder as Ryker suffered over his experiments - a sadistic smile formed on his lips.
In the meantime, Fairy Tail mages have returned, occupying the entire entrance to the front gate of Valentin's mansion.
"Mr. Valentin! Fairy Tail is back. What should we do?", a maid ran to where her master was, desperate with the situation.
"Damn you, Albert!" Valentin swore. "Where's Alan!?" he shouted, calling out to the butler.
A short time passed and the butler and head of all the servants appeared at his lord's office. He was as serious and serious as ever, without showing any feelings.
"You told me your spell was guaranteed and they wouldn't come back. What went wrong!?", Valentin shouted, worried about the situation.
"I'm afraid they might be stronger than I thought, my lord," Alan tried to find some plausible explanation.
"Filth! If it wasn't for that damn Albert", Valentin sighed and became thoughtful about the whole situation. "Right. That could be a possibility." He looked at Alan seriously. "To what extent can you face them?" he asked.
"We have many mages, and I myself am very skilled. If they don't withdraw, we can finish them off now."
Valentin looked at him, looking for that butler's confidence, then he sighed in resignation. "Very good. Gather everyone, and kill those damn fairies", he ordered and Alan bows and leaves the room.
"Sooner or later Fairy Tail would fall. Why not by my hands?" Valentin laughed sadistically. "Die Fairy Tail and give me the glory of getting rich from the suffering of others. Hahahaha!".
In front of the property's gate all of Fairy Tail was waiting for someone to come and meet them. Mira, however, had an irritated look on her face, letting her demonic side take over. She was impatient and almost bursting.
"Calm down Mira. Let's get to the bottom of this and find him." Levy tried to calm her down.
"He's here, I know he is," Mira said putting her hands on her chest. "He needs me."
At that moment the gates opened and Alan appeared. "How can I be of assistance?" he asked politely.
Mira glared at him. "Where's Ryker!?" she yelled in rage.
Alan looked at her coldly and indifferently. "I already said. He left before you. Why do you insist on it?".
"It's a lie, he's here and you're hiding him for some reason!", Mira said angrily.
"Calm down, Mira!" Makarov intervened. "See my young man," he says patiently. "We have reason to believe Ryker is here with you. We don't know why you keep him prisoner, but I'd like him back and we're settled. Otherwise , Fairy Tail will be the enemy. And I can assure you that you don't want that," he finished the sentence with a terrifying look at Alan.
Alan looks at him and analyzes the situation, seeing all the members gathered and ready for combat.
"Very well," Alan says. "If that's how it has to be, all the better. It's time for your guild to end", he snaps his fingers and hundreds of men, very well dressed and elegant in bearing, surround all the mages. Alan looks at them coldly and smiles devilishly. "Kill them all," he orders and a pitched battle begins.
"What's going on!?", Albert asked scared, feeling the tremors that the battle was causing to the laboratory in the basement of the mansion.
"I... warned you that... they'd be back," Ryker said and laughed at Albert's concern.
"Shut up, guinea pig!", the scientist shouted arrogantly. "This is not our problem. This lab is too safe, they'll never be able to get in here," he chuckled satisfyingly. "As for us? Let's get back to my experiments, I'm really excited about the data I'm gathering from you, Hahihi!"
"Mira…" Ryker whispers her name.
On the surface the battle rages on, Mirajane was in Satan Soul fighting various opponents, as well as all the guild members. Natsu unleashed his flame blows and Erza took them down with her swords. Lucy, Wendy and Lisanna attacked and defended as best they could. Gray, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy formed their pairs and fought together with the spells, supporting each other. Laxus and his team, along with Makarov, dealt with other enemy mages.
The most powerful of them and the most difficult to deal with was Alan. He possessed a psicokinetic magic, which could control and return all attacks he suffered. Even though several guild members attacked him at the same time, he was fast and strong enough to parry and return their attacks.
"AAAHHHH… AAAHHHH!", Ryker screamed with the shocks he was suffering during Albert's experiments, who went crazy with the data he got.
"THIS! THIS! MORE MORE! I want more data! Hahihihi!", he laughed madly.
"It's… going to take more than that… to break me. Until... until it's nice... hahaha!", Ryker teased the scientist. They could feel the battle taking place on the surface and making the whole place shake.
Albert turned to him. "Moron! I don't want to break you. Well, not until I get everything I need from you while I'm alive. Of course, in time I will dissect you."
"I can't wait," Ryker said sarcastically.
"Shut up, guinea pig!" Albert yelled and switched the electric current through Ryker's body again.
"AAAHHHH!", he shouted louder than ever.
Natsu knocked one of the enemies down and heard a sharp sound coming from somewhere. He stopped and paid attention to that strange sound he had just heard.
"What was that?" the Fire Dragon Slayer asked himself.
"Did you hear it too, Natsu-san?", Wendy said in astonishment.
"Yes, it sounded like a… a scream," he concluded.
In that instant they heard the same sound again, louder than before. They paid attention and noticed that it came from somewhere under the earth.
"It's coming from the ground!" Wendy realized. "Does that mean…" she realized that Ryker was being held underground and being tortured. Her expression, as well as Natsu's, darkened and they were filled with anger.
"Mira-san!" Wendy called out. The demon mage turned to her. "Ryker is underground, somewhere. They're…" She didn't have to finish saying anything and a black aura washed over Mira, scaring everyone, friend and foe, around her.
"Go! We'll take care of that", Lucy said and the Take Over mage took off flying towards the mansion.
Mira, completely pissed off, assumed the Sitri form and nothing could stop her fury. She stormed into the mansion, smashing through the front door and into the foyer. There were other servants, who were afraid of the mage who looked at them with intense anger.
"Where is he?" she asked darkly.
"I... I don't know", one of the maids replied and ran away in fear.
Mira ran through all the rooms and hallways, looking for some secret entrance or passage that could lead her to the place where Ryker was being held. "They said he was underground," she remembered what Wendy and Natsu had said.
The mage punched the ground with all her strength, creating a huge crater and causing the ground and much of the mansion to collapse.
Albert looked around, startled by everything shaking and a loud noise coming from somewhere nearby.
"Mira..." Ryker told himself and smiled.
Albert looked at him and saw that happy face and was enraged. "What is so funny!?".
"I told you she'd find me," Ryker chuckled. "If I were you, I would run away! For your own good," he said as he heard walls being smashed, one by one, closer and closer.
"Do not be ridiculous! This lab is impenetrable, I told you!" Despite his confident speech, Albert was sweating cold and shivering at the approaching sounds.
"Man, you're so fucked up..." Ryker chuckled looking at him. "Don't mess with Mirajane's," he closed his eyes, smiling, waiting for her to arrive.
Ryker opened his eyes and he knew she had arrived. He noticed Albert trembling with fear looking at the lab door. In an instant, it was torn apart and a cloud of dust engulfed everything. What they could see was just a pair of red eyes, in the middle of the smoke.
Albert ran for cover, seeing the demonic figure in front of him, who had just destroyed the impenetrable defenses of his laboratory. When the smoke cleared, Mira looked around, anger etched on her face. Albert, from his hiding place, watched her in panic, with the power and dark aura she exuded.
Mira saw Ryker strapped to the gurney, shirtless and covered in electrodes, he looked tired and bruised. She ran to him, breaking all the bonds that held him.
"I'm here, Love," she said pulling him into a hug. "No one is going to hurt you anymore." She wrapped her arms around him protectively and he wrapped his arms around her.
"I am fine. I knew you would come," he answered in her ear.
"Sorry, sorry I didn't come sooner. I should have known you wouldn't leave me without saying a word," she said apologetically.
"It's okay, Mira. I know you guys were tricked." Ryker knew she and the rest of his friends weren't to blame. There was no reason to apologize.
Mira smiled and looked into his worried face. "Did they hurt you? Why did they make me...", she said and the expression on her face darkened again.
Ryker smiled and tenderly caressed Mira's face in Sitri. "Forget it, I've suffered worse. Let's just get out of this place."
"Of course, Love. Can you get up and walk?", she asked worried about his condition.
"I can, Baby," he said, making her blush at the nickname. Ryker stood up as if he hadn't suffered at all, he looked over to where Albert was hiding and smiled out of the corner of his mouth, with an expression of superiority.
Albert looked at him in astonishment. That man came out as if he hadn't suffered at all, even after all those shocks!? Ryker and Mira headed for the door, with her backing him up.
"Wait a sec," he said when the two of them were at the lab door.
"What is it?" she asked intrigued.
He pulled her into a heated, passionate kiss, which he promptly returned. "Have I told you how beautiful you look in Sitri?", he asked praising her. Mira smiled and shook her head in response. Ryker smiled and pointed his hand at the lab and fired a glowing sphere of light. When it hit an obstacle, it exploded destroying everything in its path.
On the surface, Wendy was fighting Alan, and it was a tough, difficult fight. Everything she tried, all the blows she gave were countered by him and the little mage didn't know what else to do.
"He is strong! It's hitting everything I try," Wendy analyzed the situation. "He's using those eyes to control my magic and turn it against me. Maybe I should use hand-to-hand combat, like Ryker taught me," she thought.
"Have you given up or are you still going to try something?", Alan asked superbly.
She looked at him and decided to try a more direct approach. She knew that in speed she was superior and could surprise him. Wendy used the internal energy, as Ryker had taught her, to increase her magic and speed. In the blink of an eye, the young Dragon Slayer was beside Alan, who didn't even notice her arrival. With a kick, she hit him in the face, sending him flying away.
Before he could recover, Wendy caught up to him and punched him in the back. Leaping forward, she elbowed him in the stomach, causing the butler to howl in pain and kneel, holding the spot of impact.
"W... what was that!?", he asked himself, astonished and groaning in pain, as he looked at the mage in front of him in an imposing way.
"You kidnapped and tortured someone very important to me. I won't let you get away with it. Even though I don't like to fight I will protect my friends and who is important to me", Wendy said with fierce determination.
Alan looked at her scared and didn't react to the kick that the little one gave him in the face. Quickly the Dragon Slayer approached him and released his dragon breath at point blank range, with no time for the butler to defend himself or use his magic. He was thrown away and, in a faint, fell to the ground. Wendy took a deep breath, relaxing from the adrenaline.
When the little bluenett defeated Alan a huge explosion was heard, catching everyone's attention. There was fire and smoke coming out of the mansion and a large part of it had collapsed.
"Aim! Ryker!" they screamed in desperation. The mages stared at the scene without reaction for a while.
They calmed down when they saw Mirajane and Ryker leaving the mansion, with no apparent damage, she was helping him walk, supporting him. Everyone ran around them to see if they were okay and if Ryker needed any help. They filled him with questions.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," he reassured everyone.
Wendy hugged him. "If it weren't for Mira...", she said, her voice a little choked up. "Sorry I didn't notice there was something strange," she said tearfully, clinging to him.
"Hey, don't blame yourself. The truth is, I could break free with time. I would just need to find the perfect moment," he reassured her. "Besides no one else was to blame, you were manipulated", he reassured her and everyone else.
"Yes, but even so...", the little girl insisted with teary eyes, but in such a cute way...
"Nope, Wendy! Don't blame yourself, it's okay," he stroked her head affectionately.
"He's right Wendy. Don't blame yourself, none of us should. Alan was very skilled at tricking us with his magic," Makarov said. "Now I must have a word with Valentin," he said and headed up to the mansion with Laxus and his team accompanying him.
Everyone looked at him knowing how angry he was and that it wouldn't end well for the former host. Nobody moves like Makarov's children and gets away with it.
"Glad you're all right," Lucy said.
"It is true. How would I live without you?" Cana teased him maliciously.
"It looks like it, Cana", he looked at her suspiciously.
"But still, we're glad it all turned out well," Lisanna nudged him, glad her brother-in-law was safe and sound.
"Exactly," agreed Elfman.
"Let's not leave one of our own behind," Natsu smiled happily. "And I want to fight you again!"
"You just think about it!" Lucy scolded him.
Mira was beside Ryker smiling, as was everyone else with her boyfriend back, without him getting hurt or anything. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something glowing in the sunlight. She watched what appeared to be a gun, pointed at Ryker's back.
Albert had escaped the blast through some secret passage and, through a trapdoor, reached the surface. "If I don't have it, no one will!" He pointed the gun at Ryker and fired.
Without a second thought, Mirajane shoved Ryker aside, serving as a shield for him. The bullet hit her in the chest, piercing and bleeding heavily.
For Ryker everything was in slow motion. She pushing him, the bullet hitting her, the blood gushing out and Mira, his girlfriend, the most important person in his life, falling to the ground, passed out and with blood everywhere, forming a big red puddle on the floor.
"Mira... MIRA!", Ryker yelled desperately.