Chapter 17
Fale Down
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Magic"
Flashback / Dreams
Location / Date / Time Skip
"Will you be good animals and go back to your cages now?" Sugarboy asked.
"You don't ask the cows, you force them." Hughes said back.
"What are you yammering about?" Natsu asked confused.
"Besides, we already took their power so 'Handle with Care' no longer applies." Hughes added, holding his wand up. "If Code ETD pans out like planned, that just means they're a waste of space. And if there's one thing I accel at, it's getting rid of the trash." The ship started glowing as it lurched forward. "Time to say good bye!"
"Incoming!" Lucy screamed as the boat hit the ground, creating a massive dust cloud on impact. It even wiped out the carrousel.
Hughes looked out over the destruction and smiled before the dust settled, showing a flower shaped shield of ice. "Where'd the ice come from!? So this is Earthland magic?"
"I thought itemless magic was just a rumor." Sugarboy said on the ground. "It's truly a sight to behold."
Natsu then lit his feet in fire, shocking Hughes even more. "Spontaneous combustion?"
"You will too!" Natsu shouted before jumping up and hitting Hughes with a flaming punch, launching him. "Ready to give our friends back!?"
"Sorry, I can't do that." Hughes said, sitting up. "But even if it was, I'm not giving up unlimited magic power just yet. Just accept the fact that your friends are history!" He waved his wand and it glowed a golden light.
"If you haven't learned how stubborn we are, then I'll keep beating the lesson in." Natsu declared, unaware that he was on a rollercoaster track and the cart was heading towards him.
"Natsu! Behind you!" Lucy shouted before she found herself and Gray sinking into the ground. "What are we standing in!?"
"I'm not sure we want to know." He said back.
Natsu turned to the cart coming towards him and jumped over it. "Like hell it'll hit me."
"Don't be so sure about that." Hughes smirked before twirling his wand. "Hell Tornado!"
"Hell what?" Natsu asked before glancing up. "That's awesome! That coasters making it's own track as it goes along! How cool is that?!"
"You're not supposed to be happy about that!" Hughes shouted back. "Oh, who cares. Feast your eyes on my weapon, the Command Baton. It let's me control everything in the park, from the coasters to the creepy clowns."
"I don't care if you can make a castle dance!" Natsu said before igniting his fist and slamming it into the cart, destroying it. "And now you're all out of puppets!"
"I'd rethink that, lava-brains." Hughes smirked back.
"What'd you call me?" He asked back.
"Did you really think I only had one?" Hughes asked as he waved his baton around. "I've got a whole quartet of Hell Coasters just waiting to meet you." Three more coaster carts appeared and headed straight for Natsu. He jumped out of the way of them all, but one snaked around and Natsu landed in it.
Before he could jump out, mechanical hands popped out and held Natsu in place. "When I get out of this thing, you're gonna be sorry!"
"We take safety very seriously here at E-Land." Hughes mockingly said as he waved his wand around. "So please keep your head and hands inside the vehicle until your life comes to a complete stop. That's funny, right? The Hell Coasters go ten times faster when I boost their magic. No matter how it is, five minutes on this ride will..."
He noticed Natsu was about to puke. "You didn't even last ten seconds! How the hell have you survived this long when a joy ride is your worst weakness!?"
On the ground, Lucy and Gray were up to their waists in the softened tiles. "Natsu's in trouble." Gray said.
"So are we." Lucy pointed out.
"Lucy, you gotta get him out of that coaster." He told her.
"And how do I do that?" She asked, only for Gray to reach over and grab her shoulders. "Wait, what are you-" Gray strained as he pulled her as hard as he could. "You're kidding!"
With one last roar of strength, he pulled Lucy out of the ground. "Now go get him!" He threw Lucy into sky and she latched onto the nearest coaster, high above Natsu's.
"Get me... off... this thing..." He groaned out.
Lucy jumped off her cart and freefalled towards Natsu's, barely catching it as it went by. "Busty and brave, a pretty rare combo." Hughes commented.
"Alright, my turn." Gray said as he brought his hands above his head. "Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!" Twin hooks shot out and hooked a pair of poles, letting him pull himself out.
"If you could pull off something like that by yourself, why not go and help save the Dragon Slayer?" Sugarboy asked.
"I could, but then there'd be no one to kick your ass." Gray said back before holding his hands together. "Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" He swung the curved blade at the armored captain, only for the blade to turn into liquid around him.
"So it's all ice?" The blonde asked. "Looks like I have the upper hand."
"How'd he warp my attack?" Gray asked himself as he landed.
"That's all thanks to my weapon, the Rosa Esparda." Sugarboy said. "It doesn't matter what you throw at my, my sword will make it so you never hit me."
Back in the sky, Lucy started pulling on the hands keeping Natsu in place. "Pull yourself together! I need your help, I can't pull these arms off you!" Natsu could only groan back. "You're useless!"
Hughes chuckled before waving his wand around, sending the two twirling around the sky as Lucy screamed her lungs out. He laughed at their misfortune before pointing his baton down, sending the cart crashing into a pool of water.
"Am I alive?" Natsu asked before collapsing again.
"And now for the cherry on top-" Hughes pointed over to the large monitor that showed Lucy clinging to Natsu with a terrified look on her face. "Hahahahaha!"
"How thoughtful of you." Lucy said back before noticing her surroundings. 'Water?'
"So then, how do you like Edolas' magic?" He asked back. "I know, I know. It's awesome. And to think, if we hadn't turned your friends into a lacrima all this would vanish. Wouldn't that be a shame?"
Natsu finally regained his strength and pushed himself out of the cart. "So that's why you took them? You're gonna sacrifice our firends and kill all the Exceeds just so you can keep your toys?"
"Pretty much." Hughes nodded as Natsu walked forward. "Their demise will be the key to our everlasting magic power."
"Shut your mouth!" Natsu shouted, lighting his fists on fire. "You don't have the right to take them. All you care about is your magic power, so you'll just use our friends as sacrifices!?" His whole body was ablaze in anger. "I won't allow that!"
Hughes smirked back and reached into his pocket for his weapon. "Natsu, get down!" Lucy shouted, pulling out a spirit key. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer - Aquarius!" She slammed the key into the water and the mermaid appeared. "Do it!"
"I know what to do!" The spirit said back as she channeled water to her urn. Hughes pulled out his wand and waved it, making the water shot up into the air. "The water..."
"What's wrong, Aquarius!?" Lucy asked.
"I can't control the water!" The spirit shouted back, shocking the blonde.
"I told you, everything in this park is a weapon for me to destroy you." Hughes said before the water started heading towards the three.
"Lucy, you idiot! Move!" Aquarius shouted, but it was too late.
With Fale & Bouldton
"Earth Dragon Morningstar!" Nicholas swung his spike ball forward and Fale rolled to the side. "Quit dodging!"
"No, I think I will keep it up." Fale said back.
"Nicholas!" Both looked over as Brianna and Slate raced over. "The good one!" Brianna clarified.
"Oh, you wound me." E. Nicholas waned as he stepped on a tile. The floor under all of them started shaking before it split open from the middle. The four instantly fell before Slate activated his wings and Brianna turned into her harpy form.
"That was a cheep move!" Nicholas shouted as he fell through the air over what looked like an amusement part.
"I call it 'using what I built to my advantage'." Fale said as he grabbed his counterparts limbs and held them behind the back, turning Nicholas into a breaker for his fall. "I'm assuming you have a fear of heights because I love them."
"D-don't be stupid." Nicholas said, trying to sound tough.
"Let him go!" Brianna shouted before flying over, her wings glowing.
"Oh, I'm afraid you have a busy dance card, my dear." Fale said as he whistled. Panels on the wall slid down before they came to a stop. Mechanical bats of all shapes and sizes with glowing blue eyes flew out of the holes and surrounded her. "Enjoy playing with my babies."
"Out of my way!" She shouted, swinging her talons at the batbots. She took out about three with each hand before four flew at her, hitting her in the gut. The machines then opened their mouths and small energy cannons poked out of their mouths.
Just before firing, Slate threw a kunai into one before grabbing another by the wing and flinging it into the other two, making them all explode. "I expect a 'thank you' later." He said, taking out more knives.
"No problem, hunter." Brianna said back as they floated wing to wings. "Let's get 'em!" Both charged the dome around them and began taking out the spinning dome of bats. Back in the hole in the wall, a counter started going down with every bat taken out.
Below them, Fale aimed his counterpart at what looked like an old house. His hands felt the skin under them change, making him look down to see Nicholas activating his Scale spell. "That won't save you." He said, just as they hit the house and crashed through the house to the floor.
Nicholas' armor kept him from dying before he sunk into the ground and tried hitting Fale again with a surprise uppercut from the ground. Fale jumped back into the dark house before the lights snapped on, showing a giant hall of mirrors. Seconds later, every single mirror showed Fale's face on it. "Wonderful..." Nicholas mumbled as he turned his arm into his Warhammer form.
"Why do you continue to fight?" The reflections asked as the sound came from all around.
"Just like at the guild hall." Nicholas mumbled as he walked forward.
"You have no reason to help the Exceeds, nothing to gain from helping those mongrel felines. And yet here you stand, ready to die for them." Fale continued.
"It's called doing the right thing." Nicholas said as he reached a corner. "Is that idea so hard for you to understand!?" He slammed his hammer around the corner, only to shatter a mirror.
"Oh, not even close." The counterpart mocked.
"Damn it." The Slayer cursed. "Of all the smells I'd have to sniff out, never thought I'd have to smell myself."
"And as for 'doing the right thing', only fools do that." Fale said as Nicholas kept walking. "The only thing that truly matters is how history sees you. And people don't remember those who do 'the right thing'. They only remember those who change the world."
"Is that why you killed your Brianna's parents? To change the world?" Bouldton asked.
"No, I did that because I felt like it!" Fale appeared behind him and whacked his Earthland counterpart in the back with his sword club, sending him crashing into another mirror. Nicholas turned around only to be met with air.
"This is getting really annoying." He grumbled as he walked forward.
"I am a scientist." E. Nicholas said. "My job is to study the world and then improve it. That is my sole reason-"
"Your sole reason for living, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before." Nicholas cut him off. "You think that you're so unique, don't you? That no one else is like you. Well guess what, you're wrong. I've run into plenty of people like you."
"There is no one else like me." Fale said back.
"Oh, please. I've spent my on the run from someone like you." Nicholas said back. "You think yourself superior to everyone else just because you're you. Well guess what, you're not a scientist, you're a murderer. But you hide behind your research because you're too scared to accept what you've done. I knew a serious asshole, but at least he was honest about it."
Fale had heard enough and launched forward, swinging his club against the hammer. "I'll make you regret mocking me." A beeping caught his attention before he looked down at his wrist. "Seems your friends have unlocked my prize creation. They've sealed their fate, and now you will die with them!"
"Not... happening..." Nicholas said as he pushed back before raising his foot. "Earth Dragon Talon!" He kicked Fale in the temple with his stone encrusted foot, dazing the scientist before head butting him. Fale slid back before using his club as an aid to stand before running back into the shadows, the mirrors full of his reflection.
"Enough of this. Earth Dragon Chains!" He turned both arms into stone chains and swung them in an 'x' fashion, wiping out any mirror they hit. The glass hit the ground, and Fale was still not among them.
Unknown to Nicholas, Fale had rolled behind him and swung his sword club, taking out both knee ditches at once. "You all most had me with that little spell." He stepped on one of his clones knees before aiming the club at his head. "But now, this is your end."
Just before he could swing, a giant robot bat crashed through the ceiling, completely destroying the roof of the house. Both of its wings were torn to pieces and kunais turned the face into a pin cushion. "How is that even possible!?"
With a painful roar, Nicholas forced Fale off him with his free knee before pulling his fist back. "Earth Dragon Diamond Fist!" His hand coated in the precious gem, he threw it forward as Fale tried to block with his club. It offered little resistance as it snapped in half, letting the fist hit him in the face.
Nicholas then grabbed the hair of his clone before throwing it forward towards the robot. "Earth Dragon Roar!" Chunks of stone and sand shot out of Nicholas' mouth and hit both the scientist and the machine. One chunk pierced the head and hit the power core, creating a massive explosion.
Brianna and Slate landed amidst a mass of smoke to find Fale on the ground and Nicholas holding the half of the club with the handle. "So... what now?" Fale asked, covered in small cuts and bruises. "Are you going to kill me? Well, don't expect me to beg like that whores parents."
Nicholas went wide eyed at the statement. "Oh, that's right. Brianna Stone's parents begged me to spare their lives. Their screams were pathetic." Brianna was shocked at the revelation of her best friends counter part. "So go ahead, kill me! Avenge their deaths!"
With a scream, Nicholas raised the halfclub over his head... before slamming it into a support beam. "That would be the easy way out." He picked Fale up by his collar and looked him in the eyes. "You don't deserve it. You're gonna face judgement for what you've done, but it won't be by my hands."
He tossed Fale to the ground as Brianna tackled him from behind. "I'm so proud of you! You don't sink to his level!" She cheered.
Nicholas placed his hand on hers before Slate coughed, catching their attention. "Oh, right. You still wanna get paid, so we have to go find the others." Nicholas said.
Slate twirled his foot around in a circle before looking up at Nicholas. "...Tell you what. Change the payment to 'let me join Fairy Tail'."
"Wait, you wanna join now? Why?" He asked the cat.
"Well, we're close enough now to be called friends, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Nicholas nodded. The sweet moment was cut off when the remainder of the building started shaking and falling apart, blocking the hole in the roof. "What's going on?"
"I think we did too much damage to this place." Brianna said. "Let's get out of here." She and Slate started running towards the exit before looking over her shoulder. Nicholas was lifting Fale onto his shoulder. "Why are you saving him?"
"It'd feel wierd watching myself die." He said as he started sprinting towards the exit.
"Why are you saving me?" Fale asked.
"It's called doing the right thing." Nicholas said with a smirk.
Fale merely scoffed at the sentence before a chunk of wood fell down. With the last of his strength, Fale pushed Nicholas out of the way. "Moron, you never save the bag guy." More wood fell and blocked the path between the two before the entire thing collapsed around them.
Balcony
"Your majesty, I bring the greatest news." Byro told the king. "Fale's experiment was a success. Just say the word and Code ETD will be complete."
"Excellent..." The old man said, staring up at Extalia. "Meet your end, false gods."
And Fale is down. I wanted this fight to take center stage, so that's why it's the whole chapter. Not sure if this will get me any more reviews, but I had fun writing it. And if you're think that Fale went down to easy, you have to remember, he's a scientist not a fighter. So he's going to be weaker than someone like Knightwalker.
JamesFreki can no longer Beta read for me, so I need someone else to do it. Let me know if your interested.